#and did all of the coloring and shading and background today. lol

[jefferythejelly]

shark boy!🦈

[bread-is-my-life]

I'M SCREAMING OMG (⁠ﾉ⁠≧⁠∇⁠≦⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠ ⁠ﾐ⁠ ⁠┻⁠━⁠┻

HIIII!!!! I love how you coloured that panel with All might it looks really cool ദ്ദി(｡•̀ ,<)~✩‧₊ May I suggest this panel from when All Might and Stain first met? Or any other panel from their meeting :D

Coloring random MHA manga panels day 3 [Request]

[needlesandnilbogs]

I guess art is going on tumblr instead of on blogspot today lolll cause I’m lazy. half the high school au crowd goes to see a movie. that is all. (If I successfully did this then there will be a read more bc I put the fic here and it got long)

Image ID: two digital drawings. One is of high school versions of murderbot characters dressed in costumes and standing in front of a movie poster: from left to right, Rin (high school au murderbot), Bharadwaj, Overse, Gurathin, Pin-Lee, and Indah. Rin has dark curly hair and dark brown skin. It is not dressed in a costume, just a blue hoodie and gray pants, and is standing behind and apart from the group. Bharadwaj has dark brown skin and her hair is under a light purple hijab which extends into a cape behind her; she also wears a long dark blue dress belted at the waist and a silver circlet. Overse has light skin, shoulder-length dirty blonde hair, and glasses; she wears a light blue dress with pink trim and sleeves, pink shoes laced up her calves, a Magen David necklace, and a small pink crown. Gurathin has the lightest skin, brown hair cut unflatteringly, and big round wire glasses; he is wearing a red shirt and leggings with gold armor over it, and he has a silver flute hung over his shoulder. Pin-Lee has lightish skin, black hair in a bun, and wears a green bodysuit half covered in green and pink feathers. Indah is the tallest except for Rin and has medium skin and light brown hair; she is wearing a turquoise shirt, purple leggings, a skirt in a different shade of purple with gold trim, and yellow shoes.

the other image is the poster that is behind them. It is for a made up movie called “Sunshine Warriors: Day of the Second Sun” and features an orange and yellow stylized sun on a blue background. On the sun there are images of a pink crown, a red eighth note, a green bird, and a purple butterfly. Under the movie title, at the bottom, it says “Ten Years Later…”. End ID.

anyways this is for chatfic I am deciding whether to post to ao3 or not, I wrote the fic last year and it’s part of the hsau’s summer between Mensah and mb’s senior year of high school and going to college. The relevant bit of the fic itself is as follows:

———

DM: Lee (Pin-Lee), bhara (Bharadwaj)

[10:01] bhara: Hey, wanna go to the river w me this afternoon?? I need out of the house and my aunt won't let me take the car

[10:03] Lee: I'm down, want me to pick you up?

[10:03] bhara: That'd be great \o/ I have no agenda lol I just really need a break

[10:04] Lee: Also, want to come to the movies tonight with Indah and me, too? We're making plans to see the Sunshine Warriors film in full costume tonight, possibly with Gurathin and Overse and Rin too.

[10:04] bhara: OMG I FORGOT THE MOVIE COMES OUT TONIGHT AAAAAA AND ITS LIVE ACTION LIKE THE PART IN THE DOCUMENTARY WHERE THE ACTORS DID THE SCENES

[10:05] Lee: I was actually about to ask if you wanted to come when you texted me!

[10:07] bhara: I CAN GO \o/ \o/ \o/

[10:07] Lee: Great. Pick you up in ten for river time, at 4 for the movie?

[10:07] bhara: o7 but also changed my mind, let's go see how much of a costume we can put together in the time between now and 4?

[10:08] Lee: I'll make a group chat so we can coordinate costumes!

New Chat: Pin-Lee (Pin-Lee), Bharadwaj (Bharadwaj), gurathin (gurathin), indah (indah), Overse (Overse), Rin (Rin)

[10:10] Pin-Lee (Pin-Lee) started chat

[10:10] Pin-Lee (Pin-Lee) changed chat name to Sunshine Warriors Assemble

[10:11] Pin-Lee: So. We are doing this, okay? I call dibs on being Feather, he was always my favorite.

[10:11] indah: I'd forgotten how much I loved this show

[10:12] indah: I want to be Color, if possible, I have the most clothing I could use for her.

[10:15] Overse: Arada isn't interested in going but she says she'll lend me her floofy skirt so I wanted to be color

[10:15] indah: I'll duel you for it. Swords at 2 am on the 29th?

[10:16] Overse: wow rude

[10:16] Overse: whatever happened to reasonable sleep schedules? [10:17] gurathin: Not to interrupt but I want to stake a claim on flute, the least terrible warrior

[10:18] Overse: omg Gurathin just be sun lord, you're already that pompous <3

[10:18] Bharadwaj: So we have Flute, Feather, and two people who want to be Color, who wants Princess and what do the rest of you want to do?

[10:20] Overse: well, I can be princess instead, i do have good high heels for it, but what do you wanna do?

[10:20] Rin: I'm not coming in costume.

[10:20] Bharadwaj: I was thinking Queen Midnight but only if everyone else is down for going with the villain?

[10:21] Pin-Lee: I am *always* down for going with villains. I'll be over in 5 minutes and we can hit your closet and the thrift store, okay?

[10:22] indah: The plan is meet at Pin-Lee's house at 4, carpool to the movie theater, see the 4:45 showing, get dinner, see the 9:50 showing, go home, unless anyone can't stay out till midnight.

[10:30] Bharadwaj: I just checked and my aunt says that's fine

[10:30] Bharadwaj: She also says if we want to come over after and watch the documentary that came out a couple years ago about the making of the show we are welcome to do so and then sleep over!

[10:31] Bharadwaj: It's SUCH a good documentary, it's a beautiful letter of love to the way the show was made and the choices the writers had to make to make it socially acceptable

[10:31] Bharadwaj: I know I just like documentaries in general but I really love this one and not just because it's about fiction I enjoy

[10:35] Overse: omg perf

[10:35] Overse: I have to be princess then bc I loved her voice actor in the show

[sage-nebula]

My season one collector's edition of Arcane arrived today and when I tell you how high quality and perfect everything is . . . I'm especially in love with the hex crystal dice.

The color is perfect and they are so shiny! You can't really tell from a still image, but they have a glitter substance in them so when you move them (or if you were to roll them) you can see something sparkly swirling inside. It puts the hex in hex crystal!

And the hex core one . . . man . . .

This is HEAVY. Pretty sure it would chip my floor if I dropped it. Definitely not for playing with lol. (But I don't play anyway so they're on display in my curio cabinet.)

There was also a cloth map of Piltover (including Zaun—it's just all called Piltover), but there's something on it that feels to me like it might be a spoiler for s2, so I'm not posting it here.

But there are high quality prints of Jinx's drawings (ones from her childhood and present day—you can see the skill jump!), and they are so goooood. Granted, some we've seen before, but it's nice to have thick, physical copies.

Cat Silco.

Family portrait. Here, Vi has the crown later given to Silco, and Powder was already drawing herself with dynamite, drawing someone on fire, drawing missiles and bombs. This is why the idea that Powder and Jinx are different people / personas is ridiculous; Powder is Jinx is Powder. She was always going to grow up to bomb the council building with a giant missile, no matter what.

Not sure exactly what is going on here. The bottom person might be an enforcer due to the mouth maybe? There's a dead pig and a dismembered hand. More bombs and dynamite and some early Chomper concepts. Nails, too, which if you remember she had in Mouser. (Mowser? Mowzer??) Little baby Powder had a violent imagination.

The common fanon is that Fishbones is a shark in honor of Silco, and I like that, but here we have an early Fishbones concept drawn by Powder. Granted, this still could've been from after Silco took her in and perhaps showed her the sea monsters, but it's also possible that Powder herself just always liked sharks because of the chompy teeth. And is it just me, or does that look like Piltover on fire in the background?

