#How to draw a CAT | CAT drawing using pencil | Pencil shade drawing

[meltedmush]

how long does it take you to draw your sketches/doodles? also do you have any tips to draw faster? 🙇‍♀️

I generally take 30 - 60 minutes a sketch,,,, but honestly really depends on how detailed it is.

Like a Chibi will be done in 20 - 25 minutes (Counting in the extra time I spend on minute details like a perfectionist 😭)

I for some reason really like spending egregious amounts of time on random objects too??? Unless it’s the in the background, I’ll spend 40 minutes refining it.

Random characters that are fully colored and rendered with take like 80 minutes.

The comics take usually take an hour or two per page. (If I decide to cross hatch it, my entire day will be gone with 4 pages… so I’ve been trying to find shortcuts. But not without sacrificing the quality for time lol)

I don’t think there’s any trick or magic to drawing faster. It’s really about weaponizing your artistic knowledge, and finding what’s comfortable or convenient for you!

There was a period of time where I would spend 11 or 12 hours on an illustration, and it wASS UGLYYYYY. (Some of these artworks are still available on my tumblr,,, but it’s SO LONG AGO, AND IT WAS MY 1ST OR 2ND YEAR GETTING INTO DIGITAL ART)

Overtime I learned what worked best for me, and practiced till I felt more comfortable with what I was drawing. Eventually I managed to shorten the time to 4 hours or less! Ambition was my biggest enemy but at the same time my biggest motivator. (And it still is LMFAO) 😭

EDIT (bit more to my way too long tangent): ALSO??? BRO DON’T BE AFRAID TO USE YOUR MESSY SKETCH AS LINEART OR DRAW ON TOP OF IT. I’VE DONE IT FOR YEARS NOW AND IT ADDS SUCH A GOOD EXTRA BIT OF TEXTURE,, AT THIS POINT I DON’T EVEN USE LINE-ART ANY MORE UNLESS IT’S A COMMISSION,, (IT’LL ADD LIKE AN 2-4 HOURS TO MY WORK)

[hyunebunx]

˖˙ ᰋ ── highlighter? what's that?

﹙ʚɞ˚﹚. genre: fluff

﹙ʚɞ˚﹚. a/n: very much inspired by the video hyun did with risabae <3 very self indulgent; hyun's a cutiepie and i wanna squish his cheeks. i hope you enjoy!! <3

“Baby, what is this?”

Hyunjin looks up from his phone in wonder, raising both eyebrows as you thrust a pink, round, and strange-looking sponge in his face.

He pauses, gaze finding yours, scoffing as your smile widens.

“A beauty blender. How stupid do you think I am?”

You can't help but laugh, putting the item away to cradle his face and place a soft kiss on his forehead. “Stupid isn't a word I actively associate with you, my love.”

You can feel him melt at your words, and as he leans into the touch to capture your lips, you pull back to get another product, as committed to the bit as one could be.

“What about this?”

Hyunjin is confused, a pout settling over his pillowy lips. He studies the pencil in your hand, stopping at the blunt tip that can barely tell him what color it's supposed to be anymore.

“Is this one of my drawing pencils? But I don't remember owning such a shade.” He takes it from your hand to have a closer look, studying it curiously. “A crayon?”

“A crayon, baby?”

He nods, smiling brightly. “I didn't know you got back into coloring! I'm so glad!”

He's too cute to disagree with, so your only response is a smile full of fondness as you turn away from him once again, setting the lip liner aside.

“What are you doing?”

“I saw this on tiktok.” Hyunjin groans loudly, letting his head fall back against the couch in the most dramatic manner he could muster. “It’s looked like so much fun! All you have to do is name these products you've seen me use hundreds of times.”

Your boyfriend shakes his head, staring at the ceiling in contemplation. “Nothing from that app can be fun.”

“So, you're not having fun?” You pout, trying to meet his eyes and weaken his defences.

Silence greets your question for a few heartbeats which aids you in hearing the gears in Hyunjin’s head working overtime, pondering over his next words.

Eventually, he sighs and grumbles under his breath. “I didn't say that...”

When Hyunjin returns to sitting properly, you hold up a familiar product he is bound to guess even with his eyes closed.

“That's lipstick. Your favorite one. You love peppering kisses all over my face while wearing it just so it would stain my skin.”

Your grin is so wide that your cheeks start to hurt, happiness contagious as it pulls the same smile from your previously grumpy boyfriend. “Great job, baby!” You clap, reaching out to run your hand through his short hair, the texture that has him resembling a hedgehog pleasant on your skin. As expected, he leans into your touch once again, like a moth drawn to a flame, or a cat craving affection after a whole day spent apart. At this point, you’re sure he’s not even aware of how often he does it.

“I got it right.” He mumbles, grabbing your other hand before you can run away to plant soft kisses all over your knuckles. “Now where’s my reward?”

“A reward?” You ask, raising a curious brow while your hand stills on his head. “What do you want?”

“You.”

Your heart flutters, somehow still not used to his characteristic boldness that never shies away from expressing what he desires, making you go weak in the knees without fail.

You weren’t done with him yet, but Hyunjin did have a point – his patience deserved a reward after getting roped into another one of your schemes, even though you could always tell he loved your spontaneous mind and silly ideas.

Without a word, you dip down to plant a sweet kiss on his awaiting lips, one that lingers for as long as you’re both willing to get lost in each other. Which is a long time, an eternity if only your need for air didn’t butt in every few minutes to ruin the moment.

His strong arms circle your waist, keeping you in place as he kisses all of your thoughts away. His cheeky tongue caresses your bottom lip as if politely asking for entrance. You comply, only for a fleeting moment, allowing him to taste you as your hands squish his cheeks together, unable to help yourself.

When you pull away, you’re both a little out of breath, lips red and slick with each other’s saliva. Hyunjin’s looking up at you after resting his chin above your stomach, eyes full of the love only you can ignite in him, and the sight doesn’t fail to pull on your sensitive heartstrings.

Gently, with utmost care, you wipe at his bottom lip, causing his hold on you to tighten and pull you even closer, almost seating you on his lap.

Somehow, you manage to twist your body in his embrace and reach for the next product, still not willing to give up on your game.

“Baby,” you coo, caressing his jaw, “do you recognize this one?”

Releasing you, Hyunjin reaches for the small product that looks even tinier in his big hands, inspecting it thoroughly. He’s turning it around, analyzing it from every angle, before finally figuring out how to open it. A gasp escapes his full lips as a cloud of glitter greets him, the particles flying in his face like they too longed for a chance at his love, to touch and kiss his face like you were just doing minutes prior.

“It’s so shiny.” He mumbles, in awe of all the colorful hues he can see in the white powder. “Is this the thing you put on your eyes? What was it called?”

You can’t help but laugh, your heart growing in size at the adorable look on his face, the furrow between his eyebrows you had to hold yourself back from kissing away. “I guess you can use it on your eyes as well, yeah.”

“It’s a highlighter, Hyun.”

“Highlighter?” Hyunjin whispers, still as lost as ever, searching his mind for all the memories in which he’s witnessed you use this thing.

You nod, grabbing his hand to help him dip his fingers in, gently. “See how it sparkles?”

Hyunjin is mesmerized, staring at the swatch you just did on his hand with the curiosity of a little kid that just received a new, shiny toy he couldn’t bring himself to tear out of the package yet.

The sight is so endearing that your heart threatens to jump out of your chest at any second, leaving you behind in favor of finding a new home among Hyunjin’s other organs, deeming him more worthy. That’s why, you let her dictate your next move, leaning down to sweetly peck his lips once again, a kiss he returns automatically.

Now, he’s frowning because of a whole other reason, holding himself back from chasing after your lips. “I got it wrong though?”

You shake your head, beaming. “It doesn’t matter. Your cuteness deserves a reward either way.”

The last thing you see is his bright smile before you turn your back to him again, reaching for the eyelash curler that is bound to give him some trouble.

Once Hyunjin’s doe eyes settle on the small piece of metal in your hands, his smile vanishes as an emotion resembling fear clouds the chocolate color.

“Absolutely not! Get that torture device away from me!”

Oh, how much you loved your boyfriend and his dramatic antics.

[hot-patootiee]

Letters From Hell

Steve and Eddie become pen pals purely out of boredom. Steve begins to tell Eddie about the Upside Down through his anonymous notes. The notes only make Eddie realize that there’s danger at Forest Hills, and he doesn’t know how to keep himself, or anyone else, safe.

Explicit, there is a masterbation scene. Weed use. Canon typical violence against cats.

<Part 1>

Eddie was incredibly bored. It was one of those off times he was attending class and honestly if Mr. Miller kept droning on for another half hour, he might gouge his own eyes out. It was American Government and Eddie couldn’t, for the life of him, remember the difference between the 6th and 7th amendment or even what they did.

Instead of trying to decern this difference, Eddie began to write on a sticky note. He drew Miller’s stupid bald head and giraffe height, he put a small little text box with blah, blah, blah next to it and stuck it inside the desk.

…

Steve was sitting in class, so full of energy and unable to sit still from the adrenaline that seemed to constantly course through his veins. It always happened in the weeks after the confrontation with the upside down. The bruises on his face had faded into a sickly yellow, any pain he felt was overshadowed by the all encompassing alertness he was experiencing.

Restlessly, he felt around the inside of his desk to hide his obvious lack of idle hands. He caught a slip of paper under the desk, he tugged on it and the paper pulled free.

He snorted quietly at the caricature of their teacher. He drew a little thumbs up next to it with the words ‘Nice Drawing’ in a little messy print.

He stuck it back under the desk and went back to rubbing the rough metal inside the, fleeting touches to the inconsistent metal keeping his mind from wandering too far.

He was lucky this desk didn’t have gum stuck in it.

…

Eddie found his little sticky note in the desk, ready to add increasingly insulting characteristics to his drawing of Mr. Miller.

His eyes caught on the different shade of pencil, significantly darker then his own. Eddie thought it was a little thumbs up, but it was kinda hard to tell with how squished together the lines were.

‘Nice Drawing’

Eddie’s chest warmed a little at the praise and he had to suppress a laugh at his fellow Miller hating student.

He drew another little doodle, instead of Miller, he drew one of the villains from his campaign. An obviously queer coded man. It might poke at the comfort of his desk buddy.

