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veiledsilver · 3 years ago

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What Your Favorite Black Bull Says About You

I’m sure this list has been made already, but has a list been made with these sizzling hot takes that are specifically mine? Doubt it. Before you go in, this list was made for fun and not an actual attack on your character lol

Asta: You don't have the patience for this wizardry book nonsense, not when all you need is your huge muscles and willingness to throw hands. Essentially you're this post:

Noelle: It doesn't matter whether you love or loathe her siblings, you all want them to be punished on such a grand scale it resets the karmic balance forevermore, preferably in a hilarious fashion. You also think her next few outfit spells should include pants and a sports bra so Tabata can't traumatize you ever again.

Magna: You like delinquent tough guys with hearts of gold, or you like underdogs who never actually get a mysterious powerup that make them strong- or both! In any case, Magna is your special little boy and when he did THAT in the manga you damn near exploded. If you haven't seen it yet... I guarantee you will.

Luck: You like characters that act all bright and cutesy but... deep inside their hearts... they harbor d̵͍̲͑ä̴̜̻́͝ṛ̷̗̑̇k̶̟̿͘n̵̮͈͑ẻ̴̥ş̸̪̐͊s̴̙̀̐. To be fair Luck does not hide his feral energy deep within his heart but you still like the contrast between his cute :D face and the way he causes bodily harm. His backstory spoke to you in some way.

Finral: Hm. I would say you relate to his struggles as the least favorite kid in the family, or feel like you can't keep up with your peers in general... but it's actually his dyed tips isn't it. Also you have to deal with people being like "but isn't he a pervert?!" like ALL the time even though he's trying to be better. My heart goes out to you.

Gauche: I don't know if you guys actually exist, but if you do, you probably have to deal with people being like "but doesn't he nosebleed over his sister?!" like ALL the time even though he also kills people for her. You wish he had more moments where he's cool and strong and not nosebleeding.

Charmy: You saw Charmy going around eating food to her heart's content and wearing a cute sweatshirt instead of participating in the stupid male gaze and said "oh, I respect that." You like the rare fictional women who participate in traditionally female roles like cooking but can also be terrifying on command.

Henry: Henry is your poor little meowmeow and you want to snuggle him and feed him soup. Like, I may be exaggerating, but am I wrong? You may also like how cool his magic is- I mean, rearranging buildings is a pretty slapping power- and that he can still play a role in fights without his disability magically being cured or handwaved away.

Zora: You want the heroes to destroy the system that thrives on classism and corruption, and are disappointed that Zora kind of stopped doing that. Sorry, bro, but this is a shounen, and 2/3rds of the Big Three ended with the corrupt system not being destroyed, so. I think you listen to songs about bringing down the Man and not wanting to be an American.

Secre: Let me guess, you watched Princess Tutu. Well, if you didn't, Secre fans, I suggest you do. You think you're emo and want to drown in those moody feelings because you like it or your crush turned out to be dating someone already. Do you make those artsy monochrome edits of anime characters with kpop idols because I always see Secre on there.

Vanessa: Look into my (metaphorical) eyes. Do you have a complicated relationship with your mother? Hm... I see... really?... ok... well, I'm glad we had this talk! Anyway I'm guessing you really, really like women. I think that should be our topic of conversation next time. Just make sure you look respectfully.

Gordon: You probably also have that problem where people can't hear you and they're like "SPEAK UP I CAN'T HEAR YOU" until you give up. I can relate. You... also... (mumble mumble mumble mumble mumble mumble mumble mumble. Mumble mumble mumble mumble).

Gray: You think shapeshifters are really cool and probably headcanon Gray as Not Cis in some way, which is extremely valid. You are proud of her for how she's starting to speak up and stand up for herself, although you might (like me) think she's way too good for Gauche. Sorry, Gauche fans. But she really is.

Yami: Quick! Close your eyes and visualize Yami! You didn't actually see Yami, did you. Only the wide expanse of his very defined abs. You either don't like Charlotte for being a homewrecker or you relate to her strongly. I don't think I've met even one Yami fan who hadn't been drawn to him for his tits you can crack walnuts in.

Nacht: If you went one anime generation back, you would be into Sasuke. I've never seen the show about Boruto's dad but I know this to be the case. They're both edgy, have dark powers, and have a tragic backstory involving their brothers. You want a significant other who's mean to everyone but you, but let's face it. Nacht will also be mean to you.

Morgen*: You want the illusion of the same thing, but you also actually want to be treated nicely instead of nitpicked for your flaws at all times. I know you have a fanfic of him not dying somewhere in your writing medium of choice. Come on, show it to us, don't be shy haha. Your fellow Morgen stans are withering away...

*I know he's a Grey Deer but I needed the joke to set up properly. Let me live

#black clover #asta #noelle silva

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ladynightmare913 · 4 years ago

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Ink Bloom

Greetings and welcome to the prologue of Ink Bloom!

This is an original story inspired by Asian folklore and Jellyfish! Since this month is Mermay, I wanted to write something about mermaids, but I just didn’t have a clue as to what to do until it hit me like a tidal wave and I knew I had to bring this to life in writing! As always, I would like to say a special thank you to my best friend Olivia (@asunshinepuff ) for joining me in writing this spectacular world onto paper!

For the readers who enjoy Red Rose, Blood Moon, don’t worry I will still be writing chapters and I hope you will enjoy this story as well!

This story only has original characters created by Olivia and myself. For those who want to be tagged, feel free to send an ask to me or Olivia on her blog. If you have any questions, theories, or curiosities about any of our characters or how the story will progress, send them to the ask box!

Now without further adieu, let's dive into this new adventure!

Prologue: For Elodie

The rough waves crashed against the shoreline, the wind howled through the trees, and deep beneath the waves, the fish swam for shelter in the coral and anemones. The sea picked up stranded fish and drifting debris in their massive wake.

One wave managed to pull the largest creature in the reef. A creature with a long serpentine body covered in shimmering deep indigo scales, four long powerful limbs with sharp talons at the end, a mane of bright pink frills, like a jellyfish, joined to a long pink snout with a mouth full of sharp pearl white fangs, a pair of glowing indigo eyes and a crown of deep indigo horns that looked like branches of coral. It tried to escape the pull, but even a creature as strong as them could not overcome the powerful pull of the whirlpool-like waves.

The waves rolled the large creature, and crashed against the rocky shore, knocking it unconscious.

The ocean storm took its course, and the people who weathered through it all rushed to the beach to collect the fish and seaweed left behind. The tide pools with many stranded creatures.

A man with medium-length brown hair, light brown eyes, and light skin were among the people who adjourned at the poolside. He was dressed in a seafoam blue t-shirt, with a black long sleeve shirt beneath it, simple jeans, and black tennis shoes.

The man walked back and forth between the pools of water and the shoreline, carefully returning those stranded creatures that were still living back to their homes. The fact that his shoes were now soaked through hardly was a concern for him. As he walked back up the rocky shores, much further than expected from the rest, he spotted something shiny in the corner of his eye.

There inside a large tidepool, was a tiny very frilly snake with tiny horns. The man had never seen a species of coral snakes like this before, as most were banded with colorful stripes or spots, and never containing frills. Slowly crouching down as he reaches the small animal, he tilts his head in observation, he sees a long gash along the left side of its body, and it is unconscious.

How strange, the man muses to himself, he has never seen a creature quite like this before. It must be a species native to the island. He reaches out both hands and scoops his hands underneath to not startle the creature back to consciousness. Lifting the snake in his arms, he stands once more and walks along the shoreline- avoiding the rest of the crowd to avoid confrontation of questions and took it back to his hotel room. There he can safely treat the creature’s wounds, and return them to the sea. Even if he was curious about it and wanted to study it further.

It’s what Elodie would have wanted him to do.

It didn’t take the man long to treat the wound, and placed the little creature in a decent-sized saltwater fish tank, that he had cleared out the fish earlier, and left it to sleep and rest. He watched the creature for a long while, before returning to his desk, drawing a quick sketch of the little creature as it slept.

It was hours later, nearing midnight when the creature finally awoke, very startled by its small tank and in a strange place. The man noticed the creature was awake when it started splashing against the walls of the tank to escape.

“Hey, hey easy!”

He rose from his desk and reached the tank, the creature backed up against the walls and hissed. The man chuckled with a curious tilt of his head.

“It’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you.”

The creature didn’t seem assured but stopped hissing. The man hummed.

“Maybe you are a snake.”

It seemed like it was glaring at him.

“A very pretty and intelligent snake.”

The man reached for a cooler left by the tank, opening it, he used a tong to pick a large sardine from a Tupperware, then opened the lid of the creature’s tank.

“You must be hungry.”

The frilly snake didn’t move, instead opting to hiss at the offered food.

“It’s not poison, it’s food.” The man huffed.

The creature blinked skeptically. The man stared at it in amazement.

“A snake that can blink?” He watched it for a long while, but the creature did nothing further. With a sigh, he looked at the sardine. “Do you not eat fish?”

When the man looked away, the creature then lunged for the fish, ripping from the tongs and swallowing it whole.

The man stared in awe and mild horror. “Alright, you do eat fish.”

The creature, curled tightly around itself, its eyes gleaming. The man deemed, at least to him, the creature to be smug. The man shook his head in amusement.

“Once you're fully recovered, I’ll return you back to the ocean.” The man vowed, and the creature seemed to believe him.

The man kept the creature for three days, changed the dressing on its wound, and kept it well fed. One of his colleagues visited his room and was shocked at the sight of the strange animal.

“What is it?” His colleague asked.

The man simply shrugged, “I don’t know, it might be a species of sea snake.”

His colleague was a tall man with blonde hair and grey eyes looked to the man. “You haven’t taken samples?”

“It’s injured.”

“True, I guess you can take a sample once you take it back to your lab.”

The man shook his head as the creature looked at both men, cocking its head adorably. In their short time together, the man had learned that the creature can breathe both in and out of the water, it can escape its tank, it has four tiny limbs, and it lets out a light chirp that sounds almost like a cat purring when it’s content with its meal.

“I’m not taking it back to California, I’m returning it back to the sea.”

His colleague frowned. “Are you serious? This could be a new species! You could become famous.”

“I don’t care about that, and besides I already promised.”

“To who?” His friend sighed in exasperation.

“Elodie.” Was the man's response.

“You could name the species Elodie.”

The man glared at his colleague who stayed silent for the rest of his stay, which wasn’t long. The following day, the man deemed the creature healthy and strong enough to be returned back into the wild.

The man returned to the same beach where he had found the creature. Opening the lid of the large cooler, he lays it on its side and backs away. The creature hesitantly walked out, and at the sight of the blue waves, it ran towards it but abruptly stopped, turning to look back at the human.

The man smiled as the creature cocked its head to the side, giving him a tentative chirp.

“Go.”

And that was all the creature needed before it continued on its path back home. And the man followed the strange creature’s example and returned to his home back in California.

Two years later, on the shores of California, the full moon reflected across the blue ocean, tourists and visitors had long returned home to sleep, when a tall Asian woman walked out from the ocean to the sandy shoreline. The woman was dressed in a long traditional Chinese-styled pink dress, with a dark indigo outer robe and matching flats. She had pale skin, long silky ink blue hair, bright pink lips, and glowing indigo eyes.

Indigo eyes caught the sight of an aquarium resting upon the rocky cliffside. She smiled.

#Original Story #Original Characters #Our story #Our ocs #Ladynightmare ocs #asunshinepuff ocs #Cw brief mention of wounds #Magic #Asian Folklore #Jellyfish #Elodie #Mystery Man #Mystery Woman #Frilly four legged snake?#Large Serpentine Creature

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mthofferings2020 · 4 years ago

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sofreakinmanyfandoms

See sofreakinmanyfandoms’s existing works here and here.

Preferred contact methods: Email: [email protected] Discord: sofreakinmanyfandoms#9155 Tumblr: @sofreakinmanyfandoms

Preferred organizations: - Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund - First Book - National Alliance to End Homelessness - Native American Rights Fund - Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) (See the list of approved organizations here)

Will create works that contain: N/A - pre-made auctions only

Will not create works that contain: N/A - pre-made auctions only

-- Craft or Merchandise --

Auction ID: 1039

Will create works for the following relationships:

Work Description: This listing is for a set of three very basic fleece and felt dolls. Doll 1 is blond and pale with a blue outfit, themed after classic Captain America/Steve Rogers, and carries a shield. Doll 2 is brunet and pale with a black outfit, themed after the Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes, and has a silver arm with a red star. Doll 3 is African American with a red outfit, themed after the Falcon/Sam Wilson, and wears grey and red wings with a span of approx. 7 1/2". Main construction for all three dolls is sewn fleece stuffed with polyfill. Facial details are stitched with embroidery thread. Clothing is sewn fleece with felt accents that have been glued on with fabric glue. Pattern for all three is my slightly modified version of the Suki and Friends pattern found in Fleecie Dolls by Fiona Goble. I did not create the base pattern; only the fabric color pairings and decorations are my own. Due to unforeseen circumstances no one can control, I cannot cover shipping; buyer will have to pay shipping. These three will fit in a small Priority Mail flat rate box ($7.65 USD domestic shipping), but I will double-check before mailing that that is the cheapest shipping option if requested. If shipping internationally, I will check all pricing options before charging for shipping.

