#I know exactly which pose I'm going to draw them in for next year

[samethstarr]

1 year as a Sonic artist :)

I wasn't going to share this because I find it painfully embarrassing, but a friend told me someone else might find it inspiring so here we go, I guess. Today it has been exactly 1 year since I started making Sonic fanart.

The first was a simple Sonic Frontiers picture, I believe a friend of mine had recently finished their play-through so we were constantly geeking out over the game. As a result of posting art into the fandom, I was starting to peek into the community a little more and I noticed that the IDW comic fans were freaking the heck out. Issue #55 had come out and I kept seeing these panels from it:

I had seen Starline a few times before and was mildly curious about him, but my first impression of him was that he was a comic relief character. I thought people liked him because he was comically extra. But people were talking about how messed up he was and I was intrigued because he had clearly died at some point and left some sort of mess for everyone, serious enough that the heroes and villains were teaming up to deal with it.

The art for this issue is amazing and combined with the realization that Starline was actually a kind of serious villain, I just HAD to know more. Once I started seriously reading the comic there was no more hope for me, I was hooked. I did some fanart of Starline in January and people loved it, which made me even more interested in the community. I like positive attention and Starline fans are really really really nice to people who feed them. Shoutout to Starline fans for being so awesome to newcomers.

It was a bit of a one off for me skill wise, but I put a LOT more effort into it than I had put into anything else for a long time. The attention I got motivated the heck out of me. I felt appreciated.

I ended up joining several communities, I've made friends, I've done 4 Bumblekast thumbs, I got accepted into 2 zines, one of which I completed a 5 page comic for and the other one is probably one of the coolest things I have ever drawn in my life and I can't even share it here T.T

But the biggest thing starting Sonic fanart did for me is it got me practicing and studying. Not just drawing pictures and improving after each one; I was drawing with the intent to build skill, not to create a final result. I seriously wanted to work to improve.

My main goal for this year ended up being figuring out an effective method for learning how to draw characters and objects on model in general. Not just Sonic characters, any character I want.

I improved a lot with technique and my eye for color has improved a little too. I've got a knack for technical drawing, so I pick up things like perspective really quickly, but I have a difficult time making things look organic and I still struggle with that, but I am getting better.

What I'm gonna need to focus on for the next year is looking like general composition, dynamic poses, and expressions. With the amount of improvement I've seen this last year, I'm curious what kind of skills I'll have this time next year.

[valcuda]

I'm thinking of trying to model some of my characters, cause I feel like if I did, I'd be making far more artwork with them, since I admittedly suck at drawing, especially at angles.

I'm definitely better with 3D (Ironic that my issue with drawing is the 3rd dimension), just being able to visualize crud better. I've actually created Hellen's and Sophia's houses in Minecraft, and am planning on doing Trisha's as well, just to help visualize the spaces for when I'm writing. I've also modeled a cafeteria from the Space Carrot!

- Unfortunately, this isn't actually my first time getting this idea. I've tried it in the past, and absolutely failed. I've also created nightmares beyond my comprehension when trying to sculpt in VR.

So, what is my plan this time? I'm gonna get a free base mesh, and attempt to make it look like the different characters!

I have a style, and my characters were designed for that style, and it's how I imagine them, so I want to try maintaining that, while still not exactly limiting myself to it. Notably, I draw with an outline, and while I once considered it part of my style, I don't think I'd keep it. It's more there for clarity at this point. I also don't want the 3D renders to look too much like illustrations. I kinda feel like it'd be disrespectful, since I'm essentially doing this cause I can't draw.

-

Anyways, I don't know if I'll actually go ahead with this, I am planning to at least try it, cause if this works, it'd make making artwork significantly easier, mainly just cause I find 3D easier to work with. (And I can abandon a project for 3 months, before returning like nothing happened)

Now then, I'd usually end it here, and you're free to stop reading now, but for those of you still here, it's time for...

Random Rants!

I kept going on tangents during this, which I decided to cut for clarity sake, but instead of wasting them, I decided to put them here! Enjoy!

-

I wanted to do it with Skizzy and Junk-Watt in the past, unfortunately, I have this issue where I can't draw Skizzy ever again, cause the drawings never look like her, so I was basing it off of her existing drawing.

Skizzy's drawing doesn't make any fucking sense, a fact I only learned this year, which is probably why I can never redraw her. I tried mapping her skull, failed, tried mapping her spine, failed, tried mapping her ribcage, failed. Her neck is off-center, and her head isn't symmetrical, it's a complete fucking nightmare!!!

In the past, I once attempted to recreate her post skeleton, as a last ditch effort to redraw her, and allowing me to fix her pose, and I somehow didn't notice this when I did that!!!

-

Believe it or not, this wouldn't actually be my first time modeling a character, it would just be my first time modeling human characters. I've actually made a total of 3 Carrot Man models in the past, which seemed impossible at first.

Originally, Carrot Man was a doodle, and while I'd draw him in different poses, I didn't need to worry about 3D! His hair had no order to it, and I put zero thought into how he'd stand up straight, or how his goggles fit on his head, or how his hair would even look!

This was when I made the first 3D model of him! It was a cone, with pineapple hair, which doubled the poly count of the model.

At some point, I decided to model him again, but before that, I made actual reference material!

This image still sits next to my desk to this day. This was the origin of Carrot Man's current design, it was the first time I made reference artwork of a character, and it's was what gave Carrot Man his 3rd dimension!

He's a cone, meaning he has to lean back to look forward. His hair was turned into a mostly flat shape, and his goggles were shaped so they'd actually fit around a cone.

This allowed me to make another model, which was based off of this design.

The most recent model however, was based on his new artwork, though still using the reference artwork's design for everything. Here's that model! (The only one I still have)

(I just noticed his legs are asymmetrical, that's cause the left one is only for demonstration since his left limbs are just mirrors of the right) I planned to use this for VRChat, and even some artwork, which is why I modeled a Space Carrot cafeteria, but I never got around to finishing it. As you can see, his eyebrows don't really work in 3D still, I have to put them on the goggles instead of his face, but I think I'm fine with that cheat.

--

Anyway, that is truly all for now!

[mclarenyaoi]

Ooo! I have some fursona ideas if you want them! (Feel free to ignore if you don’t)

George is very Gray Heron vibes to me, tall and ~dramatic~. Yuki could be either a Japanese Dormouse or a Japanese Tit. Lewis I think could be a Lesser Kudu (and maybe he got his horns removed and it was a Really Big Deal)

hi anon!!! first of all, congratulations, you're my first ever anon ask on this blog! second of all, that previous thing is pretty much exactly why this is being answered a bit late ^^' i'm terribly sorry about that, i just really wanted to make my answer good!! thank you for giving me these ideas, i love them and i love you, whoever you are <3

this is gonna be a long post so my actual answer to this ask containing all the doodles and commentary will be under the cut. just like last time, all written notes will be transcribed in the alt text since my handwriting isn't particularly legible. apologies in advance for any spelling mistakes or accidental misinformation, i don't have the time or energy to give this post a proper proofread so if anyone finds any errors or needs clarification on anything, please let me know! anyways hope you all find this post enjoyable ^^

first up, grey heron george! i've never drawn a grey heron before, so this was quite fun if a bit complicated

i ended up settling for the mid-length neck in the "final" headshot, but now that i've had more time to think on it, i think i'd choose to draw him with a long neck, tho he'd get some serious cramps after every race. it'd also be funnier as well — herons are, as you said, tall and dramatic... but herons from the front? yeah. blimey indeed.

there's also the matter of how his helmet would fit, esp since you can't exactly go and shave off a man's mouth. i couldn't find a good solution for this; my best idea was that little confused drawing in the corner. it's not a terrific solution by a long shot, but i suppose that's just how it'll be until i (or someone else? this is an open invitation, tho do tag me) come(s) up with a solution

i didn't do a fullbody sketch for grey heron george, but if i did i'd have him stand next to someone for comparison. i guess the question with that is how much his neck would factor into his height since he's plenty tall as is. i did also want to do a dramatic drawing for george, but i was severely struggling to figure out a pose. maybe i'll do one in the future..

next up, yuki. anon, i LOVED these suggestions! i ended up drawing both suggested fursonas bc why not lol. (also, i did assume by "japanese tit" you meant aegithalos caudatus japonicus (called shimaenaga (シマエナガ) in japanese) the white-faced subspecies of the long-tailed bushtit only found in hokkaido, japan) and not parsus minor, since the shimaenaga definitely gives more yuki vibes)

