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

[bellpeppersand-beef]

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

[slippery-minghus]

watercolor progress!

[0hmyg0th]

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

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

★: taglist

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

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

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 you shrugged nonchalantly, with each step you took with your red high pumps piercing through the outdated hotel carpet.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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"look at me" 

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

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

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

'then get on the be-

AND THIS GIRL WAS GONE. 

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

[madisockz]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[tohellandback99]

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

Then I just.

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

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

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

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

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

Oh geez I’m a super fan nooo! Oh.

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

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

[tothepointofinsanity]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[maridiayachtclub]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[smthmeaningful]

I

Want

Tattoos

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

[dymdrimluga]

Art of Mage: The Ascension

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

Many people worked on this edition

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

how interestingly and harmoniously different styles are combined in this book

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

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

very calm great vibe

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

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

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

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

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

[two-calicos-in-a-trenchcoat]

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

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

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

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

(Tutorial under the cut)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You wanna thread the needle through the first signature and then

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

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

And put it through the next hole in the signature

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

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

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

2D Purists, Cut It Out

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[highly-opinionated-art]

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

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

(2024 part 2)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[yakeisoda]

Hello, just wanna start this off by saying that I love your art. I've decided to ask my favourite artists for art tips as I wanna get into it, but no matter what I do it never looks right. So, any tips?

HELLO TYSM!!! ngl i dont think im the best 4 this question im also kinda in a rut rn where im not really satisfied w my art n craving more progress and improvement but im getting there somewhat but very slowly! (ive been this way for a rly long time naow) this might be long but im gna try n throw in the things ik, sorry if my thoughts r messy im not the best in articulating stuff :')

i think a good way to start off is to find out what skill you lack the most or what you want to improve the most on, say for ex: u wna focus on getting better at composition for illustrations, then a good way to improve them is to learn about the composition rules (ex: rule of 3rds, etc), look for any scenes in films/animation or photographies and storybooks , study them and recreate it! go crazy !! ive done a study on a friend's picture before, and have asked my friends if i can use their photographies as practice!

looking for inspiration will also improve ur visual library, they can help u find what u wna put in ur art ! like perhaps certain color palettes or styles, it's best to look at different mediums of art instead of focusing only on one, sometimes u can find techniques meant 4 u! (ex: of this is my friend who used to be a watercolor artist, ive observed them using watercolor techniques when they were still new to digital art! basically mix n match whatever feels good/convenient 4 u :] )

disciplining urself is also good to have more improvement! i have trouble w this the most ever since bc its hard 2 focus if no one is like there to monitor u (in my experience), if u rly wna make progress u have to squeeze in some art practice time in ur schedule, it can be around 15-30 mins or even 3 hrs, completely up to you! (rmb to take breaks!). you can give urself deadlines if that will help n maybe timers too!

my prof always said "Proper practice makes perfect", so it's also best to practice with a clear goal in mind, take notes on the things u lack and if ur watching any art tutorials/speedpaints, take notes of those too! it's good to have something specific in mind so u wont get lost n u wud know what u wna do! it helps u retain info as well so u can look back on stuff, to avoid overwhelming urself u can just focus on small bits first, ex: in anatomy, u can focus on the head area first, break it down to drawing eyes and noses, etc! then u can move onto the torso area!

USE REFS!!!! make use of pinterest or any other refs u can find, cannot stress this enuf go crazyyy w references, make a moodboard full of referencess n go crazzyy w them!! i used to not like doing this bc i just head straight in to drawing bc thats what i was used to but art college trained me 2 use refs bc they help so very much, theyre like ur guideline for what u wna make so u have a clear goal in mind, also photobashing seems like a great practice too never tried it but yes it can help when ur planning an illustration/concept art!

^above also applies to art styles! go crazy n experiment w them!! i think its so very fun to explore diff art styles n not stick to 1, again this depends on u but having a different range of artworks is rly fun, u can go from very pastel soft colors n style, to smth very vibrant n sharp, to smth like dark n chalky-sketchy kind of vibe if im making sense T__T, basically go wild!! go crazy!! dont let urself sit in 1 box! hop into other boxes !! or wear all of them!! or poke holes in the box n add stuff to the box or wear a circle!! trust me it looks so fun if u put different artworks uve made side by side n go wow i did that!!

