#I always wanted my style to look more cartoonish rather than realistic

[bloos-bloo]

Some doodles from today

[soyouareandrewdobson]

Why do you think Dobson's art got noticably worse? I mean so much worse. There's a reason why people often think his older stuff looks better; because it does (okay when he's not making mistakes like wrong number of fingers, angles, inconsistencies, etc.). I know he wanted to move away from his manga-influenced art but I don't think that explains everything.

I think the advantage of his older art is mostly that Dobson was simply being more simplistic in his early days than later on. Only that his attempts to be more detailed and move away from his "manga-influenced" art also involved him mixing too many things together all at once, creating just ugly art in general.

There is in my opinion a bit too much going on as to answer it in just a few lines, but I will try: First, the statement "Dobson was manga-influenced" always rubbed me off the wrong way because I don't think that is quite the case. Dobson was definitely influenced in his art styl and writing by certain mangas he read -Slayers and Ranma 1/2 primarily- but a handful of manga by an even smaller pool of artists to draw from, does not encompose the sheer variety of linework and aesthetics that have been within manga. For example, no one would be able to mistake a Go Nagai artwork for one by Akira Toriyama or Gosho Aoyama, because they have vastly different drawing styles. Confusing an Endo however with an Arakawa would likely be more the case. And don't get me even started how manga is often times writen differently from most western comics of the 70s-90s in term of drama, plot etc. What rather was the case, was that Dobson took aspects of the most simplistic, surface level aesthetics of manga in art and drawing, and hoped it would lead to success. Which it didn't, because of different reasons like a lack of commitment to the writing and nothing making it visually really different from a newspaper strip comic, but with characters making silly faces associated with late 90s comedy anime.

Second, when Dobson tried to reinvent himself, I think he tried too hard to get into more details or add shadows, wrinkles and stuff to his art. It is hard to explain, but the way it looks to me (particularly in stuff like his KorraSami pics) Dobson tried to draw characters at times with more "realistic" details like wrinkles in the face, but because the characters he drew are style toons, they started too look uncanny or exagerated. Which is another problem: When you look e.g. at his Ladybug comics, he didn't even get the proportions of the characters from the show not right by comparison, especially when it came to size of heads and eyes. Which if he had just gone full chibi style wouldn't have been as obvious to most people. But Dobson was always stuck in a weird halfway there state, where the characters were neither cartoonish but proportional, or too cartoonish and unproportional that the former balanced out the later. And he never figured the problem out.

Third, Dobson was just lazy when it comes to scenery I mean, I agree partly with Dobson that at times you don't need to draw a very detailed background when the focus of a story is in one panel focused on two characters looking at something off screen, them talking, or being in thought. But when you really think about it, when did Dobson ever for example really put effort into drawing e.g. a panel where the scenery was meant to tell more of a story or a storybeat, than the characters talking? Or when was a panel ever drawn from a different ankle than simply straight face forward. Like, has Dobson ever even heard of "overhead shot", dutch ankle or POV?

[kashuan]

Hi I love your art style! Especially how dynamic your poses and how distinct and expressive your faces are.

For somebody currently struggling with their own style, do you mind sharing how you got to where you got? Probably lots of studies, right? 😅

Did you focus on realism and built your more stylized take on that? I'm mostly a digital artist but I have heard that practicing a lot with pencil and paper may help, do you have any experiences with that?

I'd love to hear if you have any advice <3

Hey! First of all, thanks so much! ♥

In terms of stylization, aiming for and sticking to a single style is something I've heard that some people do, but was never something I really thought about too much myself. I started by just copying the artists I liked, so in the beginning I was just mimicking another's style 1:1 for the most part. After doing that with several artists, the styles naturally started to blend together, until I was eventually able to develop a more conscious sensibility of what I did/didn't want to include, which just comes through a lot of the practice. Over the years my style has been really all over the place, from Extremely anime influenced, to western comic book style and cartoonish, to fairly strict realism, to where I am now which I think is something like stylized realism. It's inevitable that you'll go through a few styles as you grow as an artist, even if you're only sticking to one genre, and I believe it's important to allow that to happen, rather than trying to strictly force yourself to stick to one in specific. I don't draw in the styles I used to, but I think little touches of it still remain in my current one, which I think helps give it a little bit of uniqueness. In regard to my current style though, yes, I do studies from life almost every day to help me keep a strong grasp on realistic anatomy as well as to continue to grow my understanding of it. I use references too with almost all my drawings, but then I add stylization on top of it, which is something I wasn't able to do with much success until I had been practicing for years, so don't be discouraged if this is a struggle. I will say though as soon as I began to do studies regularly, my improvement went like 500% faster than it had before; just about the only thing I wish I'd done differently on my journey with art would have been to start doing studies from life sooner. So if stylized realism is a style you're interested in, I can't recommend that enough! And even for more cartoonish styles, the better your understanding of forms and anatomy, the easier time you'll have exaggerating it confidently, tbh. Re: digital versus pen and paper, this isn't so much related to style specifically, but even as a primarily digital artist myself, I highly recommend getting in some practice with real media too. It forces you to be more deliberate and decisive with your mark making, especially if you're using something like pen-- once the line is made, you can't erase it-- and that skill carries over to how you draw your lines digitally. I still try to do pen studies at least once a month and I think it definitely influences the confidence of my digital lines. Lastly, I'd also say keeping some sort of inspiration board is a great tool. I have a side blog for saving pieces that I see which I would like to incorporate elements of into my own style, whether because I liked the way the figure was posed, the expressions, the artist's mark making, the composition, the interaction between the subjects, etc. There's so much like that which all goes into influencing an artist's specific style and it's really interesting to think about when you consider what you want from your own! Whenever I'm feeling a little dry on inspiration I look through my dash over there or in the folder of inspiration I've saved and it almost always helps get some new ideas flowing. Like I said, I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to focus in on just one specific style and constrain yourself that way, but to instead consider how you'd like to use bits and pieces of many styles can be very helpful to growing your own. There's a whole lot more than can be said on this subject, but I hope this much is of some help to you ♥♥

[kudouusagi]

Spoon.2Di Utsumi interview Part 1

This interview is pretty long so I’m splitting it up into two posts to make it easier for me.

This is an interview between Utsumi Hiroko and a Spoon staff member.

—To begin with, please tell us the details of how you came up with the proposal for SK8.

It all started because the Aniplex producer, Uryu Kyoko, I was working with on my last directorial project "Banana fish" said "let's make something that you want to make Utsumi-san!" I said I wanted it to be made by the amazing Bones. I've skateboarded as a hobby so I've always thought if I could make my own original anime, I'd like to make it about skateboarding, so I told them about that and they allowed me to make it.

—How did you come up with the story and the characters?

I can't do story writing so I told the series writer, Ookouchi Ichirou, about what I wanted to write and he composed a story with that as the base. I think the characters were created in a similar way. I think the second year of high school is the the time you can most enjoy being a student, and I just simply like how they look (lol)

—(lol). Then, did you have any challenges making this work?

I really wanted a really animeish anime that you couldn't make in live action or in full 3D animation. Recently there have been a lot of realistic anime or full 3D animated ones, and of course they're amazing but I really wanted to show SK8 with the best that 2D animation has to offer.

—What strengths and appeal does hand drawn, 2D animation have?

I think it is most alive in comical scenes. In 2D you can ignore the skeleton, so they can move in soft cartoonish ways, and the characters can move in vividly cute ways. You can do that in 3D if you really wanted to, but I think it would still be stiff. But with 2D animation, you can make all sorts of facial expressions while ignoring that, you can see the personalities of the different animators and feel their imagination and I think that creates a big appeal in the characters. That's one of the reasons I love anime, I guess it... makes it feel like they're "alive". I felt like 2d animation would make SK8 be crammed full of that appeal

—What did you focus on in the skating scenes?

Unlike I just mentioned, I really wanted them to be realistic. We've made a series using the superpowers of animation so I'm sure that in itself would be interesting, but for me it's seeing the characters practicing their hardest so that when they're able to skate you sympathize with them. If you don't show that then even if they are shiny they're still weak characters, if they're superhuman then there's no way to sympathize with them and you can't get into the work. Even in the dangerous scenes it doesn't make you excited or anxious for them. Rather than just a story about race battles, you can't take out what makes them thrilling so that's why I focused on this. That's why I made the animators watch videos of real life skateboarding and used realistic movements as a base and then exaggerated them in anime style. But what I'm saying is pretty illogical isn't it? I wanted to make an unrealistic animeish anime but wanted the skateboarding scenes to be realistic. The staff asked me all the time "how far should we take this" and it was really hard balancing these two things.

—Now, tell us some backstory about how the characters were made, and things that left an impression on you from each episode. I'd like to hear what you focused on in production, so to start with, how did you make the protagonists, Reki and Langa?

Reki isn't amazingly naturally talented but he loves skateboarding more purely than anyone else and tries hard. I wanted to make him someone everyone would cheer for. For Langa... rather than a single protagonist, I like writing double protagonists, so I didn't think of it as only Reki being the protagonist to begin with but made Reki and Langa at the same time. Actually, Langa is based on me. I liked snowboarding to begin with and so I bought the board and all the gear but because of my work I couldn't really take a lot of time off so I ended up not being able to snowboard even once...... And so a skateboarding friend of mine recommended skateboarding to me and so I started doing that and I was really moved that I could skate everyday, wherever and whenever I wanted. That's why I put in the words that Reki says in the second episode about the appeal of skateboarding, since it was what I really felt when I encountered skateboarding. There's no falsehoods in those words, I think that's the appeal of skateboarding and I really wanted to be able to convey that to everyone along with Langa as they watched it.

—In the first episode, from when he meets Langa until the beef scene, what is something you thought was important?

In the scene where they meet and Langa sees Reiki do an ollie, it does make his eyes sparkle, but in that scene Langa is more interested in finding a job so I'd say that the time where they actually recognize each other properly is the last jump scene. That's why in episode 1 we put our full effort into that last scene. To the point there were fireworks. I hope that the people watching also are able to understand the illusion of snow that Reki sees.

— Their rival ADAM is of a different age and social standing from them, could you tell us how his character came about?

He came about as someone who could stand in Reki and Langa's way. But to begin with he wasn't such a weird character, he actually had such a weak presence we were worrying what to do! So we studied other enemy characters and decided to shift to creating a new perverted character in the end (lol). Suzuki Mari, the producer from BONES, was really passionate about wanting a masked character, so we thought, well from his position it should be ADAM, so we started designing him that way but I remember we were troubled over what kind of mask to give him (lol). I think in a series like Gundam it's easy to accept people in masks, but SK8 is set in a relatively normal world so it might seem kind of out of place (lol). We decided we had to try to mix it in with the other characters somehow...... and so that's why shadow's design became like that (lol). But actually in the end it's more like since there are so many weird characters the relatively normal Reki and Langa are almost the ones out of place so I guess we did a good job of mixing it in (lol).

— The scene in the first episode when ADAM first appears he is naked, what was the intention of that depiction?

