Boundary conditions for the Baumgarte-Shapiro-Shibata-Nakamura formulation of Einstein’s field equations

Darío Núñez and Olivier Sarbach Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado postal 70-543, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 México, Distrito Federal, México.
Instituto de Física y Matemáticas, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
Edificio C-3, Ciudad Universitaria, 58040 Morelia, Michoacán, México.
February 17, 2021

We discuss the initial-boundary value problem for the Baumgarte-Shapiro-Shibata-Nakamura evolution system of Einstein’s field equations which has been used extensively in numerical simulations of binary black holes and neutron stars. We specify nine boundary conditions for this system with the following properties: (i) they impose the momentum constraint at the boundary, which is shown to preserve all the constraints throughout evolution, (ii) they approximately control the incoming gravitational degrees of freedom by specifying the Weyl scalar at the boundary, (iii) they control the gauge freedom by requiring a Neumann boundary condition for the lapse, by setting the normal component of the shift to zero, and by imposing a Sommerfeld-like condition on the tangential components of the shift, (iv) they are shown to yield a well-posed problem in the limit of weak gravity. Possible numerical applications of our results are also discussed briefly.

04.20.Ex, 04.25.D-, 04.20.-q

I Introduction

Many of the boundaries introduced in the modeling of physical problems are not part of the system. In the numerical Cauchy evolution of a gravitational system, for instance, one is faced with the finiteness of the numerical grid which usually leads to an evolution scheme on a spacetime domain with artificial initial and outer boundary surfaces. Initial conditions are chosen such that they represent as accurately as possible the physical system at one moment of time. The outer boundary surface in turn needs to be transparent to the system in the sense that the conditions imposed on this surface mimic as well as possible the evolution on an infinite, asymptotically flat domain. This leads to the construction of absorbing outer boundary conditions which can be defined by the requirement that they yield a well-posed initial-boundary value problem (IBVP) and minimize spurious reflections from the outer boundary. Furthermore, the boundary conditions should be chosen such that they preserve the constraints throughout evolution.

There has already been a large amount of work on outer boundary conditions in General Relativity, see oS07 for a recent review. Absorbing boundary conditions which preserve the constraints and lead to a well-posed IBVP have first been constructed for a tetrad formulation hFgN99 and more recently hKjW06 ; hKoRoSjW07 ; mRoRoS07 ; hKoRoSjW09 also for the harmonic formulation of Einstein’s vacuum field equations. In particular, error estimates for spurious reflections and higher-order absorbing boundary conditions have been given in lBoS06 ; lBoS07 and implemented and tested numerically in oRlLmS07 ; oRlBmShP09 .

However, these results are not yet applicable to the Baumgarte-Shapiro-Shibata-Nakamura (BSSN) formulation mStN95 ; tBsS99 of Einstein’s field equations on which many numerical codes for simulating binary black holes or neutron stars are based. So far, such codes use ad-hoc “radiative boundary condition” (see, for example, Ref. Alcubierre-Book ), which are imposed on all the evolution variables. Although these conditions seem very easy to implement numerically, they are unlikely to yield a well-posed Cauchy evolution or to preserve the constraints. This results in a lack of either accuracy or efficiency since the outer boundary has to be pushed very far away in the wave zone in such a way that the boundary surface is causally disconnected from the region where physics is extracted.

In this article we construct absorbing boundary conditions for the BSSN system which preserve the constraints and discuss the well-posedness of the resulting initial-boundary value problem. Previous work on specifying boundary conditions for the BSSN system has been carried out in hBoS04 , where the BSSN system for a rather general class oSmT01 of gauge conditions on the lapse and a fixed shift tangent to the boundary is shown to be reducible to a first-order symmetric hyperbolic system (FOSH). Then, boundary conditions are given to the six incoming characteristic fields, resulting in a well-posed IBVP. However, the conditions presented in hBoS04 do not preserve the constraints. As a consequence, constraint-violating modes may be generated at the boundary surface. The work in cGjM04b on the other hand, formulates constraint-preserving boundary conditions for the BSSN system but the well-posedness of the resulting IBVP in the absorbing case is not established. Furthermore, numerical simulations of binary black hole mergers require more general gauge conditions on the shift than the ones considered for the IBVPs formulated in hBoS04 ; cGjM04b .

Here, we present a new set of boundary conditions for the BSSN system with the ”hyperbolic -driver” condition for the lapse and the “hyperbolic Gamma-driver” condition for the shift vector mAetal03 which is currently used in numerical simulations of binary black holes. The main properties of our boundary conditions are: (i) they preserve the constraints throughout evolution, (ii) they control the Weyl scalar at the boundary, a condition that yields small spurious reflections of gravitational radiation lBoS06 ; oRlLmS07 , (iii) they provide conditions on lapse and shift in the form of a Neumann condition for the lapse, a Dirichlet condition for the normal component of the shift and a Sommerfeld-like boundary condition on the tangential components of the shift, (iv) they are shown to yield a well-posed IBVP in the case of weak gravitational fields, where the equations may be linearized about Minkowski spacetime. If the outer boundary is placed in the weak field zone, this should be a reasonable assumption, and in view of the results in Ref. hBoS04 about the well-posedness of the Cauchy problem without boundaries one might except that our boundary conditions yield a well-posed IBVP in the nonlinear case as well.

Our boundary conditions are summarized in Sec. II along with the BSSN evolution equations and constraints, and in the rest of the article the derivation of these boundary conditions is presented. The derivation is based on the analysis of small amplitude, high-frequency perturbations of the system which gives rise to a linear system on the half space with planar boundary at . Boundary conditions are first constructed for the linearized system and then extrapolated to the nonlinear case. The linear system is studied in Sec. III using the methods described in oRoS05 ; gNoS06 where boundary conditions are constructed in three steps. In a first step, the propagation of the gauge-invariant quantities, consisting of the constraint variables and the linearized Weyl curvature is analyzed. It is shown that this system yields a FOSH evolution system. We specify boundary conditions for this system which yield a well-posed IBVP, guarantee the propagation of the constraint fields and also control the Weyl scalar . The second step consists in controlling the gauge degrees of freedom. The gauge functions, the lapse , and the shift vector are free to be chosen as better fits the problem. That freedom, however, is diminished by several practical requirements. The hyperbolic -driver and Gamma-driver mentioned above are used in most BSSN formulations. We show that this system can be cast into FOSH form, and specify well-posed boundary conditions. In particular, the boundary conditions require that the normal component of the shift is zero, a condition that is important in order to ensure that the number of ingoing characteristic fields is constant throughout evolution, as explained in the next section. The final step consists in reconstructing the BSSN variables and to show that the initial data and our boundary conditions give rise to unique solutions of the IBVP. The residual gauge freedom in the linearized IBVP is also analyzed in Sec. III, and it is shown to be parametrized by two functions and three vector fields on the initial slice and one transverse vector field on the boundary.

Next, in Sec. IV we show that our boundary conditions do, in fact, preserve the constraints in the nonlinear case. This means that solutions of the nonlinear BSSN system satisfying our boundary conditions and the initial constraints satisfy the constraints everywhere on the spacetime domain. We present a brief discussion of a possible numerical implementation in Sec. V and draw conclusions in Sec. VI. Since our methods are based on the theory of FOSH systems with maximal dissipative boundary conditions, we summarize the relevant results of this theory in an appendix.

We finish our introduction by mentioning that there are alternative methods to cope with the problem of representing an infinite domain on a finite numerical grid. Examples are the Cauchy-characteristic matching method jW01 and the hyperboloidal initial value problem where a compactification along hyperboloidal surfaces in a scri-fixing gauge allows to describe the gravitational waveform at null infinity in an unambiguous way, and no outer boundary conditions are needed. We refer the reader to Refs. Zeng08 ; vMoR09 ; oR09 ; lBhPjB09 ; Zeng09 ; aZmT09 for recent developments and the original references on the hyperboloidal initial value problem. While still under development, it constitutes a very promising approach for the computation of gravitational waves emitted by isolated systems.

Ii Boundary conditions for the BSSN system

The evolution equations we are referring to in our work are the BSSN evolution equations with the hyperbolic -driver and Gamma-driver gauge conditions as described in mAetal03 with the exception of the advection terms. Using the notation in hBoS04 this system reads

where we have decomposed the three metric and the extrinsic curvature according to

having unit determinant and being trace-free, and where we have introduced the operator . Here, all quantities with a tilde refer to the conformal three metric , and the latter is used in order to raise and lower their indices. In particular, and refer to the covariant derivative and the Christoffel symbols, respectively, with respect to . The expression denotes the trace-less part (with respect to the metric ) of the expression inside the parentheses, and

The parameter , which was introduced in mAetal00 , controls how the momentum constraint is added to the evolution equations for the variable . Also, is a smooth function of its argument, , and are strictly positive and smooth functions of their arguments, and is a vector-valued function depending smoothly on its arguments. The choice

with a positive constant corresponds to the evolution system used in recent black hole simulations based on slicing and the moving puncture technique (see, for instance, Ref. vMjBmKdC06 ) or the turducken approach dBoSeSmTpDiHdP07 ; dBpDoSeSmT09 . The source terms , and are defined in terms of the four Ricci tensor, , and the constraint variables111Notice that these constraint variables are related to variables , and defined in dBpDoSeSmT09 through , , .

