#creativity central

[creativity-central]

Blog 12: Line Weight

Hello everyone! It’s nearly the end of summer, and with the weight of school drawing ever closer, I’d like to talk about the weight of… line art!

Personally, as an artist, I used to take pride in my uniform, unweighted lines that make my work look more consistent. Indeed, there’s nothing wrong with doing so, but over time, I started to experiment with using line weight in my art and found that it enhanced my work drastically! Thus, I’m passing these findings onto you!

Line weight can be unconscious depending on the pen you use for line art, both digitally and traditionally! However, there are specific ways that weight can be used to emphasize certain parts of your drawings. Areas that aren’t hit by a light source can have thicker lines to simulate shadows. Objects placed closer to the camera, and thus enlarged, can get thicker lines as well. Lastly, things pulled down on by gravity can have a transition from thin to thick lines going down (typically fabrics, like skirts!). These three examples are typically the main examples of varying pen weights being used.

Another common use, however, is shading as well! Familiar with crosshatching? Well, making thicker lines the farther down you go can also enhance its look! This kind of stuff can be found in traditional comics that depend on pure black in order to shade.

If this variance seems daunting, start off with some exercises to warm up to it! Make rows of straight lines that start off thin and end up thick. Make thick lines that end up thin. Make lines that pulsate between thin and thick (this can create a stitch or bead-like appearance!). Go crazy, and don’t be afraid to put pressure onto the paper!

Line art is more than just a more polished sketch, it can be used to make bold emphasis or smooth, flowing textures, and much of that can depend on your use of line weight! Make the most out of it! And with that, I’ll see you all next month!

[suburbanbonfire]

Another year, here we go!

(prints here)

some wip shots since I know some people like seeing them!

meant to take more screenshots, but ended up super busy and forgot once I came back after a few months, whoops. Making the iceberg itself was super fun!

[coffeenuts]

[pjharvey]

yah middling/extremely radio friendly pop artists have been doing crazy and provocative visuals for their videos, stage performances, album art, etc for ages and having outfits that are “too out there” for how their music sounds so re: chappell roan this is nothing new. lil nas x kind of does pop rap that isn’t bad but also nothing particularly special, and he has had some insane music videos. lady gaga did this, miley cyrus did this, halsey is doing this, the weeknd did this, even taylor swift in her reputation era did this

[kaynineacademy]

i couldn't possible explain it but somehow new york city makes me want to be alive.

[sysig]

A lot of early concept stuff was expression/pose brainstorming - there’s the classic six Webkinz emotions (which, I learned have been largely pared down to just four after a point! Since they got rid of Dr. Quack’s role, there’s no more “sick” expression and most ‘Kinz’ tired and sad expressions are the same! >:0 What’s the point of having an easily editable puppet with the spaghetti code intact that you have to put an image there AnyWay and not make a slightly different expression!! H’f) as well as the main Sakura poses - so if I’m already making up expressions, why no go a little further! :D

One of the expressions I definitely needed up top was Mischievous - working with a cat, that’s the only logical conclusion really. I think it’s funny that she swerves the compliment only to pay it right back as well lol

The ticklish expression is one I’m still going back and forth on! I’m half tempted to have it be somewhere between happy and angry - maybe a mood gradient, starting out just positive and slowly moving into “Hey stop! >:0″ if it’s too many times in a row? It’s a thought haha

Similarly so, messing with her ears - bothering your pets is a very important element of socialization (lol)

As seen above, I’d reallyyy like to figure a way to have a dual-visual mood system - both the ‘Kinz body language/expression/emotion and a more exact stat bar. I’m still chewing on this idea a bit, no pun intended lol. That and click-and-drag with an actual image you can drag around your screen, hm and hm! Much to think about. Her face here turned out cute and funny haha, helped me push the expression more comedic

Much better :) Webkinz already has some well-known food dialogue, my favourite is probably “Mmm to the mmmax!” haha

Each low-mood would have their own emotion tied to it, but what about somewhere in the middle? I like the idea of the ‘Kinz getting bored if they’re left alone for too long! And little paw taps, showing off her embroidered paw pad haha ♪

[yu-and-rei-vi]

So I watched the food theory video where matpat fixes the fnaf cookbook and it led to me scheming

And I have now created a new dish for sun and moon

Behold… fuit sald

Like this kind

THATS RIGHT BOYS IM GOING POP-UP CAFE VIBES BABEYYYYYY

it could have a variant with sweet orange and yellow fruits for sun and one with tart blue and purple fruits for moon

And a mixed one for eclipse

[hiraethwrote]

holy shit norwegian is such an ugly language

[studioriver-dfts]

‘I’m not trying to do something different, I’m trying to do the same thing in a different way.’ Vivienne Westwood

BUY LESS, CHOOSE WELL, MAKE IT LAST.

Vivienne Westwood wasn’t just a designer - she was a revolutionary mind, an activist and a bold, powerful woman.

