#ALSO no brown pencil so i HAD TO COLOR MIX FOR THE SHADES. It was only today that i got a brown pencil (not even a good one)

[luck-of-the-drawings]

I LOOOVE LOVE ALL THE NPCS IN PRIME DEFENDERS!! THEYRE EACH SO UNIQUE AND COOL, WITH THE GREATEST THING YOU CAN POSSIBLY GIVE TO SUPER HEROS IN A SUPER HERO UNIVERSE: WAAACKY FUCKIN SUPER POWERS!! (MADE WITH ONLY PEN AND COLORED PENCILES, MISTAKES CORRECTED WITH PAPER N GLUE)

[myokk]

I filmed a timelapse of my process for this quick one💓

Honestly not really happy with how this turned out & I’ll probably redo it😆 but I always love making process videos!!

I REALLY HAVE TO TRUST MY PROCESS🙏🙏🙏 these paintings always look AWFUL😳 until the very end but luckily I’ve painted enough of them to keep pushing through and not give up in tears bahahahahahah

1) I start out just painting the base colors. I have a dirty paint palette I NEVER clean😤 but tbh I like it bc every color I want is basically already mixed from a previous painting, and I like having all of the colors kind of blend together. If I need a different color though I’ve never had problems mixing to get exactly what I’m looking for💓

2) WAIT FOR IT TO DRY (I didn’t…you can see at one point I check the back of the page to make sure I didn’t destroy it completely). This paint dries SUPER fast���I am just impatient bc the next step is when it all starts to come together🥰:

3) COLORED PENCIL ON TOP!! I always make sure the paint covers almost all of the page except the parts I want to keep really white, because the colored pencil looks awful if it isn’t drawn on top of paint. I just sharpen them and go in with the small details, but I also love going crazy with the colors and using them to shade, add highlights, add extra pops of color etc. For example, on Bea’s shirt I used gold, dark blue, dark brown, normal brown, mauve, tan, olive green…I just like to experiment and have fun choosing the colors (esp ones that I think SHOULDN’T work but they DO🥰)

Sometimes I switch between the paint and the colored pencil bc the paint can be used to kind of “erase” any mistakes, but I can’t go too crazy or add a lot of water to it because I use the cheapest paper known to man and it gets destroyed SO EASILY 😫 all of the fanart I’ve drawn is in €1 notebooks

[maodebo]

I've found an old ballpoint pen while exploring my house "oh neat I remember this pen, I used to draw a lot with it, why did I stop?" also I wanted to try colored pencils because I've forgotten why I stopped using them.

Recently I've started watching Lady Oscar and I've got this idea of Oscar as a cowboy that I've wanted to try so let's use the old pen n pencils

Now I remember why I've stopped using this pen, yeah it've VERY thin, 0.5 but damn it pukes ink sometimes!

Also colored pencils are the devil, well at least the ones I have. shading? nah we refuse to mix with other colored pencils. Some don't freaking draw... how??? How does a pencil run out of color????? Others just disintegrate while I use them, and after you blow awya the dust they create the only thing that remains is the memory of a color on the paper.

Also the pencils that I have are really pale so to create intense colors you gotta push harder on the paper, slowly stacking doesn't work for some reason, but going hard reduces accuracy and you draw outside the borders. Plus you can't really erase these pencils they always leave their stain. Maybe sharpen the tip so you can draw with more precision and really get in the texture of the paper to increase the color intensity for 3 strokes? Nah, the leads of these pencils are a minefield of cracks and they often break as you sharpen them.

Also some don't color how you think they would! you see a pencil with RED body and RED tip, you think it's RED but nope it's PURPLE or PINK or BROWN. Or it's a differnent shade, like the darkest red lead you can think of, you try it and it's the palest pink! or more often than not you get a grey, brown body brown lead, you try it and it's GREY... HOW??????

But these pencils are good to draw clouds and they kinda resemble the texture of jeans

The image on the top right comes from this panel in the manga, I just love the goofy expression and I had to draw it XD

Also when I've took the photo the light was kinda bluish but I didn't noticed because my pc n phone have a slight orangy tint for eye protection, disabling it showed me the true photo, now I'm worried of all my photo how they really look like. I've edited the photo to make it more warm but now if I look at it with the eye protection filter it looks way too orange, oh well

[tellsfromninjago]

Coloring things from my sketch book and what not

I must say that I am happy with coloring on sad coffee man other than his hair. The idea was to make him look sick and I think he dose. I'm almost 100 %happy with the serous guy the only thing is that one bit of shading on the top of head not making sense.

I finally got around to coloring this. I didn't have the colors I wanted for it so I had to figure out how I could mix the ones I had to get the auburn color I wanted. Tried it figure it out one the other folks on the page first. It's a bit scary coloring traditionally because everything is so permanent. I'm definitely going to change things up with the line work when I do it digitally. It's not my best drawing for sure. Koko's eyes just look wrong. I may change them to a light brown. IDK. The sizeing is off too.

Now this isn't from my sketch book. This is done with green construction paper and markers. I used colored pencils for the shading. I really like the effect. I might use it in a comic sometime. I also went straight in with the marker and did no construction work first. Was pretty fun. With a monster like the Preeminent it's not that hard.

[thelovelymrsc]

Full glam makeup routine💋

I mentioned in a previous ask that I would write out my makeup routine, so here it is lovelies!

First up: Base

Moisturize 👏🏻before 👏🏻your 👏🏻 foundation

I don’t care what skin type you have, you need a moisture barrier under all of your makeup!

I use a CereVe morning moisturizer with SPF because I have a paler skin tone and want to protect my skin.

Then, you can apply a primer if you wish. A silicone based primer for pore reduction or another layer of hydration if your skin is drier.

For foundation: I love the Too Faced Born This Way Foundation. They had a shade for my skin tone which can be difficult to match, and the formula is superb for that glam coverage look. I’ve also used Fenty Beauty and enjoyed it, as well as Wet n Wild photo focus foundation.

Concealer: I’ve been using Tarte Shape Tape because, again, they had the right shade. This is very full coverage so be careful to avoid cake face. I apply it as a highlighting concealer.

Powder: Currently I’m using the Jaclyn Cosmetics face powder palette. I’m enjoying it so far, but I usually only set where my concealer is. A tried and true is the Laura Mercier translucent setting powder. It’s well loved for a reason. Another favorite is the beauty bakerie flour powder.

Setting spray: Someone would really have to convince me that paying top dollar for setting spray is worth it, because my wet n wild photo focus natural spray is all I need. I’ve used Urban Decay, and it’s good, but I really feel like a face spray doesn’t need to be that much money.

Blush, Bronze, Highlight:

Blush: I LOVE blush. I mean, I’m just obsessed with it. I sincerely feel as if it’s the most feminine makeup essential next to maybe lip gloss. My current favorite is the Jaclyn Cosmetics cream to powder blush stick. It blends out over anything even if you’ve already set with powder. It just makes you look youthful and supple. I also love Tarte Amazonian clay blushes!

Bronzer: I’m not huge into contouring, I mostly brontour ( a mix of contour and bronze) around the edges of my face and sides of my nose. I have a rounder face so I find harsh contour looks fake on me. I love Too Faced Milk Chocolate bronzer. It’s blendable and suits my skin tone. I do want to try cream bronzer again in the future because I find cream products look so natural and are great for layering with powder for a long lasting look

Highlight: It may seem like I’m a Jaclyn Hill super fan at this point, but I’m really not haha! I just recently detoxed my products and I’m only purchasing and using things that are high quality and work for me. And I placed a jaclyn cosmetic order right after that detox. So I used to have 10+ highlights, and now I have maybe 2. I really love Accent Light from Jaclyn Hill. And her mood light powder as well. I used to use the Hourglass ambient powder in Ethereal, as well as some Becca cosmetics highlights. I did use those up though!

Eyes:

Base: MAC painterly paint pot is my one and only if I use a base. Sometimes I just use concealer.

Shadow: Morphe shadows are great, I had a mini Natasha denona palette that tragically shattered 😩but I did love it, Colourpop shadows are really soft and lovely.

Glitter: Urban decay glitter liners are beautiful with such interesting reflect colors, Stila liquid shadows are stunning, Makeup forever loose glitters are perhaps the most stunning finely milled glitter in existence, and make sure to use Too Faced glitter glue when using loose glitters.

Liquid Liner: I’ve used quite a few liners in my day. I will recommend Stila Stay all day. But right now? I’m using ELF. And it works just fine. If you are prone to rubbing your eyes even a little, it isn’t for you. That’s the only downfall. I like the black and brown liners.

Pencil liner: I only use pencil liner for lining the water line in white. And the one I use is L’Oréal, but I used to love the NYX one in Milk. It’s a classic and it’s still selling out in stores to this day.

Mascara: I’m not going to even tell you the mascara I’m using right now because I hate it. It’s awful and I’m trying to use it up but I may give up soon. I used to love Tarte mascaras. I think the better than sex mascara isn’t worth it 🤭. Essence lash princess got the job done.

Lashes: I’m just now getting into lashes, but right now I use the classic Ardell wispies and I cut them in half. This is a great trick if positioning lashes is hard for you but you love the cat eye effect.

Brows: I use ELF tinted brow gel, occasionally a brown shadow. I’m not into brows very much though.

Lips:

Lip balm: Burt’s bees is good and I keep that in my purse usually. But my go to lip care is the Laniege lip mask. I’m obsessed with it.

Liquid lipstick: MAC liquid lips have the best staying power. I wore one on my wedding day. Lip cushions from jaclyn cosmetic changed the game for me. I don’t care what people say about her, that product is bomb😂, NYX lip lingerie and soft matte lip creams are good too.

Cream lipstick: I just tried a Clinique lipstick and I love it! Definitely want more from them. PUR cosmetics came out with a Barbie line a while ago and my husband got me a lipstick from their collection and I’ve almost ran out I love it so much. MAC used to be a fav of mine too. Bite beauty has the creamiest formula that smells divine.

Lip liner: MAC liners are superb. Colourpop liner is super creamy. NYX liners are less creamy but great too!

Lip gloss: Fenty Beauty. Hands down. Literally the only glosses I kept when I decluttered.

Every day lip combo: MAC liner in whirl, jaclyn cosmetics lip cushion in last first kiss. Occasionally layer fenty gloss in fenty glow.

The PERFECT matte red lip: NYX liner in spicy, MAC liquid lip in feels so grand.

