#I am no artist . I just ended up painting this copy of this picture of Taylor singing All Too Well (10 minutes)

[wah-pah]

All Too Well (2024)

Gouache and Watercolour on Paper

[sunshine304]

FTH Fanbinding: "Concord" by Deastar

@youhideastar won my FTH auction and gave me a great gift: She wanted me to bind her CQL fic "Concord" including the thorough author's commentary she'd done. I was so happy when she chose this fic because I'd loved it so much and had pondered doing a fanbinding of it at some point anyway. 😄

Now that the book has finally arrived (spending two days in the air even, I guess, at least when one looks at the tracking info 😆), I can show it off here!

I tried some new stuff on this bind and also some things that I'd only done once before and that definitely need some, uh, perfecting. 😅 But overall, I'm very pleased with how this book turned out, as it's pretty close to what I'd imagined when I started it.

The fic is set in Cloud Recesses and Dea and I agreed that the colour blue should be prominent in the design, as it not only fits the setting, but also is of significance in the story itself. As the rules and traditions of the Lan sect also are quite important, I wanted a very clean, simple style for the case, a bit reminiscent of traditional Chinese bindings.

I did the title as a cut-out and used Japanese transparent paper for some extra flavour. The paper shows up inside the book as well early on and I liked the recurring motive of it. I'm also really pleased how well the hot foil came out on it! I was a bit scared that it might rip or something, but it's quite sturdy, after all.

I thought about doing a faux stab binding with red thread to get even more of a traditional feel, but then decided against it as I'd wanted to use two different blue book cloths and I felt that it might get too busy. Instead, I used the red ribbon as a nod to Wei Wuxian.

The little cloud illustration is used several times in the typeset and I like how it comes out in the title. I didn't even mess up this title, yay! (Mine's got a few tiny blotches but uh well, better mine than Dea's!)

I painted the edges with metallic watercolours - the second time I tried painting edges, but this time with several colours and trying to do a little illustration as well. Big thanks to @zhalfirin who quickly answered my question about how to get the paint to actually stick. 😆 I'd read several posts about how awesome water colours are for foreedge painting, but none mentioned that this kind of paint just rubs off again (I am no artist and have no knowledge of different kinds of paint). Zhalfirin told me to mix in glue and also wax the edges afterwards, which I both did and I think it's fine now. At least my fingers didn't turn blue. 😅

I really love how the shading came out on the head/tail; it could've been better on the foreedge and it looked great while the paint was still wet. Steep learning curve, this thing. I also died trying to sand the edges and I didn't get them completely smooth, but at least smooth enough to work with. That also needs some more work, I guess.

First time I sewed endbands with four different colours! I think they came out quite well! I also forgot the second row of dark blue on Dea's book and had to unravel half the endband again when I noticed at the very end... 🤦‍♀️

Nice marbled endpapers. For the title page spread, I used part a very famous Chinese painting, as it not only reminds me of the Gusu mountains but also, again, is very traditional. I played around with the colours to give the picture a bit of a bluer tinge.

The typeset itself was very straight-forward. There's the fic without commentary, and then the second part with it. I used a grey background for the comment parts to make it stand out from the actual story.

I had lots of printer issues with this fic (my copy actually had even more issues because the printer treated every page as an image for unknown reasons and therefore it not only took forever, it's also a tiny bit blurry. Hmpf.) and the greys tended to have a bit of a blue tinge, which was not my intention. But at least it works with the overall theme, I guess! 😅

I also did an extensive Appendix with all the meta links mentioned in the commentary as well as cut scenes and a little "praise for the author" section.

Last but not least, I decided to try making a slipcase for the first time! DAS_Bookbinding on youtube has good tutorials on that and I used one of them. It worked well on the first try. The second try, I used sturdier cardboard and should've added a few millimetres to the width, because the book didn't fit - the ribbon got stuck and I feared that it might get damaged. So I had to redo the case and then it was perfect.

I used wallpaper as cover material. 😄 The one you see on the outside? That's my living room wallpaper, a light blue with a lovely pattern and soft shimmer to it. My camera unfortunately is refusing to get the colour right.🤷‍♂️

The assembling process went well, for the most part. I'd forgotten to shorten the endpapers a bit which I only realised after I'd started casing in my copy. I carefully separated the textblock from the case again and then, in a moment of complete mental blackout, tried to cut the wet paper. 🤦‍♀️ That didn't go well. I managed to salvage it, mostly, and of course didn't repeat the mistake with Dea's copy, but ugh. 😆

This was a super fun project and I'm very happy with it! Thank you again, Dea, for your faith in me and your super generous donation! 💙

Materials used:

Printed on Clairefontaine DCP 100g

Case and endpapers:

booklinen Colibri cornflower

booklinen Paradise aqua

marbled paper 120g

transparent Japanese paper

Hot Foil (Memory Keepers)

Slipcase:

fleece wallpaper Newroom Nisa lightblue

fleece wallpaper grey glitter

[the-east-art]

Hi Thank you for coming to my TED Talk about how I dont like the Grid Method for drawing

I think most people in their life have seen the grid method for copying a piece of art - if you haven’t seen it you can probably at least get an idea of it pretty quick. The grid method for art requires you to break a piece into a series of equal squares, and then transfer those squares onto a blank piece of paper divided into the equal squares of the same ratio. Conceptually this idea is very sound - rather than biting off the entire picture, you focus on each section. Theoretically, if you can make square A1 look like square A”1, and so on and so forth, you should finish with an identical drawing to your picture. I, personally, have a strong distaste for this method. It teaches bad habits - especially to younger and newer artists. (If you are a big fan of this method please read all of my rant first or at least scroll to the end where I will reiterate some of the perceived positives of the method)

The best way to discuss this is to start with a general idea of how we go about drawing something - especially something from a reference! I will try not to riddle this rant with disclaimers, but not everyone will draw using the same or similar methods, but this is the way that I was taught and when discussing with other artists they usually follow similar ideas: When you draw you go from big to little - from general to specific. Getting too specific too early is detrimental. This is an art rant, so let’s chat about this with some pictures. 

Here I have a picture of a square and a circle. Next to it I have my blank piece of paper, and I want to draw it EXACTLY THE SAME on the paper. To do this - whether consciously or not - I will start taking mental ‘measurements’ of various aspects of this composition. How far are these objects from the edges? How much space do they take up? And I will compare these objects to each other - which object is bigger? Where do they connect - is their point of contact halfway up the square or a quarter ways up the square? In the previous questions I am specifically focused on circle in relationship to the square, so it’s worth noting that if my square isn’t placed correctly then everything else will be placed incorrectly as well. Early on in a piece you want to keep lines light, ready to be changed if need be. One of my professors used to say that you wanted to avoid falling in love and getting married to a line as long as possible, because once you fall in love with your lines you will be reluctant to change them. 

Here I have a square and a circle - although maybe these have a little more details going on in them than our previous square and circle. Now maybe this is overwhelming, but remember we want to start from general and then get specific - our process for drawing this should look much the same as our previous painting! Starting with the outline and general shape! This brooch technically isn’t a circle - it’s scalloped on the edges - but before we put that information in we want to make sure we have the placement of it correctly both on the paper and in reference to our other elements - the square. When we feel confident in those elements, we can start SLOWLY adding the other information. A lot of art is about training the eye - we’re looking between the picture and our drawing, trying to see visually what the difference is and correct it. 

Naturally, the more complicated the piece the more complicated this process becomes. If we, for instance, have a person, thats’ a lot more to deal with. We once again want to work outside first. My professor was very big on outlines and shadows first and details slowly after that - so I would likely want to work on the external form, and some lines, and then work in blocky shadows, and fine-tune it from there. Once again let’s ask ourselves what will happen if we just start with the eye - and we spend HOURS drawing the perfect eye - only to realize that it isn’t in the right place in reference to everything else. We’d either have to erase that eye and all our work, rework the entire rest of the drawing, or leave it to look offputting and wrong. When you start art you can get preoccupied with features, when in reality they should be one of the last elements you definitively put in. 

There’s one last part about this that is relevant to my dislike for the grid method, and it’s the idea that when we’re looking at a piece we find commonalities along lines to help guide our art. For instance here we can see that one eye lies horizontally on the same plane and the back of the dogs head matches with a place on the coat - these can help guide us in making sure things are looking right! The grids may help us to see these things, but not necessarily.

Okay, back to the grid method. As I’ve stated earlier the grid method can be used well and the principles behind it are good - our neat squares provide an easier visual way to do the exact same stuff we were doing earlier - how far is the object from the edges and from each other etc etc. However these squares actually can encourage the artist to focus too closely - again either a square at a time or a feature at a time. In addition they narrow the focus of the artist away from the whole - instead of seeing how everything lays on the entire page, you focus on how things are lying in that specific tiny box. Art is usually a dance of in and out - close and far. Taking a step back. The grid method discourages this. 

I say this again aware that many people are extremely successful using this method - young auteurs who draw a giant portrait hyperrealistic. Leyendecker would use a grid to make his smaller drawings bigger (although I would argue he first had an understanding of the previous methods for the intiial drawing, and used the grid more for enlargement of the previous piece). People do this method and do it well… just more people learn bad habits from it that they have to fight against to progress. 