We didn't want to show ADAM's outfit in the first episode yet and we thought it would be weird for him to just be sitting around in his room in that outfit. But it wouldn't be interesting if he was just always wearing his suit either...... so we thought he could have just gotten off work and thrown off his shirt and after being freed was enjoying his hobby. But he's still wearing his pants! Since that would make him look bad (lol). Also I just really loved the back muscles that the character designer,  Chiba Michinori, drew for him so I honestly just wanted to see them!......

— A battle between skaters is called a "beef" and we feel the full impact of them all the way from episode one, but why did you make beefs a component in a skateboarding anime? 

Races just naturally fires people up, they make you unconsciously excited just watching them don't they? I think even if people aren't interested in the work they'll just naturally get pulled into the races and if you tie in the appeal of the character into those I think it makes it  interesting. Also in race series there are bikes or cars or they're wearing helmets, but when the characters are in the cars you can't see them, so I figured on skateboards you'd be able to see all of them and I was like "this is it!"

— Now could you please tell us about important points in episode 2?

Since this series is an anime original, people have no guarantee that the story will be interesting based on the original work, and people have a lot of ways to entertain yourselves now so honestly we felt a huge pressure to leave a huge impression on people in the first episode...... but in episode 2 we were able to write about their school life and how they became friends so it was really fun. We figured that the viewers wouldn't be interested in skateboarding to begin with so we wanted to give "how to" information that even people who weren't interested in it would be sucked into the world of skateboarding along with Langa. But what was most important was the relationship between Langa who was really getting into skating and Reki who was the one teaching him that.

— They practice skateboarding at school and get yelled at by a teacher and chased and they eat french fries that are sat on top of a skateboard, so they're really depicted comically aren't they?

Those scenes were the writer, Ookouchi's, idea. I asked him to put in scenes that were realistic for young male high school students and so those were scenes that came up when we started writing the script.

— When Reki showed Langa his skateboard design, the weird face that Langa had was really impressive.

It's a rough sketch that Reki did, he wanted to do graffiti of a cool animal that lives in Canada made to look like Langa, so I'm sure he was looking forward to it (lol). I'm sure that Reki drew all sorts of things before settling on the yet (lol). He really didn't mean anything bad by it, but since it was supposed to be in the image of Langa, Langa felt like "So this is how Reki sees me...?" and so it was an expression of shock......(lol)

— Just watching the last scene where the two of them fist bump made me really happy.

In the production staff there is a guy who is knowledgeable about skateboarding, he told us that skaters greet each other with fist bumps. In basketball and other sports they do some pretty complicated fist bumps, but when I asked him about it he said that skaters don't do that complicated of fist bumps, since they'd rather just get to skating faster, and so I was really moved by that simple reasoning, so I made their fist bump relatively simple.

— Miya becomes a regular character from episode 3 on, could you tell us about how you made MIYA?

Miya is a character that was created at the request of the producer, Uryu. Like we discussed before, we wanted there to be a bit of an age gap so we thought it would be good to have a character who was younger than Reki and Langa too. The adults can read the atmosphere but for MIYA he can just step right in and say what he wants and I think that's a big appeal for MIYA as a character.

— Is there anything you focused on in the beef between MIYA and Langa?

When you look at the beef in episode 3 it might seem like it's just between Langa and MIYA, but actually it's between Langa, Reki, and MIYA.  It's a beef where Reki aists Langa who is still just a beginner against a professional skater. That's why both Langa and Reki are shown in the frame.

— When Reki calls out to MIYA who lost to Langa, and he teases him and pulls on his cheeks he really has the feeling of a big brother and it really made me smile. Reki is someone who naturally pays attention to his surroundings isn't he? 

People say that about Reki a lot. But he isn't conscious of that himself, he's just someone who naturally gets close to people. Besides since he has little sisters who are that far apart from him in age, I'm sure he's really watchful when he plays with them so it's just a natural movement for him.

— It kind of puts me at ease to think of their relationship like that.

That's true. And it's probably partly because of that that Reki unconsciously got close to Langa who is kind of awkward at communication. 

[mother-snake]

An essay about why the Nat 5 art course in Scotland sucks in comparison to collage and GCSE art.

 i have a lot of pent up anger

I have taken art in England, and I'm currently taking it in Scotland. Withing the first year of my GCSE art in England I did the following: pottery, lino, acrylics and even research about VARIOUS artists and what their style meant and how to interpret their works.

During those topics we did, we were indeed limited to what we could do. but we weren’t stuck doing the same things over and over again. I rather enjoyed doing the pottery, giving me something hands on I could do and the fact that I unfortunately left my school just as it needed to be in the kiln was upsetting.

Lino was one thing I will always find fun. Rolling ink onto desks that normally would need to be kept in pristine condition made it a hell of a ride to do. in addition, our art books were filled with our own style of art. Some realism every now and then, but most of it for me was cartoon based.

I had a lot of work that I was proud of. it made me want to keep doing art, even if the things I did weren’t the best since I was only in eighth year at the time.

If I had stayed on a little longer, I would have been able to do my actual GCSE for art. Being able to paint, draw or make anything I wanted for my final piece. No restrictions… it seemed like a dream come true!

Scotland’s course on the other hand… to put it simply, I took it the first year I came over as I thought it would be like England’s. I couldn’t have been more wrong. the course consisted of: realism, researching artists and drawing vedge[IN1]  and animals. I was in my own person hell it seemed.

One thing I can’t stand is having restrictions. And having an art book that was filled with more words than art, every piece being realism, was something that made me detest the subject.

I can’t do realism for the life of me. my style has and always will be cartoonish. then, after skipping a year of it. I came back. wanting to take art in collage that would be very like the stuff I would do in England.

And I regret that choice as I write this. Putting off doing my art work as I feel like I'm going to cry.

There is nothing fun about being told that you can only pick one topic, do no realistic drawings involving people unless you take higher. Half your choices and own ideas being shot down because ‘they know better’ and sitting in a classroom, being told that something about your work isn’t right because the shape is just slightly off, even if it’s a design choice.

My love for art keeps dwindling. Something that’s supposed to be seen as ‘expressive’ makes me feel like I'm being given a doodle book and told to colour in the lines and use only the correct colours.

I wish to draw some cartoon character with wild colours and a funky coloured background. But if I handed that in, I would be put down as not even passing.

Realism this, and realism that and I'm at my wits end. sure, other people might like it. I understand that. but I can’t draw a fucking leek for three lessons in a row. I can’t even sit still for that long. But alas, I'm only one student who will end up failing because they can’t do it. because their creativity and longing to do something else outpowers the side that can sit down, and can do something for a long time. because I no longer find this subject as fun as I used to.

By being told I can only do certain things, I have lost the love for something I once saw as fun. And now only see it as a means to an end. a subject I wont pass for a course I won’t be able to get into with no grade.

I want to rebel. Do something that is ME not in line with everything else. I want my art to stand out. not look like the next persons because we were told that that’s what we have to do.

I once loved art. now I wish I could escape the class I once loved.

[biscuitreviews]

Biscuit Reviews Kingdom Hearts III

Kingdom Hearts III, a title that many fans have been waiting to get their hands on for 13 years. Granted, it’s been 7 years since an installment into the series, but it’s been this one that fans have really been waiting for.  Now that it’s here, many fans are combing through every inch of the game to find how the Dark Seeker saga will come to a close. Now, when it came to reviewing the other games in the Kingdom Hearts series, I tried to avoid spoilers best I could, sometimes it was unavoidable and other times it was. For the purposes of Kingdom Hearts III, I’m going to go into full spoilers. I’m going to spoil the previous games, I’m going to spoil this one and yes, I will also be talking about the ending as well.

“But Biscuit, how can I avoid the spoilers from your review?” I hear you asking. Well it’s easy. Normally I would have a “Keep Reading” link shortly after the intro of review, but this go around I’m going to put it right before I get to the spoilers so you can go through your feed or the tag if you just want my thoughts on game itself as well have a brief description of the plot. I’ll throw in another reminder for when spoilers are coming.

Score wise is going to be different as well as I’m going to be displaying my score for the game before I get into the spoilers. I do want to mention that said spoilers do have an impact on the score so if you’re wondering why the game is scored as is, you’ll find more details in the spoiler section of the review.

The game begins right where Dream Drop Distance left off, with Sora going to Olympus Coliseum to not only continue his training to obtain the “Power of Waking” to save Terra, Aqua, and Ventus, as well as stop Xehanort from starting plunging the universe into darkness. This opens up with not Kingdom Hearts III, but rather “Kingdom Hearts 2.9” because I guess Square had to get one last joke in on how long fans had to wait until Kingdom Hearts III proper.

Many of the Disney worlds you’ll travel too actually revolve around the CGI Disney movies and Pixar movies. You’ll travel to worlds featuring: Toy Story, Tangled, Frozen, Monsters Inc., and Big Hero 6. Returning worlds include the previously mentioned Olympus Coliseum, Twilight Town, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

As far as the art style goes, I’ve been vocal on not being the biggest fan with it. I’m still not. Although it complimented the majority of Disney worlds, it still clashes with the Caribbean, but it’s not as jarring as it was in Kingdom Hearts II, it’s still obvious and bad though with a clearly anime looking Sora interacting with realistic people. But, what is perhaps the most jarring of them all is the Olympus Coliseum. Hercules was not meant to be a CGI-esque model and it shows. With the art style of the previous game and the movie proper. The look of Hercules was able to compliment everything to keep a cartoonish look. Now, everything just looks like oddly shaped, realistic blobs.

Like all previous entries in the series, each of these Disney worlds has its own story and problems that Sora will help solve. Some are an abridged version of their respective Disney films, or a new original story within that world. I found that I had preference of the worlds that had their own story, this included: Toy Story, which took place between the events of Toy Story 2 and 3; Monsters Inc., which took place after the first film; Big Hero 6 which takes place after the movie and actually has Sora help Hiro deal with something that occured at the end of the film, something that I hope does become canon if the Big Hero 6 sequel does go into production; Olympus Coliseum to some extent retold the ending of Hercules, but there was enough events altered to where it could have been its own story; finally, Pirates of the Caribbean, although the events of the world take place during “At World’s End” Sora is not actually present for the majority of those events, in fact he’s mostly fighting a member of Organization XIII as the events of the movie play out away from Sora.

Other worlds, such as Tangled and Frozen, told abridged versions of their films. I found that both these worlds did good retellings as both incorporated elements of the main Kingdom Hearts story to keep it interesting. My only complaint is the Tangled world, Sora actually doesn’t contribute to the films events. He’s just simply in the background watching the events be played out. Nothing he does changes anything, unlike the Frozen world where Sora’s presence does cause an alteration in the films events.

The world design was a bit of a mixed bag. You had some worlds that truly felt like a a big world, Toy Story, Big Hero 6, and Pirates of the Caribbean are prime examples of this. Then, you had the rest of the worlds which were nothing but a giant hallway with Disney decorations. It was a bit disappointing that Square took that direction when they could have done so much more.

So what about the combat, the gameplay of Kingdom Hearts III. Like the other numbered entries, it’s great. We got a taste of it in Kingdom Hearts 0.2 and I really loved the little bits that was shown in that game, regular attacks, special attacks, grand magic, it’s all in Kingdom Hearts III and it still feels really great to just fly around in the air or glide around the battlefield hitting things with your Keyblade.

