#considering drawing all three kids together so maybe then. we'll see!

[wetbloodworm]

was thinking of naevys, zenith's mom friend, and thinking about her whole deal a bit because i struggle to just make side characters without developing them at least a little lol. she's a widow and had three kids, two daughters and a son, and lost both daughters during wyrm war one. decided i wanted to design the daughters, so here they are! the whole family follows/followed kezdall, hence the bear symbols. extremely lazy armor here but we don't worry about that, this gets the idea cross well enough. i think they were both clerics, maybe a cleric and a paladin? they both fought in the war rather than being civilian casualties, i know that. daughters went out to fight in the war, son stayed home to watch out for mom and dad. might draw the son separately, we'll see how far this inspiration takes me lol

[eshbaal]

Character Sketching Basics (for total beginners)

I've never really made art tutorials, but I do actually semi-routinely teach digital art classes to local kids in my area. As a result of this, I have also now signed up for a volunteer character sketching workshop for such kids that I am hosting tomorrow.

I figured that since I will have 15 kids there and I can't possibly introduce them to the base concepts one by one, I should make some easy to understand slides that try and teach them the basic thoughts that go behind a good character sketch. Aaaand I figured I would share them here. They are in danish, but I will translate underneath each pic. And before any other of the amazing artists on here start pointing out that this is possibly a bit too simplsitic to be a "proper" tutorial - the workshop is for the 11-14 crowd that may have never heard these things before. That's why it's kept as completely simple as possible. Anyway, here we go:

When we draw characters, we usually talk about three pimary stages - Sketch, Inking and Colors/Shading. That's a lot of stuff to learn, but we'll focus on sketching for today, alright?

A good way to learn how to draw characters is by learning to understand two great tools - the STICK FIGURE and the BASIC SHAPES.

The Stick Figure helps you understand what a body looks like and how it fits together (anatomy), and makes it easier to portray a body in motion. (This also goes for nonhuman creatures - consider the stick figure their "skeleton")

Once you have your skeleton, you can use basic shapes (triangles, squares and circles of all kinds) to build the rest of the body. Your choice of shapes and their sizes can make a massive difference! Notice, how blocky Superman looks compared to the skinny Anne here, even though their skeletons are built basically the same way.

You can also use basic shapes to create some really unique characters, and maybe even tell us something about their personality at the same time. This is called "shape language". Take a look at how some famous characters use very simple shapes. The always friendly and happy Mickey Mouse is round and friendly-looking. With just three circles, he became famous worldwide. The skinny, refined Pearl's body consists primarilly of triangles and long circles - this works really well for a dancer, who is also a bit of a perfectionist. She even carries a spear, which is a pointy weapon that really needs the one wielding it to be precise! Almost every character in "Phineas and Ferb" consists of simple shapes that make them easy to recognize. Phineas and Ferbs' heads consist of just a big triangle and two squares respectively. And with Isabelle and Candace, you can even spot a couple of half-circles!

If you learn how to see these shapes and where they are hiding, you can learn to draw almost any character you can imagine - even the ones that look super difficult and complicated. Shredder here looks almost impossible to draw, but even he has a lot of squares and triangles you can find if you look close enough - and if you drew a solid enough skeleton to start with, so you can tell where certain things are supposed to go on his body. You also use these techniques to draw harder parts of the body, such as hands. It's really difficult, but it'll come to you with practice.

Okay - let's use what we've learned! Pick a character or make something up yourself. Figure out the characters' skeleton. Go ahead and draw them in a different pose, if you want and if you feel you can. Find and add the characters' basic shapes and add them on top of the skeleton to make a body. Add details and start erasing the lines you no longer need.

A FEW LAST PIECES OF ADVICE - Draw softly and loosely. It's hard to erase your lines if you pressed down hard on your paper. - Try not to choose a character that's too complicated to start with. We all gotta start somewhere. - Don't worry about your sketch looking a little messy. After all, it's just a sketch. All it needs to be is a good starting point for when you ink it later. - Your sketch does NOT need to look 100% like the original. The important part is that you can spot how their bodies are constructed, and find all their most important traits. - If there's a part you are having a hard time drawing, take a break and work on something else. Sometimes your brain just needs a little break. - Ask for help! That's why I'm here! - Remember to take breaks now and then. It's good for your hands and for your backs. ----

Soooo yeah. That's my tutorial for ABSOLUTE beginner kids. I hope this will land well tomorrow.

