#I tried to design the legs myself at first but they were not very good and then I remembered I have a friend who does mech commissions

[alangdorf]

Yessssss the legs are done so I can finish stuff that‘s not just boss fight second phase and the immediate aftermath now!! So here’s the normal Magolor ref. The prosthetic design was a commission from lovely friend Cozzymandias (@cozzymandiesque on twt I believe) who designs and draws a lot of mechs, check him out!

[exocynraku]

I like to say that I absolutely adore how you design your feline characters and make them very unique. You’re my favorite warrior cat artist because of it! How do you go about designing your characters?

halloo... thank you! this ones a bit harder for me to explain, but i'll try! i'm going to specifically talk about cats, but these could be used for other types of characters, mostly furries. note: um, guess who talks too much! i had to split this post into four. so check the reblogs! 1. placing markings with PURPOSE (this is the big one!!!) it was only recently i finally managed to find a way to word this. to create a good design, you need to understand how to place markings with purpose. to me, there are two components to this: spacing/size and body wrapping. body wrapping first. this is how the markings on a cat's pelt wrap and contort around their body. bodies are not flat surfaces, they have plenty of curves, ridges, etc, which will alter the shape of markings placed on top of them. the markings on your character both needs to contort to the shape of the body part AND how it would look from the viewer's perspective. here's some examples;

in the first picture, you can see how i wrap the markings around the cylindrical shape of the leg. in the second picture, you can see both that i've wrapped the markings around the shape of the arm and belly, but likely also that the marking i've specifically highlighted on the arm is being smushed because of the bending of the arm. this leads to a better design, as when you look at it, i feels more natural than if you were to plaster markings over the cat in a straight line. here's a real-life example.

you can see how the markings curve around the body, though i find it's sometimes less pronounced as i would portray it in art. but it's there. sizing and spacing are second. these are less realistic aspects, as cat markings tend to be very random, however it art it leads to a cleaner, more readable & desirable design. sizing and spacing also have a lot to do with consistency. it's also... a little hard to show. i don't find myself messing it up in old pieces, and the designs i do know of which do this are... from strangers. who i would feel bad throwing under the bus for having designs i don't like LMFAO. but i can do my best to describe them. the size of your markings should stay relatively consistent throughout your design. what i mean by this is if you have large, thick stripes along your whole character's body, i wouldn't recommended adding one random thin, pinstripe-y stripe on your characters body. if you want to give them thin and thick stripes, then you need to have BOTH consistently throughout the body. or, give it a balance. thick stripes on the body, neck and tail, and thinner stripes on the face and legs, for example. very, very small markings are GOING to go unseen by you or others drawing the design, i absolutely guarantee it. similarly, the spacing of your markings should stay relatively consistent. for me this mostly occurs in tabby cats. if i draw, for example, the character's body stripes a certain distance apart, i'm not going to suddenly change that distance on another part of their body, such as their legs. the main issues i find with sizing and spacing is when people have issues with BOTH of them at the same time. random markings everywhere with all sorts of sizes and shapes and spacing will make your design cluttered, unreadable and unappealing. even on characters you'd think would be exceptions to this, such as randomly spotted characters/tortoiseshells, i still think about. how can i place these spots or patches in a way that will properly define the markings, making it easy to understand? how can i place spots to not make them too cluttered in certain area? etc. it's definitely a bit hard to explain, especially without visuals, but i tried lol (SOBS) (see reblogs for CONT.)

[fabricated-misslieness]

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: earth 42 miles morales x spider gn reader

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: nokia vs. super-powered teen, who wins?

ʀᴇ𝐐: no ~ ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: 798 ~ part 1

"So... What did you mean "I don't want to kill you"?"

You look up at Miles from your position on his chest, then back down. How do you explain this? A spider bit you, and now you have powers. That sounded silly, didn't it? But there was no better explanation.

"Well, first off, a spider gave me these superpowers. You know, sticking to walls and stuff."

"A spider gave them to you." Miles laughs, and it definitely sounds like he doesn't believe you, "Did you swallow it in your sleep?"

"No, no," You groan, "it bit me."

"That simple? Hell," Amusement is written all over his face, and it's kind of annoying because you're being serious, "Imma have to do that myself."

"Look," You begin seriously, looking to catch his attention, "it wasn't a normal spider. I don't know what it was that made it so special but don't get yourself bitten by a venomous spider, now, I don't need you in a hospital."

"Okay, fine, but I thought the spider stuff was just part of your suit. Like you were some kind of spider-fiend." He waves his fingers to mimic spider legs.

"I'm not that good." You shrug, "You're the genius one. I designed the suit and the web-shooters, but even that was hard. Can't imagine doing it all over again." You shake the hideous thought off, "Point is, I got super-strength from it."

"How super?" Miles questions.

You sit up on the couch–much to his dismay–and say, "Do you have anything I can break?"

"Was there anything he didn't value?" was more the question. Miles thinks about it... well, the materials for his Prowler suit were very precious, and he already knew you could break those, so that was off the list. Kitchen appliances...no, his mom would kill him.

But then, there was something: his mom's old Nokia. She always said she still needed it. Just in case her smartphone broke, she had a back up. Then again, she was careful with her phone, with everything, so that was highly unlikely.

When Miles returns with the old phone, he hands it to you with doubt, "I don't know if you'll be able to break this. It's a Nokia, after all–"

Crushing it in your fist was too easy. Now, splitting it in half? That's a more garish display. It was sure to make your boyfriend speechless.

You take each end of the Nokia and bring them apart before he can even finish his sentence.

For a moment he stares, shocked, even as you place the poor phone on the coffee table and sit back to admire his expression. Honestly, it's priceless. A gaping mouth accompanied by two wide eyes that are glued to the sight of the Nokia.

"Awesome, right? Honestly, I think I could do worse things, but I've never tried–"

"Holy shit." Miles finally says. He picks both pieces of the phone in his hands to examine them.

...and just then, "Miles, I'm home!"

Miles tosses the phone back onto the table, making a loud clack! noise, whilst you push a hospital mask onto your face.

When Rio turns the corner, she gasps, "Miles... ¿qué le hiciste a mi telefono?" (what did you do to my phone?)

"I–nada, mami." (nothing, mom.)

"Ey, ¿como que nada?" She chastises, clicking her tongue, "¿Te volviste mentiroso o que?" (what do you mean, nothing? Did you turn into a liar or what?)

"Mami, ¡te lo juro! Tu sabes que nadie puede romper una Nokia tan..." This was not the right time to forget an expression, but Miles didn't know what to say. "clean como asi." (Mom, I swear! You know nobody can break a Nokia as... clean as this!)

"Y ahora vienes con tu espanglish." Rio sighs, placing a hand on her hip. "Young man, you are in trouble." (And now comes the Spanglish.)

"Mami–" (Mom–)

"(y/n)!" She finally notices you. You straighten up on the couch and hide your nervousness with a cough. "Oh, sweetheart, what happened to you?"

"Hey, Mrs. Morales, I got–I mean, I'm... sick." You muster up the loudest, longest, and most horrendous cough you have with all your being.

Rio almost seems to recoil at the sound. Regardless, she stands up straight, "I think we need to get you some medicine."

"It's fine!" You stop her before she can, waving your hands frantically. You really did not want to take a random pill or something. "Really, Mrs. Morales. I already had some."

"Then I can make you some soup. That is, if you're staying for dinner, of course." She shakes her head at herself, so inconsiderate.

You glance at Miles and he just shrugs, "Okay, sure."

When she goes to the kitchen to start up a broth, you turn back to your boyfriend. He seems relieved, because his mom was too distracted caring for you to properly find a proper punishment for him just yet, but he tenses up at the sight of your panic.

"Now I have to hide this from your mom too??"

[upn-the-sky]

They were left in Sparta (Lysandra and Calliope OOAK, part 1)

Not a surprise post for these who standing by my doll making processes. (THANK YOU YALL)

Yes, I made them too. It was my cruel plan from the beginning. Because Kratos just can't be fully himself without his family and the first trilogy is a fullmetal prove of this statement. Kratos literally destroyed the world, where they're dead.

After preparing to write all of this, I found out that somehow I don't have a lot of photo of them.. (Is it canon or not??) I think I was really too busy with Kratos's armor and girls didn't try to drive me insane at the final stages, but oh well. I'll try to fill the gaps in process with my rants.

_____________

Lysandra's head

As I said, I planned that from the very beginning. Lysandra's head arrived at the same package with Kratos's. Rare photo of these two BEFORE.

And her head was absolutely perfect (you can guess the actress!), It didn't even need an extreme resculpting like Kratos. I just remade her nosebridge to make her nose looks more greek, you know.

And that's the body I choose for her. Small bust, soft belly, strong wide hips. Spartan woman TM (Is it consider as a nudity content? There is would be plenty.)

God I was so glad that her head didn't need a lot of touch ups. (at the same time I was dying over Kratos's quirasse). Airbrush for laying a skincolor. Aquarellis and soft pastels for the face-up.

I wanted her to have a calm, but strong-willed expression as we can see at concept arts from Ascension. Looking at her in Ascension I am joking often in my head that Kratos married a female version of himself.

Okay, her face turned out pretty "ascensioned". But my goal is to keep in touch with the GOW1 design. I made her hair from the light brown wool, layering strands backwards (and as I remember correctly, in Hellada more beautiful than tow-heads were only red-heads..)

I really love and adore Lysandra. She feels so feminine, and she was the only one (before Ares) who kept a tight rein on her reckless husband. And, well, she is ready.

_____________

Calliope's head

Girls didn't try to drive me insane. Think about this lie twice, my past-me. At the stage of preparation, I found out that I can't find a donor head and body for the 8 y/o child. And the problem was not in ages. It was in scaling. 1/6 is too big (Kratos and Lys are in this scale), 1/12 is too small, 1/8 has only adult faces, etc. Fffffffffffff, it turned out in need to ask saler to print me a custom sized head with childlike features. I chose this anime girl and resculpted eyes, nose and lover lip.

I wanted her to looks like Kratos, like his little copy, so I tried my best to make them look alike.

