#and that palette challenge...made me wanna try more limited palette

[breezy-cheezy]

As funny as Wall Market was, I loved Aerith’s remake dress ;v; She reminded me of a mermaid~ The idea took off on its own...couldn’t decide what version to post, so here’s both!

[nighttimepixels]

Heyhey Night! I have a buncha questions after seeing all your animations and they're just so cool so! I hope this is ok!! Can u animate normally too, or only pixel? Not that that's bad, just wondering! What's ur preferred kinda animation? Do u prefer lipflaps or lipsyncs? What's the hardest part of the animation process?? What's ur favorite?? Any part u don't like? What's a thing people don't see that u put a lotta time into? Do u have a fave animation u've done? Thank u btw for all ur art!!

Oh stars, okay, yeah- I’m happy to answer all these!! I’ll break them up so it’s easier to read X) And awww geez thank you so much for your support, sweet anon! It really makes my day when people say they like anything I’ve made, and stars knows it’s all the more true with the sweet sweet time sink that is animation   (´•̥̥̥\\ヮ\\•̥̥̥` )

I’ll also put this under a cut since it gets a bit long :)

Can u animate normally too, or only pixel?

This one cracks me up a little, don’t worry about it XD I totally can! In fact I enjoy it a lot - and... gods, animation software is a nightmare and a half, to be honest. That’s the biggest hurdle.

I do just straight up love pixel art and the aesthetic I can achieve with it, but I do at times miss ‘normal’ (non pixel?) animation, heh. Especially sound-syncing! I do all my pixel art in Asesprite which imo is the best pixel art program, not to mention made by an actual pixel artist - buuuut it doesn’t have a sound file option. Which makes sense! Er, frankly, most pixel artists wouldn’t... use it to animate like I do? More for games, or for looping gifs? So I can’t complain much, it makes a lot of sense that it’s a low dev priority.

Now, when it comes to other animation programs... I’ve tried a lot. Unfortunately, the ones that are preferable for the feel I like are either way out of budget (stares at TVPaint in the distance) or... well, have too high a learning curve for my single-person workflow, really. (OpenToonz, sigh...) And a lot of the free programs are good for getting a start in animation, but once you get to a certain point you really feel the limitations (whether it’s workflow, sound import, exports, trying to make something more finished than a rough...).

Then... there’s animation programs I just don’t like, and a lot of those are angled towards bone-style animations (nothing wrong with those, they just don’t fit my style? and are too much time investment for a single artist to output more quickly...), or are, well, freakin’ Adobe Animate.

I... gods, I do not like Animate (formerly Flash). And I made a whole 2 minute+ animation in it a couple years ago! (It’s very rough and bad and doesn’t make sense, pfff, not gonna link it XD) It’s... clunky, and vector oriented, and freaking lines don’t go where I want them too, and it tries to predict too much?? It’s hard to put to words, gah. For me, my animation style would be much more... raster oriented. Flow, hand drawn inbetweens, yaddayadda. Animate’s great for... plenty of things, but not for that kind of animation. There are far better animators than I who make it work with freakin’ aplomb though! So really, it’s just my taste, haha.

.... Er, that got long! I’ll cut off more rambling about animation software and tl;dr boil it down to “I love animating period, but turnaround is something I have to keep in mind as a freelancer, as well as budget, and my current focus is pixel animations for a number of reasons.” X)

What's ur preferred kinda animation?

I’m not exactly sure what this one means! Between pixel and non-pixel? Er, they both have their pros and cons, so I couldn’t say! But if I have to break down my current animations into categories, I’d say I have cutscenes, loop environments, and the broad game-like animations...

The first would be something like this animation feat. teasing Edge, the second would be something like this one with skesgo’s Starlan and Cinnamon, and the third is... everything else! From headsprite loops to ‘small’ characters running and so on.

Honestly, they’re all a lot of fun for different reasons! Cutscenes are generally the most challenging, but they give me the chance to push my limits and try and pull off something cool, whether I’m having to conserve frames (to keep the cost of a commission down) or whether I’m going more all out (which is a pricey commission, or a fun personal project, lol).

