#(Would you just look at those quality side profiles XD)

[justaghostysposts]

Made some subtle changes to my dnd character Mith Dae’s design!

[radioactiveshitstorm]

For the OC thingy:

Vasya: Canvas, Road, Alternate

and (obligatory bc when I saw his profile my polish levels went skyrocketing lol xD):

Wabik: Stillness, Roots, Change

(ps. sorry for the prompt spam but I thought you would like some more when one per character lol)

OH FUCK YEAH do not apologise, i get to talk about my tall quiet son and my short rowdy son! :D

Vasya

canvas: Does your OC have any scars, piercings, tattoos, or other markings? Do they display or cover them up at all?

No tattoos or piercings, and he'd probably never get them on account of being terrified of needles/sharp pointy things being stuck in him, but he does have scars. Mental illness is a hell of a thing, y'know? He's also got a scar across his right palm where he tried to de-stone an avocado like he'd seen on the internet. It turns out the knife was, in fact, sharper than he realised, and he did not know the right amount of force to put behind it! Whoops! This one he doesn't care about people seeing, but the SH scars are more of a sensitive topic - he pretty much always wears long sleeves unless the weather absolutely demands it.

road: What does your OC wear while traveling? Do they have high-quality equipment, or are they making do? What does their gear look like?

This man is not travelling. On the rare occasion when he's taking like a flight or something, it's cheap and cheerful comfort all the way. Joggers and a hoodie, headphones, that's about it. I am at something of a loss for this one bc his ass does not Go Anywhere

alternate: What would your OC's alternate universe look be? If they're a fantasy character, what's their modern look? If they're sci-fi, what's their fantasy look? What AU would you want to see your OC in, and how would they dress themself?

Oh. Oh I have infinite AUs for this man. Fantasy AU? He's a funky little forest-dwelling druid with four dog familiars, who sells homemade potions (and soups) to friendly travellers who pass through. Sci-fi? I had a story written out once which was just an excuse to throw all my characters onto a space-station, Vasya works as the on-station gardener and spends 99% of his time with his hands in the dirt and figuring out how to grow fruit in space. Another classic is the lighthouse-keeper AU; his upbringing is the same but he flees home and becomes a lighthouse keeper, adapting to life alone on a desolate rock and enjoying it more than he should. On the fandom side of things... There's his various Fallout-AUs, where he's Courier Six with a med-x dependency, or sometimes a nervous wandering ghoul trader. His Destiny 2 AU, where I turned him into a spacemagic robot and went full oc x canon with one of the loudest characters in the game. And my current favourite AU, the one confined to a friend's server, where he lives & works as a maintenance guy on a military base, and manages to befriend literally everybody he meets almost instantly. He's the most-protected beanpole ever in that one :) And I will stop describing his AUs there or we'll be here all night!

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Wabik (aka Ludwik)

stillness: How does your OC act while still? Are they fidgety? Do they have any common gestures or tics? Does their clothing affect how they hold themselves while at rest?

Wabik cannot fucking stay still for the life of him. Man's a ball of barely-contained ADHD, even if he's not actively moving around he's still tapping his fingers or clicking his tongue or doing the ol' leg-jiggle. His current go-to fidget is tapping the fingers on his left hand with his thumb, in like a sequence (since it's a prosthetic, it makes a more satisfying noise). Clothing only really affects that if he happens to be wearing bracelets that day, in which case those are getting fiddled with. (He used to fiddle with his wedding ring, until he lost his arm and got the ring engraved onto his prosthetic instead.)

roots: Is your OC's look inspired by any specific style of clothing or fashion trend? What are the roots and/or inspiration for their look?

PASTELS. ALL PASTELS. He's just a happy lil pastel guy, he took that style and ran with it! Pale pinks, lilacs, minty-green, baby blue, all that jazz - he loves it, loves to feel pretty. Doesn't restrict what he wears based on silly ideas of gender either; if he wants to rock a crop-top and a skirt, he's going to damn-well do it, and look damn cute in the process. No real inspiration for it, he just liked dressing like this pre-transition and didn't see any reason to change it up. Plus, this particular style goes great with his favourite heart-shaped sunglasses.

change: Has your OC ever drastically changed their appearance? Significant haircuts, big tattoos, complete wardrobe swap, etc? Why? How do they feel about the change?

Only once, and it was temporary, and for a not-particularly-pleasant reason. After the events of The Breaking of Ludwik Nowak, he desperately had to change something, partly out of a need to regain some control and bodily-autonomy, and partly because his usual style didn't feel safe any more. So he shelved all his cute pastel stuff, switching it for plain darker-coloured clothing, and shaved his hair off completely. Did he like it? No, he fucking hated it. Hated that it was a very visible and obvious tell that something was Not Right with him, felt almost ashamed of it. But he physically couldn't get through life any other way, at the time.