_____________

Calliope's body What about the body? Welllll, I planned to use Penny's box body firstly, but after some time I gave up and agreed to myself that this body had proportions of a 1 or 2 y/o child even if I like hands and feet. Good for a chibi, but not for a regular girl.

According to concept arts, Calliope should be able to press her face to Lysandra's belly. And cause I am lazy and I didn't want to sculpt a whole body from zero, I bought an 1/12 adult action body for the base and started to make 1 frankenstein body from 2.

Firstly, I decided to remove all rubber skin from the jointed carcass. Secondly, I cut off forearms and calfs and replaced them with the ones from the Penny's box body. After that I sculpted the whole new torso, thickened arms and legs, but saved the movability of all joints. Joint in the neck is questionable, but it's visibility is not bothering me much.

OKay, size comparison looks promising.. Time for painting, I mean airbrushing.

For the base color I chose dark tan of the hands and feet and airbrushed both head and body with it. (Photos as usual shows what they wants). And I also painted the face with aquarellis and blushed her body with soft pastels. I knew, all of that work with pastels won't be visible under the clothes, but I am very pleased with the realistic vibe of the skin.

And you know what's next!

_____________

Calliope's hair Calliope is the first and only doll in my GOW party who has actual hairstyle. Her hair are done in a very tight curls? Or braids? It is hard to understand, but it made my life very difficult! ᕕ( ᐛ ) ᕗ

I'll say it right now, after many tries I had left the hope to make her curly braids reversible. Her head is too small for that. And I didn't want to use hair spray for the wool, because it could make wool looks too greasy.. But I continue to think. And remembered one thing. You probably did it yourself, if you have long hair like me. I meanб if you hold a hairstrand with two hands and start to twist it in one way, in one moment it will curl into a double spiral right between your fingers.

After remembering that I just made the same thing with wool, sealing the result with curling iron, and glued these tight spirals it to the head.

Aaaand this is it. My poor eyes. (Lol it is Kratos on the gif, I haven't notice)

She turned out pretty good I'd say, really. They both did. But somehow the sealant I use for the doll face-ups gave an unexpected reaction on Calliope's face and after some time began to peel off slightly over her eyes. An uncritical thing, because it just made her pupils look foggy and I redraw her eyes right above it.

I just feel that I need to say some words in the end of the post to hint that I will show her face properly in the Part 2, where we're going to make clothes for them!

Stay tuned! And thank you for the comments and the tags under reposts! I read all of them and feel myself very inspired!

[scarlettjemily]

Sedona - Chapter 1/?

Pairing: Emily Prentiss x Jennifer "JJ" Jareau

Summary: Inspired by the song 'Sedona' by Houndmouth.

JJ leaves her home town to get away from her toxic family environment. She gets a job as a lifeguard. She's introduced to the lifeguard in charge of training her; a closed off, sarcastic, snappy brunette named Emily.

Song suggested by @time-himself

Word count: 2.4k

Posted on Ao3 as well

“Hey Emily, I’ve got a new girl starting today. I want you to train her and show her the ropes, but please be nice." Emily sat in a beach lounge, set up for the staff who were patrolling the beach.

Emily rolled her eyes, releasing a puff of smoke from her lips. She flicked the burning ash off of her cigarette into the makeshift ash tray that they had hidden in the lifeguard tent. “Are you insinuating that I’m not a nice person?” She asked, looking up at her boss.

Derek chuckled, winding up some rope that was left out from yesterday’s shift. “You’re not NOT nice, just a bit standoffish?” He threw the rope under one of the tables and sat down on the beach chair across from her. “Please work with me here; I got rid of the last guy because you didn’t like him so-“

"Well, he was a fucking weirdo! God forbid, I want to feel comfortable at my job,” Emily snapped, cutting Derek off. She placed the cigarette up to her lips, taking a long inhale. The minimal buzz calmed her sudden spike of frustration. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap; I just hated that guy,” Emily mumbled through a stream of smoke, hugging her legs up to her chest, the breeze from the waves chilling her skin.

Derek didn’t take her mini-outburst personally; he’s been working with Emily since she was 19. She’s 25 now, and he’s practically seen her grow up. He viewed her somewhat as a daughter. He always forgave her outbursts because he just knew what she was like. “Exactly, so I’ve hired a young girl close to your age, hoping you’ll feel more comfortable around her. Maybe you can even be friends.” He knew she’d find that suggestion amusing. Emily kept to herself a lot.

“Fuck off, Derek!” she laughed, putting out her cigarette and twisting her legs off the chair, letting her feet sink into the cool sand below. “When does she come?” Emily asked, hoping it was later in the day so she didn’t have to spend her whole shift making awkward small talk.

“Any time now.”

She let out an exaggerated sigh. “Well, I’ve got no choice, do I?” She huffed, standing up and removing the beach dress that she wore over her uniform. “Don’t worry, I’ll be nice,” she teased, slipping her sunglasses on and making her way down the beach to hop up on her designated chair that looked over the water.

“Hey! JJ, welcome; I’m so glad to have you on board with us." JJ beamed at her new boss; she was excited to start her new job. “I’m so sorry. I’d love to show you around, but I’ve got an issue I’ve got to fix. If you head right down there, that’s Emily; she’s going to be training you.”

JJ looked down the beach, seeing a brunette girl in the distance, sitting atop a lifeguard chair. Her hair was flying everywhere from the wind that was coming off the ocean, but the woman didn’t seem to mind. “No worries, you go; I’ll go introduce myself.” JJ hoped her independence and confidence gave off a good first impression. She really needed this job.

“Enjoy your first day!” Derek yelled out while running off to tend to whatever problem needed him.

JJ headed down the beach towards Emily in the lifeguard chair. When she got there, she was looking through a pair of binoculars at something in the water. JJ gave her a friendly smile. “Hi, are you Emily?” She asked, holding her hand above her brow, attempting to block the bright sun from flashing in her eyes.

"Depends on who’s asking,” Emily stated, continuing to look through the binoculars and ignoring JJ's presence.

"Umm, well, Derek sent me here to find you; it’s my first day.” JJ was hesitant because Emily didn’t seem very friendly. “I’m JJ,” she tried again, smiling at the other lifeguard.

Emily not so subtly sighed and dropped her binoculars. She looked down, seeing the blonde girl standing next to her. “JJ? That short for anything?” She flatly asked.

“Jennifer, Jennifer Jareau.”

“Jennifer”

JJ tried to hold back a laugh, so when it came out, it sounded like a very patronising snicker. “Yes? Is that okay, Emily? What’s your deal? Have you had a rough morning or something?” JJ couldn’t help herself; she was so thrown by Emily’s attitude. “Lighten up,” she said, pushing it one step further.

Emily’s eyebrows raised under her sunglasses. She was shocked but also impressed, the latter being something she would never admit. “You’re fun, Jennifer,” she said, lifting her sunglasses and resting them atop her head. “So how old are you anyway? Like 15?”

JJ rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm actually 23; don’t act like you’re so much older; you literally look 17." The sarcasm leaving JJ's mouth was equally shocking to herself and to Emily.

Emily let out a laugh at the girl's comment, genuinely thinking she was funny. “You’re right, I’m 25. I was just messing with you.” Emily hopped off the chair, standing in front of JJ, finally getting a proper look at her. “So, where are you from?”

JJ relaxed briefly now that Emily seemed to defrost a little. “Arizona. Specifically, Sedona,” JJ watched as the quizzical look crossed Emily’s face.

“Sedona? Why the fuck would you leave there to come to LA?” Emily turned momentarily towards the water to do a quick once-over, making sure everyone in the water was okay.

JJ shrugged nonchalantly, “same reason as 90% of the other people who move here—to get away from a shitty family.” She let out a half-chuckle, wanting to breeze over the topic.

“I hear that,” Emily agreed. Like the other woman, she also didn’t want to get into it. “I thought you might’ve come here to try and be famous or something.” Emily rolled her eyes at the thought. Clearly harbouring some form of judgement towards that career path.

“I mean, I studied acting in college, but that’s whatever; it is what it is." JJ could feel her cheeks heat up; she always got slightly embarrassed when people brought it up. She was quite shy when it came to her acting; she really didn’t know if she was any good or not.

“Oh shit! I mean, I could totally see you in a movie, like the cute girl who lives down the street,” Emily teased, not wanting JJ to think she was judging her for wanting to be an actor.

"Oh, shut up!” JJ laughed, feeling much more relaxed with Emily now. “Can you actually teach me some stuff about lifeguarding now?” She said, playing along with Emily’s humour.

“I guess I have to; let’s go, Sedona,” she said, leading JJ to the workers tent, switching into a more professional role in order to show JJ how things were done.

The end of their shift came around surprisingly quickly for Emily and JJ; they were able to get into a natural swing together.

Emily was impressed, not only by JJ’s ability to learn so quickly but also by the fact that she didn’t completely hate JJ. She found herself enjoying her quick-witted banter; not many people could keep up with Emily’s sense of humour.

“So I was going to go into town tonight, kind of explore a little, maybe find somewhere to have dinner; do you want to come?” JJ chirped, hopeful at the thought of having some company for dinner. She sat on the end of the beach chair that Emily was sitting on.

Emily had her knees up against her chest, her ankles locked together. She had a towel wrapped around her shoulders, her body still wet from the last rescue she did before her shift ended. "Hmm, I don’t know. Don’t you think spending a whole day together was enough?” She teased, subconsciously pulling the towel around her so it hugged her legs.

JJ laughed and rolled her eyes. “Look, I’m going either way, alone or not. You don’t strike me as someone who’s got many friends, so I thought I’d be nice,” she watched as Emily let out an amused chuckle, casually reaching into her bag and grabbing a packet of cigarettes.

Emily took out a cigarette and placed it between her lips. “Very perceptive, Sedona; I don’t like very many people.” She offered her pack of cigarettes to JJ, seeing if the other woman wanted one.

“No thanks; I don’t smoke,” JJ declined. “Those things will kill you, you know,” she said, knowing Emily has probably heard this many times before.

