#THE WAY you added details of my art like colouring words and the way I do hair

[chloesimaginationthings]

THIS IS ACTUALLY PEAK!!

so as you all may know i very much love me and @junebugzjuniperr's schmidt brothers au where essentially michael afton from the games meets mike schmidt from the movies.

as such, of course you can expect me to absolutely adore @chloesimaginationthings's comics of the fnaf movie and game characters interacting with each other (seriously if you happen to see this your stuff is truly fantastic)

however as i continued on i noticed one a key differences in my and chloe's stuff and that is michael afton the corpse man himself

so uh i drew this

i love how ugly and gross and scraggly and horrific my michael afton is truly especially next to the pristine chloe michael it makes me chuckle

but yeah basically my version of michael afton has a big self-loathing problem (and some british teeth hehe)

also i totally didnt steal that punchline from tf2 of course not there's no way i thought of saxton hale on page seven of the war! comic when i wrote chloe-michael's line of course not how could you think that

[rayaverra]

Love Amidst the Noise // Luke Castellan

pairing: luke castellan x fem!reader

genre: fluff (i guess)

summary: you get a little overexcited while talking, and your friends find it annoying. When Luke finds you sad and quiet, he comforts you.

warning(s): none

wc: 654

notes: this actually happened to me in real life, so shout-out to my best friend for his kind words :')

english is not my first language, so there may be mistakes.

・❥・༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶・❥・

"And we visited this museum when my dad took me on a trip to Boston, and the art there was just amazing! So many different types of paintings... all these vibrant colours that matched... and the amount of detail..." You were sharing your winter experience with your friends, feeling passionate about the art. Now that summer break had started and you were back in camp, you were excited to share all your latest stories, but none of your friends seemed to really care.

"Yeah... yeah... we get it! Your father took you to see some old paintings," one of them said, rolling their eyes, and soon afterwards everyone else joined.

"Yeah, who cares about some old paintings that all look the same anyway?" Another one added, and your smile suddenly faded, feeling sad that they spoke like that about something you cared so much about.

"And you've been talking about it for almost an hour! Don't you let anyone else speak?" And with that, you closed your mouth, feeling unwanted; you didn't say anything for the rest of your friends conversation.

Later that day, you were sitting on your cabin's table earlier than everyone else, not being in much of a mood. You started to wonder if everyone thought the same as your friends. You knew that sometimes you talked too much, but you couldn't control it. Did everyone in camp think you were annoying?

A familiar figure approached you. At first, you didn't turn to see who it was, but soon you realized it was your dear friend from the Hermes cabin, Luke Castellan.

He noticed your unusual silence and your worried expression. "Hey, is everything okay?" He asked gently.

"Fine..." You said, avoiding his gaze. And that, with the fact that you replied without using many words, like you always liked to explain the details, made him curious as to who got you sad. Deep down, he was also slightly angry that someone would hurt his best friend like this.

"Come' on, I know you better than that." He smiled softly, reaching across the table and gently holding your hand. "You can tell me everything, you know."

You hesitate for a bit, feeling a lump form in your throat. "Do you ever find me annoying?" You eventually blurted out, surprising both Luke and yourself.

He furrowed his eyebrows, looking genuinely puzzled. "Annoying? Not at all! Why would you think that?"

You signed, looking into his filled-with-kindness blue eyes, giving him a weak smile. He was so gentle with you that it warmed your heart.

You sighed, finally deciding to share the weight on your shoulders. "My friends, they... They always complain about me talking too much and never let me finish."

Luke's expression shifted from confusion to understanding. "You're not annoying, not to me. I love how you light up when you talk, how your eyes sparkle. Your enthusiasm is one of the things I adore about you."

Your heart warmed upon hearing his comforting words. You realized that you had found someone who appreciated you for who you were.

"Don't let them get to you. You're amazing just the way you are, and anyone who can't see that doesn't deserve your energy." He said, moving a strand of your hair behind your ear. You smiled, remembering how fun it was when you explained to Luke the history of each painting, and him listening intensively.

"Thank you, Luke." You smiled, moving closer, sniffing a little, and resting your head on his shoulder after giving him a hug.

"Can you tell me about that painting with that couple on a swing again?" Luke asked, and you blushed, nodding your head and starting to tell him about the famous Cot's painting.

In that moment, the weight lifted, and you felt a newfound strength. As you continued your conversation, you found solace in Luke's understanding, grateful to have someone who valued every word you shared.

[cherryfennec]

Okay I love your most recent art work of Mario and Mr. L!!! I’m just curious how on earth did you draw their hats so well?? Especially the brim of their hats?! Hats are the one thing I struggle with when drawing them! I can’t make it look believable!

Hi! First of all thank you for the kind words, I'm glad you like the art! Now as for hats (more specifically Mario and Luigis type) there can be different ways you might go about drawing them.

(I should probably mention at the beginning that I am not an expert and sometimes struggle myself as well. Despite this I'll try my best to explain how I usually approach it.)

Let's start with brims because they seem the most problematic (as I see it.)

What I'm going to talk about might already be intuitive for a lot of people, including myself, however I thought it'd be a good idea to break down the mindset so everyone is on the same page and those who have trouble seeing it can hopefully understand stuff better.

First it's obviously the idea. No real details, just the general idea. With it we'll be able to establish the basic rules for what you're drawing, most importantly the angle and perspective.

Now this is going to be pretty self explanatory but: if I'm drawing a character looking up I know that the bottom of the brim will be visible, if the characters looking down it won't and etc. An easy way to check which parts of the brim will be visible from a specific view point is to imagine it as a slab.

Now this isn't anything mind blowing, I know, but saying this out loud can be handy and save you some overthinking.

Alright, let's talk about the hat itself now!

In most of the pictures I could find of the bros hats they're divided into two parts: the front, which is taller and slightly spiked up, and the back, which is noticeably shorter. Now this kinda goes back to the idea of simplifying shapes:

At some point it unfortunately becomes rather difficult to explain why some stuff is drawn the way it is because it's kinda justified by: "that's how the real life counterparts act". Above everything I highly recommend references, both irl and ingame ones. It's not embarrassing to use them, trust me, no one will criticise you and they'll help!

Now that we got the brim and the hat, let's put the two together!

There isn't really a strict order of how you should draw things, everyone has different preferences and processes which should be taken into consideration. For example, I personally like to draw the entire head before I touch on the cap:

(I added the hair and colours for the sole purpose of this post, this process is usually done during rough sketching.)

This way I have a point of reference where the brim ends (right before the ear for me) and where I should place the middle line on the cap (it's a bit of a stylistic choice than anything but it also lets me know where the fold will be). You can find your own way and make your own rules and with time the process will get much easier! I hope this somewhat helps.

Just practice, have patience, experiment and most importantly: have fun!

[chloematis]

hey!! i Love the way you draw cats!! i've been trying to get into digital art myself and trying to capture all the colours a cat can have can be so difficult without making it look kinda sloppy and patchworky. Do you have any tips and tricks how you manage to portray to actually look like fur or do you have a good point to start to find info on that so I can practice drawing my little menace without her looking like patches of colour rather than fur?

Hmm, a lot of it is an unconscious collective of my years of digital painting experience, so it's a bit difficult to put into words but if I had to say,

1.) Get a good reference image. I do all of my paintings from photo reference so I don't usually invent light sources, just reinterpret what's already in the photo. I find the most effective ones to be pictures with strong directional lighting with distinct shadow shapes

2.) Learn the underlying anatomy of cats. Understanding the actual shapes that make up a cat allows you to recognize the how and why the shadows and highlights in the reference image work the way they do. 3.) The way I do fur is I get all of my colors and shading down and as final step go over certain areas with a textured blending brush, following the contour of the fur. (I use my own custom brushes in Rebelle 7 but I believe other programs have similar 'mixer brush'-like tools)

I also recommend petting your cat to get a tactile feeling of the planes of her face, what direction the fur goes in where. What kind of movements would disrupt the direction?

As for color-picking I usually go into photoshop and mess with the lighting and color adjustments until I get something similar that I'd like in the final painting. Then I filter > noise > median to get rid of a lot of the details so I'm left with mostly blocks of color and color pick from there. idk if other programs have this specific blur type, but your standard gaussian blur works just as well

In my experience, when you do a lot of painting you eventually are able to see colors in areas of photos that aren't technically captured by the camera but could be perceived by the eye in real life. For starters you can focus on adding more saturated colors in areas of shadow or plane changes.

If you add a color in one part of the fur try and have it, or a similar color, in at least another part of the fur so it looks like more of a cohesive image.

As for other resources I never really did any specific studying for drawing cats in-particular, it was just something I started for fun and honestly haven't really been able to find many resources on it I found super useful.

