#PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS USE REFERENCES

[seraphimhalo]

winter + fall

Studies with my dying ohuhu markers

[the-sage-libriomancer]

ARE THOSE THE FUCKING POWERPUFF GIRLS

[juusou]

its not art if ur using a reference - wise words from my mom

[piizunn]

Dance Clubs Cannupa Hanska Luger, 2022 6 ceramic and walnut objects with synthetic hair, fuel hose, synthetic sinew and vermillion ink Photo by @garthgreenangallery

Dance Clubs is a series of objects designed to be held in ones hand for a performance which is never to be activated.

Comprised of gas pumps slip cast in ceramic, coated with a brilliant orange ink, intended to stain ones hand if touched. The visual language is based on Indigenous war clubs of my ancestors - the ceramic and hand carved wooden clubs mirror the ingenuity in creating new technology - These objects transpose power of one idea into another, they are artifacts of necessary behavior shifts and a warning for humanity to pivot from our current actions if we are to survive as a species.

Now on view for BELONGING: Contemporary Native Ceramics from the Southern Plains now at the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, Texas through March 23, 2024. Participating Artists: Karita Coffey (Comanche), Chase Kahwinhut Earles (Caddo), Anita Fields (Osage/Muscogee), Raven Halfmoon (Caddo/Choctaw/Delaware), Cannupa Hanska Luger (Mandan/Hidatsa/Arikara/Lakota), Jane Osti (Cherokee National Treasure), Cortney YellowHorse-Metzger (Osage)

“This exhibit spotlights the diversity of contemporary ceramics practices among Native American artists in the region, and their reflections on belonging based in particular cultural roots, ancestral connections, personal insights, and individual experiences. Curating selected works from eight Native artists, this show incorporates a range of artistic practices from futuristic and customary works based on vessel forms, to more experimental practices that push clay in new directions through multi-media installation and performance.”

(via cannupahanska on Instagram)

[paarthursass]

idk if this is old news by this point but i was browsing pinterest for face references for drawing studies and i came across this picture of model Tony Thornburg and was IMMEDIATELY hit in the face bcs i recognized it IMMEDIATELY. like.

[blumineck]

Calling all artists, animators, and fans of fun and useful pose references! In 2 weeks time I will be taking part in @adorkastock & Friends' MASSIVE Group Poses for Artists Shoot.

We've got a bunch of models of different sizes and shapes, more props than you can shake a stick at (including bows, a pole and a POOL), and two full days of shooting to get as many reference photos as we possibly can. It's gonna be awesome, and there will be some PHENOMENAL references coming out of this.

If you'd like to pre-order Photo packs, you have until the 25th October. Get them here:

In the meantime, as a taster, here are some of the photos from last time I collaborated with @null-entity (who's also part of this project!) Enjoy!

(You can find the rest of these sets in my Patreon Shop)

[kianamaiart]

🌟KIANAMAIART FAQ🌟

FAQ wahoooo!!

GENERAL QUESTIONS

Who are you?

I'm Kiana, I'm a queer, Japanese Jamaican woman, and a Director/Storyboard artist who works in animation. I'm currently at Disney Television Animation.

What are your pronouns?

I usually go by she/her but I don't really mind any pronouns~

Where did you go to school?

California College of the Arts (but I dropped out when I was hired at Disney)

How did you get hired at Disney?

My bosses found me on twitter. They liked my drawing style and asked if I wanted to take a storyboard test. I did, I passed, I got interviewed and moved to LA two weeks later to start storyboarding.

Your work seems familiar. What do I know you from?

I've been on the internet for a long time! It could be a number of things. As maimai97 on dA I had a comic about next gen Pokemon characters called Pokemon 25 Years Later. As kilala97 I had some popular next gen ponies and also had a Steven Universe gemsona named Larimar. I'm also @yamujiburo, known most for drawing Jessie x Delia (hanamusa) a lot. I also work professionally! I've worked as a storyboard artist and director on Disney Channel's Big City Greens, I was a storyboard artist on one of the Steven Universe anti-racism shorts and I was a storyboard artist on Pokemon: Path to the Peak. Most recently I've been on season 6 of Dropout's Game Changer!

What program and brush do you use to draw?

Default brush in Storyboard pro. Photoshop sometimes just for compositing or specific effects.

PPPIDWTBAMG QUESTIONS

What is this project?

This is a project that started off as a silly idea that has since grown into me creating a 10 minute pilot animatic.

What does "pilot animatic" entail?

It means that it's effectively a pilot/episode 1 of a (potential) larger series. It's fully voice acted but is not fully animated. It's an animatic, meaning it will be comprised of storyboards in video form.

When and where can I watch the pilot!?

Now and right here!

What would this series be rated?

Ideally like PG13/TV14! Or whatever they call it. Definitely more geared to a YA audience. Not completely kiddy but also not what most people would consider adult animation to be

What are you planning to do with the project now that the pilot has released?

Don't know yet! There has been a lot of studio interest and even offers, so I'm in the process of talking with them and seeing if I can find this show a home or if I want to try doing it on my own or if I want to even continue with it at all. I know you guys are curious, but even if I wanted to tell you I couldn't. Just trust that I will make announcements as they come~

You said Aika had teammates, will we see them?

Because of the studio interest and potential for more of this show, there's some stuff I'm still holding close to my chest. This is one of them.

Do the characters have parents??

Zira does! As for Aika and Eclipse, this is something I'm still developing and don't really know myself haha

What are the characters' sexualities?