Emily lit her cigarette, taking it between her two fingers and blowing the first stream of smoke out of her lips, making sure to aim it off to the side, not wanting to blow it at JJ. "Oh, I’m banking on it,” she joked.

JJ shook her head, tucking her wet hair behind her ear. “You’re so dark," she said, her shoulders shaking back and forth momentarily from a lazy internal laugh, not quite letting the noise leave her mouth. “Anyway, that’s all good. I’ll see you tomorrow for our shift,” she pulled together her bag that was sitting on the sand below her.

JJ didn’t think Emily would say yes, so she didn’t mind much that she’d pretty much declined the offer. “I better head off now; thanks for today!” She said, pushing herself off the chair and catching her towel that was quickly sliding down her waist.

Emily nodded, giving her a small smile. She dropped her legs, so she was now sitting cross-legged on the chair. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she gave JJ a small wave as she watched the younger woman walk off down the beach. She found herself smiling at herself for a second, remembering how Derek had teased her that morning about being friends with JJ. Now she had the girl asking her to go have dinner with her.

She looked back over at JJ who was still walking down the beach. She let out a sigh and quickly put her cigarette out, grabbing her bag. “JJ wait!” She called out, jumping off the chair and jogging down towards the blonde woman.

JJ turned around after hearing her name; she smiled seeing Emily run towards her. “Couldn’t resist, could you?” She questioned, still walking backwards as Emily got closer.

"Oh, shut up; don’t think too much into it. I’m just hungry,” she stated, stepping into line with JJ's stride. She let out a deep laugh when JJ pushed her arm, making her stumble slightly to the side. “I’m kidding, don’t be so sensitive, Jennifer.”

JJ smirked, flipping Emily her middle finger as she ran up the steps that led to the car park, the brunette following quickly behind.

“Want me to drive?” JJ asked, lifting her bag to sit on her shoulder. They’d made it to the top of the stairs leading to the entrance of the car park; it was close to empty, being late in the afternoon. Only a few cars were parked sporadically around.

“You’ll have to; I walk to work; I live like 5 minutes away,” Emily said, pointing in a random direction. She wasn't even sure if that was the direction she lived in, but that wasn’t the point of the gesture.

Nodding, JJ started walking to her car. “Alrighty, hop in!” When she reached her car, a doorless Jeep Wrangler; she threw her bag in the back, not caring if her belongings flew out of it. She hauled herself up onto the driver's side, immediately slipping her key into the ignition.

Emily covered her face with her palm, trying so hard not to laugh but failing immensely. “You’ve got to be joking with me,” she laughed, walking up to the car. She rested her hands on the open doorway, leaning through the opening. “Did you search ‘beach aesthetic car’ on Pinterest and buy the first thing you saw? Holy shit JJ, where are your fucking doors?”

JJ couldn’t keep her laugh in as Emily kept throwing joke after joke at her. She gripped her steering wheel, resting her head on it. “Stop! You’re gonna make me cry,” she squeaked through her involuntary laughs. The muscles in her stomach started to ache from the constant laughter.

Emily’s cheeks warmed as she watched JJ in a fit of laughter. Something about making her laugh so much was giving Emily a warm feeling of satisfaction. She climbed up into JJ’s car, a wave of relief washing through her when she saw the car did, in fact, have seatbelts. “I mean, if the cigarettes don’t kill me first, this death trap sure will.” Emily burst out laughing, flinching away from JJ, dodging a playful punch that was coming her way.

“That’s the place there, the one with the neon pink sign,” Emily pointed out, the neon lights flashing brightly, lighting the surrounding area with a dull pink tinge.

JJ swung her car into a vacant spot right in front of the restaurant. She placed her car in park, pulling her keys out of the ignition. She watched Emily out of the side of her sunglasses, not trying to make it obvious that she was observing her movements. She found herself staring slightly as Emily fixed her windswept hair in the mirror. “It looks fine, Emily; don’t stress,” she stated.

Emily offered a small smile instead of a thanks, subconsciously hoping the gesture sufficed. “Let’s head inside,” she said, looking away from JJ, feeling slightly uncomfortable by the fact that their teasing and banter had stopped momentarily.

The two women were sitting across from each other in a booth inside the restaurant. They were already eating their meals and making small talk with each other.

“Thanks for coming to dinner. I would’ve been fine coming alone, but I appreciate you coming with me,” JJ said sincerely, thinking about how well her first day of work had gone. It made her happy that she’d made at least one friend already; she truly thought she’d be fending for herself for at least a couple of weeks until she’d settle in.

A feeling of unease rose in Emily’s chest; she wasn’t used to the softness JJ was displaying. Not just because it was from her; in general, Emily either kept things comical or kept her distance; there was no in-between. “Like I said, I was hungry,” she taunted, bringing the tone back to a realm she was more familiar with.

JJ’s lips curled into a smirk, rolling her eyes. She continued to eat her food, the conversation returning back to a casual, comfortable flow.

[universaln0b0dy]

Rotten dreams (twisted wonderland x oc) incorrect quotes

(please keep in mind for this that Lydia looks and sounds like she hasn't slept in ten years)

Crowley: Oh my [fucking ]sevens, what the fuck was that?

Lydia: Me reactivation my brain functions, I couldn't stand your bullshit

Crowley: you are very rude, but I was talking about how your leg twisted the other way and nothing happened.

Lydia: Oh, dying ten times made me ✨flexible ✨

----

Lydia: I got that opposite rizz. The second I start talking we are immediately on bad terms.

----

Carter: Would you stab your best friend in the leg for 10 million gold?

Lydia: You stab me, and then when my leg gets better, we buy a big-ass house.

Ruggie: You can stab me too, then we'll have 20 million.

Lydia: Good thinking.

(This trio probably only works in mu universe but 🤷‍♀️)

----

Sam: Would a Ms. Lydia please come to the front desk?

Lydia, arriving at the desk: Hello, is there a problem?

Sam: points to Ace, Deuce and Grim

Sam: I believe they belong to you?

Ace, deuce and grim, simultaneously: We got lost :(

Lydia: I didn’t even bring you guys here with me-

----

Riddle: *Screams*

Lydia: *Screams louder to establish dominance*

Trey: Should we do something?

Carter: No, I want to see who wins

----

Crowley: Listen, I can explain...

Crewel: You’re making $500,000 and you’re only gonna pay me $30,000?

Sam: You’re getting 30 grand? I’m getting $1,000!

Lydia: You guys are getting paid?

----

Lydia: I’d like to offer you moral support, but I have questionable morals.

----

Lydia: If there's going to be a big dramatic scene, wait until I get back.

Carter: Of course. I can't flip this table by myself.

----

Lydia: Hey, it's your turn to wash dishes.

Ramshakle Ghosts: I'LL WASH THE WALLS RED WITH YOUR BLOOD.

Lydia: 'Kay, but before that, wash the dishes, also use soap this time?

----

Lydia as soon as Crowley tells her there is a problem: BEHOLD, the field in which I grow my fucks! Lay thine eyes upon it, and thou shalt see that it is barren!

----

(lydia has to relearn english)

Lydia: A theif.

Riddle: Thief?

Lydia: Theif.

Riddle: I before E, except after C.

Lydia: Thceif.

Riddle: No.

----

Lydia: There is no future. there is no past. do you see? Time is simultaneous, an intricately structured jewel that humans insist on viewing one edge at a time, when the whole design is visible in every facet.

Deuce:

Ace:

Carter:

Grim:

Everyone Else At lydias Surprise Birthday Party:

Deuce: All I asked was if you wanted to cut your birthday cake first.

----

Lydia: Sometimes I drink milk straight out of the container.

Deuce: The cow???

Lydia: What?

Ace: Deuce, W H Y?

----

Lydia: Don’t worry, I have a few knives up my sleeve.

Ruggie: I think you mean cards.

Lydia, pulling knives out of their sleeves: No, I do not.

----

Ace: lydia isn’t answering her phone

Grim: I’ll call

Ace: Deuce and I have both tried six times each, what makes you thi-

Lydia: Hello?

----

Ortho: Is stabbing someone immoral?

Lilia: Not if they consent to it.

Lydia: Depends who you’re stabbing.

Idia: YES?!?

----

Lydia , walking into their house: Hello, people who do not live here.

Ace: Hey.

Sebek: Hi.

Epel: Hello.

Jack : Hey!

Lydia : I gave you the key to my place for emergencies only!

Deuce: We were out of Doritos.

----

*Squad reactions to being told ‘I love you’*

Carter : Thanks fam!

Lydia: oh no

Rook: *cries* I love you too

Jamil: Sounds fake but okay

Ruggie: can i get a refund?

----

Lydia : Who the fuck added me to a fucking group chat?

Ace: >:O language

Deuce: Yeah watch your fucking language

Epel: OKAY WHO TAUGHT DEUCE THE FUCK WORD?

Jack : 'The fuck word'.

Sebek: Are you stupid? You guys use the f word all the time

Deuce: Oh my god they censored it

Jack : Say fuck, Sebek.

Deuce: Do it, Sebek. Say fuck.

Hehe he I am looking forward to posting the actual story

[crying-fantasies]

Rodimus wasn't ready to be a creator (2)

Masterlist

Part 1 | part 2: Mental image | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7 | part 8 | part 9 | part 10

"When I tell you about a good dinner, a peaceful evening and a pleasant night, what do you think about it?" His hand trails behind your ear, soft whispers leaving his lips while he has you seated in his lap, his tone, as sultry as it can be, is tender as far as it can be, the soft static that his supposed sun kissed skin transmitted was giving you goosebumps in a very good way.

Your mind goes wild, Rodimus can't eat even if he uses his holomatter, a peaceful night just goes along your own preference but when his voice hits full force when he says a pleasant night, normally the idea of sleeping next to him, holomatter or gigantic robot, is always welcomed, but you can feel him in many more ways than before, feeling his desire for you in this physical form and also in his tone, he isn't the best to flirt but even his clumsiness brings you such joy that pools in your lower belly, blood rushing where it's needed to show him your eagerness and your bashful expression that he takes with delight.