The last thing I want to say is about how the flaw, always, with the grid method is that it has to be something that you can place a grid on - you become confined to the paper and ruler. While the earlier method was taught to be through still life drawings, measuring with a stick, it was clear that this eye training and method was versatile, and could be used for anything you placed in front of me, the grid method becomes a shackle. And I know I know I know, but other artists have found ways around such a block - the perspective frame for painting has been used by many artists over the years, including Vincent Van Gogh - places somewhere to make the process of copying the real world easier - but why let yourself be confined willingly? If you are a big grid believer I would beseech you to AT LEAST try and expand your studies in addition to the grid formula - a healthy diet of many different kind of studies and practices and eye trainings is what we do to hopefully, one day, be able to put the designs in our head down onto paper accurately. 

Additionally, using the grid method provides no room for your to be using your instincts to help. I’ve been reading through ot3’s personal philosophy of composition and I found the line in the introductions where they discuss the idea of following your instincts very important. Part of my philosophy firmly believes that people understand art ephemerally without the need of words first, and overtime the act of art is becoming more aware of the words and phrases of certain concepts, so that we gain the ability to use and manipulate them purposefully. 

Anyway there ya go! Let me know your thoughts!

[nightlyrequiem]

Latrodectus

II. Fragmented

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

AO3

Latrodectus Mactans, otherwise known as the Black Widow, are known for their uncouth treatment of their partners. The 'widow' part of their name stemming from the common occurrence of the female devouring her partner after mating.

Tags/Warnings: Abduction, Violence, Emotional Manipulation, harassment, A Dabble of Psychological Torture, Drugging, Breaking And Entering, Fem!reader

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Valeria learned to adapt, like any good animal. She mastered the art of mimicry, and her peers were none the wiser. She studied their faces and mannerisms and copied them to perfection. In hindsight it was pointless. Once puberty hit and she grew into her face and body nobody cared that there was something just a little off about her. Being pretty and physically developed meant she could get away with a lot more. No longer would she be shunned for her off putting ways. In fact, it just made her all the more desirable to her hormonal male peers. Their attention was wasted on Valeria, who spent most of her time chasing girls she found 'special.' Marie Sanchez turned out to be very unremarkable. Not as deity-like as Valeria thought she was. Then came Elle Minote, with her honey blonde hair and mousy round face. Her good looks rivaled Valeria's and she quickly swooped in to claim her. Crowning herself as Elle's best friend. 

Even before their friendship fell apart, Valeria's treatment of Elle was far from appropriate. She smothered her. Elle wasn't allowed to hang out with other people when Valeria was not pleasant. Elle wasn't allowed to have other friends. If she refused to stop hanging around them Valeria would throw guilt-tripping fits. Valeria would harshly criticize any boy Elle showed interest in. Making her feel foolish for even considering going out with him, why would Elle want a boy like that? She's far too pretty and likeable for someone about as interesting as a cheap handbag. Elle couldn't handle the overbearing weight of being Valeria's object of affection, though. She drifted away and found herself a boyfriend. Heartbroken and furious, Valeria vowed to ruin every relationship Elle ever got. It's not like she had any issues doing so. Boys are simple creatures after all.

You didn't eat the sandwich. Valeria stares at you with disappointment and you glower right back at her from the corner. Your skin is looking dull. Probably from the lack of nutrients and sunlight.

"Why are you being so difficult?" Valeria asks sharply. Why does she even bother with carefully handmaking your food if you're going to be so unappreciative?

"Why am I being so difficult?" You repeat. Voice hard with anger. "Gee, I don't know, maybe it's because you kidnapped me and locked me in a fucking cell!" Your hands grip your iron chain tightly.

"A cell?" Valeria scoffs incredulously. How dare you call this a cell. It's clean. You have a nice, soft bed with blankets. It's far more luxurious than any prisoner would get. She storms up to you and grabs your face. "You are so incredibly ungrateful." She whispers dangerously. Dilated eyes locked onto yours. 

You were an artist. In the background of one of your pictures, barely in frame, was a half-painted canvas. It took her a while of staring at the photo to realise you were painting a lamb. After some digging, she found out you did commissions. You didn't make a whole lot off of those though so to make ends meet you worked at a bar. Wasting your talents and life away serving up elaborate cocktails for ungracious patrons. Valeria became a regular. The bar was subpar and hardly worth the money she spent there but with you behind the chipping counter, illuminated by the sickly glow of the old hanging lights, she could spare a few pesos.

Her blood pressure would spike every time a male patron would flirt. She seethed even more whenever you'd giggle or smile at whatever stupid remark they'd make. You were only doing it to get tipped, Valeria knew that, but it still angered her to no level. No man was deserving of you. They would never be able to appreciate all your little intricacies. Not in the way a woman could. Not in the way she could. She had to walk out one night when you were laughing a little too hard at something one of your coworkers had said. She crouched in the alley behind the bar, stiff with hatred, fingers clutched in her hair. She hated him and she hated you.

Your nails bite into the skin of her wrist. Valeria shakes her arm harshly before grabbing your wrist and wrenching your hand away. Your nails scrape against her flesh as they're moved away. Leaving thin raised lines in their wake.

"I could show you what a cell really looks like." She growls. "I could leave you in a cold, dark, damp room. No bed, no toilet, maybe I should let you starve too." Valeria feels hurt that you are comparing your room to a cell. You're throwing her hospitality back into her face. She's doing her best with a shitty situation. She sees the fear coursing through you. The way your brows twitch down and the way your breathing hitches.

"Why are you doing this to me?" You ask. Your voice breaks, a warning that you're going to start crying. "... Is it sex you want?" Valeria releases your face. She has to take a step back to stop herself from slapping you. She already explained everything to you. Are you stupid?

"No." She snaps. Glaring at you. "I already told you why I'm doing this."

"You don't love me, don't stand there and try to convince me you do." You hiss. You press close to the wall.

Valeria is appalled by your words. She hates it when people try to claim to know what she feels. They could never begin to understand her feelings. Not even her parents could begin to understand it. The violent screaming and crying fits followed up by weeks of numbness. Valeria loves you so much that she didn't give up after you turned her down. She has so many plans for your life together. She takes a deep breath to calm herself down. Those plans won't ever come true if she kills you.

"I know this is scary and that you don't understand," She explains slowly. "but I am doing what's best for you." And, what's best for her. She can't function like she needs to when she's constantly on the verge of snapping. All because the woman she wants isn't hers.

You aren't receptive to her words at all. You put your face in your hands. Your body is so tense that she can see a slight quiver in your shoulder.

"Let me OUT!" You screech. You throw your back against the wall and scream. Hands sliding up your face and into your hair. "Let me go you fucking PSYCHO!" You claw at your own arms and hyperventilate. Valeria watches silently. She knows you'll scream your vocal cords raw for the next few hours then curl up in your bed, unmoving for the next few weeks. Your behavior is repetitive and resonates with Valeria in a way that nothing else ever could. She sees herself in your rage. In the intense anger you direct onto yourself. She turns and walks out of the room.

Your screeching stops being audible at the top of the stairs. She locks the basement door and walks into the living room and sits down on her expensive dark grey couch. Her back aches in protest. She didn't realise how sore it was until now. She leans back with a sigh. Silence rings loudly in her ears as she thinks. You've been here for a month now, yet you aren't warming up to her at all. Perhaps it's the lack of stimuli. Animals kept in captivity develop zoochosis when under stimulated. Her gaze shifts to the painting she hung above the mantel. The beady eyes of a lamb stare unfeelingly back at her. She taps her fingers on her knee. She commissioned that one from you. 

You're frustrated and need an outlet. Valeria understands that now. With you being so deprived of anything you enjoyed pre-capture you'll probably jump at the opportunity to do anything other than stare at the depressing stone walls of your room. Painting is a good way to relieve stress and it's also a good way to bond. The sun shines through the window. Warming the little lamb. Highlighting the delicate paint strokes. She imagines how you must've looked while painting it. An engrossed look on your face as you twist your wrist in a delicate arch to capture the soft woolly curls.

When she was in primary school, Valeria would eat alone at lunch. Kneeling in the itchy grass beneath a large tree. The grass would leave indents on her calves and thighs. She had to come up with ways to entertain herself. She would read, play with bugs, tear strips of bark from the tree that shaded her. For her twelfth birthday her mother bought her a small, coiled notebook. It was pink and had bees on it. The best part was that she didn't have to use it for school. She filled the lined pages with drawings. Some of her favourite memories are of her sketching away at lunch, tuning out the joyful noises of her classmates. She knows how good art can be for the soul.

She browses through the paint section at a small craft store and wonders if she should get you your own sketchbook. The thought is tempting, but she'd have to give you something to draw with and she's unsure if she wants to provide any potential weapons. The paintbrushes she's getting you is risky enough. Her eyes scan over the coloured tubes of acrylic. Each one fighting for her attention. The whole store smells faintly woody. It's a little disorienting. She grabs twelve colours. The basic ones as well as a few different shades. She grabs some canvases too and walks to the front to pay. The little old lady at the front gives her a judgmental look. Valeria doesn't break eye contact as she hands over the cash.