The first one she drew in present day (or closer to present day) is an updated Fishbones concept, schematic style. See what I mean about the skill jump, and how you can tell which were done by a child versus an older teen? I find it interesting that so much of Fishbones is pink here—did she still see Vi as a pillar of power when she drew this? I also love how she drew herself with Fishbones eyes up in the top right lmao.

Monkey bomb concepts. It may have traumatized her, but it was also the first one that ever worked, so she revisited it. There's also a doodle of a . . . hamster? . . . on there. Did she have a pet at some point?

And lastly, updated Chomper concepts. Not much to say here except I thought the "POW" at top right said something very different at first. Also she really did just get so much better at coloring and shading. I'm gonna frame these.

Anyway, I love the CE and I hope we get one for season 2 as well. Now to wait for the artbook to be delivered early next year. :3

[caffeine-n-andreneline]

SnV Qin Shi Huang || Ying Zheng x Fem!Reader

Warnings: First fic lol, historical inaccuracies, typical cannon violence, a kid with trauma and a wannabe therapist, Soulmate AU, slowburn(?), Warring States period-ish, JJK cross over kinda-ish, baby qin needs a hug.

The notes of the koto reverberated throughout the Michizane household. The people laughed and drank sake to their heart's content, whilst applauding to the child in the middle of the room, playing the said instrument with finesse.

Accompanied with her voice, she sang much like a true virtuoso. It did not take long for her performance to end, the cheers dying down as the adults went on to mind their own business.

The girl with the (H/c) hair rose from her previous position and bowed down for gratitude. When she exited, two servants followed suit, storing away the heavy hunk of wood.

Now, she rests by the secluded part of their home, in an open porch, which showcases the serene Zen Garden that the Michizane managed whilst the gathering continued with their faint chatters in the background. Red cherry blossoms flutter with grace as they are coveted by the grassy grounds.

She opens the palm which bears her soulmate's first words upward to the midnight sky.

A single gray petal is what she sees.

Never had she seen the shade of red. That questionable goop of gray upon her lips as well as the women back inside the gathering? Or the fine silks and fabrics all over their house?

Even her own blood. Gray and so dark you could mistake it as black like ink. In all honesty? It's slowly–making her insane.

"Sunshine, it's chilly here. I suppose we should get you back inside." From behind her, a deep voice of a man startled her tiny heart, yet she still managed to put on a neutral face.

"You make such awful callings, father."

A man of tall stature came to her view. Her father, Michizane Sugawara, the patriarch of the household she resides in. A scholar once of common blood, he rose to his position today for his great contributions and efforts, became a vassal of a shogun–a daimyo which also holds the title of this state's diplomat.

"Well then, hm. Moonlight, how about we head back inside? I suppose there's still some daifuku left if I'm not mistaken." He continued, scooting beside her daughter.

The patriarch had his hair painted in snow, his eyes as blue as ice. Almost a carbon copy, aside her hair, to the pensive girl on his side.

"That's the same thing." The daughter bluntly replied.

"I suppose you're right."

Then there was a short pause.

"But you, you're not alright at all." Glancing to her daughter, he resumed.

"You can always tell me what ails you, you know?"

He waited for a response. A few moments have passed by, but still none. It seems the girl is in deep thoughts. Until the silence was broken with her declaration.

"I want to see red. It drives me mad. It should be a color that I see regularly everyday, yet it's replaced by this boring monotone color I see instead."

She ranted. Michizane knew this feeling all too well. There he decided bringing her along not only could give her experience, but also give her the opportunity to find what she seeks.

"Perchance you could see it soon." He gave her a reassuring smile.

"How do you know?" She asks, with her voice laced in doubt.

"My intuition tells me so. Did you know I can't see the colour of the rays of the sun when I have yet to meet your mother?"

"....must've been so bright."

"Yes, indeed. Your other half, surely they gaze upon the vast horizon of the heavens, and wonder when they could see the fleeting blues of the skies or the deep azure of the seas. When they could finally see those ocean eyes of yours."

This made the girl think even more deeply. Realizing it's not only she who longs for such. There could be even thousands if not millions of those who're blind to a certain colour.

The cold touch of her father's calloused hands made contact with her small and nimble ones. Slowly finding its way to her wrist, where her soulmate's first words are imprinted to her skin.

"I've taught you few about the dialect, haven't I, my moonlight?"

Slowly, he traces the calligraphy above her skin. She could only watch her father draw on her wrist and answer his question.

Back when she was younger, she found herself awestruck with his father's handiwork. She loved the crisp sound of paper being folded, the way his father used a brush to write the letters she could barely understand with elegance and precision.

One night, before going to sleep, his father had gifted her something. A box of brushes, along with a small jar of ink–and parchment of papers with drawn guides with the use of charcoal. Starting from there, her education on the arts of calligraphy and linguistics began.

And today, at such a young age–she's already considered to be a polyglot. A scholar ready to expand her knowledge.

".....yes? The archaic dialect used in the state of Qin nearby Zhao dynasty yonder?" The girl already knew the answer to this. It wouldn't take for an alchemist to figure it all out.

"Exactly. I suppose you already know what that means."

"My fated one is of foreign lands." Michizane saw the disappointment in her daughter's face. It appears that she can't hide what she feels well.

In her mind, she could only think of how only in her next life she could see red.

"And by the next full moon, we'll embark our way there."

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, processing the words her father had just said. Then when she came to an understanding, she just realized her father had just said that.

"Well, off we go now, my sweet. Unless we are to freeze to our deaths then we cannot see your soulmate!"

In a split second, the diplomat had already thrown and secured her daughter in his arms, giving her no time to retaliate as he marched his way back inside their warm home.

"Wait! Now hang on for just a second da–"

"Nuh uh, I already feel your brother's glutton radiating beyond these doors. We wouldn't want your daifukus to end up in his greedy belly, would we?"

Sugawara jests.

Notes: This fic will have Jujutsu Kaisen elements, hence the crossovers in the warnings. I'll be describing the reader as the diplomat's daughter and refrain on using "Y/n". One particular physical feature that I'll be explicitly describing the reader has is that they possess blue eyes. And the rest is up to your imagination. Fun fact! Michizane No Sugawara or in this case, the readers' father is Gojo Satoru's ancestor from jujutsu Kaisen.

[poniesart]

hiii!! your artstyle is SO COOL to me- as in sometimes i'll just stare at some of your pieces because theyre all so great. i was wondering if you were comfortable sharing your process when it comes to art?? i'd love to see how you do things!

Hi!! I'm sorry this took so long to answer, I hope you still find it useful. It means a ton to me that you enjoy my art so much! <3 It's easy to feel discouraged by the Invisible Hand of Internet Engagement, so I really appreciate your ask.

General thoughts (NOT rules, just things I consider or do a lot):

Things that appear one solid color irl can be broken down into multiple colors through artistic interpretation. I see a lot of beginner artists paint trees as solid green, when there's a lot of yellows, blues, and browns in there! A FANTASTIC example of this is jadenvargen, whose color use is masterful and I can only aspire to emulate one day.

Base colors are not saturated; saturation is reserved for pops of color and details

Shadows are purples, blues, and greens

Reference is your best friend!!!

So the nitty gritty for those who want to see: with digital art there's two main avenues I take. The first one is lineart, and the second is painterly. All IDs are in alt text.

My process for lineart pieces:

I always start off with a sketch; for this example I'm using one of my pieces from @/mylittlefusions (that isn't actually posted yet but will be later today) - a Grogar and Trixie MLP G4 fusion. I like to fiddle with brush selections until I get the effect I want, and then go slow on the lineart to make sure it's how I want it, so this can be time consuming!