Don't know right now. Headcanon away!

Is "Star Guardian: Guardian of the Stars" a reference to that vine?

Nope! It's more so a parody for just really long and redundant titles which I love. Similar to the title of this project, which is called "Pretty Pretty Please I Don't Want to be a Magical Girl"

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Why I don’t like AI art

I'm on a 20+ city book tour for my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me in CHICAGO with PETER SAGAL on Apr 2, and in BLOOMINGTON at MORGENSTERN BOOKS on Apr 4. More tour dates here.

A law professor friend tells me that LLMs have completely transformed the way she relates to grad students and post-docs – for the worse. And no, it's not that they're cheating on their homework or using LLMs to write briefs full of hallucinated cases.

The thing that LLMs have changed in my friend's law school is letters of reference. Historically, students would only ask a prof for a letter of reference if they knew the prof really rated them. Writing a good reference is a ton of work, and that's rather the point: the mere fact that a law prof was willing to write one for you represents a signal about how highly they value you. It's a form of proof of work.

But then came the chatbots and with them, the knowledge that a reference letter could be generated by feeding three bullet points to a chatbot and having it generate five paragraphs of florid nonsense based on those three short sentences. Suddenly, profs were expected to write letters for many, many students – not just the top performers.

Of course, this was also happening at other universities, meaning that when my friend's school opened up for postdocs, they were inundated with letters of reference from profs elsewhere. Naturally, they handled this flood by feeding each letter back into an LLM and asking it to boil it down to three bullet points. No one thinks that these are identical to the three bullet points that were used to generate the letters, but it's close enough, right?

Obviously, this is terrible. At this point, letters of reference might as well consist solely of three bullet-points on letterhead. After all, the entire communicative intent in a chatbot-generated letter is just those three bullets. Everything else is padding, and all it does is dilute the communicative intent of the work. No matter how grammatically correct or even stylistically interesting the AI generated sentences are, they have less communicative freight than the three original bullet points. After all, the AI doesn't know anything about the grad student, so anything it adds to those three bullet points are, by definition, irrelevant to the question of whether they're well suited for a postdoc.

Which brings me to art. As a working artist in his third decade of professional life, I've concluded that the point of art is to take a big, numinous, irreducible feeling that fills the artist's mind, and attempt to infuse that feeling into some artistic vessel – a book, a painting, a song, a dance, a sculpture, etc – in the hopes that this work will cause a loose facsimile of that numinous, irreducible feeling to manifest in someone else's mind.

Art, in other words, is an act of communication – and there you have the problem with AI art. As a writer, when I write a novel, I make tens – if not hundreds – of thousands of tiny decisions that are in service to this business of causing my big, irreducible, numinous feeling to materialize in your mind. Most of those decisions aren't even conscious, but they are definitely decisions, and I don't make them solely on the basis of probabilistic autocomplete. One of my novels may be good and it may be bad, but one thing is definitely is is rich in communicative intent. Every one of those microdecisions is an expression of artistic intent.

Now, I'm not much of a visual artist. I can't draw, though I really enjoy creating collages, which you can see here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorow/albums/72177720316719208

I can tell you that every time I move a layer, change the color balance, or use the lasso tool to nip a few pixels out of a 19th century editorial cartoon that I'm matting into a modern backdrop, I'm making a communicative decision. The goal isn't "perfection" or "photorealism." I'm not trying to spin around really quick in order to get a look at the stuff behind me in Plato's cave. I am making communicative choices.

What's more: working with that lasso tool on a 10,000 pixel-wide Library of Congress scan of a painting from the cover of Puck magazine or a 15,000 pixel wide scan of Hieronymus Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights means that I'm touching the smallest individual contours of each brushstroke. This is quite a meditative experience – but it's also quite a communicative one. Tracing the smallest irregularities in a brushstroke definitely materializes a theory of mind for me, in which I can feel the artist reaching out across time to convey something to me via the tiny microdecisions I'm going over with my cursor.

Herein lies the problem with AI art. Just like with a law school letter of reference generated from three bullet points, the prompt given to an AI to produce creative writing or an image is the sum total of the communicative intent infused into the work. The prompter has a big, numinous, irreducible feeling and they want to infuse it into a work in order to materialize versions of that feeling in your mind and mine. When they deliver a single line's worth of description into the prompt box, then – by definition – that's the only part that carries any communicative freight. The AI has taken one sentence's worth of actual communication intended to convey the big, numinous, irreducible feeling and diluted it amongst a thousand brushtrokes or 10,000 words. I think this is what we mean when we say AI art is soul-less and sterile. Like the five paragraphs of nonsense generated from three bullet points from a law prof, the AI is padding out the part that makes this art – the microdecisions intended to convey the big, numinous, irreducible feeling – with a bunch of stuff that has no communicative intent and therefore can't be art.

If my thesis is right, then the more you work with the AI, the more art-like its output becomes. If the AI generates 50 variations from your prompt and you choose one, that's one more microdecision infused into the work. If you re-prompt and re-re-prompt the AI to generate refinements, then each of those prompts is a new payload of microdecisions that the AI can spread out across all the words of pixels, increasing the amount of communicative intent in each one.

Finally: not all art is verbose. Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain" – a urinal signed "R. Mutt" – has very few communicative choices. Duchamp chose the urinal, chose the paint, painted the signature, came up with a title (probably some other choices went into it, too). It's a significant work of art. I know because when I look at it I feel a big, numinous irreducible feeling that Duchamp infused in the work so that I could experience a facsimile of Duchamp's artistic impulse.