[darby-draws]

1 and 12 for Quinn, 18 for Andre ?

Thanks for asking! [questions]

Read More for big long post! <3

1 What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?

It was right after Art Fight and I desperately wanted a Queer Horror OC before Halloween season. There was a lot of talk about what kind of horror we wanted to go towards. (which maybe still is not quite settled as there are multiple "Horror Movie Plots" in our Whorror Movie story.) But we settled on demon possessed with some religious trauma and a bit of delicious revenge, and Darla and I both worked on designing our own guys separately and see how they would fit together. I sketched these:

I thought the demon might be similar to an AU demon we have, Goopy, who possesses Lucky and Nate in a story, so that's why I have the drippy drawing in the corner and the inspo for the top surgery tattoos. That's how Goopy was! But Quinn's Demon is a bit different now! Black hair with horns was a must but it mostly became spiky hair with the Vibe of horns. (… unless! rule of cool: draw them as horns anyway its badass!!)

In an early iteration of the story Quinn and Parker were going to find a baby possessed by a demon, from an Evil Cult Town. Quinn's demon and Parker's strength (and bloodthirst) destroyed their Big Bad leader who was doing the baby/demon sacrifices, and the baby was abandoned, maybe thought to be dead? They were like sure… We'll see what we can do with this little thang. They named it Blair Belladonna. They knew of an older witchy/demon knowledgeable grandma figure (literally Domino's Grandma before Domino was a character) who could help them learn about this baby's demon and how to raise a little demonling. BUT That never settled into canon, there is no baby Blair. (However! Much of the baby demon possessing cult thing turned into Domino's backstory. 👀)

12 What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC?

Remembering the dripping perma crying eyeliner down his cheeks. Yes it's supposed to be a permanent feature. 😔 Also figuring out how to draw the hair in between the "horns", how to make it spiky but not distract from The Big Spikes, which direction its going off in, etc. Otherwise I think Quinns pretty easy to grasp for me! 🤔 I love when I get to use flat black for hair and clothes when I'm just doodling so thats always a relief.

18 What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

This was trickyyy ahh Andre's such an old character that hasn't been the main focus lately, so a lot of thinking of him recently has been like. Reminiscing on old facts and not necessarily bringing in anything new. If theres something I've recently discovered of him, I can't think of it!

One thing I've recently decided after some consideration is that I'm going to fuse the Original Andre story where he adopts Delilah the robot and the AU where Andre has an Actual Human Baby instead of the robot together. So now, Delilah and baby Leia exist at the same time! Yay, two of them!!! It's gonna have to make me rethink and plan out his timeline a bit differently and see how he reacts to things now. I just haven't actually set out the time to plan the combined story yet. I feel like I softened up Andre's story a bit in the baby AU, (less drug use, less bad relationships with sketchy people, etc) so I'll have to see if I end up keeping it slightly more balanced or if it'll stay more true to the Actual Canon events, maybe just pushed around the timeline a bit.

Something else that feels new from semi recent times: I thought of an AU where all three of his parents actually like. Get together/stay together polycule it up and raise Andre together rather than the usual backstory of:

two good friends in college befriend and get a crush on the same woman

the guys start a business together

one of them marries the woman and they have a kid together but he gets way too into his work and neglects his wife, oops :(

she then goes to their friend for comfort, which leads to cheating, which leads to she GETS PrEGNANT (WITH ANDRE!) (NOT her Husband's child!) oops :(

she tells her husband the truth and they talk about separating

The Friend leaves The Business and is told to basically never speak to them again

Husband decides will simply raise this child as his own and works on bettering himself and the marriage (if only for appearances and/or for their older daughters sake) and he will simply Not resent the New Child for any reason, it's That Easy! (he said, you know, like a liar.)