Ratings: Gen

CLICK HERE TO BID ON THIS WORK

-- Craft or Merchandise --

Auction ID: 2018

Will create works for the following relationships:

Work Description: This listing is for a 7" fleece doll of Tony Stark as a merman. He has a red tail with golden sequin scales and golden accent stitching. There is a felt and embroidery thread arc reactor in the center of his chest. His filling is polyfill. If bidding passes $50, I will be willing to make a second mer-doll of either Pepper Potts or Colonel Rhodes. If bidding passes $100, I will be willing to make additional dolls of both of them. If you want a different character, you are welcome to ask, but I won't guarantee I'll have the right fabric for them. Pattern is an altered version of the Tilly the Mermaid pattern from the book Fleecie Dolls by Fiona Goble, paired with an altered version of her pattern for Zak's hair. Color selection and arc reactor are my own. Due to unforeseen circumstances no one can control, I cannot cover shipping; buyer will have to pay shipping. This doll will fit in a Priority Mail flat rate envelope ($7.45 USD domestic shipping) or small box ($7.65 USD domestic shipping), but I will double-check before mailing that that is the cheapest shipping option if requested. If shipping internationally, I will check all pricing options before charging for shipping.

Ratings: Gen

CLICK HERE TO BID ON THIS WORK

-- Craft or Merchandise --

Auction ID: 3004

Will create works for the following relationships:

Work Description: This listing is for a Hulk-themed stuffed horse. Stuffed animal is approx. 15" tall in a seated position and made of fleece, felt, and embroidery thread. He is stuffed with weighted glass beads, so he can sit upright, and polyfill stuffing. His eyes are fleece and felt, making the toy safe for all ages. Hulk Pony is lime green with a dark green main, tail, hooves, eyes, and eyebrows. He has an angry face and a purple satin bow around his neck. Bow ends are glued to prevent fraying and can be left removable, or can be stitched on to make safe for toddlers. Base pattern is from the Teacup Lion Designs pattern set H0236 by Simplicity. Facial features are my own design. Due to unforeseen circumstances no one can control, I cannot cover shipping; buyer will have to pay shipping. Hulk Pony will fit in a medium Priority Mail flat rate box ($13.20 USD domestic shipping), but I will double-check before mailing that that is the cheapest shipping option if requested. If shipping internationally, I will check all pricing options before charging for shipping.

Ratings: Gen

CLICK HERE TO BID ON THIS WORK

The auction runs from October 18 (12 AM ET) to October 24 (11:59:59 PM ET). Visit marveltrumpshate.com during Auction Week to view all of our auctions and to place your bids!

#sofreakinmanyfandoms #auction: craft #mth 2020

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franpaw · 6 years ago

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Ben Solo interview from May 2019 issue of 1/6 Scale GQ.

Mr Solo Rising

Meet Ben Solo, 1/6 scale Star Wars Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece action figure. He is, of course, better known as Kylo Ren and was marketed as the dark intense heir to Darth Vader.

“The name on my box is Kylo Ren,” he explains, “and he is still a big part of my image. But after arriving in my new home I’m Ben Solo. As soon as I was greeted by Rey I fell in love with her. It was instant and right. I discovered I possessed a very romantic and sentimental side which I’ve allowed to flourish. In fact, it’s Rey who is fierce mostly!”

It’s partly due to his relationship with Rey, another 1/6 scale Star Wars Hot Toys figure, that he’s keen on action figures being seen as more versatile then simply posing on a shelf or in a glass box. “That’d be very boring for me,” he says firmly. “And,” he leans forward and drops his voice, “ do you know how much damage those figure stands can inflict right between your legs?” He blushes and adds, “And I’d like to be able to have children at some point in the future.”

Today he joins 1/6 Scale GQ for a coffee after working on a Star Wars photo shoot, but he’s dressed down in a grey t-shirt and blue baggy jeans. The only black in his attire is his Converse shoes and there is no sign of his Kylo mask and lightsaber.

He explains that he’s very busy, mostly making photo stories and videos and is experimenting with stop motion filming. “Though it takes a long time to capture it’s a good medium to work in,” he admits. He can see the exciting potential of action figures to retell film events or as fan fiction.

He and Rey develop many stories themselves, such as their first video called Love During Conflict. “We wanted to convey the real angst of being in a war and facing the fact that you may not see the ones you love again,” he elaborates. “Each moment is so precious.”

And Ben is certainly having his own moment. He’s fronting several advertising campaigns including Plaidam clothing and one big name he’s remaining quiet about. He promotes Dark Devotion, his fragrance for men, which he jokes does indeed smell very like him.

When he’s not in front of the camera he relaxes by drinking coffee, reading and listening to music. He’s formed a band – Kylo and the Rens - but needs to put in more guitar practice as they aim to play gigs. He’s just started to study astronomy. Is that because of Star Wars? He shakes his head. “No, in one of our upcoming photo stories I play a University astronomy teacher and when I did my research I was really was struck by it. I’ve asked for a telescope for my birthday,” he confides.

He’s also about to get married to Rey but won’t discuss it in detail, only that it’s a very small secluded wedding. But he does disclose that his online fans will be able to see plenty of photos of the Big Day and that Rey has designed and made their outfits.

And how is working with his famous fiancée? “Oh, it’s a joy,” he tells us, and he can’t prevent his trademark wonky smile from appearing. “She’s very open to ideas and of course her amazing beauty translates so well to camera.”

How about the more intimate shots of them? He was shy at first and was careful to keep his clothes on. “Even my boots,” he adds. “But people enjoy seeing more risqué poses,” he reveals, “so we’ve done some of those. And there is still a lot we obviously don’t show!”

Do he and Rey get along all the time? “We sometimes fall out a bit when she gets the giggles,” he responds with a shrug. “BB-8 (the round orange and white droid) is the most difficult. He’s very inquisitive and easily bored so he’s never still for long.”

What would he like to do in the future? I wouldn’t say no to a romantic comedy he says. With Rey? We have to ask as their chemistry is, as many people have noted, extremely hot. He laughs and shakes his head. “Is it? I don’t know. It just is what is it is.”

He was on standby for Burn This on Broadway but didn’t think the difference in scale between him and the full-sized cast members could be accommodated for. But he really fancies historical drama and is in the running for the stage role of Steinbeck’s Tom Joad. The Grapes of Wrath is a 1/6 scale production and would start in the autumn.

Is he excited about the next Star Wars film, The Rise of Skywalker, and does he think Hot Toys will make an Episode IX version of him? “I’m always excited for new Star Wars films,” he agrees enthusiastically. “It’s great for us action figures. And as for a new version, I don’t mind as long as they make a Rey for him. He’s not having my Rey,” and we see a flash Kylo’s anger in his eyes as he says this.

He was at action figure awards earlier this year, nominated for most realistic action figure, but lost out to his film mother Leia. “I’m fine with that,” he divulges, “as the likeness to the film character is incredible.” Then he grins and whispers, “and the award’s still in the ‘family.’”

He was a big favourite at the recent Action Figure Star Wars Celebration; his Heroes and Villains panel with Poe Dameron was sold out. As black-clad Kylo the villain he appeals to male Star Wars fans, what many think of as the traditional figure collector. Yet there are a growing number of fans who love Kylo’s conflict and his dynamic with Rey.

Female fans appreciate Ben’s personal fashion style and moody look. He’s very modest about this and waves his hand dismissively. “I look okay at some angles and just really grumpy and tired at others. Rey loves fashion and chooses most of my outfits.” He knows his face sculpt and body build has captured the character’s intensity but, he adds, “I think I have a much happier life.”

Yes, we think he does. And it looks like it’s only going to get better for Ben Solo.

Pictures below clockwise:

Ben as Kylo Ren, Ben signing autographs at Star Wars Celebration, Ben with fiancée Rey at the Action Figure Oscars, advertising Dark Devotion.

#ben solo #kylo hot toys #hot toys kylo ren #reylo action figures

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maisiehannon-blog · 6 years ago

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Developing And Also Design A Little one’s Bedroom By Dave Rowe

Color grading scales used by the worldwide realized laboratories (GIA & IGI for example), ranges coming from totally drab (D) to dull yellowish or even brownish shade (Z). The different colors, white and also black, as well as the animal printing are vibrant and create a significant statement in your area. For example, bistros like McDonalds, Pizza Hut, KFC, Wendy's and also Popeyes make use of reddish in their logo designs to induce cravings. Preservation market values, temperature improvement as well as present day style: The case of the CIS high rise. These are blessed colours of the white colored hill and are actually also made use of in authorities. These different colors might be actually learned straight coming from the Con personal trainer, and if you have a credibility high sufficient along with pick groups, likewise purchasable from credibility suppliers throughout the galaxy. This will definitely change the total window tint of a picture towards one of the images primary colors (Reddish, Environment-friendly as well as Blue). These cups refer each to the Misery in the Backyard as well as to the reality that individuals are provided anonymous with the systems of bias and abuse set in discrimination. These customized concepts are generally less costly than their colored versions since just one ink is utilized. Dogs are actually carried white colored or even white colored along with coloured spots. Greater London: International Principle for Preservation of Historic as well as Artistic Works. Certainly not shockingly, a few of the photos showed up slightly smudgy and also pixellated, however the standard printing premium across presentations, graphics in addition to straightforward text enhanced our general impact of This Web site particular particular printer. It is actually managed as a subject bibliography and is structured so that consumers can quickly expand upon it as required to feature particular neighborhood recommendations or added subject categories (like twentieth-century landscape construction design). A single palette utilizes various tones of the very same colour, while corresponding program uses colours which lie cross from each various other on the colour tire, like yellow as well as violet, red and environment-friendly and blue as well as orange. The attendees had actually recently been asked to suggest the synaesthetic colours that they linked with given characters and also were then provided along with single letters whose bodily colour at times represented the synaesthetic colour as well as various other times was actually precisely various.

The concept of lighting fixtures objects turns all of them in to works of art Lights have upright lines and also metal finishes. Tourmaline is a gemstone, which is actually discovered in different colours like blue, green, pink, reddish, yellow, brown, dark, bi-colored, tri-colored, and also even anemic. My combination is not dominated through planet hues in all, therefore color-wise Rembrandt's color scheme really did not actually affect me. But since I started griding my own binding medium (sun-thickened linseed oil + calcium carbonate) I have actually appreciated certainly not setting out my full scheme if I do not require it. Given that I utilize way a lot more shades than Rembrandt did, also in my smaller sized color scheme, loan vanishes promptly when I must purchase new cylinders of paint. Winter people are commonly redheads, along with heavily tinted eyes. There is actually yet another genetics at times pertained to as greying or fading. If you work with very lengthy on computer display, this solution will rest your eyes and prevent black cycles.

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fionamorrigan · 6 years ago

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Some portraits I’ve been working on for @sphlunger‘s D&D 5e campaign (you may have to click on them for better quality, tumblr tends to eat pixels)

The Babysitter’s club, in order of appearance:

Allorica, a High Elven Fighter (Arcane Archer)/Wizard (School of Abjuration), played by me [ID: A light-blue skinned female elf with shoulder length auburn hair in a half-up, half-down style, tied back with green string, long pointed ears, dark blue eyes, a large nose, auburn eyebrows, and a gold ring piercing chained to a gold ring piercing in her outer upper earlobe and three gold ring piercings in her inner upper earlobe, facing left. She is wearing a denim jacket with several pins on it, notably a snowflake pin on her lapel. The background is solid green with a wooden longbow with the bowstring surrounded by black smoke and a silver short sword with a sapphire blue handle and a rose engraved in the pommel with a sapphire set in the center. end ID]

Taang Wang, a Human Monk (Way of the Four Elements), played by our friend Kendall, who I don’t think has a tumblr (but you can find him on instagram at kendallzebidiah) [ID: A young human boy with light skin, brown eyes, bald with dark brown eyebrows, freckles, a scar running down this left side of his face, and a large, dark red tattoo of a fist starting at his forehead and running along the top and back on his head, disappearing underneath the collar of his shirt, facing left. He is wearing white and dark red sleeveless monk’s robes, and you can see that his tattoo continues onto his arm. The background is goldenrod with a silver and gold chakram with a dark red and dark grey handle, and a gilder made of dark wood with dark red wings on the front and tail. end ID]

Pierce, a Green Dragonborn Ranger (Hunter)/Fighter (Champion), who is currently away from our party, played by @zombiebecca [ID: A green scaled male dragon born with yellow eyes, a scar on the left side of his mouth, revealing broken and missing teeth, a head frill that starts at his forehead and ends where the back of his head meets his neck, a neck frill, a black septum piercing and a flower crown with silver rose outlines and golden leaves, facing left. He is wearing silver leather armor with roses embossed in the leather along the arm openings. He is also sleeveless. The background is blue with a black shield behind his head, that is carved to look like a rose. end ID.]

Kiyora, a Tabaxi Rogue (Assassin), played by @savepeeves [ID: a black furred female cat person with yellow eyes, pointed ears, and a black nose, facing left. She is wearing medium brown leather armor with lacing on the seams. The background is dark red with two scimitars, a white scimitar pointed up, the blade facing away from her, on the left, and a black scimitar pointing down, the blade facing away from her, on the right. end ID]

and, our newest member, Jae’rene, a Drow Warlock (Hex Blade) featured with one of her eight cats, Sassy, also played by @zombiebecca [ID: a dark grey skinned female elf with lilac eyes, white hair styled in an undercut, white eyebrows, white runes tattooed up her neck and across her face, and long, pointed ears with a silver earring, a platinum earring and a gold earring in her ear lobe and a gold industrial piercing chained to an ear cuff, facing left. She is wearing a black shirt. On her right shoulder is a Maine Coon cat with white, brown, grey and black fur with lilac eyes, a long fluffy tail curled over Jae’rene’s left shoulder, pointed ears, and a glowing white halo around their head, matching the runes in Jae’rene’s tattoos. The background is dark purple. end ID]

All of these images were creating in Autodesk Sketchbook, which is a program I absolutely adore and cannot get enough of. I’ll be posting some updated portraits as I do them, as well as the portrait for our other new party member, Nazenis, so keep an eye out for those! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these!