He's gone back to his usual look by this point, for the most part, although still has the occassional Bad Day where he'll pull out some less-vibrant clothes and tuck his hair under one of his husband's baseball caps. He's less ashamed of it now, too, although it's still not enjoyable.

[sheepishlyshippingsheep]

I JUST got into the BNHA fandom recently all because of two certain cinnamon rolls and I followed you only moments ago... but I'm very very happy for you and how you feel appreciated by your followers! I'll do my best to show my support as well, for you and for Izuocha! SPEAKING OF WHICH, I saw the prompts and I couldn't help but ask for one! Do you think you could make something for Izuocha with "talking a lot about them to other people"? If you want to and on your own time, of course!

[Hi there! Thank you for joining my birthday prompt last month and I’m sorry this took so long. It’s my first time to draw this many characters >w

“Mumble Battle”

Eijirou just woke up from his afternoon nap when the yawn crosses over his face once more before he decides to get up from his bed, surrounded by all things manly. He gives his phone a brief glance for any messages and to check the time before exiting his room, scratching the back of his neck.

He stands by the elevator but backs out and makes his way to the staircase instead, suddenly preferring the simple act of stretching his legs as he combines it with some elbow stretches.

Training and lessons are getting tougher these days and while he would usually spend his free time doing more workouts, loving the feeling of his muscles roaring, today is one of those days that he needed rest. But now that he has his energy tank back to being full, it’s time to have fun and see how his classmates are doing. And maybe grab a snack along the way? He still has some hours to spare before his evening training anyway.

Reaching the shared area of Alliance, Eijirou is immediately met by the side profile of a blond. But not the explosive one though.

��Hey—” Eijirou pauses his greeting, noticing Denki who is holding his phone with some distance from him, eyes focused forward, hands steadily holding the device. A cord hanging from his lips is connected to the phone but the smile on his face is not because of that. It seems that he is recording something while charging (which is a common sight). It would be rude to speak so the red-head just stands awkwardly, considerate to not disrupt whatever his friend was doing.

Denki notices his presence though and points the camera of his phone to him. “Here’s our Red Riot in the house! Say hi, Kirishima!”

Acknowledged, Eijirou gives the camera his signature fist post as he smiles with a “Hey, what you up to, man?”

“Something interesting’s happening right now. Midoriya and Uraraka are having a battle,” Denki says, his eyes back to his recording as he places it back to where it was pointed to earlier.

A battle? Well, that sounds really exciting! When he thought of checking on his classmates, he didn’t know that a battle is going to be involved. And to think that it’s Izuku and Ochako? That’s a pretty interesting sight. Eijirou finally looks at what Denki is filming and sees some of his classmates together. But something seems different.

His red eyes first fall on the right side of the area, seeing Izuku with Tenya, Shouto and Yuuga. He raises a brow.

He couldn’t describe what exactly is happening but it seems that Izuku is in the middle of one of his ramblings, fists by his chest, eyes bright and eager as always. Except that this time, instead of people being weirded by the word vomit, the three boys near him are actually listening. And–

“Wait is Midoriya… using his quirk?” Eijirou asks with Denki shaking his head.

“Nah, man. I don’t think so.”

“But he’s glowing!” He is. Eijirou can see green light surrounding him.

“I know! That’s why I told you it’s interesting! I don’t really know what’s happening though,” Denki says, obviously not minding how bizarre the situation is.

Meanwhile, Eijirou tries to listen despite the distance.

“…Uraraka-san is so nice from the first time I met her. Now that I think about it, I’ve always referred to her as that nice girl before. She helped me. She saved me. And I am so thankful because if not for her, I wouldn’t be here. The more I get to know her, the more I realize how lucky I am to meet her. She is so amazing and I…”

Tenya, with his hand chopping the air is also heard saying, “Discuss her physical attributes, Midoriya-kun! Talk about her brown eyes! Her cheeks that you have mentioned to be full of fluff!”

Izuku nods at him while Shouto and Yuuga watch.

He blinks. What…? What exactly is happening…?

On the left side where all six girls are gathered, Eijirou also takes a peek. He could see Mina at the back, arms raised in the air as if rejoicing for something. Matching her energy is Touru jumping up and down just in front of her. Kyouka is standing near them but smiling, Momo across her is also smiling. Tsuyu is at the side, a finger by her lip, another usual sight. And Ochako is in the middle as well, hands also formed to fists.

“Oii… Uraraka’s glowing too! What’s going on!? What kinda battle are they having?” Eijirou rubs his eyes, considering the play on his vision a part of his sleep remnants. But Ochako is still glowing, talking, and just emitting this really bright aura.

“…You know, Deku-kun is so awesome and he just doesn’t know it! But he is not just a cool hero, he is also a really kind person and I can’t help but admire him more and more. A lot of people don’t say it to him but I think they really should so he is reminded of how awesome he is as a person. Have I mentioned how cute he is? When he is so passionate about heroes and quirks? You can just see him lighten up…”

He could hear Mina and Touru squealing and cheering while Momo encourages, “Go on, Uraraka-san. You are doing great.”