Gosh, it isn't the first time you have him like this, but he just goes the extra mile.

"What would you think if I tell you about the new tattoo that I designed by myself just for you?" Rodimus takes your hand in his, holomatter feels strange, the usual static is less compared to other times after some improvement in the programming and his face can show more expressions, his light brown eyes still kind of lack most of the life that is always show in his big, bright blue optics.

His words makes you almost spin around and faint, but your hand reaches for a gap in all his shirts to touch directly to his holomatter skin, he seems flustered and even surprised, but it has been years since you two started dating, it was only natural that you tried something by yourself for once, he looks pleased but also embarrassed.

"I'll say, that I really want to see it... and touch it" that's all it's need to have him moving his strong arms to get all the shirts off him before Rodimus returns to his assaulting eagerness, kissing you with utmost necessity while positioning himself over your body without breaking such intimate contact, pressing his hips to yours, strong hands and calloused fingers gripping the blankets under you to press himself harder to your soft body, almost every corner fitting together in a natural way, as natural as it can really be, a pleasant sensation that he can only achieve with the human mode, he still needs to show you his new tattoo but the one on his right arm is getting all your attention with the firm muscles under the artificial ink when he manages to get his hand under your coverings, your body vibrating with "is this love" in the background that is getting louder by the second, his body protecting you from the outside world while his long legs had the job of keeping yours open, making the contact even better, hotter, more everything.

"Guess that I can only obey your orders" and so he compelled, pushing as far as he could even with clothes on but not for long when your hands left his long brown hair to start getting your own clothes off, feeling your warm skin on his temporary form, feeling how the engines in his original body revving with abandon, realizing once again how good it was to change things a bit and explore new possibilities with you.

All new experiences that started and ended long ago, and even when it was like that, all new possibilities and results that came from it are still present.

As a result, maybe not by normal human standards or biology, your son.

"Uncle Domey"

"Oh, Blacksun, what are you doing-"

"Erase my memory"

"What?-"

"Erase it. Just. Do. It"

Your pretty much exasperated and awkward son.

Many in the ship have know the young bot since his protoform days, most of those days were mostly centered in not squishing the mother and sparkling duo that were as tiny as, well, organics.

Blacksun was white and gray then, fresh from the hot spot, optics and face plate recently molded, emitting beeping sounds now and then to get attention from any bot around, he was such a cute little thing.

Now that little thing was trying with all his might to get Chromedome's mnemosurgery needles out of his digits and put it in his helm.

"Wait a second! Blacksun stop right this minute!" Rewind arrived minutes later, also trying to stop the young bot that was so desperate to have his memory data erased that even tears were dropping from his optics, even Rodimus appearing in the scene.

"I beg you, please erase my memory!"

"Sunny, wait a second I just said-!"

"Stay away from me you old bot!"

Funny how a few words could be the detonator to such a response, to give it more sense the ship was now in Earth, after the discovery of a new orb, just to get some samples back to Cybertron and see if a new commerce product could be available since they were already near, it was the very first time since he was a sparkling that he put his pedes in the planet's surface, feeling how it resisted his weight, it was kind of strange as what was called grass also got under him, maybe he would need to clean it later.

Then, they were there, humans, a lot of them, many other mechs were almost running to meet certain humans that they already knew, everyone was chatting or interacting in some way, even Megatron was there talking to humans, it was endearing in some way.

"Glad to see that things are more natural between us" he already heard the sound of his creator approaching, placing a servo over his shoulder pad, yes, it was good, he wasn't online during the great war or many of the other incidents, he was merely a protoform for most of the late conflicts.

Humans were looking at them, curious little creatures but still keeping boundaries, they knew what he was, and even when another techno-organic was already roaming around here on earth seeing one close up was already a big thing.

Rodimus noticed his sparkling looking at the humans around and smiled, it has been a while, and exactly because of that he wanted to talk to his kid now.

"I guess that is really time to talk to you about engines and flowers"

...

"... Excuse me?"

"Well, now that you've seen an actual human after so long, you may have a few questions of how you were conceived"

How was Rodimus supposed to know that his dear sparkling already learned about human "culture and costumes" in order to prevent any misunderstanding in this journey? Funny that now Blacksun had quite the expression on his face plate, both servos near his neck as he was just so close to strangle him, because when he heard the word "conceived" the mental image was instantaneous.

"It's a joke, It's only a joke I swear! You know very well that you came from the hot spot in Automica!"

Too late, Blacksun was already on the run and he heard shouting from Chromedome and Rewind's hab suit.

Yeah, Rodimus just wanted to play a little with Blacksun and the, supposedly, little information that he had about organics, it never passed his processor that, just like his other creator, he could've quite the imagination especially if there was already some know data about it.

Ratchet called it "volatile imagination", apparently it was common among humans.

Blacksun didn't get his memory data erased, so the mental image was still in his archives since it would be even more horrible to have someone that he knew to see such an embarrassing thing, so he only could thing of many other ideas.

Meteor surfing.

Movie nights.

Yes, um, a fresh hamburger, with fries or some bacon-

"Hey Sunny, you okay now?"

"Stay away from me, I'm warning you"

Okay, this was going to take a while before he experienced something worst that could out win such mental image of his creators all "passionate" like the human media that he saw before that involved reproduction.

[mistressdragonflame]

My feet, my back, my ADHD attacks...

It has been a productive few days, but ADHD strikes again, and I have a plethora of random things accomplished since last post. I am le tired....

Firstly, I cranked out and submitted my essay that was due on Friday, so a majority of that day was spent deep in case law and interpretations of the Supreme Court in the 60s about porn.

But otherwise, I tried out printing my HTV. I finangled out my SVE/PNG, and got a good print. Ish.

As you can see, I mis-aligned the vinyl, and the little cricut legs chewed up the very edge of the vinyl. Thankfully didn't mess up the actual design, but important to know in the future.

So I got to peeling.

Oh boy, is this a PITA. Its my first real print, so still learning, but man, was weeding (pulling out unwanted bits). I quickly found out the width of the design really dictated how well it'll come out.

Did not bode well for the letters.

I also found out that its easier to have predetermined sections, so you're not accidentally pulling up a part you're not working on. Most do this in cricut's design center, or whatever they use, but I just cut it out with a razor after the fact.

To save printing time, I had moved the spine segments to the blank space in the design. After the name I started segmenting the weeding.

But by the time I finished with the spine sections, I was done. Every other bit of writing didn't come out to a point that it would have been possible to weed. IDK if it was the font, or the size, or the technique in printing, but they all died and I just gave up immediately on the summary. The design also was destroyed! I guess line work isn't easy. I'll maybe try an offset version for the Lionheart's designs, because it did NOT like the thin line of the book+cuffs.

The filigree and title came out nicely, and Lionheart's design is much thicker than this one. I'll also go back through them and ensure the small bits are thicker than what was on The Perfect Match version.

Here is a good comparison to having uploaded my PDF directly to design space and uploading it as an SVE. Significant difference!

Next, I went to iron my work.

I only had a normal iron, so I googled how to apply using that, and got it set up.

I arranged the HTVs as I wanted them on the book, except the spine which I'll wait to apply until after I reprint the words. I used a piece of parchment paper to act as a barrier in case there was something on my iron that I didn't want to use. I used the corner of my bed for firm-squishyness, set my timer, and pressed away.

For 2 minutes a section.

For those who don't know, you're supposed to do 20 seconds. I did 120 seconds. I'm amazed I didn't ruin it entirely. Some sections came up (which I learned is a thing if you under AND over press) but it's close enough.

One thing I didn't anticipate is the fact, as I used a lasor printer, the ink semi-transfer itself within the book.

This is the worst I noticed with a quick flip through, but some of the ink transferred to adjacent pages. Good to know for future use!

Looks pretty good! I am happy with how it came out, besides the mentioned issues. I'll re-do the words and try to get those later.

Also accomplished this weekend was my bookpress!

I got myself a small slab of monkeypod wood, since it's endemic to the area and cheaper/better than a wood slab I'd get from a box store. Of course, I'm pretty sure the seller shorted me. He showed me the slab being 16inches across, but when I got home, my measurements were only 15. So I think his measurement is off at the start--and how can you plan to check for that at the time? Whatever. I wanted to keep the raw edge for the bottom piece, but the top will be smaller in all dimensions so will be square. In the picture is a majority of the supplies you'll need. Notice, I said majority, because I forgot several things, then realized I needed several things, and those things matured to more things and long story short, I went to Home Depot like 6 times the last few days.

In my defense, I had already gotten a Dewalt 780 miter saw from my Lexis school points, so that can't be blamed on my bookbinding hobby. Though that probably contributed, since I knew I'd get it and therefore more inclined to do other woodworking.

I didn't really have a table to use for the chopping of the block without covering my garage in sawdust, so I set this in my driveway. I am very enthused with my new saw, and my husband lent me his knee pads. Maybe I'll get one of those skeletal miter saw stands. While I'm in the military, I don't think I'll be able to get a full hobby/woodwork set up until I leave the service. So maybe a decade from now.

But here is its, the slab cut into one 11x11 piece, the other is 11x15-ish depending on the part (as the piece is not smoothly the same size, being a raw edge). I spent so long sanding. I didn't have a planer, and the flat face was very rough from the construction saw that made the slice from the log. Probably two hours sanding just those two tiny boards. And I still didn't get them all 100% flat. Close enough, pretty sure it won't cause an issue when pressing as I'll be using a bookboard anyway.

The screw is set to arrive tomorrow, Monday, and it should fit just into the cross joint. Truly, an cheap and easy way to get a very nice bookpress. Can be even cheaper/easier than what I have if you just use some Ross cutting boards.

I know I want the board to be nestled between the legs of the press, so I had to cut 1/2 holes on the side. The space between the legs is just about 10" so a 1/2 inch 1/2 hole in the middle. I didn't have any fancy tool for this, so I used a Jigsaw and hope. It was... mostly a success, just don't look to close at them, please.