Loop environments are their own challenge - it may not look like it, but I put a lot of thought into how to make them look as natural as possible! From timing of talking characters, to where to place a blink, to exactly how many frames it’ll take to ‘soften’ a motion (so people aren’t just snapping between major poses) and so on - it takes... a lot of time to animate even simple scenes well, so I do a lot of mental math on how I can keep things affordable when someone approaches me for a commission. And frankly, I totally undercharge;; but I do my best!

Game-like animations are just fun. They range, they’re silly, to intense (I’ve animated fight animations before for game concepts), to indulgent, and beyond! Headsprites are always a delight, especially if I get to push the expression X) and I love tiny things (I mean... I am a pixel artist...) so getting to make lil tiny babs even just walking can be fun - and also, a lot more time consuming than you might thing, esp if you wanna make it smooth, like this lil Frisk I did last month or so:

Do u prefer lipflaps or lipsyncs?

oTL

B... both??

Okay, lipsyncing basically is very time consuming. AND, I freakin’ love it. I love puzzles, and when it boils down to it, that’s what super fun & expressive lip syncing is (some Ghibli animations are the heckin’ best for this)...

and, I’m a pixel artist, without sound-syncing capabilities in her main art program oTL Yeah, I can export frames and line them up and check but... gods, it’s so time consuming. I’ve tried it out of desperation - but for even five seconds of sound (sayyyyy a lil Vine...) that’s hours upon hours of transferring back and forth just to check.

So even though I love lipsyncs, they’re too time-consuming (and ergo, if I’m being commissioned, often too expensive) to do often! Someday I’d like to get back to doing them more often, but for now, practically I stick to/’prefer’, in the loosest terms, to do lipflaps. For the layman, this is that ‘two frame’ (maybe three) open-closed style of animating mouths- however, I’m working on ways to keep that style, but make it more expressive! It depends on the project - and in commissions, I’ll pretty much always prioritize giving the client a little more body animation than mouth animation, unless it’d really fit what they’ve requested.

What's the hardest part of the animation process??

.... damn, this is a tough one! Sometimes I’d say it’s the initial concept work - but it depends on what I have to work with. Sometimes that parts a breeze - and honestly freeing, bc I can take the time to try and push what I’ll do with it!

Roughing is one of my favorite parts, tbh. It can be tricky, sure, but getting to go from keyframes to in-betweens & smears to adding the flairs of secondary motion (think hair swishing, or coats flaring, etc) is so exciting and satisfying.

From there it’s all refining, and tweaking...

Hm. Honestly, the hardest is probably the initial cleanup and lining. It’s cool to see it come together, but it feels so much slower, and it can drag - and then you find bits that actually don’t translate well from the rough stage, so you have to go back and rework, and oof it can just drag in this phase, heh. Plus, I’m always tempted to add more frames, but it’s not always realistic - I’m a perfectionist, to say the least, so I’m constantly having to leash myself back so I don’t turn a project into a half-a-year undertaking, pff.

What's ur favorite??

Probably gave myself away talking about the roughing stage X) It’s just loose and fun and free! But seeing it all come together is also damn satisfying too, so that’s not to say I don’t like the refining portions either...

Outside of that, I also really like the beginning of the color stage! .... Before having to translate shadows/highlights to each and every frame *shudders*. That gets tedious, but it’s so critical! Anyways, though, I heckin’ love colors. I always have a rough palette in mind at the start of the process, but I go ham and play with it as a little break and a true test when I get to actual slap together a full frame with full color, highlights/shadows included! It’s exciting, like a preview of the finished product, basically :D

Any part u don't like?

Heh, by the time I get to shadows/highlights, I tend to be getting impatient, I suppose. It’s not that I don’t like it - I definitely highly value it, and if it was the only thing I was working on in an animation that’d be different, but as a one-woman team I’m just raring to be done at that point; it’s very nearly the last thing I do, after all, so it’s a struggle to focus. X)

I suppose one that always gets me is more complicated backgrounds. It’s a work in progress, as I’m getting better and finding the fun in them for sure! But I’m still not where I want to be in translating ‘background concept’ to ‘finished background’ - it feels more stiff than my animations, I guess. So it’s a frustrating part... but hey, it’s part of it! And learning to embrace the challenge is a big help.

... I just always have to make sure I have a big cup of coffee and a good jam playlist going when I sit down to do ‘em, in the meantime.(=▿= ||||)

What's a thing people don't see that u put a lotta time into?