(before i say anything i Just realized 2'58" makes no fucking sense so i need to correct this first — it should be 2'7" ! my bad yall)

i drew yuki as a tit before i drew him as a dormouse so i'll talk abt them in that order

obviously as a creature the shimaenaga is SO very yuki sdkjfh i mean just!! look at ittt!! the definition of borb (bird orb). ngl i was kinda hoping they'd have shrike-like tendencies just bc i love when little cute things kill with brutality, but nope! they're insectivores year-round. shimaenaga are polygynous and lay 7-10 eggs per brood, which is great bc they're vulnerable to cold temperatures and hokkaido has long winters. long-tailed tits typically have facial markings resembling big brows, but this subspecies loses those markings in adulthood, probably to better blend in with the snow. i think i was gonna draw hatchling yuki with big brows at some point, but didn't bc drawing babies is difficult and drawing babies as birds is even more difficult lmao. you might notice that i chose to go the beastars route with anthropomorphic animals and gave bird yuki humanoid limbs and no wings. why did i choose to do this? well. i am not great at drawing bird legs and i didn't feel like drawing them here

the japanese dormouse has an avg length of less than 8cm (3.15in) with a tail of 6cm (2.4in). they're omnivores, with a diet consisting of fruit, nuts, insects, spiders, bird eggs and nestlings, and small rodents—even other dormice, hence my little comment abt cannibalism. again, i like it when little cute things kill with brutality. i think this works better for yuki, who i personally see as being small but mighty, though it's not like it doesn't work to make him a particularly vulnerable animal. rise against the odds and all that

regardless of whichever animal you (widely encompassing) or i choose to draw yuki as, i find yuki as a small prey animal to be v interesting. both the shimaenaga and japanese dormouse are small and agile creatures, and fitting a small animal with yuki's personality is compelling to me (which is not to say i buy into the narrative of yuki being particularly explosive or having anger issues, bc i don't believe in nor stand for that lol). for the purpose of the narrative, i love you small but stubborn animals that can and will bite you!

before i move on please appreciate pierre and yuki in the corner, i am forever and always a citizen of yukierre nation

ok last and anything but least, lewis! i'll admit, anon, i was a bit confused at first why you specifically picked the lesser kudu for lewis, but after seeing a comparison of the greater and lesser kudus.. i get it. lesser kudus look cooler (more markings) and i enjoy that

so, pretty clear timeline here. a headshot of lewis in the present, what lewis would look like with horns (i spent. so long on this. completely on accident bc i wanted the horns to look good and then had to make the rest of it look like it matched asgjfkh), what lewis looked like in ~2007, lewis post-surgery (complete horn removal), and then a sketch of lewis smiling bc i like his smile \(^u^)/

(btw, while you're here, there are only ~100k lesser kudu left in the world due to over-hunting and habitat destruction, so. figure i could stand to add a link to the african wildlife foundation page on kudus, where you can find a donation button in the corner)

anon, what you said abt lewis' horn removal being a really big deal... ough it had me thinkinggg. i think the symbolism in permanently sawing off a part of yourself to fit a mold is sooo intriguing (tho not completely matching w/ lewis' story, i think as a general concept it fucks) and also represents the sacrifices needed to be part of motorsport, particularly from a young age. pecora would need to either cut off or greatly shorten the length of their cranial appendage in order to fit their head in a helmet — technically you could like, cut holes in your helmet, but then if you have a serious crash it'd probably be a near-certain fatality due to the bone and blood and nerves in there, in addition to the obvious danger of having a heavy bone object potentially crushing into your skull. there's only a few species of pecora where having a cranial appendage isn't a sexually dimorphic thing (eg caribou, reindeer, cattle, wildebeest) so having big horns is largely a sign of masculinity, hence why lewis initially kept as much of his horns as he could (there's probably some regulation for how large horns can be before they become a danger)

so with that being said, when lewis removes his horns entirely, it causes some uproar since he's effectively socially emasculating himself on purpose. there's definitely shitty articles written about it left and right, angrily bullshitting about how it's a sign that this is the end of masculine pecora (it's not) or that regulations have gone too far (no one made him do it) or that lewis is a bad role model (nope) or whatever the hell. lewis gives like One statement on it, smth abt how he did it for his own comfort and nothing else, how it doesn't emasculate him (bc it doesn't, anyone can do whatever well-informed decision forever and it can mean fuck all if you want it to mean fuck all, Truly who give a shit), and again more shitty articles quote it. etc etc usual circlejerk of illiterate media "journalism" continues until it dies down once something else happens. idk, smth like that, i didn't go to fucking school for math realistic furry-verse timeline creation

asdkjfh oh my god THANK YOU SO MUCH to anyone who's read this whole thing, please let me know your thoughts and opinions or if i made any errors. anon, i appreciate you immensely, i am so terribly sorry for the rambling but i hope you found this post interesting!

[mechazushi]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ITS HERE!!!!!!!! F*CK YEEEESSSSSS!!!!!! YOU DID AMAZING!!!!!

I'm glad you had fun with this! I honestly didn't think anyone would actually take me seriously and draw all of this out, and it looks better than what I had in mind!

(Everything below this point is stuff I was going to put into tags, but I'm just going to have them out and proud here)

Mina; stylin' as ever. Don't know why she ever had to be nervous

Kafka; excuse my lack of decency, but I physically can not stop myself from looking at his hips. Seeing the thick lines peaking out of the dress holes I.... 😳 brain gone? Only hips. *Drooling*

And then I get sideswiped by Hoshina, which by the way, BAHHHAHAAAHHAH!!!!!! THE F*CKIN" FERAL *SS LOOKING POSE! (Thank you for including the spartan eyes btw) I was picturing him looking elegant or something as he came down on him, but this is better! All he heard was " big guy in sexy lingerie" and the monkey brain took over. (Ayo, why the grippers out? Ah, who am I kidding. It adds to the unhinged)

The next four people look incredible! I know you were probably blowing a gasket over how to draw guys in a dress clearly designed for curvy women, but they all came out spectacularly! ✨💞✨

Minase and Kikoru look EXACTLY like how I thought they would look It's almost scary. (I'd say stay out of my head, but then we wouldn't have this)

DAMN! Hakua at it with the Tig Bitties, respect 👍

Nothing was going to prepare me for Gen. He actually does outdo Mina in the dress, I sincerely didn't think it was possible.

All in all, I thank you again! Seeing this totally made my entire year. I don't think there's going to be anything else that could top having inspired someone to illustrate a masterpiece with something I threw together as a joke. Seriously, I sound like a broken record but this is genuinely amazing!

I'm cracking up so much right now like....I really did it, wtf XD

First I wanted to go like "this is not my fault, this is @mechazushi's idea", but to be honest.. I had so much fcking fun with this.. ( ‾́ ◡ ‾́ )

The idea is just *glorious* and so fcking stupid, it's perfect again.. https://www.tumblr.com/mechazushi/754110618707066880/so-this-isnt-so-much-an-incorrect-quotes

So this was her original post, the idea sprouting, so to say :D

Credit on your brain rot, it's hilarious @mechazushi :D

The less I get done in RL - the more creative I get, it's such a horrible curse..

Should I do a split up version of this as well, I wonder..? Like..all of them in seperate pics? (¯―¯ ٥)

[zenatness]

‘tis OC kiss week so here we are again, with one of those OT3/third-wheel poses. Perfect for Lynch, Jarvis and Holly from Untouchable, as far as I’m concerned.

[woodsteingirl]

A case in suburbia, domestic dynamics, and a forever home. What could go wrong?

the moment i’ve been waiting for! chapter one is up now! read here or under the cut.

Cas and Dean were searching for a forever house. They had been pretty much since Cas got back from the empty. They were ready to distance themselves from hunting. Dean had always wanted a sort of suburban, white picket fence life, even if he didn’t admit it to anyone. And since he already admitted how he truly felt to Cas, why not throw his need for a domestic lifestyle into the mix. Cas was all for it. Ever since Jack had given up most of his powers to Amara, thus causing her to take his place as God and him almost human, Cas had been hoping for a place to raise him like a normal child. The bunker was great for hunting and a place for Cas, Dean, and Sam, but not so much for raising a 5-year-old kid.

House hunting had been a burden to bear, but they were making out alright. Up till this, they’d looked at about 3 other houses. They were all a no for different reasons. The first one Cas decided was in a school district that wouldn’t be good for Jack, the second didn’t have a big enough garage or backyard, and the third didn’t have enough bedrooms for all of their family to stay. With the whole credit card scam they’d been running for as long as they remember, budget wasn’t really a problem, but they didn’t want something extravagant.

There it was, 538 Chapel Street in Pine River Crossings. It wasn’t too far out of Lawrence, only a few hours' drive, and all the houses looked nice. Very cookie cutter, but that was sort of the appeal. They couldn’t guarantee that they would fit in with the traditional, upper middle-class people, but what the hell, if they could kill god they could take suburbia.

A few days passed, and they were set up to look at the home. They drove the hour and a half to the next medium-sized town with the belief in their minds that this was the one. It had all they needed, a two-car garage, a respectable school district, and two guest bedrooms. They were so caught up in this concept they made the mistake of not checking the news for the nearby areas. Once they arrived, a realtor who showed them around the dwelling greeted them. It was all they could ask for and more practically too good to be true, especially for people like them. The actual presentation of the house went over without too many problems. The person exhibiting the residence commented on how it had been on display for almost a month now, which was the first red flag. A house as nice as this, in a densely populated area, would usually not be on the market for that long in weeks unless there was some hidden con.

