#Beautiful Realistic Asians

[ujiki-oo]

Image generation AI + flickr + PopBox specialized functions

[futuristiccowboyshark]

[jaeharuart]

Little Black Dress. Original art. As usual no AI, no photo bashing, no 3D and no ref was used for this. Just painted from the ground up in Photoshop. Painting time-lapse will be up on my YouTube when I get that done for those interested.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JaeHaruArt?fan_landing=true

LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jaeharuart

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[aisupporter]

[dramarants]

I have nothing intelligent to add but as a viewer watching, I felt the scene built tension via increased intimacy and vulnerability with the silhouette kiss, the butterflies of facing uncharted territory as they choose to trust each other and cross a new line, being the most poignant - the top of the roller coaster before free fall. by seeing them play around so happily in bed first, any sense of immediate danger from their choice (whether losing their friendship, having a negative sexual experience, accidentally hurting each other somehow, etc.) was also curbed. Their uninhibited joy and comfort together was so sweet and having that freedom permeate from the starting shots of the sequence felt like sex was their doorway toward that liberation rather than just a fulfillment of lust or their happiness being a temporary post-fuck haze. I also don't think the sequence was necessarily exactly reversed, they could have been flirting playfully before things escalated, but my general impression of their experience of the night was definitely colored by the initial casual intimacy shown.

the show also seems edited to represent jaewon's pov sometimes and memories aren't always recalled chronologically. maybe the scene shows that their closeness stood out the most or left a big impression on him (or more ominously, that jihyun's trust haunts him or he tries repressing more intimate memories since he might feel guilt or regret about it if he thinks their decision led to the carefree - maybe to him, careless - atmosphere in which jihyun's accident happened)

In the hotel room scene in episode 6, has anyone talked about how the scene seems to play in a nonlinear fashion? The scene starts out with them cuddling in bed (presumably post-coital), then shows them being intimate with each other, and then ends on a silhouette kiss. To me I think this scene purposefully is shown in the reverse.

In reality I think in the hotel room it starts with the tentative kiss we see in the end (the silhouette kiss), and then they have sex, and then it ends with them cuddling and joking around with each other under the covers.

Why this scene seems to play in a nonlinear way, I'm not sure. But this show really does a great job of making everyone think and analyze every tiny detail.

[hahahafangirl]

gotta put my thoughts down before i forget it but the thing that did it in for me is how spy x family is ultimately and uniquely a “children-focused” work, where the major stakes require that we pay attention to the lives and dynamics of young children so that — specifically — we have to genuinely engage with and invested in their inner lives, motivations, desires, thoughts, emotions, etc.

i think this is a very unique focus in the shounen sphere, where the audience and creators are centered about adolescent boys (the shounen genre, in its name) and thus have a very wide scope of focus that nonetheless has “aged” past “childhood”. usually media about children and childhood are sequestered in its own genre (children’s shows like doraemon, magical girl anime like precure series, etc.) aimed at a different target audience who are in the same demographic as the main characters in the shows. this is, obviously, not a bad thing. but i appreciate the “genre-breaking” focus that spy x family have because it inspires a sort of empathy to children, who are often not the most favorite group of people for the typical demographic of shounen readers, that is specifically vital in today’s climate. (can’t say much about japan itself, who historically has been dealing with declining birth rates, but oh i can speak for the american individualism— ironically where sxf is also very popular in) another thing about this is it’s drive home how intertwined the family life is, and should be. agent twilight and thorn princess’s plot-lines are clearly shounen-esque (a spy fighting for world peace, an assassin weeding out traitors) but they are nonetheless inextricable from the family- and anya-focused story, because by choice or circumstances they are anya’s parents. they’re a part of a larger societal fabric that embedded them in relationships to others — children being one of them. i think that’s pretty neat.

another thing, specially about the depiction of children in sxf: they are fictitious yet realistic enough to portray real children and inspire sympathy for them. a lot of asian home media in general have the problems of portraying young children as “problems”: annoying, loud, privileged, dumb, ungrateful, etc etc. these are such complaints about children that are unfortunately way too common and way too ungenerous and mean-spirited; none of these tropes are present, even in a media full of scions and heiress. complaints about them being brats (red circus bus hijacking arc) was rightfully framed as unsympathetic and unreasonable (they’re children! they can’t help where they were born into— it goes both ways.) i think the crux of this beautiful balance sxf struck in portraying nuanced, dynamics children is sympathy. they can be loud, they can be whiny, cry at the drop of a hat, has too much energy, gross, have bad grades, clingy, inconsistent, academically unmotivated, ran off randomly— and that’s fine, because we know why they do it, we are given space into their inner thoughts, something so rarely afforded to real life children at times. but they can be motivated, they want world peace, they want to have genuine friends, they want their friends to be happy, they have crushes, and most of all they love their parents and they love the people around them.

i think regardless of everything sxf is a work that understands that children are full of love and the majority of the things they do are out of love. i think that alone makes it incredible in the current socio-econo-political climate where sympathy is spared so little and humanity spreads so thin children barely gets what they deserve. i suppose that’s the sort of war we are entrenched in.