“Since when did Uraraka have a habit of mumbling too?” Eijirou asks, now looking at the two groups back and forth, the figures in the middle both glowing and smiling. He could almost see the words of praise and adoration floating in the air, enveloping the figures.

He knew that Izuku and Ochako are pretty close. But this level of admiration for each other is pretty different.

“It’s a mumble battle, Kirishima. They’ve been on it for almost 20 minutes, it’s amazing,” Denki tells him while Eijirou continues to watch, still unable to process the whole thing. But the UA experience and hero life are not exactly filled with normalcy so these things should not even be that surprising. Right?

“Okay… how can one win?” His attempt to normalize the situation.

“Dunno man. I heard whoever gets to praise the other better.”

That’s when Eijirou Kirishima acknowledges that his classmates are really just a bunch of cinnamon rolls.

[inkabelledesigns]

Introductions to Equinox: Doll Profiles (January 2020)

Equinox is filled with many wonderful dolls. Today I’d like to introduce you to some of my favorites. Apologies for the lower image quality on the sketches, I haven’t been able to get the scanner to work yet, so it’s all photos of my sketchbook from my phone. ^^’’’

Loraine Celeste: Captain of the Royal Guard

Wow, artwork from Inktober AND this past Christmas? Yeah, can you tell I forget to post stuff on here? XD Folks, meet Loraine, who undeniably has gotten the most positive reception besides Auran when I share this stuff in smaller groups. Like Auran, she is a nutcracker, but she didn’t start off that way. Originally she was built to be a dancer for the Swansong Ballet, run by the lovely couple Odette and Siegfried (which is a whole different can of worms). Just a standard wooden doll who was light on her feet. She did her job beautifully, her skill was undeniable, but she wasn’t content. While dancing was all well and good, she found her greatest joys when something went amiss. Several stagehands were rescued by her hand from falling lights and trapdoors, no thanks to a bratty ballerina who kept pushing them in the way of danger. She’s one of the few dolls my story focuses on that actually knew both the king and queen in person. The queen was charmed by her performances. In one case, they had just a moment to talk backstage after one, to which she imparted the most important words Loraine would ever here. “Wherever your heart guides you, that’s the place you ought to be. After all, the role is called “heroine,” sometimes you get saved, sometimes you do the saving.”

A few years after the queen’s death, Loraine finds herself in a doll’s only tavern. On that particular night, a soldier from the guard has come in to watch the merriment with a friend by his side. The two end up conversing throughout the night, laughing and dreaming of what it would be like to live in the other’s shoes. One night turns to two, then three, then a few weeks, and the two hatch a brilliant plan. With the help of the soldier’s friend, they switch their parts and disguise as one another at their jobs. It takes months for them to be caught, but the two end up switched permanently, happier than ever in a place that best suits them both. Lorain climbed her way up the ranks and became the captain of King Hans’ forces, and Equinox is safe and secured thanks to her fine judgment. 

Manny Quinn: The Royal Outfitter

With a name so cheeky, it’s no wonder that Manny has such a sense of humor. The mannequin has seen his fair share of daring moments. For many years he was confined to a shop window, posing the latest trends for passerby's to see. But Manny was more than a model, he was an artist. When there was no more work to be done for the day, Manny would return home and burn the midnight oil as he stitched together the most beautiful threads. Ballgowns, capes, hats, and a large selection of wigs were all in his collection, all made from scraps, odds, and ends that his workplace discarded recklessly. Inspired by the story of Cinderella, he disguised himself one day while off from work to go to the annual market and present his wares for sale. With the interest of an investor, Manny was finally able to sell his designs and make his way forward as the first doll to change the fashion industry. He now works as the royal outfitter, with his business on the side to keep Equinox looking fabulous, with the help of his assistant, Hermy. 

While I won’t get into it too much just yet, Manny is also capable of shapeshifting, thanks to something known as dust magic that we’ll get to in another post. Trust me, it’s gonna be fun when we get to the rules of magic in this world. Most don’t know of his abilities, but it certainly comes in handy for making clothes that fit a variety of body types.

Amil Pastiche: The Peridot Puppet

Marionettes are jolly good fun, and Amil is no exception. There aren’t many toys in Equinox that are built to be so youthful, but his energy is contagious, and the children love his performances. But Amil’s story isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. His father, the puppeteer, was a lonely man, who much like Gepetto who created Pinnochio, wanted a son. He built one in Amil, hoping maybe some far off fae would grant his wish for a human boy, but no such luck was to be had. Amil didn’t care, he was happy just as he was, but his father was not. The poor boy was never good enough, and when the curtains were closed, he was treated horribly, unable to escape and call out for help. Eventually, things got so bad that the little puppet ran away, seeking refuge in the palace, begging for sanctuary. Loraine was the one to graciously let him in on that cold, stormy night, and he was rescued. Through a difficult trial, his father was imprisoned for his abusive actions, and Amil was free. He eventually went to work as a stagehand for the ballet, only to perform again occasionally after all those years of being worn down. 

