#and it reflecting heavily in her art style and character design

[zinzabee]

A Message for the RotTMNT Fans

For everyone who is afraid of drawing Rise Raph because of his large body type and proportions, I am here to give you this message: I promise you, I would much rather see you try your best effort and it look a little wonky than for you to exclude him entirely from your art and doodles.

The reason I am able to draw Raph as well as I am right now is because I learned how to draw fat/muscular/chubby body anatomy in my early art career. But it's really never too late to start practicing! I encourage you, I implore you even, to take a few small steps out of your comfort zone for a bit and see where it takes you. If you want to draw him (or any favorite character from a piece of media you love, really) but are intimidated because of their size being abnormal from the thin/skinny, I want you to know that it's okay to be scared. What's not okay is giving up, quitting, or not even trying to attempt their bigger proportions at all. Because then that will bleed over into the rest of your art style/mentality, and there are aspects of your art that you may never improve on because of that. You don't know until you try.

I know it may feel awkward at first, and you may be intimidated by the pressure of getting it right, less anyone make fun of you or you get caught by peers or non-artists and be judged. Trust me, I know. I have been there! It's not a pleasant experience. But if you want to get better as an artist, you need to learn different body types. You need to unlearn the internal fatphobia that society has ingrained into your brain. You need to free yourself and allow yourself to make mistakes as you learn and practice to get better.

Raph is such a wonderful character and he deserves just as much love as all the other brothers, but I've talked to so many artists who all repeat the same thing; "He's so hard to draw." "I can't get his shapes quite right." "I don't draw him that much because I'm intimidated." You are 100% valid for these feelings, I promise. But I think it's for these reasons that you should draw him anyway, and learn his shapes, and learn to draw larger bodies and bigger muscles, because it helps you grow as an artist. And besides that, representation matters. I know there's plenty of fans out there who would love to see more representation like Raph.

So go for it. Even if you're scared. Even if you're unsure. Give yourself a little grace if you wanna draw that big lovable turtle, and do your best. And when it comes down to it, I bet that if he was real and you showed it to him, he'd love it and appreciate the effort no matter what. <3

[narfin-frood]

Hi! I'm a big fan of your art, and I just wanted to know, did you study the WOY art style? I'm asking because the way you draw each character, Hater especially, is so expressive! Do you have any tips with expressions? Thank you!

thank you so much!! and to kinda answer your question: while what i do is, technically, studying, that's not what it feels like. i genuinely just enjoy looking at character sheets. a lot of the time they'll include little notes about things you wouldn't think about unless you're told to, like wander's eyes typically angling towards each other at the bottom or sylvia's eyes obscuring the full width of her neck.

(i have any one of these open in my reference panel almost always! not only are these full of tips & tricks for your everyday sketching, they're full of rules for each character, which are meant to be broken in interesting and fun ways.)

[im gonna pack a bunch of other, tangentially related tips and tricks and thoughts into the readmore, including my personal breakdown of hater's expressions specifically, so feel free to give it a click. long post ahead]

a lot of stuff can be picked up by just watching the cartoon as many times as you want. i have watched every episode (minus big fucking baby episode, which i hate) like 6 times over, sometimes more (looking at you the rager), and that has definitely solidified my wander over yonder visual library.

also, wander over yonder's art style already fits in with the way i draw, because i LOVEE long curvy lines and super crisp & clear silhouettes!!

as for why/how i get hater so expressive.... that mainly has to do with the fact that i think he's So Cute. He's So Cute and i wanna Squash Him. and his character design reflects that!!!

his hood is his eyebrow and his eyes may or may not be rolling around in their sockets, and his nose is a little upside down heart. but all of the lord hater emotion is stored in the chin. lord hater has a bunch of specific and VERY malleable options for mouth shapes, depending on what makes the expression and lipsync look clearest.

you can keep it super simple, with a clear divide between his top and bottom jaw, and do several round bumps for teeth, which they do a lot when tweening, like this:

this kind of seems to be his default state, depending heavily on the episode and when it was made and who was drawing him the most, of course.

you can also keep his jaw and skull distinct, but keep his teeth straight and flush with each other, which helps for sharper expressions, esp. anger or frustration, but can also work for a good "squee". he also sometimes pouts so hard his chin eats his mouth, which is, again, cute.

if you're having trouble keeping an expression clear while also maintaining the distinction between his jaw and the rest of his skull, it's pretty common also to forego most of the overt skeleton bits, save for a few hatch marks to indicate teeth (sometimes squiggles or bumps, when he's yelling about it). in my head i affectionately refer to this style of hater expression as the "peanut sans"

none of these convey the intensity of emotion you're looking for? fear not, you can also always just go Full Skeleting. and give his teeth a full outline. this is great for Pain and Strain and Nefariousness.

and then there are a million expressions in between and possibilities within these parameters beyond your wildest belief. nothing should hold you back from a really fucked-up lord hater expression. not proportion. not structure. ESPECIALLY not symmetry. please. make his chin bigger. make his head bigger. make one eye bigger. make him look in two different directions. scrunch his nose up. whatever it takes. by all means. i implore you to have fun

(honorable mention. his W face. the face when he says the consonant W. sometimes OO. i'm. obsessed. with it . he looks. kity)

anyway. lord hater tangent aside. i could also share my own process for expressions, but it really just hinges on what looks appealing/what i like the most/what communicates the emotion i want to communicate the clearest, and it varies between characters and people.

it helps to, again, build your visual library, and look at lots and lots of funny faces, both in real life and in cartoons you like. make funny faces in the mirror and try to focus on what parts of your face change shape or interact with other parts of your face when you do something like smile really wide or drop your jaw. your skin is taut, and there's a bunch of muscle and fat attached to your bones, so when one big bone moves, a bunch of muscles and fat under the surface will shift around too, and understanding that relationship is really helpful in the long run, both for drawing real people and for drawing cartoons.

and the easiest way to retain information like that is to have fun while you study. stop thinking of it as studying and start thinking of it as gathering information on this thing you like a lot and want to do more of, like when you scroll through someone's account to look at all their art, and just. do more of that. do more exploring and observing. since animation is my special interest, this part is pretty easy for me, but it does still take practice to get into that mindset, especially when you convince yourself you have to be super strict and rigid to make it in the art world. focus on drawing and observing what makes YOU happy first, and everything else will follow.

and don't worry about taking notes. don't worry about remembering everything you look at. just look at things you like, and think about them for longer than you usually would. think about the shapes and colors. what makes that drawing so darn appealing to you, besides subject matter and the vague concept of an "artstyle"? you'll be surprised just how abstract what appeals to you can be. for me, with expressions especially, it comes down to random shit like "i like when the edge of a character's mouth creates a tangent with the outline of their head" instead of "pretty eyes" or other, vaguer elements. and that shit i like becomes a part of my artstyle, but only when it fits in and looks appealing, because you can't do stuff like this in every single drawing & retain a full range of expression

ANYway. i hope this made some sense/helped at least a little. i like lord hater a lot. and i also like to draw

[sociavoidance]

A Thorough Analysis of Ai Yazawa's NANA

"The dreams we are chasing and the reality that is chasing us are always parallel; they never meet."

Nana is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa. The story set in Tokyo, revolves around two 20 year-old women with the same given name - "Nana".

Nana Komatsu Nana Osaki

Nana Osaki, an independent, ambitious, and outspoken woman, meets a naive, dependent, and talkative Nana Komatsu (often referred to as Hachi) when she moves to Tokyo after turning twenty. Although they are completely opposite in terms of character and personality, they share a common goal: to discover themselves and the true meaning of love and happiness. 

Storytelling and Compelling Characters

At its core, "Nana" encompasses dynamics of human relationships, exploring themes such as identity, sacrifice, and aspirations or dreams. What sets it apart from other shoujo manga or anime is the complexity of each character in the story. As a 13-year-old, I was surprised by the depth of humanity portrayed in the characters. Yazawa presented the audience with a set of characters navigating difficult situations with utmost honesty, avoiding any romanticized portrayal which makes it relatable for young adults going through their own transformations.

Art Style

Aside from the story itself, Ai Yazawa skillfully renders emotions through subtle facial expressions and body language allowing readers to connect with the characters on an emotional basis, adding narrative depth. Her precise linework, expressive character designs, and intricate attention to details makes her work standout and enough reason to be a source of inspiration for others (including myself).

Yazawa seeks inspiration through a variety of sources, including fashion, music and pop culture. She adorns her characters with outfits and hairstyles, reflecting the trends and subcultures of contemporary Japanese society. She draws inspiration from her own life experiences and observations, reflecting her love for music, through depictions of concerts, recording studios and backstage interactions.

Fashion in Nana: Vivienne Westwood

The distinct personalities of Nana Osaki and Nana Komatsu shine through their contrasting clothing styles: one punk and edgy, the other casual and feminine. It is evident that fashion plays an important secondary role in the stylistic choices. Despite dropping out of fashion school, Yazawa draws on her industry knowledge to skillfully convey her characters' emotions through clothing in her work.