His hair was long and unruly, not Eddie long, but shaggy for a man. His hair looked like it was a series of intentional cowlicks. His face was sullen but his suit ornate, sitting with a leg draped over the edge of his throne and another stretching out towards the viewer. It was one of those poses that if he were a woman, would be sexual.

He poured half the class period into the drawing, from the little details like the strands of his hair to the curve of his palm. Then he stuck it under the desk.

…

Steve was only in his seat for a handful of minutes before he reached for the inside of the desk, extracting the sticky note easily and sticking it to his desk.

His eyes roved over the figure, flicking from the intentionally gaudy jewelry to the arrogance of the figure.

Whoever was drawing these was certainly much better than Steve expected. The cartoonish caricature from before was nothing like the ornately detailed figure he was looking at.

With his kingly demeanor, Steve couldn’t help but sketch a crown. He also crudely shoved a nail studded bat into the figure’s hand.

Because he loved nail bats and also 100/10 weapon in his experienced opinion.

He shoved the sticky note under the desk, a little giddy at the correspondence between him and the mystery man.

…

Eddie was surprised when his desk buddy responded well. A cute little crown doodled on his character’s head and a nail studded bat in his hand.

Metal as fuck.

Eddie finally decided to lean a little more into himself. Drawing a demogorgon that he had used to attack his friends just a few days prior on a loose scrap of lined paper.

He labeled it at the bottom.

Demogorgon

He slipped it under the desk and made his best attempt to pay attention in class.

…

When Steve pulled the note out he was surprised to find a two headed monkey.

He honestly thought it looked like those blue butted monkeys that everyone had laughed at in biology.

But it had two faces, a scaly tail, octopus suckers for arms, and taloned feet.

When he read the name, he shook his head.

‘That’s not what a demogorgon looks like’

He tried to sketch what he had seen. The flower mouth was easy to draw but the body looked a little wonky.

Well he wasn’t exactly an artist but whatever. He’d seen Will drawings enough times. Plus he had a copy of the picture Jon had gotten of the thing. Maybe he’d show his desk buddy as a little public safety warning.

It was Hawkins and he didn’t want one of the few people that calmed him down a little dead.

He drew a little arrow to his sketch.

‘This is what it looks like’

…

Eddie was frankly somewhat unhappy that his desk buddy had criticized his drawing.

Especially coupled with the fact he was a DM and nobody in this entire school knew more then him.

He was frowning and a sarcastic asshole so he wrote a response.

‘Well, how do you know that?”

He drew a little angry face next to the ‘fixed’ demogorgon sketch a little spitefully.

…

Steve fidgeted a little when he saw his desk buddy’s response to his drawing.

The disbelief was to be expected.

Especially because Steve had no idea what a DnD demogorgon looked like.

But Steve liked the interaction. Something he didn’t get much with Nancy being his ex now and Billy Hargrove still harassing him.

This was the only way he really got to talk to anyone.

Steve scraped his pencil across the scrap paper apprehensively.

‘Because I’ve seen one.’

He fished out the image from his bag.

He circled the Demogorgon.

And he folded the paper and slipped the burned copy of the Demogorgon photo inside.

He felt his heart flutter in his chest. He was a little mad at himself.

He hadn’t thought his correction through and might’ve pissed off whoever was on the other side of the notes.

The only person who really talked to him without any awkwardness.

His palms sweat nervously.

…

When Eddie picked up the note, he immediately thought this was some elaborate prank on the freak.

Because why the hell else would there be a photo?

It was one of those Bigfoot-esque shots, blurry enough to be unable to tell what you’re really seeing.

‘FUCK YOU’

Eddie carved into the paper. Eddie huffed his way through the period, he wasn’t going home for something as stupid as this. He was passing this year and getting the fuck out of here.

He redoubled his efforts in class for the rest of the day.

When he got home, he slammed the trailer door which creaked dangerously in the face of his rage.

He thought maybe he could form a genuine connection with somebody other than his established group of friends.

But no. Eddie was some fucking freak to be made fun of.

He quickly packed a blunt, rolled it, licked it shut and twisted off the wide end of the cone before lighting it.

He opened the window in his room and rage smoked. Going faster than he usually did.

His lungs burned uncomfortably but he wanted to just not be sober any more and deal with the whole feelings headache brewing in him.

It wasn’t even a big thing. But years of being laughed at and pushed down made little things like this feel so large.

When the joint began to burn at his fingers, he tapped off the joint in his ash tray and snuffed out the burning red butt of the joint.

He felt static roll through his head pleasantly.

He drank some water because his mouth was painfully dry. Pausing to swish the water in his mouth and enjoy the sensation.

His skin felt so nice and after like 8 minutes of feeling his arms and the parts of soft skin where there was no hair.

Of course he was too high to care as he shimmied out of his jeans and pulled his boxers down. He shucked off his shirt too, sitting naked in his room and languishing in the pleasantry buzzing in his brain.

He chugged more water in an attempt to get some spit but gave up and rolled over, grabbing tissues off his nightstand and flipping open his container of vaseline and dragging his fingers through it. He didn’t bother to close it.

A problem for tomorrow’s Eddie.

He palmed his cock, ignoring the sound of a screeching cat outside.

The sounds of the forest soothes him as he slowly worked himself to hardness lavishing in the puddly pleasure sinking through his veins.

He didn’t feel tense, which made cumming take a little extra time, but he found it nice to enjoy it.

He stroked his cock slowly pushing down on each sensitive spot purposefully.

His orgasm built like the tide, going from incredibly close to just working along. His cock had begun producing precum, getting wetter then he usually did in response to the weed. The tip of his cock looked damn near pearlescent.

Eddie’s imagination began to spin. Shifting faces of men sucking him off floated through his head. It landed on Steve Harrington because he always liked the idea of skull fucking the guy until he cried.

He stripped his cock faster as his imagination shifted between Steve’s eyes beginning to shed tears to the bob of his throat when he was struggling to swallow Eddie down.

Wrapping his fingers around his stupidly hot hair and pulling Steve’s stretched lips down his dick and cumming down his throat.

And wow Eddie barely managed to catch his spunk in the tissue. His whole body seized as the shocks rolled through him.

He relaxed, floating in bliss before he heard a blood curdling scream from outside.

He pulled his boxers on and ran outside, abandoning the tissue on his bed.

He looked outside at the treeline and saw something startlingly similar to what was in the prank photo from earlier, only smaller. The flowered head and the teeth all matched his desk buddy’s sketch. It looked more like a dog, standing on all fours and having a chunky little tail which, terrifyingly enough, was wagging as it slurped up something.

Eddie caught a glimpse of blood streaking the trees and chunks of flesh and fur splayed across the grass.

He slammed the door shut and ran inside. He scurried to his room and shut the door, locking it before swinging his window shut and locking it.

Maybe this was all one hallucination. He’d never had one and he wasn’t THAT high but that’s the only way he could explain what he just saw.

He hid under his blanket, all consuming paranoia gnawing at his bones.

‘It would be gone in the morning’

…

IT WAS NOT GONE IN THE MORNING!

The spot swarmed with flies and large claw marks. Chunks of fur were spread all over the grass and black sludge was sprayed liberally around the ground.

‘Okay so maybe this isn’t a prank.’ Eddie thought.

The satanic cat sacrifices was something people thought he did, none of them would ever go this far just to fuck with him.

Maybe he owed his desk buddy an apology.

AN: AO3 IS OUT SO I MAKE ACTUAL PROGRESS FOR ONCE. As per usual tag list is open because I never close the damn thing. This is definitely going to be a faster burn than Flowers of Contempt but I still expect to get through a solid 30k words.

Also masterbation while high 100/10.

Tags for the wonderful people who had faith I’d actually write this. @coralineinwonderland @ofseaandstarz @kroymu09 @live-laugh-love-dietrich

[jjwolves]

BRAND LOYALTY ˚₊•┈┈┈୨୧┈┈┈•‧₊˚⊹

What: 5 ENA the Worker X Werecat Reader Headcanons (NSFW)

Who: ENA the Worker from ENA Dream BBQ (By Joel G)

How Much: ~1100 words, ~7 mins

Credits: Image Banner -> Joel G, Divider -> @animatedglittergraphics-n-more

Warnings: NSFW (Smut), Language

Yuck/Yum: Femdom, Praise, Degradation/Slight Humiliation

Dating ENA means running around the cosmos with her to deliver on oblique trade offers and helping out where you can, using your size and unnatural poise to climb and leap across any wall, no matter how towering, in ENA’s way. If you were a stay-at-domestic-pocket-dimension type of person, then you’d rarely even see her. You don’t mind though. Even if your outings are hardly carefree, you trust ENA when she smiles red and says, “It is a business call. But we can send a love fax at the same time! Isn’t any adventure romantic when you’re with your favorite trade partner? Time is the only real currency of G0D, after all. We’ll probably do this forever!” You believe her just as much when she frowns pale and grumbles, “You know I hate this stupid job! You think I don’t?! Can’t you make this easy for me for once and get it through your head that stuff like this is what it’s all about for me and you?!” Her mouth is scolding but her hand is running through the fur on your chest. You don’t know if she’s aware what she does to your body when she’s so close, especially during your summer estrus. But somewhere inside you, a pencil is being bent and starting to splinter. You start grooming your paws to try to bleed off some tension, but it’s just not enough.

There are times when you and ENA need to clamor up a staircase made of folded-up neon monkey shamans or dash through the portal-maw of a prehistoric skull before it closes. ENA truly pours every ounce of effort into her job that she can. But when she pushes herself like that, she often ends up leaning on you, sweating and panting. You try to stay focused on the task at hand, but the smell of her distinct natural fragrance and the sound of her soft puffs of breath start to bounce around in your skull. It’s times like these that you can’t resist her anymore, but you try to stuff it deep down into yourself so you can get the job done. ENA always keeps a close eye on your mood, however. So once you two earn anything resembling a break or an off day, she takes some time out of her day to be with you. ENA leans in and says, “I’m sorry, dearest… it’s just occurred to me that I haven’t been very responsible with your finances. Perhaps there’s something I can do to improve your… customer service?” ENA is obviously being coy, but it’s hard to tell, because her tone doesn’t change when she does it. You decide to accept either way. Her pale claw beckons you into the shade of an ancient ruin, or a hotel made of borealis, or anywhere else… and you gladly follow her scent with fire burning in your core.

