#I can never get the pictures of my watercolors to look right but this is close enough

[bellpeppersand-beef]

-“I think we’re gonna have to kill this guy, Jet.” -“Damn.”

[slippery-minghus]

watercolor progress!

[my-husbandos-wifey]

KUROO X FEM Reader

Synopsis: Being Kuroo's friend is fun as he was a great friend and captain of Nekoma. But you're a friend and that's it. You helped him with the girl he likes and stayed, offering a shoulder to lean after he got rejected.

A/N: So English is not my first language so pardon my grammatical errors.

******

"C/N birthday is next week. I need your help for picking gifts for her." Kuroo said as he continues to eat his ice cream. The two of you were in the park in the neighborhood, he texted you to go there and he started to rant about his crush.

He's so in love with that girl but neither of you know if she feels the same.

As his friend you need to help him but it hurts helping him to get close to another girl when you're already with him all this time. Still, as his friend, you'll support him whatever makes him happy.

"What is her interest?" You asked about eating your ice cream glancing at him.

"She's into arts. I heard she's part of the art club." He replied. That made you pause. How similar does this girl have with you? "What a coincidence. I'm into arts as well." You commented making him look at you.

"I didn't know that," he said eyeing you up. "Why did you not join the art club instead of the volleyball team?" He asked with curiosity.

"Every artist will feel the same pressure to be in the same room as people who are better than them in something they're passionate about." You explained before sighing as he continued to eat his ice cream. "Buy her gouache, paint brushes or watercolor papers." You recommend.

"She already has those." He said with disdain.

"New art materials never fail to make an artist fall in love." You defended. It's true tho. One of the best feelings you had is when your parents bought you materials instead from your own allowance.

"But I already have an idea..."

"Why did you ask me to come here in the first place?" You asked with a frown.

"I need your help" he answered. "I was thinking of a necklace."

You eyed him up and huffed. "I sometimes forget you're still a guy." You said in disbelief as sighed. But still, you can't help but feel the world smashing itself against your shoulders. How hard is it to be just a friend? To be just someone you know you are to them?

He looked at you, "what do you mean?"

"She's into art. Why get her something that she doesn't like?" You asked unfazed.

"Well.. I just thought that she would love it since it has her favorite gemstone color," Kuroo explained with a hopeful expression hoping it's a great idea.

You felt a sudden feeling to smack his head but you stopped yourself and shook your head. "True but, scale it. What do you think she would like more? A necklace that can be tossed around and forgotten or art materials that she can use on paintings that could last for years?" You questioned with raised eyebrows.

That took Kuroo back as he thought for a moment. "That makes sense..." A smile creeps in his lips as he looks at you waiting for another suggestion. "Any more ideas to get since you're the expert?"

You wanted to curse the world out loud for making Kuroo so irresistible. He looked so in love right now and the admiration in his eyes by just merely thinking about the girl. How come can this be your situation?

"Make her paper flowers." You suggested.

"Alright I can do that." He replied leaning back the bench again with determination already picture the whole thing in his head.

You tossed the ice cream on the trash can and smiled. "Goodluck Mr. Romantiko". You patted his shoulder and stood up.

Kuroo stares at you, "why did you throw the ice cream?"

"I have to eat dinner, idiot." You replied, lying that you don't really have the appetite to finish the whole thing. "I'll get going now. Goodluck."

"I will." Kuroo said, "See ya."

******

A week later you gave the flower and the gifts but you heard from your teammates that he got rejected. You went to Kenma first and asked him about the matter.

You sat beside Kenma in the quiet corner of the gym, watching others continue to practice. Kuroo is in the locker room. The coach noticed his change of demeanor. Everyone did.

"Hey, Kenma," you started, hesitant. "Did you hear… about Kuroo?"

"He got rejected, right?"

"Yeah…" You shifted uncomfortably, the weight of concern pressing down on you. "He seemed… pretty down about it." You added concern.

You bit your lip with worry as you glance at Kenma. "Do you think… he’ll be okay?"

Kenma studied you for a moment, taking in the unease you were trying to mask. He knew how you felt about Kuroo. It wasn’t like he missed much, but he’d never say anything. He's quiet yes but he observes people. He's not oblivious as Kuroo is. And besides, it's not his place to interfere, he thought. Still, he knew what you were really asking.

"He’ll be fine," Kenma answered, his tone matter of fact, as if he were stating the obvious. "Kuroo always bounces back. It’s just… how he is."

You nodded, though it didn't do much about your concern about him. "I know. It’s just… hard to watch, you know?"

Kenma shrugged. "Maybe. But if he really liked her… he’ll have to deal with it on his own." He paused, then added quietly, "You worrying won’t change that."

After that, you talked to the coach and asked the permissions to let Kuroo go home earlier today. Coach Nekomata agreed but he made you go with him to check on him. He needs Kuroo back, he's the captain of the team after all. What will happen to the team if the captain is unwell?

You knocked on the door first before walking inside the locker room. "Yo captain." You greeted. You found him sitting on a bench as he stared into the floor.

Kuroo looked at you and forced a smile. "What's up?"

You could feel how your heart tightened. God... He looked so out of himself. How can that girl affect him so much? It's rare for you to see Kuroo like this. You wanted to push yourself into his arms but you can't.

"Quit that smile. It doesn't suit you." You commented.

He sighed. "Better?" He frowned.

"Want some ice cream?" You asked with a hopeful smile for him to say yes.

"I don't really feel like eating ice cream right now," Kuroo answered. "But thank you for the offer."

"How about a ramen?" You asked again.

"I don't feel like eating anything right now.." Kuroo said, looking away. Kuroo also felt like crying, but he didn't want to cry in front of you.

You're not oblivious to the tension he was feeling and the emotion. You know your place and limit. He doesn't need a lover right now, he needs you, his friend. You knelt your one knee in front of him and cupped his cheek. Before you started to like him. You're his friend until now and maybe forever. Kuroo looked at you with a blank expression trying to hide his pain.

Kuroo sighed. "I just don't get what I did wrong.. I tried everything, I tried making her the best paper flower bouquet, writing her romantic poems and love letters.. I even gave her the best art supplies for her birthday and it still didn't work.. I'm nothing but a failure..." He trailed and looked away.

"Hey, listen to me. Just because she rejected you doesn't mean you failed. It's just because she appreciates your feelings but maybe she has a reason. She may be like another guy or she's focused on her studies. Kuroo... You're a great person and always remember that. Your life didn't end when she rejected you ." You caressed his cheek with an assuring smile.

Kuroo, who got his face caressed by you, felt that warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest. Kuroo looked away, blushing slightly from your words and touch. His expression changed from a broken one into a shy but flustered one. The pain he felt in his chest from heartbreak melted away and he had another feeling in his chest. One that made him feel different but in a good way. Now his chest felt light and his heart felt fluttery from your words and touch.

"Oi--- now change your clothes. I asked coach to let you leave early. You can go home now." You patted his cheek before standing up.

"Oh.. alright," Kuroo said softly. Kuroo stood up and watched you as left the changing room. Kuroo just stared ahead of him. He looked at the floor, his heart beating quickly. He was blushing a bit, but he tried to cover it. Kuroo felt confused why he was feeling like this, but he didn't question it. Kuroo grabbed his stuff and changed.

Kuroo walked out wearing his school uniform. He stared at you and the team, watching you as you were helping the teammates with practice. Kuroo's heart felt warm, the feeling he had from your touch earlier hasn't gone away and his cheeks were still tinted pink.

You glanced in hus direction and went to you. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Kuroo replied, a bit flustered from your glance. Kuroo walked over to you while waving goodbye to the rest of the team.

_________________

On your way, I glanced at the sunset. "Feeling better?"

"Y-Yeah," Kuroo said softly. His heart was beating quickly and his cheeks were still rosy. Kuroo couldn't understand what he was feeling, but he thought that maybe it was because you showed him comfort.

"You know maybe it's not your time yet for your lovelife." You said with wonder.

"It's probably not," Kuroo agreed, looking down as you two walked out of the school. "But still, it hurts," Kuroo said with a frown on his face as he walked beside you.