I then made sure the legs were perfectly straight compared to the cross section. I'm debating whether I want to put some locktight on the threads. I'll try it out and see.

Next was finishing the wood slabs!

I managed to use more of that massive beeswax slab my husband brought, and I feel it made the boards so very lovely. Really matured the color. I made the finish with 2-1 ratio by weight of beeswax to boiled linseed oil. It was a bit stiff IMO, so maybe I'll go back and add more linseed. But for now, worked nicely. I did bake my wood slabs until they were warm to the touch and then rub the wax in then. Made application significantly easier, lol! Dunno if it was a good idea but eh. It worked. And killed any potential bug or fungus. There is a bit of spalting in this wood, which is visually lovely, but not supposed to be in the wood.

Tomorrow, after class, I'll polish the boards and assemble! Then maybe finally go back to the Lionheart bookbind, and glue up the spine for rounding.

Till next time!

[majorasnightmare]

✨Let's talk about OCs!✨How would you describe your OC's personality/aesthetic? What's your favourite thing about them? Tell us a fun fact(s) about your OC or their creation

❤️Send this to at least 3 people to spread some OC appreciation!❤️

HI HIII i saw you post this about naadja 💜💜💜 im going to send this to the wonderful gay ppl in my tumblr activity YAY

obviously its dirgeposting time. in part cuz i dont have the energy today to unearth anyone else from my brain!

I am the WORST person to describe aesthetics because Im not a very visual person (im MUCH more literary) but if im going to try id say hes basically like if a rogue was a caster (which is also coincidentally what I do for all my warlocks lmao). He tends to gravitate towards high collars into open v necklines, that rogue penchant for sensible-but-form-hugging leathers but the caster influence takes those sharp leather jackets+armor and pushes it into a longer coat with a sharply tailored waist, and a sensibly fantastical amount of belts+storage. leg pouches elevate most any fantasy armor design ESPECIALLY for casters, theyre like garters to me. color scheme wise his is blue and black, tho i play around with accent colors like metallics. its really just entirely vibes

personality wise i tend to describe him as a very simple person with fun complicated reactions. hes stuck with a loaded backstory full of trauma, when he only has like strong opinions about three things MAX when not in a Plot™️. his habits and physical behaviors are loosely inspired by the weird shit wolves do when they like you, hes a weird little freak who barely shys away from Dark Urgin On Main, and if your trying to predict what he'll do using his various miscellaneous likes and dislikes, you only really have to think about three things: will he get to kill people? will someone hes close to have a strong opinion about this situation? does he actually have to engage with another person in a meaningful fashion or can he sit there and think about minthara covered in gore on ketherics throne and then give you a thumbs up to leave the interaction? this is literally the criteria i use when picking his dialogue options. hes very good at appearing complicated but the inner machinations of his mind are a gore powered fuck machine with very consistent reactions. makes answering stuff like this a BREEZE

if i had to pick a FAVORITE thing about dirge, its how blatantly weird he is, constantly. he was ironically better at passing for a normie BEFORE the lobotomy, despite being MORE fucked up. he rarely even tries to be Totally Normal, and while the weirdness is a sliding scale based on how likely it is to cause problems, he IS of the opinion that everyone hes with regularly will just kinda have to get used to it. so hes just saying odd shit, off the cuff, to everyone, constantly, and isnt invested even a little in hiding the cannibalism. its so fuckin great i adore it

fun fact! i only figured out pre lobotomy dirge and act 3 dirge were having symptoms of specifically OCD when i had a bad OCD spiral myself and ended up going through similar thought loops. up until then i was looking at his reactions to stress and trauma and considering any number of other anxiety disorders (with OCs i tend to let them breathe and react first, and diagnose retroactively). and then i remembered OCD can cause psychosis symptoms and ive literally had hallucinations because of it LMAOO. making some weird freaky little guy and thinking to myself "theres no fuckin WAY ive projected somethin onto THIS GUY" and then he has the same Vague Undefined Shrimp Color Crazy ive nebulously experienced for two decades before someone sat my ass down with a diagnosis like oh GODDAMMIT

an in character fun fact is that while he absolutely LOATHES baldurs gate proper, he really likes the chionthar river

he has picrews also 👇

[pbandjesse]

I am so drained today. I am super annoyed about this. I really wanted to rest and recharge but I just felt on edge and couldn't get myself to be calm. It makes me so frustrated. But I did still mostly have a nice day.

I slept okay last night. I struggled a little to fall asleep. I went and had some juice and it helped a little. I woke up at 8 and decided that I didn't need to be up yet. So I slept until 930. Which apparently is my default right now.

When I got up I texted with Jess and Celia right away. Celia asked when we could hang out and I decided today was a good day for it. So she would come by after her internship at the aquarium.

It gave me something to look forward to. My main tasks for the morning was to wash hair and perm eyelashes. And this went pretty well. I made the bed while the water warmed up. And I would have the best time so far perming my lashes. I tried to be more patient with the glue drying and I didn't keep messing with my lashes that weren't sticking to the pad. I also did both eyes at the same time. And I am sure I could have done a better job but they look pretty good and are not sticking straight forward anymore. Makes me feel prettier.

I finished getting dressed and had breakfast. I painted my nails. I went downstairs to work on some sewing machine frog legs. I got another set done. Two more to go. And then I worked on my blanket. Got another row done. 5 more rows to go!

While I was sitting on the couch sewing I heard a rustling in the backyard. I was worried Sweetp had a bird or something but I went to look and there was a man in the persimmon tree! So I went out to say hello.

His name is Victor, he was a tall older black man with an accent I couldn't place. He told me that he planted the tree 8 years ago!! How cool. I asked him if the fruit seems ready and he said not yet, and I told him the Internet told me December. He gave me two of the fruit he had picked from the top and said to leave them on the counter. He also told me he has a mini persimmon variety in his house and he'll leave some in my mailbox later. He was so sweet. It made me feel so nice talking to him and it was such a good community moment.

Celia let me know she was finishing up at the aquarium and we decided she would come here and we would go to shake shack. She had never gone and I was proud of her for trying something she wasn't totally comfortable with (mushrooms).

I waited outside on the stoop for her. She would get changed inside once she got here and it was really nice to just hang out. My brain fog was bad and I was feeling really tired so I was also feeling a little awkward and was struggling to keep conversations going. But I was enjoying her company and I enjoyed my mushroom burger and it was a beautiful day. Terrifying for the first of November but beautiful none the less.

We watched the very slow going and long train go by. The train crossing arm came down on a cars hood which was funny but unfortunate for that driver. And then the train took almost a half hour to go!! Wild. People were trapped for a long time. But it would finish going past right before we left to go back to the house.

When we got back here we would sit outside on the ground in the backyard and went through all of the state flags and rated their design. Maryland is the obvious winner but I also really liked Alaska's and New Mexico's. Ones that have their names on it or worse, "the state seal of" are bad. California, Indiana, and Arkansas were the only real exceptions to having their names. I also appreciated Ohio being a funny shape. Ones that are just the seal are to busy and I don't like them. Louisiana's pelican feeding her babies blood is hardcore. It was honestly fun looking up what the symbolism and Latin meant and it was just a nice way to spend an hour.

I started getting really tired though. We sat in the studio talking for a bit about projects but soon she was heading out and I went to lay on the couch.

I felt kind of miserable. Sweetp came and laid with me. And we waited for James to come home. When they did get home they gave me a kiss and then went to do the second coat of paint for the baby room. And I would come upstairs to lay in bed.

I spent a long time in bed. James would make pasta for dinner. I wasn't hungry, still full from my mushroom burger, but I had a few cookies and a glass of milk for dinner. Which just made me feel to full. Frustrating.

Today started 20 weeks. Half way there! Wild. I am hoping to feel baby more often. But for now I am just glad to know she's doing okay.

Now I am showered. And James is sitting at our bedroom desk doing research about sports. And I am just sleepy.

Tomorrow I have the market and then I have a headshot photoshoot with the Baltimore by Baltimore people. It's one of the reasons I wanted my eyelashes to be done! Let's just hope my hair cooperates with me. And that parking is so scary. I hate parking in the harbor. But fingers crossed.

I hope you all have a great day tomorrow. I love you all. Goodnight!

[galactic-johnny]

P-bandai HG Todesritter.

I actually finished this a while ago and took pictures but I didn't feel like posting until now.

This is the only member of the pale rider family I've been able to get my hands on so far, but hopefully in the near future they'll do reprints of others. The pale rider line is sort of infamous for being a mold bandai put not effort into and slapped a bunch of stickers on. The original kit came out 2015 and was one of the first p-bandai kits that was a completely unique mold (although from what I understand its similar to the hg gm sniper ii). They then proceeded to release its variants, which reused a most of the runners but had all new, equally huge sticker sheets.

The HG Todesritter then came out in 2020 with a completely new mold, and proceed to also have a ton of stickers for all of the gold, most of the gold/gray vents, and some of the white, and still used a bunch of polycaps.

At this point I almost refuse to use stickers aside from metallic eye/sensor stickets, so I tried my hand with gundam markers and I'm pretty happy with out it came out, and at least half the gold parts were actually very easy to color in myself. It sounds like I'm complaining but honestly it was worth the effort, the Todesritter is a such a cool combination of federation and neo zeon design.

It also two really fun gimmicks, being the incoms and the subarms for the huge beam sabers, complete with mastergarde beam saber effect parts. The shield looks cool but is all molded in the dark blue, and was the hardest part for me to paint with gundam markers but I was not going to use a sticker that folded 20 different times.

It's also very big, almost as big as the RG Hi-Nu Gundam, and it big enough to toss the normal sized Lfrith around.

The build was fun if you actually enjoy the painting part to some degree like I do, but there were a few flimsy parts, like the front skirts that are connected to the piping that kept coming loose, the wing binders are on a polycap so those fall a lot, and only the left leg fell off a lot for some reason. If you can get through those the articulation is pretty okay but not as good as most of the gwitch kits for comparison.