also create small thumbnails 4 illustration! its really best to plan ahead art too, as i said i used to just head straight in n not plan but ive learned to absolutely enjoy planning making art! collecting refs n seeing what kind of composition goes n what colors wud work is so very fun actually! it rly helps a lot

theres also this one post i lost the link, but basically it shows how much progress u can make if u make loose sketches vs full on rendered illustrations vs a mix of both, again this depends entirely on u bc things r different for everyone! i think that post is really good for teaching abt art progress (if any1 knows where it is pls do link!), i think focusing on sketches n practice is better tho bc it helps u draw more freely n loosely! i think that speeds up ur process more as well n doesnt make u lose interest immediately compared 2 focusing on finishing 1 big rendered illust (talking from experience) but then again its different for every1 so honestly just experiment n see what feels right for u!

i wna say tho that although it is good to make sure ur drawing looks right its also good to just let yourself draw freely, i think what matters is that u understood the structures of something and as long as ur able to apply that in ur own way i think thats gud! i think drawing freely helps u draw more fluidly? like having more expression is what i mean. ive gotten into the "i have 2 make this look right" hole before n i noticed it made my art look stiff, so highlyy recommend doing gesture drawing n life studies! rmb to have fun when practicing n learning,

dont pressure urself too much! enjoy the experience :] ! messy sketches r good!! not everything has to look good or perfect! my sketchbooks from way back were just doodles, pencil sketches no color mostly, theres an occasional lined one w markers , ballpen, n some highlighters, n my drawings were either smth funny that happened w me n frens with our personas or making ocs for my faves or ocs for me in general!

ur sketchbook doesnt have to look pretty its like ur diary but its art ykno! ur thoughts in visual form for the day! (again all up to u as long as u have fun! its all different 4 everyone!)

anw tysm again!! sorry if this was all over the place HAHSAW i tried my best but these r the tips i keep in mind most of the time or the ones i hold closest to me n that i try to apply as much as i cud! if u need anything else clarified just lmk! not the best w words but hopefully it helps :'')! most of the stuff i mentioned here i also need to take into practice HAHWHAW so mb its gud 4 me to write this down so i can finally push myself to do stuff,

[thedreamcrosser]

My Clementine

A Momo X Clementine short fic…

Based on this song (Thank You @rubynmax1 for the inspiration ✨):

I’ve been changing

But the burning stays the same

What can I do to tame the heat of this fire

Forever saving

The remnants of a love

Like ancient stories told from another time

Eternally painted on my mind

Momo is definitely not the same bot he was before his friends left. He became as thoughtful as Zebathizar, time alone gave him that. He studied up on Doc notes and gained a better understanding of technology because of him.

But Clementine still gave him that deep fire he could not snuff out. How could he, when he felt like it was kept in a lantern at his core. He used it to study her passion, the outside. His passion as well, but she was the one that originally stoked it hotter the moment they met. Now he could not get her out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried.

What didn’t help was that he still had sketched a picture of her on a fresh canvas, self-made before her flight with the others to the sewers. Here he was, in front of it, staring at it, as if doing so would make his situation feel better. Like as if his fight with her never happened, and she was here having conversations with him.

Color it gray

Until I forget you

Like I never met you,

My dearest Clementine

Throw it away

But close enough to you

Cause although I hate you

I will still fall in love my

Clementine

He put down his coffee can and leaned his elbows on his knees and began to study the sketch on the easel in front of him. Here he was, on his couch, trying to paint again; trying to get some kind of happiness back into him. But the only canvas fit for painting at the moment was this sketch, and he had nothing to trade to get a fresh one. Looking at the grayscale watercolor palate on the stool nearby he picked it up and began to paint.

Painting had been his pastime, as long as he knew Clementine. The problem was that he wanted to forget her, maybe never even have met her if he could. This pain was a bit too much to bear. Having her be his muse in the past did not help his situation either, thoughts of her still being across the room burned in his mind like the complicated hatred and admiration living in his core.

Every time

If you’re fading

Honey, i’ll be fading too

Darling i don’t even know who i am

Without you

Forever waiting

Times never wasted and still

I find myself growing old over you

You came in a dream you touched the depths of mind

Oh no no no

How could he hate her when he was the one at her side when things became grim? When the mission did not go right, he was there. At first, it was to just be there for her, then hold her hand, then she was there to hold him. When she made the first move it felt so right, to be held by her. He expected butterflies in his system, but all he got was a peaceful contentment. Like he fit right next to her like a puzzle piece.

How long has it been since he last saw her? She has been such a part of his life to the point where they even thought the same. But he should not be thinking about that, he told himself as he finished up painting her dark screen. He wants to forget her. He added a bit of water to his brush and filled her casing.

