Drawings

[LarryTheLizard]

Hey, this is a thread where you can post any drawings you are proud of! Here are some of mine from a while ago.

 

[xp29]

Hey, this is a thread where you can post any drawings you are proud of! Here are some of mine from a while ago.

Oh wow, those are great.

 

[ChileanTaco]

Like them
I'm also drawing a lot (and painting and crafts and scale-modeling), but just not any manga/ comic style. Have to dig mine up (they aren't scanned yet).

 

[LarryTheLizard]

Oh wow, those are great.

Thanks!

 

[LarryTheLizard]

Like them
I'm also drawing a lot (and painting and crafts and scale-modeling), but just not any manga/ comic style. Have to dig mine up (they aren't scanned yet).

That’s really cool! I really like crafts too, especially now around the holidays

 

[ChileanTaco]

I really like crafts too, especially now around the holidays

I often use that time, but (despite we have some winter-themed decoration*) I'm more into other kinds of crafts. Like technical things, a model of an asteroid mining station and such
Drawings, I really have to scan them.


*which to me still appears to be weird since we are on the Southern hemisphere and now it's spring, and end of the year falls into summer, and snow... we're in the region with the lowest precipitation in the world

 

[LarryTheLizard]

I often use that time, but (despite we have some winter-themed decoration*) I'm more into other kinds of crafts. Like technical things, a model of an asteroid mining station and such
Drawings, I really have to scan them.


*which to me still appears to be weird since we are on the Southern hemisphere and now it's spring, and end of the year falls into summer, and snow... we're in the region with the lowest precipitation in the world

oh I see! That’s still really cool though! I love space and astronomy. Haha, it feels like it’s always raining here. do you like living in chile?

 

[ChileanTaco]

@Lizardlover9000
Yes, generally I love it - for example, that it's usually warm and sunny here (which is not the case for all parts of Chile! we do have nearly all climate zone and the one where I am is similar to how it's in Southern California where I indeed lived a few years ago), and that really really good fruits and veggies are available here (everything so "gourmet" for a reasonable price). I'm very much an outdoor person, and there are always some trails to hike, and other regions which are nice for outdoor people (Patagonia!) are just nearby.

The drawback is, however, the language (I moved here with only little Spanish skills, and English is very rarely spoken here) and the availability of products (also for my dragon) - I'm really not somebody who "needs the latest iPhone", but sometimes it's all kind of things, could be not ordered, or at a super steep price, or after 3 weeks your order gets cancelled as the seller neither had it in stock nor was able to get it.
Just a week ago I was traveling (for work) to a larger city in South Africa and was just astonished that there I suddenly can buy art supplies - there was a store that was similar to what is Michael's in the US (I guess you are from the US?), and I was stocking up big as I always find some extra space in my luggage Stocked up on modeling clay, UV-active paint, modeling paste for canvas, tiles to paint and ceramic paint... Here I can just get what is school supplies, or sometimes other things are listed on websites but then get cancelled.

I'm originally from Germany and will visit parents and in-laws end of the year, and they also bought me things I can't get here (reptile basking lamps are not available here anymore, also not any other bulbs that produce heat and light at the same time, small things like new protective glass for my smartphone, many other small things) or are super expensive here.

 

[LarryTheLizard]

@Lizardlover9000
Yes, generally I love it - for example, that it's usually warm and sunny here (which is not the case for all parts of Chile! we do have nearly all climate zone and the one where I am is similar to how it's in Southern California where I indeed lived a few years ago), and that really really good fruits and veggies are available here (everything so "gourmet" for a reasonable price). I'm very much an outdoor person, and there are always some trails to hike, and other regions which are nice for outdoor people (Patagonia!) are just nearby.