This video on reflected light did completely rewire my brain when it came to coloring though

If you (or anyone!) has any pieces they'd like me to look over and give direct feedback on I'd be happy to help! Might be a bit more useful then trying to verbalize the specific painting neurons that possess me whenever I'm working on a piece. :)

[thedenofravenpuff]

How do you draw the metal shine on your animatronics?

Oh geez

Honestly?

I have no frigging idea! Couldn't start to explain what I'm doing, as I just draw and add shine and shading as I work. At least if yer talking about my robot shine in my sketches.

But alright, let's see if I can try and make examples for this..

Fig. 1

As said above, I usually shade and shine as I go, so leaving this one mostly blank was bit of a toll on me.

But yeh, just a flat sketch of our favourite Sun guy just happy to be here

Fig. 2

Alright, this is a very simple example for how I do most shine on areas meant to be a light colour. Can't be too drastic and risk making it look like the casing is supposed to be darker.

Best way I can explain the "shine lines", hmmm.. I'm not smart enough to have the words, I guess. I just learn from observing art and things around me to try get an idea what gives the right effect with the tools given..

Fig. 3

Let's try with more detailing by adding soft shading.

I really do just add these things based on feel and vibe, as I go.

Do pay attention that whether it's metal shine or shading on non-metal parts, it rarely goes all the way to the art lines. Gotta preserve white space for effect, it helps giving the needed illusion of light when ye only got pencil to work with. Is the best way I can put any instructions on this.

Fig. 4

Of course matters on the shape and desired effect on what you are drawing. There are many ways to draw shading and shine on different materials, for the right feel. This is just some basic and simple examples I can think of to try and illustrate.

I'm sure you can find plenty of better tutorials out there to explain this concept in deeper detail than I'm able to.

I never really looked it up myself, I just experimented with my techniques as I went. Even trying to set it up in separate parts have me unsure if this gonna help ya understand how I do my work.

Best I can tell ya, is I mostly tribute the backgrounds of Hollow Knight some credit for my shading techniques today. Some arts done attempting to copy the style of the game's backgrounds and detailing gave me some pointers to work from.

(Moth character my old OC Grave Keeper)

So, yeah, that's the best I can give ya on the subject of how I do metal shine in pencil. Best I can offer is ya look up examples that work for you, to try draw from as you figure out your own technique and vibes for it.

I do hope that was any help!

Enjoy!

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[drenched-in-sunlight]

hello hi!!! grfhvhghr i am in love with your artwork so much you cant believe-- i wanna ask if you have any tips on how you lineart and colourpick?? no pressure to answer tho, have a great day/night!! again, love your art <33

hi!! thank you for your kind words!! since i got asked about these a lot, im answering this for all the other ask asking about lineart and colour tips too! You can see some previous post here.

also i could only give out tips that work for my drawing style - which is heavy lineart / colours pop up the line (believe it or not it's American comic book style. ppl cant understand why my art doesnt really look like usual anime/ Asian webtoon style, even though it is still clearly anime / Asian webtoon style, but when i told them it's because im drawing these by studying American comics, no one believes it either lmao.

i do study but i do my own things too, so most of my art inspo is really unexpected to ppl, but they r really where i learn things from, cuz i dont even go to art school TT_TT).

Changing the brush size will help you achieve thick/thin lines better without having to put pressure on your wrists. Keep your hold relaxed and let bigger brush size give you the thick strokes.

I like messy sketch, to me the sketch is just an outline shape to fill details in when i do the line, it also gives more freedom to wriggle as i draw! cuz i dont really plan out everything from the start, just wing it as i go, so a lot of my work is actually very spontaneous.

that leads to this point: when you do the lineart you should start deciding which colour style you want from it to adjust the details amount. the ink shadow blocks in my art aren't there randomly, i adjust them to best complement the shape language and colours.

for piece where i want the line/shadow to...idk hit (?), the colours are almost flat with textured brush adding depth to them, so the inking is the shading, thus there are more details in the lineart / ink blocks.

for the video above and piece like this where i want the colours to be clear and pop out, the use of ink blocks are minimized and i do the shading during colouring process. but! the ink blocks can still make some places pop very nicely! just use in moderation!

when doing the base it's good to keep the colour on the left side of the colour wheel (low saturation), but as you do shading and lighting, try to spread out evenly so it won't look washed out.

toggle around with hue and saturation slider as you go! the key is always adjusting! you're making hundreds of decisions at once, being conscious of your choice in why a line or a colour should be in a certain way will help improve your process a lot! (i think you can tell which art i turned off my brain and just draw for stress relief ........ which is also a valid way to draw and sometimes the result might surprise you! but for more serious stuffs i try to be aware of most of the move i make. it's problem solving, yeah?)

i find that one way to keep your art from appearing too...yellow in the end (which is sth that haunted my ass for a long while) is always aim for cold tone, so if you accidentally make it warm either way in the end it won't be too warm (and yellow :cry:)

well that's all the stuffs i can think on top of my head. sorry i can't give more advice on colour picking cuz it's sth i don't really know how to give advice on???? i think my colours now are still pretty lame haha........ if there are still any questions i'd gladly answer within my ability, though im very slow to answer ask ( i do read and be happy at all of them tho!)

[queruloustea]

got any tips for drawing backgrounds/environments? yours are just utterly stellar

hello and thankyou for the ask!! and for the kind words!!!

truth be told—i, myself, don't much know what i'm doing when it comes to. anything art related. my process involves a lot of flailing and nebulous feelings of what to do.

in addition, for me, my character art actually came after my work with scenery, so advice may be wonky as a result! this is simply what i have found for my own style.

for backgrounds of my style i have found:

focusing on shapes is good!! just like closer-up artworks, it's good to focus on silhouettes and general impressions. getting some nice shapes into the background, without adding much detail, can go a long way (this goes for objects, landscapes, lighting, what-have-you)

things that are in the background (or, generally, out of focus) tend to look lower in contrast. i will even fade some of mine into neutral colours so that the objects in the foreground/the objects of focus stand out more. values are important for separation!

it's helpful to keep in mind how different colours/lightings may affect one another (reflection and whatnot), too! all of my pieces tend to use quite limited palettes partly for this reason. colours from the background will find their ways onto your subject and vice-versa. that is not to say that background colours and subject colours cannot be different—contrast is good!! cohesion is also important, however.

[rabbiting]

the way you use shapes in your art is absolutely phenomenal... is there any particular way you approach shape design? or do you just go off of intuition?

Thank you lovely anon for your kind words! I do everything on a wing and a prayer but I’ll share my process with you!

Initially I just try to get everything down in blobs. I don’t use references so this is all a terrible, freehand mess, but at this point I am prioritising colours and placement and not thinking too hard about the final design. Here are my initial sketches for this stage:

Now it is time to think about the shapes. To avoid tears I use a grid - here I’m using an isometric one. You can think of geometric motifs in terms of shapes being pieced together, in much the same way a quilter would. (If you have procreate there are two lovely grid overlays that give you nice straight lines if you turn on drawing assist.)

Here is what things look like with the overlay and after fixing into place; you can see I did this in two parts in the drawing process after randomly changing my mind about the colours.

Now I’ve got everything neatly in place I can turn off the grid to add detail or move things about - all I’ve done here is curved some of the straight edges and added some gradient detail. Here is the overall process all together:

I hope this helps but please do let me know if you need further clarification! Also bear in mind that pre-2017 I did all this in photoshop on an intuos 3 without grids by coping and pasting the shape tool (I categorically do not recommend this method.) If anyone else has any questions, I’ll try my best to help whoever who needs it. 💖

[allykatsart]

STOPPPPPPPPPP peccantum is my child now sorry im adopting him you are losing your parental rights. move the fuck over alastor that little boi is MINE

no but for serious, I. Am. So. In. Love. With your series. the art, the dynamics, the designs, the lore, all of it ALL OF IT. you worked peccantum into the series events so smoothly like whaaaaat

A couple questions I have, and then I'll be out of your hair:

Does Peccantum have any preferred nicknames? I saw someone call him Pec/Pecc once and I've been calling him Peccy in my head. I'm curious if there's an actual, creator-approved, nickname we can use

Do we get to know the full details of what Peccantum got out if his deal? Not tryna steal info you aren't ready to share but by lucifer is it eating at me !!

I don't know if you watch Helluva Boss, but considering og Peccantum (not hazbin version) is space-themed and you mention he decorates his room like space,,, it's totally improbable but WHAT IF HE MET STOLAS or Octavia!!!!!!! I just think it would be so wholesome for him even though the Goetias don't interact with sinners

So in his pre-afterlife lore you mention he worked his way up a cult but got taken advantage of by the leader and stripped of all the power he'd accumulated. He's obviously suuuuuper power hungry so it may fog up his thinking, but did he not learn from that??? why is he cozying up to Al (like eating the rotten venison just to impress him) if the last time he did that, it resulted in him losing everything

Peccantum wears Alastor's colours bc soul ownership and everything, but during the 7 years when Peccantum never heard from him, how relaxed did he get? Did he still wear the colours then or did that begin when he was oh so kindly volunteered for "bellhop" services?