Some Heartless enemies now have elemental weaknesses that can hinder them in battle giving a little layer of strategy in your fights, but not very much, that’s the only thing you’re going to really be keeping in mind when you fight.

There’s also a new summoning ability known as “Attraction Flow Summon” where you can summon a Disney World inspired ride to do some serious damage. Some are better than others, but overall I actually liked them. Regular summons are also available in the game and their fine for the most part, but you won’t really find much of a use for them like in Kingdom Hearts II, it’s just an ability that’s there. One of my favorite new additions is how drive forms are handled. It’s not Sora that changes, but rather his Keyblade as it takes a form of a different weapon that has additional properties that can unleash devastating finishing moves after filling up the hit meter.

The Gummi ship also makes a return and this is perhaps my favorite approach to the Gummi ship. It made the worlds feel like their own planet and the Universe more expansive driving you to explore space as you fly through it shooting Heartless and collecting prizes. Approaching a world feels amazing as you approach a giant place that feels like you’re about to step on another unique planet.

Now, there’s something that Kingdom Hearts has always been known for, the secret bosses. These bosses always challenged your knowledge of spells, game mechanics, and reaction speed. In the case of Kingdom Hearts III, there’s only one secret boss, Dark Inferno, and it’s not hard. In fact, you don’t even have to be max level with the Ultima Weapon to even stand somewhat of a chance to face this boss. I was level 55 when I faced this boss and although I did die a few times it wasn’t because of lack of level, but rather reacting to an attack at the wrong moment. There’s no unique difficult Heartless, no Sephiroth battle, no extra Final Fantasy character battles, no Data battles, no extra Disney villain fights, no extra boss to tease the future of the series, nothing and it feels really lacking compared to previous entries. Granted the original vanilla versions of Kingdom Hearts I and II, didn’t have that many extra boss fights, they still had a few challenge bosses for those that wanted to prove themselves.

That’s not to say there isn’t plenty of side content, there is, it’s just the extra combat side content is severely lacking in terms of challenge and variety and that was one of my favorite side activities in Kingdom Hearts was attempting them. Again, if you haven’t finished the game and don’t want story spoilers. My score is this:

Kingdom Hearts III receives a 2 out of 5

Keep in mind that the story did have an impact on my final score so click on the “Keep Reading” link for the story discussion to see what else contributed to the score.

I hated the story.

There were some great touching moments, but overall I did not like how many of the events played out. The first issue I had was Vexen. He did something that many people will see as a break in character. He’s always been a seeker of knowledge and has been willing to gain it no matter the cost. However, we see that suddenly, we wants to atone for his actions when the story approaches it’s climax. Granted it does get explained why the sudden shift happens in a Secret Report, which you won’t be able to get until you beat the game, it’s still a jarring shift. One that could have easily been dispelled if we saw a scene of Vexen going through that change.

Then we have the Black Box that Maleficent and Pete are looking for for the entire game. Sora and the gang know that Maleficent is trying to do this, and knowing that she’s looking for an item that could potentially grant her power. So what does Sora do? He just ignores them the entire game. What’s in the box? Who knows, the game didn’t bother telling us, it only used the Black Box to tease the future of the series.

Next is the fight with Aqua, or Anti-Aqua if you will. This was perhaps an emotionally charged fight for me. The scene preceding the fight and the fight itself was perhaps the most emotionally charged moment in the entire game. You have Sora, who wants nothing but to save Aqua from her despair and depression. As you’re fighting Aqua, you hear her whisper during the fight. “I wandered the shadows endlessly, no one ever came.” “I waited for so long.” “You shouldn’t have abandoned me.”

Although this may have just been a cool fight with emotions on high, there is a deeper meaning to this fight, rather it be intentional or not and that is how this can be an allegory of battling depression and abandonment. When depressed, we might often stew in our self created darkness, possible blaming circumstances or people for putting us on this state. Sora, Riku and Mickey in this case, represent the light to help you out of that depression as they have ventured in that darkness to help get you out of it. As for the abandonment, again Sora, Riku, and Mickey, showing that she was not abandoned, as they were looking for a way to help her the entire time.  Again, I’m not sure if this was intentional on Nomura’s part, but it does give the fight a more impactful meaning outside of the core story.

Another enjoyable moment was a scene that I’m sure many people, including myself have been waiting on for years and that Sora and Kairi having their moment. Before the final battle, they exchange some heartfelt words and do something that has been teased since Kingdom Hearts I, share a paopu fruit. This small scene has been building up for years and to finally have this moment delivered did make the wait worth it.

Next, is the concept of death. Kingdom Hearts has always been a series that has been a bit of an enigma when it came to death. That’s not say death has happened in the series, for it has, see Master Eraqus in Birth by Sleep and Strelitzia in Kingdom Hearts Union X. The series established that just because someone loses their heart, doesn’t mean that they themselves die, rather a piece of themselves is lost until it’s found again. Kingdom Hearts takes the concept of death and basically just burns the book, throw it out the window and take away any impact it could have had to the overall story.

That’s right, I’m talking about Kairi’s “death”.

Before we get into that, I want to talk about the Final World. This world, is essentially the afterlife. Keyblade wielders find themselves here if their heart and body have been destroyed in a state that they cannot return. However, Sora was able to break out of the afterlife because of Kairi’s power, which in turn allowed him to use the Power of Waking to revive his friends who also died for them to continue their fight with Xehanort.

When Xehanort struck Kairi down to where she was completely obliterated, this not only shocked me that Nomura was willing to do this to one of the core three, but also how it impacted Sora. He wanted nothing more but to defeat Xehanort and to avenge Kairi. This could have been a powerful moment that stayed rooted in the final entry of the Dark Seeker saga. However, after defeating Xehanort, Sora begins a new journey, to save Kairi.

Because of the connection Sora and Kairi share, Sora believes he can use the Power of Waking to bring Kairi back, however it comes at the cost of Sora himself. Everyone even warns Sora that he’s abusing the power and will disappear if he brings Kairi back. This would make sense as Kairi’s Heart and Body have been obliterated to a state that she cannot return. But hey, Sora discovered he can use the power of waking to go into the afterlife to revive people and you know what, that’s what he does. He goes to the afterlife, revives Kairi and then disappears for abusing the power. Doing this to me ruined the impact this moment could have potentially left for the finale of the Dark Seeker saga.

There is however one more point I would like to discuss with the story before finally closing this review. How the story felt.

I felt it was half baked. I think Nomura wanted to move on to a different idea he had for the series, but he couldn’t as he had to conclude the Dark Seeker Saga first. It’s partly why I feel Kingdom Hearts III is rather empty, because I don’t think Nomura’s heart was in the conclusion. I feel he only did this to finish the story and to give the fans the title they wanted, Kingdom Hearts III. A good portion of Kingdom Hearts III, even sets pieces up for the future of the series, rather than act as a wrap up. Which is fine, if you want a loose thread to have the idea and possibility for a sequel open, but I felt Nomura didn’t give Kingdom Hearts III his all and felt restricted with what he could do, because he couldn’t tell the story he really wanted. Again, I don’t know Nomura, I’m not in the guys head, but to me that’s what it felt like.

As for me, I think this is where my journey will end for the series. I don’t see myself following this series anymore and I’ll probably let the new generation of fans inherit the series. It was fun while it lasted and I’ll most likely continue to play the previous entries of the series, but the future entries, I think I’ll pass.

Thank you all for sharing this journey with me. The core gameplay is enjoyable and although there are some wonky bits, it’s a still a good game for long time fans of the series, just not the grand finale that I’m sure many people were hoping for and expecting. The score was something I was wrestling with for awhile, but at the end of the day, I feel that this is what I would give it.

[yoshimickster]

Well I’m finished both season one of the Umbrella Academy AND volume 1 of the Umbrella Academy:The Apocalypse sweet-HERE MY THOUGHTS!

I really wish I could say it was harder to pick a winner, but unlike with “Into the Spider-verse”, the original source material wins supreme.

Now in terms of looks the comic beats the show by a MILE, while the first issue's art was a bit shakey, by the end it really worked in a surrealist sense and I'm kinda mad the Netflix show never attempted to copy its style. I get it, there's limits to special effects, but the the look of the show just looks like every other super hero show out there albeit with better cinematography.

With characters(once again, comparing only volume 1 and season 1) its hit or miss on which are better.

Starting with side characters, Pogo and Grace are a lot more straightforward in just being side characters meant to help the heroes when they need them to, rather than the confusing mystery in season one. Hargreeves is still the same dick as ever only in the comic he’s...an alien? Uh...okay! Diego’s cop friend ISN’T his ex-girlfriend in this, and also doesn’t pointlessly arrest him only for him to escape...he also doesn’t get killed off just to make Diego sad so GOOD ON GERARD for no fridging! Agnes also didn’t have ANY arc in the comic, but its clear she was always meant to just be a side character so I guess I’m okay with that.

Klaus in the show is a lot more relatable in terms of being an addict as well as a character, whereas in the comic he just...DOES stuff and barely has a few lines. That said though, he seems to be more respected in the comic, where as in the show they treat him like absolute shit, devaluing him both as a person and as a member of the team, to the point where I just wanted to scream at the television-"MAYBE IF ANY OF YOU WERE NICE TO HIM HE WOULDN'T ACT OUT AND SEEK SOLACE IN ADDICTION!" I get it, hero’s journey and what not, but why did that heroe’s journey have to be because no-one is EVER nice to him because they keep forgetting that he’s the victim of FREAKING ADDICTION and psychological maladies! DO NOT TREAT PEOPLE LIKE THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY TREATS KLAUSS!

Luther though has MUCH better dialogue, and him having an actual gorilla body makes me more sympathetic to him than the...ALMOST gorilla body he had in the show which honestly just made him look kinda hairy. His dickishness in the comics is also a lot more palletable than his dickishness in the show, an almost more grown-up dickishness if you will. ESPECIALLY-since comic Luther straight up acknowledges that Hargreeves was an awful person from the get-go rather than having him realize it through a plot-twist. With that, he also blames his lack of a life on his accident rather than some bland devotion to his father, which I find honestly more relatable and less cringeworthy, especially since it didn’t lead to some pointless one night stand in a rave.

Diego and Allison are pretty much the same, with the exception of changing Diego's power to super accuracy/low level telekinesis instead of Guybrush level breath-holding, which to the Netflix show's credit I'm okay with as its just not visually impressive in the least. I do gotta say though I felt the romance of Allison and Luther was just as bad as in the show, as they are brother and sister and NO I do not care if its only by adoption, its still weird. BOTH stories though have the same problem in Allison barely using her rumor powers, making it as annoying as the volumes of Preacher when Jesse Custer would just FORGET he had the “Word of God” which allowed him to mind control ANYONE. One definite the show did better with Allison though was that it showed her ACTUAL relationship with Vanya, whereas in the original story I don’t think they talked ONCE...yeah while the comic is better, it also kinda failed the Bechdel test, at least for the first arc.

