#also drawings are in order of oldest to newest of when I drew them

[notyourfavoriteartist]

Hi have some old CoPa stuff cuz I haven't posted anything on here in a billion years ✌🏻✨️

[asbestieos]

Do you have any stuffed animals other then the nuis? I want to know for government reasons. /j

(In all seriousness I just like stuffed animals and I like talking about them)

OHOHO i have a few.. ill go through them in order from newest to oldest!!! ill put them under a readmore though because there are a few images and the post is very long otherwise!

first we have MOBBU!! (ignore the bootleg wataeis!!) i got him about a month go on a shopping trip with my sister and her middle school bestie! i know hes not an animal but im mentioning him becos he my sweet <3

next we have max plushie! max is from the Sam and Max franchise! hes basically a Vague Rabbit Creature. hes also canonically gay and in feral rabid love with his partner in detective and vigilante crimes, Sam! currently hes in desperate need of a bath. but really i think hes happy like this.. dirty and disgusting.

(i really should put him in the warsh though since i cuddled him constantly while sick with sinus infection weheh)

next are these assorted kirbys + gengar! theyre from last year on hot topic trips with my beloved sister! i originally bought them for her but her bed over at her dorm isnt big enough to accommodate all of them so theyre for me for now >:33 peep tatsun pasha and my.. disassembled shelves GDHBDND

good mention! the amongus plushie my bestie coworkers got for me! 🥹 i have really sweet memories associated with this one.. i started my job back in april 2022 and i was so girlslay, i was awarded partner of the quarter in i think.. july? august? i dont quite remember but it was during that very summer!! and my bestie coworkers bought this for me as a gift!!

its part of a inside joke bc when i was first hired, i would draw amonguses on all of our storage boxes in the back for funsies and write sweet notes to next people on shift dbdjfj.. i still remember the amongus rainbow we drew!!! omgg!! basically i drew an amongus on a blank order sticker and stuck it to the back of our front register self and colored it red i think? and over the next few days, my coworkers added their own amonguses and colored them to make a rainbow!! it was so so sweet and cute and made me fall in love with my job even more!!

next we have.. Samhain!!! hes from when my coworkers took me out shopping at a local mall during halloween season! i saw him and immediately wanted to get him becos i love love love Trick R Treat and i love sammy. hes an animal technically. a creature. hes my sweet and i love him more than anything!!!!! <- ki dropped him into a puddle when ki took him with kiss during halloween trick or treating

pikachu!!! this is from i think high school actually! maybe from a hot topic trip? as you can see her ears have flopped over and lost their stuffing and her arms are on the way.. hut its ok i still love her <3 also doubles as a backpack

and finally!!! my oldest surviving stuffed animal, from my childhood, huge hello kitty plush!!!! she actually used to have a long black sharpie marker line going down her face on her left eye i think? my mom bleached and scrubbed it off her last year so shes super cute and comfy and happy now ^_^ shes also firm so sometimes i use her as a back rest whenever im sitting on my bed

teehe!! sorry for the ramblings and super long post! i had more but most of them were given away / donated sadly including my beloved beanie babies </3 wormy the inch worm you will always be in my heart.. but thank you for asking weheh i had fun reminiscing!!!!

[lil-demi-boy]

[BOOP] You've been BOOP'd! Gush about your 5 newest f/o's and your 5 oldest f/o's and pass the BOOP to 5 other self shippers!

Oh wow 10 whole gushes, I’ll go ahead n put this under a read more

I don’t fully remember who I’ve added in what order, but I know Jaime, Haemon, Ross, and Tybalt are new, and though I’ve had Hizashi for a while, I wanna talk about him too 

So CL and I have made some more recent stuff about Jaime and Dan, like their first kiss being accidental- Like they trip into each other and make contact, but once they realize what just happened, they’re both v flustered and blooshy and require a good 5 minutes to calm down Though when they do finally kiss for realsies, it’s rly soft and sweet ;v; The slow burn is to die for n I love it

Haemon’s backstory has been expanded too!  We figured he’d be from a rich family, though he’d have the type of parents who would get him what he wanted so he’d stay out of their hair.  Unfortunately this gave him a complex, so now he tends to throw a fit when he doesn’t get what he wants, especially if he wants someone to date him- so that was fun to work out

As for Ross, he was originally called Chris P. by me n CL but then I was in the Eddsworld Patreon AMA (I got to talk to the real Bing and Matt and I’m still giddy abt it-) they said that Chris is actually named and modeled after a friend of theirs named Ross, so that character is just called Ross.  I like his skeleton arm and taste in chicken.

Tybalt was one of my first islanders in Animal Crossing New Horizons!  He and Tabby were so sweet to me when I first arrived, and though I don’t usually go for the jock types, Tybalt was always just so sweet and encouraging to me, I couldn’t help but fall in love with him ;v;

And Hizashi (aka Present Mic) has been on my list for a while, but I saw a comic of him recently that just made me fall deeper for him and really think about a relationship with him.  He’s a DJ and clearly likes music, and music is one of my hyperfixations, so we would just be able to geek out about our favorite songs and make each other mixtapes and playlists and such,,  he goode

As for oldest, if I can remember correctly, I believe they’re TP Link, Danny Fenton, Manny Rivera, Randy Cunningham, and N