The Einstein field equations are equivalent to the evolution equations (18) setting , , and the constraints , and with Newton’s constant and where , and denote, respectively, the energy density, the momentum density and the stress tensor of the matter fields as measured by Eulerian observers, see Alcubierre-Book for a definition.

Considering those readers who already want to see the end of the story, we directly present our main result, and describe their derivation in detail below. Our nine boundary conditions for the BSSN system with , consistent with the constraint equations are given in Table 1.

Description Boundary Conditions
Gauge condition on the lapse
Gauge condition on the normal component of the shift
Gauge condition on the tangential components of the shift
Constraint preserving condition
specifying condition
Table 1: The nine boundary conditions for the BSSN variables. Here, is the unit outward normal to the boundary which is tangent to the time foliation and normalized such that , where . Further, , , denotes the normal derivative and and

Let us explain first why there should be nine boundary conditions. In hBoS04 the BSSN system was analyzed in terms of the eigenfields, and it was shown that under certain restrictions on and the functions , and the Eqs. (18) yield a strongly hyperbolic system giving rise to a well-posed time evolution. For the restrictions reduce to

The characteristic speeds with respect to the time evolution vector field are then

where refers to the unit outward normal to the boundary tangent to the time foliation. This result is based on a first-order pseudo-differential reduction of the equations KreissOrtiz-2002 ; gNoOoR04 which does not introduce any artificial constraints. Therefore, these speeds are intrinsic to the BSSN formulation. If is tangent to the boundary, which is usually assumed in order to avoid the boundary from moving through the computational domain, the sign of these speeds determines the number of incoming characteristic fields and hence also the number of boundary conditions that must be specified. Namely, the number of boundary conditions is equal to the number of eigenfields with positive speed. Because of the presence of the modes with speed it is the sign of the normal component of the shift which determines the number of incoming fields at the boundary. The simplest way of controlling the number of boundary conditions throughout evolution is to demand that be zero at the boundary at all times. Otherwise, in order to gain control on the in- and out-going eigenfields, a careful study on the behavior of the shift vector would have to be implemented at each time step. Therefore, in our study, we take the simplest approach and set as one of our boundary conditions. The analysis in hBoS04 then reveals that there are precisely nine incoming eigenfields and thus, nine conditions have to be imposed at the boundary. If more conditions are given, the system will be overdetermined and there will not be solutions; if less conditions are given, the solutions will not be unique.

As our analysis in the weak field regime shows, the nine boundary conditions are distributed as follows: there are four conditions that must be imposed for the gauge functions, namely the lapse and shift. One of these conditions sets the normal component of the shift to zero, as explained above. Geometrically, this implies that the boundary surface is orthogonal to the time foliation. Then, there is a Neumann boundary condition for the lapse. The other two gauge boundary conditions are Sommerfeld-like boundary conditions involving the tangential components of the shift and the tangential derivatives of the lapse. These conditions arise from the analysis of the characteristic structure of the gauge sector, and it would have been hard to guess them. As described in the next section, an alternative to these conditions is to directly specify the tangential components of the shift vector at the boundary. Next, there are three boundary conditions coming from the requirement, which is quite natural, of the momentum constraint being satisfied at the boundary. As we show in Sec. IV, these conditions imply constraint preservation without overdetermining the system. This means that the time evolution of initial data satisfying the constraints automatically satisfies the constraints on all time slices, and that small initial violations of the constraints which are usually present in numerical applications yield solutions to the evolution system where the growth of the constraint violations is controlled. In particular, we note that the Hamiltonian constraint must not be imposed additionally at the boundary, otherwise the resulting evolution system is overdetermined when small violations of the constraints are present. Finally, the last two boundary conditions are related to the actual gravitational degrees of freedom in the following sense: we are thinking about a problem which is localized and isolated and where the outer boundary is placed in the weak field and wave zone. In this case, the peeling behavior of the Weyl components rP65 can be considered to be valid, and the complex Weyl scalar can be interpreted as approximately describing the incoming gravitational radiation. Therefore, it is natural to set to zero or to its value computed from the initial data in order to minimize incoming gravitational radiation. While this condition only makes precise sense at null infinity, it has been successfully numerically implemented and tested for truncated domains with artificial boundaries, see for example oRlLmS07 . Estimates on the amount of spurious reflections introduced by this condition have also been derived in lBoS06 ; lBoS07 .

The boundary conditions in Table 1 are extrapolated from the boundary conditions constructed in the next section for the linearized system. Some ideas about their numerical implementations are discussed in Sec. V.

Iii Analysis of the linearized system

For the following, we restrict our analysis to the case since this is the common choice in numerical relativity applications. Furthermore, we consider only small amplitude, high-frequency perturbations of smooth solutions, which intuitively, constitute the relevant limit for analyzing the continuous dependence of the solution on the initial data KL-Book . In this limit only the principal part of the equations matters and the coefficient appearing in front of the derivative operators can be frozen to their value at an arbitrary point . Therefore, the study simplifies to a linear evolution problem with constant coefficients on the half plane . By rescaling and rotating the coordinates if necessary, one can bring the spacetime metric at in the following form (see mRoRoS07 for details),

where represents the normal component of the shift vector at .222A redefinition of is possible that makes this term vanish; however, this transformation does not leave the spacetime domain invariant, but results in a domain with a ”moving boundary”. As mentioned above, we set the normal component of the shift to zero since we are interested in controlling the number of ingoing fields at the boundary. Therefore, we freeze the coefficients in front of the derivative operators in the evolution equations (18) to the values

For the following, we use the standard operators from vector calculus , , defined by

for scalar and vector fields and , respectively. They satisfy the identities

where denotes the standard Laplacian. We consider the following generalization from tensor calculus:

where is a symmetric, traceless tensor field. Notice that by definition, and are symmetric, traceless tensor fields. The following identities generalize the previous ones from vector calculus:

Notice that the identities (20,22) imply that and . With this notation, the evolution equations (18) in the high-frequency limit are

where , and are the values of , and frozen at the point , and where for notational simplicity we omit the tildes over , and in what follows. The constraints in the high-frequency limit are

The goal of this section is to construct boundary conditions at which ensure a well-posed Cauchy evolution for the above system, guaranteeing that the constraints propagate. Our construction is based on similar ideas described in oRoS05 ; gNoS06 and start with analyzing the propagation of the gauge-invariant quantities, namely the curvature variables consisting of the linearized Weyl tensor and the linearized constraint variables , and defined above.

iii.1 Propagation of the gauge-invariant quantities

Here, we focus our attention on the evolution of the gauge-invariant quantities consisting of the constraint variables , and and the linearized Weyl curvature tensor. The latter can be divided in electric and magnetic parts, which in terms of the BSSN variables, read

Using the identities (2023) it is not difficult to see that the evolution equations (25,2831) imply the following FOSH system for these gauge-invariant quantities,

The following observation is important for the argument below: the gauge-invariant quantities , , , and are not independent of each other. Indeed, one has

As an example, we may use either one of the super-constraints or in order to derive the following decoupled system for the constraint variables , and :

Our boundary conditions must ensure that these constraints propagate, that is, initial data satisfying , , must lead to solutions satisfying these constraints everywhere on the spacetime domain. A simple condition which implies this property is the imposition of a homogeneous Dirichlet condition on the momentum constraint variable ,

where here and in the following, the symbol refers to equality at the boundary surface . In the next section, we show that this condition also leads to constraint-propagation for the full nonlinear BSSN equations.

Now we go back to the full propagation system for the gauge-invariant quantities (3741), and try to specify boundary conditions for this system which incorporates the three constraint-preserving boundary conditions (45). In order to determine which boundary conditions may be specified for this system, we analyze the corresponding principal symbol and its characteristics (see the appendix). The non-trivial part of the principal symbol is

where is a one-form and where we use the notation , , . Decomposing

into pieces parallel and orthogonal to , the eigenvalue problem yields the three scalar equations

the three vector equations

and the two tensor equations

From this we obtain the following characteristic fields with zero speeds

and the ones with nonzero speeds,

with corresponding characteristic speeds indicated by the superscripts and . Maximal dissipative boundary conditions have the form of a linear coupling between the in- and outgoing fields corresponding to the outward unit one-form normal to the boundary, i.e. (see the appendix). In our case, this means that we may specify conditions of the following form,

with coupling constants , and and boundary data , and . In order to fix the coupling constants , and we first remark that the fields are related to the linearized Weyl scalars

in the following way: the Newman-Penrose null tetrad is defined by the time-evolution vector field and the normal to the boundary according to

up to a rotation . Then, we have,

Therefore, choosing in Eq. (50) we obtain the boundary condition

which is equivalent to specifying the Weyl scalar at the boundary. In particular, one might choose which freezes to its initial value. This condition has been shown to yield a reflection coefficient that decays as fast as for monochromatic gravitational radiation with wave number and a spherical outer boundary of radius lBoS06 ; lBoS07 . It has also been tested numerically oRlLmS07 for gravitational waves propagating about a Schwarzschild black hole and shown to outperform other currently used boundary conditions.

