A few years ago I became seriously ill. I was in a coma on heavy duty meds, and had a kidney transplant. I’m much better than I was, but I can’t do a lot of things like I could before.

We’ve now got quite a few kids in the extended family, so a while ago I wrote a short story to try to make it easier for them to understand. My wife and family like the story and have suggested making it into a picture story book. Problem is, I can’t draw and my imagination isn’t very good.

How can I get pictures for the story if I can’t do it myself and don’t have the money to hire someone? I want to avoid using AI tools because of the potential copyright issues.

I haven’t tried the services like Fiverr because I’ve heard that they force a race to the bottom on prices, but does anyone have any experience, or have any ideas of what I can do please?

Thanks in advance :)

  • Luke
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    27 months ago

    One possible interpretation is that autistic individuals can sometimes tend to go a bit overboard when finding a new hobby. We will sometimes find a new topic so engaging that we develop a “special interest” in it and spend days/weeks delving into every possible piece of information and niche knowledge available about that topic, considering all the implications and what-ifs and following all the informational leads.

    Spending merely the minimum time required (which in this example is apparently 5 days) to get proficient is harder to estimate because an autist may instead need to spend weeks learning everything. Or, they might not.

    • TipponOP
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      17 months ago

      For me it’s the opposite - I want to learn the minimum needed to accomplish something, and being forced to study is very difficult. At least, that’s how my brain sees it.

      I want to learn, and would be happy to focus on a drawing class, but the neurodivergent part of my brain sees that as torturous. Being forced to do something that I don’t want to do, even if it leads to me doing something that I do want to do, is like nails down a blackboard.

      • Luke
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        17 months ago

        Your description of “being forced to do something” sounds like a distinct situation from a special interest. Special interests are driven by the individual themselves, not forced upon them. I wonder if what you’re thinking of might be the phenomenon called PDA (“pathological demand avoidance”, or more recently rephrased - more accurately IMO - as “persistent demand for autonomy”).

        • TipponOP
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          17 months ago

          Yes, that’s why I said it’s the opposite ;)

          I don’t know what it’s called, but I know that I really struggle with doing things that I don’t want to do.