Back home, she sets down the art supplies on the dining room table. She spreads them out and inspects them. The paints, the canvases, the brushes. She can feel her own creative spark flaring up at the sight. She puts all of it back into their respective bags and carries them over to the basement. She sets them down by the door and continues further down the hall. She walks into her bedroom. The room is tidy and free of dust. The queen bed with its light pink sheets is made, the pillows arranged against the headboard with care and precision. The day is on the hotter end, and she's sweated through her shirt. Jeans and a black long sleave clearly weren't the way to go. She digs through her wardrobe and settles on a comfortable pair of black cotton shorts and a t-shirt made of a thinner material. She gives her reflection a quick check, admiring the tattoos visible on her arms. She quickly combs her fingers through her hair then walks back out.

She picks up the bags and walks down the stairs. She reaches your door and presses an ear against the wood. There's no screaming or crying. She unlocks your door and peers inside. The light is off, but your shape beneath the covers is slightly visible from the light behind her.  You don't so much as shift when Valeria steps inside and turns on the light. She spots a few red droplets over in the corner. She's worried for a second that you did something to yourself, so she sets down the bags and speeds over to you. She grabs the edge of your blanket and yanks it down. There are a few red scratches on your forearm already beginning to scab. She relaxes when she realises it's nothing serious. She will need to cut your nails though. 

Valeria looms over you as she softly calls your name. Trying to coax you into sitting up. Despite your eyes being closed she knows you aren't sleeping.

"Hey." She murmurs. Grabbing your shoulder and giving it a small shake. "I know you're awake. Come see what I got for you." For a few seconds you remain still. The prospect of receiving something intrigues you enough to open your eyes though. Valeria respectfully steps back and watches you sluggishly rise up. You focus your blank gaze on her and then to the bags behind her. Valeria turns and drags them towards you. Setting them beside the bed. She walks back and sits down on the ground. The cement in cool and pleasant against her bare skin. You lean over the edge of your mattress and look through the first bag. Fingers grasp the rough material of a canvas, and you pull it out.

Valeria stares at you intently. Trying to discern what you're feeling. She feels frustrated at the lack of reaction. You hold the blank canvas in your lap and simply stare at it. Valeria decides it's because you're picturing what you could paint. You set it down to the side and to Valeria's pleasure, continue to look through her gifts. You take your time looking at the other canvases and all of the paints. At the sight of the brushes, you seem to perk up. She bought you ten, wanting to give you a little variety. You hold the largest brush and turn it over. Inspecting it at every angle. You softly trail a finger down the wooden handle. Raising your head, you lock eyes with Valeria.

"I know you liked to paint." Valeria says calmly. You look cute like this. You're not baring your teeth in a gleeful grin but Valeria can still tell you're happy and for that she feels smug. A month without anything for entertainment means anything new will seem far more interesting than it normally would.

You look back down at the paintbrush and Valeria takes the opportunity to approach. She shuffles over and rests an elbow on your bed. You look back at her and she gazes at you. Feeling awed by the sight of you. She has you within her grasp.

"I did." You murmur. Eyes glazing over as you retreat into your head. "I was - am - good at painting." You tell her. 

"I'll go get a cup of water; we can paint something now if you want." She says. Hoping you can't hear the satisfaction in her voice. You nod. Features soft for the first time since she took you. Valeria smiles and gets up, leaving your room. She doesn't bother locking the door. She won't be long.

Valeria hurries back down to you. Spilling some of the water on the stairs in her haste. You're sat on the floor with your paints spread out around you. Valeria realises that she forgot a palette. You don't seem to care though. You're hunched over a canvas. Dipping one of the brushes into a small splotch of green you just squirted onto the cement floor. Valeria feels the need to grab a rag and wipe it off, but she can't do it when you're finally starting to warm up to her. Valeria sits down across from you and places down the water cup between you two. Eight brushes sit off to the side and Valeria grabs one and a canvas. Starting her own painting.

Her eyes periodically shift back up to you. You're so focused that you don't take notice. Valeria is glad. She doesn't normally feel embarrassed but there's something vulnerable about painting the woman she loves. She does her best to mix colours to perfection. She remembers the detail and texture you created for the lamb painting. She tries to imitate it. To give your skin and hair life.

"Hey... Valeria?" You speak. She looks up again and stares. "... I need your opinion on something, could you come here and look at this?" Valeria sets down her canvas and moves towards you. Twisting awkwardly to look at your painting. It's a beautiful, lush landscape. She can see the brushes in her peripheral. She can hear your slightly fast breathing.

"I was wondering if I should add a cabin." She glances at the brushes again. Seven lined up side by side. She furrows her brows.  

"Um... Yeah a cabin would look nice." There should be eight.

The first time Valeria was ever stabbed was during an offence mission. She was cornered by an enemy. The feeling of his steel blade passing through the flesh and tendons of her hand didn't hurt as much as she imagined it would. It didn't hurt much at all. It just felt cold. Maybe because of the adrenaline rushing through her at the time. The rattling of your chain is the only warning she gets before the jagged edges of broken paintbrush pierce through her arm. You were quick but Valeria was quicker. Had she not blocked your attack you would've stabbed her in the side of the neck. 

The wood drags against her skin, leaving slivers as you pull it out to stab at her again. Valeria roughly grabs your arm and wrestles you into submission. You struggle and cry. Writhing beneath her. She squeezes your wrist until you're forced to let go of the paintbrush. Red runs down her arm. Dotting your painting with little red puddles. Valeria's movements are fluid and smooth as she wraps her hands around your throat. You wheeze and feebly try to fight back but Valeria only tightens her grip. Valeria feels betrayed and hurt. You attacked her, after she tried to do something nice for you, you attacked her. You start going still when she suddenly releases your throat. She glares down at you as you pant and cough. Her heart is hammering. Valeria needs to leave before she kills you. She aggressively grabs the paintbrushes and storms out of the basement. Locking the door behind her. She's given you too many chances. You're starting to run out.

[marshmallowprotection]

Jihyun's new birthday CG is out! I am surprised that it doesn't fulfill the theme that we have used thus far, the theme of the characters being children. However, I'm going to comment on something that I don't think anybody is going to talk about since this is V, after all.

First of all, you guys should be jumping up and down at the moment because this is the first time he's ever had a kiss picture. I am so sorry it took this long for you guys to get a sweet kiss with your very tragic artist, but this is your lucky day. I never thought he was going to get kiss contents so I am pleasantly surprised in the best way. 

Second of all, as I saw this picture last night, the first thing that came to mind was that whatever painting was going to be on his easel, was going to be something significant in my head no matter what.

This is just my conclusion, and it's something that I'm going to continue to keep in my brain no matter what since it can't be proven one way or the other, but I do believe this painting is a recreation of the one he ripped to shreds after that final argument with his mother. 

Here's the crucial detail, he's not trying to recreate a one-for-one copy of what he created. I believe he is revisiting it because what is a better homage to his childhood than going back to the very thing that caused the Catalyst event in his life in the first place? He denied himself the ability to be the painter he wanted to be when he was young, and he said awful things to his mother that he could never take back. 

Revisiting something he tore to shreds would allow him the opportunity to have something substantial to look at, to say to himself, “I am no longer denying my creative process, and as I remake this painting that my mother loved, I want nothing more than to be able to feel that same liberating feeling I felt and tried to crush because I was too insecure to live my dream.” 

Even the event is him learning how to be a better partner who communicates with you. That's something he has to do in his good ending, and that's where this takes place. I want nothing more than for him to finally have some peace in his heart about what happened to his mother, and now that he's come full circle and learned that her sacrifice wasn't a sentiment he needed to take to heart as a lesson to never abandon people, even if those people hurt you. 

That wasn't why his mother sacrificed her life for him. She did that because she loved him and that was her only child. She was his mother and she loved him no matter what. The horrible words he said out of insecurity were never something she was upset about, she was saddened, more than anything.

She wanted her son to follow his dreams, even if one day he couldn't continue those dreams.

Much like how she had to stop her passionate career as a violinist because she wasn't sure how to continue playing after losing much of her hearing. But she still got to spend so many years of her life following her passion, and even if she couldn't continue it, she still had the chance to do it. She didn't want her son to snuff out his own passion well before he even tried. So, by revisiting that painting, doing it again, and putting back in what he's learned over the years, it's the opportunity of a lifetime to make peace with himself. 

He's living as himself and I think that's a nice way to tie in the childhood theme without actually having him be a child. It's not like we haven't had a photo of him as a child on the title screen before, actually, one of his last birthdays gave us a photo of him and his mother. 

[kottekonst]

Hello! I hope this ask is coherent because I am quite sleepy but I wanted to say that I am absolutely blown away by your coffee art, particularly by the hair and the texture of fabric. It looks so so so real and, not being much of an artist myself, I just cannot for the life of me figure out how you've managed it, especially the effect where there are lighter strands of hair on top and darker ones beneath. This probably sounds like a silly question to someone who this is probably second-nature to, but would you have any advice on how to paint with coffee/create these kind of effects, or be able to point me in the right direction towards something that would help me learn? Thank you! Once again your paintings are incredible!!!