Nana Osaki wearing Vivienne Westwood's "Armour Ring"

Nana is heavily influenced by Vivienne Westwood. The logo, also known as The Orb of Vivienne Westwood, is a combination of Saturn's rings and the sovereign orb of the English monarchy, and is one of the brand's most memorable elements. The symbol of Nana Osaki's rebellious nature is evident throughout "Nana," notably in the first episode where she wears the "Armour Ring." This accessory reflects her desire for protection from the challenges of the external world, setting the tone for her character's personality.

Nana Osaki wearing Vivienne Westwood Fall 1994 

Nana Osaki wearing Vivienne Westwood's 'Super Elevated Gillie'

Nana Osaki's wardrobe is predominantly filled with pieces from Vivienne Westwood, showcasing her strong connection to the punk community. She often reuses and styles these pieces in various iconic ways, serving as an inspiration for self-expression through fashion choices.

Ren Honjo: An Imitation of Sid from Sex Pistol

Ren Honjo and Nana Osaki

Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen

Nana Osaki and Ren Honjo are often compared to the infamous couple Sid Vicious from Sex Pistols and Nancy Spungen. Ren's intense love for Nana mirrors Sid's obsession with Nancy. Additionally, Ren's fashion choices, such as his leather jacket and padlock necklaces, are reminiscent of Sid's style, as Vivienne Westwood designed pieces with Sid in mind. Malcolm McLaren, Westwood's partner and Sex Pistols manager, emphasizes this connection even more.

Ren Honjo Sid Vicious

Despite the intensity of Nana Osaki and Ren Honjo's relationship, Yazawa carefully avoids romanticizing their obsession through portraying their love as an unhealthy codependency.

Nana Komatsu: Personality and Style always changing

Nana Komatsu dressed in outfits reflecting the dream/ career she is chasing

Nana Komatsu, known by the nickname Hachi, is a typical Shoujo female character who lives a conventional life and is always looking for validation from her romantic partners. She often wears pastel-tones housewife-inspired dresses, reflecting her femininity and desire for male approval. She lacks ambitions and often changes jobs and wardrobe to become independent. Hachi's fashion sense evolves, reflecting her changing personality. She initially embraces a 70s bohemian art style in art school, then adopts Vivienne Westwood jewelry to fit in with Osaki and her bandmates. Hachi's style draws from Mori and Gyaru subcultures.

Final Thoughts

Whether exploring themes of love, friendship, or personal growth, Ai Yazawa's art serves as a powerful medium for storytelling, capturing the nuances of human emotions and relationships with honesty and authenticity. Yazawa inspires others to create something new and special from their own experiences. She does this with precision and patience.

[rennybu]

Hiii Andy! I've adore your art for years and your characters. Their designs are so lovely!! And expressive!! I was wondering if you had any tips for a cohesive character design? Or even advice on adding little asymmetrical details or features? And help is greatly appreciated! Thanks! Wishing you all the best!

HELLOO!!! AAAH Thank you so much for such a thoughtful question, this makes me so happy to hear! I'm so sorry it took me so long to get back to you, it turns out I have way too many things to say about this topic AKLSDHFKLSDG

(pls take this readmore<3)

For the starting point in a design, I try to stick to whatever rules apply for the setting the character is in, and their role in that setting.

Basic colour theory is always at the back of my mind, as well. I tend to use analogous and complementary colours when I design my characters and their closets. Analogous colours keep a palette contained and feeling similar to itself without being monotone. And then using colours that are complementary to that elsewhere in the design adds contrast while still maintaining that feeling of cohesion :D

The intended use of the character also heavily affects what can make a design cohesive or not - it's very dependent on art style and medium. (A design for use in animation would be extremely different from semi-realistic TTRPG concept art. The rest of what I've written skews more towards the second option!)

I consider the colours, shapes and materials that make sense for what I want to convey about the world, and how the character would want to be presented in it. The Dogwood characters are my current exercise; Mel's clothes fit him perfectly since he works a labor intensive job on the farm, and his identity is wrapped up in it so he never strays far from heavy cotton, straight cut. Ryan and Park both wear ill-fitting clothes in completely different ways (Ryan, butchly. Park, autistic and transly) - and they each have work uniforms. Ryan's work uniform suits her gnc appearance (welding coveralls/safety gear), while Park's uniform completely transforms him into "Just Some Guy" and that changes how others read him, too (cashier). And they all shop at Local Thrift Store / Farmer's Surplus / The Walmart 1hr Outside of Town. Their styles give them each a distinct silhouette, and their levels of social comfort as well as public expression contribute to body language, colour choices, and shapes that make them stand apart from each other despite living in the same small bubble. COHESION!

Asymmetrical details and features are my FAAAAV THEY ARE SO FUN, I find inspiration for these in people-watching, nature documentaries, architecture, my reflection, my friends.. <333 This part is also fun to tie in to the character's setting! Springboard questions like. Are they prone to injuries? Magical injuries? Do they have like, modern dental procedures available? Do they give a shit about crooked or crowded teeth? Are they missing a tooth, or did they chip one? Do they smile a lot and have crow's feet/other wrinkles? Do they get a lot of sun, and do they have/use sunscreen? (Even finer wrinkles.) Did they have acne as a teen? Do they still? Are they in a combat-heavy setting, with the scars to show it? Even more uniform features like freckles aren't symmetrical.

Clothing is really good to use to play with asymmetry - maybe the character rolls their cuffs but one is coming undone a little. Jewelry of all types is also great for asymmetry since it can go anywhere on the body!! Facial and other physical deformities or injuries are also incredible to see, and should be researched to find out if they impact other parts of a person's overall health and mobility outright. The different skin texture of a birthmark, for example! I noticed in certain photographs, the subject's red birthmark changed the texture of the skin, so I started drawing Orson with one drooping eyelid on the side affected by his birthmark. The more you look, the more you find!

Before I get too carried away. I try to use asymmetrical details and features as a way to boost that "world setting" cohesion, and to bring attention to parts of the character I am personally endeared by or want other people to notice. Mahon's snaggletooth is an eternal fav, which made me draw him smiling more, which made me more prone to drawing lines around his eyes. And since the anchor is in his left hand, and he tries to hide it subconsciously, I put thumb-holes in his left sleeves, which he plucks through as a nervous fidget, and as a result, his clothes pull a little across his entire body :D ITS VERY FUN to find the right jumping-off point that lets specific details click into place. For Mahon especially, since so many of those details are derived from the setting and his role in it!

Asymmetry and symmetry are just tools at ur disposal. Asymmetry tends to be more comfortable and natural. Symmetry gives a sense of stability and can be pushed for a sense of power, a sense of being uncanny, rigid, etc. Asymmetry can also be pushed into uncaniness depending on what it's applied to!! (But as a matter of personal taste, I find asymmetrical details to feel more natural and inviting than perfectly symmetrical ones. Which. Again. Depending on the character's purpose, could equally contribute to a cohesive design!!!)

OMG ok my final thought. Asymmetry can also be used as a balancing tool which yet again lends to a sense of cohesion. Adding a detail on the left while leaving it out on the right, repeated throughout with different details where applicable. Loam's colour spots, archery gear, scars and jewelry are all areas I've played with this idea.

[rappaccini]

gonna overthink some of the (gwen-specific) leaked insomniac concept art for the cancelled multiplayer game. (sourced from here)

first of all i'm just shooting the shit, don't take this as ~official~ or anything.

the great web game was, as far as we know, a multiplayer game with the basic premise of having various spider-heroes from different dimensions teaming up in various maps. these heroes would likely have been customizable, or at least gotten a few extra skins to choose from. additionally, players would have gotten to create original spidersonas. the game isn't spider-man 3, it was a separate experience. the same way miles morales wasn't sm2.

the game was being teased in ism2, with the collect-the-spider-bots sidequest and the delilah cameo. and it heavily features spider-gwen/ghost-spider/spider-woman/who knows what her codename would've been in the concept trailer and concept art, so she was going to be one of the major playable characters, if not maybe the de facto lead.

i'm only going off the concept art that was leaked. i'm fully aware that there was much more, so the emphasis on gwen in the art may not reflect the overall game, and may just be what the leaker had access to/wanted to show people, or what was complete at the time. regardless, i do think gwen's role would've been prominent.

costume / appearance designs

so this look didn't make it past the concept art stage, as far as we know. my best guess is that the game would've featured a customization option, so variations would've been a given.

still, there's clearly a cohesive aesthetic, silhouette and color palette for gwen in mind every time she's adapted: hood, with white-heavy arms and upper torso, black torso/legs, and a pop of blue on the feet, with hints of fuschia throughout. that's remained the universal baseline for any spider-gwen design because long as those elements are there, the design is recognizably spider-gwen, with room to play everywhere else.

it looks like they're drawing heavily from the athleisure corner of the gwen costume aesthetic triangle. there's so much of marvel rising gwen's aesthetic in the design, from the busier design of the legs and torso to the kinda redundant extra spider logo to the fuschia palms. the sneakers feel like a nod to marvel's spider-man gwen's design, which was the first full athleisure gwen. the teal's greener than usual, so that's a neat little deviation. this was also definitely coincidental but i like that look 1's gradient feet remind me of 617.

the mask variations are a neat idea. trying out dark lenses and adding webbing to the mask are new ideas, and the extra paint around the eye making it look like makeup, as well as the multicolored eye are fun little touches. i wonder if those were intended to be customizable too.