You patted his shoulder. "It's all gonna be fine."

Kuroo sighed. "Thanks..." Kuroo said. The two of you walked in the streets as the wind was blowing. Kuroo's face wasn't sad or anything, it was blank and he was a bit quiet. Kuroo glanced at you, but looked away after a few seconds.

"Hm? Do I have something in my face?" You asked confused as you looked at the car parked beside the road.

"Oh, um.. no," Kuroo said, shaking his head before looking away. Kuroo's heart was still racing and he felt confused as to what was happening to him.

"Let's get you an ice cream I know you don't feel like eating but I wanted so it's on me." You suddenly said dismissing the fact that he reject the idea earlier.

"Ice cream sounds nice right now," Kuroo said with a small smile. "But are you sure? You don't have to spend anything on me.." Kuroo said.

"Shhh I'm your friend lemme treat your pitiful ass." You said with a mischievous grin and encircled your arms around his neck and pulled him inside the convenience store. Kuroo chuckled as you pulled him inside the convenience store. "Fineee," Kuroo said, a bit flustered from your closeness. Kuroo grabbed an ice cream cone and went over to the counter with you.

You paid for the ice cream as both of you stand outside of the convenience store, eating the ice cream. Kuroo and you were outside of the store. Kuroo started eating his ice cream as he and you continued walking. "She's beautiful..." You whispered.

"Huh? Who?" Kuroo asked. Kuroo thought that you might be talking about the girl he liked.

"The girl you liked. I saw her earlier today... She's really pretty." You continued staring into unknown as the wind blows blowing my hair and the city lights reflecting in my face as you put the popsicle in my mouth.

"Oh.." Kuroo said in response. He stopped eating his ice cream for a few seconds before looking away. Kuroo tried to hide the fact that he felt hurt from rejection when you mentioned the girl he liked. "Yeah.. she is," Kuroo sighed, looking down as he continued to walk. Kuroo's heart felt sinking in his chest when you mentioned her.

You bit the popsicle.

Kuroo was quiet while he was walking. The feeling in his chest hurt and he didn't like it.. After a few minutes of walking with you in silence, Kuroo finished his ice cream cone. Kuroo tossed the cone in the nearby trash can and continued walking with you.

You glanced at him. "Come on, now."

He glanced back at you as the two of you walked. His hands were in his pockets as his uniform moved from the wind. Kuroo didn't say anything as he walked with you, his expression blank while he was still trying to get over the rejection.

Both of you stood under a post light as he tower over you. You stared at his eyes that were starting to get heavy. Your hand immediately went to cup his cheeks.

"Let it out Kuroo... Let it out.." you softly said to him.

Kuroo was surprised by your touch, but he didn't refuse it. Kuroo's eyes widened from your touch on his cheeks and he stood there quietly as you said those words to him. Kuroo's bottom lip was quivering, his emotions were welling up inside of him and he couldn't hold it in any longer. Kuroo hugged you closely as he buried his head into your shoulder and wrapped his arms tightly around you, starting to cry.

"Shhh there... Let it out." You patted and caressed your back.

Kuroo's eyes were clenched shut as tears poured down his cheeks, wetting your shoulder. He cried, feeling hurt and upset. Kuroo hugged you tighter and buried his head into your shoulder, crying his eyes out as you comforted him. You hugged him in return.

Kuroo continued to cry in your arms while you hugged him tightly back. Kuroo was shaking slightly from his sobs as he buried his face in your shoulder.

"Hush now... It'll be fine. It's not your fault, you're not likeable or loveable, okay?" You caressed his back. Kuroo slowly calmed down as you comforted him, his sobs turning into sniffles while his eyes were still clenched shut. Kuroo's face was still buried in your shoulder as he sniffled. Kuroo hugged you as he slowly composed himself, his chest rising and falling as he took deep breaths.

You didn't wait for his reply as you wiped his tears away.Kuroo opened his eyes, revealing his glistening eyes from the tears he cried earlier. His face looked a bit puffy from crying and there were tear streaks on his cheeks. Kuroo looked at you and noticed that you were wiping his tears away. Kuroo sniffled softly and blinked a few times.

You continued to wipe it and smiled. "Better or is there more?" You asked.

Kuroo sniffled again before pulling back. "I'm better now.." Kuroo replied, wiping his nose a bit with the back of his hand. He sniffled one more time before looking at you. Kuroo's eyes still glistened with tears within his cheeks.

You chuckled. "I should've let you do this before we grab some ice cream." You said trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"Yeah, you should have," Kuroo said, chuckling softly. Kuroo wiped the tear streaks off of his cheeks, clearing up the tear streaks and sniffled one more time. "Thanks for comforting me," Kuroo thanked with a small smile.

Now that's a smile you wanted to always see. "No worries. What kind of friend am I if I don't be there when you need me?"

"A crappy one," Kuroo teased, joking around. Kuroo chuckled lightly. "But really, thank you. I do feel better now.." Kuroo said, putting his hands back in his pockets.

"I do have a question though," Kuroo said, raising an eyebrow. He looked at you with slight confusion.

"Hm?"

"Why.. did you act like this towards me?" Kuroo asked, referring to when you comforted him and gave him some words of encouragement. Kuroo was still confused as to why you hugged him, wiped his tears and said all of those words. Kuroo had a look in his eyes that still showed confusion.

"Because I'm your friend, idiot." You flicked his forehead with a sheepish grin trying to hide the ache when I said 'your friend'.

Kuroo flinched a bit when you flicked him on the forehead, chuckling afterwards. His smile faded a bit when you said 'your friend'. Kuroo still had a feeling of sadness and disappointment deep within him from rejection, but he tried to hide it.

"Now we should get home. It's starting to get cold." You said as you hugged yourself and breathed out.

"Yeah let's go," Kuroo agreed, nodding. Kuroo walked with you in silence, his hands in his pockets and his head facing straight ahead. Kuroo had a small frown on his face while he was walking.

He continue to walk beside you in silence glancing once in a while. You don't want to hope but maybe it's not time for you to intervene or catch the chance to have him. Even if it hurts, you'll stay as his friend if it means to stay at your side longer than you'll be if you confess your feelings.

You stood at the curve towards your neighborhood.

"I'll get going now. Text me or Kenma if you need to talk." You motion your hand into calling with a smile before putting your hands inside the pocket of your jacket and breathed out.

"Alright," Kuroo nodded. "Goodnight.." Kuroo said before turning around and walking in the other direction, towards his home. Kuroo's hands were in his pockets while he walked, a feeling of disappointment was still lingering inside of him but he didn't let it show in his expression. Kuroo's chest felt a slight ache in it when you said goodbye, but he ignored it as he continued walking home.

Here's the part 2:

Update: I'm sorry but idk how to put that thing where you just click the words then you'll get to next part. I've been here for 3 years but I still don't know how😭

Can someone teach me??

[0hmyg0th]

okay listen y’all , so originally I was thinking about turning that picture into a whole sumt fic but I was having trouble on what would be the context behind it. so therefore this is only gonna be a headcannon of ellie, for the ppl who wanted Abby x reader imma make a version of that ( the wording is gonna be the same and everything just the name is gonna be changed)

Disclaimer!!!: the way margot robbie is positioning is gonna be the same way reader is gonna be but the only difference is that the reader is gonna be doing it standing up sooo 😛 bye. now read <;3

★: taglist

@paqerings @vvynia and also ( @deadbolted , @mitski-lovesems, ) for commenting on the post i had the picture on, here's the headcannon 😝

“get on your knees and beg for my forgiveness”. gosh if looks can kill Ellie would be deceased by now. your expressions looked cold and distant, it didn’t have that same softness and love it had to it. your eyes were sharp, your nostrils flared, your jaw tensed up; your teeth practically cracking under the hot anger that boiled in your chest. oh yeah, it was safe to say that ellie is in the dog house BIG TIME.