Hi! Thank you very much for the high praise 🤗

To be able to capture different textures realistically you need to either study them endlessly, or be able to paint from a reference with perfect accuracy, or preferably a mix of both 😅

To learn how to draw from a reference photo/item, you have to learn to draw what you see, and not what your brain thinks it sees. The brain tends to trick us and say: "Yeah yeah, I know what an eye looks like" and you end up drawing what your brain thinks an eye should look like, but not the eye that's actually in the reference photo. A good exercise, to start forcing your brain to focus on the actual shape, is to turn the image upside down and draw that instead. You can start out easy by using a pokemon, or a cartoon character. It's all about copying the shape rather than what your brain thinks it should look like 😛

As for painting lighter strands over dark hair, that can be accomplished in many different ways. Coffee is quite a forgiving medium, so if I paint an area, I can dip the brush in water and go over it and "erase" the coffee to create a brighter strand. It can't remove all the coffee, so if the strand of hair needs to be the absolute brightest part of the painting, I either paint "around" that strand, or I can use masking fluid. I only started working with that recently, though, and it isn't fool-proof. Before I use any paint/coffee, I'll cover the brightest area with the masking fluid, and when it's dry I can paint over it. Then when I rub off the dry fluid, I'm left with perfectly bright areas, but that requires a lot of blending at the edges to making it look natural.

You can start experimenting with coffee no matter what "level" you are, but the most important part for that type of painting is to learn how to work with only one colour. It's all about contrast, light and dark, shading, etc. You can start with pencil or charcoal, or just grab one colour of pencil/paint and make a picture with that. Before I started with coffee, I made a few paintings using only a scarlet red acrylic paint. It's a fun challenge, and you quickly learn to identify the absolute brightest and darkest area of the reference photo (if you're using one).

Painting with coffee is fun, no matter what sort of art you want to produce, so I say; just go nuts and experiment - there is no right or wrong 😁

[itstimetodrew]

Deep dive into a very minor, very niche Spider-Man topic time!

The subject…WHO IS THAT WOMAN??? 🤨

It’s not crucial to the plot, and it’s not a mind-blowing theory, I just like gathering up little background details and connecting them. :)

DISCLAIMER: While obviously the Spider-Man movies are inspired by and based on the comics, I treat the movies as their own thing because tbh...I am not reading all that. It’s Movie Universe Time!

So indeed the 2002 Spider-Man movie does have a lot of cool tidbits that give extra information on characters. Sometimes it’s very subtle, sometimes it’s more overt! So we begin our journey to discover the Mystery Woman here:

95% of the words are actual Character Lore(!), with only the last paragraph copy-pasted, but Today's Focus is one particular section at the bottom of the 2nd column:

"His personal life has not been nearly as successful as his business life. Married only once, to the artist Caroline Mulder, he was divorced after ten years of what was said to have been a singularly strained and unhappy [...]"

3 whole pieces of Mystery Woman information! Her name is Caroline Mulder, an artist ("the artist" implies she's well-known at least in NYC), and they were married for 10 years before divorcing. That gives the portraits in the mansion more context, very likely that Caroline painted them.

Caroline’s impact on the story is also stated by an executive producer in a behind the scenes book when discussing how characters are developed:

"Here's a man raising his son alone—there must be a tragic story with his wife. She must have left him! Does Harry remind him of her? Does he love his boy or hate him?"

Harry does have an interest in art like his mom. In Spider-Man 3 we see him painting a still life in his spare time, after post-traumatic amnesia ironically leaves him happier than ever before. He's forgotten many details of the negative things in his life and instead enjoys reliving childhood activities and memories. It's possible painting was a passion of his when he was younger, similar to how he discusses writing a play for MJ and playing basketball with Peter during high school, but gradually became disconnected from or was pressured to drop.

Knowing the marriage lasted for 10 years helps narrow down a few things, like that the divorce probably wasn't recent. But that’s assuming he was born during the time they were married, meaning Harry could have been 10 at most. Whether Caroline is still alive also isn't clear-cut...in the movie, at least. In the novelization for the 3rd movie, Peter confirms Harry is an orphan after Norman dies. The novelizations and movie details don't always line up 1:1, so it's left open imo. I feel like the paper would have mentioned her passing if she had died but...choose your own route of angst! (And wow would that add a whole new layer of awful to Norman’s misogynistic “advice” about women to Harry if he’s shit-talking his dead ex-wife.)

If Caroline is alive that opens a new batch of questions about where she went. Do they have any sort of shared custody situation? Doubtful, as Caroline seems to be totally cut out of the picture and only exists in the story via possessions. But if the marriage ended bitterly, and some years ago, why is her art and her collections present at all? Her portrait makes sense to keep, as it's revealed in the sequel to be the cover for a hidden safe.

(That's another fun symbol, hiding treasures behind a loved one's image. A place for safety and precious things, hidden from public view.) Other pieces of art seen around the house raise more questions about sentimentality. If Norman hated any reminder of his ex-wife, why keep her work? Why keep it for so long and have it displayed prominently?

I will not let this derail into A Norman Post (it would not end I could not stop) SO my personal take is that it’s probably a mixture of some longing for the past, but mostly spite. Keeping the art is a reminder that while he lost her, he also won. What was hers is now his (son included). Which may factor into why we don’t see Caroline involved with the family at all. Either she didn’t want to be, or she was prevented from doing so. Honestly it would not be surprising to cut all ties, as I do not think many would want to test their luck in a legal battle against a vindictive person who holds a massive amount of money and potential life-ruining influence.

I could also talk about Harry forever but in short I think these details make him more interesting. It's another angle as to why he seems so conflicted and avoidant about family issues, to the point he physically distances himself from them whenever possible. He might have had a strong connection with his mother, but it likely wasn't something he could talk about without Norman taking it as a personal betrayal. Still, he's surrounded by memories of her and keeps his own mementos nearby.

^ There's a photo of her in the apartment he and Peter share, the same image as the portrait (on the middle shelf to the left 🔍). Interestingly, like the portraits, the photos of his parents are kept apart. But here his mom is given more focus on a higher shelf.

Despite the work that went into backstory creation, multiple photographs, and a painted portrait, I haven’t been able to find who "played" the role of Caroline. It would be neat! But it’s also just cool to see how background details offer glimpses of a larger story if you want to look for them. :)

[skulkingfoxes]

hi, i bought your comic "twigs" and loved it, i was wondering if you had any willingness to share the process of making it?

im an artist whos trying to start doing comics but i find the idea of starting a larger scale comic (such as kingfisher) wildly intimidating in terms of art direction. im trying to start small, such as a 30 page comic (ive done 5-10 page comics before) but i still find the art direction so scary lol

(Oh god this sent is was much longer ago than I thought I'm so sorry I took so long)

First off, thank you so much! I'm glad you liked Twigs, it's a project that still holds special place in my heart.

Okay, SO- the Twigs you know today was made originally for Shortbox, a digital comic fair for debuting short comics.

The concept of what would become Twigs was one developing in my brain for a while. Or, rather, the concept of a changeling trying to figure out where they belong after the person they were meant to replace comes home. At that point though, the changeling was just a cute fairy boy, because who wouldn’t want that. It was playing with the idea of choosing your own family and where you belong. But it was only a vague half idea, I didn’t really have a good sense of how long it could be or even what the point was. I remember musing that it was a story that I would probably never make. These are the only sketches I made for it.

It wasn’t till I remembered another variant of the changeling, one where the creature was just an enchanted bale of hay or twigs and thrown into the fire once they’re discovered. I wondered what it was like to realize that you are in fact completely disposable, destined to fall apart and be forgotten. I thought this was far too depressing of a concept and that I would never use it.

If you’ve read the story, then you know that I changed my mind. The idea just stuck around in my brain too much, it gave such a bittersweetness to the story. It was then the story began to come together. I ended up writing the whole first draft of the outline in a phone-tapping frenzy at 1 am. It's almost stream of conscious prose, where I write out how I imagine the scene going. I'm a very visual thinker.

You mostly asked this in terms of how I figured things out visually. Something that helped me out when I first started was making a pinterest board. It was very useful to put together a visual library to help gestate my ideas and vision for the story.

The inspiration of the witch was the folk tale character Baba Yaga, so that was a starting place for her and, since her home is an extension of her, figuring out the cottage. Down to earth, practical, with an agelessness to them. The Witch doesn't share her home with others so everything in it is suited to her. But it's also warm and cozy, since the cottage serves as a safe space for the characters to talk and rest. Getting reference photos helped a lot in imagining the home and making it feel lived-in.

You can also see me finding a couple of photos that helped my picture the character Tristan and his big feather cloak and other illustrations/photos reflect the world I wanted to create. A dark ancient setting with strangeness and sense of whimsy. Like a sad fairytale.

Don't be afraid to look at movies, books, paintings, etc when finding visual inspiration! For another project, a colored comic based in the Salem Witch trials, I was taking screenshots from the movie VVitch to copy the palette lol. Be a scavenger! Do studies! Take pieces of everything around you to make something unique!

After that, I admit, a lot of it was a lot of sketching, Drawing out ideas, figuring out vibes, I took a pen to cheap sketchbook and just brainstormed. This is how I often bang out design- just keep drawing them until it feels right. It feels a bit like carving away at clay to find the statue underneath. I like designing with a pen because it keeps me from getting too precious with the drawings. These sketches are meant for exploring, not for drawing anything nice yet.

(I know there was a lot more than this but I can't find those files now rip)

I also say- you don't have to figure everything out before you start drawing. It's great to get used to drawing your characters and maybe a blue layout of certain rooms, but it's not 100% needed.

I've seen comic artists obsess over perfecting character sheets and concept art and never actually starting the comic. I've never made a character sheet unless a job demanded I did.