her hair is clearly taking after spiderverse gwen, with the side-part and length clearly referencing that look. the headband's right from the comics, and the teal streaks are a neat variation on marvel rising gwen's pink dye. interesting that there are no bangs.

so this is the model that keeps recurring in the rest of the concept art. it almost certainly wouldn't have made it to the finished game; its a recolored miles skin, being used as a stand-in for test footage and concept art, which would have been replaced with original designs in the finished product.

this miles skin was probably chosen because it has a hood, and they were so set on that silhouette that they needed to test it in action. and you can see them working within the skin's preexisting texture to experiment with the torso silhouette, and adding extra pink, marvel rising style, to gwen's body. again, the hood and basic color scheme are constants for a spider-gwen design. they're how you recognize her in a crowd.

the lack of blue shoes is a first, and you can really see how important they are at making gwen's design have a little extra pop. this is also the lightest her pink has been, which is a neat variation... but seeing it in concept art/the game trailer kind of proves why the darker fuschia/magenta works better: light pink washes out easily depending on the lighting.

the most interesting addition is the battle jacket. another recycled asset: that's hobie's jacket from the spider-punk skin, recolored. to get my ghostpunk bias out of the way, i'd love it to be a sign that gwen and hobie have a relationship of some kind, but this is not a ship nod; it's more placeholder design, because they wanted to reference gwen being a rock musician, which is clearly the characterization they're going with. so this design leans towards the rocker/punk corner of the spider-gwen design triangle.

later on, the itsv designs used in concept art will show that the ballerina corner of the design triangle's being tried too. so insomniac was exploring all the aesthetics spider-gwen's utilized through the years. it's possible the player could have chosen which they preferred for themselves via options for different skins. this is awesome.

also, it looks like the were playing with different art styles for the faces. check out the gwen concept art earlier; there are subtle differences in each face's style too. maybe they were going for something less photorealistic, or these were just very rough concepts.

i'm not sure if this is literally meant to be gwen's face, or one of the customizable options for your spidersona (like the face on the right likely is). regardless, she's got the Gwen Bangs. worth pointing out.

likewise with these designs: are they both variations on ideas for miles's face? are they both examples of what your spidersona could look like? ... or, given that these are two different faces with different features, and hobie's design both already exists and is shown in concept art for the game... is one of them hobie?

environments

... here's what's interesting. the only unique environments in the leakdump are all images of gwen's bedroom. and its not just any gwen: it's spider-gwen. this isn't the gwen stacy of the insomniacverse, this is the spider-gwen from her own dimension.

i don't know if these images are meant to show a progression throughout the game, maybe of gwen's growth during its events, or, more likely-- if the devs were still figuring out how far into gwen's development as a hero she'd be when she joins the story, and using the room concepts to figure out how old to make her. regardless, you can get so much of what her character could have been from these.

(much like with her visual design, insomniac's trying all angles of gwen's personality, from drummer to dancer to scientist. and it actually looks like they've found a balance, at least in the environment design. like, hats off. this is the first spider-gwen i've seen who actually seems like an even mix of the three, and you can even intuit a natural progression over the years. and it's great!)

first, this looks like a bedroom in a shared apartment. maybe with her dad, maybe with roommates. it's mostly full of mundane items, but the pepe silvia corkboard above her desk, the police scanner and equipment on it, the mask on the filing cabinet, and the spidersuit tucked into her clothing rack tell you that gwen's already a vigilante.

this gwen clearly is or was a competitive dancer: bottom left corner has dance slippers, and medals and a trophy for dance set aside. the spiderverse movie influence rears its head.

she's also a vinyl geek and a plant mom, who has a small collection of books. it's the little touches, like gwen having three different kinds of shoes on her clothing rack (girls don't have Just One Pair! they have different ones for different occasions!), that really flesh her out.

and she's currently a drummer, given that giant set in the corner. the mary janes band exists (further proof that this isn't insomniacverse, unless gwen's band is named after mj even though mj isn't in it). and she's specifically into punk, given the punk rock festival posters on her wall and the leather jacket on her coatrack. she's probably also filming herself during practice.

also, the backdrop behind her drumset is the design on the back of the original spider-gwen suit. cheeky.

clearly the same room, with a few minor tweaks to the position of the radiator.

but with a lot of alterations to the desk area: blackout curtains. a projector displaying a map of nyc. an even crazier pepe silvia board. extra monitors, a lot more tech and clutter on her desk. ring lights, because she might be filming herself at her desk. an ergonomic chair, because she's spending a lot more time there. a special storage case for her suit. a robotic arm testing synthetic webbing. this is a gwen who's further into her superhero career than the first image.

... and. look on the table next to her desk. it's one of the spider-bots.

also, check out how gwen's banner isn't sagging anymore. a tiny little detail showing that she's mounted it properly, because she's investing more in her drumming setup, and that her spider-persona's starting to encroach more on her space.

in contrast, gwen hasn't accumulated any more dance paraphernalia. she's done competing by now, probably because she's spending more time as a vigilante.

clearly a big change from the first two. this room is clearly part of a much more expensive apartment-- complete with a balcony.

her desk is massive, and she has sleek monitors full of information; it looks like she traded out a physical pepe silvia board for a digital one. she has a special chamber for her suit, chemistry equipment, is currently in the middle of examining what looks like scorpion's tail, and several spider-bots, several of which seem to be freely wandering her lab.

(... so it doesn't seem like she was examining one that fell into her dimension in the previous image; maybe gwen was the one making them in the first place, and sending them to peter, miles and cindy's dimension to explore it.)

her lab is enormous, and takes up half the living space, with no effort to hide the gear, which suggests gwen's invested even more into her heroics and is either sure enough that she won't have anyone over that she isn't hiding the equipment... or maybe being a superhero isn't a secret anymore (note the spider-gwen painted on her floor, the nickname comics gwen gets after her identity's exposed).

regardless, gwen's clearly very proud of being a superhero. even in her living space, her alter ego's everywhere: her wall's got the original suit design painted on it, and mounted alongside her mary janes paraphernalia are trophies from past spider-person conflicts: one of doc ock's mechanical arms, the rhino's horn, the green goblin's helmet, a framed request from the daily bugle for 'photos of a spider-[person?]'... and what looks like the key to the city. even the balcony can double as a fast way in/out.

again, i have to wonder: is "spider-gwen" a public celebrity at this point? is she letting being a hero dominate her life, or is the lack of separation because she's integrated both sides of herself so cleanly that there's no secret identity anymore? is that how she's managed to get such a nice setup?

it might also be her musicianship: her drums have their own prominent space, with a second bass and led display behind her (that she's still filming). she's clearly still in the band, and they're doing well enough that gwen was able to upgrade her gear.

her slippers are also out, meaning they were recently worn. and gwen's trophy is still on her shelf, with a medal peeking out of a box. she's still dancing but it isn't nearly as important to her as drumming or being a superhero. maybe it's recreational.

also, she's still a plant parent, and she kept a few furniture pieces from earlier in her life, like her armoire, records and leather jacket. it's probably just recycled assets, but it adds such a sense of authentic history to her character.

the aesthetics in general are so much more intentional and cohesive. more black and white, with splashes of bolder pink and teal. nice interior decor. throw pillows and a neon sign over a king-sized bed with two bedside tables/lamps-- it's big enough for multiple people, and no longer shoved up against the wall; when beds are placed like that, it's out of consideration for a second person to get in and out, with a space for them to put their stuff. so in-universe, the bed was likely arranged with the expectation that more than one person would be sleeping there, at least some of the time.

this is clearly a gwen who's not only a seasoned professional and possible career hero, but an adult woman in her thirties at the youngest, not a teen or college student. a grown ass woman with her shit together lives here. gwen has money to burn, a history with both her band and vigilantism, and she's clearly become successful at the latter, if not both.

which makes me wonder, were insomniac considering debuting a spider-gwen that's even older than peter?

concept art

i'm gonna skip over the obvious shots of gwen being included in group swinging.

it's a multiplayer spider-man game. fighting villains as a team is finding the fork in the kitchen.

gwen's the only character (apart from a dark-haired woman on a motorbike; cindy? jess?) to get concept art revolving exclusively around her. this is clearly an exploration of gwen, in her home dimension, in the midst of her daily routine (as a courier?) getting a spider-sense tingle and having to leap into action.

clearly one of the big features of the game wasn't just combat-- it was hanging out with your friends. this art is either an interpretation of what one of those experiences would feel like, or an imagination of a potential scene between the insomniac trio and gwen.

these four keep popping up in the art. which follows, given that peter, miles and cindy are the main heroes of the insomniac games. i'm marking gwen apart from them here because i'm getting the sense that the game 'canonically' takes place after cindy gets powers and develops her persona. i don't think this is silk from another dimension, i think this is insomniacverse silk.

(note that gwen's the one sitting on the travel around the world billboard, or jumping in through a portal in the art further above. she's the visitor from the alternate dimension.)

see? peter, cindy and miles are clearly in the same place. gwen and noir's new yorks have different palettes-- and gwen's has the pink-stained lighting popularized by the spiderverse movies, that stems from her original run's covers. that's her dimension. maybe it would have been one of the maps, or we'd have gotten a few glimpses of it.

insomniac's clearly imagining their gwen as from a world separate from miles, peter and cindy's. (note that the portal right above gwens' head has that pinkish lighting... and another spiderbot. that's probably her world.)