I've been trying for distinct shapes; I hate when my art gets muddled, I feel like the end piece is less impactful when I don't put in the right amount of contrast and distinctive silhouettes. Just something I've been thinking about and trying to improve.

Then I add base colors, going for slightly desaturated colors. I like to use saturated/bright tones to contrast or draw attention to something. I put the base-base colors down in one layer and then add details as a mask layer:

Then comes shading!! I'm a big fan of a multiply layer set to cool tones like blue, so I usually start there. If I think it needs to be different I can change it later. In this instance, I filled the whole canvas in the shading color as a mask over the base colors, and then erased where needed. Now that the shading is done, I often go back and color the lineart :)

Last but not least is my favorite part, painting on top! The extent to which I do this depends on what I think is needed, but I usually at least paint on top of the multiply shading to add some nuance, i.e. the greener bits on the background limbs. Here I added bright magic outlines to pop from the more desaturated character.

My more painterly style is a different story though! I use the same thoughts about color and shading, but I usually forgo multiply layers entirely and just do colors by eye. I still do a sketch, usually. Here is an example using my Lae'zel / Shadowheart piece.

The sketch is a disaster zone lol - but I painted below it using base tones, again desaturated. Once I feel I don't need the sketch anymore, I keep painting, making a new layer when I feel like being cautious about a change I'm making.

After I feel that I've got base colors down, it's time to get more contrast in using darker and/or more saturated colors! Then, like with my lineart process, I paint more details on top of everything else - reflections, jewelry, body hair, etc. I try to communicate shadow and distance with purples and blues, but I'm still working on it.

Another example real quick, where i did my typical lineart process base work and then painted on top of the shadow layer and the entire piece as a whole:

Thanks for reading if you stuck around, and thank you for the ask, friend! ^^

[baconcolacan]

Since I’m still stuck at work and cant do anything, I thought it would be fun to post my drawing process for my semi-serious style, using the latest fanart I did with Edd and Edu but only featuring Edd :3c Maybe one day I’ll make a speedpaint but thats not today. If you’re curious, one by one below the line + me talking about the process (as best I can)

1. Preliminary sketch. These are my roughs, this is the start after I had my brainstorm and planning phase. I’ve found all my references and did the pose myself as well so I know what it feels like and if its bodily possible. 2. Clean sketch. This is where I loosely put in all the nitty-gritty, where the folds are, details of the hair, etc etc. I change the pencil colour so I can differentiate certain parts. 3. Line art. Like it says on the tin, but for my semi-serious style I tend to avoid lining folds because I prefer to paint them in this style. 4. Grey out. I need this layer so that I don’t get blinded/confused when I lay down the colours,

5. Flats. So all the colours needed, usually when I draw backgrounds they would also depend on the lighting, so I would colorize them if needed, but for standalones I just put in the basic colours. 6. Soft shadows. I tend to use multiply layers for this step, but sometimes I also do normal layers, in case I feel as though the colour should be more relative to its surroundings since multiply wont let me do that. It all depends on how I want the shadows to feel on the piece, but when I’m lazy I just do multiply (lol). Soft shadows also include the colour on the planes of the face, so = yellow for forehead, red for middle, blue for the lower part aka jaw area. Of course also the reds on the skin in other areas like elbows and knees, but since Edd is fully clothed, its just the tip and inner part of his ear, and the tips of his fingers. 7. Hard shadows and minor highlights. For my style, I gear more towards a watercolour style kind of shading, so I follow that principle when I decide where to put and how to render my shadows. Typically I have at minimum 4 layers for this type of hard shadow shading. The minor highlights here are just the lights in the pupil, and a soft large airbrush going over the spaces where shadows cant reach. 8. Missing details and overlay highlights. Near the end I put in all the little details I missed, so in here its Edd’s 5 o’clock shadow, and some scuffs and scrapes on his clothing and shoes. The overlay highlights are super subtle but make the drawing feel a bit more alive, for me at least, these highlights are the ones on the “bumps” of the clothing folds, and the hair highlights.

9. Hard highlights and atmospheric lights. The finale! This is where I just put in the brighter, harder, highlights in places they should be, and then clip a Luminosity/Overlay layer on top of the entire drawing, using a large soft brush I go over the drawing to put a bit more brightness into it. And there! Thats how I render in my semi-serious artstyle. But...eh, dont be fooled, I know this step by step makes it look like I would jump around all the parts of the drawing and render things equally, sadly thats far from the truth. My perfectionism flares up badly and it often leads to me obsessing over a singular part before moving on, so the process would look more like this:

yeah......

[whentherewerebicycles]

got all bundled up and read the baby on the fire escape on a bench overlooking the sound until sunset and that was sooo nice. the book is very good and also makes me feel like if that kind of book sells I could see myself doing that type of writing. I don’t know the writer’s background so I have no idea if they were an academic first but it did feel like someone took their diss research and was like hmm you know what instead of writing an academic monograph I bet I can turn this into something people will actually want to read. so that’s something to think about. it’s much less “book about parenting!” and much more a framework for thinking about if/how motherhood and creative work can coexist, derived from close study of the lives of women artists and writers who were mothers. thoughtful and interesting!

after sunset I went to home depot to pick up paint samples (which I’ve just swatched) and target to buy a table lamp. @bottleupandexplode has been telling me for a while that my paint issues aren’t about color but about lighting and guess what: she is right. I’m using the table lamp right now instead of the horridly bright spotlight-style track lighting and it softens the yellow so much. makes the whole room feel cheerful and warm rather than screamingly bright. the bad news is: the kitchen has three horrible lighting fixtures and the other two might even be worse offenders. here’s what we’re working with:

I chose lower wattage bulbs for the weird three-headed floodlight fixture but even that wasn’t enough lol so I took one out and just have two bulbs in there. that one I can live with but it’s the blindingly bright wall light over the sink that hurts my eyes every time I look at it. you can adjust the coolness or warmth of the light (it has four settings) but you can’t turn it off and you can’t activate the overheard light without turning on the over-sink light. I took it apart this evening thinking I could maybe remove the bulb but it turns out it’s wired directly into the wall—like you’d have to cut something to turn it off. my next idea is could I cover it somehow? lol a little curtain rod in front of it to shield your eyes from its horrid light. sigh I’ll keep thinking about it. it does feel like a MAJOR win to have figured out the table lamp workaround so I’ll take that victory for today.

also here are the colors I swatched:

they’re all quite pretty shades of blue-green in real life (they photograph muddier than they look in person) but I’m not sure if any of them are really calling my name. I do think any of them would be an improvement over how blah that bathroom is right now though! so we’ll see. I might sleep on it and decide tomorrow. that ugly tile just kills me so if I could get something on the walls to distract me from it it would truly be a blessing

[nostalgiaispeace]

2333.

How often do you wear necklaces? 📿   everyday

Would you rather wear a bracelet or a necklace? 📿   necklace

Do you own a coral sweater?   No

Which name do you like best: Emily, Ellery, or Eliana?   Emily

What season were you born in?   Winter

What season is your favorite? Winter

When was the last time you had a donut? 🍩   I don’t even remember

Which spelling do you like better: Jillian or Gillian?   Gillian.

Have you ever wondered how the country of Ireland got its name? 🇮🇪   can’t say that I have.

