#It's also been really cool to test out these skills with fanart

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Just wanted to say I’m really enjoying the game dev stuff you are sharing! It looks super neat and I’m excited to see what you guys make :3 it also really inspires me to try learning something new, so thanks for sharing the journey with us 😊

Thank you so much! I've been having a blast with the process, and I can't wait to keep showing off more of this project!

When it comes to trying something new; my words of advice are: Go make the thing you 'wish you were skilled enough to do'!!! You will surprise yourself!

[randomyuu]

the way it follows you home, the stories i never told

My guy Vox once again graced us with lovely Goyuu fanfics, and the way it follows you home, the stories i never told, made me go FERAL.

Time travel? Two Gojou Satorus? Double affection for our sunshine Yuuji? Yuuji sandwich? What feels like possible continuation of (you'll whisper, serpent tongue) what you fear you have become???

FUCK.

I need to stop indulging my imagination too much. I should’ve been content with writing long-ass comments but noooooo, my brain goes “you gotta draw it”. DAMMIT VOX, YOU AND YOUR DELICIOUS WRITINGS HHHHHH

So… usually I should’ve picked a favourite scene that is within my drawing capability, but I just… love all three chapters??? So I made a questionable time investment? I can’t stop??? Help???

This is probably the most ambitious fanart project I’ve ever done so far. Fair enough, considering I might combust if I keep these welled-up emotions inside from reading Vox’s Goyuu fics. Fuck.

Fic info:

Title: the way it follows you home, the stories i never told

Author: @voxofthevoid

Pairing: YuuGoGo. Future!Yuuji, Future!Gojou, Teen!Gojou

(idk why I laugh writing YuuGoGo. I’m beyond help)

Currently, it is 3 chapters out of 8. And it’s gonna be NSFW chapter 4 onwards, so don’t forget to read the tags first, folks!

The drawings are under Read More, because I have lots of thoughts surrounding each chapter and drawings. It’ll be hella long if I didn’t hide it here. It was a mess down there. A combination of hours before, during, and after I read said fic. I’d say good luck finding the art among the sea of jumbled words but… you’ll find them easily. Don’t worry about it haha

SPOILERS FOR ALL 3 CHAPTERS! I highly recommend reading those first before diving into these drawings!

Also for the comics, read from right to left please!

From here on, I will be referring to the Future!Gojou as Gojou and the teenage one as Satoru.

Overall, drawing all these is fun! Really fun! This project pushed me quite hard, forcing me to test my limit (because I rarely draw this much back to back). Since this is a combination of drawings and comics, the coloring style will not be consistent. In a way, I want to try some brushes I never get to use, as well as try out my new graphic tablet. Drawing these got me giggling because I was finally able to let loose during line art. It's much easier to do so, and sometimes I just get to reread the fic and giggle to myself for the nth time.

CHAPTER 1:

Whooo. Whooooooooo—

Ok, ok, the premise is just that good. It intrigued me, fascinated me, and I just… oomph. I cannot refuse a Time Travel Yuuji Sandwich. Sign me up.

Honestly, there are two scenes that are just… a bit too clear in my mind when reading this chapter. That would be the one I drew above, and the other is when Yaga called Gojou to come outside of the class. I love, loooove how Vox wrote Satoru’s POV. And when Yuuji fucking giggles?

I lost it.

Can you imagine, drawing Yuuji grins, with shiny stuff, maybe some sunlight, just purely happy and indulging Gojou?

Help me, for I am drowning in my love and adoration for Yuuji.

Page 2 is an experiment on using harsh black as shading (kind of?). I really enjoyed colouring Yuuji, and drawing those buffalo skulls! I wish I can grasp the concept of contrast a bit better tho :v

CHAPTER 2:

This is probably the only chapter where I picture still images instead of comic panels. A bit like those cool chapter covers in mangas. The one I really, really want to draw is the scene with Satoru on the table. Can’t pass the opportunity to highlight Satoru being a brat, albeit a really cool brat.

Cool idea drawing always proves to be a challenge, because of course my artistic skill just so happens to be below the requirement. Thank you, Sketchfab, for the chair and desk’s perspective otherwise I’m screwed lmao

The second scene that I want to draw the most is this:

Gojou is one step away from climbing Yuuji. Also, I have a bit of a problem picturing a man pouting that makes him look crazy instead, so please have Gojou pouting adorably instead. Because, as Yuuji said (with love), Gojou is (also) a brat.

This is possibly my favorite art in this project, after Yuuji's in Chapter 1 page 2. It's clean because I don't have to draw background, and I was having a fun time drawing Yuuji. And Gojou's squishy cheek as well.

Oh, actually, there is a “manga” scene in this chapter. It’s when Yuuji said, “I love Satoru.”

I just—

AAAAAHHHHH YUUJIIIIIII YOU AND VOX ARE GONNA BE THE DEATH OF ME. That secure relationship between Yuuji and Gojou? Satoru’s description of how Yuuji’s smile could blot out the sun??? Not me screaming 💀 I also see bits of hints of possible co-dependency, though I could be reading those wrong, but either way I’m good. Secure and possessive relationships are fun to consume hhhhhh

But yeah. There are too many wholesome Yuuji smiles in this fic, and I… I am not confident enough to draw genuine happiness. It’s too much for me ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

For this chapter, another reason why I chose these two scenes is just because I want to try and draw cover-worthy pictures of Yuuji and Satoru, and Yuuji and Gojou (cough)

CHAPTER 3:

We start the chapter with Nanamin. Ah, Nanamin. I forgot what his teen self looked like and was surprised to see his design again lmao

I want to draw Yuuji and Nanami scene because… I just want to, I guess. I have never drawn him before (Yaga as well) so that's an interesting challenge. I got two ideas on how I want to draw it. One is a bit painting-esque, and the other one is like another chapter cover. In the end, I chose the cover one because I want to emphasise the difference between teen!Nanami and the Nanami from Yuuji’s original timeline, and how the watch feels like a connection between the same (yet not) person. It’s a bittersweet feeling? In a way?