I didn't play gundam side story missing link or read the manga, but I think the gist is that during the first neo zeon war the Todesritter was built using the cockpit of the original pale rider that got destroyed in the one year war with the HADES system intact, and is piloted by the guy that destroyed the original pale rider, who is also married to its pilot, and she is now dead/dying because of the effects of the HADES system on her. If that's correct feel free to let me know.

It's currently the most effort I've put into a kit, but worth it imo and I don't regret it, I actually want to try the original pale rider now. I first saw it in Gundam Evolution and it was one of my favorite designs, and apparently a lot of people like it because bandai keeps doing reprints and has done all of the variants of it, maybe soon they'll do a master grade version (p-bandai of course :( ).

[ashadhahaha]

Priscilla (2023) - A Review

Heya folks! Here's a new blog dedicated to films + TV that I'm watching.

I made a very hasty decision to see Priscilla (dir. Sofia Coppola) in theaters today. I knew a little bit about it, that it was Priscilla Presley's biopic and that it would be based on her own autobiography, "Elvis and Me".

I have many good things to say about this film. Perhaps the most stunning things are the mise-en-scene and the editing. As always, Coppola has a very compelling way of telling stories.

The montages!!! I love how Coppola and her frequent collaborator Sarah Flack cut together Priscilla. I can see Lost In Translation here a bit with the clunky, slightly off-beat cuts. It's intriguing, a little unsettling, yet rhythmic at the same time. My favorite is when Priscilla waits on Elvis the first time. The way she's suspended in her own girlhood while Elvis floods her brain and her life. What a way to watch the time pass. You get all the information you need, all the details, and in an interesting way that fits the film well.

Some of the montages feel a little too romantic, like I'm watching a teen drama, which I think is excellent. There were so many points in the movie I start to fall for the romance and have to remind myself how this began in the first place and the young girl at the center of it.

THE COSTUMES. Coppola very much has an eye for production design!!! I noted in an interview she tends to spend her time there more than most directors. You can certainly tell. Elvis and Priscilla and honestly the whole world feels so believable and immersive because of the amount of detail. Priscilla's hair being our visual marker as we move through time is a great device and it really allows us to see this progression as she grows up and tries to fit more and more into this world she didn't choose.

Jesus, every single frame in this movie is beautiful. The way Priscilla is LIT. OH MY GOD. From the very beginning, with Priscilla's feet walking into the frame over the pink carpet. Every shot is composed with intention and meaning and create a strong aesthetic language that we feel consistently throughout the story.

Coppola doesn't shoot a lot of coverage, so her scenes consist mainly of a static camera, a well-decorated set, and her actors moving and talking to each other. Some moments feel incredibly long, other feels short and sweet. The rhythm is pervasive and concise.

She also tends to shoot at a lower budget. The most expensive scenes were likely the huge montages! There's a particular montage of Elvis performing that's used to show passage of time and it's shot very simply. You can do a lot with a little. Just a single spotlight in front of him to cast a long shadow, one camera on a dolly, a couple silhouettes to represent the crowd. Elvis is dark, powerful, and stepping more and more into the role of superstar. The lower the budget, the more creative control one has and I think Coppola thrives with these kinds of monetary restrictions.

Even the way scenes start seemingly right in the middle of things. Priscilla's life is moving at a pace she can't really control. She's completely at the mercy of Elvis and his wants and desires. And it's so observational. We're just watching these people exist. It gets unbearable the more Priscilla is barred from living her own life. She's trapped behind the gates of Graceland. Alone.

I love that first scene when she first moves in with Elvis and she's kind of wandering around this huge home. She sits in the chair, then she scoots back and crosses her legs. Then she looks out the window. Then she's playing with the piano. She's trying to imagine herself there, feel herself growing into it. It's foreign and she's so out of place. Still, she tries to force her own belonging. What a great use of negative space!

The world always feels like it's going to choke the life out of Priscilla. Like it's against her and swallowing her up at the same time. Coppola proves again how well she portrays isolated, lonely characters.

I also think Elvis was portrayed pretty fairly. He's sensitive, but troubled. There is love between them, but it's complicated and a little sinister and Priscilla spends much of the movie convincing herself it's worth sticking around for. I think this biopic is a step in the right direction of highlighting a more unseen perspective. Again, Coppola was a great choice.

& those are my thoughts! :3

ashadhahaha

[gay-sin]

crocheting yarn is praying to god

i have spent a good amount of my free time lately thinking about yarn. i won a bid on ebay and bought some white mohair from a seller in florida for a great price. today i spent a very long time trying to get to a yarn store in cambridge. i had a lot of transit complications and had to walk a long time in the rain. i got there with my jeans and belongings soaked. my phone is in rice at the moment. it was worth it though because the store was amazing. it had so many kinds of quality yarns. i went around feeling them all for what must have been an hour. i tried to intuit what worsted vs woolen yarn was. there are so many things i don't know about yarn. all of the plastic yarns were very cheap. some wool yarn was cheap but the cheap wool felt very scratchy. i wanted soft yarn. i got two balls of 100% merino wool in bubble gum and rococo pink. i think i will make leg warmers with them. i'm not sure yet. i spent a long time feeling the alpaca yarn. i let myself splurge and get a $20 skein of 100% alpaca yarn in a muted blue color. the tag said that the yarn was "non-mulesed" which i read as non-molested. turns out mulesing is "a painful procedure that involves cutting crescent-shaped flaps of skin from around a lamb's breech and tail using sharp shears designed specifically for this purpose." i looked up photos but i don't recommend that you do.

as an artist, there are always so many factors to consider when choosing materials. i have always preferred trash/found materials as they are the most affordable. there is so much that ends up in landfills so why not use these things to make art? i love the poetics of things that were thrown aside being given new life. i've always preferred thrifting clothing, yarn, fabric. but what i have realized with yarn, though, is that it is very hard to find quality yarn like that. most yarn is mixed with acrylic or polyester. before i took a class on fibers in the spring, i had no idea what my clothes were really made of. now i think about it a lot. i'm trying to train my senses to decipher these things. i had no idea that clothes could even be made out of plastic and now the thought that most clothes are made with plastic really disturbs me. if you can't tell if yarn is plastic, you can burn it and tell by the smell. i'm becoming a detective, trying to find the imposters in a world where the plastic version is so goddamn convincing. it makes me uneasy. it feels very metaphorical.

in my fiber arts class, we read chapters of books written by anni albers. she was an artist that co-founded the black mountain college. i want to go back and dive deeply into these things that i only had the time to skim in school. i wanted to reread this article we had to read of hers from class. it is called "tactile sensibilities" but i needed an institution login to read the whole thing. i hate academia.... i could access the first page though and it had the main points. i wanted to use them to discuss yarn. so here are a couple quotes...

"No wonder a faculty that is so largely unemployed in our daily plodding and bustling is degenerating. Our materials come to us already ground and chipped and crushed and powdered and mixed and sliced, so that only the finale in the long sequence of operations from matter to product is left to us: we merely toast the bread." "We touch things to assure ourselves of reality. We touch the objects of our love. We touch the things we form. Our tactile experiences are elemental. If we reduce their range, as we do when we reduce the necessity to form things ourselves, we grow lopsided."

i spent a long time wanting to make pointless art, just art for the sake of art. i still do sometimes but i have been very invested in fiber arts. they are the opposite of pointless art. it is so practical, ancient, useful. i have found a deep love for it that grounds me in ways i didn't even know that i needed so badly. i think there are so many things about the way we live now in such an industrialized, hyper-individualist plastic world that we are completely unaware the harms of.

i am very interested in religion and ritual and i love how this intersects with fiber arts for me. crocheting feels like a prayer. it feels like healing. i don't really like to crochet with plastic because it feels like it cuts me off from the cycle of it all. yesterday i started my day by crocheting for a long time before work. it put me in a beautiful mood and i felt patient and at ease all day. i have been needing that. i've been in such a bad mood for awhile, so tense, always in a rush. the yarn was wool and it sorta looked like the yarn that i had spun when i tried to spin yarn. it was thicker in some spots than others, making it feel real. i could imagine someone spinning it. spinning is such a beautiful process and i respect it so much. i hated it because it was so hard. it requires so much balance. i love the look of a spinning wheel. it reminds me of fairytales. i guess that just shows how far we have come from doing these things with our hands.... but anyways, i could imagine the sheep that grew the wool, the person that sheared the sheep. the yarn was probably spun by a machine, not a person, but i like to imagine it was spun on a wheel by a person. then, i crochet with the yarn. my crocheting is not a work of individual artistic genius, but the finishing step in a long process of labor and art, across time, species, places on earth. i'm employing techniques used for such a long time before me by so many wise and beautiful human beings. techniques i didn't invent and that i am still a humble beginner at. i make things that i can feel, touch, use, give. they can be used to keep me or those i love warmer in the winter, to hold my things, to make me feel more like myself. then, the things i make with these fibers can be reused or reworked when i no longer use them. when they fall apart, they can be reabsorbed into the earth, maybe they will become soil that will grow grass, that will be eaten by a sheep that will grow wool... the process continues. i am a small participant. that is a prayer to me. that is god to me.

this is what we lose when we don't make things with our hands, when we don't know where things come from. these are the skills that are deemed frivolous and inessential, not fast enough to turn profit. i think that these things are legitimately essential to being a person. most of fiber arts is historically women's work, based in traditions of indigenous people. it is not taken seriously in this culture and it is a shame because i really think that this is having grave consequences on everyone's wellbeing.

i was talking to my roommate's dad about how he had a maid when he lived in africa. he paid her very little but he said that it was still more than the norm. he said she could go get an education and "better herself" to get more money like him. it was a long conversation and there are so many layers to that mentality that are fuckedddd. but i just really don't understand how people actually believe that doing busy work for a corporation on a computer all day does anything of importance or requires any real intelligence at all. how is that "bettering yourself"? to alienate yourself even from your own space, never even touching the things you live with except to use them and toss them wherever for someone else to clean up?? the countless skills that come with cleaning are baffling to me. i have so much respect for cleaners. i am always learning the importance of cleaning and trying to do it well. i am naturally terrible at it and am currently trying my best to be better. to me, an office job is the place most void of intelligence. it's not at all the sort of intelligence that really matters to being alive or understanding what that means. whatever.

anyways, i made a bunny hat last weekend and i haven't been able to stop wearing it. it makes me so happy. i am very content with the idea of it getting colder because i will stay inside and crochet things. i will get to wear silly hats. i have been wearing the hat to work and the kids love it. people on the streets smile at me more. lots of people compliment me on it. for some reason, it makes me feel more like myself. maybe i'm a little bit of a furry. i made it with acrylic yarn because i had bought some awhile ago but i still really like it. maybe i will make one out of mohair. i want one with bigger ears. i want a collection of animal/monster hatwear.

here is a photo of me in the bunny hat and a drawing that one of the kids drew of me in the hat. i let the little girl that drew the picture try on the hat. it was so big on her little head. she is 5 and i love her very much.