If Peccantum's red string theories lead to conspiracies like "Alastor is just Lucifer in disguise", how off the mark is he about who owns Al's soul? Like would he be crazy enough to suspect Razzle n Dazzle or something or would he hit close to the mark?

On a related note, do you have a HC for who owns his soul?

I LOVEDDDD when you gave Peccantum his different hairstyles (they were all gorgeous but I particularly enjoyed the one with the many braids),, maybe Angel or Charlie would convince him to play dress-up??

Does. Peccantum. wear. makeup.

Is there a particular reason behind bis jumpiness or is it just one of his many Talents ✨️

If Alastor ate Peccantum would Al season him or would he be eaten spiceless?

Peccantum visits Cannibal Town for Al's errands, is he chill with any of the residents or does he more employ the in-and-out-without-looking-at-or-speaking-to-or-acknowledging-anyone tactic

Also just curious about how his and Al's dynamic will evolve

I'm sorry this is such a rambling ask, and please feel free to completely gnore or only answer some questions, I'm just really invested in this au you have going on !!!!!

ps i looked up the name to find how you came up with it and i think you were very smart with it

Who is Peccantum?

Oh wow dkajfbshdhjsjshd I'm. I... I don't know how to respond?!??!! This is so sweet! Thank you! 🖤💜💚❤️💜💜💜❤️✨

Sorry it took so long to answer this! I was drawing a comic and it actually added context to a lot of these questions/answered them, so I figured I'd save it until after I was done. There's a lot here so I'm gonna answer it in numbered sections!

1. Names & Nicknames

I don't really have a nickname for him, I usually call him by his full name lol. Peccy is cool lol. His name is pronounced with hard C's. So Pec-cant-um. Or, in case of the nickname, Peck-y

Fun Fact! Peccantum isn't his 'real' name. Like Angel and Husk, he took a new name once he died. His other name was actually shorter (and an actual name too). Peccantum is actually a mix of the words peccatum, meaning sin or transgression in Latin, and incant, in Latin meaning enchant. Basically, magical sin, which sums up Peccantum pretty well actually!

2. Peccantum's Deal

Yes you can!

3. Meeting Stolas

I am a fan of helluva! Have been ever since it came out! Despite that I haven't actually thought about this until now.

Peccantum, absolute nerd that he is, would probably be fascinated by Stolas and his powers. Like talking about specific spells, how long it takes to set up, magic of the stars, etc. I feel like they would have a VERY long conversation about magic and space and shit cause Stolas is lonely and Peccantum is very enthusiastic about this topic. Octavia, meanwhile, would get a long list of places in the human world with little to no light pollution. For excellent star viewing, of course.

4. Cozying up to Alastor

The short answer? No, absolutely not, Peccantum learned nothing XD

The long answer? It's complicated and messy. Peccantum, at that time, went into a bad situation because it was familiar to him. Blood, illicit murders, and strange dealings were all part of what Peccantum was taught to do. He thought he could handle whatever Alastor would ask of him. That it wouldn't matter in the end because Alastor would eventually get rid of him.

He wasn't expecting the Radio Demon to vanish.

5. Clothing Choices

You may have noticed during Checking In that Peccantum is wearing a completely different outfit before he's pulled into the hotel! That is Alastor's doing! Because Peccantum wasn't working for him dressed like that.

At first Peccantum was completely on edge because he was expecting Alastor to show up. After that first year, Alastor could call on him at any time! That's a scary thing to constantly have in the back of your mind. But then, Alastor just... didn't? There were rumors that Alastor had fallen to angels and Alastor wasn't showing up? It left Peccantum completely to his own devices.

Slowly, very slowly, Peccantum started making choices for himself, and learning how to live. He got a shitty job, a shitty apartment, but for the first time in years he was actually living, making choices of his own. And he found he kinda liked it. Not everything, of course, but making your own path in life, finding out what you like and who you are... Well. It was nice, for a time.

Peccantum still has his own clothes but he's aware that what Alastor dressed him in is his uniform.

6. Who owns Alastor's soul?

Tbh, I think it's Lilith. Maybe that's the obvious answer but like... That's the only viable candidate we have rn.

Peccantum would be suspecting Lilith and Lucifer, mainly because of the specifics of the deal Alastor made with Charlie. He didn't take her soul, meaning there's some benefit to having her free.... Or the more likely option; Alastor can't. Whatever deal he's under restricts him from taking Charlie's soul. The only people Peccantum knows who care about Charlie enough to fuck with the Radio Demon would be her parents.

I think he would lean more towards Lucifer, though. It would explain the immediate hostility between him and Alastor. Lucifer's ignorance could be feigned to piss off Alastor even more.

However, Peccantum would also keep evidence for Adam and maybe some of the seven deadly sins on the board. He doesn't have enough evidence for them, but he's not going to dismiss those options just yet.

7. Dress up day

Peccantum doesn't own a lot of clothes but he has explored a few other outfits! Here's some of the sketches I made when exploring what he would wear before he came to the hotel.

I do imagine there would be a 'express yourself through clothing choices' activity he would get wrapped up in tho. He can wear just about anything and still look pretty good. Charlie's happy to see Peccantum embracing different styles and exploring! Angel might help pick outfits and push Peccantum out of his comfort zone.

8. Makeup

Peccantum does wear makeup! It's actually pretty new for him, so he's not the best with it and he doesn't go too extreme but... It's kinda fun!

9. Spice or no spice?

I. I have no idea tbh. I'm not an expert in... people flavoring? XD

10. Jumping at shadows

Did you misspell trauma as talents? XD, joking. In all seriousness though, Peccantum is fairly jumpy because he's high strung. He's a very anxious person in general (there are exceptions) and he's in his own head a lot. Sometimes he will forget that other people are there and be surprised when he is reminded of their presence.

11. Errands to Cannibal Colony

Peccantum definitely keeps his head down. Cannibalism in general makes him uneasy, so best to keep out of the way of any hungry citizens who want to try their luck. Peccantum can defend himself, but he'd rather not if he can avoid it. Cannibals travel in packs and the best way to avoid them is to avoid putting a target on your back.

Thankfully, most people there know he's Alastor's, so they leave him be.

12. Alastor and Peccantum

This one is tricky because I wanna explore this more in other comics, but I'll try and give a general overview here.

Their relationship isn't... Healthy. Especially not at first, but Peccantum coming to the hotel does actually put him in a better place. He meets new people, gains friends, and makes a support network that he never had before. On the other hand, he has to deal with Alastor, the constant anxiety of job performance, and deal with/unpack several traumas he's been repressing. It's a mix of good and bad.

Later on, a few months after working at the hotel, I think Alastor does start to warm up to Peccantum some. They become friendlier, not to the point of being friends, but Alastor appreciates the work Peccantum does and trusts him with tasks that he wouldn't have beforehand. By the time the attack on the hotel happens, he trusts Peccantum won't screw him over.

And then the fight with Adam happens.

We don't know what will happen in season 2, and we probably won't for a while, but... I imagine losing that fight with Adam did not help Alastor's insecurities. Personally, I think the Radio Demon is going to close himself off from the others, more than he already has. To feel in control again, he's going to be a lot more strict with his 'employees' and a lot less lenient with Peccantum.

Peccantum, of course, isn't going to know this and would take it as a sign that he's failing Alastor, something he's deathly afraid of. His anxiety would spike and the almost neutral relationship he had with Alastor would turn unhealthy again. There would be a regression of progress.

Whatever happens in season 2 would def affect their relationship tho, so I can't say much more than that for now.

Thank you so much for the comment! I love answering about my lil deer guy!!!! Don't feel like you're bothering me, I may take a while but I do get to these questions eventually and I appreciate the interest!

[drill-teeth-art]

WOO I am LOVING the newest issue of 8-Track Playback :3

Got any artist commentary for us? What was your favourite panel to draw, and which panel do you like the most? Got any little details you added that you want to point out? Any fun facts about characters or story?

I adore the direction this is going in!! I am such a huge fan of your use of colour, it's amazing. Keep up the glorious work! <3

EEEEE!!! Okay so first of all thank you for the kind message so so much. Lately, I've become more and more okay with my personal projects getting less and less notes each time. I know a lot of people are here for the fanart I do and don't really want to WOO! every time I post like. Tempos. Or Curly. Or my comic if they're kind of just waiting for me to draw Starscream again. And like that stings but also that is totally people's right and I get it. And I'm proud of myself for being like "yeah actually not many people are following this project and that's okay". But that doesn't mean it doesn't absolutely warm my heart and make my day when the people following this project say nice things in the notes and send me asks so first of all. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

As for your questions! So many!