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themisadventuresofcando · 7 years ago

Text

Chess - Dee and Dum in Wonderland

Character Sheet

Face Claim:

Basic

Name: Cheshire Cat III

Pronunciation: Chesh-I-ER cat

Meaning: N/A

Nicknames: Chess, Cat, Tom Cat

Name Origins:

Chess, Cat: Shortened from Cheshire Cat

Tom Cat: A stupid nickname Carmen came up with because I’m “like a feral cat” (and if anyone, aside from her, ever called me this I would run them through with my sword)

Titles: Current Cheshire Cat, White Knight

Aliases: The Sharp Claw

Alias Origin: Title given to me for fighting on the White Queen’s side on the Chessboard

Orientation: Heterosexual

Gender: Male

Age: 56

Date of Birth: ???

Species: Shapeshifter

Affiliation: White Army

Social Status: Knight

Dead?: Some Day

How?: Who Knows How They're Gonna Die?

Death Date: ???

Last Words: Why Would I Know That

Appearance

How Old They Appear: 20

Eye Color: One Yellow, One Faded Lavender

Glasses/Contacts: N/A

Skin Tone: Greyish and Pale

Hair Color: Faded Lavender

Hair Length: Ends at Cheekbones

Hair Type: Thick and Shaggy

Hairstyle: Messy

Height: 5’9

Body Build: Tall and Lanky

Notable Features: Stitching on Body, Sharp Teeth and Claws

Piercings: N/A

Tattoos: N/A

Scars: My Entire Body is Covered in Them

Birthmarks: N/A

Alternate Appearance

Species: Cat

General Size: Slightly Bigger Than an Average Cat

Eye Color: Yellow

Fur/Feather/Scale/Skin Color: Blue and Violet

Fur Length: Medium

Fur Texture: Coarse

Tail: Long and Fluffy

Ears: Large

Notable Features: N/A

Wardrobe

Style: Dark, Stripes

Real World Outfit: Violet and Lavender Striped Shirt, Old Worn Ripped Up Jeans, Dark Violet Converse, Black and Grey Bomber Style Hoodie, Black and White Checkered Backpack

Wonderland Outfit: Dark Violet Cloak with Cat Ears, Safety Pin Through Right Ear, and Violet Patches, Dark Violet and Violet Striped Long Sleeved Shirt, Dark Violet Vest with Dark Grey Straps, Half Dark Violet And Half Violet Pants, Black Boots

Formal Outfit: Black Button Up Dress Shirt, Dark Violet Dress Pants, Dark Violet and Violet Striped Tie, Dirty Black Converse, Scratched Star Bangle

Accessories: Scratched Star Bangle

Scent: Honey, Spice

Relationships

Mother/Mother Figure: Ambrosia Cat

Relationships:

I didn’t know my mother long… she died when I was young. From what I remember she was very caring and very protective. I believe my love of riddles started with her and her constant need to spout them no matter what the situation. Even if I don’t remember her well I still love her as any good son would and cherish what little memory of her I have. I am proud of her as she was once a rook in the White Queen's army and was taken on the chessboard (just like many others before and after her). I suppose she would hate that I’ve taken my father's spot as a White Knight and fear that I’ll fall in battle as well.

Father/Father Figure: Cheshire Cat Jr. (Son of The Original Cheshire Cat and Former Cheshire Cat)

Relationships:

My father took care of me as much as he could being a White Knight. He raised me and trained me to join the White Army, though I doubt he intended for me to join and take his place. I did love my father but I was the one who got him killed. When I was young a became close with a White Pawn and trained with him often. I brought him to my father and begged him to train the White Pawn with me. My father agreed and showed him things that he used against when we discovered he was really a Red Rook looking for a promotion. He killed my father and burned my old home down and rose to be a Red Knight. Now I live to avenge my father for my stupid mistake.

Brothers/Brother Figures: Hattie (Nephew of The Original Mad Hatter and Current Mad Hatter)

Relationships:

I hate to admit how close I am to this clown. I've known him since I was born. He’s always acted as the older brother he absolutely insists that I need especially after the both of us lost our families. Hattie lost his parents before me and lived in our house with his cousins who were training to become the next Hatter. When the Red Knight burned my home down the only ones to make it out were me and him. You'd think he would blame me but he only became closer and insisted we were the only family the other had. Well, that was until the new Tweedles came along.

Sisters/Sister Figures: Olivia Utelias (Unknown Relation to Original Tweedle Dum and Current Tweedle Dum)

Relationships:

My relationship with Dum is… complicated to say the least. There are times when I hate her with every fiber of my being and others when I can actually include in our little ragtag family. She isn’t so bad I suppose but I can’t stand how insecure she gets over little things and how it feels like she tries to push away those things instead of trying to accept it and move on. I can’t stand how annoyed how upset she gets over not solving a riddle, it's just a riddle! But the thing I actually hate about her is something I don't think she or Dee have realized (or maybe Dee has and just doesn't care). When Dum bottles up her feelings they eventually explode and nine times out of ten she takes everything out on Dee and she just sits there and takes it. Then it’s Dee who has to find her and fix it instead of the other way around. I hate how hurt she gets every time Dum does it but it doesn't ever change.

Current Guardian: … I’m over half a century old, ya really think I need one?

Relationship: N/A

Current Significant Other: Carmencita D. Utelias (Unknown Relation to Original Tweedle Dee and Current Tweedle Dee)

Relationship:

I am genuinely surprised that I actually have someone to put here. I suppose no one will ever see this so I can freely admit that I do love her. How she returns my feelings I have no idea. I go out of my to infuriate everyone around me, find out what makes them tick and use it against them but there she is smiling like it's endearing or something. She rolls her eyes at my constant laughing at her sister expense and completely ignores when I insult her or Hattie because she see right through me. She knows that I'm trying to push everyone away so I won't be hurt when they die, that I’d rather provoke a reaction that pisses them than care about them and she just looks at me and just stubbornly refuses to be pushed. I guess that's why I love her so much no matter what I do she always comes back, correction she never leaves. In all honesty, it feels good to let someone in again and I'm glad it's her. But… and this never leaves here, I'm terrified of losing her. She is one of only four White Knights, the highest rank you can get, and that makes her a huge target. What makes her an even bigger target is her position as a Tweedle, the Red Army knows getting her takes down Dum too. If they found out how much she meant to me she’d be the prime target for anyone loyal to Red Queen because getting her would be four for the price of one (same reason Hattie doesn't let his and Dum’s relationship leave the group).

People

Mentors: Cheshire Cat jr., White Prince, Hattie

Advisor: Hattie

Confidant: Hattie

Teammates: Knights of the White Army

Friends: N/A (I don’t make friends)

Best Friend: Hattie

Love Interest: Dee

Rivals: White Prince, Hattie

Enemies: Red Army

Person Hated Most: Red Knight Reese

Most Important Person: Dee

Awkward Around: Dum

Admires: Father, Mother

Past

Hometown: Wonderland

Childhood: I’d say it was a pretty average childhood for any descendant of the original Wonderlandians until the incident.

Childhood Hero: Cheshire Cat

Most Important Memory: The first time I successfully used my magic

Present

Current Location: Wonderland

Living With: White Army

Occupation: White Knight

Pets: N/A

Health

General Health: I guess back in Dee’s world people got sick…?

Reason: Magic

Mental Health: Chronic Nightmares

Reason: Oh, I don't know let me think about this one… Oh! Maybe because all know is war!

Sleep Habits: Chronic Nightmares and Insomnia

Diet: I've never thought about it, I just stick it in my mouth and eat

Exercise: I’m a literal Knight...

Allergies: N/A

Injuries: Again. War.

Disorders: Insomnia

Deformity: N/A

Disabilities: N/A

Mutations: N/A

Handicaps: N/A

Medication: N/A

Abilities

List of Powers/Abilities: Shapeshifting, Partial Shapeshifting, Teleportation, Invisibility, Flying

Origin: Birth

Elements: N/A

Alternate Forms: Cat, Cat Human Hybrid

Strengths: Stealth, Evasion, Swords, Attacks

Weaknesses: Defense, Temper

Combat

Fighting Style: Highflying Attacks, Rapid Hits

Weapons: Sword and Claws

Targets: Red Army

Criminal Record

Wanted For: Treason, Murder, Kidnapping, Probably a lot of Other Bullshit

Wanted By: Red Queen

Prize for Capture: Like I Care

Prison Time: N/A

Personality

Good Traits: Loyal If I Care, Smart, Clever, Funny, Protective

Bad Traits: Sarcastic, Short Temper, Stubborn, Untrusting, Pushes Everyone Away, Takes Out Anger on Others

Likes: Music, Singing, The Forest, Training, Cuddling Dee (Shut Up), Iced Tea

Dislikes: People Crying, Socializing, Being Mocked, People Hurting Dee or Hattie, Dum’s Insecurities

Turn Ons: Teasing, Playful, Oblivious to Attraction, Gentleness

Turn Offs: Over Confident, Violence

Talents: Singing (I will kill someone if they find out about this)

Sense of Humor: Dry, Sarcastic

Darkest Secret: Nightmares

Does Anyone Know? Who?: Dee

Greatest Fear: Losing The Only People I Care About

Why?: ...

Other Fears: Dee Leaving Me, Dum Seriously Damaging her Relationship with Dee, Dying in Battle

Why?: Thought it was fairly obvious

Most at Ease When: Cuddling Dee

Most Uncomfortable When: Sleeping in a Tree

Enraged When?: In Battle

Depressed When?: After a Nightmare

Frightened When?: After a Nightmare

If Granted One Wish What Would It Be?: That The War Would Just End

Habits

Hobbies: Singing, Training

Instrument?: I think my mom tried teaching me the suephone

Sport?: N/A

Spending Habits: I… Kind of Steal (don’t tell Dee… or Dum)

Drinks?: Green Tea

Smokes?: N/A

Drugs?: N/A

Nervous Tics: Roll Eyes and Crosses Arms Refusing to Meet Eyes

Favorites

Prized Possession: Bracelet

Color: Dark Violet

Song: Hey Alice by Rachel Rose Mitchell

Quote: “I’m not crazy, my reality is just different from yours”

Movie: No Time

Food: Cookies

Season: Winter

Book: I don’t have time to watch a movie, you think I got time to read a book?

Genre: sci-fi

Flower: Bluebelles

Flavor: Chocolate

Dessert: Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Either/Or

Pessimist or Optimist: Pessimist

Pacifist or Fighter: Fighter

Introvert or Extrovert: Extrovert

Proud or Humble: Proud

Messy or Tidy: Messy

Risky or Safe: Risky

Strength or Wisdom: Strength

Flashy or Simple: Simple

Long Range or Short Range: Either

Cats or Dogs: ...is that a trick question?

Hot or Cold: Cold

Book or Movie: Um...

Loud or Quiet: I am Loud but I prefer Quiet

Logic or Emotion: Emotion

Work or Relax: Work

Confident or Shy: Confident

Night or Day: Night

Out of 10

Knowledge: 8/10

Wisdom: 4/10

Motivation: 8/10

Agility: 7/10

Power Control: 8/10

Swordsmanship: 7/10

Hand to Hand: 5/10

Long Range Accuracy: 5/10

Offense: 6/10

Defense: 5/10

Reflexes: 7/10

Speed: 7/10

Strength: 7/10

Sociability: 2/10

Bravery: 6/10

Confidence: 7/10

Generosity: 3/10

Endurance: 7/10

Evasion: 5/10

Kindness: 3/10

Creativity: 6/10

Charisma: 3/10

Memory: 8/10

Temper: 8/10

Patience: 2/10

#Wonderland #alice in wonderland #wonderland oc #cheshire cat

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samuelmmarcus · 6 years ago

Text

Mid-century Modern Farmhouse

After seeing a some darling coastal interiors this week, I am excited to share this “mid-century meets modern farmhouse” with a rustic exterior on our weekly “Interior Design Ideas” series. Here, the interior designer, Kelsey McGregor of Kelsey Leigh Design Co. shares some more details:

“The majority of my inspiration comes from elements in nature. This project was inspired by the quaint town of Telluride, Colorado, a mountain haven nestled in the Rocky Mountains. This home is in Edmond, Oklahoma, where there are, in fact, zero mountains on hand. That’s why we wanted to create a serene, home-away-from-home, vacation get-away. The design was a fusion of intentional rustic elements, traditional roots and fresh modern touches like industrial lighting to ground the space but also add a modern twist. The house is bathed in natural light and backs up to wooded green space, so we kept the space open with a lot of windows and painted the walls a slight gray to accentuate and mimic the outdoors. Hickory hardwood flooring is consistent through this open concept floor plan designed by McGregor Homes in Oklahoma City, which lent perfectly to the mountain vibes we were trying to achieve.”

Start pinning your favorite interior design photos and have a good time, my friends!

Interior Design Ideas: Mid-century Modern Farmhouse

This home features very interesting architectural details and it certainly feels like a rustic mountain home.

House is 2776 sf.

Three-car Garage

A three-car garage is located on the left wing of the house. Garage doors are painted in Sherwin Williams Iron Ore.

Outdoor Lighting

Exterior Lighting: Progress Lighting – Other Beautiful Outdoor Lighting: here, here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Siding

Siding is a combination of natural Cedar and reclaimed barnwood. The stain color on the siding is Sherwin Williams Stone Gray, Exterior stain.

Board & Batten

The home also features gray stained board and batten.

Front Porch

How sweet is this front porch? All it needs is a pair of rocking chairs and or a porch swing. I also love the landscaping. Did I mention I can’t wait for spring?!

Inspiring Porch Furniture: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Barnwood

Real reclaimed barnwood accentuates the exterior of this home.