They signed on it not a day after seeing the house in person. It was all set up and they could officially start moving stuff in the next week. They officially shared the good news with everyone the day after they signed. Sam was beyond happy for them. Not only would he finally have a space to himself, he was proud of his brother for living the life he’d always wanted. Jack was thrilled that he would get to go to actual school and have friends that were his age and not cosmic entities. In the meantime, Cas did more research into the neighborhood. There was their hidden con. The newspaper Cas had pulled up on his phone said, “Local Couple Murdered in Own Home.”

“Dean, look at this.”

Okay, that was a setback. A murderer on the loose in the neighborhood they were moving into was not exactly what he had planned, but he had delt with worse. “Alright, that could be a problem.”

“I think it’s a little bigger than a problem,” Cas retorted.

“Is it our type of thing or just something local law enforcement could deal with?”

Cas read on in the article, “the couple was stabbed, there was no sign of forced entry, neighbors reported nothing amiss besides lights flickering before the murder. The weapon, as well as the perpetrator, was never found. No official suspects have been labeled, everyone has seemed to have an alibi.”

“It definitely sounds like our thing. Lights flickering, no breaking and entering, and all.”

They decided they could pose as residents, as it seemed perfectly normal for the newcomers to be concerned about the literal murderer on the loose. Since Cas was newly human, and Jack was, well, 5, Dean thought they might need outside help. Being out of practice to spend more time with your husband and child really had its fallbacks. Sam was off the table as backup. He was out of town and Dean didn't want to interrupt his first weekend without him in god knows how long. Plus, they needed someone who wouldn't draw too much attention to their family dynamic.

“Hey, Cas, what do you think about calling in Claire to help us with this one? You think she’d do it?”

“Calling her in for help is a good idea, whether or not shed actually do it is another question.”

“I’ll call and ask, and if she wants to help, and if not then I can think of something else.”

He kept his promise and called Claire not an hour later. He decided it might be best not to tell her it was undercover work, or that it was taking place in a white picket fence neighborhood, as that might turn her off from it almost immediately.

“Hey Claire, its been too long since we’ve talked,” he started.

“Hi Dean. what do you want, there’s no way you’re just calling to catch up if you’re starting with ‘its been too long.’”

“You got me there. I was just wondering if you wanted to come with me and Cas on a hunt. Its not too far from the bunker and we’d have you back home in a week.”

“Sure, that works. When do we start?” She hadnt seen Dean and Cas since they rescued Cas. That was over a month ago, she’d been meaning to visit, but she’d been so busy with hunting, and getting to know Kaia again now that she was finally back. This seemed like a perfect opportunity to reconnect and not miss out on anything too big back at home.

“If you could come down here by Wednesday, that’d be great.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you then.” She was tempted to sign off with an ‘I love you’ but she was never a lovey-dovey person in that way.

On tuesday she promised Jody she’d be extra careful and would be back in under a week. Kaia told her to make sure to call every day and update her on what was happening. Claire agreed, promising to keep in touch. She spent the rest of the day driving down to Kansas.

Back on Dean and Cas’s end, they were trying to get the house set up for 4 people when they had no furniture prior to this. Cas had always loved furniture shopping even before he had a use for it. When he worked at the Gas-and-Sip, he would browse the home improvement magazines in his spare time. Dean was pretty much the opposite. He had never had reason to care for it, so he didn't. Maybe his hatred for Swedish furniture was rooted in his deep-seated commitment issues. It didn't matter much why he hated it, he just left most of the choices up to Cas. there was then the issue of appliances and such you couldn't find in a furniture store. That was left up to him. Cas sent him out to Walmart to get things for the kitchen. That was something he could do. He picked out a mixer, some silverware, and a pioneer woman kitchenware set. It came with pots and pans, mixing bowls, and a few normal sized plates. That was enough for him to consider it an absolute steal. He brought his finds home to the bunker, setting them on the table designated for things that were to go in the new house. Jack was sitting on Cas’s lap, pointing at things on the computer.

“What’re you guys finding?” Dean asked, hovering behind Cas’s shoulder.

“Djungelskog!” Jack exclaimed, showing Dean a photo of a large stuffed brown bear.

“I thought you were looking for furniture?” Dean directed the question more at Cas, but he was still looking at Jack.

“We are. Jack just got us a bit sidetracked. We found the majority of what we need. Among other things not of as grave importance.”

Dean looked over the shopping cart and then gave the go ahead. Not before adding the stuffed bear to the cart, though.

The next day Claire arrived. Everyone was thrilled to see her. Jack ran up and threw himself around one of her legs and Cas gave her an awkward dad side hug. Dean wondered when he would tell her what the hunt would actually consist of, but he didn't want to interrupt the moment.

A few hours later, Dean fixed everyone a real dinner and had them sit down at the kitchen table. The realization dawned on him that this was going to be his last sit down meal officially living in the bunker. Everyone sort of just sat in silence for a beat. Perhaps reflecting on their own lasts of officially living there. “Claire, I sorta forgot to add this when I called you, but the case is a lot of undercover work. Also its in a suburban area.”

“And why didn't you tell me this sooner?”

“Well to speak freely, I wanted you on this case and I was worried it would make you not want to come.”

“It almost does, but i'm already here now, and i wouldn't want to waste a days driving on something i'm not actually going to do.” She guessed this would probably take longer than a week. “And i'm guessing this isn't just something you decided to do out of the goodness of your hearts?”

“We bought a house in the area, and we just wanted to make sure it was safe,” Cas explained.

“Hang on, you bought a house for real and you didnt even think to tell me? You didn't think that that was valuable information?”

“It didn't come up in our phone call,” Dean said.

“And? That’s no excuse to leave your daughter out of major life events!” The ‘daughter’ part just sort of came out without her noticing, but seconds after she said it she regretted it. God, how embarrassing.

“You’re right. We should’ve told you sooner. It was kind of a recent decision, though, so you haven’t been out of the loop for too long,” Cas said.

The next day was moving day. Dean loaded the appliances into the back of Claire’s car, since the back of the Impala was already full. Claire took her own car, while Dean, Cas, and Jack rode in Baby. Their real furniture was being delivered as they spoke. Cas offered to ride with Claire, but she assured him she’d be fine by herself. The drive wasn’t even that long, especially compared to the distance she drove yesterday.

Dean was silently nervous. He wouldn’t admit it out loud but it was written all over his face. His first real stable house, with the man he loved, and his two kids, he could only hope that he didn’t mess it up. Cas put a hand on his shoulder showing he saw how Dean was feeling.

They turned onto Chapel Street and pulled up into the driveway of the house. It somehow looked bigger and more daunting than it had during the walkthrough. Claire arrived almost ten minutes later. Everyone just sort of paused in front of the house for a minute, reveling in the stability most of them had never had.

[reblogging-random-stuff-i-like]

Sorry that I'm a bit late to this, I didn't forget about it, I just waited to get home so that I can sit down and analyze it-

First of all, JIGKFZDUFUFIGIVIBIVUFZDFUVKVJDZSRSTXZVIVLGKVUCUFZXUCIBKBKVUFZFZVJVKVKVUFZDTDTXZFIHIBIBIBIVUCZDTSTCZVJVKBKNINIBUVZCZCZVUBIBKBKVJCZCJ-

OK OK OK THIS IS DEFINITELY MY FAVORITE DRAWING OF YOURS SO FAR-

AAAAAAAA RMB IT LOOKS SO DOPEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bro I need to divide this analysis into sections hold on...

1.) Background

Love the Freya reference and the Squidward one. Also, who's grave is that on the right? I know for a fact that you wouldn't add a regular looking grave amongst jokes and references without there being a good reason behind it. I think it's Trucy's because of the T, the 19 and the thing on it resembles a flower. Imagine dancing at the graveyard you got burried at, now as a ghost, 60-ish years later lmao... that must be... weirdly euphoric? Also love the silly ghosts, the top red one reminds me of those Pacman villains. :D

2.) FUNKY OUTFIT TIMEEEE!!!

My oc Fashion loving heart has been fed with a five course meal. THEY'RE SLAYINGGGGGG!!! I was really hoping that you'd make Elly's hair resembles Beetlejuice's and I'm SO SO SO glad you did because it suits Elly really well, I kinda wanna draw her like that but in her regular design... Also, as I predicted, she looks amazing in a suit. Elly's swag is UNMATCHED. I feel like Trucy's hair is supposed to be shorter in this, and it looks very cute. I also LOVE her fit, the fishnets really pull it all together. On the other hand the light blue details look kinda off, I wouldn't necessarily remove them, but more so adjust them somehow and maybe add something light blue to her hair to balance it, but that's just me being nitpicky. I like how you drew the ruffles, they look nice. Also, I always forget to mention it but I think you should make Trucy's eyelashes more of a dark yellow, unless I zoom in they're hardly visible next to her hair or skin. I remember that I made them black because of this.