... putting it all together.

okay. to tinfoil about what gwen's role in the game was... my best guess is the vague outline of a plot they'd have to come up with to justify an in-universe explanation for "tons of spider people jump into our dimension to fight bad guys together" is that gwen, the character most prominent in the leaked concept art, who has environments and scenarios exclusively dedicated to her and her world, is the technical protagonist of the game.

and by this i mean, she's the first character who enters their dimension. maybe even as the first playable character, with a prologue set in her dimension. maybe the spiderbots' presence in ism2 was going to culminate in a reveal that gwen was the one sending them into the insomniacverse in the first place, to scope it out, and now she's coming herself. or maybe they were appearing in her dimension too.

either way, i'm guessing there'd have been either a cinematic or a scripted mission where the gang and gwen work together to fight a villain, possibly one she follows from her own dimension (and this would probably serve as a stealth tutorial for how these multiplayer interactions would feel), and then we get the brief on the in-universe explanation for spiderverse teamups through her. this is the 'true canon' of the game, before we throw open the doors to the player to create their own spider-oc or pick a preexisting spider-person to play as, and jump into the sandbox.

like... look at the placement. it's peter, gwen, miles and cindy at the front (with miles and cindy already friendly), but gwen is the one in the lead.

anyway it's just a thought!

[ealvara7]

Beetlejuice Coloring Process! 🪲

Since my new artwork is gonna take me some time to complete, I decided that now would be a good time to talk about my coloring process for Beetlejuice's design! Specifically, I want to talk about picking out the palette for his eyes and outfit. It was a confusing process that's nice to look back and reflect upon.

Beetlejuice took me the longest to design... I almost gave up on completing him, but I'm glad I persevered! I really love how he came out in the end!

Since this will be a long post with several images, I will add a "read-more" link in case people wanna keep scrolling.

Otherwise, here's my coloring process!

-

After I finished laying out the colors for his skin tone and hair, I started thinking about how exactly I wanted his eyes to look like. I really like designing eyes in general because I feel it adds a lot more character to a design!

My initial idea was to give Beetlejuice slightly dark scleras with yellow pupils in order to create this eerie, uncanny effect.

The problem with that idea was that it ended up feeling... too eerie.

I felt as if it was leaning a lot more on him being a demon, with not enough leeway to show a more human side of him. As a result, it made it difficult to connect with him as a character... which was not what I wanted.

My next idea was to merge the color palettes from my two artist references - creaturologie and shnikkles.

While I felt like I was moving in a better direction, this made it very clear to me that I needed to find a palette that better suited my art style, because I felt the red here was just... too much? It ended up overpowering the green which was definitely not what I wanted.

Finally, I decided to stick to the original stage production and make his scleras white. This also made it easier for me to balance his eyes with his skin tone.

As for his pupils... I started thinking about amber stones, and how they illuminate in a way that is very subtle and beautiful...

That's when I realized that Beetlejuice's pupils didn't need to be consistently illuminated in order to have that subtle, eerie effect. They just need to create the illusion that they can illuminate wherever he went or however you looked at him.

With this in mind, I created the final version!

I couldn't be any happier with how it came out! I felt as if I finally hit that perfect balance between his human and demon characteristics! You're able to connect with him better, all while he retains the more frightening elements of his character.

That being said... his eyes can very much glow in the dark, if he so chooses.

-

I'd like to quickly touch on the outfit, because I had been going back and forth as to whether I wanted to add some semblance of color to his design or not...

I did try coloring his button-up with a magenta similar to the cartoon version... but I wasn't a huge fan of it. I realized I wanted more of a consistency to Beetlejuice's design.

This brought me to another challenge - how much value did I want to add in each part of Beetlejuice's outfit? I knew right away that I did not want to use pure black and white, but I still wanted to create a distinction of some kind for each outfit piece.

For this, I heavily referenced the musical - I've always loved how Beetlejuice's outfit wasn't a bright white. Rather, it was weathered out to be gray. It gave him a more gothic feel, which I fell in love with. I took it up a notch and gave him just a slight tinge of blue, as an homage to Corpse Bride - one of my favorite Tim Burton movies! I would eventually use a similar palette for Lydia in order for her and Beetlejuice to match.

With that, I completed the look of my Beetlejuice design! ✨

[devilbeez]

Let me take you through the journey of me speed running my portfolio, smile

Mostly because I need somewhere to write this and word doc wouldn’t give me feed backs

Note that this will be very wonky because I have not thought of anything but the concept— I have 1 out of 6 characters figured out so imma color code them and call them by alphabet

Concept and inspiration:

What I wrote for my portfolio: Artist’s emotion and upbringing always had been reflected in their art. So what would happen if in a world where that part is intensified for the viewer to see

What actually started this: I want sport anime type of story but with Artists. Also this scene from Ouran host club that inspired Aster don’t question why just take it.

Story:

I’m still debating on what I want to use as the final story, they both are essentially revolve around the relationship of college kids’ relationships from friends to lovers to found family and they’re all in an art club and have specialized methods and styles; graphite portraits/landscape, Abstract expressionism, animation, graphic design, Dada-esque sculpture and then there’s the one guy that can’t draw cause every art clubs always have that one member that only join to not do anything.

Plot option 1: Anne Certayn is a college kid who doesn’t know themself. They know what they’re good at— well good enough to graduate and make money, but there’s no passion in it. Anne were hoping to float through the rest of their school year so to avoid all invitations to join a club they join an art club, what they assumed to be a club they can just sleep though. Sadly, Anne new clubmates’s energy are too much for them.

Note about this plot:

Each character’s relationship with their art, e.g. Aster’s desire to be perfect and uphold his family’s legacy and all of it being reflect in his art. His art had always be something that lean heavily toward realistic in every way, dull color, proportion, reflecting how his passion and desire are tugged away for something more refined. Meanwhile his boyfriend, Carter is someone who contempt with his life and where he is, he have more abstract and colorful art reflecting how he’s putting his true self out for everyone to see, both perfect and imperfect.

Anne’s journey to find their passion for art again after a lifetime of being discouraged from being interested in art by people who told Anne to dial down any of their passion for things they don’t care for.

This is honestly a very slice of life, fluff, maybe comedy story that doesn’t have heavy lore. It just friends being pals

Plot option 2: A love story between members of a college art club.

The couples:

One of the leader (Carter) x his friend (Aster) since high school. They had been dating since first year of college but Aster had always held himself back because his family’s legacy. Their story is going to be revolving around Aster’s struggling to choose between Carter and his family because Carter’s family is not exactly on the same level as Aster’s family

Shezaraya x D no idea what will be their plot yet but D is an animator and concept art who occasionally fight with Anne because she doesn’t like how they joined without any sort of passion for art. She also sometimes fight with E who keeps riling her up by saying “digital art is not real art” without meaning it. Shezaraya is an graphic designer She’s more chill than D but she will still shit talk with her

Debating on giving E a lover(s) or not because she’s very much the agent of chaos. You ask about her love life and it would be like “oh yeah my ex almost framed me for fraud so I ended it” and if you ask her “isn’t your ex the barista down the street?” She’d go “oh not her, the other one— not the one that crashed my car because I broke up with him, the other other one”

Characters:

I have one character designed but I’m write as much as I have. Note that these are like— barely coherent concepts of the characters

Carter Wassily

- He’s the leader of the art club.

- His specialty is abstract art, specifically abstract expressionism.

- He major in marketing, minor in communications in his 3rd year.

- His design is inspired by abstract art in history; Constructivism and De Stijl

- He’s fun loving, enthusiastic about anything and everything he love. He does not afraid to put himself out there and be his truest self. He do have tendencies to get too invested in his art to the point he forgets all time and necessity he need.

- He’s dating Aster since first year of college but they know each other since high school

- He somehow didn’t know Aster is rich until last year of high school

Aster Richman (edited)

- He’s the vice president of the art club

- He’s majoring in law in his 3rd year.

- He specialized in Realism painting

- His name will be revolved around stars because I want it to come back to Carter’s tattoo

- He also have a red ring, matching Carter’s other tattoo since his family frown on tattoos

- He’s more serious than Carter. He try to be more stoic and calm though he do have his moments where Carter make him flustered or someone make him irritated. He pride himself on being good academically.

- His family is rich. Yes his name is a pun, I’m trying make all of their name a pun

- His designed was inspired by Victorian aesthetic but the palette came from realism period of art where the color is more dull then later he have an Isabella moment where his palette become lighter and less monochrome.

- He also wear glasses after his development because we really need the reverse “took off glasses and become beautiful” trope cause we had that in Cloudy with a chance of meatball and we need more of that

Shezaraya Sunshine

- She major in Music in second year.

- She specializes in Graphic Design with the style similar to Art Nouveau

- She’s dating/going to date D

- She’s the most passionate in her work after Carter

- She dream to make music and create her own album covers

- She’s similar to Carter but she’s a bit of a perfectionist when it come to her work. Other than that she’s one of the most chaotic person in the club

- She’s also very kind and optimistic

Anne Certayn

- They major in Engineer in first year.

