#PEOPLE IF YOU HAVE BIRDMEN ART REQUESTS I WILL DO IT

[birdversary]

What is Tanabemas?

Tanabemas is a Christmas event for fans of Yellow Tanabe’s works, including Kekkaishi, Laughter at the World’s End, BIRDMEN, and Kai-Hen Wizards!

Participants will post a wishlist containing prompts for fanworks they would like to receive. During the holiday season, everyone will receive at least 1 thing on their wishlist, courtesy of the moderators! Gifts can be drawings, fics, moodboards, playlists, gifsets, or anything else your gifter can think of.

You do not need to create gifts for anyone to receive something, but if you would like to participate in gifting, all wishlists will be available for public viewing. Happy gifting!

Important Dates

Wishlist submissions will be open from October 18th, 2024 to December 6th, 2024. While you will still be able to edit your wishlist after that, gifts may not reflect changes made after November 15th.

Gift posting will begin on December 20th, 2024, and run until January 10th, 2025. Feel free to post any gifts in this time period. The tag for this event is #tanabemas2024.

If you do not share a social media website with your giftee, you may contact the moderators, who will share your gift with your giftee.

Writing Your Wishlist

Please format your wishlist like so:

Name: Your name

Gift Address: Social media accounts where you are accepting gifts

Wishlist: 

(Fandom) Specifics about your wish

(Fandom) Specifics about your wish

…and so on.

Do Not Want: Things you do not want to receive, such as blood, gore, suggestive art, etc.

Additional: Additional information that may help your gifter make you the perfect gift

Please include at least 3 wishes (at least 5 recommended, but the more the merrier), but feel free to be as vague or as specific as you like.

An example of a wishlist can be found on the Padlet where wishes are posted.

What can I wish for?

You can wish for anything! I want this to be an event where you receive fanworks you have always wanted.

That being said, if your wish makes gifters uncomfortable, you may not receive a gift of that prompt. Please don’t be too disappointed. 

NSFW will be allowed in this event, but please make sure at least 3 of your wishes are SFW. If you are a minor, please do not request or fulfill NSFW wishes.

You may wish for original fan characters or specific AUs, but please provide visual or written references if applicable. 

Posting Your Wishlist

Post your wishlist on this Padlet: https://padlet.com/karaeishi/tanabemas-wishlists-2tg12ibinnn1vyjj

You can create your own post by clicking the “+” button at the bottom right corner.

You do not need to create a Padlet account to make a post. You can also come back to this link at any time to edit or add to your wishlist by clicking on your post. Please refrain from editing the wishlists of other people.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to keep my gift a secret from my giftee?

Not at all. This is not a Secret Santa event, merely a Santa event. If you would like to reach out to your giftee to make sure they are okay with aspects of your gift, go ahead! If you want to post your works in progress, feel free to do that as well. I just ask that you finish any works in progress you post.

Can my requests all be from 1 fandom?

Yes, of course. This was originally a BIRDMEN event, but I wanted to include the long-neglected Kekkaishi fans, and the new Kaihen fans as well, so it was broadened to include all of these series. But I know many people are only in one or two of these fandoms. There will be someone to fulfill your wishes even if you only request from one fandom.

What if someone else has already fulfilled the wish I want to fulfill?

That’s okay! Then your giftee will receive two gifts! How wonderful!

I’m going to be too busy to make any gifts this year. Are you sure it’s okay to wish for things, even if I won’t be able to give anything in return?

YES! I want you to get a little gift just for existing! It would be cool if other people participated in gifting as well but I have zero expectations for anyone else to do so! I just want to do this!!

What if my head is empty and I don't have any wishes? Can I still make gifts?

ALSO YES! Sometimes there is just nothing in particular you want but you still want to gift things. That is okay too!! You are important to the ecosystem as well!!

Moderated by: Soh (Tumblr: @birdmenmanga, X: @arsquare3) and Kitsoa (Tumblr: @kitsoa)

Any additional questions can be sent to our askbox!

[kitsoa]

Lyric Comic Q&A

So it turns out when you work on a project for half a year, you get a lot of Thoughts and want to express them whether people are actually curious or not. Without further ado, your un-requested Birdmen Lyric Comic Q&A

(Warning: I’m long winded)

*Why a Lyric Comic?