ENA is very meticulous about taking care of your needs. She’s deeply in love with you, and whenever she’s passionate about anything she treats it like she’s submitting paperwork before the deadline. Swift and efficient productivity. She beckons you somewhere you can get some privacy and dims the lights if possible. She sheds her work-shirt and folds it up as an impromptu pillow for you to rest your head. You try to tell her that she doesn’t have to work so hard to pamper you but your mouth is covered by her soft red hand. Her claw draws gentle lines on the inside of your thighs. “Hush now. You’re my favorite customer, you know? Let me assist you once in a while.” Her head draws closer, her body and arms staying in place. “You seem like the kind of employee who needs someone to… manage them.” Snap. “NOW LAY DOWN DAMMIT!”

Salesperson is more than happy to assist, her smile growing wide and conspiratorial. She brushes some cat hair off her hat and creeps down your front with her selling hand. Her claw kneads a particularly sensitive part of your chest while her other hand takes purchase on a much touchier body part a fair way lower. ENA’s salesperson hand covers it perfectly, like a tight, soft pillow, but with the strength of a firm handshake and the warmth of a good luck streak. You throw your head back, panting, rutting into ENA’s hand. ENA whispers into a flicking ear, “Feel good. You deserve this. You’re half off. You’re the premium package. I’d subscribe to you a thousand times over.” Her gentle sentiments combined with her progressively intense ‘premium massage’ brought you closer and closer until you hit the peak, a deep mewl tearing out of you as days and days of frustration were drained by your favorite salesperson. ENA’s chipper voice managed to squeeze through the buzz of euphoria which had overtaken you. “Don’t rest yet, little fang. You’re still on the clock!” You’re not sure what she means for a moment. And that is when ENA switches.

"Wipe that pathetic look off your face and take it.” ENA forces herself between your legs and grinds into you, hard. Your senses are all beginning to blur together. “Get big, get small. It doesn’t matter to me. You’re just a freeloader. All you’re good at is moaning for me, so you might as well go ahead and do it. Do it!” ENA’s gruff voice, the sight of her pale side sneering at you as she uses you, the overbearing pleasure, her arousing scent and the slight embarrassment of being completely dominated by someone less than half your size overwhelms yet fulfills you. You need this, and she’s the best you’ve ever felt and you don’t know if it’s because she was made for you or because you both belonged to eachother or what. Your claws flex. You groan. ENA moans. You try to hold back as you bite down into ENA’s shoulder, a devastating climax completely overtaking you like the rolling smoke of an artillery cannon.

ENA is snuggled into you when you wake up, clearly exhausted. Your stirring, however, seems to wake her. “Thanks for the giant bite, asshole.” You notice the indentation of a sharp-toothed bite taking up half of her shoulder. At least there’s no bleeding. You apologize profusely. “Quit apologizing, you’re getting on my nerves! Some of us like the pain!” One last switch to the deal-maker before a return to slumber. “I enjoyed that. I apologize that shipping took so long.”

A/N: Did you get the pun? Brand--as in bite? Loyalty? No? OK that's fine dousing myself in kerosene, honk.

A/N: Circus freaks. All of you.

[illusioncanthurtme--art]

Hiya! It's the rat again. I just wanted to say that your latest art works?? AUYRGYGYHRWSG. SCREAMING. Like- your eye for color is GORGEOUS. Like, the lighting???? DAMNNNNNN. Everything you draw looks so full of personality and character- and so put together. If that makes sense-

I've mainly been quietly stalking this blog- but grgr I just need to vocalize how much I LOVE what you do. Like- your commissions too?? IT'S SO DIVERSE AND JUST SO AMAZING. EXPLODING.

Plus, the care, time, attention, and PURE EFFORT you put into every piece? I just sit there at my screen just slack-jawed and all: "Damn. DAMN." Like- the way you draw your little loser boy au?? DYING. I LOVE DIB. I LOVE ALL THE FANDOMS YOU DRAW.

Like. SERIOUSLY. I love just looking at the gradient of the pencil strokes, and just marvel at the shading and the faded lines of where the sketch was. ✨✨ Like- the bold lines contrasting with the light strokes and shading?? LOSING IT. Like you can really tell how the drawing came together and how it was slowly worked to perfection.

Your backgrounds are so diverse too, super inviting and invigorating to look at- like??? It's eye candy, 24/7. The talent, and practice that must of taken? I can't even fathom it.

And the humor too in some of your posts?? I'm going to die like Bill's parents, smh. /silly

I just wanna say I love your art a whole lot, and the ADHD in me has officially hyper fixated on it, and I find myself scrolling through your whole blog very often, just smiling and going: "Wowie, prettyyy :]"

You're amazing, and you inspire me so much it hurts my soft, squishy heart. Makes me believe in myself, as corny as that is- and it gives me motivation to get better at what I love to do. AM I UNAPOLOGETICALLY LOVE BOMBING YOU?? YES. This is SERIOUSLY my favorite blog, and I'm constantly staying updated and excited for any new tidbits.

Thank you for blessing us with your art, and I hope both sides of your pillow are cold and that every stray cat you pspspsp at will come up to you happily. <3

THIS IS SO FREAKING NICE??? OH MY GOD - I don't deserve you!!

Wow, this is seriously the kindest thing anyone's said about my art in a long time. Thank you.

I can't even put into words what this means to me-

You know what? This is going in my room.

Bless you man!

[luveline]

Hey if you're still taking requests could I get any sort if angst to comfort for zombie au steve? Been feeling down lately and I've always loved that series!

ty for requesting! zombie au. fem, 1.5k

The new pencils are oil-cored, as opposed to his last ones, which had been wax. They were just fine, but these oil pencils allow him to blend colours and shades with more finesse than ever. He can pour twenty different colours into the tone of your skin and have them blend into a real, phototechnical you. 

He’s pretty proud of this one. 

He wakes up first every morning, allowing for time where you’re unaware and he’s got nothing to do. He’s sketched you so many times it comes naturally. Steve probably wouldn’t need to look, but watching you sleep is half the joy of drawing you. 

You're drooling a little. 

Steve puts the handful of pencils he’d been using to colour your neck back into his pen case. He puts the case and his sketchbook on top of his main bag, shoving it into a corner of your tent with the rest of the bags to climb back onto the bed. It’s a portable cushioning made for camping, and it’s nothing like a mattress, but it is much kinder to your backs than sleeping on the ground. Warmer, too. 

He pushes your head back, knowing it will wake you, his thumb to the little drool line to wipe it away, his palm on your cheek to hold it. 

“Hello.” He kisses your other cheek as your lashes twitch. Doesn’t even think about not doing it. “Good morning.” 

“Morning,” you mumble strangely. 

“What’s that?” he says, soft to match your quiet. His breath kisses your lips. “What’s wrong? You sound sad.” 

You force your eyes apart, and you feel along the mattress with your hand. Steve watches in real time as your eyes fill with tears, huge, heavy tears that well in the corner of your left and spill from the right to wet the pillow under your head. 

“What’s wrong?” he asks, the effort expended to stay calm so gutting he has to squeeze the pillow just shy of your head. 

You grab for him, blankets and your half-open sleeping bag crinkling but not too thick to feel the force of your fingers gripping his sides. 

You must’ve had a bad dream, that’s what he thinks. He’s had enough of them, and he’s unfortunately cried after almost all of them. Sometimes you’ve seen it, sometimes you haven’t, but you look at him with love no matter what —he can forget dreams of losing you when you’re murmuring niceness in his ear, and he can give it back to you. 

“It’s okay,” he says, letting you squeeze him hard. “Don’t cry.” And that’s a little awkward of him, that sneaking panic, but he’s never claimed to be a professional. 

You cry in a weird breath that borders a gag. “I’m so-sorry.” 

“It’s okay, it’s fine. I have bad dreams too. You know that.” 

Steve attempts to get both arms behind your shoulders, pulling you into him, sitting you up. He can’t cope with how quickly you’ve fallen apart. To wake up crying, how scary the dream must’ve been, he hates it. 

“It’s okay,” he says. 

“It was a good dream,” you say. 

Steve frowns. “Okay, so what’s the problem?” 

“We had a house. We had a dog. I don’t– don’t even know if you like cats, but you had a dog, and we,” —you sob between words, not too loudly as to travel far, but aching— “were planning a trip. It felt so real, Steve. You were so happy.” 

Steve tries to process it as fast as he can. “Oh,” he says softly, hand lax where it had been rubbing your shoulder. 

“You were so happy,” you say again, burying the tip of your nose into his neck. You’re practically crawling atop him, but he’s strong enough to stop you from laying him down. 

“It’s okay, honey. Jesus,” he says, patting your back again. “It’s alright. It’s okay.” 

“We’ll never have those things.” 

“Baby, who says so?” he asks in a murmur. 

“We’ll never get to go anywhere together–”

“It feels like we’ve seen pretty much all of America,” he says. He’s joking, but travelling with you from place to place has felt expansive. You’ve seen forests and lakes, a thousand different houses, hundreds of neighbourhoods, and street art and installations and billboards for movies that were never screened. Steve’s seen about as much of the world as he wants to see. “I’d just stay in this tent with you forever if they let us, we don’t need to go anywhere else.” 

“You wanted to see palm trees,” you say, sniffling and pained as your tears warm the curve of his trap. 

“I’ve seen them,” Steve says. “Don’t worry. I’ve already seen palm trees. A whole bunch of them. Don’t worry about what I wanted in the dream, it was just a dream.” 

He gives you a quick kiss, his lips to the very edge of your temple. 

“I feel like I’m gonna be sick.” 

Steve nods. He draws from you reluctantly and opens the tent, ushering you on knees to sit out in the cool air. He sits next to you, dewdrops from the grass wetting his jeans, the sky a humming of early morning colours; the sun rises in bands of orange and raspberry pink, darkness above, sun rays kissing the sides of tents and the portables in the distance. 

You take deep breaths. Steve holds your hand, the two of you looking up at the strange sky. 

“We’ll never be that happy,” you say. 

Steve can hear your agony, and he knows what you mean. He thinks of that life with you and never lets himself think far. You would've gone to college, maybe, and Steve would’ve drove to visit you —he would’ve moved. Maybe in your second year you’d live together in a suburb just between college and his job, whatever it is he’d ended up doing, in a house you chose, with a ring on your finger. Steve wants kids but if you don’t then perhaps you’d have had none, but he still likes to picture you with your babies, a big family, years later. And maybe he’d have a dog. A silly looking one with bark worse than its bite. 

And you’d be together. You would be happy. Nothing to hurt you. Nothing to lose you to. You’d never worry where your next meal was coming from, you’d never feel cold. 

