#All I have are crayola pencils and crayons but I can so make this work chat

[s735]

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

this is not directed at anything in particular so much as a lament ive made in private several times over the years and am thinking about again now but. i wish that fandom had not conflated the term "zine" with "artbook". because 99% of the "zines" i see are in fact artbooks, chapbooks, or art/writing anthologies. which to me are just so so different as products!!! instead of being fully handmade they are all being professionally bound by an outside company, often come with stickers/keychains/other perks that are 3rd party manufactured, etc... and to be clear i love these and have bought several, but!

they are to me kind of the antithesis of what the word "zine" should actually imply, in the traditional sense. a zine is something you make by hand and then photocopy for the dozen or so people in your circle. a zine can be just a single sheet of paper you folded up into 8 pages and scribbled on with pencil. they can get fancier than this but once you move from using a stapler (or if you're feeling fancy needle & thread) to needing to have things perfect bound & glued by a separate industry then!!!! we have moved up the sliding scale in terms of product, towards art/chapbook and away from zine. that's what those terms meant initially we just have... kept calling them zines anyway i guess, and now i think most younger people don't realize that the origins for "zines" were things you handmade and maybe snuck your school/work's photocopier to help produce for your friends. And they were made by one person, or maybe a small collab of 2-3. Once you start adding more artists/authors, and they're all making separate things (even if on a theme), now we have hit an anthology. you know?

because i would LOOOOVE fandom zines in the traditional sense of the word, just posting photos of short scrappy handmade art/comics and mailing them to mutuals for fun like you would a christmas card. idk. like i've made i think 8-10 personal little zines on all random topics in the past year just for fun and my friends, because they're rewarding and people LOVE getting something like that in the mail. they're little visual shitposts like "rating the 16 crayola crayons i found in my drawer" and "plants i have eaten while taking walks in the desert" and it would be really fun to have fandom equivalents of those too... but fandom these days has moved away from silly rough stuff towards everything being really polished + professional and it takes some of the charm out of it i think

[justabeewithapen]

What crayons do u use to make them look so bright?

The crayons I use are crayola, but most of the colored pieces I have posted recently are actually color pencil! Brand is Castle Arts, but the time of day I take my photos and photo editing do most of the heavy lifting!! I'll try to show off in an example:

Here is a photo of my Doey Play-doh drawing right now (my very yellow light in my room after dark):

The color’s aren’t too bad but obviously everything is tinged yellow and it looks kinda wonky! This is why after a certain time of day I can’t post my traditional art anymore because all my photos turn out like this.

Here is the photo I took earlier today, entirely unedited (in-direct sunlight from my window). I find around 11-4 has the best lighting from my window. You want indirect sunlight because if it is directly on the piece you get a nasty glare! Cloudy days can actually be really good for photos.

Our colors are looking much clearer, but they are still kinda washed out compared to how they look in person. Now, this is where photo editing comes in! I use the filters built into my phone to adjust my photos after I take the picture, usually I do it pretty subtly just to boost colors but sometimes I like to be more exaggerated (like with this drawing, this is the same photo as above but after I have done some photo editing)

I tend to click the “auto adjust button” then tweak it from there until I think it looks right! The auto adjust button is nice because it gives you a good place to jump off of when tweaking. Photo editing is a MUST for traditional art because unless you have a really really good camera (and even then) the photos will never be quite as vibrant as the actual drawing. Sometimes I tend to undertune or over tune photos as my phone screen shows colors very differently from my monitor (I think both are wrong TwT) and I have to find a happy middle ground. For this piece here I think I over adjusted and you can almost see a faint red tint.

Knowing the right time of day to take photos for traditional art is super helpful, but photo editing is absolutely game changing!! There are a ton of tutorials out there if this is something you have the desire to learn, and phones come built in with photo editors in the photo apps so you can play around with those too!! (There are also plenty of free tools for it as well, I like using Lunapic personally on my computer). I hope that helps answer your question! Getting a decent photo of your traditional art is a skill in its own right, I am still just barely getting the hang of it! For the longest time my main goal was making sure my art looked crisp (most of my photos came out fuzzy) but I am working on color quality more!

[lavendertrash39]

the most banger traditional art supply

hi there! im a digital artist, and i just wanted to share the art supply that has motivated me most to start filling my traditional sketch book...

these. these fuckers.

I kid you not, i have never been more motivated to draw in my sketchbook than I have since i got these. It's like 5 dollars for all 24 and about 2 dollars for a set of ten. I originally discovered these because i was in a teacher's classroom and they had stuff for coloring sheets, and these were in their bin. I almost immediately went to get them at target.

I like doing rough sketches with them, then going on top of it with a colored pencil of a color that would go well with it (ive done teal blue and purple, also yellow and orange). You can use any colored pencil. I've used crayola i've used similar qualities to crayola i've used prismacolor col-erase I've used standard prismacolor. They all work. It's magical. It's so fun and bright and it teaches you to not get so hung up on stuff while you're doing it. Highly recommend.

Genuinely, i've had the same sketchbook since 2021 and I'm only really filling it now with this. I've tried a bunch of supplies to try and motivate me (pencils, colored pens, highlighters) and this has been the main thing. They're really nice because you never have to sharpen them and the barrel is long enough that your hands don't cramp from using a short crayon (and they also can't break)

What they say about "supplies don't matter, you can make art with anything" is SO true but also. find the supplies that are right for you. You don't need the most expensive thing in the world, you just need to find what feels the best for you while you're drawing.

I hope you have a nice day :D

[bandedbulbussnarfblat]

I just suddenly had a memory and had to share. Usually I'm one of those stick to the tags people, but I think this explains the disconnect some people experience entirely.

Once upon a time, I was an elementary school teacher. (I only made it one year before I switched to being a TA instead, and parents like these were part of the reason.) I'm gonna put it under a thingy bc idk how to be concise.

So at the beginning of the year, parents get supply lists. They try to keep them mostly the same throughout grade level, your standard box of #2 pencils, 2 pens, 2 boxes of crayons (bc kids break crayons like crazy) an eraser, 2 glue sticks and some sort pencil box/pouch to keep their stuff in.

First day, kids come in and start unloading their stuff. I start taking up glue sticks to put in the clear container on the counter/cubby. This one dad gets mad, saying that he didn't buy glue sticks for every kid in the class to use. (I'm doing the same thing with the 2nd box of crayons, but I am telling kids to write their names on them using their pens, bc some kids got Crayola and some kids got Rose-Art and that's something parents might get mad over.) I try to very politely explain to him that it's easier to keep them all in one place as the kids tend to lose them, or forget to roll down the glue or put the cap back on, and this way I can check behind them and make sure none of the glue sticks are wasted.

This guy is sure that his precious little princess of a daughter would never forget to put her cap back on her glue stick, despite being like, seven. Mind you, we are in the "waiting area" between three classrooms. It has the bathrooms, and the tables where the kids can be pulled for one on one or small group work. We can't step into the hall bc I have to monitor my students. TAs all have morning duties.