Twilight Princess Link occupied my head rent free for years when I was younger- I’d take the TP guide book to school and read it over and over again, getting every bit of lore that I could from it, I’d draw Link all over the place, my proudest drawing at the time being when I tried to draw him in a certain pose from the book (and it impressed everyone around me, which was a Great Feeling).  Nowadays I just admire him and am thankful for his existence 

Danny Fenton was one that my mom would tease me about bc it was very obvious I had it bad for him when I was a kid.  To the point I watched it any time it was on and wound up watching every episode without having to look them up- I just watched them when they came on and happened to catch them all (I also don’t get the hate for Phantom Planet like,,, they turned Earth invisible, that’s badass) Now I ship with him in an AU where he aged with me, so he’s 31 at this point.  I’m still working on the AU though so I don’t have a lot of details in it aside from the fact that it’s a crossover AU with the rest of the Secret Trio + Manny from El Tigre

Speaking of which, Manny was another favorite of mine as a kid- I loved watching the show and drawing him and looking up cool AMVs n such once I got access to the internet.  I always thought he and Frieda would be fun to be friends and hang out with Now in the Secret Trio AU, he’s 27, and although he does have a super hero alter ego, he’s not part of the team.  Mostly because his identity isn’t a secret; everyone knows he’s El Tigre

Randy Cunningham was a later edition due to his show not coming out until 2012.  Even then, I was so excited for it- I was fresh in an Invader Zim phase and I heard that Jhonen Vasquez did the character designs n such for the show, so ofc I had to watch it.  And I loved it; Ben Schwartz’s voice and the stupid stuff Randy does and says just made me fall for him p much instantly.  He’s probably one of the characters I drew the most ship art of at the time, now that I think about it In the current AU, he’s my age, 22 (I legit was stoked to be in the 9th grade at the same time as him, granted my school didn’t have a Tim Curry demon underneath it or a ninja to protect it but y’know) so he’s the youngest of the trio

And N I admittedly didn’t do a lot with when I was younger, I just kinda held on to him over the years.  He’s really genuine and sweet though, and going on those ferris wheel rides with him in Black was something I dreamt of often =u=

Well this was super long- if you made it this far, thank you for reading all of that cause lord knows you didn’t have to

[therubyjailcell]

I mean of course I wont date Roman if he is taken, but boy oh boy I'm not gonna lie I would stare at him. I'm a creep I know, I just, I cant resisnt sometimes when I see good looking men. And boy I wanna look like them but *biology* :/ on a positive note, it will change soon so I'm not worried about that. Also, you mentioned yiu drew Roman, can you please lead me to a post in case you have one? Its alright if not :)

For now, he’s not! Tbh, for now, he’s a student with a best friend and their best friend, and he hasn’t met any of the others yet. I’m still designing the characters, but I got the storyline in mind already :)

Of course! Imma link all the links. So... All the posts about the AU are here:

https://therubyjailcell.tumblr.com/tagged/make%20it%20gayer%20au

All the posts about Roman are here:

https://therubyjailcell.tumblr.com/tagged/trans-roman

And the drawings of Roman should be there, in chronological order (oldest to newest):

https://therubyjailcell.tumblr.com/post/183964805646/my-analogical-romance

https://therubyjailcell.tumblr.com/post/183968839991/how-about-roman-in-a-flannel-dressskirt-with

https://therubyjailcell.tumblr.com/post/183970586406/if-i-may-be-so-bold-and-if-you-are-ok-withstill

https://therubyjailcell.tumblr.com/post/183990128911/strickenwithclairvoyance-asked-for-roman-in-heels

https://therubyjailcell.tumblr.com/post/183993833796/isthisafalsehood-therubyjailcell

https://therubyjailcell.tumblr.com/post/184019346466/did-this-this-morning-i-was-productive

~~

Taglist:

@dangerous-doodle @croftered-with-jam @emologan @fandomsandanythingelse @angels-and-dreams

[niuniente]

How does one collect stickers? I'm interested in the idea, but where do you keep them? Is it any kind of sticker? Why does it sound amazing?

SO GLAD THAT YOU ASKED. I’m always up for a sticker talk.

My hobby started accidentally. When I turned 9, my uncle gave me a diary.

Which would be this one. It had colored, ruled and scented pages - in short, it was useless for me. I drew and needed notebooks for drawing but this wasn’t suitable for drawing. Trust me; I tried. It has the oldest surviving drawings from me within it. I’ve never been a diary person, so this book was MEH.

This was the time when Lion King was released. My mom got me sticker collection book. You know, those one where you have to try to get matching stickers from blind bags to match the numbers in the sticker book. Bling bags gave me often similar stickers, so I decided to glue them in this diary.

Then, my classmates gave me a gigantic box of stickers for bday and well, I was sold. Sticker collecting it’d be.

This book is 26 years old. It has some crown jewels in it, like these Biker Mice From Mars stickers:

When I was a kid, BMFM was A HUGE DEAL in Finland. I’m still fangirl of Modo. These stickers came in bubblegum wraps. I could get them ONLY from this tinyass middle-of-nowhere countryside shop, 1h drive away from home. A very rare place to visit so whenever I could go there, I hoarded as many bubblegum packages as I could Which wasn’t much tbh, I grew up in poverty. BUT, I DIDN’T GIVE UP AND I MANAGED TO HUNT DOWN ALL THE PORTRAIT ONES. These have no monetary value but if I had to give up my whole collection, you’d need to pry these off from my cold, dead hands. 