There are individual sentences, brushstrokes, single dance-steps that initiate the upload of the creator's numinous, irreducible feeling directly into my brain. It's possible that a single very good prompt could produce text or an image that had artistic meaning. But it's not likely, in just the same way that scribbling three words on a sheet of paper or painting a single brushstroke will produce a meaningful work of art. Most art is somewhat verbose (but not all of it).

So there you have it: the reason I don't like AI art. It's not that AI artists lack for the big, numinous irreducible feelings. I firmly believe we all have those. The problem is that an AI prompt has very little communicative intent and nearly all (but not every) good piece of art has more communicative intent than fits into an AI prompt.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/25/communicative-intent/#diluted

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[rainydaygotham]

THAT’S NOT A PART OF YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Dick Grayson x art student!reader gn || 1.6k words

Warnings: smut, naked cuddling, blow job, slight exhibitionism but not quite

Summary: You have an assignment for figure drawing and thankfully have a willing model (along with yourself). Time to take some reference photos. Unfortunately for one horny boy, this means he can’t move. lol poor guy.

a/n: goddd i’m a senior so i’ve spent a bajillion hours in figure by now oof. so here, let me indulge my fantasies. need me a muse like Dick Grayson… well, maybe it’s for the best, since this fic shows how i wouldnt be getting anything done with him around agdjhsajhfk

“Hey, Dickie, can you come in here for a second?” you called and instantly you heard the sock feet of your fiancé come padding towards you.

“Do you need me for something, Baby?”

You were too distracted with the task at hand to pick up on his flirting, “Yeah, just come lay on the bed for a bit.”

“Oooh. Of course~” Dick grinned as he eyed the camera you were adjusting on its tripod before he flopped down onto the bed, “any particular pose?”

“Nah I’m just fixing it right now, you can do whatever as long as you stay on the bed,”

You had meant, like, maybe he could scroll on his phone while you worked. But he took that as ‘whatever sexy pose you want, Babe’ and began showing off his lithe body. Little distracting, but you were used to him enough to successfully ignore it. But damn, was it hard. Especially when he turned around so you could get a nice view of his ass.

“So, we shooting sex tapes or what?”

You rolled your eyes, “No, we’re not shooting sex tapes. I need references for a piece for Figure. We’re supposed to be focusing on the ways the human body will fit together, so we need at least two models,”

“Sound’s intimate,” he schmoozed.

You sighed, “Yeah, that’s why I thought I should just draw us. I like the intimacy of the way we fit together—“

“So we are making sex tapes,”

“No. We are going to just be cuddling, I'm not going up in front of my class to present an explicit piece of us fucking, thank you.”

“But we are going to be naked?”

You sighed even more dramatically this time, “Yes, Dick, we are going to be naked. I have to ‘show off the beauty of the human form’…”

He raised his eyebrows at you suggestively, you shook your head, “and I'll admit, I wanted it to be a little sensual, okay, but it's not like that,"

You went back to fiddling with the camera, ignoring his childish snickering. You positioned it perfectly, able to capture Dick's full body but not too much background with it. Hopefully cramming yourself in there too wont crop anything weird.

Humming to yourself, you grabbed the tiny remote for the tripod and tested it to make sure it was working. Doing so, you accidentally got a shot of Dick taking off his shirt. The way his stomach and chest were flexed as he lifted the shirt over his head was beautiful. Just what you wanted, art. You didn’t delete this test shot like you would’ve done on any other day. Don’t tell Dick.

“Little eager there, Babe?” you flirted.

He had already moved on to stripping off his sweatpants. As he threw the garment across the room you noticed he uh, had a little problem growing. Ah..

“The faster we get these pictures the faster I can convince you to “take a nap” before patrol tonight,” he slipped his boxers off as he talked to you.

“Uh. Yeah. Um,” you started unbuttoning your shirt, “Let’s get this done, yeah…”

Great, now you’re flustered. You’d think you’d learn your lesson by now, to not use your own boyfriend as a model. But he was so pretty, it was always so tempting. If you had your way, all you’d ever draw were portraits of Dick. If you did that, though, you’d quickly get known as “that kid who only draws local celebrity Dick Grayson” around your university, which would most likely get shortened to just “Dick Kid”, and you did not need that kind of bullying in your life right now. You’re a professional studio artist now, goddamnit.

You heard the springs of the bed as Dick laid back down, “So what were you thinking?”

“…” man what were you thinking again? Oh, “I wanted to start with a shot of us spooning. You know, how the legs fit together, how a face fits into the crook of a neck,”

He smiled, “Do I get to be the big spoon?”

“I guess,” you teased.

You took off your own pants and underwear and gave your hair a good finger comb through before laying down on the bed with Dick. He smirked as you cozied up to him. He placed his hand on your hip as he repositioned himself.

“So you want my leg like—”

“Uh huh,” you felt the heat of his bare body melting into yours. And his errection nestling into your ass. Geez…

“And my face—“

He nuzzled into the side of your neck, brushing against the sensitive artery there. Hoo boy, perhaps this is a bad idea. Dick hummed against your throat as he began peppering the area with light kisses.

Mmm, perhaps it’s a really good idea.

“Dick, pose,”

He stopped his onslaught on your neck for a moment, keeping still as you pressed the button on the remote to take a few shots.

“Thank you,” you shuffled over to check the photos, much to Dick’s disappointment at you leaving his embrace, “these are good, next pose,”

“What now,”

You adjusted the angle on the camera, “okay now sit up, on your knees,”

He did as you told him and you crawled back over.