[kinocomix]

Metal band story devlog 10: OKAY. CHARACTER DESIGNS. LET’S GET TO IT.

So initially when I finally decided it was time for some character designs I faced a problem. It was not a lack of skill or frustration at my art, it was the fact that I don’t know what I’m designing really. let me explain:

I think a very important thing to do in general is to be aware of your shortcomings and I try to apply this rule to myself as often as possible without it being self destructive. one of those shortcomings is my inability to draw things that I’m not personally familiar with.

I don’t think I would have ever drawn shoes that weren’t my own, so you can imagine what that says about characters and people.

This tends to bleed into art block and a good solution for it is to usually find inspiration somewhere. I don’t like doing that, nothing wrong about it and before you accuse me of being on my high horse I will gently remind you and myself that there is nothing new under the sun. I will inevitably end up being inspired by something even if I’m not actively aware of it but I find that basing a design on someone else’s design feels derivative, which setting aside the legal issues of me wanting to publish potentially copied designs, isn’t very nice of me to do to my fellow artists. I’m better than that. In any case I needed to try to start somewhere so I tried making a design for character A. this is the classical musician. I didn’t base the design on their personality because that never not felt weird to me. I don’t want to know what someone is like when I see them, that’s not how people work. 

here is the pathetic first attempt, where i went in with “they’re probably tall and skinny” in mind:

I knew that A would be a classical musician, so I really wanted to include at least a vague reference to one of my favourite pianists, Nahre Sol. I think she’s very cool and so I opted to make A’s hair similar to her’s.

The actual image is upside down

It still looked boring as fuck tho so as is the case with character design, you iterate.

Here you can see I drew a crane, which is a thing you can do when you think designing people is boring as fuck which it usually is if you don’t have fun with the shapes. I really liked how the crane’s body looked like a teardrop and how long the legs were, it also was mostly black and white which went well with the “classical musician who wears classical clothes” vibe.

So I tried a more geometric approach, with long legs but It didn’t fit into the vibe I had in mind and the feet were so comically large i anticipated people would be distracted by it:

I defaulted back to a more organic looking teardrop shape and ended up with this which i liked:

Let’s note a couple of things about this: I liked the eyes, but i very quickly realised I can’t have that be the default shape of the eyes, because please look at this monstrosity: 

I came back to it the next day and made a realisation: those are some big legs. So I decided to lean into it and thought It would be cool if she was strong and muscular, and you’ll note that I’m saying “she”, we’ll get to that in a moment.

I had taken the time to think about the fact that I'd like her more if she was more in context. Because floating in the void like that, she’s just some character which was bothering me. So I started small and made a height chart with some general body types/shapes:

This made me more confident in the design because it had some story now, she was very tall and imposing. 

I was reminded of a tweet by Pseudonymjones where she talks about a kid who saw her and called her “the lady with the big muscles” which i thought was cool as fuck in may 2019 and still think is cool as fuck now.

This made me like the character so much more and It made sense to me because of everything that I knew so far about the character and the setting that she would be trans. All my research showed that metal musicians would be very likely to be normal understanding human beings and I already know what not to do and what’s preferable from the research I did for Almost Home.

So I present to you the first sketch of Leila:

Note: when designing characters I always design them naked, because clothes a character design does not make. They help, but you can’t start there.

Obviously the design will evolve naturally (and by the end of this devlog update) and get polished the more I draw her but I think this is a solid start. For starters let’s fix those ankles and draw some more sketches to get a feel for what Leila is like when she moves.

Okay, I��m digging the vibe. I also drew this other one where I forgot to factor in the pelvis when accounting for the length of the legs, so i went ahead and tried to edit it:

It looks a bit better, the legs still look gigantic but I think I want to keep that. I imagine she goes to the gym quite frequently on account of being a tryhard. Perhaps that’s one of the things I could explore in the story?

I also tried messing around with her face a bit. I ended up sticking to the one I originally made, which felt the most natural. Maybe that says something about me and how I go with the first thing I see, but it is what it is.

Also here’s a tip for anyone who might need it, you know those doll dress up games where you drag PNGs onto the model? You can use that system when trying to make variations of a design. I did it with a light pad.

This was when I consulted a friend of mine, Alaa. He pointed out the limbs i drew looked kind of ballooney. This wasn't from a lack of reference, it was the abstraction that was done improperly. You see here's two things to keep in mind: firstly I didn't want her to look muscular despite how strong she is. Obviously some of it is bound to show what with her legs as you'll see but I wanted her to seem like a quirky human at first. Secondly, while it's true that I tried to make the limbs with contracted muscles bigger if that's not tastefully done then it just looks silly. So here's where we're at now:

To the left here's you'll note two things, Alaa suggested making her five heads tall instead of 6 which we'll get to in a moment, and the fact that the musculature seems more real now. Here's what i decided to take from his suggestion: i like that the muscles look nicer in the legs, so i changed the legs to match and shortened the pelvis to make her a head shorter. Now about that missing head. Initially while this made the proportions better this also made her shorter which goes against the “awesome towering person” effect i wanted to give her so i had 2 options. I either could keep the extra length but try to fit it in somewhere which could work but it would add extra time to this entire process which I do not have and I am one human being; OR I could simply scale her up. This would make her base circle bigger which would require some quick math every time i need to put her in a scene but that's not an issue for me. 

And this is where we ended up. This is something we can use to make a turn around ref sheet once we have an outfit(s). For reference, I drew Graham from Almost home who is about the size of an average human:

Yes, Charlie and Graham are not actually short. Everyone is just taller than them cause that's my experience being short, It just never came up lol

Here's what I like about this and here's what I'm glad I did not include: I like the cartooney proportions that still show some respect to the human. I like that she has the stubborn belly fat that some body builders struggle with. I like that while she looks imposing and is to some extent, a lot of her personality traits will contrast that and give her depth and nuance. (Also in case you're curious, her base circle is 1.2 times the size of average characters)

A final note, which is by no means an insult to any stylistic approach or artist, there's a fine line to tread between “muscular curvy woman” and “pixar mom”. Here's a drawing on the back of a receipt that a friend drew with some suggestions on how to push the proportions. Solid suggestions, but they don't really fit the vibe I'm going for which is fine- when we make art not everyone is going to like it and that's just how things are.

And yes, she's still naked. Clothes come at the very end when we know we have all the proportions and visual quirks figured out. Buuut that's something I won't include in the devlog. Gotta draw the line of “okay, spoilers” somewhere. Next week, we'll start doing the rest of the cast.

Devlog updates on Tuesdays.

[upn-the-sky]

Give me God of War!! (Ares OOAK, Part 2)

Just a reminder that there was Part 1 of this madness.

OKAY

I wanted to wait until I finish sword and spider legs before making a post, but there are three days after finishing the whole armor and I can't wait, I am screaming about Ares's supremacy.

Now I can say, it was hard. And the most hard thing was finding a balance. There are differences between Ares's 3D models from the different years, even in color palette. And I wanted to be as much close to the first game design as it possible. Some features were fully recreated from GOW1, some others I found more good at latest model from GOW3 and reworked them according to it. So at the end we have a good symbiosis I think.

Now let's a take a bow and look a bit closer at the mess under the cut.

Preparatory process

Until eyes are frightened, you can't do anything. To be honest I had no idea from where to start, the plan sounded like a "How to draw an owl" tutorial. Complexity of his armor scared me as hell, and after spending some time with drawings, where I tried to figure out a hook and loop system, which should attach parts to each other, I gave up and started to make his scaly iron belt, it felt more easier. YEAH.

Iron belt

You can see it at the screenshot. Well, one of the versions. Seems, it has no purpose beside decorative, I mean, maybe it can protect the groin, but eh, not really, honestly. At GOW3 model of dead Ares it became more detailed with round flower-like pendants and a little green jewel drops, but also it became golden as all metallic elements. I decided to make everything silver, but anyway, belt is very beautiful and I headcanon it is the same belt, which Ares gifted to his daughter Hippolyte in the past.

I weaponised myself with the smallest crochet hook and red thread and started to knit. WHY KNIT YOU ASK?? I don't know, it is easier for me than sewing all these scales %) Maybe they represents some fishy motives? (His connection with Aphrodite). Or serpent? (One of Ares's children, who was killed by Kadmus). Maybe green jewels is a hint to his mother Hera, because she loves emeralds. Who knows.

Scales, flowers, suns, glass drops.. If I were Ares, I'd present it to my beloved warrior daughter too.

Pteruges

As an example of the true manliness, Ares wears a skirt of course. He is not a barbarian, who hides his beautiful freckled thighs in the pants! How dare we to judge..

The easy part was to make a leather stripes and pierce them with the rivets (little nails, which I cut after this to left a head only). The hard part (which I had a chance to feel over and over again) was to figure out how to attach it to the body and hide all of the fasteners, and how to let stripes flow on his thighs and how the hell it should cover his.. godlike butt, I can't believe I wrote this.. %)

ANYWAY, A MONTH LATER I decided to make it a single piece with the iron belt, by creating a two-part wide leather base, attach knitted waistband to it, then join the each stripe to the separate piece of cloth to make them movable, then attach this cloth to the leather and sew some hooks. Aaaand the final result!