Ellie's frowned a bit, in confusion. “what ?” Ellie dryly chuckled. you shrugged nonchalantly, with each step you took with your red high pumps piercing through the outdated hotel carpet. “you heard me. since you are so desperate for my forgiveness you will get on your knees and beg for it” You stood eye to eye with the brunette girl, her jaw slacked, her watercolor eyes eyes gave off that doe-eye look 

Ellie looked at your feet and then glanced back up to you. 

And then before you can even utter a word. She drops to the floor instantly, making a soft thud. Ellie’s throat bobbed up and down with her hands touching your feet, snaking around your ankles. you moved against her touch as she pulled you closer to her. “please” her voice cracked, “forgive me” It was almost comical how pathetic she was. a grown woman on her knees for another grown woman. you didn't think she was gonna do it. However, you couldn’t help to feel pleased at the sight of Ellie groveling at your feet. 

there was this faint thought in the back of your head of how much you liked this and of how much this was sightly turning you on. you wanted to be mad and give her the silent treatment but fuck you were relishing in it.

the corner of your mouth turned upwards, “for what” you hiss. your tone fills with mockery. Ellie gulped while taking a few blinks, “for calling you a slut” Ellie whispered. 

you scoffed, that was weak and pathetic. “you disgust me, truly. You pathetic, I’m the best you will ever have” The quickness of your reply had her shocked. She nodded thoughtfully- almost like she was planning something. 

“teach me a lesson then. you’re mad at me, right? Take that anger out on me. make me your plaything baby” 

your eyebrows lifted in surprise, you never heard this type of tone from her. The words that spilled out were new and different and it made your pussy twitch. the ache between your legs came to the surface. You weren't just mad anymore but aroused. 

“oh yeah ?, what makes you think I’ll forgive you after I take what I want” you arrogantly asked. ellie closed her eyes while her hand ran up your calves but Ellie didn't think this was seducing you, she merely wanted to feel you, your ankles or calves; anything that would required touching you. you shake off her touch, lifting your leg, and place your pump onto her thigh; putting more pressure on the heel part than anything. Ellie's lip quivered, being into this more than you.

"I don't know but... punish me, whatever you want. use me, sit on my face. anything that would make you forgive me." Ellie pleaded. Ellie's lips parted while she gripped your calf she lowered her head, the beginning of several wet, hot kisses that left its mark on your leg. The swell of dominance grew in the pit of your stomach, and the jean skirt you wore began to ride up. Showing the red velvety material of your panties, a wet spot that stained in the middle. Ellie paused. immediately catching the red and that stained. 

"you want it bad baby. I know it. Just let me" Ellie whispered. She wasn't below knee level anymore and slowly but surely she was finally at your hip. nonetheless, that heel was still on her thigh, Ellie made sure of that. She wanted this, the pain and the pleasure you were getting out of this. Now your skirt is a belt at this point, your covered pussy on display. 

that dominance began to fade, "What changed el? hm? Why are you letting me do this" Your voice was soft, even though you still had some of the heated anger that was slowly beginning to be engulf by another type of emotion. Ellie, let out a disproval grunt, "Oh c'mon baby, don't go soft on me now" The slow touch of Ellie's fingertips put you in this state of euphoria. That deep, raspy voice made your clit throb. The touch of Ellie's made you wanna come immediately. oh fuck, you were losing it. 

"look at me" 

Ellie obeyed, she did it promptly like how an owner would tell a dog to sit for a treat. 

"you want it ?" you asked. you having her hang off a thread for you. 

"oh god yes, please. let me make you come" Ellie's rough slender hands gripped your waist, and her calloused hand made its way up to your shirt. she left small and quick kisses on your soft belly.

'then get on the be-

AND THIS GIRL WAS GONE. 

that's it, thats the post. ( but tell me how yall like it and if theres any typos!!) also a big thank you!!! the first post i made got over 300 posts like 😧 and as well thank you for reblogging!! 💋

[madisockz]

Hello! I wanted to share my process of how I made my Easter Pony! She is my second ever custom and she made all the trouble I had with the first one seem like a walk in the park in comparison ಥ_ಥ Let's begin!

DISCLAIMER: Custom ponies like this one are not to be played with by children nor made by children. This pony was made with the use of nail polish remover (acetone) which is toxic. You need to wash your hands throughly after use and use in a well ventilated area. This pony was also made with sharp tools such as an xacto knife, sewing pins, rehairing needles, and an awl.

First, the concept art! Trial and error caused her to look a little different than the concept art but I still love the end result!

I wanted to start with a white base to give myself a clean canvas for dyeing so I got this G3 Breezie off Ebay for only $3. I decided to first remove her mane and tail which requires removing the head. If you know anything about G3 pony customzing, you know their heads are difficult to get back on once they come off. Even when you run them under warm/hot water. So to get it back on for dyeing, I tried trimming a little excess of vinyl off the neck ring with my xacto knife. It slipped and got me right under my nail! Bad omen for what's to come!

After getting her prepped (removing her mane and tail, cleaning her, using acetone (nail polish remover) to remove her cutie mark) she was ready for a dye bath! I used Rit DyeMore as regular Rit Dye won't dye the vinyl material that ponies are made of. This was my first ever time dyeing anything that wasn't fabric so I was thrilled when she came out this warm rich brown! So pretty!

I read online that dyed ponies will leach dye onto other ponies if they touch, so I wanted to try and prevent this as much as possible with some matte sealer. Lesson #1: Even though she was dry, the matte sealer reactivated the dye! The smallest touch left a print! :(

I pushed forward! And tripped immediately after! I thought, "Surely matte Modge Podge will seal her just that much more" and to my dismay, the Modge Podge kept every brush stroke I made when it dried!! She looked like a leather hand bag! ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )‧º·˚ I learned later you can buy matte Modge Podge spray online but all I had was the type you brush on to your surface.

Thankfully, with the help of sixteen cotton balls and a q-tip with acetone, I managed to remove all the sealer but she was no longer that nice rich brown. Oh well I still loved her!

And whoever said the paint will protect the eyes from the dye has clearly never dyed a dark pony! Her eyes were so brown after this lol

Painting, adding of polymer clay easter themed confetti, and adding her 3D chocolate bunny cutie mark went great! It was all going well until the eyes.

I had never fully painted pony eyes before so the first attempt was pretty bad. Not even my multiple attempts at glitter and using clear nail polish as a cheap gloss on the eyes could save them.

It was so bad that I almost didn't take any pictures but when I went to seal her head, this weird white powder covered half of her face?? I had never seen this before and it freaked me out thinking I just ruined her. I managed to get it off with a cotton ball and some acetone but her paint was fully damaged.

Turns out this was caused because I didn't shake the can of sealer well enough. I needed a break....

While I took a break for a few days, I decided to watch tutorials on how to paint doll eyes and learned that it's actually pretty common to use high quality watercolor pencils; either Faber Castell or Derwent (which is what I ended up buying).

When I came back, I made the hard decision of removing all the paint and decorations from the head and starting over. Hours of work gone but it was so worth it! 🩷 Removing the paint with acetone ended up making her head lighter than her body so I had to redye her head lol. This time I mixed Derwent pencils with acrylic paints for her eyes.

Time for the hair! I've never done curls before and my original plan was to buy curly hair online but it's so hard to find in the color and curl size I wanted.

So my second idea was to buy small curlers to use on regular nylon doll hair bought from ShimmerLocks on Etsy. But when I tested them out on poor Flower Bouquet it looked so bad ಥ_ಥ

I discovered a Youtube channel you may know called Dollightful where in one of her Stock Box videos she used yarn that she unraveled to make super cute tight wavy hair for a doll. It was a perfect solution! It looks so good but omg it was tedious haha! I used it for her tail too; sectioning off the colors hoping they'd stay separated (they didn't lol).

She's nearly complete! Time for small decorations! I tried so many different ears from air dry clay to stealing some from bunny decorations I bought at the store and nothing was working! But I had one last idea...

I gave these old Littlest Pet Shop costume bunny ears some use with a flat top sewing pin and some glue so now my pony has bunny ears! Yay!

