#I lose track of time drawing in that art style

[twisting-in-wonderland]

I had my first strawberry tart recently..  

(wip pic and sorta bonus under read more)

so sleepyyy,,

cater, please-

[rascalentertainments]

Wish Granted AU: Flazino

Now the sorcerers' overworked, underappreciated, underpaid, incredibly tired apprentice, Flazino! I keep laughing at the fact that this guy has more depth to him than half the cast of the canon movie. 😂 He went from throwaway character to a nearly co-protagonist character with importance to the story!

His design was inspired by several Disney characters. The outfit and hair are a reference to Arthur/Wart from "The Sword in the Stone". The face and body language is based on George from the Paperman short film (Remember how great that was? And it mastered the 2D/3D hybrid animation long before Wish? What happened to those animators, Disney?)

(You can even use this concept art as reference for Flazino if you want too, especially that pissed off look 😂)

And I swear it wasn't on purpose, but as I started drawing him tired, he started resembling Bruno. All his references are from overworked or stressed out characters and I didn't even do it on purpose! 😂

Now for some backstory and info dump! This was pretty fun because I got to create my own take on him since there's practically nothing on him outside of a deleted scene.

• Like the aforementioned deleted scene, Flazino's wish is to study magic. For this story, its so he can help others lives be better, which is what he thought Magnifico wanted as well. He thought the job would be more glamorous or fun as he learned, but it turns out Mags doesn't actually want a successor. He plans on being in power permanently. He pretends he granted Flaz's wish and instead of studying magic, he's the errand boy, cleans the lab equipment, feeds Sabor, and is in charge of the tour guides for newcomers. Flazino just practices what he can at home and secretly takes ingredients from Amaya's potion cabinet.

•No one's sure if the bags under his eyes are from losing his wish and side effects starting, or its just him being stressed out all the time. Either way he's like Aled, he doesn't sleep much cause he's always working or worrying. He's sort of sassy when he's really tired so he might make an off hand comment. Bonus: He swears, but its censored in the "Spongebob Sailor Mouth" style. You'll just hear a noise or beep censorship sound in place of it. 😂 (Hey, you can say "Hell" and "Damn" in a Pixar movie now, so why not?)

•He gave his wish at 18, and was surprised to hear it was getting granted so soon. Though Mags doesn't really need an apprentice, he takes Flaz on just in case something happened to him, all of his magic, power and evil will go into the apprentice. Sort of passing on his plans to him to become the next Magnifico and continue his work. That's pretty terrifying.

• Most people in the Hamlet think that he and Asha are secretly a thing, but that's not the case. Lord knows Sabino wanted his granddaughter to get a boyfriend so she'd stop being so serious all the time. They never really had feelings like that for each other, they just stayed friends. One part is because Asha has just sealed herself off from connecting deeper with other people, and on Flaz's side, he already has feelings for someone else. (Also, after Star shows up and spends time with Asha, she starts feeling things for him she's been repressing for years. Girl, chill.-)

• During the first few months of becoming the apprentice, he learned about the Hamlet through rumors in Rosas. He didn't understand why people would run away until he stumbles on seeing the king and queen crush the wishes of a couple who talked about leaving Rosas and not trusting the royals. He never saw that couple again.

He later took off one night into the forest to finds this supposed Hamlet using a tracking spell. Once he finds it, Sabino and other people tell him why they ran and what a monster the royal could be. Flazino felt so disgusted that he promised to help anyway he could. So he makes an excuse to get specialty mushroom from the Uncharted Forest once a month and brings supplies to the Hamlet ever since. (stuff like seeds to grow food, flour, medicine, toys for the kids)

• A lot of the people actually go to Flazino if they can't get to the king for help improving the kingdom, or people needing help. The royals don't do crap, so he just does the best he can himself. But most people don't realize he's the one that granting their needs and not the royals.

• His connection to the 7 Teens actually foreshadows Asha bringing them together. Like the deleted scene suggested, they all know him as the "great apprentice to the king", when he's really just a tired guy trying not lose his sanity. He has different interactions with each of them.

Gabo is the one shouting that the royals are evil like a conspiracy theorist, but since he's such a low threat, they send Flazino to get rid of him and everytime he gets away. Gabo's been a nuisance for months now and he's even defacing anything with the royals on it. He actually agrees with Gabo, but obviously can't say it out loud.

For Simon, he tries to keep him awake when he can for his knight training, or guard duty so its his way of trying to help fulfill his wish of being a knight. He's tired himself, so its even harder.

Safi is allergic to practically everything when he cleans, so Flaz has an idea to make a medicine that can cure that through magic. He has no idea its just so he can talk to the girl he likes without sneezing in someone's face. 😂

Hal is one of the easiest he gets along with. She's pretty content where she is and gets along with him fine. Though he gets roped into doing some of her work when he's not paying attention, lol. If she does see an injustice being done to someone else she'll step in to help them.

Bazeema he's not even sure what she thinks of him. She's so shy whenever he talks to her, all he knows is that she does a great job caring for the local animals and flora in the kingdom, which he's thanked her many times for. Though she has been leaving him yellow roses as thank you messages.

Dahlia is actually the one he bonds with the best. He ends up talking to her when its time for Sabor's breakfast or dinner and she makes the food by hand with her parents. At first he just talked to her out of convenience and vent a little bit about being overworked (much to his surprise, she's actually listening). Then the two of them just found some comfort in talking to each other when they've had a long day and now its developed into a full-on crush for him. But with Dahlia going all fangirl on Magnifico, he doesn't have high hopes the feelings mutual. (She's been dropping hints but he's not getting it)

So I guess we got three Flazinos right now: RFTS!Flaz who actually likes his job and still wants to learn magic, UaS!Flaz who's a prince of the evil royals, and then WG!Flaz is an overworked man who wants to hurt his bosses. Y'all need therapy. 😂

(So now, Chapter 6 of WG will be out tomorrow! 😏)

@signed-sapphire @oh-shtars @annymation @chillwildwave

@uva124 @ishadow246 @tumblingdownthefoxden @your-ne1ghbor

@mythartist21 @gracebethartacc @emptyblog7 @spectator-zee

@lazytitans-world @emillyverse @flicklikesstuff @kenihewa

@snackara @wings-of-sapphire @natsuki208

[the-golden-comet]

Writerly Questionnaire

The very lovely @sableglass , @the-letterbox-archives , @nczaversnick , @drchenquill , @thecomfywriter , @thatuselesshuman , @glasshouses-and-stones , and @theink-stainedfolk , tagged me in this one. (I absolutely relate to your love of escapist romances to read alongside the beach 💖✨)

I’ll answer the best I can. Bear in mind I’m a little bit of a chaos gremlin :)

About Me

When did you first start writing?

