#and they are pretty great references for Hiccup and Astrid in general too (at least for me)

[hiccupbutpurple]

Decided to attempt drawing Hiccstrid as this scene of Stephanie and Peter from NPMD. (Ref image + other versions under the cut).

I could’ve drawn him cowering a bit more but I wanted to actually try drawing his face (and the angle was easier for me lol). We’re just gonna say his confused contemplation about whether a gun would work against a ghost took over his surprise at this point. Astrid is already ready to defend them.

Like 20 mins later:

Viggo, Krogan, Ryker (maybe Heather and Dagur if he isn’t Max): Hofferson has got a gun, Tra-La-La-La how fun! Hofferson has got a gun, she knows what must be done. ;p

(Also Dagur, Heather, Viggo, Ryker and Krogan as the lords of black would be cool even if Heather wasn’t technically with them and stuff and the timing with Dagur and Krogan is different but shhh it’s an AU and for fun ;) )

Also for the words on the drawing:

Astrid: Hiccup, get behind me! I’ve got a gun!

Hiccup: Astrid, it’s a ghost. I don’t think that’s gonna do any good.

Here’s a little dump of the sketch and without the (very simple) background - Hiccup’s hair is not as large

And the og ref

[happikattwuzheere]

What is your process working on art for Ghosts? How do you choose which scenes to draw, and how do you go about capturing that essence when you’re drawing? I love your art and I look forward to seeing every doodle and full piece each chapter :’)

ayyy fun art skills question 

okay sO. here’s a cut because there’s gonna be a lot of screenshots probably. 

edit: hey tumblr why did you eat my cut--

so for choosing scenes: well i’ve got a hard rule that there’s one for every flashback, because consistency is a good thing, and as a result of that i actually have a whole file that’s JUST concept sketches for flashback pictures, but i’ll get into concepts in a second here. Other art for chapter is largely just me looking for striking visuals; moments we have planned in the chapter that i feel would translate well to art, and which i could enhance the weight of with an image, or failing a good moment sometimes as with this past chapter i’ll go for something a little more abstract to capture a general vibe of the chapter. The picture of astrid w/ trent behind her, with her in his shadow looking dangerous--A lot of the tension in Ghosts is gonna come from that; from the ambiguity on where Astrid stands in all this and what she’ll do if/when she learns certain things, etc etc 

anyway though! that’s how to choose things; the next step is for me to do some sketches until i hit on a concept/composition that i like. These sketches are sometimes very small at first, because thumbnails are a great way to get composition down without worrying too much about the details, and when i do that they look like this: 

(Both of these were attempts at the art for chapter 6′s flashback; the one on the left was scrapped, and the one on the right i ended up using!) 

Sometimes i don’t go small at first though, it varies. Sometimes I get a sketch I like on the first try, too, but other times it takes a LOT of tries--chapter 5′s went through three attempts before I got one I liked; and these were also all drawn before the actual flashback was written!

here was attempt 1: 

which has an ok composition for the basic theme of “the boys are being romantic and astrid is being an annoying little sister about it”, but i wasn’t in love with it, plus it broke a rule that i’ve been using for the art that i can’t explain without spoiling some stuff but trust me it just doesn’t work. 

then we came up with the idea of the kids specifically hanging out at soltryce around this dried up fountain hidden behind some bushes, and that worked out better for this scene; the first attempt at it looked like this 

which was getting there but still not really interesting composition...and then, hey, third time’s the charm 

im just gonna keep using this picture as the example because its absolutely one of my favorites i’ve done. but anyway 

from this stage then i copy the whole sketch and move it onto its own file, and i collect whatever reference photos or palettes i need and start cleaning up the sketch a bit so i can lay down base colors! 

...i apparently dont have the rough flat colors for this image anymore, oops, but i can at least give you an idea of what those would’ve looked like and what a somewhat cleaned up sketch looks like! 

(i always sketch astrid in red, bren/caleb in blue, and eodwulf in green at this stage; it helps make it easier as my sketches get more complicated to determine where one person starts and another ends) 

and then this first pass of flat colors is 100% purely to determine if i like the composition still when it’s colored, how the lighting/shading works, if the characters look like they really are in the background, if the mood is conveyed through the color scheme chosen, etc. it’s not supposed to be neat or look at all polished yet, in fact a lot of the time this stage can be REALLY sloppy. this is purely just making sure the overall feel is what i want

and from there every other step is basically just cleanup and tweaking! like, lineart and everything else are technically a lot more complicated than that, but i mean, the hard part of conveying the mood and getting the composition down are done and the rest is usually pretty smooth sailing, aside from the occasional hiccup of “why wont you LOOK RIGHT” and spending hours looking for more references, 

anyway thats how the art happens! :D 

the whole time, also, ed @tactfulgrimalkin is getting spammed with wips. just. so many. 