And also, what if she never uses two whole glue sticks? Am I just going to keep it instead of sending it home with her? This man is nearly having a full on tantrum over glue sticks. This was over a decade ago, when you could still buy a pack of 2 for a dollar and change.

I am nervous, bc there is a man who is raising his voice at me, but I am also pissed off, bc there is a man raising his voice in front of my students. So I laugh it off and walk away, telling him most of us don't mind sharing with our friends, "do we?" I get a tiny little chorus of voices that say 'no'. I add that by the time winter break comes, I'll have to go out and buy more myself anyway, like I did with all the other supplies that were already in the classroom. But that donations are always appreciated. Then I just started talking to my students and ignoring him and he left. And I'm really glad bc I may have started crying if he kept being mean to me.

Oh, and his daughter ended up being my student who would threaten to hold her breath until she passed out if she didn't get her way. I think I rocked her entire world when I told her to go ahead; as soon as she passed out her body would start breathing again on its own.

my dad, trying to explain the concept of money to me: say you have a sandwich, and i need your sandwich. but i don't have anything to give you. you're not just gonna give it to me.

me: i would just give it to you.

my dad:

[peanutrat20]

sometimes using cheap supplies really limits my abilities as an artist

because yeah i can buy cheap colored pencils and make art i love

but i am messing with markers and i figured why not doodle my poc character

because you see i have been really doing mostly human characters with the markers but so far all the art i have been making has been the same white boy

so i sketched out my poc character and i wasn't completely happy with the sketch but i figured why not lets add the marker

it doesn't look good guys

and i am sure part of it is i'm not super comfortable with the markers yet so i don't have the skill to make it look good

but also i don't have the best selection of colors for drawing a character that isn't white. all my browns look dirty when applied to the skin while using them for hair works if i play around with it enough

and yeah if i was using colored pencil and going all out i would add browns to my white characters but more for shading purposes

i need better browns that aren't there for shading only that look good as skintones

and here's the thing i use crayola products for my coloring. so with pencils i can get their "colors of the world" pack. but they only make those for crayons [ew] and pencils

and even without a "colors of the world" pack i was doing fine coloring poc characters with my pencils

but i need something that i can use for when i decide i want to play with markers for a while and i just don't have that

[riotlain]

Slashers with an Agre Boyfriend

FOR ALL YOU LOVELY AGE REGRESSORS

i can do a petre one if asked :3

i usually do rz michael but i never specified so i am rn💀💀

THIS IS A NWLNW BLOG!! WOMEN DNI

THIS IS NOT NSFW!! DO NOT SEXUALIZE AGE REGRESSION WEIRDOS

(Rz)Michael Myers

Crafts crafts crafts

He already loves making masks so now you 2 make them together

6'9 mf. He always picks you up randomly

Will not really rough house with you or anything like that

Homeboy too too strong

Listen he cant do too much like take you to the park or anything

But Michael is not above stealing from children

He doesnt like punishing too much bc he just doesnt feel like dealing with it

Whenever youre throwing a tantrum he'll literally just leave the room💀💀

Jason Voorhees

Knows what hes doing but doesnt at the same time

Loves to carry you around!! He's incredibly strong he can definitely hold you

Loves to draw with you!! He breaks the pencils and crayons sometimes so bare with him😭

Jasons punishments are usually just you sitting in the corner or something similar

Cant spank you no no no just not him

Keeps you in the cabin whenever there's trespassers

HIS FAVORITE ACTIVITIES ARE DOING THINGS SIMILAR TO CAMP STUFF

Bonfires and roasting marshmallows, going on lil walks outside

He can bring out the old canoe too!! (He can row for you its ok)

Vincent Sinclair

Please please please dont go to the basement while regressed

If you do you have to swear on your LIFE (pinky swear) that you wont touch anything

Just sit politely by him and draw

Doesnt know how to deal with brats bro hes like

🧍‍♂️*shaky signing* 'Y/n, honey, please calm down' *LOUD CRASH*

Theres tourists in Ambrose?? Youre staying in his room. Ignore all the yelling.

Doesnt want you to use his nice coloring stuff so he got Lester to find some crayola crayons for you

Any plushies he manages to get his hands on?? BAM IN YOUR ROOM

Vincent is horrible at giving punishments. Like he was always a good kid growing up and his parents were... well yknow

Very good at keeping a schedule tho!!

Fav activity is probably crafts

Chromeskull

Literally the best caregiver ever

Like he doesnt understand at first so after you explain it to him

But like once he gets it?? MAN WILL SPOIL YOU

WILL GET YOU ALMOST EVERYTHING YOU WANT IF YOU ASK

Will not tolerate brats tho sorry

Like hes not... too stern with punishment

You can get away with alot with him ngl

If you go to work with him youll stay with him in his office and have a coloring book

Yes he will color with you whenever he can

Will kill anyone who says anything (stares dead at preston)

Never infront of you ofc!!

Fav activity is probably rough housing!! (hes letting you win all the time but shhh)

Either rough housing or hide and seek

[roseartsandfics]

A Kindly Friendship

Hello!

Here is a cute fanart with the Pikmin and the fairy, having a friendship moment all together ❤️

I did this last week in English class when I think we had make up work to do, not I can remember, but I was given an option to draw out of my boredom while listening to music on the computer, so I decided to draw this wonderful video game and fantasy artwork with the Pikmin and the fairy ^^

I still need my motivation to play Pikmin 3 (and possibly Hey! Pikmin) before getting Pikmin 4 soon ^^

What y'all think?

The Pikmins (characters) and Pikmin ©Shigeru Miyamoto, Shigefumi Hino, Hirokazu Takenka and Nintendo

Fairy and artwork ©SuperShadowSilver

No copyright infringement is intended

Used: regular basic pencil, Crayola colored crayons and Cra-Z-Art colored pencils

[leapdayowo]

this^^^

If you want to improve your artwork, it’s going to take so much time! I’m sorry, there is no ‘get good in a week’ miracle. There is only lots of practice and experimenting and ‘messing up.’ If anyone wants some advice on what practice looks like, because telling someone to practice is vague and thus unhelpful, stick around I have a few pointers :) scroll all the way to the bottom for bullet points because I like to over explain

First off, almost always draw! Whenever, wherever, and with whatever is available to you. If you’re still in school, keep doing the doodles in your notes! Same can probably go for when you’re at work and things are slow. Keep a scrap piece of paper or sticky notes with you and a cheap pen or pencil and draw what’s around you, what piques your interest, even the cliche things

Here are some of my more recent doodles, but I have note books and scrap paper full of these doodles. Within the last year I’ve been very focused on the human form, so a lot of my doodles are break downs of different poses. I have no expectations for these pieces other than to keep myself entertained in class and play around with my art. So just mess around with low expectations!