THEN there's Vanya, which both series focused on different aspects better than the other. While in the comics she could’ve gotten a bit more exposure in terms of a character, her becoming an apocalypse maker definitely makes more sense in the comic then in the show. In the comic the crazy guy who wants her to activate her powers doesn't have some convoluted plan or reasoning for her activating her powers based on daddy issues, its just-BAM-end of the world, CLEAN and simple!  And while Vanya as a civilian could've used more exposure, Vanya as the villainous White Violin was WAY more interesting than the show's version as...well it was Dark Phoenix, no other way around saying it, it was just Dark Phoenix.

The main thing the comic definitely has better than the show is its pacing and straightforwardness, in that its not ten episodes of a super hero team breaking up and reforming again and again and AGAIN. No, in the comic they're all "Okay, shit's going down, let's work together!" which makes the story-arc a lot more streamlined. The dialogue in the comic is also a lot less cheesey I'd say, the show often putting dramatic music on scenes making it feel VERY soap opera-y where as the comic was a lot more cartoonish and quirky.

Ultimately though the ending of the story arc is better as the end of the world wasn't caused because Luther trapped his sister like a dumb ass in an echo chamber, doing the same horrible thing his father did to them and everybody just...went along with it. That and they actually DO stop this threat as a professional super hero team(albeit with casualties) whereas in the show they fuck up so badly they have to go back in time to solve it and URGH-I all ready have "Legends of Tomorrow" in terms of a show about a team of loose-canons saving the world via timetravel, I didn't need another!

With that, the original arc is an imperfect yet solid superhero story, wheras its adaptation while still good went on for a BIT too long and turned Luther into an unrepentant manchild prick. Even more than that, the WORLD of the comic felt like an actual superhero universe, whereas the show’s felt a bit too needlessly realistic, most likely due to budgetary restraints. 

Hope ya liked my review-rant, and have a pleasant time period!

[pumpkin-stars]

hi! I was the anon from the other day that asked u about drawings and stuff. And you got excited bc u got an anon which made me laugh.

So i would like to draw in a cartoon style but idk how to do it. Like the closest thing I've come to it was when i made a painting about baby Yoda (which i mentioned in my last ask). But do u have any tips on finding a cartoon style of art and incorporate it into your drawings?

Hi! I'm always excited to get anons!

In terms of finding a style, I'm sure there are cartoons you enjoy and like so you can try to emulate the style of those?

I personally prefer to draw cartoon stuff with soft/curved lines rather than making characters particularly angular (if that makes sense?). (like The Simpsons more than Archer? but not actually like either of those...).

Look at what some of the art you enjoy/want to draw like does with lines/shapes and if there's things in common (large eyes, round faces, the thickness of lines, if bodies are in proportion or if their heads are bigger than a realistic person (part of the reason I like drawing cartoonish stuff is because I am awful at getting the body length:head size ratio correct, and with cartoons that doesn't matter!)).

I dunno if this is entirely helpful, but even if you just start off drawing things similarly to a style you like (so long as you're not just literally copying something line for line!!!), you'll end up working out which parts you like to draw and which parts don't fit with your unique style.

[joh-gaming]

Why is this affecting me so much?

This is probably going to be an incredibly long post, one that I don’t expect many would read but that I feel I have to write. If not for Epic to read it at some point, then for myself, to remember this and why this game was so important.

I will have a lot of personal opinions, unfair comparisons and highly critical comments in those comparisons that may or may not be accurate. There will also be speculation as there’s more going on than what they’ve been willing to say.

If you care, then please, click on Keep Reading to continue.

How did I learn about it?

Honestly, I have no idea and that’s an issue that lead to its current situation. This is what I remember hearing back then. Paragon is a new game by Epic Games, creators of the Gears of War series (which I’m not really a fan of) and the Unreal Engine (which has always fascinated me) It was going to be a MOBA (which I hate, don’t like any MOBAs except Paragon but I’m getting ahead of myself here)

Clearly the above isn’t enough to get me to try it, on the contrary. So what was it, I must have seen something that made me think, this is worth a try. As great as that announce trailer was, none of the heroes in it speak to me, not even Sparrow whom ended up as my first mastered character and the one I own the most skins for. It wasn’t a gameranx before you buy thing which to this day I haven’t seen nor plan to, nor Angry Joe’s first look which again, I have no interest in watching. I’m not being critical of those channels, it’s just that I already experienced the game, most if not all of its iterations, so I really don’t care what they had to say about it.

Well... funny enough it was Overwatch the reason I gave Paragon a try. While Paragon is relatively older than Overwatch, it was in closed beta for the first few months. After trying, and falling in love with Overwatch’s beta, I felt the need to fill that void but with another, hopefully similar game. Then I saw the announcement of Paragon’s own free open beta weekend

I don’t remember if I took part on it or not, the next thing I wrote of Paragon after that was Digital Foundry’s graphic comparison of the game on PC and PS4 vanilla (at the time, the only PS4 there was) praising how a console game let you use mouse and keyboard.

Now, going back to Overwatch for a second, there are a few things you should know. 1. I have a friend that is part of the Overwatch team 2. I bought the game myself, no free keys and it was the PS4 version 3. I didn’t have enough money to buy it at launch, I ended up buying it late June or mid July, can’t remember and it’s not THAT important right now. 4. I tend to prefer cartoon like graphics as they are pretty much timeless

With that being said, this was my first impressions on Paragon, having tasted Overwatch.

“I feel really bad for the artists working on Paragon. Clearly a lot of effort was put into the design and modeling of the characters but good God they're so damn boring. The maps are also bleh with a palette that doesn't help things at all. Animations feel like over a decade old with awkward jump and run. I will be surprised if this game is actually successful 'cause it's a MOBA and what's the most important part of a MOBA? The damn heroes.“

I’ve been wrong before, but this is probably the top one. The map in question is what we now call Legacy. After spending a long time in super colorful maps in Overwatch, I found myself in this semi realistic map with ruins and a jungle that looked old and boring. Movement was too slow and I’m not sure what I was talking about with the animations, maybe they were bugged at the time ‘cause Paragon’s animations are impressive. Some of the best work in gaming.

Needless to say, I had a rocky start with Paragon, mostly because I didn’t understand it. I don’t know how long I tried it before I deleted it but that’s what I ended up doing. I got frustrated and instead of doing research I just quit.

So, going back to Overwatch for another second, how long was my honeymoon after I bought it? It lasted for about a month, after that I started seeing all the issues the game had and has (most of them are still there) especially on consoles. Broken heroes, Play of the game that encourages nonsense, the “scoreboard” that highlights the wrong things, lack of content, lack of heroes, easily exploitable on certain maps, etc. So I guess, thanks to Overwatch, not only did I dare to try Paragon, but fell in love with it. (btw, I did check, bought Overwatch mid June and by mid July I was sick of it, only made worse in August trying to get the limited time skins I wanted) And that’s not even talking about how Overwatch popularized Loot Boxes (yes, they have existed for a long long time, they just made it seem OK in a full priced game, ‘cause it was $60 on console)

Now, I couldn’t find this anywhere but I remember I returned to Paragon when Lt. Belica was announced. Gave it another go but again, failed to understand the character and gameplay. I will get more into the true problem for new people later on, but for now let’s go with why did I delete the game a second time. Well, it wasn’t out of frustration this time, rather than HDD space on my PS4. At the time it didn’t support external HDD. When did I return in a more permanent manner? When Countess came out.

She became my main for a while, which is funny ‘cause part of her kit was taken from the hero that would completely grab me forever. I started understanding the design decisions of the characters and the graphics, I got past the part where they wouldn’t last a few years, I was wrong about that too. I think they found the right balance between realistic and somewhat cartoonish to make the graphics last. That and they weren’t shy on retouching characters later on.

On November 2016 I said this

“Now I have a better understanding of the game, mind you that if I were to read about it I MAY learn it faster, but I prefer to learn from my own mistakes rather than trying to play like someone else that is probably more skilled. I can accomplish a similar standard just playing with things that work for me rather than what is "optimal". Or that word that gets on my nerves, the META. Fucking meta...” 

Funny, I still agree on that.

Paragon growing on me

I’m going to quote myself again, but I’m going to edit said quote for context purposes, not trying to say something different than I said before. For instance, the post was made with a video that I won’t include here, so anything mentioning the video is out of context.

“The more I play Paragon, the more I like it, but at the same time the more I notice its problems. Paragon currently has 24 heroes with a new one added every 3 weeks. Only has one map and one game mode, but it's free and high quality so no complaints here. However if you're like me, you tend to pick certain characters based mostly on looks not on play style. This is one of the biggest issues in Paragon and even Smite for that matter. The character design in Paragon is on point but at the same time it’s dull and boring.

You have your human characters, your robots and your beasts. They decided to go with a semi realistic look for the game instead of doing the cartoon like design from popular and unpopular  MOBAs. Which is fine I guess, you want to differentiate yourself, especially when now everyone that does it is instantly going with "an Overwatch look". On PS4 they had to lower the graphics quite a bit.

Paragon has a hero limit since launch and you can't switch heroes of course. The character selection process is completely random (I was the first to pick this time by pure luck) there are no rules for this other than what common courtesy SHOULD dictate. Personally, even if I get to pick first, let's say if the third player selects Countess before I do, I consider that a priority so I leave Countess open for him. You should learn how to play at least 4 characters. Game actually wants you to learn five characters, that's why you get 5 deck slots by default.

I prefer to play Countess, but I'm better with Sparrow and already have experience with Belica. That being said, the whole mastery system induces people to rage quit when the character they wanted gets picked by someone else. It starts off fine, but eventually leveling up your character becomes a chore and a grind.”

This was still back in November 2016.

On December 2016, I had this to say about the game

“There were a few things keeping the game from being as good as it could be. One of them being the learning curve. This wasn't your go in spray and pray your way to victory while you press a button to get a highlight at the end of the match to feel great about your awesomeness. No, in Paragon you needed to learn a lot about the mechanics, you had to build your character from scratch, and you had to find a way to balance your build to be ready for what's to come. It was amazingly refreshing to be honest. Sure it took me some time to like it, mostly 'cause I still feel the graphics aren't what they should be and the characters, while having an interesting design, they lack a palette that makes them unique.”

“This past Tuesday, Epic Games decided to upload Monolith. Basically Paragon is now a whole different game. Taking into account player feedback, mostly for how slow the game was, they applied a lot of changes to the mechanics of the game. Some of the changes would have been enough in the Legacy map to make the game nearly perfect, but no. Monolith is a smaller map than Legacy, character speed is improved but then it creates other issues when you fight other heroes. Certain classes are now having a tougher time. You gain less card power, forcing you to stay on the map longer rather than going back to base to level up. That in theory would be great if you weren't so fucking weak for half of the game. So what are people doing to combat this? They basically have the same builds. Build for attack speed and power, then some life steal and you're good to go. It's boring now, it's more like a shooter. “

I ended up that paragraph with something I regret and therefore won’t repeat. Even if it didn’t happen... I didn’t uninstall the game and have no plans to do so. Not even after it’s gone (unless it keeps affecting my health, more on that later)

“The simplification of Paragon, as a whole, made it more accessible to regular players, you know your regular multiplayer bro. So it's kind of funny to see the rage quitters because the early game is so painfully slow (in terms of levels) and how easy it is to die when you don't understand how minions and towers work. They changed more things in Paragon than what Massive changed in The Division. Paragon is like a different game, one that doesn't require you to be as smart as before. You now stack attack and go play. That's why I'm a little disappointed with the update. Thankfully they are listening to the feedback so perhaps they can find a middle ground between this version and the previous one, because both have great ideas, they just need to remove the bad ones. A match in Paragon is still more fun than a match in Overwatch though.” 