About 12 years old. I always took a liking to Disney animated classics, which have inspired me to write and draw similar to the style.

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

Actually, the two are very similar. What I love to write is what I love to read. I’ve taken more of a fancy to writing romances now as opposed to a decade ago, though :)

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you’re often compared?

Not that I’m aware of. Everyone has taken a little bit of inspiration from different sources, whether knowingly or unknowingly, so there are probably some authors or writers that I share similarities with. I know for a FACT that a lot of my stories draw heavy inspiration from Disney, which has influenced my art and storytelling styles ✨

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (Room, coffee shop, desk, etc.)

Ahhh, yes. Couch, coffee table, writing laptop, coffee. Soft throw draped across my lap as I get perpetually cold. Thankfully, it’s nice and quiet in this writing space and it allows me to let me do string-of-thought writing for hours. The only thing is sometimes I lose track of time this way, so I have to set an alarm for breaks and meals.

What’s your most effective way to muster up some muse?

Watching movies, listening in on my friends’ DnD campaigns, or reading stories from friends and mutuals :)

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

Not really. I keep my personal life and writing life pretty separate. After all, a great thing about writing fantasy is that it doesn’t HAVE to tie in to the real world, or personal life. It can be whatever I want it to be ✨

Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

Recurring themes? You bet. I either write a high fantasy BL Romance, or low fantasy slice-of life RomCom. My favorite writing tropes are Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn, Found Families, Romantic Comedy, Magic in the Mundane, Slice of Life, Call to Action/Prophecy, and Absurdism.

Do they surprise me? Absolutely. I can have a beautiful plot all planned out, and then my characters say, “okay I see the route, but what if we take a sliiiiight detour? :)” and then soon enough I’m on a totally unique and unexplored path in my writing….and that’s exciting. An adventure all on its own ✨

My Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character? (Current WIP, past WIP, never used, etc.)

I fear if I don’t say Peter here, he’s gonna kill me. In my current WIP, my favorite character is Ali because he’s a lovable goofball genie that wants the best for Noah. Overall currently (side eying) Peter because he’s a chaotic-neutral, anti-establishment, insane pirate captain that makes my life entertaining 😂

Which of your characters do you think you’d be friends with in real life?

Ali. Hands down. Dude gets along with just about everyone.

Which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

Any of the villains I wrote, but going off of main OCs? Gosh that’s tough….probably Tyr because he’s really angry all the time (for good reason, but too much of that is toxic)

Tell me about the process of coming up with of one, all, or any of your characters.

Oh boy. That’s a big one. Let’s see….

Character building kinda happens simultaneously to Plot Planning; it’s a bit hard to describe, as there’s no “right order” to my world building. But usually it’s: “Okay, who is my protagonist? Who is the antagonist? What do they look like? Is the protag a hero, or villain? Is the antag a hero, or villain? What is their ‘general moral alignment?’ What are their characteristics? What are their strengths? What are their flaws? What are their goals and aspirations? Etc.” I do this for each major character. Then, secondary and supporting characters, who get a little less polish but still enough to be human (or relatable) in nature, start getting fleshed out.

Once I get the Core Plots and characters made and planned out, I start piecing the events in chronological order in the story. This becomes my “roadmap” that helps drive the narrative. Then….well, the rest just kinda falls into place. Once I have a “Plan of Events,” all that’s left is writing the story around the plan. And, as I’m writing, new ideas may come, and I get to explore that a little further during the writing phase.

tl;dr: I do the “Tree Approach.” Characters are the foundational trunk. Branches are the Core Plots. Twigs are the Conflicts. Leaves are the little details of each conflict (i.e. how characters react, where the conflict is set, what this means for each character’s aspirations, etc.)

Do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters?

Yep :)

How do you picture them? (As real people you imagined, as models/actors who exist in real life, as imaginary artwork, as artwork you made or commissioned, anime style, etc.)

Like this:

My Writing

What’s your reason for writing?

Personal enjoyment, mainly. And how far I can stretch and challenge my creative mind ✨

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

Any story reactions and positive engagement is always appreciated. Just don’t be a dick and you’re good 👍

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (For example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who “gets” the human condition; as a talented worldbuilder, as a role model, etc.)

I loathe this question. As long as people enjoy my stories, that’s what matters. I’m just one silly little guy writing stories for my own enjoyment. The fact that other people can enjoy my wild ideas as well is a blessing in of itself.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

Comedy and Dialogue. And comedic timing.

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

Same as above. Also have been told that I have wildly entertaining and outlandishly creative ideas portrayed in “insane, chaotic, and ballsy ways.” Coolio 🤙

How do you feel about your own writing? (Answer in whatever way you interpret this question.)

I’m proud of it. I’ve successfully written stories that I wanted to read, and reading back through my stories is really entertaining and motivating :)

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

I’ve already been writing stories on my own for well over a decade, nearly two. It was my husband and friends who finally pushed me to go public, and I’m very glad I did :)

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? If it’s a mix of the two, which holds the most influence?

I write solely for my entertainment, and my personal opinion is that’s the best way to do it, honestly. If I write stories that I want to read, I enjoy them, I spend more effort on them because I WANT to, not to please anyone other than myself. I don’t inhibit myself or censor myself, allowing me creative freedom to write wherever my heart takes me….which has led to some WILDLY entertaining plots. Even if writing is a career to some, if you find yourself enjoying what you write, you’re gonna motivate yourself beyond your wildest imaginations ✨

Man, that was a lot! Thank you @davycoquette for starting the chain, and thank you again Sable for tagging me!