Definitely the coloring. This goes for both backgrounds and the animated characters themselves. It’s... never as simple as it looks? It’s time consuming, and while some parts of frames can be copy-pasted, I also put subtle work into the animations that mean that some pixels are off so it ends up being marginally faster to just recolor, but then there’s shadows, and working in pixels means that if I miss one then there’s a flickering pixel mid-animation, and sometimes there’s an unconnected line and then you bucket fill the whole damn thing, and gods know I’ve got colored lines so I have to be exacting with keeping the same ratios highlighted vs darker in shifting frames...

*deep breath*

... Yeah, basically the coloring is super time consuming. And balancing bg coloring with animated elements in the image itself is a whole extra challenge on top of that. For 99% of my animations, I can damn near guarantee I’ve spent at least twice as much time coloring it as I have animating it.

Do u have a fave animation u've done?

*looks at my goblin hoard of animations in horror like I’ve been asked to choose a favorite child*

... Stars above, I can’t choose! I love them all, and at this point a good portion of them are commissions- it wouldn’t feel right to choose!

*...carefully covers the hoard’s metaphorical ears*

... also, that said, I can admit a soft spot for any of them that involve humor. I tend to get to do extremely expressive faces and action there, even if I have to ration the frames, so it turns out really fun X)

And though rough and I’ve definitely done stuff I’m more proud of, I still crack up at this one I did a while back of the nonsense ‘ass’ joke between Red & Stretch... their faces were too much fun XD I’ve gotten waybetter since then though, Big Oof, I see so many things I can fix; might go back and redo it someday.

Honestly, though, I just freakin’ love animating! They all have their ups and downs andI always put a lot of love into them and find a way to have fun with it and try to push any emotion/theme (when applicable). I like to think it shows, but idk, that’s something I have to leave up to you guys X)

[xenon-rising]

lair review for goldenlionsnake/olega!

@golden-lionsnake

first, can i just say? you have some freaking gorgeous dragons, and that makes my life incredibly difficult. i’m gonna go ahead and try to pick 5, but i make no promises that i’ll be able to limit myself. behind the cut because i don’t know how to be concise and wordiness what this is all about anyway BABEY!!!

seuku is without a doubt one of the best uses of apparel i’ve ever seen. the mistlurker’s garb is a great piece but a bit challenging to fill out just because of how naked it leaves the back half, but you’ve put him together in a way that is absolutely phenomenal. it looks like a cohesive set. the dragon himself radiates this dark feeling, and despite all the color on your first page, my eye went right to him.

i think it’s because of the spinner, much like a deepsea fish the vivid blue just catches the eye in all that dark. likewise, the coal skink’s bright yellow accent really makes his eyes pop. his lore is.... *kisses fingers* so good, so good. i want to know more about him, because the little bit that you have paints him as this mystery and i just wanna know what’s going on in that noggin of his.

velodin, god help me?? what is this, how can a dragon be this freaking gorgeous, absolutely unfair. this is what stained was made for, baby, the colors are such an unusual palette and then you have all those luscious silks to really bring out the richness in him. i know a lot of people put focus on matching eyes, but his eyes stand out on the rest of him in a way that i find deeply satisfying. doesn’t hurt that lightning unusual eyes are my favorite color.

he doesn’t have lore yet, but it’s like i can feel his character, he seems like an arrogant and prideful creature, which is. so deserved. he’s glorious. did i mention the skin yet? well. consider it MENTIONED, because i’m losing my mind over it.

sometimes i click on a page/tab and my eye just SNAPS to a dragon, and that’s exactly what happened when i saw xylia. as previously mentioned, that rich teal does me in, and the seamless way it blends with her lovely and ridiculously prim and fancy clothing is a delight to my eyes. the layering of apparel, especially the CLAWS, is just so good. but the real killer is just that color scheme. i love the way her secondary/tert really set the teal up to shine.

she’s clearly a fancy lady, and i’m love her. god the more i look the more i appreciate the way these colors play with each other and with the apparel, you’ve managed to match every little highlight.

i have a problem with teal, i admit it, but that isn’t what grabbed my attention with wealthy. it was actually that green, popping out and giving this very haunting air, like ghost energy flowing around. as a random little note, her earring? adorable. the art?? incredible. her LORE??? i’m. shook. you better believe i trawled through everything you have for her. her character is such a good dichotomy of good and sinister. like, if i encountered her in a game, i’d go along with it but feel uneasy the whole way through.

god, i’m just in awe of how pretty she is. what really dragged me in and made me flop on my back like a dead bug is the thoughtful way you’ve written her character. what a good dragon.