Next, choosing and in Eq. (50), is equivalent to setting the constraint to zero at the boundary. On the other hand, the form of does not allow one to set the orthogonal component, , of the momentum constraint variable to zero at the boundary.333The boundary condition is equivalent to , and involves a zero speed field. For this reason, we perform a slight modification to the propagation system (3741) by using the super-constraint . Namely, we replace Eq. (40) by

where is the outward unit one-form normal to the boundary.444This modification is partially motivated by the ”boundary adapted system” in Ref. hFgN99 . With this modification, the only change in the eigenvalue problem is the middle vector equation in Eq. (48) which now simplifies to . Therefore, the characteristic fields remain unchanged except for the fields which have to be replaced by

With this modification, it is now possible to impose the momentum constraint at the boundary by choosing and and in Eq. (50). However, it remains to prove that these boundary conditions, together with the condition (51) on the Weyl scalar are maximal dissipative and that the modified evolution system (37,38,39,52, 41) is still symmetric hyperbolic. For this, it is convenient to replace by the new variable defined by

In order to write down the principal symbol of the resulting evolution equations, we choose standard Cartesian coordinates on such that . The principal symbol with respect to an arbitrary one-form then reads

where the indices refer to the coordinates and , and where we have defined and analogous for . It is straightforward to verify that this symbol is symmetric with respect to the symmetrizer defined by

where , that is, for all one-forms . In a coordinate-independent notation, this reads

In particular, we have,

For our choice of boundary conditions, , and we obtain

From this, we see that our boundary conditions are maximal dissipative.

We may summarize the results of this subsection in the following

Lemma 1

The IBVP on the spacetime domain consisting of the evolution equations (


Assembly OKs DeAngelo, Eustace, Mazzeo & Pintor Marin Three-Bill Consumer Protection Package Requiring BPU to Establish Standards for Third-Party Energy Suppliers

A three-bill legislative package sponsored by Assembly Democrats Wayne DeAngelo, Tim Eustace, Vince Mazzeo and Eliana Pintor Marin to require the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to protect consumers by establishing standards and procedures for consumer interaction with third-party electric power and gas companies cleared the Assembly on Thursday.

The legislation is a response to testimony the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee heard from consumer utilities advocates and utilities partners on the need for regulation of third-party providers.

“The deregulated market leveled the playing field for third party competitors and gave consumers the opportunity to shop around for the best rate,” said DeAngelo (D-Mercer/Middlesex), chair of the committee. “However, it has also raised concerns for many regarding regulation. This legislation will begin to strengthen consumer protection for residents who choose to go with a third party electric power or gas service as their energy provider.”

The first measure in the legislative package (A-3849) requires the BPU to provide consumer information on third-party electric power and gas supplier pricing and services. Under the bill, the BPU will provide on its website adequate and accurate price comparison information for electric generation and gas supply services and other information, as determined by the board.

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The final measure in the package (A-3851) directs the BPU to establish contract standards between customers and third-party electric power and gas suppliers. Under the bill, a contract between a customer and the supplier is to use a 12-point font and is to state in a 12-point font whether the contract is for a fixed rate or a variable rate. The measure would also require contracts to include an explanation of the difference between a fixed rate and variable rate that is easily understandable by the general public.

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The three measures passed unanimously in the Assembly.


• Brianna Bowman King

The Perfect Storm

I'm not sure how to characterize The Perfect Storm other than "unsettling". Given my line of work as a fisheries scientist, the realities of working on a commercial fishing vessel or being out at sea generally are closer to home. I have gone through several rounds of Cold-Water Survival training, where we don gumby suits and practice climbing in an out of baskets and life rafts. I have been in some nasty weather, and I have been on boats where a key piece of equipment failed, but thankfully never at the same time, where it would have surely amounted to an emergency. Thankfully, I do not know anyone directly who has died at sea, unlike the vast majority of fishermen that I have met.

It is natural for humans to try and determine a culprit or a cause in a distressing situation, particularly regarding death. Deaths brought about by “natural forces” are distressing, because in these moments we must confront randomness, which sends many into a nihilistic, navel-gazing spiral. Randomness – sheer dumb luck, or lack of luck – plays a part in the story of the Andrea Gail, whereas the movie uses the Storm as a character with intention and malice, a foe against which the crew can fight, albeit resulting in failure.

We can take some steps to understand why these men ended up where they did, which is what Junger’s book does in parts – the pressures of any industry working on a capitalist framework, regulatory changes and pressures, working with a large body of knowledge of the environment but still being powerless to control it. What Junger makes clearer in the novel than in the book is that this was not an exceptional trip. Every fishing trip is its own story, with people and equipment bringing their own histories and issues along with them. Each trip has its own pressures and deadlines. Sometimes people have ‘bad feelings’, and those premonitions prove to be true. Sometimes they don’t. Given people’s propensity towards confirmation bias, there’s a reason that fishermen can be exceptionally superstitious.

The last couple of pages of The Perfect Storm, Junger brings us back to Albert Johnson, who had stepped of the Andrea Gail hours before she was meant to leave, due to a ‘bad feeling’. “I was supposed to have been on that boat. That was supposed to have been me,” he said. He ended up the following year on the Terri Lei, a tuna longliner out of Georgetown, South Carolina. On April 6, 1993, a little over a year after the Andrea Gail went missing, the Terri Lei sunk and no one, including Johnson, survived.

Junger describes the Terri Lei’s sinking as a butterfly effect of the Halloween Gale. These traumatic events do have rippling affects, which is an interesting account to read given the increased focus on climate change and how it will impact coastal communities. Ending on the Randall’s death on the Terri Lei, however, unsettled me in a different way. It is the understanding that you could make all the right choices, following gut feelings and premonitions, and still step on the wrong boat. That perhaps those gut feelings were not based on anything, or as fine-tuned as you once thought. That we are truly flying blind, and that the comfort we find in making safe predictions is a flimsy illusion. Superstitions cannot cut through the universe’s chaos.

In the movie, everything after Linda Greenlaw’s last contact with the vessel is sheer speculation and based on anecdotes from a variety of swordfishing stories. The movie frames the events as a ‘warning’ – that the shark and Murph going overboard and the rogue wave are all meant to warn the crew that they should go home. It is possible that something like this happened, but it’s also more likely that the crew saw this as a typical trip, and the lack of warning is what is truly unsettling. You could be making a series of decisions that take you directly in to the eye of a storm from which you can’t escape. Fishermen, more-so than many professions, are confronted with this reality more bluntly and regularly. Some may see the Halloween Gale in the movie as the dragon that could not be vanquished. What is more terrifying is realizing that the dragon doesn’t exist, but you’ll fail just the same.

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They say a kingfisher Calmed the seas With floating nests Bringing with them A break in the winter storms. In the midst of our stormiest days A kingfisher sat in a treetop down the lane. He waited A s


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Gesture, Figure Drawing & Human Proportions

Learn the Body and Soul of Gesture & Figure drawing.

A Drawing tutorial that covers essential information on how to draw the human figure.

So the human figure, in all its complications one of the hardest things to draw! And it’ll take years to master, but there are ways to make it easier to draw figures with charm and accuracy.

There are techniques we can use to help push our imagination and be more mindful about what we’re drawing, and how to best communicate the message. We can start by understanding some gesture drawing techniques inspired by the Alex Woo Gesture Drawing Class at schoolism.com to get you thinking when drawing figures, and how to improve your imagination.

When drawing figures and poses within a setting or environment, we have to always ask ourselves:

What are we trying to communicate?’ and ‘what’s the best way to communicate it’...

Gesture Drawing Techniques

Gesture drawing focuses mostly on the mood and feeling of a drawing, so you don't need to worry too much about correct anatomy just yet. We want to explore the main ideas behind the pose, to capture the heart and soul!

Below are some key gestural practices to help focus on the emotion and main idea of a drawing.

Line of Action

OK! The first in the gestural figure drawing practices is the line of action. This is basically a solid graphical line that runs through a pose to suggest the energy and flow contained within it.

It sums up the attitude of the form and captures the essence very quickly. From this line we can begin to build up a figure that is full of energy and movement.

The line of action helps us to understand the main idea behind the pose. So to find the line of action in a pose we must first ask ourselves what’s the main idea that we’re trying to express.

By taking existing images of poses and finding the line of action that runs through them, we can learn how to create dynamic lines of action for our own poses.

When finding the line of action, stay loose! The line must be a continuous flow from one point to the next with a fluid motion as you draw. The idea here is simplification and flow of energy. Can you see how much of a different impact the green and blue lines have compared to the red? Clean, simple and efficient lines!