- They have 0 artistic skill

- They lost their passion for things they like because when they was younger people tend to dismiss them or make them feel bad for being excited about things they enjoyed

- Weirdly they’re close with E the most

D

- She major in Communication in second year,

- She also have a few Communication classes with Carter

- She specializes in Animation with soft color and visual, reminiscing of Impressionism movement

- She’s passionate, a bit snarky, very spiteful to the people who deserve it

- She was raised to be more like Aster but she rejected that lifestyle

- Funny enough despite having the same world view of “anything can be art” as E they butt head a lot, mostly because E just like messing with her

- She absolutely hate Anne at first because how they joined the club but they bond after a while and she learn to tolerate them

E

- She major in Literature in third year

- She specializes in unconventional take on art, aka Dada. She mostly do mixed media and collage

- She is an agent of chaos. Little gremlin that just here to stir the plot and yet somehow she’s one of the chillest people in this club.

- She believes that anything can be art and that art have no rule but will absolutely throw that away for the sake of chaotic debate with D

- She have ex lovers….no one know how many but she have exes

[nem0-nee]

On "heavy inspiration"

First, I'd like to apologize for the contents of this post. I do not wish to be a blog that just complains about matters, but I feel like I need to say this at least once.

If you don't agree with what I say, that's perfectly fine. We can agree to disagree, that is all.

It never fails to anger me when I see any issue related to tracing and "heavy inspiration." These are definitely tools when it comes to learning more about art, but there's definitely a line that dictates whether the use of those methods are acceptable or not.

I will not be naming names, but back then there was a blog which was "heavily inspired" by me. I'm flattered that I inspire people out there, but this case was truly something else.

[NOTE: If you recognize the account I'm referring to, please don't bring them up. I don't want this to escalate, nor do I want to stir up any issues. This is just to discuss what happened.]

There was a time where I've made a character sheet/template for one of my OCs, intending it to be for her specifically; every element about it reflected her as a character in general. A few days later, I see that a certain blog had done the same with their own sheet. The only difference was that it was all mirrored. I commend them for giving me credit, however I was not on board with what they did.

DISCLAIMER #1: Yes, I am aware that I may sound like a whiny baby for being possessive over a character template. It truly sounds absurd, and even now I don't know if what I felt was valid. But my reason for it was that I had specifically designed that sheet for THAT character. It was completely original, as I had made it all from scratch. It took me a while to conceptualize it all. Then someone comes along, taking and running with it without asking me? Can you blame me for being upset?

I didn't want to cause an issue, so I privately settled this issue with them. I made it clear with them that they should've asked me first before doing it, but also added in that they don't have to take the post down. I may be protective of my works, but I'm not a jerk to force someone to take down their own hard work. Plus, I didn't want to cause any drama nor controversy over a character sheet, so I just kept my mouth shut.

Additionally, I made a post as a measure to make sure this incident doesn't repeat.

You'd think this would all stop, but it surprisingly didn't! A few months later, I released a Birthday Union Card for one of my characters. I took some creative liberties with it and added my own twist to things. So, I gave my OC a different kind of bow and nail polish. A few weeks later and what do I see? The same kind of bow and nail polish are on their own birthday card too!!

DISCLAIMER #2: I am aware I don't own these "creative liberties" or certain aspects of design. I would've brushed this off as a coincidence if they hadn't taken "major inspiration" from me before, but this was the second time it all happened. I was beginning to get paranoid; I felt like they were keeping note of everything I do so they could do the same. damn. thing. Plus from what I know, I don't think anyone has done this before? Maybe that's just me...

Don't get me even started with the post formats! I did things a certain way back then, mixing up the font styles, incorporating colors, cringeworthy quotes- you name it. Would you believe me that they got inspired by me to this degree? That they would format posts that contained similar content as me IN A SIMILAR WAY?

DISCLAIMER #3: I am aware that I don't own post formats. My point here is that they were truly coming across as a copycat. I believe they could've changed things up for the sake of originality. But I suppose you can't have everything nice in life.

Every time they post something, the first thing that comes to mind is "what did they copy from me this time?" And it's truly a shame. Any slight resemblance or similarity to what I did stirred panic within me. It wasn't healthy, and I felt like I couldn't do anything about it.

Though, I must admit I'm not entirely in the right for this. Thinking about it, I may have enabled them due to my lack of communication.

FAULT #1: I must acknowledge my fault for not telling them off enough. I really thought they'd just eventually stop and learn from their mistakes. I just didn't have the heart to tell them any more. Being accused of copying is not a great thing, and I didn't really want to be that person. Unfortunately, look where that got me.

FAULT #2: It's also my fault I decided to follow them back despite the first instance and didn't block them. Admittedly, I have a bad habit of wanting to see the good in people. So I assumed that they would change in the long run.

Things only stopped when I finally blocked them and notified them about it. I don't think they're active on here anymore, and sometimes I worry if I was the reason for that. I wished it didn't come to this point.

This is a cautionary tale for fellow artists out there. Please, don't take things without permission. This whole incident took a toll on me for months, and I still fear instances of these. Some artists may be more lenient and wouldn't mind, but there are definitely others who are not okay with "heavy inspiration." Always, ALWAYS ask.

[mouseratz]

reading tdrk.

I can see why people like it- the aesthetic is gorgeous and moody, the contrast between the stifling heat and the grey rains is even there.....

but of course, I do have to question it's politics. It tries to both-sides issues to explore them via snapshots of the news anchors and interviews, and....it still comes up as very anti-rehabilitation/recovery; nothing gets better, ever. Batman is still Batman because he's sick in the head, and is treated as having the same issue as Two-Face, basically (which is about the only reason I can figure he's been included in this story.) and also that it's batman's reappearance that caused twoface to return as well. whatever. at least it's kinda gay about it? like yeah "we tumble like lovers in the night" and "four men died" sure. yeah they were fucking at some point in their lives

also it's like "if you call Batman a fascist you don't know about true justice and patriotism" side-by-side with the guy talking about how he wished the criminals he illegally beats up anyway had less rights. Ok. yeah I don't know that you know what you're talking about man it kinda sounds like he wishes the government was more oppressive than it already is.

Jim Gordon shot a teenager and he gets to keep his job at least temporarily. well I guess that's realistic isn't it

also batman has a gun in this scene. broke the number one Batman rule

Carrie Kelley's design fucks SO severely why is she the one thing nobody took from this story????

I do also like that we get to see a big Lana Lang. like, the "grittiness" of the art style means the female characters are actually drawn like people with distinctive features.

I do really like Bruce mistaking Kelly for Dick when he was injured. that's a really cool way to have them meet.

I do also like the weird spiritual obsession Bruce has with genuine honest to god bats. like yeah that adds up

and of course. Fascist for real superman. I knew that was coming lol. it's not good but at least it's given more context (he turned to it after some kind of attack on heroes and vigilantes by the government, he gave in and gave up, and wants Bruce to do the same.) I still don't like it but I was bracing for worse.

I do still just love old lonely fucked up Batman and Carrie Kelley Robin they're cute as fuck. another crazy child adopts you after one abandoned you and you failed the next and gave up on it all.

selinas design is also.....hm. she runs an escort service. kind of hard to believe the character would turn to something she grew up in and hated in many of her origins,* but hey who knows. and then she's heavily implied to be sexually abused by the joker. awesome!!! I do feel that is actually really pretty misogynistic to have your strong female character show up and do nothing but get sexually abused. so. awesommmeeee

(*sex work is fine work irl and if it's something someone chooses to do, I just know that in this characters case she was forced to do it from a young age with many other young girls, it was a bad situation in her context for sure.)

joker calling him "darling" and having no qualms about being obsessed with Batman is alright.

oh, so NOW guns are a cowards weapon? gee. then where'd the rifle come from earlier bats?

okay. super weird that the joker killed himself or whatever. I do like how creepy his face is.

I do really love that this showdown happened in the "tunnel of love" though. this old man is a homosexual

the horses are awesome I will say. do you really need a reason. the horses are cool.

I also enjoy how it's kind of turned on it's head- the people who are supporting Batman, who are emulating him, aren't good. they're causing more meaningless violence. now does that cause Bruce to reflect on himself? Probably not. but it's kind of real bad when the people who wanna be just like you talk about purging the city. it's not going great. or not he just recruited them also? ok.

the nuclear thing is uhm. wow ok. "Nothing we can't handle, folks, we're still america- and I'm still president!" yeah.

well. I guess it's still kind of romantic to want to die together even if you also hate each other. it's dramatic, at minimum. sure whatever.

oh, faking your death. okay the rituals are intricate. I can't take any of this shit seriously the wink. so are you guys still a thing, or....? what is all of that. what is wrong with both of you.

oh that's the end. ok. I see why people like it. it's not bad but it's also not really my speed. I like the artwork more than I liked the story honestly, lots of iconic imagery. Carrie Kelley is awesomeee I want to see her again. uhmmm everything else can kind of stay here. forever.

