#((trying to get back to drawing more. i think when i updated my ipad it messed w/ my procreate brush settings...))

[tfsroleplay]

"The power outage the other day was... a bit difficult for us. We're kinda part of the lower priority when it comes to electricity, so ours was out throughout the night and back on during the next day. But because my ink glows bright, I'm kinda the designated light source for us. The boys glow a little, but not a lot. On the plus side, whenever our power goes out, we tend to all stay in the same room unless it's to like... go to the bathroom or get something to eat."

She chuckled softly.

"They finished one we'd started during the last outage a while back, so at least we were all in good spirits."

[indieyuugure]

First off, I freaking love your comics. They are the reason I wake up way too early some Saturdays and actually sleep Friday nights (not tonight obviously, but still!) it’s so much fun waiting for the next update because I know it’s all going to be AWESOME!!!!

Seriously though it was because of your art that I was able to draw Casey Jones, and have him turn out so good!!!! I wnded up loving how he looked because I totally used your comic panels as references. I was even able to submit an accordion book of Casey WIPs for my last art class of high school!! I’m not the most confident artist so my personal style is whack, sometimes it’s recognizable and sometimes it’s just shapes on a page, but I enjoy writing and painting. Traditional art kicks my backside dang hard, girl. Btw what do you use to create the comics? I think I remember a post a while back about an iPad, but I don’t know.

I honestly was so freaking panicked when I realized Donnie was flipping dying but calmed a bit since then knowing we’re nearing the end, but I’m wondering how many updates there will be left because the family should probably get back to being turtles and Donnie having that self acceptance about being a turtle. If that’s where you decide to take the story, but comfort is definitely needed for the poor guy. *hugs Donnie and offers hand for you to join bc we all know this turtle be needing some love rn with all the glorious angst that be happening*

*also wonders if you’re going to sell TMS to as a colored comic as well once it’s officially done*

Aw, thank you very much! It means a lot to read that 🥰💕 (though please try to sleep, sleep is important to your health!)

OMG THAT’S SO AWESOME! I’m so happy my comics were able to help you with an art assignment! And hey, I didn’t use to be a good artist either, just keep working at it and you’ll get better and better! They say it’s 100 hours to be proficient, 10,000 to be a master.

Yes! I use an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. The app I use is called Clip Studio Paint, it’s a bit complex, but once you get the hang of it it’s incredibly powerful and has a lot of tools. I was able to learn how to use it in a weekend so it’s too insanely complicated.

lol, don’t worry! They all become turtles in the end! (The next episode they mutate back) There are currently 2 more updates left for you guys and then it’ll be on to Indie TMNT! I very much hope to get it printed, I have some ideas of how to make it easier/cost me less, but I’ll have to see how it all goes.

Good questions! :]

[wiispywitch]

Commission Hiatus//Thank you💖

Hi, loves! I have a major update that has been a tough choice to make but something I've been thinking of for some times now.

After 5 years the moment I was able to start drawing digitally again, I immediately started taking commissions. My art has changed drastically throughout the years, and I'm thankful for every supporter who donated towards my goals and helping me through tough times. Literally I would not have survived had it not been for the help I got and words cannot express how much that means to me. I was able to get a new iPad, I got my wife a new car, we got out of my abusive household, I was able to catch up on bills, you guys have impacted my life more than you realize.

Now comes the tough part...As much as I love doing commissions and appreciate the support, I won't lie when I say I'm getting to the point where I'm a little overwhelmed and putting too much pressure on myself. I've had several conversations about what exactly I should do, and now I think I'm ready to make the choice I need to for the sake of my mental health: My commissions are going on a long, indefinite hiatus, and I'm not really sure when or if I'm going to open them again for the foreseeable future.

Admittedly I do hate asking for help, it is always something I've always hated as I never wanted to burden my audience and it's something I'm too prideful about, but there were times I had to ask for help when I fell behind on bills, but after some conversations and reflecting on my work I know that I'm ready to take some time away.

From now, I really want to focus on trying to build up my shop, something I've been wanting to do and pushing back for too long. So from now one I will be putting my creative energy maintaining my shop and getting product out, and I'm ready to put my creativity towards that.

I'm still going to be posting my personal art and OC content to my personal accounts, but as of now wiispywitch commissions are retired.

And I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything. Thank you so much for the support and commissions, I seriously wouldn't have survived without you guys.

With love, Wiispy🩷

[sds-mod]

Hi i follow ur mademoisemuder tumblr account and I really like how smooth your lineart is especially the black & white manga style and regular linework.would you be willing to share your brushes or brush settings? A photo works to. I use clip studio & I’ve been dying to draw smooth lineart like you do! And your knife girl oc, to die for! A friend said she uses a brush size of around 6-7 with no taper and adjusts her pen pressure settings, dunno how she does it, how is your brushes settings like? I’m a iPad person and I recently got a screen moniter but it’s a whole different experience switching from procreate iPad to PC. Please share your ways por favor , -art anon

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

I use Clip Studio too! I use it on PC with a tablet (regular, not screen), so idk how well my settings will translate for you but I'm happy to share regardless!!

First of all, and importantly: a lot of it is muscle memory and training that comes naturally as you continuously do lineart. With time, you'll notice that the bigger swoops and long lines/curves that form a smooth line will start to come more naturally to you simply because your hands get used to the motion and you don't have to actively think about it anymore. Hands are cool like that.

(but also sometimes a stroke just takes 15 attempts regardless. Strg+Z is your best friend.)

As for the brushes I use, I'll put them under a readmore (got a bit lengthy)

First, for a rough reference/guide regarding the brush sizes, I usually sketch on the base A4 layout with 300 dpi, but I sketch small and not page-filling. Here's a thumbnail so you get a rough feel for their size on an A4 page.

Also I recently adjusted my pen pressure settings a little (under File - Pen Pressure Settings) so it now looks like this, but it used to be the default until a little while ago though!

Onto the actual brushes:

Most of the stuff on KG's blog is drawn with the Maa Brush from the CSP Asset store, so for example this, this and this were all done using the Maa Brush. I use it to sketch and line, usually on size 5-10, these are my settings:

Next, for very thin delicate lineart I like to use the Favorable Pen from the Asset store, which I used here for example. I use around size 20 for it (I don't use a lot of pressure so the line comes out quite thin)

For a lot of my more rendered art I use the basic Mapping Pen in Clip. I used it for example for the recent story-arc update in asksds or for this. I generally use size 6-10.

Back when I used SAI I had a brush called the Ballpoint Pen which I THINK I made myself in Clip (I at least couldn't find it again under that name in the asset store but I'm sure there are a dozen brushes like it) which is just a basic brush without pen pressure. I often use that one to get me out of a rut or to force me to focus on simpler shapes since it does kinda need you to be a little controlled to keep everything readable. I used it here and here for example. I use it at size 3 but keep in mind that I draw small.

I guess I could also mention that for most of the regular asks in asksds I use the Simple LineArt pen from the Asset store. There's no significant difference to the Mapping Pen, I just feel like the tips aren't quite as delicate as the Mapping Pen and I prefer that for sds...it might be an illusion though.

And we're done, those are the main brushes I use for lineart! Occasionally I try something different (like a G-Pen for a more textured look) but these ones are my regulars. I hope it helps!! (❁´◡`❁)

[hackedmotionsensors]

QUICK UPDATE

lmao

So I just got back last week from Anime Impulse Bay Area! That was a lot of fun and I did a lot better than I did at Fanime Night Market. But I'm glad I did fanime night market bc even tho it cost me a LOT more than it should have and I was WILDLY emotionally and financially stressed.....it gave me a chance to trouble shoot a lot of issues BEFORE going to Anime Impulse where I was basically on my own.