Andre finds this out (Accidentally! From his SISTER) as a full grown ass adult and it fucks him up for a bit. oops :(

⬆ this is a lot to Get Into. And also it's Not the new stuff, although I probably haven't actually delved into it before…!

But basically, all this to say, this New 3 Parent AU leads to Andre being much more well adjusted, because so much of his… THing in his life (in canon timeline) has juust been. family treating him unfairly for something he had no part in and resenting/reacting to that. 🥴 And his two dads are such opposite strict/lenient personalities that they'd balance each other like, reallly wellll if they had that opportunity to both raise him from the start, and Andre would have someone in his corner when he's Going Through rough times in life. AUgh. If only… (Also his bio dad is … probably autistic like him so I think someone would like, UNDERSTAND him and the way he does things while growing up which is like, wow groundbreaking.)

[hand-made-sweater]

Saturday, August 19th

I'd like to have 4 children

August (Augie), River, Eden, Birdie

I consider all of them gender neutral names but Eden is more feminine I think, traditionally at least

Then again Cassidy is a more feminine gender neutral name and I do plan on being their father

Dad

Dada

I don't see myself as daddy

I want to fall asleep with all 4 of them in my arms and I want them to feel loved

I want to show them music

And I want to show them art

And read Moomin and Winnie the Pooh

And go to the beach and the forest

Ill make them banana pancakes

And chocolate pudding

Italian ice in the summer time when we sit in the inflatable pool together

Ill hose off our big dumb dog I'm sure we'll have and I'll grill corn for dinner

Ill be in a 3 bedroom, two kids per room

I'll go thrift sturdy old furniture and remodel beautiful dollhouses for them

Little chairs by big sprawling books shelves

In the dining area I'll have all their art framed in real frames from the thrift store

And their heights marked in the living room

A sun room full of books and a CD player and board games and dolls

Car tracks running from the top of the steps to the bottom

My bedroom will have a big bed covered in pillows and blankets so my babies can join me and the dogs will always sleep at the end of my bed

We'll have a big dog and maybe a little one

Maybe a little parakeet who can fly freely around the parlor

Bench with muddy boots and teeny little sandals spilling out the bottom

Ill have a pair of Mary Jane's for sunday's

On Sundays we'll do something special

Howl at the moon or talk to trees

When they have passions I'll take them out to explore them

Museums and obstacle courses and little diners where we can pool over their thoughts

Ill give them 5 dollars to get an iced tea and a bag of chips at the corner store in the summer

And always give them a Clementine before they leave the house

We could do little experiments in the kitchen

Growing strawberries out of the cans that once held our peach slices

Get one iced coffee and 4 slushies

Get 5 hot cocoas and 3 giant coffee rolls

They'll spend a weekend with their nana so I can visit the ocean with my friends

An week in the summer with their auntie on her farm

So i can visit the mountains and write

They'll have two uncles and three aunts, how amazing

And sometimes we'll wake up and just watch cartoons and eat cereal

And draw chalk and make slime

And paint all of our nails every color because someone is going through a phase

I'll write them little books and illustrate them

And I'll sew them costumes on Halloween

[artificialqueens]

Chapter Four: We'll Show Them-Luci

a/n: exams are over in a week and I’ve already found so much more time to write! hope you like this chapter :) thanks to my wonderful beta @apatheticskeleton and my cheerleaders aqbrits <3

summary: Sasha and Shea’s relationship develops, and as feelings come to the surface, their lives become even more complicated when they’re acted upon

The amber tinted glass of Sasha’s round sunglasses didn’t effectively block out the sunlight that seeped through the window adjacent to her desk. She winced every time she shifted her body and a beam of light blinded her. Her headache felt as though an anaconda had wrapped its body around her forehead, squeezing tighter anytime she tried to concentrate. She groaned under her breath so that she didn’t draw Alexis’s attention, who was already on her case for wearing unnecessarily orange glasses. Sasha’s co-worker was superstitious to say the least and she had already complained twice about Sasha passing on her bad luck.