Dude, lyric comics are cool. I’ve always been fascinated by the beautiful, multifaceted artistic experience they provide, because of my love for music and art. Furthermore, I am often plagued by cinematic trapped in my head, spurred by the movement and lyrics of my favorite songs. Since I have no means or experience in the animation category (which would free these phantoms from my head) the lyric comic was a godsend of a medium for this inspired idea of mine. Kiki-kit of the Gravity Falls fandom and Tides-miraculous’ lyric comic in the Miraculous Ladybug are my main inspirations, I’ve adored their sense of motion and emotional savviness. It’s quite the powerful medium.

It’s also a good medium for me personally. I am a ‘looper’ with my music, allowing me to listen to something over and over without tiring. This is useful in the drafting stages! I loved the challenge (though I definitely didn’t anticipate it’d take this long).

*Why this song?

“Out of Mind” was one of those songs that spoke to me, in an overly cathartic, heart-yearning-- almost funnily sardonic ways. Birdmen being on the brain, I started to easily see how much the singers voice reflected that bombastic frustration our Eishi is so known for. The Pre-Chorus “Are you kidding me?” speaks to me the most, reminding me of his cry of frustration during his first blackout, screaming against his fate as he fell from the sky (this exact image did not make the final cut in the end, but I certainly vied for it until other themes overtook it-- let’s face it, there are many screaming Eishi’s to choose from).

This period of time between Takayama’s disappearance and the inevitable reunion is super intriguing to me. Eishi’s in the role of the heartbroken singer, hopelessly betrayed and unable to get over the good thing they had.

*Breakdown the story:

The progression goes like this:

Eishi’s loneliness consumes the first verse, Takayama’s empty seat, Eishi standing alone… all the while peppered with Takayama’s broken promise, which culminates with Eishi’s defiant Death Tweet. The Refrain then serves as these hallmark moments that define them. This is what they had. Every rescue, every proclamation or venomous defying of fate-- it’s what made them. And you’d have to be out of your mind to think that these moments could be forgotten.

Verse 2 is all about that shift in Eishi to follow him. Wistful memories drive Eishi as he chooses to leave and depart from everything he knows, just to get him back. Meanwhile, that opinion of Takayama is still weighed down by that grating irritation (like hell he’s in touch reality, how could he do this?) culminating to his call for him in the Himalayas. The Refrain fires again with the same point as the last but this time I tried to go for a more fervent angle, some of the scenes actually focus on Takayama’s feelings for Eishi and ultimately the pull they have towards each other.

The Bridge is where things get desperate. The moments in the manga where Eishi is in physical pain because of the Whiteout shake me so much. It reminds me of a straight up panic attack. I let this crescendo with the music, making the black void swallow the chaos in a quick snap. Building to the final chorus.

The whiteout is special because Eishi both yearns after this figment emotionally (his friendship with Takayama) and intellectually (what the hell is it and what does it mean?). It represents his unique position in the realm of the story being able to see it, but it ultimately captures the almost divine force behind the relationship of Eishi and Takayama. The outro then brings us back to Eishi failed call at the Himalaya’s, the whiteout ripping him up and forcing Takayama to save him. All the while calling back to that first interaction between them. A mysterious moment that obviously held more weight than any world shaking rescue. And I cap it off with a warmer depiction of their reunion.

*Are you shipping in this comic?

Despite the romantic song, my affections for the pairing, and any other subtext I’ve provided, I went in with the project with a platonic angle. Like I’m not lying. I’m on the ace spectrum or whatever so I kind of interpret every strong bond in the same realm. So that means, if you think it’s a romantic interpretation-- then you’re right. If you think it’s not, you’re also right. Love comes in many forms. Have fun kids.

*What was your process?

Storyboarding

Listen over and over and figure out where to phrase the panels. I then divided the lyrics up accordingly in a draft and reviewed the pacing over and over again. Does it flow? How many words would comfortably fit with each panel?

Determined the thematic arc. At this point I already had a few anchoring moments so I wrote a description of the panel in the draft. I went with the formula of Verses= move the ideas, Refrain= emotional accents, and the Bridge is like… the climax with an epilogue of an outro. This was tricky step. I debated a lot of ideas and some lyrics didn’t feel like a good fit until I really sat on it for a while.