The drawback is, however, the language (I moved here with only little Spanish skills, and English is very rarely spoken here) and the availability of products (also for my dragon) - I'm really not somebody who "needs the latest iPhone", but sometimes it's all kind of things, could be not ordered, or at a super steep price, or after 3 weeks your order gets cancelled as the seller neither had it in stock nor was able to get it.
Just a week ago I was traveling (for work) to a larger city in South Africa and was just astonished that there I suddenly can buy art supplies - there was a store that was similar to what is Michael's in the US (I guess you are from the US?), and I was stocking up big as I always find some extra space in my luggage Stocked up on modeling clay, UV-active paint, modeling paste for canvas, tiles to paint and ceramic paint... Here I can just get what is school supplies, or sometimes other things are listed on websites but then get cancelled.

I'm originally from Germany and will visit parents and in-laws end of the year, and they also bought me things I can't get here (reptile basking lamps are not available here anymore, also not any other bulbs that produce heat and light at the same time, small things like new protective glass for my smartphone, many other small things) or are super expensive here.

Wow that’s so cool! It sounds so awesome there. I really want to travel to different countries and learn about their culture and their origin, I just don’t have the time right now between school and work and basically just life, lol. I think Germany is really cool, I remember at one point when I was in high school, I was learning German on duoling, but I eventually gave up that’s really awesome that your family does that for you!

 

[ChileanTaco]

@Lizardlover9000
I use duolingo for Spanish (in addition to courses and other material)
i didn't travel much before I finished university; I travel mostly as part of my job. Wasn't a travelbug, so hadn't chosen my job because of travel opportunities but it was rather quite afraid of that and accepted having to travel only because of the other parts of my job
But now I'm fine with traveling. And it made me also more confident.

and they also bought me things I can't get here

that’s really awesome that your family does that for you!

So in fact, to make it easier for them, I ordered it to their address and paid for it, and in one case they ordered but I paid. So they just have to keep the stuff until I come by But still, support by family i "gold" in many things

 

[LarryTheLizard]

@Lizardlover9000
I use duolingo for Spanish (in addition to courses and other material)
i didn't travel much before I finished university; I travel mostly as part of my job. Wasn't a travelbug, so hadn't chosen my job because of travel opportunities but it was rather quite afraid of that and accepted having to travel only because of the other parts of my job
But now I'm fine with traveling. And it made me also more confident.


So in fact, to make it easier for them, I ordered it to their address and paid for it, and in one case they ordered but I paid. So they just have to keep the stuff until I come by But still, support by family i "gold" in many things

Oooo nice!

 

[LarryTheLizard]

@Lizardlover9000
I use duolingo for Spanish (in addition to courses and other material)
i didn't travel much before I finished university; I travel mostly as part of my job. Wasn't a travelbug, so hadn't chosen my job because of travel opportunities but it was rather quite afraid of that and accepted having to travel only because of the other parts of my job
But now I'm fine with traveling. And it made me also more confident.


So in fact, to make it easier for them, I ordered it to their address and paid for it, and in one case they ordered but I paid. So they just have to keep the stuff until I come by But still, support by family i "gold" in many things

What is your first language?

 

[ChileanTaco]

@Lizardlover9000
My first language is German.
I then learned English at school (from 5th grade on). English is my language at work, also university was mostly in English.
I'm learning Spanish now for 2.5 years, I'm in Chile now since April 2023 and I should finally be able to give university lectures (in technical subjects), have work meetings... in that language, means a steep learning curve from "nothing" over "I can do my grocery shopping" to "discuss technical setup of this and that with contractors", "give lecture in stellar astrophysics, supervise thesis work, give differentiated advice to students" - which I can do just fine in English, but that won't be understood here

I'm not into languages, I'm more into programming languages
Means: I'm okay with learning a language if it serves a purpose for me, like communicating efficiently. (It still bothers me how limited my Spanish is! I often would love do discuss things in a more sophisticated way, but I'm then limited to ways less. Like saying that I like the food - whereas I indeed like it, but would have been curious about the cooking method, which spices used, and more.) But I would never "collect languages", like some people learn them for fun. For fun, I might learn another programming language, however.

