#Bonus Tip:

[saphushia]

btw. i made this quick guide of some of the natural size and proportion reference points in the human body. of course this all varies even irl, and you can stylize however you want, so ymmv but thought it might be helpful for some folks.

[liones-s]

one of the most boring lessons I’ve learned is that when a task feels overwhelming, you just have to start doing it. Even if you’re not sure how to do 90% of it, look for one small component that seems close and start there. Sometimes it’s reading one article on the topic, or searching one related term, or literally just googling how to do the task. Do anything other than thinking about it. The process of working on a thing inherently makes it less scary.

[serpentinesketches]

Finally finished this after almost a month! Took me so long cause work has gotten crazy over the last couple weeks, but I finally was able to get back to this and finish it up!

These Aziraphale & Crowley designs are from the lovely @katiefrog217's Dragon AU! I'd been adoring all their amazing art with these designs, and I love me a good dragon, so I figured I'd give drawing them a shot. And I was absolutely right to - these boys were incredibly fun to draw <3

I love the way Katie's art of them always has them curling around each other, so I tried to keep that vibe. I think it came out well! :D

[aychama]

I need to keep reminding myself that im making the comic for me. That im telling this story because im a little crazy about it.

Im making all of this on my free time after work so I shouldnt feel guilty about not pumping out artwork after artwork.

I know so many people are waiting excitedly, so am I, but making a comic takes time and work. This whole thing is probably going to take so much longer than I think it will.

Nobody is pressuring me either so taking time for myself is not a bad thing. Even if people forget about my stuff and it doesnt get engagement its not the end of the world.

I am making this for myself. Just because I like it. Just because I enjoy creating.

[anakinh]

arcane characters dnd classes

because im bored and hyperfixating

Vi: Monk. Pit Fighter Vi is Way of the Drunken Master. Drunken Master monks fight hand-to-hand 'mimicking the style of a drunkard'. Technically you don't have to be drunk to be a Drunken Master monk so maybe she still uses those techniques while sobered up later. I think she starts out as a Way of the Open Hand monk, which is just a monk that is Very Good at Punching. The gauntlets are a magical item.

Jinx: Artillerist Artificer. Very straightforward. Makes bombs and cannons. Can use magic (referring to her use of hextech as bombs)

Ekko: Scout Rogue/Chronurgy Wizard multiclass. Scout rogues are very mobile so I think it fits him. Later on he takes two levels in Chronurgy Wizard, which gives him chronal shift. This lets him rewind time briefly to change the outcome of an action - fits pretty well, I think. He only needs two levels wizard to mimic his rewind ability and that multiclass makes him fast.

Viktor*: Transmutation Wizard. In the DnD world, both Viktor and Jayce (and Ekko!) would be wizards because they can just study magic instead of trying to harness it via technology. At level 14 the Transmutation Wizard can use their 'Transmuter's Stone' to create a panacea - a cure to all ills (plus restore youth and raise the dead. sounds familiar). Luckily, I think Transmutation Wizard fits Arcane-Viktor as well (especially once he creates the hexcore, which could be his Transmuter's Stone).

Commune Viktor is an NPC with a three-phase boss fight. The first phase is so simple you know there are other phases. I'd probably add in a mechanic where you try to talk him down in the third phase.

(Alternatively commune Viktor as we know him does not exist because the spell Revivify exists and Jayce shouldn't have to turn to unlicensed necromancy to get Viktor back**. Speaking of...)

Jayce*: Hexblade Warlock/Paladin (Oath of the Watchers)***. Again, if left to his own devices in a DnD world, Jayce would be a wizard. I'd say Abjuration (tanky wizard with protective shields) because he wants to protect people (and he's tanky), Order of Scribes (if he's focused on learning/harnessing all magic). Divination to pun on the 'Man of Progress' thing or if you interpret his glitches in s2 as visions of another world/seeing the truth of the commune members/arcane spidey-sense, which tbh really works

However, If I wanted to create Arcane-Jayce in DnD, I would make a Hexblade Warlock/Paladin multiclass. Hexblade warlocks get magic from a weapon, so it can be flavoured as Jayce using his hammer to do/cast magic. The hammer blasts can be very easily flavoured as eldritch blasts. Paladin is added narratively after the post-apocalypse world but not needed if you just wanted to mimic abilities. I'd go for Oath of the Watchers because they literally protect the realm from extraplanar threats. I've seen some people go for Devotion. That's fair, but it's a bit too Knight in Shining Armour for me.