I will gently and no pressure tag the following people as well as my tag list: @nczaversnick , @lavender-gloom , @cowboybrunch , @noblebs , @words-after-midnight , @saturnine-saturneight , @marlowethelibrarian , @aintgonnatakethis , @coffeexafterxmidnight , @astramachina , @justabigoldnerd , @pippinoftheshire , +open tag! 💛✨

✨👇Tag list for writing tidbits below. DM me if you’d like to be added 👇✨

Tag List for writing tidbits (lmk if you want + or -)

@talesofsorrowandofruin , @alinacapellabooks , @gioiaalbanoart , @deanwax , @dyrewrites , @honeybewrites , @paeliae-occasionally , @kaylinalexanderbooks , @katenewmanwrites , @billybatsonmylove , @madi-konrad , @houseplantblank , @far-cry-from-finality , @froggy-pposto , @fractured-shield , @avaseofpeonies , @topazadine , @thecoolerlucky , @theaistired , @willtheweaver , @rivenantiqnerd @somethingclevermahogony , @noxxytocin , @leahnardo-da-veggie , @addicted2coke-theothercoke , @illarian-rambling , @mysticstarlightduck , @ominous-feychild

[ninjagood4]

Hello, I’m Cookie! I'm a self-taught artist, create content about Ninjago and write the comic “NINJAGO: Future of the Past” ~

YouTube · X · Instagram · Toyhou.se (soon)

You can support my work, it’s help my family and give me the opportunity to develop every day 🫂

Link to PayPal Donate Button or QR-code⭡

Life in Ukraine 🇺🇦 | 19 y.r | She/Her

A little bit about me, my hobbies and the most important thing - OC content!

ABOUT ME

Hmm, well… I'm not a fan of communication because of my closed personality, which has seen a lot addressed to it. But you know, our life is too short to waste it on fears, and so I started to work on myself. I'm also very distrustful and often doubt, I'm learning to adhere to the idea of ​​"measure seven times - cut once" (because sometimes I rush and ruin everything) xD Although I'm really silent and can seem creepy(huh?), if I find a person I trust, then on the contrary, I will not be able to shut my mouth!

I very much love animals, VERY! I would still like to become a vet, but… it will be hard for me to come to terms with the fact that I could not save some cutie (it really hurts), so I don't go too far with it. I'm interested in psychology, love reading articles about the past of the earth, science and all sorts of discoveries, experiments, theories, facts, and other things like that… Well, and also… some memes and strange videos on YouTube that you can laugh at, holding back your laughter while everyone else is asleep ^^

HOBBY

There are actually a lot of them, but they are all related to creativity lol. Simply because it gives the opportunity to create something new and interesting! Well, and I just like handwork lol

Drawing is what I love the most! I did it all my childhood, and it was what I really know how to do. But I prefer to think that can do more than just draw :') I somehow didn't think about art school, since instantly lose interest when I'm taught. It's weird, but that's how it is, lol. So I decided to learn it myself, and focused on Ninjago, because it's my favorite series since ~2013, but I watched it from the very beginning - 2011 (I'm old 💀). In 2018-early 2019, I began to actively study natural drawing, and since 2021 I have been actively managing social networks and learning digital art. It's hard for me to say which style I prefer, I really like to parody TV series animations, including WilFilm, WildBrain and the MonkieKid style! But still, I liked combining my concept with The Lion King style, and I think I'll stop there for FotP :) BUT☝️ I will not stop parodying styles/animations, because it is very interesting (this does not mean that I challenged copyright, no!). Yes yes, I'm capable of more than just Ninjago commiss, if that's what you're talking about; just show me the style of the cartoon and maybe I'll repeat it >:D Oh, and since 2023 I started accepting commissions, and I sincerely hope to develop with their help, to make it my job (and also recently opened donations). We do not live very easily, and I am afraid that at this rate I will have to give up art. The only option is to make it my job (in fact, I am not against such a turn of events) 👉👈

Not many people know about this at all, but I compose music :) These jobs is rarer, because they require a LOT of time, and maybe that's why I think no one pays attention to it. And music is exactly what I studied for. I once dreamed of becoming a composer, because I had a passion for music and loved to compose, but my father (who refused to go to music school as a child)) decided that I would do this. Well, when he sent me for testing, I hoped that they would refuse me and send me away, but they took me. I improved my skills thanks to this, but somehow I lost my passion. Although I still compose music and love it, something has changed… At the same time, it's a shame that I did not live up to my father's expectations, but if I release tracks on YouTube, does this not look like a career as a composer? heh 🤔

In 2019, I tried to make a plush Lloyd (the photos are gone, but I sometimes remake it lol, so they kind of exist), but this was the beginning of crafts! Crafts (handmade) are also rare due to the time of work, but they exist. Because of my love for ecology, it seems to me that this also gives some kind of second chance to things. I prefer to use garbage unnecessary things for this (sometimes it's hard to say what I made this or that thing from, there is ALL), and then I put them in a box and they continue to lie :ʼ) But no, Lloyd does not lie in a box, I put him on a shelf, and later I even made Agatha for him jhvjfjgvjgcvm

Other things like wood carving (sometimes even metal), but that's rare. In short: I love absolutely everything that needs to be created, where you need to work with your hands! I think that's enough.

FANFICTION!!!! I can get so deep into the story that I forget it's non-canon (like what happened with Future of the Past). Wait, let this be canon!

Thanks to my mom, I got into cooking, by the way xD I hated cooking because it always turned out to be something smelly and inedible, but when I learned how to cook pancakes and potato pancakes — the world changed 🤌✨ I want to make a cake "Lloyd" someday. LET ME MAKE THAT CAKE

Hmm, does making stupid memes count?..

OC CONTENT

Briefly about NINJAGO: Future of the Past. I just wanted Lloyd to have a girlfriend

Ahem! I didn't plan to go this far, initially my plans were just to create my own character for fanarts, but everything somehow happened by itself. I really liked Agatha (because I had a lot of unsuccessful attempts), I was even afraid that no one would like her because of the idea itself.

Considering that I love nature and simple things, Agatha is an ordinary rice farmer, who lives in the Valley of Mountain Fires (this is a remote area in the world of Ninjago, and the Monastery of Spinjitzu is part of it!). The ninja did not know where they live hahaha))

So, therefore, Agatha spends all her time in nature, thanks to which she is very agile, fast, can climb to heights and swim. This is ✨Child of Nature✨ ​​

Agatha has a fear of the future (the unknown), longing for the past (since she made many mistakes that cannot be corrected), death and minor fears like a dislike for spiders, hatred of Tuesdays, etc :)

She also behaves freedom-loving and sometimes daring, likes to find fault with what she does not like, speaks directly and can be too rude, but at the same time she is a kind person who will not abandon you in trouble, and is always ready to support. In places she is quite timid, withdrawn, afraid to open up to a person (so Lloyd will have to go through a lot until they become friends).

As for Leo, he was invented in honor of my cat, who had the same name. I took up OCs after the evacuation in 2022 to distract myself, and then I had to leave Leo at home because of the difficult journey, which he might not survive (fortunately, our city was untouched at that time, and relatives looked after the house with Leo). But I missed him very much and thought that I would never see him again, so I made such a pet for Agatha.