“How’re you doing?” The words, whilst spoken in a singsong voice, were almost taunting to Sasha. She spun her chair around and faced the newcomer with a scowl. Shea laughed when she saw the expression on Sasha’s face, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. Sasha rested her cheek on Shea’s hand with a groan, which only amused Shea further. Perching on the clutter free side of Sasha’s desk, Shea laughed when Sasha winced, the conversation not helping her dry throat.

“I’ve seen you drunk before. Hell, I’ve seen you offer a man three hundred dollars to bring your drink from the table in front of you to your hand but this is bad, even for you.” Shea chuckled, her raised eyebrows emphasising her disbelief. Sasha only watched her with a pout, her face flushed with embarrassment.

“Oh don’t,” Sasha whined with a laugh, “I’ve already spent the morning feeling like a disobedient child after one of Alexis’s infamous lectures. If I didn’t have a headache before coming in this morning, I sure as hell had one after that. Why doesn’t she lecture Farrah, she was just as bad as I was.”

“It’s ‘cause she cares about you. She sees you like her delinquent kid. On second thoughts, maybe one of those baby sheep that goes the wrong way when the sheepdog tries to herd it up. I suppose that would make Alexis a farmer, but I can’t see her driving a tractor.” Shea mused aloud, her eyes narrowed as she thought. Sasha laughed loudly, her red lips curving into a wide smile as she imagined her glamorous co-worker in that situation.

“You’re thinking way too much into this. Also, who calls a lamb a baby sheep?” Sasha shook her head fondly while Shea let her jaw drop in offense, giving Sasha the finger secretly so no one else in the room would see. Shea prided herself on her professional façade, especially as the only one able to see past it was Sasha.

“Bitch, that’s what it is.” Shea laughed, shrugging with stubbornness. Her pout only made Sasha laugh more.

“Shea, you don’t call children baby people do you?” She smirked, knowing she’d won their playful argument when Shea muttered “Touché smartass” under her breath.

“So, what’s on your busy schedule for today?” Sasha asked; her curious smile surprisingly bright considering her current state.

“I wanted to make sure you’re alright after the other night, and then I’ve got some dumb meetings. Eureka’s been on my dick trying to get me to organise my finance meeting.” Shea rolled her eyes to express her exasperation.

Sasha’s smile faltered at the mention of the previous night. She couldn’t remember much of what happened, but she knew Shea and Farrah had protected her. She opted to keep it as a forgotten memory, as it deeply concerned all her co-workers. Even Trinity and Eureka had been on the phone all morning, complaining to the bar they’d gone to. Everyone thought that her safety was their responsibility, but Sasha had an inkling that her bosses were worried about what the press would have to say.

Shea watched her worriedly, noticing the change in expression on her co-worker’s face. Sasha’s mouth stretched in a reassuring smile.

“See, you’re a successful woman now, your own meetings and everything. I have to write a report for our next live show. Who knew our jobs consisted of more than just sitting and smiling?” Sasha joked, poking Shea in the arm.

“I’ll help you when I’m finished with the meeting.” Shea promised, crossing her fingers as a gesture.

“Sounds good, thanks. I wish I could sit in on your meeting, it’d be a nice change seeing you be professional.” Sasha smiled cheekily when Shea lightly hit her on the arm in offense.

“Shame you don’t get paid for being shady. Also, it’d be terrible if you came to the meeting, you’d make me laugh and get my ass fired.” Shea laughed loudly, and the sound made the people working around them look up in irritation. Alexis had put in her earphones, blocking out their chatter, but the staff that weren’t used to the pair just shushed them in annoyance. Shea muttered an apology, suddenly conscious of the volume of her voice.

“Good luck with your meeting,” Sasha whispered as Shea was called over by Kimora, “break a leg.”

Shea shook her head and tried not to smile, and muttering, “I’ll get you later” before brushing down her dress and adjusting her long hair so that it sat behind her shoulders, reaching to the small of her back. She disappeared through the doors after Kimora told her that Trinity had requested her, leaving Sasha to sit alone in silence.