2017, a roller coaster of emotions

Last year alone Paragon went through at least 3 big changes. Many think these changes lead to its current downfall but I don’t agree. In a community corner video (I may edit this if I find it again) they said (a bit arrogantly I may add) that Legacy won’t ever come back. Keep in mind that while at first I was one of those that felt betrayed by the changes Monolith brought to the game, I was still playing and having fun. Originally the thought was, “we don’t want to split the community” and at the time I agreed. But looking back I failed to see the same thing they missed, the community was already divided. Bringing Legacy as a mode, or a more strategic version while Monolith would be more fast paced wouldn’t be bad.

Look at Smite and Overwatch, both games that wouldn’t want to have a split community, now their games have plenty of modes. Keeps players in because if they tire of one thing they could test another ‘cause at the end of the day, it’s the heroes that will keep you coming back. So it wasn’t the changes, more like a pinch of arrogance and a lack of modes. The player retention they later complained about, was of two folds, lack of ranked mode and a poor tutorial.

What made Paragon different and special, besides the heroes I will come to love even more than those in other games, was the card system. You’ll find videos from ‘tubers that are now jumping to conclusions just to talk about the closure of a game they never even heard of. You’ll hear them say something about it being pay to win with buying cards and what not, which funny enough was true in 2016, nobody said anything about it then, but all of that was removed when they added the card crafting system so long ago that I don’t even remember when that was implemented.

Building a deck was crucial to success in Paragon, just as much as understanding minions, towers, your role, buffs, rotations and kills. For most of the 2 years, the jungle was crucial too, that was changed in one of the latest patches. Some say for the worse, I’m not too sure it was. If it was simplification they were after, then the current jungle makes the jungler job easier to understand. Farm, get some levels and skills, then go help the lanes. True that had it been a mode in Monolith with Legacy being the more strategic match, it would have been better received, or at least that’s my perception.

People don’t like to feel dumb, even less to realize they actually are. If what I’m writing here makes me sound dumb, then perhaps I am, but it doesn’t matter as this post has nothing but my sincerest thoughts on the matter, even if I’m trashing Overwatch along the way. I think Paragon was a great game, unique in a sea of MOBAs, that people just failed to understand and that the developers didn’t support correctly.

Was Fortnite the issue?

Epic Games is often accused of doing popular things then scrapping them, fad chasers is what they call them. Paragon started when MOBAs were a big thing, just like Fortnite started when Minecraft was a thing. Sure at the time you had Cliffy B on board so he wanted a gritty and scary thing in Fortnite. Fortnite was one of those games that went through development hell, a game that if not by PUBG catching fire (see what I did there) and they being able to rip it off, it would have crashed and burned by now. Fortnite was sold as an Early Access game

I clearly bought into Fortnite’s Early Access, hence the screenshot of the banner unlocked. What made me buy Fortnite when I knew it wasn’t done? If there’s one thing I learned from playing Paragon, is that Epic will change everything trying to find the best system for the gameplay. I wanted to be a part of that too, I wanted to see the game change and grow (keep that expression in mind) over time. I also wanted to thank Epic for Paragon, so I thought this would be the best way to do so.

I was aware of Fortnite before I knew anything about Paragon, I mean like I said, it’s one of those games that went through development hell. I was watching one of their livestreams when they were giving away keys to almost everyone, they didn’t give me one (at the time it was a PC only game) so I never got the chance to try it myself. Over time I stopped paying attention to it as I never got a key, nor even acknowledgement that I wrote them asking for one. Why was I interested in Fortnite? Well, obviously the cartoon graphics as I mentioned before, then there’s the whole building thing which I enjoy a lot (main reason why I like Fallout 4) and Orcs Must Die 2 is one of my favorite Tower Defense games. (Keep that game in mind too)

If I had known that everything they said about working on developing what is now a mode (Save the World) was a lie, I would never have wasted money on Fortnite. The game is as incomplete now as it was on launch. Sure they have had events but almost every resource is going into the Battle Royale mode. Again proving that they are indeed fad chasers. If you feel like I’m wrong here, that it was a logical business decision and that justifies whatever you’ve spent on Fortnite, then fine, that’s what you think. But personally, I can’t recommend anyone to spend money on ANY Epic Games game from now on. This will sound like Blackmail and maybe it sort of is, but I do mean this, if Paragon is completely closed (as in I can’t play it in any way, shape or form) to me, I don’t see myself giving EG money again in the future. I don’t just say things like that and change my mind when it’s convenient, I haven’t bought an EA game since they burned me with SimCity 2013.

The Heroes of Paragon

Paragon has a bunch of great heroes, my favorite hero would come out in May 2017. That would be Phase. I’d say it was love at first sight but it wasn’t, it was love at first try. Before Phase there was Aurora, a controlled type character that had the looks and mobility, not to mention damage output. I often play range roles or control types, while Aurora was melee, I felt she has more mobility than Countess plus her control abilities were great to set up team attacks. I never thought a support would be far more interesting to me.

Phase’s kit was amazing, actually it was too good to the point where she broke the game for some people. One thing is a good support, another is a support good at everything. Good at healing, dealing damage and controlling the enemy. She got nerfed a couple of times, with her healing being affected the most, she’s still my main. For whatever reason, Phase felt like a part of the Phantom Thieves in Persona 5. Granted that after reading her lore I completely understand why that was the case, but the fact that I thought about it without reading it says a lot about the work put into the character itself

There are so many nuances in her animations, even her new launch pad animation. While not as involved or defining as most of the characters’, it still feels like a Phase launch. Her relationship with Shinbi was explored later, it was interesting but it didn’t change what I thought the character was like. She is the character I’ll miss the most, but don’t think she’s the only character I like a lot.

1. Countess 2. Aurora 3. Lt. Belica 4. Sparrow 5. Dekker 6. Serath 7. Morigesh 8. Zinx 9. Drongo 10. Wraith 11. Yin 12. Gadget 13. Muriel 14. Twinblast 15. Murdock 16. Shinbi

I will miss all of them. There are a few I haven’t even tried.

The greatest game I couldn’t play

From September 19, 2017 to January 9 2018, I didn’t have internet access. Hurricane Maria had destroyed our infrastructure leaving many of us in a terrible situation. Originally I was OK, I was prepared for around 2 months of no power, let alone net access. My house held fine (or so it did at first) and my family was OK. Then it started, the following days it started raining what felt like non stop and the damage Maria did, was now evident. Water was pouring in, my things were getting damaged, first I lost my bed, then my desk, well to cut to the point, I pretty much lost my house. I don’t have the money to fix it and with the situation my country is in, I don’t think it’s even worth it.

All I kept thinking about was, man I wish I could play Paragon again. Sounds silly but everyone has something that helps them disconnect from whatever terrible reality they are in. For nearly 4 months that’s all I wanted to do. Late October I moved to my brother’s house, it had power, water would come later but at least it had power. I started playing some games to avoid thinking of what I lost and had yet to lose, as I couldn’t save everything important. Nothing clicked, all I wanted was to play Paragon. I would watch my captures of my game time, over and over and the “music video” I did of my first coop match playing her

I missed the October event, I wanted that mummy Yin skin. I almost missed the winter event skins, got net back right when they extended the event 1 more week, so I was able to buy Morigesh and Aurora’s skins. Those weren’t the last skins I bought, no. The last skin I bought was the Panda skin for Phase. The day before they announced that Paragon would close.

So you see, the answer to my first question, why is this affecting me so much? well, after losing my house and some of my things, the game I wanted to play the most is going away too. It breaks my heart, I saw Paragon from almost every stage in development, highs and lows I loved playing it, I still do. There are terrible games that somehow are still up (Day Z comes to mind) yet this amazing game that is making so many people cry, it’s going away. Or is it?

Were we lied to?

It all points to yes, something happened that they can’t talk about. In their open letter they said

Here inside Epic, we’re talking about the future of Paragon in pretty much the same terms as you’re talking about it. The core challenge is that, of new players who try Paragon, only a small number continue to play regularly after a month. Though Paragon has evolved, no iteration has yet achieved that magical combination of ingredients that make for a sustainable game. (As an aside, the problem isn’t marketing or how to make money with Paragon. We have good ideas that would solve those problems if we can find a way to make Paragon grow.) 

So, if the problem wasn’t marketing (which btw it was, it wasn’t even promoted 1/5 of what Fortnite has been) nor making money with it, the problem was making it worth the effort. At least that’s my opinion. Fortnite success came over night, so it was an easy decision to ditch their less popular game even though it is their superior product. But is that even the case here? While Paragon is going to close for us, in China it started its closed beta

What the flying fuck is going on here?

It’s hard not to feel betrayed, it’s hard not to wish Epic Games failure (I try not to) but nothing is harder than seeing a great game close, with some relatively true explanation but no real logic behind it. Closing Paragon, even if it was to make development on Fortnite easier, is a mistake. Leave it in life support until you can come up with better ideas for it. The rank mode they were working on was never implemented in Paragon, instead it was moved to Fortnite. So don’t tell me you did everything for the game, it died because you didn’t support it Epic. It died because you killed it not because we left, I never left. As the final months are quickly going by, and I try to enjoy my final moments with it, in an analogy I rather not say, I feel myself getting sick. I get this massive headaches now, Paragon may have nothing to do with it but coincidentally, they come after playing a few matches. It hurts to know it’ll be gone and that I won’t be Phase anymore.

On the other side, I hope Epic Games have realized that Fortnite is more of a platform than a game. Quickly being able to transform itself from tower defense building game to a battle royale with building elements. I mentioned Orc Must Die series, well their latest game was one of the many MOBA attempts that kind of failed. They had to add the classic gameplay that made them popular in order to keep their fans, because they were bleeding players like crazy. Now, the current version has plenty of modes, kept the MOBA, (EDIT: They removed the MOBA mode) added the classic and created a few more. Fortnite can be Paragonized if they wanted to, they could even add some of the Paragon characters to Fortnite, I would gladly pay for Phase.

Soldier Class

1. Belica 2. Murdock

Constructor Class

1. Terra 2. Greystone

Outlander Class

1. Phase 2. Twinblast

Ninja Class

1. Shinbi 2. Kwang

And clearly, I’m not the only one that thinks that’s doable. naastika.deviantart.com

Final thoughts

I may be angry and disappointed, and I do mean it, that if I can’t play Paragon or Phase (mostly Phase) any more, that I truly won’t support any more Epic Games games, but I do appreciate the rare opportunity to play such an amazing game. I’m too old to like video games for the gamey aspects of it, I prefer the media side of it, the opportunities it offers as a story telling device that surpasses books and movies. I started my gaming on the Atari 2600, I’m done with jumping around for hours or shooting for no reason. It is extremely rare for me to get attached to a game with no narrative, and the fact that Paragon pulled this off, speaks to the talent working on the game.