And Tiger Bongo... Because they are canon, and a huge tiger thinking he is a cat sounds funny :) My cat began to feel extremely bad, but we returned after 3 months and he was waiting for us, so I managed to spend a few more months with him before he left.

I didn't think about the faction for a long time, I had inspiration for it. I create FotP trying to touch on real events from my life, so the faction became the Bandits on dragons, who are doing what is happening now in my country. They occupy the Valley of Mountain Fires, and the inhabitants (including Agatha) will have to live in such conditions for 16 years. There are many more bandits and their dragons (for which I came up with a new type), so ordinary residents cannot resist. If everything goes against their regime, Agatha's vellage will simply be wiped out, but...

Actually, I would be very happy to tell you more about this, feel free to write me questions! :D

Here I will write briefly: the plot is that Agatha and Leo decide to escape from the valley in search of the Monastery of Spinjitzu, so that "five masters led by green" can help save her home. She know that this would be the beginning of a war, but she had no choice. On the way, she is spotted by the bandit, so after 2 days, when the ninja are flying on the new Destiny's Bounty to the valley, the dragon of the robbers attacks the ship on the way and takes the ninja captive - Kai, Nya and Zane (Jay and Cole get lost in the forest, but later find Agatha's village). Lloyd, Agatha and Leo are not noticed, but given that Lloyd did not accept Agatha from the very beginning/she was afraid of him and very soon hated, they began to have a big conflict. Since the whole team was confused, they had no choice but to work together, and gradually they saw a lot in common (even though Leo doesn't like Lloyd and makes fun of him).

Later, the bandits learn that Lloyd is the green ninja, and use his power to search for the last key to Death (this creature supposedly should help them cross the border of the Monastery and create chaos in the world, but in fact it will destroy everyone). Let's just say Lloyd falls into the hands of a man who skillfully manipulates him. To stop Death, Lloyd and Agatha need to learn the Skill of Yin-Yang, which will lead to the fusion of Jade and Energy (Lloyd and Agatha's powers), because without it, Jade absorbs a huge amount of Energy and causes it to the pain, which can destroy the master of Energy.

Forgot to mention that Lloyd struggles with his Oni side, depression, and traumas throughout the series.

By the way, if you're wondering again why Lloyd is chubby - the events take place after the Crystallized, and then peace comes. Due to the imminent separation from Harumi, he falls into depression, and Wu's death becomes a turning point that awakens the Oni side due to negative emotions. Then part of the family breaks up, the ninja are also going to disperse, but Lloyd forbids them and trains them, because he believes that because of the Oni side, they will have to confront him. At the same time, Lloyd prefers to eat away his depression with food, which has negatively affected him for many years. Anyway, I also briefly told everything here. This boy thought that the ninja would have to fight against him, but he didn't expect that he would have to fight for them.

But then again, I plan to write up to 400 pages for the first season (and I'm already close to the final stage), so there is A LOT of stuff there. Even so, I practically didn't say anything about it 😭 There are some things I'm still keeping quiet about, but... if you're interested in something, just ask! 🙌🫠

DON’T MIND/LOVE AND DISLIKE

Ninjago | Only Dragons Rising (sorry 😭)

Any orientation (every person has the right to their own choice)

Distribution/propaganda (of something in greater quantity)

Any wars/those who in any way approve of it

Acceptance of equals

Racism, sexism, any kind of evil banter

This list needs to be extended…

I have a lot more to write, but let's finish this and start watching the shit I publish?) ~really, because I use a translator and I can't imagine how "beautiful" it sounds~ Hope you have fun!

Thanks to everyone who read to the end

:3 ♡

and please I would be truly grateful for donations and commissions as it really help. You can distribute the image with the QR-code it can also help. Ty :)

[malacandrax]

oh my GOD the latest sw au comic is incredible holy shit, this au is so so dear to my heart for many reasons, both personal and artistic/writing appreciation, i am SO invested and you are doing SUCH a great job, i love your art style and i also love your writing and your use of astarions scars as a tattoo, and its such a good idea having the tattoo get infected!!!! as someone in the replies said, you went exactly as hard as is needed for this topic, youre doing a wonderful job and its amazing to see and to read, thank you for posting your work!!!!

also poor astarion omg, dudes goin THROUGH it but im glad halsins got him now! hopefully now he gets a good ol hospital trip, a soft comfortable and safe place to rest, a bunch of iv antibiotics and painkillers, and halsin is by his side the whole time he recovers... and hopefully that tattoo comes back round to destroy cazador, its gotta be able to be traced back to the bastard right!?

i especially love the last pannel though, ive always loved how you draw people holding and cradling each other, its beautiful and so realistic to how bodies are shaped and how bodies interact when in contact, and its totally perfect for all the emotions in the comic!!!!

this is a huge ramble haha no need to respond if youd rather not of course, but had to get the appreciation out!!

this seriously rocks, i love the sw au its so well done and i always ADORE seeing updates!!!! love your art and i hope you have a wonderful day/night :D

Ah I may cry thank you very much! Yes, I promise only good things from now on :').

Honestly I don't know about revenge on cazador! In game he Needs Astarion for the ritual so tracks him down...but in this situation he doesn't need him, he used threats to keep him under control but I don't think he would go to another city to search. I also think it's more realistic, traffickers lose their grip on people who actually get out, and find new people who are easier to control. Its also like...I made it easier than it often would be, because I didn't want to write drugs into an AU, but often that's a big factor in being trapped- dealer+employer+protector all rolled into one grim bundle.

ANYWAY thank you for the lovely words <3

[blogofyolo]

LOFAM 5 ACT 2 - COVER ART

recently i had the opportunity to contribute to the new lofam so i thought i'd share the album covers i did here! (with commentary)

starting off with probably my favorite cover art for what might be my favorite song: sburban juxtaposition. the track is so good i basically drew the whole cover while listening to it on loop. coloring the meteors was a lot of fun too. rose's pose is actually inspired by miles' leap of faith from spider-man: into the spiderverse (the spiderverse movies have consumed me ever since i saw atsv in theatres, it can't be helped).

next up we have celestial company. the track is very relaxing, i figured it would make sense to replicate that feeling in the art itself through adding pleasant shades of blue to skaia and john's hood. i also added a yellow spirograph for contrast. i think it worked out pretty well!

sunbumper! a very upbeat and energetic jade track. there's two cool things about this image: one thing is a rather obvious nod to the neverending story, while the other thing is hidden in plain sight. it's a reference to outer wilds, i'll say this much.