Now, as a traditional artist I have a stack of sketchbooks that is getting close to being as tall as I am. Materials can get expensive or not easy to access depending on where you live. If you’re getting serious about your art and its quality, I do recommend finding nicer materials to work with (though this does depend on what effect you’re going for with your art). However, using expensive materials does not always mean better quality or automatically mean your art will be better, often the quality of the art comes from how well you know how to use the materials and your understanding of art (look up elements and principles of art). I myself still use crayola colored pencils and the same mechanical pencil from 5 years ago taped together. I have invested in some nicer paints such as Winsor and Newton watercolors and Canson sketchbooks work fine for me. Finding the right materials will come with time, trial and error, research, and maybe some self reflection. I HIGHLY recommend not investing right away with the more expensive materials unless you have 1) learned the basics of art and feel ready to take on a new medium 2) financially can afford to experiment with more expensive options. Even if you can afford the materials let me say this one last time, the price of the paint or paper does not automatically equate to better art, it’s how you use those materials that matter. Now, that being said, cheaper materials often have their limits, and if you begin to notice these limitations I congratulate you on realizing this and recommend upgrading your stuff :)

Also, if you use cheaper materials it’s less of a big deal if you ‘mess up’ because it wasn’t very costly (maybe 50¢ or so)

good art materials to start with (not an exclusive list):

-colored pencils or crayons

-regular pencils

-ball point pens

-charcoal

-recycled materials (more in line with collage work)

-markers or sharpies

Now where was I… Oh! Going off of the OPs post, ask yourself why your art isn’t good enough. Are you comparing to people who are at a different level of experience than you? Then that isn’t a fair comparison. Being online makes it very difficult not to compare, but how do you know the person you’re comparing yourself to hasn’t had professional teaching for years? Consistent critiques and guidance from peers or other experienced artist? Some people learn concepts faster than others, so if you learn at a slower pace acknowledge that and try gesture drawings or maybe a new art style entirely if you’re really feeling frustrated. Often the expectations we place on ourselves hold us back. Another thing to ask yourself is are you able to handle constructive feedback? I remember when I was about 10 years old I had an art teacher encourage me to put green in the ocean of my drawing of a sunset. I was offended she would consider such a thing! It felt like a personal offense and I refused to put green in the ocean because obviously water is blue! Well… a few years later I decided to follow her advice as I grew more frustrated with how flat and unexciting my art was, and what would you know? There was green in the ocean! There’s lots of colors in water! I still struggle with lighting and reflections, but that was a very important memory for me. I urge you to be more open minded than I was with feedback on your art as it can save you years of art block!

Now, if you are one of those people who created an art account on social media in the hopes of getting famous, I hope you do, but know that is likely not a realistic expectation for a few reasons. There a thousands, if not millions of people with that same idea as you and many of the people with a large following got lucky or had a lot of time to build up that following. Don’t expect to be lucky, and desperately trying to get follows tends to put people off. Are you making art because you even enjoy it at that point? It absolutely feels great to get recognition for your work I won’t deny that, but once you rely on validation from others you will never be satisfied and always need more validation. Try finding fulfillment from the art you are making without relying on others to give you that feeling. What others say about your work is icing on the cake. You have to protect that passion and love for creation fiercely, especially in a day and age where art is being commodified and devalued more and more by others who only care about monetary value. Alright, moving on from the self reflection aspect of making art, take your studies seriously! If you truly wish to improve your art, observe the world around you! Draw it! Draw it terribly or draw it so well you wish you had brought nicer paper than an old receipt! Draw people, buildings, animals, food, reflections in a puddle or the texture of a fuzzy jacket. You like that person’s hair? Draw it! That tree looks cool? Draw it! Draw the folds of fabric and shadows at sunrise. The other part of your studies will be looking at what other artists do that you like or don’t like. Look at a variety of time periods, styles, cultures, and mediums. If an artist is on social media, comment on their work and really try and figure out why you like this particular piece and tell them! Explains your vocabulary and ability to talk about art. This will be something that will eventually become second nature after years of practice. I can’t do anything or go anywhere without thinking ‘oh wow those windows reflect the sky really cool’ or ‘the colors of my meal today work really well.’ I’ve filled my camera roll with stuff that inspired me and drawing references. Also, you will find inspiration in the places you might least expect. I have gone down rabbit holes of online content in the pursuit of a drawing reference (I now know more than the average person about western historical dress construction as one example). Soak it all in! Also, being an artist will likely require you to learn about physics and definitely anatomy. Learn how to draw and paint realistically. Learn all the proper rules of art so that you can turn around and meticulously or explosively proceed to break every single rule in your art. And have fun with it! Play with art styles and mediums you wouldn’t usually associate your work with, you may be surprised what you learn!

Edit: one last thing to add is try learning how to work around or with your mistakes! If you draw with a permanent marker or pen, learn how to get creative with making your mistakes look intentional or as an opportunity to learn. Learn methods of covering those mistakes and starting over or make the mistake the shining focal point of the piece. It’s not the end of the world I promise! The more you learn to work with mistakes, the more you might realize starting a new painting or drawing is less daunting

And the last thing is, know that for thousands of years humans have been making art. No matter who, where, and when we have always been trying to create. What humanity has taken thousands of years to learn, you are trying to speed run in your life time. I don’t mean for that to be stressful, I say that so that you will remember truly how incredibly it is that we can make art. That we want to create. Be patient, let your passion and curiosity flourish, and practice :)

Now here are the cliff notes as promised:

-doodle with cheap materials at every opportunity you can get (try not to let the rest of your life suffer for this though)

-expensive materials ≠ automatically good art

-start with cheap materials, learn basics of art, then slowly upgrade your supplies (your wallet will thank me)

-ask yourself why you think your art is bad. Everyone is at different levels of experience and learn at different rates, comparing yourself negatively is unfair

-don’t expect to get famous online with your art in a matter of weeks. You either need to get lucky or take a while to build up a following. Also, be careful seeking validation only from others

-also online art connections need to be complimented with getting involved in person with the art community. Networking involves face to face communication

-study the world around you and draw it! Draw as much as you can! Learn as much as you can about anything and everything! Study artist of lots of varieties

-learn how to talk about art (you can practice by commenting about the things you like about online artists’ works. Be specific. Things you don’t like can be kept in a private journal unless an artist specifically asks for feedback. Learn how to critic without being mean about it)

-lastly, know that it’s incredibly that you are carrying on the human tradition, which is thousands of years old, of drawing! It’s amazing we seek to create :D

Also, I have kept all of my old art on my instagram account as a testament to the gradual growth I’ve gone through as an artist. I too had the absurdly long anime legs phase of art. We all have unique journeys of making art and sometimes it’s going to feel like you’re getting worse, try something completely new when this happens, but just keep creating or thinking about creating stuff :D I believe in you!

btw with art when people say 'youve got to do it scared' 'youve got to draw bad' 'youre not gonna know how to do it until you do it' it sounds like bullshit but its true. 90% of art is just getting over the fear that it's not going to be good enough to deserve to be made in the first place. but you're here. you're alive and, with no need to justify that, you're going to make art. it's just part of being alive. you'll spend so long worrying you aren't doing it good enough that you'll look back and realized you didn't live a single day of it.

