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Admin approval with some text that needs a little bit of thought to fill out is surprisingly effective and definitely slows down spammers a lot.

I had to do that on dbzer0 and I think beehaw, they were both a fun exercise and took no time at all. Hell, I ended up submitting a wall of text about Sacco and Vanzetti on dbzer0 if I remember correctly, lol. But if nothing else they knew that it was 1) a human, and 2) I really believe what I was saying.

If the point is to get regular users who are thoughtful participants in online communities, requiring an email address and the typing of a few coherent words on their own behalf is NOT a barrier to entry, or even a much of a bar. After all, these people are applying to join a forum in which they are presumably going to spend unlimited time typing statements of their own creation in the future. Instance owners are just requiring a bit of that up front, and it’s not a huge ask.

It is, however, a very frustrating requirement for people who want to open multiple accounts for spamming and trolling purposes, and for that reason alone is a great filter for applicants.

“An abnormal response to an abnormal situation is absolutely normal.”

If you are in some hellish or unusually bad kind of situation and you’re not able to keep your cool or stay positive or whatever your personal mental health goals are, it doesn’t mean that you’re insane.

It means you’re human.

This is also exceptionally helpful to remember if you have to be around hypercritical, DARVOing, and/or chronically dishonest people who behave horribly then take any sign of emotional response on your part as an overreaction and proof of mental incompetence. Lol, no. If you weren’t nuts before they started in on you, you’re probably fine right now.

There is so much pressure these days for the sane among us to be 100% perfect in all respects all the time even as norms are crashing down all around us, and it’s just not realistic or possible, much less healthy or true. So remember:

“An abnormal response to an abnormal situation is absolutely normal.”

And then go take care of you as a priority for a little while, because you need some self-focus and self-care while you navigate whatever this is.

Hope this helps someone, because it’s saved my ass countless times.

That’s great advice, and it pairs well with all the words of wisdom regarding not speaking or acting in anger.

Often people threaten in situations where they know they are powerless and cannot act, whether on a threat or anything else. When you have power and you know it, you act differently, more confidently, and as though you know nothing is lost by keeping the mouth shut until ready to act.

But your threats speak for you as well. They warn your opponent how and where you intend to strike them, should you ever be able to do so, and tell an observant enemy exactly how you think and what would frighten or piss you off, because that’s what you’re trying to do to them by threatening them.

Your entire appearance, tone of voice, and choice of words also tell an opponent a lot of the real truth about your immediate attitude and maturity level, and whether you’re personally even worth changing their course to help.

Threats are a product of fear and anger, and are not nearly as threatening as the people making them think they are. If you want to threaten, act cool and confident. Laugh at them when they start getting flustered.

“Oh” and “heh, okay” are how to respond to threats being made to you, like they just don’t matter and your real position is whatever pal, if it makes you feel better. This level of near-total non-response gives you time to evaluate the situation and do nothing you’ll regret, or to do something later that you’ve planned out far better than making angry threats in the heat of the moment.

Threats are almost always the most stupid tactic there is. You’re gonna call my boss and have my job? Not before I call him, lol. But thanks for letting me know. Have a nice day.

This is how threats telegraph weakness to people who are accustomed to holding power. If you want someone to know for sure you hold no cards, start whipping out threats.

TL;DR: Threats are best avoided until you are truly ready to act. And if you can’t act, keep it shut until you can.

Ah, makes sense. I must have misread. Glad you don’t need it!

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Sure. When your watercolor painting dries, it’s perfect as-is, and you need do nothing more, especially if you know it’s going in a drawer or a frame or even in a pile of other watercolors in the corner, lol. However, it will react with any kind of moisture, because that’s what watercolors do. If your watercolor work gets wet or is in a really high humidity area, touching it or allowing it to touch anything else will smear the paint.

So if you have some work you really like and want to protect when it’s done, you can use a surface fixative (usually a spray) to protect it from moisture. But greeting cards don’t usually see a lot of water or humidity, so it’s up to you. It will not be obvious either way: fixatives are completely invisible to the eye until water is involved and then it’s pretty obvious what’s been sealed and what hasn’t been, lol.

I have a couple watercolor paintings hanging in my bathroom, for example, but it’s not a problem because I sealed them with a surface fixative as well as Dorland’s (a wax made specifically for artwork) and they’re behind glass, so the occasionally high humidity in there doesn’t matter at all. But that’s kind of an extreme case.