Someone even gave me a stevetony charm bc they remembered me from the before times lol

Aside from that, like a lot of the animation industry I am still woefully unemployed. So any donations or commissions are greatly appreciated

FOR COMMISSIONS!! I have like three???? right now in the wings. But bc I have another con at the end of the month (anime impulse orange county! PLEASE COME) and I'm trying to get merch sent to manu before its too late or I have to pay a bazillion dollars I don't have I've only been able to cut away at them a little bit at a time. The next one (A STEVETONY NO LESS) is on its way! I just need to finish drawing the rest of the background but they lads are drawn in and I think its really cute. I'm usually really nervous about commissions which is why I'm so slow. I wring my hands a lot hoping that people like them. But lol Stevetony are like ....putting on my favorite shoes asdfasd

LAST PART OF THE UPDATE IS....

my fucking laptop is on the fritz. I'd been using this bad boy since right after graduating. Almost 10 years. It still WORKS but I had to repair the screen in 2022. And it didn't even really fix it. And NOW....my keyboard died lol The side of the keyboard where the A is just WOULD NOT WORK. Luckily when we got the notice that we were getting canned from Disney/Marvel I was like I'M BUYING A COMPUTER NOW!!!

That was in November lmao. I'm only setting it up now. There were a lot of things I apparently was missing bc I just never needed them by having a laptop. I had to go to target and get a little adapter for the cintiq plug. And I needed to order SPEAKERS lol What the hell is this 1994?!!!

So for today I don't have speakers so I can't watch anything on my main monitor so I'll just watch stuff on my ipad. I tried using headphones but it sounded so BAD.

So I think for the rest of the day I'll be spent fighting csp to give me my files but the computer is set up and now its just all the boring part of setting up all my old settings, ad blockers, anti virus stuff lol

GODDDDDD

Last little mention is that I'll TRY to use tumblr a bit more but only after I finish Good Omens bc I know all y'all fuckin nerds can't stop posting spoilers lmao (TBF the season is over)

[halothanic]

18-25 for the ask prompt!

okay well first i must apologize for leaving this for probably a YEAR, idek when i reblogged this ask prompt but i'm sitting here waiting for my ipad to update so i'm finally going to answer these. i completely forgot about my inbox. btw to all my followers out there old and new feel free to drop asks anytime

18. an estimate of how many art supplies you've broken?

well, since transitioning to mostly digital art, i can't say i've broken many supplies! the only things i can remember in the past few years have been one prismacolor pencil that kept breaking (it made me so mad HAHA cus they're expensive) and then i have ~5 copics that have been completely trashed. thankfully none more! i'm really careful with supplies

19. favorite inanimate objects to draw?

i love drawing leather, stars, liquids and/or blood, and foliage! i need to get better at drawing things that aren't people. but i really like making things shiny so i guess that's why i gravitate towards these things. oh, and pens/pencils/stationery, i love cluttering up a space i draw (just like my real space, i'm a maximalist at heart)

20. something everyone else finds hard to draw, but you enjoy?

HANDS! they are my favorite thing to draw but i know they're an unpopular favorite

21. art styles nothing like your own, but you love anyway?

this is a tough question, but i really like simplistic art, especially vintage advertisements and stuff. one artist i can think of is eric hinkley, his work is so crisp and simple, nothing like mine, but i LOVE this style and surround myself with it. i have a lot of adornments and details in my work, but i'm always trying to make sure they're streamlined and/or pleasing. i also adore riso art but i really cannot figure that style out to save my life, someday i hope i do

22. what physical exercises do you do before drawing, if any?

umm, i should do stretches but i never do. this is probably why i have wrist pain at my age! but in the middle of drawing, i usually get up, stretch my back and arms/hands for a breather

23. do you use different layer modes?

yes! i use overlays and multiply, but not many others. i rely on alpha lock and clipping masks for my work, i love those modes so much

24. do your references include stock images?

yes and no, sometimes i don't reference my art but if i'm having trouble, i usually google what i'm thinking of and HOPEFULLY find a fitting stock image to glance at, so yes! but most of the time, it's just me and the photo booth app lol

25. something your art has been compared to that you have not been inspired by?

i don't get many comparisons but i think patrick nagel has come up! his art is super cool though, i would love to make a drag persona out of it hah

thanks so much for asking so many questions anon!

[cheriboiyo]

Hey hi hello anyone remember me? 🤷‍♀️ sorry I’ve been inactive with posting

I don’t think I mentioned it before but over the summer I cracked my display on my laptop real bad and I’ve just been putting off getting it fixed — I do have the parts, I just have to get my friend to do the actual repairing..

They lent me an external monitor to have it still be functional, but it’s a pain to set it up and it’s uncomfortable to draw like that, I’ve always just had my computer in my lap and my tablet at my side, plus I just don’t have the space to have that kind of setup so I’ve just not done digital art that you guys have seen much since ;;;

I’ve kinda just been doing sketchbook stuff here and there when I’m not too busy or worn out from work, posting some to my Instagram (I’m also cheriboiyo on there!), I try to update and post as much as I can on there so feel free to follow me there too

I’m hopefully gonna get my laptop fixed soon tho, I’ve been in touch with the friend again so I’ll be back with more stuff to bring y’all here (I have been looking into getting an iPad too as another option so we’ll see 👀)

So until anything further happens I probably won’t post here anytime soon tbh 🤷‍♀️ unless you guys would like to see more traditional pieces? I don’t have the time or the patience to do full on finished pieces so it’d just sketchbook dumps and stuff, but lemme know~!

[kellshaw]

Life updates, housekeeping & recharging

I've been away from the social media for a bit. There was a holiday, effort around trying to finish my next Lukie book, Feral Night, (Revenant Records #2) book and getting it ready for release this year, getting stuck on a craft post I wanted to write about different fantasy species, trying to figure out how to use social media to connect with others and feeling overwhelmed by it all. And then when I'm overwhelmed by something, I pull back, and focus on other things.And now I'm all refreshed, and chill, and feel like talking to the internet again. For social media, comes down to, well, not what has good reach and connections, but more like, what is fun for me to use?So, what do I enjoy doing? Well, writing blog articles, it turns out. I don't enjoy memes, and if I use cartoons, I'd prefer to draw my own. (I did do some drawing courses this year, and now have Procreate on the iPad and some terrible artwork, so something to try out later on.) The plan is to blog, cross-post, share, see how it goes.And while it's different from blogging on my blog and its little downstream sources, I'm going to mess around with Instagram. Basically, after attending a few author conferences, it appears to be 'where it's at' and I'll give it a shot for a few months to see how it goes. I've set up an account over here as well.

Pipeline

This is what I'd like to focus on with coming posts:- Launching book 2, with a mix of business reflections, and some character updates and reviews. - Getting my dormant roleplaying game for the Vestiges of Magic in development again. I did a big playtest mid-year, lots of things broke, and I never wanted to look at the draft again. In fact, I was going—perhaps I could rebuild it in another system! Then I used a cut down version of the system for a local game convention and it ran well in that use-case. After a few months off, I'm looking at the draft again and it's easier to see what to fix and what repair. - Craft post about fantasy species, racism and so forth. I think I've figured out the angle I want to use for this. Anyway, if this post has a message, it's about taking a break and coming back to a stuck project with fresh eyes.