ANYWAY, back to the collecting. My stickers are stored in books and boxes:

Here are all notebooks currently full (LIE; I forgot one from the pic). Tarushiba-dog notebook is the newest one, everything else is filled full. Doesn’t look much but I think these contain about 20 000 stickers. That big diary has about 10k stickers in it, rest are smaller.

When I started, I glued stickers on every page, but soon decided it was the best to glue them on one page only. The sticker’s glue might seep through and ruin stickers on the other side:

By the way, once the sticker’s glued, there’s no turning back.

Here’s one of the boxes. Matchbox next to it to show its size. 

Hunting a proper sticker box is actually a chore here, where all boxes tend to be open models. I was SO HAPPY when I found this beast. Whenever I visit Japan, I try to stock storage boxes with lids, as they’re so easy to find from there. Boxes are stored underneath my bed.  This beast is still empty.Sticker sorting goes like this:- Stickers in wrappings and in nice packages = in the box- Custom made stickers, blind bag stickers and single loose stickers = in the notebook- Sticker bags which contain multiple similar style of loose stickers = each style goes into notebook, rest goes for recycling and letter/postcard decorationException with loose stickers are Kaneoya Satchiko’s stickers, which she gave me when I visited her exhibition in Tokyo some years ago. I count them as collector’s items, so they stay in their wrappings. 

ALL KIND OF STICKERS WILL DO. EVEN FRUIT LABELS. Nowadays I buy stickers mostly from my trips as souvenirs and order some online. Friends also give me stickers. Some of them have donated their childhood collections for me. 

[hullabamoo]

Pairing: Medusa/MC

Rating: PG-13

Author’s notes: Just wanted to add one lil thing to the newest special

-------------------------------------------------------------------

The last hours of sunlight faded away in the company of her friends. Medusa lost track of the number of cups poured for her, the toasts endless once they got started. Her tolerance served her well, however, as did the glasses of water Eryn periodically passed her. A hungover wedding might be tradition, but she be damned if a headache kept her from fully enjoying Claire in her dress. She could only hope Claire survived the night as well, but the increasing wildness of her texts was starting to make her worry.

Speaking of--Medusa snagged her vibrating phone, unlocking it with a swipe of her thumb. Someone shifted into the barstool next to her as she chuckled at the newest picture. A blurry image of Cyprin and May, decked out in the most ridiculous outfits and clutching microphones on an equally decorated stage. The caption only said 'save me’, and before Medusa could type a reply another picture came through, this one of a bright red Claire as she lunged for whomever had stolen her phone.

"Looks like she's having fun."

Medusa hummed in agreement, tilting the screen so Scylla could better see. "Half her department is there. They rented out a club so they could drink and not have to worry about anyone seeing some stray aura while they perform."

"So you're telling me--" Charybdis appeared before them, bottle in one hand and shot glass in the other, "--that your bride-to-be is currently in a private club full of drunk H.E.R.A. agents?"

The glint in her eye made Medusa tense, the smirk she shared with Scylla too familiar for her to ignore. "I suppose that's true."

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yeah, but you're the one who gets to convince her."

"Convince me of what," Medusa asked, eyes darting between her two oldest friends.

Charybdis' grin turned wicked, shot disappearing down her throat before she dropped the glass onto the bar. "All I'm saying is we've got a bar full of drunk gangsters and there's hardly a better sendoff we can give our retired leader than one last raid."

"We couldn't. Claire and I aren't supposed to see each other until-"

"The day of your wedding, which," Scylla pushed up her sleeve and checked the rolex bound around her wrist, "doesn't start for another hour."

"The subway wouldn't get us there in time."

"We've got two DDs and vans in the parking lot. Meant to have them drive everyone home at the end of the night, but this will be more fun."

"There are a least two demigods with her. Not to mention another fifteen or so agents."

"And they're drunk off their asses, just like we are."

"That's not a point in our favor." Brow furrowing, Medusa tried to form a mental layout of the club from the scattered pictures Claire had sent. Cyprin and Persephone were the most recognizable threats, but more than one agent Claire worked with had an aura. Not to mention her fiancee's own power.

"Oooh, she's thinking about it."

Medusa blinked, the haze lifting as she refocused on the present. "Even if I am, it's a horrible idea."

"It's the best idea!" Charybdis cackled, waving a hand in the air to catch Prime's attention. "C'mon, don't you want to sweep your girl off her feet one more time before the big leap?"

Though she loathed to admit it, Charybdis had a point. It would all be in good fun, and the gang's current state would ensure the violence didn't get out of hand. Plus it would give her another chance to see Claire before the morning.

"Alright, let's do it."

Charybdis' whoop of glee drew the attention of almost everyone in the bar. The rest turned their heads when she clambered up onto the bar, bottle raised high in the air as she shouted. "Alright you lazy fuckers, we're ending this party right!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

With everyone aware of the ticking clock, it was barely ten minutes later that they had the participants chosen and piled into a van. Charybdis, Scylla, and Prime were obviously along for the ride, but Medusa's sisters had bowed out on the excuse of their past trouble with H.E.R.A.. The three others who had come had once been Medusa's trusted lieutenants, and she knew they wouldn't let the fight escalate beyond bumps and bruises.

Despite the alcohol flooding their veins, everyone was on alert as she passed out what details she knew. Charybdis' grin only grew when she explained Cyprin's and Persephone's auras, her hand shooting in the air when Medusa asked who wanted them.

"Prime and I can keep them busy, no problem."

Scylla shook her head, a quick glance telling Medusa they were on the same page. "That would end with the building collapsing on top of us. We need small group tactics, not a straight up brawl."