3.) Expressions/Poses

I am in love with Elly's smug face. She knows exactly how much she's slaying. You go girl!!! Although maybe you should've added an outline to her mouth, it kinda blends in with her pale skin if you ain't looking at it closely. The poses are good too, very dynamic!! Your hand drawing skills are getting better too, this is gonna sound weird but I like how Trucy's hand on the right looks, that's your best hand so far.

4.) Misc.

I always forget how Elly and Trucy are next to each other size wise, I always assume that Trucy is more tiny but nah she's not that much smaller than Elly. I like Trucy's glow and how she doesn't have a shadow unlike Elly.

I need a hots musical so bad now... they're having so much fun... I need an Elly and Dan duet now where they're wearing top hats and swinging caine's around... that will never happen but y'know they'd look cute-

I love how lively the whole piece feels, the colors look so nice together, it's such eye candy to me... since the background is so dark the stuff in the foreground really POPS which is really good!

I just noticed that the other ghosts are looking at these two, lmao they're like bro it's 1 am stop disturbing our peace with ur theater kids shenanigans /j/j/j 💀💀💀

Well RMB, you DID make it and you SHOULD believe it! I'm proud of your progress, and I'm proud that I was there along the way. To another great year or art!!

>:D 💜💜💜💙💙💙

Do you hear that sound?

That beautiful sound?

The sound of a scream, is music to me

A sound that says fifteen years full-time therapy

Trauma and fear, it sings in my ear

Ain't it the sweetest noise around, that beautiful sound?

Here it finally is!!!

I'll be honest I originally wasn't sure I was gonna be able to finish this by Halloween and I somehow managed to finish it a week early, this is definetley one of my favorite drawings I've ever made, I love everything about it.

A few fun facts:

I was origanlly gonna do both clothes based on the Bitelchus musical, but then I decided to base Elly's clothin on Cartoon BJ instead, the only remenant from this original idea is the open jacket instead of a buttoned one.

Trucy's clothing on the other hand stayed as musical Lydia, but because I was having so mych trouble finding good reference for her clothes I thought she had fishnets also in the arms, a detail which I kept because I liked the idea.

Instead of keeping the color schemes faitful to the characters I made Elly's clothing using only purples and Trucy's using only blues, the background on the other hand, with the exception of the moon and the ghosts, is made out of diferent greens for that Beetlejuice feel.

I don't know how noticiable it is, but Trucy's fishnets are made using a diferent brush from the one I normally use.

Each tombstone has a different mesage written on it, most of them are jokes however.

I know that I said that Dan was the only ghost that looks like a cartoon ghost, but I really didn't feel like designing a bunch of human ghosts just for this, just don't thing too much about it, ok?

This post is going up on the 25th of october of 2024, Elly's (and Dan's) original posts went up on the 5th of june of 2023 and Trucy's went up on the 29th of july of 2023, it's legit shocking to me how much my art has evolved and improved in just over a year, if you told me I had made this I woudn't have belive you.

I remeber how afraid I was at the start about my posting them thinking they looked bad and that people weren't gonna like them, and i'm not gonna act as if they became super popular or anything, but the reception of those few people was so positive that it pushed me to keep working on them and on the ideas I had for them, unknowingly improving my skills and starting to find joy in something I was originally so scrared of.

Thanks so much to everyone who made this posible, and taugh me that is worth doing it, even if it looks bad or if you're scared, I trully coudn't have made this without any of you! Here's for another great year of art!!!💜💜💜💜

[bakugoukatsuki-rising]

I'm. The new covers, op. The new covers. Gosh. Both of them hold so much symbolism. And technically they both are canon, they are both original ideas that could perfectly be valid. Horikoshi simply found something better. But anyways, I'm going to go ahead and ramble about it because Im- Op, prepare for a long ask! Hope you like it!

So!

On the one where Katsuki's the one in the picture, he's not on his knees like he is in the other two covers. Instead, he has his face down, body forward, one hand on one leg, the other one holding out for something...He's bowing. Bowing in Japanese culture is a pretty big deal. Hes not just tilting his head a bit, his head and body are on full on commitment.

Such a tilted bow means a LOT, specially from THIS guy, Mr dont let anyone walk in front of me. Even more when hes not just bowing, but accepting such an open display of given help, Mr shonen anime lone wolf. Accepting something he always has trouble admitting to. Accepting the past, accepting the wrongs. Accepting Izukus help means so much, and that's what these three covers have in common.

His hand is sctretching out. He's ready to say yes to that hand out in the air.

(Ps. I wonder if he's watching his own reflection on the water in this panel, as well?)

Hes in middle of the picture with those childhood friend at the back, which means audience. It means letting people see what hes done, what he's sorry for. He is being open and exposed and vulnerable. That's no fighting stance.

Remember guys, in case you haven't noticed before, Horikoshi puts lots of metaphorical value in his manga and on his covers. Sometimes you've got to dig in deep and think to get the bigger picture. And in this case, the bigger picture screams regret and wanting to make things right from the start.

This cover occurs in the past, at the moment where everything started, and Katsuki fully remembers this. Katwuki has thought of this, is thinking about this. He's had eye bags for gods sake, he's clearly troubled by all of what it means.

These three covers are the visual explanation of what's going on inside Katsuki's head, because this is clearly focused on him and his perspective.

(Ps. Rivers symbolise the massage of time. If that doesnt add to everything else, I dont know what to tell you.)

So! Next!

Wow, if this isnt one of my favourite things ever. Okay. Christ.

I have two options here. Scratch that, three options. Scream into the void, scream into this post, or actually make a good presentation of my inner turmoil. I'll have to go by the third option. (Haha. Just like horikoshi did. Dont # me, I'm funny in my head.)

This cover melted my insides, froze them all over, and hit me with them like a hammer.

I know they're kids, but let me get this straight-so kids seriously look at their friends with these looks in their eyes and think "ah, yes. This is my very good friend. This gentle smile and kind look I'm giving him as if he was my whole world? Well, hes just a very good friend."

I looked at my childhood crush this way, I dont know what to tell you.

Anyway, let's actually jump to the information at hand.

This panel seems like it's making a reference to what Katsuki wishes could have been. And if that's not absolutely soul-crushing...this cover is Katsuki's feelings, guys. These are probably his very thoughts. This scene has gone through Katsuki's head at some point.

We've got Izuku in his stuck up pose all over again, in just an awkward angle. It's like katsuki isnt looking AT this katsuki right now, but at the spot where the actual past Katsuki, at some point, was. As if this Isuku is frozen in time. Dont believe too much in this paragraph, I still have my doubts about that, but I feel it's a possibility. Izukus eyes seem to be focused on the water, while Katsuki is just the tiniest bit back, reaching for Izukus hand. And gosh.

I dont think I've ever seen older NOR child Katsuki have this look plasted into his face before. He's...sheepish. Kindly, awkwardly sheepish. No hate, no anger, no shame, no nothing. His face is clear and sweet and has this "Whoops. You got me. But thanks." kind of expression on.

The hand behind his head, just the tiniest but embarassed? That little smile? It's all so soft.

Rambling about softness though- I really liked the hand scene in this particular panel. If you close up your view, you realise that theres no effort to pull anyone out of nowhere. In this panel, they are simply holding hands in frozen time for no purpose at all.

Katsuki has his hand around Izuku...simply holding there.

Again, because the angle is awkward, it's kind of messy, but you get the point.

It's all simply beautiful. Horikoshi clean likes give me life.

And lastly. The actual cover.

I screeched so hard when I saw this. My first instinct when seeing this for the first time was to straight up go trigger happy fingers and write about it to my friends. Christ.

Everything is so...SOft. horikoshi made a good decision by mixing both previous drawings in one. We have parts of the two covers in one, which is amazing. In this one, Katsuki isnt alone, as Izuku's there too. But we dont have the audience either. Probably because the main focus on this panel is no one else except them two.

Again, Katsuki looks like he's bowing, but instead of looking all the way down, he's in the middle. Not looking at Izuku nor looking at the ground, like it shows in the previous covers. Instead, Horikoshi found a middle ground. He's looking at his hand. At the gesture.

Hes not holding hands quite yet, but his hand is there. At arms reach. Not close enough but there. Wanting.

Theres so much regret and again, softness.

Again, like you Op said a bit bad, the angle is off here. This is present Katsuki remembering his past. The angle is off because this Izuku isnt holding out for our Katsuki. This is a memory. A wish. Katsuki's wish.

(Ps. Izukus trousers drenched in the rivers water. This detail was so nice. It's a subtle action that describes Izukus characterization so much. Izuku went in the river with Katsuki in mind, not caring if he got his clothes soaked in the process too. For Izuku, only Katsuki was there. And for Katsuki, only Izuku is.