“Uh, sorry, I promise I’m trying to keep professional thoughts right now,” he gestured to his now very prominent boner.

“That’s fine, Baby,” you snickered as you started straddling him, “they’re not gonna be able to see it. This one’s about how legs perfectly bracket a waist,”

“Hands?”

“On my chest, with your fingers in between the ribs,”

Dick was a little confused on what you meant there for a moment but he found it. You were right, his fingers did perfectly slot in between the bones of your ribcage.

Took everything in him to not start running his hands up and down your sides, feeling more of you beneath his fingertips. The gentle way your skin was always soft, no matter where he touched you drove him wild.

And it’s like you knew, the way you grinned and shook your head.

“Here,” you dipped your face towards him and he greedily took the kiss you offered.

It was just a chaste thing, when he tried to deepen it you pulled away. Dick had to fight back the whine in his throat.

“Forehead to mine pleas—“ he gingerly complied, “there we go,”

Dick’s eyelids were pressed tightly shut, but he heard the click of the shutter go off a few times. You then disentangled yourself from him to go check the photos. He missed you immediately, even though you were just right over there.

Damn. This was horrible. Torture. His punishment from the gods like Tantalus’s fruit. He’d rather clean the Batmobile with a toothbrush than have you naked in his lap and not be able to do anything about it.

Okay so maybe he was being a little overdramatic. Can you blame him, though? He can’t just hold his everything in his hands and not make love to them. It feels irreverent.

“Okay, last one”

Thank fucking god. He could feel his cock throbbing and it was starting to get painful.

“Come get close to the camera, this one doesn’t need to be fullbody,”

He crawled closer as you adjusted it once again, “what’s up with this one?”

“How hands were made to cup our curves. I’ll need you to hold my chin in your hands,”

Done. You don’t have to ask him twice. But damn, as you positioned yourself to how you wanted, was it hard to not just start kissing you.

He gazed lovingly at you as he gently played his part, holding you for the camera (and a bunch of students, apparently) to see. He hoped he was doing you justice in this, in all of these. Although, a part of him didn’t want them to be good, didn’t want other people to see how beautiful you could be for him. Your home was his own private little gallery with you as the star and maybe he didn’t want to share.

Gatekeeping art. Tsk…

The shutter clicked and flashed but you didn’t really care anymore. That was the last picture, after all, and Dick was looking at you like he was about to devour you.

And you were right, as he realized he had a greenlight and dove right in.

Dick wasted no time in shoving his tongue into your mouth this time, lapping at your molars. Two can play at that game, so you licked into his mouth as well, only for him to fight dirty running his tongue along the roof of your mouth in flicks. A shiver ran down your spine as Dick pulled your face, still cupped in his hands, further into his. He moaned with the action, and damn, he really was trying to devour you.

He continued his attack on your mouth, sliding his tongue along yours in the most delicious way. You felt the vibrations of another groan as you let your hands start to wander down his body. His trapeze artist tits pecs.. his grabbable hips… his very hard cock weeping precum onto your hand as you fisted it. He pulled out of your mouth with a jolt, panting for air.

“Please—“ he was cut off by a surprisingly high-pitched noise breaking out his throat as you went down, wasting no time in taking him into your mouth.

You took him as far as you could, the head hitting the back of your throat. You pressed your tongue flat into the underside of his cock, slowly dragging it along his tender shaft before pulling off of him again. He made a strangled noise as you looked up at him.

“What?” why’d you stop before you even started?

“Well look,” you placed your tongue back into the divet where his tip met his shaft, “it’s like my tongue was made to be there. Fits together perfectly,”

God, you were going to be the death of him.

[tendermiasma]

I always avoided using references, but couldn't point out what exactly made me avoid it. I have finally realized that due to being unfortunate enough to be surrounded by people boldly claiming "real artists draw everything from imagination without any references" [now i know it's bullshit] in my early years of artistic journey, I developed fear of being too dependent on references and fear of being completely unable to draw anything good without "copying". Any ideas how to overcome that fear?

It's not something I hear at all in professional spaces. We've straight up traced weird angles of our arms before. I use lots of references. You will naturally get better at drawing intuitively with the more references you use since we learn by example. I draw intuitively much more accurately than I did many years ago, but I still use references because my idea of a polished drawing is a moving goalpost.

Jason Rainville is one of the best of the best, paints MTG cards and he often posts his references. You can see how closely they mirror the final image:

If you want to get good at art, you have to look at things and that's all it boils down to. Those who say it's bad to use references are either 1) never getting good at art, or 2) are insecure and are posturing in front of other artists. Hope this helps!

[patchwork-artists]

Hey you! Have you seen this post by @pigswithwings? Do you like it? Do you like animation? Well do I have the news for you! With the author's permission and consultance, I am running a 5 minute animation short film on it, called "Angel back at home"!

Now, here's the most exciting news: We are looking for storyboarders, background designers, and 3 voice actors of all genders! Even better, you don't need to be a professional on any of those things whatsoever, only have some knowledge on them (and be of minimum age 16) to try and apply for the role!

Unfortunately, it is not paid, as for legal reasons we can not make profit out of it. Why should you join then, you ask? In this project we guarantee three things:

Portifolio building: Everything you will be producing, you can be using to add to your personal art portifolio, if this is a career you'd like to follow!