Steve breathes out. Sniffs biting air. “We’ll never be that happy. That kind of happy. We’re never gonna go on trips, maybe we won’t ever have a house, but–“ He pulls your hand toward him, your eyes latching on to his. “But maybe we will. We might not get to watch cable, but we can have a tv, in a living room. We can live together, and maybe we will take trips. I don’t know. I don’t know what we’ll have, but I’m already happy. You don’t have to cry about me being happy.” He shakes his head. “Shit, you shouldn’t. I want that life with you so much I dream about it too, but I have this one.” 

“You think we’ll have a house?” you ask hopefully. 

“We can’t live like this forever.” He’s promising it. “Something has to give.” 

“I want us to have more,” you say. 

A weak confession, your cheeks wet with tears but eyes thankfully drying, your eyelids puffy already from sleep and crying alike. Steve wants you to have everything, even if everything is a stupid thing to think you’ll have. 

“We will.” Steve closes one eye, a sort of prolonged wink of pain as his nose wrinkles. “But this is enough for now, right?” 

“No.” 

You’re kidding, to Steve’s relief. 

He laughs and elbows you, glad to see your smile as you evade poorly. “Say it’s enough!” 

“No way.” 

You don’t wait for him to pull you in or ask if it’s alright, flopping without ceremony into his lap, and then turning toward him to hug his stomach. He looks down at you fondly, hand rubbing up your warm back. You’re still clammy from sleeping, but you’re not crying anymore. 

“It’s really cold out here.” 

“I know.” He blows a warm breath in your ear. “Do you still feel sick? Don’t barf in my lap.” 

“I’m sorry, Steve. It just felt so real.” 

His voice turns to a silky whisper he’s only ever used in love. “I know. I’m sorry.” 

“It’s fine. We never would’ve… I’d never get to be here,” —you squeeze him around the waist— “if we were in a world where we also get the house and the dog and… the family…” 

“But it would’ve been nice,” Steve finishes, looking up from your back to watch as the raspberry bands of pink turn to blue. 

“It would’ve been perfect.” 

[factual-fantasy]

29 Asks! Thank you! :)) ✏️

My dearest compadre I am left handed

@ardent-38

WOAH hold your horses there friend! Octo and Seafoam aren't a couple- they're more akin to brothers than anything. So there will be no kissing in any scenario I conjure up for them <XDD

But other than that-- WAHGGGG THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! 😭😭😭🥰🥰 YOUR MESSAGE MEANT SO MUCH TO MEEEE!!! 😭😭🥰💞💞 --and honestly have encouraged me to reconsider drawing that idea!! :00 So thank you for that too! :DDDD

A force shutdown isn't the word I'd use to describe cybertronian fainting.. "force" sounds more like someone on the outside doing something to Ratchet to make him shut down when he is otherwise healthy/ok. Rather than something going wrong internally.

Like if he was going under for surgery, maybe when he goes under it could be called "force shutdown" as well as "inducing stasis".

Now a "system failure" or "system crash" might be more appropriate for fainting or suddenly collapsing. When Ratchet injected the Synth-en maybe his systems were overwhelmed by the foreign substance and he suffered a complete system crash and collapsed.💔

Something tells me that wouldn't work somehow, but I don't have all the technical knowhow to really explain why that would be a bad idea <XD I'm sure Ratchet could explain why that would be bad.

Hmmm, good question...

The only thing that comes to mind is for Raf I headcanon that he is fluent in sign language and that's how he communicates with/understands Bee. (My version of Bee communicates with sign language, not random beeps and boops that Raf somehow magically understands)

@rainbowwatermelon7

A drawing of mine doesn't feel complete or "safe to post" unless its been watermarked. But it could be different for you and that's ok :0

I mostly draw the scribbly head when I'm feeling well, and the drippy head when I am unwell in someway. I have been dealing with some health problems for well over a year now so drawing myself drippy became my new norm. <XD But its starting to get old so I might return to the scribble head just for the fun of it tbh-

I just like to draw it a bright and fun red instead of a dull and realistic dark red :00

Probably mentally break down and die somehow. 🫠 I couldn't handle living in a world where our planet and everyone on it could be destroyed by Megatron at any moment. Let alone being on the front lines along side the Autobots.

I do have other social medias, but they are all private/just for viewing other peoples art. This is the only one I post artwork to :00

Bibi you mean? I guess I was inspired by cats <XD But I cant remember anything specific that inspired me other than that.

@zecromgen5

Nothing specific I can share online, 😅 but yeah things have been alright!

I only know of YouTube <:( That's where I watched it back then.

@candyglumboy

Aww! The boys!! :DD

(Referencing this post)

Same ✋😔

@milk-powrit

My favorite of the beasts is Mystic Flour, for personality, powers and design. The others are alright I suppose <XD

I would probably be poisoned and die within the day 💀

If you mean if I was a transformer tho, I'd probably become really emotionally unstable like Ratchet was and just sob uncontrollably until I burned through it all 😅

I've seen it floating around Tumblr, but I never really looked into it <:0

He's recruiting more Autobots it seems XDDD

They might not want to fish, but they'd like to watch the koi swim around! :)

AAAA Thank you so much!!! :DDD

@florafandoms

Ough... so old.. 💔💔

Also thank you so much!! :DD

@misscherrypie (Pics from this post)

XDD I was hoping people would notice that. I think a hug from Bibi would fix me 🥺🥺

Pick up a pencil and my friend you have the power to bring a flood 🌊

@briandraws

My spirit animal ngl

@wolfie-777

Hey that cat is pretty cute! We should make a beloved internet meme about it! :D

@kaiserdarken

I have no idea <:0 Since MatPat took a step back from his channels I haven't been keeping up with any new FNAF lore 😔

@beryl-shade

I would obliterate the fleas with my Mary sue mind powers. No fleas shall cause my babies discomfort ☝️☝️

I have now. <XD How bizarre-

[silencedrowns]

Full cosplay makeup list!

Since I had some questions after doing a makeup panel at CitrusCon, here is my FULL list of my personal non-character-specific cosplay makeup items, including what colors I use.

Warning: I am extremely pale and grey. Not all of these products have as wide a shade range as I wish they did. This is my own personal list only. Some of these would work great on a wide range of skin tones though! You might notice there’s tons of blushes and eyeshadow palettes here; that’s because I use different colors depending on the characters and their wig colors, but everything here is used for multiple characters.

I’ve linked to everything you can still buy online (since some of these were limited) and described the limited ones so you could get replacements. Yesstyle links are technically affiliate links? I don’t remember signing up for any affiliate code but the links have one so uhhh if you buy from there I might get some reward???

I’ve accumulated this kit over a long, long period of time so it’d be ridiculous to buy it all at once, but almost everything is under $30 and the vast majority is under $20. I love a bargain and I don’t have the cash to buy luxury makeup, no matter how much I might covet those Dior lip products at Sephora.

List and links go under the cut because this is REALLY LONG.

Base makeup

Elmer’s purple disappearing glue stick

Elf Power Grip primer

Canmake Mermaid Skin Gel

Tirtir Mask Fit Red Cushion in 10C Shell

The Saem Cover Perfection Triple Pot Concealer in 03 Correct Up Beige

KimChi Chic powder in Ivander

Club Suppin Powder (I use a limited variant lavender one purchased physically but here is a rose version you can get online)

Blush, contour, and highlight

Peripera V Shading in Grayish Cool

Canmake Shading Powder in 04 Ice Gray Brown

Rituel de Fille Intuition

Etude Lovely Cookie Blusher in PP052 Lavender Lemon Macaron

Etude Lovely Cookie Blusher in PK004 Peach Choux Wafers

Cheerflor Angel Embossed Blush in 1199

Cheerflor Angel Embossed Blush in 1196 (this is a blue color that is a full cheek highlighter. Do not buy this unless you’re extremely pale and either cool or grey.)

Canmake Cream Cheek in CL01 Clear Red Heart

LBCC Historical Apothecary 1745 French Powdered Rouge

Eyeshadow type stuff

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Blend Bunny Blends palette (this is my favorite rainbow palette ever! i can blend any eyebrow color or almost any weird character specific eyeshadow color from this palette)

ROM&ND Better Than Palette in Dusty Fog Garden (this is a must have if you’re light skinned and cool toned. the best nude palette. it even has a grey row useful for both contouring and for toning down too-bright colors!)

A Flortte palette that was limited edition 😭😭😭 but any of pink brown cool palette would work in its place. Think Urban Decay Naked 3 or ROM&ND Peony Nude Garden. This color scheme is currently very popular in K-Beauty and C-Beauty but not in the USA, so you’ll probably have to order online

Urban Decay Moondust in Space Cowboy that I got as a gift but you can easily get the same look and spend a lot less by buying…….

C-Beauty glitter singles. Mine were limited edition but I have literally never tried a C-Beauty glitter from Yesstyle that I didn’t like. You can’t go wrong here.

Too Cool For School Artclass Frottage Pencil (yes, seriously) in #11 Dew Beige

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk

KimChi Chic Juicy Nine Palette in Mango Tango

Flower Knows Swan Ballet Six-Color Makeup Palette in Black Swan

Eyeliners

Rozo Cat Print Liner in A13 Tea Grey

Rozo liner in black and dark brown (currently unavailable and I’m replacing with more extra fine tip Chinese liner. I love extra-fine Chinese eyeliners. You don’t need to be great at drawing eyeliner when your eyeliner is already so thin!)

Merry Monde Super Twim in 03 Earl Grey Latte

Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Perversion

Colourpop liquid white eyeliner (not happy with the performance of this and I want to replace it with not-Colourpop due to wizard collaborations but it’s the best I have found so far 😭)

Focallure Glittering Liquid Eyeshadow in S01 Gray Lily

A pencil the color of my skin meant for my waterline but idk what it is because the lettering rubbed off nearly instantly

Mascara

Heroine Make Long & Curl Super Waterproof (or advanced film) in Black

Assorted colors of Heroine Make Mascara that I’ve only seen at physical stores that carry Asian makeup (sorry!!) (find a dark grey mascara for white or silver hair characters though, it’s so worth)

Heroine Make Mascara Remover (this works in every mascara!!! get this if you hate mascara on your lashes at the end of the day. 11/10 this is an incredible product)

I don’t currently use it but I also really like Judydoll mascara

Fake lashes

Literally whatever I bought at the beauty section in my local Asian market or off Aliexpress. I’m cheap lol. Don’t buy lashes off Amazon because if the package doesn’t look fucked up, the company sends returned lashes back out as new. Yuck yuck no thank you. Do not want this.