I now see what Batman v Superman was trying to invoke (and did so very very very terribly) , because while there is a conflict and the government is evil Bruce and Clark are genuinely frenemies here I would say. wasn't as bad as it could've been

I also don't really get why Batman has multiple lines paying lip service to "guns fucking suck" as an ethos, but in reality, we see lots of "cool" shots of him holding a rifle so it's like. okay that feels like cheating and getting by on a technicality. if he has a gun in my book it's gotta be a crazy bat-gun that doesn't shoot regular bullets.

I actually legitimately love Clark getting blown up by a nuclear missile and it looking absolutely fucking horrific. like he ends up being more or less Fine but not before having that moment of grisly terror. it gives a sense of impact to it instead of just being like "oh it blew up and was bad". you SEE it.

overall, it's not bad. I kinda liked it but I don't think it's my kind of story, like it just has too muddled messages (it wants to have antifascist messaging, which I do respect, but the actual events are kind of confusing and weird to me at times, I feel it could've been a little stronger in that if it wasn't so obsessed with its own dark grittiness.)

[playstationvii]

#FastTooFurious #TheManga

{#HotWheels #Mattel}

the three characters different modeled cars, this can be a collaboration with 'Hotwheels' #Mattel each car being a special edition dye cast model with a special candy paint job one car blue, one care jet black and one car candy pastel pink 8K HD photorealistic with flair and glitter

Sounds like an exciting and fresh take! Let's dive into rebranding a new "Fast Too Furious" manga featuring Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), Paul Walker, and Steve Aoki's sister. Here's a concept to kick things off:

Title:

"Fast Too Furious: Neon Knights"

Setting:

A high-tech, neon-lit futuristic city where underground racing and cyber-espionage rule the streets.

Main Characters:

Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) as "Titan":

Role: The muscle and strategist of the team.

Backstory: Former military officer turned racer, known for his indomitable will and immense strength.

Vehicle: A heavily armored, high-speed truck with advanced tech gadgets.

Paul Walker as "Ryder":

Role: The heart and soul of the team, the best racer.

Backstory: A street racing legend with a tragic past, he's looking for redemption.

Vehicle: A sleek, custom-built sports car with unmatched speed and agility.

Steve Aoki's Sister as "Echo":

Role: The tech genius and hacker.

Backstory: A prodigious hacker with a mysterious past, she's the brains behind the operation.

Vehicle: A futuristic bike equipped with hacking devices and stealth mode.

Plot Outline:

Episode 1: Titan, Ryder, and Echo are brought together by a shared enemy who controls the city's criminal underworld.

Episodes 2-5: The team races against time and various adversaries to gather intel and technology needed to take down the villain.

Mid-Season Twist: Echo discovers a dark secret about her past that could change everything.

Final Episodes: An all-out war on the streets of the city, with the team risking everything to restore justice and order.

Art Style:

Vibrant, neon colors mixed with dark, gritty backgrounds.

High-energy action sequences with dynamic panel layouts.

Detailed character designs reflecting their unique traits and backgrounds.

Special Features:

Character Backstories: Each volume includes a special section diving into the characters' histories and motivations.

Tech Schematics: Diagrams and explanations of the advanced vehicles and gadgets used by the team.

Music Integration: QR codes linking to a custom soundtrack featuring high-energy tracks by Steve Aoki.

[sisyphus-prime]

I have no access to my old notes. None. It's all gone. I remember details but also it's me we're talking about here. I'm gonna log this shit

Professor Geomorphic Gemstone

She/They/🗻

Professor Geomorphic Gemstone is an earth sciences teacher at the local university. Loves giving out any sort of information about the world, including Oceanography, aeronomy, climatology, meteorology, biology, botany, and any other science based on the earth and its atmosphere. She cares heavily for her students and her coworkers.

Her right leg is a long spiked prosthetic. and while she's always dressed professionally, she only wears a pink slipper on her other foot. Her tie follow the style of old Chowder art, where it looks like the pattern is a still image and she's moving in front of it.

Prof's passions lie more in teaching than rock, but her style is definitely that of Hard Rock

When it comes to the ACS takeover, her heart isn't fully into it. She's more focused on grading her students' papers. The tipping point instead is mentions of DJSS. If there's one thing Prof is, is bitter about him. Comparisons that place him as an equal or lesser piss her off. The reason for the relationship not working was a thing of ego. Both have large egos, and carry it in different ways. It wasn't working well from the start.

BATTLE - Prof stomps her leg to the ground, creating a fissure, and a volcano pops up. that is the stage. Players have to avoid laval balls, flows, and rocks falling to the music. As the battle continues, Prof gets more frustrated, and more volcanoes pop up. This is reflected in the earth on her head. Battle finishes when 🗻 gets so mad that a large fissure appears across the front of 🗻's face. 🗻 Panics, exclaiming that 🗻 can't see, and is then nearly crushed by one of the large rocks that'd been falling in battle.

Prof is alright but dazed, the crack still making it hard for them to see.

Pyoon

It/She

Pyoon is a model similar to Sayu, but is one that is done with far less skill. Made with the express purpose of being a knock off in design. Her name comes from Sayu's main quote.

Pyoon is designed around selkies, but has the main issue of being a half finished model. Her body is heavily geometric, and tends to "float apart". Her colors sit more in greys and unfinished textures.

Her more finished model is that of a seal. It's a very cutesie seal and matches the seal that is her hair on her head.

Her voice for talking is mirror to that of a vocaloid. She doesn't have an active speaker in these interactions. Her songs, however, did have a proper vocalist behind them. She is Pop Rock

BATTLE - We never got that far.

Neal and Father

(he/him) (he/him)

Neal is the mirror to yinu, but instead of a rose themed pianist, he is a virtuso on the violin. I cannot find any notes for neal visuals. He is, however, about 11

Neal once had a close maternal figure, who died suddenly and without warning. From a young age only having Father. The two are distant, Father focused on honing the musical talents of the boy. Father will routinely play accompaniments to Neal's violin.

Neal's genre is Symphonic Rock

55

varied pronouns

55 was a knock off of 1010 made by someone trying a little to hard to prove themselves. Each character in itself is a magical girl in design. There is only one model of each character, making them irreplaceable. Each name comes from what the in universe 'fanon' names are. Vin (White), Yuni (Yellow), Eli (Green), Rora (Red), and Bluebell (Blue.)

Vin (She/her) is a cat girl, with a personality to match. Cutesy, bold, girly. The Leader archetype of a magical girl. following what's commonly associated with 'pink' magical girls. Motivational speeches are the most common scripts used.

Yuni (she/they) is a Pikachu girl, or more so, a mouse girl. She is bombastic, bright, and silly. Hyperactive and reading as immature. The Childish archetype of a magical girl, following what's commonly associated with 'yellow' magical girls. She was built with a more powerful engine and a way to discharge that extra power from her 'ears' and hands. yeowch!

Eli (She/it) is... I want to say a frog? I cannot tell from my old art of the other ref I have. Anyway. Eli is smart, kind, and conflict-adverse. It would rather people just talk it out than music battles, unlike everyone else. The Gentle Archetype of a magical girl, following what's commonly associated with 'green' magical girls. Her engine is less powerful, but has been rigged to set off large bursts of energy, discharging all of what power she has to shut down a situation.

Rora (He/she) is a Kitsune. He is transmasculine and not out. With a onesided rivalry with Vin for the leader status, he is Blunt, passionate, and caring. The Passionate archetype of a magical girl, following what's commonly associated with 'red' magical girls. He is quick to get into arguments with others, but can quickly be embarrassed into silence. More often, this has led to Rora being interpreted as a 'brooding' type.

Bluebell (none/she) Is a butterfly. Intelligent, Responsible, and routine oriented. While Vin is the leader of the group, most go to Bluebell for major problems, including Vin. The Mature archetype of a magical girl, following what's commonly associated with 'blue' magical girls. Bluebell is quite quiet, only speaking when necessary. Bluebell, is, however, the one programmed with 'screamo' voice modulations.

As a group, their aesthetics are quite cutesy, but musically they fit in kawaii metal

I cannot find any notes on an EVE variant. I know we had one, he was pitiful and melancholic.

[em2dplatformer]

2D Platformer Game Design Document

This is my Game Design Document for my 2D side scroller that I plan on creating.

What makes a 2D side scroller?

Firstly, it has to have 2D graphics.

It also needs a camera that is fixed to the side of the character.

The camera also needs to either follow the player (scroller) or alternatively uses a flip-screen where the camera is fixed to the room rather than the player.

Celeste:

Celeste focuses on movement mechanics with the player character having the ability to wall jump, dash etc. The levels are designed for these abilities to be used to their limits with moving platforms, spikes and falling platforms. These additions all speed up the pace of the game and increase the difficulty naturally rather than artificially. The animation is very fluid, with the main character moving extremely smoothly even during fast movements.

Super Mario Bros:

Super Mario Bros' main mechanics include pipe travel and power-ups. Different power-ups give differing levels of abilities with the mushroom making Mario taller and stronger the fire flower providing an attack and the star giving full invincibility. Levels are designed to give these power-ups in certain areas so that they're used sparingly but enough to still provide an impact. Super Mario Bros artstyle is quite simplistic due to the time it was made but is still engaging and interesting due to its use of bright colours.