The PERFECT creamy red lip: NYX liner in spicy, Clinique pop lipstick in roses are red. Add fenty gloss in diamond milk for extra pop.

Tools:

Brushes: I have a lot of random brushes from beauty subscriptions, but I also love morphe brushes. I’m wanting to invest in very high quality ones, but I haven’t just yet!

Sponge: real techniques all day! I like it more than beauty blender.

Eyelash curler: I use a revlon one!

[whatohitsonfirewelp]

James Sirius Potter headcanons because I can’t sleep and I don’t want to sleep

Boy is an actor. People want him to take after his namesakes? He’ll give them that. People expect him to smile and laugh loudly and practically demand attention? That’s what they’ll get. He’s the first child of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley and if he doesn’t want to get torn apart he has to give the people what they want.

He did not realize that he didn’t have to do that with his family. Let’s just say there was a very emotional few weeks for the next gen and their parents

He’s genuinely the perfect mix of his parents unlike his siblings. He doesn’t look like Harry’s twin like Albus or a male version of Ginny like Lily does (but female for her)

He’s skin is a few shades lighter than Harry and Albus but darker than Ginny and Lily. His hair is a dark brown that has natural highlights of red and orange in the summer

Dude is absolutely covered in freckles

As I said before he’s an actor. But when he’s not acting you’ll find out that he doesn’t really care for pranking much. He enjoys pranks but he doesn’t care enough to get creative when he pranks because that’s not his thing. Although it took awhile for everyone else to realize this

He’s a mommas boy through and through. But he did pull away from her in his hogwarts years. He didn’t want to act around her. That’s his mom. So he pulled away since he didn’t know how to not act

He loves flying. He absolutely loves it but he also doesn’t really care about quidditch itself. He enjoyed the game and has fun playing but it’s not his passion.

He was interested in broom making for a bit. He probably has at least 25 books about that but it’s not something he ended up going for

He did end up as a Gryffindor but he almost became a Hufflepuff. It’s not something he’s ever told his family or friends.

He doesn’t really have friends. He has people who tolerate him and he tolerates back and then there’s people who hang out with him because of who he is. Because of who his family is. But no ones ever cared about him.

James is fine with having no friends. He’s surrounded by people all the time, people who don’t really care about him. Not the way his aunt and uncle care about his dad or the way the younger Malfoy cares about his brother. That’s fine with him. It’s fine when he looks over at his little sister and younger cousins and sees them with their own little groups but not alone

He’s not stupid and he’s not a genius. He gets good grades when he works hard and he finds it better to just watch what happens in the classroom instead of being the one to raise his hand.

James finds out he’s bisexual when he kissed another boy on a dare. He’s never told anyone and he doesn’t really date but it’s not a secret. If people know they know and if they don’t they don’t

He won’t ever forgive himself for letting his brother get in danger. It doesn’t matter if they both pulled away from each other I’ve the years. That’s his baby brother and it’s his fault. If it’s not his fault then it’s the adults and he’s not ready to admit that Albus and the little Malfoy aren’t the only ones they’ve messed up with

He feels out of place in his family but he doesn’t say anything for so long because he knows he’s not the only one. Albus feels out of place for reasons that everyone knows but so do his other cousins and Lily. All of them are putting up some sort of act. Too scared to tell their parents that they aren’t who everyone expected them to be

James ends up getting a tattoo his 6th year. He spent a weekend in New York in a muggle town and ended up getting a small tattoo on the inside of his wrist. If there’s one trait he got from his dad it’s impulsiveness. He ends up going back a few months later to get another one on his rib cage. Somehow these tattoos are kept a secret until a family picnic happens and he takes off his shirt to swim.

The tattoo on his wrist is a lily with a snake wrapped around it. On his rib cage he got Weasley Potter and Evans written in cursive

Harry ended up crying and refused to stop hugging James for an hour when he saw them.

James has a loud voice and laugh. It’s a voice that makes you look up and pay attention and a laugh that makes you smile and your heart warm

He doesn’t have hair like Harry or Albus but his hair isn’t straight like Ginny and Lily’s is. He takes after Grandma Molly and Uncle Percy with his slightly curly hair.

If he had to pick a favorite cousin it would be Hugo or Molly II

After the whole situation that happened with Albus James would get up in the middle of the night and sit outside his younger siblings room. Harry or Ginny would wake up and find him passed out on the floor holding his wand more than once

James try’s to get attention on him for more than one reason. He knows it’s what people expect once they hear his name and he knows so many of his other family members don’t enjoy most of the attention their family gets. He doesn’t know how to tell them he cares but he does know how to show it, even if no one realizes it at first

James has hazel eyes like his namesake. No one is really sure if it’s because of his parents own eye color or if he inherited it from the first James.

He’s actually barely average height. Albus is the one who gets the Weasley height while Lily ends up slightly taller than average but not taller than him.

He’s great friends with every ghost in hogwarts and absolutely no one understands how this happened and it’s just become a Thing

He’s clumsy as heck despite being great in the air. No one understands this until Minerva mentions that James the first was the same way.

His nails always have chipped paint on them because he can’t stop biting them and scratching at the paint.

He prefers things from the muggle world. He likes pens and pencils more than quills he loves the things they have in their toy stores. He has a rubik’s cube that’s been throw at a wall several times out of frustration

He’s actually really good at potions and he’s good enough in his other classes as long as he practices and studies. He also ends up having a love for history and will ignore everything happening in the actual class and read books from the library.

James is simple for the most part and he’s okay with that and he’s okay to pretend that he enjoys putting up a act with everyone.

He can’t cook but he can bake and it confuses Harry so much but Ginny finds it hilarious

He absolutely can not sing or dance but he’s a pretty good writer and you can find doodles on every paper he’s written something on

And that’s the post. Every time I thought I was done I had another idea. So this is my James Sirius Potter headcanon and you can accept some none or all I don’t really care

[rubykgrant]

As promised, I finally finished all my RVB pin-ups! (these are honestly pretty tame, mostly just cutesy poses and anatomy practice. I’m putting the full image under a cut below). I spent a couple of weeks drawing these, sometimes trying multiple poses until finally they looked right, and then I had to travel to scan the pictures... and the scanner was really wonky. It washed out certain colors, while over-saturating others. It was just really weird. So, the only solution was to try to edit and fix the scanned images on my computer, and since I only have MS Paint with no layers, this was a challenge. I basically had to add the colors, then go over my lines so they would be clear, and finally erase around the edges. It took another few days to fix them all, but I did it!

Here is Kaikaina Grif~

Kai was actually the first one I did (originally, the only one... but then I kept going haha). I had this specific pose in mind for her that I thought was really cute. Somehow, the sketch turned out alright on the first try, and after I added all the ink and color, it was still good! The process I used to draw her was repeated for each picture; pencil sketch, then go over the lines I like with this one almost-dry brown marker (honestly, it looks like drawing with charcoal, but thankfully it WORKS like a felt pen. charcoal is so tricky), erase unneeded pencil lines, add more defined lines with the colors I want to use for the character (for Kai, this one goldenrod pen I have), and continue with the details, mixing different pens and colored pencils for the shading. It was a WHOLE thing.

I love how her pose turned out, she really looks like she has actual form. I wanted to express the fact that she is beautiful, and she’s also chubby with stretch-marks, thank you very much. I also imagine she and her bro have like... very fine body hair that you can barely see (seriously, they have baby hair on their arms and legs). As for the hair on her head, man- I LOVE drawing hair, and hers is so pretty! I like how it almost looks like gold~

[frenchtipacrylics]

my updated makeup routines✨

i love love love makeup. my favorite thing to do is to switch it up and find new products and techniques that work really well with my features. since the summer has started and i’ve had much more free time, i’ve been playing around with my makeup styles and how i do my makeup for different occasions. as of right now, i have three makeup routines: my everyday “no makeup” makeup, my everyday glam routine, and my full glam routine. keep in mind, i have very oily skin so some of these techniques won’t work well for everyone!

“no makeup” makeup 

my grocery shopping/running errands look. if i had ten minutes to do my makeup, this is the routine i would go for. not long-wearing, but it helps me look more “put together” when i’m being a bum.

base:

my first step is to use a primer. for primer, i use the elf putty primer to fill in my pores so i look smooth, then over top i use a gripping primer to keep my makeup on my face. i like the milk hydrogrip and the elf watermelon primers.

next, i powder my face either with the maybelline loose setting powder or the fenty powder foundation so i have a bit more coverage but also so my oily skin won’t break down my base makeup as quickly.

for “foundation”, i use the glossier skin tint mixed with the covergirl matte bb cream. the glossier skin tint is not good if you have oily skin, but combined with the bb cream it is much more long wearing. i either use my fingers or a beauty blender. 

then i bronze, and i put that on my cheeks, forehead, nose, and blend it into my eye socket and under my eyebrows, flicking up once i get to my temples. this emphasizes my bone structure in a way that’s more natural looking than contour. i really like the covergirl queen bronzer.

moving on to blush, i use the milk cheek stick from sephora or the cream blush stick from colourpop. i put it on my cheeks, nose, and some on my chin and forehead to make everything look put together. 

eyes:

i prime my eyelids with my eyeshadow primer and swipe some of my blush onto my lids so everything looks a bit more “effortless”.

next I do my brows. i use the maybelline brow pencil in a shade that matches my real eyebrow hair color. i continually brush through them with a spoolie so they look natural, and rub my bronzer on the beginning of them so it doesn’t look as harsh.

for my lashes, i heat my eyelash curler, curl my lashes, apply a brown tubing mascara, and curl again. the mascara i use is the maybelline snapscara in the shade brown since it looks more natural than black. i also use a lash serum to promote growth.

lips: 

for my lips, i use a red chapstick to give my lips a “naturally” red look (either the dior lip balm or burts bees), a light pink lipgloss in the middle, and the fenty gloss bomb in hot chocolit as a “liner” that looks more natural and moisturized.

tutorials i follow: 

THE ULTIMATE NO MAKEUP LOOK | fake it til you make it... 👀

“NO MAKEUP” MAKEUP LOOK USING ONLY DRUGSTORE PRODUCTS

Makeup For Finessers!!! "No Makeup Makeup" Tutorial | Jackie Aina

NO FOUNDATION makeup routine

my no makeup tutorial

My "No Makeup" Makeup Look | Glowy Flawless Skin Tips + NO Foundation | Easy Summer Look