I forgot it in the concept art, but I originally wanted to add flowers to her mane but I couldn't figure out how to do that without glue which I didn't want to do, too permanent, so I opted for some beads I had on hand. I didn't have any light blue so I made some with the use of acetone (nail polish remover in my case) and boom! Light blue beads! Then I washed them off so the acetone wouldn't damage anything :)

I used a gold topped sewing pin, a butterfly charm, a felt flower and two faux flowers to create a cute hair accessory!

Finally I sewed a hair tie to a puffball to give her a removable cottontail if I ever wanted to take it off.

And DONE! She looks so good after so much time and effort! I worked on this girly for two weeks I think? She actually had a partner I designed but I've run out of time to make her :') Maybe next year? 👀 🩷🩷

[riagraie]

Ninjago AU Headcannons

so obviously, this includes OC content. if you don't like OCs, don't read that part/ignore other hc ig?

anyway, this is for my AU of Ninjago, Echoes of the Echoed. The timeline is set to be between Crystalized (s16) and Dragons Rising Season 1. So there shouldn't be any spoilers?

this is just a bunch of random hcs I have for the ninja (and Hanna) in my AU. some of these are adapted from other people, some of them are mine.

Kai

he has naturally straight hair so he uses curlers to put wave in it. by curlers, i mean the ones your grandma uses overnight. he also sleeps in a bonnet

bro wears eyeliner. not a lot, but when asked he will admit to it.

he knows how to cook a meal and is probably the best chef (minus Zane bc Zane is goated) but doesn't like to cook

he is terrified of bugs. any kind of bug, it doesn't matter. he doesn't want to look at them, he doesn't want to be near him, and if he was alone in the monastery and found a spider, the entire thing would be up in flames.

when he gets spooked, sometimes fire will shoot out of his shoulders.

when someone on the team is upset or struggling with smth, he forces them to do self care nights with him

he paints his nails black or red

he's an insomniac, has been since his parents left. it got better around s11 but still struggles with it. when he can't sleep he likes to do blacksmithing. nya and pixal set up a station in the X Cave for him to do it quietly.

Jay

adhd, adhd, adhd, adhd, adhd, adhd-

he doesn't know what his biological mother looks like and he likes to try and imagine it.

the reason his hair curled after s7 is bc of puberty. some people's hair gets curly :/

when he uses his powers his spine will glow blue and have offshoots of the same color that look like lightning. it's sick af

he always carries his yin medallion with him. he might be wearing it, he may be holding it, it may be chillin in his pocket, but it's always on him.

after the events of s15 and then after s16, jay brags about how easy it was for him to grow a beard. it pisses lloyd off.

the eye that he hurt in Skybound(s6) is ever so slightly a lighter shade of blue than his other eye. sometimes it still hurts him and on those days it looks bloodshot and he wears an eye patch.

his favorite kind of art is watercolors.

he's got a wicked spice tollerance

Cole

he forced Zane to teach him how to cook basic things. but, he is a very skilled baker naturally

he's great with kids bc he lets them swing off his arms like monkey bars

cole is black and bc his dad never did, kai taught him how to take care of his hair.

he likes having long hair bc it covers his scar from when he was a ghost.

right after becoming human again, he kept forgetting he wasn't a ghost and kept running into walls and doors

he has seriously considered becoming a streamer

cole is terrified of singing because his mother used to sing him to sleep.

Zane

sometimes he feels what pixal is feeling bc they share a heart

even after nya came back in s16, zane didn't turn on his emotions again until nya convinced him too. he then cried for three hours straight.

he will laugh without hesitation at a dad joke. he will also crack up as he's trying to tell a dad joke

he still has pictures lloyd drew him in s1 until childs play.

he's easily annoyed by people who break traffic laws.

he rarely swears, but swore more when he was pretending to be a pirate in s15.

after figuring out him roleplaying a detective in s12 annoyed Pixal, he downloads and roleplays things for other missions they are on together. like the pirate thing in s15.

he lets kai paint his nails

Nya

unlike kai, her hair is naturally wavy and she used to straighten it from the pilot-s7. then she kinda gave up.

she decided to grow out her hair bc she wanted to look more like her mother, but then hated having hair against her neck all the time and started putting it up.

she can bench press jay and she has a sleeper build

she gets pissed when she sees someone in the arcade getting close to her and jay's high score on the dance machine

she's a light sleeper

she's terrified of snakes

when she's upset about something, she will either beat the shit out of the training equipment (then proceed to fix in in a huff) or just build random things

she's seriously considered building jay a robot dog. but she never went through with it

Lloyd

when he's really happy, sleeping, or meditating, he purrs.

he's got freckles that look like diamonds bc of the dragon scale thing

hes got fangs, his ears are pointed, and when he's pissed or enamored by something his eyes turn red. naturally, his pupils are a bit pointer, aren't as round basically

lloyd knew about his oni form before the events of s16 but never told anyone. he's known about it since s9 when he had a nightmare and woke up to see himself half-shifted in the mirror. he asked mistake about it, she explained, he asked her to not tell anyone, and she didn't. neither did he.

he likes mints because he likes hard candies better, gives him something to fidget with

he's always bustling with energy bc of his element. he can't sit still for the life of him.

he can still control the individual elements of creation as well as water and wind. he found out he could control wind after s5 and he could control water after s15.

when he uses his powers, his eyes glow whatever color they are (red or green) for up to an hour afterwards.

he has super hearing and super smell. he can also partially see in the dark if theres just a little bit of light

he hates ants

he has consistent nightmares. nearly every night. unlike the visions in DR, he doesn't flail for his nightmares, just jolts awake.

he loves photography and has many professional grade cameras. he likes it because he gets to hold memories.

when he's upset at someone, he unconsciously switches to yelling at them in Oni language.

he can understand and read the Harmonizer language but can't speak or write it.

Hanna

she's filthy rich. her parents own a very successful real estate business and a shipping company

she doesn't talk to her parents and doesn't like talking about them

she has an accent bc of being part Harmonizer but she hides it bc it led to a lot of people not understanding her. the closest thing it sounds like irl is a Russian accent.

she sometimes talks in the Harmonizer language, especially if she's frustrated or sleeping.

she can understand and read the Oni language.

after shifting to full harmonizer the first time, the black and gold lines on her skin became visible when human if your close enough to see them

she requires no form of skin care but still joins kai for skin care nights.

she has bad periods and struggles with migraines bc of her powers

she could feel something was off before the crystal king formed in s16. she has a scar on her knuckle from where she punched harumi in the face

she loves sports bikes. she liked going fast and breaking traffic laws. but, safety is her top priority even for herself and never goes out without making sure her and any backpacks are in full gear.

after s15, she had a lot of anxiety attacks

she knew about Lloyd's oni form bc she accidentally walked in on him one day he struggled to mask it.

she is also really good with kids

she heals pretty quickly bc of being part harmonizer, and because of that, most of the wounds she gets scars over.

she hates being in the spotlight

so thats them, let me know what you think. should I do more hcs? let me know ab that too. uhh

hope you enjoyed :D

[tohellandback99]

I had done other Wendell and Wild drawing hours before this since I had no sleep. I just couldn’t sleep

Then I just.

This took all my attention and energy just as I needed. My emergency painting. I call it an emergency painting, or drawing. when you are struggling and can only draw something or someone that you’re familiar with and comforted by, using tools that make you happy and are relatively familiar with as well. In this case, my two mechanical pencils that make extremely thin lines, (not exactly the best for building outlines, but my favorite nonetheless) my beloved ballpoint pens and watercolor pencils that are just. My god! I remember when I put the water on the paper, either my jaw fell or I was mouthing “oh my. GAWD.” (It’s my second time using these pencils)

When I struggle hard with stress and bad bad thoughts and feelings today. The loss of consistency with even small things and feeling like I do nothing right is, painful. No sleep I was SO uncomfortable and restless that i drew AND painted him. And I’m so fucking glad I did

(I feel so SO much better. it’s gone for now)

Saved the drawing before! 😌 I never do this when I make paintings and I really should make it a habit, taking pictures of what it looks like before I paint. If left as a drawing, at this stage I would have already given him shading, and I would have been ready to fill out his eyyyes in pen with a little bit of the fuchsia and the navy blue. Speaking of his eyes! This has been killing me. What I want people to notice. To understand. I’m charmed. See, Raul is the ONLY character. That has proved me wrong about my point to ALWAYS, ALSO give male characters. Everyone except him gets prominent, VERY PRESENT eyelashes. It’s true! The first time I drew him I was battling the idea in my head really really hard. I knew he probably would’ve hated being drawn with eyelashes. and when I drew his eyes before any lashes he was perfectly perfect without any. 🤯 I knew I made the right decision when I watched the movie too after and saw that in the photo he has with the girls he HAD lashes. That was so fucking clever of them to think of that, holy crap.