As a plus, I can't believe the cover of this is literally called Bakugou Katsuki rising. They named the entire thing after that one chapter. Actually, I very much, totally believe it. It's the moment so many people have been waiting for, after all. The moment so many scenes have been amounting for, little by little.

*dreamy sigh*

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this little thing, I had to get it out of my system and dont want to bother my dear friends anymore than needed.

Have a good day, OP! I'll stay updated!

You kinda just...took my heart and curb stomped it, not gonna lie. Your observations are so beautiful and so accurate. The sketch with little Bakugou taking Izuku’s hand is so...raw, and yeah, that expression is definitely one of love. Those eyes, the way he is HOLDING Izuku’s hand, not TAKING it. He isn’t taking it to stand up, he is literally just...holding it. 

That isn’t the way you take someone’s hand when you’re trying to pull yourself up. It’s an awkward angle and just...wouldn’t work right. No, he is literally just holding his hand, and that’s exactly what Bakugou wishes he did all that time ago. He wishes that he not only took Deku’s hand, but held onto it. Held it as if it were something precious, something to be cared for and protected. 

These are Bakugou’s true feelings expressed in these drawings, and I think Horikoshi released them on purpose, to show us more of what he wanted Bakugou to be feelings through all of this. Since after all, we know that Bakugou expresses himself in action, not so much words. And because Horikoshi is an absolute genius, he thought to give us these other glimpses in how he feels through these actions. 

And the other sketch with him bowing his body to Izuku, and the way the log looks like it’s on his back with his ‘friends’ on top of it. 

The pressure of needing to be the coolest, the strongest, the best. Those kids put that kind of pressure on him, even if they never realized it. They encouraged his behavior and fed his ego, and it never allowed him to see how he was wrong. But now he is realizing it, and he is bowing himself in light of that acknowledgement. He is lowering his head and putting his pride away, so he can get back what he lost all those years ago; the opportunity to take Izuku’s hand.

To take the hand of the only one of those kids that ever loved him unconditionally. Who never pressured him or expected him to be invincible. Who saw all of his flaws and was completely prepared to support him despite all of it. The only one. 

I’m just a mess over all of this, and I am so incredibly thankful to Horikoshi for creating this beautiful relationship. AND IN A SHOUNEN MANGA, NONETHELESS!!  

Thank you friend, for your beautiful thoughts. I think they’re spot on, and I am so emotional all over again because of this. 

[madelion]

hey, i'm an artist (or so i'm pretending to be) and i absolutely ADORE your art style and the way you draw so beautifully. What are some tips or what is some advice you could give me on anatomy, use of color or digital drawing generally? I've posted my art like once but I was so nervous of what people might think of it I made something super different to my actual style, so if you scroll on my page don't find it because i hate it lmao

Anyway, I would really like to hear what's some advice you have to give!

Hi!!! First of all, thank you so much for your sweet comment it means so much to hear that 🥺

So my bIGGEST TIPS I can possibly give (this is gonna be long I apologize in advance):

1. always always always use references.

I cannot stress this tip enough.

Whether it‘s for a certain pose you want to draw: you can go on Pinterest/google to find poses, clothing ideas, hairstyles, lighting, scenery. use references for EVERYTHING. no matter what people say it is not cheating. Sometimes we luck out and we magically draw the poses straight from our brain, but honestly that’s rare.

And it doesnt all have to be from real life. You can take inspiration from other artist whose styles you look up to/admire. For me that’s viria94(Instagram), aleikats, alexiakhodanian(twitter), spidertams(instagram) and many others! Obviously you don’t want to copy your inspirations, but you can learn so much from just observing their artwork :) Your inspirations will most likely change dramatically overtime because your art style will grow as you continue to improve. These inspirations are going to be a mashup of things you like about each individual style. And eventually, you’ll learn how to incorporate some of those elements into your own art which in turn: helps you find your own voice/style with your artwork.

but also, don’t forget to not copy them exactly lol. It’s one thing to “copy” an art style as a way to personally practice in your own time (which is totally okay to do!) But there is definitely a fine line between practicing/outright copying and claiming it as your own work. I hope that made sense???

2. Redraws

this is something I only just started doing, but it has helped my artwork improve immensely. I redraw scenes from shows and movies that I love (which I will get to this tip in a second). And then because the scene is already set for you, it helps you not only practice anatomy (especially if you’re referencing real people), but also lighting, setting up compositions, and in general practicing this over time will help you refine your art style!

3. Draw from life

Not everyone has a realistic art style, nor do they need to have one. However, it is important to understand the ”rules” before you can break them. And what I mean by that is that by practicing realistic anatomy, you get to understand proportions/how the body works in relation to itself. Because even though everyone is shaped differently from each other, there is still an overall similarity we all have with one another. And honestly all you have to do will go into my next point:

4. watch tutorials

Cannot even tell you how many tutorials I have watched over the years. I will forever be on YouTube trying to learn how to do something. this honestly goes with the references section because it just helps so so so much. Having someone show you exactly what to do is so beneficial because they’ll move you through the exact motions you need to do to get to the end result. I remember when I first started really getting into art, I loved drawing realistic eyes and lips. so I watched tutorials of that all the time and now it’s pretty much second nature to me.

since you asked about the use of color, anatomy, and digital drawing… this is gonna be golden for helping you okay. I might have taken a color theory class a couple quarters ago at school… but trust me I’m still winging the whole color thing. howEVER, tutorials will be your best friend when it comes to these things I pROMISE.

5. TAKE BREAKS

please for the love of all things do not push yourself to be creative when your mind refuses to do so. some of our best work/ideas appear when we’re bored or doing something else entirely.

taking a break means go do something else you enjoy. For me that’s: playing my favorite video game, watching my favorite show/movie, reading a book, talking to my friends or family, baking, writing. just do something else!

the moment you try to force yourself to finish a drawing when you’re really not in the mindset to do so (unless this thing you’re drawing is for school… that’s an entirely different thing trust me lol), you’re just going to lead yourself into an art block. So many artists pressure themselves to draw everyday because yeah it can lead to improvement, but back in my anne with an e days when I felt pressured to put out fan art consistently for the show, it led me to what was probably my longest art block EVER. and it sucks because I ender up losing the inspiration to draw for a show that I loved a lot. So always remember to pace yourself and take care of yourself before anything else <3

6. Draw what you love

so often we feel pressured to draw what others want us to draw. But that shouldn’t matter. yes, it’s good to be aware of the people that may look at your art/follow your art account, but that should never dictate the work that you create.

for some people they love drawing original characters and creating stories, others might only love drawing animals, some people have certain themes in their artwork, and others, like me, purely like drawing fan art.

when you draw something you love, your artwork will always turn out better because that means you’re having fun making it.

and for me personally, I cannot whip out original characters for the life of me unless it’s for a grade LOL. So when it comes to drawing, that’s why I stick to fan art.

NOW I KNOW THIS WAS SUPER SUPER LONG but I really hoped this helped in some sense!!!

But thank you so much for asking, I’m always more than happy to give out some advice/tips :) I’m looking forward to seeing more art from you!

[valcuda]

- Picnic With Big Sis

Jasmin taking Quinton and Elizabeth out for a picnic. Like my previous work, this is a scene from a short story I have planned (I have 3 full books that come before it, and only 1 has a competed draft, so don't expect it any time soon), with this one taking place a bit prior to that one, with Jasmin taking Quin and Liz to the place they'll eventually cloud gaze at.

Also like that one, I made a 3D scene as a pose draft, with that picnic basket actually being a 3D model I made and rigged specifically for this! This gave a bit of difficulty, since Jasmin's Mannequin's hand, was blocking part of the basket that's visible in the final artwork!

When I was originally planning the scene, I thought about just having Jasmin doing nothing with her hand, until I decided to make her holding the lid open, so Quin and Liz could see. I didn't consider the fact I was now making the hand a focal point of the artwork! And when I did realize that, I nearly cried, cause I absolutely suck at drawing hands! But using a mashup of knowledge I've heard over the years, and some good guesses, I managed to make the best hand I think I've ever drawn!

And holly crap am I glad I decided to draw it! The sense of scale you get from seeing Quinton and Elizabeth that close to her hand, it really puts into perspective how small they are! I also think it's cute, having her holding the basket open for them, and it shows you a bit of a difference between Quinton and Elizabeth! Quinton trusts Jasmin, so he's fine just sticking his head out, trusting Jasmin won't accidentally smack his head with the lid. Elizabeth however, is a bit more cautious, not really trusting people as much as Quinton does, so she has her hand on the lid in case Jasmin lets go.

Something you'll probably notice is that Quinton and Elizabeth are seemingly frowning. They were smiling originally, but I thought giving them a mild frown makes them look more curious, which I thought was cuter, compared to them smiling. Though it kinda looks like they just realized Jasmin tricked them.