Minimal Makeup! Using 10 products | Jackie Aina

everyday glam makeup

very heavily inspired by the victoria’s secret angels. definitely more “high trust” than my full glam routine, kind of a “cute” look instead of a “sexy” one. plays with shimmer, pink tones, highlight, more of an effortless vibe. if you guys remember my fashion post, this ties into the girly & romantic aesthetic.

base:

my priming step is the same here, and i still set my primer with powder before going in with the rest of my makeup.

tinted moisturizer!!! to get my perfect shade and finish, i mix the covergirl matte bb cream for oily skin with the glossier skin tint like above.

for concealer i use the colourpop tinted moisturizer on the areas i want to highlight. for extra brightening, i use the maybelline fit me concealer in a shade thats way lighter than my skin tone and i put a small amount on the bridge of my nose to give it some extra depth.

instead of contour i use bronzer. bronzer is used to bring warmth to the face, so it is important to place bronzer in the places the sun would naturally hit/tan you. bronzer is not the same as contour; bronzer is always warm toned (hence bringing warmth/making you look tanner) and contour is always cool or neutral toned (because it is supposed to mimic shadows). putting bronzer where you put your contour can make your makeup look muddy, and a lot of bronzers contain shimmer which you don’t want in a contour. i put my bronzer on my cheeks and forehead with a big fluffy brush for a sun kissed look, and with a smaller brush i put a little at the top of my nose bridge. it adds depth and makes it look like i contoured my nose without me having to actually do it.

then i set my concealer. i use the maybelline fit me powder in the shade medium, press my beauty blender into the powder, dab the excess off on the back of my hand, and then i press the powder into my skin.

for this look, i prefer to look more youthful than snatched. so for blush, i like to put it on the apples of my cheeks and the tip of my nose. i use shimmery powder blush, and my favorites are the baked milani blushes or the elf blush palette for dark skin.

i highlight my skin with the shimmer color i put on my eyelid in order for things to look more cohesive. since i have some texture in the center of my cheeks, i keep my highlight closer to my temples, on the tip of my nose, and down the bridge. i then take a brighter glitter eyeshadow and, using a more precise brush, put that right in the center of the areas on my nose that i highlighted for more dimension.

eyes:

i do my eyeshadow before my eyebrows now. 

for eyeshadow, i usually put my bronzer in my crease and my outer v, and sometimes blend that out with a lighter/skin tone shade. on the lid, i put a light shimmer eyeshadow for contrast. on the inner corner, i use a very bright glitter eyeshadow, and lightly blend it onto the beginning of my lid. i also use the same eyeshadows on my bottom lid.

i use a tubing mascara since it’s gentle on the eyelashes, then i go in with regular mascara to make my lashes longer. my favorite regular mascaras are damn girl from toofaced (it has an antiflaking formula), the kush mascara from milk, and the maybelline lash sensational. all the mascaras i like are for lengthening. i also curl my lashes before and after putting on mascara.

this is when i do my eyebrows. i use a spoolie to shape them into a shape i like. using a pencil a shade or two lighter than my actual eyebrow color, i fill in the sparse areas and try to make my eyebrows as even as possible. 

for fake lashes, i usually use half lashes or wispy lashes. i like the ardell demi-wispies (i cut these in half and stack them), the kiss lashes in matte silk, the kiss lashes in teddy, and the koko lashes in queen bees. the idea is for people to still be able to see the eyeshadow despite me having lashes on.

lips:

since the base and eyes are the main focus of this look, the lips are always kept nude. i line my lips with a brown lipliner close to my skin tone (i use colourpop’s lipliner in BFF #3) and then fill it in with either a brown nude lipstick (sephora’s rouge lacquer lipstick in shade 43 be proud) and too with a clear gloss, or i fill it in with a pink/peachy nude and top with the fenty gloss bomb in the original shade.

tutorials i follow: 

THE ULTIMATE MAKEUP LOOK | Hindash

Victoria’s Secret Bombshell Glam w/ Marsha Hunt

Get The Victoria’s Secret Model Look – Makeup Tutorial | Charlotte Tilbury

Victoria's Secret Runway Makeup Look | Genelle

Victoria Secret Fashion Show Makeup ♡ Brown Girl Friendly

Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2018 Makeup Tutorial | Charlotte Tilbury

Glam Time with Romee Strijd

full glam

this is my full beat look. if i’m going out at night with my friends, or when i want makeup to be especially long-wearing, this is usually the routine i follow. 90s supermodel inspired, soft glam, fully matte, snatched/lifted, all nude/brown tones. lines up with my minimalistic & edgy style. 

base:

during the colder months, i like to use a pore-filling primer with a gripping primer on top, usually the elf putty primer in original or matte, and the elf watermelon primer or the milk hydrogrip primer like i said before. but during the summer, i have to use the becca ever-matte primer. it has a huge learning curve, but once you know how to use it, it’s a godsend for oily skin.

my first step is contour. i use the too faced born this way concealer in a color two shades darker than my skin tone and always with a cool undertone to mimic shadows. i put a small amount on my cheekbones to make them look higher, three lines on my forehead for depth, and i line my jawline to give the illusion of a smaller chin. then, i blend everything together with a beauty blender. to make it easy, you can use whatever concealer you like in a darker shade as a cream contour. 

next i conceal. i use the teint idole concealer from lancôme in one shade lighter than my skin tone, and i put concealer in all the places i want to highlight: under my eyes (a little by the sides of my nose, a line on the outside of my eye to lift), above my top lip, the middle of my forehead and chin, and a strip down my nose bridge. a little of this concealer goes a long way; i use less than half a pea-size for my entire face. for a little extra brightening, i use a really light colored concealer but only one dot in the inner corners of my eyes and a little on the nose bridge. for this, i just use the maybelline fit me concealer. before i add my foundation and blush, i make sure there are no harsh lines between my concealer and contour. 

i use a cream blush. to everyone who wears makeup, look into cream blush. it’ll change your life for the better. blush is an underrated but very important step in my makeup routine; blush can shape your face even better than contour. when i want my face to look lifted and sultry, i put my blush on my cheekbones close to my hairline and blend upwards. i use either the milk makeup cheek stick or the colourpop stick blush.

finally i go in with my fenty powder foundation. using a kabuki brush, i tap into my compact and then add the foundation to the parts of my face which have no concealer, blush, or contour first. then, i lightly go over my contour and blush, and around the edges of my concealer. this really saves you if you haven’t blended very well or went too heavy handed on the liquid products you used, since going over it with your skin toned powder tones the contour etc. down. i use the fenty powder foundation. it is very lightweight feeling in comparison to liquid foundation, and it never feels like i have a mask of product on my face when i use a powder. however, some of my favorite liquid foundations are the estee lauder double wear (full coverage matte), the too faced born this way (both the matte and regular versions), the fenty soft matte, and the anastasia beverly hills luminous foundation. at the drugstore, i like the nyx born to glow, the maybelline fit me, and the loreal infallible foundation.

setting powder is a must if you have oily skin. i prefer loose powders, but pressed powders also work, especially if you’re on the dry side. before setting my concealer, i blend out any creasing that happened. then i pour a small amount of powder into the lid, dip my sponge into it, then tap the excess off on the back of my hand (which evenly disperses the powder on the sponge too), then i press and roll the powder into my skin. i set every place that i put concealer with the laura mercier translucent loose setting powder in the shade honey, since it is lighter than my skin tone and is also a nice warm shade without being too yellow. because i use a powder foundation, i don’t have to set the rest of my face. the maybelline fit me loose setting powder in the shade medium is also a favorite of mine. 

after i set my makeup, i do bake the areas that i know will get very oily very quickly, so my nose, my chin, and my upper cheeks. if you have normal or dry skin, i wouldn’t recommend this at all. know what works for you and your skin type! i usually do my eye makeup while the powder sits. instead of wiping the excess powder away at the end i actually use a brush and press it into my skin in order to avoid any patchiness.

eyes:

my eyebrows are a pretty nice shape naturally (and i groom them weekly), so doing my eyebrows is usually pretty simple. i like to outline the bottom of my eyebrows with either a pomade or a darker pencil, then i fill in my eyebrows with a lighter colored eyebrow pencil, mimicking hairlike strokes so it looks natural. i then go over everything with an eyebrow gel. unlike base products, i would never pay a lot for eyebrow products. my favorite eyebrow pomade is the milani pomade, though the anastasia dipbrow is a classic. my favorite eyebrow pencil is the maybelline brow ultra slim, and the gel i use is the benefit gimme brow but i’ve been meaning to try the new nyx brow glue.

before i put on eyeshadow, i use an eyeshadow primer. i get really oily eyelids, so i need that barrier so my eyeshadow won’t crease. i put a very small amount onto my brush and blend it out on my eyelids. it also creates a blank canvas so my eyeshadows can pop more.

i won’t go in-depth with eyeshadow, but i will say my “formula” is usually as follows: a color slightly darker than my skin tone in the crease, a dark color on the outer v, and a really light color on the lid. sometimes i use a shimmer for my inner corner highlight, and sometimes i use a matte color instead. eyeliner isn’t necessary, but sometimes i use it in my waterline or by tightlining, and sometimes i use eyeshadow instead for a smoked out look.

for this look, i always use cat-eye shaped lashes, or half-lashes, or a few individual lashes on the outer corners of my eyes. it all adds to the “lifted” effect that i’m going for. 

lips:

since my lips are naturally very big, i almost never put color on them since it always comes across as trying too hard. i like to stick with a nude ombre look. i use a lipliner close to my skin tone first (bff #3 by colourpop), rub my lips together to blend the liner out, add a light colored nude in the center, blend again, line the very outer parts of my lips with a dark brown, and finally blend again. sometimes i add a gloss, usually the fenty gloss bomb in the shade fu$$y or i use a gold colored gloss to make my lips look more warm toned so they match my eyeshadow.

tutorials i follow:

What The Hell Is SOFT GLAM MAKEUP?!