My favorite one to draw was the dramatic, full page, final shot of Canary. I had a lot of fun with the perspective and fussing with the art style. I've only shown Canary's art style shift so far. But a detail that will be shown more and more is that the comic's art style shifts when the characters are fighting and/or using their powers to a really significant degree, the art style changes towards the preferred style of whoever is winning/using a big power. We've seen Coal using his powers and a few peeks at Handy Doctor's but not enough for either of their art styles to shine through so for the time being we've only seen Canary's, extra angular and thickly outlined style.

My favorite panel to like. Look at. Actually ended up being this shot though. Idk! I really like the tension before the reveal of Canary's more monstrous form. I like the imagery of her shadow stretching over the shattered bars of her cage. I love the radiating green filling up the room that is usually an uncanny, untouched white.

A little detail I am very fond of that is present since issue 1 is the colors in their eyes! Specifically when another character's color shows up in their eyes. It's supposed to visually hint that they are being inspired by another character in some way. Coal's eyes flashing green as Canary's warning makes him hesitate before he ultimately decides to ignore her and escape. Canary's turning purple when she hears Captain Kurly's music outside, yellow when she thinks of hurting the doctor, and blue when she thinks of her own escape like Coal's. And Kurly's turning blue as they see Coal able to break free. My little way of being like "HEY THIS MOMENT IS SIGNIFICANT TO THIS CHARACTER BECAUSE OF ANOTHER CHARACTER" lol.

And I guess another fun fact is that issue 4 is already titled "Eat It" and you'll finally get to see this character on the end here.

If you like Canary's ultra bloodlust then you'll probably like her too!

Thank you again for your kind words and your questions I really really appreciate it!

[celestie0]

Hii! This is my first time messaging any fanfic author (I'm an extremely anxious person and tend to be more of a lurker LOL) I'm so sorry but this might be a long one lmfao

First of all, the way you write in general? Absolutely phenomenal!! The way you characterise and describe scenes is honestly so incredibly immersing. I've always had a relatively easy time imagining scenes in my head when reading, even with relatively little detail, but the way you word everything puts the scene straight into my head and it's such a wonderful experience!

Your characterisation of Gojo (in all your works!!) is probably my absolute favourite out of any fanfics I've read of him (trust me I've read an embarrassing amount :sob:). The way you actually capture what he feels like in canon, without making him feel super mean or cold, but still retaining that side of being emotionally repressed is absolutely chefs kiss!!

I also really love y/n in both kickoff and ihm so much. I relate to both of them in different ways, but probably more so ihm reader personality wise (might also be because I'm around the same age as her lmao). As someone who is very emotionally repressed due to trauma (especially of loved ones leaving you), the way you've portrayed those sides of reader in ihm is VERY spot on!! And I would like to add that I, for one, LOVE slow burn, so I don't mind the pace ihm is going at right now personally!

Chapter 12 of Kickoff?!?!? Holy shit I was literally sat there blushing, kicking my feet and giggling. It was absolutely hilarious and super cliché in the absolutely best way possible (I absolutely love clichés if they're well used!)

I could honestly wait years for anything you write. Never feel any pressure to churn out your writing and take it at your own pace!! My genuine first thought after finishing the latest chapter of Kickoff was that it was sooo worth the wait haha.

Personally I have an extremely hard time writing anything but angst, because I like making myself sad I guess who knows LOL But I'm sooo excited about your next work!! I absolutely love the song you're basing it off of <3

AND did I also see some talk about a potential Spider-man Gojo fic in the future??? Cos I would honestly probably scream (in a good way lol) if you ever did that, he's my alltime favourite superhero!!

Okok this is getting really long, but I found this photo of four football players a bit ago and thought I absolutely HAD to draw them as Gojo, Geto, Choso and Nanami from Kickoff (adding the art at the bottom)! But I haven't gotten around to colouring it yet (or cleaning it up considering it's just a sketch lmaoo) cos I'm stuck on how to do the jerseys. So I have two questions! I know you've explained the colours of their jerseys, but do you have any particular idea in mind of what the design on the jersey itself looks like? As in where the colours are placed specifically etc? And we know Gojo's signature jersey number, but do you have numbers for the rest of them too? (I may or may not also have a wip of a drawing of just Gojo from Kickoff too!)

I'm sorry there's A LOT of different plot points in my message??? The most important part was just to convey, hey, I love the way you write and you should definitely give yourself some more credit cos you are genuinely a really good writer!! <3 (Though I know us artists tend to be our own worst critics LOL)

hi love i’m so sorry this took me a sec to respond to!! first off thanks you so much for sending me such a sweet ask :’’’) i literally gaspeddd when i saw it

aaa i’m so happy the scenes feel immersive!! and that you enjoy my characterization of gojo aaa i’m so happy to hear that. and yes i totally relate to ihm reader’s suppression of her emotions due to trauma and lack of trust so it’s been very…cathartic yet challenging to write for her, but i wouldn’t have it any other way hahah

i’m so glad you enjoyed kickoff ch12!! i totally agree that chapter was so cliche, honestly it made me cringe while i was writing it because i typically hate cliches esp when they’re corny rather than on-the-nose, but i posted it anyways bc i figured maybe i just hate it bc i’m the author xd but it seems my readers enjoyed it so :’’0 perhaps i made the right choice

oh you are too kind. i really appreciate you looking out for me <3 tbh i’ve been feeling really overwhelmed lately, and it’s been really hard to deal with the emotions, but coming on here and seeing sweet works n ppl interacting w my stories brings me lots of happiness n i can’t thank you enough :’’) yes i will definitely take my time bahahha that i can assure you LOL and i’m so happy to know you’re looking forward to more of my works!! you’re so right about artists/authors being our own worst critics. i swear no one has been as mean to my writing as i have LMFAOOO but alas i think i’ve gotten better in trusting my direction n kinda choosing what i think is best soooo. progress i suppose? hahah

ok. now. i can talk about. THE ART?!?!?!?!? HELLO!!!!!!! OH MY GODD?!?!!?!?! ok i KNOWWW that’s it’s just a sketch so far but tell me whERE MY PANTIES HAVE GONE?!?!?!? WHERE MY CLOTHES ARE AT?!?!??!

the expression on kickoff gojo’s face has me reeling he looks so focused n sexy and THE HEADBAND PUSHING HIS HAIR UP OUT OF HIS FACE YES YES YES 100% THAT’S HOW I PICTURE IT WHEN I WRITE AAA and kickoff geto’s expression too pls i could cum (sorry i hope this isn’t weird to say lmfaooo i am also very respectfully looking at your artwork as well aaa) nanami’s hair looks so nice too

as for the uniforms hmm i know i said like gold and blue colors, i believe actual real-life UTOKYO has more of a yellowish color but i actually like gold better hence why i chose gold. but…i can imagine the whole jersey being blue and then with gold accents then white numbering?

here are some options!! like w the first one, probs sky blue fabric with the white stripes as gold instead, and then the numbers/brand sponsors or whatever are in white? they would probs have like “UTOKYO” in large print somewhere too, maybe underneath their numbers or sumn. tbh i think the middle one is the nicest, i can picture the stripes of blue and gold, and then accents in white. but the third one also works too!!

as for numbers hmm. ok yes gojo is #10, geto is #7, choso is #4 and nanami is #24 :0 that sounds…about right! LOL i hope i don’t have it somewhere in the other chapters that they are different numbers although i don’t think i’ve assigned the other boys numbers before

BUT I HOPE THIS HELPS AND THANKS SOSOSOSOSOSO MUCH FOR DRAWING FANART INSPIRED BY MY FIC!!!! I AM SO HUMBLED BY YOU AND I’M SOOOO EXCITED TO SEE THE FINAL DRAWING BUT ALSO NO PRESSURE AAAAAAAA

so much loveee <333

[tex-treasure-chamber]

Title: At the Art Gallery

Pairing: Santana x Alexander

Words: 4,371

Summary: Santana, visiting the London art museum, unexpectedly comes across a lost child and ends up stumbling across a piece of art not listed in the museum's directory.

At The Art Gallery

Santana gazed at the giant painting of an impressionist landscape hung on the gallery wall, her unnerving lack of blinking concealed from behind a pair of sunglasses. She stood leaning just slightly back, her arms folded across her chest as she quietly marveled over the minute brush strokes still raised ever so slightly from the extremely old canvas. She didn't need to stand so close to see all the minute details- she could've easily stood ten, fifteen, even twenty feet away and still see everything just as crisply but there was something about standing in front of a giant, looming masterpiece, right in front of it, that made Santana feel close to God.