[raisans-art]

Dream SMP Characters as Physical Art Mediums because I had Literally Nothing Better to do than Think about This.

Tommy: Crayons

Tommy wants to insist that he is a real artist but he couldn't be arsed to put any more effort than necessary. No one will buy him anything but a 12 pack of Crayolas.

Tubbo: Good Crayons.

Tubbo accepts his childish nature and just upgrades himself so that he can be a kid but with style.

Ranboo: Charcoal Pencils

Ranboo just likes working in black and white and the shading aspects that come with charcoal. He uses specifically pencils to keep his hands and, by extension, his suit cleaner than they would be otherwise.

Wilbur: Print

Wilbur enjoys the boldness of prints and the variety of techniques that are needed to make them look genuinely good. Of course, no one ever knows he does print making because the broke bastard doesn't have enough money to buy half of the materials for it. But whatever pictures he has on his flyers and documents were all printed by him.

Philza: Watercolour

Phil works well with the flow of watercolour. He is willing to let the colours do what they need to and work with any mistakes made. It's natural, easy-going, and fun. He doesn't hang up his works, just keeps them stored in bins at his old house.

Dream: Vector Art

Dream needs max control over his art. He needs to know exactly how everything blends, moves, forms, and bends right down to the tiniest point. He aims for perfection and cleanliness in his pieces.

Technoblade: Calligraphy pens

Techno would insist that he doesn't do art, but anyone who receives a letter from him would beg to differ. He's mastered the precision of cursive letters with help from his steady hand. He started because he heard it was good for sword practice from Phil.

George: A blue pencil

George doesn't work with colour and he mainly only does sketches of drifting thoughts. He keeps it simple and loose and finds the satisfaction of capturing an idea or a feeling over rendering pieces.

Sapnap: Woodburning

Sapnap calls it art but it's just an excuse for arson. However, he did begin to gain an appreciation for the artform and got rather good at making signs and pendants.

Niki: Ceramics

Niki started doing ceramics because it was somewhat similar to baking. She mainly does handmade things rather than using a wheel, but she did learn how to use the wheel. She will occasionally make a bowl or cup on it. She does it more often now because firing the kiln warms up the meeting room nicely.

Fundy: Mechanical pencil

Fundy works with whatever is on hand (always just a mechanical pencil) and just goes for it. The rendering depends on how he's feeling that day. He likes the ease of using a mechanical pencil with how cheap it is and how there is virtually no mess involved since he doesn't have to sharpen it.

Eret: Oils

Eret really enjoys making portraits of people on the SMP. He is more than willing to spend weeks on an oil painting and is a stickler for detail and realism.

Foolish: Marble sculpture

Foolish has had centuries to perfect the craft of sculpting and found that marble was the one to yield the best results in the end. He can and will spend months on a single sculpture if it means it'll enhance the mood of one of his builds.

Puffy: Whittling

Puffy never has the time to sit and focus on a craft so she whittles. It started as a stress reliever when it was just a random hunk of wood and her pocket knife but she really grew a knack for carving little trinkets and figures for her to set on her or other's shelves.

Ok peace

[radiant-fanon-maker]

I posted 946 times in 2022

That's 946 more posts than 2021!

208 posts created (22%)

738 posts reblogged (78%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@bunnelbaby

@idolagere

@robins-daycare

@littletealseal

@strawberrypuppyy

I tagged 580 of my posts in 2022

Only 39% of my posts had no tags

#rfm post - 203 posts

#age regression - 202 posts

#agere - 202 posts

#regression-fanon-maker - 144 posts

#rfm art - 138 posts

#sfw agere - 111 posts

#cookie run - 109 posts

#petre - 56 posts

#pet regression - 53 posts

#cookie run agere - 52 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#ninjago never had this issue with a 5 year old robot and a 25 year old on being together since they were robots and noone really cared then

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Can we see a cute oneshot (or picture) of Garmadon helping little Vinny?

Here's just a simple doodle

18 notes - Posted October 8, 2022

#4

The best roblox game <3 Rainbow Friends

Hope you like them @dreams-your-smps

The Main Mascot

See the full post

20 notes - Posted August 28, 2022

#3

Happy Easter!

Thought this up and wanted to share.

Lloyd: Oh no..

Zane's in "Emperor Mode".

See the full post

28 notes - Posted April 17, 2022

#2

ok, I saw someone mention that the Cream named cookies should be family so I looked for all all them.

But.... it got a bit messy.

Like we have Yogurt Cream, but he has a brother without the Cream name. But Plain Yogurt works as a part of the family, no matter how much of a jerk he is.

We have more popular characters in Whipped Cream and Cream Unicorn

See the full post

41 notes - Posted July 12, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Ninjago Regression Boxes; Cus why not

Regression boxes are little boxes for regressors when they regress unexpectedly and they need their little gear in one place.

Thought it would be cute to make up what the main ninja would have in those types of boxes ^-^

Jay

Building Blocks

A wooden train

Octopus plushy

Space themed coloring book + Crayola Crayons

Star Pattern Sippy Cup

Pacifiers

Cole

Food Themed Plushies (Like a strawberry cow)

Sketch Book + colored pencils

Bear Plush

Gummy Candies

Honey Colored Sippy Cup + handles on either side

Chewlry

Kai

Teethers and Pacifiers

Kitten Plushy

Pokemon Plushies

Baby Bottle

Dino Onesie

Patterned Diapers

Zane

Bunny Headbands (Both with bunny ears and individual bunnies)

Storybooks

Fake Cooking Supplies

Plastic Food

Nya

See the full post

55 notes - Posted April 13, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[evelyn-the-archivist]

🕸 Click.

ARCHIVIST

I'm going to be recording your statement on this tape recorder, alright?

EVELYN

Isn't that a little... old fashioned?

ARCHIVIST

Maybe, but it's what works for us. We digitalize statements after they're recorded, anyway.

EVELYN

Okay, I guess that makes sense. Why change what works, right?

ARCHIVIST

Exactly.

Statement of Evelyn Marie, detailing...

EVELYN

My experience in an abandoned factory.

ARCHIVIST

Statement given January 19, 2001. Whenever you're ready, Evelyn.

EVELYN

Well, I was living in Tulip Hills, which is a small town in Ohio. There was an abandoned factory right at the center of it, and my best friend Max and I decided we wanted to explore it.

ARCHIVIST

Max's full name, please?