90s Glam Makeup on Dark Skin | KeviKodra

MY FLAWLESS SOFT GLAM TUTORIAL AND A CHAT ABOUT FEAR | The Queen Hadassah

GRWM: IG Model Glam | Kevin Luong Inspired Makeup Tutorial | Gold Smokey Eye + Soft Beach Waves

90's MATTE MAKEUP TRANSFORMATION! | Hindash

Aysha Harun's Guide To Soft Glam Makeup | Beauty Secrets | Vogue Inspired

This New Too Faced Foundation...I HAVE THOUGHTS

[emotionally-charged-arson]

So @sealofcomfort asked for the process of how I made my Transitus dolls, so here a little slideshow since it’s hard to explain without pictures 😅 (and thank you!! 🖤)

First I pick pieces from my drawer of dismembered lego friends body parts on my shelf, thinking about what would work best for the outfit and face I’m envisioning. I had to throw away the Elves face from this picture though. It fit Simone PERFECTLY, but the nose melted off when I was baking the clay. 🥲Anyways she has a lot of skin showing on the torso with her Angel costume, so I used a piece with a swimsuit top. That distressed Elves skirt also goes really well with the demonic vibe she has.

After that I use acrylic craft paint to make a “base layer” that I work off of the entire rest of the process. There isn’t much color in this doll besides her hair so it wasn’t that hard with this doll. The frames for her wings are made from polymer clay, like all of her hair and clothes will be. Though the wings are kind of exclusive to this doll, fist time I’ve ever done anything like it!

I had to “fill out” the wings before I started on the outfit. As you can see it’s a ton of little strips of clay that I textured with a pick tool, tapered the ends and layered them on top of each other in varying sizes in the initial wing frames until I liked the look of it. About 11 hours and 115 individual feathers. 🙈

After that was of course, the outfit details. Nothing special, just more polymer clay and needles to carve in details.

After the whole body is sculpted I move onto the head. Her eyes are VERY carefully painted blue, I had to mix quite a bit of paint to get the right shade there. I removed the right eyebrow with acetone and a pencil eraser and painted in the empty space, just to make her more expressive. The hair, again, is polymer clay.

A couple layers and shades of orange and brown for the hair, a second layer of paint and going over the whole thing with sealant and tada! 🧡

[naoz]

@diet-tea-other-cola

infodump about 1920s american makeup

makeup in the 20s was light, as it wasn’t seen as attractive at the time. the base consisted of a face powder the shade of, or one lighter than, your skin. at this point, mainstream brand compacts have hit the market in England and the usa. this would mean companies like covergirl have put out shades. many women had to mix together shades to match their skin fully.

next would be the rouge, which is now known as blush. it was worn in a rosey-red colour. for regular usage, it was worn in a blended out crescent shape, the middle falling just under the center of the cheek bone. in film and theatre, the rouge was worn in a circle in the middle of the cheek. rouge was meant to look like a natural blush, so it had to be blended extensively.

popular eyebrow looks were light and thin, but plucking the brows was not accepted in society at the time. many women would do their brows with petroleum jelly to lie them down and give them shine. spooley-type tools were also used in styling the brows. brows would be filled in with pencil. only those with dark brown, black, or dark grey hair would use black pencil.

mascara was sold as a cake in a tin, you had to add water to activate it. then, you would scrub the surface with a spooley and apply to the lashes. if one didn’t have this tin, they would use cream . you would take it on your finger and bat your lashes against it until they were coated in the product. this was done only to the top lashes. eyeliner was used in the same colour, just a bit above the lashes.

eyeshadow was meant to match the eye colour, having specific pigments for each colour. blue eyes would use green or blue eyeshadow with brown mascara and eyeliner. green eyed persons would use green or grey shadows, also with brown mascara and liner. brown eyes would use black or plum colored shadows, along with black eyeliner. those with black eyes would use a light red shadow. it would be applied against the lashes, then blended upwards.

the lips would be painted in a matte red with an orange-yellow tint. they would be over lined to accentuate the youth in a woman’s face. it was expected for a womans lips to look pouty and kissable while open. the Cupid’s bow would be accentuated as well, as to give a more youthful look. the upper lip would have a gradient of pigment, darker on the border and lighter in the center. this gave a more childlike look, according to most fashion tips of the decade. darker reds were used for nighttime, lighter reds for day.

that’s all!! please reblog if ya enjoyed!! i have lots of info on makeup and dress history so send me an ask if ya need anythin!

[when-i-was-your-angel]

Hues of Blue

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Bucky Barnes (40's and Present)

Word Count: 1486

NSFW: Non-Explicit

TW: Rage attacks, Steve being angry

Tags: ANGST, Minor Fluff but mostly Angst

A/N: This is set between TFA and TWS! Steve still thinks Bucky died in the war. bold sections are flashbacks.

Summary: Steve tries to paint a portrait of Bucky. What color were his eyes again?

Inspired by my good friend Meral, @/CAPSBVRNES on twitter. Love ya, doll.

Steve had a long day.

Said day started with a rather pleasant dream about waking up with Bucky in between his legs. This was quickly ruined by his alarm clock. Little Steve hadn’t seemed to notice that it was, in fact, only a dream. After Steve had er- taken care- of that problem in the shower, Tony called. There was some life or death mission debrief he was needed on. So he drove two hours through New York City traffic to get to the tower, only to find out Tony needed his opinion on what qualified as a “classic” suit. Steve didn’t even dignify him with an answer before he stormed out of the building. Now, four hours later and his day wasted, he was finally arriving back home.

Steve unlocked the front door of his Brooklyn brownstone and stopped dead in his tracks.

Boxes. Boxes upon boxes of… art supplies? Based on the pictures and labels on the boxes they were filled with paints, canvases, brushes, pencils, easels, and more. Steve looked around nervously and spotted a note on top of one of the many cardboard boxes.

Sorry, Capsicle. Had to get you out of the apartment so I could deliver this shit.

Paint me something pretty.

-T.S.

A hesitant smile made its way onto Steve’s face. His day just got a whole lot better.

- - - Three Hours Later - - -

A few hours, a shit ton of cursing, and a helping of elbow grease later, Steve had himself an art studio. He had set up the three easels Tony got him, positioning them in front of the windows in the office of his brownstone. There was also a simple desk in one of the boxes that he rather enjoyed the look of. It was simple but made of solid oak. He could just picture Tony saying ‘It’s old fashioned, like ye ol’ Cappie.’

With a slight grunt, Steve stood and looked around his new studio. He hadn’t had something so… domestic in years. He smiled and unwrapped a canvas, sitting down in front of an easel. He raised a pencil to his canvas to begin sketching… and nothing happened. “S’pose seventy years and a cryogenic freeze gives you art block.” He thought.

Steve stood and walked around the few rooms in his modest house, looking for inspiration. His gaze flickered over his photo album. “That’ll do.”

He picked up the leather book, flipping through it. There weren’t many pictures. It had been difficult to get a photo back in the 40’s, and he didn’t have many people to take pictures of nowadays. A few pictures of his ma, one of him in the third grade, and- Bucky.

A black and white version of his best friend sat before him. He was told not to smile in his military ID photo, but the little shit found a way to flash a grin right as the camera clicked. The photographer had been too lazy to redo it- and that was it. Bucky was smiling like a damn runaway criminal in his personnel file. Steve worked the picture out of the clear film holding it in place. He had gotten the photo from SHIELD’s files. It was one of few pictures of Bucky in existence. Less than a dozen original copies were left on this earth. He ran his fingers over the sharp of his Bucky’s cheekbone and the plump of his lips. He remembered all the cold New York nights when those lips sat on his neck. Bucky would spoon him- ‘For warmth’ - he said. But the pink lips on the shell of his ear, on the pulse carrying his life’s blood, said it was for so much more.

So Steve went back to his new art studio and sat down in front of his easel again. He clipped the small photo to the wooden frame and picked up his pencil. He took a deep breath and started sketching. He bit his lip in concentration as he worked. After thirty minutes or so, Steve had a drawing that resembled something like his best friend. He smiled and set to work mixing his paints.

Steve always started with the skin. Habit of his from before when he was using cocktail napkins and a waiters pen to draw. He managed to nail Bucky’s complexion pretty much spot on. The cool shades of his under-eye and the baby pink ones of his cheeks.

Then came hair. Shades of brown highlighted with yellow and pink in the lightest of spots. Bucky always hated how thick his hair was but loved the effect it had on the ladies. Said it was a pain in the ass to take care of but it was all worth it when he brushed a hand through the locks and had all the girls positively swooning.

Next was clothes. The green of his fatigues wasn’t perceptible in the black and white photograph but Steve knew that color better than the color of his own eyes.

Eyes.

What color were Bucky’s eyes?

Blue. But there were a million shades of blue. Cerulean, teal, turquoise, baby blue, stormy blue- Ah. Yes. A stormy blue-grey color. He could see them now. Staring into the crisp ocean of his eyes as Bucky kissed him for the first time. He was smaller back then, barely came up to Bucky’s chin, but he didn’t care.

December 1941 - Four Days Before Bucky Leaves

“Hey, Stevie.” Bucky said after Steve opened his door to the frigid New York City air.

“Hey, Buck. What’re you doing here?” It was a reasonable question. It was midnight and Buck hadn’t been by in days.

“Can’t visit my best guy before I ship off to war?” Bucky gave him his smirk but Steve could see the fear in his eyes. The unspoken ending to that question- ‘before I never come home’. Steve smiled and stepped aside, letting him in.

Steve smiled at the memory. He looked down at the paints before him. Blues and whites and purples and reds. He started mixing them carefully, hoping to put a physical representation of the color he still saw in his dreams.

“C’mon. I’ll make you something to eat.” Steve said, walking towards his very empty kitchen.

“You don’t have’ta-”

“None of that. What would Mrs. Rogers say if she knew I wasn’t feeding my guests?”

“She’d call you smart and tell you not to waste your food on a dead-” Bucky stopped himself. That’s not what Steve needed to hear. Steve was quiet as he made his way across the threshold back to Bucky. He stared down at his hands, picking at his fingernails.

“You’re going to come back. You’ve gotta.” His voice was small. Bucky’s heart nearly shattered at the sound. Bucky took Steve’s hands in his, squeezing them slightly.

“I will. I promise.” Bucky stared into Steve’s eyes to reassure him that above anything else, he meant the words he was about to say.

The colors weren’t turning out right. Greens were too blue and blues were too purple. Everything was a mess. Steve felt himself growing frustrated and brought his mind back to simpler times. Times with him.

“I’m always going to come back to you because-” His breath hitched and Steve took notice, eyebrows furrowing in concern.

“Because I love you, Stevie.” Steve tilted his head in confusion. Why did Bucky seem so nervous? They had said they loved each other before.

“Yeah, I love you too, Buck- why’re you-”

“Oh, not like that- for Christ’s sake.” Then Bucky was kissing him.

