Art
I mostly just do digital art. I only was really learning and improving when I was doodling in school, so now my art style will be stuck in my 16 year old self's art style for the forseeable future. I still find it fun though!
I have a Huion tablet and Clip Studio Paint for when I'm at home. I also have an iPad and Apple Pencil to use with Procreate (though I get frustrated w/ Procreate since it's pretty limited.)
Beginner's tools
- For tablets: if you already have an iPad, then trying to snag a second hand Apple Pencil for cheap is a really good idea so you can draw on the go.
- You can also use your PC programs with EasyCanvas if you're willing to pay a pretty cheap one time fee. This is great if you don't want to pay a subscription (ew!) for Clip Studio Paint on the iPad.
- Procreate is a popular paid app, but if you don't want to pay anything there are plenty of free apps - Medibang Paint, ibis Paint X, etc.
- If an iPad isn't possible, there are various cheap graphics tablets you can order online. There are new ones always coming out so take a look around at different reviews.
- You probably shouldn't splurge on a screen tablet. Get a regular one and try to get used to the feeling of drawing on it while looking at a screen.
- For drawing programs: Clip Studio Paint is just about the best one you can get for digital illustration. Try to catch it while it's on sale.
- In the meantime, there are a lot of free drawing programs you can get. Firealpaca and Medibang Paint are both light and easy to use. Krita is also a very detailed free art program that has a learning curve.
- If you can't afford any tech, you can always use pen and paper! Your notebook margins are just begging to be scribbled in.
Beginner's resources
There are many books, youtube videos, tutorials and video series to help you on your journey. Most will tell you the same thing: learn the fundamentals and take inspiration from many different artists. Lots of people look down on pinterest because of the tons of uncredited art, but I still think it's a great place to find inspiration, reference and tutorials.
I will be updating this section as I go (and as I remember this page exists...)
Life drawing- Croquis cafe on youtube
- Senshi stock on deviantart
Pole Dancing
I've been pole dancing for less than a year now and I have fallen madly in love with it already. It's pretty much the one thing in my life where I feel like I'm actually leveling up bit by bit. Now to explain why pole dancing is great and why you should do it!!
You should pole dance!
Honestly, I knew I would love pole as soon as I knew as I took my first fireman spin in a taster session last year. It's human nature to enjoy spinning around!! (btw some poles are static and some are spinning, don't get it confused! You should start with static when you're beginning)
It's also human nature to enjoy a good challenge. Pole dance truly is the Dark Souls of pole dance. You might keep struggling and struggling to perform a move, but once you get it, it feels so good! And once you can do it without even thinking about it, wow!!
Moves that you thought would take like 1000 years to build up the strength for, it turns out you can do with a month or two of hard work. You're always learning and improving, and seeing the people around you makes you inspired and even more motivated to keep going.
Some misconceptions
These days, people are a lot more forward thinking about things like pole dance, so I'll just talk about ones I commonly hear from well-meaning people:
The physical benefits kind of speak for themselves, but one misconception that I wanna get out of the way is that you don't need to be strong or flexible to do pole dance. You get stronger by doing it, it doesn't matter where you start from. People come to pole dance from a range of backgrounds. Some people will progress faster than you in some aspects and that's ok! You haven't seen the journey that they've been through to get those transferable skills so it's not fair to compare yourself to those people when you're at a completely different point in your journey. What you should do instead is learn from them! Everyone likes teaching at least a little (inflates the ego, haha), and the people I've met at pole dance are honestly so supportive. No one cares that you can't do something, because they want to see you succeed.
Also, pole dancing doesn't have to be sexy. It certainly can be! Modern pole dancing comes from strippers - they have my utmost respect and I would never try to erase pole dance's origins - but if you have zero interest in the 'dance' part of pole dance (polesport) and/or don't ever want to be perceived in a 'sexy' way, you don't have to participate in that. This has never been my experience, but I think some pole studios might expect you to dance that way? Or at least grow into dancing that way? Regardless, I've never been pressured into doing that, I only dance sexily because I like it. If you've found a good pole studio, you can just say 'I don't feel like doing that' and they won't ask questions.
This one I feel should really go without saying, but you don't need to be a girl or thin or whatever to do pole. I've seen people of all body types do pole and all of them do well as long as they believe in themselves. Also, the idea that only girls do pole is kinda laughable to me. Over at my uni where I started pole, there were a couple pole boys who regularly go to class, and also it seemed like there was a rotating cast of guys who would try one or two sessions just for fun. Not to mention the pole instructors in the studio from my home city, who are both men. If you have a disability, there are certain moves you may have more trouble doing, or that you can't do, but that doesn't mean pole dance is off the table for you. There are always new moves to learn and plenty of moves that you can learn, what's important is finding your personal 'pole language'.