Porch Columns

The porch columns feature Timber posts and natural stone.

Brick

Red brick was added on the foundation wall.

Front Door

The front door is painted in Sherwin Williams Iron Ore.

Similar Front Door: here & here.

Entry Set: Schlage.

Foyer

I tend to prefer homes that don’t show the main rooms as soon you open the door. This layout is classic and keeps the house feeling more private. The study is located on the left and the formal dining room is located on the right. Walls and trim paint color is Sherwin Williams SW 7001 Marshmallow.

Foyer Lighting – Progress Lighting Ratio Medium Pendant ORB.

Flooring: Hickory Hardwood Floors – similar here & here (darker, but solid hardwood).

Study

The study features brilliantly designed custom cabinets with plenty of storage and built-in desk. Keep this design in mind – you don’t even need a big room to build something similar – just use the lengthier wall.

Cabinet Paint Color

Cabinet Paint Color: Sherwin Williams SW 7045 Intellectual Gray.

Cabinet Hardware: Amerock.

Lighting

Lighting is Burkeville 4-light bronze.

Floating Shelves

Custom floating shelves add an airy feel to the space.

Floating Shelves: here – similar.

Sconces

Sconces are by Savoy House – similar here.

Dining Room

Although not yet furnished, this dining room with black shiplap accent wall is already very inspiring! Paint color is Sherwin Williams Iron Ore.

Sconces

Sconces: Savoy House Dunbar 1-light Sconce Brass/Bronze – on sale!

Chandelier

The builder and designers added exposed cedar headers above the doorways.

Dining Chandelier: Kitchler 6-light Erzo Natural Brass Chandelier.

Kitchen

This kitchen is full of beautiful ideas! I love the big island and the skylight. Kitchen island paint color is Benjamin Moore Dark Pewter.

Kitchen Island Dimensions: 9’x5’

Backsplash

The backsplash is an affordable subway tile with white grout. Classic and timeless!

Kitchen Sconces: Millennium Sconce.

Range: Frigidaire.

Metal Shelves

The kitchen Iron shelves were custom-designed and welded by local welder. Other Industrial-looking shelves: here (similar) & here.

Similar Decor: here.

Kitchen Hood

This custom kitchen hood ties with the wooden lower cabinets found in this kitchen.

Lower Cabinet

Kitchen Cabinetry: Cabinets are custom-built cabinets, shaker-style built out of maple. Stain is a custom mix of Sherwin Williams stains.

Kitchen Flooring

Kitchen flooring is Habitat Smoke Tile – similar here.

Kitchen Runner: Vintage Runner – Other Beautiful Runners: here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Layout

From this angle we can see that the dining room opens to the kitchen and a mudroom is located on the far right.

Countertop

Countertop is a marble-looking quartz.

Dishwasher: Frigidaire.

Sink & Faucet

Kitchen Faucet: Delta Trinsic in Chrome.

Kitchen Sink: here & here – similar.

Cabinet Knobs

Cabinet knobs are Amerock in Champagne.

Kitchen Lighting

Kitchen Lighting: Rejuvenation Conical Drum Pendant 16”.

Kitchen Buffet Cabinet

This two-toned buffet features the same custom-stained Maple lower cabinets and custom white upper cabinets with shaker doors.

Great Room Fireplace

The Great Room features a sleek stucco fireplace with Cedar mantel.

Beautiful Vases: here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Silver Dollar Eucalyptus Branch: here & here.

Inspiring Artwork: here, here & here.

Great Room Chandelier

Great Room Chandelier: Bensley 6 light chandelier.

Guest Bathroom

This guest bathroom is not big but it has a very functional layout. I especially love the flooring!

Lighting: Progress Hansford 2-light vanity light.

Mirror: Custom – Other Beautiful Mirrors: here, here, here & here.

Faucet

Faucet is by Delta.

Cabinet Paint Color

Cabinet paint color is Dark Pewter by Benjamin Moore.

Cabinet Hardware: Amerock.

Tub Shower

The tub shower features a 6×6 subway tile.

Plumbing: Delta.

Master Bedroom Chandelier

Chandelier is Savoy House Lorraine 4-light Chandelier.

Barn Door

Bathroom Barn Door Paint Color: Sherwin Williams Iron Ore.

Similar Barn Door: here.

Pull: Amerock – similar

Master Bathroom

The master bathroom has a lot of character and while keeping a neutral color scheme. Walls are Sherwin Williams SW 7001 Marshmallow.

Hardware

Cabinet Hardware: Pulls & Knobs.

Countertop & Lighting

Bathroom countertop is marble-looking quartz. It looks really nice with the Maple cabinets.

Vanity Lighting: Capital Lighting Dawson 3 light vanity.

Mirrors: custom – similar here & here (in brass).

Sink & Faucet

Faucets: Delta Trinsic.

Sink: here – similar.

Cabinetry

Bathroom Cabinetry: Custom Built, Maple shaker style with custom stain.

Other Beautiful Vanities: here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Flooring

Floor tiles are 8” Matte hex – similar here.

Shower

Shower Wall Tile: 4×16 marble subway tile in a straight lay – similar here.

Floor Tile: 2” hex tile – similar here.

Plumbing: Delta Trinsic.

Tub Nook

The tub apron features custom x inset paneling.

Mudroom

There’s no excuse to not have a mudroom! This custom mudroom built-in has everything you need – even shiplap – and it fits almost anywhere! All interior doors are painted Intellectual Gray by Sherwin Williams.

Laundry Room

Oh, wow! It’s hard to not fall in love this plaid backsplash tile, right?! The laundry features 4×4 tiles (in white, grey and black tiles) in a buffalo check pattern. This is a fun and affordable way to add character to any space – it could even work on floors, just use larger tile!

Tiles: Interceramic IC brites 4×4 tiles – Other similar alternative: here.

Faucet: Delta Trinsic Bar Faucet.

Cabinet Hardware: Amerock.

Many thanks to the designer for sharing all of the details above.

Builder: McGregor Homes (Instagram)

Interior Designer: Kelsey Leigh Design Co.

Photography: Nested Tours

Best Sales of the Month:

Thank you for shopping through Home Bunch. I would be happy to assist you if you have any questions or are looking for something in particular. Feel free to contact me and always make sure to check dimensions before ordering. Happy shopping!

Serena & Lily: 20% off Dining Event. Use code: ENTERTAINING

Wayfair: Up to 75% OFF – President’s Day Huge Sales on Decor, Furniture & Rugs!!!

Joss & Main: End of Season Sale: Up to 85% Off!!! Free shipping with code: STARS

Pottery Barn: 20% off + Free Shipping. Use Code: WEEKEND

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West Elm: 20% Off your entire Purchase + Free Shipping: Use Code: WINTER

Anthropologie: Take an extra 40% off all sale items! See Joanna Gaines Exclusive line here!

Urban Outfitters: Hip & Affordable Home Decor.

Horchow: High Quality Furniture and Decor. Up to 30% off the entire site!

Nordstrom: Up to 40% OFF!

Arhaus: Up to 60% OFF!

Posts of the Week:

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: Fixer Upper.

2019 New Year Home Tour.

Full-scale Home Remodel Inspiration.

Kitchen Renovation with Before & After Pictures.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: How to Build your own Home.

Interior Design Ideas: Grey Shingle Home.

Connecticut Beach House.

Interior Design Ideas: Colorful Interiors.

New England Home.

California New-Construction Custom Home.

Interior Design Ideas: Home Renovation.

California Modern Farmhouse Renovation.Classic Colonial Home Design. Family-friendly Home Design.

New Year, New Beautiful Homes of Instagram.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram.

Georgian-Style Manor with Traditional Interiors.

Transitional Home Design.

Interior Design Ideas. Grey Kitchen Paint Colors.

Follow me on Instagram: @HomeBunch

You can follow my pins here: Pinterest/HomeBunch

See more Inspiring Interior Design Ideas in my Archives.

“Dear God,

If I am wrong, right me. If I am lost, guide me. If I start to give-up, keep me going.

Lead me in Light and Love”.

Have a wonderful day, my friends and we’ll talk again tomorrow.”

with Love,

Luciane from HomeBunch.com

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0 notes

dawnjeman · 6 years ago

Text

Mid-century Modern Farmhouse

Start pinning your favorite interior design photos and have a good time, my friends!

Interior Design Ideas: Mid-century Modern Farmhouse

This home features very interesting architectural details and it certainly feels like a rustic mountain home.

House is 2776 sf.

Three-car Garage

A three-car garage is located on the left wing of the house. Garage doors are painted in Sherwin Williams Iron Ore.

Outdoor Lighting

Exterior Lighting: Progress Lighting – Other Beautiful Outdoor Lighting: here, here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Siding

Siding is a combination of natural Cedar and reclaimed barnwood. The stain color on the siding is Sherwin Williams Stone Gray, Exterior stain.

Board & Batten

The home also features gray stained board and batten.

Front Porch

How sweet is this front porch? All it needs is a pair of rocking chairs and or a porch swing. I also love the landscaping. Did I mention I can’t wait for spring?!

Inspiring Porch Furniture: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Barnwood

Real reclaimed barnwood accentuates the exterior of this home.

Porch Columns

The porch columns feature Timber posts and natural stone.

Brick

Red brick was added on the foundation wall.

Front Door

The front door is painted in Sherwin Williams Iron Ore.

Similar Front Door: here & here.

Entry Set: Schlage.

Foyer

Foyer Lighting – Progress Lighting Ratio Medium Pendant ORB.

Flooring: Hickory Hardwood Floors – similar here & here (darker, but solid hardwood).

Study

Cabinet Paint Color

Cabinet Paint Color: Sherwin Williams SW 7045 Intellectual Gray.

Cabinet Hardware: Amerock.

Lighting

Lighting is Burkeville 4-light bronze.

Floating Shelves

Custom floating shelves add an airy feel to the space.

Floating Shelves: here – similar.

Sconces

Sconces are by Savoy House – similar here.

Dining Room

Although not yet furnished, this dining room with black shiplap accent wall is already very inspiring! Paint color is Sherwin Williams Iron Ore.

Sconces

Sconces: Savoy House Dunbar 1-light Sconce Brass/Bronze – on sale!

Chandelier

The builder and designers added exposed cedar headers above the doorways.

Dining Chandelier: Kitchler 6-light Erzo Natural Brass Chandelier.

Kitchen

This kitchen is full of beautiful ideas! I love the big island and the skylight. Kitchen island paint color is Benjamin Moore Dark Pewter.

Kitchen Island Dimensions: 9’x5’

Backsplash

The backsplash is an affordable subway tile with white grout. Classic and timeless!

Kitchen Sconces: Millennium Sconce.

Range: Frigidaire.

Metal Shelves

The kitchen Iron shelves were custom-designed and welded by local welder. Other Industrial-looking shelves: here (similar) & here.

Similar Decor: here.

Kitchen Hood

This custom kitchen hood ties with the wooden lower cabinets found in this kitchen.

Lower Cabinet

Kitchen Cabinetry: Cabinets are custom-built cabinets, shaker-style built out of maple. Stain is a custom mix of Sherwin Williams stains.

Kitchen Flooring

Kitchen flooring is Habitat Smoke Tile – similar here.

Kitchen Runner: Vintage Runner – Other Beautiful Runners: here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Layout

From this angle we can see that the dining room opens to the kitchen and a mudroom is located on the far right.

Countertop

Countertop is a marble-looking quartz.

Dishwasher: Frigidaire.

Sink & Faucet

Kitchen Faucet: Delta Trinsic in Chrome.

Kitchen Sink: here & here – similar.

Cabinet Knobs

Cabinet knobs are Amerock in Champagne.

Kitchen Lighting

Kitchen Lighting: Rejuvenation Conical Drum Pendant 16”.

Kitchen Buffet Cabinet

This two-toned buffet features the same custom-stained Maple lower cabinets and custom white upper cabinets with shaker doors.

Great Room Fireplace

The Great Room features a sleek stucco fireplace with Cedar mantel.

Beautiful Vases: here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Silver Dollar Eucalyptus Branch: here & here.

Inspiring Artwork: here, here & here.

Great Room Chandelier

Great Room Chandelier: Bensley 6 light chandelier.

Guest Bathroom

This guest bathroom is not big but it has a very functional layout. I especially love the flooring!

Lighting: Progress Hansford 2-light vanity light.

Mirror: Custom – Other Beautiful Mirrors: here, here, here & here.

Faucet

Faucet is by Delta.

Cabinet Paint Color

Cabinet paint color is Dark Pewter by Benjamin Moore.

Cabinet Hardware: Amerock.

Tub Shower

The tub shower features a 6×6 subway tile.

Plumbing: Delta.

Master Bedroom Chandelier

Chandelier is Savoy House Lorraine 4-light Chandelier.

Barn Door

Bathroom Barn Door Paint Color: Sherwin Williams Iron Ore.

Similar Barn Door: here.

Pull: Amerock – similar

Master Bathroom

The master bathroom has a lot of character and while keeping a neutral color scheme. Walls are Sherwin Williams SW 7001 Marshmallow.

Hardware

Cabinet Hardware: Pulls & Knobs.

Countertop & Lighting

Bathroom countertop is marble-looking quartz. It looks really nice with the Maple cabinets.

Vanity Lighting: Capital Lighting Dawson 3 light vanity.

Mirrors: custom – similar here & here (in brass).

Sink & Faucet

Faucets: Delta Trinsic.

Sink: here – similar.

Cabinetry

Bathroom Cabinetry: Custom Built, Maple shaker style with custom stain.

Other Beautiful Vanities: here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Flooring

Floor tiles are 8” Matte hex – similar here.