There could be more than 1 line of action, but a good indication is to place it in areas where the most tension is, or where is the most action in general? Where is the energy flowing?

This exercise will help condition you to think about drawing poses packed with energy, by starting out with your own lines of action.

Finding the overall shape of a pose helps to understand the composition of a pose. It works by identifying the main shape that surrounds the pose, through this simplification process; the idea, mood or feeling of the pose should be apparent.

Shape language is a subject in itself which will feature next video. For now you should notice that the shapes of a pose suggest the overall idea of the pose in terms of balance and movement. Is the person resting? Is there fast movement? Is the pose grounded? Is the pose balanced or unbalanced?

To find the shape, don’t focus on details. Look to connect to key points around the figure, and try to capture it with the fewest lines possible. This is a process of simplifying the form.

Obviously, a pose needs context so if we add in the green line we can begin to see the idea more clearly. The red arrow’s help to show the balance and flow of energy based on the more dominant sides of the shape.

So when drawing future poses, consider the base shape of the pose. Does it reflect the overall idea, or feeling that you want to convey? Where is the balance? Where does it feel more weighted?

A silhouette is the pose, outline of a person or thing fully blacked out.

When it comes to design, readability and clarity is everything. An image should instantly communicate the idea behind the subject, like the guys in the image... Mickey mouse, innocent and friendly conveyed with rounded shapes. Batman, with his strong and stable figure contrasted with some pointy shapes. Spider Man with dynamic jumping poses unique to him, and the Hulk, who has a unique set of anatomy.

Silhouette is closely linked to shape language, so you might be able to see why these silhouettes help to fortify their character. Silhouette isn’t just about portraying characters though, it’s about conveying a message clearly.

One good way to practice creating strong silhouettes is to take ordinary images, and try to make them more readable. Focus on the main idea and creating a silhouette that best expresses it.

See the image for example, the 2 ladies sitting having a drink. The main idea for me was the phone and the drinks, so I pushed the silhouettes to make sure they read easily.

In many cases a silhouette can’t communicate because the main elements are hidden within the silhouette itself, so stand alone it can’t be read. Ideally, the main idea of a pose should be read through silhouette alone.

An engaging image usually has a good sense of depth to it, so basically the appearance of lots of space from the foreground all the way through to the background.

Creating figure with a sense of space is one of the ways to achieve this depth! A good way to practice is to take existing poses that appear quite flat, or don’t have much space in between the limbs and push or pull them forwards or backwards.

Understanding perspective is important when adding space. An object appears largest the closer is to the foreground, and gets smaller as it recedes into the background!

Adding depth and space to an image will stop it looking flat, and so, when we add depth and space to our figures they become more engaging. It will pull your viewer in!

We can put some additional elements into our figure drawings to really push the depth effect.

The image example at the top is a very basic example, but highlights how you can push and pull the body to create depth.

An exaggerated pose can be highly engaging, it really helps to push forward the idea you want to communicate. Like an actor in a theatre show, they need to be dramatic, their actions need to be visible to everyone in the audience. They do this by making it obvious what they’re feeling, thinking or doing.

I have circled the main idea in the examples to show the idea I wanted to push and exaggerate.

So we need to bring drama to our drawings if we want to engage. A good way to practice dramatic poses, is by taking quite normal images of people and exaggerating them.

This encourages us to always be aware of how we’re posing our characters, and be mindful of how much we’re communicating the main idea to the audience.

This brings us to Story! It’s the most important of all of of these gestural drawing practices, as it pretty much encompasses them all, and more.

It’s the end result of what you want to communicate and get across to your audience. The story idea should be the driving force of the drawing, we can use a combination of the previous techniques to help us get there, but we always need to be asking ourselves who, what, where and why.

We can improve our imaginations and practice being creative storytellers by taking existing images, or poses and use our imagination to position them outside of their original context. The image shows some brief examples of this.

Limit yourself with Time

It's also a good practice to limit the time spent on gestural drawing, try doing 30 second poses! Even if you're drawing from reference, limit yourself with time because this forces you to go off the initial feeling of a pose! You're forced to capture the initial read of a drawing without putting too much though into it.

Human Anatomy Breakdown

The human anatomy is super tough to draw, and you won't memorise it overnight. It'll take many years, but don't worry... there's some fast track ways to learning!

Let's start out with the ideal male, he is 8 heads tall and 2 and ¾ heads wide.

We break it down by dividing the whole body into 8 heads, and then we can understand the relationships between different parts of the body based on ratio. This information will help to ensure the proportions are accurate and well placed when drawing the human figure.

You can see on the grid that from the top of the head we can work our way down and expect certain parts of the body to always be there. For example, the nipples are 2 heads down from the top of the head, the elbows always start 3 heads down and are usually in line with the navel, the crotch always sits at the centre of the figure and so on. You should pause this frame and study it for future reference.

A more heroic body type would be set at 9 heads.

As you can see in the image, this would be the figure of a man that you wouldn’t want to cross! He seems very powerful.

Bare in mind, the relationships change slightly which can be seen on the grid.

At 7 ½ heads we have the average male.

This figure looks very too normal and lackluster. For art and design we like to glorify the figure more.

8 heads is more ideal because the figure becomes more attractive and engaging. Also the body parts appear to be more in sync with the ratio grid which makes it easier to learn. So by learning these relationships we’ll be able to more easily draw the general proportions of a figure, but what about the details and bits in between?

We need to be aware of the underlying structure which is comprised of skeleton and muscle.

Bones, Muscles & Landmarks

The bones and muscles are responsible for the form changes on the surface of the body. As soon as we’ve learned these, we can begin to draw our landmarks correctly which basically suggest parts of the anatomy.

Here you can see how the black landmark lines are established by knowing where the key muscle groups and bones protrude through the surface of the skin. The more prominent features tend to require marks to be made.

Let’s look at the neck area, these lines suggest the hollow and raised areas caused by neck muscles and collar bones. The rib cage and muscles work together to create this scale effect on the chest, and we can also draw lines near where the arm folds just underneath the biceps, lines around the triceps, back muscles and so on.

The landmarks of the body ultimately change based on the angle and motion of the body.

Last week's episode spoke of how the muscles in the skin contract and expand to create lines in the face, and so this principle follows through to the figure. Wherever muscles and bones contract, or expand they usually creates the right conditions for shadows and highlights to appear. Lines are drawn to suggest key areas of shadow and form, which are ultimately determined by the most prominent form changes.

Female are very similar to males with a few key differences. Their shoulders are more narrow with wider hips. And because they’re not so muscular, with less prominent bones, there are generally less landmarks to be drawn in.

Block Figure Drawing & Comic Pose Practice

Superhero poses are a great base to study figure drawing from because they’re already drawn with a lot of the gestural practices in mind. So it’s good practice to reverse engineer them!

The gesture drawing generator prompts a range of tasks, in the example above I’ve focused on the Block Shapes task.

Comic artists typically draw with stick figures first, and then build around them with geometric shapes to get the overall volume. By drawing over the images, we can see the placement of the base structure and begin to a build visual library in our minds.

The green lines are essentially the bones, the circles are the joints, and the cylindrical blue shapes suggest the are the overall volume for the body parts.

When conducting this exercise, consider the lengths of the lines and shapes, the distances between them, how they’re foreshorten and so on.

Remember to stay conscious when learning! Don’t just mindlessly copy.

Another thing to note is balance! A balanced figure always has a centre of mass down the middle of it like these guys. They look very grounded. If your drawings often look wrong, or like they’re floating and you don’t know why... It could be because the figure isn’t balanced properly.

Drawing Figure Poses in perspective

One of the last things to consider when drawing figures is that a figure should always appear to have some form of perspective.

It should always appear to be grounded in a 3D space. One approach to help you do this is to start with a basic shape with 2 point perspective, and try to fit the figure within it!

The Life Pose generator will not only prompt you with a variety of poses to draw, but it’ll suggest coordinates and placement of your figure within a 2 point perspective setup. Expect to practice a large variety of poses from lots of different angles.

When using this approach for your figure drawings, it really helps to draw a vertical red line in centre of your base shape, this is like a compass point. To find this line, simply draw diagonals from each corner of the top and bottom plane, where they cross is where the end points for your red line goes. Simply connect the points.

This is a great way to practice drawing you figures, as it conditions you to always think of the pose in perspective, which will give you some depth by default!

What’s demonstrated here is basically the Soul and Body of what it is to draw figures.

There’s the emotional state contained within the drawing, you don’t have to be a masterful drawer to create a good drawings. If you can convey a strong sense of emotion and story then people will relate to it. The soul of a drawing is above all the most important.

And then there’s the technical side to a drawing, which is forever a work in practice and will take a lifetime to master. Correct anatomy, proportions and lighting, the technical stuff will also engage through the artistry alone.

The ultimate goal is to combine combine the soul (emotion) with the body (technical ability), at which point you'll be able to create some highly engaging and compelling figure drawings.