I'm sure there is some pithy quote here I could use, but I find so much of comics to be improv based on what a scene needs lol. If the characters go to the other side of a room that I didn't design, I will probably just find a decent reference (thank you pinterest) sketch it out, and use that.

This really is a great representation of my process 80% of the time.

Whew that ended up being long lol. Sorry about that. But I hope it was helpful at all!

[manuscripts-dontburn]

Julia and the Shark

Author: Kiran Millwood hargrave

First published: 2021

Rating: ★★★★★

One of the best middle-grade books I have ever read I think. Kiran Millwood Hargrave is a gorgeous writer and her use of language is simply masterful. She also chooses fascinating topics and it pains me that from time to time all that lacks a certain impact. But Julia does have it. The simplistic illustrations are captivating and perfectly enliven the story.

The Last Princess: The Devoted Life of Queen Victoria's Youngest Daughter

Author: Matthew Dennison

First published: 2007

Rating: ★★★☆☆

If you have a truly deep interest in Queen Victoria, her family, or a life of nobility in the 19th century, this is a book you should read. Princess Beatrice never held any important political posts, never made a grand marriage, never had to make any momentous decisions, and is largely forgotten today. But Mathew Dennison put together a gentle portrait of her existence and through her introduced yet another layer to other, more famous personages in Beatrice´s life. However, if you are after a book that would somehow shock you, or give you tremendous new information or gossip, pass on this one. It is slow and the author does repeat his main points at almost every turn, which sometimes could be tedious. Also, prepare yourself for lots of assumptions that fill up empty places we know nothing about.

The Infinity of Lists

Author: Umberto Eco

First published: 2009

Rating: ★★★☆☆

A gorgeous and richly illustrated list of lists. I was surprised at how many things actually are "lists", some of the points were fascinating, and some went over my head. A difficult book to read to be honest.

Visions of Beauty

Author: Kinuko Y. Craft

First published: 2022

Rating: ★★★★★

I was waiting to show the book also to my mum, who studied art at university and had never heard of Kinuko Y. Craft before. Today we spent over an hour going through the pages together and she said it was possibly the most beautiful thing she has ever seen. As for me, I have been aware of the artist because I came across her illustrations of fantasy book covers (Wildwood Dancing was a particular favourite of mine). When I, completely by chance, found the Visions of Beauty, I was greatly excited. What a stunning compilation of paintings and drawings! What I find particularly remarkable about them is that I can often clearly see the inspiration behind the picture (there is Da Vinci and my favourite Botticelli, there is some Mucha and Raffael, there are medieval altar paintings as well as portraits from the 19th century), but it is never a copy and always takes on the originality of its own. The pictures can be read, not just observed, with numerous tiny details incorporated into the portraits, so even when I think I have seen it all, I find more and more flowers, animals, symbols, and even human figures where before seemed to be just foliage. I cannot even choose my favourite painting, because there are way too many.

The Idiot

Author: Fyodor Dostoyevsky

First published: 1869

Rating: ★★★★☆

I don´t think there is much need to write yet another review of this book when so much has been said by more eloquent readers than I am. To me personally, it was particularly interesting after reading a biography of Dostoyevsky and I could easily see the roots and traces of many incidents and thoughts presented in this novel. But ultimately I did find the story a bit drowned by too much that was said in ways that were simply too dragged out. And yet I still think about that ending.

Imitation of Mary

Author: Alexander De Rouville

First published: 1977

Rating: ★★★★☆

Very comforting for anyone with Catholic leanings and devotion to Mary.

Demon in the Wood

Author: Leigh Bardugo

First published: 2022

Rating: ★★★★��

I just really enjoy the stories Leigh Bardugo tells... this is a very nicely created graphic novel, but to be completely honest, I would have preferred it to be simply a written story.

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known

Author: Seanan McGuire

First published: 2023

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

I keep reading these because they are short and well-intentioned... but half of these books do not really have a story. This one is one of the storyless ones, not to mention I felt like it was by far the most filled with long speeches about points already made, conclusions already reached, dilemmas already introduced. Also, all the main characters seem to be the same.

Cleopatra: A Life

Author: Stacy Schiff

First published: 2011

Rating: ★★★★☆

Everybody knows the story of Cleopatra and yet, as this book lets you know in a very readable and convincing style, we actually know very little for certain. Stacy Shiff does for the Egyptian Queen what Robert K. Massie did for Catherine the Great: painting a vivid portrait of a woman in a position of power in an age when she was an anomaly. Her achievements have been tainted, her motivations misconstrued, her personality dragged through the mud. We arguably have a better grasp of the Russian empress than Cleopatra, but I imagine they both would have a lot to talk about.

Ruthless Vows

Author: Rebecca Ross

First published: 2023

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Much like I enjoyed the first installment, I enjoyed this second one as well. Everything is still in it, from a swoon-worthy romance to some truly excellent use of language and very evocative scenes of being trapped in a war. Nice.

The Poisonwood Bible

Author: Barbara Kingsolver

First published: 1998

Rating: ★★★★★

This is a story of a family, where every voice is their own and their feelings are communicated brilliantly to the reader. It is also a clear-eyed look at colonialism in the 20th century, human arrogance and prejudice as well as familial loyalty and love. It is a heartbreaking read, perhaps a bit too lengthy once the pinnacle of the story passes, but I found it both engaging and in some ways also enlightening.

The Testaments

Author: Margaret Atwood

First published: 2019

Rating: ★★★★☆

While it lacks the shock factor of its predecessor, The Testaments offers a satisfying conclusion in its stead. Was it necessary? Not really. But in the modern world the dystopia once imagined by Margaret Atwood needs to be remembered. Our reality seems to be striving towards it, sometimes with terrifying speed.

The Book of Magic

Author: Alice Hoffman

First published: 2021

Rating: ★★★★☆

More than magic itself, this whole series is about being loyal to your family and the unconditional love that binds that family. The Book of Magic reunites the reader with all of the characters that we already love and now we see the end of their journey. And truly I mean all of them. Alice Hoffman yet again writes in a way that makes you smell the lilacs and hear the bees in the trees. Lovely.

[awrldalone]

27th October 2023, 8.51pm

On a plane to Venice. The two seats next to me are empty: I have space for my long black coat, for my bag, and for my legs. As soon as the light for the safety belt will be turned off I will move to the window seat, to look at the dark earth, the clouds, the sky. The city looked like molten magma while departing, golden and black in the night. No matter how many flights I take, I always marvel at the physics behind it all; at times it feels as simple and mundane as taking a bus, but once I feel the wheels of the plane jumping off the asphalt I am filled of childish wonder.

On Wednesday I had my first Art History test, on Ancient Art. The course has been fairly disappointing so far, and I often have to remind myself it is just the beginning, just a first look at that part of history – but it bothers me, it always has, when things are not done well. What is the point of studying Greek ceramics for a few hours and then moving on? What is the point of barely scratching the surface on sculpture, on architecture, on iconography? I want to dive my fingers into every topic, I want to know everything, about everything.

The test was easy. We even corrected it afterwards, and I only made a few mistakes. One was calling a canthar a kylix. I knew it was not a kylix but my brain could not find the correct word, and so I went with the closest thing in terms of use. A goblet to drink is a goblet to drink. It was the last thing I wrote down before leaving and waiting outside of the class. The other was about the temples in Olympia: while I had understood that Zeus's temple had been built on top of Hera's old temple, formally replacing the cult of the goddess of marriage and family, in reality the two deities were worshipped simultaneously. 

Ca. and I went to the library to work on our presentation on Caravaggio's the Cardsharps. It was too warm in there, so I took off my sweater while flipping through the pages of multiple monographies on the artist. There's not much literature surrounding the Cardsharps, because the original was discovered very recently, and because there is not much to say about it. Its material history is just as interesting as the painting itself, but it is longer and more obscure, and therefore scholars have often opted to gloss over what the eyes can see in favor of figuring out how the painting got in the hands of its last owner. What I find particularly interesting is the amount of copies of it that exist, a bit over twenty, all extremely accurate and all old. 

I found the first known description of the painting by checking the bibliography of a book I was reading. It dates a couple of decades after the death of Caravaggio, when the painting was no longer in the hands of its first owner. I translated it in French, slowly. 

The library was packed, so I ended up having to stand next to a window, my laptop on the sill to be able to charge it. Ca. was sitting behind me, our backs facing each other's. 

We were supposed to have another course afterwards, but once we got to the lecture hall someone told us the professor would not be coming. A., T., L., and I decided we would go thrifting, but we ended up going to 59 Rivoli because it was open. I always see its bright door when walking past it, but I did not know what it was until my friends decided we should go in. It's a squatted building where, cyclically, artists set up their atelier and work on their paintings or sculptures in public. You're allowed to quietly walk and observe, to support the artist or just watch respectfully. The walls are covered in modern-day frescos, and each floor looks different. My favorites were the works of Cynthia Pedrosa, squared, cubic, bedlams of saturated but dark colors. The size of some of the paintings covered half of the wall. 

We ended up having dinner at a crêperie near our university, fifteen minutes or so from the Pantheon. It's small, with a tiny room up some narrow stairs with the walls covered in pictures, portraits and magazines. There's only a few tables, and we took up the last one, in the corner. I got a galette ratatouille gruyere, with some cider; T. got ham and gruyere; L. went for spinach and gruyere. We also had dessert – a simple crêpe with sugar and cinnamon – all for five euros fifty. 