Sasha sat cross-legged on her chair, watching the door as it closed behind Shea. She struggled to concentrate on her work as she glanced around the room. Farrah and Aja were sat in one corner of the room beside the camera crew, complaining about the coffee Farrah had bought from the stand down the street. Farrah’s nose wrinkled dramatically as she took a sip from Aja’s cup, as if it was worse than her own. Aja was less bothered by the coffee, but still narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the taste.

On the other side, both Trinity and Eureka’s assistants stood hovering by the printer, chatting absentmindedly as they waited. Sasha liked both Valentina and Kimora; they managed to distract each other almost as much as Sasha and Shea. She also appreciated that both women brought Sasha lunch or coffee whenever they went to pick something up for their bosses.

They noticed Sasha glancing at them and waved, laughing when she expressed her boredom to them. The only other person, aside from the directors and camera crew, in the room was Alexis, but she was happily minding her own business without the company of co-workers. Sasha had always wondered whether or not Alexis was lonely, so she tried to reach out to her whenever possible. Judging by her intolerance of both Sasha and Shea, she decided that Alexis just wasn’t a people person.

She finally turned her attention back to her work, shifting the mouse next to her computer so the black screen changed back to the google search bar. She’d typed only ‘what’ into the search engine, but she was determined to finish her report. It was nearly five in the evening, and she had to get it done before she left. She groaned loudly after writing a paragraph, although she did have to admit it was a very good paragraph.

“Do you have to whine like Farrah goddamn Moan? I can hear you through my earphones.” Alexis snapped, turning her chair so she was staring accusingly at Sasha.

“Just turn your music up if I’m bothering you darling.” Sasha countered, typing on her keyboard while still keeping strong eye contact with Alexis, as if proving her productivity.

Alexis rolled her eyes and showed Sasha her phone screen as she turned up the volume to its maximum. Sasha winced when she heard the music through Alexis’s phone and, when Alexis noticed her discomfort; she turned away with a smug smile.

Sasha wondered when she’d grown fond of Alexis. Maybe it was the motherly complaining or the rolling eyes, but Sasha couldn’t deny that she smiled whenever Alexis yelled at her. Not that she’d ever admit that to Alexis.

Sasha hadn’t heard Shea approach until she scraped her chair across the floor over to Sasha’s desk, the loud noise hurting her sensitive ears. Her headache had disappeared around lunch, and she was determined not to bring it back.

“How’s the report coming on?” Shea asked, sitting down next to Sasha. She rested her elbow on the table and leaned forward, looking for the document on her computer.

“Well, I’ve written an introductory paragraph, but I got distracted by my boredom and Alexis’s terrible taste in music.” Sasha shrugged, gesturing to Alexis. She had her earphones in, but the music was loud enough for the pair to be able to make out the lyrics from where they sat. Shea smirked at the unaware woman adjacent to them.

“God, you’re lucky you’re pretty,” Shea’s voice trailed off when she saw the smirk on Sasha’s face. Shea blushed and focused on the computer screen, not looking Sasha in the eyes.

They sat together for an hour, Shea calling out ideas as Sasha typed. Even Alexis, who had sent in numerous noise complaints about them, couldn’t deny that they worked together like clockwork. Their co-workers muttered goodbyes to the room when their shift ended, but neither woman noticed as they were lost in their teamwork, only pausing to appreciate their success. Trinity called them the dream team when they’d first started working; but that was largely because she had often forgotten their names or called them by the wrong one.

Sasha sat back in her chair with satisfaction when she sent off the report to Eureka, who’d agreed to look over it for her. She called out happily as the clock hit six thirty and they were able to go home.

“Only took us half an hour of overtime, not bad at all.” Shea gestured wildly. Her hand flew down onto Sasha’s thigh as Shea logged off the computer with a smug nod.