Resume: The short-film will be hosted on several film festivals, so you'll be able to put a big list of festivals your work was featured in, if you'd like to follow any art career. If not, the entire experience can be written in several bullet points on a resume ("experience with working in group", "experience of working within a deadline", etc) for any general job.

Advice and art growth: Every art that gets made on this project will be seen by me, the producer, and will be given advice for improvement. This is especially good if you've been on an art block, is self-taught, or overall would like a different perspective on your art. Don't worry, I'm not harsh!

Additional points is that it allows me to know new artists and new talents! From the last project I had run in this format, I had taken notice of 5 to 6 different artists that I hadn't known were so talented for their specific skills, which made me keep their names for the next project I'd produce. I am someone who dreams of opening an animation studio for new underrated talents and non-professionals that are studying to be professionals, so i'm looking forward to finding the artists on this project that will catch my eye and I'll bring over to the next project.

The timing is flexible since it is a volunteer ran project, if I can't pay I can't demand work hours of a job, so the deadline won't be too tight. For 5 minutes of film, the boards, voice acting, and single music will all in total take about 3 months, with the deadline starting in ferbuary and ending in the end of April. The following months will be given towards animation, sound editing and mixing, and video editing.

Requirements for storyboarders: Know how to draw, understand rule of thirds, enjoy drawing expressiveness through body language. You can be using any drawing device, whether that's computer, cellphone, or traditional, as long as you use the storyboard template in question and stay faithful to references.

Application link for storyboarders

Requirement for voice actors: have a somewhat good microphone(doesn't need to be professional and expensive, just good enough so we don't want to give the audio editors too much work), have interest in acting (preferably have had at least one theather class).

Application link for V/A

Lines for V/A

Requirement for background designer: Know how to draw or how to put together a 3d model of free assests, you don't need to be super experienced and specialized with drawing backgrounds but it'll be good to have a basic idea of it. You will be given specific references for the backgrounds, and you won't draw every single background, it'll be split work

Application link for background designer

Applications end by ferbuary 8th, but may be pushed forward if the applications are low. Everyone that passed will be noticed two days after.

Best of luck to everyone!

[lorelune]

(kaiser x reader // minors dni // soulmate AU, references to physical abuse, smidge of yan kaiser)

kaiser doesn't want a soulmate.

his father burned off his soulmate mark with the butt of a cigarette before kaiser knew how to spell his own name. it was beat into his head that he was so much less than human, and why would such a thing need a soulmate?

his exterior puts people off once they actually talk to him. he inherited his mother's looks, and his father's heart, and any ideas of romance or deep companionship aren't really something he entertains. there's a wisp of a thought, once in a while, when he sees a mother kneel down to wipe the tears of their child or when he watches one of his teammates share an embrace with a partner following a game. there's a sliver of something there that kaiser sees, that is vulnerable and lovely and part of him aches for it in a way that's damning.

it's very easy for him to reject the feeling.

he doesn't seek his soulmate. he doesn't attempt to restore that mark that was burned away on the back of his hand. he covers it with a tattoo instead. in interviews, when pressed about his relationship status, his soulmate status, he's honest and callous— he doesn't fucking care. it's a pathetic thing to want and he won't indulge it.

it's easy to ignore. to focus on playing and crushing what he can, and not focus on the potentiality of a soulmate.

it's very easy until he meets you.

michael kaiser knows the moment he meets your gaze that you're his soulmate.

it's just like how everyone describes it to be. you look each other in the eyes and it's like... oh, he's home, isn't he? it's safety, it's peace, it's security that michael kaiser has never once felt before in his life. whatever he managed to craft through his own violence doesn't hold a candle to the way just looking at you makes him feel.

your breath catches, you hover just in front him.

(you're— just some stupid makeup artist, assigned to this photo shoot—)

"get the fuck away from me—" he spits.

you say in tandem. "— i need to use the restroom."

you bolt. the crew for the shoot isn't very large and everyone notices the palpable change in the air. kaiser white-knuckles the arms of his chair so hard that he can't be sure he would break the wood of it.

he excuses himself. tells ness to fuck off and leave him alone too when the other tries to follow him.

he splashes water on his face, tugs on his hair, even punches himself in the cheek in the bathroom. his heart won't stop pounding. the urge to find you, seek you is so strong, makes him feel physically ill.

the makeup you'd just applied to his face runs down his cheeks. even the red under his eyes is smearing.

kaiser isn't going to be able to collect himself enough to be professional, that's fine. he doesn't need to be. he'll request a new mua and tell your team that you said something off-color to him. maybe get you'll get fired and it will be that much easier to never see you again.

it's very unfortunate that fate tends to weave soulmates together, again and again. yarn spun with two different color fibers, unable to be separated once intertwined together.

you're collapsed again the wall, just outside the bathrooms. kaiser can see you shaking, can see how quickly your chest is rising and falling. you're alone too—

(he did this.)

he doesn't feel guilty. he doesn't feel fucking guilty. why would he?

you shoot to your feet. "hey, um— we should—"

"god," he clicks his tongue, crossing his arms. "following me to the bathroom of all places?"

"what?" you tilt your head. "i wasn't following you, i just needed some air. regardless, we should talk—"

"pathetic and perverse," kaiser sizes you up, leaning down to look at you. he hopes you feel as small and stupid as you are. "what horrible traits for a soulmate to have."

you still, meet his gaze again. the same warm, wanting feeling returns to kaiser, so unignorable it makes him feel ill. he'd vomit on you if that wasn't more than you deserve.