[fahrni]

Saturday Morning Coffee

Good morning from Charlottesville, Virginia! ☕️

Fortune

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak told ABC News that he had “minor but real stroke” while attending the World Business Forum in Mexico City, confirming reports from Wednesday

Here’s hoping for a full and speedy recovery!

The Iconfactory

The latest update to Linea Sketch is now available! From textures to thumbnail cropping, version 4.3 is packed with clever new features to make sketching on your iPad easier and more fun than ever.

By now I think you all know about my deep love for The Iconfactory. They are the brains behind Twitterrific — may Ollie rest in peace — and Wallaroo. But they also make this amazing drawing app called Linea Sketch!

The Iconfactory also does design work and consultations. They recently did the artwork for Stream’s feature in the App Store . They’re extremely talented and so easy to work with. Give them a shout if you needs some design work!

If you’re an artist you should give it a try and see how you like it.

Thanksgiving FYI

Hi, I’m Jim, an enthusiastic and dedicated home cook with more than a dozen Thanksgivings under my belt. I’ve hosted everything from small friendsgivings to giant multi-family affairs in foreign kitchens and I’ve assembled some strategies to help make the day great.

Jim is an internet pal and extremely nice fellow.

Thanksgiving FYI is Jim’s Thanksgiving newsletter chock full of tips and recipes for, you guessed it, Thanksgiving!

Who doesn’t like a good thanksgiving recipe?

I’d imagine you can still sign up and get everything he’s already published if you’d like and at $5 it’s a real steal! You even get access to a Slack so you can chat with others about the big day! 🦃

John Scalzi

FYI, I’m Writing a Film Column For Uncanny Magazine

I didn’t know it but John Scalzi was a reporter for the Fresno Bee at one time. Wild!

It’s incredible to me how much work this man churns out in a year. Here’s hoping his column is well received and long lived.

Kevin Purdy • Ars Technica

It’s not quite the end of Tumblr, but when management is supposedly sending memos with the Lord Tennyson quote about having “loved and lost,” it doesn’t look like there’s much of a future.

I’ve had a Tumblr account for years and years and I cross post to it, like I do Mastodon, but I’ve never used it as my primary blog. I’d considered it multiple times but I was never happy with their fixed taxonomy. I like to publish my posts in a Y/M/D format and Tumblr doesn’t support that. They also don’t publish static HTML which is another strike against them.

I’m bummed out by the possibility of it disappearing. It’s one of those internet properties I’d like to see stick around. It’s also looks like they’re gonna drop ActivityPub. 😔

Jason Snell • Macworld

There’s no real way to gloss over the fact that Mac sales went down 34 percent versus the year-ago quarter. And yet, for some reason, Maestri and Cook got out their Tom Sawyer paintbrushes and got to work.

At some point hyper-growth will stop. It’s just the way it is. Of course Apple offsets this by raising prices, which isn’t a surprise.

I got my first M based Mac early last year and didn’t unwrap it and start using it until early summer because I felt that my x86 Mac was fine. Luckily I decided to take the plunge to M2 land because I went from being a Director back to being a Software Engineer.

For me I’d guess this M2 could easily go for five years before it feels sluggish, and who knows, maybe beyond that?

As I like to say. I’m not compiling Photoshop or Microsoft Word. I’m just compiling iOS Apps. Even big iOS apps written in Swift build super fast. I’d even wager an M1 MacBook Air would blow the doors off my old x86 based Mac. They’re fast!

Marc Anthony Lopez • abc30.com

The founders and co-CEOs of failed tech company Bitwise have been charged for a $100 million fraud scheme following a federal investigation.

This one hurts. I know Irma — Irms as everyone calls her — and Jake. I’m having a difficult time believing they’d do something illegal like this and I still want to believe it was a horrible blunder. 😔

Emma Roth • The Verge

Disney’s combined Disney Plus and Hulu streaming app is on the way. As part of its fourth-quarter earnings results, Disney announced it’s going to launch the new app in beta for bundle subscribers in December, with the official launch coming in early spring 2024.

We are Hulu subscribers, Kim loves it. It makes me wonder how much it’ll change or will it literally be merging what Hulu offers directly into the app? So far Max seems to be fine with this strategy, although I’d prefer to have HBO content front and center instead of the mix of items we have today. Here’s hoping they do a great job combining the properties. I think they will.

Jonathan Lamont • MobileSyrup

Telus has joined Rogers in offering an online tool for customers to manage their eSIMs.

Telus is the grandparent company of WillowTree so I had to share this news.

Mark Frauenfelder • Boing Boing

Trump plans to deploy military on Inauguration Day, seize government agencies, and purge critics

This doesn’t surprise me. I fully expect his next term (he’ll never leave) in office to be a full on MAGA revenge tour. Our democracy will fail under the strain. We cannot let this guy become President again.

[transformers-fan-continuities]

Spotlight: Ties That Bind

This one’s a doozy folks! If you missed the last spotlight you can go read it here, but strap in for The Ties That Bind, an absolutely brilliant take on humanformers. It’s hosted here at @tiesthatbind-tf​ created by @artsy-hobbitses​!

Q) Give us a run down of your cont! What's it about, what's it called, what's it like?

Ties That Bind is a humanformers-based original continuity which is part Science Fiction and part Alternate History where the invasion of Quintessons and introduction of their technology to Earth in 1920 sets the world and humankind on a completely different trajectory. The active narrative spans a period from 1920 to 2070, covering the First and Second Quintesson Wars, the interplanetary Antillan War (leading to the creation of Unicron on Mars) and the Great War which involves the Autobots, Decepticons and Functionist stalwarts, and how it affects the characters.

The cast is pretty sprawling and the narrative is mostly centred around human drama with bits of humor interspaced and a dash of horror (mostly centred around how the previous government often chose to utilize the technology left behind from the Quintesson Wars to create new systems of oppression, which affected many of the characters, in the name of worldwide rebuilding efforts).

Q) What characters take the lead here? Any personal favorites?

I will admit to this continuity being very much heavy on the relationship between Old Bastards  Optimus Prime and Megatron, which is given considerable weight as they were best friends who had known each other since childhood and were deeply intrinsic to each other’s growths as individuals, which makes it all the worse when guilt and betrayal enter the party. Despite being captains in two corners of this battle, there’s a part of them that just cannot let go of their pasts together and they need to reconcile with how this will affect their agenda (Megatron) and how they lead their team (Optimus) who don’t necessarily share their history.

Other characters with significant development include:

Starscream, a Cold Construct in a toxic working relationship with Megatron with whom he is hiding a dark secret, who struggles to balance the underhanded viciousness he believes he needs to gain power and his innate desire from his Senate days to make the world a better place. 

Windblade, a Camien native who fights her government’s apathy concerning the situation on Earth which they see as unsalvageable compared to their more Utopian society. 

Prowl, a Cold Construct raised from childhood to be a cop in a police state, who finds out that he was brainwashed several times  to ensure his obedience and efficacy as a government asset and is now working to reclaim some semblance of the humanity he was never allowed to feel and figure out how much of him is who he really is and how much is programming.

Hound, a sheltered Beastman who joined the fight to ensure that Beastmen the world over would have the same rights he did in his homeland of Shetland Isle, but is forcefully stripped of his humanity and faced with his animal side during the war and has to relearn what personhood means amid his trauma.

Q) Is there a bigger point to this, like a theme or some catharsis? Or is it just fluffy fun?