Cuirasse

I just say I literally hanged up myself with it. Here will be ranting...

Let's just think that it is not enough just to recreate appearence. In making 3D you can ignore some aspects like hidden straps and strings, which keeps armor conjoint on the human body. But how to make it wearable to the doll body, which is not soft and has a stable reliefs? How to make armor firm and shaped, but not completely firm, so it can be taken off from the body? Yes, my wish from the beginning was to make whole armor with a possibility to take it off and send nudes dress Ares in different outfit, which i will also make someday. How to make it light, so the doll can stand by itself? How to make it textured, to make it looks rough, to imitate metal or at least used condition? How to make metal parts without using a metal?

OKAY, WE NEED TO BE CANON - I thought and it was a day I decided to not invent armor, but use an experience of the hellenic people, who was smarter than me, I guesse. Because long time ago these people invented Linothorax - composite armor made of laminated linen fabric. ____

First of all, I splited Ares's cuirass to the segments: chest+collar segment, belly segment, spine segment, which emphasizes Ares's love to hunching over a little, and a waist-and-lower segment. Plus cuirasse has chained shoulder straps and side straps.

Well, when you have all elements, it is easier to imagine a complete piece. After that you just buy fabric, glue, chains, 27 hours for your day, new eyes, paint and other stuff. You wrap the body with the film and tape to protect it and start to glue. And here it is time for me to shut up, I know, you are here to watch a process, not to read an essay. I started from the front pieces of course. You imagine a pattern, you cut it, you glue it to hold the natural body forms as close as possible. Collar was formed right here. Gladly we can remove Ares's head when we want to do it...

Waist piece (eheh, spider butt (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ) and first attempt to assemble the cuirasse. Here I literally lost my last brain cells and bravery, stopped the process and didn't make straps until the last week.

Anyway A MONTH LATER!!11 after the first assemble I started to sculp a relief of the reinforced chest and the metallic collar. Also we can check how's our decapitated dogs doing. Here you can see a belly piece of the cuirasse, which needed it's own dog decor. I was that meme boy with a knife, yeah..

Seemed they doing great! I felt that and decided to finish arm armor. Shoulder pads and bracers Thankfully making them requires the same process: cut a pattern, glue it, repeat for each arm. Here is close ups of the leather "feathers" pierced by rievets, chained bracers (I am very proud that I recreated it fully like at the Ares model. Bracers has no other strings and stays at arm only because of the chains) and shoulder pads as a base and as a complete, fully Cerbered piece. Actually this part wasn't really difficult, I've just delayed the inevitable.

Boots The first GOW novel says he weared sandals!!! Bloodstained SANDALS! But this novel was written much later, so we are making rocker boots. ᕕ(シ)ᕗ HEY!, we are laughing here, but Ares is smart, Ares don't want to break his toes by kicking someone's helmet! Maybe after having some experience %)))

Well, as I said in my previous posts, his boots was the most agressive part his armor. Heel and shoes toes should be firm, but sole should stay soft. Also the whole construction of the boots should looks monolite with the greavers which cover up the layers of the material above the ankles. Don't forget about the chains and double emotional damage, because there is two legs!

A little more damage as a person you receive, when you understand that you need to process each edge of each piece, because all armor pieces has visible layers. And only after that you can paint everything, draw Ares's assymetrical ornaments and dress him up.

That's how we reach the end. Here he is. O defence of Olympus, father of warlike Victory, ally of Themis, stern governor of the rebellious, leader of righteous men. Kratos's yes-homo partner and his personal most vieceful enemy.

Ares! God of war!

Thank you everyone for your patience while reading this duvet cover. See ya in Part 3, Skeletor will return soon with a sword, spider legs and normal photos. And stay tuned, I will post some portraits next time!

[alchemiclee]

ayaka, plastic figure fix/repaint!

I decided I wanted to get into 3d figure painting because I have a huge urge to paint figures. I bought a resin printer and all the stuff that goes with 3d printing. I even joined a patreon/discord to get files for figures.

in the discord, someone posted their blog story of their process for repainting some cheap plastic figures. they advised it's a good way to practice when you first start out painting because these figures are cheaper than resin printing. I liked the ayaka figure they got, so I went to aliexpress to find one for myself.

if you're interested in their blog post, you can find it here. they go into more details than I do in some parts, if you're interested in that! (and more pictures since tumblr has a limit)

read my adventure below⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇

she came in the mail with a few broken pieces, but nothing a little super glue probably won't fix. (at the time of writing this, i'm realizing I forgot to purchase glue...) generally she's pretty decent for a cheap plastic bootleg of this impossible-to-get garage kit figure:

the painting inconsistencies are where I come in to get my practice. the broken pieces can be fixed later.

her bangs in the front are top long and cover her eyes so i'll have to figure out how to cut those. the hole for the umbrella is way too small, so I need to figure out how to fix that. but I will focus on painting first.

her eyes are the best painted part. I won't have to mess with those luckily haha. she is clearly supposed to have socks/tights on from the way the model is made and based on the original figure design. I need to paint the leggies! there's a few very small details on her clothes that need some extra added paint. there's some details missing like the little flowers which I will try to add. lastly, the umbrella is a plain blue blob. I plan to add some color and paint flowers onto it before I glue the broke rod back on.

first things she needs to be dismembered! plastic figures aren't the hardest to take apart, but is still a struggle, at least for me it was. in the blog post I shared above, the person used a welding heat tool to get her apart. I don't have anything like that, so I used hot water for the smaller parts (hair, ribbons, vision) and a hair dryer for the legs. you need to soften the plastic/melt the glue to pop things free! I held hair dryer on her butt against the connection point of the legs for 30-60 seconds on highest heat and lowest power, then wiggled the leggies until it cooled down. repeat a few more times until I could twist them and pop them free. unfortunately, the shoe wouldn't come off with either method, so I ended up having to cut it off with a knife. as long as I line it up and glue it on straight, it should be fine. hopefully 😅 the leggies were really stubborn, but with careful heating (while trying not to bend any of the super thin pieces, like the skirt. which also got heated up in the process) I managed to gently twist them off eventually.

the leggies!! they're free!!!!!

now she's ready for painting!

i did the first coat of paint on the legs and a few of the details on a twitch stream to try to test out a painting setup for future painting of figures, as well as test if my VOD tracking I tried to set up worked.....both kind of went wrong 😅 I also broke a few things along the way.

I tried to set up using a tripod with my DSLR camera for high quality video stream. I downloaded a thing enabling me to use it as a webcam. my large tripod was too big to fit in my tiny desk area, so I switched to a smaller tabletop one. somehow, the screw to that tripod broke off in my camera as I was screwing it on.....I have no clue how to remove it. I can no longer use a tripod 😭 I had to set my camera on my desk and have a side angle that made it hard to see anything I was doing on stream. I also had to keep my hands in one place when I like to move them around as I work. it was quite uncomfortable, haha.

the lighting I had set up was too bright, but it was my only option. it's a photography light box with its own built in lighting—very white and very bright. I folded the box so all the flaps were folded in except the one with the lights on it. I had that one sticking straight up at the back and placed a plastic cover over the folded part to paint on. it helped stream see and i could adjust the setting on my camera to keep it from being overexposed, but since my eyes don't have camera settings, I couldn't even tell where I was putting white paint because it was washing it out too much. when I inspected it in another light away from the overpowering white one, I realized I had more paint on it than I thought.

it wasn't the best setup, but it wasn't the worst. I added some silly little things on screen to make it more fun 😆

I managed to finish the first leg coat, do the little hair wrap things (not sure what their called. the white and gold things) and a couple small details on her clothing (fixed some of the gold lines for example because they weren't fully finished)

unfortunately, my VOD tracking didn't work so my video got dmca flagged and twitch decided it shouldn't be published so I decided to just delete it. my stream died after the first 20 minutes survived because my stream died and none of the music in that got flagged, but I didn't actually paint anything within that time because I was trying to make sure my setup was working decently. the painting lasted around 2 hours I believe. then my camera died!

I have decided not to stream the rest of her painting and do it in my spare time. I will work on fixing the VOD tracking. the camera setup is too much of a hassle and I can't charge it while it's in use. I didn't know what else to try until I found (and ordered) a cool overhead mini lamp that also holds your phone so I can basically have a movable desk light and/or use my phone as a webcam for streaming or record video for a time-lapse at the same time! so look forward to that!

between that first painting attempt and the next session, I got another figure in the mail. this one is a mini resin figure and I will have a separate post for her! (link soon)

back to painting ayaka.

my cool desk lamp came in the mail! you can find it here (not sponsored/affiliated! just like the cool lamp. i got the MINI version because small work area) i played with my streaming stuff and turns out they added an easier way to vod track the way i want, either before or after my failed attempt, i'm not sure. i found a way to stream my phone camera to my streamlabs! things are easy to set up for figure painting streams!

I added some details to her clothes and cleaned up some small spots. I added flowers and other small details to kind of match her original outfit. for some reason I decided to add some makeup to her. her mouth looked a little funny so I added some lip gloss and try to make her smile a little more. not sure if that came out well or not 😅 to finish, I did a thin layer of some blue in her hair to give the solid blobs of plastic some subtle variation and also slapped on some sparkly metallic paint to brighten it up a little.

the umbrella was way top plain, so I painted the under side pink and tried my best to paint cherry blossoms on top. i've never been top great at draeimg or painting flowers, so they're a little odd, but it's good enough.

I don't really care for the flowers that came with it, so I planned to add some mini fake flowers. in the end I decided to just use them as well instead of throwing them away, since I needed something to keep the fake flowers more stable. they are a decent filler. the fake paper flowers add a bit more to it, making it feel more full. I have more flowers coming in the mail, so I may add a but more.

I gave up on the plastic base she sits on that goes on the top of the glass. I couldn't get it to stay in place or stick to glue, so she's just sitting inside the glass now, directly on top the flowers, which actually makes her more stable!

I didn't go too adventurous for my first practice paint, but she's better than she was, and I learned a bit from this that I can now apply to 3d prints!

and she's now complete and ready to go live on my shelf!