‘So this is what love is.’ Steve thought. Then Bucky’s tongue was tracing Steve’s lips.

Oh.

Oh.

Paint was everywhere. Frantically, Steve mixed colors in a blur of tears. ‘It’s not right.’ He thought. ‘That’s not him.’ ‘That’s not my Bucky.’

Bucky shared his bed that night. Unlike other nights, however, they were both naked. Pressed against each other for ‘warmth’, should anyone ask. Steve watched Bucky long after he fell asleep. The crease in his eyebrow, the setting of his jaw, the way his eyes moved behind closed lids- chasing dreams. Soon enough, Steve curled into Bucky’s body as he always did. They spent the next four days like that. Wrapped in each other. And for the first time in a long time, he wasn’t cold.

Steve screamed as he threw his palette out the window. The glass shattered and rainbows of light filtered through the broken glass- mocking him. Steve kicked and cried and punched until the entire studio was a mess. In the aftermath of his rampage, Steve lies on the floor. Surrounded by glass, paint, splinters, and blood, Steve sobbed. He broke because he was gone. He crumbled because they didn’t have enough time. He was wrecked because ‘if only we had known. If only we had tried earlier.’

Steve lies on the ground in a brownstone in Brooklyn.

Numb.

Broken.

Cold.

[lilhawkeye3]

Art Tips with Hawk 🦅🎨

Markers!

I guess I’m starting a new series! This is brought to you by @thedancingfobby who asked me if I had any tips for drawing with markers, so I did an all-marker drawing to show my process.

So in general, I only use alcohol based markers. For this piece I only used Artist’s Loft and Shuttle Art markers. I do sometimes use Copic but I don’t have many because they art ✨expensive✨ and honestly I only really like them for coloring skin.

Artist’s Loft markers have chisel and brush tips, Shuttle Art has a point tip and a chisel tip. I really only use the chisel side because it lays the most color down at once and is easier to blend with.

It also depends what type of paper you’re using. This is a Canson Mix-Media sketchbook, so the paper is thicker and a bit textured, so it will absorb lots of marker layers. Depending on the shade of color you use, you can sometimes see the pattern reflected in the ink. I do also have marker-specific paper by Copic which is very smooth, I just didn’t use it because it is much smaller. But on that, it’s a bit harder to blend for me because the paper doesn’t absorb as much ink.

So here’s the initial lineart:

I started off with Fox’s blacks because they were the largest section so easiest to do first. I didn’t actually use a black color though: I try to use a color that when layered several times will give shadows that match the darkest section. So your base single layer would be the highlights essentially.

The same goes for Riyo’s hair, although you’ll see I have to do something different later for her because I only have a limited amount of colors.

My advice with any markers you have: use a spare sheet and test what different colors are like when you layer them after different drying times. For Fox’s blacks, I waited a few minutes, so the shadow lines would be more stark since the layer beneath was more dried.

For Riyo’s hair, though, I needed to blend it all to make a new shade of purple/pink. So as it was still wet, I started coloring over it all with a bright pink.

The same with her face: the color of her arms is the basic base of her skin. I then use a lighter gray-blue shade to create the lighter blended section on her face. (It looks a bit wonky because it is still wet).

Then after letting her hair dry a bit, I took the same base color of purple for her hair and created the darkened shadows to her hair.

After that dried, I took the same purple and colored over all the hair to bring it to the mid-tone purple/pink I wanted.

For her arms and Fox’s skin I did the same technique as with Fox’s blacks. The blending is essentially just blocked gradients.

And then I just finished up with Fox’s skin and Riyo’s dress! (Fox’s hair I had to shadow with colored pencils on top of a brown marker base because my brown marker died.)

I also took my Sharpie pen and went back over the lines to make them bolder. (I like Sharpies as my liner because they don’t bleed against the alcohol markers! And they line well on top of the wax Prismacolor pencils too).

And here’s the finished art!

And just to show how much ink I’m using/layering: here’s a picture of the back of the page. Always make sure to have scrap layer underneath to keep it from bleeding further into your sketchbook!

So I hope that helped a bit! I’ve never really tried explaining my process or tips so this was challenging but fun🥰🎨

[athenagc94]

This One Time in Atara - First Meetings

Me? Not writing a story where I live out my dream to romance Gust? Never. But it’s true. Here’s a story about how Albert and Gust first met in Atara. I plan on writing more stories of their shenanigans in Atara while they were younger (as they come to me). So please enjoy! 

I’ll also post them here in AO3: This One Time in Atara

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh and this one time back in Atara,” Albert managed around a boisterous laugh, “Gust convinced the local Civil Corps members doing their rounds to join us for a game of darts. We made a little competition out of it to see who could wrack up the most points.” He took a sip of his hard soda and stifled another chuckle. “Well, we just about won the clothes off their backs. Though that might have been Gust’s goal from the get go. The one with the wing tattoo across his right shoulder was quite the looker. I think you got his number in the end, didn’t you?”

He winked at Gust as he pulled Sonia a little closer into the crook of his arm and planted a kiss on her cheek, then on her mouth. Gust grimaced at the overt display of affection. Did he have no shame? He turned away from them and traced the intricate basket weave pattern of the Round Table’s wallpaper. Beside him, Piper squeezed his hand sympathetically. It was only a minor consolation considering their present company.

Albert continued in blissful ignorance, “That was shortly after we met, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard the story of how you two met,” Piper said as she took a sip of her red tea.

“Is it a good one?” Sonia added as she twirled a strand of dark hair around her finger.

Gust rolled his eyes. “That depends on your definition of a good story.” He ran his thumb back and forth over the bridge of her knuckles. How did Piper convince him to go on a double date with these two again? They were practically on top of each other and right in front of him and his dinner. “It’s rather depraved if you ask me.” He cut the man across from him with a pointed glare. “Much like Albert and his effect on women.”

Albert gave him a wounded look. “Low blow, I think it’s a pretty great story,” he said, “Gust here really helped me out of a tight spot. How could I not want to be best mates with him after what happened.”

Piper arched an eyebrow at Gust. “It’s not that spectacular,” he insisted with a languid swipe of his free hand, “Albert was being a fool and I didn’t want to get caught up in his shenanigans. That’s all. End of story.”

Piper snorted and pressed a kiss to the back of his hand. He ducked his head to hide the heat burning at his cheeks. She turned back to Albert and said, “Well, now I have to know. What did he do?”

“Well,” Albert said as he shifted forward in his seat. A feline smile curved his lips that made Gust’s skin crawl. “All good stories start with a pretty...”

“It started with a sketch.”

All eyes turned to Gust in surprise. Even he was mildly surprised by his interjection. He planned to sit back and roll his eyes at Albert’s dramatic retelling, like he usually did, but a small part of him hated his side of the story. The last thing he wanted was to subject Piper to his bullshit. He cleared his throat and took a sip of his vodka and apricot juice.

“It started with a sketch,” he said a little more firmly, “and a bad case of creative block…”

☼☼☼☼☼☼

Gust settled back in his seat and regarded the sketch in front of him. He spent the last two hours outlining a simple two-story structure with crow stepped gables. He had yet to settle on where he wanted to place the windows. Should he go with a symmetrical design? Or make things interesting and only include windows on one side of the building? Which would Vera choose? He nibbled thoughtfully on the end of his pencil as he traced and retraced the lines with his eyes.

The answer was simple, wasn’t it? She’d say his design was shit and tear it in half.

So, he did just that. He ripped the sheet off his drafting table and tore it right down the middle. The shreds of paper landed at his feet, joining the rest of his discarded designs. He growled and combed his fingers irritably through his hair. Shit. All his designs were absolute shit. He knew it. Vera knew it. Everyone knew how much of a failure he was. At this rate, he’d never become one of the great architects of his time.

Maybe he should cut his losses and go home with his tail between his legs.

He wrinkled his nose at the prospect. He would never stoop so low. Portia was in the past and he wanted to move forward. He refused to go back and waste away in that backwater town. He would make it as a great architect, even if it killed him. Vera took him on as an apprentice despite the fact that he had a personality blander than stale bread dipped in water ー her words not his. So, she had to have seen some potential in him, right?

He huffed and reached for the sketchbook. He just had to keep working at it. He wouldn’t give up, not until his dreams became a reality. He’d show everyone. He flipped to a blank page and began outlining a new design. He only got a few short strokes in before ripping it out and tossing it to the side.

Then started again. Then again. And again…

Shit. Shit. And more shit. Why couldn’t he get it right?

He sighed and glanced around his bedroom. At the wads of paper littering his floor and the half-finished designs tacked up on the walls, so he couldn’t see the moldy wallpaper beneath. They mocked him. He could hear their whispers at the back of his mind, telling him he’d never be good enough. He snarled and swiped his shoulder-length hair into a low ponytail.

He needed a change of scenery and maybe some fresh air, but he had no desire to actually leave his dorm. His gaze fell to his window and the streaked panes of glass that hadn’t seen a rag in over a year. He could see the vague outline of the Atara skyline. He fell in love with all the different buildings that made up this fine city. It was one of the reasons he sought out Vera in the first place. He wanted to make his mark on this city with a design of his own.

He straightened in his seat as an idea struck him. Maybe he could… if he was careful, there wouldn’t be any harm in it, right? The Civil Corps couldn’t arrest him if he was just hanging out on a window ledge. He glanced down at the half-hearted attempt at a new design in his lap, then back to the window.

Fuck it.

He stood and pushed the window open. Its rusted hinges whined in protest, but it opened just wide enough for him to shimmy out onto the lip of stone that jutted out just far enough so he could sit comfortably. He settled back against the relief carved trim that decorated his window and turned to a new page of his sketchbook.

He admired the skyline with a faint smile, then took a moment to watch the people mill about in the streets below. The sweet smell of coffee and black tea wafted from the café below and curled up and around him like a blanket that warmed him to his core, despite the crisp autumn air outside. He hummed contentedly.

He loved this city. He never wanted to leave.

He used the buildings in front of him as inspiration as he began to sketch a new design. Something a little more angular that used a lot of geometric shapes and windows. It wasn’t like anything he’d designed before now, but the longer he stared at it, the more he liked it. It was something new. It was something innovative. He only hoped Vera would feel the same. He worked until the sky turned a lovely shade of pink and bled into the faintest of light purple. The color reminded him of the heather plants that grew in the gardens outside Vera’s home. His fingers itched to mix a paint color that matched it, but he resisted that urge. He needed to keep his mind focused on architecture. Painting for pleasure could wait until he made a name for himself.