"god, you're awful, aren't you?" you scoff and cross your arms over your chest. "i was warned you'd be, but you really are a piece of work."

it's weird, how you calling him awful makes some part of him feel so desperately bad. it's a little part of him, bruised up and small but loud. he grits his teeth and ignores it.

"i don't need you." he reminds you, reminds himself. "i have no interest in a soulmate."

meeting you doesn't change that.

"oh, good. we're on the same page then." you shoot back, a conviction in your voice. "neither do i."

... what?

you're his soulmate. if there was anyone in the world who was supposed to want him, it was you. the stars crossed upon your births just so you could want him, that you'd need him, that you'd think well of him— right? that's what his teammates talked about, the few that had met theirs. that's what all the movies he'd watched from his cardboard cot in his father's home had said. and more convincingly, that's what michael kaiser knew in the broken, unsound thing that is his soul to be true.

you are supposed to want him.

"what?" he finds himself asking, venom in his voice. "why don't you elaborate on that?'

you flinch with it, rolling your eyes. your deflections seem effortless. "i don't care about having a soulmate, regardless of if its you or not. i wanted to make sure that you got that.it would be best if we forget that... this ever happened, yeah?"

oh, no, no, no— you don't get to run away from him. that can't happen. kaiser doesn't even realize he'd backed you into a wall until you physically hit it. it startles you; kaiser thinks you didn't notice either.

"works for me." kaiser tells you. "i'm glad that you can understand that i'd never want you."

he, in that moment, believes it too. kaiser fully believes that he will let you walk out of Bastard München's training facility and never see or think of you again. he will cut you from his mind, shed that which inhibits him.

(even if that feels... impossible. but, it's just another impossibility for him to overcome, yes? that's doable. understandable.)

it looks like you've been slapped when he says it. you rub over your soulmate mark. it's in the same spot on your left hand as his once was. (kaiser just read an psychology article about how this is a common self-soothing behavior. especially in those who have experienced some sort of attachment trauma—)

he sneers.

"go cry about it later. you're on the clock aren't you?"

"i'm not crying about it." you aren't but the way you get defensive and weird about his words lights in a fire in him that feels... dangerous to let continue to burn. "and aren't you working too?"

"i'm the talent." he smiles. you frown.

"oh my god," you duck away from him, back to him. "i'm so glad neither of us want each other because you're fucking insufferable already."

it feels. bad for him to hear. and yet kaiser wants to hear more of it. he wants to hear all about how you don't want him, why you don't want, and he wants to make so, so sure that you know that he doesn't need you either.

"i'll put in a complaint," he hums, matching your strides and speeding up just enough to take the lead. you're walking the same way after all. "i'll get you reassigned. i could get you fired."

"that's— taking it a bit far, isn't it?"

"i don't think it's taking it far enough." kaiser stops, whips around, and god knows that threads of fate possess him but he leers down and brackets you against large, circular column. the air is still and quiet, and he can hear the way your breath catches as he invades your space. he hopes you can feel the heat of his breath as he speaks, nearly nose-to-nose with you. "i'll pay your way to move out of the country, even. i would put you on the other side of the world."

"is it just your soulmate that you're rejecting, or love in general?" you laugh. "because no one will want you if that's the way you speak to someone you're supposed to love."

"i'm supposed to be tethered to you," he reminds you. "love is taking it a bit far. seems like you're attached already."

"you're the one who is looking at me like you want to eat me."

(doesn't he want to devour you?)

kaiser barely stops himself from spitting on you as he recoils. noa will only tolerate so much of his attitude.

you walk in silence back to the photo shoot, the room clearly away something is wrong with him. and you. but mostly him because he refuses to have you work on him further and instead makes himself a problem for the other three makeup artists available.

that night, he returns home alone. he stalks your employer's website, finds you, and finds everything about you. what you do, how long you've been doing it for, your education, your friends, your family, what you like— who you are.

he hates every bit of it. he hates how he can't stop himself.

there's another photo shoot next week, promotional materials for the new season. he has solo shots to take. and it only takes a few texts to make sure that only makeup artist there will be you. he can corner you again, probably, make your life worse so you know what an absolute mistake your making in not wanting him.

kaiser smiles to himself as he makes his arrangements. he delights in the sour expressions that he's certain you'll make when you see him again.

it's not that he cares about, he doesn't, he really doesn't. but... isn't there a particular type of pleasure to be reaped from making you, his soulmate of all people, squirm from discomfort? from his research on you, he's getting ideas, angles to force you into it.

it's enticing. it's enthralling.

and it has absolutely nothing to do with the specter of warmth that you could potentially provide him.

nothing at all.

and if it is— he'll make sure you never know, anyway.

[chimchiri]

hello! I love your art! I just wanted to know if you use references for your poses and if so where you get them (if you're ok with sharing) thanks and keep making great stuff!

Yes! I use references a lot! I'd say about 50% of all pieces I depend on some form of refs.

I am not the best at figuring out dynamic or interesting poses. And using references always gives a better understanding and a nice body flow. It just looks nicer. Sometimes I make them myself, sometimes I google or go to specific sites. It kinda depends. But when I notice I struggle I always go for refs.

When I don't have a specific pose but just the general Idea in mind, I just google "X stock photo" and browse through them until I find one that speaks to me. The watermarked photos are usually big enough for me to use so I never really buy them.

If I already have a pose in mind and I feel I need some help, I either google and or will use aphrite (for whole body refs) or this website (for specific body parts) which name I don't even know? Since I started actively practicing, there's been less of a need for references to get the pose I want properly on the canvas, because I'm better at understanding the body. I still use them a looooot though.