Next Steps to Improvement...

Practice Drawing the Human Figure from various angles!

There's a lot to consider when drawing the human figure, but ultimately we should be focusing on the emotional connections and techical ability.

You should practice all of the gestural tecniques outlined in this drawing tutorial, and begin to understand the underlying structure of human anatomy, from bone structure to muscles which will you help you to determine where to draw the correct lines and specific marks that suggest the volumes, body parts and so on. Keep drawing drawing drawing!

Be sure to take advantage of the Gesture and Figure Drawing Task Generator which is free to all during spring and summer!

It essentially prompts you with art based learning tasks, all of which revolved around the key principles outlined in the video included with this Membership. It’ll suggest type of poses, body types and the main task to explore.

There’s also a .PSD file that comes with the generator, so you can basically plot the positions suggested by the generator to help you practice drawing a variety of poses from any angle.

When approaching drawing figures, you should be mindful of:

  • The main idea of what you're trying to communicate
  • Think to yourself, what's the best way to communicate it
  • A full understanding of the bone structure
  • A full understanding of muscle groups
  • A full understanding of key landmarks for the body

 Video Tutorials  Task Generators

Unlock your Artistic Potential

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Benefits Analyst, Marketing & Communications

Job Summary:

Create and manage short and long-term marketing and communication plans. Develop a strategy that is educational, activates member participation and influences behavior to achieve program goals.

Create and edit content that is visually appealing in various media forms, including but not limited to newsletters, booklets, form letters, websites, recorded webinars and video. Clearly articulate member and program requirements.

Manage workflow to operationalize communications strategy. Obtain needed approvals. Working with internal and external partners, oversee production and dissemination.

Lead assigned projects. Collaborate with vendors and project teams to identify, document, review, communicate and implement relevant business projects. Identify and drive cross promotional/integration opportunities to advance activations and efficiencies.

Work with partners to resolve conflicting feedback and escalated program issues. Advise and consult with agency director and staff regarding public relation aspects. Collect and provide data to staff on member behavior and trends. Prepare and distribute statistical analysis to support strategy execution and success. Facilitate various meetings. Maintain regular and predictable attendance.

These duties are illustrative only and you may perform some or all of these duties or other job-related duties as assigned.

This office observes COVID-19 protocols. All employees are required to be either vaccinated or test frequently.

Education and Experience Required:

Bachelor’s degree in journalism, public relations, communications, or related field with three (3) years of journalism, public relations, communications, or related experience; or any equivalent combination of training and experience.

No special license or certification is required.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

None required.

Application Instructions:

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The problem
Disasters caused an estimated $3 trillion in economic losses from 1998 to 2017, and climate-related and geophysical disasters claimed an estimated 1.3 million lives (more than 90% in low- and middle-income countries). Long after the initial event, disasters often lead to a downturn in the trajectory of socioeconomic development and exacerbate poverty. Greater efforts are needed to prepare for the impact of disasters and to effectively respond when they happen. Corporations can contribute to these efforts in many ways, including through their overall impact on climate change (which affects the frequency and severity of disasters), how they construct buildings and contribute to infrastructure preparedness for disasters, and their charitable giving and volunteerism after disasters
What this cause is about
disaster preparedness
disaster aid
UN Sustainable Development Goal 11
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Vanliga frågor - Intro

Frequently Asked Questions

Vanliga frågor - FAQ

What is Gothia Forum?

Gothia Forum is a research collaboration which is meant to:

  • give the patients a better healthcare
  • contribute towards regional development

We do this by:

  • making the Västra Götaland region more attractive for clinical research
  • generating income and financiers for clinical research
Why has Gothia Forum been formed?

Gothia Forum has been formed to simplify and improve the existing collaboration in clinical research between the Västra Götaland region's healthcare, academia and industry. It should be easy to start a clinical research collaboration in Västra Götaland.

What is clinical research?

It is research that needs the healthcare system's resources, and that leads to healthcare development.

How is Västra Götaland currently faring in comparison to Europe, in terms of clinical research?

The Västra Götaland region is the region/county council with the highest number of clinical studies in Sweden.

Do researchers have to contact Gothia Forum if they are to carry out a clinical study?

No, Gothia Forum is a voluntary resource. Those that already have a working collaboration or a way in can use that, but using Gothia Forum will be advantageous. It should be easy, and give an overview. (Helicopter perspective.)

Does industry have to go via Gothia Forum to be allowed to carry out a clinical study at a hospital in VGR?

No, Gothia Forum is a voluntary resource. But it will be easier to go via Gothia Forum for researchers from the industry who don't have a working contact.

What are the advantages for industry of going via Gothia Forum?

Gothia Forum knows what research is going on, and can inform on whether or not the study or similar that the industry wants to do can be carried out; if there is sufficient patient data, etc.

Is there a cost for using Gothia Forum's services

Contacts, information and advice is free. Should you want help with carrying out a study, using databases or CTC's (Clinical Trial Centre) resources, you'd have to pay.


JOIN US for a CALLING EVENT on Sunday 13th September starting at 1.30pm

Meet at Chris Perley’s place, 900 Dufferin St, Akina, Hastings.

This event was planned for door knocking but we can’t do that under Covid level 2.


Limit – a point beyond which your mind or body say’s it is not possible to go

Throughout our life we have always learned to set a goal. This could be a goal in sports, it could be to pass a test, it could be to reach a business sale by the end of the month, or it could be to be a better person. There are millions of goals floating out there and I believe that setting a goal is step one Untitledto success in your life. I am not afraid to say what my goals are, for example…..here are mine…..to run a 2:25:00 marathon, to grow Without Limits as a brand so it reaches people and helps change their life for the better, to keep a great relationship with my family and friends, to keep my heart healthy since my family has heart disease in its history, and to end each day with something positive before I go to bed. Those are some of my goals that I think are attainable each day and in the future.
Goals are hard to keep. Have you ever seen statistics of people who do new years resolutions? Most people do them for 2 weeks then quit. I think people forget that goals are tough, we run into obstacles ALL THE TIME. I read Dr. Alan Goldberg’s sports psychology post and it said that the process of reaching a goal is like making a sandwich. You have the bread, meat, toppings and dressing. It all makes a sandwich one. Just like on your way to a goal, you have the awesome days, the right connections, the best workouts, but you also have the struggles, the setbacks, the tough days and that is what makes reaching a goal so fun and dynamic….it pushes you as a person to go through all the stages (the full sandwich) and when you reach that goal…the glory is above and beyond what you ever imagined.
I think one thing we struggle with is limiting our goals, staying in our comfort zone or not thinking we can attain something because we are not talented enough, or have the right connections, or a million other excuses people tell themselves of why they will never get to the next level. You may ask….well when does it end? When are we done setting goals? There has to be an end right? Well that is a question you need to ask yourself. Do you want to have limiting beliefs about what you can do with your life? When you think that you are limited, you will BE limited and that is a fact. When you surround yourself with people who are talented in their own field, when you build relationships and focus on helping others and being happy for others, you encourage synergy and positive opportunities. EVERYONE in this world has God given abilities. Nobody is perfect at everything, and nobody will do things the same exact way. So combining efforts, whether it be training, or business, or community organizations or events, or goal oriented projects, as you get better and continue to set goals and not limits, you need to seek out how to build toward the next goal and then the next goal…..as you begin to accomplish more as an individual, you will look back and realize where your success and attained goals came from. Setting Goals, staying focused on achieving them through hard work and truly embracing those around you will bring results, and along the way allow you to enjoy the toppings on your sandwich.579896_352536111517913_1078292971_n

 “SET GOALS, NOT LIMITS” “If you live Without Limits, anything is possible…all it takes is the desire to want to accomplish something, the will and guts to make the commitment to do it, the dedication to earn the right to do it and the acceptance of the sacrifices involved to succeed at it.”

Keep dreaming, keep that unlimited mindset.  Life will always give back.

Tom Clifford


Betterhelp Vs Traditional Therapy – Lets talk together

for more information about how it impacts different individuals understanding why an individual experiences paranoia …Betterhelp Vs Traditional Therapy…might depend on danger aspects and personal experiences that have created uncomfortable feelings fear might impact how one feels and believes about an experience or a situation some forms of fear may originate from a distressing experience however others may not know the cause understanding how to stop paranoia depends upon how it impacts your life some types of paranoia need medical attention such as dealing with a therapist or therapist other types can be handled through self-help methods although some use a combination of methods to enhance their results there are lots of alternatives to help deal with paranoia and here are 4 ways to assist get you started one discover what triggers ideas behind your paranoia and challenge them ask yourself concerns when you feel suspicious about

a possible trigger look for evidence to justify your paranoid thoughts two practice meditation and mindfulness strategies this can help you discover how to mentally and physically calm yourself you can likewise practice visualization by utilizing your creativity to produce positive images in your mind three speak about your thoughts with a mental health therapist or therapist a type of therapy such as cognitive behavior modification or cbt has actually assisted individuals understand thought patterns connected with paranoia four establish a support group talk to people you trust about your feelings keep relationships with people you care about try a peer support group to get in touch with others dealing with fear dealing with a licensed online counselor such as those at betterhelp not just supplies professional assistance however you’ll also have support from someone that understands how hard it can be to manage these feelings helping yourself handle pa

Defining Postpartum Depression Betterhelp Vs Traditional Therapy

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a severe, intense, and lasting kind of “baby blues” that develops after the birth of a kid. It is a typical medical condition experienced in the postpartum period, with 1 in 8 females experiencing depression within the very first six months after delivery.