Shower

Shower Wall Tile: 4×16 marble subway tile in a straight lay – similar here.

Floor Tile: 2” hex tile – similar here.

Plumbing: Delta Trinsic.

Tub Nook

The tub apron features custom x inset paneling.

Mudroom

Laundry Room

Tiles: Interceramic IC brites 4×4 tiles – Other similar alternative: here.

Faucet: Delta Trinsic Bar Faucet.

Cabinet Hardware: Amerock.

Many thanks to the designer for sharing all of the details above.

Builder: McGregor Homes (Instagram)

Interior Designer: Kelsey Leigh Design Co.

Photography: Nested Tours

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2019 New Year Home Tour.

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Connecticut Beach House.

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New England Home.

California New-Construction Custom Home.

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If I am wrong, right me. If I am lost, guide me. If I start to give-up, keep me going.

Lead me in Light and Love”.

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regulusblackfest · 4 years ago

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Week 1 Round-Up

The first week is done and we already had a whole bunch of amazing creations! You can find all of them in a neat little list underneath the cut. Mind the tags/warnings and leave our awesome creators some love! ✨

crossed the border

Pairing/main character: Regulus Black & Charlie Weasley

Rating: Gen | Medium: moodboard

Summary: a mood board for Regulus Black Fest 2021

It would eat you like poison If you knew what I knew

Pairing/main characters: no pairing, Regulus Black

Rating: Teen | Warnings: cursing, smoking, minor character death | Word count: 4,431

Summary: Urðr's scissor's slipped and Tom Marvollo Riddle's thread was severed way too soon in his life, upsetting Skuld's carefully thought-out pattern of Fate tapestry. Thankfully, Verðandi has a solution.

5 times regulus surprised sirius + 1 time he didn’t

Pairing/main characters: Regulus Black, Sirius Black

Rating: Teen | Warnings: implied suicide resulting in canon Main Character Death,mourning for a dead sibling | Word count: 3.3k

Summary: sirius has been estranged from his younger brother for years, so why is he only noticing him now? it’s much too late for it anyway, because regulus has slipped through the cracks of a broken childhood: dead before he ever turned 17. both pov’s: sirius & regulus.

Beneath the Surface

Pairing/main characters: Regulus Black

Rating: Not Rated | Warnings: Mentions of Suicide, Major Character death | Word count: 950

Summary: "I hid in the basement once, just to see if anyone would notice. Nobody came, nobody realized I was gone." Regulus, the 'good boy', is never really seen by anyone.

Upon the Horizon's Verge

Pairing/main characters: Regulus Black/Sirius Black/Remus Lupin/James Potter; Regulus Black/Sirius Black; Remus Lupin/Regulus Black

Rating: Explicit | Warnings: Depression, suicidal ideation, brother x brother incest and dub-con of every variety (copious amounts of alcohol, implicit and explicit coercion and just generally not being above board). | Word count: 12,574

Summary: Prompt: Instead of going after the horcrux alone, Regulus seeks his brother's help and inadvertently crashes James's stag night. Faced with drunken Marauders, he almost gives up but they surprise him by actually listening. Regulus wasn't sure what he expected to happen, but he definitely didn't expect to end the night in bed with his brother and his two best friends.

grey scale

Pairing/main character: Regulus Black

Rating: Gen | Medium: Moodboard

Summary: another mood board for Regulus Black Fest 2021

Problem Child

Pairing/main characters: Regulus Black & Sirius Black, Regulus Black & Hermione Granger, Sirius Black & Harry Potter

Rating: Teen | Word count: 2,592

Summary: Regulus has come a long way from a child desperate for his parents’ approval.

Rebirth (Coming Home)

Pairing: Harry Potter/Regulus Black

Rating: Teen | Warnings: off screen minor character death, resurrection magic, slow burn, implied Draco/Harry, implied Draco/Regulus | Word count: 15,638

Summary: Harry’s decrepit House Elf is dying. If things were normal, that would be a sad but ultimately natural thing. However, he’s Harry Potter and — of bloody course — nothing can ever be normal. Why shouldn’t Kreacher’s death have to involve Draco Malfoy, who Harry hasn’t seen in two years, and Regulus Black, who Harry has thought was dead for over twenty years?

Tell Me

Pairing/main characters: Regulus Black/James Potter

Rating: Teen | Word count: 2,749

Summary: Since moving out of the family home, Regulus and Sirius have been sharing a flat. But Sirius is ready to move on and move in with his boyfriend, meaning that Regulus must find a new flatmate. Sirius suggests James moves in, but Regulus isn't too sure about the idea, seeing as he's had a crush on him for years.

This is the Hour of Lead

Pairing/main characters: Remus Lupin/Regulus Black

Rating: Mature | Warnings: Stalking, obsession, sexual assault, emotional manipulation and suicidal ideation--almost all of which involves a minor. Written in second person (you/your) which could make those things worse for some people. | Word count: 5,142

Summary: Prompt: Regulus can't help the random shivers down his spine by the feeling of being constantly watched. (Intended for a dark fic--the invisibility cloak here is used as an instrument for stalkerism. The stalker may or may not act beyond merely following Regulus).

The father, the son, and the horcrux

Pairing/main characters: Regulus Black & Voldemort, Abraxas malfoy/Tom riddle, Regulus Black & Kreacher

Rating: Teens | Word count: 11,540

Summary: Regulus gets rescued from the cave by an unlikely source: the Dark Lord himself.

Haunted

Pairing/Main characters: Sirius Black. Regulus Black.

Rating: Teen | Word count: 3,300

Summary: After twelve years in Azkaban and another on the run, Sirius finally returns to Grimmauld Place where he finds his childhood home is haunted by the ghosts of his past. Literally.

#regulus black #regulus black fest #regulus black fest 2021 #round up post

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bunnyadvocate · 8 years ago

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Visual Novel Protagonists: What are they made of?

The protagonists we choose to play are important. They’re our eyes and ears in a VN. They’re the ones we most understand, we see their most private inner-thoughts and dreams, we cheer on their successes and decry those who get in their way. With the first-person format of most VNs, we’re encouraged to see ourselves as them. So if you want to understand VNs, you need to understand protagonists. This post is a continuation of my analysis on VN trends and focuses on the types of protagonists we like to embody.

Tag, you're it

How can we analyse something as subjective as character traits? Geekdom has the answer: categories, lots and lots of categories. VNDB allows users to indulge their categorisation fetish by assigning “tags” which denote the type of content a VN has. There are currently over 2200 different tags on VNDB covering such elements as the genre, character traits, technical attributes, and the type of sexual content a VN has. The accuracy of the data is ensured by the crowd-sourced nature of the data, with everyone able to vote to confirm or deny the inclusion of a tag on a VN. Those tags with more votes against than for are removed from that VN.

The tag summary for Umineko no Naku Koro ni.

Using this vast source of data we can see which tags are most common in the medium and look for connections between them: are some tags more likely to appear together, or do some tags tend to only appear in higher rated VNs? We analysed the tag data for every VN on VNDB that has at least 5 user ratings which totalled 7690 VNs. 6340 were of Japanese origin (JVNs) and 1072 were developed in the West (EVNs).

This data will have gaps. While popular VNs are well tagged (Fate/Stay night has over 100 tags), less well known VNs aren’t fully categorised (such as the wonderful Where the Sun Always Shines which has only 11 tags), so we’ll underestimate the popularity of many traits. However this is a bias that’ll apply fairly equally to all tags, so while we should be cautious about saying X% of VNs have some trait, we can confidently say that some traits are more popular than others.

Most common protagonists

To get an overview of the kinds of protagonists most commonly found in VNs, we ranked the 280 tags that had the word “protagonist” in them. We split the results between Japanese VNs and EVNs to show the differences in the two markets.

The (X%) is how many VNs have that tag. A longer list is available here. A definition of what each tag means can be found on VNDB here.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the most popular JVNs that the list is dominated by male protagonists of school age, fighting and saving the world through sheer willpower. Nor is the presence of sexual traits being so high up on the list unexpected as only 22% of JVNs are tagged as having no sexual content; but more surprising is the presence of such violent sexual content. While we shouldn’t take this out of proportion, only 3.8% of JVNs were tagged with rapist protagonists, but it was still the 11th most common protagonist trait.

As for EVNs, we see more diversity in the characters they choose to portray. No single personality type dominates as it does for JVNs. Even “strong female protagonists” (as in character, not physical strength) were ranked higher (at 23rd) than the most common personality type tag (”fighting protagonist” is 24th). Female protagonists are almost as common as male ones, and dark-skinned protagonists also appear fairly frequently (dark-skinned protagonists were ranked 171st with 0.14% for JVNs). Diversity isn’t good just for its own sake, diverse characters mean diverse settings, and diverse settings mean diverse stories, and diverse stories are good for those of us who enjoy a range of different experiences.

Western fan preferences

Just looking at the VNs being released doesn’t necessarily give you a good picture of the VN scene as a whole. A dozen porn-focused VNs with a handful of fans each don’t better portray the medium than a story-focused VN with thousands of fans just because there are more of them. We tried to create a more accurate picture of what traits Western fans prefer to read by looking at the number of user ratings each VN got on VNDB. So a tag that appears in a VN with 50 ratings counts for 10 times more than a tag in a VN with just 5.

To further highlight what fans preferred over what was common, we ranked the results by the difference in how many user ratings a tag was getting vs how common it was in VNs overall.

The percentage is the difference between how common a tag is in user ratings vs how common that tag is in all VNs.

For both JVNs and EVNs, protagonists with a clear identity (and face) were far preferred over bland self-inserts, perhaps because more engaging stories tend to require a protagonist with eyes /s. Voice acting for protagonists also seems popular, although that may be a side-effect of a VN having a higher budget (with higher budget VNs tending to be more widely read).

It also seems there’s a stark divide between those reading translated VNs and EVNs, with Western JVN fans flocking towards the already over-represented male protagonists. An overwhelming 82% of JVN user ratings go to VNs with male protagonists. While otome VNs do moderately well in Japan, very few get translated. Given how popular female protagonists do in the EVN scene, this would seem to be a missed opportunity.

At the other end of the scale, nameable protagonists may be common, but they aren’t popular with fans. On the Japanese side, this may reflect the additional technical difficulty in translating a VN with such a feature. If a VN doesn’t get translated, it doesn’t tend to be widely read in the West. However this feature also also appears near the bottom of the EVN list too, suggesting the feature itself is unpopular.

Highest rated protagonists

As well as determining what’s popular, we can also gauge what fans think makes for a better protagonist from the ratings they give the VNs with those protagonists. Using a little bit of maths (details here), we got the average rating for those protagonist tags that appeared in at least 50 VNs.

The full list of protagonist ratings is available here.

These ratings are somewhat skewed by a few popular highly-rated VNs, the homemaker protag’s inclusion on this list is due to Fate/Stay night, but there still seems a clear preference towards smart protagonists who get shit done. On the reverse side, many of the most low-rated traits are those most common in porn-focused VNs.

Battle of the sexes

We’ll drill down into more detailed tag specifics in my next post, but as a teaser of what’s to come, we looked at the differences between VNs with male and female protagonists. We split VNs into those who had male or female protagonists and measured which tags became more common than before. Therefore we could see which tags were most closely linked to that gender. For example, the Student Heroine tag jumped from 23.7% of VNs to 32% when we restricted it to male protagonists only. As many VNs focus on heterosexual romances, its not a surprise that VNs with a male lead are much more likely to have female love interests.

The percentage in grey is how many male/female protagonist VNs have that tag, and the green is how much higher it is than the average for all VNs.

The male list is overflowing with sexual traits, unsurprising given that sexual content is far more common in VNs with male protagonists. Those sexual acts that are primarily gratifying to the male partner are especially popular. Boob-jobs, blow-jobs, and virgin sex are all acts that generally appeal more to the male partner and so it’s logical that it tends to pop up more in VNs where the reader takes the male’s perspective.

As for female protagonists, any otome fan can tell you how there’s a dearth of otomes with sexual content. Combine that factor with female protagonists being much more common in EVNs (who also shy away from sexual content), and you have the chaste list on the female protagonist side.

The increase in the proportion of female protagonists with faces and voice acting is harder to explain. This may be a reflection of how rare such content is in porn-oriented VNs, which mostly have male protagonists and eschew showing the male form (perhaps due to their otaku fans fear of turning gay /s). With such porn VNs holding down the average, restricting the results to the chaste female protagonists results in a big increase in its frequency.

Despite VNs being portrayed as escapist literature with generic self-insert protagonists, our analysis seems to suggest the reverse. Fans far prefer protagonists with strong identities, and EVNs are leading the way in exploring stories with more diverse characters. The videogame industry could learn something from our little medium.

Next week we’ll analyse the individual protagonist tags in more detail. What do women and death have in common? Find out next time.

I hope you enjoyed our little analysis. I had a lot of fun collecting the data, but refining it down into a reasonable length post was tricky. I love talking about this, so if you have any comments or queries then please get in contact via the Ask me Anything, my twitter, or reddit.

A big thank you goes out to /u/8cccc9 for his help on the analysis, and Part-Time Storier for her help on proofreading.

#oelvn #evn #visual novel #visual novels #visual novel development #visual novel trends

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kyberled · 8 years ago

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DETAILED APPEARANCE INFO

do not reblog, repost.