(random note that i just took in and appreciated deeply is the tie-in between her rich brown eyes and the trim on her pants/sleeves. a++++)

asweferjfnrvfg i finally made it into the lorelock section and i’m fuckin dying over here, your dragons are too good, this is agony. spyrunt. how to even begin?? it’s funny because what caught my attention was the peacock, which seems like exactly what you’d expect in nature: catch attention. very good. but what it really is is the incredible synergy between the secondary/tert, with primary serving as a good neutral setting to really let his wings and accent shine.

the little roses are adorable for a reason i can’t quite put into words. also, i giggled at the child named “acceptable”.

well ok fine i have to do one more because for me to not slather love on a rb is unheard of, especially when they’re as lovely as ereshkigal is. they have a grace in that quiet dark space, making me think of foggy nights in the cold, empty places - not forests, but abandoned places, forgotten places, and the dragons who fill in the voids.

they have this... almost serenity, it’s hard to describe the exact way they make me feel. the touches of brighter red in the apparel are like a warning, but they don’t feel... threatening? like, not malicious. just something to be respected.

basically: me big love

[thepaperpanda]

Be my autumnal muse  ||  Steve Rogers x Reader one shot

Words: 1388

Warnings: none at all, just pure fluff :)

SUMMARY: Reader and Steve Rogers are on a walk, observing the color palette of nature. At the end, Steve confesses, that he’s into Reader and asks her to be his muse.

Author: Rouge

A/N: This story has been written for the writing challenge created by @fanlove-fandomlife

You stared at the leaves falling from the trees. It was quite breathtaking, at the most. Utterly beautiful. First a green leaf, then shortly afterwards a yellow leaf stained with bits of orange and green. They hit the ground lightly, making no sound effects. You could stay there all day, observing the utmost gorgeous pattern of the leaves dying off of the trees.

"Steve!" you turned around. Steve was sitting on the bench under huge, old willow, he was drawing in his sketchbook. "Yes, Y/N? What's up?" he asked lazily, not taking his eyes from the sketch he was making. You rolled your eyes and walked to him slowly, still looking around with admiration. "Instead of drawing, you should take a look around, dear!" you giggled happily, taking a seat next to him and putting your head onto his shoulder. "Just look! Down they come like multicoloured rain. Golds, reds and browns. They are a myriad of shapes and sizes, these leaves that clothed the trees. Now they are discarded like last seasons fashions and left to become part of the soil. But before that happens they make the most splendid mosaic that is unique in all the world. And yet we're here to witness it in this moment, it's so precious!" you were talking about leaves and colors like it would be the last thing you'll ever see. Steve had made some more lines, before he closed his sketchbook. He gave you a look and ruffled your bangs. "Y/N, you're too exaggerated sometimes." You frowned softly, pulling away from him. "Why are you saying so?" Blonde man pecked your lips. "You put too much attention in such a fleeting stuff. You should focus on more important things, Y/N." You rolled your eyes theatrically. "Says the man, who could spend whole day by drawing" you cocked your brew. "Steve, please. Stop being so stubborn and serious! Just live with a moment!" you quickly got up from the bench and you grabbed him by his sleeve. "C'mon! Let's take a walk! You were drawing for last half an hour! " Reluctantly, Steve followed you, getting up and closing his sketchbook. Man slipped it under his arm. You grabbed his hand and pulled him down the alley. Holding his palm, you were walking slowly by his side, looking around and breathing with fresh, chill air. "I've read the poems from before the war. They tell of trees changing color, pumpkins and thanksgiving. It must have been nice back then. It sounds like a cosy life" you broke the silence between you two. Steve's face changed within second. He became so pensive, kind of a little smirk appeared in the corner of his full lips. "Yes. It was a cosy life.." he mumbled, but his voice was nothing more then a whisper. You gave his hand a firm squeeze. "So now you should understand, what I find so interesting in observing the nature. It's so relaxing to me, letting all bad emotions disappear" you explained shortly. Steve only nodded, still overwhelmed by his memories. You both continued your walk through the park. Red, orange and yellow, in various different shades. All of them floating gracefully on the soft breeze. It was as if a friendly hand was gently lowering them to the ground. Whispers between these leaves filled the air, whispers and mutters. The air was cool and crisp, like a refreshing drink of cool water after hours in a desert. The breeze fluttered around, gently caressing everything it touched with fingers that had been a comfort to so many over their long, lonely years. You were absorbing everything. The nature was simply breathtaking in her color palette. With a corner of your eye you've noticed, that Steve also was delighted by variegation of the world. Finally, you and Steve reached a small lake and it was where the alley has ended. A deep sense of serenity overcame both of you as you stared in rapture at the expanse of blue that lay before you. Rays of lights danced delicately across the water, birthed from the afternoon sun that both limited your sight and made the view all the more beautiful. Steve smiled gently, looking at you. "Would you mind me, if I would ask you for something now?" he inquired. You eyed him carefully, not being sure, what has he wanted from you. "Yes, I suppose..." you answered. "Can I ask you to pose for me, Y/N?" the smile was still on his lips and his cheeks blushed a bit. You felt a heat on your cheeks within a second, so you turned your head to watch the lake. "I wouldn't mind..." you whispered softly, trying to calm yourself down.