"Agreed. This is a speed run, with one target and one goal." Finger drumming against her cheek, Medusa let the pieces float in her mind, the puzzle coming together in bits. "Claire will be near the stage and we'll be coming in from the back. That's a lot of people we'll have to get through to reach her. Unless we go around them."

"Unless we send you around them, you mean." Grin just as toothy and wild as her girlfriend's, Prime pounded a fist into her palm. "There's bound to be an exit by the stage. We'll keep everyone busy while you slip around and grab her from behind."

Everyone nodded, knuckles and necks cracking as they readied themselves. Medusa let them hash out the details of who would move where, and when they would pull back. When the driver called out a five minute warning, she pulled her phone out and set the alarm, the others following suit when they noticed.

"Twenty minutes to get in, get your girl, get out, and get gone. Not the tightest timetable we've had." Scylla straightened her tie and pulled on her jacket, wisps of purple light shedding from its surface. She was the first out when the van jerked to a halt, holding the sliding door open as everyone else piled out. The driver took off as soon as Medusa's shoes hit the pavement, and she settled herself into the middle of the pack as they made their way into the club.

A bouncer stepped out of the shadows when they approached the door. "Sorry ladies, private party."

"We know." Charybdis smirked, lock of hair curling around her finger. "That's why we're here."

"Name?"

"The other bride."

He blinked, then glanced about their little group. When his gaze settled on Medusa, she raised a brow and crossed her arms, refusing to look away until he did.

"Alrighty then. Make sure you don't wreck the sound equipment. There'll be an extra clean-up fee too."

Charybdis all but threw her credit card at him, shouting, "Charge it!" as she pushed past him into the club. The distant thump of music lead them through a darkened hallway and into an open room. A bartender looked at them curiously when they filed in, but they disappeared the second after Prime pressed a large bill into their hand. Keeping to the shadows, everyone began to fan out along the back wall, eyes on the tables full of cheering people. Medusa picked out Claire immediately, her table front and center by the stage where Persephone belted out some cheery pop song.

About to call out an order, Medusa froze when the lights went out and Persephone spun on her heel. The music lulled into a quiet beat, but she missed her cue to sing as she gawked at the crowd lurking in the back of the room. Understanding dawned on her face when she picked out Medusa, inhale audible through the microphone as she thrust a finger towards them and shouted.

"Intruders! Protect the bride!"

Chaos followed as the agents reacted on instinct, tripping out of their chairs as they stumbled to catch up to what was going on. Medusa had barely a second to note Cyprin's position before Charybdis and Scylla stepped in front of her. Fists wreathed in purple, they shouted a warning before the air exploded with light.

A myriad of butterflies cut through the aura flashbang, but Medusa was already gone by the time Persephone leapt into the fray. She hugged the wall, moving in time to the gangster's flashy attacks. Several agents were already groaning on the floor, but they still outnumbered her crew and Cyprin had yet to move from their spot near Claire. By the time Medusa reached the stage they'd moved only a foot away, stag hovering by Claire's side as the doe raced around harassing Scylla's octopus.

Pegasus thrummed under her skin, ready to charge at the demigod's unprotected side. But Medusa held back, wary of the golden sparks flickering in the air. Claire might've looked ready to topple from her perch on her chair, but Medusa had learned more than once how quickly she could call her shield once she felt Pegasus' presence.

"You picked the wrong party to crash!" Claire shouted, laughing as another explosion of aura rocked the room. "Take them all down!"

Medusa sucked in a breath, the world narrowing to the flush of her fiancee's cheeks and the elation lighting up her eyes. Distracted by the stall of her heart, she nearly missed Prime's signal as she rushed forward, aura splitting into three and headed straight for Cyprin.

The move put her square in the center of the agents, surrounded on all sides with Cyprin striking for her front. What it also did, however, was draw enough attention for Medusa to slip, unnoticed, closer. By the table now, she debated the merits of simply lunging and bolting, when a sudden pulse of golden light made her stumble.

Claire raised her arm, golden bubble pulsing around her hand before it exploded outwards. The shield rushed through all the combatants, stalling their auras and forcing the gangsters back.

"You're not taking me! Surrender your leader now and maybe we'll--ah!"

Arm locked around Claire's waist, Medusa hauled her over her shoulder and bolted for the door. Her ears rung with Claire's startled shriek, but she shook it away as she charged through the stage exit and down the hallway. When silver intruded on the edge of her vision she swung her free arm backward, sending Pegasus charging towards whomever had chased them.

Her laughter accompanied the bang of the door as they broke into the night air. Claire squirmed in her grasp, half-shouting and half-laughing as she pounded on her back. Medusa just laughed harder and held tight as she raced through the streets, not slowing till they'd reached the cover of a small park.

Claire pushed out of her arms the moment she loosened her grip. Landing on her feet, she clapped her hands over her eyes and turned her back. "Medusa! We're not supposed to see each other!"

Still riding the high of victory, Medusa dug her phone from her pocket and draped herself over Claire's back.

"We have about five minutes before that rule takes effect."

"We-" Claire spun on her heel, snagging Medusa's wrist and turning it so she could see the screen. "Did you seriously-I cannot believe you!"

Her hands fisted in Medusa's collar and she dragged her down for a kiss deep enough to dispel any thought of her being upset. Medusa stumbled at the sudden jerk, but her attempt to steady herself on Claire's waist just made them both stagger. They broke into laughter, noses brushing as they clung to one another.

