beryllineart

[beryllineart]

Ummmmmm

No, you do NOT want it to snow whenever you want Noelle, trust me.

Also, Dess calls Noelle "Elly"? Oh my heart, that's just the cutest thing!

[beryllineart]

Practice Makes Progress- Pretty Stones

Okay, so it's clear I don't know what I'm doing, but hey, at least I'm improving, right? I'm not exactly sure what I'm improving at, and my fingers feel a bit dead right now, but that doesn't matter. Practice makes progress.

I've gotta say, texture-wise, give me a smooth, polished stone over a rough, natural one any day of the week. I'm not a big fan of fuzzy textures either. I mean, fuzzy things are nice, but they've got to be soft and smooth. And pliable squishiness is not nearly as nice to me as something cold and hard, like a polished stone or crystal ball. I do love snuggling with stuffed animals though, so make of that what you will.

[beryllineart]

So, you know flash fiction, where you try to tell a story in just a few words? That inspired these little things, which are more like story excerpts I guess, but I wanted to not have to tell a full story with multiple pages.

Please pretend that the black and white page was the first thing I did instead of the last. I did these all in one sitting, so by the time I got to that one I was feeling a little burnt out, which is probably why the first page I did (the fire and doom one) is my favorite.

[beryllineart]

You know, I think part of the reason I like making comics is that it gives me an excuse to rant about characters and worldbuilding and stuff like that. I kind of get embarrassed sometimes about how much I tend to ramble about the smallest things in a character's life, and as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

When I make Undertale comics (or any other comics really), I'm putting that character or world analysis in a shorter form that people will actually want to read and perhaps draw their own conclusions. And I get an excuse to ramble, usually under a cut because I think people don't want to hear my character analyses.

But oh my gosh, it feels so good to rant in my head as I draw about Asriel's guilt, Mettaton's jealousy and insecurity, Monster Kid's protective side... getting to express that through art and stories just feels so good! And even though I'm dying to share it immediately (and probably could if I just started ranting on here), there's so much more impact when I show instead of just tell people about these specific aspects of characters and how that influences the events and choices of their lives.

I've got this one comic that I haven't even started drawing yet, but it's about making the reader feel like a terrible person because of the futility of the story. Secondhand guilt, if you will. The problem is, I had to make a backstory for this character... and give him a family... knowing full well I was going to kill him off because that's how the story goes. And then I drew a picture of him right before his death and... he looked so accepting of his fate. He wasn't even resigned, he was accepting, and that made me feel so bad. Which is good, I guess, except I've started feeling so guilty that I've been procrastinating. XD

Anyway, I've got major respect for other comic artists or writers in general who manage to put so much history and nuance in their works and make things feel real. And I love reading people's posts about character/world/magic analyses because I love to do that myself, plus hearing other people's views gives me some really good ideas.

I don't know why I decided to say this, maybe I was just wondering why the serious, more emotional comics were my favorites to make, or maybe I just really needed to ramble because all of my character analysis comics aren't close to being finished. Canon compliant(ish) subversions are so fun to write, but hugs are hard to draw. Sorry that I rambled for so long and don't even have art for this post.

[beryllineart]

Art Dump

[beryllineart]

Undertale ghosts are not obsessed over enough

Ok, random idea, I'm going to ramble a lot, but what if Undertale ghost monsters could possess living things?

I'm nicely blaming @eriscary for this idea because of Tear being a Sans plush possessed by Napstablook. It made me think about what other objects ghosts could possess, and why not something living?

Seriously, what with all of the AUs and stuff where Chara's ghost takes over Frisk, if human ghosts are allowed to do it, why not ghost monsters? And what would be the rules? Would the host and ghost share control? Would the ghost be able to communicate with the host? Would the ghost be able to leave whenever they wanted or would they be stuck because of some sort of thing going on? It's gotta be different than just possessing an object, right?

I think it would be easiest for ghosts to possess living things without souls (say, plants and stuff like that, brings up some questions about Flowey) and it would be hardest for them to possess other monsters. They'd be able to possess humans easier than monsters because a monster soul and a human soul can combine together (it would basically be an opposites attract, magnet type compatibility which is why monsters are hard to possess.) Actually, maybe it would be nigh impossible for a ghost monster to possess a fellow monster unless they were a willing host.