God with the amount of time I spent sleepless trying to figure out how the logistics of this or the semantics of that were supposed to work in universe, I cannot for the life of me say it’s fluffy fun, but I can’t exactly say it hasn’t been pretty engaging either!

There’s elements of war being messy for everyone involved where there doesn’t seem to be a clear line between friend and foe at times, but I think for most part it prescribes to  Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s belief that people are inherently good, but are corrupted by the evils of society. Despite its dark themes (Including but not limited to child abuse, torture, illegal experimenation  and brainwashing), love and friendships do prevail, kindness does beget kindness, found families are made, even the smallest actions matter, and things do get better because there are people on both sides who genuinely want to, and strive to make it better.

With Cold Constructs and Beastmen, it also delves heavily into what it means to be human; to have agency and personhood.

There’s also a strong undercurrent of taking responsibility for one’s actions, even if they were made with the best of intentions (Avoidance of this is what eats up Starscream and Megatron from the inside, and what Starscream eventually embraces).

Q) How long have you been working on it?

There’s two answers to this!

I’ve had a Humanformers-related universe going all the way back to 2007 around the time the first Bayformers came out---basically I had a choice between learning to draw cars or draw people (I was an anthro artist back then) and I immediately chose people.

The 2007 draft however had no worldbuilding or connective storylines and was mostly a fun little venture into character design and practice which were actually instrumental to me experimenting and learning how to draw humans properly.

I left the fandom for about a decade and when I came back to it in late 2020 around September via the War for Cybertron series on Netflix, I immediately got hooked on the 2005 IDW comics I missed out on and wanted to get around to updating my old designs as well find a way to translate several of the concepts I wanted to explore in a human sense, so the 2020 update became its own full-fledged original continuity with detailed worldbuilding and history.

You can see the artistic evolution of several characters from their original incarnation below!

Q) It’s incredible to see your artistic improvement too! Give us a behind-the-scenes look! Show us a secret ;))

Say hello to my workspace! I’ve been working exclusively on the Ipad Pro since late 2016, which is fantastic because I can basically whip up concepts and sketches on the go anywhere. Nowhere is too out of bounds to work on TTB!

Also, do enjoy this sneak peek at true!form Rung, whose synthezoid human body took years to perfect.

Q) YESSSSS alright I must admit this is one of my favorite Rungs, and certainly my fave within TTB. Amazing. Phew, anyway. Where did you draw inspiration from? What canons, what other fiction, what parts of real life?

TTB was initially conceived as a faithful retelling of the IDW 2005 narrative before it was transformed into its own continuity and as such, it borrows heavily from concepts and mirrored plot lines introduced in that run! I chose to have the series inspired off it specifically for the amount of history and worldbuilding it introduced to the franchise.

Anime like Gunslinger Girl and Beastars inspired the depictions of Cold Constructs, especially the more harrowing aspects of their upbringing as government assets instead of children, and Beastmen (Beastformers) in TTB.

I haven’t depicted the world itself in my art all too much, but the architecture from Tiger and Bunny, which has sort of a futuristic Art Deco feel to it, is what you’d usually see in major cities. There is an in-universe reason for that---with a Point Of Divergence set in 1920 followed by 25 years (an entire generation) of progress basically being kicked to the curb due to the Quintesson wars, mankind was basically in a time-locked bubble until the end of the wars, and by then their heroes were 1920s-style rebellion leaders, which lead to 1920s fashion (especially among the Manual Working Class---Megatron, Jazz and Optimus all rock 1920s fashion at some point of their lives) and architecture being celebrated and retained as sort of a reminder of how things were before The Invasion. This anime’s background design is also where I adopted the tiered system TTB’s major metropolises are often built on (with each tier being designated to a different working class) from.

The main artistic style itself is a love letter to 90s cartoons, in particular Gargoyles’ deep and drama-driven character narratives and designs as well as The Centurions’ take on body armor logistics.

I also take inspiration, especially armor-wise, from the characters’ given heritage and background. As an example, Hotrod who is depicted as Irish has the flames on his armor done up with Celtic knots. Welsh aristocrat Mirage’s armor bears olden knight-style filigree and has his Autobot logo designed as a coat of arms. Indonesian Soundwave’s armor and Decepticon logo takes cues from Batik and Wayang Kulit while their mask is based off the Barong.

Q) They are absolutely gorgeous! Show off something you're really proud of, a particular favorite part of your cont.

The worldbuilding in general! Most Humanformers I’ve seen tend to treat it like a fun exercise which it is and is definitely valid, but I found myself wanting a full-fledged world to lose myself in and I sought to try and make that world myself by drafting a detailed history and timeline of events which would affect ongoing narratives, having indepth worldbuilding to include almost all societal aspects of the universe and  expanding on the concept of Beastmen and Cold Constructs existing in a human setting.

I’m not so secretly proud of the research and diversity included to make the cast look like the multicultural, globally-based team that they were meant to be instead of being locked to a single region! My original draft from 2007 was, to put it simply, quite culturally monolithic and I wanted to improve on that aspect with TTB.

I’m also proud that I’ve kept to it this far! I’m a notoriously flaky person jumping from one idea/fandom to another and to have kept at this continuity for the better part of ten months is honestly a personal feat.

Art-wise, this scene depicting a young Megatron working alongside Terminus and Impactor (cameo by @weapon-up-wallflower​‘s OC Missit!)  is definitely one of my favorites since it helps build up the world they live in and plays to familial bonds and comfort found in one another despite their less than ideal circumstances.

Q) Everything has come together so beautifully, you absolutely should be proud. What other fan canons do you love and why? Would you like to see them interviewed?

I am dying to hear more from @iscaredspider​’s Sparkpulse continuity! Her designs are MIND-BLOWINGLY GORGEOUS and I want to hear more about what inspired her to work on it!

Also YOU. Yes YOU BLURRITO. LET ME HEAR MORE ABOUT SNAP.

Q) [wails and squirms away in the mortifying ordeal of being known but in a very flattered way] I WILL SOMEDAY I PROMISE aflghsdjg thank you QwQ

Well that was fantastic, Oni, thank you muchly! A magnificent continuity with so much to look forward to! Coming up next is another personal fave of mine, the first inspiration for SNAP, so stick around...

[serendipityjxmn]

Chapter 11

TW: None

Words Count: 2.6k

Link to Masterlist

Link to Chapter 12

You think one day of rest was enough since you can walk perfectly well now without wincing. So you wake earlier than Jimin the next day, marvelling at his features for a few moments but also fighting the urge to punch him out of giving you sleeping pills so you could oversleep and not come to work.

But now that you’ve reached the office, you feel nervous. You don’t know how to face Minhyuk. You don’t know if you could even face him.

Luckily, you don’t see him at all throughout the morning. During lunch however, when you return to the office, you see him first before he does yet he just brushes right pass you. You feel relieved yet you can’t shake off the strange feeling.

And your hunch turns out to be right when Minhyuk starts being mean from the next encounter and forward. He gets angry at you for the smallest of reasons. He doesn’t quite look at you when he gives order and when you ask him to clarify things, sometimes he would glare at you. It also doesn’t help that as you get more nervous you tend to make more mistakes.

Work feels even more exhausting when you’re mentally stressed at workplace. You come home with a headache that one night.