Mel: Divine Soul Sorcerer. Also pretty easy - sorcerers come by their magic naturally, divine soul sorcerers get their power from a connection with the divine + has the gold/light/shielding imagery/spells. Hell, she's probably an aasimar? I don't know enough league lore to tell.

However, she only got her powers later. I think before that she was an Eloquence Bard or a Mastermind Rogue. Mastermind Rogues are more insightful. Both are incredibly persuasive - the bard moreso. The bard has magic - could be reflavoured as manipulation or as her sorcerer powers poking out before she knew about it. Later you could even multiclass her with sorcerer - works better with Eloquence Bard, but it's still not the most optimal multiclass (that's Jayce's). It's not bad, though, and if you only make optimal multiclasses in dnd you're going to get bored. I'd honestly go bard, only two levels in divine soul sorcerer for sorcery points, get metamagic adept feat for metamagic, it'll be fine. Divine Soul sorcerers get wings and healing at higher levels but if she's an aasimar she already has those.

Caitlyn: Inquisitive Rogue/Battlemaster Fighter multiclass. If you want to play a gunslinger in DnD the general advice is 'battlemaster with a gun'. She probably has the sharpshooter feat (she should have the sharpshooter feat). Inquisitive rogues are intelligent and focus on investigating, unravelling secrets. Rogue/Fighter multiclasses are very good - you only need three levels in fighter (edit: but maybe go for five for extra attack.) (She should also pick up the observant and martial adept feats if she can.)

Bonuses:

Vander: Vander is a bartender NPC at the tavern all our players meet up at during the first session. He's a retired high-level monk. Way of the Open Hand, of course. Just like he taught Vi.

Mylo and Claggor: I only added this because I re-watched the first episode and Mylo was apparently the only one who could pick locks. So Mylo is a Thief Rogue and Claggor is, idk, a fighter? (funnily enough both the artificer and the monk would be good picks for resident lock-picker. Not as good as rogue, but not bad)

Silco: Honestly, Silco would be an NPC with a commoner statblock, but I give him ridiculous bonuses to insight, perception, intimidation, and deception. That said, he did fight Vander, so maybe also Mastermind Rogue? With expertise in intimidation? (Still goes badly for him, though. Do not 1v1 a monk in dnd).

Singed: NPC combo necromancy wizard/alchemist artificer, focusing on the alchemy. I'd probably stick some Spores Druid/Death domain cleric stuff in just to be fun since NPCs can be whatever you want. Honestly, in the average DnD world he could just pay someone to resurrect his daughter and we'd solve half of our problems right there. He's originally from Piltover, right? He can afford it.

Ambessa Medarda: NPC Battlemaster Fighter and she has Rictus' anti-magic item that all your players hate.

Footnotes

* Jayce and Viktor cast 'spells' with hextech that reverses gravity, creates lightning, teleports - but, in the immortal words of Ms. Aabria Iyengar, "anyone can cast fireball teleport." Those are conjuration/evocation spells but you don't have to be a conjurer or evoker. Sometimes I see people think of enchantment wizards as 'wizards who enchant magic items' so maybe we'd put Jayce and Viktor there, but actually enchantment wizards do mind control. And, like I said, commune Viktor is an NPC with a three-phase boss fight. Transmutation wizards are the only wizards who can resurrect without making undead and they do it using their transmuter's stone. Although I'd argue that Viktor's commune members are undead... but anyone can cast the Animate Dead spell. And he's an NPC at that point so his abilities are whatever the DM wants.

** UNLESS you assume the hexcore is Viktor's transmuter's stone (which is how he casts the spells panacea/raise dead that I mentioned). It got corrupted as Viktor created it and when Jayce uses it to cast Raise Dead it goes wrong. (Despite its name the Raise Dead spell is supposed to be a normal, safe resurrection spell AND it cures all nonmagical diseases.) Anyway, we're getting into fanfiction now

*** My problem with the Jayce hexadin class is that it's optimized for charisma. Jayce is very charismatic, but his main characteristic is his smarts. A somewhat popular homebrew is to make warlocks int casters so you could go with that. In that case I might multiclass him with abjuration wizard for the extra tankiness. It's still not as good as the original hexadin multiclass so as a DM i'd allow it. Or just keep paladin, ability-wise you only need it for smites and his charisma should be high anyway. Probably your DM shouldn't allow all three on an int warlock.

On the other hand hexadin Jayce's high charisma makes him well suited for the 'talking down Viktor' mechanism in his third phase bossfight, which ... tracks.