EVELYN

Uh, maybe I shouldn't.

ARCHIVIST

The more information we have, the more thorough our research can be.

EVELYN

Alright, I guess that makes sense. Max Ferry.

ARCHIVIST

Thank you. You can continue.

EVELYN

It wasn’t until we had gotten past the tall wire fencing that it sunk in for me what we were doing. The sun was high above us, but suppressed by the overgrowth at the untended factory site.

I rifled through my backpack, making sure I had everything we might need. Water, granola bars, first aid kit, flashlight, phone.

“Max, do you have everything you need?”

They flipped through their own, much smaller backpack. “I brought tarot cards?”

It wasn’t unusual for them to be unprepared, and I had brought enough food and water for the both of us, but I still found myself a little frustrated. “I’ve got us covered, I guess. Let’s find an entrance.”

We kept moving, and I was relieved to see that several of the windows had already been broken. Max started to climb through, but I stopped them. “What are you doing? Do you want to get glass in your arm?”

They chuckled a little. “Not really.”

I pulled my sleeve over my hand and carefully swept the broken shards away. “There. I might not have gotten all of it though, so be careful.”

The interior of the building was pitch black. The light shining through the windows seemed to stop just a little bit in, as if running into an invisible wall.

I pulled my flashlight out of my bag, and it clicked on satisfyingly. It was a heavy security flashlight, one that had single-handedly lit up an entire room before. But in that building, it didn’t extend any further than the light from the windows did. It was weak, flickering sporadically.

I was unsettled, but shook it off. The batteries were just low, right? No big deal.

I began to walk, but Max started to run.

I quickly gripped the back of their hoodie before they got ahead of me. “Hey, we need to stick together. I don’t want to lose track of you.”

They turned around, grinning sheepishly. “I’m just excited! We’re in an abandoned factory!”

I crossed my arms. “I know, but we have to be cautious. Who knows what’s inside of here?”

“Maybe a ghooooost~” they suggested, waving their arms up and down.

I laughed, and we kept moving.

It was warm inside the building. Warmer than it should have been, especially since Autumn was nearing its end. A thick droplet of sweat rolled down the back of my neck. I could taste the heat on my tongue, dry like wilted grass.

The ground was cluttered with art supplies. I leaned down and picked a few up, but they were all unusable. The colored pencils were splintering apart, the watercolor paints were cracked and pounded into dust, the markers were dry and crushed. Not a single tool was in a salvageable state. “So many good supplies, wasted.”

Max looked down and saw the crayons crushed under their feet. “Yeah. My grandpa says that Fiverid Art used to be the heart of the town.”

“What happened to it?”

“A Crayola factory set up nearby, I think in the 1930’s? And they couldn’t keep up.”

“Ah, capitalism.”

We both laughed. “I’m surprised you didn’t know already. Everyone in Tulip Hills knows about what happened.”

I waved the flashlight around for emphasis as I spoke. “I just moved here, remember? Shitty housing market?”

“Oh yeah! Pass me some water?”

I tossed them a bottle, which clattered to the ground. “Butterfingers,” I said, not bothering to hold back my laugh. “So how come it’s still here? Shouldn’t it have been demolished by now?”

They picked the bottle up and took a small drink before turning to me. “Well, that’s the creepy part. After Fiverid went under, the land was bought up almost immediately. But no one knows who bought it. The records were kept private by the city, probably at the purchaser’s request.”

I set the flashlight on the ground, facing it upwards. “That was years ago, wasn’t it? Wouldn’t that person be dead right now?”

“Probably, but the records are still private. Whoever owns it now is just as secretive as the old owner was.” They took another drink of the water.

“Huh. That’s... weird...” I fell silent, listening closely. There was something... “Do you hear that?”

Max glanced at me, furrowing their eyebrows, then stood very still for a moment. “Music, right?”

It was faint, but if I strained my ears I could hear it. A strange, erratic melody. It continued to wind up, never resolving on the right note. I couldn’t tell what instrument it was on, as if it was being made by something entirely unique.

The heat on my tongue grew more bitter, making my throat ache.

“Where’s that coming from?” I asked, wiping sweat off my forehead.

"Let's find out!”

Max darted ahead. I scrambled for the flashlight and ran after them, desperate not to get separated.

“Oh my god, slow down! I can’t run as fast as you!” I gasped for breath, the heat wearing me out even quicker than normal.

They whirled around and crossed their arms. “Don’t you want to find where the music is coming from?”

“Of course I do! But I can’t keep up with you if you're running.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll slow down. Pass me the flashlight?” They held out a hand.

“No! This flashlight is the only thing stopping you from going on without me.” I lightly shoved their shoulder. “If you had it, I bet you would leave me behind.”

Max rolled their eyes. “Fine. Come on.”

We kept walking, the light flickering dangerously.

After a few minutes, I heard Max gasp. “Oh my god, Evelyn, take a look at this.”

They crouched down, gesturing at... well...

Hands are complicated. 27 unique bones, held together with sinew and tendons, and layers of fat and skin on top. To fully recreate a hand, of paper and wood and rubber, it would take hours of painstaking work. And what would even be the point of it?

Yet, someone had gone to the trouble of doing just that. A false hand lay on the ground, detailed and rotting.

Sweat slid down my back.

There was a piece of paper lying underneath it. Max kneeled down, slid it out, and looked it over.

“Max, I don’t think-”

“It says ‘It Will Replace Us.’”

“What?”

They held it up in the flickering light, grinning excitedly. “On the paper. ‘It Will Replace Us.’ Come on, take a closer look!”

I didn’t move from where I was standing. The paper was just as old as everything else in the factory. With all the water stains and wrinkles, I was surprised it was legible at all.

The heat was almost unbearable. I felt sick.

Max stood up and stepped closer to me, still holding the paper. “Creepy, huh? What do you think it means?”

“Maybe we should go.”

It was then that the flashlight clicked off.

Max started laughing immediately. “Now that’s fun. Perfect timing, huh?”

I shook my head, before realizing they couldn’t see me. “I want to leave.” Nausea pulsed through me.

Max rested a hand on my arm. “I know it’s a bit spooky, but the only thing we’re in danger from here is tetanus. If you really want to leave, we can, but I’m having a good time... and...”

They trailed off, distracted.

The music was much closer than before. It had begun to speed up, increase in volume, resolve on notes even worse than earlier.

Without a word, Max pulled away from my arm and started running towards the music.

“Max! Come back!” I yelled, desperate not to lose them.

I got a hold of my phone and turned on the weak flashlight included with it. It was barely enough to see my own feet, but it was enough to run after them.

The odor of mold mixed with the dry heat, making me cough desperately as my feet pounded against the floor.

And then I spotted them, facing away from me. “What are you doing! We need to stay together!”

Max didn’t answer. They were practically frozen, staring ahead, trembling a little. I turned to see what they were looking at, and...