Which name do you like best for a girl: Harmony, Harper, Harlow, Harvest, or Harley?   Harper

What is your favorite shade of green? 💚 really dark green

What is your least favorite shade of green? 🫒   bright green

Which name do you like best for a girl: Bianca, Brogan, or Briar?   none of those

….how about out of these: Carly, Carmen, or Carlotta?   Carmen

Which name do you like better: Jasmine or Yasmin?   neither

Did you used to wish that you could own some of the same outfits as your dolls?   i did, yeah

Do you think you look better with your hair up or down?   down

What is your favorite shade of blue? 💙   like a teal

What is your least favorite shade of blue?   light blue

Would you rather ride a motorcycle 🏍️ or a regular bicycle 🚴?   Neither

What is the name of one island you have vacationed on? 🏝️   none

Which one-syllable girl’s name do you like best: Claire, Cove, Dawn, Rose, or Jade?   Rose

When was the last time you wore leggings?   I don’t even know

What is your most severe allergy? 🤧 apples

Do you own a purple sweater?   no

How often do you create surveys?   never

What is one game you have cheated on? I don’t recall

Do you believe it’s ever ok to cheat on a test? 📝   no

Have you ever cheated on a test? 📝   yeah lol

What’s your favorite song by Miley Cyrus? I don’t like her music

What was the last song you listened to on repeat?   Idk

What was the best part of your day today (or yesterday)?   just being with my daughter

How often do you wear earrings?   everyday

Have you ever worn a stuffed animal at an age guessing booth? 🧸   no

What is something you own that you’ve had since you were in high school? literally so many things but mostly books

What year did you join Facebook?   2008

What was the first color you ever dyed your hair?   blonde

Name three countries you have no desire to visit.   asian countries

What is one thing most people seem to like the smell of, but you don’t?   idk

Have you ever been scammed?   yeah

Are you smart? 🧠   yeah i guess so.

What color is your dresser?   black

If applicable, what color was the dress you wore to your very first Homecoming Dance? 💃 I never went

When was the last time you purchased something from a bakery? 🧁 idk.

….and what was it that you purchased? –

What is your computer’s desktop background?   ellie from the last of us

When was the last time you used washi tape, and what did you use it for?   never

List three big cities you have visited and would love to visit again.   nyc and orlando

On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you with your life?   7

What brings you joy? my daughter and books

What’s your most cherished memory?   i literally have so many

Do you believe in God? Why or why not?   no; its complicated

Were you named after anyone, and if so, who?   Nope.

When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper? 📝   idk

Which spelling do you use for the color: gray or grey?   Grey

Who has hurt you the most?   samantha

Who or what is your happy place?   hogwarts

If you could erase horrible memories, what memory would you erase?   lol so many

When was the last time you cried?   today when watching succession

If you could go anywhere in the world right now (all expenses paid), where would you go?   orlando

How do you feel at the moment?   tired

Do you believe that you’re a strong person?   yes

What’s your biggest dream? To own a house and be content

Paintings or digital pictures?   Both

Are you scared to love?   no

What’s your biggest fear? Death of someone i love

Are you afraid of heights?   Yes.

Are you in love?   yes

Do you prefer a bright or dark room?   I prefer light

Have you ever danced in the rain? ☔️ 💃   yes

Do you have a good relationship with your parents?   with my mom

Have you ever cried because you were so happy?   yes

Books or movies? books

[purplesurveys]

1648

What is the color of the last towel you used? It’s a very pale shade of blue.

Are you listening to music right now? If so, whatcha listening to? Nah I just have a vlog on in the background.

Would you rather have a hippo or rhino dropped on you? Damn. I’d be offed either way so what’s the point? Hahaha.

Do you walk a lot? Not at all. My workplace is permanently on a WFH set-up so it keeps me from being able to walk a lot most days; I will say, though, that I get to catch up on my steps every time we have an event. I can get anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 steps when we have to manage one.

If you’re still in school, what number is your locker? What color is it? We never did have numbers on our lockers; you just had to memorize your spot and that was it. As for the colors, I remember having gray and blue ones at different points.

Do you have any super silly nicknames? Not really, but I’ve observed that a number of people have taken it up on their own to nickname me Rob. I’ve never introduced myself as that, never acknowledged that as a nickname, but I’m always some way somehow stuck with it. I hate it but I also can’t be assed to tell them not to call me that.

Have you ever heard of the Japanese snack Yan Yan? Yeah my sister had that as her recess for many years hahahaha. I like the chocolate one but I wouldn’t have it everyday like she did.

Do you watch sports? Which ones, if any? Just wrestling. I’m watching more of it these days as I want to get back in the groove, but then again I think I’m just doing so because it’s Mania season and I always subconsciously go back for Mania season every year anyway lol. Literally this afternoon I watched Mania 36 and kicked myself hard for only doing so today – that Firefly Fun House is my new favorite thing in the world.

Do you enjoy the great outdoors? I can for the most part, but living in the Philippines there’s always gonna be an inherent fear for my safety lol.

Do you like cream soda? I don’t think I’ve tried that kind.

Is there anyone who hates you? Probably not but if there is someone then I’m completely unaware of it.

What color is your cell phone? It’s blue. Wouldn’t be my first option for a phone ever, but it was the only one available at all the stores I stopped by + I didn’t exactly have the luxury to pick a color since my old phone had died on me that same day and needed a new one immediately. How does your hair look right now? It’s wavy in a pretty way since I had just removed my bun, but considering how Satan-like the weather is being it will most likely get frizzy within 30 minutes unless I turn on the aircon soon lol. 

Are you on any medications? I just finished my prescription meds for my dog bite. I had to take them for a one-week period.

What is the last piece of mail you received? How about e-mail? Not counting my work email, the last email I got on my personal account isssss just a promotional email from one of my e-wallets.

Who is your 15th contact in your phone? I’ve got my phone turned off this whole day and I don’t feel like turning it back on.

Name something you like about school. I got to learn about history.

Do you eat meat, or are you a vegetarian? I eat meat.

Have you ever cried in front of a teacher? Yeah. Back in my old school if you get a grade of 77 and below on an exam, you automatically get issued a letter addressed to your parents informing them of your performance - we called it a ‘difficulty letter’ and pretty much subjects you to a walk of shame among the class when you receive one, lmao. Anyway, I got one for a geometry class that I failed and I happened to cry in front of my Actual geometry teacher, who could only look at me guiltily and uneasily at the time hahaha.

Have you ever cried BECAUSE of a teacher? ^ Yeah, I guess that was also technically the case.

Do you do a :) or a (:? :). I haven’t done the opposite version since...like...Grade 7?

Do you have a facebook? Do you go on it often, if you do? Yep and yep.

What is the closest gas station to you? The one I go to is a good 10-minute drive away.

Who did you last see in concert? Does a fanmeet count? I went to Seonho’s show in January; but my last musical concert was Paramore in 2018.

What grade are you in? It’s been three years since I graduated college and I haven’t gone back to school since.

Granny smith or delicious red apples? Pass.

If you could meet one famous person, who would it be? How come? Shotzi Blackheart is the newest person I want to hang out with. I just found out she’s part Filipino which is SO! COOL! TO ME!!! and she doesn’t even come across as a Fil-Am who uses her Filipino blood as a personality trait, like what many of them do. She knows how to eat her fucking balut as she should, she’s actually been to the country, and overall she just seems like such a cool chick I can shoot the shit with.

Are paper clips fun to play with? Well, not really for me...

Can you speak any other language? Filipino.

Do you prefer mechanical pencils or regular pencils? Regular. I always fuck up the mechanical ones.

Do you have a job? What’s your job? I’m a manager at a PR agency, so I’m my clients’ main girl when they need to execute a consumer campaign and everything that comes with it – from media placements/advertorials, to interviews, to events, to PR kits, to press releases, to YouTube brand deals, to photo and video shoots, to product launches.

Do you take advil, tylenol, or ibuprofen? I take paracetamol, if that counts as any of these?

Why is the sky blue? No clue.

Do you enjoy classic rock? Eh, not really.

Have you ever heard of the band Citizen Cope? If not, look them up, they’re really good. I haven’t. The only thing this reminded me of is the movie Citizen Kane lol.

Is your alarm clock set right now? Nope.

What kind of music do you listen to the most? K-pop.

Are you itchy right now? Yeah my right knee and foot are actually kind of asking to get scratched now.

Do you like pine trees, or do think the sap is too annoying? I...dk? I’m never around pine trees.