I’m not really good at explaining my intention ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

I love Yuuji’s answer to Nanami's question.

AND FINALLY.

A Yuuji SandwichTM scene.

And oh B O I do I love it. Have I told you I like every chapter? I probably have. But this one? Satoru’s curiosity, Yuuji’s on-brand self-deprecation, and Gojou come strolling down to show more of Yuuji to his mini-self. I want to draw this whole scene, from Gojou finding them, feeding Yuuji snacks, bitch-slapping Satoru into the backroom, to Yuuji growling. Them trying to hide a boner from Yuuji’s growl got me cackling so hard I LOVE IT 😭

I love it all. Please love Yuuji in my stead, Satoru and Satonyan :3

Oh! Also! 40-finger Yuuji sounds really, really cool! I’ll be happy with whatever Vox will give us in future chapters, but 40-finger Yuuji… possible scene with this timeline’s Sukuna… my god. The action! The drama! The bloodshed! One can only hope.

However, as much as I love that whole scene, it’s still too much for me :”) I’m still not yet confident in delivering the humour and action. Also my already-long drawing plan had my brain groaning in protest so I can’t push my luck :'D

When Gojou said "He looks sweet, but he's a bit of a beast", I kept picturing Yuuji staring innocently, but there was an edge to his look. As if the moment Satoru looks away, he will pounce. But in the end I just stick with innocent-looking Yuuji because I accidentally drew his eyes that way and I want to keep it in lol

Since Satoru points out how soft and cuddly Yuuji is, I also want to draw soft Yuuji :v

And the last one… is the last scene. For some reason, I read that both Gojou and Satoru share Yuuji’s lap and was having a frustrating yet fun time figuring out how it’s… physically possible, without having their butts on the ground because they both are not small at all. As I lined the art, I reread it again and… perhaps I read it wrong? Satoru is beside Yuuji, and not on his lap? So yeah, this one might be the least accurate, but hey, at least you can view it as a crack drawing or something :v

AAAANNNDDD I HAVE EXCEEDED TODAY’S BRAIN CAPACITY OF FORMING WORDS

Have I told you I love this fic?

…I probably have.

Have an amazing week (❁´▽`❁)*✲ﾟ*

[srl541]

Week 3: Stars

Two months late, but I finally got this done! I started this back in mid-May but got a little overwhelmed (making music like this in a week was a bit much I guess orz). I gave up on the musical references to DP because they felt forced and instead wrote a short one-shot:

----------

The beginning (drabble)

"3, 2, 1, . . ."

With each count voiced over the comms, Danny felt his heart pound harder. His core was a tangled mess of excitement and worry, amplified by the agitated state he could sense in his crewmates.

"Blastoff!"

The shuttle quivered. He felt as if a weight pressed his whole self toward the floor, even as his anticipation soared through the ceiling.

His dream, at last. Humanity was another step further in space exploration, and he would directly contribute.

When the weight disappeared and congratulations were passed, he let himself relax. He was glad they hadn't required his unique "skills."

--

1 month later (one-shot)

"Danny, when you have the chance, can you come check this out? The ecto-scanner is giving some odd readings."

"Sure, give me a minute." Danny carefully secured the glowing-green flask he had been inspecting and jotted a few notes in his lab notebook. In seconds, he was heading toward the cockpit.

Scott waved him over. "We're approaching an area with higher ecto-readings, but it doesn't look dense enough to be a formed entity. What do you think?"

Danny rubbed his neck as he scrolled through the readings. "Yeah, the ecto-energy looks a little weak. But I'd say the pattern is a little strange. See how it's clustered in a path and not spread out evenly? I'll prep and be on the lookout in case."

"Good point. We still have an hour, so you have some time." Scott gave him a friendly shoulder pat and turned back to the navigation instruments. He conferred with Commander Kay and announced a warning over the comms.

Danny checked the Fenton thermos clipped to his suit and headed back to crew quarters to change, as well as to hand out backup ecto-blasters.

When he returned, he stared at the view out the front. Even weeks into the journey, the stars looked too clear to be real.

He almost hadn't made it to space. Not because of what he'd initially feared. When NASA had found out about his ghost half, they had instead been ecstatic about the new scientific possibilities his powers introduced. No, his struggle came from his crewmates. NASA wouldn’t let a contentious crew on a mission.

"You feeling alright?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, I'm good."

The emotions picked up by his core confirmed Scott's calmness. He had come a long way from his fears.

"You know, I'm really glad you're here to deal with this ghost stuff. I don’t think I’ve said it enough.”

“Well, that’s my gig. Semi-professional ghost hunter here,” Danny quipped. “Of course, my real job is jar-opening. Can’t forget that.”

Scott chuckled. “Right, you helped Jenny with her stuck jar this morning. Intangibility really seems handy.”

Danny grinned. NASA particularly didn’t mind having someone who could make things intangible on hand. Flight was also an invaluable tool.

He was beyond fortunate; his crew had mostly been understanding about his secrets. Mostly.

It took a long time, but patience and a lot of conversation helped mitigate fears about the supernatural and repave trust. All that work led to a closer friendship. Scott was one of the easiest for him to approach now.

Danny felt a rush of cold air come up through his throat. He squinted at the view, now glowing a slight green, and pressed the button for the comms. “Actually, I think there is something. Kay, do I have permission to leave the ship?”

An affirmative was returned. He re-checked his gear, gave a jaunty salute to his friend, and phased out of the cockpit.

The wide expanse never failed to amaze him, but he had a job to do. He zoomed ahead of the ship and reached his senses out, following paths that looked slightly greener than others.

There. Danny floated closer. A bare wisp of a ghost, a faint echo of what must have been a powerful being to get so far from Earth.