[ashleybenlove]

Title: It Makes You Feel Safe

Prompt: 30th Oct: “I’m not going to stop poking you until you give me some attention.”

Fandom: How To Train Your Dragon

Pairing: Hiccup/Tuffnut

Word Count: 681

Rating: General

Warnings: Ableist language, suggestive comment

Disclaimer: I don’t own the source material in this fanfic. That’s to whatever company or person owns it. I would never claim to own it.

Notes: For HTTYD Rarepair Week 2017 @httydrarepair. There are probable influences from fandom and whatnot in this story. This fic takes place during Race to the Edge, sometime after season 1. Tuffnut says ‘handsome man’ in Spanish. There’s a Brooklyn Nine Nine reference in the fic and the title. Also, while not the focus of the fic, my OT6ing of the gang is definitely present in the fic. 

And it is under the read more.

  Hiccup should have figured this. Having five romantic partners meant having to divide his romantic attention in a fairly equal manner. One of the highlights of being in a polyamorous relationship.

 So, when Tuffnut came into his hut while Hiccup stared at the plans for another iteration of Dragon Fly, Hiccup should have figured, that it was time to turn his attentions elsewhere. But he kept staring at the plans, trying to figure out if there was something else he should add or fix. Dorsal fins? Toothless had them.

 He was poked in the back by a single finger.

 He smiled but continued to look at the plans, studying them intensely.

 “Poke,” came Tuff’s voice, as Tuff pressed his finger into Hiccup’s shoulder blade.

 Hiccup made a note on his plans to consider adding dorsal fins to Dragon Fly. He was sure that this iteration would annoy some of his partners, probably not the one behind him, who was poking him at random intervals. He was pretty sure he had been poked by Tuffnut at least a dozen times.

 “You know,” Tuffnut prefaced. “I’m not going to stop poking you until you give me some attention.”

 Message received, Tuffnut.

 “Okay, okay,” Hiccup said. He added one last notation on his plans.

 “Whatcha workin’ on, H?” Tuff asked, a hand on Hiccup’s shoulder, leaning against him to look. Hiccup appreciated the proximity. He could smell Tuffnut’s scent.

 Hiccup set aside the plans to a corner of his desk.

 “Move back, I’m getting up,” Hiccup said.

 Tuffnut moved aside to give him the necessary space, but once Hiccup was standing, they were standing within a foot of each other.

 Hiccup smiled at Tuff, and said, "Don't tell the gang that I'm working on another version of Dragon Fly.”

 “Oh, definitely not, H. Astrid and Snotlout would be annoyed with you. Me? I encourage this craziness,” Tuffnut replied. “Your secret is safe with me.”

 “Great,” Hiccup said. He let out a deep sigh, a smile on his face, before announcing that he was going to kiss Tuff.

 Tuff’s eyes lit up. “Alright, H!” Tuffnut exclaimed.

 Within moments, the foot of space between the two of them had narrowed as both moved forward, their bodies pressed close, Hiccup with a hand on Tuff’s waist. Hiccup leaned in slowly and gently, and then… there it was.

 It felt lovely and wonderful to kiss Tuffnut at this moment. And even more lovely and wonderful to feel Tuff kiss him back. It was just lovely and wonderful. As always.

 When they finally pulled away, Hiccup sighed pleasantly, an adoring look on his face. He pressed his forehead against Tuffnut’s forehead.

 “So, you said you wanted attention. What kind of attention do you want?” Hiccup asked. “And remember, it’s the middle of the day.”

 Tuffnut snorted at the comment, his reaction breaking the forehead touch.

 “H, my hombre guapo, I am content with cuddling with you,” Tuffnut replied.

 “You wanna be the big spoon or the little spoon?” Hiccup asked.

 “Little spoon. It makes you feel safe,” Tuffnut replied.

 “Fair,” Hiccup said. Hiccup pulled away from Tuffnut, just enough to hold out his hand and add, “C’mon.”

 The two of them walked up the stairs hand-in-hand.

 “Hey, T. How you been?” Tuffnut said, to Toothless, who already napping on his own bed, deigned to open his eyes to look at Tuffnut and Hiccup.

 Tuffnut sat on Hiccup’s bed while Hiccup caressed Toothless’s face until Toothless nudged Hiccup towards the bed.

 Tuff chuckled, grinned, and gave Toothless two thumbs up gestures before quickly lying down on his side so that his back was to Hiccup.

 “Come give me attention!” Tuffnut exclaimed.

 Hiccup smiled fondly at Tuffnut’s back as he walked over and got into the bed, pressing his body against Tuffnut’s, one arm firmly on Tuffnut’s waist. Hiccup briefly moved his body upwards so that he could reach over and gently kiss Tuffnut on the cheek.

 “Love you,” Hiccup whispered, when he pulled his lips away from Tuff’s cheek.  

 Snuggling against Hiccup’s body, Tuffnut whispered back: “Love you, too, H.”