I just realize yes, I made him look even MORE irritated than the reference. (I look again and I notice here he doesn’t look irritated. Drawing Raul like he is was fun though! 😭)

Oh geez I’m a super fan nooo! Oh.

Oh who cares it helps! This I got from @valerieblogsalot

Thank you so much! Else I wouldn’t have found this

[rmenvs3000f24]

Blog Post #4

Hello everyone! Welcome back to another week of my nature interpretation blog for ENVS3000. This week we will be looking at who I am to interpret nature through art and how I interpret “the gift of beauty." Art in nature interpretation can take on many different forms such as painting, sculpting, playing music, performing/acting, and photography. When I find myself interpreting nature through art, my strengths are in painting and photography since these are both methods I use to personally connect with nature and can convey “the gift of beauty” best in these ways. Painting can be very engaging, and everyone can take different approaches and have fun with what they create even if they are not an “artist.” Nature photography is something I am deeply passionate about and motivates me to get out and explore so I can share my findings with others and influence them to do the same.  

The picture on the left includes a watercolor painting I made displaying a round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) which is my favorite bog plant that many people never get to see in person. The picture on the right was taken at Killarney Provincial Park when I noticed a very interesting rock formation along “The Crack” trail.  

In chapter 10 of the textbook, the author mentioned that professional interpreters will often use a mix of intellectual and emotional approaches when communicating to audiences. In my personal nature interpretation experience, this approach is highly effective especially when trying to connect with larger audiences. Performing interpretive programs in a theatre-based approach can use both intellectual and emotional aspects to your advantage. I performed many programs this way while working for Ontario Parks and got great feedback from the audience. The programs ranged from very information heavy to story based, and each gathered and entertained several types of audiences.  

This picture is from one of my performances interpreting the history of camping at Ontario Parks. There was also a story line incorporated to entertain the audience and create opportunities for engagement from the crowd.  

Looking back at last week's blog post that touched on making nature interpretation more accessible, arts can be a fantastic way to do that. Art can be enjoyed using an auditory approach, visually, and hands-on. This makes it accessible to many individuals who may not be able to enjoy nature interpretation through a standard “lecture” based program or a program that is physically demanding. Personally, I share a lot of my nature photography and stories that go along with them to my older family members who are not physically able to get out and explore as they once did. I feel as if sharing these pictures and experiences with them helps us maintain a closer relationship as we bond over our love for nature. Thanks to anyone who read my blog this week, I will be back again next week to discuss nature interpretation through science. Cheers! 

[mitaukanoarts]

The Language of Flowers

Just a little something I wrote and shared with my friend who played Nimue, so we could get into their childhood relationship better. Also, just because I love messing with the human heart.

The Language of Flowers ----------

“It’s all about flowers, Raven!” Mair gleefully placed the battered volume into the other girls’ hands. “They have different meanings and everything!”

Nimue looked genuinely curious at the book, bound in blue cloth and decorated with various etched images of flowers on its cover. She flipped through it, watercolor pictures of the various plants and their meanings catching her eye as she paused to skim several on a page.

“Like how you use them in spells?” she murmured, one black eyebrow shooting up as she read the meaning listed for ‘Dahlia’.

“Well, not really, I don’t think it’s for spells. The lady at the shop told me it was meant for sending letters with flowers.” Her bangs had once again fallen across her face, Mair puffed out a breath to move the distracting hair, hands too busy with plucking a yellow flower and several others nearby. Chatting almost nonstop to her friend. “I just thought it would be fun for us to have a secret flower code, something for us other than letters all the time.” She handed the yellow one to Nimue. “Quick! What’s this one mean?”

Nimue looked a little incredulously at Mair, who was grinning at her. “You don’t know?”

“I didn’t want to read the book and spoil it without you. It’s better when we read together.”

Smiling, Nimue examined the flower, flipping forward then back through the pages until she found its entry on the first page. “It means, ah…secret love Mair.” She felt her cheeks grow slightly warm, as she saw Mair’s face go from jesting to shock and then embarrassment.

“Oh.” Mair’s ears were flaming red now as her voice took on a more flippant tone. “Well, secret love is stupid. If you love someone, you just tell them. Like I can tell you right now, I love you, you’re my best friend. Why would I keep that secret from you?”

Her ears still remained red, and Nimue knew Mair wasn’t as clueless to the flower's meaning as she pretended. Laughing, and nudging Mair in the ribs gently with her elbow, Nimue teased;

“Oh, so I’ll never get secret declarations of your favor when we’re married?” This caused Mair to splutter, shutting off her usual steady stream of chatter, and it was all too much for Nimue to bear. She dissolved into laughter which left her gasping, Mair’s face and ears bright as she tried to explain…something. Nimue never quite got the meaning of her words, as Mair had become too embarrassed to actually string together her thoughts well. She leaned forward, giving her friend a tight hug.

“Star, it's fine, I was just teasing you.”

“You wound me, my lady.” Mair said, sticking her tongue out at Nimue though her face and ears still remained bright red. “Let's look for other flowers, you know, maybe the funny ones.”

And they did for the rest of the afternoon, the two trying to memorize a few pages of the book for the rest of the day.

[tothepointofinsanity]

hi! sorry if you've already answered this, but would you mind sharing what art programs you use and if there's any certain brushes you use to achieve the painting like effect? i really like the way it looks (especially in that one sayaka watercolor art) and have wanted to incorporate some painting-like elements in my own work but can never quite get it down. thank you!!

Hello. No worries, I don’t actually get questions on the arsenal behind my works often, and I don’t mind sharing them with you.

As of this period in time, I have only been using the art application known as Procreate. It is not free, as in Procreate, a laundry list worth of brushes are already made available to you, so you won’t have all that much trouble looking for something to use. If you do proceed with a purchase of this program or maybe already have it, have fun. I do not know how to paint, so I rely on very rudimentary tools to try and create the illusion that I can:

1) The watercolour effect for the Sayaka piece you mentioned was done using the Tinderbox brush. I may have moved it down in my own work bench, but you’ll either find it under the Pencil/Sketching set or the Inking Set. Somewhere there. Combine it with the fifty other spray paint tools and you’ll have a messy “splash” effect. That piece you’re referring to [or at least I hope I’m thinking about the right one] is quite old, so I haven’t touched the brush since then.

2) The default round painting brush under Procreate’s Painting set. Very versatile. Skilled artists would prefer its flat-headed counterpart. Dashing it against the screen several times can help you achieve a painting effect.

3) External brushes. I have quite a lot of them but the one I only ever use is one called Petra’s Pencils/brushes, and within it there’s a special brush called the Real Pencil. It’s smooth and gives you a distinct texture. <- Experimenting with different pencils you find or even local to Procreate can help you achieve strange and interesting results.

My own words are so redundant to me at times. I have prepared a sheet here so instead of panning back and forth you can just save the picture down.

I wish you nothing but satisfaction with your works. ^_^ Thank you for the ask.