For some reason we ended up talking about love. T. had confessed to L. and me that thing are not going great with his boyfriend. The long distance thing is not working as well as it used to for them, and as he was talking I understood what he was saying. We were on the metro, the only ones talking in front of the sliding doors. 

Last year I would have not understood T. and his problems. I would have said that a few seconds with M. justified a week, a month, two months apart. Now I am not so sure about it, I am doubting everything, but the only moment when I release my tension and let my muscles relax is when I'm in his arms, and the only place where I sleep peacefully is his bed, with him next to me. Yesterday I wrote down, in order not to forget it, "stiffening love". We asked ourselves if love lasts. I don't think so anymore. It transforms in different things. It can turn sour, or it can acquire a better, richer taste. I doubt my grandparents feel anything similar to the way they did when they first met: love starts as a bud, it blooms in a flower and matures into fruit. You either make jam out of it or you let it fall to the ground, like my parents. 

I'm not sure where M. and I stand. I don't know where T. and his boyfriend stand. Perhaps it is not that simple.

After paying, we took the metro again and we went to A.'s place. It's a big apartment, with wooden floors, a metal fireplace, crown moulding. A. lives there with her sister, they each have their own room, a separate kitchen and a proper living room. It was the second time I went there, and this time it was clean, in order. There were no boxes lying around, no clothes piled up or shoes thrown around. They bought a beautiful round table, a silver lamp, they organize their books. 

Le. and H. joined us a few minutes after we arrived. I'm still on the fence about them, I still cannot make up my mind about them, H. especially. I do not like the people he hangs out with. Le. on the other hand is always so bitter when we are in a group, but every time we talk alone we always have such good conversations. The first time we went home together I ended up talking about my parents for half of the bus ride, and he ended up talking about his for the rest of it.

Le. and I ended up leaving at around two, and I got home at around three. I told myself there would be no use sleeping if I had to wake up at six, and so I started packing my suitcase, folding clothes, cleaning. I made myself some toast and a coffee. And then I fell asleep at five, on top of my comforter, still wearing my clothes. I woke up at ten with the sun in my eyes. I missed class.

Last night I went to a Black Country New Road concert. It was insanely amazing; they're the only ones capable of finding rhythm in cacophonies, the only ones able to make such a mess sound good. 

I made a friend. I was there alone, and I saw a guy looking around, avoiding everyone's eyes. I asked myself if he was alone or waiting for someone, and I walked near him. I stopped myself at first, but then I told him - I know it's weird, but are you alone here too? - and he said yes and I felt the knot in my chest dissolve. I am not scared of being alone, but I was scared of his reaction. We ended up exchanging instagram handles, singing and jumping together at times, and watching quietly at others. The band played a new song, they said it was a work in progress and asked us not to sing.

After the concert he had a friend waiting for him. I only had the rain and L.'s address. 

I spent the night with my friends again. We wanted to go clubbing but there was nothing near, and the only bar that looked promising was boring. We went bak to L.'s place and played a French card game, mixing vodka with violet syrup. I find it too sweet, but the color is gorgeous, like an amethyst.

This time I got home alone. I misse day stop and got off at the one afterwards, but it was not that big of a deal because I had to walk anyway.

And now the plane is about to land, and I am back in Venice, and it's already been almost two months since I left. 

-c.

[nfkjournal]

Week 4 - 3D Content Clean Up

In this class we cleaned up our models using the Target Wield tool and Clean up tool. Unfortunately I had finished my models on my laptop in my flat and forgot to copy them onto my Falmouth OneDrive so I couldn't access them in this class but I had already attempted to remove any unneeded vertices and edges in the topology myself.

In this class Adam told us that we could colour in the model by using the surface shader, however I had already coloured in my model using a different tool which is the Paint Vertex Colour tool which I used for my submarine. For the cut in the middle created a polygonal cut and an edge in the middle and then extruded the edge inwards and used the move tool to move it in even further.

I am quite happy with these models as I believe they resemble the artist George O'Keefes' work and it replicates the Sea of Thieves style.

During the first week, we typed in words on Menti to describe the Sea of Thieves art style and most adjectives that we used were simplistic, exaggerated, blocky and rugged and rough. We also looked at character design and mostly described the pirates as being heavily detailed, cartoony, blocky, water coloured, angular, exaggerated and having motifs of harsh shadows, scars, bandages and X marks. I believed I have captured the exaggerated, blocky, cartoony and rough aesthetic of Sea of Thieves in my models as I believe I have added lots of character to them by adding chips, cuts and blemishes rather than just keeping them with tidy shapes and no blocky colours or tones.

For the tankard, I used the Paint Vertex Colour Tool and I used multi cut to split the tankard into many edges so that I could be able to colour each edge with a slightly darker or lighter tone of brown to be able to replicate the blocky, exaggerated and cartoony style of George O'Keefe. I also used lighter shades to colour in the chips of the tankard. I kept the opacity of the brush very low and I kept the brush's hardness on low while using the 'Accumulate opacity' tool to make it similar to shading and blending, and to also make it easier to keep the shades of brown not too dark or light from the shade next to it.

For the barrel I used a cylinder and I inserted two edge loops around the left centre and right centre of the cylinder and scaled them to be wider than the other edges of the cylinder so I could achieve the wider centre part of the barrel. I then used the pipe shape on both ends of the barrel, and also on both the left and right centre and coloured them all black using the vertex colour tool. I then used the multi cut on the centre black rings instead of using an edge loop for a straight line because the Sea of Thieves barrel isn't straight and has a chip in it. I also added multi cuts to the barrel and the black rings and added dull colours such as light grey and shades of brown as the barrel to achieve the worn out, rusty, dirty appearance. For the gaps in the barrel I selected the edges, detached them from the model and moved them inwards to create a gap between the two surfaces. I used multiple shades of pink/red to achieve the blocky style of Sea of Thieves and a more beige colour for the chips in the barrel. I used small pyramids and coloured some of it brown to resemble dirt and added them to the ends of the barrel. For the paper stuck to the barrel with the X mark, I used a plane and selected its edges and rotated it so it looked like it was stuck to the barrel and I created a polygon which resembles two bones shaped diagonally from each other to resemble an X. I slightly shaded this X with brown shades to resemble dirt like in the reference picture.

I am happy with both these outcomes, however I would change the method I used to colour in the models as cutting lots of different edges to colour using different tones is a long and tiring process and it also messes up the topology and makes it extremely difficult and long to fix and remove all the extra vertices after. However it still resembles the Sea of Thieves and George O'Keefe's (I am not sure who created the barrel model) style quite closely and I believe I have learnt a lot in the process.

This is relevant in the industry because you should be flexible with your skills because there are many different jobs whether its 3D or 2D and you are more likely to land one when you develop your skills in both 3D and 2D. It's also important to know the basics of 3D modelling and creating an asset which is suitable to be animated with.

Artist Research - George O'Keefe

George O'Keefe is a game environment artist and architect who is currently working at Criterion Studios and EA. He has had experience working at Escape Studios, London as a tutor and course developer, this is also where he studios MA Game Art in 2016. He has also had experience working at Rare LTD and Xbox Game Studios. He has experience with many programs such as Maya, Photoshop, Frostbite, Unreal Engine 4 and ZBrush. He has worked on games like Sea of Thieves, Battlefield 2042 and Need for Speed Unbound and is currently working on architectural designs like the Venice Canal and the Chapel Royale.

Artist Research - Andy Betts

Andy Betts is a 3D modeler with over 26 years experience in the video games industry. I've worked on a number of high profile, BAFTA winning titles using a wide range of software such as Maya, Photoshop, Zbrush, Mental Ray and Unreal. He has worked on games such as Sea of Thieves, Kinect Sports Rivals, Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing and Xbox Avatars. He is currently working at Rare LTD.

In general, pirates are present in many different types of media and are usually depicted in a villainous and comedic way for example Captain Hook in Peter Pan and 'One-Eyed Willy' in The Goonies. They are also particularly prevalent in video games like Sea of Thieves, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin's Creed Rogue. In Sea of Thieves, pirates are inspired by the films The Goonies, and are depicted as people who sail around in a sloop, brigantine or galleon and have a job to either sail the ship, manage shooting the cannons, infiltrating enemy ships and scouting from the crow's nest of the ship.

Black Flag's focus is mainly a pirate called Edward Kenway and the main story is set during the Golden Age of Piracy from 1715 to 1822. Here piracy is portrayed in less of a comedic and light-hearted way and more of a criminal activity associated with people from a low social class background and looked down upon by the wealthy. It also looks at piracy in a more political and ideological way with the Republic of Pirates introduced in the game and refers to real life history like the Golden Age of Piracy unlike Sea of Thieves and the other films.

Assassin's Creed Rogue is like Black Flag but has more of a focus around assassins rather than pirates, however the gameplay is similar to Sea of Thieves as you sail a ship called The Morrigan and you can attack enemy ships with an air rifle, a grenade launcher and also destroy icebergs to damage the ships.