As soon as you prepared Jimin’s dinner, you hunt for some medicines and brings it with you as you head towards the room at the end of the hallway which you’ve somehow turned into your small office area (and your husband doesn’t seem to mind so-). You sit yourself on the sofa and shifts through the documents. The expenses report from several departments submitted during today’s meeting aren’t due for review until Friday yet Minhyuk says he wants to see it first thing next morning. You know he’s just doing it to get back at you and he’d probably ended up stacking the files on his table untouched just like the last task which means you’re doing this for naught anyway but you don’t want to give him any chance of finding your fault so here you are.

Your head feels like spinning so you quickly gulp down the medicine and force yourself to start on your work. Half an hour into it though, you don’t realize when you had fallen asleep.

You wake up next day in your own bed, perfectly tucked in while Jimin sleeps soundly next to you. You sit up almost immediately.

You look at the sleeping figure next to you, his snores are very light, you note.

Unknowingly, you inch closer to his side. You’ve always loved his smell. He just smells like... him.

You’re pretty sure he tucked you in last night. Why does he pretend to be so harsh all the time if he actually cares for you?

Maybe it isn’t impossible to build a civil relationship with him. With your husband.

You stare at his features. You can’t deny it. Jimin’s really good looking. And this good looking man is your husband. Sometimes you still have trouble believing.

Your eyes fall to his lips. His plump pink lips looks very tempting. You briefly wonder if-

Don’t.

Don’t fall for him.

And at that exact moment, Jimin’s eyes shot open while simultaneously his hand grips your right hand that hovers over his face seconds ago tightly. You freeze completely, not moving a muscle because you know he’s doing it out of reflex and you don’t want to dwell on how he’s trained for that.

His stare at you is murderous and your hand move to retreat but he kept his grip vice like on your wrist.

And you could feel the intensity slowly rising between the both of you.

You could’ve sworn his face inches closer to you and you panic instantly so you back away and sit up. Without wasting another breath, you get up and disappear into the shower.

You panic at your desk. In light of this morning’s incident, finding yourself in your bed instead of the sofa as well the tense moments with Jimin, you weren’t in the right state of mind so you completely forgot about the report Minhyuk asks you to handle yesterday.

You gather your courage to tell Irene first.

“Ah the sales reports?” She says and you nod. “Mr. Park already handed it to me first thing this morning when he arrived. I went to see Mina just now and handed the reports to Mr. Kim as well.”

O...kay. You definitely don’t expect that but you can’t help but sigh in relief. Did Jimin take it last night when he finds you in the small library room?

“Wait. If you brought the files home last night, how does Mr. Park have it?” Irene narrows her eyes at you.

Shoot. “Um- I forgot I didn’t- I mean, I just realized I didn’t bring it home at all. My head was really spinning last night and I thought I brought it home, turns out I didn’t.” You fake a smile. “Perhaps Mr. Park saw it on my table.”

Irene huffed at your answer, perhaps contemplating whether to believe you or not. She doesn’t say anything after that.

You’re at Mina’s table, discussing with her about updates on meetings with R&D team as requested by your husband when Kim Minhyuk appears from his office room, storming at you with a furious look.

“Miss Y/N, what on earth do you think you’re doing?” He shouts at you, making everyone at the office look up and you feel small immediately. “Are you even doing your job?”

“I’m sorry Mr. Kim-“

“This!” He pushes a document towards you and you look down to see the sales report yesterday.

“Is there something wrong-“

“You fucking tell me.” He snarls. “Tell me, how on earth did you organize this? I don’t understand a single thing. Did you even do it?”

You remain silent. Because he’s right. You didn’t do it. But how can you say that? What would you say to him? That your husband, the president, the CEO arranged the report?

“I honestly have no idea if you’re coming for work or you’re just fucking around.” He hisses.

You literally hear the gasps from your office mate.

You draw a breath, trying to calm yourself to face Minhyuk. “I’m sorry, Mr. Kim if you’re not satisfied but-“

“Mr. Park.” Someone says. Your stomach lurch instantly.

Both you and Minhyuk look up. Your lung drops when you sight your husband standing few metres away, his hands in his pocket.

“Jimin.” Minhyuk addresses your husband.

Jimin’s eyes are on you and you look down immediately. Anxiety starts filling you up. Is he going to shout at you too?

He crosses the distance and stops short before you and Minhyuk.

“Minhyuk.” Jimin nods at him. “Do you mind if I borrow.. my wife for a moment?”

Everyone in the room gasps including you.

You stare up at him, eyes wide in shock. He wasn’t looking at you, he was smiling at Minhyuk although you know it’s entirely a facade.

You eyes flicker to Minhyuk. His expression is priceless. You’ve never seen him in a state more shock, what with all his constant smirk or flirty expression.

“Y-your wife?” He stutters.

Jimin steps closer to you then place his hand around your waist, pulling you flush against him that earns another gasp around the room. “My wife,” he reconfirms. Then towards you, he smiles briefly before he pulls you with him and leaves you at your desk before you could say anything as he walks back towards his office.

You’ve no idea what to say.

Everyone knows you’re his wife now.

And you’ve never felt so guilty towards Jimin.

Irene had never been this loud before, you think.

“Like what on earth- I really wouldn’t know! Like you know, with the way he’s treating you or literally everyone with his cold personality. Oh well, I guess that explains his stares at you.”

You stare at her. “He.. stares.. at me?”

“He does! Quite a lot actually. Caught him on a few occasions. You probably won’t notice them but I have eyes of a hawk.” She winks at you.

“You’re sure he’s not doing it to everyone?”

“Hmm he kind of does actually.. But with you- I don’t know. The look is softer, I think.” Irene says fondly.

You shake your head. “You’re exaggerating.”

“No, I’m not.” She sigh. “Why didn’t you tell me? Or anyone for that matter.”

You give her a small smile. “We wanted to keep it private. Don’t really wanna mix work.”

She nods at this. Then suddenly, her eyes widen at you then clasps your hand tightly. “Oh God! You really really have to forgive me.”

You frown. “You did something wrong?”

“Remember when you asked me about Clara Kim? Oh God- and I freaking told you she’s his girlfriend oh Lord- I’ve commited a huge sin, I know- and I’m so so sorry-“

You burst out laughing. She looks puzzled at first but then joins you. Then she turns serious. “But were you for real? You really don’t know who Clara Kim is?”

You bit your lips, unsure how to answer her. Then you slowly nod. “I don’t know.”

She looks at you in sympathy then leans down to whisper, “You think he’s cheating?”

You know he does. “No, I don’t think so. If he is, why would he let his wife be his secretary where she practically knows all his schedule?”

“Hmph. Makes sense, I guess.” She straightens herself then. “Okay. I’m going out to lunch. You coming?”

At that same moment, Jimin comes out. His eyes find you immediately. “Had your lunch?”

“I’m about to head out with Irene.”

“No- no Mr. Park. I forgot I actually had plans with my boyfriend. She’s all yours.” Irene says, already picking up her stuffs and standing.

You know she just made that up so you try as hard to give her the eye that you don’t wanna go for lunch with your husband now but she dashes off super quickly, leaving you with your husband.

“Come on.” He says.

You stand rooted to your spot, not budging. Jimin turns back to look at you. “I’m- I’m gonna have lunch with Mina.”

He glares at you and you almost want to cower but still holds your decision.

“Fine then.” He grunts then walks away. You heave a sigh of relief.

You don’t actually plan to have lunch with Mina. In fact, you don’t feel like going out at all. Instead, you sink back onto your chair. Your iPad in front of you flashes and you grab it instantly.

You feel your blood runs cold immediately upon seeing it.

You’re all over the news.