[maridiayachtclub]

i went to a con this past weekend. didn't go to any panels or anything, just wanted to browse the vendors and artist alley. which i did, with two primary goals:

the first was to find some comics and books by little indie outfits i have never heard of. and there were several of those, and i picked up a couple of books from local (or quasi-local. two states over counts as "nearby" when it's Montana) authors, but i guess i was hoping to see more? there weren't as many comics as i was expecting at The Comic Con. like, it's been a good number of years since i've been to one of these, but much more than the last time i went, it felt like the crowd consisted of (and the vendors catered to) people whose engagement with geek culture is mostly Star Wars and D&D by way of Stranger Things. like a very big presence hinged on big corporate-owned media, compared to indie and creator-controlled stuff. merchwise, there were far fewer handmade tchotchkes than there were kinda samey looking things made with 3D printers and CNC routers. i'm not trying to be snooty about it, but there was something alienating about the whole thing that i'm trying to figure out.

the artist alley was at least closer to what i was expecting, though i didn't find much that i actually wanted to spend money on. this was the other thing i was looking out for: FFXIV-related art. and there were like, two artists (of like 50 or so booths, plus however many more scattered throughout the vendor hall) that had anything FFXIV-themed at all, as far as i could tell. one artist had a bunch of prints of rather lovely watercolor-esque portraits of major characters (plus a landscape of the Crystal Tower, which I bought a print of), and someone else had acrylic charms of the standard set of fan-favorite characters in a cuter anime style that had different appearances on either side. but overall, the FFXIViness levels were disappointing, both in quantity and in selection.

overall the experience was very... whelming. i was kinda underwhelmed, but not so much i am officially disappointed. i would summarize my trip as "an unusual way to spend a saturday afternoon." it was a thing that happened.

the local anime con is happening in a month or two and i was kinda thinking of going to that. being in a nerd crowd, at least, was nice, and i kinda want more of that. but if i'm out of touch with nerd culture, i'm double plus out of touch with Anime culture. i'd probably be saving some trouble if i didn't go. like if i wanna see a buncha Genshin Impact art that i don't care about i can already go to twitter, right now, and do exactly that. don't even need to buy a ticket or anything

admittedly the whole experience was colored by attending the con with someone who was in a shitty mood, didn't like the crowd and was constantly trying to avoid it. maybe i woulda had more fun if i wasn't spending 40% of my mental energy worrying about that, or feeling like i had to keep offering excuses and apologies every time i wanted to stop and look at something, or trying not to get caught showing an untoward amount of interest in something that's too cute or feminine or pink. performative gender clown act BS. nah yeah now that i think about it, that was really biting into how much fun i was having

anyway, regardless, it still sucks that in today's economy you can reliably get pictures of one of ffxiv's numerous government-issued boyfriends but not a single wee doodle of Ysayle....

[smthmeaningful]

I

Want

Tattoos

I want them everywhere. Completely covering me. No ink free space. I want words and designs and flowers and filler pieces and sleeves and a coherent theme throughout. I want tattoos that look cool in specific types of clothing. I want tattoos that make people stare and ask me about them because they simply cannot fathom all the different pieces and meanings and " oh wow how many hours did that take??". I want blacked out areas with white designs. I want watercolor pieces that feature every color in the rainbow. I want small doodles that my loved ones can color in when they get bored or as we sit on the couch watching movies. I want to walk into a tattoo shop and pick a random design to get, just because I can. I want to spend weeks looking for the exact design and style i want. I want to see my body in the mirror and in pictures and see the love and detail and thought put into each section of ink. I want them to tell my story. I want to customize this body that has never truly felt right, I want to make it right.

[dymdrimluga]

Art of Mage: The Ascension

Recently, a big event happened: I started playing MtA again, and I was forced to read. To be honest, I still find it difficult to read long and complex texts in English, but it's great practice. It's not the first time I've opened the rule book, but now I somehow paid special attention to the arts. And they are very cool there! This is the book I want to talk about. And this is an old book, after which, I think, a lot has changed in the world of illustration. But I'm just curious how it was. Was this book successful? What do you think about it?

Many people worked on this edition

At first, I wanted to find the specific author of each picture, but despite the existence of such a list, it turned out to be a difficult task. So today I will only comment on the art, not the artists. I am not a professional because my art has never been used for such books, but I want to share my impressions and thoughts.

There were a lot of such cards there and they are also quite cool, and the main thing is that they look in their place and really look like real tarot cards in design and vibe. Although this is not the art that interests me the most, I couldn't help but mention them here.

Really cool. It seems to be something from traditional materials, similar to watercolor, maybe with the addition of something else. If you look closely, you can see the remains of a pencil. Look at the head. Is everything drawn anatomically correct? No. But does it create the right mood? Yes!

Art by Mark Jackson if I'm not mistaken. Kinda reminds me of Sandman from the comics, don't you think? I wonder if this kind of black and white line art is still used in modern books? Must check.

This art... I was a little surprised to see it in the book. I worked in the game industry and was used to the fact that everything should be casually polished (thanks to gamejams for allowing me to deviate from this rule). Right here... a dynamic plot, but work with the clarity of the picture, color, volume, lighting... on some details it is simply not there. It seems that at some point it was not the main thing to be an illustrator. I wonder what was important? And what remains? Because I would really like to be involved in something like this book.

I would be happy to see how it is done. I have thoughts that maybe photos were used, but most were definitely drawn and I just want to know how

It has its own style. A lot of work on small details requires patience, not everyone can draw so many small details and not get lost in them. I love when people do not lose the courage to draw in a unique style

as in the previous picture, traditional materials seem to have been used here: pencils, felt-tip pens, maybe watercolors? What do you think of when you see this? I think "small artists". So many talented artists with small audiences on Twitter or Tumblr can do the same. Although not. Not "the same", because no one will do "the same" in creativity. At the same level - yes. The same - no. It's obvious that a lot of the artist's personality and experience has been put into this, and that makes this picture unique

oh i love it, it's not even a color drawing, but it looks so good on the page! But I don't really understand what bothers me about this girl's breasts, I wish I could see what it looks like from the front

We have already seen this author. Look at the hair. I.. really don't know what to say. Not exactly what I expected.

interesting art, interesting creature. Many would call it a sketch, but I think it is precisely here that more work on the details is not needed

I don't know the author, but I definitely recognize the style - I saw something like that in the changelings rulebook

Oh, I like it. It takes a special skill to draw like that, and I don't have it. Very dynamic. And the form shown is interesting

Soap. Nothing extra, nice details on the background, clear silhouette. Good.

I love this kind of comic book style. It is exactly as it should be in this style, I don't know what else to say, except that there is a good work with textures

how interestingly and harmoniously different styles are combined in this book

I like it, I would read something like comic book in that style, very nice to look at

I can't say about the plot, but the details, volume, and shadows are very well drawn. I wonder if it was done in pencil? I am fascinated by people who can draw with pencils and have a similar result

very calm great vibe

this is already something closer to the game art I know, not casual, but a step towards polishing, + looks like digital

one more step :) If you don't pay attention to the face, something like this can now be drawn in hidden objects games. Very nice drawing, by the way, I like the dynamics.

I think that will be enough, at least for today. I don't know who would be interested in such a review with personal opinions. But here's what fascinated me and made me think: so many artists with such different styles in one book. Unbelievable. It would be very interesting to be a part of something like that. Now I want to review new books from this point of view. I used to look at them as a reader, but now...

I wonder if there will be new books of this kind? What are the requirements? What is needed?

Only one trend worries me. Some time ago I had a conversation with the author of this book It was an interesting but a little sad conversation. The author says that, at best, he will receive not so much for this book. He says that he cannot pay the artists as well, because then he will have nothing left. It's a shame, but the only solution he found was to use the AI. I wanted to read the text of the book, because Umbra is a very interesting topic. I even had the opportunity to read it for free as a free copy provided by the author. I did not read it. One of the comments says that the art there is well-suited, although it was created by AI. I do not know. I don't want to see it even for free. I think it brings Banality into the world, destroys the dreams of small artists to be part of something great. I can understand a small author of a small book that won't make much money. It's just sad. I can only hope that the trend does not spread to the whole world. It will really be the time of Winter. And no more magic in this technocratic world.

[two-calicos-in-a-trenchcoat]

When I was binding my plant book I spent about an hour digging around online to figure out which stitch I would use and researching the different binding methods to figure out what would work best.