HEAD

FACE SHAPE: oval, going off this chart (click) and his real-life face claim CHEEKS: A bit pink, but not to the point where it looks like blushing; Many adults have deemed them pinchable. CHEEKBONES: High and defined, but not sunken; To quote Rodi, ‘I’m in love with [Braig’s] cheekbones.’ LIPS: Bow-shaped, lower lip is fuller than upper; Almost naturally pouty, very pink. Can be a bit dry and cracked after some missions, but doesn’t chew them often, so they’re not too frayed. SKIN COLOR: Olive, light medium; He’s a bit lighter when he’s younger, because he didn’t leave the Temple until he was eight, and that was to go to Ilum, of all places, but he gets more sun when he starts going on regular missions. (Somewhere between III and IV on THIS SCALE (Click); the exact place on the range changes slightly, but yeah. Closer to III) SKIN TYPE: ‘normal’, as far as skin types go. Not especially oily, not especially dry, just somewhere in a neutral ground. (Not combination, though.) Rough and calloused around his palms, fingers, knuckles, and the bottoms of his feet, from training and missions, but relatively soft and smooth everywhere else. Scars brown, would be subject to a bit of hyperpigmentation if the Jedi couldn’t apparently use the Force as sunscreen (the Jedi Path taught me a lot) EYE SHAPE: almond-shaped, hooded, upturned at the outer corners EYE COLOR: Calf brown EYEBROW SHAPE: Full, straight, barely arches, tapers off EYEBROW COLOR: Black EYELASHES: Thick, long, black NOSE SHAPE: According to this chart, it’s a ‘small hero’ nose (which I find hilarious); Slightly hooked; Rounded tip, little bit of a button; Again, adults have reported that it is very boop-able HAIR TEXTURE: Thick, smooth yet unruly, and has a gentle wave to it HAIR COLOR: Jet black HAIR LENGTH: Depending on how old he is, it’s either about to his chin (baby Braig), just over his shoulders (young teenager), just passing his shoulders (older teenager), roughly the middle of his back (adult), or, heck, even down to his hips (Elder/old Braiggos) EARS: Somewhere between rounded and oval, unattached lobe, average size

UPPER BODY

SHOULDERS: A little narrow when he’s tiny, but puberty kicks him in the jaw and he broadens out by his late teens. ARMS: Toned - Muscular, though in the sense that it’s more ‘practical muscle’ and less ‘overly defined’; Buff for use, not for show, if that makes sense. Have you ever swung a sword around for a few hours? Great exercise. This kid uses two on a daily basis. A few noticeable veins, here and there; A couple small scars in various stages of fading. STOMACH AREA: Toned. His life is 24/7 training. This kid is ridiculously in shape. Probably some scars here, too. LOVEHANDLES?: Friend, if it wasn’t for the fact that he was buff, he’d vanish when he turned sideways. He’s got barely any fat on him. (It’s actually probably a little bit of a health issue.) CHEST/BREASTS: Smooth, also muscular. Taut, but not swollen or ballooned out. He’s lean, I suppose, is the word I’m looking for. Probably still a few scars. NIPPLES: Average size, reddish-brown in colour. BACK: Same as before - lean muscle, little scars here and there. Straight posture, a mixture of confidence, formality, and training. HAND SIZE: A little on the small side, honestly? Broad palms, long, slender fingers. Very calloused, along the palms, pads of fingers, and the knuckles (first two especially).

LOWER BODY

HIPS: They don’t lie, I’ll tell you that much. Again, muscular - a little wide, though whether this is due to muscle growth or just Braig being naturally a lil curvy, who knows. BOTTOM: As I said, he doesn’t have a lot of fat on him, so it’s not big, but like the rest of him, pretty toned. Both of his romantic partners in their respective verses have given it five stars. (He’s unsure what to make of this.) THIGHS: Sturdy, muscular, lean. He’s flexible, with great balance, honed through training. He can’t outmatch physical giants in the Jedi Order like Hano, or, to pick a canon character, Krell, in terms of raw strength, so he focuses on agility. He’s got nice legs. Again, probably a few small scars, here and there. CALVES: Proportionate to his legs. Muscular, the calves of a martial artist and a trained warrior. Also, more scars. LEG LENGTH: I suppose long-ish? They’re a bit longer than his head+torso, but not by much, so pretty average.

OTHER

BODY HAIR: Doesn’t have much. It’s pretty much localised to his underarms, and the nether regions. His arms and legs are bare, and he couldn’t grow facial hair if he tried. (He did, in fact, try, just on a whim. It was disappointing, to say the least.) What he does have is a bit sparse, and very dark - black, like his head-hair. SCENT: He smells a bit like leather, a bit like old stone, a bit like the air before a lightning strike (I, personally, imagine that lightsaber blades sort of give off that ozone-y energy smell), a bit like heated metal, like tea, and sweat, and battlefield dust, and the fake-not-pineapple scent of bacta and maybe a bit of medical disinfectant, a little like soap and shampoo and laundry detergent, and boot polish, and flowers, and weapons grease, maybe a bit like Obidad’s aftershave or cologne if he’s had a bad day and needs a tight hug. And a few people say he also smells a little like sweets, but that depends on the day. How much of each scent really depends on what he’s been doing recently. HAND NAILS: Very short, usually only a sliver of white over the pinks. Rounded and smooth, good for making a proper fist while also being well-manicured and clean. Sometimes, there’s a bit of dirt, or grit, or blood underneath, and other times there might be a bit of boot polish or weapons grease, but he washes his hands regularly enough that it’s never really a problem. He usually makes sure his hands are clean before leaving the Temple, if he can. TOENAILS: Short and neat, though he’s a bit less meticulous with his toes than with his hands - people don’t see his feet too often, and he doesn’t need his toenails short to make a fist. He keeps ‘em best as he can, but if they get a bit long, he won’t kick himself for it. VOICE: I think, at least as a teenager, he would in fact sound like his FaceClaim, Boo.Boo Stew.art - A really good clip of him talking (to puppies) is here: (click), though when he’s older, it does deepen; I’ll have to look for a good voice claim for that. One important thing to note is that he does have a Coruscanti accent; ‘English’, in our Earthling terms, though it’s closer to Ewan’s Ob/i-W/an accent, since that’s what Braig grows up with. ACCENT: As I said, an English/Coruscanti accent. It’s not too thick, no more than Obidad’s is. He has it in every verse - his bio father, Eadric, has a very English accent, as well, so he grows up with it no matter who he was initially raised by.

HEIGHT: 5’0” as a young padawan (eg from age 13), 5′7″ as an older padawan (eg from age 17), and 5′9″ is his full height. WEIGHT: 155.55 lbs is his full weight as an adult, but of course it depends on his age/height. PIERCINGS: None, though Rogue Braig and modern Braig have seriously considered getting a single earring in his left ear lobe. TATTOOS: None, though he has a few he’s considered. Again, Rogue and Modern Braig are more likely to have these. BRA SIZE: Doesn’t wear one. SHOE SIZE: Apparently it’s 8 in American men’s when he’s fully grown. I barely know my own shoe size, so I’m leaving this. PREFERRED CHOICE OF SHOES: Simple leather boots in canon; In modern, he has a battered pair of old hiking boots, and another set of old comfy sneakers, and those are the ones he loves most. CLOTHING STYLE: He dresses in pretty typical Jedi clothing. Brown tunic, trousers, boots and belt, often wears a red sash under his belt, and, of course, his scarf; He loses the scarf when he gets older, (around 16-17) and adopts more greys, as well as a brown tabbard and grey vambraces, as a Jedi knight, his shirt is grey with two brown stripes on the right sleeve (brown stripes on your sleeve, according to Legends canon, signify having been born in the Coruscant system; These things are completely optional, but he likes them). The brighter colours in his outfit shift away from red and towards purple. As a Sith/Sith apprentice? Black clothes, tunic, maybe a tabbard, red accents, typical stuff. As a Rogue, it’s a lot of thrown-together, whatever he can find type-stuff. He likes things with pockets, since he can hide things there, and he modifies most jackets he wears to have pockets hidden on the inside where he can stash his sabers. He likes leather jackets, and he’d absolutely be willing to shell out the necessary credits for armourweave clothes he can wear around. It’s a way less formal, refined look than he wore when he was younger. He’s still big on neutral/earth tones, but if he needs to buy more opulently coloured stuff to blend in, he will. He also wears a small, woven black ‘bracelet’ around his left wrist - this is his padawan braid that he cut off himself, and he melted the beads down to join the ends together. He fiddles with it when he’s stressed. Modern Verse Braig likes dark/neutral pants, jackets, shoes, etc, but bright and vividly coloured shirts, and accessories can fall on either end of the scale. He likes comfortable, durable clothes that he can move around in, and if he’s gonna get a design or graphic on his clothes, he prefers a simple picture. he’s not above wearing jewellery in this verse (or his Rogue verse, might I add) though, again, prefers a simple necklace or one of those camp-style friendship bracelets to anything else. GENERAL BODYSHAPE: I will say right now that finding accurate body-type name charts for men sucks (though one said Braig’s body-shape is called ‘Adonis’, and I think we’re both giggling). I guess it’s somewhere between inverted triangle and rectangle? Could even get off calling some younger shots hourglass, before he starts filling out and growing into himself. I dunno. He’s Braig-shaped.

TAGGED BY: i stole a meme on free meme day TAGGING: literally all of my mutuals who want to tackle this monster i have been staring at pictures of boostew for like thirty minutes to figure out what shape his EARS are do you think i have the presence of mind to tag people

#long post //#&& give the sun a head start; ooc #&& temple archives; headcanons

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heroineimages · 8 years ago

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Average protagonist

Literature and entertainment are full of stories of that classic character who runs away from home to pursue their dreams. Depending on the type of story, they’re either wildly successful---saving the kingdom or marrying the prince or princess or whatever---or they become horribly disillusioned after trying their best and failing. But what about stories where the protag just does kind of average. They’re competent in their chosen field, but not exceptional. They settle down in a comfortable romance with someone who makes them happy, but who can’t exactly give them the world on a silver plate. I kind of ran with this idea for a quick story I wrote. It’s a short, one-scene fantasy story---I imagine the setting to be similar to the Sword Coast from the Forgotten Realms, series. It’s kind of rough, and I’m not super happy with the ending, but it was an interesting quick study. (Bree story 2)

Bree

“Ian?” Jen’s voice urged quietly, waking him. “Ian, you have a visitor.”

“What’s that?” Ian mumbled, reflexively adjusting his quilts. Jen grimaced as he coughed twice from the exertion. He blinked the sleep from his lids, focusing on his wife’s eyes above him.

“You have an unexpected visitor,” she explained, taking his hand and sitting on the stool beside their bed. “Our daughter, Bree, has come to visit you. I… think she genuinely wants to see you one last time. She said she’ll understand if you don’t want to see her.”

Ian frowned at the ceiling as he considered. So his prodigal daughter had returned to visit him on his deathbed. He hadn’t seen or heard from Bree in almost seventeen years and wasn’t sure how many years it had been since he’d even really thought about her. His initial assumption was that she must have heard he was dying and come to ensure her place in his will. But for his daughter to admit she’d understand if he didn’t want to see her—that wasn’t exactly the attitude of someone who’s trying to schmooze her way back into the inheritance.

At sixteen, she’d run away to become an adventuress or a knight errant or a paladin or whatever romantic damned notion she’d gotten from those books her grandmother left her. Bree was determined that she was going to learn to fight brigands and slay dragons and rescue princesses in towers. Before and for a long while after she left, her cousins used to joke and place bets over whether she would be slain by orcs, eaten by gnolls, or captured by Drow slavers. After years of not hearing from her, the joke became less funny.

“How does she look? Does she seem alright?” he asked his wife after a moment.

“Older, stronger,” Jen admitted, smiling tiredly. “She might be an inch or two taller, as well—or maybe she’s just standing straighter than she used to. I think even without the uniform she’d look like a soldier.”

“What kind of uniform?” Ian asked, frowning up at her.

“Chainmail with a cream-and-burgundy surcoat,” she told him, shrugging. “So, whatever city or guild or company that represents.”

He exhaled, mentally bracing himself. “Alright, tell Bree I’ll see her,” he decided, quietly, reluctantly.

Jen merely nodded, keeping her tired smile. Wishing he knew what to expect, Ian closed his eyes and tried to breathe evenly as his wife left the room.

“Poppa?” inquired the voice he’d never expected to hear again. He opened his eyes and slowly turned his head as his daughter stepped cautiously through the bedroom door.

Though the burgundy surcoat looked more like crimson to Ian, Bree looked much as Jen had described: older, stronger, and wearing infantry armor. The mail hauberk was elbow-length at the sleeves and knee-length at the hem, with a broadsword belted at her waist. She wore a grey travel-cloak, black boots, gloves tucked into her belt, and a dark grey arming shirt and hose under her mail.

He realized his daughter had definitely grown taller during her absence, but was sturdier and broader as well, particularly across her chest and shoulders. Her height and build filled up a doorway as easily as either of her brothers. Bree’s face looked darker and somewhat leathered from whatever adventures or campaigns she’d traveled on, and Ian counted three scars on her face, as well as two on her neck and a notch in her left ear—which made him wonder how many scars he couldn’t see. The dark-chocolate braid that had once reached her waist was short now, not much past her shoulders.

“Daughter,” he finally answered her, gesturing to the nearby stool. She smiled slightly and sat beside his bed. “Your hair is shorter,” he commented.

“It fits under a mail coif or kettle helm better,” she explained, her smile looking more genuine. She looked away as her smile fell. “I’m sorry, Poppa,” Bree admitted, blinking and fighting back a tear. “I’m not sorry for leaving, but I’m sorry for how I left. You were stubborn, and I was angry, immature, and stubborn, and I said things I shouldn’t have.”

“I’m sorry, too,” he agreed, trying not to relive their last fight. “We both said things we shouldn’t have. How… how did you know to come?”

“Laura wrote me,” Bree said, meaning her twin sister. She tucked a knee to her chest and rested her boot heel on the edge of her stool. “She said you’d been injured and were sick from the infection—something about a barn blowing over?”