All three have since become good friends throughout the years. There’s two more for us to talk about in their merry little band, but one must wait, and the other, well, I think you know who it is. For now, though, we rest, until it is time for another story.~ 

Thank you all for tuning in, if this interested you, don’t worry, there’s a heck of a lot more where this came from. The Doll Mender is a story I plan to do great things with, and I hope you’re ready to take the journey with me to turn these past two years’ content into something wonderful! ^^ If you have any questions or want to know more, my inbox is always open. I’d love to hear what you think and if there’s anything specific you’d like to see! ^^

[the-sapphire-general]

My Thoughts and Feelings About Sephiroth (Part 3)

Well I did say I would make a third part if I had more in mind about Sephiroth. And much to my surprise, there is more! So here it is! Parts 1 and 2 can be found here so you can keep up just in case I mention anything from those posts:

My Thoughts and Feelings About Sephiroth (Part 1)

My Thoughts and Feelings About Sephiroth (Part 2)

Now this one will be a little different because I will include more about the portrayals I've seen throughout the Internet, my own opinions about them, and my own portrayal. Plus I will include the essay I wrote about him for one of my college courses and I might say random things about Sephiroth that I will discuss. 

First will be the portrayals of Sephiroth I have noticed throughout the Internet. I will not attack any of these or offend anyone who has these headcanons. I respect everybody's headcanons, and it's a good thing too because being a jerk to anyone who has portrayals that are different from yours is stupid and a waste of time. I have friends whose portrayals are varied, and we don't fight over how Sephiroth should act. Love them, hate them, be neutral to them, just as long as you handle this in a mature manner. 

Now I have mentioned the portrayal of Sephiroth where he's unnaturally hypersexual in part 1, so I will not go into detail about it anymore. It's already been done. Another one I will not discuss again is the mindless killing machine portrayal (mentioned in part 2). To those who do or like these portrayals, I dislike them but I will respect your choice.

Now for the portrayals. The ones I really enjoy are the ones for his Crisis Core self (or pre-Nibelheim if you want to put it that way). As I have stated before, I can relate to his past personality, so I really like a lot of the headcanons. Picturing him, say, struggling to socialize, not knowing much of certain things (i.e. video games), spending time with friends, basically being human is heartwarming for me. I take it a lot of people like CC Sephiroth, and who wouldn't? There was this one story where Sephiroth took a liking to lemon drops, which is one thing I added to my own headcanon page on my blog. I found it rather sweet and cute. That's like me but with chocolate. I love chocolate. And then there's one where he has no idea what a sitcom is due to his sheltered upbringing, and it was pretty amusing to picture Genesis and Angeal trying to explain it to him as they watched TV. There are many others that I don't think I can list since there are so many of them, and for a lot of them, I like them. There's some that I don't, but that's just my personal opinion.

Now for the Sephiroth we all know after the Nibelheim Incident. Man, I'm beginning to remember what I've read. It's hard for me to find some portrayals that I like because the ones I've seen so far were unsettling. Sephiroth being a sadistic rapist is one of the worst ones I've seen so far. Not as in the stories are poorly written or something like that but for me, it's one of my least favorite portrayals. I get that he lost his mind, but I believe he wouldn't go that far. I wouldn't go that far with my own portrayal because it just makes me feel uncomfortable. Just thinking about it makes me uneasy.

I confess that I don't know my limits when it comes to portraying Sephiroth. For a long time, I've been trying to grasp his evil demeanor and I still hesitate to go further and struggle to get inside his head sometimes. So I don't know how far I can go with dark, twisted, cruel scenarios, but rape is one of my limits. I won't reveal the user, but I was recently asked if I could do necrophilia. When I got the question, I was speechless. That's another one of my limits. I really can't imagine Sephiroth being...intimate with a corpse. Much to my relief, they respected my opinion. And I like that. People should respect others because everyone has limits and if I have to force myself to write Sephiroth doing rape, acting all creepily intimate around Jenova, asphyxiation (as in the kink), or something that I don't see him doing, I won't enjoy the roleplays at all. I used to wish I could please everybody, but that's an impossible goal and I should keep in mind about what I want and don't want to do. Again, I don't know my limits too well, so if anyone wants to RP with me on my Sephiroth blog and it involves something that you're not sure if I accept or not, please message me. I'll try to get out of my comfort zone, but please respect my limits. If I don't do certain things, there are other Sephiroth blogs out there. It's simple and it will prevent pointless drama.