It was shaped like a human, but it was clearly meant as mockery and not as imitation. Wrinkled and ripped paper served as the skin, like a twisted paper-mache project. The translucence of the water stains showed broken paintbrushes underneath, forming the shape of bones. Colorful rubber bands stretched all around in what I can only assume to be an attempt at muscles. Every body part, recreated in painstaking detail out of the remains of Fiverid art supplies.

It was missing a hand.

But the worst of it was the heart. It was made of neon crayons, crushed and rolled together. Every vein and artery carved in, perfectly done, and glowing nauseatingly. And it was beating, right alongside the music.

The music that I then realized was singing. The mouth of whatever sat in front of us was open, and moving so slightly it could have been an accident. The tongue was made of sopping wet cardboard.

The song dug into my ears, making my head spin. The heat burned me, but there was no discernible source. The stench of mold was so strong it might as well have been coming from me.

“M-Max, w-what-?” I stuttered out.

And then it stood up.

I turned and ran, no longer frozen in my fear. The light from my phone flickered, threatening to go out.

My body retraced our steps from earlier, on instinct. I couldn’t think of anything except the horrible creature from before. The sound of my feet was loud, but not nearly as loud as the beat of my own heart, which almost seemed to have come up through my throat in its rapid pace.

Finally I found the window, glass shards still coating the floor, and climbed out of it as fast as I could. Glass dug into my skin, but I hardly noticed.

I reached the fence and forced my shoes into the holes.

A sleeve caught on the wires, so I paused to detangle it.

That pause was enough to halt my adrenaline.

Blood dripped from my arm; it was soaked into the fabric of my shirt.

I was breathing heavily, my lungs aching.

Cool wind ran through my sweat-soaked hair.

"Max?” I called out.

But there was no response. Just my own voice, echoing pathetically back at me.

I never saw Max again.

We moved to DC about a month later. Then I heard about your Foundation, and, well.

ARCHIVIST

Of course. Thank you very much for coming in to tell your story.

EVELYN

Thanks for having me.

...

Do you believe me?

ARCHIVIST

We'll have to do some follow up, but it certainly sounds within possibility. Would you like us to contact you about our findings?

EVELYN

Yes, please.

ARCHIVIST

Alright. It might be a while since Tulip Hills is so far away, but you'll be one of the first to know whatever we discover.

EVELYN

Thank you so much.

Click.

Click.

ARCHIVIST

Regarding follow-up.

At first I was doubtful of the truth of this statement. Evelyn's remembrance of specific details and the fact that the incident seemed not to fit in with any Entities made it seem like more of a creative writing project than anything. So imagine my surprise when the recording failed to digitalize.

I had Avery do some digging, and she actually managed to find a copy of the deed to the factory. The owner is none other than Monty Lukas, the USA's resident patron of The Lonely.

As for the incident itself, it remains frustratingly difficult to categorize. Obviously the creature itself seems to be of The Stranger, but The Dark is very much in play, as well. And there's traces of The Desolation and The Spiral, as well. Perhaps Monty Lukas is doing some unsavory experiments in that factory.

Another thing to look out for, then.

End.

Click. 🕸

[2021ssajka]

IVY PANGILINAN

https://www.ivypangilinan.com/

i have been following Ivy Pangilinan’s work for a while now. She lives in the Philippines and maybe that is why I gravitate to her work.

  I usually am very critical in abstract work like this. Often times it becomes too cloudy, gray, dirty and aggressive. colors often mix too much in abstract work resulting in grayish color that I do not enjoy.

In Pangilinan’s work, there is a right balance of “muddyness”. Her pencil marks reminds of me of the graffiti works in Metro Manila walls. The layering of her colors reminds me of peeled poster flyers all around the city. There is a right amount of swampy greyish green color when she mixes her color that reminds me of the stained Metro Manila walls due to the polluted busy streets (especially in EDSA highway) especially in the rainy seasons of June-September when these streets flood.

There is something that attracts me to her work. It’s possible we have similar upbringings living in the Philippines. There is a nostalgic feeling in her work for me. It feels familiar and warm. I also like her use of noise and gritty texture in her photographs  which is also present in the Philippine architecture that gives the nostalgic feeling in her work. I also like how she incorporates her worn handwriting in her work. It feels more personal as if these are her journal entries. I enjoy this as a graphic designer as well and a person who journals a lot. I have always wanted to incorporate my handwriting in my work too.

There is a youthful energy in her work, that could be mistaken to be made by a young child filling in blobs of colors and scribbling in pencil.

  This youthful energy can also address the filipino traits that we are known for. Filipinos are hospitable, polite, and always happy even through the tough times- and this is applies to my family as well, thats probably why I am always bubbly. This also shows in my work are we have somewhat similar color choices of bright and saturated hues.

Growing up in the tropical country of the Philippines, I always associated it as this bright and sunny place even if we do have monsoons and hurricanes during the rainy season. Maybe this is because I have so many good memories there that I mostly only remember the good times.

  I have always mentioned that I see through a “yellow filter” because my memories of the Philippines are always bright and sunny even though we have a rainy season for almost half of the year when most of the country floods and many people are affected. I think it is a super power of the Filipinos to be able to get right back up right away, because these floods never really crushes that Filipino spirit, they are always ready to get all the pieces back together and get right back on with life- proving that they are very optimistic

I still have this “yellow filter” today, no literally. I wear glasses and i have this blue light filter applied on it, and its literally just a yellow filter on my glasses.

I had a big family in the Philippines. I literally grew up with my cousins and aunts/uncles right next door, and I always remember having the most fun childhood because I get to play with my cousins every single day. my favorite memory of us is when we would color/journal together (but also play house, pretend cooking, and play with dolls) thats probably why I enjoy paintings to much, because it has always reminded me of the good times with my cousins, and now that I am away from them, this a way where I could relive that moment and feel good alone.

  I think Ivy Pangilinan’s (and Heather Days) work pushed me to explore pastels, crayons and other materials because it opens that childhood memories of mine. That is the main reason why I love pastels because it is  the adult version of crayons.

  when did we stop being able to play with these materials or toys? how come we need an adult version of things we enjoyed as a child?

Art materials are not something accessible to everyone in the Philippines. The materials there are so expensive that it is very impractical to keep art making as a hobby. I remember when I was young, My mom or aunt surprised me with a 48 crayon box when I passed an entrance exam in a Catholic school near us. I remember loving that box and filling in coloring books whenever I had the chance. 

As I grew up, I remember my cousins always having a variety of colors in their collection. I would always borrow their cool shades when we would play, one time I remember stealing this “lemon yellow” shade of light yellow with a hint of green because I loved that color so much. I'm not sure if I eventually gave it back, maybe not (lol). 