Or at least, that was what he assumed. Theoretically, the ghost world was a reflection of the human world.

He spoke into his comms. “There actually is a ghost here. They’re too weak to do anything, though. Must have wandered too far away from Earth and ran out of energy to figure out a way back.”

“Alright, so there’s no danger. What is your recommendation?” Kay asked.

Danny unclipped his Fenton thermos. “I’m taking them back home. The ectoplasm they left behind is really cool, too. Some of it is stable enough for testing. Might give some great data for the energy source experiments.”

“That sounds great. Be careful.”

Sucking the ghost into the Fenton thermos was as easy as breathing. With oxygen, at least. He gathered some samples by the time the ship caught up, and then he phased back in.

Scott gave him a thumbs up. Danny smiled back, content with how helpful his skills were for the mission.

It was as if his space journey was written in the stars.

-- 

Extra

An invisible shape loomed, observing the earthlings. The ectoranium asteroids would shield it from detection until it was too late for the small crew. It was true that the ghost wisp had once been powerful, but its fall hadn’t been straying too far from Earth.  

----------

More notes: I tried to add more instruments to make the sound fuller, but maybe it was too much? Or maybe the reverb blurred things together excessively? I had liked the echo-y sound, but it might have been the wrong choice. I still have a lot to learn about mixing/mastering, haha (and I’m not even recording stuff yet I’m just using VSTs). 

Inspiration for this piece was mainly from the Space theme from Overcooked!. The hyper-space travel background of the video was from #AAfvx (https://www.youtube.com/dvdangor2011).

On the short fic, I don’t really sci-fi and I still feel super rusty with writing, but hopefully it tells a story that can go along with the musical piece. The extra didn’t fit with the music but I think would fit more with DP fanfics, maybe? XD

I’m really glad this event was held since it really motivated me to create things again! There was a ton of talent in the fanart and fanfic I saw. But, I’ve realized that though I still enjoy the fanworks I’ve mostly moved on from the Phandom. I might go back to leaving anonymous reviews here and there. <3

[38sr]

You work so hard and your art has improved so much! How are you feeling about career prospects? :3

Aw thank you so much! It’s really been a journey for me haha.

Career prospects, huh…well at this point, it’s almost been a year since I graduated from college (crazy right?). So, I feel like now I’m okay and content with the fact that anything can happen. Of course, I have a list of goals I want to accomplish career-wise but I’m not as stressed about it like I would have been a year ago. I still apply, look and continue working on personal projects and my skills to improve my portfolio.

This year, actually, has really taught me that I need to be more flexible and patient when thinking about career opportunities. Despite not having an in-house studio job that I would prefer, I got to do some cool things this year: zines, storyboard tests for studios, develop 2 children’s books and now working as a storyboard artist for Amota & Nebson. Also, I started to build a community of artists and people who have the same aspirations as me…sort of just feels like everything is falling in place as time goes on?? Haha, not sure how to describe it. But all I can really do is keep making art and continue to grow from here on out. And of course, draw more fanart cause who doesn’t love fanart?

[skyplayer37]

Worm Liveblog 12.1 - 12 1/2

That’s uhhh, how my app claims the chapter is called. Maybe I should switch over to the official site, its getting real screwy on Pocket.

Anyway, this arc wasn’t as crazy as the last, but still worth jotting down a few thoughts for

(Addendum: Nope, ranted just as long as usual)

Most of this post could just include me gushing over how great the fight against Mannequin was. How it was a great display of a Cape vs. Cape can be dynamic with seeing the synergy of powers, whereas I saw Avengers Infinity War this week and... it was mostly buff people punching each other? But I think you can work out how much I loved the fight from the fact that I went and made fanart of it before even finishing the arc

I just barely watched Jojo and I can already see it affecting my art style......

Anyways, there was some more interesting conversing between all the major characters in one location which was cool, and it’s nice to see everyone wise up to Coil’s plan, even if they don’t know that Coil is the one behind it. Like with Leviathan, the regular Cape politics is brushed aside for a truce to fight a big bad.

And then we got to see the Undersiders come face to face with the Nine, which did..... not end well. Especially for Tattletale. I’m genuinely concerned for her because she’s been one of my favorites, even though I’m probably supposed to feel that way. Taylor learned about Bitch being selected for the Nine a lot sooner than I thought she would, so its more likely that the Nine Recruitment arc is pretty short, especially with the interludes focusing more and more on Cauldron. Although with the danger of the recruitment test revealed, it seems likely that not everyone will escape this arc safely....

But Taylor is getting really powerful. She was literally running across the entire city, commanding hundreds of thousands of bugs all at once to perform intricate tasks. And she held up one-on-one against a Nine and arguably won. And already there’s hints that her powers will grow with her gaining the ability to see and hear through her bugs. Between her recent choices and this power boost, it seems more and more likely that story is indeed hurdling towards her corruption arc, like I had predicted at the very beginning. Taylor has always had good intentions, but her power is manifesting inversely, growing more powerful as she descends into villainy.

The interludes, again, steal the show. Seeing the Nine all working together in unison really shows how powerful they are, even with how scary they were individually. I’m glad Skidmark died quickly because I didn’t know how to imagine his costume, wasn’t all too interested in his team, he was perfect fodder for the Nine to show off their skills with. Cherish is surprisingly accepting the fate of her failed plan, so even someone crazy enough to join the Nine is still scared of the other members. It was also the first look at Crawler, who I’m predicting will go one-on-one with an Endbringer soon given his size and the nature of his power. 

Assault and Batteries’ story was surprisingly surprising. I spent the first half of the interlude appreciating the look into Cauldron, but being very confused on who we were actually following. When they described her power as “charging” I was like HOLY SHIT and it all clicked into place and, like with Regent, it was a wonderful moment of taking a B-tier character and giving them a good enough backstory to make them important. Assault changing sides was rather sudden, but it makes sense with how fragile the Cape politics are. Interludes like this are a really cool way of utilizing the web and updating method, while in print they probably wouldn’t work being at the end of every chapter and instead thrown into a spin-off book like Beedle the Bard or that Percy Jackson companion. And yet... it seems integral to the pacing? Showing Cauldron only though the Interludes and only small hints in the main work reminds me of the newspapers from LA Noire or the audio-clips from Bioshock, and I’m curious how everything will tie together in the end.