My portrayal for Sephiroth is close to his canon self but mixed with his CC side and my own headcanons. I try to stay close to canon as I write, and I silently read what I wrote and then read it out loud while picturing Sephiroth saying it. If what I wrote doesn't work, I revise them until they sound like Sephiroth. It's still not easy because I'm still struggling with his dark, insane, cruel self, the villain everyone knows and loves. One thing is certain is I do try my best to make him more human but still maintaining his character. I can't make him too human or else that ruins his cold and distant qualities, like making him fall madly in love with someone or bawling his eyes out. Now I haven't seen these examples anywhere, so I'm just throwing in random hypothetical headcanons here. The point is I do try my best not to make him too kind, soft, patient, you know, real nice or else that's not really Sephiroth. Lol But I also don't make him relentlessly cruel to the max 24/7. Both extremes aren't portrayals I like, so I am tackling middle ground. It's possible, and if others don't like my portrayal, that's fine, but they shouldn't judge me for it.

Since I'm discussing my own portrayal, I might as well explain other things about it. Let's see, he has interests outside of trying to destroy/conquer the world and messing with Cloud. My character is a loyal follower. Her profile isn't on my blog but her name is Maybelle Rose, and she's Sephiroth's love interest. Speaking of this, I make Sephiroth a bit of a Tsundere towards others, not necessarily involving romance like with Maybelle. He doesn't act like a stereotypical Tsundere, but he's a very, very subtle version. 

Romance. Now this is something that might piss off so many, but I can picture him in a relationship. No, I'm not talking about Crisis Core Sephiroth. I mean post-CC. Say what you want, but I can see it. If done well, it can work. I don't like following the stereotype that villains are incapable of love. Some villains can truly be incapable of love, but not ALL villains. It's not mandatory. A friend of mine claims that Sephiroth is bland. Now I completely disagree with his opinion, but it did give me confidence in pursing romance regarding Sephiroth. Heroes are written as human beings, why not do the same for villains? That's what makes characters compelling, it makes them real. That's what I'm basically trying to do with Sephiroth, and as challenging as it may be at times and despite people probably going against this idea as they read this, I'll do it. My blog now allows shippings. Yes, I now accept shippings. I used to not accept them, but I changed my mind. My reasons are shown in my rant here:

Sephiroth Fandom Rant

Okay I know I said I wouldn't mention the hypersexual Sephiroth portrayal, but I might as well. If he were in a romantic relationship, he wouldn't be like that. Sephiroth doesn't get horny around everyone. Seriously, he's not a sex-obsessed maniac. Sephiroth is a private man with dignity and he would never act extremely sexual, let alone sexual in general. He would be intimate with his significant other, but it would be in a normal level and he would be intimate in private. And I must add that my portrayal does involve Sephiroth having kinks, but he's not sex-obsessed like I said. He has self-control and he keeps things private. 

Now for the next thing. I wrote this essay over two years ago, and apparently I kept it after all this time. Lol Yes I wrote an essay about Sephiroth, back when I was still somewhat of a new fan. The assignment was to do a paper on a criminal, real or fictional, and diagnose them with specific personality disorders. However, it didn't mean that they HAD to have any of these disorders. We just had to show the instructor that we understood the material we have learned during class. Take a look at my essay here:

Essay on Sephiroth

Fun fact: My other choice for this assignment was Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. XD But Sephiroth was a better candidate and I was able to write more about him than I could have ever done about Gaston. Schizoid Personality Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder were two of the ten types of personality disorders that came close to Sephiroth's behavior. I don't consider either of these disorders as my personal headcanons for him. I honestly never did despite Schizoid PD being pretty close. And much to my shock, my instructor liked my paper and I wound up getting an A! I never got an A on any papers, so it felt amazing to finally get a grade that was higher than a C.

Speaking of psychology, one headcanon that's somewhere online is that Sephiroth has autism. Well, it is possible because I have a friend who is autistic, but during my research on this condition, I don't see Sephiroth as autistic. Sure some of his traits do seem to resemble signs and symptoms, but speculation isn't considered a confirmation that he has autism. He might have it but I would rather have Square Enix confirm it if he really is autistic. On another note, I do understand why they headcanon him as autistic. They relate to Sephiroth because some of his traits remind them of themselves. I get that and if they think he's autistic, that's okay with me. This headcanon is also given to Papyrus from Undertale and Pearl and Peridot from Steven Universe, so I'm familiar with this. Even L from Death Note is believed to be autistic. To be honest, I kind of believe it regarding L. That's just my opinion, though.

Tangent aside, courtesy of a friend, I am more intrigued by Sephiroth in a new level. Aside from his appearance and personality, his intelligence, the way he thinks has me curious. Yes I have been trying to get into his head to improve my portrayal, and I think I found a strategy. If I want to portray and act like Sephiroth, I have to think like him...in less destructive ways, might I add. Lol I may not be an expert as Sephiroth yet, but I'll get there. I've come this far on my blog, and I'm not throwing it all away. 