Individuals with postpartum depression normally present with intense stress and anxiety, unhappiness, or anguish that makes them have problem functioning typically. These sensations normally last longer than baby blues, which tend to deal with within two weeks after delivery. Postpartum anxiety may take various kinds, and it could be missed on medical diagnosis for a long time.

Postpartum depression is an intricate mix of psychological, physical, and behavioral changes experienced by some ladies soon after shipment. These experiences have been credited to the chemical, social and psychological changes that surround childbirth.

It is important to keep in mind that partners and fathers might experience anxiety quickly after welcoming their new infants. It’s not only minimal to women who go through childbirth. PPD doesn’t spare any race, culture, or class; anyone who welcomes a kid into their life may experience these distressing state of mind disruptions.

Factors That Predispose to Postpartum Depression

There is no known single cause of postpartum anxiety. Nevertheless, there are psychological and physical aspects that might incline one to experience depression after inviting a kid. It is believed to be largely triggered by the interaction in between environmental and hereditary conditions. The threat factors for postpartum depression are the age of the mother at the time of pregnancy, history of anxiety or bipolar affective disorder prior or during pregnancy, birth problems from a previous pregnancy, the number of kids before the index pregnancy, hormonal changes due to pregnancy, history of Premenstrual Dysphoric Condition (PMDD), loneliness, absence of social support, and marital conflict. Also, individuals with infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or those treated for infertility, or who have conditions such as thyroid disorders or type I or II Diabetes. Betterhelp Vs Traditional Therapy

Find Betterhelp Vs Traditional Therapy Now

Yes so we will be discussing Betterhelp Vs Traditional Therapy…When a costly in-office session with a therapist was the only method to get assistance, gone are the days. Online therapy is now one of the top ways individuals receive private, couples, and group counseling. Not just is it frequently easier, however it’s also a more comfortable setting for numerous patients.

Just how much does BetterHelp cost monthly?

Consumer care and personal privacy

Grade: 9

How does BetterHelp stack up? What steps does BetterHelp take to secure your sensitive info?

What is the BetterHelp debate? Betterhelp Vs Traditional Therapy

Stress and anxiety
Life changes
Family conflict

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Is BetterHelp legit?

A safe and protected platform
Complete compliance with HIPAA law
Greater cost for some people, compared to in-person treatment
The alternative of anonymity
High requirements for its therapists
A straightforward experience whether you utilize the app or the site
Who are the therapists?

The therapist application procedure makes up:

A review of each therapist’s background, experience, and references
Verification of qualifications
A platform skills test
Therapists are likewise subject to ongoing quality client, tracking, and improvement feedback throughout their period at BetterHelp.


Ten tips for boosting mental wellbeing

When we think about improving health, it’s often the physical that springs to mind, but mental wellbeing is just as important. Luckily, it’s rising up the list of priorities for many people. Whether you’re feeling stressed about a certain area of your life or you want to be able to relax more, these tips can help boost your mental health and cultivate a positive mindset.

1. Make time for the things you enjoy: When you’re stressed, it’s easy to focus on what’s causing you concern and skipping the things you’d normally do. But having a break and some time to think about other things can be exactly what you need. Doing the things you enjoy can remind you of the things you should be grateful for and deliver a positive boost to your mental health.

2. Be sociable: When we’re worried some people have a tendency to shut themselves off from loved ones and avoid social situations. However, connecting with others has plenty of benefits, from improving your self-esteem to offering a support network if you need it. Making plans with family and friends gives you something to look forward to as well.

3. Exercise: Exercising might be the last thing on your mind when you have concerns. Whilst it’s associated with physical health, exercise is just as good for mental wellbeing too. Getting your blood pumping releases feel-good hormones that can improve your mood and focus. It doesn’t have to be a lengthy gym session, a brisk walk can be just as beneficial.

4. Get outdoors: With the British weather, getting outdoors isn’t always attractive. But it’s been linked to improving mental wellbeing. An activity outdoors can help alleviate some of the stress that you may be feeling. Where possible, try heading to a park or calm area to help you get away from it all.

5. Practice mindfulness: Modern life often means our thoughts are distracted and we fail to focus on the present. This is where mindfulness can help. Focussing on what you’re doing now, rather than concerns about something that has happened or may occur, can lead to a better state of mental wellbeing and help you appreciate life more.

6. Understand your triggers: Do you know what leads to you feeling stressed? Understanding what triggers poor mental wellbeing can help you better manage low points. It’s an area that’s personal, keeping a written note of what’s causing you to lose positivity, worry or just generally feel low can help you put together a plan to tackle it.

7. Eat well: Everyone knows food is important for physical health, but ensuring you get a balanced diet is crucial for mental wellbeing. Foods that are packed with vitamins and minerals can help your body run at its best, giving you more energy, improving concentration, and leading to a better mood or outlook overall.

8. Get plenty of sleep: Sleep is really important for mental wellbeing. However, if you’re feeling stressed, it can make drifting off far more difficult, creating a vicious circle. If it’s an issue, giving yourself plenty of time to unwind beforehand can help, others find that exercising in the evening can help them drift off too.

9. Set goals: If you’re stressed about something, in particular, it’s often due to the scale of it. Perhaps a challenge seems too big to overcome or a solution feels impossible. Breaking down the steps you need to tick off into manageable chunks can make you feel far more positive. Being able to track your progress as you work towards a bigger goal can ease worries too.

10. Don’t be afraid to ask for help: We all need a helping hand sometimes, but asking for help when you’re stressed can still be a difficult thing to do. Whether you simply turn to family and friends or seek professional help, it can greatly improve your mental wellbeing. As the saying goes: a problem shared is a problem halved.

Stress and your finances

There are many areas of life that can cause stress, but one of the most common is money. If you have concerns about your finances, you’re not alone. In fact, according to research from Ceridian 42% of UK employees would describe themselves as feeling stressed about money issues on a regular basis.

Financial worry can occur no matter your wealth. Whilst you might be earning a comfortable income, concerns about what would happen if it stopped, whether you’re saving enough for retirement, or how investments will perform are typical. Taking control of your money and building a financial plan that reflects your goals can improve overall wellbeing. If this is an area you’d like support in, please contact us.

What influences your risk profile?

Risk profile is something we mention a lot when looking at investments and other key financial decisions. But what has an impact on your risk profile?

Investing naturally comes with some level of risk and values will rise and fall over time. However, the amount of volatility experienced varies hugely. Typically, the greater the level of risk and volatility you take on, the higher the potential returns, but there is a greater chance that values will fall. For some, the potential returns of a higher risk profile will outweigh the drawbacks, whilst others will prefer the relative stability of lower risk investments, even if potential returns are reduced.

It’s important to keep in mind that all investments involve some risk. But you also need to look at the long-term picture where volatility is considered. Over the years, stock markets have experienced significant dips, which can be a cause for concern for investors. However, historically, markets have recovered to deliver returns over the long term.

There are five key factors to consider when weighing up your risk profile:

1. Your goals

The first area to think about is what you’re investing for. Having a clear goal in mind, allows you to build an investment portfolio that suits you.

What you’re investing for is likely to have a significant impact on how you feel about risk. Let’s say you’re investing to pay for a child’s education, security may be a priority for you and investments with a relatively low risk may be more attractive because of this. In contrast, if you’re investing to enhance your lifestyle in retirement, but you know you already have the assets to be comfortable, you may decide to increase exposure to volatility.

2. Investment time frame

This one links directly to what your goals are; when do you plan to access your initial investment and the returns it’s hopefully generated?

As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn’t invest if your time frame is less than five years. This gives you an opportunity to ride out dips in the market and recover from potential downturns. In turn, if your time frame is longer, you’re in a better position to take on more risk when you take a long-term view. Investing for retirement is a good example of when a long time frame may mean a higher risk profile is appropriate. When you first start saving for retirement, it’s likely to be a milestone that’s decades away. As a result, short-term volatility should have little impact when you focus on the end goal.

3. Other assets

Financial decisions shouldn’t be made in isolation. They should look at your overall financial plan and the other assets you have. This will influence your risk profile too.

For example, if you hold a significant amount in cash and other low-risk assets, you may decide to take a higher risk with new investments. It’s important to keep in mind here that not all your investments should be the same in terms of risk. Diversifying and holding a range of investment assets, with various risk profiles, can help smooth out market volatility and limit potential losses.