caliborn's lament. look. i couldn't not jump at the opportunity to draw art for a song that adapts act 6 act 6 act 4. i just love caliborn, and that's all there really is to say on the matter. his comically sad face is probably the best thing i drew for this project.

karkat loses his mind and learns holy c. i tried a different style for this one, since it's for a song referencing templeos. editing the logos and all was a really funny experience. there's also this Pleasant Hoofbeast Drawing, which i never really got to use:

maybe it'll turn out better this time is a title that immediately reminded me of the retcon. in the cover art, i decided to highlight how the joy of the post retcon timeline almost completely overshadows the suffering of characters that we actually followed for years. idk, replacing these guys with slightly different versions of them always felt weird to me.

aaaaand that's it! hope you guys enjoyed these covers (and the lengthy commentary) just as much as i enjoyed making them :3

[iminyourbookshelf]

QSMP community positivity because the streamer awards made me so happy

(under the cut because it's going to be A LOT)

QSMP Digital Artist - Ate and left NO crumbs ever omg. The amount of detail, varying styles, and epic scenes are my favorite. The variety of art styles for QSMP artist is like just going to a buffet to browse and they're all special little dishes made with so much love.

QSMP Tradtional Artist - HOW CAN YOU DRAW/PAINT SOME OF THIS STUFF?? Watercolor paintings of QSMP bulids, notebook spreads with cute little details, the fact that you can draw traditionally at all. All so talented.

QSMP Beginner Artist - NEVER GET DISCOURAGED <33. Everyone was a beginner at some point and seeing people improve over time with their art is so cool. I consider myself still a beginner even though I've been drawing for a couple years now lol. There is still so much for me to learn, and the fact how kind the qsmp art community is makes me so happy. Keep improving, your art looks great <3

QSMP Fanfiction Authors - I don't know whether to compliment you or ask for my therapy payment (/lh). So many authors have ripped my heart out and left it out to dry and others are like a bucket of fluff and joy. I love both of these. The writing quality is genuinely amazing on so many of these. I love to visualize when reading and with all the details it's basically just watching a movie.

QSMP Web Weavers - You guys are AMAZING. Finding so many quotes, transcripts, fanarts, aesthetic photos, and being able to combine them in a way that represents characters so well is beautiful. Not to mention the fact how your able to put credits for everything in an easy to find way??? Perfect.

QSMP Moodboards/Stimboard makers - These are so cute aaaa. I love seeing them, all the little collections of photos or gifs of characters I like is very fun.

QSMP Poll Accounts - I LIVE for taking polls. It's just fun to have a place to put an opinion you had for yourself that you didn't know how to put unprompted on your own post. Seeing results after a while also makes me happy to see what as a general consensus the fandom is on.

QSMBLR and QSMPTWT users - Transferring information from one hellsite to the other, I admire anyone who can survive in the discourse trenches and come back with account updates.

QSMP Clip accounts - I love seeing silly clips of cubitos, and especially those with transcripts and translations. It's a lot of effort and I admire that. Gives me so much info I would've missed otherwise.

QSMP translators - As someone still currently learning the other languages, it is so helpful when people translate it. Sometimes your brain just hurts and you can only read your native language. Also anyone who translates things from English to other languages, yes please make it for other speakers.

QSMP Multi-Shippers - It's so fun to see these, yes give your cubito 7 different romantic/platonic partners. You guys collect ships like Pokémon and it is inspiring

QSMP Cosplayers - I respect cosplayers so much. The wigs, the makeup, the costume, the PROPS?? All take so much work it's amazing to see final products. I reccently tried making a scythe for one I want to do, and I was struggling. Y'all are so cool.

QSMP Character Analysis Posts - Keeping fanfiction accuracy and my personal view on characters as close to canon as possible. These help so much when I need to look for a character I haven't watched much and easy to read.

QSMP Livebloggers - Save me from losing track of lore when I'm busy. I swear some of you just never sleep (please do but thank you for information). The amount of stuff I can figure out from vague post of combined livebloggers makes it much easier to know what's happening. Most of my mutual liveblog a lot and it saves me so much time <3

QSMP Rebloggers - KEEPING THIS FANDOM ALIVE‼️‼️ Tumblrs algorithm is based on reblogs, accounts that are just lurkers rb stuff ily. Hell yeah man, take all the cool stuff and share it.

QSMP Animatics - Movie night exists because of you guys!! Sometimes you all make me want to sob violently or laugh till I can't breathe. The differences in each video is so fun to see. The effort in each one is just beautiful too, animatics are NOT easy.

QSMP Editors - The fact that people can take a cube game and turn into epic/sad/cute edits with a few clips, transitions, and audios astounds me. You guys are so cool and I love seeing them. Also the fanart edits are so sick, finding the best ones to match.

QSMP Fan Video Creators - Stuff like the Federation Welcoming Workers Video, that one cucrucho cereal video, things like that. Quality is usually amazing and all the unique takes or camera work is epic. Idk what else fits in this genre but I just wanted to mention it.

QSMP RP Accounts - Seeing other people's takes on characters are so interesting and fun to see. RP is a skill I need to work on and it's done pretty well with these accounts. The amount of detail y'all can put is insane.

QSMP OC creators - Cringe culture is dead, I love seeing people make their little characters interact with eachother based on the QSMP. Keep it up and pls share it.

QSMP 3D Animators/Modelers - I never expirence more joy than when I see a 3D model of a qsmp rat spinning around. Also any 3D animators your dedication is insane. I tried learning 3D animation once and that was a STRUGGLE.

QSMP Vod savers/YT summaries -Actual lifesavers, there is no way I could've been apart of this community without them. Watching a few videos a day about what happened on the server makes it easier for me to actually do other things. Also that one person who made a QSMP2023 summary in UNDER 10 minutes, you are insane and did such a great job.

QSMP Accounts in Different Languages - QSMPBLR is heavily more English speaking than other languages, and when people main tag with post in different languages it makes me so happy. This was the point of the server, to let people post in whatever language they wanted. It's also fun for me to practice and try to translate it for myself.

I tried to get everything but please add if you have anything <3

[quinloki]

Snow Topped Mountains

Merry Christmas @mewiyev \o/ I am your secret santa! ❤️

I hope you enjoy this short story and bonus art (I have been wanting to try to draw Katakuri ever since you made me a Massive Fan of him, your art style, and Maren, so I hope you enjoy it!)

Words: 1,274 Characters: GN Reader, Katakuri CW: None, I believe, horror-undertones.