If it's just a small detail I can't get right(usually hands) I will either make a ref myself or take a photo of my partner (he's used to spontaneous photo shoots lmao)

Sometimes I also just need a quick check of how different body parts align and will go look in the mirror (without taking a photo). Like for this one, I struggled while drawing and wondered if I truly understood how the arms aligned. Turned out I didn't draw it correctly initially.

For certain characters I also have a 'face claim' and have a loooot of saved references for all kinds of angles. But I'm not showing those because I don't want to reveal them. I just always make sure it's someone where I can get a lot of photos from different angles.

Vizref is an amazing app for storing and sorting references if you're working on an iPad. Definitely worth the $. I use it strategically for single pieces where I have lots of inspo and refs, or sometimes face claims and my own art of characters so I remember how the fuck I drew them lmao

For things you draw a lot: I also got myself a cheap cowboy hat and foam head for Applejack specifically, since finding cowboy hat references for that specific angle I'm looking for is often near impossible.

I don't like to search for long so I tend to use google + the above for any specific search. But when I practice I love to go to stock photo artists. They all have a large portfolio and a LOT of photos for free (do check their terms of use though, especially when money is involved).

You should check out their patreons because you get A LOT of value for a very good price (approx 1.5$ - 5$). But again, they all also have a lot of photos out there for free.

@adorkastock - A lot of different models and body sizes - Wings! Oh my god those are to day still the best references EVER. - ginormous archive jesus christ -> Patreon -> Website -> Bluesky -> Instagram

@null-entity - Very creative poses, props - a lot of action (imo the best) - also creates quite a lot 360° rotation videos - ducks -> Patreon -> Instagram -> Twitter

@jookpubstock - lots of interesting lighting refs - also wears a lot of suits and cool outfits (love it) -> Patreon -> Website -> Bluesky -> Twitter

TrueRef (not on tumblr?) - High-res photos, honestly insane quality (very professional) - enhanced/more extreme angles/foreshortening - a bit more pricey -> Patreon -> Website -> Bluesky -> Twitter

Whew, long answer! Hope that helps you out! Don't hesitate to use references! As you can see I take them pretty serious as well and incorporate them in different forms into a lot of art.

Happy drawing!

[papermonkeyism]

Very sorry if you've talked about this before, but how much do you focus on/care about making the plantlife in your Dinosaur Project Thingy accurate for the time and place?

Asking both because I'm generally very curious, and because personally, every time I make it past my anxieties about not knowing enough about dinosaurs to be "allowed" to draw them, I run right up against "oh shoot, if I draw a grass in the background, people are going to kill me."

Having a cartoonier art style helps! If your style is photorealistic, the style is going to require more details that also make errors way more present and visible, but like, the way I draw trees for example you can't really tell if I'm drawing an aspen, an oak or a basswood, you know? It's just a leaf blob with a trunk in the middle. There's no identifying that.

Also, like 99% of my audience who follows my art follows it for creatures and characters, not plant life, and those more well versed on plants aren't as likely to care. At least nobody has come to bark at me because of it this far!

Considering the amount of actual, professional palaeoartists who basically use memes in their art, I think it's okay and fine for hobbyists and cartoonists to not know everything, right?

(Seriously, the amount of artists who draw theropods with no soft tissue around the jawline is wild! You know that classic look where the entire face splits along the skull all the way to the back of the jaw joint, and drawing that pink skin flap at the corner of the mouth? That's the jaw muscles. Why would a giant land apex predator not have skin protecting its jaw muscles? [Also, is that really what jaw muscles look like? A skin flap? Come on.] I've seen some Actual Professional Artists draw these giant cavities inside the cheek area of things like T. rex, that's where the muscles should be! Where do you think the legendary bite force -which this specific animal is known for- comes from? I mean, it works for animatronics, like in Jurassic Park, because it's hard to give soft tissue to robots that would hold up, but it's less of a thing for art, I think.)

I have a field guide book for Hell Creek formation that I'm gonna reference from when needed. Years ago I backed this kickstarter for a dinosaur video game, specifically so that I could get my hands on the book for this exact reason. It has plants section!

Few rules of thumb:

Trees Big. No, bigger!

No grass (if very late Cretaceous, then maybe grass? but research first!)

No flowers, unless Cretaceous. Might be worth googling "Cretaceous flowers" for specifics

When in doubt, ferns and/or conifers.

Also, finally, this is just me, but it can help to set yourself a "target audience" (with quotes). Personally, I'm making my project for myself and maybe a handful of people I know IRL. I only aim for the joy of these specific bunch of friends and family. Anyone beyond that is just bonus, and while I am very glad there are great many more people who do enjoy my work, it's less important than if my friends like it. And if there's one of the extra bonus people who thinks this one plant on the background of my art ruins their enjoyment of my work and me as a person, then that's a them-problem, not a me-problem, if my friend Satu still thinks the drawing is cool.

(Honestly, knowing these specific people, I wouldn't even have to be as accurate as I am, but unfortunately I did include "myself" in my target audience, so here I am.)

[gloomglimmer]

𝐃𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐄𝐑  𝟎𝟎𝟏  here  is  my  latest  dossier  template!  designed  to  help  you  explore  and  develop  your  character  in  depth!  please,  like  or  reblog  if  you  intend  on  using. 