4. Capacity for loss

No one wants to think about losing money when they invest. However, it’s an important consideration to make. If your investments were to perform poorly and decrease in value, how would this impact your lifestyle?

You shouldn’t invest capital that you can’t afford to lose. However, there’s more to it than that. If your investments were to fall, would it devastate your future plans? Or would it simply mean that some small adjustments would need to be made to ensure your lifestyle was sustainable over the long term?

5. Overall attitude to risk

Whilst the above four factors are influential, your overall feelings about risk are too. You should feel comfortable with all the financial decisions you make, including the level of risk taken when investing.

It’s natural to worry about potential losses when investing and if you think you’re being too conservative, taking some time to understand how investment markets operate over the long term can help. On the flip side, an aggressive approach to investing isn’t always appropriate even if you’re comfortable with it. Working with a financial adviser can help you reconcile your feelings on investment risk with your financial position.

Regularly reviewing your risk profile

Remember, your risk profile can change. The level of risk you were willing to take in your early 20s when you likely had fewer responsibilities, is probably very different to the risk profile you had after you were paying a mortgage or had a family. As financial security improves or you approach retirement, the level of risk you’re willing and able to take will change again.

As part of your annual financial review, risk profile should be one of the key considerations that’s discussed. It’s also an area to review following big life events, such as marriage, divorce or starting a family, and when your financial position changes significantly.

If you’d like to discuss your risk profile and how this should be reflected in financial decisions, please get in touch.

Getting to grips with Power of Attorney

Naming a Power of Attorney is often one of those tasks we know we should get around to but inevitably put off. The number of people registering a Power of Attorney has been rising, yet figures suggest millions could still be left in a vulnerable position should something happen to them.

If you’ve yet to name a Power of Attorney, we take a look at the reasons to consider doing so and how to go about it.

Let’s start with the basics: What is a Power of Attorney?

A Power of Attorney is a legal document that names an individual or group of people giving them the power to act on your behalf should you no longer be able to do so, for example, due to illness or injury. They can be used for both short and long-term situations.

  • If you’re injured in an accident, for instance, a Power of Attorney may be able to make decisions on your behalf on a temporary basis. This may cover day-to-day tasks, such as ensuring bills are paid on time.
  • There may be cases where a Power of Attorney makes long-term plans on your behalf. In the case of a dementia sufferer, for example, decisions relating to their living situation may be made.

No one wants to think about becoming incapacitated and being unable to make their own decisions, but it does happen. Taking steps to prepare for such an eventuality just in case can place you in a better position should the unexpected occur.

In October 2007, Lasting Power of Attorney was introduced under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. There are two different types, ideally, you should have both. It’s up to you whether you choose the same or different people for each type.

  • Health and Welfare Power of Attorney: This type will give someone the power to make decisions relating to your welfare, including daily routine, medical care, life-sustaining treatments and moving into a care home.
  • Property and Financial Affairs Power of Attorney: Someone named on this type of Power of Attorney will be able to make decisions such as managing bank accounts, paying bills, collecting your pension or selling property.

If you named a Power of Attorney before 1st October 2007, this will be known as an Enduring Power of Attorney. So long as it was signed before this date it is still valid. It covers decisions relating to property and financial affairs only.

Eight in ten don’t have a Power of Attorney

Research found that across all age groups more than 80% of people had no Power of Attorney in place at all. Worryingly, three quarters don’t see any need for one, suggesting an ‘it won’t happen to me’ mindset is preventing some from taking the important step. Unsurprisingly, there was even less take-up among younger generations. Fewer than 6% of adults under 55 said they’d named a Power of Attorney. Yet, accidents and illness can occur at any age.

Whilst it’s not surprising that Powers of Attorney are used less frequently among those under 55, it’s a mistake that could have serious consequences. Younger generations are far more likely to have additional responsibilities, such as paying a mortgage or raising a family, which could be seriously affected if someone wasn’t able to make decisions on their behalf.

Even if you’re married or in a civil partnership, naming a Power of Attorney is wise. Your partner doesn’t have the automatic right to deal with your bank account, for example, and may even find joint accounts are frozen if you’re unable to make decisions.

How to name a Power of Attorney

Naming a Power of Attorney is relatively simple:

  1. You can access the forms required to name a Power of Attorney by contacting the Office of Public Guardian. You can either print out the necessary documents or fill them out online.
  2. You have two options when filling out the forms; DIY or work with a solicitor. A solicitor will cost money but can help ensure mistakes aren’t made and streamline the process. Which one is best for you will depend on how confident you are about the process and the complexity of your estate.
  3. The forms are then signed by a certificate provider, stating you have the mental capacity to make the decision and haven’t been placed under pressure to do so. A certificate provider can either be someone you know well and for at least two years or a professional such as a doctor, social worker or solicitor.
  4. The completed forms must be registered with the Office of Public Guardian to be valid. It should be registered whilst you still have the mental capacity to do so and the process takes around nine weeks. There is a fee of £82 to register each type of Power of Attorney.

In general, you can’t make changes to a Power of Attorney after it’s been registered, so think carefully about who you name before proceeding. If changes are required, you should contact the Office of Public Guardian for advice.

What happens without a Power of Attorney?

Without a Power of Attorney in place, an individual can still apply to make decisions on your behalf. However, this can be a lengthy and time-consuming process. In addition, it may not be the person you’d prefer. It can make an already difficult time incredibly challenging and potentially leave you in a vulnerable position whilst the process is ongoing.

If someone becomes mentally incapable, but doesn’t have a Power of Attorney, a legal representative, relative or a friend can ask the Court of Protection to make an order appointing them as a deputy. This would essentially give them the same powers as a Power of Attorney, potentially covering both financial and welfare issues.

A Power of Attorney should form part of your wider estate plan that aims to provide you with security and peace of mind about the future. To discuss how it fits with your other decisions, please contact us.

Please note: The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate estate planning.

What can you do to minimise objections to your will?

When you write a will, you expect your wishes to be upheld, but that’s not always the case. It is possible for those left behind to contest a will if they believe it is invalid or doesn’t make reasonable financial provisions for certain relatives or dependents. As the number of contested wills increases, it’s important to understand why this is and what can be done to minimise the risk of it happening.

In simple terms, a will contest is a formal objection raised against a will. There are several reasons why someone may choose to contest a will, which can broadly be broken down into two categories:

  • The validity of the will: Most will contests focus on the validity of the will and there are reasons why this may be called into question. Among the arguments of contesting a will are lack of valid execution, undue influence, lack of knowledge and approval, and testamentary capacity.
  • Reasonable financial provisions: Certain people can also make a challenge to your will by claiming that it doesn’t make reasonable financial provisions for them. Among the people that can do so are a spouse or civil partner, a child, a former spouse or civil partner, or a person that was maintained by you immediately prior to death. Many factors will be taken into consideration when assessing reasonable financial provisions, including the financial needs of the applicant and the size of your estate.

Figures from HM Courts and Tribunals show that the number of disputes of wills has increased. Analysis conducted by Direct Line indicates that disputes regarding application for probate increased by 6% in 2018. It’s a trend that looks set to continue too. A quarter of Brits, the equivalent of 12 million people, would be prepared to contest a loved one’s will if they were unhappy with it.

Why is the number of will contests rising?

There are many reasons why someone may choose to contest a will. However, the overall trend has been linked to two key factors.

First, property prices have risen enormously over the last couple of decades. As property is often one of the largest assets a person owns, this has led to the value of estates rising significantly. As a result, there’s a greater reason for those left behind to dispute a will they don’t agree with and pay the associated legal fees.

Secondly, a complex family situation can make splitting up an estate far more challenging. Marrying more than once, having children from different relationships and other influences can have an impact on disputes.

Minimising the chances of your will being disputed

With disputes against wills rising, it may be wise to take action to minimise the chances of a dispute occurring in the first place and reduce the likelihood that a dispute would be upheld. Among the steps to consider taking are:

1. Speak to loved ones: Whilst you may not want to discuss the details of your will, it can prevent loved ones from being shocked by your decision. If you think they will be surprised by how your estate is set to be distributed, explaining your decision and reasons behind it can help ensure you’re all on the same page.

2. Make sure your will is properly executed: You have two options when writing a will: DIY or use the services of a solicitor. A solicitor will cost you, but they can offer guidance on ensuring your will is executed properly and reduce the chances of questions around the validity of it being raised. If you choose to go down the DIY route, make sure you fully understand the process and the boxes that need to be ticked.

3. Prove medical competency: A common reason for disputing a will is that the person making it didn’t have the mental capacity to fully understand what they were doing. For instance, if they had been diagnosed with dementia. This can be countered by speaking with your solicitor or doctor about your ability to make decisions and having this in writing.

4. Be aware of undue influence: Another common ground for dispute is that the person faced undue influence when writing the will. This would have to be proved by someone making an application against your will. However, ensuring the solicitor’s notes state you fully understand the decisions you were making and had reasons for doing so can help.