Lips

A second (and marked so it goes nowhere near the eyes! Don’t let the same liquid item go on your eyes and lips!) Merry Monde Super Twim in Earl Grey Latte

A cheap black lip liner. Literally get one at the dollar store or Daiso or wherever and it’ll be fine.

Dolly Cosme Lip Base (beige) (only get this if you’re already proxy ordering from Classe)

Peripera Ink Velvet in 26 Well-made Nude (I need a better nude. This one sucks on me but it’s still the closest I’ve found.)

Lilybyred Glassy Layer Fixing Tint in 12 Muscat Shower

Lilybyred Glassy Layer Fixing Tint in 06 Rosy Rose

Lilybyred Smiley Lip Blending Stick in 06 Chuckle With Me

Flortte 2 in 1 Lip Pencil in 04 Bean Paste

Clear lip gloss

Literally just whatever lip balm I have around

Setting sprays I like

Urban Decay All Nighter

Ben Nye Final Seal

Other

ASSIST FACE COVER GLUE AS!!!!!!!!! BUY THIS ASAP IT IS MY FAVORITE COSPLAY SPECIFIC ITEM even if you have to do a group order to justify Assist shipping. You roll this on your face and then lightly stick the wig to it and the wig hair will stay in place. Perfect for face framing pieces or that one bang piece that needs to stay somewhere or lace front gluing for just a day. Comes off with a makeup wipe. You need this.

Banila Co Clean It Zero Cleansing Balm won’t spill in your bag but will delete cosplay makeup

Cheap sheet mask after you take off all your cosplay will help your skin feel less angry!

If you choose to use face tape, I like Classe’s best and Assist’s next-best

Eyebrows are typically drawn on with colors from my Blend Bunny palette, with shadow and highlight strokes done with my grey and white eyeliners. I also have some character specific items that aren’t on this list (weird lipstick colors lol) and I’m not fully happy with most of my options contour and lip color, so I’m actively looking for something I might like better. I often skip colored lip product in favor of clear products because I have extremely pigmented lips.

Also if you’re wondering why my kit is almost entirely Asian makeup… it’s because I’m extremely grey, which is an undertone America does not cater to, and also I’m cheap and C and K beauty are more affordable. I wish more of this stuff were more inclusive! seriously! but this isn’t a list of products and colors for everyone, it’s a list of what specifically works for me. (Canmake Clear Red Heart though. That’s one of the most inclusive blush colors I’ve ever seen. It’s nothing but red pigment suspended in clear. Even if you think you’re too pale for red blush or you think a Japanese blush would make you look ashy, you should try it! If I could only have one blush in a kit where I were doing makeup for the entire spectrum of human skin, I’d pick that.)

[fourteentheart]

Alistair and my (actually grey) Grey Warden holding little dolls of each other. :)

I made this base for YCH comms and thought... well, I could draw myself some. The foundation has already been built, why not!

Drawing process musings below.

(Side note, I wonder if my excessive commentary on my own art posts is annoying. Not that I care, because this is my blog, but hm... I'm like that person who likes the minimalist aesthetic but could never have it because I have too much stuff lol.)

Anyways, I forced myself to use only a round airbrush to color these as opposed to my favorite sketchy pencil/crayon-like brush and it felt like how I imagine a temperamental cat feels when being pet backwards. I wanted to challenge myself and have fun at the same time! And did!

Working in full color is also a bit more brainwork (for me) than straight up b&w shading but I think the practice is worth it, if only to draw myself better stuff down the road. :)

[manjirei]

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐞 𝐚 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 | sai

pairing: sai x gn!reader (shinobi!artist!reader)

content: fluff, slowburn, soft mutual pining, subtle hints of romantic tension here and there.. artist x artist vibes lol

wc: ~1.5k (one-shot)

synopsis: sai was taught to feel nothing. but when she sits beside him—messy paint, bright laughter, warm hands—he starts to feel everything.

a/n: though it’d be so cute to imagine sai have interactions with someone who shares the same talent/skill as him! i’d so think they’d click if it were canon <3

enjoy reading!

୨୧

Sai is used to drawing what he sees.

You? You draw what you feel.

And that absolutely messes him up.

…

You meet during a mission briefing at HQ.

You’re assigned to Sai’s team temporarily—recon work and documentation—and while most shinobi show up with scrolls and seal tags, you walk in with a journal covered in doodles and a pencil tucked behind your ear.

Sai doesn’t say a word at first. He just glances down at your notes mid-briefing and freezes.

Your margin sketches are insanely good. Loose but confident strokes. Sharp contrast. The way you’ve shaded Kakashi’s annoyed profile with nothing but a smudge of your thumb? Unreasonably elegant.

“…Your hatching technique,” he says, too suddenly, standing too close, “is unconventional. But emotionally effective.”

You look up at him, startled. “…Thanks?”

He stares a second longer.

“Can I sit here?”

୨୧

The first mission is uneventful.

Some observation work near a trading outpost and Sai doesn’t talk much.

But when you settle on a tree stump to sketch the view, he quietly sits next to you. You share a pencil sharpener. He critiques your line art. You pretend to be annoyed, but it’s oddly… fun.

After that, it becomes a rhythm.

You sketch in your downtime. Sai sketches too, but watches you more than he watches his page.

You laugh easily.

You draw birds in flight, sunlight catching on windows, clouds shaped like cats. You don’t just copy life—you translate it. You feel it.

He doesn’t know how to name that yet, but he keeps showing up. Keeps leaning just a little too close. Keeps pretending your smile doesn’t linger in his sketchbook.

୨୧

One evening, you’re both stationed at a lookout post. The sky is turning orange, and you’re curled against a tree trunk, sketching the valley.

“Have you ever drawn something that’s not real?” you ask suddenly.

Sai glances up. “Abstract?”

You shake your head. “No, I mean, like… something you’ve felt, not something you’ve seen.”

He frowns slightly, tilting his head. “Feelings don’t have forms.”

“So give them one,” you say simply.

You’re smiling, but your eyes are serious. “Paint what happiness looks like to you.”

Sai blinks.

That night, while you sleep, Sai lies awake beneath the stars—sketchbook open, charcoal in hand.

He draws.

Pauses.

Erases.

Then draws again.

The composition begins as something abstract, lines and shades that are supposed to represent the feeling of the day.

The way the breeze felt. The warmth of the sun. The sound of your laughter… wait what?

But somehow, your face appears in the middle of the page again.

He frowns.

He hadn’t planned on that.

And yet… the curve of your cheek when you laughed at him earlier, the slope of your nose when you squinted at your palette, the precise shape of your fingers as they blended the paint—all of it surfaces again.

His hand moves on its own, like it already memorized you.

He tries to correct it.

But even when he redraws something abstract, it warps. Becomes you again.

It’s statistically unlikely, he thinks, that every brushstroke returns to you by coincidence.

He sighs, staring at the sketch.

It’s annoying.

It’s distracting.

And yet… he can’t stop.

He doesn’t know what it means.

But he knows it feels like something.

…

I kept drawing to understand the feeling… but every line just turned into you.

୨୧

A few days later, you find something folded in your bag.

It’s not signed, but you know it’s his.

It’s a sketch—gentle and deliberate.

You, laughing. Surrounded by layers of translucent shapes: moments, emotions, memories. There’s warmth in the strokes. Softness. A strange depth he’s never used before.

At the bottom of the page, in careful, slanted handwriting:

“Feeling.”

Your chest tightens.

You look up and spot him across the field, pretending to examine a bush with exaggerated interest. You walk over slowly, trying not to smile too much.

“This is really beautiful,” you say, holding up the paper. “You drew this?”

He doesn’t meet your eyes. “…I didn’t know how to explain it.”

“You didn’t have to.”

Silence.

Then, quietly, he adds, “I think I like feelings now.”

You laugh, brushing your fingers against his as you hand the drawing back. He flinches slightly—but doesn’t pull away.

Neither of you does.

“Wanna try painting one together?” you offer, voice a little softer now.

His eyes finally meet yours—dark and wide, like he’s never been asked something like that before.

“…Yes,” he says after a pause.

“But only if it’s you.”

And there it is.

The flutter behind your ribs. The warmth on his face. The tiniest smile tugging at the edge of his lips.

You don’t say anything else.

You just sit beside him, and quietly, slowly, begin to paint.

୨୧

You meet up under the tree again the next day.

The one with the low branches, soft shade, and enough breeze to rustle the leaves like a gentle hush. Your sketchbooks are already out, paints and brushes neatly lined between you on the grass like a miniature armory.

Sai kneels across from you, posture impeccable, eyes darting between the watercolor set and your fingers like one of them might explode.

“You’ve used watercolor before, right?” you ask, head tilting slightly, amused.

“Yes,” he says after a beat. “But never with… direct observation. It’s possible my technique will be compromised.”

You blink. “…You mean, painting with someone else?”

He nods. “Yes. That.”

You laugh, and he tilts his head, clearly trying to figure out why.

“It’s not observation, Sai. It’s collaboration,” you say, nudging the palette toward him.

He still looks unconvinced.

You sigh, roll your eyes, and scoot closer, just enough that your shoulders bump.

Sai freezes like you’ve triggered a wire trap.

“Relax,” you tease, bumping him again gently. “I don’t bite… unless you mess up my yellow ochre.”

He stiffens. “Yellow ochre. Understood. I will take appropriate precautions.”

You snort. “That was a joke, Sai.”

A pause.

“…I thought so. But I calculated a 12% chance it wasn’t.”

You grin at him, eyes bright.

He glances at your expression, just for a second—

Then something in his chest stumbles.

Not enough to show on his face, of course. But he can feel it.

And it feels dangerously close to… fond.

୨୧

The first few strokes are hesitant.

You paint a small mountain scene, soft trees, warm light.

And Sai… well, Sai paints something abstract. Swirling, structured strokes that don’t form an image, but somehow still feel deliberate. Like they mean something. Like him.

You lean over, curious, elbow brushing against his arm as you peek at his work.

He doesn’t flinch—but his brush pauses mid-air.

“…Your arm is in contact with mine,” he says, voice perfectly flat.

You grin. “That’s usually how sitting next to someone works, Sai.”