A window slammed open and jolted him from his thoughts. He almost lost his grip on his sketchbook entirely, but managed to clutch it to his chest before it toppled over the edge. His lip curled in disgust as he turned to glare at the source of the commotion. A young man with dark hair, clad only in a pair of plaid underpants and long grey socks, scurried out onto the ledge and the window slammed shut behind him as soon as he cleared it.

“Come on, Moira, you don’t have to do this,” he drawled with a lilting accent as he rapped his knuckles on the glass, “I don’t care if you have a boyfriend. In fact, he’s welcome to join in the fun. I’m flexible and I know you are.”

Moira didn’t deign to respond and the young man’s shoulders slumped as he pouted and turned away from the window. He noticed Gust immediately and blinked at him owlishly. Gust mirrored his surprise, still clutching his pad protectively to his chest. He glanced down at his bare chest and then the tent in his pants. The heat burned at the tips of his ears as he stared pointedly at his face. The young man grinned at him fiendishly.

“Just another Wednesday, am I right, mate?”

Gust furrowed his brow at him. He didn’t even know how to respond to that. A normal Wednesday for him involved take out from the noodle vendor that set up shop outside his building and banging his head against the wall until inspiration finally struck him. And when inspiration failed, he drowned his sorrows with a few shots of vodka. If this was a regular Wednesday, he didn’t even want to consider what Saturday looked like for this man.

“Uh, actually, I…”

The man sidled down the ledge until he settled down beside him. He reeked of sex. Gust wrinkled his nose and leaned away from him. “”I live two floors down from you, but I was enjoying Moriaー you’ve met Moira, right? She’s this pretty young thing with big brown eyes and a mouth always painted red as sin. Anyway, I was enjoying her company this evening and...”

He paused and the corners of his mouth dipped into a frown. “Or at least I was until her boyfriend returned home early from class. Then she freaked out and suddenly developed morals or whatever.” He threw his whole body into the eye roll. “Now here we are, just two blokes sitting on the ledge of their building, shooting the shit.” He kicked his legs absently as he offered him a hand, “the name’s Albert by the way. Pleasure to meet you.”

Gust stared at his outstretched hand, utterly mystified by the entire situation. How… How was he supposed to proceed? Did he pretend this man wasn't just kicked out of a woman's dorm because she was cheating on her boyfriend? Was he supposed to ignore his bare chest and the tent that refused to go away in his pants? Was it too late to just ignore him? Probably. He squinted at him, but didn’t take his hand. “Gust.” He turned back to his sketchbook and continued, “now please leave me alone.”

Albert let his hand fall to his side. “Well Gust, you see, I would, but as you can see I’m currently on the side of a building wearing nothing but my underthings,” he snorted, “so, you’re stuck with me until Moira let’s me back in or you let me in.” He inclined his head towards Gust and hummed thoughtfully. “So, the ball’s in your court, mate.”

He went stock still at the mere suggestion. He wanted to use his window to get out of this? Never, not in a million years. He had no reason to help this sexual deviant escape the consequences of his poor choices. “Fuck off,” he mumbled as he dragged his pencil across the page, “I don’t have to help you.”

Albert hummed. “Very true, you don’t,” he said with a sigh, “I guess that means I have to wait with you and go into great detail about the various things Moira and I were doing before her boyfriend got here. Let’s see there was this one position where Iー”

Gust cut him with a glare. “If I let you use my window, will you promise never to speak to me again?”

Albert made a crisscross motion over his chest. “Cross my heart,” he said with a wide grin, “you’ll never have to see me again after this.” He winked. “Unless you like what you see. Like I was saying before, I’m flexible.”

Gust gave him another once over. He wasn’t unattractive, quite the opposite. He had a charming smile that showed off a shallow divot on his right cheek. His dark hair was tousled from the soft breeze and, he had to assume, the sex he just had. Not normally his type, but Gust didn’t see too much action these days. But he wouldn’t give this bastard the satisfaction of knowing he considered his offer for a moment.

He glowered at him and said, “Just get inside.”

Albert beamed and, together, they crawled back through the window and into his bedroom. Once his feet were safely planted on the ground, Gust turned and glared at the half-dressed heathen. He stood in the middle of his bedroom, hands planted firmly on his hips as he regarded the sketches on his walls with mild intrigue. His heart leapt into his throat.

Gust wanted to die. He forgot about all his shitty designs on the walls. He resisted the urge to jump in front of him and wave his arms wildly to distract him from his shame.

“Alright,” his voice cracked on the panic mounting in his chest, “you’re inside, now leave.”

Albert ignored him and peered more closely at the design hanging over his bed. An intricate layout for a botanical garden he designed when he first vied for Vera’s mentorship several years prior. It was the first and only design she ever complimented. And by complimenting, he meant an almost smile and a ‘it’s alright’, which was high praise coming from someone heartless and stone-cold like her.

“This is pretty good, more than good actually,” he noted with an appreciative tilt of his head, “are you an architect too?”

Gust blinked. “Uh, yes, I’m trying to be?” His brow furrowed at him. “Wait. Too? Are you an architect?”

He buzzed his lips and took a step back. “Construction management, actually,” he drawled with a wave of his hand, “but I’ve met my fair share of architects while tailing my mentor across the Free Cities. None of their designs look like these though. You’re pretty good.”

“Oh.” He scratched sheepishly at the nape of his neck. He turned and busied himself with grabbing a shirt and sweatpants from his dresser. “I’m alright, I guess,” he said as he tossed the clothes at Albert, “now get dressed, you look utterly ridiculous sporting around in nothing but your underwear.”

“Don’t be modest,” Albert said as he tugged the shirt over his head, “I know talent when I see it. I’d throw my hat in your ring if you wanted to make a living out of it.”

“Well, I’d need to get certified first,” Gust grumbled under his breath, “and who knows when my master will allow that. She hates my work.”

Albert nodded. “Well, when it happens, you should come find me,” he said as he shoved his hands in the pockets of Gust’s sweatpants. The soft grey fabric pooled around his feet, considering he stood at least a head shorter than him. “We’ll make a living of it, mate.”

Gust wrinkled his nose and said, “You agreed to never speak to me again if I helped you.”

He pursed his lips. “I did, didn’t I?” He shrugged and made his way towards the door, “well then, thanks for your help. As promised, I’ll never seek you out again.” He paused, hand on the doorknob and glanced back at him. “But if you seek me out again, I won’t turn you away. So, don’t be a stranger.”

Gust clucked his tongue. “Just leave.”

“You got it, mate,” he said, “thanks again.”

And with that, he disappeared through the door and Gust was alone again. He didn’t move right away. Instead, he glanced at the design above his bed, then the one next to it, and then the next, until he’d surveyed the whole room. Albert liked his work. Albert thought he had what it took to be one of the greats. Knowing someone felt that way, even if that someone was a half-dressed imbecile, was… oddly inspiring?

He turned back to his half finished sketch and smiled to himself. The wells of inspiration flowed freely through his veins and he already had a few ideas swirling around at the back of his mind.

He was convinced Vera would love them.

☼☼☼☼☼☼

“And that’s how Albert and I met,” Gust concluded with an indignant sniff, “see, he’s a depraved sexual deviant who drags me into his shenanigans.”

“Wait,” Albert started as he leaned forward in his seat, “you actually considered my offer to sleep with me?”

Gust scowled. Was that all he took from that story? Sexual deviant, indeed. He settled back in his seat and shrugged. “A pretty face is a pretty face, but then you opened your mouth and I quickly reconsidered your offer.” He leveled him with a glare. “I think I made a good call in the end.”

“I didn’t want you anyway,” Albert insisted as he toyed with the ends of Sonia’s hair, “you’re too grumpy for my tastes.”

“That’s a pretty cute story actually,” Piper teased. She elbowed Gust in the ribs and chuckled. He made a face, but it softened when Piper smiled up at him. He wrapped an arm around her and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. “It’s good to see you’ve always been a stick in the mud and that wasn’t a new development.”

“That’s not true,” Albert exclaimed, “Gust was a very charming individual when he wanted to be. Why, I remember this one time in Atara…”

[thoughtsofanexcitedspacechild]

The question is inevitable. I stop wiping down the ice cream equipment and look up. For the past two years, that’s all anyone’s ever asked me. Now as I sit here, I realize that by this time next year, I’ll be preparing to move. By this time next year, the question “what do you want to study?” will be answered. The thought of growing up and going to college has always been in the back of my mind, but it always seemed far off. Now as my boss asks me the same question I’ve been asked a million times, the answer doesn’t just feel real; it feels tangible.

“I want to hopefully study something in the arts,” I reply. “I’m hoping to study to then get a job as a concept artist for movies and TV shows.”

"Well, you know art can be just a hobby, right?”

***

I’m three years old. I’m sitting at the kitchen table with white printer paper spread out all over the place. Half of the sheets are filled and the other half to go. My tongue sticks out in determined concentration as I finish what feels like my fiftieth self portrait today. I’m still not happy with how the hair looks, but I’m getting better with every one I make.

“You know art can be just a hobby, right?”

***

I’m eight years old. I wait nervously outside the classroom in the aquatic and community center for my first ever real drawing class. I wait until the door opens and file in behind the rest of my peers into the classroom. I find a spot a little further away from everyone else. Once the teacher begins instructing us on how to draw the basic construction of a horse, I immerse myself into the lecture. Soon enough my anxiety melts away as I immerse myself in the drawing. By the end, I’m not quite satisfied with how my horse looks, but I look forward to the next day. There’s still three more days of camp, and I’m ready to get even better tomorrow.

“You know art can be just a hobby, right?”

***

I’m twelve years old. I’m sitting with what feels like my entire body sunken into an overly plush floral print couch. I watch as Mrs. Scalabrino, a family friend, teaches me how to make a magic loop with the yarn and crochet hook. “I’ve been doing it all wrong! Now I finally understand!” Deb hands me the yarn and hook and urges me to try myself.

This time, instead of having the hook slip through and make a tiny slip stitch, I loop the yarn though and then pull through a final time to create a stitch.

“I did it! I was doing it wrong!”

“It looks very good! Keep going and you’ll be making full projects in no time!” I smile at her compliment and keep practicing.