[knightkaito1412]

Thank you SO much again to @smokbeast for these lovely Ko-fi sketches! 🥰❤️

I asked him to sketch my OC/SI Anomaly!Rose Woods, and it turned out amazing! Tbh, Smok did a MUCH better job at getting across the red/blue glitch effect than I did by a milestone. Just look at it!

Smok was even kind enough to give me a simple sketch of Skull in his style! Ahhh, I just love his smug toothy grin! 🫣❤️

If you can afford it, go comm Smok by checking out their profile! If it's out of your budget, please at least consider leaving a small tip just like I did, and you'll receive a lovely sketch like these! Smok is such a great artist! 😭💙

You can find Smok's Ko-fi right here:

[mercurial-thrills]

Three Reasons Why YOU Should To Join a Writing Group

In the age of the Internet, you can find writing groups everywhere. Though us writers are often introverted and prefer solitude in our activity, it can be helpful, and even heartwarming, to be part of a writing group.

So, here are three reasons why:

It can help you create more like-minded friends – If you are an adult, this can be particularly helpful. A writing group helps you meet new people who have the craft of writing in common, and who knows? Some of them might also be interested in hobbies like arts and crafts, crocheting, D&D, gardening, and true crime. At the same time, you may not jive with everyone in your group. However, my experience shows that most of us are non-judgmental: we’ve all been beginners before, after all.

It can help you focus on the task at hand – Let’s say you’re in a writing group and you meet weekly to share something you’ve written that week. If you want to attend that meeting and hear everyone else share what they’ve written, you may also feel obliged to write a little bit. External motivation tends to be more impactful than telling yourself that you should write, right?

It can help you receive useful critique – Chances are, you’ll encounter someone who’s been writing for longer than you have, or has more experience in writing than you do. This means they will be able to pick out things you did not notice when reviewing your writing. Plus, you’ll be able to meet with people who will be able to find ways you can improve, other than discussing it with friends who either don’t care or have less experience in critique. Not all critique is helpful, after all.

As someone who has been in various writing groups over the years, many of them have been tolerant and accepting. Many places, such as Discord servers, have strict policies against being mean and discrimination. Chances are, you will find a place that works for you, whether it is local or online.

Because my two current writing groups are local, I cannot suggest them unless you live in the area. However, they can be found locally in schools, colleges, through the NaNoWriMo website (if you still use it, of course), and in other local groups. Otherwise, you can find them online through platforms like Discord and Slack.

I hope this post was helpful. Being friends with people who write has changed my writing, and my life, and I hope considering joining a writing group does the same for you.

[nekoyawn5]

Since Crowley card and the event NRC Magical Assault or Arcane Combat Drills in en server is coming on 14th February (yay Valentine), I wanna share the guide based on my experience that I write on reddit here the link. I also linked some useful resources from twstsoku and wiki.gg!

But I could share the guide it in here too in case something happened with my reddit post, bit long post ahead! Copy-paste from my reddit post:

Introduction:

So, what is this event along with the faculty staff cards? First, you might be familiar with the battle mechanic that was first introduced in Book 7. The difference that makes this more difficult than the famous 6-66 & 6-67 is the damaged HP you got from the previous battle is carried to the next battle. And this is where HP BUDDY BONUS IS VERY IMPORTANT! I’m going to explain this later, but trust me, this is going to save you a lot.

Second, this event is aimed toward veteran players that own, build, and raise high spell levels for each character, just like in Book 6, where you are obligated to build multiple cards of the same characters. Also lower rarity card are very useful too in here don't hesitate to build them! Don’t force yourself if you can’t beat all enemies tiles.

Third, this event is using a stamina or Advancement Points (no confirmation name for en) similar to Mystium from Book 7. But in here is recover every 1 hour, so 10 hours to max full recover them. I recommend not postponing this event 3 or 2 days before the event ends. There's also another item named Move Ticket (also no confirmation name for en) to give you a recovery of 1 move; use it if you don't want to wait for hours or need to rush.

And lastly, unfortunately, I cannot give the guide for which character recommendation to bring because it is up to your roster, so go get crazy with your team. As long as you remember their HP buddy bonuses, who.

Also spoilers because I might be using the JP server content or images!

Here the tips for the event from my experience:

I assume you guys familiar with Book 7 fight. First you’re going to pick cards, for first three battle map you choose up to 5 characters, and later more slots will be added until the final map brings up to 10 characters.

If you pull the faculty card, e.g., Crowley, Crewel, or Trein, they are going to appear in your card selector with HP & ATK buffs without having to pick them for the team!

I recommend grabbing any characters that own HP buddy bonuses mutualy each other. Bring your character card, which you own multiple build copies of, and bring multiple elements cards.