He doesn’t respond. His ears are just a little bit pink.

You try not to coo.

“Here—try this color,” you say instead, dipping into a small jar of vermilion. You swirl it into the palette and lean over to show him how it blends into the cooler tones he’s using,

Only to accidentally streak a little on his cheek.

“Oh—”

He blinks.

You freeze.

There is a small, perfect swipe of red-orange paint on his skin, just beneath his cheekbone. It looks like a blush, except it’s real, and you can’t decide if you’re sorry or very proud.

“…I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s fine,” he says, completely monotone.

But his eyes are wide. Blinking at you like you’ve just handed him an emotion and told him to hold it.

You meet his gaze, your brush still raised between you.

And slowly, wordlessly, he dips his brush into a bit of blue and taps the tip on your nose.

You gasp. “Sai!”

“I assessed the situation,” he says calmly, “I thought that was the correct escalation.”

You try. You really try not to laugh. But his deadpan delivery, paired with the little satisfied flick of his brush, makes it impossible. It’s like he’s never had someone laugh and smear color on his face without scolding him.

The two of you dissolve into a paint war—light, harmless dabs. Flecks of color on your fingers, your collar, his jaw.

Sai never says much, but you can see it in the way his movements grow less mechanical. The way his shoulders relax. The way he glances at you like he’s trying to remember everything at once.

You lean back, breathless from giggling, cheeks flushed from the sun and something else entirely.

He looks over at you.

“You have ultramarine in your hair,” he says, strangely gentle.

You reach up to brush it away, but he beats you to it. His thumb brushes the paint-smeared strand back behind your ear, slow and careful.

Everything slows.

He doesn’t pull his hand back immediately. Your skin warms under his touch.

You meet his eyes. And for once,

He doesn’t look away.

Neither of you speaks.

The moment stretches, quiet and fluttering like the beat of a butterfly wing.

And even though he’s never said it out loud, you know.

You know what he’s thinking.

And you feel it, too.

likes and reblogs are very much appreciated! thanks for stopping by ~ ^3^ <3

requests are open! 🌸

[terra022309]

ART DUMP!!(>.<)y-~

It starts from when I was around 9 or 10 years old and ends at present 15-16 (ーωー)

Well this is not my first drawing but the pencil shading starts from here

I don't have all of them but I was weirdly obsessed with drawing cars..maybe I should try doing that again?

Please! Please don't tell me yall didn't have that "I guess I'll use colours now *fails miserably* well nvm" phase(ToT)

And then I had a huge like 1 or 2 year gap. I completely stopped drawing amd then one day I was like "I can draw" And started drawing again :)

Btw this cat drawing has a story... basically if you wanna hear how an old man who is one breath away from death competes with a beginner artist and tells her how bad her drawing is then you are most welcome to comment and ask about it. I'll explain..

This is my favourite drawing. I even framed it because I love it sm ( ´-ω-)

And finally this is the drawing on which I'm currently working on with 1092828 other drawings that are pending (normal artist stuff ryt?)

[empress-of-time1109]

[Feb special ]♾️ “A Room Full of Ghosts” [Grimmjow x Dazai x Izaya x Portgas D. Ace x Kakashi x Killua x Yami Marik x reader]

At 3 AM, the world outside was still asleep. The street lights flickered lazily, the sky stretched out in muted shades of navy and deep violet, and the only sound was the low hum of a forgotten playlist looping through half-broken headphones.

Inside the dimly lit bedroom, paper, ink, and a whole lot of poor life choices cluttered the bed. The sketchbook lay open, filled with faces that didn’t belong to this world. Some rough, some half-finished, some so detailed they almost breathed.

She sat curled against the headboard, pencil tapping idly against the page, surrounded by the soft glow of her laptop screen and the not-so-empty silence.

And then—a voice.

“Oi, you gonna keep ignoring us, or are you just that lost in your own head?”

She didn’t even flinch.

A slow, exaggerated sigh left her lips as she dragged her eyes up from her drawing. “Grimmjow, for the love of everything unholy, inside voice.”

The blue-haired menace leaned back against the desk, arms crossed, smirking like he had just won a fight no one else knew they were in, “Tch. Not my fault you’re always zoning out like some weird hermit.”

Across the room, sprawled lazily over her unmade bed, Dazai Osamu let out a dramatic, suffering sigh.

“How cruel, ignoring us like we’re nothing more than figments of your imagination… Oh, the pain, the agony, the unbearable loneliness—!”

“Dazai, if you monologue at me before sunrise, I’m throwing you out the window.”

He gasped, placing a hand over his heart like she had just personally assassinated his will to live.

Ace, seated cross-legged near the pile of blankets on the bed, snickered. “You say that, but you’d probably just run downstairs to check if he landed okay.”

From the corner, Kakashi flipped a page in his book without looking up. “That, or she’d just replace him with another tragic mess of a character.”

“Hey, I resemble that remark,” Izaya Orihara quipped, balancing perfectly on her window sill like some over-caffeinated cat with ill intentions.

Izaya smirked, shifting his weight with the kind of effortless balance that shouldn’t be possible on the narrow sill.

“Come on, now. Be honest.” He tapped a gloved finger against his temple, eyes glinting with sharp amusement. “You like us too much to ever get rid of us.”

“Debatable.” She flipped a page in her sketchbook, pretending not to see the way Grimmjow and Killua exchanged a knowing look.

Ace grinned, leaning back on his hands. “You say that, but every time you ‘debate’ it, we’re still here.”

“Persistent parasites, the lot of you.”

Dazai made a wounded noise, clutching at his chest. “Oh! Such cruel words from the very peron who brought us into existence! And here I thought we were precious to you—beloved even!”

Kakashi turned a page in his book. “A bit dramatic, don’t you think?”

“And yet, I’m still not the most dramatic person in this room.”

“He has a point,” Killua muttered, pressing his forehead against the cool glass of the window. The city outside was still dark, a few early commuters trudging through the wet streets below, unaware that a twelve-year-old assassin was silently judging them.

Yami Marik chuckled, low and unsettling. “We all serve a purpose, don’t we? Even if that purpose is simply… lingering.” His voice curled around the last word like a whisper behind the ear, a hint of amusement laced beneath something darker.

Izaya tilted his head, looking at her with something unreadable. “And why do you think we linger, exactly?”

The question sat heavy in the space between them.

For a moment, she didn’t answer. Just dragged the pencil across the page, darkening the lines of a half-finished sketch—a familiar smirk, sharp eyes, something just a little too real.

The rain kept falling. The playlist shuffled to a song she barely recognized.

Then—

She set the pencil down and leaned back, gaze flickering over each of them, one by one.

“Because I don’t want to be alone.”

Silence.

Grimmjow huffed. “Well, duh.”

Ace stretched, joints popping. “Took you long enough to admit it.”

Kakashi barely looked up, flipping another page. “Acceptance is the first step.”

Dazai beamed. “Oh, how sentimental! A love story between a creator and her creations—so tragic, so poetic! You’ll cry when we’re gone, won’t you?”

Killua scoffed. “She’d never let that happen.”

Izaya’s smirk curled at the edges. “No. She wouldn’t.”

She rolled her eyes, pushing herself off the bed. “Don’t flatter yourselves.”

Marik chuckled. “Oh, darling, we don’t need to. You already do it for us.”

They laughed—a mixture of voices that didn’t belong to the real world, but belonged to her.

And in that moment, as the rain tapped against the glass and the shadows stretched just right across the floor, she let herself believe that maybe, just maybe—

They really were there.

Killua, sprawled on the window ledge now, yawned. “Why are we even awake? This is a stupid hour to exist.”

“Because some people never learned a proper sleep schedule,” Yami Marik muttered, twirling a stray pen between his fingers, eyes glinting like he was considering setting something on fire just to liven things up.

She sighed, rubbing her temple. “I don’t know why I put up with any of you.”

Grimmjow grinned, sharp and wolfish. “Because you want us here.”

That shut her up.

A beat of silence. The rain outside tapped softly against the glass. Somewhere in the distance, a car engine hummed past, lost in the quiet expanse of early morning. The world was waking up.

She looked around the room. At the faces that weren’t supposed to be there, but always were.

Her fingers curled around her pencil, the weight of it familiar. Safe.

A chuckle slipped out—tired, but real.

“Yeah. I guess I did.” She turned off the lights and went to bed.

—

At 7 AM, her alarm went off.

At 7:05 AM, she sat up, stretched, and glanced around the empty room.

The window sill where Izaya had perched was untouched.

The bed was still unmade, but no lazy suicidal detectives occupied it.

The window was closed. No Killua. No Ace. No Kakashi.

The other side of the bed was scattered with pencils, erasers, ink stains—but no signs of conversation lingering in the air.

Just a sketchbook full of faces that would never really be there.

She exhaled, slow and steady, pressing the heel of her palm against her eyes.

Just a little longer. She just needed to hold on a little longer.

After all—

They only ever disappeared when she took her meds.

[rubykgrant]

I thought about doing some Batman character designs, but instead of working on the various hero/villain personas, I tried imagining their "regular" faces first. Sometimes when I'm struggling to draw, I go back to lines notebook paper, and it kind of eases the art-block haha. The first versions I did with a few different pencils and pens (when my pens are running out of ink or pencils are getting worn down, I'll use colors I don't often need, like purple or green, and shade/line everything with those), and a little bit of white paint for highlights/shine. After I scanned it, a lot of the color got washed-out (and I noticed some little mistakes), so I did some touch-up edits in MS 3D Paint with a mouse. I wanted her to look really defined as Catwoman without actually giving her any cat-themed accessories. I also thought about how she'll look different than other character designs; she has a solid body-type, with features that are both strong, elegant, intimidating, and beautiful (she's a classy cat-burglar, a pretty face with a clever mind, and can also hold her own in a fight). She has short, thick and curly hair (with little baby hairs on her brow), and a little jewelry with small golden hoop earrings.

Some inspiration I had in mind while making my version of her-

(a couple different versions of her from the aniamted Batman shows; I like the shape of short and dark hair in one, and the strong jawline/defined chin in the other. Eartha Kitt is absolutely fantastic in her look and her attitude as Catwoman, I always think of her when it comes to Catwoman designs, and the Catwoman from Super Hero Girls is also inspired by Eartha Kitt- with Cree Summer doing an amazing job voicing her. Julie Newmar is also a classic Catwoman, very statuesque. The vibes and style of both Halle Berry and Zoë Kravitz were also in my head while sketching. I think my two biggest inspirations were Eartha Kitt and the various animated versions, but like I said- the different vibes were all there, and I tried to make something that felt right, while also being a little different)

[that-damn-fouth-chaosemerald]

Yay! How about Solar (TSAMS) with kid! reader headcanons?