Well, these arcs really feel like they’re meant to be read in unison, so I’ll get right on to continuing. 

[echobows]

Growth

A/N: This is my first Inuyasha fic! I’m posting it here because I’d like more people to read them; special thanks to @keichanz for encouragement and inspiration and just being an overall positive force (I LOVE YOU), and @mmhinman for some DROP DEAD GORGEOUS Inuyasha fanart. This is also available on FF.net!

Do I own Inuyasha? Nope. Would I like to? Yep.

It was a bright, beautiful spring afternoon when Kagome had asked her best friend and sister of her heart for something nobody expected. They were sitting inside Miroku and Sango’s hut for lunch, little Komori having eaten his fill from his mother’s bosom and was freshly burped and content in the slayer’s arms. Pausing in the middle of a bite of grilled fish, the young priestess had blurted,

 “Teach me how to fight?”

Sango’s eyes widened at that. “What do you mean, Kagome? You’re already an expert shot with the bow, and you’ve got an amazing reserve of spiritual power. What else could you need?”

 “That’s all well and good, but what about when I don’t have my bow or arrows? I’m pretty much defenseless without them. If I come across some hostile humans, I can’t just shoot them or purify them; they could just overpower me, and then it’d be over.” Setting her bowl and chopsticks down, her eyes lowered in shame. “That happened more than enough during the quest. I don’t want to worry anyone if I’m in a situation like that again.”

 “Ohhh,” the slayer breathed in realization. “You mean, you don’t want to worry Inuyasha if you’re in a situation like that.” It wasn’t stated like a question.

 “Well…yeah.” Kagome’s stormy eyes sparkled in admiration. “I just think it’d be a handy skill to have, being able to incapacitate enemies that I can’t purify, and…and… You just looked so cool when you fought, Sango!” She clasped the older woman’s free hand in her own, her most desperate puppy-dog eyes on full display. “You were so fast and strong and I wanna be able to do that! Please teach me!”

 The slayer had a thoughtful look on her face as she weighed the pros and cons. On the one hand, teaching Kagome how to defend herself hand-to-hand would definitely pay off in the long run, and it provided Sango herself some time to exercise and polish her own moves. It also gave her a chance to spend some time with the future-born girl, and some healthy time away from the kids. She’d have to ask Miroku to watch Komori, and Inuyasha and Shippo could play with Mizuki and Misaki. Those girls absolutely adored Inuyasha, for whatever reason, and it was for a good cause; he’d agree to it, even if he’d grumble about it. On the other hand, she would have to actually teach and test Kagome. That in and of itself wasn’t bad; it was just the fact that she’d have to physically scrap with her, as well as put her through lots of bruises and soreness to get her to where she needed to be.

 “It’s not gonna be easy,” Sango warned. “You won’t grow to be a master overnight. It’s going to take hard work, sweat, and more than a few bruises.”

 “I understand!” she replied, nodding with enthusiasm, her hands clenched into fists in an energetic display. Kagome regarded Sango with fire. “I know it’s gonna be tough, but that’s exactly why I have to do it!”

 Sango suppressed a giggle at her friend’s antics. Closing her eyes and sighing in playful exasperation, she replied, “Well, if you insist on requesting my tutelage, then I guess I’ve no choice but to take you under my wing as my beloved pupil.”

 Kagome whooped in delight, startling her nephew and upsetting him in the process. Covering her mouth in embarrassment as Sango cooed at him to stop his fussing, she asked quietly, “When can we start?”

 A few days later, after informing the men of the arrangement and leaving the children behind with them, both Kagome and Sango were standing in the middle of a small clearing close to Kaede’s village, the slayer in her usual battle suit and the priestess in a simple white kosode and trousers.

 With practiced professionalism, the older woman had engaged her friend in a series of warm-up stretches and breathing exercises. After what she deemed an appropriate time to start, Sango spoke first.

 “Alright, now that we’ve finished warming up, are you ready to learn some basics?”

 “Heck yeah!” Kagome replied eagerly. “I am SO ready!”

 Smiling at her enthusiasm, Sango continued. “The first thing that any warrior has to keep in mind is that there can’t be any wasted movement. Always quick, always minimal, always precise.” Demonstrating, she slipped into her stance, and threw a quick punch. She repeated the action in slow motion, allowing Kagome to watch and understand her form as she explained, “Extend the arm without strain. Keep your arm straight, your fist firm, and your chin down, as your shoulder will automatically rise and shield your chin. Twisting your body is also important, as it helps with momentum.”

 Kagome’s eyes were sparkling with interest, following Sango’s actions in minute detail. The slayer then instructed her to try, slowly at first, so that she could help correct anything out of place. “Remember, chin down, and arm straight.”

 After watching her practice with the air for a good while and noticing her friend’s progress, Sango then commented, “Not bad, Kagome. You still have a ways to go, but it looks like you’re serious about this.”

 “Of course!” she said with a grunt, never stopping her movements.

 Impressed, she then instructed, “Now start aiming those punches at me.”

 Kagome looked at her in surprise. “Are you sure?”

 “Positive.”

 Taking her place in front of Sango, Kagome did as she was told, taking her form and throwing her best strike, not knowing what to expect.

 Stopping her friend’s punch upon her left palm, Sango commented leisurely, “Your form is good, but the punch is too slow and too soft.”

 “Dang.” Scratching her head, Kagome replied, “I thought I had it.”

 The slayer grinned. “Not even close.”

 “Ouch. No need to hold back, Sango.”