"You're an absolute dork," Claire said when Medusa's phone let out a warning beep.

The squeal of tires interrupted her retort and Medusa settled for a kiss instead as a van came roaring into view. "See you tomorrow?"

"You damn well better."

"Not even the gods could keep me away."

"Boss! Let's go!" Scylla shouted as she slid open the van door. "We're out of time!"

Claire laughed as Medusa winked and bolted for the vehicle, calling out as she ran. "Love you!"

"Love you too!" She shouted back, one foot in the van and hand on the panic handle. A blown kiss made Claire giggle and clap a hand over her mouth, their eyes staying locked until the door slid shut just in time for Medusa's alarm to go off.

[insertvisualinput]

Artist Asks Meme (Long Post Alert)

I took the questions from this post, and decided to just answer all of them without waiting for prompts, because... why not?

Also, apologies for the long post. I could have put all this under a cut, but I want it to show in its entirety on my blog page. I will tag from now on all posts like this under “long post”, if that is something you would like to blacklist from your dashboard.

1. When did you get into art? As soon as I could hold a pencil. Sure, I may have held it like Beast initially held his spoon in Disney’s The Beauty and the Beast feature film, lacking the finer motor skills due to me being barely out of diapers. That didn’t stop me from drawing thousand legged potatoes and trying to pass them as horses. However, I suppose art became to hold a deeper meaning to me during my last years of elementary school, and all the way through junior high. I had finally become deeply depressed due to bullying and being ostracized by my fellow children. My family was having a difficult time as a whole, and I decided to bottle everything in, thinking I’d only cause more worry otherwise. I would eventually come to harbor suicidal intentions. During that time drawing became an outlet for me to both express and process my emotions, so it naturally became an important necessity in my daily life. It may very well be that was something that ultimately gave me just about enough strength to keep moving forward. Unfortunately, l would later lose my passion to do art. I didn’t really see eye to eye with my high school art teacher, and that really ate at my love for doing art, seeing as it had always been something very closely linked to myself and my enjoyment rather than that of other people. I got tired going about my art as I was expected to. It would take years for that passion to rear its head again. So here I am now, learning everything all over again! 2. What art-related sites have you ever signed up for? I started out on Elfwood in my teens, then also signed up for deviantART. I eventually deleted both of these galleries, once I stopped making more art and checking the activity on these sites started to feel like a chore rather than something fun. Now I have a gallery on deviantART once again, which I update pretty much whenever I have the intention to put something up on Tumblr as well. But I definitely consider my dA account more of a means to keep in touch with a couple of cool people and their artistic endeavors. This Tumblr gallery I consider more my “real gallery”... for no particular reason really. 3. Show us your oldest piece of art you have on hand. FEAST THINE EYES.

This is not the oldest one I have on hand, though. That one has already been posted separately on my blog. 4. What defines your artistic style? That is ridiculously hard to answer to be honest. I experiment so much it becomes difficult even for myself to pinpoint what exactly it is that defines my style. There are certainly some recurring elements, like how my humans tend to have elongated, exaggerated bodies (which is something you can already see in that older drawing above). I suppose that’s one thing that defines my style - a type of exaggeration of proportions and lines. I don’t really give a shit about the dos and don’ts regarding how to make art. Legs for example bend in ways they shouldn’t, and it’s a purely artistic choice from my part. I think it adds a layer of expression to my work, without which the piece would be a lot more boring to look at. I suppose the fuckton of experimentation I do is also something of a defining feature in my art, but it’s more of a personal element than something others can recognize my art by. 5. Do you practice other styles/have you tried other styles in the past? Welp, I think I pretty much brushed on this already above there on question four. Yes, I do, and yes, I have. 6. What levels of artistic education have you had? I have no formal education whatsoever. Though, I did take one course at my local adult education centre. It assembled only about once a month for half a year. It was an alright course, but the teacher’s tips felt very blatantly influenced by her own personal tastes in art. I felt like I was being pushed to express myself in ways that didn’t really feel like me at all, so in the end I never showed up for the last gathering. 7. Show us at least one picture you drew or sketched recently that you did not put on a public site. This practice picture drawn with ink didn’t make the cut mostly because I used the exact same perspective and general composition as for my Cheap Art Supply Challenge piece. But also because I am not that fond of it.