Plus, what would happen when a ghost monster became permanently bound to their living host? I mean, I think that the host would need to agree in some capacity, but if a ghost got emotional enough that that happened even without the host's consent, ohh boy. (And what if that binding happens to someone who has the power either to RESET or remember resets? What sort of paradoxical nonsense could we get into with that?)

Also, what about the damage rules? You can't hurt a ghost with physical attacks unless they're bound to a body, but if that body is something living, the host is definitely going to get that damage. What are the pain rules for ghosts anyway? And what about magic attacks? Seriously, Undertale ghosts are not obsessed over enough!

One more thing- what other ghosts and characters do you guys think would be the most fun to combine, why/how would they combine, how would that affect the story in the Underground? Seriously, give me ideas, I want to make comics!

[beryllineart]

Artist Evolution

Some of my cursed and less cursed art over the past year. The two character lineups are from the same AU, "The Soul Remembers." The bottom image is my evolution of comic making. The last Steamtale one I made today, it's a rough, unfinished thing, just to show that I'm better at pacing and planning now. And at drawing Monster Kid, apparently.

[beryllineart]

It's been waaay too long since I did Undertale stuff or comics, so here's my little conceptualizing stage for several comics I have planned. Papyrus is so hard to draw! Also some pretty stones because I felt like doing something in color after drawing all those characters. I know absolutely nothing about lighting when it comes to reflective or semi-transparent stuff.

[beryllineart]

Funny story, I was at a friend's house doing art and we were listening to Christmas music, because it's two days after Thanksgiving, so why not, right? Anyways, one song was on, either Jingle Bell Rock or Winter Wonderland, and I started just putting notes down that harmonized with the song. And I made this.

And I named it Jane of Lantern Hill because November 30th is L.M. Montgomery's birthday, and I absolutely love that book and it has made me cry and so has the end of Anne of Green Gables and also I'm no good at naming songs and I might as well take this chance to celebrate.

[beryllineart]

Training myself to make animations with music, this one is @drawingdragonfly's D&D character transforming into a bunny. (If you don't want me animating your character, let me know). This is a work in progress, obviously, but I usually only do messy sketches or finished works on here, and I kind of want to show both sometimes.

I both love and hate animating things. I love to challenge myself, but at the same time, I'm not always used to having to really work at my creative endeavors. I'm a pretty fast learner usually, but animation... it's doing its best to humble me.

[beryllineart]

How2Draw Anthropomorphic Mice

I swear, I looked all over the internet for how to draw anthropomorphized mice that looked like mice, and not just humans with mouse heads, feet, and tails. I am partial to the types of mice you find in The Rescuers or The Rats of Nimh.

Doodles I did, sorry, I know they're hard to see. Click on the images to see them better. Here are some tips- if you want a more human-like mouse, a shorter torso with longer/thinner arms and legs will get you there. Shorter/thicker limbs and more body is the way to go if you want it more mouselike, not to mention, if you don't put whites of the eyes in you will make it more like a mouse.

Not an anthropomorphic mouse, but I wanted to show how a mouse moves (this is from my head, maybe mice don't move quite like that, but it looks believable, doesn't it?)

Possibly the most useful resource that helped me draw mice that don't just look like humans is this concept art for the Redwall video game by Erin Marantette. Check it out if you are even slightly interested in drawing anthropomorphized mice that actually look like mice.

[beryllineart]

Bad Wolf

November 23rd is both Doctor Who Day and Wolfenoot, so I combined the two. Even though the day is almost over, I am still celebrating!

It looks so bad, it was a rush job and I am really bad at drawing actual real life people. Maybe I could have made it look like Billie Piper if I had taken more time or effort, but eh...

[beryllineart]

How2Draw Comics: Story

Last time we learned about conceptualizing our characters, settings, art style, etc. Now we actually have to put our characters in a situation, drive them from point A to point B through a story.

There are many different ways to do this. I'm assuming you have, if not an outlined story, a situation you want your character to experience. If you don't have a story, make your character order pizza but something happens and they have to rescue the pizza (and the delivery guy, I guess.) The first method I'll discuss is my least favorite- the Script Method.

You write a script for your story, listing pages and panels as you go along. I hate this. It feels too limiting, and panels are actually one of the most limiting and intimidating things to a beginner comic artist. Yet most tutorials encourage you to draw your panels first and then squish or stretch your drawings to fit, and that's what the Script Method is based off of. I draw my panels while I do my drawings, or even after I do them.