Mountains or beach? The beach.

What is the closest purple object to you? My wallet.

Are your walls blank or covered with pictures/posters? They’re blank.

Have you ever tried veggie burgers? I don’t think I have.

Do you have anything on your wrists? No.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I’ll be 35, which is around the time I should have long been making preps for my trip to Wrestlemania 50, which is something I’ve vowed to achieve since I was 9. Certainly hope I’ll be more than ready to fly out by then.

Do you have a mirror in the room you are in? No.

Have you ever had corn nuts? I’ve never heard of that.

Do you smoke? I don’t.

[stayathomesurveys]

145.

How often do you wear necklaces? 📿   Rarely.

Would you rather wear a bracelet or a necklace? 📿   Either.

Do you own a coral sweater?   No.

Which name do you like best: Emily, Ellery, or Eliana?   Emily.

What season were you born in?   Winter.

What season is your favorite? Fall and winter.

When was the last time you had a donut? 🍩   Maybe last week.

Which spelling do you like better: Jillian or Gillian?   Jillian.

Have you ever wondered how the country of Ireland got its name?  No.

Which name do you like best for a girl: Harmony, Harper, Harlow, Harvest, or Harley?   Harper.

What is your favorite shade of green? 💚 Hmm, not sure.

What is your least favorite shade of green? 🫒   Idk.

Which name do you like best for a girl: Bianca, Brogan, or Briar?   Briar.

….how about out of these: Carly, Carmen, or Carlotta?   Carmen or Carlotta.

Which name do you like better: Jasmine or Yasmin?   Jasmine.

Did you used to wish that you could own some of the same outfits as your dolls?   Yup!

Do you think you look better with your hair up or down?   Down.

What is your favorite shade of blue? 💙   Not sure.

What is your least favorite shade of blue?   I don’t think there is one.

Would you rather ride a motorcycle 🏍️ or a regular bicycle 🚴?   Bicycle.

What is the name of one island you have vacationed on? 🏝️   The Keys count? Lol.

Which one-syllable girl’s name do you like best: Claire, Cove, Dawn, Rose, or Jade?   Claire and Jade. When was the last time you wore leggings?   The other day.

What is your most severe allergy? 🤧 Ibuprofen and Naproxen.

Do you own a purple sweater?   Yes.

How often do you create surveys?   I don’t.

What is one game you have cheated on? Lolllll. Uno.

Do you believe it’s ever ok to cheat on a test? 📝   Meh.

Have you ever cheated on a test? 📝   Yeah.

What’s your favorite song by Miley Cyrus? Not sure.

What was the last song you listened to on repeat?   I don’t remember.

What was the best part of your day today (or yesterday)?   Staying home from work.

How often do you wear earrings?   Everyday. If I take my earrings out for even just like a day, they start closing :(

Have you ever worn a stuffed animal at an age guessing booth? 🧸   No.

What is something you own that you’ve had since you were in high school? Quite a lot of things.

What year did you join Facebook?   2009.

What was the first color you ever dyed your hair?   Auburn.

Name three countries you have no desire to visit.   I can’t think of a country that I wouldn’t want to visit eventually.

What is one thing most people seem to like the smell of, but you don’t?   Gasoline.

Have you ever been scammed?   Meh, I don’t know.

Are you smart? 🧠   I know that I used to be but I really don’t feel smart these days.

What color is your dresser?   Like a grey/white color.

If applicable, what color was the dress you wore to your very first Homecoming Dance? 💃 I didn’t go to homecoming. My school didn’t even have a dance for the longest time.

When was the last time you purchased something from a bakery? 🧁 I don’t know.

….and what was it that you purchased? –

What is your computer’s desktop background?   Sand dunes I think? Idk what it is.

When was the last time you used washi tape, and what did you use it for?   Never used it.

List three big cities you have visited and would love to visit again.   San Antonio, Austin, NYC.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you with your life?   1.

What brings you joy? Hmmm, money.

What’s your most cherished memory?   Being a child.

Do you believe in God? Why or why not?   Something like that.

Were you named after anyone, and if so, who?   Nope.

When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper? 📝   Years ago.

Which spelling do you use for the color: gray or grey?   I use both interchangeably.

Who has hurt you the most?   IDK.

Who or what is your happy place?   Bed? Idk.

If you could erase horrible memories, what memory would you erase?   Ugh, so many.

When was the last time you cried?   A few days ago.

If you could go anywhere in the world right now (all expenses paid), where would you go?   Hmmmmm Germany.

How do you feel at the moment?   Sick, tired, bored, hopeless.

Do you believe that you’re a strong person?   No.

What’s your biggest dream? To be happy.

Paintings or digital pictures?   Either? Depends, I guess.

Are you scared to love?   Kinda.

What’s your biggest fear? Losing loved ones, failure.

Are you afraid of heights?   Yes.

Are you in love?   Hmm.

Do you prefer a bright or dark room?   Depends.

Have you ever danced in the rain? ☔️ 💃   Yeah.

Do you have a good relationship with your parents?   I guess so.

Have you ever cried because you were so happy?   Yeah.

Books or movies? Movies.

[i-write-shakespeare-not-disney]

Trust the process u.u colors aren't finalized and I still need to shade and highlight and tweak plus the background but this is all I did today bc I got caught up watching Elemental lol

Plus!

@brainrot-central gets their cookie for guessing the scene! (Their goodbye kiss)

Coming soon

[onigiri-dorkk]

Wow. I went ham today. Now, I finished up mf Gojo Satoru!!! This one was fun!

Transparency: this one I traced a lot of it from a frame, just cuz I wanted to simply have fun with drawing Gojo! It's also an easy way to get acquainted with a character's features/characteristics and stuff! I wish I was more knowledgable with fabrics and all to be able to do this on my own LOL. Since I traced I wanted to put more effort into coloring, color matching to the frame, shading/lighting, eye detail, etc. that I normally don't try to keep clean lol. So fun!! Added the purple hue as an ode to his power and did a cloudy night type of background.

I still can't wait to post the RM drawing I finished earlier today too LOL that's 3 drawings in a day, heLP

[krakenartificer]

When I got my ADHD diagnosis, I looked at the questions on the screening form and thought, "If this result comes back positive, then I'm definitely not the only person in my family who has it." Questions like

"Have difficulty finishing one activity before starting another one" and

"I finish others' sentences before they can finish it themselves" and

"have trouble staying on one topic when talking"

...I thought were just weird quirks of my family, but no. When I got my results, I contacted my cousin, and she contacted her sisters and mother, and .. .. yeah. Basically everyone in my dad's side of the family is ADHD.

Now there are some problems with that, obviously, (getting family reunions to stick to a schedule is lol no) but there are some really fantastic perks. For one thing, no one in that family minds if I interrupt them while they're talking ... everyone's happy to keep 3 conversations going at the same time .... and no one minds if you fidget constantly.

But the best perk -- at least that I've found so far -- is that all of our parents have coping mechanisms, and passed them on to us. When I found myself unable to handle tasks with more than one step, my father didn't say "WTF are you talking about? It's easy! Just do the thing! Stop being lazy!" No, he could relate completely, and he sat down and taught me how to handle that.

So today, I'm going to pass on to you the coping mechanism my dad taught me for handling the "cannot put tasks in order / cannot get started / forget what I'm doing" problem. You'll need to adjust it for your own needs and your own struggles, but hopefully it'll be helpful in setting up your own process.

I'm going to walk through it with a big project I'm doing at work, just to have a concrete example. That will make some of the discussion specific to computer programming and technical writing, but I do the same thing for all my projects, so hopefully it'll be generalizable.

So to set the stage:

I was supposed to modify this piece of code -- we'll call it "Rosetta" -- to make it handle call data as well as what it was already doing. I did that.... but we now need the code to be able to handle calls (if that's wanted) but also to be able to handle NOT having calls (if THAT'S wanted).