BASICS

Full  Name:

Known  Alias(es):

Age:

Gender:

Birthday:

Heritage:

Religion:

Sexual  &  Romantic  Orientation:

Status:  (Alive,  deceased,  missing,  verse-dependent,  etc.)

Residencies:  (List  properties,  safe  houses,  or  frequently  visited  locations.)

Highest  Education  Level:

Occupation(s):  (Primary  career,  side  ventures,  or  any  criminal  affiliations.)

PHYSICAL  EXAM

Facial  Features:

Faceclaim:  (Optional  visual  reference)

Voice:  (Describe  tone,  accent,  speaking  style,  and  cadence.)

Voiceclaim:  (Optional  reference  for  speech  patterns  or  voice  tone.)

Eyes:

Hair:

Body  Type:

Distinguishable  Marks:  (Scars,  tattoos,  or  unique  features.)

Weight:

Height:

MENTAL  EVALUATION

Mental  Illnesses  (if  applicable):  (Diagnosed  or  speculated  disorders.)

Psychological  Profile:  (Core  motivations,  fears,  triggers,  etc.)

Positive  Traits:  (List  at  least  four.)

Negative  Traits:  (List  at  least  four.)

Alignment  Type:  (D&D  alignment  or  custom  moral  code.)

Personality  Type  (MBTI):

Phobias:  (If  any.)

Mannerisms:  (Unconscious  habits,  nervous  tics,  or  common  gestures.)

Hobbies  &  Interests:  (Leisure  activities,  intellectual  pursuits,  or  obsessions.)

STRATEGIC  ANALYSIS

Combat  Style:  (Brutal,  strategic,  erratic,  refined?)

Weapon  of  Choice:  (Blades,  firearms,  improvised  weapons,  etc.)

Hand-to-Hand  Combat  Proficiency:  (Strengths  &  weaknesses  in  close  combat.)

Tactical  Strengths:  (Leadership,  adaptability,  patience,  etc.)

Tactical  Weaknesses:  (Blind  spots,  arrogance,  temper,  emotional  ties.)

Signature  Techniques:  (Favored  moves  or  combat  tricks.)

Pain  Tolerance:  (How  well  do  they  withstand  pain  or  injuries?)

Defensive  Skills:  (Escape  artist?  Counter-fighter?  Tank?)

AFFILIATIONS  &  RELATIONSHIPS

Family:  (List  members  and  relationship  status.)

Allies  &  Associates:  (Trusted  confidants  or  powerful  connections.)

Rivalries:  (Ongoing  personal  or  professional  conflicts.)

Enemies:  (Those  actively  working  against  them.)

Romantic  History:  (List  known  or  rumored  relationships.)

Notable  Friends:  (True  friendships  vs.  strategic  alliances.)

HABITS�� &  LIFESTYLE

Daily  Routine:  (Structured,  chaotic,  or  ritualistic?)

Diet  &  Nutrition:  (Healthy,  indulgent,  restrictive,  etc.)

Exercise  Habits:  (Type  and  frequency  of  physical  activity.)

Grooming  Habits:  (Meticulous,  rugged,  or  indifferent?)

Substance  Use:  (Drinks?  Smokes?  Drugs?  How  frequently?)

Sleep  Patterns:  (Well-rested  or  chronically  exhausted?)

Personal  Aesthetic:  (Style,  wardrobe,  and  preferred  fashion  choices.)

Favorite  Books:

Favorite  Music  Genres:

Favorite  Art/Architecture:  (If  applicable.)

SPECIAL  NOTES  &  CHARACTER  LORE

insert  here

[hellenhighwater]

I mess around with a lot of random art supplies. I have zero training other than, like, primary school and some random one off classes or short series of classes. I follow a lot of different creators in different mediums on social media. I have never been taught to draw or paint or anything and so I don't really know how I'm supposed to learn. And so a lot of what I do is watch someone do something and then play around with it on my own, or decide I want to draw something and trace it or find a basic "how to draw [x]" and I guess my question is, am I violating some sort of "learn to [art skill]" etiquette or is this a reasonable, if somewhat scattershot, way to approach making stuff?

I guess I worry that, idk, someone is going to feel like I stole their thing? I don't sell anything, and I post from one account (not on Tumblr) just because I like to keep a record of experimenting.

If you're not selling replica work in competition with an original creator, then no, no problems with doing this.

It's funny because I was just talking to a studiomate about this--SO much of learning art is repetition and replication. We stand on the shoulders of the great masters who came before us--from cave paintings to cathedrals, artists have been looking to and imitating the work of other artists. So do tutorials, and trace, and try to copy, and do whatever interests you. Yes, it's possible that some random individual may take offense, but frankly that is never not a possibility, and in the grand continuum of artists, what you're doing is a long and storied tradition of learning. If you go looking, you will find centuries of artists copying and mimicking other artists to learn and develop their skills. And if you're not trying to become a really particular kind of professional artist, then there's really no right or wrong way to teach yourself art, so long as you're having fun.

For a good chunk of the "copy" stage of learning art, you're just not going to have the technique to be a viable competitor to most of the artists you're probably copying from, and by the time you do have the technique to really mimic talented artists, you're probably going to have your own ideas you're more interested in making anyway.

As a personal policy, if I feel I'm coming too close to someone else's original idea, I just don't sell that work. I may keep it or gift it, but I don't try to make any kind of profit off someone else's idea, even if it was my work. If you're posting and want to feel like you're giving credit where it's due; go ahead and post reference links for whatever you're working off. It's not required but it's nice to show respect to the work in that way, if you're able to.