By the end of the afternoon, I have a long rectangle of clumsily made single and double crochet stitches, but I don’t mind. I’m proud of my lumpy, uneven, handmade rectangle.

“You know art can be just a hobby, right?”

***

I’m thirteen years old. It’s my first time at Blue Lake Fine Arts camp, and I’m taking my first pottery class. I’m carefully carrying my freshly reglazed pot to the back room of the pottery studio after fixing it for a second time. The first time it got damaged I had dropped it after molding the structure and the second time someone else bumped into me, messing up the glaze and sgraffito pattern and glazing in multiple places. I stayed after class during my recreation time and painstakingly remolded and fixed the intricate glazing pattern.

At the end of the session art show, I’m called to the front of the crowd of visiting parents and my fellow campers. I’ve just won the Outstanding camper scholarship. My cheeks flush furiously with embarrassment, but inside I’m also elated. Even though the pot wasn’t perfect. I was still proud of it. I worked hard to save and fix the pot twice broken, and for once, that work pays off. I look out and see the faces of everyone who was with me on the journey to complete the piece, and I know that that pot will always be more than a keepsake planter.

“You know art can be just a hobby, right?”

***

I’m fifteen years old. I lay in bed before my first day of high school. I should be worried about my academic classes, and I am. I can’t stop thinking about the homework for my double paced math class and honors biology, and the more advanced reading we’ll do in honors english this year.

I console myself by thinking about the art class that I’m going to take. By chance there was a scheduling conflict with my social studies credit, and there wasn’t a spot to fit it in. I’d have to test out of the class over the summer, but that meant that I could take Art 1 instead. I stay up and wonder what it will be like. Will it be like my art classes in middle school? Will I finally be able to try oil painting? What about ceramics?

I drift off to sleep anxious, but ready to try all new mediums and make more; to be able to create amongst all the chaos that comes with advanced academic studies.

“You know art can be just a hobby, right?”

***

I’m sixteen years old. I’m almost finished with what was supposed to be my sophomore year, but because of the pandemic, quarantine has made the past month of march even more grey and dreary than normal. The trees outside droop with the heaviness of the recent freezing rain and the sky is a somber grey. I stare absentmindedly at my computer screen waiting for my last zoom meeting of the day to end.

I return to my painting once I log off of our AP Art zoom. I glare at the canvas in front of me. I hate this piece. Even the dull grey color palette outside seems more appetizing than the same oranges and blues that I’ve stared at for the past three months. It’s the feeling in the pit of the stomach when you don’t feel particularly welcome and you know something is off. The dynamic is all wrong and you infuriatingly search the faces of the people there for an answer but to no avail.

I sigh and start to reach for my paints to force myself to push through to a solution, but set them down. “There has to be another way to get through this,” I say to myself as I open my sketchbook against my better judgement. After a quick image reference search, My pencil migrates from the jar to the page. I don’t worry about making it perfect. This piece is just for me.

I sketch out the figures of the boy and girl and boy in the photo, their arms intertwined in an embrace and their lips in a gentle kiss. I make sure her thumb just skims the length of his forearm and that his hand is placed just so on her waist. I step back. We’re getting somewhere.

Long since abandoned for my previous acrylic piece, my colored pencils feel slippery and foreign in my hand. I reach for the tan and brown colored pencils to start, but the bright fuschia red catches my eye. I cautiously begin to apply it to the girl’s face and neck area. Perfect. I don’t stop until the shadows crossing the girl’s face are all shades of pink and red and the boys silhouette is coated in deep blues. What next?

My watercolor palette sits just inches from my paints. I open it and observe my options. I water down a bright pink, an ocean blue, and my untouched cake of deep purple watercolor. I haphazardly splash the pink on one side and the blue on the other, applying purple to blend the area where the two seas of paint mix. I remember an old painters trick of using salt to make cool backgrounds, and apply a generous amount. The scissors come out next, and I delicately cut the form of the girl and boy out. I paste it right on the background and let it sit under a book overnight to press.

In the morning, I observe my work. It’s not perfect. The proportions on the girl’s arm are off and I never quite managed to capture the folds on the boy’s shirt, but I smile. I love it. This is my piece. No one told me to make this. I just did. It’s for me.

My abandoned assignment sits waiting on the other side of the table. I look at it again. This time I do see what’s missing. Like I did while I was working with the pencil, I need to add more depth. That’s why I hate it. That’s why it felt flat and boring. I set my new opus aside and reach for the beaten up acrylic brushes and paint tubes.

“You know art can be just a hobby, right?”

***

The computer screen finally loads. I'm exhausted and have just returned from a missions trip to the Dominican Republic, but in my blissful sleep back in my own bed, I'd remembered that AP scores had come out while I was away. The three numbers I've waited for loom in front of me:

AP Spanish Language: 5

AP Language and Composition: 4

AP Studio Art: 4

A four.

I stare in disbelief at the screen. I'd expected a three at best. I rush to tell my parents.

“You know art can be just a hobby, right?”

***

"Yeah, I know," I respond. "But it's so much more than that to me."

[cloudywriter]

i never got to say i love you - 1

~~~

A/N: heyy, so i wrote this like a month ago when i was super into reading some modern university au acotar fanfiction & then i even planned out a whole storyline but then i just kinda sat on it. but i like it so i decided i would just put it out there, i can continue it if people actually like it too.

masterlist & AO3

~~~

Feyre walked along the sidewalk leading to one of the dorm buildings of her new school, Velaris University. 

Although she was focused on lugging her single suitcase behind her as one of the wheels was broken, she couldn’t help but admire the tall impressive structures that surrounded her. She could hear the trickle of the Sidra river to her right while observing the courtyard adjoining multiple dorm buildings to her left. The courtyard was large and pristine, made of stone, with an abstract silver metal statue which stood erect in the middle loosely resembling an infinity sign. The housing units were situated around it in a semicircle.

A path winded down from the courtyard and back towards the main section of campus, organized there were the various department buildings, the cafeteria, admissions, and so on. Feyre was making her way up said path after she retrieved her student key card from the main office. 

She had just transferred from Courts Community College after she finally saved up enough money to afford tuition to VU. 

In her senior year of high school, Feyre visited the small city in which Velaris was located, Prythian, with her school on a field trip. It was on that small excursion she fell in love with the Prythian and the university it had to offer. In particular, Feyre loved the huge art district that occupied nearly a quarter of the city. 

Her family looked down upon her choice of major, art, they told her time and time again that it was impractical and her success rate in the field was microscopic. However, their comments didn’t deter her, she couldn’t imagine studying business or stem as her father suggested, it simply wasn’t for her. She wanted her life’s work to be doing what she loved even if it came with the risk of struggling financially down the road. 

Feyre finally reached the tall double glass doors of the middle building. She grabbed her ID from her jacket pocket and held it up to the scanner. The device beeps three times loudly, flashing a dot of red light. Feyre tries again with the same result. She sighs, did she get a faulty card?

“Turn it around,” a feminine voice suggests from behind her.

Feyre whipped around. There stood a young woman, likely Feyre’s same age. She was breathtakingly pretty with long, bright blonde hair that stopped below her chest and eyes that were a shade darker than honey. She was fairly tall as was Feyre and her demeanor demanded respect. She seemed sure of herself and her looks and capitalized on them. 

“The black bar on the back is only good for your dorm room door, to get in the main entrance you have to scan the front of your ID. I know, it’s weird, took me five minutes to figure it out yesterday,” the woman explained. 

Feyre gave an appreciative smile and nodded, turning her attention back to the scanner which now responded to her with a flash of green. 

“Thank you,” Feyre breathed as she opened the door and held it for the student behind her. The girl strolled through and smiled at her. “It’s no problem.” 

Feyre directed her attention to the slip of paper in her hand, failing to remember where it said her room was. Room 223, Level 3. A blonde head peered over her shoulder. 

“Room 223? You’re right next door to me!” 

Feyre offered her a smile. “Does that mean you’ll show me the way?”

The blonde looked delighted and casually looped her arm through Feyre’s as if they’d been friends for years and led her towards the elevator. This slightly alarmed Feyre, she had never had very many friends let alone pretty girl friends, usually, they weren’t all too kind to Feyre. Despite the fact that her sisters, Nesta and Elain, were rather popular. Nesta easily took on the role of the pretty mean girl, though she wasn’t outwardly mean often. She just radiated the energy and didn’t bother with most people. 

Elain, however, was friends with everybody and was sweet to all who crossed paths with her. She had almost everyone in the school wrapped around her finger, though she had no idea; from the boys who tripped over each other to open the door for her and the girls that scrambled to sit near her at lunch. 

Feyre did have one redeeming quality in high school, well, redeeming person. Her high school sweetheart was Tamlin Spring, the football team’s star quarterback. He was one of the boys in the school that the girls drooled over constantly, but somehow it was Feyre who caught his eye and it was Feyre he asked to accompany him to homecoming. You’d think this high up connection would earn her some credit but no, the girls still teased her, convincing her it had all been a dare. 

Feyre remembers, in a fit of rage and embarrassment, she stomped over to Tamlin’s locker after the last bell and confronted him. It was there he promised her that it was no prank, it was there he first kissed her. Feyre felt like they had clicked until her mother suddenly passed away from an undiagnosed illness, the death leaving an ugly, deep scar carved into Feyre’s and her family’s lives. Feyre’s life took a turn for the worse and with it so did the relationship she shared with Tamlin. 

The gentle ding of an elevator door alerted Feyre before she found herself spiraling too deep into her thoughts. 

Her leader didn’t seem to notice her brooding state as she took Feyre out and to the right, down a decently sized hall. The floor was mostly white tile with dark blue, almost purple tiles making a design down the middle; the walls were painted a light gray and littered with numerous posters. Feyre didn’t have time to read what all the papers said before the woman stopped outside a wooden door, a plate engraved with the numbers 223 to its left. 

“This is your room. I’m just next door in 225.” 

Feyre nodded. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” The girl smiled at her and then her face lit up in realization. 

“Oh, my gods! I didn’t even introduce myself!”

Feyre let loose a small smile. “I’m Feyre,” she said at last.

To her surprise, the mysterious girl pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, “I’m Morrigan, but I really just go by Mor.” Mor then pulled back, still holding Feyre at arm’s length. 

“My roommate is named Vivane by the way. We dyed her hair silver in the bathrooms last night, you can’t miss her. She’s always hanging out with her boyfriend though, so if you ever need anything don’t hesitate to come find me!” Mor offered politely. 