The storm had passed, and so you were ready to head and and assess any damages, and if you were lucky maybe track some fresh game with the newly fallen snow.

Except now you were staring at the largest body you’d ever seen in your life. You would’ve mistaken it for the beginnings of a hill, but you knew the area better than anyone, and no storm was enough to move mountains.

You watched, nearly mesmerized by the sight, as the man’s massive chest rose and fell, in a steady rhythm. He was most certainly alive, for now, but unconscious. You, barely the size of one of his arms as far as you could tell, now faced the rather daunting task of trying to figure out how you could hope to save him.

And if saving him was going to result in your own untimely end or not.

Unable to simply leave any creature to its fate, dangerous or otherwise, you began to move. You had enough rope, and large enough tarps, all used for the village’s festivals. You might live up in the mountains to maintain the shrines and offerings to the gods during the hard times, but you weren’t ostracized.

“Fortunately for both of us you collapsed near the trees.” You mutter, tossing a weighted length of rope up into the branches and getting it tangled into place. It took you thirty minutes to get a network of ropes secured into the evergreens, and nearly an hour to get the tarps threaded on the ropes. The process was faster when you had a helper or two, but with the impending storm even your usual help wasn’t on the mountain.

Maren was going to be upset he missed the excitement.

The passing of the storm hadn’t cleared the skies, but it had abated the wind, so the labor of setting up the ropes and tarps was enough to keep you warm. You ran ropes in the middle of the small network, pulling a sort of functional roof together. It wouldn’t keep out rain, but it would let the fire’s smoke out and warm up the space inside.

You apologized to the large man as you had to practically climb him and a few times as you worked. Two hours later you could start hauling the ropes, pulling the network taut, and creating a massive tent around the still-breathing giant of a man.

With the tent in place you began to clear out the snow. You weren’t far from where you lived so you were able to get some tools to make it easier, but it took another hour just to clear enough to start fire. Once you got the fire rolling you started clearing the snow away from the large man.

The more you cleared away, the more you were amazed he was alive at all. He was barely clothed. Pants, boots, and a sleeveless vest. The scarf wrapped around his shoulders and lower face was fluffy and probably warm, but not nearly warm enough. There was no way you’d be able to get him out of the little clothing he was wearing so you decide to set up a few smaller fires around him. If he moved when he woke up, he’d just snuff out the smaller fires, but the extra heat would help dry the clothes faster.

The only thing you had to get off him were the boots. Though it was tempting to just simply light them on fire directly, you had no way to hope to replace them. At least the rest of his clothes could’ve been replaced by the tarps, but shoes were another matter. If they didn’t dry fast enough his toes could rot or get frostbitten. Either way he could lose them, or die to the fever and risk of infection.

You didn’t just spend almost five hours of effort to have your mystery man die to complications after the fact.

Unfortunately, the boots were neither loose-fitting, nor buttoned, zippered, or otherwise clasped. After some fruitless tugging you pulled out your hunting knife and carefully cut down the side of one, and then the other, pulling them free and dragging them away. You set up another fire, and began the jog through the snow to get back to the cabin.

Towels, a sleeping bag, some dried food, a pot, one cup, one large bowl, herbs and tea, and back to your makeshift tent. You’d need to keep an eye on your patient throughout the night, and that meant keeping him dry, the fires going, and keeping yourself fed. It’d be another day at least before Maren was going to be able to ascend the mountain, and you’d just have to hope he decided to bring more food than was needed for the two of you when he did.

Getting back to the tent you see your patient hasn’t moved. If not for the steady breathing you’d be worried he was truly done for. The fires were doing an amazing job, and once you set all the gear down you had to take your coat off to avoid sweating in the toasty tent.

Grabbing a couple towels you began to dry his feet, using some dry soap and talc to help ward off any other risks of mold or rot. The sheer size of him was a bit boggling. You’d seen giants before, and he wasn’t nearly as large, but you’d seen giants roaming the flatlands while you were in the mountains. If they hadn’t been giants you wouldn’t have noticed them at all from such a distance.

Once his feet were taken care of, you tended all the little fires, and stoked the largest one. You let a little heat, and a lot of smoke out, with a kick to one of the flaps, letting the rush of air hurry the new smoke out of the top of the tent before it gathered too thickly.

Walking over to his head you regarded your patient, taking note of his appearance with an attentive eye. Your only concerns before now had been if he was alive or not, but taking a moment to actually look him over was… surprising.

He had handsome features, cropped reddish hair, and tattoos that laid easily over an impressive physique. There was an ease on his face right now that wasn’t reflected in the finer lines found there. Stress and worry were etched deep, but his current state of unconsciousness left him looking at peace.

Whatever weighed so heavily upon his shoulders while he was awake, it made little impact on his sleep. Or at least this sleep, as unbidden as it must have come.

Temptation pulled at the corners of your mind, a desire to pull the scarf away from his face. It wasn’t worn for warmth, not with the distinct lack of winter apparel overall. So it was only fair to think he wore it hide his features. It wouldn’t be quite right to sneak a peek when such was obviously avoided, but the curiosity was strong.

Before you could settle your internal struggle yourself, the main fire cracked loudly, drawing your attention back to it. You went around and tended the smaller fire first, kicking the tarp open for a second to rush the small accumulation of smoke clear before minding the main fire.

Once the fire was set you felt it.

A gaze upon your back.

Eyes that held you in place.

Even as your own gaze was frozen on the fire before you, you knew what was happening. An assessment. One that could end in gratitude.

Or not.

[actualpsychicability]

Psychic Blog #1 - Channeling Artists

I channel a lot of different people. This has happened a lot over the course of my life, often unknowingly. I'm also an artist who has done art for all of my life, and the people I've channeled also have done a lot of art while channeling into me. Now that I've been more consciously doing the work of channeling, I've been asking those who channel into me to do art while they're here and sign and date it so I can keep track of the work we're all doing.

And boy howdy. Do we have a lot of different styles.

Until I became aware of the fact that i was channeling different artists, I assumed that I just had a lot of different styles and mediums I liked to work in. It was actually hard to talk about my art or get art blogs going, because I couldn't post anything consistent. My style would change so often that I wouldn't be able to show the kind of consistency that often gets attention for artists. I also had a lot of trouble doing commissions because I couldn't figure out what made me do work in one style and what made me do work in another, so I couldn't guarantee a certain type of style or detail level or even medium. It was always just according to what I felt at the time, it seemed like. I couldn't control what was happening and what art i was making. Sometimes I even switched styles mid-work and couldn't figure out why I couldn't get the whole piece to come out "right."