I also wanted a good written tutorial for how to do the stitch i ultimately chose (the coptic stitch) because I do not like video tutorials. Unfortunately none of the written tutorials had exactly what I needed. Specifically none of them told you what to do if you ran out of thread before finishing the binding. Their advice was "make sure to cut enough thread from the beginning" which was not going to work for me. While there is a way to measure out how much thread you need, I would likely still need to know how to add more thread. My plant book is quite a bit thicker than the books being made in the tutorials. And I dont know if you've ever tried to hand sew something by hand and thought "ehhh ill just cut off a bunch and hope its enough to do this in one go," but it NEVER works out that way.

DO NOT LISTEN TO THAT VOICE. THAT IS THE DEVIL SPEAKING.

All that will happen is you end up with a giant tangled mess of thread that you can never untangle. And im pretty good at untangling threads but its a pain in the ass and just not something I would like to waste my time on. Not to mention the wasted thread. So I ended up having to watch part of a video tutorial to figure out what I was supposed to do when the thread inevitably ran out. And I told myself that the next time I did this, I would make my own written tutorial with pictures showing what to do and also showing how I reinforce the spine because I go a bit further than any of the tutorials I found.

(Tutorial under the cut)

Most people seem to choose the coptic stitch because they like how it looks and they keep the stitching exposed. While I agree that it looks good, I dont personally like the exposed stitching. I like people to look at my books and be surprised when I tell them I bound them myself. And making a book that looks professionally done accomplishes that. Also I prefer it over the exposed stitching, ALSO I don't use proper bookbinding thread cuz I do this on a budget with stuff I can get at walmart or already have lying around the house and covering the stitching helps reinforce it. I ultimately decided on the coptic stitch partly because it allows the book to lie flat when open, but also because every article I read on different stitches to use said that it was the most complicated one and I looked at that and was like "pffffttt cant be that hard." And honestly I think I was right. Its pretty straightforward.

So what youre gonna need is some paper. Personally, I like to take those sketchbooks that are bound with tape or glue and pull all the pages out. This way you also get a front and back cover.

Again, every tutorial was telling me to fold the pages with a bone fold, which is nice if you have one, I guess, but I do not, so I used the clip on the side of my mechanical pencil to fold the pages in half. If youre using regular sketch paper then you wanna make some signatures which is a group of 4 to 5 sheets of paper, folded in half, and placed inside each other. But for something thicker like watercolor paper, I just sew each individual sheet on separately.

Next, you're gonna wanna take the hard piece of cardboard at the back of the taped together sketchbook and cut that shit in half. I use an exacto knife but ive also used scissors for this in the past. I do not recommend using scissors. Its possible to do but not worth the hand cramps. And then BOOM you have the covers of your sketchbook.

Another thing most people tell you to use is an awl to punch the holes in the paper. Again, I do not have an awl. Nor do I have the money to buy one. At first, I just punched the holes in with a thumbtack but thumbtacks are tiny and after awhile your fingers start to hurt and you may start to lose your grip on it and its just generally a bad time. But, ya bois got a lot of sewing needles (I kept losing them for awhile there and would give up and buy new ones only to then find the pack I lost. So I have like 3 packs of sewing needles.

Thats not counting the ones my mom has also bought because she's done the same thing) and out of frustration from using the thumbtack I decided to try sticking a sewing needle into one of my mechanical pencils and seeing if it would fit and not just immediately push back in when I tried to use it. And what do you fuckin know?

It worked extremely well and I wish id thought of it sooner. I cut the time spent poking holes into the signatures in half and it doesnt hurt my fingers at all.

Youre also going to need thread, of course. I use embroidery thread cuz thats what I already had. Normally you should go for a thicker thread. Preferably a waxed thread. And most people would recommend using a curved sewing needle. This is the one thing im considering getting for myself at some point. You CAN do it with a straight needle but a curved one would definitely make some aspects of this significantly easier.

Now to start off, you wanna take your string and put it in the needle and fold it in half and tie the ends together and then

You wanna thread the needle through the first signature and then

Pull it up through the bottom of the first hole in the cover and loop it around twice and pull it tight

Then push the needle back into the first hole in the paper

And put it through the next hole in the signature

Then repeat that process til you get to the end of the holes. When you get to the last one start like you did with all the others but after wrapping the thread around the cardboard twice you get the next signature

And push it in through the first hole and back out the second (tbc)

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

2D Purists, Cut It Out

Once again, I'm seeing people get all ornery over the latest look at WISH, the new feature from Walt Disney Animation Studios that marries their post-TANGLED house style and aesthetic to a more watercolor-based look. Once again, people are grousing that it doesn't look as good as the 2012 short PAPERMAN, and others are grousing that it just isn't 2D, period. I feel like the artists and film crew behind WISH are getting a lot of flack, especially on the heels of the recent Writer's Strike coming to an end. Not a good look, if you ask me.

I've gone over it many times before, I'm farggin' exhausted. Walt Disney Animation Studios, as they stand, are likely lucky to even be making films, let alone make it to 100 years of existence. It's the bedrock of the entire company: No Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, no Walt Disney Company. It seems as if it's alive by virtue of that alone... They were on the chopping block multiple times in the post-Walt span of 67 years, as recent as 2006, believe it or not! Each movie has to do well in some way in order to justify to the heads that they're a building worth investing hundreds of millions of $$$ into. When reliable hitmaker Pixar is right next door, too. Remember, Disney purged a long list of animation studios/partners: Blue Sky Studios, Disneytoon Studios, several arms of the animation studio, Skellington Productions, etc. etc. So, I'm just going to take what I can get. I'm sure I'll find something of merit, both visually and storytelling-wise, in WISH. The recent trailer, I thought, was a bit of alright. Nothing too fancy to me, but it looks like it'll be a fun time nonetheless. I haven't been wowed upside-and-down by a WDAS feature in ages, but that's a me thing. WDAS is doing THEIR thing, and I guess it's not entirely for me. That's OK! Clearly it's working on someone else... Note ENCANTO, RAYA, and even STRANGE WORLD's sheer success as streaming titles, ditto slightly older movies like the FROZENs and MOANA.

But I think some people should understand that in animation, on one half of the playing field, it's not about the art unfortunately. It's called the animation INDUSTRY for a reason.

I get it. We miss the halcyon days of Disney making a new, gorgeous, splendorifously animated feature using pencil and paper, and post-1989, a lot of digital aid. I get that. I'm a 1992 baby, that era was my era, my jam. THE LION KING alone is one of my **formative** films. It's why I write stories and make comics and would LOOOOVE to turn them into animated movies. I was a preteen during the BROTHER BEAR/HOME ON THE RANGE days when it was all fading away, and I watched - as a late teen/young adult - the studio try to make it a thing again, only to blow it.

It's because it was never about the method, the technique, or anything.

To the artists and filmmakers, it absolutely was! No denying that.

To the bean counters? NO. It's product to them, builds the bottom line, fills the pockets, etc.

That's how it's been in the post-Walt age, post-Golden Age, whatever. Steve Hulett, who worked at Disney Animation circa 1976-86, summed it up once: "These are studios. Not Renaissance art factories."

It makes me think of how a lot of classical art was commissioned by merchants, it was largely glorified fanart of Biblical scenes, but the artists who made those works put their ALL into them. Much in the same way the filmmakers put their all into [name any Disney/big studio 2D animated movie made from 1990 to 2004].

In order words, they more than understood the assignment, no matter how flawed the picture might've been on a writing level. (Like say, POCAHONTAS, an utterly gorgeous movie that the filmmakers clearly went HARD during its production.)

There are so many 2D movies made around the world or independently. I recently saw Disney and Pixar veteran Jim Capobianco's THE INVENTOR, a half Rankin/Bass-style stop-motion half European-like 2D film, in a theater! All by myself, may I add. 10 years in the making, a personal labor of love of his own.

Are these complainers *ever* there for those types of films? I thought so.

Where am I going with this? Ah yeah, that's a big reason why 2D was shuffled out of the question by executives. CGI was huge in the early 2000s, and it seemed that even the least-liked features (note SHARK TALE and CHICKEN LITTLE's critical reception) could outgross or out-success the most beloved 2D features of that period. Both of those movies outgrossed LILO & STITCH, for context...