Sonic The Hedgehog:

Sonic's main mechanics are his ability to dash and item boxes. Item boxes have power-ups that include a shield, speed boost, rings and invincibility for a brief period of time. The levels are mostly designed around Sonic's speed with loops that can only be passed when sonic is going quickly and area of land that fall away if you're too slow. The artstyle is very bright and busy with patterns on most surfaces. The backgrounds are also very busy with small animations and decorations.

Rainworld:

Rainworld is a game that I am heavily inspired by and am very fond of. Its main mechanics include pipelines to travel through, small areas to hide in, complex AI and a day/night cycle. The levels reflect the idea of hiding/stealth by providing the player with many small areas in the first levels like the industrial complex and then ripping away that safety net in further levels like the shoreline where the area becomes a lot more open and a lot more dangerous for the player character. The art style is very detailed and charming with the main design of each level varying from the dark grungy garbage wastes to the sunny sky islands and the abstract void of the depths.

My main puzzle mechanic of the pipelines is inspired by Rainworld.

For an extra mechanic, I would like to create a stealth mechanic where the player character hides using bodies of water. As they're made of water, just entering a body of water would make them invisible.

I decided to split my mood board into 2 halves. The first half focused on how the element of water would act when formed into a humanoid body. Many images used the flowing water as hair which was an idea I wanted to use for my character's design.

The second half focused on accessories and movement. I liked the idea of including some accessories to help distinguish and complicate her design. I also focused on how different elements such as air move, this is because I wasn't fully sure if I would prefer the my character to have running water or water that is more floaty and strongly shaped.

My versions of my character:

My main idea for a setting:

My research into the apps we will be using:

[creativeprojectdevelopmet]

Reflective Creative Decision-Making

BLOG 42 15/8/2024

When it comes to the application of my creative decisions, this project was heavily influenced by various sci-fi movies and games.

For example, in "Star Wars", the different planets each have their unique cultural and fashion characteristics, many of which are inspired by real-world ethnic traditions. Padmé Amidala's outfits, for instance, feature numerous elements from Chinese minority cultures. Similarly, the Jedi robes in the prequel trilogy, including Palpatine's attire, also incorporate a lot of minority cultural elements. These designs deeply influenced me, and I was eager to integrate similar cultural and exotic elements into my own work. The costumes from Star Wars played a significant role in guiding me to blend ethnic art into a sci-fi setting.

On the other hand, the design of robots in video games has also had a profound impact on me. Games not only provide a visually striking experience but also bring robot characters to life through interactivity, giving them depth and personality. For example, in the "Metal Gear" series, players can control highly realistic mechanical warriors and explore the game world through their eyes. This immersive experience made me realize that robot design requires not only intricate visual details but also a strong consideration of their functionality and user experience in a virtual environment.

In my creative exploration, I regularly browse and admire a wide range of works by other artists on ArtStation, particularly those related to robot design. These works not only showcase the artists' exceptional skills and unique perspectives but also offer me a rich source of inspiration. By observing different styles of robot designs, I can see a variety of forms, materials, and functions, ranging from realistic mechanical warriors to futuristic sci-fi creatures. Each piece reflects the creator’s distinctive understanding of future technology, artificial intelligence, and mechanical aesthetics.

This extensive visual input provides me with numerous references and ideas during my creative process. When designing my own robots, I can draw upon these innovative elements and blend them with my style to create unique and personally distinctive works. Additionally, by continuously analyzing and reflecting on the design concepts, color usage, and detail handling in these works, I have gradually developed my aesthetic standards and creative thinking.

Moreover, the community interaction on ArtStation has given me the opportunity to engage with other artists, learn about their creative processes, and understand the stories behind their work. This exchange has broadened my perspective and helped me realize that creativity is a continuous process of learning, reflection, and growth. Each time I learn and draw inspiration from others, it pushes me to break new ground and improve my work.

Through this ongoing observation and reflection, I've noticed that my creative thinking in robot design has become more flexible and diverse. I can now find innovative points within existing styles and am more willing to experiment with different design approaches, allowing me to discover new modes of expression in my work. Ultimately, this process of learning from and absorbing others' creativity has not only enriched the content of my work but also enhanced my creative abilities, propelling me forward in my artistic journey.

Reference

Star Wars (1987��present) [American epic space opera media franchise] "Lucasfilm"

Wattpad (n.d) "Hero of Blood: Jack The Ripper (long updates) - Seeing Double" [image]. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/1051942425440136447/ [Accessed 19 Aug 2024]

Metal Gear (1987-2023) [Action-adventure] [Hack and slash] [Stealth] "Konami" "Microsoft Game Studios"

New, Y, D, N (n.d) "Natalie Portman left her "Star Wars" days" [image] https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/144678206762371872/ [Accessed 19 Aug 2024]

[huanyukang]

Blog 8 sources and significance

An investigation of color aesthetics and character design Chinese traditional culture in the movie Legend of the Demon Cat (2017)

"The Legend of the Demon Cat" is a work directed by Chen Kaige in 2017. This film tells the story of the poet Bai Juyi and the Japanese monk Kong Hai who, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, explore a mysterious case about the demon cat and Yang Guifei, and discover astonishing secrets. The visual positioning of this movie is an epic film with an Eastern fantasy tone. Art designers Tu Nan and Lu Wei draw nourishment from traditional literature, painting, sculpture, and dance, internalizing their research on literati painting and artistic conception into the concept of art design (Yi, 2018). So I will study this movie from a painting perspective.

Green landscape painting style Firstly, in terms of the overall color scheme of the movie, the imperial palace draws heavily on the color composition of Tang Dynasty paintings, with red and cyan as the main colors. The entire palace is covered in red silk ribbons, while the bright and warm colored lanterns create a grand atmosphere. The director extensively uses red decorations on the set to highlight the majesty and prosperity of the palace. Director Chen Kaige used the style of ancient Chinese blue and green landscape painting to design the scenes inside the imperial palace. It is worth noting that Today's many researchers identify the murals of the Dunhuang Mogao Caves as the original form of Chinese Blue and Green Landscape Painting, and the Mogao Caves' painting style was significantly influenced by Indian Buddhistart (Ju, 2022), while the style of the Mogao Grottoes of Dunhuang absorbed the culture of other countries around China, such as India and Uzbekistan. Therefore, this also shows that the director's use of green landscape painting style is also to reflect the tolerance of the Tang Dynasty culture, but also to bring unique visual experience to the audience.

screenshoot from legend of demon cat(2017)

Legend of the Demon Cat - Official Trailer ，Youtube,(online)(2018). Available at:https://youtu.be/Yba215606Mc?si=pvaRUGi9a4neoivR (Accessed: 16 February 2024)

2.The director refers to the aristocratic life of the Tang Dynasty in the painting of "Beauty with Hairpin Flowers"

Secondly, the main part of this movie is the palace of Emperor Li Longji, and the interior scene design of this palace is mainly to highlight the image of Yang Guifei, as well as the image of the famous poet Li Bai. Director Chen Kaige referred to the most famous ancient painting of the Tang Dynasty, "The Beauty with Hairpins". This painting depicts the high-ranking aristocratic women of the Tang Dynasty mostly dressed in red, so in the movie, Yang Guifei's attire is red to reflect her status and nobility. In addition, the Tang Dynasty's demand for women was not the modern Chinese society's demand for women to be slim and beautiful, but regrad a beautiful woman with a healthy and fat figure,(please see picture below ),which also demonstrates the Tang Dynasty's respect for women. In addition, Yang Guifei and Li Bai pursued a free and poetic life, so the interior design of the palace used a large number of Taoist elements such as clouds, ribbons, and red crowned cranes to describe a free and leisurely life, which also reflected the romantic life of the Tang Dynasty people.

In short, the director of this movie, Chen Kaige, designed the main scenes from painting perspective. In the past, director Chen Kaige mainly studied painting and drew inspiration from the famous Tang Dynasty painting style of "green landscape painting style" to design scenes, bringing a unique experience to the audience.

Beauty with Hairpin Flowers (online),Tang dynasty

Reference:

Yi Y. (2018) The Reflection of Form and Spirit in Oriental Fairyland: Talking with Tu Nan and Lu Wei on the Film Art design of The Legend of the Demon Cat. Film Art, 01: 148-153.(Accessed: 16 February 2024)

 Ju, W. (2022). The Research on the Origin and Communication of Blue and Green Colors in Chinese Blue and Green Landscape Painting. Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, 5, 119-125.(Accessed: 16 February 2024)

Legend of the Demon Cat - Official Trailer, Youtube.https://youtu.be/Yba215606Mc?si=JZy9EwOFp6e5mMmT (Accessed: 16 February 2024)

Beauty with Hairpin Flowers (online),Tang dynasty https://www.cnki.net (Accessed: 16 February 2024)

Legend of the Demon Cat - Official Trailer ，Youtube,(online)（2018）. Available at:https://youtu.be/Yba215606Mc?si=pvaRUGi9a4neoivR (Accessed: 16 February 2024)

[incyrayinc]

More concept art for Fluorospar

I do actually need to design clothes for her, or, considering her homeworld Hell is a place where you can expect to be in fights pretty often, more accurately, armor.