Which is just .... ugh. So much. SOOOOOOOO much.

So. Break it down.

Step one is to get some recording mechanism - pen and paper, whiteboard, blank computer document, whatever

(Technically, this is a different coping strategy, so we'll just take a quick detour: WRITE THINGS DOWN. Your brain is shit at remembering things, and anyway you've already got limits on your working memory; why would you choose to tie up some of that limited resource in something that could be accomplished with literal stone-age technology? Don't even try to remember things. WRITE THEM DOWN.)

I like sticky notes: they're readily available in all offices, they're pretty cheap, and (most importantly) they can be rearranged if it turns out that I forgot a step or put the steps in the wrong order (which, like, let's be honest, I am definitely going to do). But they kill trees and create unnecessary methane emissions, so I've recently switched over to using virtual sticky notes. That's the format I'm going to use for this example, but you can use anything that meets your purposes.

So, you've got something to write with, you're ready to start.

The first question is: what are you trying to accomplish here? What would "done" look like? What is our goal?

I need to end up with a version of Rosetta that will make the correct results if you don't want calls, and will also make the correct results if you do.

The goal here is that you end up with a statement that you can definitively say (a) Yes this is what I wanted or (b)No this is not right because _______

In this case, in order to do that, I'll need to define "correct results" for both call- and non-call versions. But if I have that nailed down, then this statement meets that criterion: I'll be able to say "Yes, this is what I wanted: see, it makes the correct result for calls, and it makes the correct result for not-calls". Or else I'll be able to say, "No, this is wrong: see, it makes the correct result for calls, but on not-calls it does X and we wanted Y."

I have a clear, definitive standard about what I need to do and whether or not I've done it.

But there was a prerequisite there: I need to define "correct results".

So that goes on a sticky note: Create test that will compare my results to existing call!Rosetta-results and to existing not-call!Rosetta-results.

[ID: Two blue boxes, one on top of the other. The top one says in white text "Create test to compare my results to call!results" The bottom one says "Create test to compare my results to not-call!results"] OK. So now we know what we want. The second question is: what do we need to do in order to get that? Here's where the sticky-note recording system really shines, because you don't have to answer this question sequentially. You just start writing down every single thing that is not the way you want it to end up.

I need it to remove commas in the python script, not the bash script

I need to delete the first part of the get_runs() function, which doesn't do anything

I need to delete the rest of the parameters passed to build_query_script() function, because runs encompasses all the others

while we're on that subject, runs doesn't even need the group_variable, so let's pull that out of the parameter document

we also have a dmf defined, which the bash script demands but doesn't use; let's change that demand

since we're changing the structure of the parameter document, we don't need to pull new metrics for each run, so let's move that outside of the runs() loop and only run once

right now the parameter document is ALMOST but not quite "one row per template". Make it so it's actually one row per template.

among other things, that's going to require making it possible for a template to be followed by nothing at all, since it's the assumption that a template will have a metrics block after it that makes it not quite one row per template. So make it possible to publish a template with a null block

the other thing that's weirdly hard-coded is the definition of what a block looks like. Would it make more sense to separate that out into an input file, like the parameters document? On the one hand, that would make it much more flexible; on the other hand, that's another piece that can break. Don't know. Put a question mark on it.

etc

Here's what it looks like at the end of this step:

[ID: A black and white background showing many boxes in two different shades of blue, all with white text. Some of the boxes are overlapping each other.]

As you can see, at this phase you don't need to worry about any of the following:

ordering the tasks. Just stick 'em right on top of each other for now

how you're going to do any of this. Right now we just need to know what, not how

sticking to only one project. As I was working on this, it occurred to me that this whole process would have been a heck of a lot easier if someone had just made a user manual for this, and since I have to go through all the code line-by-line anyway, I might as well write up the documentation while I'm at it. (To help out future-me, if nothing else.) So I put those tasks on another color of sticky note.

making notes that make any ***ing sense to anyone else. This process is for you, and only you need to understand what you're talking about it. Phrase it in ways that make sense to your brain, and to hell with anyone else.

on that topic, also don't worry about making steps that are "too small" or "too dumb" to write down. This is for you. If "save document" feels like a step to you, then write it down.

You also don't need to get every single step involved in the project right now. Get as many as you can, to be sure, but the process is designed on the assumption that you ARE going to forget important steps, and is designed to handle that.

When you can't think of any more steps, then the third question is: what order does it make sense to do these in? Are there any steps that would be easier if you did another step first? Are there any that literally cannot be done unless another step is complete?

This is also a good place to group steps if they fit together nicely. When I used physical sticky notes, I used two different sizes; digitally I can of course make them whatever size I want.

So I have several documentation steps that (a) do need to be written to make sense to other people and (b) I really need to know what's going on before I can do that. I could write them now, but if I did, I'd just end up re-writing them based on things that change as I'm coding. So we'll move those to the end:

[ID: Three dark blue boxes with white text. They read "Create step-by-step instructions for creating your own metric agg", "Create step-by-step instructions for modifying a metric", "Create step-by-step instructions for modifying a query."]

These parts, though -- if I had all the variable structures written down, I could look at them while I'm coding. Then I won't have to keep scrolling back and forth in the code, trying to remember if it's an array or a dictionary while also trying to remember what part of the code I was working on. Brilliant. Move that to the front.

[ID: Seven dark blue boxes with white text, three large, four small. The first one is large and says "Write up explanation of how Rosetta works." The second one is large and says "Document structure of all variables." Attached to that one are four smaller boxes that say "All_blocks", "Runs", "metric", "New_block". The third large one says "Document what qb_parameters.csv contains"]

Also, while I'm at it, I should get the list of variables I need to document -- then I won't have to keep scrolling to find them. Make those sub-steps.

I definitely keep needing to look up what's in the parameters document, so I should write that down, too. For the user manual I also should write down what's in the metric document, but I don't need that for myself, so I can send that to the end.

[ID: The same three dark blue boxes from two screenshots ago (create step-by-step instructions for metric agg, modifying a metric, and modifying a query), now with another dark blue box in front of them with white text that says "Document what granular_metrics.tsv contains."]

These five are all small steps, and are all related in that they don't actually (hopefully) change the functionality of the code; they're just stuff left over from prior versions of this code. So we can lump them all together.

[ID: Five light blue boxes with white text that say "Delete first part of get_runs()", "Have build_query_script only receive the "run" parameter" "Delete dmf" "Move metrics=get_metrics() outside build_all_blocks (all the way up to the top level?" "Delete group_variable from qp_parameters"]

My brain likes this better, so that I can keep track of fewer "main steps", but that's just a peculiarity of me -- you should lump and split however you prefer to make this process easier for you.

[ID: The same five boxes from the prior screenshot, now all made smaller and attached to a larger box that says "Remove Legacy Code"]

Keep going, step by step, sticky by sticky, until you've got them in order. If -- while you're doing this -- you remember another thing you need to do, write it on a sticky and slap it on the pile; you don't have to stop what you're doing to deal with it, because it's written down and it's on the pile and it will get processed; you can just keep working on the thing you're on right now.

[ID: All the same boxes from the first screenshot, now in a neat row. Some of the original boxes have been grouped together. The ones that were said to be at the beginning of the process are on the left and the ones that were said to be at the end are on the right.]

Step four: for the love of all that's holy, SAVE THIS LIST.

Write it on your cubicle whiteboard where it won't be erased

write it on a piece of paper and tape it to the office wall

send an email to yourself

take a picture with your phone

I don't care but save it.

When I used physical sticky notes, I kept them all on the hood of my cubicle's shelf. Now, as you can see, I use Powerpoint, which is irritating af but does allow me to keep everything in a single document, which I can write down the path of.