Speaking of my Sephiroth blog, besides that it would be fun and such, I created my own blog because I wanted to express my passion for him. He's one of my role models that made me stronger and I just really admire him. And like I said, I knew I could connect with other fans. Sure, there's a toxic side of the fandom, but that won't stop me. I did feel offended several days ago, as mentioned in my rant, but I'm fine now. In addition to my reasons, I didn't start the blog for fame. Popularity isn't really a big deal for me, I just want to show everyone how much of a Sephiroth fan I am in creative ways. Besides, I found the thought of portraying Sephiroth a fun challenge considering he's my opposite, and he pretty much started my fascination for villains. I also made friends thanks to the blog, one of them being my best friend here on Tumblr. :)

Now to finish this post with one more thing. When I was still a new Sephiroth fan, I confess that I tried to redeem him. Of course it was a difficult task to do for a story, and I admit I was determined to do it. However, as I kept going, I slowly realized doing this implied I didn't like him the way he is, the villain he is widely known as instead of what he used to be before discovering his origins. So I drifted away from redemption and focused on Sephiroth on who he is without changing him. Today, I love Sephiroth for who he is, cruel, cold, calculating, everything. Why change a character you're supposed to love? You wouldn't do that to a real-life partner, or anyone in general. Sephiroth wouldn't have liked me for trying to make him turn a new leaf. Lol So I never pursued redemption for him again. It was too hard anyway. It's like trying to redeem the Joker! That's how hard it was for me. So screw that mind-numbing task, Sephiroth should remain as the badass villain I have grown to love.

Well, this is it. For real this time! Lol This is my final part of the "My Thoughts and Feelings About Sephiroth" posts. I said everything I had to say about Sephiroth as I included all my thoughts, feelings, etcetera. I'm out of things to say about him, so no fourth post! XD If I ever have more Sephiroth-related comments that comes to mind, I'll just make small posts. Will I make more long posts like these? Perhaps. I had fun writing these posts. Maybe I can tackle other topics, or maybe talk about another character in detail. Well, see ya!

[susaanrogers]

How to find and hire a graphic designer

No matter what kind of business you’re running, there’s going to come a time when you need to hire a designer. But unless you moonlight as a recruiter, this is probably one of those tasks you’ve been putting off, thinking “well… where do I find the time? And how do I go about hiring a graphic designer?”

Never fear, here’s everything you need to know to find and hire a designer that’s right for you, your business and your design aesthetic.

Hiring a freelance graphic designer vs. an in-house graphic designer —

Both freelance and in-house designers have their pros and cons, so you figure out what’s right for you! Illustration by Natalia Maca.

Before we really jump into how to hire a graphic designer, let’s talk about what type of graphic designer you want to hire—freelance or in-house.

There are pros and cons for each, so you’ll have to decide what’s right for you. Here are some things to consider:

In-house designer

Pros

Works for your brand only

Is always available to you

Knows your brand’s style inside and out

Cons

Needs to be paid even when you don’t have any design needs

Will have an area of expertise they specialize in

Has a set capacity if workload gets high

Freelance designers

Pros

Paid on a project-to-project basis

Can be hired for each project according to their specialization

Can be hired flexibly whenever you have design needs

Cons

Won’t be as familiar with your brand, so you’ll need to brief them well

Won’t always be available to join meetings or do last-minute tasks

It takes effort to find and evaluate the right freelancers

2 freelance or not 2 freelance? Logo design by ann@ for 4freelance

If you decide to hire an in-house designer, you might still want to consider working with additional freelance designers; managing the design for an entire company can be overwhelming, so hiring freelance designers to supplement your in-house designer is a great way to spread out the work and make sure your in-house team isn’t too overwhelmed with #alltheprojects.

Also remember that design isn’t a one-size-fits-all industry; most designers have an area in which they specialize. So, if you find a designer who’s amazing at creating logos, that doesn’t mean they’re going to be great at designing your website. So keep that in mind when choosing your designer.

Looking for the perfect graphic designer?

99designs can connect you with amazing freelance designers of all specialities

Find a designer

Ok, so now that we cleared up the in-house vs. freelance debate, let’s talk about how to hire, shall we?

Set your expectations —

Make sure your head is in the right place before you hire. Character design by Zombijana Bones

The first thing you need to do during the hiring process is get your head in the right place—or, in other words, set some expectations.

What your graphic designer does (and doesn’t do)

First, let’s talk about what a graphic designer does. A graphic designer is responsible for developing the graphic support for your business. Period.

Now, let’s talk about what a graphic designer does NOT do. A graphic designer is not a web developer. So while they can design the look, feel, and layout of your website, they’re not going to code it for you.