 “Try again.”

 They trained like that for quite a while, Kagome alternating between arms and, slowly but steadily, improving her punches against Sango’s palms. The priestess-in-training heard much of her friend’s advice over and over as she struck, and out of curiosity (and slight exasperation), she asked, “Can you show me how hard it’s supposed to be? I’m just not really getting it.”

 “Of course,” Sango agreed, readying her stance. “Hands up, just like how I caught your punches.”

 Obeying, Kagome readied herself for Sango’s strike. However, she didn’t quite anticipate when or how fast Sango’s arm would move, and felt a sharp pain in the center of her face and a ringing sound in her ears before landing squarely on her rump with a yelp.

 Nothing quite registered as the brown-haired woman lost sight of Kagome, her fist hanging in the air. Then it clicked as she looked down at her friend dazedly shaking her head free of disorientation.

 Sango gasped. She’d just punched Kagome in the face.

 “Oh my gods, Kagome! Are you okay!?” Covering her face in disbelief and fear, Sango rushed, “I am SO sorry! I wasn’t thinking, please forgive me!”

 “I-It’s alright,” the younger woman wheezed, staggering slightly to her feet. “I’m fine, don’t worry.”

 Sango winced. “Are you sure? We can stop for the day, if you want—“

 “No way!” she exclaimed, a twinkle in her eye despite her throbbing nose. “Let’s keep going. Can’t progress without bruises, right?”

 “O-Okay…” The slayer could sense her determination and resolve. “Then let’s begin again.”

As the days turned to weeks for Kagome’s training, everyone could definitely see that she was making progress. Since the first day, Sango had been patiently teaching her different moves and maneuvers, including ducking, weaving, kicking, and blocking. Kagome often came home with aching muscles and more than a few bruises, and Inuyasha often asked her if it was really worth it.

 “Of course it’s worth it, Inuyasha,” Kagome murmured, snuggling further into him from their perch on the Goshinboku. “Why would I keep going if I didn’t think it was?”

 “I dunno,” he replied. “You’re always sore n’ shit. All this just in case you get jumped by some measly human guys, even though you know I wouldn’t let them get close enough to even think about laying a finger on you.”

 She smiled up at him. “And I appreciate that. But it’s more than just training for the worst case scenario. It’s like…” Pausing, Kagome chose her words very carefully. “It’s a rite of passage, in a way.”

 He cocked his head to the side, confused. “How’s that?”

 “Well, think about it this way. I was a normal girl during the shard hunt, right? No experience with much of anything in this time; I couldn’t fight with you and Miroku and Sango, and my marksmanship was sketchy, at best. I felt more like a hindrance than an asset, because I was someone who came from another world. I was an alien. But now, since I’m here to stay, my training with Sango is like a promise to so many people who trusted and believed in me. My family, Sango and Miroku, Shippo, Kaede, Kikyo… and especially to you.” Grabbing his hand, she traced patterns on his palm as she continued. “It’s a promise that I’ll only get stronger from here, to protect those I love. It’s a goodbye letter to my old life, as an ordinary girl.”

 Looking down at his mate, Inuyasha felt a barrage of different emotions. He was often accused of being simple, but he always noticed the little differences between the Kagome from before she started her training to the Kagome he currently had trapped in his embrace. He would never forget the first time he noticed the callouses on her normally soft and smooth palms, or the way she seemed to have lost the roundness in her face. Even now, he could feel the way her body had firmed up, her muscles becoming more prominent and defined. Some of the softness was still there, but it amazed him how dedicated she was to improve, just as how it made him proud to see her progress as well as know the reason behind her goal. True, there was the small fear in him that one day, she may become strong enough to the point where she may not need him to protect her, but he ignored it. He knew that she would never deny his company or protection, but the fact that she grew stronger in hopes of one day protecting him…

He was astounded. “Kagome…”

 “And plus, it’s kind of fun. Sure, the booboos aren’t so great, but I think it’s really neat seeing how a frail person like me can bulk up and get strong, too.” Smiling cattily, she kissed his nose before continuing, “And if it means having you snuggle me all better, then it’s definitely worth it.”

 Inuyasha had the good grace to blush. “F-feh! So that’s your real goal, is it?”

 Kagome laughed. “It’s clever, isn’t it?”

 “Keh.” Grinning, he squeezed her tighter before whispering, “All you had to do was ask.”

  Weeks later, Sango had joyously declared Kagome’s training to be a huge success. While she was still learning and polishing her technique, the slayer had no doubt never seen such progress in such a short amount of time, and thus declared a small celebration in her honor between the original Inu-gang, plus Rin and Kaede. Inuyasha had immediately declared that he’d catch whatever animal they wanted. Sango and Kaede had taken up the cooking, the older priestess more than happy to contribute to the festivities. Rin had also eagerly offered her assistance, wanting to take part in the fun. Miroku had recently ventured to the local market a few days prior, and suggested that he and Sango share some of the foreign spiced tea with their friends for the happy occasion. Even Shippo pitched in, happily chirping that he knew of the absolute perfect peach tree not too far from here, earning a pleased grin from everyone involved. Peaches were her favorite fruit.

 Of course, Kagome herself was none the wiser as to what was going on, having gone to study herbology with Jinenji for the morning. After Inuyasha had procured the wild boar for the meal and taken it to Kaede and Sango, he sauntered off to watch her, lounging in a nearby tree while Jinenji had quizzed her on the healing benefits of the herbs they’d picked. They would be finished soon enough, and he wanted to make sure she went straight back to the village without delay; the food would be finished upon her arrival, and he was sure she’d be hungry.

 The plan was to meet her when her lessons had concluded, and discreetly escort her back to Miroku and Sango’s and join up with the monk himself, where the three of them would walk to Kaede’s—and Kagome’s celebration.

 “Inuyasha!”

 Dropping down from his selected tree, Inuyasha met Kagome at the base. She looked quite pleased with herself; she must have done well with Jinenji’s tasks.