Thank you! <3

×A/N×

Hi! Sorry for the long wait! ^^"

×❢ About my work ❢×

fluff, kid! Reader, no pronouns for the reader, uses of (Y/N), mention of child abuse, the relationship between the reader and Solar is platonic, Solar is good with kids. He is just not used to them.

Requested by: @ssunnybee

Fandom(s): The Sun and Moon Show, Lunar and Earth Show

Character(s): Solar, You | The Reader | (Y/N), Lunar (mentioned), Earth (mentioned), Jack (mentioned), Sun (mentioned)

Ship(s): Solar & kid! Reader

Form: Headcanons

[The artwork is not mine! The credit go to @//kiwi_artz]

𝑺𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒌𝒊𝒅! 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

• Solar doesn't really interact with children, since he's often up in the theater or busy with fixing other mechanics of the pizzaplex

• But when he does he's usually patient and friendly with them

• No, he won't follow you around like Sun, Lunar or Earth, but he'll still look out for you

• "Nope," slight panic could be heard in the theater animatronic voice as he picked you up. "That's a socket, I don't think you should explore that."

• He prefers quiet kids, but even when you're noisy he won't shout at you. Sure, it's frustating him, but he'll most likely to get an another daycare attendant to take care of you.

• Fortunately, this rarely happens, since no one really goes to the theater. And even when some children do, the daycare attendants are there to watch them or they quickly fall asleep during the movie

• So most of the time the theater is quiet

• But back to the kid! reader

• If you somehow get into the theater alone, Solar will most likely just start a movie for you and if you maybe fall asleep he'll take you down to the others.

• He isn't a very social person, though I think he would like kids more than adults. He might start some small talk with you.

• if you don't bother him, he might even let you stay by his side.

• He can be rarely seen by kids, but that doesn't mean that they can't like him. Still, Solar will be surprised if you seem interested in him. He is not the most active or talkative one, but maybe that's why you like him.

• Hell, you may even end up watching mlp with him, who knows.

• If you make him a gift and give it to him, he'll keep it. It doesn't matter if its quality isn't the greatest, it'll be still important to him. He might get emotional a bit too, but he'll hold it back.

• Eager pencil frictions against the paper could be heard from the side of the table. More and more colours and shades are decorated and painted the paper under your hands. Solar glanced to the side, examining your art. "What are you drawing kid?" "The daycare." You simply answered without looking away from your art. Solar hummed, then asked: "Who are the people on the picture?" You looked up to him, then moved closer, ready to show your art. "That's Sunny," you told. Solar nodded recognizing the bright yellow smiling figure on the side of the paper. "And that's his cat." you pointed at the small drawing beside Sun. "His cat?" The theater animatronic confusedly asked. "Yeah. I didn't see them a long time ago, and he still denies it when I mention that it. But I know what I saw." Solar had to hold back a chuckle. You continued, pointing to the other side of the paper. "That is Earth." you pointed at the happy green, tall animatronic. "I like Earth, she's kind." "She is." He agreed. "Beside her, that is Lunar." Solar quckly recognizes the small lavender figure on the picture. He looked at the center of the paper and he could feel his rays spin a bit. "And who are the people in the middle?" "That is you and me." you said smilingly. "And why are we in the middle?" The animatronic asked out of curiousity. "Because you're my favourite." Solar rays slowly spinned again. You picked up your drawing and handed it to Solar cheerfully. "This is yours, Solar. I made this for you." Solar gave you a warm smile as he gently took the drawing with his gloved hands. "Thank you, (Y/N)." He had to hold back his tears.

• Like I said, he doesn't really interact with people, however he won't hesitate to call the parent(s) out if they treat their chil(ren) badly. Throwing hands on the children or showing abusive behaviour towards them will automatically trigger him, same with almost all animatronics in the pizzaplex.

• Many different kids visit the daycare almost everyday.

For babies, they really like him actually. Solar doesn't look very scary for them and he has a calm deep voice unlike the others. Perfect for sleeping.

To older children, he is still very patient with them. He won't shout at anybody, but he'll use a more emphatic tone if it's needed.

He's patient and attentive towards all children including, disabled or physically/mentally ill children aswell!

• and yes, even if he's your best friend/favourite animatronic, you will be scolded by him if you swear. and yes, Jack too, if he tries teaching you.

• You might not see Solar as often as the other daycare attendants, but hanging out with him in the theater can be really relaxing, and it's a great chance to bond with him! Give it a shot!

[yolkyweichei]

Hi, skykids and artists alike! 

WARNING: THIS IS LONG. I can't stop yappin'.

I was taking a series of screenshots of my art process for my own reference (to review later, see how my process has changed, etc. I’m not much of a timelapser) and figured I’d share my process and show off how much the game Sky: COTL has DRAMATICALLY improved my art (and also have a post to show people in the very, hopefully, unlikely chance anyone ever doubts that I draw my own art). I also have seen a lack of written out with screenshots explanations of art, as video format becomes more popular across not only Youtube, but Instagram and Tiktok as well. This is not a learning style I jive with, so this is something for all the artists out there looking for this kinda thing. 

For reference, here is my FIRST EVER Sky digital painting compared to my most recent (before the one used for this lil infodump). <3 This is CSP specific as far as brushes go, but I’ve seen people make amazing art in freaking PowerPoint, so if I can do it, you can do it. 

F’real. This is the process of a VERY LAZY artist with hand tremors and hecked up wrist ligaments as a result of an autoimmune disease.. I’m talking, drawing in bed in a blanket nest watching vodcasts and cuddling cats. 

(May 2024) -----> (January 2025) 

Added info - the pic on the left is exactly why I wanted to do this. I'm even a little embarrassed by it, now, but when I had originally posted it on another platform, I was questioned and disbelieved that I was able to draw a background at all. This was the start of me taking digital painting seriously (versus general character/creature design) with lineart and a cell shading style. That disbelief from someone who knew me IRL hurt a lot, and I often have the concern of that happening again. This is me alleviating that anxiety once and for all, so I can finally move past it. YAH, FRIENDO, THIS IS MY THERAPY SESSION.

Anyway; I’m nowhere near new to art, but it’s always been a hobby for me so I never sought to actively improve with proper studies -- but wanting to create lore for my silly lil skydude forced my hand. With a semi-open world game that’s genuinely gorgeous made collecting references easy, and the Sky community here on Tumblr has not only inspired but encouraged me to keep going despite 2024 being a very rough year. This game has brought me joy, and I hope you find this lil doodad helpful. 🕯️

Now on with the show! This piece will be a part of a little series I’m working on that will include lyrics to a song that gives me the biggest Sky vibes (To Thus Onto Tyrants by The Oh Hellos). 

The brush that did the heavy lifting (“spread pencil”) seems to be either very elusive or no longer available. Everything else is listed here :) 

What I could find: 

Turnip Pen - Default brush in CSP

“Crunchy” - Specifically the second to last one in this brushpack 

“Hard Round V1” 

“Hard Round V2” 

“YN Soft Round” (Not free, sorry ): ) 

“Pecas” - for sparkleys

“Toothbrush” - For more sparkleys

So the first step is to gather references. They’re a MUST HAVE and DON’T LET ANYONE ELSE TELL YOU OTHERWISE. Use references, redline, and yes - EVEN TRACE. I may make a lil thingy about how to do these things ethically, but for now, just art process. Let’s see what references I used: self harvested! 

Shout out to the Skykid screaming in the background. 

I also used this for a reference for the moth that I grabbed off the interwebs- 

For this, I wanted to try and recreate what it felt like as a moth (but after getting at least one starboi lol). Isle of Dawn will always hold a very special place in my heart. The first impression was impactful, even though I was incredibly confused on what I was doing. I knew I wanted the temple, but there’s something so calming and melancholy about that first cave. Putting these references together, I got the most hot garbage sketch I’ve ever done - but it’s okay! We’re not doing any lineart, so we WANT messy. The more you work on a sketch at this stage, the harder and more intimidating it will be to get to the next step. You’ll become too attached to those details and things you sketched, that if you have to go over them later it will be devastating. Just using this to work out composition :) 

Currently, I have two main layers (CSP makes an automatic background and I just leave that one alone and do not count this as a layer)

Top - moth sketch

Bottom - everything else

Moving forward, we’re working in three main sections. Background, midground, and foreground. I show a screenshot of how I organized these layers later. 

The next step is to block in colors. Layer styles are VALID and AMAZING, I do not use them much. They have their time and place, and I prefer to keep those for finishing touches. For now, I’m just doing my best to eyeball colors I like from the reference photos. Color picking is amazing and helpful too, but I’ll add a little note* at the end about why I try to avoid doing that too often from my reference. 

I put the colors on their respective layers (Four to start with. One for each mentioned above, and another for the moth). I try to block out shading and lighting but I keep it sloppy because it’s likely to change a LOT. This is just planning and fiddling, seeing what colors look good together. 

(Spread Pencil is the one brush I couldn’t find >: at this point, this is the ONLY brush I’ve used. Don’t be tempted by blending things yet. Be sloppy.) 

Once I get the general idea of what I want, I WORK FROM THE BACK. I hid any layer that would be ‘blocking’ that section and allow myself to go ‘outside the lines’ a bit. The overlap is helpful when making changes to the ‘front’ elements later. Remember, we’re still being SUPER MESSY.

I kept the moth/foreground visible so I can still check that the general color theme was working. 

Hide the sketch layer. Do it. We’re painting, not doing lineart. You gotta. I believe in you. Look at this slop. Beautiful. 

Alright, now we’re cooking! The layers are in the following order going from top (front) to bottom (back): 

-Moth sketch (will be hidden later) 

-Moth colors 

-Background sketch (will be hidden later) 

-The rock the moth is sitting on and that little rock section on the bottom left

-The rock behind the moth (hidden in this screenshot) 

-The rest of the cave 

-The temple 

At some point around here I used “Crunchy” on the clouds to blend em a bit. 