You were sitting at the large rock on the shore of the lake patiently, waiting for Steve to end his masterpiece. 

"Can you turn your head a bit? Oh yes. Just like that." Steve was sitting on the ground, leaning his back against a tree trunk. He was putting all the effort into his drawing. "Have I ever told you, how much I adore your facial features, Y/N?" Steve's voice was soft like never before. "Hihi, no, you haven't" you giggled happily, covering your mouth with a palm. "Hey! Don't move, Y/N! The lightning!" Steve chuckled tenderly, then once again he focused on the draw. "Yes, yes, sorry, my bad" you sent him a warm smile. You were observing with a smile, how few little leaves fell down onto Steve's head. You couldn't help and let out a short laughter. "You look like a prince in the crown." Steve raised his chin a bit and narrowed his brows, then he reached to his hair and his face has brighten up. "Haha, very funny, Y/N!"

After some time, Steve rose from the ground and flicked his jeans from sand.

"Done. Wanna see?" he reached his sketchbook towards you. Gladly, you got up from your place and approached blonde man. You took the sketchbook into your hands and looked at the drawing he recently has made. "Oh Gosh.." you mumbled. "It's.. It's beautiful, Steve! But..." You took a careful look at the drawing again and your heart stopped for a second. You were on the foreground, the lake was a background. He has drew you so smoothly, emphasizing every attribute of your beauty. In the left lower corner of the page you found a little dedication, which took your breath away. For my beloved Y/N. You've always been in my mind. With love, Steven You've swallowed slowly, before you look into his eyes. "Why you didn't tell me earlier?" you asked quietly. But Steve only took his sketchbook from your hands amd closed it, then he leant down to you and he placed a lovingly kiss to your soft lips. You were too shocked to protest and the truth was you either didn't want to protest... You gave the kiss back, automatically pulling closer to his chest. "How long?" "Since the day I've met you, Y/N" Steve said sincerely, looking you straight in the eyes. "As you can see, it took me so long to find a courage." You nuzzled to his chest, feeling incredibly safe there. "The most important, that you've finally found it so you could be honest with me" you reached his jawline and stroked over his cheek. "So.. In the light of new circumstances.. Would you go with me for a date?" his cheeks were blushing hardly. You nodded slightly. "With a pleasure." You saw a little sparks of happiness into his beautiful blue eyes. Your hand found his palm and you tangled your fingers with his. "Let's go back home, Mr Rogers the Artist" you chuckled. He smirked on you, nodding, then Steve raised his chin to look at the autumnal sunset, which was building on the horizon. Man squeezed your palm tightly, and after that he let your hand free to wrap both his strong arms around you. You hugged to him as closely as you could. You felt, how he has rested his chin on the top of your head. He took a deep breath. "I want this moment to last forever." You moved closer so that he felt your presence, yet stayed quiet, allowing him to stay lost in the moment a while longer.

Gif: X