I mentioned HP buddy bonuses are important, they give you an extra HP reservation, so if you took damage after battling, it decreases reserve HP from your card buddy bonus first before directly from their HP! For example, Dorm Riddle and Dorm Azul, both of them got mutual minor HP boosts, and the of the team rest is up to you.

Thanks from u/ Electric-Chemicals on reddit reminds me that these HP buddy bonuses replenish between fights unlike the main card HP. So take advantage of this!

Bring a lot of Healing Cards; you're going to need them a lot in here. My usual strategy is to use a strong attack in turn 1 or 2 to leave the enemy on low HP at the end of turn 2. Then use all healing spells in turn 3 and finish the fight in turn 3 with the first attack. With these, you're going to finish the fight with full HP or only small damage.

You can see the healing spells list here. But the downside in this strategy is requiring the good RNG.

Because of the RNG you might choose the wrong element and take a lot of damage from the enemy. I suggest you exit and restart the battle; it reduces your attempt though. But better than losing your card.

Focus on reaching the buff tile first, the one with the star icon. And try picking the lower difficulty map first, the one with fewer stars, before tackling the higher battles. No fight when entering the buff tile, so don't worry!

Don’t go immediately to the final boss tile if you want to complete all battles for mission rewards or pick the item chest first. What happened is after you clear the map and you want to go back to grab the unclaimed chest or fight, the map reseted again and you must start all over again from beginning!

If you see heal and revive tile. I suggest ignoring them first until half or some of the map is finished, or before the boss, if desperate when all of your cards are in critical or faint you can use it, but keep in mind this tile only heals and revives 3-5 random cards.

Another tip that if you still own your Retry Tickets, you can use them to revive and heal 5 allies that you choose. Or you can just buy them in the shop if you want to spend 10 gems. Some of the later map own a chest rewards you 1 retry ticket btw!

And in the later map, the boss HP is going to increase a lot; it can reach up to 200k! Don't worry if you lose on your first attempt; I mean, your HP is 0 during the fight, and your card fainted, not quitting the map. Because the boss HP remaining is not resetting to full. By the way, this also applied to every fight on the map; all of the stages got mini bosses with a lot of HP and annoying debuffs (I'm looking at you, blind debuff).

PSA:

If you don’t want to win all battles and only want the rewards chest, I can suggest some tips from JP players about the quickest path and fewer tiles to the boss and for you focusing on getting the buffs and claiming the item rewards.

Here a guide from JP Twstsoku forum. I assume we got Crowley first for NA, it’s in Japanese but still easy to understand link for the fastest route: here

Also, another guide I want to share if you wanted to see this example from the Crewel event map along with the enemies too, but it looks like they don’t have the Crowley map, from this twst wiki.gg: here

[hemi-demi]

Hi! I absolutely adore your art style and was wondering if you have any tips for a beginner?

Hihi! Honestly, I thought about it for a bit, and I think my tips for new artists aren't much different than the ones for established artists. I've been making art in one way or another pretty much my whole life, but I still feel new to it half the time, which in all honesty I think is how it should feel.

So, some general stuff that I hope helps:

1. Don't spend a lot of money on it when you start out:

Super tempting to buy a bunch of expensive tablets, software, etc, but can be daunting when you're brand new.

Just start with whatever you have! Pencil and paper, or even drawing with your finger on your phone (like my friend @the-awful-dread-that-leaves, wtf how do you do that?) just use whatever is available to you!

Also, pen and paper can actually be great practice. Can't undo your mistakes, gotta work around them. Flexes a lot of creative muscles.

2. Study real life and study other artists:

Figure drawing from photos or real life, still life's, perspective practice, all that stuff helps a ton. Even if you like very simplified styled which stuff like mine tends to lean towards, it helps so much to know what realistic proportions should look like before you go messing around with them. A big chunk of my early childhood work was pretty much all charcoal and pastel portraits, trying to be as realistic as I could.

But I also really loved anime as a kid and would try to match people's styles, and that's the second part of this. Just look at and dissect as much art as you can. Find out what you like, what you don't like. Try to draw something just for yourself in those styles, feel the way your hand moves when you do.

Try to reverse engineer how they did something, or if the artist is active on socials, just ask them! Can't speak for all of them, but many are happy to talk about their process. And getting helpful feedback from other artists makes a huge difference, no matter how long you've been making art.

3. Just draw as much as you can

I was doing vector art mostly for several years before the TMA brain worms kicked in, and starting to draw again when I would just passively doodle in sketchbooks felt like I had to retrain all my muscles.