Now, couple that with CGI being less of a hassle in certain ways. Suppose a big change is made to a movie well into production, and scenes have already been animated. Shaded and lit, even. Well, the sets and character models are still there, so the worst they have to do is shoot a scene from a different angle and reanimate their digital puppets. In 2D? New background to draw and paint, gotta redraw and reanimate the characters AGAIN and keep them ON MODEL- ahhhhh! You can see why CG is preferred in this instance. Perfect for a pipeline of movies that can't be disrupted.

So to bean counters and execs, it was only about getting movies made and them making money. In the early 1990s, CG wasn't at a place where it could sustain a feature-length film, so big-time animated movies were done in 2D almost exclusively. And it just so happens... The animators at studios like Disney, like DreamWorks, like Fox Animation, like Kroyer Films, like Warner Animation, etc... The makers of all your faves from HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME to THE IRON GIANT to THE ROAD TO EL DORADO to ATLANTIS, etc. The filmmakers got the assignment. That assignment being "Make big family film that's sure to be big franchise and McDonald's Happy Meal hit". They took that assignment, and WENT HARD. They didn't have to, but they did anyways. They gave us the coolest damn 2D animation we could've asked for, no matter the writing or the finished movie and how it would fare with critics/audiences. And even the writing, it's like, they did what they felt was right - even if it didn't register for critics nor get audiences interested.

So, again, it was all assignments, and 2D was pretty much the only method they could use. Stop-motion was reserved for the likes of NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS and CHICKEN RUN, more off-beat projects. There was never a stop-mo wave. LAIKA literally runs off of commercials and shoe money, the exploits of a nepo baby. So, it was mainly 2D til TOY STORY came along. TOY STORY came out in fall 1995, and once you started seeing films like ANTZ, A BUG'S LIFE, TOY STORY 2, SHREK, etc. That was it. And these developments coincided with audiences choosing the 2D animated movies they wanted to see, and avoiding the rest... And also them getting so wowed by CGI, while seeing 2D as same-old same-old. Capitalism then cemented 2D features' fate, unless it's based on a TV show, like SPONGEBOB or MY LITTLE PONY. It didn't matter that the CGI wow factor was a fad, and that by the end of the 2000s, audiences didn't flock to see *every* CG movie on the block. CGI was the way, and that was that about that. Because it's about getting the thing made and released without the special challenges a 2D movie presents.

Only FIXED is the anomaly right now, which Sony Animation was willing to take a chance on. It is still unknown if it hits theaters or streaming. If it's the former, this is... I think the first 2D animated **theatrical** movie from a mainstream animation studio that's *not* based on a TV show in ages. Like, since... What? WINNIE THE POOH? (Which is based more on the classic Disney shorts/feature than any of the TV show iterations of the character.) THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG?

You can never guess what audiences will flock to see. If you randomly threw a solid 2D feature out in, say, 2027... It could be big, it could flop hard. But the studios, the industry, they're unwilling to chance that. Thus they aren't, and will not. Quality doesn't matter, because you could throw a **great** 2D movie out, and it could still flop just because... If FIXED does well, I don't know what it means. Could move a needle, maybe not. I kinda don't care, because capitalism is an unmovable object. I don't have a crystal ball, and I can't say for sure what could happen. I guess you could say I'm "Will 2D Come Back" Agnostic. I don't deny it, but I don't think it'll for sure happen. I DO NOT KNOW, haha.

The mass refusal to make 2D animated features in mainstream theatrical feature animation (not streaming, mind you, as we did get KLAUS, WOLFWALKERS, and MY FATHER'S DRAGON from some of the high-end services) was so firm, so absolute, that the idea of traditional animation might as well been tax write-off'ed and Men In Black-erased from our minds. That's how FIRM these companies were in getting rid of it, that's how FIRM they are in NOT wanting to utilize it for a feature film.

So instead, we get stylized CG films like the SPIDER-VERSEs and PUSS IN BOOTS 2 and MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES and NIMONA and such. We get maybe a brief 2D scene in a larger CG movie, or some small 2D elements. That mix has got the advantages and the 3D immersiveness of CGI, mixed with that special sauce people love about 2D... And even then, for some people, it just isn't enough. Some will insult the artists and their work, which is not cool. But I'm sorry, either take what you can get or continue to be unsatisfied... Or, seek out 2D stuff that's regularly being made. That's just not by studios as big as Disney and DreamWorks, and not being made in America at that. Broaden your horizons, they're EVERYWHERE.

Anyways, had to vent. Sorry. WISH looks cool, will be seeing.

[highly-opinionated-art]

I wanna share with you guys some traditional art I've been making recently- since November I've been doing this album-of-the-week thing, and a few weeks into the year I started picking out my favorite line from the album of the week and doing a little illustration for it. If you can call it that- they're just quick, rough little pictures, more experimental than polished. Some are better than others. But I have some watercolors and acrylic paints that I never used before this project, and a hell of a lot of markers and gel pens and colored pencils that need to be used, too. I've been learning a lot and getting some use out of what I have at the same time, so that's good enough for me! Here's the first quarter of 2024 done:

Albums/artists/lyrics under the cut, plus some additional commentary because why not.

(2024 part 2) (2024 part 3)

Week 1: "I wanna be what my body wants me to be" is from the song Townie, from the album bury me at makeout creek by mitski. I actually kinda hated this whole album, but Townie is a tolerable song.

Week 2: "it never hurts to give thanks to the local gods, you never know who might be hungry" is from the song Younger, from the album In League With Dragons, by the Mountain Goats. Mixed feelings about the album. Mostly just mad that I can't just put a mostly transparent blue layer over everything when I want it to look like night with watercolor the way I can with digital art.

Week 3: "that we won't run, and we won't run, and we won't run" is from the song King And Lionheart, from the album My Head Is An Animal by Of Monsters And Men, which is a meh album but I love this song.

Week 4: "Make it a dirt dance floor again" is from the song Bleed It Out, from the album Minutes to Midnight by Linkin Park. GREAT album. The art looks just like poop but I swear the paint came out of the tube like that, I didn't mix it with anything or anything!

Week 5: "gotta be more to life than just try, try, try" from the song Half A Mile Away, from the album 52nd Street by Billy Joel. This was actually the first one I made, I went back and did the first 4 a little later.

Week 6: "I'm gonna keep on dancing" is from the song Pink Pony Club, from the album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan. The album is ok, I guess? Not my favorite but this track is a really good one.

Week 7: "maybe they'll love me when I finally get out of this town" is from the song Made For This, from the album Built To Last, by Arrows in Action, which is a FANTASTIC album, like DAMN.

Week 8: "together, Wendy, we can live with the sadness, I love you with all the madness in my soul" is from the song Born To Run, by the album of the same name by Bruce Springsteen. It was really hard to get a picture of this one for some reason. Metallic gel pen might have something to do with it.

Week 9: "inside, everybody's hiding something" is from the song Slide, from the album No Angel by Dido. I LOVE Dido. I meant to add more masks in the picture, ok. I got lazy. I should have just made the other ones bigger...

Week 10: "tomorrow's just another day" is from the song Don't Cry 2020 (which was released in 2017), from the album How Will You Know If You Never Try by the band COIN. Forgettable album, but the art is of my room, but I didn't get up and walk 10 steps to get a reference, just did it from memory. The window is too small and not in the right place, and I just changed up the patterns on the blanket because I didn't feel like checking.

Week 11: "if it's ever gonna happen, it's gotta happen here I am" (which seems like it should be missing a comma, but it's like that on purpose) is from the song Shine On Me, from the album Pure Fiction by Eric Hutchinson (not his best work I fear).

Week 12: "make new symbols, make new signs" is from the title track from the album New Beginning, by Tracy Chapman. AMAZING album, I loved it. I'm completely pissed that I messed up the art, though. I thought I had it going for me. Boo.

Week 13: "I don't look important, so they're telling me to wait" is from the song WaldorfWorldwide, from Good Charlotte's self titled debut album. Self portrait of me, a teacher, being mistaken for a student at an event, which is a frequent and frustrating occurrence. This album is ok, but I think they were pretty clearly still developing at this point in their career.