She had just closed her eyes to pray when the sound of a small, rapid heartbeat and quiet whimpers of distress immediately snapped her out of her worshipful reverie and with narrowed, searching eyes she turned and scanned the room quickly before zeroing in on the tiny figure of a teary-faced dark haired boy, no older than perhaps four years old, if that. He was wearing a deep green shirt with a dinosaur on it, denim shorts, and yellow sneakers. His olive complexion was ruddy and blotchy around his chubby cheeks as he stood still, wringing his hands and looking around. Santana paused for a second but when a cursory sweep of the other adults in the gallery proved nobody was paying attention to the child, she quickly made her way over and, after pushing her shades up onto the top of her head, knelt down on one knee in front of him with a small smile.

"Howdy there pardner," she drawled softly, "are you lost?"

The little boy pulled his hands away from his face, revealing red-rimmed, verdant eyes. He nodded.

"I'm so sorry," Santana offered softly. "My name is Santana; I can help. What's your name?"

"um, Matteo." He mumbled as he wiped away yet another tear.

Santana cocked her head at the italian accent and resolved to speak slower since she didn't really know any Italian and wasn't sure how much English he knew. "Who did you come with, Matteo?"

Matteo's bottom lip quivered. "The Fahser. Broshers and sisters."

Santana nodded although she couldn't help but notice the way he said "the father" and not "my father"- it was probably a translation thing. She was just grateful he spoke coherent enough English. "Okay, your father. What does he look like?"

For a moment, a sunny disposition overtook the little boy's gloomy demeanor. He smiled up at her, green eyes twinkling. "The Fahser big! Soooooo big!" He said proudly, "And! And strong!" He grabbed the front of his shirt, "Like dino!"

"Like dino?" Santana indulged, "Can you show me what dino is like? What does dino say?"

Matteo held his hands up in front of him like claws and offered a little "rawr" that nearly sent her to her knees with how cute it was.

Santana grinned a fangless grin. "Woooow! Your father is so strong!" She drawled, and Matteo, now thoroughly distracted from his fear of being lost by this kind stranger willing to listen to him talk about who was clearly his favorite person, nodded and beamed at her, his tear streaks drying slowly but surely.

"Mhm! And! And ah–um, kind!" Matteo added eagerly. "So nice! He reads to me! I colour picture for him and he loves it! He puts on the wall!"

"How lovely! Matteo, what colour is his hair?" She asked, taking a lock of her own hair and pointing at his hair before pointing at the lock of hair in her hand, "Is it like yours and mine? Dark?"

Matteo shook his head.

Santana pointed to his yellow sneakers. "What about like this? Light?"

The little boy blinked and looked down at his shoes and after a second, nodded with a smile. "Yes! Yellow!"

Relieved to get a solid answer, Santana stood up and offered her hand.

"Would you like to hold hands while we find your father?" She asked. She was wearing gloves, which she knew may either be a fun or awful sensory experience for the child- she really hoped for the former since her hands were cold.

Matteo took her hand after a moment of staring at it before tilting his head up to gaze at her fondly. "The Fahser wears these, too!" He said as he shook her hand in his before pointing at her head, "and those! But…" he squinted, "not those. Not…" he squinted some more before a light switched on in his green eyes as he proudly said, "not dark."

Santana touched her sunglasses. She wore them out of habit more than disguise- her eyes had been very dark when she was human and now, as a vampire, they looked like dark wine or dried blood, easily passable to most humans as "normal enough" not to really notice unless they got close enough and nobody ever did.

"Oh? Really? He wears glasses? To see?" Santana clarified, pointing at her own eyes with her free hand.

Matteo nodded before saying severely, "He um, he no eat his carrots."

Santana withheld a laugh. "Oh no…" she said, "but you eat your carrots, right Matteo?"

"Yes! The Fahser says I need to and I do and I like them!" Matteo puffed his chest out.

"Very good, Matteo! Your father must be so proud of you!" She enthused sweetly.

Matteo, glancing around at all the pretty pictures, stopped in front of one as they passed by hand-in-hand and tugged gently. When Santana paused and looked down from her searching, he pointed to the picture.

Santana looked up to see a painting of a stormy sea, a schooner tossing about with billowing sails in the moody lighting. She glanced back down at Matteo as he tugged on her hand again.

"Yes?"

Matteo furrowed his brow. "San–ta?"

She melted, just a little. "Saint. Can you say 'Saint'?"

Matteo beamed. He knew that word! "Saint!"

Santana giggled, "Yes, Matteo?"

"Pick me up?" He asked, eyes wide.

Santana raised a brow. He sure was getting sidetracked from the mission here, wasn't he? Well, this was much better than him still crying. He was very little, even little for his age, so she could understand him getting distracted and anyway, perhaps if she picked him up they could more easily search for his father or better, his father could more easily see him.

Santana bent at the waist to look him in the eyes. "Can you say 'please pick me up'?"

He reached up toward her with arms outstretched. "Please pick me up?"

"Okay, since you said 'please'." Santana said. Once he was settled in her arms and against her hip, he seemed to understand he had better view of the paintings around them and began to babble about what he saw.

"Big boat!" He exclaimed, pointing at the painting, "Big!"

"Big like father?" Santana asked, determined to keep him on track.

"Mhm! But the Fahser bigger!"

She highly doubted that. Santana began to walk slowly. "Matteo, look at me, please." She said after walking a few feet. When he looked at her, she smiled and asked, "What colour is your father's shirt?"

Matteo, now looking down at her shirt and vest at the mention of shirts, zeroed in and picked up her bronze tinted cross necklace. He beamed as he held it before finally blurting, "The Fahser has this!"

"That's very nice, Matteo," she said patiently, "Now, what colour is your father's shirt?"

He pointed to her black vest. "Black!"

"Okay, very good! Black!" Santana said, "How about we look for your father now?"

At the mention of his father, Matteo looked up from her necklace but did not let go of it. Oh well- if it broke, Santana could always just fix it, she wasn't really worried. She carried him around, eyes sharp for a distressed bespectacled blond man in a black shirt. As they looked, or more accurately, as Santana looked, Matteo continued to look at the paintings and babble on about what he saw in them, Santana listening and even asking him questions about what he saw. His delicate pulse, still fast as was common for his age, sounded significantly calmer now that he was distracted and the sound of it echoed pleasantly in her mind with each and every step, her heart full in knowing that he was calm because of her.

It wasn't the meditative afternoon she had planned, not by a long shot, but even so, she took great joy and comfort in knowing she had been the one who found little Matteo and felt positive, based on the working description he'd given her, that she'd reunite the boy with his father. She could only imagine the amount of fear and stress the man must be feeling, not knowing where Matteo was, and although this wasn't originally in her plans she still found herself feeling close to God if not more so now with the babbling, calm boy in her arms than she had earlier in front of the paintings. As she walked, she said a silent prayer asking God to please help her reunite Matteo with his family and thanking Him for letting her be an instrument in His hands to return the child safely.

Nearly ten minutes into Matteo looking around and babbling, the boy looked around once again from the painting they were standing in front of to find another to steer Santana toward when he excitedly patted her shoulder and exclaimed, "The Fahser! The Fahser!"

Santana whirled around on the spot, relief flooding through her only for her to freeze, her eyes wide as she spotted Father Alexander Anderson, his massive shoulders heaving and hands shaking from what looked like clear exertion of self-control; evidently, he'd been running. He looked flushed with exertion underneath the somewhat fluorescent lights above, his verdant eyes wide and absolutely wild behind his round spectacles as he glanced jerkily around the room, clearly on a mission of some sort, before finally landing his attention on her.

Santana's heart skipped a beat as they locked eyes but for the life of her she couldn't tell if it was from fear or her flustered excitement to see the handsome vampire slayer so unexpectedly- either way, she involuntarily held Matteo just a bit tighter.

Matteo, blissfully ignorant, grinned and pointed at him. "The Fahser! The Fahser! Hi! Hi! Look!" He waved at Father Anderson, "My new friend! Hi! Come look! Hi!"

"Oh Matteo," she breathed as she watched the man who'd sworn to destroy her friends march up to her in smooth, long strides, his eyes unblinking and sharp, "so this is who you were talking about."

Alexander, standing well over 6 ft, easily loomed over Santana who only stood at a measly 5ft. She was a flea to him, and just as annoying. He clenched his jaw tightly as he offered a sweet smile to Matteo, both relieved and feeling mad with worry and confusion. He stiffly bent down at the waist a little to look the boy in the eyes and Santana, unafraid if not very flustered at his proximity, stared at him even as he forced his gaze away to regard the boy in her arms.