[ID: White text on a black background says "open ~/Documents/Rosetta\ Modifications\ and \Documentation.pptx" The next line says "Notes in Rocketbook pg 10-12, 16" The next line says "Turn that into documentation that can be used for making modifications."]

And now (finally) you can answer the question "How would I even get started on that?" You look at the first thing on the list, and you treat it as its own project. You can hyperfocus on this step and completely forget about everything else this project requires, because everything you need to remember for the rest of it is written down.

If, as you're working a step, you think of something else you need to do for the big project, write it on a sticky and slap it on the pile. Don't even worry about trying to order it or identify sub-steps; as long as it's not blocking the thing you need to work on right now, you don't have to care. Just stick that bugger anywhere at all on the list, and go back to what you were doing. When you un-hyperfocus and come back to look at your list, there'll be a big sticky note stuck sideways across all the rest of the steps, and you'll remember to file and order it then.

Other benefits of this system

1) The first question really helps with unclear directions from your boss. You can take whatever they told you to do, and translate it into a requirement that is clearly either met or not-met, and then run it back by the boss.

If they say, "No, no, we want ______" then phew! You just saved a huge miscommunication and weeks of wasted work! What a good employee you are! What an excellent team player with strong communication skills!

If they say "Yes, that's what I want," then you know -- for sure -- what it is you're trying to accomplish. Your anxiety is reduced, and your boss thinks you're super-conscientious.

(And if your boss is a jerk who likes to move the goalposts and blame it on their subordinates, then have this conversation over email, so you can show it to their boss or to HR should it become necessary.)

2) Having this project map means that when you spend an hour staring at the requirements and trying to figure out how to get started (which, let's be honest, you were definitely going to do anyway) ... When your boss/coworker comes by and says, "How's it going?" Instead of having to say "I haven't even started 😞" You can say, "Pretty well! I've got all the steps mapped out and am getting ready to start on implementation!" and show them your list, and they think you're very organized and meticulous. 3) Sometimes, especially in corporate jobs, you and your coworkers will run into a problem that's too big for even Neurotypicals to hold all in their heads. At that point, the NTs will be completely lost -- they've never had to develop a way to handle projects they can't just look at and know how to get started. So then you pipe up in the meeting and say, "OK, well, what exactly are we trying to accomplish?" and everybody at the conference table looks at you like you're a goddamned genius and you don't have to tell them that you use this exact same process to remember how to make a sandwich 😅

4) Having this project map makes it so much easier to stop work and then start it up again later, but this post is already really really really long, so I'm going to address that in a separate (really really long) post.

[battlinghurricanes]

Gradient Map Tutorial

Quick art tutorial today, hope it turns out helpful! I'm going to do a quick overview of how I use gradient maps because I swear by them as a way to really quickly add good looking color to drawings you don't actually want to color lol

So here we go!

Here's our example ball to help us. I colored it really nicely didn't I? Actually, I didn't color at all, here's what I drew.

What I did was add a gradient map layer on top of this. This is the gradient and I had the layer at 50% opacity

I'm using Clip Studio Paint, I know Photoshop also has gradient maps, and I'm sure a lot of other programs do too. In CSP, under Layer> New Correction Layer> Gradient Map you'll get this menu.

Essentially, what this does is that it take the range of values in your drawing and assigns these colors to them, the colors on the left are applied to the darkest values, and the colors on the right apply to the lightest. I drew my ball just with black and white, but this works the same way if your drawing has colors. You can use that to get some different effects. And you can go crazy with these gradients.

Here's a couple examples of how I've used these in my art.

This is using the first gradient I used on the ball at 25% opacity. (You can color pick from any of these gradients)

I used two gradients for this one, to get the characters looking different from the background. Here's how I set it up.

One thing to note is that the gradient maps do affect all the layers below it. So here, the cooler colored gradient on top is affecting the layers where I shaded the characters.

This is a bit hard to explain, but since the gradient maps use the range of values in your drawing, it doesn't work the same way with transparency. Using the ball example, I only drew with black, the darker and lighter shades just come from my brush strokes being more or less opaque. So that layer of shading needs to be on top of the solid white layer I have (though it can be any color) for the shading to then be interpreted as a range of values. Here's what it looks like with the gradient map on, but the white background layer turned off.

I changed the gradient to show it clearer, but it will apply the color on the left (since I was using black) to my drawing, but it won't use that full range of colors. So, if you want to have a gradient map just on your line art and none of the layers below it, for example, it doesn't really work like that. Though you can switch things up to get an effect like that, such as putting your other layers above both the line art and gradient map layers and then setting them to multiply.

So hopefully that all makes sense! I highly recommend playing with gradient maps and making gradients you like. It's a great way to add some quick colors when you're like me and never ever want to color!!!

[5uptic]

crewfu: fanfic spotlight :)

Angel of Life, Bringer of Death by woofles1990 (5up/Steve, teen rating, gen | 377 words, chaptered WIP)

Summary: Steve and Dk just wanted to explore a dungeon. That's all they wanted! A certain angel clearly had other plans.

flashover by Anonymous (Apollo & 5up, teen rating, gen | 853 words)

Summary: n. the moment a conversation becomes real and alive, which occurs when a spark of trust shorts out the delicate circuits you keep insulated under layers of irony, momentarily grounding the static emotional charge you've built up through decades of friction with the world. OR: it's pretty stupid to sleep on the tiles of a subway station, even though you are well aware you have a home. It's also quite embarrassing to have a friend pick you up from there.

Sparks Fly by Rocketro (5up/Fundy, gen rating, m/m | 863 words)

Summary: 5up and Fundy watch fireworks together.

you're holding back (shut up and dance with me) by lytriis (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 1.2k words)

Summary: 5up and steve dance.

what happens in Vegas by aphilologicalbatman (Apollo/Steve, explicit rating, m/m | 1.4k words)

Summary: "I'm pretty sure this is a bad idea, Steve." "Nah, this is a great idea, dude." (Or: the one where they hook up in Vegas.)

quiet when i'm coming home by homeward_bound (5up/Hafu/David, teen rating, gen & multi | 1.4k words)

Summary: 5up comes home from LA.

i could peel it for you by sweetlikesugr (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 2k words)

Summary: One appletini at a time, 5up ponders about oranges, buttons and celestial bodies.

from blossoms by 5280ft (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 2k words)

Summary: “O, to take what we love inside, to carry within us an orchard, to eat not only the skin, but the shade, not only the sugar, but the days, to hold the fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite into the round jubilance of peach. There are days we live as if death were nowhere in the background; from joy to joy to joy, from wing to wing, from blossom to blossom to impossible blossom, to sweet impossible blossom.” -Li-Young Lee, From Blossoms

you think that i'm foolish now by amsves (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 2.1k words)

Summary: “Is everything okay?” That’s a stupid question and Steve knows it. If everything was okay, Five wouldn’t be randomly appearing at his hotel room at—Steve checks his phone—2:37 in the morning. Their group had split up for the night a few hours ago, uncharacteristically early for them, but Five had had plans to talk to—

Like you wouldn't notice by Anonymous (Apollo/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 2.1k words)

Summary: Apollo is having feelings, so he pushes them down and hopes Steve doesn't notice. Avoiding Steve was never going to end well. "From that moment on, Apollo becomes hyper-aware of all things Steve. The way his long leg touches his, hip-to-knee, in the bar booth when they're drinking overpriced cocktails."

Vegas Lights by amethystvxidwalker (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 2.3k words)

Summary: “You were planning on actually swimming with me, right?” Steve faced him, brown eyes and dopey grin almost making Five swoon. He forced himself to focus on Steve’s face rather than the black ink above his hip, small, blocky text that read ‘SUGR?’ because of course it did.

ice-cream-covered screaming hyperactive thought by cj__writes (Apollo/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 2.5k words)

Summary: Apollo isn’t sure when, exactly, he fell in love with Steve. Maybe, just maybe, he thinks, he never really fell. Maybe, he’s been falling. He’s still falling.

u spilled orange on u by SmearedWords (Apollo/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 3.1k words)

Summary: Five times Dumbdog thinks Steve is illegally attractive and the one time he tries to admit that to him. Keyword: tries.