Ian nodded, coughing. “Farmer Chalice, you remember him? He hired our shop to help shore up that old barn of his for that big windstorm two weeks back. The storm blew the barn on our heads before we’d finished. Killed his boy Abel and a couple horses, broke your brother Ryan’s arm, and bloodied up everyone else. I ended up with two cracked ribs and three rusty nails in my right hip. The apothecary gave me stuff to make me comfortable and keep the fever down, but there’s nothing more he can do for the infection.”

“I’m so sorry, Poppa,” she whispered, shaking her head and blinking back the tears. “I should have written letters to more than just Laura. I should have come back and visited sooner. But I didn’t know if you were still angry, and I knew that everyone else would want me to come back to stay.”

“I didn’t know you and Laura were even still writing each other,” he said, unable to think of anything else to say.

“A dozen or so letters, nothing regular,” she admitted, resting her chin on her knee.

“You know, it wasn’t just our hearts you broke,” Ian chided, unable to control his smirk. “There’s four or five of the local lads and three of the local lasses who all had their eyes on you and were plenty broke-up that you left.”

His daughter chuckled. “Only three lasses?” she asked, her smile returning. “I’m pretty sure I kissed at least twice that many.”

“Three that I know of,” he shrugged his good shoulder. “You look a proper infantrywoman, by the way,” he added, indicating her mail and surcoat. “That means you turned paladin or adventuress on us? Rescue any princesses from towers?”

“Fell a little short of ‘paladin,’ I’m afraid,” Bree admitted, perhaps laughing at herself a bit. “I’m just a corporal in a pike cohort for Lady Theodora’s mercenary company.”

“I think I’ve heard of them,” he mused aloud.

“We do sell-sword work all up and down the coast,” she explained, “but our winter headquarters is near Vestin with three training sites and recruiting stations as far north as Daggerpoint. We specialize in mixed infantry with archer and spell-caster support—between eight- and twelve-hundred standing at any one time. We have some pretty basic siege weaponry, mainly to supplement our clients’ sieges, rather than lay down our own. No regular cavalry, though, just a few squads of scout cavalry.”

“Mostly human, or do you recruit far enough north to get a lot of elves and dwarves as well?” Ian asked, genuinely curious. It sounded like a recruitment spiel to him, but as a corporal it made sense that recruitment might be part of Bree’s duties.

Bree chewed at the inside of her cheek as she considered. “I’d say maybe sixty-five to seventy percent are human or part-human,” she estimated. “Many of our archers and wizards and a lot of our lighter infantry and scouts are elves, and a lot of our best pikes and heavy-to-medium infantry are dwarves.” She laughed. “And our best scout-cavalry squadron is made up of a bunch of loony halflings on wolves and riding-dogs.”

“Isn’t your Lady Theodora the one with the bodyguard of Amazon fighters?” Ian asked, trying to remember where he’d heard about this woman.

“Her banner-guard consists of forty elite heavy infantrywomen, if that’s what you’re referring to,” Bree told him, frowning thoughtfully. “And there’re a few dwarves and elves and a couple Tiefling gals in that unit. They get to wear full-plate armor and train to fight with claymores or broadswords and shields, depending on the mission. I tried out twice for a position in the banner-guard, but was never skilled enough to make the cut.”

As strong and competent as his daughter looked in her uniform, Ian could only imagine how powerful the women in the banner-guard must be.

“So you’re not just trained as a pike woman, then?”

Bree shook her head. “No, pikes are great for open-field warfare or for corking or uncorking a bottleneck, but there’s other times when they’re just a pain,” she admitted. “Any kind of cluttered terrain makes them worse than useless, and one can’t exactly climb a scaling ladder or storm an entrenchment with one. When we can’t use pikes, the captains give us kite-shields and make medium infantry of us, since we all carry short swords or broadswords anyway.”

“I assume mercenary work pays well?” Ian inquired next. “As your father, I just want to be sure you’re making a good living,” he added.

“Over three times what our local militia makes,” she laughed, looking smug. “And they hate us for it. We get paid twice-monthly wages plus a share in any spoils taken during campaigns. As a corporal, I get about seven percent more than the regulars. And my wife makes reasonable money by making and mending costumes for the local theatre house.”

“Wait,” he sat up an inch, hissing painfully as his ribs protested. “Sorry,” he muttered, still grimacing. “I just… you startled me. I had no idea you were married.”

“Oh my gods,” Bree murmured, placing a hand over her mouth. “Laura never told you? Yes, a little over ten years ago I married Becca, a half-elven widow with two little daughters. They’re twelve and fifteen now,” she added. “Her husband Orrin was a sergeant in my pike cohort, back before I made corporal. He fell in battle about a week after their second daughter was born. While Lady Theodora keeps a policy of compensating the families of her fallen soldiers, it’s also a tradition for individual cohorts to take up a collection of our own for bereft families of our comrades. I offered to deliver the money to Orrin’s widow, even though I’d never met her and barely knew Orrin.” Bree smiled sadly, as if at bittersweet memories.

“Becca thanked me for the money,” she continued. “And I… I felt for her, you know? A young widow with a toddler and a newborn baby, I just felt so badly for her. So I accepted when she invited me in for tea. We talked for a long while, and I comforted her whenever she wept. And she invited me to please come back for tea again sometime. And I came back to see her during my next leave, and then during my leave after that, and the one after that. And she kept inviting me to come back. After the first few visits, I found I preferred drinking tea with Becca over drinking ale with the other mercenaries. Soon she started loaning me books, which I didn’t have many of at the time.”

“Which is a surefire way to win your affection,” Ian added, trying not to chuckle.

“To be sure,” Bree agreed, laughing. “It was nice,” she admitted. “It was this pleasant, comfortable, almost sisterly friendship that I didn’t really get from drinking with any of the gals in the company. A… friendship like I hadn’t had since leaving Laura behind,” she added, regret forming on her face. “I suppose it was around three-and-a-half or four months seeing each other when I took her to the theatre with me. It was some silly tragedy play—a forbidden-love tale between an elf prince and a half-elf commoner.”

“The kind where half the characters end up dead by the end?” Ian asked.

She seemed to think about it for a moment. “Yeah, I would guess it to be around half,” she confirmed. “I wore my dress uniform, and Becca wore a dark blue dress with a black corset. She’s kind of tiny, even for a half-elf,” Bree added. “She’s not even as tall as my shoulders, and sitting at the theatre that night, we learned that we fit together really well with my arm around her and her head against my shoulder. I kept my arm around her as I walked her home. I… uh, I kissed Becca goodnight for the first time when we got to her house. And… we didn’t want to stop kissing,” she confessed, blushing. “I, ah, woke up in her bed the next morning. I suppose you could say our courtship began in earnest after that.”

That’s my girl, Ian grinned to himself. “How did you end up married?” he needed to know.

“I bought her a house,” Bree smiled nostalgically.

He raised his brows. “Really?”

She nodded. “One night, around a year after we’d first met, I asked Becca how she was getting along financially. She admitted that things weren’t good. Her landlord had raised their rent again, and her seamstress work wasn’t enough to support them without Orrin’s income. She’d gone through all of the money from Lady Theodora and from our cohort. And she’d gone through most of the money she and Orrin had been saving to pay for their daughters’ schooling once they got older—which I know broke her heart to do.”

Ian grimaced sympathetically as she spoke. In a smaller town or village, it was common for a community to work together to help support their disenfranchised. In a big city like Vestin, it was painfully easy for a destitute widow to slip between the cracks. “So you bought her a house?” he shook his head, grinning and proud of his daughter.

Bree laughed. “I did,” she smiled. “I had a lot of unspent pay still in the company treasury, and I volunteered for extra patrols and other duties for the next three weeks to save up even more. When I had close to enough, I withdrew most of it and borrowed a little more to buy a house that I’d seen for sale. It’s not much larger than her old house, but it’s in a better part of the city, not far from the theatre—where Becca later got a job as a seamstress.”

“And you proposed to her after that?”

“She proposed to me,” Bree clarified, laughing. “I told Becca what I’d done and showed her the house. She started weeping and wrapped her arms around me, tucked her head to my chest, and whispered ‘marry me.’ And eight months later when we could afford it again, we did exactly that. A lot of Becca’s family didn’t come—her mother didn’t really approve of her daughter marrying some peasant woman—Orrin was from yeoman stock, you see—and I wasn’t sure where I stood with my family to know if I should invite you. Which I’m still sorry for,” she added. “But the wedding was still nice; we had a few of her family and friends as well as some of my colleagues from the company. Her daughters both got to wear pretty dresses and participate in the ceremony. Though, they were both kind of young to remember.” She laughed again. “That was when they started calling me ‘Soldier Mom,’ come to think of it.”

Ian smiled despite the sudden, slightly uncomfortable realization that he’d had granddaughters this entire time without knowing. For Bree’s sake, he decided not to mention anything. “I hope I get to meet them,” he said instead.

“You will, Poppa,” Bree assured him, smiling with a tear on her cheek. “They’re staying with Laura’s family, but should be here tomorrow. I thought it would be good for them to get to know their aunt and cousins. I came early to make sure… make sure it was alright for us to see you.”

“It’s alright,” he assured her, feeling relieved at the purpose of his daughter’s visit—relieved that he hadn’t had to ask Jen to show their daughter the door. “I look forward to meeting them.”

“I’m glad,” Bree said, looking more relaxed at the sentiment. “I know this was a lot to take in, and I wasn’t sure how you’d handle everything. I just… I thought it best to make sure, you know.”

“You were doing reconnaissance,” Ian offered the analogy. “Makes sense: you’re a career military girl.”

Bree laughed again. “Yeah, good way to look at it.”

“Stay for supper?” he offered. “We can put you up for the night, too. And your family when they get here tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Poppa,” she said, kneeling beside the bed to give him a hug. She kept her arms around his shoulders to avoid his damaged ribs.

“Let your momma know. Your brothers will be back soon, and over supper you can tell us all war stories,” he suggested.

“I will,” she assured him. “Love you, Poppa,” she added as she stood to leave.

Ian smiled as he settled back in to his pillow, feeling a little better about the world in general.

#my writing #my stories #lady soldiers #adventuresses #mercenaries #Bree #medieval fantasy

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youngonescast · 7 years ago

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A Giant-Sized Journey

Giants is a lovingly crafted Hero’s Journey set in a beautifully textured world of giant monsters that roam the snow-blighted hellscape. Carlos and Miguel Valderraama, acting as Artist, Writer, Colorist, and Letterer in joint capacity, have absolutely blown me away with their well constructed tale of brotherhood run afoul of forces far, far larger than themselves. From art with breathtaking scale to the delightful characterization of the main characters, Gogi and Zedo, every aspect of this mini-series exceeds my personal expectations for freshman creators with a story that is not new and a plot that is utterly and completely without surprises. Despite there being absolutely nothing revolutionary in this volume, it’s a world that I want to return to as quickly as possible to see The Brothers Valderraama mastery of comics as medium.

We don’t generally have a choice about whether or not we end up empathizing with the protagonist, we are primed by storytelling to do so. The Brothers Valderraama writing adroitly demonstrates their control over the narrative form. They set forth to create a believable mythos and nail the landing. Humanity has been forced into underground cities that are failing. We don’t get to see very much of it, which is fine because the reader doesn’t need to. We believe that it’s there, that there is a fully fleshed out underground society. This story isn’t about all that so they don’t bother. Instead the focus is given entirely to our heroes. Heroes move us. In them we see that scrappy part of ourselves that seeks to answer the call to adventure. In their tales we are reminded to persevere against impossible odds.

Beat for beat the tale follows the Archetype of a Hero’s Journey. Nothing superfluous is allowed to enter the story-line. The mythology is set for the audience with the first few opening panels. We see a modern city wreathed in ice and a behemoth that stalks it, stories tall. The reader doesn’t need more information than this to know what has happened. The opening monologue is almost unnecessary save that it mentions a meteor falling. Gogi is ejected from underground to the yawning icy wasteland as the result of his call to adventure. He is ushered over the threshold by the screaming monstrosity that rules the surface by the end of the first issue. It is a perfectly timed Departure, every ‘I’ is dotted and every ‘t’ is crossed.

Fundamentally the giant monsters are just window dressing on a stripped down post-apocalyptic story we’ve all read before. The core of what makes this comic worth reading lies in the expert execution of its interpersonal dynamics and scripting. Even though you may be able to guess what comes next in this by-the-book comic the writing still gives you the sense of investment in these characters. By not explaining every detail of the world or major point to the supporting characters’ backstories there is still a whole lot of mystery left to explore in any potential subsequent outing. We’ve only seen two giant monsters and we’re led to believe that a new one shows up every year. I am very curious to see what comes next.

As far as art goes, The Brothers Valderraama are very up-front about their influences. Their designs are rock solid, and their grasp of color is evident. The underground roils with reds and yellows, dark shadows and urban grit abound. Above ground the chilly blues and cool greys give way to a stark and icy white in expanse. The restrained palette used in each scene allows them to direct the flow of action and the line of your eye deftly across pages that are reasonably paneled. The borderless white guttering isn’t revolutionary by any stretch but the pages never seem too crowded nor too bare. Use of sound fx are sparing as dialogue, which is about standard in today’s comics. It’s nice to be in a show-not-tell era. The pencils are rather smartly done, visual parallels between the colossal creatures and the petty people blend seamlessly together with the whole. The characters are endlessly expressive, surprisingly diverse, and the monsters feel appropriately alien and unknowable.