Anyways, I decided to not finish this in my painting style, since that was meant as more of a crutch originally. With v2 of Cloud Gazing, I said I was debating making it's line draft into it's own piece, just due to how good it looked, and that was kinda thanks to the "Painting Style" leaving out a ton of detail. So with this, I decided to finish it in my usual style. However, I did the shading differently, using a digital paintbrush, and doing it all on one layer. Usually, I plan out the shades, do them all on their own layers, combine them, and blend, which is really slow! This new method was a lot faster, and it worked wonders on Quinton and Elizabeth! It definitely has its flaws tho. I might end up revising this sometime down the line.

Something incredibly ironic, is that I have yet to shade Elizabeth's actual artwork! Meaning she got shaded in some misc artwork, before her actual artwork. Past me would be so dumbfounded if he knew.

Anyways, I don't know exactly how long I worked on this for, but I can definitely say it took longer than Cloud Gazing! I wanted so badly to finish this yesterday, that I stayed up til 3AM, doing the final linework, which is why it's a bit sloppy in some parts! This is despite me having post saying it wouldn't release that day, at 10 PM.

Hell, I wanted to release it so bad, I made 80% of this post last night, cause I was seriously considering uploading the non-shaded version! I'm so glad I didn't tho. It doesn't look bad unshaded, but the shading ties it together IMO.

-

Anyway, I don't know when my next artwork will be, or what it'll be about, since I'm a bit burnt out from this sudden art rush XD I pushed the limits of what I thought I could do, and while that is thanks to making a simple 3D as an initial draft, it still feels absolutely amazing! I definitely still need quite a bit of practice though.

Anyways, that's all for now!

[babylon-bitch]

Just Friends ~ I'm Cool As Fuck  (part 40)

A/N this chapter barely has anything to do with 5sos lmao. Just a heads up for the next chapter, it will be confusing but hopefully not too confusing, I’m warning you now.

Harper White is best friends with Luke Hemmings, they always have been. Not only is she friends with the rockstar, but with the rest of 5 Seconds Of Summer, as well as a really nice girl named Erika.

Harper has a few secrets, she can play all the instruments the boys play and many more. It’s a talent she has kept hidden, only very few people know.

What will happen to the six teens, wondering around the world together?

Warnings: language and the tiniest piece of smut

***

I’ve been really busy these part few weeks, with saying goodbyes, moving, setting things up, buying new stuff for my flat, basically just moving. It’s been pretty stressful but at the same time really fun. So far I’ve loved every minute of this all, I’m a pretty independent person when it comes to family, especially since my brothers moved out, usually staying in my room and keeping myself to myself, so to live by myself has been really nice.

I’ve pretty much set everything up, I just need some bits and bobs. I took everything I need with me in my suitcase, the rest I had my parents send out to me. The flat came fully furnished, of course I got a few pieces of furniture myself, but I mainly just needed home stuff.

If you couldn’t tell, I got the flat and I’m very happy about it. My brothers and Evie came over to help me buy and set up the few stuff I got. I’m telling you now, IKEA instructions are useless. We all sat on the floor trying to figure out what goes where. Evie ended up just laying on the sofa, we all joined her shortly. After a couple of hours, we worked out how it works and moved everything to where I wanted it. I couldn’t be anymore happier with it, I love it.

One thing I dearly miss from home is my studio, I don’t have anything with me right now, nor anywhere to put everything if I had at least some instruments. It’s annoying because I’ve had loads of lyrics pop up in my head, but haven’t been able to put them into anything. I’ve only just written them down, it kinda makes me sad. Music has always been my escape from everything, so to not have anything is really quite hard. I just end up listening to music if everything gets a bit too much.

I haven’t needed to run away from anything, only when I got here becuase I missed Luke and the guys. I’ve been really happy with my life recently, although being away from the people I love, I’m a lot happier than I thought I’d be. I thought it would take me weeks, possibly months to get over it all, but no, I’m excited for this new chapter in my life. I may not have my soulmates with me but they are living happily in their lives.

We have talked quite a bit, no where near as much as we used to but it’s more than I expected.

I’m really happy with my life right now, of course I want my friends and boyfriend by my side but as opposed to not having them by my side all the time, I’m coping really well.

Right now I’m just talking to Luke, via text.

Luke: you make me really happy, also horny but that’s not the point.

Me: are you trying to say something?

Luke: maybe

Me: did you come off stage with an boner again?

Luke: yes. I can’t help it! The song reminded me of you and then my thoughts procrastinated into other things.

Me: oh poor sexually frustrated Luke

Luke: this isn’t funny, Harper! I’m sitting in Michael’s dressing room with a huge erection, I need help

Me: why can’t you do it yourself? and why are you in his dressing room?

Luke: because you’re my girlfriend. It would feel weird if I looked up stuff. We all went in here, it will look suspicious if I went to my own dressing room.

Me: maybe I don’t wanna help you out

Luke: you better get ready for the long ass night you’re in for when I get home

Me: ooooooh, getting dominant here are we?

Luke: Harper, please do something :(

Me: give me a minute

Luke: fuck

I laugh at my phone before going into my lone bedroom. Changing into my most sexy jet black underwear and then going to my wardrobe to grab Luke’s flannel, knowing he will recognise it. I stole this from him before he left, I needed a few items of his that reminds me of him. I took a few of his shirts and a couple of flannels. To make up for it, I slipped a load of notes in his luggage, just things that will make his day a little, for example have a great day or love you to the moon and back. Just to name a few.

Slipping on the flannel and then kneeling infront of my mirror, like the pose Halsey does in Hold Me Down but just still. Taking a few pictures, before I put my clothes back on and send them to Luke.

Luke: oh, baby girl

Me: don’t leak anything because you aren’t exactly tecsavy.

Luke: that’s really not something I’m thinking about right how.

Me: just go do your business then come back to me

Throwing my phone onto my bed and then making my way into the shared kitchen.

“Oh hello.” I smile as I notice someone is in here.

“Hey, you are?” The girl with blue streaks in her hair asks.

“I’m Harper, I moved in a couple of weeks ago.” I inform her.

“Oh, right. I’m Tori by the way. I’m number 39.” She grins.

“I’m number 37, the one with the squeaky door.” I chuckle.

“That’s you?” She laughs. “Are you here for university or just live here?”

“I’m here for university. How long have you been here?” I ask.

“A couple of years. I’m in my final year of uni. I love drawing, painting, graffiti, anything art related really. What are you studying?” She questions.

“That’s really cool. I’m studying philosophy.” I answer.

“Where do come from, you’ve got a slight accent.” She notices.

“Oh, I come from England, but live in Australia.” I explain.

“Right. I lived in Germany for a year when I was 18.” Tori says.

“I went there with my best friend at Christmas time once. It was really pretty.” I say.

“Is your best friend here or in Australia?” She asks.

“He is on tour right now, with my other friends.” I explain.

“Tour?” She furrows her eyebrows.

“Yeah, he is in a band, 5 Seconds Of Summer, ever heard of them?”

“I think I’ve heard of them but never listened to them.” She shrugs.

“Their pretty cool, anyway I came in here to make some lunch.” I chuckle and take my stuff out of the fridge.

“There’s actually a party going on at one of the boy’s flats, down by the university. Would you wanna join me?” She offers.

“It’s not really my thing.” I sheepishly say.

“It would be great to meet everyone.” She reasons.

“Sure, what the hell, this isn’t high school anymore.” I shrug.

“Damn right. So it starts at like 9, but we’ll probably go around half nine.” She explains.

“Please don’t let me get shitfaced, last time I did, I ended up getting a tattoo of my boyfriend’s name.” I beg and show her Luke’s name.

“Isnt he the one in the band, that’s also your best friend?” She furrows her eyebrows.

“He is my best friend as well as my boyfriend. We grew up together, our parents are friends.” I tell her.

“Oh, right.” She nods. “I’ll leave you to make your lunch, I’ll come knock on your door when we should start getting ready.” She smiles.

“Okay, thanks for the invite, I’ll see you later.” I wave.

She walks out the kitchen and I smile to myself, before putting my pasta on to boil.

I lean against the counter top and begin to type in the group chat. “Holy shit!” I yell slightly as a cat comes slyly walks in.

“ROGER!” Someone calls.

I hold my phone to my chest, as I wait for them to come. I miss my cat Bess, so to satisfy my cat cravings, I sit cross legged on the tiled floor. The cat comes right up to me and rubs itself against me.

“Awe, who do you belong to?” I ask.

I thought we weren’t allowed to have pets in this place.

“ROGER?” The same voice calls, this time a lot closer. “Oh, there you are, I can’t lose you in the first week of having you.” A girl with red dyed hair walks in.

“Um, a couple of questions,” I start off, “firstly, cute cat, secondly cool hair, thirdly I thought we weren’t allowed animals in this building.”