NOW IS THE FUN PART. RENDERIIINNNGGGGGG. I started with the stairs because they looked annoying. USE YOUR LINE/SHAPE AND SELECTION TOOLS. These will help you keep your lines straight and achieve crispiness if you desire. More on the stairs in a moment, but while you’re doing this, remember to 

ZOOM THE HECKIE OUT. Make it thumbnail sized and squint. Can you still tell what you’re painting? Evaluate. Are the colors working well together? Is there enough contrast? How’s that composition doing? Zooming out rocks. 

After taking a moment to zoom out and squint, I came up with the following notes: 

Do this regularly throughout your process, even if you’re in the middle of something mundane like drawing stairs. A LOT more contrast is needed, and taking a moment to notate this will help prevent you from doing TOO much that you’ll regret later when you end up covering it up to fix these issues you missed earlier. 

Back to the stairs. 

I blocked things in with the line tool and the turnip pen, then scribbled it around using ‘Hard Round V2”. When I say scribble, I mean literally. Scribble. It’s fun and freeing. We’re not trying to be precise or make anything hyper realistic. We just gotta get those colors down yknow. 

Good luck. 

Water is weird, and I don’t understand it. We guess and hope for the best. Remember that water is clear, and for the most part you’ll be able to see through it, so unless you have a blue toned drawing (like this one), the water itself may not be blue. I generally color pick the areas around it and lighten/darken it based on those. I also knew there’d be a light beam in this area, and the reflection from the moth’s candle so some bright oranges and yellows were nice to add, as well. Don’t forget reflections/highlights if the scene calls for it! 

Time for the part that actually requires a shred of skill. Thankfully, this pose is very simple and the moth’s design is, well, a moth. Don’t be afraid to toggle that sketch layer on and off for this. The moth is the main focus, and should be clear and easy to read as such - requiring a bit more work for colors and shape language. 

Don’t work on one single thing for long. The moment your brain goes “im getting annoyed/frustrated/bored”, move to another piece of the painting. If you notice your character has a horrible tangent with a background piece and it’s just really bothering you - stop working on the character and fix that background area. Give it a bit more bulge (or less), shift things around. Paint over stuff. 

“But I drew this really well, and it would be a shame to cover it up if I won’t be able to do it that well again!” You may ponder, anxiety filling your chest at the very thought of redrawing a hand or that one rock that just looks really, really good somehow. 

And to that I ask - why won’t you be able to do it again? You did it once before, CLEARLY you have the skill and ability. If you’re worried, draw over it on a new layer so if you have to fall back on the old thing, you can. ART IS FUN. Don’t let it stress you out too much. The moment you look at that canvas and go “you know what, I CAN do it again”, you will be able to do it again. 

Trust me. 

With some more scribbling done, we can start detailing things that aren’t stairs. Yay! Let’s work from the back again.

LITERALLY. SCRIBBLE.

You can start blending around now, too, though. We’re getting there, and look at all we have to show for it! I tried to mimic the clouds as best I could from the screenshot because like water - they are weird and wonky and yah, hard. Cloud brushes can be helpful, but give you significantly less control IMO, but to each their own and whatever works for you, works. 

BG looking good, but remember ZOOM OUT. I can see the contrast of the temple/background elements looks a bit better now, and now that I’m bored with that, I wanna bounce to that midground area, and fix up the moth a bit more. I also used an ADD (GLOW) layer to messily test some different ways to paint light beams and to find a nice color. I settled on the same yellow I used on the candle flame. I didn’t work too hard on this just yet, since there’s a lot of elements that will hit that light that I haven’t even thought about yet. 

I fiddle with the main cave texture a LOT. Painting over it entirely MULTIPLE TIMES to find something that sticks. What you see here is not it. I also added some details to the ‘moth rocks’ but this also changes a little as we go. 

Painting/art is a lot of push and pull. You add some darkness, take away some. Add some light, take away some. Add an element, remove one. Go with the flow and trust yourself. Turn on an audiobook or a movie and turn off your brain while you plop colors here and there. An artist I VERY MUCH look up to (Julia Lepetit of Drawfee and Secret Sleepover Society) said, “Zoom in and zone out”. It’s time to turn off that brain and paint. 

I zoned out too hard and stopped taking screenshots because oops. On the top left shows the YN Soft Round, Pecas, and Toothbrush, in that order going from the top and counter clockwise. 

I darkened up the cave quite a bit and finally settled on a look for those upper rock formations. I used a MULTIPLY layer to darken up the moth’s shadow a bit, then merged the layers and used those same colors to blend it with the rest of the rock. I also deleted and added a new ADD (GLOW) layer and fixed up that lighting. This is where we get to darken shadows and add highlights and bounce light to things. Anything in bright, direct light has its original color showing through (from the original layer it’s colored on, that wonky light blue area by the stairs). Rim lighting is a great way to separate elements like this (the different rock edges) without having to use a gajillion different shades/values of the same boring blue to make it stand out. 

Details on the moth are also done now - mostly in the hair. A few hair strands, ESPECIALLY in Sky with the white hair we all have - looks incredible in a painty style IMO. I also SHOULD HAVE added the star on the moth’s cape at this point, but BOIIS, GORLS, AND CRYPTIDS, i forgot until I saved/exported it and had to go back and fix it. But anyway, so you don’t have to scroll up, here’s the finished piece again: 

Thank you for reading, if you did! I hope it was helpful, or at the very least served me in the future like this post is intended to do!

And I will leave you off with the promised note* about color picking -

Color picking from a reference can be really cool and easy and tempting, but you know what makes that NOT work? Color theory. When you blend your colors (this goes for real life, too), there's a LOT more grey and diluted tones than you'd expect. A lot of these bright colors aren't ACTUALLY bright, save for the details on the candle light and the ADD (GLOW) layers. The orange reflections on the rocks and water are actually quite dark and diluted, but because it contrasts so well with the darker blues - it looks a lot brighter. Blending these colors together allows for a more natural soft light. This is also why I try to work on so few layers for pieces like this that are relatively simple. I can easily take a bright color and use a softy kind of brush - the hard round v1 brush is GREAT for this, a little bit of pressure over the colors you already painted down will blend them together with some minor elbow grease and mindfulness. It gets a more natural transition between your lights and darks.

Where as if you zoom in on your reference and color pick - look at it. Look at it all zoomed up, I BEG you. Make it super pixely, and you will see how much that 'one' color varies in that entire area. Unless you're color picking pixel by pixel, which at that point you're not really drawing/painting at all, it's just not going to work out and help you recreate that reference.

My personal preference is to color pick for base colors to get me started with a vibe, and then once I have a few colors down, I'm eyeballing it all the way baybee.

[sirsealery]

GOD I FUCKING HATE AI. im so sick and tired of ai garbage popping up everywhere. disrespectfully, get that shit OUT OF MY FUCKING FACE. do not show up, on my goddamn screen, in my house, GET OUT. im sick of my loved ones getting baited by ai generated nonsense and im sick of getting my sites flooded by it.

ai does not make the arts 'more accessible'. the whole POINT of art is that you put time, effort and LOVE into it. there is no love in a machine. its disgusting and such a disrespect to everyone who has ever invested themselves in their craft. hundreds and thousands and thousands of years of people making art, drawing, writing, making music, dancing. idk about ai dancing but all of the others especially.

and i fucking hate the argument 'oh but im not as good as the ai!1!!1!!" im not the greatest artist ever. im not a master of my crafts, and THATS OKAY. im a young writer and musician, ive spent most of my life writing, ive been writing since i knew how. ive been playing my instrument for almost as long as i can remember, and i still suck! and its okay!!! but ive spent so much of my time, years and years of practice, into my arts. im better than i was when i started, every year i look back on my works and i can feel proud of my progress. my fanfiction has improved so much since my warrior cat days, and i imagine so many of the wattpad writers back in 2014 can feel the same. everyone sucks in the beginning, and its fine! it means we're growing and improving.

but making ai art and generating ai fanfiction and making fucking ai songs (never in my life would i have thought)? thats disgusting. not only is it detrimental to the environment, but youre STEALING other peoples work for a robot to rip it to shreds and mishmash it together. and so often these ai fanfictions are taken from actual fanfiction, that people write for FREE out of the love they have for the media or community. ive written fanfiction since before i knew what it was, because i loved the book series i was reading so much, i wanted to make my own stories and use the world and express my absolute adoration for the original series in my creative, 6 or 7 year old way. i wrote it on scrap paper in pencil and doodled my characters in crayon and then went off to practice my instrument for an hour. no shit i was ass at all three of those things, but over time, ive improved. and you will too, if you put just a little bit of time and effort every day/as often as you can.

anyways, before i went off on a tangent, (sorry) but SO many fanfiction writers are so, so incredibly talented. i know dozens of amazing fic writers and im even lucky enough to get to know a couple personally. fanfiction and fanart is about community, and to steal somebodys work for- for what purpose?? because youre too lazy to make your own? fuck, nobody cares! draw like shit! write like shit! post it online, maybe get some hate, improve or give up, but either way, you HAVE to learn the appreciation for the people who are amazing at what they do! i have friends who are brilliant artists, and i cant draw myself, so watching them is like watching magic. watching them furrow their brow while trying to decide between two shades of blue that i cant tell the difference between, watching them draw effortlessly smooth lines, why would you want a robot to do that? the beauty of it is the love put in, and the insane amount of effort put into making them this good. five years ago, i thought my best friend was an amazing artist. time has passed, shes improved infinitely, and i feel so incredibly proud of her because i know that shes spent so much of the last five years doing art to get better. and i know that in five years she'll be even better! art is a journey of hard work progress and ai simply can never replicate that. to make any kind of ai 'art' is to disrespect the people that worked so fucking hard to get here. you cant take shortcuts on this, you can work hard and youll improve faster, but theres no ladder to the top! you can make as many ai images and ai textwalls as you want, but it doesnt make you an artist.

"oh but i want the results/make content for my ocs/fav characters/WHATEVER now without having to put years into it!" yeah, we all do, youre not fucking special. but effort is the human existence, so shut the fuck up and either learn to do it, pay someone to do it (AND APPRECIATE THEM.), or suffer with ideas in your head and no way to express them like god intended. if you want fanfiction, get on ao3 goddamnit. its free.

maybe youre older than twelve years old, and your writing isnt good, your drawing isnt good, your music isnt good. who fucking cares? cringe is dead. do art. its never too late to start, and i think i speak for everybody when i say we'd much rather have 'bad' new artists and writers than have a single more piece of ai slop.

(sorry for this long ass rant/vent where i basically repeat myself a dozen times, love you all and never stop doing art)