The worst was when I'd start a work and then be unable to finish it for weeks or even months, sometimes losing track of the WIP and not being able to finish it at all. I have many unfinished sketches done over the course of years that I'd stare at in confusion before, unsure of what had happened that hadn't allowed me to complete the work. It turns out that someone had channeled into me and been unable to come back and find the WIP and finish it. I still have some work like this, paintings and drawings and books and writing that remain unfinished, waiting for the original artist to come back and do the job. Back when I didn't know multiple artists were behind the work I was doing, I sometimes felt overwhelmed and exhausted by all the unfinished work I had, and the weight of it gave me incredibly awful art block.

Now? Now I feel incredibly grateful to have so many artists willing to come in here and share their work with me and let me have the memory of the art being made. I learn something from every artist who does artwork while channeling in me. I also get to teach people channeling into me how to do art and give them an opportunity to discover their own artistic ability. Since I've had years of professional art training, they get to skip past the boring parts where you learn to draw spheres and drill on perspective and instead they get to just start drawing what's in their head and see it happen.

it's fun to see all the different styles and also what supplies people tend towards. Eraseable versus pen, color versus black and white, paint versus marker. Collage, one-edition assembly book projects, sculptures, objects in the house that become decorated and customized with painted designs. Even a whole decorated Christmas tree.

All three of these pictures are by different artists. The leftmost one is the only one that I actually drew. The others are by guest artists who left behind something beautiful after they stayed with me awhile. And that's something I'm still having feelings about, will probably be having feelings about forever. There's something about someone doing art and being part of their making art that means a whole lot to me and really makes me feel complete as a person. It also just feels like a service I did for others, that I helped the world in some way.

I still have a lot to learn about this aspect of psychic ability and about artistic ability itself--where it comes from, how it's developed, what fundamental skills a person has to be drilled in versus what skills can be passed to them via this interesting form of transference. There's experiments that have been started when it comes to if these skills can truly be exported out of me--if someone can channel into me, do art, and then go back to their body or to another body and be able to do art in there. It's much different than AI art that sort of just copies an artist's style and regurgitates an imitation of their work. Every artist that channels into me has a different and unique style, a different creative process, different motivations and needs as artists. There's no way to know what to expect from any of them, because they're all real artists.

And sometimes, I get to be the art school.

[sleeplessgoldfinchfixation]

Distressing realization today that the Goldfinch and the Percy Jackson book The Lightning Thief actually have more plot similarities than I'm comfortable with.

Like, both books are about boys the same age (12 or 13) who are only children raised New York City. They have very close relationships with their doting mothers who have been trapped in unhappy marriages with terrible husbands. Both boys feel a bit more responsible for their mother's happiness than typical, I'd say.

Both books immediately begin with the main character going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and experiencing a life-threatening danger there.

Both boys lose their mother at the beginning of the book and spend the rest of the story fixating on that loss. They have to leave their homes and meet kind older mentors.

Both boys travel across the country to Las Vegas and lose track of time and themselves to hedonistic impulses there, but both eventually return to New York.

Percy Jackson was arguably inspired by Harry Potter, and Theo is compared to and nicknamed after Harry Potter.

And sure, there are differences. Percy spends the entire novel trying to retrieve a stolen item, whereas Theo spends the entire novel fretting over how to return a stolen item.

I don't think the Goldfinch is inspired by Percy Jackson. Like, truly, I don't. But am I crazy or is that a lot in common? Is this just luck of the draw-- two popular books would be that similar eventually? The fact they're different genres in different styles for different audiences means we should shrug our shoulders and say eh coincidence? I feel weird about it!

[itsonlythee-sims]

I am once again starting too many new things and losing track of time :/

I have a convention in a month and a lot of art I was trying to get finished before then but procrastination keeps hitting hard. I started watching Breaking Bad yesterday and found that so engaging that I didn't make much progress on the stuff I was multitasking with (I usually have a show or podcast going while I draw, work in blender, or play ts4). Sleep's been bad so focus is worse than usual and I have so many things I wanna do that I often just. Don't. Very frustrating, I imagine many of you can relate since most of us seem to be some flavor of brainweird here on simblr (and tumblr as a whole).

I started working on a 70s/80s style dishwasher for ts4 and I think that looks pretty good, but I also had some Simblreen stuff I need to finish in time for the 2 Simblreen weekends, less ambitious than last year, but still. I also was doing Dungeon Meshi cc, mostly personal edits but maybe sharable in the future, and then I was ALSO working on BG3 stuff like Lae'zel's body and face markings, Wyll's face scars and his stone eye, some clothing edits to make them vaguely fantasy rpg compliant (leather, rough cloth, silks, etc), Karlach's tattoos and scars and infernal bits, etc. I was also doing Promare cc and Hunter x Hunter cc (both of these were why I started learning to Make stuff besides recolors in the first place).

((Another reason was that being an artist in this age of genAI, anti-human algorithmic social media feeds, rampant online censorship of anything queer or vaguely nsfw (and actual nsfw), dropshippers, disinformation, art theft, and devaluing of creative fields like animation, film, and the games industry has been incredibly demoralizing and I needed to learn something new that I could see I was making progress with. I'm glad I started learning Blender as it's something I'd always wanted to explore, and it's been rewarding to me helping other people with their projects as well.))

I've been making a lot of stuff but so much is unfinished because I can't control where the focus goes and it sucks not having that much to show for it because of my inconvenient perfectionism. I've even gotten a few messages in my commission form on my website asking if I'd released some of my early WIP meshes. If you're one of those people who messaged me, I'm sorry that they're not done yet, but hopefully soon.

[anchimayen]

I'm curious: What do you love to draw? Is there something specific you like to scribble when you feel stuck? Because I absolutely admire the range of art you are able to create! Honestly, you're fantastic! ✨

Thanks for the questions! ✨ What I love about drawing are multiple things, but the most important one is that it's therapeutic to me. I can lose track of time and space when I draw. Another thing is being able to visualize concepts and feelings I have a hard time expressing in another way. What I tend to do whenever I'm stuck is either crosshatching in the piece I'm working on till I get an idea. If it's an artblock, I typically go and look for other their art, and make something in a style I haven't done (recently) ... I like challenging myself, and change is one of the factors that keeps art very much one of my passions throughout the years. I do sometimes feel like I water myself down by the ever changing body of work, that I miss out on my potential to evolve a real distinct "me" style. But I do like to surprise people with something new every now and then. Speaking of, I'm currently working on some grim, dark style art that I'm sure is gonna surprise some ^-^ Thank you so much friend. It was nice to get an excuse to ramble a bit about my art! 💖

[poopingonthefloor]

hai uh question

im bad at body anatomy BUT YOU SEEM SO GOOD WITH IT can you show us how you do anatomy and stuf,f,.,, it doesnt even have to be detailed i jst want a little chart.l.