“I’ll walk you to the bus stop.” Shea offered, quickly removing her hand from Sasha’s thigh when the latter turned to look at her. Sasha smiled and took her bag from where it hung on the back of her desk chair. The many pins and badges clattered together as she slung it over her shoulder. She waited for Shea to get her coat from her own desk, folding the teal trench coat over her arm. Sasha held the door open as she waited for Shea, who laughed at the gesture, “Oh she’s a gentleman now.”

Farrah was upset to see them go when the said goodbye at her desk, upset at having to work extra time without the company of the others. The papers were stacked up on her desk, and Sasha was concerned that she was using the pile for two mugs, one empty and one filled with fresh coffee. She could see the coffee rings forming on the paper, but Farrah seemed unfazed by this development.

“It’s not fair, what’ve I done to deserve this? I don’t want to stay here without all of you, it’s boring. I don’t wanna work.” Farrah whined, her lips drawn into a dramatic pout. Shea caught Sasha’s eye as she tried to hold in laughter. Shea’s favourite joke of Sasha’s was her impersonation of Farrah. Sasha had a sparkle in her eyes, and Shea knew it was a sign that the woman had been given some new material.

“See you later Farrah.” Shea called as she followed Sasha out the door into the quiet streets. The shops had since closed and most people were home from work, and Sasha enjoyed the peacefulness of the evening. She noticed Shea watching her, smiling fondly as Sasha happily took in her surroundings.

They turned the corner that was next to the entrance of the building where Sasha usually waited for the bus to pull up on the other side of the road when the street was too busy. The brick of the wall was hidden by graffiti, a mixture of signatures and political messages. She could feel Shea standing closely behind her, her hand brushing Sasha’s back. Sasha turned so that she was face to face with Shea, meeting her deep stare.

“What happens if we both get into trouble?” Sasha asked; her voice breathy as it hitched. She was conscious of how close Shea was; her warm breath on the back of Sasha’s neck when she exhaled. Sasha was scared, but it wasn’t the kind of fear she experienced when she’d been thrown into the ocean as a dare in high school, trapped under the icy waves. This fear wasn’t cold though, it was warm. She didn’t feel as if she was drowning, she felt alive.

“Then we’ll have nothing to lose.” Shea answered, her confidence battling with her nerves. Sasha found herself looking at Shea’s lips. They were full, much more so than Sasha’s even when she over lined them. Now, they were lined in a plum colour and filled with a pinkish gloss. Sasha couldn’t help but notice the way the sunlight caught them and made them shine.

It wasn’t a surprise when Shea initiated the kiss, suddenly leaning forward to crash her lips onto Sasha’s. Shea was fearless; and that was exactly what they both needed. Sasha was pressed up against the wall of the building, Shea’s body pressed up against hers. Sasha could feel the coolness of the brick through the thin fabric of her button-up shirt.

There was no hesitation of passion, and neither woman wasted the limited time they had before someone inevitably caught them. Shea fought for power, enjoying the whines that Sasha made when Shea hands explored her body, her touch like fire on her porcelain skin. Sasha struggled for control herself, deepening the kiss whenever Shea pulled her closer. The lip gloss on Shea’s lips had since rubbed off onto Sasha’s but they still tasted of vanilla. Their tongues danced together awkwardly, exploring each other’s mouths. Sasha was thankful that she’d taken the peppermint that Alexis had offered her earlier and, by the taste of it, Alexis had offered one to Shea too.

Their noses had been pressed together and they pulled apart to breathe. Sasha hadn’t realised how breathless she’d been until she took in a gulp of air. Both herself and Shea were synchronised as they breathed in short pants of excitement. They’re bodies were still close together, and Sasha could feel the heat of Shea’s skin on her own. It wasn’t particularly warm, and it had gotten colder through the duration of the day, but neither woman could feel the cold air.

“Come on, I’ll drive you home.” Shea murmured; her hand still tangled in Sasha’s short hair. Sasha stared up at her with wide eyes, but nodded gratefully.

No one spoke throughout the time of the ride home; the only sound was the gentle tap of Shea’s acrylic nails on the steering wheel. Sasha’s hand rested on the edge of her seat and, at some point during a traffic light, she’d found Shea’s hand placed over her own.