“Thank you,” she smiles. “She’s a shared cat between everyone in this hall.”

“She?” I question.

“Her name is Roger, yeah. I mean, how many people name their cat Roger, let alone their female cat.” She explains.

“Right,” I nod my head. “How long have you guys had uhm, Roger?” I ask.

“Two years. She is very friendly, as you can see. Everyone loves her. She’s kinda part of the whole community. If you didn’t guess already, the landlord is a bit quirky. Each floor has one, most of them are abandoned/rescued or the one noone wanted, so he decided to give them each a home. Here we are a few years later. Everyone has their turn of taking care of him/her, I just started taking care of him and I have him till the end of the month.” She explains. “Oh and she can be out in the halls, but needs to be supervised. She is allowed in other people’s rooms, but in my room when he needs feeding and stuff.”

“That’s really cool. Which floor has the youngest?” I question.

“Apparently the top floor, the one above us, got a new one last month. He is still a kitten.” She says. “I’m Izzy by the way.”

“Harper.” I shake her hand.

“You’re the person that just moved in right?” She asks.

“Yeah, I’m surprised I haven’t really met anyone yet, I just met Tori.” I tell her.

“She’s really nice, total babe.” She laughs. “I’m gay by the way.”

“My friend from back home is gay too, unfortunately she’s take, so I can’t play matchmaker.” I sigh.

“If they break up hit me up,” she jokes and I laugh.

“Will do.”

“Thanks.” She winks. “So, are you going to the party tonight?”

“Yeah, I’m going with Tori.” I smile. “Are you going?”

“Of course. I’d never miss an oppertunity to regret my decisions.” She exclaims.

“You should come with us.” I offer.

“Really?” She asks.

“Unless you’ve got other plans…” I trail off.

“No,” she shakes her head, “well, guess I’ll see guys later.” She smiles and begins to walk off.

“Cat, Izzy.” I remind her with a sigh.

“Fuck.”

***

It’s nearly time to go, I’m just finishing off my make up. I’ve dressed in a tight fitting black dress, with some ankle boots. I haven’t dressed up like this in ages, it’s actually really nice, I mean, I wouldn’t want to dress like this everyday but I feel very confident in myself.

“I’m a YouTuber, my friend Erika and I run it.” I explain.

“Really? How have I been so isolated about all this? How long have you been doing it?” Tori asks.

“3 or 4 years, I think.” I answer as I lean forward into the mirror to do my mascara.

“What are you guys called?” Izzy questions.

“Just Erika and Harper.” I shrug and put on some red lipstick.

“Jesus fucking Christ, you guys have 1 million subscribers?” Tori exclaims.

“Yeah,” I sheepishly say, “well 1 and three quarters.”

I run my hand through my loosely curled hair. I should really get my hair cut again, it’s really quite long, just under my boob.

“Nearly 2 million.” Tori breathes.

“Nearly,”

Standing up and smoothing out my dress, before going to get my phone, for the vital picture before going out.

We’ve gotten to know each other quite well over these past few hours. Izzy is a real free spirit, kinda hippy but not, she’s also really out there fashion wise. Tonight she is wearing a denim flared jump suit, which have tiny hand sewn flowers on it, with some see through heels. It looks pretty cool actually and really suits her. I’ve only spent a few hours with her, yet she is so different to everyone I’ve ever met. She’s kinda like Pheobe from Friends.

Tori is cool too. She’s very different from Izzy but they get along really well. They’ve been friends, but never really gotten to know each other. Tori is your basic white girl, but not the annoying kind; you know the ones I’m talking about? She’s really funny and is fun, she’s the kinda person that’ll call you up, and ask you to go for some ice cream or something.

In the short time I’ve known them, I already love them to pieces. I feel as if they are gonna be some good friends for the next few years and a lot of memories are gonna be made.

“Yes! Work it! Get that picture! Just like that! Yes! Get it! Oooo! Work it! Girl!” Tori says as I take the pictures, causing us all to laugh.

“I’m gonna post this to my account, so a lot of people will see this. Is that okay with you guys?” I ask for consent.

“It’s fine with me.” Izzy shrugs.

“Yeah, same.” Tori nods.

I post them on all my social media platforms with the caption: What should our squad be called?

In the span of five minutes, my phone blows up with notifacations.

Dicks and Chicks

Michael: you’re replacing us already?

Erika: dude, we were supposed to be together forever!

Ashton: who is the girl on the right?

Calum: you all look hot to be fucking honest

Luke: dude! That’s my girlfriend.

Calum: I’m so scared

Me: jeez, calm down guys! I knew you all loved me. You hardly expect me to just be left alone for three years…

Maddie: no on likes you Harper.

Me: shut the fuck up, Maddie. I have more friends than you.

Luke: where are you going anyway?

Me: we’re going to a party

Luke: nooooo, I’m not there to protect you :(

Me: I’ll be fine. Oh and Ashton, that’s Izzy, she’s gay

Maddie: oooooo, that’s my territory

Erika: ahem

Maddie: soz babe :/

Luke: be careful out there, remember that you have a boyfriend

Me: how could I forget Calum?

Calum: 😏😏

Luke: fuck you

Me: no, Calum does that

Calum: damn right

Michael: trouble in paradise…

Ashton: leave my boyfriend alone, Harper. Cashton 4 lyfe

Me: maybe I should replace you guys.

Laughing at my phone and then stuffing it in my bra. “Whats so funny?” Izzy questions.

“Um, my friends back home. We have a group chat and we are just messing around.” I answer. “Pre drinks?” I offer.

“Party time!” Tori cheers.

“God, yes.” Izzy sighs and we make our way to the kitchen.

Tori grabs three shot glasses, whilst Izzy mix up a drink, and I just sit on the counter top, calling up an Uber.

“To a great night!” We all say in unison, bringing up our glances and then downing them, cringing at the sour taste.

“Holy shit.” We all mutter.

“Pretty sure this just pure vodka, Izzy.” I claim. “Kinda nice,” I shrug as the taste lingers in my mouth.

We do another round and eat some stodgy food, before getting into our Uber.

***

We’ve been at the party for around an hour now. I’m really enjoying it so far, I’m just pressed against a walls, observing everybody. Some people are absoloutly smashed, a few people are off their face on drugs, and a lot of people are just chilling out in their own little groups of friends. Tori and Izzy have left me to go pee and get a new drink.

I’m okay on my own though, just sipping on my bottle of beer. I’m a little tipsy, I’m no where near drunk and I don’t plan on being either.

“Hi, I’m Blake.” Someone introduces themselves and he leans on the wall with his shoulder.

I look to my left and see a boy with blonde hair, in a quiff and outstanding bright blue eyes.

When I first came in, Tori and Izzy warned me about this whole group of people, especially Blake.

“I’m Harper,” I nod.

“So you’re famous?” He blurts out.

“Um, no.” I say and take a sip of my drink.

“Then why did someone come up for a picture with you half an hour ago?” He questions.

“Because I’m cool as fuck, why wouldn’t you want a picture with me?” I state.

“Is that so?” He asks and I nod. “So this isn’t you with Luke Hemmings?” He questions and pulls out his phone with a picture of Luke and I. We’re just on Michael’s sofa, laughing together.

“Nope.” I tell him and take a swig of my drink.

“You wouldn’t happen to be… dating him would you?” He questions with a smirk. “No.” I shake my head.

“So this isn’t you here, here, oh and here?” He asks and pulls up a photo of Luke and I holding hands, then me and him looking at each other with loving eyes, the last one is of Luke and I making out on the night of my birthday.

“What do you even want?” I question.

“I’m not quite sure yet, but you seem interesting.” He muses and rests an arm on my shoulder.

“You know, I’m not an object. I may not confess on who I’m dating, but I do have a boyfriend. So if you could get your fuck boy-ness away from me, that’d be great.” I tell him.

“And this is what I like about you.” He claims.

“You don’t know me.” I laugh.

“But I’d like to, firstly you seem pretty cool, I’ve been observing you this whole time you’ve been here, same as you have, secondly you’re really hot.” He explains.

“Am I supposed to fall in love with you, because under all this fuck boy you’ve got a heart of gold, and nobody really sees who you really are?” I questions with a grimace.

“If you want.” He shrugs.

“You’re really annoying. This type of stuff happens in America, not England- wait, no, this stuff happens in movies.” I whine.

“You’ve got a bit of Aussie in you, I hear.” He says.

“I grew up in Aus, then moved over here when I was seven, moved back when I was thirteen, spent the rest of my teen years there, this is the first time I’ve lived here for a while.” I explain with a bored expression.

“Can we take a picture together?” He asks.

“Why?” I question.

“Because you’re cool as fuck.” He quotes.

“Don’t use my words against me.” I laugh. “Fine, we’ll take one picture, because I’m cool as fuck.”

“Wasn’t that hard was it?” He mutters and takes his phone out of his pocket,

He holds his phone in front of us and we both smile into the camera.