Thank you for Paragon, and fuck you if you do close it.

[shintari]

okay this is a hard one because i never really actively thought about it, and its been ages since i took other styles into my own, but there’s always influence, even if subconsciously, but hey, I’ll try and put together a list. It’s a bit on the elaborate side so I’ll put it under a read more

Dinosaurs, Horses and Kats were my first few inspirations, I loved them and I wanted to draw them and I sure as fuck did!

Next up was Sailor Moon and from there came Pokemon and Dragon Ball and that’s how I got into Anime and by extension Mangas, which I enjoyed because it wasn’t as cartoonish as literally all other cartoons on TV at the time.

Then came my Arina Tanemura phase. I was obsessed with her style, but I could never really recreate it. All the details were amazing, but I never felt good about the details I added to my own art in the same way I felt about hers. Though admittedly I’ve been thinking about going back to some of the Artbooks I have from her to analyze that a lil more in depth, instead of just gushing about it as I used to.

After that I spent a lot of time just trying to find my own style, trying to be original, yet at the same time, even when I tried to mimic other art styles of media I was really into at the time, I just couldn’t. They would all become the type of style, which had surprisingly ingrained itself by that point. And I wasn’t really able to think about what the fuck I was doing either, I just did. And that went on for fucking YEARS!

Then came my Deviantart years, ha! I was constantly chasing after artists who were better than me by fucking MILES and trying to be as good as them, and failing miserably. Man, all that comparing got me super fucking down, yet I can’t deny that I found some kind of orientation in the Semi-Realistic styles that just spoke to me.

Then I didn’t exactly art for a couple years, but I was starting to orient myself on photos and realistic things more, and I found some friends who indirectly influenced and inspired me. For example the way somebody drew mouths, and I think that’s what I’ve been doing ever since? Just... finding the little, small details that speak to me, giving it a thorough thought as to why the fuck I like it in the first place, and then working that specific reason into my art, not the style itself, but rather the thing that speaks to me.

So if for example I enjoy something because it looks clean or sharp, that’s what I try to work into my own style. I’m completely self taught and it was quite a journey before I started to really think about things, instead of just doing them, but I think there’s merit to both.

hello fellow artists in the ftc

What sources have influenced or inspired your art style over the years?

I’ll go first:

Kingdom Hearts, Redline, various shoujo manga, Naruto, Sailor Moon, Samurai Champloo, Vivziepop, Teen Titans, Panty and Stocking, Disney storyboards, Total Drama Island, there is more but that is what I can think of now

PLEASE I am dying to know

[mangled-dreams]

Dealings with a Devil (Part 3)

Dealings with a Devil (Part 3)

Reader X Darkiplier

You, Reader, have made a deal with what you believed to be a fantasized version of your favorite YouTuber’s alter ego, Darkiplier after he’d visited you in a dream. You believed Darkiplier to only exist in your dreams and on Markiplier’s YouTube channel, but by some impossible way he’s real and he intends on collecting on your debt to him.

It doesn’t really hit you hard and completely until three days before you are schedule to leave just how big this really is. You’d joked, make a few of handed remarks about falling in love and never returning back to Washington, but only now does it hit you like a bag full of bricks. Sitting on your bed you put your head in your hands and just…breath.

Looking to your laptop, you pull it into your lab and boot it up. When you get into these moods of overload you draw, or sing, or write. In this moment  you need to draw. Opening your “work” email you see a few requested drawing from a few loyal customers. Working on commissions isn’t your mainly job, working with your mother at her bookstore. Looking over the requested work you debate if you want to take up the request.

Hey, Dream_Maker, Thanks again for making the picture in  my head real. I have it hanging on my wall in the living room. Everyone keeps asking where I got it, but that’s not what this email is about. I wanted to commission another picture, this one’s gonna be for my personal collection. I’ve been reading a lot of MarkXJack fanfics. I really need a good visual to come into my life. It can be cartoonish or realistic. 

My price range for this one will be 150.00. Slight shading is preferred, but if all that can get me is flat color, I’m okay with that.But as for the drawing itself I wanna have Markiplier and Jacksepticeye in a lewd position. I have this vision of Jack, because I always think of him as the more feminine of the two, pushed, or pinned, or something under/by Mark. I’d like them to either be partially or completely nude. In my head I see them either against the wall, on a counter, or on a bed. I don’t really have a time frame in mind, so no worries there. You’ve never let me down before, so I’m not worried about it.Let me know if you’ll be willing to make my fantasy a reality. Lazy-Bones54n5 (Ashlynn). You don’t really get through the email without images running through your mind. You’d been indulging in smutty fanfiction yourself, so you have plenty of scenarios running around. Not to mention you’d been doing a lot of PG-13 at best images lately. Doing something NSFW will do your soul some good.Firing off an email back to Lazy-Bones54n5 you ask if she still wants the commission and that you are willing to throw in the shading for free if the time limit isn’t reached. Lazy-Bones54n5 responds quickly still requesting the work. You smile. Even with her quick response you almost have a template of the scene you want to depict drawn.

You spend the next three hours pouring everything in you to produce something your customer will love. You decided to go with a midway between realistic and cartoon. Essentially meaning it has an almost Disney feel to it. Growing up Disney played a large role in your earlier works and it feels good to revisit the style that started it all…even if it’s less that PG.

Staring at your creation with satisfaction you send the file along with a video of you creating the piece to Ashlynn. You know she enjoys seeing your process, the different positions and attempts you’ve made before committing to the one you finished.Staring at your screen the SKYPE bubble pops up, informing you that Ashlynn is calling you. You answer the call. It’s not unusual to get a SKYPE call since your returning customers get special access to you.

“Hello?” you answer slipping your headset with a microphone attached to it on your head.

“Hey! I just opened the file, it’s FUCKING AMAZING!” Ashlynn shrieks in your ear. You laugh.

“I’m glad you like it, Ash, I had so many different ideas going through my head but after working for ya this past year and a half I guessed this would be more pleasing to you.” You tell her smiling. You’d chosen to drawn Jack sitting naked on the kitchen counter top, his legs spread eagle as Mark stands between them just as naked. You chose not to show any actual penis, but rather the hint/shadow of their junks. You’re shading though, GOD is it on point. It’s actually one of your better shading jobs.

“Are you kidding me? It’s so perfect, I literally couldn’t have imagined this level of perfection. I love that you don’t actually show off their penises, but man, it makes a girl thirst.” Ashlynn laughs.You chuckle in response. 

“It was a complete pleasure to do the commission for you, and thank you for sending me the request. I’m actually going to be meeting Mark and potentially meeting Jack in LA in a few days and this is just want I needed to get all my nervous energy out.” you tell her smiling.

“Oh! That’s so cool! I guess this will give you excellent reference for future work.” Ashlynn responds, you agreeing with her. 

Chatting for a few minutes more you end the call and go back to searching through your commissions before taking a few simpler requests, ensuring the payments go through before sending off your finished work.

It’s just about three in the morning when you finally call it a night. Shutting down your computer before changing your clothing and slip under your blankets. Before you give in to sleep you faintly hear Dark’s voice whispering to you, but you can’t make out his words and soon they’re lost. “Mom…you’re embarrassing me.” you tell your lightly crying mother as you pat the top of her head. Her arms wrap tightly around your chest.

“Tahlia, you need to let go of her.” your father says sternly, but you can hear his affection for his ex-wife. “She’s not leaving for war.”

“Oh, hush, George,” your mother shushes, you chuckle in her grasp.

“I’ll be back in a week, I promise, and I’ll call you when I get to my hotel room.” You tell her easing out of her grasp. You give her a weak smile. You know you’re flight will be boarding in a little bit and you still need to get through the security checks.

“Sweetheart, I’m just…I’ll miss you.” Mom says dabbing at her eyes. You give her a sympathetic smile.

“I’ll be okay. As long as the plane doesn’t crash I’ll be fine.” you joke seeing it was the wrong joke but laugh anyways.

“What?” Mom gasps.

Your dad quickly butts in, his wallet in his hands. You give him a confused look. “It’s expensive in LA, I…this is an early birthday gift.” He tells you pushing a large number of bills into your hands. You don’t count it all but you can tell it’s over a thousand dollars.

“Dad! I can’t…I saved up and have more than enough…”

“I know, this is just extra so you don’t have to worry about cab fare or food.” Dad says looking a little nervous and uncomfortable about the whole thing. You sigh, nodding as you unzip your carry on laptop back and put the cash in a pocket next to your laptop inside the bag. You don’t need anyone to have easy access to your laptop or money.

“Thank you Dad. I doubt I’ll need that much money, but like you said, it’s good to have a few extra bills to avoid being without.” You can see his features relax a little now that you’re not trying to refuse his gift. “Alright, I have to go. I can’t miss my flight.” you tell them giving quick hugs before telling them both you loved them and hurried off into the single file line. 

You wave again before they exchange a few words and leave together. You let your smile drop as you watch them leave. It’s been a few years since they divorced and it still hits you that they’re happy, just not with each other like in your childhood. Sure, you want them both happy, but inside you still held on to the hope they’d get back together.

It takes twenty minutes but you just managed to get to the appointed boarding deck and wait in line to get on the flight. You hadn’t actually looked at your ticket other than to get the number of which area you needed to be in.

“Hello, oh, first class, this way please.” the flight steward says leading you opposite of the other passengers. He shows you to your seat, helps you with your bags, and asks if you’d like anything to drink. You decline and buckle up, relaxing into your seat until the flight is completely boarded and takes off. 

Take off and landings always elicit a giggly, fluttering feeling in your stomach. You can’t help the little smile from crossing your face as you close your eyes for a few seconds when the feeling takes over.

Once it’s safe to turn on electronic devices you get your laptop down and drawing tablet you use on trips and start working a little. You put on your headphones and turn up your music to avoid being asked questions before pouring into your art.

At some point you become too tired and save your progress, barely getting your laptop and tablet put away before falling asleep in your seat. It’s a short flight and you thought you’d be able to simply work the entire trip, but staying up until three hours before your flight probably hadn’t been the best idea.

The steward from earlier wakes you and helps you gather your things. You thank him and exit the plane, heading down to the luggage carousal to retrieve your luggage. It’s a simple medium trunk  with bring orange and red poppies on it. Your father taped bright yellow duck tape to the handle for easy spotting. It works and you find your luggage within seconds.

Collecting it from the carousal you head to the front of the airport. You hadn’t been in LA before but the weather is simply delightful. A warm breeze greets you as you exit the automatic doors leading to the loading and unloading areas. You look around, Mark’s manager said someone would be here to meet you and take you to your hotel room.

Peering around the concrete walkway you spot brightly colored posters with your name covered in glitter. Laughter bubbles up in your chest. Waving and jumping when the holders spot you. Some how, in some weird way this almost feels like home. You see Tyler, Ethan, and of course Mark bouncing up and down waving you over.