A graphic designer is also not necessarily a creative director. Some designers are, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you might be better off hiring someone in-house for an ongoing relationship—and you’ll have to pay them a little more. While graphic designers in general can offer professional input, they’re not responsible for shaping your brand identity or leading the creative strategy—that guidance needs to come from your side.

And again, keep in mind that designers usually have an area of expertise, so don’t assume that an amazing logo designer will automatically be a stellar illustrator too.

Clarify what you’re looking for before you hire

Get clear on what exactly you are looking for. Brand identity design by nnorth.

Before you start looking for a designer, you should know:

What you need designed (logo, flyer, poster, etc.)

The look and feel you’re going for

The basic elements of your brand identity (color palette, approved fonts, etc.)

If you have a vision in your head you want your designer to bring to life, one of the best things you can do is create an inspiration board. Create a Pinterest board and pin anything you think will help your designer better understand your vision, including other designs (so, for example, if you’re designing a logo, pin other logos that have a similar look and feel of what you’re going for).

Before you hire a designer, you also want to be super clear on who you’re designing for. A graphic designer would create a completely different design if your target demographic is children under the age of five than they would if you were going after seniors, so knowing your audience—and communicating that to your designer—is key.

Finding designers —

Back in the day, finding a designer was tough, but now that you’ve got the interwebz, it’s never been easier to find an A+ designer. There are SO many options out there to connect with incredible graphic design talent.

The internet is a wonderful place that makes finding designers easy! Search designers via 99designs.

Freelancing sites

There are plenty of sites out there dedicated to freelance talent, including 99designs. On 99designs, you have the opportunity to browse designer portfolios to find your perfect match or you can run a design contest. With a design contest, designers compete to win your project; you get to view a ton of different designs and choose the one you like best.

There are also other platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer.com where you either have the option of browsing designer’s profiles or posting a job and getting specific responses for your design project. You won’t get a chance to review a variety of work like you do with a design contest, but you can review past work to help make your decision. Similarly, since these sites cater to a wide variety of freelancers, there aren’t as many design-specific tools (to help you find the perfect designer, and to make working with them easier once you’ve found them).

>> Learn how 99designs compares with Upwork when it comes to hiring a graphic designer.

There are amazing designers on these sites, but when it comes to the level of talent, it’s a mix. Upwork, for example, has over 12 million registered freelancers, and while there are definitely great designers in there, there’s also a lot of not-so-great designers—and sorting through all of them to find the real talent can be a challenge. (Insider tip: on 99designs, you have the option to exclude more junior designers from the talent pool by choosing a “Gold” or “Platinum” level contest!)

One other great thing about freelancing sites is they’re designed to protect both clients and designers: they usually charge up front, then hold the money until the project is complete. This ensures that designers aren’t chasing clients down for months with invoices, and also guarantees that clients are happy with the quality of a final design before payment is released.

Read this before you offer your designer a job…ify. Logo design by minimalexa

Portfolio sites

Portfolio sites, like Bēhance, allow you to view designer’s portfolios. Working through a portfolio site is a great way to connect with professional designers who don’t work on freelancing websites. Now, a caveat: these sites might highlight designers, but they’re not actually a work platform (like a freelance site). You’ll have to reach out to the designers and negotiate a working relationship on your own. (And you won’t have the financial protections offered by freelancing sites.)

Local freelancers

Another option is to seek out independent freelancers in your community. Ask colleagues or friends for local recommendations or search Yelp or a similar listing service.

Evaluating a design portfolio —

Ok, so now that you know the different options for hiring a designer, let’s talk about how to choose the right designer for you and your business.

99designs top level designer kosta-xd’s portfolio page let’s you know right away if it’s a fit.

The right designer for your business entirely depends on their designs. And the way you decide if a designer’s style is right for you and your business is by evaluating their portfolio. A designer’s portfolio will give you insight into who they are as a designer, their aesthetic, the areas where they shine, and the areas they’re potentially not as strong.

But if you’ve never evaluated a portfolio before, it can be hard to know what to look for. Here’s what you’ll want to keep an eye out for when checking out designer’s portfolios:

Relevant samples

Compare apples to apples and book designers to book designers. Like top level designer Meella’s portfolio.

The first thing to look for in a designer’s portfolio? Relevant samples. You shouldn’t hire a logo designer if there aren’t any logo designs in their portfolio—no matter how great their other designs are. Remember: just because a designer is great at one thing (like web design) doesn’t mean they’re going to be great at other things (like logos). Before you hire a designer, it’s important to compare apples to apples and evaluate samples of the kind of design you’ll need.

Relevant experience

Need a designer for your app? Pick one with experience in the industry. App design by designer Ayush J.

You also ideally want someone with experience in your industry. So, for example, if you own a real estate business, it’s going to be easier to work with a designer with real estate experience—they’ll understand the industry, the jargon, and the kind of designs most likely to connect with your ideal audience. When you’re evaluating a portfolio, look for a designer who has prior experience in your industry.