It was not till my mom moved to America to find a job, when she would always send us “balikbayan box” filled with all sorts of stuff she bought for us from here. I remember she got me a Crayola box with 140 colors and I protected that with my whole life. I loved it so much because it had neon, and glitter crayons and none of my cousins had that and they would borrow from me instead. That's when my fascination with colors began.

It is my goal to be a successful artist, and I will go back to the Philippines and provide art supplies to the children in need.

--------------- I also relate to Ivy’s connection with intuitive painting. The Philippines is a Religious Catholic country (influenced by the Spanyards when they colonized us for 300 years). We are taught to believe in something we could not see. It is very internal and spiritual. At a very young age I was told to listen to my conscience because this is God speaking to me. So I am very connected to my inner dialogue, and this is how I navigate through my emotions- and this applies to my art making as well.

  Art is a very spiritual act for me. This does not only serve as a vehicle for expression but also a space to practice my faith. I am not a religious person and I am currently trying to unlearn the Catholic practices I was taught when I was young (going to a Catholic school), and I am now in a journey of finding my own idea of who God is, and one way I explore that is through art, writing and mediating.

  I yearn for peace when I am creating art, and it is the calm, silence and the intimacy where I find God present. He is present when I feel content.

  ------

I also like how she shows her process. I gravitate towards her window because I remember my sister having one just like that when she had her room in the attic. I would always look at that window and peep at what's happening outside.

  Seeing her process makes me think of what could have happened if I stayed in the Philippines. I have a feeling that I may not be able to pursue art and do something “practical” instead. Art really won’t be enough for me to have a financially stable career. Pursuing art there is a privilege, only for people who has the means and could afford the materials. It was never really a real option for me in the past, even though my mom supported me in my talents. It was only when I moved to America when I truly had a chance to pursue my passion.

  I have this fantasy of having a studio in the Philippines and eventually retire there. We have a terrace in the front of our ancestral home and I have always imagined myself working outdoors and having a mini garden there. I would love to go travel around the Philippines and apply those sceneries and new memories in my work.

[themostrandomfandom]

why do you think brittany writes in crayon?

Hey, @stanjyrus!

So the cynical, out-of-universe, fuck-RIB answer is that Brittany writes in crayon because TPTB at Glee want to depict her as being childish.

Note that in S1 and S2, while Brittany is occasionally shown to doodle in crayon, when she writes, she is most often shown using her beloved (and age-appropriate) Koosh Ball gel pens. 

The one instance in which she writes using crayons on a major assignment is on her “heart attacks” report from episode 2x03, and in that instance, her doing so can be explained by the fact that her report includes artwork (and using crayons to draw pictures makes sense). She is otherwise shown using typical writing utensils for her schoolwork.

This choice in writing tools tracks with her general S1/S2 depiction: i.e., as a ditz but at least an average teenage ditz who could plausibly exist (and function) in a mainstream high school classroom. 

Only in S3 and especially S4, when the writers lean hard into the “Brittany is infantile” party line, does the crayon writing become a standard, repeated joke. The downgrade from Koosh pens to crayons tracks with the general degradation of Brittany’s character during this period.

As for within the universe of the show, one very simple and viable explanation for Brittany writing in crayon is personal preference: i.e., crayon is a brighter and more colorful medium than pencil or (standard) pen and is therefore an attractive medium for someone as creative and whimsical as she.

However, a more complicated (and psychoanalytical) explanation also potentially exists, and it ties into the argument I make in this post: namely, that over the course of her high school education, Brittany’s teachers, counselors, and coaches alternately ignore and disparage her when she struggles in her classes, and the fact that they do so prompts her to “act out academically.” 

Though it would be in Brittany’s best interest to ask for help directly, she doesn’t, largely because she has been made to feel unwelcome to do so. Rather than approach Will, Sue, Mrs. Hagberg, Emma, etc., all of whom have, in their own ways, made it clear that they consider Brittany stupid and/or obnoxious, and therefore unworthy of being taken seriously, Brittany puts up a façade, pretending that she’s too aloof to care about her schoolwork. She lives down to their low expectations for her because doing so allows her at least a modicum of control in a situation where she otherwise has none.

If we accept this model, then we can perhaps view writing her assignments in crayon as a symptom of Brittany’s scholastic desperation.

Essentially, Brittany feels like she’s going to fail her assignments no matter what she does or how hard she tries not to, because her teachers have proven to her, class after class, year after year, that they are unwilling to deal with her and/or give her a fair shake. She therefore decides (either consciously or subconsciously) that if she’s going to fail regardless, she is at least going to choose the mechanism by which she does so—and somehow it hurts less to fail because she writes her assignments in crayon than it does to fail because her teachers think that her ideas are stupid/wrong.

Remember that math test Sue whips out in episode 4x02? The one that Brittany draws “Happyville: the Town Where Math Was Never Invented” on?

Notice that Brittany doesn’t even bother to write down answers on that test.

Maybe she doesn’t write down answers because she’s using the crayon drawings as a defense mechanism. 

If her teacher is just going to pick her apart anyway, why bother to put in any sort of real effort? The faculty all view her as an imbecile, so she’s going to give them what they expect. She’s not going to make herself vulnerable by expending her actual brainpower to come up with an answer that they’re just going to (arbitrarily) strike out because she’s her.

I would wager that as a yet undiscovered math genius, Brittany probably finds it difficult to “show her work” in the way that high school teachers typically require. She probably just “knows what she knows” intuitively/instinctively, and since she can’t write down the answer without showing her work, lest she be accused of cheating on the exam, she opts not to write anything at all. Things are just easier that way.

As I talk about in this Brittanalysis, Brittany may also be “crying for help” with the crayon drawing, hoping against hope that maybe someday, some teacher (possessed of both a brain and a heart) will realize that any twelfth grader who’s drawing stick figures in crayon on their math midterm probably needs help and actually pull her aside to ask her, in a genuine way, how they can be of assistance.

She’s too scared to ask for what she needs directly, so she hints at it—with Crayola cartoons—instead.

Unfortunately for Brittany, the only person who does seem to notice and/or care about the crayon drawings is Sue, who only cares insofar as this increasingly erratic behavior is having a bad influence on the younger Cheerios, and so summarily kicks Brittany off the squad.

Admittedly, a hole in this theory is that Brittany does seem to continue using crayon to write long after she has left both WMHS and MIT, even into S6, where we see her working on the Euler Brick problem using a rather impressive Crayola collection.

However, we can perhaps explain this usage by means of our simpler explanation from above: i.e., by this point in her life, now that Brittany is no longer beholden to academic rules and is just doing math for fun because she’s good at it, she uses the crayons because they’re colorful and pretty and because they make her calculations pop on the page.

Also, she may use crayons because she is potentially numerically synesthestic, as a few math geniuses, including famous nonnormative thinker Daniel Tammet, are. Note that in her Euler equations, she alternates colors, perhaps indicating that different calculations are chromatically different in her mind. (“The square root of four is rainbows,” anyone?) 