Fixatives are pretty cheap and a little goes a long way, but it’s up to you as to whether you want to use one. If you do, just remember that the fixative is the very LAST thing you put on, because you usually can’t work the painting after you’ve done it. (There are “workable” fixatives that you can put on and then still add to your work, but just how “workable” they are really depends on the specific fixative and the specific media you’re using, so don’t count on it.)

You said you are making cards; IMO you would be fine leaving your work as-is or sealing them. Honestly either way is fine, your choice. But if you do use one, make the fixative the very LAST thing you do to your art, at least until you have a chance to experiment with any fixative you buy. And of course, do any ironing prior. Hope this helps.

I always feel guilty wasting perfectly good papers

Lol, me too. But if you can, watch some older artists on Youtube: more expensive papers just make certain things easier. Cheap papers make the same thing harder – NOT impossible.

That’s how cheap paper builds your skill: you’re forced to pay sharp attention to the dampness of the paper, the exact sheen of it in the light, to know when it’s ready for a blend or a scrape (where you scratch into wet paper to either create dark lines if it’s wetter or remove paint if it’s drier), etc.

I don’t know if you’re in the US but the paper I like most for watercolor is also one of the least expensive: Canson XL watercolor paper. It’s a nice, heavy 300g that takes a good bit of abuse from scratching, scrubbing, lifting, and pretty much anything else I want to do. ALL watercolor paper will buckle, but the heavier weights keep it to a minimum, and 300g is an all-around great weight (heavier weights are professional use and tend to get really expensive). Arteza I have also heard good things about, inexpensive and good, but Canson’s usually at the Walmart so I can just get some whenever I’m there and avoid Amazon, lol.

For painting boards, I save and use the clean tops of pizza boxes, lol. Any clean stiff cardboard will do, turn it over and use the plain backside so there’s no visual confusion, and cheap masking tape or washi to hold it down if you don’t feel like freestyling it, lol. For the copy paper practice I wouldn’t even worry about that, any tape you want to use. (You can also use scotch tape if you weaken the hold on it a bit by taping across your clothes before you put it on your paper, if you’re in a pinch and need a removable tape.)

Your watercolors came in a tray; that’s also a paint mixing tray. Take the paint tubes out while you’re painting and then rinse it afterwards to use for tube storage again. And use any old plastic container for water, etc. Now you’re all set!

This is the mess I made, looks pretty horrific lol, I dropped some color as well

Noooooo! What you see as mess, I see as courage with exploring colors, shapes, and composition, and learning how to mix, layer, and blend with watercolor. Some of what you just did by accident, like the red/yellow blend and drip to the right, other artists deliberately add as “texture” and “interest” and work very hard to get. Just wait til you start making cabbages and getting blooms (the weird dark lines you get from puddling water in one place). People work to get those too. It’s just a matter of getting them where you want them to be, which is a whole 'nother matter, lol.

This is a great start. Keep going!

Just fyi, OP , if you end up with a seriously buckled end result because water + paper = warp, please know that you really can iron it out. Do this BEFORE you seal the surface:

Put some plain paper on your ironing board, lay your painting face down, and use a low to medium heat setting (start with low and work up if you need to). Iron until flat. It will not hurt your watercolor painting at all. If you’re unsure, there are videos on Youtube.

However, a word of warning: if you’re doing mixed media, keep in mind that some materials will melt and smear (embossing powder, crayons, colored pencils, etc) but not regular pencil (graphite), charcoal, or marker. My suggestion would be to do your watercolors first (which is usually how it works out anyway) and iron if necessary, and then proceed to your other media.

And as long as I have your attention, don’t let anyone shame your beginning supplies. Everyone starts small, because that stuff can get truly expensive.

And for as many snotty Youtube watercolor videos I’ve seen titled “It’s Not Your Fault, It’s Your Paper!” and similar, I have news for them and you: cheap supplies are how you learn to work with any supplies you have, especially paper. Cheap paper is what shows you how to get the very best out of any paper you can buy, regardless of price range. There is one famous watercolorist, Winslow Homer, who regularly used the really bad paper he snagged from his job as a mapmaker for watercolor paintings that now hang in museums and sell for millions.

So if all you have today is copy paper, rock it! As you progress, you’ll be glad you stretched your knowledge this way. I still use the beginner stuff I have along with the more expensive stuff I got later, and honestly I prefer the less expensive stuff for certain projects.

I love watercolors. So fun. You’re gonna have a fantastic time, OP.

Awesome. Joined. Thank you.

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Holy shit. I hadn’t seen that one. Thanks for the link.

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I think that’s a bit of an overreaction.

It’s neither reaction nor overreaction; it is simply a statement of possibility. One of many, because Meta has not told us what their real intentions are, and no one could believe them even if they did.

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