You laugh as you walk over to them, greeting and trying your best to keep yourself from falling apart with laughter. Well, this is going to be exciting, you think rather happily. Dark stands beyond the crowd growing around you and his host. He detests how freely you give the once again red haired YouTuber. He detests how his doppelgangers’ arms wrap around you, holding you tight without a fight or standing like a board.

He watches you get into the medium sized car and drive away. Reaching out just slightly the sun passes right through his form. Clenching his fist Dark disappears leaving behind nothing of his presence. He will make this work and he will hold you to your promise.

Part 4

[jasonpichu]

Thoughts on Super Mario Odyssey

Putting under spoilers, as I know for sure there’s people reading the blog who don’t want to be spoiled on the game.

I love Super Mario Odyssey (abbreviated from this point on as SMO). And I’m actually really surprised that I love it as much as I do.

The reason why I’m surprised is because, honestly, I’m not a fan of platformers. They don’t have a lot of impact or draw for me, and I’m generally mostly cool on them. There’s a couple I’m fond of (like Kirby), but generally I’ll just watch them & I’m comfortable not playing them.

But, having watched SMO makes me really want to play it, and I’m not exactly sure why that is. But there’s definitely a lot to really like.

Visually, I really like it - I appreciate the kinda way-too-realistic textures not being as bizarre as they could’ve been due to the great use of colors & general cartoonishness of the world offsetting it, and it’s cool to see so many different styles of locations being done very well & distinctly from each other.

They all seem like extremely good fun to traverse, and there’s something to be said about the style of collect-a-thon they made the game - there’s a lot of Power Moons, but they’re also all over the place (some of which being kind of infamously easy to get ahold of) and generally act as a great way for rewarding players who’re willing to look around a little bit more, or for going down an interesting side path, or for mastering a basic mechanic to the level/enemies that they just introduced. And I know that’s transitioning from purely visuals to gameplay things, but I think that it’s important to include that, as I’m bad at finding secrets, but I don’t mind little detours on the main path in an area - and I think this game is at least designed in part for people who play like that (there’s obviously more expansive explorative things as well). That really helps the appeal for me.

I also love how much personality they gave Mario - this isn’t to say that normally he has none, but he’s a very animated character & there’s a lot of cool little touches they added to him visually that’s distinct. This is really fun, especially when combined with all of the costumes that he gets, and that really helps in giving each world it’s own feeling & personality that you can have Mario dress as appropriately (or inappropriately, depending on how silly you are) as possible.

And, somewhat relatedly, I like how Mario plays in this game - he’s a fun mix of just about every 3D Mario game made, with elements of them all being present. Cappy even gives him a bit of Sunshine’s design in there too, serving the same but overall better executed role as FLUDD. He is primarily 64 styled, which is what everyone points out, but he also has bits of Galaxy in there (especially with how his health is laid out), some elements of the 3D World version of him, and a few new things (like rolling around on the ground for speed a la Sonic).

The platforming aspects of the game are interesting as well - I’m generally fond of the Nintendo approach to difficulty, which is to make the main game fairly easy & work as an introduction to what you can do, and then add side content that’s more challenging & requires you to have at least somewhat mastered the mechanics they already introduced to you to complete. I think SMO does a great job carrying this design philosophy on, and they add in an element from Breath of the Wild that I also liked - not being incredibly explicit on how to do things. Well, okay, there are a couple very clear tutorial things, but they’re generally fine to just let you figure it out yourself, and they won’t tell you everything you can do - you’ll just be able to see a Power Moon on a spot, and you’ll have to try and think of what kind of trick you need to get there. Compared to the SM64 style of level design - where every star and/or shine would get it’s own dedicated level & you’d be pretty clearly lead to what you need to do to get it - I think that this is a better way to do it, because it encourages you to think a lot more about the game & how you can use all of your options. And they reserve the SM64 styled declarations for actual story progress - which is just about always just two missions, after which you’re given free reign to collect the extra moons that you need to get to the next level, rather than being straight pointed to them. And, while it’s a very minor aspect, I appreciate the existence of Hint Toad for people who might not be as good at figuring out where those moons are.

And then there’s the music. While the game is generally very sparing on music, kind of like Breath of the Wild, when you do get it it’s amazingly done. It’s an interesting mix of Galaxy’s orchestral songs and 3D World’s more big band styled soundtrack - I’m especially happy about the latter, as 3D World has probably my favorite soundtrack in the series. I really like the big band sound, and think that it fits Mario extremely well compared to the more sweeping orchestral music Galaxy gave us, so getting to hear that is great. Odyssey has a lot of different music styles, though, and it generally will stick with one for a whole area, which is neat.

And lastly, there’s the story - it’s not an award winning thing or anything, Mario’s not a series you really play for the story & it’s how it should be. But I appreciate a lot of what was attempted here, and there were aspects of it I really liked - in particular, the last sequences of the game in Bowser’s & the Moon Kingdom. The last level is probably my favorite ending to a Mario game ever - getting to control Bowser himself & doing that last platforming sequence, especially the very last part with the vocal theme, all of that got a really child-like happiness out of me & I enjoyed watching every second of it.

So I don’t know, just wanted to jot down all of the things that I liked about the game for future reference. Maybe at another point I can add onto this and provide something more concrete.

[ciryes]

your newest piece of art is really good! i can see how much you've improved.

Thank you very much! One of the things I dislike about my art is that it looks too rounded, and not stylized enough, so I’m trying to go for a more angular/cartoonish look. One of my proudest drawings is this time I drew Peridot from Steven Universe, and I think the reason that is is because she’s a character with a really stylized design, and so it compliments my style well. I want to try and design characters in a simple but prominent way like that. Rather than focusing on anatomical accuracy (as I have been doing before) I want to find out how to draw simply and stylistically and have it look nice.

I also tried adding a little bit of clothing detail on the shirt, which I think turned out nice! At some point I’m going to try and teach myself how to make dresses look realistic, and not upside-down bowls. Fabric folds are probably something important to learn, especially on Touhou characters who always have such elaborate clothing.

[kashuan]

All right, there are quite a few things that come to mind with a question as broad as this, so here’s my best attempt to sum up what character design means to me in like 5 minutes :,D. I’m going to start with a few very quick sketches that talk about more my general approach to drawing, but I’m going to build up to how it all connects with character.

Step 1) Find reference! Whenever you can, use reference, it will always make your character’s posing look 100 times more genuine than anything you can pull from your brain, and that’s nothing to feel bad about. It’s not cheating because we’re not stopping at Step 2 either, which is where the misnomer comes in that you’re just ‘copying’ (protip: even step 2 isn’t a straight Copy; as long as you’re not tracing, you’re not copying, and even tracing has its uses for personal studies). I could do a whole answer of it’s own about picking your reference, but I’ll keep it short by saying: not every reference will fit every character. Keep in mind your character’s attitude when choosing your ref. Some poses are so generic they’re one size fits all, but even this very simple pose has unique character to it. The way the legs are posed, to me, gives it a young and girlish feeling, and depending how you played with the expression, you could even make it come off shy. An overbearingly confident character, while also taking an arms crossed pose, will likely position their legs differently, assuming a stance that takes up more space, etc.

Step 2) Draw pretty much exactly what you see first, but keep it simple. Think of the body like individual shapes; anatomy is not the focus right now, and you’ll actually hinder yourself if you hone in on that first. What you want to do at this stage is capture what the pose is generally doing; character isn’t involved yet Step 3) Now, working off 2′s framework, start considering body type. If you skip the previous step, you might have a hard time capturing the gesture correctly, since it’s a lot for your brain to juggle at once. When I sketched these two different body types, I built it straight off the first drawing, erasing lines as needed.

So the first image includes some extremely basic body type variations, this one pushes that idea further. 1 is the basic frame from the last image, while 2 is about playing with proportions. There are a lot of ways you can play with proportions, and as I’ll come to sound like a broken record about: make those decisions thoughtfully. For example, when I made this version shorter than the reference base, I had to consider exactly where I wanted her to lose that height. Here, I made her shorter waisted, took a little length from the legs, and gave her a squatter neck as well. You can do one of these or all of them. Just keep in mind those are all individual options. Letting your train of thought stop at ‘this character is short/tall so I’m just going to generally shrink/stretch their body’ means you’ll run out of variety pretty fast, and sometimes the overall proportions can end up looking wonky (though there’s always exceptions to the rule, remember that the individual body parts should remain correctly scaled in relation to each other). Image 3 is another approach to proportional manipulation, except rather than focusing on height, it focuses on fat distribution and to a lesser extent bone structure. Again, there’s so many individual places you can focus on here, make sure to mix them up. Arm size, shoulder broadness, chest and hip size, leg thickness and musculature, foot and hand size and so forth.   Image 4 is a further exaggeration of image 3 and the lines have started to get a little more stylized. While image 3 is still reasonably realistic, 4 is just starting to cross into cartoon territory. Advantage of 4 is that when you are able to push the proportions further due to the leniency of style, you can sell a clearer idea and a clearer character. Downside is, well, it looks more cartoonish now, and depending on the needs of your image that might not be what you want ie: it can look like a mistake rather than a purposeful choice if everyone else around the character is drawn more realistically.

Also… I see variations on this general advice quite a lot for women, but don’t forget about doing the same for men. It’s great to see how eager a lot of artists are to experiment with the female form that is simply absent in a lot of mainstream media, but I find that men really tend to fall by the wayside here even though they often get equally shallow treatment in the mainstream. There’s usually like 2-3 ‘go-to’ body types for men and that’s it. Men’s bodies can have the exact same amount of variety as a woman’s, including the individual ways the fat can be distributed on it, and the assorted ways their proportions can be played with. Whenever I find an artist that does this it’s like striking gold to me tbh. 

So there’s some very rough hows. But, perhaps even more importantly than any of that, is WHY you make these choices. This is going to get a little stream of consciousness, but with a question this broad, I tried to hit on as many general points I could think of in regard to my own process.