8. What is your favourite piece that you have done? A lot of times I just like the newest piece I’ve made the most, but there are certain works that hold additional value to me even when time passes. It’s been four years since I made it, but I’m still fond of this painting. It was the first time in years that I took up watercolours again, so the piece holds certain personal value to me. For that reason, I could even go as far as calling it my favourite. 9. What is your least favourite piece that you have done? I’m not sure I can decide. Not because I’d have so many not-faves, mind you! I can look back to the pieces I’ve made and think the ideas weren’t as cool as I thought back then, or that the techniques are horrible in comparison to what I’m capable of now. But I still do not really dislike them, because they remind me of how far I’ve come, where my foundations are, and which elements I decided to stick with. They remind me of the steps I’ve taken, and so I can’t really dislike them. 10. What do you like most about your art? Hmm, I think my favourite element in my art is just how unpolished a lot of it is. Like I have no qualms about leaving details vague. For example, a lot of times I draw less details on hands if the body shape is my primary interest in a piece I’m working on. Detailed works are very cool to look at, but there is also nothing wrong with leaving things to the viewer’s imagination, or leaving certain parts simple in order to encourage the viewer’s gaze to move where you want it to. 11. What do you like least about your art? I can’t really say. Despite all my artistic shortcomings, I am rather fond of it overall... Maybe just my lack of readiness to draw more diverse body types? Which is more of an occasional “Should I be doing that?” type of thought, rather than something I perspire over every time I draw and see I have once again created something of the lean and mean variety. 12. Have you ever considered taking commissions? Yes, and I have done some commission work in the past. Currently I have no particular drive to take new ones, however, as I’m more interested in experimenting different things as I see fit. 13. Are you looking to pursue a career in art? Not really. There was a time when I entertained that thought, but realistically speaking, I don’t think I’d work too well under the constant pressure of having to be as productive as possible at all times. I would quickly lose what art means to me, and with that, the joy it gives me. It’d just become another thing I must do to make ends meet. That, I do not want. 14. What do you like drawing the most? Human faces and animals are the most relaxing thing for me to draw, and looking at my sketchbooks, drawing them seems to be bordering on obsession. Other things I enjoy drawing, though less often, are unnecessarily long legs, skeletal figures, and armour.

15. What do you like drawing the least? Backgrounds. I have yet to figure out how to get them to look like they are actually part of the picture and not just their separate thing that is there. Environments overall are rather tricky for me, though I have made some brave attempts. Buildings are hard. Drawing lush vegetation is hard. Having very little patience a lot of times doesn’t encourage learning either. 16. Do you draw more fanart or original art? If fanart, what fandom do you draw the most of? Original art, which you might not guess looking at my blog here, since I started it just when I was about to go on a fanart loop for quite a few months. Wanting to draw fanart comes to me in certain intervals. Overall, however, I find it way more fun to draw whatever comes out of my head and hand, rather than following an already existing example. 17. What would you absolutely refuse to draw? Smut. It’s just not something I feel compelled to create. 18. What is your purpose for drawing? It makes me happier. I was going to go on a tangent about how it calms me and how meditative drawing is, how it gives me that feeling of having accomplished something, etc. - but what all that really boils down to is that simple statement. Drawing makes me happier. 19. What medium/program do you use the most in your art? Ink and watercolour are what I use the most by far. There’s something lovely about watching them spread and mix uncontrollably on a wet surface. Every now and then I get into the mood of trying other types of traditional media, though, like acrylic paint and oil pastels. Right now I’d really like to try my hand at encaustic painting... but getting the necessary equipment is an investment of over a hundred euros. That’s far too much for me in my current situation.

20. How would you rank your art? (poor, mediocre, good, etc.) I am sorry, but I will flat out refuse to answer this one. Ranking one’s art encourages comparison to people you admire. I am really hard pressed to see how this could be anything but toxic. 21. Do you believe there is such thing as “bad art?” Maybe. Art that never evolves anywhere, in any way, but remains absolutely stagnant? Be it on a personal level, or on a more encompassing level that challenges already existing traditions of art. On a personal level it doesn’t need to be very visible evolving either. In my mind, it’s enough if it’s something as small as “I have come to use this one colour I never before felt I could use with success.” If the question comes down to something as mundane as “Do you enjoy the art you see or do you not” being the defining element that discerns good art from the bad... Then my answer would be no, there is no such thing as bad art. I could never claim there is with good conscience, based only on my subjective likes and dislikes. 22. List at least one of your “artspirations.” Oh, I have so so many! And not all of them related to visual arts, even. But there is no point in making such a long list, so here are but a few of them: Gustave Doré and his many illustrations. I am particularly fond of the ones he made for Don Quixote and Orlando Furioso. Yoshitaka Amano. I find myself rather drawn to the elegance displayed in many of his paintings and drawings. Albrecht Dürer and his highly detailed woodcuts. Ayami Kojima and her masterful use of traditional means. She is self-taught too, which in and of itself is inspiring. Lian Quan Zhen and the beautifully lush colours in all his watercolour works. Paul Koudounaris and his absolutely gorgeous photographs of the lovingly decorated catacomb saints. (Picture below from his publication Heavenly Bodies, Thames Hudson Ltd, 2013.)

23. What do you think you could stand to improve on? Everything. I’m not really the type to stop and think I shouldn’t strive to improve more on a certain area just because I happen to like whatever I’m already doing. There are always elements I can refine, new methods of expression to test, and just plain something I could do better or at least differently enough to keep things interesting for myself. 24. Do you have a shameful art past? (recolour sprite comics, tracing art, etc.? Oh no, why end on such an embarrassing note! Cruel, cruel person, that came up with these questions. The short answer is yes. The long answer is, well, I would copy other people’s artwork, making only about just enough changes to replace the characters they drew with my own ones. Just thinking about it now makes me cringe! In case you were left wondering: None of those pictures were ever published anywhere, and have long since been burned with fire. And that’s an accurate description of what happened to them. All of them.

--- Turns out some versions of this meme also include: 25. Draw a picture! So here’s a quick pooch. Thanks for reading!

[readingontheedge]

Dolor and Shadow

The Seidr Cycle Book 1

by Angela B. Chrysler

Genre: High Epic Fantasy

  A great power has awakened within Princess Kallan.

To keep the princess hidden, she is taken to Alfheim; her abilities suppressed and her memory erased.

Years later, Kallan inherits her father’s war, and vows revenge on the one man she believes is responsible: Rune, King of Gunir. But soon, a twist of fate puts Kallan in protection of the man she has sworn to kill, and Rune in possession of powers he does not understand.