 “You ready to head back? The monk says he wanted to meet up at his place; I dunno what he wants, but he told me to make sure you came along.” Stuffing his arms into his sleeves, he figures that was a good enough excuse to lead them there. Kagome cocked her head to the side. “I wonder what it could be?”

 “Let’s go find out.”

 And so they went, Kagome happily recounting her morning to her husband as they made the trek to their friends’ home. Inuyasha praised her diligence, keeping up with her spiritual and healing studies as well as her lessons with Sango, and she beamed at him in response. She was working very hard to make sure she earned her keep, and to hear him tell her that she was doing well made her happier than he knew.

 After their journey back to the village, the pair had stopped outside of Miroku and Sango’s home, Inuyasha noting that he could smell Miroku from inside.

 “I seriously wonder what could be going on,” Kagome mused, her chin in her hand.

 Inuyasha gave a noncommittal grunt, opting to lazily watch the clouds as they waited for the monk.

 Miroku exited his home about ten minutes later, the tea in his possession. Kagome had her back to him, obviously thinking about something, while her husband and mate stood sideways next to her. Without thinking, he walked over to them and reached to gently touch Kagome’s shoulder.

 He expected for her to turn around in mild surprise, or maybe a little jump.

 He did not, however, expect to see the sky, or to feel the ground at his back.

 As she felt his hand on her shoulder, Kagome had immediately acted on auto-pilot—she grabbed his arm, pulled him forward and, using his weight against him, tossed the unsuspecting monk over her shoulder and slammed him onto the ground. The entire maneuver lasted about five seconds, but to him (and a certain red-clad bystander), it seemed like everything happened in slow motion.

 “Oh my god! Miroku, I’m so sorry!”

 Tuning back into the present, Miroku watched as Kagome knelt down at his side, her hands covering her mouth, while he heard some poorly suppressed snickering somewhere from his right. What the hell?

 “Um… What just happened?”

 “She handed you your ass, is what happened,” Inuyasha snorted in laughter.

 “Kagome?”

 “It was an accident!” she wailed. “I didn’t mean to, I swear!”

 In the recesses of his psyche, Miroku had noticed that this had happened before, in the distant past. What was it that happened? Oh, yes, right, he had tried to grope Sango’s rear end, and found himself hurled to his back instead. Which meant…

 “I can see that your training is going extremely well,” he teased, attempting to save face and nurse his wounded pride.

 Inuyasha was never going to let him live this down.

 And if the look on Kagome’s face was any indication, he wasn’t going to let her forget, either.

[movedto-insom-art]

hi!! i just found you while poking around for gobelins students on twitter and i love your art, congratulations on passing!! i was wondering if you have any advice on the written exam or tips on how to prepare for it? i heard that the written exam can be given in english if french isn't your first language...

I’ll try to be very concise about this andmaybe pin it to my profile because I was in your shoes exactly a year ago, andif I made it here I think you have a considerable chance of making it too as long as you’re willing to put work into it. I want totell you what I wish I had been told.

Disclaimer: I’m definitely not the best personto ask. I’m self-taught and my situation may and will differ a lot from yours,but on top of that, bear in mind Gobelins has a ~5% admission rate. During theinterview I shared room with a person who had a stunning portfolio and had been doing two years of prepclasses to get in Gobelins specifically and didn’t get in. I don’t even understand what brought me in, but I will try to at least give you a detailedguide of what *I* did to prepare.

Important: READ THE “MODALITÉSD'ADMISSION” DOCUMENT THREE TIMES AT LEAST. It has so much usefulinformation and so many points you can’t afford to skip. If your French isflaky, ask for a friend who speaks it fluently to help you out. You *must*understand it fully if you want to get in and avoid needless calls to theschool.

Also, keep an eye on the website often. Allthe information I provide here vis a vis dates only applies to a time periodthat’s already gone and I can’t predict if the dates will be exactly the sameevery year, so double check for yourself!

French

If you don’t speak French now start asap, anddo your Duolingo and “Apprendre le Français avec TVMonde” exercisesevery day. The lessons for the 4-year program are in French and while they canbe understanding with foreigners I just strongly recommend for the sake ofcommon sense that you pick up the language, just to make the most of the chanceif you’re given it.

However, you can def do the written exam in English! The exam will be printed and handed to you in both languages, it’s not so much a test to see your writing skills (ironically) than it is to prove your drawing ones.

If you pass that first round, while they won’t require any certification, they *will* test how good you are understanding and responding in French during the interview process of the second round.

I also recommend you take special conversational classeswith a private teacher or with a French speaker the couple of weeks before theoral exam to really gain fluidity, it makes a difference.

Mental Health

Preparing for all this will be sustainedstress over a long period of time. While it’ll be intensive and will demand alot of you, bear in mind that a mentality of “every minute I spend notworking on this is a minute lost” is only going to harm you. It’s alrightto take breaks, have a social life, and space for leisure while you do prepwork. It’s alright to not be drawing every single hour and rest your mind soyou can go back to work with all your might.

Try to be demanding and to pushyourself out of your comfort zone, but do it at your own pace and alwaysleaving space for breaks and stuff that will take your mind away from it whenyou need to, like friends, videogames, or just drawing for fun. A healthy business to leisure ratio is always between ½ and 2/3.

Meditate if you can, too, just 10-15 minutesevery day. I recommend the Headspace app and it has helped me keep my coolduring really tense moments.

Open Days

Go to the open days at Gobelins in January ifyou can! I took a plane for the weekend just to go, it was expensive but Ireally, really do not regret it. Here’s why:

DONOT MISS THE FIRST DAY. They hold portfolio reviews and while you may not haveyours ready just yet, it’s the perfect chance to get an insider point of viewof how well you’re doing right now and how far from your goal you are. Make aprovisional one (or do like I did and just make a tumblr blog and throw inwhatever you’d want them to assess) and arrive early to ask for a spot at thequeue.