-When I start to design a character, I really need to have an understanding of them first. This includes things like backstory, personality, habits, so and so forth… Yes, all of this stuff shows up in their design, even if it’s just a drawing of them standing straight up. This isn’t just like ‘this character got this scar at age 7 so I need to know where it goes′, I mean in depth info about them. I touched on this a little bit earlier, bringing up the different ways a character would assume the same general pose, but let me expand on that. -What do I mean by personality? So there’s the most obvious answer, which is that a bubbly character will assume bubbly poses, a sullen character will slouch more, etc… But let’s take it further than that. This is a concept I’ve touched on in past tutorials, but here’s a quick recap. A character’s personality involves their opinions, for one; how do you make that show up in their design? Well, one of the most obvious questions I always ask myself is: what is their opinion on their own appearance (the thing we are drawing)/how do they want to be perceived by others? Consider a strong character. I see a lot of artists who take this thought as far as: okay, this character is strong, so I’m gonna throw a 6 pack on him, maybe a nice pair of guns, and call it a day. Which leads to like, nice art, but also...kind of bland? I think that’s because this is a rather half-baked approach. How can we take it further? Ask yourself more specific questions. Is your strong character concerned with being perceived as an ‘ideal’ sort of fit by others (the type you give that showy 6 pack to) or does that not matter to them? (more likely to look ‘chubby’ if not outright fat, though probably is just as if not more capable of actually doing some real heavy lifting than saran wrapped abs man). If they’re some kind of mystical being that can look like whatever they want (ie: the anime waif that can also lift 1000 lbs-trope), you should still take into account their personal perspective on appearance. Don’t just stop at ‘this guy/girl is strong so they’ll look super shredded’ or ‘they’re magic so I’ll do whatever’. Doing this, you’ve instantly lost a chance to inform the audience more about the individual there beyond ‘they’re strong’ -Break it down further with their habits. What is their daily life like? If they’re running ten miles every day they should probably have some strong looking legs. If their job involves a lot of lifting, maybe focus on the upper body more and leave the legs less defined. Do they eat a lot? Or drink? The way the fat distributes in both these cases will be noticeably different (and this isn’t even taking into account points like an endomorph vs an ectomorphs body, which I always suggest reading up on). I’d definitely recommend drawing as many different body types as you can just as studies, in order to add these variations to your mental library. I’m sure every artist has seen this popular athlete line up by now, but really study images like this. Don’t just mindlessly copy what you see when you create your own characters though; think about why those athletes have the bodies they have, what they specifically did to get them like that, and how that can apply to your character’s own life. -One thing that has always bothered me is how often artists are afraid to use the head (not the features; I’ll get to that in a second) as an extension of the body when it comes to imbuing it with variety and character. While it is absolutely possible to have a thin face and a fat body (as is any combo), it’s another missed opportunity not to experiment with chubby cheeks, a soft jawline, etc. It’s a cliche to mention him at this point as an inspiration, but one of my very favorite things about Mucha’s art was how he was able to make fuller faces look so beautiful despite being a rather nontraditional approach (so many art books try to tell you this is a big NO). example, example. These faces actually look like real individuals to me than a drawing that focuses too hard on being generically aesthetically pleasing. -So, facial features. A face with less traditional features isn’t just going to be more memorable than Stock Beautiful Face #73, but it’s basically a more zoomed in version of informing the audience about the character in the same way the body does. -Know tropes, play with tropes, do not rely on tropes. Sunken bone structure, long features-guy will always pretty much read like a villain (or at least someone off-putting), but find somewhere to make the formula your own. Give him thicker eyebrows or big ears. Give the girl with the standard doll-face a nose that sticks out a little more prominently or a crooked smile. -Speaking of are so many different ways to draw a smile, do not underestimate the mileage you can get out of this one feature alone. Artists tend to have a favorite way to draw smiles, in my experience, but remember your character. Would they have a big toothy grin, a handsome ‘cool’ looking smile, a small shy lopsided one, ones that touch the eyes, ones that don’t… This is probably a repetitive point by now but just do whatever you can not to draw the exact same feature on two different characters, and make sure to think through your reasoning for every choice you make. To me, it’s always immediately evident if an artist really knows their character or if they’re just trying to make something aesthetically pleasing. The former is always more attention grabbing in my opinion. -One of my favorite things to consider when designing a character who’s part of a family: genetics and how you can play with them to inform the audience more about the character’s story. Does this character take after their mother or father? How? Why? Why why, you might ask? This isn’t a photo of a real person, this is an illustration that you should be making deliberate choices about every step along the way. It’s one thing to draw a character that looks like their parent simply because logic dictates they should, another to make meaningful decisions as to where and why they do. Some examples: He has his father’s eyes because they carry the same intensity and other characters are a little put off by him because it (conversely, maybe he’s such a gentle character that this detail stands out twice as strongly). He has the same hair as his father, but he styles it differently to avoid the association. She has her mother’s nose which everyone compliments her on so shes happy to be seen in profile. She has her father’s broad shoulders and she’s a little self conscious about it so she tends to wear baggier clothing. Etc etc! In all these cases, you can communicate these details through even a simple drawing of the character standing alone, and should try to as often as you can. -In the end, the only way you’re going to know how to draw all these different details, whether they be different body types or different facial features, is by studying real people. Draw as many different kinds as you can, add them to your mental library. Your reference will never give you everything you need to work it, and I’m not sure if that’s maybe what this question as getting at-- if I have a reference folder of go-to ‘types’ or something. I don’t. I have a folder of poses labeled with characters I think they’d fit, and that’s about it. If you’re just imitating what you see in a photo, you’ll always be drawing That Person, not Your Character. So you are going to have to pull some of it out of your brain. Note, however, the important difference between just ‘making it up’ and recalling information you’ve studied in the past. That said, while on this last topic of expanding your mental library, that includes not just doing studies, but also learning and observing the ways other accomplished artists work. Here are some of my book recommendations when it comes to those which have most helped me in regard to this particular subject. This includes books that specifically tell you how to vary your body types, but also ones that just have a lot of examples of different kinds: Morpho: Anatomy for Artists Morpho: Fat and Skin Folds Famous Artists School Course in Illustration and Design (If anyone is interested in this one and has trouble finding a non $500 copy, hit me up and I’ll help you out) Spirit of the Pose Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters Drawing People: How to Portray the Clothed Figure Figures from Life (my favorite currently; not the most varied array of figures but he goes in depth on how to successfully grow an academic study of a model into an illustration influenced by your own ideas and personal style) If you found this answer helpful, although it isn’t specifically about character design, I go a little more in depth about some of the topics I briefly covered here (such as choosing the right reference, good vs bad reference in general, honing in on shapes, pushing the pose, etc) in this short book of mine :>

[ges-sa]

New Post has been published on https://ges-sa.com/everybodys-golf-vr-review/

Everybody’s Golf VR Review

One of the most enjoyable Golf games available, not focused on accuracy but rather pushing on the arcade fun style.

The Everybody’s Golf series has been around since the 90s with some name differences in North America (Hot Shots) but since the last release of Everybody’s Golf on PS4 in 2017 the series uses the same name worldwide. The series has always been known for its lighter approach to golf, using more cartoonish graphics and styles of play but at the same time still using realistic engines and precision ball physics.

Everybody’s Golf VR stays with the same style and gameplay apart from the VR mechanics. When you start up there are a few set up required by the game like if you are using a PS motion or DualShock controller. After that you will be taken through a tutorial on how gameplay works and what the controls are. The control layout is simple to understand and easy to navigate, which makes it great for VR play.

At first you will only be able to play one course and 3 random holes at a time and as you play more modes, styles, settings and courses will unlock. You also have a caddy that assists you in the game which more options also will get unlocked as you progress in the game. Different club sets work in the same way.

The types of games you can play is limited but understandable that they wanted to concentrate by delivering a solid VR title rather than to bombard it with content and the gameplay is not great. The graphics do not look that much different form that of the 2017 version released on PS4 but still looks great for the style of the series. In between some holes you might get an event happening where you caddy takes you to a beautiful location or a “shortcut” to get to the next hole. These events do not require you to do anything but is only there as a break in between. I thought it was a nice touch, but it can be seen as a little pointless as well.

The gameplay works well and after the initial set up of the VR and my surroundings I was off playing virtual golf in my living room. The motion sensors reacted great and only once did I have to readjust myself for a swing that didn’t register properly. You do have the option of standing or sitting while playing but why would you want to sit down playing golf and not perform full swings? It was great to play a round of golf and not leaving the house but after an hour I had to take a break.

Everybody’s Golf VR is a great title to have some golfing fun with, keeping in mind that the game is not created for simulation. It is a great game for beginners as well to look at and see what effort golfing can be.

Reviewed on: PS4 VR Genre: Golf, VR Publisher: SIE Release Date: 22 May 2019

Likes: Great fun, cool to play VR Golf

Dislikes: A career mode would be cool

[docmurph12]

Review time!! Yay quarantine!!

We are starting Frozen 2 and I am beginning to feel like I only do this for Disney flicks. I promise my next one will be for something NOT mouse related. Going in I am excited and anticipating something with an unconventional but worthwhile lesson. The first movie surprised the hell out of me when it was revealed that the hero wasn't the typical Prince Charming, but the protagonist's sister. It signalled a new direction for Disney that could easily have been part of this misguided "woke" ideal but has given us wonderful stories that highlight the importance of family and building solid relationships with siblings and yourself rather than seeking love externally. I dig it. Time to start the film!!

Ok so first things first: Its going to be difficult to critique this thing in design or animation. It's a Disney animated film so of course it is done to perfection. The one thing I will say is I am impressed on closer inspection how human the characters move and emote. I am choosing to not use the word realistic because we are talking about an animated film and I don't want to confuse people, even though I am going to use the term human as it relates to anthropomorphic characters. There are very minute subtleties in facial expression and physicality that add yet another level to very well done vocal performances.

I love Josh Gadd's Olaf. He comes off like a not so silent and accidental Silent Bob. I really liked the C3PO-esque retelling of the original Frozen. I am really enjoying most of the vocal performances overall, Sterling Brown was a wonderful surprise, in that his voice performance was believable, and he very clearly was giving a physical performance the animators could use because his character's animation was on freaking point. I am not totally enamored with Elsa though. Idina Menzel is....a talented enough vocalist, but her voice doesn't match her character's appearance. It didn't match in the first one and now that I have been doing my research it REALLY doesn't now. I am going to get crucified for this one, but that coupled with the fact that her singing voice is throaty and cartoonish and doesn't really match up at all with her speaking voice the way everyone else's does tells me that was a really bad casting choice, and this may not be the medium for her. I am one of few but that's my honest assessment.

I kind of love "Lost in the Woods". Its kind of out of place but it's a fun song with a subtle and well placed Queen reference. And to top it off I now see why Sarah compares me and Bruce to Kristoff and Sven.

The closing credits song by Panic! At The Disco proves my earlier point: Brendan Urie does a better Elsa than Idina Menzel. I now stand more firm in that.

Credits finding- Of course Alan Tudyk was several people in the film, and was completely unrecognizable. Hes the goddamned Gary Oldman of voice work. What an incredible talent. For Christ's sake go fucking watch Doom Patrol, he is so much fun to watch.

Final assessment--I really liked it. When I am thinking about how good a movie is or isn't, my first thought is always going to be "Will I watch this again?" To that I say this, Yes. I will undoubtedly watch this again, but probably not because of a choice I made to do so. BUT ALL THAT BEING SAID, I really liked the Meatloaf-ness of most of the soundtrack. It was a fun departure from the typical Disney Broadway style of scoring a musical cartoon film. My only real gripe is I just don't like Idina Menzel and I am not sure if it is that I don't like her or if it is that I don't like her as Elsa. I probably would have cast Lea Michele instead but for all other parts of this movie, well executed. I will say I kind of like the fact that this is sort of difficult to interpret a "moral" and am kind of just looking at a good story that isn't meant to be interpreted. It is nice to have stories that don't need interpreting to have intrinsic value. LIFE ISN'T ENGLISH CLASS PEOPLE.

Final grade-- A surprising A-. I dont see myself putting up a HUGE fight if this is on against my will.

P.s. Olaf does another C3PO type regaling at the end of the credits and it's great. Wait till the end (the musical covers are pretty good) and enjoy!