Color it gray

Until i forget you

Like I never met you,

My dearest Clementine

Throw it away

But close enough to you

Cause although i hate you

I will still fall in love my

Clementine

“Alright, you can turn on your eyes now.” He could remember her saying with her sweet bliping voice a long time ago. She had led him to a secluded place he had never been before, a green house nesseled between buildings; lit aglow with grow lights. It was warm inside, and not just because she was there.

He remembered seeing her standing in front of him holding a small potted tree, filled to the brim with beautiful orange orbs that he had never seen before.

“What? I have never seen such a marvelous thing!” He marveled at the plant, leaning down to get a better look while she held it up with pride.

She winked at him. “I am told they are named after me; well, I am named after them. Clemetine’s if you will.”

“It only seems fitting, your beautiful!” His eyes became as wide as hers when he said those words. He tried to recover “ I mean, their beautiful! Oh bot…”

Laughter poured out of her as he felt her hip bump against his. “You don’t look too bad yourself, dumpling!”

Later he learned that the word dumpling was an old human term of endearment. Mostly for lovers. He remembered how overheated he became when he found out. At that moment he had to know for certain if it was true or not.

Every time

Always

No matter how hard i try

My Clementine

Everytime (hoo)

He had to find her. Peeking into her apartment he saw his friends, all busy with Outsider work. She was the only one that looked his way, smiling at him. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to squeeze in and interrupt her he found his place on the stool she was standing next to and placed his hands on her hips. “I found out what you meant by “dumpling”, Clementine. You love me, don’t you? Like… more than friends?”

A smirk animated her face as she leaned over to tip his hat over his screen. She tossed it to the other side of the room as she climbed into his lap. A bit confused he stutters, “Clem? What are you-”

“Cle-hmmp!” He beeped as she leaned in and smothered his face with kisses, hands clenched around the collar of his jacket. His hands failed to find a place to hold the two of them and they both toppled to the floor. Clementine, however, did not care and continued to kiss him, proud to call his rainbow face hers.

Color it gray

Until I forget you

Like I never met you,

My dearest

My dearest Clementine

Color it gray

Until I forget you

Like I never met you,

My dearest Clementine

Throw it away

But close enough to you

Cause although I hate you

I will still fall in love my

Clementine

How he wished he could go back and live that moment over and over. He wished it could still be real, but instead he was stuck with the words he regretted on loop in his head.

“Are we even sure that the outside is even real?”

He admitted that in those last days he was not quite himself, stressed beyond belief. All of the pressure from finding a way out, trying to be brave, and the fear of doubts arising got to him, and he snapped.

The couple had a blowout that the whole neighborhood heard, he would have not been surprised if the Guardian came in to shut them both up himself. As soon as he said his last words she stopped and walked out of his apartment without a word.

Words were barely said between each other when they finally got the call from Midtown. The upper level was actually populated, but while his team had elation he had dread. Another mission that would probably turn sour…

She talked to him the last day, but he was so emotionally tired and worn he could not get much of a word out. He was mad that she would do such a thing to people, bringing them into dangerous areas that could get them killed, all based on a theory.

That was the day she left with Zbalthizar and the caravan for the sewers. He only wished he had the bravery to join on his own boat, let alone have the drive to continue to find a way out.

Every time

Always

No matter how hard I try

My Clementine

Every time (hoo)

You’re always on my mind.

He filled in the background to the last corner; her face, although neutral, popped out from the gray background. She was still there, in his mind as much as she was in his head. Picking up the painting he walked over to the trash can, ready to throw her out of his mind for good.

He hovered there. Who was he kidding? He could not get over her no matter how hard he tried. Tilting it up to the light he gave her one last look and walked the painting to his bed, being careful to not let the beaded curtain smudge it.

He made up his mind. He had to try again. He had to be brave. He had to be there for his friends like they had been there for him, especially her. Placing the painting on the bed to dry he turned to the transmitter near the television.

He will try again. He had to see them, to hear them, to see her. If not, he would gain clarity knowing his friend's fate.

Time to be brave, ready or not.

Again, go to @rubynmax1 to see the art that inspired this fic!