Lost in the world of Men, the two must form an unlikely alliance to make their way home and solve the mystery of their past - and of the Shadow that hunts them both.

Praise for Dolor and Shadow:

"...a sweeping, epic novel... highly recommend it to all fantasy lovers." - Erin S. Riley, author of Odin's Shadow

"Angela B. Chrysler has brought world building to breathtaking heights with ‘Dolor and Shadow’" - Jay Norry, Amazon Review

"This is book one in a set that has the potential to become timeless" - Timothy Bateson, Amazon Review

Goodreads * Amazon

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43562840-dolor-and-shadow 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VXB916Y 

Video Trailer:

https://youtu.be/ovHqM9cHGDE 

Think back to the oldest era your mind can fathom, back beyond everything we can remember, when gods were still men who had not yet lived the deeds that would deify them.” Gudrun’s aged gold eyes peered from behind her curtain of long, silver hair. “Think back before the time when the Aesir and the Vanir were still men who had settled here on ancient Earth, ages before their war.”

“Back when the Earth was new?” Kallan asked, looking up from the vellum scroll before her on the table. The tips of her tapered ears poked through the brown hair she had tied back to avoid the candle’s flames.

“Was it?” Shadows flickered over Gudrun’s face and shelves full of jarred things. All sorts of unusual jars of powders and exotic roots had been crammed into every available corner. Dried herbs hung from the crossbeams. The light from the candle and small hearth fire mingled and added a heavy thickness to the room that smelled of boiled heather and sage. “The Earth was still very old by the time the gods found it,” Gudrun said. “By then it was already ancient soil, which stirred beneath their feet. Can you see it, Kallan?”

The girl closed her eyes, an iridescent blue like the lapis stone, and thought back to the earliest memory she could recall, back before the Great Migration, when the gods lived in the Southern Deserts and the Land of Rivers. Back before the Great War between the Aesir and the Vanir.

“I can,” Kallan said.

The old woman kept the dry sternness in her voice. “These are the antiquated stories that predate the empires of men. We have studied the Vanir and their ways, their medicines and herbs. Now think of the gods of our gods, the gods so old that we have forgotten. The gods our gods once taught to their young. And think of their ancient stories and their myths, the legends they once revered before they themselves became myth. And think of everything now lost to time.”

Kallan nodded. “I see it.”

“The Seidr is older still,” Gudrun said. “Like veins, it flowed from the Great Gap, spreading through all elements of the Earth, stretching out, threading itself into the waters, the air, and earth.”

Kallan opened her eyes as she drew the connection to the tri-corner knot enclosed in a circle hanging from the chain on her neck. Gudrun smiled, confirming that Kallan’s conclusion was correct.

“Your mother’s pendant,” she said. “Na Tríonóide: the three united. The Seidr fused itself to the elements, until it lost itself inside the Earth, becoming a part of it, flowing with the waters, churning with the soils, and riding on the wind through the air. The Seidr is still there sleeping, waiting for us to remember.”

Kallan shifted forward in her seat.

“When the Vanir found the Seidr, they recognized it. In secret, they honed it and mastered it. They hoarded it, keeping it concealed from the Aesir.” Sadness hovered in Gudrun’s tone. “Afraid the Aesir would learn of their treasure and exceed them in power, the Vanir refused to divulge their secret.”

“What happened to the Vanir?” Kallan asked.

Gudrun visibly fought back the bitter sting of tears. “They died.” Her voice was low. “Doomed to be forgotten, and living only within the ancient stories now nearly extinct.”

Kallan bit the corner of her lip as if biting back a question.

“Deep within the earth, beyond the sea to the west, they met their end,” the old woman continued. “Some say they perished far beyond the western-most reaches of the world where the beginning formed. There where the Seidr emerged from the life source and fused to the elements and life itself. The Seidr now resides dormant in all of us. However, for most of us, it sleeps, available for the host to use, but never awakened, its keeper unaware of its presence.

“But don’t think its power is lost,” Gudrun said. “Even dormant Seidr, ripped from its host, will destroy the life line that has formed around it. It lies sleeping within every man born to Midgard. Just as the races of Men have it, we elves have it—”

“Elves?” Kallan repeated.

“Alfar,” Gudrun clarified, forgetting the word was foreign beyond the Ocean Isle where she had lived for the past three hundred years. “The Dvergar, the Svartálfar. Even the Ljosalfar—”

“They have it?” Kallan interrupted. “King Tryggve?”

Gudrun nodded. “King Tryggve and King Eyolf—”

The name of her father sharpened Kallan’s attention. “Father has it?”

Gudrun continued, not daring to encourage the princess’s interruptions.

“As do the reindeer that migrate across the valleys of King Raum in the north and the elk birds that fly across the southern realms of King Gardr Agdi. The sea worms that swim, and the pines that grow tall in these lands. However, among us all, Men and the three races of the Alfar, only a rare handful are still aware of its existence. Of those precious few, only some can waken it. Fewer still can wield it.”

After concluding her lecture, Gudrun spoke faster, more sternly, leaving behind the mysticism of the storyteller.

“To wield the Seidr is to pull on the lifeline that has formed within the confines of your center. To master the Seidr is to pull on the threads that have woven themselves within the elements. Find it!”

As if suddenly aware of the stuffy room, Kallan narrowed her eyes to better see the Seidr that was somehow there suspended in the air. This time, Gudrun’s smile stretched across her wrinkled face.