Anyway, that’s what I’ve got!

Thanks for the question!

[repost-this-image]

Review: Faber-Castell Watercolor Pencils Starter Kit

If you were lucky enough to have art class in elementary school, you probably hated using the cheap Crayola watercolors. They made a huge mess, the paints themselves tended to end up pretty brown and muddy after a couple months, and you never really got explicitly taught any techniques other than wax-resist with crayons. All I ever managed to make in class were a bunch of blobs of color in the vague shape I wanted, and the colors all ran together because you had to do the whole painting in one class period. I...was not impressed by watercolors at all.

I bought myself some watercolor pencils (which I still use on occasion) because I’d heard that they don’t break as often as ordinary colored pencils, and I flat-out hated the RoseArts we had in the house that seemed to break if you so much as looked at them funny, then broke again while you were sharpening them.

That’s right. I bought watercolor pencils to use as ordinary colored pencils. The horror.

So. 16 years after I bought that first set, I noticed something on sale at the craft store. (JAF just finished having their annual mega-sale, which is always a good excuse to buy things you’ve wanted for several months but were just a teensy bit out of your usual price range.)

Guys, gals, and NB pals, let me introduce you to the Faber-Castell watercolor pencils starter kit. Original price: US$20 (I got it for $15).

So what do you get for $20? A pretty decent starter kit, as it turns out. Everything is attached to a piece of cardboard that slides out smoothly. The pencils are on the front, in a resealable plastic packet, no less:

And on the back are two plastic pouches, one of which contains a cheap pencil sharpener and an equally-cheap brush so you can get started right away. (After all, if you turn out to hate working with watercolor pencils and chuck the whole set, would you rather throw out a good artist’s brush, or a 50¢ cheapo brush?)

The other pouch is where you’re really getting your money’s worth, though.

The kit includes about 20 little sheets of watercolor paper (which ain’t cheap), 3 of which have nice little grids.

And of course, there’s the little booklet.

As you can see from the table of contents, the booklet is in English, French, and Spanish, and has instructions on how to do some basic techniques for people like me who are fairly clueless about watercolor in general. (A freebie: Do not dip watercolor pencils into your paint water. Ever. Don’t do it.)

There’s even a section with tips for making clouds, grass, stone, and flowers for landscapes, which is quite helpful for giving you ideas about texture for other parts of your drawings, too (which I had no idea you could do with just watercolor).

And yes, they go step-by-step through that lovely photorealistic drawing of cupcakes on the cover, although you’re probably not gonna get photorealism unless you’re VERY good at drawing already, because you have to do a detailed pencil drawing first. Still nice as a proof-of-concept.

Overall, I give it a 9/10. You get a decent amount of stuff for the price, and while the brush is an icky cheap one, it’s enough to help you decide if you want to keep going and get a nicer artist’s brush that lasts longer. The booklet explains enough techniques to give you a nice little set of skills at the end of it, and encourages you to make your own color references with the grid sheets. All in all, I’m glad I bought it.

[bananonymity]

(part 1)

“Are there any other options?” said Emil. “That aren’t a four-hour course?”

Ludwig, ever patient on the outside and ever frustrated and ready to throw his keyboard out his office window on the inside, went back to the drawing board of available courses.

“Studio art has some openings this semester,” said Ludwig. Emil shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “It’s fine, it’s geared towards beginners. And you ar en’t expected to make museum-worthy masterpieces in there. It’s to study both the creation and the criticism of modern art.”

“I don’t know much about modern art,” admitted Emil. He admitted to a liking towards minimalism, which brought great astonishment and exasperation from his roommate Leon, who upon seeing Emil’s decor of his side of the dorm genuinely worried that Emil was tight on money and therefore lacking in any possession. But a college course on it, especially as a first year student, inevitably felt daunting.

“That’s all right,” Ludwig said. “After you go through Professor Bonnefoy, you will understand it, whether you like it or not.”

-

“Now tell me, class,” Francis Bonnefoy said. His voice was as silky as the freshly squeezed oil paints on the palette. “What do you gather from this piece?”

On the projector, which Professor Bonnefoy spent a good five minutes cursing at in the beginning of class trying to make it work, was a Cy Twombly piece, The Italians, MoMA, 1961. Francis stood at the head of the room, smiling at his class with anticipation while the students stared silently ahead.

Michelle knew that this was an important piece of work. By the way that Francis’s chest puffed the moment he brought the photo up, she could assume that he was very fond of this piece. It was in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. It also looked like what would result if one gave a child a 96-crayon Crayola box and a white wall.

“Anyone?” said Francis.

No one said a word. One student was constantly taking off their glasses, polishing the lenses, and returning it to their lens as if he genuinely thought that the scribbles were a speck of dust on his specs. Another student buried their face in their hands. The student next to Michelle burst into tears.

Francis immediately blossomed as if the student’s tears of terror watered him into fruition.

“It is a moving piece,” he said. “No--a powerful piece. You feel it, don’t you, Raivis?”

“I don’t understand what’s happening,” Raivis whispered through his tears.

“What is it that Twombly is trying to express in this masterpiece?” Francis said, plowing through Raivis’ grief. “What is it that he is trying to communicate? Modern artists do not aim to make beauty--that is the philosophy of the old world. The old age of art, who think that one must have some technical skill in order to be an artist.”

“They weren’t wrong,” someone muttered.

“Twombly did not want to impress,” said Francis. “He wanted to communicate. He was a cryptologist in the military before he became an artist. He communicated through code, through mathematics, through complexity--”

He slammed his hand against the projector in a fit of passion.

“What is it, in this piece, that you can pick up?” said Francis. “What symbols do you pick up, that mean more than they say? Michelle!”

Michelle jumped in her seat. Why, oh why, couldn’t he have randomly called on her during the Duchamp example? At least she could recognize that the art piece in question was a urinal.

“What,” Francis said, “do you see? What message is being conveyed?”

“Um.” Michelle squinted at the painting. She did not know what to make of the scratched lines and the jagged scribbles. She definitely did not want to be the student who had to bring up the definitely phallic shape in purple crayon in the middle of the piece.

“It says....’The Italians’ on it,” Michelle said. “So it’s...definitely taking place in Italy?”

Francis sighed heavily, a heartbroken sort of sigh that made Michelle feel like she had not only betrayed him, but also set his life savings on fire and kicked his dog.

“Observation must start somewhere, I suppose,” Francis said. “It is my fault, we should have gone into the history of European graffiti. Then...then you would be able to understand...Now take notes, everyone.”

Michelle popped more lead into her pencil. She did not doubt that she could probably recreate this piece onto her notebook as notes, if only to make a point to herself. But she reckoned that Francis would give her zero marks if he caught her.

-

“You don’t make it sound like a good thing,” Emil said.

Ludwig did not bother hiding a grimace.

“I suppose art just isn’t my thing,” he said.

(tbc?)