Youget to talk to other first-year students, who will showcase their portfolio andanswer all your questions about the admission process, the school and whateverother questions you may have.

Youget to attend conferences where they explain each of their programs in detail,and the head of the department will also answer all yourquestions.

Admissions usually open right in the middle of the open days. By all means grab a seat at the computer room and save yourself a spot in the exam process asap.

Also,if you’re a foreigner like me, you should totally go to the international classand see if you can spot somebody from your same country (or who at least speaksyour language) to hang out with for a bit.

Site note: That international class is adirect entry to 3rd year specifically for English-speaking students who alreadyhave animation experience. I didn’t apply for that so I can’t tell you muchabout it, but it’s definitely worth checking out if you want in, they say it’seasier than the main track, too.

Preparing for the written exams

First off, draw every day. Even if it’s notprep work or studies all the time, you can indulge in your OCs, OTPs, whatevermakes your heart race, but draw it and do it every day. It doesn’t have to beideal or finished either, but what really matters is that you get used todrawing a lot and make a habit of it. Quantity, consistency and speed areimportant skills for animators to have as I’ve been told and they will be looking for it since one of the parts of the inteview includes evaluating how much paper you’ve filled in a year.

Grab all the exams you can get a hold of fromthe Gobelins site and do them in the specified time (they’re on the Concepteuret Realisateur de Film d'Animation class page). When you’re done with that do themagain. Ask for feedback from your teachers and improve on them. Take aperspective book (I recommend “Perspective for Comic Artists”), take a gesturedrawing book (“The Vilppu Drawing Manual” or “Gesture drawingfor animation”), take a storyboarding and character design class (I tookSchoolism’s, which are 15$/month per class, it’s very affordable) and that’llgive you a good frame of reference. And when you’re done with the exams andknow them by heart, make your own exercises. Then do the exams again. Andalways ask for feedback, critique to train yourself against every weak pointthat you don’t want the jury to catch you doing when you do the actual exam.

Sign up for figure drawing class right now,with or without teacher (I signed up to an art club without one), the soonerthe better, and go there frequently, once or twice per week, to the short posessessions (up to 15 minutes per pose, 2 to 5 minutes would be ideal). Don’tbother doing portraits or long poses because again, what you want is to producea lot, fast. Put a lot of focus on gesture drawing, movement and speed. It’llnot only be a big chunk of your portfolio if you do pass the first round, butit hones your draftsmanship like no other exercise. You can additionally trainat home with websites like QuickPoses or the New Masters Academy figure drawingvideos, but I’d really want to stress that live models work so much bettersince they force you to interpret a 3D person.

Go to your local zoo as well, once a week oronce a fortnight, and do animal studies. If you can bring a friend it’ll help alot making it more fun but try to get used to drawing shapes that are nothuman. Understand their anatomy and try to apply what you’re learning aboutgesture from the figure drawing classes.

Draw in the street, in museums, go to a placethat inspires you or that you find curious and draw it. Draw the people topractice your characterization and caricature skills. Draw buildings to showyour perspective skills. And just whatever catches your eye. Environments and perspective are important and I strongly recommend you start by drawing from observation.

If you have a cool idea in mind or find agood exercise on tumblr to try that isn’t this, do it! The teachers appreciateinterest in several fields and if you can showcase that you’re a curiousstudent with plenty of interests they’ll consider you more seriously. I didconcept art and digital painting on the side and it ended up being a mainthing of my personal project.

And finally, go to @gobelins andraid it for advice, it’s a great point of reference to start with as well. Goto the current @crfa20 and past CRFA blogs to see what the students are up to if youwant inspo and check their profiles too.

Do this for the whole year.

Admissions open inJanuary and the earlier you can sign in the better (especially if you are aforeigner like me, you must get the equivalence with French studies recognizedofficially asap, it usually takes a while to get and it’s necessary).

On a side note, for the written exam, simplifyyour tools. You don’t have much time to elaborate or fix your mistakes so Iwould recommend you do your practice with pens (so you get used to not erasinglines and being confident with your strokes) and pencils (especially if you canget both regular, mechanical and color pencils to layer your drawings forcomplex exercises like perspective). During the exam don’t even think aboutbringing pens in case you do make mistakes you need to erase though, they arejust really good training.

Side note: if you can, all this while, make space for personal projects.Nothing that you must finish, but just produce a lot of your own content. Pick apodcast and do visual development for it, do fanart, iterate on a movie’s shots, developyour own stories through visual storytelling, do character design, storyboards,comics. Steal ideas if you must to get the creative juices flowing (but don’tpost it or pretend they are your own :V). Get acquainted with projects, explore a fewideas so that the moment you’re out of the exam room when you’re done with thewritten exam you not only have a deck of projects to choose from but are alsoacquainted with the process of carrying one forward (and also have a littlework already done).

Preparing for the oral exam

The oral exam consists of 3 parts.

A first part in which you’re not present, andthe jury will judge your portfolio, sketchbooks and demo reel without you for 30 minutes.

A second part, where you must introduce thejury to an original personal project of your own made for the admissionprocess, and defend it (in French).

A third part, where the jury will just ask youquestions (they’re usually very friendly) and judge your viability as a futureclassmate. Just be yourself!

The portfolio should just have your best, besweet, short and to the point. There is a limit of 40 pages including coversand the personal project so choose your best pieces from between your projectsand your practice. It should also cover three main points

Your skillset, which should be covered byyour studies, schoolwork, observation work and partly (but not mainly) the rest of your artwork.

Your capacity for creation and personal vision(aka what your interests are as an artist), which should be covered by the restof your artwork and other projects of your own.

Your capacity to convey and develop ideas, messages andstories through visual narration, which should be your main, personal project.