5. Be as precise as possible with the wording: Ensure your will is written as clearly as possible. Ambiguous wording can make it easier for those that want to dispute your will to do so. Have a clear plan in mind about who you want to benefit from your estate and how before proceeding to help with the process.

6. Provide details of exclusions: If you plan to specifically exclude someone from your will who would normally inherit, such as a spouse, civil partner or child, you can provide details as to why. Should they then make a claim against your will, this can give a clearer picture of your decision and why it’s one you reached.

7. Add a letter of wishes: A letter of wishes isn’t legally binding. However, it can be used to state in your own words who you want to benefit from your estate and why. Should a dispute be raised, this can then be used against it. Whilst it may be tempting to write an emotional letter of wishes, it’s best to stick to the facts.

8. Regularly review your will: Over time, your wishes are likely to change as your circumstances do. As a result, so should your will. It’s advisable that you review your will every five years and following big life events, such as getting married, divorce, or as your family grows to ensure it reflects your current situation.

Please note: Estate planning is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Divorce and pensions

Establishing how much a pension is worth

1. Pension sharing

2. Pension attachment

3. Pension offsetting

Planning for the future


For Tinnitus Week 2022, we explore your moving tinnitus stories.

Your stories demonstrate the importance of a Tinnitus Biobank to help develop a pathway to finding a cure for tinnitus.

Man indoors facing camera

I was an avid headphone user, never used them at max volume but used them for hours a day, every day for years. This may have been the cause of my tinnitus, but I will never truly know.

The BTA has been excellent in providing advice on how to deal with this condition and on the multiple times I’ve spoken to them when I’ve been struggling, they have been extremely supportive.

Woman facing camera

My tinnitus started in my thirties when I worked as a presenter on local TV and had to wear an earpiece in my right ear to hear directions from the gallery for the programme. It could be quite intense, and I lived on adrenaline. I stopped doing TV in my early 40s, but the tinnitus didn’t stop.

Man wearing sunglasses, outdoors giving a thumbs up to the camera

I struggled for about a year until I rediscovered the BTA (British Tinnitus Association), although Covid-19 lockdown brought many negative aspects to our lives, one positive was the introduction of the BTA’s virtual support groups. Attending my first BTA virtual support group was my first real step in moving forward on my tinnitus journey.

Woman indoors facing camera

I’ve had tinnitus for 10 years, it started when I was pregnant with my second child. It was awful, and very irritating. It’s had a massive impact on my mental health and caused periods of very low mood. I think anyone who hasn’t experienced tinnitus needs to know how severe it can be and how it can impact someone's mental and physical health. If it gets out of hand it can be really difficult to get back to normal.

Man indoors facing camera

Tinnitus robs me of silence, and as someone who is autistic as well as Deaf, it can be incredibly disorientating, frustrating, and distracting when it disrupts my workflow and/or routine.

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235 National Financial Literacy Month - Day 28 - How To Become Financially Independent

As we all continue recovering from the pandemic, we find ourselves in a space that truly calls upon us all to work smarter to become financially independent. Why?

With the cost-of-living crisis in our midst, we must all pull our finances to the level to match the inflation rate. We all knew coming out of the pandemic that the economy would be adjusting and it is.

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.25% in March and we know there will be six additional increases throughout 2022. Kitchen table issues take into account the increase in food prices, gas, and goods. Investing in stocks, bonds, and other commodities will yield dividends that will likely outpace the inflation rate.

How to become financially independent:

  1. Knowledge is power so study the stock market, have a section with a financial advisor, talk to your local banker and learn as much as you can about investing in stocks, real estate, cryptocurrency, and more. Self-study is important because you won't be going in blind and with a basic knowledge of what can help you assist your family finances in navigating this inflationary cycle.
  2. Start investing, there is no perfect formula and or secret sauce, just get started. Why? The sooner you start investing the more you will learn about the process. There is no overnight success, invest from a long-run perspective meaning, you are in it to win it in the long run.
  3. Prepare for life events that may take place in your life such as marriage, having a family, moving or going to college. The bottom line is this, just as no one saw the pandemic coming, there will likely be other significant events that come our way in the future. Preparation is the key and we all received experience from COVID-19 and we know what to do if something like this happens again.
  4. What about your spending habits? Do you know how to establish a budget, financial plan, and more? Once you establish your financial budget it will be a window into becoming debt-free. You will be able to understand your spending habit and make adjustments to work to become financially free.
  5. Work to maximize your credit score. Your credit score is the byproduct of your spending habits, credit card debt, personal and student loans, mortgage, and more. Formulate a spending plan, an emergency fund, and build your credit.
  6. Set aside money to help your family. The awesome power of service to the family is priceless, so ensure you have a purpose for working, saving, and building your family one dollar at a time.
  7. Retirement is in your future, what you do today has everything to do with your tomorrow. The sooner you start to save, invest, and generate wealth the more you will have in your golden days.

There is more, however, this will get you out the door when it comes to becoming financially independent. Everything listed here will help you, start today!


There is so much going on at the parks in The Walt Disney World Resort, that there is barely time to keep up. One of the most interesting aspects of visiting a Disney park is the streetmosphere.

Main St. Carriage

Streetmosphere is using performers, props, period appropriate scripting, etc. to create a sense of time and place for the guests on the street. It is a combination of street and atmosphere and no place does it better than the castmembers at The Walt Disney Co.

As an example, we were walking through Frontierland the other day, when seemingly out of nowhere a rustic trio appeared and serenaded the guests as we walked down Frontierland’s main drag.

These are just some of the performers that make your experience more magical at the Magic Kingdom. There is the Mayor on Main St. U.S.A. with his friend the Fire Chief, or the Dapper Dans or the countless other castmembers that provide that presence to make the streetmosphere of a Disney Theme Park complete.

This practice goes back to Walt, himself, and Disneyland’s opening days. While I was working at Disney Worldwide Services, I had the pleasure to meet a man who as a young boy was hired by Walt himself to be Tom Sawyer for Tom Sawyer’s Island at the Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA. He told of how there were newsboys, singers, dancers, etc. throughout the park to insure that the guests would have the time of their life; ensuring Disneyland was like nowhere esle in the world. That tradtion continues today, at all of the parks at The Walt Disney World Resort here in Central Florida and through all of the parks around the world.


How to determine the billable rate of an architecture project?

Evaluating your fees depends on many parameters. Each company or self-employed person can, at their leisure, apply their own pricing grid according to numerous parameters. This is referred to as the billable rate. How to understand it, calculate it and optimize your fees according to your project? Response elements.

The billable rate, an amount subject to time spent.

The billable rate corresponds to the amount that the architect invoices for a mission: it is the sum of the fees that he presents to his client during a service, which will vary from one project to another or from one phase to another. But what criteria should be used to define this rate?

Let's take an example: Your client and yourself have just agreed on the terms of a phase billed at €10,000. Expressed in euros, this sum must translate into time spent, the basic unit for managing an architectural agency.

Who is the speaker chosen to deal with this phase and how much is charged for his working day? For the same amount, a senior project manager at €1,000 a day will have 10 days of work to devote, while a junior at €400 can spend 25.

The calculation of the hourly rate, essential to estimate its value

It will be understood that the architect is independent or practices in society, the objective is to sell its services at a rate that ensures a comfortable margin. A question often remains as to the parameters to be combined in the calculation in order to ensure that all the various costs inherent in the activity are covered.

As such, the sites of the MAF and the Order of Architects offer advice and assistance to fight against dumping or even help with recovery.

The latter also provides a “simple method for calculating the hourly price of the agency”, depending on numerous parameters. Suitable for all modes of practice, from the salaried architect to the liberal, this method claims to answer a question:

Knowing the time spent working for all businesses, once deducted the hours of internal administrative work, in essence not directly billable, how much must each hour be sold to reach a given level of income (BNC or "equivalent salary ", salary) ?

The resulting method of calculating the billable rate allows each architect to determine the amount of his services. Download the complete explanatory note, written by the Order of Architects by following this link.

While waiting for the deployment of the integrated OOTI calculator, planned soon, the Compta tools site offers one of the few dedicated to architects, accessible here: http://outils.compta-architectes.com/. It will allow you to estimate the billable rate of each member of a project according to their role: works supervisor, project manager, technician, etc.

Manage your fees with OOTI

Optimize its financial management via an ERP makes it possible to gather all the company's fees on the same tool, to easily compare the amounts associated with each service according to their nature and to adjust the hourly rates of the teams according to their evolution.

OOTI, allows you to define a default rate for each member of the agency within the “Team” tab then “Roles”. This rate can then be adjusted according to the project concerned, from the “Settings” tab then “Roles”.

A feature that will evolve soon allowing even finer control, which we will not fail to keep you informed!

The integration of these elements will then allow you to produce valuable data in the analysis of your financial management. Depending on the hourly costs, the time spent and the margin obtained, the management of your agency will be optimized and your profitability considerably improved!

Don't wait any longer, request a demonstration from our teams by making an appointment here.

Discover OOTI, the 100% software dedicated to the administrative and financial management of architectural agencies.