"So this is where you ran off to!" He exclaimed softly in that musical Scottish brogue of his, "You scared me half to death, Matteo; what did I tell you about-"

"This is Saint!" Matteo blurted, patting one hand on Santana's shoulder. "She helped me!"

Alexander cut his eyes up to stare into Santana's and then narrowed them into slits. He was so used to Alucard's unnatural pale red eyes that he'd forgotten exactly what hers had looked like. She stared back at him unflinchingly with a small curl of a smile, eyes wide and twinkling and swirling with a mix of emotions like two glasses of intoxicating, dark wine. Out of all the people who could've come along and found the wee tyke, it just had to be her, didn't it? Her and her dark eyes and devilishly sweet manners! What kind of nickname was 'Saint' for a creature like her? Oh, part of him knew, a very quiet part of him, one somewhat easy to ignore so he did just that, knowing it would haunt him later when he tried to sleep.

"Oh did she now?" He asked, his voice strained, eyes still locked on Santana.

"Mhm! We look at pictures and she ask questions about you like what color your hair is!" Matteo said before glancing up at Santana, "Right, Saint?"

Santana broke their staring contest to smile a warm yet closed-lipped smile down at him, still in her arms. She knew Father Anderson would want her to set him down at some point very soon but until then, she was just a teensy bit reluctant to let go- it would simply have to be up to Father Anderson or the boy, whichever asked first.

"That's…. nice," Alexander said slowly, stunned at the genuine look of warmth and tenderness in the crinkle of Santana's eyes and her smile as she looked down at Matteo. She looked at him like… like a moth–He felt a blush crawl up his neck and shook himself after a moment, resolved not to board that train of thought, at least not right now, and took yet another moment to look Matteo over. He looked… well. He looked perfectly fine, in all truth. Not a scratch on him. Not a hair out of place, thank God.

He lifted his hands up toward the boy. "C'mon then," he crooned, "why don't you come with me and we'll join your brothers and sisters, alright? They're all waiting for you with Father Michael. C'mon, away we go-"

Matteo leaned away and into Santana's embrace with a pout before resting his head under her chin. "Can Saint come?" He asked softly.

Alexander froze, his sweet smile cracking just a fraction. He pushed his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "Ah- er, n…no, laddie-"

"Why?" Matteo demanded, dark brows furrowed.

Alexander locked eyes with Santana who at least had the decency to look sheepish. "Weeeeell," he drawled, clutching at straws, clutching for a way to word things, transfixed with the way she simply stared back at him, her and those damned dark eyes. "er, you… yous see…"

"Matteo, look at me, please." Santana said gently as she tilted her head to the side.

Matteo stopped scowling and picked his head up off her shoulder to do as she asked. Santana smiled softly as she gazed at his sweet face, his dark, curly hair and green eyes so endearing but as much as it pained her, he was not hers to adore.

"It was so nice to meet you but we found your caretaker and he was so worried about you," Santana said sweetly before nodding at Alexander, "just look- weren't you so worried, Father?"

Matteo swiveled his head around just in time to watch Alexander's massive shoulders drop and his smile soften and wobble a little. "I was… so worried." He murmured, "so, so worried, I was praying I'd find you."

Before Matteo could say anything, Santana shifted him slightly, her chest fluttering a bit too much at the paternal concern in Father Anderson's voice. "Whaddya say pardner?" She crooned in a low, sweet voice, her southern drawl like honey and sunshine in Matteo's and Alexander's minds, "Why don't you let the Father hold you? He missed you so much, will you do that? Or do you want to get down so you can hug him? Hmmm? You missed him too, didn't you? Why don't you show him?"

Finally, Matteo reconsidered and leaned toward him and with a grateful, relieved sigh Alexander picked him up out of Santana's arms and cradled him to his broad chest with ease.

'Stars above,' Santana thought idly as she studied the gentle way he cradled the boy to him and how he softly gazed at Matteo, 'how I wish that was me.' Even as she thought it, she couldn't help but simply melt at seeing Matteo so happy to have found "the Fahser".

Alexander pulled his attention away from the boy, now safe, to stare at the creature who had sheltered him despite every instinct she should have had to do the opposite, at least according to his vampiric lessons within the many classrooms of Iscariot. He was considering his next move when Matteo suddenly leaned forward again and, with an outstretched hand, reached over and picked up Santana's cross necklace.

Santana, feeling the chain tense and desperately not wanting it to break even though she knew she could simply have it fixed, stepped forward until her face was practically in Alexander's chest. "Ah- no, no, Matteo-" she chided in a somewhat squeaky, stuttering voice, "let go-"

"Please come with us?" Matteo entreated.

Santana tilted her head back and Alexander froze at the desperate, flustered look on her face and resolutely ignored the way it made his heart kick in his chest with urgency to do something about it.

"Pleaaaaaaase?" Matteo pressed, knowing that Santana liked that word.

Santana frowned apologetically. She thought about trying to gently pry his hand away but sincerely doubted Alexander would want her to touch Matteo now that he was in his arms so she kept her hands at her sides. "Matteo, the Father-"

Alexander sighed tiredly. "Alright, she can come with us," he relented before adding sternly, "but only to say goodbye to you, alright? We have a bus to catch. Alright? Now let go of the chain."

Pleased, Matteo immediately let go and smiled at Santana with an outstretched hand, his attention fully on her. Santana flicked her eyes up at Alexander and when she didn't see him shake his head or narrow his eyes, she accepted the boy's hand. It was a short walk but all the same, Matteo babbled about the paintings he and 'Saint' saw and all the while, Alexander cooed and nodded, not taking his eyes off Santana or her hand. Sure enough, as they rounded the corner, Santana saw a gaggle of children, approximately five between the ages of 7-10, all waiting with another Priest– obviously Father Michael.

Before Alexander could set him down, Matteo leaned forward once more toward Santana and hugged her.

"Thank you!" He said, "I had fun!"

Santana sighed, eyes closed as she savoured this last tender moment with the sweet child, her heart already aching at the thought of letting him go. "Please stay with the Father better from now on, okay?" She requested gently.

"Okay!" He chirped. Once Alexander set him down he took off running to reunite with the other children, all of them excited and bouncing around as Father Michael tried to calm them down.

Now alone and with Father Michael occupied and thus not a threat, Santana turned to Alexander with wide eyes.

"Aye? What is it?" Alexander asked warily.

"You were watching all of them with a companion and y'all still lost one?" Santana blurted.

Alexander sighed. He knew this question would come but it didn't make hearing it any easier. "Aye, but really, we had it all under control until-"

"Dadgum it, Alexander," Santana hissed softly, "it's a blessing I was there."

He worked his jaw as before snarking, "Will miracles never cease? The friend of my enemy, snatching up my wee boy." His expression turned murderous suddenly and he leaned in before adding in a low, challenging tone, "Tell me, and tell me the truth; did you like his pulse? Did his precious, pure blood sing to you? Was it music to your-"

"Don't," She whispered through clenched teeth, her voice hard and razor sharp like one of his many swords and spears, like her fangs begging for retaliation. She glared at him, eyes flashing unnaturally vibrant red in the overhead lights as her eyes widened in her vehemence. Before he could think to retort or even retreat, she stepped right into his space and stood up on her tiptoes, their faces close as he remained bent at the waist, her hands shaking but remaining at her sides as she continued in a low, dark hiss.

"Don't you dare speak to me that way about a child, Alexander Anderson, don't you ever dare again or I'll rip your lungs right out of your chest and wait till they regrow to do it again, do you hear me?" Her eyes flashed as she dared him to say something snarky, to dismiss her, "Do you? Tell me you do, right now."

Alexander didn't speak- he couldn't speak. He didn't move away, either. He stared and stared until he only saw the truth of the matter which was that he'd deeply offended her; she was genuinely angry with him and it struck him, quite forcefully, that until now, he'd never seen her that way before and he never wanted to either ever again.

"Aye, I do." He breathed.

"Listen well; I forgive you for wanting to destroy Hellsing, for wanting to kill my dear friends, for hating me, but know this: I will never forgive you for what you've said if you ever repeat something of the sort to me again," Santana growled, "now, you owe me a sincere apology if you'd like to remain as civil as we have been."

Her anger washed over him in heatwaves. It was astonishing, the depth and intensity of it, feeling it directed toward himself when he was so used to her flirtatious banter and southern, earnest manners. Comparing the two, he sorely missed the latter.

He took a subtly deep breath. "I'm— I'm sorry, Santana. Really, I am…" he uttered, staring deep into those troublesome eyes of hers, "Forgive me."