I recommend you throw in both sketches andunfinished stuff along with your most detailed and refined pieces so the jurycan have a good idea of your process, your way of solving problems and how faryour skills go. Storyboards, animatics and comics will always be a positivesince you’re aiming to study a medium that is sequential.

Also, if you can, pick other students’ portfolios for reference. They don’t need to be Gobelins or even students though, if you find a good philosophy to build your portfolio around, by all means go for it. It’ll give you a good idea of what needs to be there and what can be left out.

Lastly, while they stress that you *don’t* need toknow animation to get in since that’s what you’re applying to, you can bring ina 2-minute demo reel. I made mine with an animatic and a few animationexercises on my own, but I want to repeat what they told me, the intentionisn’t to show how good you are at it already (then what can they teach you?)but to show that you’re interested in the medium and are eager to learn.

Final note

You’re applying for an animation school, keepthat in mind always. An animator is not an illustrator or a concept artist(even if they can easily become one), and what sets them apart in my opinion is the focus on speed, gesture, quantity, and most importantly, making drawings that feel alive andthat tell something. Understand the craft, ask other animators, read books onanimation, anything you can get your hands on will help.

One of the points that I feel are the mostimportant about all this is included in the Modalités d'Admission text, whichsays that they look into a quality that would literally translate to “opennessof spirit”. I think that speaks for how open minded you are to new ideas,to working with others, to learning and to considering new points of view.

Again I don’t have all the answers, but if youare “open of spirit” and really make an effort to dive into theanimation world, look for resources and friends in this world I’m certainyou’ll find them.

[jackieisonline]

[Drawing on Everything] Week One

~~Part 1: 10 Different Drawing Apps/Software~~

[Note: After I wrote about these I then got the instructions that we should research software, so I’m not sure that I should have picked ones that I already have used. Hopefully this list is still insightful though!]

My formative childhood years were defined by learning how to use the computer to draw, so picking 10 different drawing apps/software is a nostalgic exercise for me. This list will be vaguely chronological, starting from the first drawing software I’ve ever used, and the years that I’ve used them.

1.  MS Paint (2000ish-2007)

My first experience with drawing on the computer was MS Paint.

2.  Oekaki (2006-2008ish?)

Around age 10 I discovered that the internet was a thing that had communities, so I joined something called an “Oekaki board” - these were forum-like environments where you used an online drawing applet to post your art, and other users could comment and critique on your work. There were a lot of these different boards around - in particular I was really (cough, am still) obsessed with this one Nickelodeon show, “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, and spent the good amount of my pre-teenage years learning to draw by joining related boards and creating fan-art.

The actual drawing applets on these boards were varied - there was one called “Shipainter” which I liked to use, especially for its watercolor brush with a dynamic range of opacity. I think this program was conducive to developing a soft coloring/shading style, which is still part of my current style.

(2007) I also became really into Naruto fanart communities as well. 10+ years later I’ve started watching the series again, so life really starts to surprise you.

3.  Corel Painter (2007-2008ish?)

I think this came free with my Wacom tablet, so I played around with it a bit when I was 11ish - but I remember it confusing the hell out of me. I think it was the “oil-painting” effects that added some 3D texture to your drawing, that I just didn’t know how to wield at that age.

3.  Photoshop (2008-present)

I started to feel at the age 11 that drawing on the computer was really my passion, so I asked for Photoshop Elements for as a Christmas gift. I really got into Photoshop and started to do more elaborate digital painting. I also used it to go extremely overboard in any middle school projects that involved some type of graphic design or illustration work. Past me was really excessive, but I guess that took me to where I am today.

My first Photoshop Elements creation. I named it, “In Those Eyes”. Fitting.

4.  Drawing Games: Draw My Thing (2011ish?)

In high school I would go on this site called OmgPop and play this online, multiplayer Pictionary style game. Obviously I wasn’t trying to build my art portfolio through this game, but I think in a sense it’s a good test about how to sharpen your symbolic thinking and drawing skills in a timed setting. Whatever phenomena happens during this is really interesting  and probably relates to big ideas about human intelligence and communication - it’d be cool to do some further research on this.

6.  OneNote (2014-2016)

I had a windows laptop at the beginning of my undergrad that let you draw on the screen with a pressure-sensitive Pen. It was a Lenovo Yoga Thinkpad. I remember taking notes in OneNote for my classes but also using it to doodle.

I drew this in OneNote, before going to college. I just went to visit Japan in the summer so I referenced this from a magazine I got.

6.  Sketch (2016-present)

Sketch is a vector based software for doing things like UI design. Because I’ve kind of veered toward UX design as a career path lately, I’ve been using it a lot in the work that I do for internships but also to design personal projects, and sometimes create illustrations.

One of the first things I made while learning this software was a set of avatars for myself.

7.  Mischief (2017)

Mischief is this software I downloaded a free trial for. Apparently it’s raster based drawing software (like Photoshop), but allows you to infinitely zoom into your drawings without quality loss the way vector based software works. 

8.  Google Machine Learning Drawing Game (2017?)

This came out a bit ago - it’s like pictionary in that you have to draw an object and others guess, but in this case “others” is a machine learning model trained to recognize drawn objects. I have similar thoughts/questions to my Draw My Thing example.

9.  TV Paint (2017)

One year ago I took an animation class at Harvard. This is more like software dedicated for animation but has a pretty robust brush set and features, which is nice since you can just create the art directly in the program as you animate.

10.  Piskel (2018)

I used this tool when I was making animated sprites for a video game group project during my final semester at MIT. I later moved to Photoshop because it was getting difficult to manage files only using the website’s interface.

~~Part 2: Drawing in the Present~~~

That was a rather intimate history of my prolific but embarrassing pre-teen self. Let’s draw some stuff today, as a 22 year old grad student.

For each type of software, I’m giving myself 20 minutes to draw whatever my hands/mind gravitate to. Apparently today it’s colorful girls.

1. Photoshop

2. Sketch

3. Piskel