[REVEALED] Seoul’s most successful young CEO, Park Jimin’s wife identity revealed.

Mid this year, a large population of young women in South Korea had their hearts broken when arguably, Seoul’s most eligible bachelor, a young and good looking, successful CEO of the largest tech company, Park Jimin announced that he would be tying the knot with non-public figure woman, who’s identity remains closely kept secret.

But we finally know now who’s the girl that has stolen the heart of the heir to Parks Corporations. The woman is revealed to be __, 23 years old, currently working as secretary at Park Jimin’s own company, Bangtan Inc. It seems like the President wants to keep the wife close- much to the single ladies who’s working in the company’s heartbreak. The background of Park Jimin’s wife is yet to be known but whoever she may be, she must be reading a helluva of a prenup. Bagging South Korea’s allegedly most eligible bachelor, perhaps we can arrange a session to ask for a tip or two?

You wish the ground could swallow you whole.

Isn’t it illegal to be exposing informations of non public figure like this? Though you suppose the writer is trash anyway when he exposed your identity while clearly stating you’re a non public figure in the same line.

Wasn’t your marriage to Jimin suposed to be a secret and your identity kept hidden?

Yeah but then you yourself went to work at his company, gets harrassed that drive to the point of Jimin having to expose your relationship.

God. Both your index finger pressed each side of your temple tightly.

You’re contemplating whether you’re supposed to go back with Jimin so you decided to just go with him if he comes out of the office around the same time you’re off work but if he doesn’t then you’ll head home first and you desperately pray for the latter.

However, all hopes went down the drain when Jimin appears out of his room and only glares at you for a few seconds before you scramble to your feet and hastily packs your stuff.

And that’s how you find yourself walking timidly, very self conscious behind him as everyone stares at the two of you and you think it couldn’t get anymore embarassing at this.

Jimin is silent during the car ride. He busied himself with his iPad, leaving you fidgeting in the heavy silence. You decided to just man up and address the elephant in the room.

“J-Jimin..” you call softly. “I’m sorry it came down to this.. and now everyone knows you’re- I’m- um.. we’re-“

“Married.” He cuts you off.

You look up at him. He doesn’t look at you, his eyes still on his tab.

“We’re married.” He repeats. “Is that so hard to say?” He asks, finally looking at you.

“No- I me-“

“Nevermind.” He turns his gaze back to his tab and the conversation is over.

You don’t mean it that way but you just don’t want people looking down at him for marrying you, someone of no status and not even a decent upbringing background.

You play with the spoon on your hand, guilt still swallowing you whole. Drawing a breath, you look up at Jimin who’s drinking his glass of water. You’re both on the dining table, only sounds of cutleries can be heard.

“Jimin, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean for all this to get exposed. I’m sorry.” You say softly.

His expression turns cold. “Are you?” He asks, looking straight at you with piercing eyes, making you recoil.

“What do you mean? I didn’t want this to happen either-“

“Yeah none of this would’ve happened if you just sit your ass at home, playing house or the perfect fucking wife.” He sneers. “Instead, you just have to work in my own fucking company, get yourself harrassed and left me with no choice.”

You want to answer him, that he’s being unfair because you didn’t ask to be harrassed but Jimin was raging so you stay muted.

“It’s dangerous, do you know that? Now everyone knows who my wife is and it’s fucking dangerous-“

“Why?” You cut him. “Tell me why it’s dangerous- Jimin who are you-“

He raises from his seat and leans down to you, face merely inches away and you swallow. “I’m a dangerous person darling.. I can snap your neck in two and you won’t see it coming.” He says as his fingers touch your neck, in an act that seems as if it’s caressing it but you know better. “And now that everyone knows who you are.. that means they can come and snap your neck too baby. But of course, you wouldn’t see it coming. And that’s what happens when you don’t listen to me. Not when I tell you to quit your fucking job, not ever.”

He raises again, standing upright before turning on his wheels and leaves you. You struggle to calm your erratic breath and nerves. And finally, you let the tears flow.

That night too, you wrote the resignation letter.

Link to Chapter 12

Posted on 210423 9:00PM

[asktehkoopz]

This is another ask for the Mod! I hope you don’t mind 😅. I was wondering what drawing program you used, do you use a tablet or draw on a computer? When you’re drawing, are you the kind of person who can come up with ideas on the fly? Or are you like me where you wake up at 3am like “HOLY MOTHER OF PEANUTS THATS A GOOD IDEA!”, then scramble to find something to write it down. And finally, how long do you usually spend from piece to piece. I know time can very on the complexity of the work, but on average how long do you spend drawing? Thank you again for responding to my last ask, you’re very kind 🥺. You actually inspired me to finally draw again, and while I’ve recently only drawn Princess Daisy I hope that I’ll continue to improve and get better. So thank you again.

((OOC: I don’t mind asks! I just hope y’all don’t mind me answering them so late! And you’re so sweet, too. ;o; I’m glad you’re starting to draw again. I hope that you’ll post them to share with us!

1) What drawing program do I use? Tablet or computer?

I used to use Paint Tool Sai back in the beginning days of my blog seven years ago, which I used on my laptop!

Since then, I’ve go between Clip Studio Paint (which I highly recommend picking up, the desktop edition goes on sale for about $15-$20 VERY often) and Procreate on my iPad!

I tend to try to use Procreate since my laptop stopped playing friendly with CSP for long periods of time, but sometimes it’s just way easier to use CSP. For moments like that, I have to use my desktop computer, but that gets uncomfortable to sit at sometimes.

2) When you’re drawing, are you the kind of person who can come up with ideas on the fly?

Depends on the purpose! (Though I do sometimes scramble at 3 AM to write down a good idea. That’s how I ended up with my Sonic and Shadow blog.)

If it’s something like a koopz update, for sure I plan it out by thumbnailing first. [Example here]

If it’s something like an ask meme or a one-off answer, then I tend to do it on the fly. [Example here]

3) How long do you usually spend from piece to piece?

Gooooood question. The answer is longer than you think. And probably longer than I think, too.

Koopz answers with 10+ images are easily clocking in about 7-10 hours, according to Procreate, because I’m very anal about the quality in my posts. (Which isn’t new, I did this on my King Candy blog, too). And that’s with the more sketchy pencil like I’ve been doing for the Gerudoling asks. The clean line ones are waaay more.

For full color art pieces, that also tends to be 6+ hours as well.

I’m very... slow. hOILkjmlfd

Anyways I hope this answers your question, and again, thank you for being so kind to me and also for sending this ask!))

[trashqueen3000]

Cheeky Rex as part of my “Off Duty Hours” semi-pinup clone wars fanart series

EDIT: art pic has been updated to reflect correct skin tone - I had initially made him too pale (as someone pointed out). I apologize. My ipad is never at full brightness when i draw since it triggers my migraines and with the brightness turned down, i thought i had selected the correct color. I was mistaken and have gone back to fix this. This is an explanation and not an excuse - an excuse would (in my mind) insinuate that something like this was on purpose (which this was NOT) and that i was trying to save face. This was a simple issue of screen brightness/color In the future, i will be sure to double check myself and my art at full brightness before finishing it.

Again, I apologize. The video will remain the same as it was originally because it’s not as easy to go back and edit and i think that it’s only fair that i be transparent with my mistake - you all can see in the vid that i thought i had made him too pale and tried to darken him a bit, but with my brightness turned too low i thought he looked TOO dark so i undid it. Obviously, that was the incorrect call and it has now been rectified.