[pawjamas]

life is. so much more lovely than i could’ve ever dreamed right now.

i’m feeling so at ease and just overall very very content with everything happening right now!

today i accomplished something big that’ll make sure i can completely cut ties with the people who made me homeless/hurt me, one final thing (getting all my belongings back from them at the beginning of next month!) and i’ll be entirely able to cut contact and move on from this chapter of my life. i am beyond happy and my wife keeps hyping me up telling me how proud she is of how i’ve made it to this point, that We have made it to this point together. 

after i accomplished that, my wife and i went to Joann’s and i got this adorable floral sewing box that i’m going to also line the inside with this beatrix potter/peter rabbit fabric and use the box as a comfort box! it’s going to be a big kit full of things to use when my mental health gets bad again. coloring books, stim toys, i want to also get one of those baby blankets with the stuffed animal attached to it (preferably a lamb!) someday and put it in this box! i’ll put the locket with my cat’s ashes in it to keep the box guarded by him. andd maybe i’ll put some pictures of my wife in it too.. just brainstorming for now haha. 

after our visit to Joann’s my wife while mid driving home was like “look! i got some watercolors!” she also got a small watercolor paper filled book to paint in, and she was like “do you want to go somewhere pretty and paint?” and i answered “yeah sure!”

so we drove to this small lakeside park on the college campus, and sat on a bench close to the lake and each painted the scenery! my wife went first, then me. while i painted i listened to this video because i really like the soft instrumental music in it, the experience was sooo calming omfg. we compared paintings afterwards and my wife said she wishes that one day she can paint like i do. i told her i think hers was lovely for never before painting anything, and that it just takes a lot of practice. she then said “how about we try and do this each Monday? find a new place and each paint it?” and i told her that sounds wonderful.

i’m going to play more animal crossing new leaf now ^_^ i could literally happy flap soo much at how happy i feel right now.. i feel So good life is going good !!!

[adenev]

Some of my fave Will Byers headcanons :)

🎨 Pulls the: “I can’t believe you’re dating my sister” card with Mike

🎨 Sometimes puts hot sauce on food and then jokes that it keeps the mind flayer away

🎨 Apologizes to inanimate objects when bumping into them

🎨 Wouldn’t eat anything animal shaped growing up because he didn’t wanna hurt them 

🎨 Hates the number seven because that’s what he rolled the night he went missing

🎨 Knows how to sew

🎨 Favorite Disney movie is Peter Pan. Close second is Bambi 

🎨 Keeps a small snack on him at all times, in fear of getting trapped in the upside down again

🎨 Mixes up his paint water and drinking water a little too often

🎨 Still loves playing games like hide and seek but is too scared to as if anyone wants to play with him

🎨

🎨 Has to sleep with a stuffed animal. Also a night light.

🎨 Will was paired up with one of El’s bullies (specifically the guy with the sun glasses) for the only project where they couldn’t choose their partners. He comes to the Byers house and works with Will in his room. Sees that will has both a stuffed animal and a night light and gets heavily picked on for it. He also sees the picture of him and Mike on his bedside table but doesn’t say anything about it. He knows what Will Byers is. 

🎨 Believed in the tooth fairy and Santa longer than the other kids, and his friends made sure to keep it that way

🎨 A hypochondriac and a germaphobe since leaving the upside down. Constantly worried if there are still slugs in him

🎨 Believes in fairies 

🎨 Puts a dot on his ceiling for every bad dream he has and now his ceiling looks like the night sky

🎨 Falls asleep at inconvenient times. A very sleepy boy, if you will. 

🎨 One time he was proud of his report card grades and brought it up over dinner and Lonnie complained that he should be bringing home awards for sports instead and it just turned into a huge argument between him and Joyce so will never brought up his accomplishments again unless someone asked him

🎨 Knows about hellfire but doesn’t bring it up because he thinks they wanted to play dnd just not with him

🎨 Talks to his stuffed animal

🎨 Studio Ghibli stan

🎨 Cat lover but they make him nervous. He’s afraid to pet them cause he’s afraid even cats won’t like him :(

🎨 Cries every year on his birthday

🎨 Spills almost everything. When he was little he was only allowed cups with lids on them

🎨 A Knick knack enthusiast

🎨 he gets eaten by bugs SO BAD the entire summer he’s covered in bug bites, even when he’s just outside for five minutes, his mom says it’s because he’s so sweet

🎨 watercolor is his main medium

🎨 when he paints he lines his brushes up from most to least favorite

🎨 when he has a bad week, he’ll sleep in his moms bed sometimes

🎨 Favorite seasons are fall and spring because he can wear sweaters with shorts

🎨 “I saw this and got it for you” and has money set aside specifically so he can do this for his friends

🎨 Has a really high pain tolerance. When the group gets matching dnd tattoos, he just chuckles under the needle

🎨 age regresses sometimes to work though his trauma

🎨 Deeply resonates with Rapunzel from tangled 

🎨 Checks his temperature religiously, afraid he’ll be the right temperature for the mind flayer again