“Thank you.” Feyre breathed out a little sigh of relief having found my dorm without too much trouble.

A girl down the hall called Mor’s name, she muttered a quick see you later and disappeared into the herd of students and luggage. 

Luckily, Feyre managed to open the door without issue and hauled her suitcase inside. She felt a little silly walking here with such a small amount of stuff, most students had a cart full of their belongings. 

Feyre observed the room, the same white tiled floor and light gray walls as the corridor she just exited. It wasn’t ridiculously small, but it would still be a bit of a squeeze. Nothing Feyre wasn’t used to, having shared a room with her two older sisters growing up. A few boxes and bags were already scattered about on the right side of the room. It was clear her roommate had been here and left. She dropped her black, sticker ridden suitcase on the empty bed, plopping down next to it. 

Both sides of the room were identical, two tall beds held up by drawers pressed against opposing walls, two nightstands, two narrow desks situated at the ends of each bed, and one decently sized wardrobe, all made of the same light creamy wood tone. Rather flimsy-looking violet plastic chairs were also tucked into the desks. 

Feyre began to unpack her clothes into the drawers holding up her bed in an attempt to distract her growing anxiety. She pulled out her bag of art supplies and dropped it on her desk. The bag held a paint set that was on its last leg, paint brushes that were horribly frayed at the ends, both drawing and colored pencils, sad leftover eraser nubs, and her worn leather bound sketchbook. 

The door to her room opened up with a click revealing who could only be her roommate standing on the threshold.

She was on the short side and was relatively curvy. Her skin was a tanned brown and she had dark brunette curly hair that was tied up in a loose bun. They both stood observing each other for a second.

“I see you took advantage of the half-off sale at the uni shop too.” She spoke with a smile, gesturing to the identical, oversized VU sweatshirts they were both wearing over black leggings. 

Feyre returned her smile and nodded. “I’m Feyre.”

I held out my hand which she took instantly with a squeeze, “Alis.”

Feyre felt a sense of relief in Alis’s presence. She had a gentle, calming, almost motherly aura about her. Alis invited Feyre to join her for an early dinner to get to know each other.

The girls entered into a huge room adorned with the same marble looking tiles and gray paint mixed with pillars of dark brick filling the walls where windows were absent. Two of the walls were almost completely glass letting a vast amount of natural light fill the space. Above them, three huge circular lights hung from the high ceiling. Wooden tables of various sizes and the same shade of violet accent color plastic chairs neatly filled the room. Stretching along two of the walls were a number of booths to grab food. 

Feyre and Alis settled on grabbing salads from one called Sabrina’s Kitchen and snatched a table for two near one of the walls of windows. They talked about the usual, their family, where they were from, what they were studying, etc.

Feyre learned that Alis was from the town adjacent to Feyre’s own, Springlee. She used to live there with her sister, her husband, and their two boys. She only left to pursue a degree in education but missed them terribly.

Feyre gave Alis a quick rundown of her own home life, leaving out many details that came with her dysfunctional family and explained she’d transferred after two years at Courts Community, working on an art degree. Alis loved the idea of having an artist as her roommate and insisted Feyre paint pictures to decorate their dorm. 

They’d long since finished their salads but continued chatting as the cafeteria began to fill up nearer to dinner time. 

“Whoa, whoa. Don’t look now but the hottest group of guys just strolled in,” Alis gasped. 

Feyre giggled a little and rolled her eyes, she wasn’t the type of girl to fawn after hot guys anymore with her track record. She did not trust a pretty face. Alis’s eyes were transfixed behind Feyre. 

“Would you like me to grab you a napkin to clean up your drool?” Feyre poked at Alis. 

Alis playfully swatted her hand away. “Just look at them!”

Feyre huffed and turned around in her seat; she didn’t even need to ask for clarification from Alis it was clear who she was referring too. In one of the lines stood a group of three guys, she could hear them laughing and talking from her seat.

She could only see two of their faces, but that was all she needed. They all had similar shades of black or very dark brown hair and tanned complexions, not to mention how fit they all were. One’s hair was shoulder length and half was pulled back in a bun, the other two had shorter hair cut in rather nondescript styles. Though, the quietest one who had his arms crossed over his chest and only said a few words or offered a small smile every now and then had some curl in locks. The last one had his back turned to Feyre but if his backside and friends were any indication she could only assume he was equally as beautiful. 

Noticing Feyre’s prolonged glance, Alis spoke up, “who needs a napkin now?”

Feyre snapped back around and giggled. “Shut up!”

The sheer number of students piling into the room had it near overflowing as Alis and Feyre tore their eyes from the boys and walked back to their dorm. 

They sat on their beds and talked for a while more, mostly making up ridiculous ways to find out who those boys were and how to get their attention. Feyre doodled in her sketchbook while Alis suggested they break into admissions in an attempt to get some information on them, that plan quickly fell apart as she realized they’d need to know more than their faces. 

Eventually, both girls turn in for the night. 

~~~

enjoy, let me know if you want more or not!

[scrawler-jay]

of mice and artblock

So, midterms happened and I abandoned this blog for a while. But now I’m back, and I come bearing mice.

*

I’ve been really struggling with finding subjects I like to draw. I’m happy to work on skeleton studies until Judgment Day to better understand anatomy, but I know I need to balance “homework” art with “for fun” art, or else risk losing motivation for learning to draw -- and I’m so used to writing fiction at this point that no subject really appeals to me artistically unless it’s got 5,000+ words of story attached (or at least some narrative/character ideas, yanno -- something for my brain to pick at). The obvious solution is to draw concept art and characters from my written stories, but I feel really intimidated by that because I’m such a beginner artist that nothing I create now will do justice to the vision I have in my head.

I need art OCs and concepts – things that I will only draw art of, and have never written a story about. Stuff that doesn’t have to match a previously established, written story, and that I can change as I learn more and my skills improve.

I ended up drawing a bunch of mice.

This was initially just a whim. Human anatomy requires a lot of skill to pull off, especially faces and hands, but mice felt more beginner-friendly to me. Admittedly, I was going for a more cartoony style as opposed to photorealism, so if you’re looking at this from a realism perspective then these are pretty poor mice. However, I don’t feel ashamed of them, which I am taking as a good sign.

I kept drawing one mouse over and over. I ended up calling him Leo just because it was funny – “leo” refers to lions, but here Leo is just a little mouse. But of course, giving him a name (and a gender, incidentally) is the start of a story. Via a flight of fancy, I got it into my head that I wanted to do a painting of Leo trying to catch a big snowflake. I made some thumbnails of what I wanted the scene to look like, and then cut out a roughly 7 inch x 7 inch piece of watercolor paper from a big sheet that I had under my bed, sketched the scene in pencil, and then finished with watercolor pencils (and a white gel pen for the snowflakes). The process probably took 2.5 to 3 hours.

So, now the lore is that Leo is a mouse living in a little house in an old tree at the edge of the woods, and he wears a red scarf. I did not like this painting. It seemed over-saturated and the colors didn’t quite work the way I wanted them to. I ended up watching a tutorial on color theory, and decided to redo the painting using my newfound knowledge of color schemes. I used this color palette tool to get an idea of what kinds of colors would look good together, and settled on a complementary scheme with bluish green and brownish red.

And then, everything went wrong.

I tried to redo the painting, still working traditionally. I rushed the sketch because I was so eager to get right into working with color. This time, to avoid over-saturation, I used watercolors out of a pan rather than in pencil form. Mixing the colors in the lid of the pan took a really long time because I was so picky about shades, and because I continued rushing I didn’t allow the layers enough time to dry. Leo’s scarf (now green instead of red) bled into his russet fur, and the mailbox was the wrong shape, and I tried to erase a pencil line and created a dark blotch over an area that was supposed to be white with snow – and then I gave up.

I had downloaded Krita, a piece of digital drawing/painting software, a while ago, but hadn’t had any success using it because my desk isn’t big enough to accommodate both a laptop and my small tablet. Using my lap to hold the tablet was an exercise in frustration, and I knew so little about how digital art works that I just felt really overwhelmed and lost whenever I opened the program.

However, Krita (like most digital art software) has an undo button that I find very alluring, so I decided to try it again, now on a shiny new desk from Ikea that is actually big enough to support tablet and laptop together. I think just the space on the desk really made all the difference, but also I was determined to get this artwork of a mouse to a place where I felt satisfied with it.

I spent a solid 5 hours working on what ended up being a very simple colored drawing of a mouse catching a snowflake outside his little house. I barely blended anything at all, and there’s no light source that required me to shade anything – it’s just flat color. However, I really like these colors, and I think I did well (for an absolute beginner). I want to go back and add textures/shading to give an impression of depth, but I'm not sure how.

Leo – like all of my figures – feels really stiff, so I also want to work on gestures/studies of mice doing things. And, thanks to the popularity of mice as lab animals and pets, there are way more reference photos of mice than I expected! Most refs depict the house mouse, Mus musculus, but I did find the work of a wildlife photographer named Dean Mason who spent 15 years photographing harvest mice (micromys minutus).

Unfortunately, all of the prior artwork in this post I had drawn almost purely from imagination, and I think it shows. I studied two mice from photos in pencil, then erased the lines until they were barely visible and tried to do the fur texture in ink (with a dip pen, so there is some unevenness when the pen was extra inky).

Left is my first attempt doing the fur texture. I was more cautious with layering pen strokes, so you can see the lines of strokes fairly evenly. Right is my 2nd attempt, where I was bolder with the pen. I like these mice more than the one I created in the digital painting; these ones (especially the right) feel more Beatrix Potter-ish, which is a vibe I like.

Do I want to go back and fix the anatomy in my digital art of Leo? Yes. I also want to take another stab at doing this piece traditionally, but this time, I'd go monochrome and try to do everything in brown. However, part of me is exhausted from drawing ten million snowflakes and does not want to relive that experience with a gel pen -- I've already done it once with a tablet pen, and that was enough.

I have a hazy, far-off goal of creating a comic of Leo having adventures with another mousy friend, but that’s so far in the future that it’s not worth spending time considering right now. In the nearer future, however, Leo’s friend might become a reality – I know he’s an albino mouse (name TBD) who either escaped from a drug-testing facility (I loved The Secret of NIMH movie as a kid) or else is a pet who was dumped into the wild by a human owner who no longer wanted him. Leo is outgoing and adventurous, and this friend is shy and cautious.