My hyperfixation has helped so much, honestly. Gave me something very specific to want to draw again, and I try to draw at least a little if not every day, then every other day.

I do try to branch out and draw other characters, or incorporate environments so I'm not stagnating myself to the same poses and blorbos forever, but I also let myself indulge when I just want to get something down on paper. Whatever gets you drawing more is going to be good for your skill over time, so just chase whatever drives you!

Hope these are helpful!

[crownorclover]

GOODNESS what brushes do you use

i mostly use default procreate brushes, my most used being 6B pencil and syrup, for both lines and color

recently i've been doing a lot of 6b or syrup for lines > syrup for flats/shading > 6b to blend and render!

[starry-bi-sky]

Another Danyal Al Ghul art dump! Minor compared to other ones but I quite like these ones.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

I need y’all to be aware of the insane sibling dynamics Ganondorf’s kids have

[atlasisrq]

hello everynyan,,,, /ref

if anyone has tips for reducing very specific dysphoria hmu 😔✨ dysphoria explanation under the cut lolol

(tldr we get dysphoric from walking due to being wheelchairqior/crutchian but can't just ✨not walk✨)

so i recently realized i was transwheelchair/wheelchairqior + crutchian and every time i realize i have a particular transid i experience a HUGE surge of dysphoria for a bit right after (has literally been happening since i realized i was transgender lmao)

so now i get huge dysphoria from Walking, which is a huge problem bcs i don't have any way to avoid walking since we don't have any mobility aids at all since we "don't need" them ykyk

so if anyone has Any tips for avoiding / easing this dysphoria that would be nice :33

[ricesinspo]

☆ — art tips that have helped me. by @ricesinspo

these tips are based on my own experience as an artist who draws as a hobby. i've found that learning art is not as simple as just "practice" and "fundamentals", so here are 7 tips that worked for me!

— ☆ —

[★] when doing art studies, use them immediately in an art piece

this way, the knowledge sticks better rather than just being forgotten.

[★] learn things one at a time

for example, if you want to work on coloring / shading, use a subject you already know how to draw well instead of something completely new. this way, you can focus on the coloring / shading without having to worry about how the subject looks on top of that.

you can only take in so much information at a time, if you try to learn many things at once it's going to be more difficult.

[★] look at other people's art (speedpaints, tutorials, etc.)

pay attention to how they do things. try new techniques and see what sticks.

(disclaimer that should go without saying: referencing / tracing for practice is not the same as posting traced art and claiming it as yours / not crediting.)

[★] be specific when practicing

look at your old art and think about what parts of it you want to change / work on / improve on.

[★] Enjoy it!!!

love what you do!!! dont think too much about improvement!!! set yourself free!!! sometimes you just gotta go for it and do the thing!! love the process!! embrace the mistakes!!

yes, it is really difficult (and i'm still working on it), and improvement might be slower than if you just learn 'fundamentals', but as i learned to enjoy the process i started seeking improvement because i actually wanted to rather than only practicing because everyone else said so!!! this way, it's less boring and less likely to burn you out.

try not to worry about fitting in / standing out / being good / whatever!! your art is YOURS and it's YOU!!! thats whats important!!!

[★] on: art style

'normal / realistic' and 'completely unique' styles are both unrealistic ideals to achieve. if you can achieve it great! if not that's fine!! your style doesn't have to have realistic proportions and 'normal' features. your style doesn't have to be completely indistinguishable from everyone else's either.

(and to the "it's not an art style, it's a mistake" crowd: art mistakes are not unforgivable either!! whether it's an intentional stylistic choice that people think is okay to dunk on for some reason, or actually just a mistake, it's fine!! it's just part of the process, and sometimes also the result, and that's fine!!!!!!

if you want to fix your art mistakes by all means go for it, my point is: when you make a mistake in art (or if it generally doesn't look 'right'), sometimes you're inclined to fix it, sometimes it's a "that's unintentional but it looks cool" kinda situation. whichever one it ends up being is up to you, not internet randos who have nothing better to do with their time.)

[★] take every art tip with a grain of salt (including these ones)

if it doesn't work for you, drop it

— ☆ —

this is a formatted version of these tips that i shared on my main blog. putting these here with some changes so it's easier to read. (i realize these are all 'just practice' but With Depth, but imo the reason why 'just practice' isn't effective in the first place is because it's not specific, and the Depth is what makes it a "good tip")

[pepsicoughdrops]

shakily smokes my cigarette as i hand this to you

(click for better quality)