If pacing your comics is one of the most difficult things for you (what size do I make my panels? Is there too much dialogue on this page?) then I suggest the Storytelling Method.

You do not have to make a full short story or book. Usually I just say something like, "boy is making cake. girl walks up behind him and hugs him, kissing his floury cheek. she walks away, licking her finger. she has stolen some cake batter and he didn't notice." In my head I can see a more detailed story there, but you can tell a story without a bunch of flowery prose.

You may be wondering how this helps with pacing your comics. Well, I have actions associated with dialogue, meaning I know which drawings will have which dialogue, automatically creating a nice balance. Additionally, I know what to prioritize. I know that the panel introducing the manor will be large, because I used the words "large and imposing" to describe it. I know that when I set the ballroom scene in this story, I also need to set the scene in an establishing shot. And I know that I'm going to have Bernice's appearance on the food table be surprising, taking place after she tugs his shirt or something. (This will probably make more sense once I actually make the comic)

The final method is a very flexible one for those who aren't into words and just want to draw- the Children's Book Method.

This particular example is mind-mapping, but you can also do a more organized version by storyboarding (placing each drawing in a square and giving a short description for context). I call these collectively the Children's Book Method because the basic idea is that you don't repeat your drawings like you would in a comic. Instead, you draw those things that feel the most interesting and most dynamic, the things that are most important. (like keyframes in an animation) Children's books illustrate one scene at a time, providing context for many different moments in one picture (and some text). They are less sequential than a comic because they only have one picture per page.

I usually have a mix of the storytelling method and the storyboarding end of children's book method. And usually I tell myself a story only in my head, without writing it out, because that's all I need. And I'll admit, sometimes the stories play out in my head like a movie, which is probably why the script method works for people. Sometimes you don't know which is the most effective way to tell yourself a story until you try to draw the comic and see what is giving you the most trouble.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me! I know I'm kind of rambly and don't make much sense, so if you need clarification or other tips, I'll do my best to help.

Next is Panels and Pacing: Drawing the Comic (which will probably happen in multiple posts, but this art block will make it nigh impossible for a while, why doesn't it just go away?)

[beryllineart]

Got such bad art block right now that I can't even make art to complain about my art block. This was literally all I could manage to do. I'd be more okay with it if it wasn't happening with my music as well. This had better not last very long.

[beryllineart]

I want to eventually be able to write a piece of music and animate something to go with it, so here's my first try at animating something. It's not very good, but that's okay!

Krita is surprisingly intuitive with its animation stuff, so I hope to improve quickly. But man, thirty minutes watching a tutorial and one hour actually playing around for just 3 seconds of animation... I certainly have a newfound respect for animators. I am not a patient person.

[beryllineart]

Aaaah, I almost forgot this holiday! Good thing my mom brought me some pizza and helped me remember. Alfredo chicken is my favorite kind of pizza, especially with bell peppers, onions, and artichoke hearts. Mmmm...

[beryllineart]

Things I Plan on Doing (eventually)

What if other monsters fell into the Core and were forgotten like/instead of Gaster? I've got a good idea for Papyrus and a half baked one for Undyne.

Forget Sans remembering resets, I want to see other monsters remembering you're genocides and freaking out (ugh, that bad grammar just... ugh). I think it would be really cool to do Monster Kid.

Hear me out. Papyrus joins Ankh-Morpork's City Watch. He and Carrot are so similar (especially the Carrot we see in Guards, Guards) that I actually have a very good idea of how it would go.

Tiny Muffet.

A Muffet backstory explaining some of her personality and greed.

More Animation vs Undertale

If Majora's Mask Link fell into the Underground.

The Tale of the Neckromancer (misspelled on purpose, heh heh...)

Ace Attorney style debate/trial using my brother's D&D character (because he told me I drew him like Phoenix Wright).

Steampunk robot story

Something with these

Would you guys like a tutorial on how to compose music (or at least, how I compose music)?

DnDRune

Much Ado about Nothing hiding scenes where Alphys and Undyne are Benedick and Beatrice (no idea how it would go, I just think that's one of the funniest parts of the play)

"Lightners? More like black-and-whiteners!"

And finally, all those WIPs I have, like the How2Draw Comics (it took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out a story for the mice, but I finally did, so a new entry should appear in the next week or so.)

Let me know which ones you guys most want to see!