KYAAA I APPRICIATE YOUR FASCINATION WITH MY ABILITY. To be honest even I still struggle with anatomy at times (mostly when I get artblocked lol..) and a lot of the time I just tend to wing it, but here are a few key things I try to remind myself any time I DO lose track of things or struggle on where things should be (also just general rules I taught myself while trying to develop a less jelly-style)

Note: I am not a professional this is just based on personal experience. I hate instagram art tutorials so erm...just consider this like some "offered tips" I gave you in a back alley and definitely not "this is the right way to draw". This is only offered for people to help with getting to a VERY generalized/over simple grasp on how to keep track of anatomy or people who want to try out an artstyle generally similar (less cartoonishly-exaggerated poportions but still cartoony) to mine.

Also I apologize if this is worded weirdly my neurodiverse traits are the inability to communicate/explain properly (usually because I go in too much overspecific detail)

Though the biggest thing I suggest is dont be afraid to look at refrences!!!!!!!! it helps a lot to analyze how the parts of the body sit when in certain positions.

For me initially, I always had to remind myself "the body parts are bigger/longer than i think they are" because just a few years ago my artstyle was more cartoony with gianter-heads and more contorted poportions (which isn't a bad thing, I'm just specifying in case there's anyone that specifically WANTS to come out of a similar place) so I had to teach myself out of my instinctive minimalisticness (because I personally wanted to get out of that)

However final disclaimer:

art is subjective, enjoy what you like, draw noodle arms or blocky bodies and flat poportions all you want. Cartoonish stylizations are not any better or worse than more realistic stylizations and this is just based off my personal experience with art and if youre interested in going a similar route about art. ^_^

[marlenacantswim]

my artistic motivation has resurfaced from the depths much like a video from one of those youtubers who makes fantastic really well-edited videos but only like once every eight months.

anyways ignore me look at the BOYS!!! THERE THEY ARE!!! Bill and Ted wow look at them go :)

Lineart + Stuff That Inspired Me To Make This under the cut, snip snip snip

I've been reading a lot of comics lately and there's a few that have really gotten me in the "draw bill and ted" mood. first off, one day i realized that the website i use to pirate comics probably also has bill and ted comics and then i proceeded to read all of them.

i was really into the way the artist for the comic "Bill and Ted are Doomed" draws Bill's eyes, so that influenced my decision making process while i was drawing this for sure.

seeing the art style of the short bonus story at the end of the first issue of Bill and Ted's Most Triumphant Return made me go crazy insane and staring at the like, five total pages for an insane amount of time finally convinced me that i want to stray away from realism and take my personal style in a more cartoonish direction.

finally, i've been reading Hellboy for the first time ever (thank you @noahxgail) and all the beautiful shapes and angles and AUGHJJJJJJ PURE ART were a direct influence on the approach i took when i drew this most non-bogus piece. honestly a big reason i even picked up my pen was because reading hellboy makes we want to start drawing shapes ALL the time.

welp anyways, if you read this far comment uhmmm don't comment anything down below i don't want to know. leave me in ignorance. be sure to do absolutelt nothing to the like or sinscribe buttons if you happen to see them anywhere, there's a bet i'm currently on track to win against them but if you touch either of them you will FUCK IT UP FOR ME and i'll LOSE THE BET so DON'T DO THAT. mr beast has taken my mom hostage. he wants me to download honey.

i also drew nicholas angel and danny butterman in this style

[ofironandivory]

🎨 - Top 3 favorite colors?

🎮 - Top 3 favorite hobbies?

👔 - How would you describe your personal style?

Hi hi!! Thank you so much for the ask!!

🎨 - Top 3 favorite colors?

I absolutely love these!! Blue and purple will always share the #1 spot, I can't choose just one

🎮 - Top 3 favorite hobbies?

Drawing - It takes me a while to get it done, because of chronic pain and tremors, but I'm very happy with how my style is right now so it makes me happy to work on my art

Playing games - It's like I get transported to a different world, it's easy to lose track of time; especially if I'm focused on Stardew, SCOTL or ACNH

Journaling - I wish I had more materials (and that I was brave enough to actually use my notebooks)

👔 - How would you describe your personal style?

100% comfy! I'm not one to be vain or anything, I just put together whatever feels the nicest and doesn't have too many holes XD

If it wasn't so hot here I'd spend all my time in sweaters and pajamas

[rxvera]

hi, I saw the ask about how you get your models so on point, and I was just wondering how heavily you rely on your reference? I noticed your recent art of MelloMatt, and Matt is almost a complete carbon copy of a scene in the manga. The only difference is the goggles are cracked, and there’s blood. Even the shading, and pose is the exact same

Depends.

For this recent one, I did actually want it to look very similar to the manga: the scene where Matt is talking to Mello over comms when they're tracking Misa. That was because I kinda wanted to show that Matt was supposed to be just an assist. He wasn't supposed to lose his life over it, so I wanted that contrast between a calm moment and the blood/bullet holes.

Other times, I do rely far less heavily on references and I take them more loosely. I really depends what I'm using and what I want to make. Recently, I've been more focused on redraw-ish stuff that does take from scenes in the manga/anime because I want to incorporate the story without using words.

But I can try drawing some more unique stuff if you're more interested in that.

I do get the carbon copy thing a fair bit lol. Idk if it's an odd talent or curse, but I'm just like- able to draw like an identical version of something? I've been able to do it since I was a kid, tho I've gotten more neat about it as I've gotten older. Downside is I do struggle with personal style and making things, idk, not robotic?

I definitely rely a bit too heavily on that actually. I seldom have trust in my own instinct beyond the basics. I should probably do some more practice with my own brain images.

And I mean, there are times where I don't use references, and it looks fine, but I always feel like I have nothing to compare it to and I can't tell if it's likable or not because there's no image to say "oh I like this drawing as much as I like that image," if that makes sense. I don't have a great eye for aesthetics.

I do frequently feel like a fraud in the art scene bc of this lol, and tbh I kind of am. I'm good at manipulating scenes to fit my ideas, but actually creating one from scratch is much harder for me.