“Luke is gonna be mad, when he finds this.” I mutter with a chuckle.

[silverstarsheep]

I just adore your art style, it's so cute! I'm thinking of making comics myself. Do you think you could give me some tips on angling or facial expressions or overall detail?

Thank you so so much! I really appreciate that! Like, a whole lot. ^^

I’m not exactly sure how much I’ll be able to help you, though I can at least give you some pointers on expressions! I’ll do my best. I’m sorry this is coming a bit late! 

I’m going to use Bendy for my examples, just because he’s super easy to draw and I have him on hand/mind at the moment. But! These can be used on just about anyone.

Keep in mind: this is just my way of doing things. There isn’t one “set” way to create great art! There’s a lot of experimenting, testing and growing when it comes to artwork.

When it comes down to expressions, there are a few things to consider: what are they feeling? How intense is this feeling? How far can, or should you push it? How can you make this feel realistic? In visual storytelling, showing what a character is going through is far more important than telling the reader. In a comic setting, there’s a very fine balance–since you have images to go with the words, but you can’t convey each minute action… At least in a reasonable amount of panels, the dialogue and the images have to work together when they’re used in tandem.

When a character is shouting, you have to push their expression further–it won’t be enough to show them with their mouth slightly open, or with a flat face. Give them wide eyes, or shut their eyes completely with frustration. Open their mouth wide, maybe even get their body language involved if you have enough room. Throw their arms in the air, have them pulling at their hair!

Likewise, if what they’re saying is quiet or somber, soften their expression. Have their gaze ill-focused, or looking to the ground. Their shoulders could be slumped, their brow could be low. Their mouth could be almost, or entirely closed. Or are they happy? Raise their eyebrows, widen their eyes with joy! Bring out that smile! Use as much variety and as many shapes as you can!

Because I’m a visual person, here are a few examples to give you a better idea of what I mean:

(I’m sorry if my handwriting is hard to read)

Which facial expressions are more interesting? Sure, the ones on the left are going through the motions of emoting, but the ones to the right REALLY show how the character is feeling!

Body language is also immensely important when it comes down to expressiveness. Every part of the body can be used to convey a message. The crossing of arms can indicate disgust, or even put a small barrier between two people. Slumped shoulders show disappointment or sadness. Every little movement a character makes can have a massive impact on their overall tone. Here are a few examples like the above:

Even minute changes to a static pose can make a BIG difference! Test around and see what works best.

I’ve noticed that some animators have mirrors near their desk. This is so they can look up at their reflection and make a face into the mirror. They project their character’s feelings onto themselves, that way they can see what sort of facial expression would be best suited to that emotion. Nowadays we can just google this, but it’s still a good idea. Don’t be afraid to look up references whenever you need them. I know I do frequently! There’s no shame in using references!

My friend linked me to this wonderful guide, which goes more in-depth than I did here. Take a look!

I’m sorry I can’t help you quite as much with angles. I feel that I’d need to do a little more research in order to be able to articulate this more fluently. Perhaps some other time I can try and revisit this and go more into depth about perspective and foreshortening, but for now, here’s another great guide that might help you along in the right direction. I use a similar structure for my own drawings! 

Speaking of foreshortening, here’s another tutorial! I don’t use this particular method, but it may work for you!

I know you didn’t ask for it, but I’d like to give you some tips about comic making. If you don’t want them, then I guess you can just stop reading, pfff. Either way I’ll put it under a cut so this post doesn’t take up so much of the dashboard.

I have to admit, my method of creating comics is… Unconventional in a variety of ways. I’m sure it’s not the worst way to go about it, but it may be a bit odd. Everyone has their own way, and a part of the process is finding what clicks well with you and your work flow. This is just my method, one of many!

I’ll start off with some of the important basics in comic making! I went to a small panel about comics at a con last year, and there I learned a few tricks and tips!

When it comes down to speech bubbles, it’s a good idea to keep the flow of the comic in mind. Usually comics are read from left to right, so when it comes to speech bubble order it’s best to keep this in mind. Height and distance between the bubbles in the same panel can also alter the order that they’re read in. It’s likely that our eyes will go to the panels on top first, so when it comes to order, it’s better to put the first bubble higher up than the second!

It’s also a good idea to keep in mind where your speech bubbles will be, and how much space they could potentially take. To avoid covering up too much of the characters it’s a good idea to plan these out ahead of time, and leave some extra space for these.

As well as speech bubble order, character order is also important. Again, since we read left to right, the first character we see we will assume is the protagonist, or even the hero. For example, let’s say you have a man using binoculars to spy on someone within a building. This can go two entirely different ways! If this spy was on the leftmost side of the panel, looking into the building that the person on the right is working in, it’ll come across as a hero digging up some dirt on an evil organization. Flip it around, with the person being spied on to the left inside of his home, and the spy outside and to the right of the panel, it’ll come across as a protagonist in immediate danger!

Something I need to remind myself of frequently is guiding the reader’s eyes about the page. This is best done in a subtle manner, where you use the characters and scenery to “point” towards the next panel. You can also use speech bubbles to do this, as when we read our eyes naturally follow along to the next bubble! Having the rightmost bubble lead into the one within the next panel is a pretty easy way to do this. One way I did this in my BatIM comic was by using Bendy’s spaded tail as a literal arrow. Did you notice? Even if I didn’t have the end of his tail pointing, I tried to aim his tail towards the next panel, especially if he’s not facing the “right” direction. The way that a character faces can also have an effect on this, so keep that in mind. They shouldn’t always be facing right, so it helps to have ways to lead reader eyes along.

One comic I poured a lot of focus on for this particular tactic is this one. Here I have Reaper Bird essentially point to where I want the reader’s eyes to go. You’ll also notice that it pops out of the panel now and again. That was a fun little detail I decided to add; in this case I used it to make Reaper Bird feel a little stranger, as it didn’t always fit into the box, even though Gaster did. A nod to how it covers up the dialogue box in-game. You can use this tactic to draw more attention to a character, such as for an introduction! Sometimes you don’t even have to limit them within the confines of the walls of a panel!

Speaking of panels… Making them all the same size and shape gets relatively… Boring. Not to mention there will be times where you either will have too much room for a single panel, or simply not enough! It’s far more engaging when the panels are different in size and shape. Just be sure to keep the flow in mind. We read from left to right, top to bottom. If you want to stack corresponding panels, be sure to make it clear that the top leads into the bottom, and the bottom leads into the one to the left of those!

So here’s how I make my comics: first I start off with my idea, and I plan out the basic idea in my head. From there I’ll write down the idea, and where exactly I want the comic to go. If I need to, I’ll write a basic script so I know what needs to be said and when. If I need more detail, or if I feel I’ll forget what I want to see I’ll script it out more, maybe sketch out panel ideas/format. From there I sort of… Grab paper and start going at it. I ghost out panels on my page. When I say “ghost,” I’m referring to the very light sketches and shapes I create to give myself a basic idea of where I want characters to be, and what I want them to be doing. I start with these light sketches to help me shape my drawings, and so I can easily go back over them and fix any problems or errors.

Once I feel I’ve got the panel looking basically like how I want it, I put a box around it and move to the next one. Though it’s probably better to use a ruler or a straight edge to create your panels. Even though I’m pretty good at making a straight line, and when I ink the boxes it usually works out… My panels are a wee bit lop-sided, haha! I used to plan out each panel carefully and then measure them out on the page I’ll be drawing on. While this doesn’t work for my flow NOW, it may be a useful tactic for you! For larger comics, careful planning is definitely key, but for shorter comics it’s not quite as important.

Anyway, once I have a page ghosted, I’ll go back over it and finish up the sketches, and make sure that each one is easily distinguishable for the inking process. This is usually where I make sure that the readability of the comic flows well for the reader. It’s also when I’ll share it with friends to get outside opinions. It’s usually a good idea to do this! Because you tend to get used to your own art, and you’ll likely miss errors. (I’ve done this too many times to count.)

After things are settled, I start working on the backgrounds. While not absolutely ESSENTIAL, having backgrounds can make your comic look a little more natural. It can help build atmosphere, and give the reader an idea of where the character is! I usually wait until I get the characters drawn, that way the background and character can mesh together a bit better. However if it’s easier to start with a BG for you, then that’s fine, too!

Then it’s off to inking! I focus first on the characters, then the foreground objects, then the background. Colors are next, should I go with them.

Here’s one page I have where I have the ghosted sketch, please excuse the potato cam quality! It’s not much, but I hope it at least gives you an idea.

Here’s a sketch of the full comic, before I inked it. You can still see some of my rough sketch work and where I started to plot out the background.

But that’s all I can think of, at least for right now. Feel free to ask more questions–I’ll do my best to answer them! I hope this helped out, at least a little bit. I’m sorry that it got quite a bit long… And hopefully this all makes sense, somehow. I feel a bit scatterbrained when it comes to teaching!

Good luck with your comics!