That being said, i didnt really appreciate the way in which this mistake was brought to my attention. There are better ways to alert an artist that their art is/may be problematic. Perhaps say “i think you made the skin too pale for this character” or “i think he should be a little darker, considering the character/character’s ethnicity” rather than “hey op why the f*ck is he white”. It comes across as unnecessarily aggressive and confrontational. Despite the anxiety this caused (i almost deleted this whole post so i could avoid that particular stress) i chose instead to own up for the mistake and leave the post up for people to see and learn from.

Im used to doing traditional art (painting/sketching) and digital art is still new to me. Color selecting is a challenge that im still getting used to (for example i also realized he was too grey, so i added a more pink tone) but with CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, i (as well as other artists) can continue improve certain skills such as that. Please dont rush to condemn an artist as being racist or purposefully offensive unless it was BLATANTLY OBVIOUS that it was on purpose. We’re human; we make mistakes sometimes and accidents happen. Im sorry for the long post edit, but i wanted to be transparent about this situation and to say a few words to address it. Be kind to people. Please and thank you. -end edit

Credit for pose ref goes to adorkastock on DeviantArt

Cross-posted on my tiktok (jedichey) and twitter (trashqueen3000)

[acaseforpencils]

Lars Kenseth: Part Two.

A couple of months ago, Lars posted on social media that he had switched from working digitally to using traditional tools. That very rarely happens—in fact, it’s usually the reverse! So I asked him if he would be willing to do a follow-up on his 2018 Case, and give us an update on his drawing tools!

Bio: Hey there! I’m Lars. I draw cartoons for The New Yorker, Alta and Air Mail. I started cartooning professionally in 2016, and promised I would only stop until our nation’s deep psychological wounds have healed. So, never. By day, I write comedy for TV, usually my own stuff. Currently, I’m developing an animated half-hour TV show called I Hate Mondays for Amazon.

You can always pick out my cartoons because I draw people as neckless blobs. They go by as many names: lozenge people, weeble wobbles, egg people, potato people, thumb people, etc. I know them only as my children. That’s not to say that I don’t have my favorites...

Find this print here!

Tools: A bit of a prologue here. I grew up with Microsoft Paint and Corel Draw and every other god awful digital drawing platform from the ‘90s. And while I was no stranger to pens, pencils and good ol’ paper, I just kept coming back to digital formats. Weirdly, it felt more native to me— AND, if I screwed up, I could always hit undo. So, MS Paint led to the Adobe suite which led to Procreate on my iPad, and that was how I drew everything I did for The New Yorker. Then the pandemic hit. And long story short, I decided to dip back into the ink well, as it were. To try my hand at the analog drawing, now that I had the time. And it was the best decision I’ve ever made.

I’ve experimented with a lot of different tools, but I’d say my go-to drawing implement is my Koh-I-Noor Radiograph pen. I have a few different nibs - a .25 and a .35 - and that’s pretty much how I do all my inking. It’s kind of a challenge, to be honest, and I can’t say that I’ve mastered it. But if you’re patient with it, you get great results. I use Koh-I-Noor Rapidraw ink, but I think I might switch it up to their Ultradraw line. Rapidraw is supposed to dry quickly, which is nice, but it also means you’re more likely to get a clog in your pen, which has definitely happened to me.

I’ve become obsessed with charcoals. I love the dark, moody atmosphere you can create, which, juxtaposed with my dumb, whimsical looking thumb people, makes for a funny contrast. It’s surprising. And comedy is all about surprising people. I currently use 2B, 4B, and 6B charcoal pencils for shading and a mono zero mechanical eraser for highlights. For highlighting bigger areas, I use kneaded rubber erasers, which have been my friend ever since I picked up the Blitz Cartooning Kit when I was in 4th grade. I also use charcoal sticks, which I apply via paintbrushes. That allows me to get those nice overall light grays that are great for therapist offices, hospitals or cloudy days.

Another tool I have that comes in handy — these little two fingered gloves I got on Amazon. They’re made of... spandex? Something like that. Just search charcoal drawing gloves. I use one on each hand, and it really helps with smudging. I’m a smudgy kind of guy as it is, so I probably shouldn’t even be in this medium, but too late!

Tools I Wish I Could Use Better: All of the tools I just mentioned? Haha. It’s true though, I’m still only just getting to know charcoal. Still, even though I’m not an expert, if I had to choose one tool to be better at, it’s the Koh-I-Noor pen. It’s just so finicky, haha. That said, the quality of line you get is really nice. So I’m sticking with it for now.

Tools I Wish Existed: Honestly, I don’t think I have a good answer to this question. The thing that I like about drawing on paper as opposed to digitally is that you have to get really creative if you screw up. And that’s okay. You’re going to make mistakes and smudge and maybe even make a catastrophic mess. That’s part of the fun, if you ask me. It’s not about having the perfect tool for the job, it’s about coming up with ways to wrest the look you want out of the tools you have. Sure, sometimes it can feel like getting blood from a stone, but in the end I think it makes you a better artist, which is a big reason why I went back to drawing on paper to begin with. When you’re digital, you have a million different off-ramps to get to where you need to go. No mistake is fatal. And while that’s scary when you start out drawing outside of a digital platform, you get better with practice. So I embrace every screw up. It’s okay to start over. Because you’re not really starting over, you’re taking another step towards being a better artist.

Find this print here!

Tricks: I don’t know if this is a ‘trick,’ exactly—it might not even be a good idea—but one I’ve been doing is using my x-acto knife to scrape off areas that have become too charcoal heavy. I use a light touch, brushing the blade against the area I want to lighten up, but being careful not to slice the paper. Or your finger. Be careful out there.

Misc.: If you work digitally, I would encourage you to experiment with analog drawing utensils. At the very least, it’s humbling. Given how depressed most artists are, maybe this is bad advice, haha. But, in my opinion, it’s healthy to knock yourself down a peg or two! Especially if it’s in the service of making yourself a better artist.

Website, Etc.

Instagram

Website

Twitter

Find this print here!

[vkelleyart]

Damn you’re so impressive to being a working parent on top of being an amazing artist!

You are so kind, @poprocksromance. Thanks so much for being a cheerleader, because I’ll be honest: I don’t feel impressive. 

I feel… really tired. lol 

I actually put off answering this ask because when it comes to being a working parent and artist, I have SO MANY THOUGHTS. This month’s been excessively hard because I wear too many hats in my life and my neutral state is putting out fires before I can skive off and draw, usually at the expense of sleep.

Take this past Tuesday for instance:

6 AM: Husband is already out the door to work, but both kids crawl into my bed to doze until it’s time for them to be up. There is now hot, humid air in my ear and a small, sharp knee in my back. I am not dozing. I am thinking about drawing.

7 AM: Breakfast. Kids pull the covers off of me and whinge about being hungry. Spend next hour feeding kids, breaking up fights over legos, making lunches, and getting them ready for school. Inexplicably, no one has clean pants.

8 AM: Holler at everyone that we are late and I’m about to lose my mind because instead of putting on shoes, my kids are still arguing over who gets the red lego piece. More thoughts about art trickle in: “Man, I really hope I can carve out some time for drawing today because this sh*t is bananas.”

8:30 AM: Zoom across town to drop off children. Kiss heads. Wave goodbye. Try not to rear-end other, larger vehicles being driven by people who don’t understand how the drop-off line works.