One of the special things about Giants is the level of production. Carlos Valderrama has put together a behind the scene look at some of the making of the comic on Twitter and has a playlist for each issue of Giants up on Spotify. I rocked out to the mostly instrumental and incidental movie music as I watched forces both titanic and deeply personal clash upon the page, an idea I’d love to see more of from major titles. It’s clear that The Brothers Valderraama are passionate about their project and are willing to go that extra mile to provide a great experience to the few thousand people who picked up this book. As their first major outing I cannot wait to see how they grow as artists. It feels like they have barely begun to scratch the surface of their prodigious talents.

That is the promise of Giants and why I would suggest looking out for the trade come August if you’re not into picking up back-issues. I don’t think The Brothers Valderraama are going to be away for long and I bet they are holding onto their aces for a more senior outing. Do you think that construction is reason enough to read a comic? Are giant monsters and post-apocalyptic wasteland overdone? Let me know in the comments.

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Written by Everett Christensen, Young One’s Lead Editor

Images: Giants W/A/C/L: The Brothers Valderraama

#Young Ones #kaiju #comics #podcast #Giants

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luke-colchester-graphics · 7 years ago

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Study: Design is thinking, made visual. (Saul Bass)

Saul Bass was born in New York in 1920, he started his 40 year career in graphic design after moving to Hollywood in the 1940′s. Bass began by designing posters for films, primarily for Otto Preminger. In 1954 Bass created a title sequence for Preminger’s film”Carmen Jones”. By 1955 Bass was well renowned for his title sequences, and by the late 50′s Bass was creating title sequences for Alfred Hitchcock, working on films such as Psycho and Vertigo, with a distinct cut-out and typographical style. Bass’s titles sequences had a noticeable effect on the industry as preceding his work these sequences would be primarily static and simple. Bass focused on capturing the tone and mood of a film in the title sequence, compacting the visual styles and narrative tone.

We started this session by looking at some of Bass’s classic poster and logo designs from the late 50′s and 70′s. First we looked at Bass’s 1978 Girl Scout’s Logo.

I think this logo displays a clear theme and inclusion and unity with the multiple profiles compacted into a single form, depicting them standing together, or alongside each other in unity, and also the varying colours in the profiles giving a sense of diversity and inclusion. I also think the form and colour of the logo are very easy on the eye as the shape itself is very rounded and smooth and the use of negative spaces keeps the amount of colours used to a minimum which avoids any possible sharp lines or clashing colours. the main colour of the logo itself is also a somewhat neutral green, which gives the idea of nature peace but is still polarising enough to ensure the logo stands out on a white background. Personally I like the use of negative space the most as I feel it gives a nice sense of interaction between the forms in the logo, with each face leading into the other. the natural smooth lines of the girl on the far left’s hairline lead the eye up almost and round to the faces. The shape of the logo could also be representative, its appears to be a cross, or “plus” shape, which could be related to the idea of health or first-aid, as was raised in our group discussion. Personally I think the logo is shaped this way for more aesthetic reasons as I feel a shape with sharper corners would've detracted from the smoother, rounded style established by the faces/ profiles in the image and I also feel a block or rectangle of colour would’ve been too big/ uninteresting, so the more natural looking, interesting shape was featured in the logo.

Next we looked at Bass’s poster for the 1959 Otto Preminger film “Anatomy of a Murder” (the intro for which was also produced by Bass”. This poster is very bold and polarising, with a large, imposing red background that draws in attention and them the roughly cut, dissected figure in the middle of the background.

I think this poster almost sets a dark tone as it has a bold, but safe visceral imagery, with a cut up human form, but its simplistic depiction only gives a hint of the dark tone and how boldly this poster displays it, with the red background and the contrasting black silhouetted form clearly showing the body and, aside from the text, nothing else. The rough, hasty cuts on the pieces composing the figure in this piece and the inconsistent text give the piece a disjointed, inconsistent feel, but also gives it Bass’s hand rendered style, embracing imperfection and the rough but still composed and and polished final look.

Next we looked at the poster for Otto Preminger’s 1965 Thriller “Bunny Lake is Missing”. In my opinion this poster is set apart from the other work we have looked at as I feel its lack of colour gives it a different tone. and also the torn out form, which I think is an interesting visual effect which sets it apart.

I think what sets this piece apart is the difference in colours, it is a lot more subued compared to the two other pieces we look at which had more solid block, bright colours where as the dominant colours in this piece are primarily black and white, with some varying shades of grey. I also think the idea/ theme of the character being missing has a large effect on the poster, with the word “missing” itself fading away into the background. The outline of a figure in the black section of this piece uses negative space to show something is physically missing and out of place. The figure is also clearly torn out of the paper, with rough lines emphasises how the figure is missing and gives an impression of the piece being broken or damaged with the character/ figure missing.

After we analysed Bass’s work we then looked at generating our own outcomes based on Bass’s style, processes and our own interpretation. For my experimentation here I experimented with Bass’s cutout method/style but I wanted to look at creating abstract compositions using Bass’s cutout method. I think of the work we looked at this morning the poster for “Anatomy of a Murder” influenced me the most here as the combination of the bold black on a brighter block colour background as it sets apart the different elements of the work and also the brighter colours make the piece more eye-catching and interesting.

This is the first piece I produced for this set of outcomes. To make it I cut a piece of black paper into small strips and arranged them semi at random on the platen glass. I tried to ensure that the strips of paper were all facing in similar directions as I still wanted the piece to have a sense of order and not be too chaotic and overwhelming. Once I had arranged the paper I scanned it in and digitised it. Once I had the piece in photoshop I coloured it using the fill tool. I chose a bright colour palette, influenced by Bass’s work and bright colour schemes and backgrounds. This is probably my favourite outcome from this session as I felt I managed to take away the aspects of what I liked from Bass’s work and applied it to my own ideas/ process.

This is the second piece, here I cut the strips from my previous work, I cut the paper longer and thinner than previously, I also cut smaller sections off I then arranged the pieces horizontally. I tried to arrange the pieces so that gradually the shape the strips made changed to create an interesting effect. I then scanned this piece again, as currently it was just black paper on a white background so I digitized the work to add colour to the work. I inverted the original picture as, from black on white to white on black as I felt like the black on white felt too much like the lack shapes were framed by the white background, so I flipped it to hopefully subvert this. Once I had inverted the colours I corrected the light levels and exposure so it was pure black and white. I felt the black and white had a polarizing effect, but the black and white was too plain, so I added red to some of the smaller white shapes, to break up the black and white. I think this out come was effective as I think I managed to change my ideas/ format from my first piece, here trying to create a smoother almost more natural form that looks a lot more intentional and organized than my previous piece.

For this piece I tried to create a pattern of almost interlocking shapes. I think this was my weakest outcome out all the ones I had produced as I think it was quite simple and did not add or change much to my process. I placed medium sized scale-like pieces of paper on the bed of the scanner, all in line and with a somewhat organized shape, as I wanted to imitate reptile scales. I think my outcomes as a response to Bass’s work were effective as I feel I managed to create something using a process related to Bass but I also feel my work was separate enough from Bass’s to be its own work.

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zak-graphicarts · 7 years ago

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Henry Bumstead - Art of Cinema

In this post, I'm looking in more depth at artist Henry Bumstead and his cinematic approach to storyboarding, responding though visual exploration of the artist’s visual language, in my sketchbook.

Henry Bumstead was an American cinematic art director and production designer. His career spanned over fifteen five years, working on many films and winning two Academy Awards. Bumstead is best known for working on Hitchcock’s films such as Verigo and Topaz.

Bumstead has a distinct style, creating a crime-noir like visual aesthetic through black and white ink illustrations and considered understanding of light and use of shadow. He uses graduated and varied tone through ink washes, his storyboards being a mix of stark blacks, brilliant whites and murky greys. The colours are dull, but the image is the opposite: it’s exciting, captivating and most of all, cinematic.

As explored on my blog, if something is cinematic, it possesses a sense of epic scale, grandeur and immersion. Bumstead’s work achieves this through line, form tone and his ability to tell an engaging story though exciting visuals.

Bumstead’s lines are edgy and bold, possessing an uneven quality. This irregular heavy and expressive nature makes his linework and illustrations so evocative and fuelled by narrative. Looking at his work, from Mockingbird, I can tell that it’s part of a story - not just a painting of one moment. Each panel captures a moment in an exciting narrative - something conveyed by a rough, suggestive line. His work isn’t representational of a specific individual, looking at a storyboard from Vertigo shows this simplified visual style.

He’s drawing caricatures, exaggerated characters instead of real people. The character is simplified in a way that still retains the important, key information, but with a somewhat cartoon-like style and sketchy brush strokes.

The characters are full of life, and the scenes are intense, captivating images. This is mainly created through these bold, expressive lines to create form and inject the scene with an urgency and intensity characteristic of the artist. His use of brush and ink creates a distinctly angular line, a visual style I will explore in my practical responses.

Bumstead’s storyboards also have a distinct brush texture and visual aesthetic, looking at this set of storyboards from Vertigo. There are clear brush strokes, giving each frame a significantly hand-drawn feel - embracing the materials and tools used. I think there’s quite an honest quality to that, embracing that idea of the hand-made. His work possesses a rough, grainy texture, created through a mixture of washes and dry brush techniques.

His work here also possesses a rough, gravelly quality, with a sand-like finish to his illustrations. There’s a grittiness to his work, but not in an extreme, grin street brawl sense - more in a considered, nuanced yet pulpy way. It’s this visual aesthetic that I am really interested in, an alternative to my regular, clean and minimal. This quality is achieved through dry brush techniques, using a dry brush with oil paint and working into the sketch.

“Art direction is about colour, design...composing the shot.” Here, Bumstead is talking about storyboarding and directing - and how ultimately the main focus is composition: telling a story through the arrangement of elements in an image. Bumstead is suggesting that storyboard artists, or art directors, possess a great deal of control over the “shot”, as they are the ones to create the composition. Composing a shot means to make sure each frame has a meaning, and progress the themes of the narrative at all times. He’s suggesting that the cinematographers and art directors have control over the film, making sure to create carefully constructed images that focus on story, and not just pretty pictures. Actively designing the scene, rather than simply filming it.

This idea makes sense, considering Bumstead was known to shoot in sets, rather than on-location. With a set, “you have that complete control”. It may look somewhat artificial, but the lights, staging and all elements of the mis-en-scene can be micro-managed to produce the perfect shot. Whereas when shooting on-location you lose that idea of control, but get more natural and beautiful-looking images.

The black and white visual style of Bumstead’s work lends to it’s inherently cinematic quality. The tonal palette evokes a real sense of gloom, disconnect and in some cases, despair. The skies are grey with white brush stroke clouds, and the characters are rendered with strong shadows and silhouettes - there’s something very atmospheric to this. The various tones of grey of the sky give a thick, fog-like quality to the air, with mist seemingly around every corner. There’s a density to Bumstead’s illustrations, that realise real lived-in worlds, not dissimilar to our own.

Bumstead’s monochrome aesthetic is also reminiscent of 1940s crime noir films, which present a bleak, corrupted world in the same bleak black and white vision. This is felt in Bumstead’s work, especially these frames from Vertigo, which add to that exciting cinematic quality characteristic of his work. We think of black and white visuals and the audience instantly disconnect from our reality and enters a new one, full of gangsters, guns and high-speed car chases - the visual style itself elicits a sense of the fictitious, and thus cinematic, larger than life.

If we compare this to American realist painter Edward Hopper, we can see the clear contrasts. Bumstead’s frame here is exciting, tense and atmospheric - clouded in shadow and shrouded in darkness. That cinematic quality is very clear. However, when we look at Hopper’s Automat, the opposite is true. While similar in visual style, the piece is muted, lifeless, still. There’s a real emptiness to the work, a true feeling of sad existence. Hopper’s work features colour, looking brilliant and lively compared to Bumstead’s storyboard. Despite this though, Hopper’s work looks dull, monotonous - living everyday life, slowly.

The storyboard, however, is full of expression, interest and tension - it’s going one hundred miles an hour. What's interesting is that even though Hopper is painting a moment from real everyday life, Bumstead’s narrative-driven storyboards seem more alive and real than any of Hopper’s works. This is because of Bumstead’s expressive brush strokes and mask, and because Hopper understood the monotonous, dull and banal nature of reality, with a melancholic edge.

In response to this research, I wanted to explore Bumstead’s visual language and approach to mark-making, through recreating a few of his works, and applying this way of working to my own developments, drawing a frame from Moonlight.

Through these experiments and responses, I was able to explore Bumstead’s style and visual language through drawing, using brush and ink, and a ink brush pen to achieve his signature monochrome aesthetic. Re-creating his work allowed me to look at an alternate approach to illustration, challenging my skills using a brush.

Bumstead’s work has a grey wash to it, with strong blacks and bright whites, and this is something I wanted to explore when creating the responses. Wanting to abstract a few of his works into simple compositions, I looked at how a minimal approach to line and shape can be effective, breaking down a complex background into simple lines, considering the key elements of each composition, and highlighting this.

Additionally, I questioned Bumstead’s approach to mark-making, how to achieve a specific line quality with a brush and why this is effective. As practical experiments and tests, I think these are interesting and explorative visual studies of the artist. I find Bumstead’s black and white, dry visual aesthetic interesting, specifically that gritty, sand-like texture and ability to tell a dynamic story through visuals. I hope to incorporate his cinematic quality of illustration to my practical developments, and will look at this rough quality of line further, looking at comic artist Greg Smallwood.

Potential

Create more visual studies inspired by Bumstead

Look at storyboarding as a medium

Apply his monochrome black and white aesthetic to my developments

Experiment with sequential illustrations, inspired by Bumstead’s storyboard layout

Continue line of enquiry into line by looking at Greg Smallwood, a modern-day practitioner of the same style, with a chiselled edge

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