 

[LarryTheLizard]

@ChileanTaco
that just blows my mind how people can speak more than one language, it just seems so complicated to memorize all the words and the accents that go with the languages too! Speaking German and English, and learning Spanish just seems so cool, but also time consuming at the same time. Yeah I really don’t get how some people just learn a language like Japanese or chinese just for fun, over learning a language that your region speaks like Spanish or French. I tried learning french for 2 years in my 8th grade/freshman year, but then I got distracted with my passion for music and piano, to where I kinda lost my skills in that language. I never really was fluent, but I could hold a decent conversation…over text I couldn’t actually speak it very well, I know that the French language requires a sort of guttural sound that I couldn’t master very well, lol. So, I stuck to learning a language that a lot of my neighbors and coworkers speak, which is Spanish. I’m not a pro, but I’m also not too bad at it either. I’m still working on the pronunciation of certain words, but overall I’m pretty proud of it! Programming honestly sounds so fun. I’m not sure if this is related to the type you do, but I took coding in middle school and I learned how to make games and such, and I loved that subject and wished they continued that in high school!

 

[ChileanTaco]

that just blows my mind how people can speak more than one language, it just seems so complicated to memorize all the words and the accents that go with the languages too!

In Germany, learning 1 - 2 languages at school is required.
English is mandatory (unless attending a special education school, but then there might even be a small introduction to English for kids who can do that). English starts at 5th grade, sometimes at 3rd grade, and you have it until you finish school. A second foreign language, usually either French, Latin or Spanish, is required in addition by a school type that is called "Gymnasium", that's like high school but the type after which you can attend university immediately.
My parents sent me to another type of school, that's called "Realschule" and ends after 10th grade, then you do a vocational training and afterwards have the opportunity into attending university. They usually do not have a second foreign language, but some with a special language profile might offer it.
After finishing 10th grade, I did a vocational training as a software engineer (that's basically college plus a on-the-job training; in Germany, when doing vocational training, also your English courses continue, then job-specific) and went then to a school where with 2 additional years you can attend university afterwards. There I had 2 years of French, in addition to English.
English was absolutely necessary when I studied physics (in Germany); most publications are written in English, a lot of students and researches are foreigners, and most courses were in English. Had most of my exams in English, wrote all my thesis (which were about computational algorithms for signal processing and physics simulations) in English. Went then to the US, worked there 7 years as a researcher.
So, English is just my other language; doesn't feel like a "second" language anymore.
I'm now a researcher at a university in Chile, still do many things in English regarding my research, but most undergraduate students do not speak English but only Spanish, and in everyday life you just can't get along in any other language than Spanish. (Kind of ironic if you have to go to the immigration office for some paperwork, finding out they are only speaking Spanish despite... they are an immigration office serving to foreigners. Uff! Yes, it's like that, as most foreigners here are from Spanish-speaking countries.) However, English has become mandatory in schools in Chile. Before, it was only taught at some expensive private international schools here.

Speaking German and English, and learning Spanish just seems so cool, but also time consuming at the same time.

English didn't bother me, as it was just a school subject like any other, you progress over time, and there is no pressure like you have to do your appointments in that language or such - other than as an adult moving to a country in which a language is spoken you're just learning.

Programming honestly sounds so fun. I’m not sure if this is related to the type you do, but I took coding in middle school and I learned how to make games and such, and I loved that subject and wished they continued that in high school!

Games can also be fun (My husband codes games as a hobby.)
I do, however, write programs for science, so usually software that doesn't have a graphical user interface where you click, but something that does tons of calculations on huge amounts of data in a supercomputer. Sometimes also smaller software for demonstrating something to students, like e.g. you enter the coordinate of a star, and it tells you from which observatories you can see that star (as depending on your location on Earth, it might be below the horizon, or behind a mountain and you can't see it).
If you're still into coding, I can strongly suggest to take a look at free online courses. There are many, and with that you could build onto the skills you already have and continue.