[eerna]

How would you describe the face shapes and facial features of The Lunar Chronicles girls? (Since you draw them so beautifully, I wanna know how you figured out what features to give them based off the info the books give us. Plus I began to imagine cinder's face looking exactly like your art).

Also what undertones do you give them (you don't gotta be specific, just list whether they're cool or warm). oh! You can info-dump if you want. I find it really helpful.

Yayyy thanks for the compliments and for asking this, I love talking about why I draw faces the way I do!! :D

Ok so first off here's an explanation of my general book character design process which I will base these descriptions on. For TLC specifically the canon descriptions are based not only on the books, but also this guide from MM's website.

CINDER

The starting canon point was ambiguously mixed (but definitely Asian), tan, brown upturned eyes, mousy brown hair in a ponytail, tall, all angles, boyish build and clothes. I HC her as specifically Cambodian (based on her family names and general description), so I based her features on it. She is characterized as brave and decisive ina protagonist way, so I gave her an oval face shape because ovals are serious and constant, and thick eyebrows to intensify her expressions. She sees herself as unfeminine, so I gave her thin lips and short, brown eyelashes. She is always messy and unkempt because of her work, so I gave her an uneven, shaggy haircut to match (inspired by Link LoZ for absolutely no reason). But she is also an awkward nerd, which I integrated through her big, goofy ears. I give her a warm undertone to match her eyes and offset her desaturated hair.

SCARLET

The starting canon point was white skin, curly ginger hair, super freckled, very feminine build, full lips, farmer girl vibes. Her color scheme is very low contrast with hair, eyebrows and eyes that are all within the same value range, because at one point she is described as soft curve shaped as opposed to Cinder's sharp angles, and I wanted to bring out that softness not only in shapes but colors too. She is also brave and decisive, but in a mean old lady way, so I gave her a long, pointy face to match it. I should def give her more defined curls than I usually do. I don't often color her so I thinkkkk I mostly give her a cool undertone, but it's inconsistent.

CRESS

The starting canon point was super pale white skin, nose freckles, heart shaped face, extremely messy wavy honey blond hair, sky blue eyes, super tiny. Everything about her is supposed to scream "pure sweet innocent little baby who never did anything wrong in her life" (even if it isn't the exact truth), and her face is based on a girl I saw at school when I was a teen. Her eyebrows and eye shape are anime inspired because I was an anime fan and so was MM. I give her a cold undertone.

WINTER

The starting canon point was very dark skin, Black, three scars on her right cheek, and a ton of other descriptions because she is the most beautiful girl in the galaxy and the epitome of soft, gentle, princessy femininity. We're talking full lips, gently curving features, insane eyelashes, etc. Her scars should realistically be darker, but the description of them resembling tears and their symbolism of Winter choosing to stick out like a sore thumb stuck so far into my brain that I simply gotta make use of artistic license in this case. I went for 3C type hair and its shape fits the cloud-like dreamy vibe she embodies while keeping to the glossy corkscrew description. Her eyes and lips are her mother's, and thus bear resemblance to Levana's. I give her a warm undertone.

IKO

The starting canon point was light brown skin, golden eyes, button nose, blue braids with golden accessories, and capitalist-made beauty. She is fun, fashionable, and flirty, so her color palette is braver and more expressive than the other girls'. Her beauty is noticeable, but man-made as a product instead of Winter's natural appeal. Her undertone is sometimes cold and sometimes warm because it makes the various color combos easier to execute, and also she is an android so I bet it is possible to do it anyway.

Hope this was interesting~

[zhxk5h0csx]

[kideaternomnom]

Some people undermine how meaningful and symbolic Zenin Maki’s arc is, especially if they’ve never experienced it. As an Asian girl who deep down KNOWS I’ll never get as much credit as my male cousins despite me working my ass off harder then them, her arc hit so fucking hard. That dilemma and feeling of no matter what you do- you’ll never get as much credit as your male counterparts even if you work harder than they’ve ever done. That feeling of never getting validation from the older adults due to your gender, that feeling of your male counterparts ALWAYS getting more credit than you’ll ever get no matter what you do. That’s part of what her arc represents. Something those toxic Toji fanboys will never understand. And yknow what I love most about her arc? She never does get their validation. Unlike your typical Shounen anime fashion they don’t just magically switch up and admit they were wrong about her. Instead, she learns to be strong for herself, she realizes the real reason she originally wanted to be stronger (Mai), and she becomes free of all the burden holding her back from being the best of her. Instead of having them eat their words (which they never do, in fact they reject her more) she manages to free herself and become her peak.

If that’s not beautiful, symbolic, and very realistic to women experiencing sexism in their households or in the world- then I don’t know what is.