Santana squared him with a long, pointed look. "I forgive you, Alexander, once and only once. I know you don't want to hear it, but as much as you think I'm an abomination, you were so dadgum blessed it was me who found the boy and not a disgusting human predator." She said quietly and unapologetically, not stopping even as she saw him flinch slightly, "I advise you to travel with three Fathers next time you come into London. I'd offer my help but clearly, it wouldn't be wanted." Before he could say a word, Santana turned away and walked back into the gallery but not before waving goodbye at the children as Matteo called out to her and as she left, she left with a smile on her face for the children, her other hand hidden away from their view and clenched into a tight fist.

Alexander watched her leave, his head swimming. Her blunt allusion to what could've easily happened if she hadn't found Matteo had him tasting sharp, acrid bile in the back of his throat and it took him a second to reorient himself with reality, his stomach churning and lungs shuddering with a genuine fear he hadn't felt in quite a while. Matteo had been safe with Santana- Lord above, she could've easily snatched him herself if she had wanted to, if she were anything but the type of person she was and oh! He'd insulted her! And what's worse, he couldn't help but think of if the tables were turned, couldn't help but realize that if someone had accused him of something similar, something as vile, that he would've felt the same amount of indignation and rage- he probably would've even stabbed the accuser where they stood yet Santana took it and didn't raise a hand to him- Lord knew she had the right to! He ran a hand through his hair; for the first time since meeting Santana, he felt anxious to see her again, unsure of what to expect from her behaviour now that he'd made such a catastrophic blunder.

There was a part of him that said it would be good if she grew to hate him, that it would make things easier, or that if she grew disinterested or indifferent to him that it would surely be a blessing but that same quiet, usually easily ignorable part of him that liked to fixate on her smile and eyes and kind, sweet demeanour was suddenly not so quiet anymore as he imagined her hatred, her indifference, and found to his surprise that the very thought of it felt like falling off a fifteen storey building and slamming into the concrete. He couldn't… He gazed at the children and shook his head– no time to speculate; he'd simply have to wait. He'd just have to let all thoughts of Santana haunt him when he tried to sleep; it wouldn't be the first time.

The children called out to him and gathered around him eagerly as he approached with a big, cheery smile on his face. With all accounted for, he and Father Michael herded them outside and into an awaiting bus to take them to the airport and on a private jet back to the Vatican. As soon as all the children were on the bus, Father Michael stopped him with an upraised hand.

"Who was that lady who found Matteo, Father Anderson?"

Father Anderson thought about telling the truth but when he opened his mouth, all he said was, "An angel, clearly." When Father Michael opened his mouth to inquire further, Alexander waved a hand at the bus and ignored the warmth in his chest as he said, "C'mon, Father Michael, get on the bus or we'll be late."

During the plane ride back, Matteo, sitting beside his beloved Father Anderson, asked, "Can Saint come visit?"

Alexander barely restrained himself from snorting. "Er, nooo, laddie; I think, uh, I think she's too busy."

Matteo pouted. "Ask her? Please?"

Like that would ever happen; even if Alexander wanted to, he knew his higher ups would shoot it down faster than a freshly spotted ghoul. "Eh… how about next time you go to London, you can see her? Hmmm?"

Matteo, satisfied and all too trusting with his tiny child logic, nodded and returned to his coloring book and Alexander, mentally exhausted, closed his eyes for a much needed power nap. If he dreamed of wine colored eyes and brass crosses, he didn't speak of it when he woke up.

[sasaofastora]

As I’ve been setting up for the past few weeks, I’ve created a new Legacy Challenge based on my childhood favourite- The Urbz. All the rules and details are under the cut!

For each generation, try to stick to the aesthetics of each district as much as possible- and for some added fun, I also recommend trying to name your sims with puns or references that fit the area. The Urbz wiki page has all the existing characters to give you some inspiration.  

Generation 1: Central Station

You are a new arrival in the city, with no place to call your own and no place to go. So you stop at the first place everyone in this city comes through, Central Station. It doesn’t take long to make friends with the punks who make the subway station home. They’re passionate and angry at the status-quo, just like you, and for maybe the first time, you begin to find your place. 

Rules:

- Start with $0 

- The Curator Aspiration

- Must have the Hot-Headed trait

- Politician Career, Charity Organizer Branch

- Get in a fight every day

- Have at least one child (your heir should have the Bro trait)

Generation 2: Kicktail Park

Your parents were always so angry and ready for a fight, it made you want to find a place to just chill out, dude. You find your way to Kicktail Park, where you find other skater bros like you who just want to take life as it comes. Because hey, you only get one life, so why not live it to the max, man? Gnarly. 

Rules:

- Extreme Sports Enthusiast Aspiration

- Must have the Bro trait

- No career, do odd jobs only

- Master the Fitness and Snowboarding skills

- Do graffiti at least once per week

- Have at least one child (your heir should have the Snob trait)

Generation 3: The Foundry

The graffiti covered walls of the Park inspired something in you from a young age- a passion for art that was simply never understood by your laid-back parents. So you made your way to The Foundry, where the people appreciate art the way you do and take life more seriously. Also, they’re pretty into robots around here... 

Rules:

- Painter Extraordinaire Aspiration

- Must have the Snob trait

- Work part-time as a Barista, then become a Freelance Artist

- Master the Painting and Robotics skills

- Build Servo 

- Have at least one child (your heir should have the Dance Machine trait)

Generation 4: Neon East

Stuffy. Uptight. BORING. That’s how you would describe your parents. Where’s the life, the excitement, the colour? And so you find yourself in Neon East where the techno-technicolour rave never ends! Here you know you’ll never be bored again. And don’t forget to try the sushi!

Rules:

- Party Animal Aspiration

- Must have the Dance Machine trait

- Work part-time as a Fast Food Employee

- Master the Cooking, Video Gaming, and Dancing skills

- Find all Food Stall recipes from City Living

- Have at least one child (your heir should have the Music Lover trait)

Generation 5: Cozmo Street

Although you could appreciate your parents party-hard lifestyle, you always felt that the vibes just weren’t right for you. You wanted something a little more grounded, and a little more focused on the best part of those parties- the music. On Cozmo Street, you find your people, where a late night round of drinks and an impromptu jam session are never too far away. 

Rules:

- Musical Genius Aspiration

- Must have the Music Lover trait

- Culinary Career, Mixologist Branch

- Master the Mixology and Singing skills

- Do karaoke at least once per week

- Have at least one child (your heir should have the Freegan trait)

Generation 6: Skyline Beach

You grew up surrounded by musicians, whose talent inspired you every day. However, you always knew your true passion was in the words - the lyrics, the poetry. You find exactly where you want to be with the rap loving crowd on Skyline Beach, where rhymes fly from the rooftops all day long. Plus, they’ve got some interesting pets around here...

Rules:

- Neighborhood Confidante Aspiration

- Must have the Freegan trait

- Work as a Freelance Writer

- Master the Writing and Charisma skills

- Have a pet raccoon (since there are unfortunately no ferrets in the Sims 4)

- Have at least one child (your heir should have the Maker trait)

Generation 7: Gasoline Row

It’s all well and good spitting poetry all day, but where’s the grit? The grime? You need somewhere you can get your hands dirty. You find your place to do that on Gasoline Row, where mechanics and speed demons rule the streets. Around here, it’s all about head-banging to classic rock in the garage, and maybe taking a break for some hot dogs once in a while. 

Rules:

- Nerd Brain Aspiration

- Must have the Maker trait

- Work as a Freelance Crafter

- Master the Handiness and Fabrication skills

- Eat only BBQ foods and snacks

- Have at least one child (your heir should have the Kleptomaniac trait)

Generation 8: South Side Bridge

The gritty garage your parents loved so much just never seemed to inspire anything in you. You longed for something with a little more class, and a little more... dangerous competition than their motorcycle races. South Side Bridge is where you find what you were looking for. Get ready to cozy up to the local family- they might have some work for you in their fireworks business. Just don’t look into it too much. 

Rules:

- Public Enemy Aspiration

- Must have the Kleptomaniac trait

- Criminal Career, Boss Branch

- Master the Mischief and Juice Fizzing skills

- Set off fireworks at least once per week

- Have at least one child (your heir should have the Self-Absorbed trait)

Generation 9: Diamond Heights

The criminal dealings of your parents gave you the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the most rich, famous, and glamourous of the city. And so of course, you wanted so badly to join them. You make your way to the celebrity studded and gold-covered runways of Diamond Heights, hoping that one day, you could be just as famous a fashion icon as some of them. Now vogue, darling. 

Rules:

- World-Famous Celebrity Aspiration

- Must have the Self-Absorbed trait

- Style Influencer Career, either branch

- Master the Photography skill

- Get involved in a Love Triangle

- Have at least one child (your heir should have the Overachiever trait)

Generation 10: Darius’ Penthouse

All the generations before you found one part of the city where they really belonged. You, however, never want to choose! You’d rather be a part of everywhere at once, and get to know as much about this wonderful city as you can. One day, you might even rule it all, looking down at the skyline from your penthouse apartment. Maybe you could even get a pet monkey? Or is that too ambitious...