9 AM: Back home. Time for Morning Pages. This is the daily act of emptying my head into a journal at the beginning of the day for 30 minutes just so I can plow into the chaos without having a panic attack. Each entry mostly consists of me pep-talking myself into doing my day job because food, shelter, college education savings, blah, blah, blah. Then it’s planning and email checking. I promise myself that, if I can just finish this next video edit task, I can reward myself with drawing artwork.

10 AM: My Video editing software update has made all the PNG files turn pink. I assume it’s for no earthly reason than to delay my progress and piss me off. I promise myself I will figure out the glitch in the next hour so I can earn myself time to draw.

1 PM: I have updated my operating system, reinstalled my drivers, troubleshooted with Adobe and Apple. The fucking files are still pink.

2 PM: I convert all PNGs to JPGs. Videoediting software now refuses to read .MOV files recorded after I updated my operating system. I mutter all the expletives and stare longingly at my tablet. This is gonna be a while.

3 PM: Rush out the door to pick up kids. Kid is complaining of a tummy ache. Come home with kid, put on the tea kettle, and read Kevin Keller together until tea is ready. Am screaming internally about video editing conundrum the entire time.

4 PM: Hubs is home. I run back to the computer. There is no way to uninstall most recent version of video editing software. Find and install Handbrake to convert every .MOV file I am using into .MP4 as a workaround until I can figure out what the everloving hell is wrong with my project. I tell myself I will draw after dinner if I can just figure this out.

5 PM: Praise Crowley for leftovers.

6 PM: Video editing issue is still going, but I’ve identified the workaround and am slowly piecing my project back together. My sketchbook is next to my desk. I do not touch it.

7 PM: Husband is coming down with something. Asks if I can single parent while he lies down for a bit. I agree (because he did it for me last week when I was down for the count). I ask the kids if they want to draw with me. They do not. They want to run around outside like one of them didn’t just complain about a stomachache three hours ago. I tell myself I will draw after they go to sleep.

8 PM: Bedtime. Clean kids. Pick up toys. Brush teeth. Read books. Sing songs. Hold hands until the littlest goes to sleep. Snoring (hopefully) at 9.

9 PM: Take shower. Try to reset. No more video editing tonight. I will draw instead! *nods defiantly*

9:30 PM: Husband wants to share about his stressful week. He’s got freshman this semester. Problematic ones. And too many; 28 in his class alone, and he’s the department head, so he needs to do all the fixing. I sit with him and listen.

10 PM: Youngest kid is coughing. Wakes oldest kid.

10:30 PM: Kids sleeping. Husband downstairs working. I’m in bed, iPad in my lap, Procreate open. Tonight’s work in progress: Simon and Baz holding hands.

I stare at it. Make a couple of adjustments to the line art. Then I put it away and turn off the light. I have nothing left––no energy, no vision––to give to it.

11 PM: The lights are out. My eyes are open. They don’t close until sometime after midnight.

Because I am thinking about drawing.

This is not a rare day in my life. This is tame compared to some days. To get through it, I tell myself this is all temporary. That one day I’ll be able to live off my artwork and I won’t be a slave to Adobe Premiere or the government or the myriad infectious illnesses my kids bring home. I also have to actively talk myself out of feeling jealous or furious at other, younger creators who don’t have to support a family, who talk about playing video games all day when they’ve got artist block, who complain about being bored, and who have the luxury of putting off whatever it is they don’t feel like doing so they can draw. My struggle is no one’s business or fault but mine and probably also Capitalism, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t sting that people are out there living the dream and taking it for granted.

Anyway, this is a very long way to say, thank you for your compliments. I am trying––every single day of my life––to make something beautiful. Sometimes, that’s fanart or my comic. Most times, though, it’s the life I’m trying to give my family.

[stingray-stories]

Day 21 7/18/2021

Sundayyyyyyyy. A day of rest. Or as much fun stuff you can pack into one day without making yourself more tired for the week ahead. Sigh…an impossible task. This morning I got a nice and shweatyyyyy workout in. It was pretty stormy today so I didn’t get to do all the things I wanted, but it did force me to have some much needed drawing time. This is going to sound funny but I haven’t drawn or painted on real paper in so long. I’ve done a lot of stuff on my iPad because it’s very convenient and I have access to so many different mediums that I usually go digital. I did, however, miss the thrill of not being able to double tap to undo a mistake haha. I was also very rusty so I did not completely love the hermit crab and heliotropium tree that I drew (for that reason, I will not be sharing it :)). At about noon, we headed out to snorkel. It was a bit of a slow start since the boat we were taking had some issues and we ended up having to be towed back to the dock and switched into another boat. Then we were off again…like a herd of turtles. No not really we were going probably about 10 whole nautical miles. Much faster than a turtle. Unless you’re talking about a sea turtle then we may have had some competition. Anyhoot, our first spot was crazy corals and boy was it crazy. I mean craaaaaazzzyyy! You didn’t even have to get in the water to see all the incredible colors and shapes. We, of course, got in because shuduh and it was insane. All of the coral was off the crazy charts and every inch of the surrounding area was coral. I didn’t even see sand around. I think my favorite thing about this snorkel was diving down and looking up at all the unique shapes and angles of all the different coral colonies. Not to mention all the incredible the colors. The next stop was tortagonia (or tortellini depending on who’s on the radio). At that snorkel site we were really close to the waves crashing on a much shallower area just outside of where we hopped in. It was fun sticking my head out of the water and watching the big waves crashing when right below me was a calm community of organisms. We also got pretty close to the really shallow part where the waves were crashing and it was just a huge pile of dead squirrels again…geezo beezo (ps this is a joke from a previous entry)…jk dead coral rubble. We were advised not to go over the coral rubble since the other side is deep with strong currents. Near there I saw a massive Napoleon wrasse just hanging out and giving me the side eye. As far as big fish go (not including whale sharks and other big sharks since those are massive) this was one biiiiig boy. I also saw lots of parrotfish and heard them crunching and munching the coral. Additionally, I saw some more bird wrasses which are just tooooo cute. The coolest fish I saw that I haven’t see yet was a sling-jaw wrasse. I didn’t see it with its jaw out, but it resembles the xenomorph (I looked up what the the alien was called since I’m not Joshua Massaro who probably knows this) in the movie Alien, starring the badass Sigourney Weaver, when it’s slowly sticking it’s scary jaw jabber thingy before it kills. It’s a very strange looking fish, but I was excited to add it to my list. At this site I also saw a bunch of giant clams. They are just so cool. Every time I see one I dive down to say hello. After leaving tortellini, it started pouring rain and I got very chilly so when I got back I had a 30 second warm shower. Mmmmmm.

Later I called my super cool family and gave them updates about what’s going on and answered some of their questions. After that, I chatted with Oz aka Zach aka boyf (this was previously autocorrected to boy hehe). Thanks for those lovely chats! It’s nice hearing about what’s going on with everyone since usually during my free time I’m writing about what I did so I love to know what’s going on with my peeps outside of Palmyra. After that, I had some grub and watched, get this, The Office. Gasp! What a surprise! Once things calmed down, I stayed in the galley and started Dark Knight Rises (another very quotable movie. I also always feel like Bane when I’m wearing a life jacket and I hold onto the top of it like he does). While watching, I wrote my blog and then got ready for bed. Last night was the latest I went to sleep - 10 PM!! Ah!

Side note: I try my best to proofread, but once I’ve written a full entry I get excited and just want to post so keep that in mind :). Also, if there’s something drastically wrong or confusing let me know and I can adjust it. Thank you thank you!

Another side note: an updated map with snorkel sites is on the way! Woop!