Fill in the draft. This is where I sketch the general shape of panels. This is also where I look at the gestalt of the thing and make sure the composition is easy on the eyes. I tried to make it dynamic and zig-zaggy so as not to be boring. This is the step where one gets really excited about the project. Cause it’s no longer trapped in your head.

Sketching

Gathered references. Surfed the web, made some myself.

Made time to sketch, I did a lot of them at my summer job, made sure to draw about 2 or 3 a day. I had the time then because it was before I took on my day job. I was very surprised to find that I rarely went back to edit a picture or dispose of a draft. I went through with the mantra that I was going to finish the picture no matter what.

Stayed disciplined with said time. I would not let myself take a break from drawing because half the success came from the fact that I was on a roll.

When I finished them I then went through the process of scanning them (my scanner broke between the first 20 panels so RIP)

Coloring Stage

...Good lord. This is where I probably went the most wrong. Make sure you have a good process in place before starting out this stage.  I was not one to digital art much as of late so my familiarity with my program was lackluster (and it also is literally the worst program  in the world), and my laptop couldn’t handle more than 10 panels. So hurray for a very desperate fix. I did everything from my brothers computer, in his room. Sometimes at terrible hours because that's the only time I’m home.

Color planning. I rushed this process but I pulled up the textures and color pallets and reference images from internet searches and stock piled them. While planning I approximated the overall ‘tone’ of each pane; (is it a dark shade, a light shade, blue, or red in hue…) and then I adjusted that so the colors didn’t repeat or blend unless the panels where connected in the same scene. There was a lot of problem solving in the actual coloring so some of this was not as smooth and I paid for it later.

Sketch Editing. I was able to go back in, move around things and edit certain aspects of the sketch without compromising the entire work. This was a life saver.

Actually coloring. Because I color sketches it’s actually a painstaking process where I can’t use a wand or a fill. I’m not familiar with certain masking and coloring methods that would have sped the process up and I wanted to be consistent. This would take 3 to 5 hours a panel which I would do in small bursts.

Type-setting

Deciding font. I was hunting around for a good font for ages until I just decided… to use my own handwriting. This meant that I had to makes sure my tablet pressure specs were up to date and I had to practice my style. It’s not perfect but its cool.

Apply font to panel. There were moments when I literally said ‘screw it’ and left my handwriting a little more sloppy than standard.

Consultation. I worked with my graphic designer friend on improving the placement of text and the color choices. This was an interesting step she is a saint.

Finalize

Every single panel is extremely large. I had to resize each one. Before this I had many tests in the drafts to see how certain sizes would load or format.

*Will you make another?

Probably. Like, there is nothing more satisfying than getting something stuck in your head out of it. I have a lot of tunes I am fond of but barely any qualify for lyric comics (need to have a good pace, easy to latch on musical phrases, thematic content that works etc.) The fandom is important too. Now that I think about it I have storyboards for an old DCMK ‘lyric comic’ idea to Imogen Heap’s “A-ha” (it was like some hidden dark side!au shit I still come back to it). I can’t let my interest wan or it straight up dies. Birdmen is a really unique series for me because its held on for a remarkable amount of time and strongly at that.

Fun Facts:

I colored a total 77 panels, 11 of which were scraped versions of the core 66 because perfectionist tendencies.

It took me 3 months to sketch all the panels out, sometimes drawing 3 a day. I would often cradle my sleeping kitten while I drew.

Panel 54-- the final chorus, whiteout splash page-- took three days to draw. At first it was two pages taped together, then it was three. I had my friend mend the images together into a massive pic for me to color, then break it apart for blog distribution. The full version is used in her video edit of the lyric comic.

I didn’t use pressure sensitivity on my tablet until I got to the last chunk. RIP

It usually took me over a day to do one picture.

I do not have a computer in my room that utilizes the art program I need. I literally did every panel after #10 in my brothers room. Sometimes hella late at night too. Props to my generous brother, he tells me he likes the company.

I took a few notable breaks. All of Inktober was used on the art challenge. The weeks leading up to Birdmen Week. And at least half of the Christmas season was spent on coloring hiatus.

I like adding a ring around the pupils of the seraph eyes. This is not canon, but an error that I really liked. You can see it as a sort of glow.

I am having my friend edit the panels into a video for your convenience. I have no idea how long it will take but I’m tired.