Rules:

- City Native Aspiration

- Must have the Overachiever trait

- Any skills and careers you choose

- Live in a penthouse

I really hope you try out this legacy challenge, it was a lot of fun to put together! I don’t know yet if I’ll share my own gameplay of it or just keep it for myself, but I’d love to see what others do with it. Thanks for reading!! 

[616witch]

heyo, i've been following your works for a long time now and i genuinely love your creations, you put so much effort into them - they're so brilliant and polished, it's remarkable and inspiring.

i edit often but i am more used to working with gifs of live action media — comics is a whole new territory for me but i would still like to get into it. could i please ask for your tips and recs on how i can get started?

it's alright if not! thank you for what you do and have a nice day. x

Aw, thank you very much! <3 I'll make a list of some different tips I think might be useful (but as with all things, experimenting is the best experience!), and also some links to different resources I often use for edits. Some of these you'll probably be familiar from gifs, but others will hopefully be new!

Gifmaking is a really good basis for making graphics; most of the same principals apply, particularly with colouring and playing with light with art! One of the best ways to make edits work together imo is having consistent colour themes to make all the edits look related and to work with one another, and those elements mirror in graphics and gifs.

The main thing that I think is different is the use of art. A lot of the time with art, you have to cut it out of panels by yourself, and sometimes colour something in yourself, if it's a sketch or something. You can use the subject selection tool in Photoshop/Photopea, but this really only works if there's a very clear background and subject; something more detailed or with multiple subjects doesn't work so well. I like to select using either the lasso tool or the polygonal tool, and then create a layer mask once my subject is fully selected! It's timeconsuming, but worth it to have those sharp and detailed pieces.

Using large pieces of art I think is really important for making sure edits are sharp. I generally try to only use stuff above 1000px, but generally anything below 700px is really difficult to use, especially if you're colouring in a sketch by hand.

Hand-colouring is another thing that's real difficult and time-consuming, but is worth it! Multiply and soft light are your best friends. Multiply for the blocks of colour, and soft light I like to use for adding a bit more depth for things like hair, or blush, etc. But play around with the different layer styles, you can get some interesting affects!

It's also useful to build up a little catelogue of styles or designs you like to incorporate into your work. A lot of graphic designers post their work to Pinterest, for example. Here's my own pinterest board of graphics I like!

And here are some of the resources/websites I use. Behance for general PSDs, fonts, textures. Search 'freebie' in the search bar to get those free resources! Dafont and freefonts.io are the two websites I use most to find fonts! Texturelabs is a great resource of free textures to use; white images generally go on multiply level, dark ones go on screen. Resource Boy has a bunch of free textures and pngs on there that you can use, I recently downloaded 70 different chain pngs from here. Designsyndrome is mostly paid stuff, but they do have a number of free pngs and effects that are cool to use. Comicartfans is a really handly website where a lot of people upload art from professionals. It works as a buying and selling site, but I use it often to find art by searching a character name in the searchbar. Unfortunately, not all of these are high quality, but generally you can use these to find larger resolutions by finding an artist's personal website.

As always, feel free to ask if you want something explained, or if you want to find out how I did a certain affect! I'll always be happy to share where I got stuff, most of this hobby functions via word of mouth :3

[boymeetswerewolf]

I love your art! It’s so high quality. What program(s) do you use to achieve that effect? And what tips do you have for aspiring artists wanting to reach such levels themselves?

Hi Anon!

Thanks a lot for the lovely compliment.

I mostly create my art using a technique called overpainting where I paint over reference images. I have an art background (took art at school and at college), but it was focused on abstract art so my experience with realistic proportions is exceedingly terrible and I've just never had the patience or put in the time to learn proportions from scratch. I've always admired artists who put in the time and effort to learn how to do that!

As for what programs I use, I tend to stick with Photoshop since that's what I was trained on and am most familiar with. I use a combination of brushes, filters and textures to give my art the look that it has. I tend to work at a resolution of about 3000px for height or width (whichever is the largest for the layout I'm going with) and a fixed brush size so that I can add a lot of detail and that it looks consistent throughout the piece. I also use tons of layers so that the lining, shading, colouring and any extra adjustments are all separate from each other and easily changeable. My PSD file usually averages between 300mb to 400mb in size because of all the layers.

The tool I probably use most outside of Photoshop is Color Cop. I'm partially colourblind, so when I want to use specific colours I need the hex codes or RGB codes otherwise it takes me ages to get the colours to blend right.

Below are some progress examples (from the "Sacrifice" theme for Sterek Week '23) of how I usually start out when I'm creating something. I go hunting for images and make a collage/edit of what I'd more or less like the finished piece to look like. Usually during this part I also play a lot with different ideas to see what works best. (Sometimes the final result ends up looking how I wanted, sometimes it takes on a life of its own and goes in a completely different direction!) The "Sacrifice" piece is made up of a promo shot of Stiles from Season 6 and a screenshot of Derek from Season 3 (I think). The background is made up of official images from Stranger Things that I blended together and added colour filters to.

Once that's done I start painting with pencil brushes to get the lines, then follow up with texturing and shading. I like to use a soft neutral colour like a beige as a base canvas so that I can paint with black as well as white. Lastly I'll paint in the colours and then finish off the piece by cleaning up the linework and by adding filters to adjust contrast/balance or colouring. Occasionally I've worked "backwards" by roughing painting the shading and some of the colours out first before adding linework.

As for specific tips, I think mindset and believing in yourself is important. It's very easy to get overwhelmed in the beginning, so don't compare yourself to others. If your art makes you feel something, then you're on the right track. Regardless of whether or not you work professionally as an artist, if you express yourself creatively in a visual medium - whether it's an oil painting or making lewd doodles in a sketchbook - then, in my opinion, you are an artist.

Once you're over that hurdle, the next part is just to keep at it. I hate using the word "practice", so I'm rather going to say keep making art consistently, and - most importantly - have fun while you're doing it. If it's fun, you're more likely to stick with it and improve. If you're trying to go in a specific direction with your art, I think there are two important areas to focus on: expanding your creativity and your familiarity with the tools you use. The latter especially will make your life a lot easier.

For me, being familiar with Photoshop is what allows me to make digital art the way I do. I've used it for a long time so I know a lot of tricks and shortcuts to help me achieve what I'm going for. This goes for any program you choose to use, though. And you don't have to limit yourself to one. Play around with different tools and programs and see what works the best for you. The internet is also a fantastic (and often free) resource, and YouTube especially has a lot of tutorials that can help you get started or help you build on your existing skills.

To expand your creativity with regards to your art, I recommend studying other artists - and not just one specific kind of artist either. Look at the old masters, look at modern art, look at fan artists, look at photographers and cinematographers. (And, of course, Mother Nature - the greatest artist of all.) Look at how they use composition, how they use colour, how they use lighting and shading. Try and incorporate some of those aspects into your own work and see what works for you.

TL;DR - Experiment and play… and most importantly, have fun!

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

~ Bren

[its-pip-art]

So there's this thing that I've been doing recently with writing that I've never done before and I've only just realised where the influence has come from.

I have been writing fanfiction for nearly 15 years now and I always just wrote, did a cursory glance at it and then posted it and forgot about it.

But in the last couple of months, and I'll preface this now by saying I'm also an artist, I've been writing in a different and more considered way.

I write 'the bones' of the chapter, much like I did 15 years ago up until recently, I write whatever comes to mind and then I leave it for a day or two. I then re-read all of it, adding pockets of detail, trimming unnecessary sentences and building the world around the dialogue. Again, I leave it for a day and go back again and focus on the language and repetition of words or techniques and bring out my enormous 'word list' note that I've been cultivating for years and bring into the chapter some words that I rarely use. I then leave it again for a while and read it on my phone (reading on a different screen helps me see mistakes??) and fine tune. And then it's done.

I realised I'm writing in the same way I create art. Start with the sketch layer, rough and fluid but a solid base of ideas. Break. Neaten up with lineart/base colours to get the true shape and essence of the piece. Break. Block in those shadows and highlights - balance those warm tones with cool ones. Add in roughness to contrast softness. Break. Focus on accents and areas where the eye should be drawn with stray hairs or fine lines around the eyes, those little details you catch only if you really look hard...break. Export the piece and look at it on a different screen, notice that an eye is six inches higher than it should be and go back and fix it, and finally, I get to play with contrast and layer modes and perspective blur. And then it's done.

I'm really happy that my creative process for both of my hobbies has become identical, it's super comforting.