My love is the evening breeze touching your skin by tumtummeke (Apollo & Steve, general rating, gen | 5.2k words)

Summary: Steve's love language is physical touch. Dumbdog's is... not that. A day at the beach with Steve and Dumbdog (and background crewfu), told in five touches.

be like the love that discovered sin by Qupid (Apollo/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 5.6k words)

Summary: It’s annoying because Apollo even left for work a whole hour early today, which should be enough time to get to his shitty office job like everyone else on the train, but unlike everyone else, Apollo also has a second job. Which leads to the last reason why Apollo is having a bad day: being pinned under an overturned car while a villain monologues at him. Well, that last reason isn’t really part of Apollo’s bad day, but sue him if he wants to include the misfortunes of his hero identity Dumbdog while listing the reasons for his bad mood. “I don’t have time for this, Suptic,” Apollo grits out, interrupting the villain’s monologue.

friends in this town by 5280ft (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 6.1k words)

Summary: Five only realizes he’s bitten his nails down to the quick when the sting of pain catches up to him. He’s probably overthinking. He just needs to talk to Hafu. That’s all. ...He doesn’t want to. He’s worried he will only hear an answer he’ll hate. Out back, putting off talking to his sister really gives Five a sense of deja vu. All he needs to complete the feeling is Steve. “You need to relax, man.” Speak of the devil.

this party's just another haunted house by cj__writes (Apollo/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 7.7k words, chaptered WIP)

Summary: On December 31st, Apollo wakes up in his hotel in Vegas. The problem is, it's always December 31st.

call me by your name (i don't know that's pretty gay) by Qupid (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 10k words)

Summary: “Oh!” The human suddenly exclaimed, “You probably want my name!” Five had no interest in holding the power of a name over a human, it always seemed more trouble than it was worth, “Not particu-” “I’m Steve! It’s a pleasure to meet someone as cute as you.” The human, Steve, interrupted before 5up could finish. 5up’s eyes widened as he felt the power of gaining a name rush through him.  It was intoxicating and he could see why some fae would frequently come to the human realm just to trick humans into giving up their names. Five hadn’t needed to trick Steve, the man had given up his name freely and Five couldn’t believe how goddamn stupid he was to do it. “Ohhhh my god you’re an idiot.”

you'll hear me howling outside your door by Qupid (Apollo/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 22.2k words)

Summary: Something warm blew against Steve’s face and, distantly, he heard a high pitched whine. A nudge, and when Steve ignored it, a more insistent push had him opening his eyes to the face of a wolf mere inches from his own. Steve laughed. How delightful!  He was hallucinating animals now. The wolf’s fur looked bright to him, but even with as dark as it was Steve could tell it wasn’t white. Maybe it was more of a sandy color. Not that it mattered when all Steve could focus on was its piercing gaze and how its eyes seemed to bore into his soul. The wolf whined again and nudged Steve in the shoulder with its nose, making the man rear back when he realized that this might actually be a real wolf and not a hallucination at all.

kinda good for my love by sweetlikesugr (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 44.7k words, chaptered)

Summary: 5up can’t really recall the exact moment when dares became his and Steve’s thing and he is not sure if he even wants to try - after all, why would you mess with something that feels so natural, that feels so right? Why not just let it take its course and see where it might lead them?

Also: mangoedges‘s 5up the human impostor collection!

FAQ:

Wait what is this: pretty straight to the point! i’ll regularly share crewfu-related fanfictions to this blog :)

How regularly is “regularly”?: great question! LOL. it depends on the flow of fanfics that get uploaded, which i do not have any control over, but i’m looking forward to do this twice a month. after all, it’s only me doing this and i often run on a tight schedule.

What’s the format like?:

[title of fic with link] by [author of the fic with link] ([main pairing(s)], [fic rating: eg, general rating], [relationship: eg, m/m] | [word count in k], [added prompt to specify if it’s complete or not])

Summary: [summary provided by the author. if it doesn’t have a summary, a “No summary” prompt will be put instead]

(What does WIP mean again?): Work In Progress :)

Why are you doing this?: from the beginning, my blog has hosted conversations about RPF (real people fiction) and crewfu pairings. this has evolved into people sending me updates about certain fics in the crewfu tags every now and then, but i wanna take the next step and just do these things myself. after all, i’m already lurking in the tags often to see the fics that get posted. as someone who is both a writer and a reader, i wanna appreciate fanfic writers and help out other people that want to read fanfic and consume more fandom content!

Will it be AO3 only?: well, ao3 has a very helpful tag system that makes finding fics incredibly easy, as well as allowing people with no accounts to like and comment on fics, so that’s the site i will personally look in for fanworks. but if there are any fics you’ve written or liked in any other platforms, such as wattpad, you can always contact me through my inbox (send an ask or a dm!), and i’ll make sure to include for the next fanfic spotlight :)

Does it mean you won’t reply to fic asks anymore?: yeah, i guess. since i’ll be doing the searching myself it seems counterproductive. but if i ever skip a fic or again, it’s in another platform, or you’ve posted/read the fic a while ago and you want to get more traction on it, hit me up and i’ll take it into consideration!

Will you read every single one of the fics on your list?: oh no. again, i run on a tight schedule, and also i have my own taste when it comes to fics. i won’t be reviewing fics or any of the sort, and my intention extends to simply sharing these fics to this page so people will have easier access to them :) that’s where ao3 tagging becomes SUPER useful!!!

So what’s the criteria for the way you’ll sort out the fics in your list?: word count, going from lowest to highest. in case of fics in other platforms, i guess i’ll put them at the top of the list. i’ll also be looking for fairly recent fics, so let me know if you want any old-ish fic to be included.

I see you talking mostly about 5up/Steve and Steve/Apollo. Can I still send/see other crewfu fics?: why yes absolutely! my goal is to push every fic which heavily features regular crewfu characters - 5uptic and supdog just happen to be very popular pairings. so, to give you a list: core 4 (5up, hafu, dk, steve), apollo, aipha, annie, janet, kimi, ellum, koji… you know the drill. it doesn’t have to be centered on a relationship, or about 5up in specific, etc. my only requirement is that any of the previously mentioned members are a central part of the fic or are HEAVILY featured in it (sorry, minecraft fics with 50+ tags who only mention 5up as an afterthought won’t make the cut :/).

Isn’t shipping Bad™?: well, it’s a little more nuanced than that. i will go out of my way to discourage and shame people who often violate CCs’ boundaries by acting like so and so has a crush on this person, or that this and that are Actually Into Each Other or secretly dating. any sort of tinhat bullshit is a big nono (think larries). but i run on the assumption that people who write rpf understand that what they’re doing is simply write a completely fictional story using real life personalities, and understand the boundaries necessary to do it - aka they’re not tinhats, they understand they can’t assume everything about CCs’ thoughts and personalities, they understand that what they’re writing is strictly fiction, they keep these works only in fandom circles, etc. (but again, it’s only one me doing this, so please be kind if i don’t happen to know that this person is Actually a tinhat or whatever).

show fic: NO. (seriously. i don’t feel comfortable putting my ao3 account out there. please respect my privacy on these trying times <3)

I REALLY don’t care about your rpf/fic talk: fair! i’ll be tagging every single one of these posts as “fanfic spotlight”, so just mute the tag using tumblr settings so you’ll never have to look at these! likewise, you can follow the tag if you want to keep up with it, or search it on my blog to look at the other entries you might have missed.

Hey, my fic is here and I don’t feel comfortable with it being shared over here: no problem! let me know as soon as you can and i’ll take it down <3