The right design aesthetic

Is your brand’s style clean and minimalistic? Pick a designer that shares your aesthetic. Like minimalexa.

It’s also important to review a designer’s aesthetic before making a decision. If you have an edgy brand, you want to look for an edgy design aesthetic during your portfolio review; a designer who has a lot of whimsical or corporate samples isn’t going to be the right fit. On the flip side, if you’re a brand targeted towards children, you’re going to want to stay away from a too-edgy aesthetic.

Hiring a graphic designer —

Shake hands and make the hire. Logo design by nnorth.

Once you’ve reviewed portfolios and made a decision, it’s time to hire your graphic designer. Huzzah!

Let’s dig in to some of the nitty gritty hiring details so that the process is smooth as butter for you AND your designer:

Communicating with your designer

Once you figure out which designer you work with, it’s time to make contact.

Reach out and let them know you’re interested in working with them. Give them the basic framework of the project and what you’re looking for and ask them if a) they’re available, and b) they’re interested.

Negotiating pricing

Once they’ve let you know they’re available and interested, it’s time to negotiate pricing.

Before you start asking your designer for rates or sharing your budget, it’s important to get a clear understanding of the market rates for different design projects (for logo pricing, you can check out our article on how much logo design costs). The last thing you want to do is insult a designer by offering them $5 to design your website.

When it comes to money you need to talk straight. Book cover design by libzyyy for Straight Talk on Your Money

When it comes to pricing, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Fair rates are going to depend on your designer, their experience, the scope of the project, and competitive rates in their market (so, for example, hiring a designer in San Francisco is likely to be more expensive than hiring a designer in Bali thanks to differences in cost of living).

Ask your designer their going rates, compare it to your budget, and come to a number that feels like a fit for both of you. And remember—design isn’t an area where you want to cut corners. If you sacrifice quality to save a few dollars, the chances of you being happy with your final design? Slim to none.

In addition to negotiating a pay rate, you also need to negotiate payment terms. Are they charging by the hour or by the project? Will you pay your designer 50% up front and 50% upon completion? Or does your company pay NET 30? Will they be sent a check in the mail or will you send payment digitally? Ironing out all those terms ahead of time is key to avoiding any hassles or miscommunications during and after the project.

Things to look out for

Look out for potential red flags! Logo design by Coss

When you find a great designer, you’re going to be eager to get the ball rolling and start working together. But don’t let your eagerness make you turn a blind eye to any potential red flags.

If your designer:

Takes days to respond to your correspondence;

Asks for the entire project fee before they’ll start working on the design;

Refuses to give references or samples; or

Makes you feel uncomfortable (even if you can’t quite put your finger on why).

That’s not a designer you want to work with. Any red flags you notice in the beginning—before you’ve actually hired them—are only going to get worse once you start working together. If something feels off from the beginning, it probably is. Do yourself a favor, skip the headache, and hire someone you feel good about.

The logistics —

There’s a few logistics to check off your list before you get started. Logo design by Stefanradisic91 for Yeti Wise.

Once you and your designer are on the same financial page, it’s time to officially hire them for the project. But if you’ve never hired a freelancer before, you might not know the logistics you’ll need to take care of before they start working for you.

Here are the things you’ll want to consider when hiring your freelance graphic designer:

Contracts

You should always, always have a contract in place when working with a designer; it protects both parties during and after the project. When you work with a site like Upwork or 99designs, the contract part is already taken care of (you’re welcome!), but if you’re writing one up on your own, be sure to include:

The timeline of the project, including all relevant deadlines

How many edits/revisions are included in the project fee

Pricing terms and structure

Rights (most corporate companies use a work-for-hire agreement, which means you own the rights to the work)

Any confidentiality agreements

Before you get started, make sure both you and your designer sign off on the contract.

Taxes

When you hire a freelancer, you don’t have to worry about paying taxes for them like you would a traditional employee, but you still need to keep records for tax season. When you hire your designer, ask them to fill out a W-9 form. Whenever they send over an invoice, file it with their W-9. If you pay them more than $600 throughout the year, you’ll need to a) send your designer a 1099-MISC form by January 31 of the following year and b) fill out Form 1096 that lists all the freelancers you paid more than $600 and file it with your business tax return.

Make sure that all the paperwork is in order. Stationary design by smashingbug for Benton Asset Management.

Side note: these tax rules are for the US, so if you’re based elsewhere, make sure to check your country’s tax rules and regulations to make sure your tax game is on point.

Wrapping things up —

Finding a graphic designer can be a challenge. But now that you’ve got the A to Z guide on hiring a designer, all you have to do is get out there and find the best freelancer (or employee) for you and your business.

Looking for the perfect graphic designer?

99designs can connect you with amazing freelance designers of all specialities

Find a designer

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