“Start small,” she said. “The Seidr around us has not conformed to the order of a path and goes where the elements take it. Try to find the Seidr within you, at your center. That is where it sleeps. That Seidr will know you and be the first to obey you.”

Slouching, Kallan nodded and closed her eyes, then changed her attention to the center of her body.

“Once you master your own Seidr, you can reach out to the Seidr in others. It won’t be as willing to obey as your own, but it too has adapted to the confines of a living being.”

Kallan opened her eyes, eager to collect the knowledge that always seemed to pour out of Gudrun. “Is it within the fire you summon?”

The old Seidkona shook her head.

“Fire is not an element, but a reaction, like when the cook blends stews or when I mix spells.”

“Like bubbling water or brewed tea?”

“Exactly,” Gudrun said. “Fire is only present when other actions bring it out, whereas soil, wind, and water are always there, maintaining a permanent state that defines the Seidr.” As she listed each element, Gudrun pointed to each point of the pendant hanging from Kallan’s neck. As she finished, she traced her finger around the circle enveloping the knot. “The elements don’t require fuel. However, Seidr is living. It is a life form made of pure energy. Compress enough Seidr, and it will release heat. Compress it more, and it will become hot enough to produce flame.”

“And hotter still produces your lightning.” Kallan grinned.

“Exactly.” 

Angela B. Chrysler is a writer, logician, philosopher, and die-hard nerd who studies theology, historical linguistics, music composition, and medieval European history in New York with a dry sense of humor and an unusual sense of sarcasm. She lives in a garden with her family and cats.

In 2014, Ms. Chrysler founded Brain to Books and the virtual trade show, Brain to Books Cyber Convention. A passionate gardener and incurable cat lover, Ms. Chrysler spends her days drinking coffee and writing beside a volume of Edgar Allan Poe who strongly influences her style to this day. When Ms. Chrysler is not writing, she enables her addictions to all things nerdy, and reads everything she can get her hands on no matter the genre. Occasionally, she finds time to mother her three children and debate with her life-long friend who she eventually married. Her writing is often compared to Tad Williams. Her influences are Edgar Allan Poe, The Phantom of the Opera, and Frankenstein.

Angela also loves writing, cats, reading, knitting, gardening, Tai Chi, Yoga, meditation, coffee, BBC, baking, cooking, dancing, singing, anime, and smiling. 

Website * Facebook  * Twitter * Instagram * Google+ * Amazon * Goodreads 

Author Links

Website: http://angelabchrysler.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/angelabchrysler 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/abchryslerabc 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abchrysler/ 

Google+:  https://plus.google.com/+AngelaBChrysler 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Angela-Chrysler/e/B00VXX0JDQ 

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13818332.Angela_B_Chrysler  

Fire and Lies

The Seidr Cycle Book 2

 War rips across the land of Alfheim.

As the Fae gods draw near, Queen Kallan’s strength is tested.

She follows King Rune, but the Shadow Beast caged within Rune’s body is writhing in hunger. Kallan’s newest companion, Bergen - the legendary Berserk - is determined to end the conflict in her life.

As the three come together, the truth buried in the past resurfaces. Now, Kallan must master a dormant power... or watch her kingdom fall to the Fae, who will stop at nothing to keep their lies. 

Goodreads * Amazon 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43562856-fire-and-lies 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FKK7XK4 

Video Trailer: https://youtu.be/6hTuUKOjih8 

At the farthest ends of Midgard, where Alfheim begins, the Fae goddess Fand gazed upon

Kallan’s fair city. Lorlenalin. The White Opal. The Dokkalfar citadel. Humming a ditty, she

collected her skirts and idly glided through the wood surrounding the city.

Like threads of gold, Seidr flowed from the tips of Fand’s fingers. It flowed down her

gown and branched across the first autumn frost glistening in the moonlight as if the Fae gods

themselves had emerged from Under Earth and touched down on the lands of Midgard. Like

veins, the Seidr webbed a path to the city. The life she found there was strong, but hollow with

grief for their missing queen. Fand called the Seidr back, and she smiled. Memories of the dead

never survive the ages. It was only a matter of time before the Dokkalfar forgot their precious

queen.

“This won’t be too hard.”

Fand took a step and strips of leather wove themselves around her bare foot. By the time

she took a second step, she wore a pair of fine leather boots. Her gowns of Under Earth reknitted

themselves into something simpler, but just as suggestive. Just as inviting. The gems she

wore to ordain her bodice became grains of golden sand that vanished with the wind. Her

cheekbones rounded out. Her pearlescent skin darkened to look more like a daughter of Alfheim

than the pale, jeweled complexion of a Fae goddess of Eire’s Land.

Fand pushed a hand through her raven black hair, sending strands of Seidr streaking the

black and changing it to a pale blond by the time her fingers reached the tips.

By the time Fand stepped into a beam of moonlight where the Dokkalfar guards could see

her, all that remained of her original appearance was the stunning rings of gold Seidr that

encircled her pupils and the mesmermizing smile that arched her red lips.

By dawn, only two would remember the name of Kallan, Daughter of Eyolf, Queen and

Lady of Lorlenalin. 

Giveaway

$20 Amazon, Signed copy of Dolor and Shadow 

Follow the tour HERE for exclusive content and a giveaway! 

https://www.silverdaggertours.com/sdsxx-tours/the-seidr-cycle-book-tour-and-giveaway