Pain, why do I keep creating characters who would wear armor as their casual getup. This is the THIRD TIME!

She probably wears gambeson under this too... djhhofjhptjht wheee clothing design,,, I am in PAIN lmao

I do think on the world building end, the demons probably have pretty different clothing culture than humans. for one, they primarily wear things for physical protection. Thermoregulation isn't as much an issue for them outside of Earth, either, since they are all effectively cold-blooded in terms of heat production. Demon biology is more concerned with loosing heat than retaining it, what with ambient temperatures hovering in ranges above 50C and even up to 100+C. They probably don't even really have the same style of nudity taboo most humans have, and instead would probably feel 'naked' even whilst wearing a T-shirt and pants, because it's not armor.

GETTING clothes, considering the sheer diversity of sizes and shapes they come in, is probably a lot more complicated than it is for humans. Most clothing for them is probably tailored/bespoke, and instead of going to a store to buy pre-made clothes, they probably have to hit up a smith or such to commission clothing. As a result they probably tend to own less clothes individually, kinda rotating through a few sets of gambeson/undergarments, MAYBE two sets of plate armor, but most likely just frequently spot cleaning and fully cleaning the main set of armor and immediately putting it back on.

Coming to Earth is probably a little jarring for them on that front (among many others), since humans (who exist in a modern setting) don't really DO armor much anymore. Armor smithes and gambeson tailors that DO come to Earth probably find their skills in very high demand, as a lot of the humans likely do not yet have the same ability to design and produce armor in sufficient quantity.

ALSO, the armor is probably typically enchanted. heavily so if you're rich, but at least mildly so even by default. I'm not sure if the setting should have guns, but if it does, a good way to justify using plate armor amidst such might well be to have enchantments that boost the durability, or perhaps reflect high-speed projectiles.

[make-mine-movie]

One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)

One Hundred and One Dalmatians is a fanciful family film, released in 1961, and holding a Rotten Tomatoes score of 98%. It is based on the 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, written by Dodie Smith. This movie is the first thus far to noticeably derive characterization, animation, and additional work from other Walt Disney Animated Feature Films (that are not particularly and intentionally connected to this film).

One Hundred and One Dalmatians was an absolute pleasure to watch. It is a great family film with decent pacing and wonderful energy. The introduction is a bit long, but this is made up for with its upbeat tone and continuous anticipation. The characters are all rather likable and distinct, which is impressive considering the abundance of Dalmatian puppies as the title implies. The musical fanfare, while only having one particular “stand out” piece, also pulls the movie together. Another noticeable aspect of the film is the inclusion of previous character design and animation from Lady and the Tramp. Jock, Peg, Bull, Tramp, and Lady all make cameos, and the bloodhound is clearly designed reminiscent of Trusty. I loved this! Although, I would say my favorite thing about One Hundred and One Dalmatians is the background artwork and the animation style. The background art is reminiscent of a coffee shop painting, consisting of a multitude of sketches and abstract colors that clearly reveal the shape of buildings and scenes, but are not directly attached to realism. Additionally, the characters are animated with an artstyle that heavily emphasizes sketches, bringing them to life while simultaneously emphasizing the work of the artist. This is something I am particularly fond of, and it continues throughout the rest of the Silver Age and into the Bronze Age. My only qualm with this movie is one line that the truck driver says in the second to final scene in which he calls Cruella a “crazy woman driver.” Initially, this comes off as sexist, but considering Cruella’s actions during this scene, I think it is an appropriate description; she follows him around at high speeds while trying to chase him off the road because there are an excessive amount of Dalmatians in the back of the vehicle.

In conclusion, One Hundred and One Dalmatians is a fantastic movie. Overall, One Hundred and One Dalmatians receives 10 out of 10 stars, a perfect score, and the first 100% given with no deductions! This movie has great animation, design, characterization, and storyline with minimal to nearly nonexistent bothersome components. As previously mentioned, the music is appropriately festive and jazzy, and the song “Cruella De Vil” is a definite hit. This movie also passes the Bechdel Test.

Summary of the film under the cut.

One Hundred and One Dalmatians begins with an opening credit sequence composed of a myriad of dots, dogs, and funky animation transitions. Then the movie switches to a narration, which you are initially led to believe is from the perspective of a young musician named Roger. The narrator is actually his dog, Pongo. Pongo is ranting about how he and Roger are both bachelors, and they live a very lonely life because of it. He then tries to find a suitable pair of mates for the two of them, spotting a female Dalmatian and her owner. He tries to persuade Roger to follow them to the park, but Roger does not finish working until five in the afternoon. Pongo messes with the clock to reflect this time, and off they go. Pongo then proceeds to search the entire park for the woman and her Dalmatian. When he finds them he is insistent that she and Roger meet, and twists his leash around the two of them, binding them together and tripping them. They fall into the pond, and the woman is initially mad at Roger and Pongo, but later the two of them laugh about it. The scene then cuts to the woman, Anita, and Roger getting married. Pongo and the other Dalmatian, Perdita, watch on. Later Pongo and Perdita are talking about expecting puppies while Roger is working on a song. Then a friend of Anita’s from school, Cruella de Vil, comes over. She is excited about the arrival of the puppies and talks about how much she loves wearing animal fur. She also insults Roger and Anita’s marriage, thinking Anita can do better. After she leaves, Roger dances with Anita to his new song, the lyrics inspired by Cruella de Vil and how awful she is. After a few weeks, Perdita gives birth to fifteen puppies. One of them almost does not make it, but Roger manages to revive him. Then Cruella storms in insisting that Anita and Roger sell her all fifteen puppies, willing to pay twice of what they are worth. They retort that the puppies are not for sale. Then Cruella looks at one and notices that it is white, with no spots. She proceeds to insult the puppies, calling them ugly white rats. After Anita explains that they will get their spots in about a week or so, Cruella once again tries to convince them to hand over the puppies. However, Roger is more than ever insistent upon keeping them and throws Cruella out of the house. After the puppies have gotten their spots, they are seen watching television with their parents. Pongo and Perdita urge them to go to bed, and then they leave to go on a late night walk with Roger and Anita. Their housekeeper, Nanny, is at home with the puppies. Two men in a car down the block have been watching Roger and Anita. Their names are Jasper and Horace. They approach the house when the couple are gone and insist upon Nanny that they are electricians there to perform a mandatory inspection. They push their way into the house, and Nanny thinks they stole the good silver when they leave. However, they have actually stolen the puppies. This is devastating for everyone in the family, and gets put in multiple papers. Cruella sees this and calls Anita to give her sympathies despite being the main suspect in the case. Pongo and Perdita decide that because Scotland Yard cannot find the puppies, it should be up to them to rescue their puppies. They want to utilize the “Twilight Bark,” an underground dog communications system. The two of them head out with Roger and Anita where Pongo begins barking frantically. Roger tries to stop him, but his message still gets out to a Great Dane. The Great Dane then passes the message throughout London and into the English countryside to a bloodhound named Towser. Towser then howls the message over to a peculiar trio: a horse named Captain, a sheepdog named Colonel, and a cat named Sergeant Tibbs. After discerning the message, they remember that the old DeVil estate currently has a large amount of spotted puppies. Tibbs goes to investigate, and he discovers Jasper and Horace sitting in a room with ninety-nine Dalmatian puppies. One of the puppies tells Tibbs that all of them were purchased from pet stores except for fifteen of them that have collars. The camera pans over to the fifteen missing puppies watching television. Tibbs reports his findings back to Colonel, who then spreads the word once again via the Twilight Bark. Pongo and Perdita hear the news and go searching for their children. Tibbs returns to the estate, and Cruella shows up and demands that Jasper and Horace kill and skin the puppies that night as everyone is becoming rather suspicious of her. Learning about the puppies’ fate, Tibbs instructs them all to escape, but Jasper and Horace notice and chase after the puppies. The one hundred animals run around the house, continuously hiding from Cruella’s henchmen when Pongo and Perdita show up. The two of them fight off Jasper and Horace long enough for the puppies and Tibbs to escape. They make it back to the barn in which Captain, Colonel, and Tibbs live, but the evil duo catch up. The barn residents try to fight them off while Pongo, Perdita, and the puppies escape once again. They continue to travel through the England snow, struggling to stay together and keep warm. Meanwhile, Jasper, Horace, and now Cruella are chasing them throughout the countryside. The Twilight Bark has effectively gotten the word out to all of the dogs, which continuously try to help what is referred to as “the Pongos” on their journey. A Collie offers the Pongos a stay in his barn alongside some of the cows. While staying there, Pongo and Perdita decide to keep and raise all ninety-nine Dalmatian puppies as their own once they return home. Their next stop is in a small town where a black Labrador Retriever has scheduled to transport them home on a truck. However, the Cruella and her henchmen have arrived in the town and have almost caught the Pongos. In order to escape, the one hundred and one Dalmatians disguise themselves as Labradors using soot. They narrowly make it out of the town, but Cruella is onto them. She continuously tries to push the truck driver off the road with her own car, but fails and her attempts are further hindered by Jasper and Horace. The three of them end up crashing, but the truck transporting the dogs arrives safely to London. Roger and Anita reunite with their missing seventeen dogs as well as the new eighty-four.