[jonathankatwhatever]

Still 9 May 2023. I was thinking about how Keats is right poetically, but only if you understand what poetically means, that truth is beauty, beauty truth only if you are either naive or wise, that you lose the naive sense of what is truth, what is beauty, and you gain the wise sense. This 1-0Segments so as you lose the naive, what is true disappears, only to reappear with wisdom. Beauty doesn’t disappear but instead transforms into the kind of beauty, the superficial forms of beauty, of lusts over loves, of the moment when the underlying reality is perceived as temporary or even temporal, as enjoy the moment because it will be over and thus you trade truth for the appearance, and again this continues until wisdom. I’m not speaking of each or any individual. I’m speaking about 1-0Segmenting. We as a species will embody this in different but similar ways that fit to this segmenting.

That’s a significant part of art and poetry and music, that it conveys the levels of joy of naive to wise. So for example, that means there is a place for intentionally ugly parts in art, and you can see the artistic forms that can take, like framing ugly as beautiful or within a beautiful idea, meaning an abstraction of the physical. I would do that with my words and universes series of pictures. Like for example a serene universe degenerating over panels into ugliness. Or words like ugly drawn pretty and beautiful made ugly. I’m getting lost in this: an image of a beautiful girl in front of beautiful painted ugly, if done correctly, meaning so the contemplation of the word speaks to how she is seeing the concept and thus how she sees herself and how others see her.

So I was doing art using these same ideas back in college. And I had no idea I was doing this.

Oh and that work I did at the end which I believed was insane was actually not insane at all, but I lacked the capacity to explain the key point, which is that I was describing the abstract side of what became Triangular and grid squares. I wonder if a copy of that exists. I’d love to see what I came up with in those feverish days of intense, intense work.

It’s interesting how this segmenting defines an fD: you need a 3rd End for the 1-0Segment, and since this is Triangular, we can ‘extract’ or otherwise separate the 0-1Segment from the 1-0Segment (which remember is not implying which comes first, but is a readability choice). You can see this by looking at a bT, and swinging the 3rd end around as if the bT were spinning. I know we’ve done that many times, but this is the Triangular version of the rotating mirror. Oh my God, that was missing and I didn’t see it until this moment. We have a gs rotation, and that of course requires a Triangular rotation. I just needed to state that. We already have the work done, but had not stated this. And now the conception of gs formation works in both Triangular and gs.

Don’t know how I’m awake. I am burnt but full of energy.

[realcatalina]

Mary’s puzzling portrait

Sometimes artist combined more than one portrait or got inspired by some, to create a better looking copy. 5 were used for this posthumous portrait of Mary.

I found 4 and I am the desperate for the last one. And here is why.

In this case I figured that 1st inspiration is portrait of Mary I(on left) held by Dulwich Picture Gallery. It has this green fabric behind her and is part of set done in  1618 to 1620 which originally showed 26 monarchs. Aside from finding that Henry VII’s portrait was mislabelled as Richard III already by then, it gives us no new information.

2nd inspiration and most notable is portrait of Elizabeth I as princess by William Scrots done in c.1545. It was inspiration for the background, but not the figure.

The dress, posture and jewelry of Catherine Parr’s portrait from National Trust Collection and the matching portrait of Parr in black dress were used as 3rd inpiration:

(You cannot see the details of jewelry on any picture of the black dress, which is why i don’t believe just that one was used.)

4th inspiration was portrait of Mary I from National Maritime Museum(on right)-but it is without picture on their webpage, so search on it on Artuk instead.

It gave us head and cross used as massive chest jewel. Howeever the issue here is don’t have a clue upon which portrait this one is based, because this too is a copy. 

Well, cross with 3 pear shaped pears, and golden rose with pearl above it. I’ve seen something similiar to the red version of the cross in one of copies of portraits of Elizabeth, but idk if that was actual Tudor jewelry.

And it seems like that is it-we found all inspirations. Lots of effort and creativity was used in creating this one. It’s copy but it amused me greatly. Fooled me almost.

I started to even wonder if perhaps it was based upon some original done in 1540s, upon which Mary’s later head was added. Because some details are so well copied.

But there was actually a fifth inspiration and it keeps bugging me. Because of the girdle. It is so perfectly done! 10 smaller beads, then big ones made from stone called lapis lazuli(azurite). Ever since medieval times it was used to portray piety and it was very very rare and expensive. Many artist couldn’t afford to use it due its price and i have never seen anybody with jewelry with it in tudor times. However showcase of piety, rarity and wealth, would be exactly what I’d expect from Mary.

It fits excellently with Mary’s personality and also with Parr bringing trend of some unique girdles in 1540s(her by master john has tiny carved faces in it).

At end of girdle is a jewel showing St. Veronica holding the cloth with the image of Christ upon it-Veil of Veronica(holy relic). Which is bit ironic, because Mary’s greatest supporter was Charles V and his troops during sack of Rome stole Veil of Veronica(holy relic) and it was not seen since.

So I’d love to know, where the inspiration for that girdle came from. Tbh, I’d even be happy to see it recreated by somebody and used as part of costume for Mary. I’d actually think it was historically accurate/keeping with mentality of the day. 

(I cannot say same about that cross on chest, it’d too huge.)

Unfortuntaley this painting is from c.1800, so I cannot ask its maker. 

And I went through all royal portraits of Tudor women, and I can’t find it. But since he or she used 4 known royal portraits, it would be logical if 5th was also royal portrait. But i could find nothing. I have no idea where is this 5th inspiration. Nor who wore it. And imo it is too well-thought girdle to be completely made up. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed it and if you know anything about this girdle then write to me please.

[violettelueur]

RYŌMEN SUKUNA || LITTLE CAGED ARTIST

| featuring : ryomen sukuna ft. itadori yuji 

| warnings : mention of emotional abuse and murder as well as grammar errors

| form : imagine

| word count : 1691

| published : 22 december

| request : Hello, idk if your request are open but feel free to ignore, but just, imagine another reencarnation au (those imaginw of yours are my favourite) where the reader was a painter and Sukuna's personal favourite so he took her and kinda abused her psycologicaly to the point where she would just draw him and only him and he loved that, and in the future she's still an artist that draws Yuuji bc theyre friends but when she sees the tatoos she again draws Sukuna and he feels guilty for the way he treated her and her art in the pastIf It's angst i would apreciate but it's not really necesary

| barista’s notes : hi there~ i apologies for the extremely long wait for your coffee order but now it is there ╲ʕ·ᴥ·　╲ʔ right now it is nearly 5am in the morning and i have no idea why the hell i am awake, but oh well ʕ ᵒ ᴥ ᵒʔ  DONT WORRY THOUGH! after this, i am going to sleep and rest up since today it is Fushiguro Megumi’s and Kageyama Tobio’s birthday today ʕ≧ᴥ≦ʔ but other than that, i hope you enjoy your order of a cup of classic black coffee (jujutsu kaisen request!) and i hope you come back soon! ʕ •ᴥ•ʔゝ☆

“Sukuna….please leave me alone...leave the village alone, I beg of you please,” you whimpered to the man that was standing tall and proud with a sadistic smirk painted on his face, while you were on your knees tightly holding onto his large wrist - somewhat slightly covering the black ring marking - as if your weak physical strength could do anything to stop his raising them up and giving a rain upon hell to the people that was residing in the small town you lived in.

You have no idea how you had managed to catch the attention of the most feared curse to both humans and jujutsu sorcerers nor did you know how you managed to become acquainted with the man in front of you. All you knew right now was that the situation you were in at this current moment and time, was not ideal to anyone at all.

You were just a simple artist. A simple village girl artist that was blessed to be hired by the nobility and aristocracy to paint their family portraits with the finest colours that they would offer you, for you to be then paid so you could provide for your village. However, as luxurious as it sounded, you were in love with the idea of just placing a sharped piece of charcoal on a piece of paper or cloth you could find anywhere and sketch your heart designed.

“Leave you alone?” Sukuna questioned you in his deep voice, before slowly crouching down to become face to face with you. “I could never leave you alone, not when you have caught my attention with your craft little one,” Sukuna then stated, as he gently placed a hand on your cheek before using his thumb to caress the soft skin he was touching. 

Ever since Sukuna had caught sight of you delicately painting a portrait of a noblewoman with such care and gentleness, he couldn’t help but wonder how your hands were so carefully and how patient you were to make sure every stroke was perfect to your desire. Slowly, he began to wonder what it was like to be the subject of one's view. A subject that someone desired to recreate on a simple piece of paper. However, compared to his past sightings, you were the most talented as well as the most beautiful he had ever seen and once he was able to gain a clear view of the noble woman that you were illustration, he was surprised at how much detail you were able to encapture in your work and just like the noble woman’s reaction, they both were extremely happy with the result of the final product.

“How about this?” Sukuna suddenly asked, causing your head to suddenly shot up leading you to meet eye to eye with the King of Curses, “if you come with me and draw me and me only for the rest of time, I would leave this little village alone as well as the people residing in it. How does that sound, little one?”

‘Come with him? Where? Why? What’s going to happen to me?’

“If you don’t accept this deal, every single person here will die. Burned, stabbed, slashed, any way possible I can. Men, women and even little children’s lives will be gone, and it would be all your fault.”

‘My….fault? But-’

“You know I’m not a patient person little one, I might as well start my massacre while you take your time to think, it will be-”

“NO PLEASE! DON’T, YOU CAN TAKE ME, JUST LEAVE THE VILLAGE ALONE, PLEASE!” you screamed in desperation, as you tighten the grip of his wrist that was within your grasp to keep him down, as you didn’t want to risk him getting away from your sights for the safety and protection of the people  within the little town you had lived in since the day your life had started.

With a large cruel grin, Sukuna had somehow managed to pry his wrists free from your tense grip before sliding an arm under your knees as well as an arm around your body lifting you up in a bridal position, while you were just expressing a face of shock and fear, confused and fearful on what you had just accepted in exchange for your life. Where were you going? Was this the end? Were you going to die? How much longer have you had left?

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you, you’re too precious to be slaughtered little one,” Sukuna answered - as if he knew what you were thinking - before placing a ghostly kiss upon your temple leading you to freeze still, petrified on what he would do with you had moved a single inch.

This was your life now. 

A caged artist.

                                               ꕥ

Here you were, sitting on a wooden platform outside with a sharpened piece of charcoal that Sukuna had kindly given you, in order for you to sketch a portrait of him. The second you placed the charcoal upon the paper, Sukuna couldn’t help but stare at the light movements of your hand as you lightly stroke a few lines to create an outline before watching your hand suddenly pause, causing the King of Curses to switch his view from the sheet to you, only to find your look at him with such a frightened look.

“I’m sorry…..I shouldn’t look at you, should I? I apologise deeply,” you softly muttered before quickly turning back to the portrait that was right in front of you - you didn’t want to do anything wrong in his eyes, you knew he could go back on his words and harm the people that you cared about. However, it seemed like Sukuna didn’t care at all, he had managed to trap you into his life and had the power to demand you to draw him every time he would mention he could go back to your little village and burn it to the ground. He relished in the idea of being the subject of your attention.

This is what he wanted. 

His little caged artist.

                                               ꕥ

1000 years later and here you were. 

Here you were sketching a picture of your best-friend Itadori with a picture of him that you had managed to capture on your phone. Itadori first came into your life shortly after you had enrolled into Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Techincal College around the same time as your other classmate Kugisaki did. 

You have no idea what drew you into the boy with the pink hair, but something within you pulled you towards him causing the blooming and somewhat hilarious friendship to start, even causing Fushiguro and Kugisaki to wonder what was going on in your mind to somehow relate to the boy - yet, they didn’t mention their questions since they didn’t really think you knew the answer yourself, and they were correct.

However, as you continued to smoothly glide your pencil across the page, applying different pressures to construct some definitions as well as shadows within the photo you were copying from, you began to suddenly realise that you were starting to draw marking upon his portrait. Markings that were so familiar to the ones the person within him had.

Ever since that day at the Eishu Detention Centre, the sight of Sukuna standing in front of you with his shirt ripped off showcasing his black marking caused a trigger of unknown memories to suddenly flood into your mind, causing excruciating pain that was so unbearable, you thought you were going to pass out from the intense pressure, maybe as even close to dying from the immense pain.

From what you could even recall from the sudden flood of blurry images that appeared in your mind, there was a picture of you drawing with a piece of charcoal with the infamous King of Curses seating right beside you, watching you draw will whispering in your ear the threats that he would bombard you in order for you to make sure that you were only drawing him and him only.

Slowly but in a shaking manner, your drawing hand continued to sketch in Sukuna’s markings that would appear on Itadori’s body as you were somewhat extremely afraid of what the King of Curses could do to you if you didn’t - just how you left 1000 years ago.

Although unknown to you, your best-friend Itadori was standing right behind you, having a clear view of what was happening to you as well as the drawing right in front of him. Seeing your shaking figure with slow but clear teardrops landing on the sketch book as well as the drawing evolving from him to the curse residing inside of him, made him realise how damaging Sukuna was to not only him but also to the people around him. Carefully, Itadori placed a hand over your hand that held the pencil, causing you to flinch before finally noticing that it was your friend that was holding it and not the special grade curse.

Within his Innate Domain, Sukuna also had a clear view on what was happening to you and slowly but strangely began to feel something drop to his stomach with the feeling of his throat closing up at the sight of you slowly breaking down into a small state of insanity. This isn’t what he wanted. He didn’t want his beautiful little one to become lifeless and paranoid like you were now.

Even after 1000 years after your death, your incarnation was carrying the feeling of fear, despair and numbness that you were weighed upon the second you had given your life away to the King of Curses for the sake of your village. Even though you had more freedom then you did then, you still left trapped and lost within the metal cage that Sukuna had enclosed you in. Even with the small hint of guilt that was manifested within the cruel curse’s heart. 

You were trapped with no escape out.

You were trapped forever with no key to open the door that was clearly right in front of you.

Forever his little caged artist.

[killemwithkawaii]

hihihi , i'm pretty new to this , but i had the uRGE to share some random-ass Sal n' Larry headcanons

Larry would like Salvador Dali !! He would find that dude's paintings so fuckin' sick .

Sal plays Animal Crossing . Manz loves Lolly The Cat and will give them lil' gifts everyday .

Larry & Sal would pro'lly go into a Spencers to be lil' shits . Snickering at the slutty anime t-shirts and sex toys

As someone who relates to Larry , manz totally has some weird-ass weed rig and no one can tell me differently

Sal's the type of person who'll be like "the fuck are tits? I'm a visual learner, by the why"

thank you for coming to my ted talk

~ smoke anon

>Oh yeah, I'm sure Larry would find Salvador Dali very inspiring (especially after he started indulging in mind-altering substances)! I'm thinking Lisa, wanting to encourage Larrys artistic spark, bought a big book of famous pieces for him to look through when he was a kid. He poured over that thing for hours, trying to copy the works of the greats with off-brand crayons and muddy water colors. The surreal paintings by Dali were always his favorite to emulate. >Animal Crossing is a great game for calming your nerves and giving you a little daily distraction. Sal keeps all of his villagers happy and always remembers their birthdays, but doesn't have the heart to stop them if they want to move away because he wants them to be free to live their best lives however they choose to 🥺👋🏠 >I'm picturing Sally feeling VERY awkward and uncomfortable during his first visit to Spencers, but Larry has him chuckling and making immature jokes after a few bad puns and pointing out just how many novelty items can be molded into the shape of genitals. (The two end up leaving with some cool posters, a beer bong, and Sals now-infamous 'I'd Fuck Me' shirt)

>Larrys unnecessarily large and complicated, Rube Goldberg machine-esque rig (that only he can work) was macgyvered together with spare hardware supplies from Lisas toolbox, thrift finds, discarded junk from Todds inventions, and straight-up trash Sal helped him fish out of dumpsters. He keeps adding new parts to it, and like all great works of art, it will never be quite complete...

>YES I NEED more Sal sarcasm/sass/snark in my life (and am happy to show him mine if he shows me his, for our educations sake uwu)

[You have officially been added to the Anon signoff claim list, Smoke anon! Welcome to the club~ :D]

[feralmoonlight]

I'm loving the Lincoln idea cuz I think Slueth jesters has swallowed me whole as well 🤣

I understand that Moon in this situation is undecided. But I would like to know if the reason they do doordash is for fazbear or if it's to try and survive in the real world and that is currently the only way they can reliably make money?

Also I can definitely see Moon being the type to find whatever Y/N's job is to be extremely interesting (even if he will never admit it) and try to do whatever Y/N does for a job. Like if they are a digital artist of some kind- Moon tries to make digital paintings that he tries to keep away from Sun ect.

IF ONLY MOON WAS PROGRAMED FOR MORE THAN CHILDRENS DRAWINGS But that's cute as hell, oh my god. I could see him starting out with the default level of skill from the daycare days and just... This is not working. This isn't right. How do humans turn into printers??? what the fuck?????? So he'd end up both frustrated and also determined if he tried to copy that. Sun treats it like it's just adult arts and crafts but Moon being more like... Less active with the kids in that regard from back then just sees it as a normal hobby activity and it being something HE could do to help make money possibly instead of being just as shielded off from the world as YN would be (though not by choice, but he still can't really be trusted around humans safely) he doesn't have that many options. THOUGH this actually does kind of circle back to a headcanon I was debating pulling in for... technically 2 things I'm working on, but more for Sun cause he's more active with arts and crafts, of him having his own actual painting stuff that he works on in private during the hours the daycare is closed and painting pictures based on the descriptions the kids give him of the outside world, and also the images he's seen on their clothing so it would be a kind of surreal style of cartoony trees and more realistic ones, not totally gathering the concept that they're not both real, but also things from the Fazbear approved kids library of books for story/naptime they'd have with the varying art styles. Kinda sad before he gets to see the actual outside world and realizes he really doesn't understand how anything beyond the pizzaplex looks. Same for Moon though, cause even though he's got more free range of the whole place, he wouldn't have seen the world outside the shutters like the other animatronics can during the day so I AM REALLY digging the concept of them becoming artists in their other spare time. THOUGH cicrling around again, I don't see them still being "employed" by the Faz, this probably taking place a bit later after the plex initially burns to the ground and they end up as sort of a refurbished piece (stares at copper cogs longingly) that either slipped away from whoever restored them for (pick a shitty reason) or they're now working 'for' the person that refurb'd them that's still in that stage of treating them like a tool and not like a person which would also push Sun's anxiety and Moon's distaste for people into a more focal point (and also leave room for them to decide they're done with that guy and just... dip and try and move in with YN) for future plot~ (unrelated I have been eating up Sleuth Jesters this week piece by peace and it's giving me life~ I'm not all the way through yet though)