Her brand and her voice became a #manifesto for how climate change and culture are connected. She always said: “The first thing we can do is inform ourselves, because all we’ve got is public opinion. And the most important thing is to fight for something”.

#Sustainability in fashion has to be an intentional act and a conscious choice into both vision and strategy.

Vivienne Westwood’s fearless creativity and authenticity remain a daily source of inspiration for me."

.:. monday story .:.

Each Monday, one story to share 🔥

[the-eldritch-it-gay]

Sanrymic "Flint" Tēhal Aesthetic — God consumes you, digests you, makes your decomposition a sacrament. You consume god, tearing into Him with your teeth every time you eat; He is not the god of harvest, He is the harvest.

Poem from [here]

[creativity-central]

Blog 10: Mermaids

A common artist tradition held in May is Mermay. It’s nothing official, but the pun sounds nice and it lets people have an excuse to draw as many mermaids as they please, whether they be original characters or favorites turned into mermaids! So, this months post is going to be a bit more lighthearted in nature by giving some observations I’ve seen in mermaid designs that could help you in the future, and in the future Mermays to come!

There’s not a single right way to draw mermaids, as long as part of them is a human and part of them is a fish (although the human part is preferably the torso and up). In fact, it doesn’t even need to be a fish. Lots of mermaids have been created with other aquatic wildlife, but let’s start simple before we reach that point.

Talking about mermaids will almost always bring up Ariel in people’s minds, her red hair and contrasting green-blue tail are just too iconic. However, her kind of mermaid is the simplest out of the ones to be mentioned here. Her fish side has tail fins, scales, and nothing more, and she wears a purple seashell bra. Other than these two aspects of her, there is nothing separating her from a normal human being, making her design feel like two beings stitched together rather than a whole.

The point of a mermaid may be that contrasting feel, and if Ariel is the ideal design you want in a mermaid, feel free! However, when considering mermaids as an actual singular creature, and bypassing the friendly vibes needed for a children’s’ film, you can get really creative with what you put into a mermaid.

When I think of an interesting depiction of mermaids, what comes to mind is the popular web comic Castle Swimmer. Not only that, but a variety of animals are referenced when creating the people of this world, from octopi, to sharks, to hermit crabs. So how do they do it?

The first thing to note here is that, unlike the Little Mermaid, this rendition decides to include more features of the fish. Not only are the tail fins included, but there can also be other parts of fish anatomy. In these designs, the dorsal fin is logically placed on their backs. The variety of fins on a fish are essential for proper movement, so including them in these mermaid designs makes it feel more believable. Not all aquatic animals have fins, but it’s good to acknowledge this even when designing other mermaids. Including additional legs, spikes, or whatnot to create a more cohesive design rather than putting a torso and tail together could be what brings it together.

Not only that, but the animal a mermaid is based off of can influence the physical appearance and clothes worn by the human side. Remember how Ariel looked like any old human without her tail? That isn’t the case here, as you can see their skins share the same scales and colors as their fish sides. Not only that, but features such as gills, sharp teeth, and webbed hands can make your human side look like it belongs underwater. You may need to go out of your comfort zone and mess around with physical features in order to find what fits. Some characters in Castle Swimmer have elongated noses or funny mustaches to go with their creature, and you might have to make the same cartoonish choices too!

Clothes are highly influenced by a mermaid species and their culture, so up to this point it really depends on whether you want the mermaid design to be lighthearted or have a deeper meaning, whichever makes it fun! That being said, a big part of clothes is just getting experimental. Some mermaid designs implement trash into their designs because of rampant water pollution, and how actual aquatic life can get stuck and choke on littered plastic! When considering culture, think about what your animal may represent or, if you’re an animal nerd/willing to research, find out what the animals can actually do and what their lives are like. More feisty animals can have battle armor, while intelligent species can make use of complex tools alongside their outfits, the list goes on.

I hope this shed some light on how the designs of mermaids can work, and how diverse you can get with them. I hadn’t even gotten into the trend of turning mermaids into cryptic creatures due to how scary deep sea wildlife can be! There’s truly a lot to be done. Mermay is an opportunity to have fun and draw mermaids for the sake of mermaids, but it can also help exercise your creativity and go beyond your comfort zone! Even while the month comes to a close, there’s nothing stopping you from designing a mermaid any time of the year, so why not try it out now? Use some suggestions from this post, pick an animal you like, or maybe one that’s more uncommon in the mermaid community, and have fun drawing! That’s all for today, see ya around!

[theknitpotato]

Entrance Hall of Antwerp Central Station, Belgium. Designed by Louis Delacenserie. 1905.

Photo by: @joethommas [IG]

[murdleandmarot]

Hi!! Gonna ask this to everyone I can think of, do you have any AUs you like/made up for cats? Or for bluebelle?

HI HELLO‼️ sorry for the delay in answering 😭

It’s hard for me personally to come up with AUs for Cats, (mostly because of the cognitive dissonance with the names. It’s so difficult to get past the names), so I personally only have a couple. Firstly, Much Ado About Nothing, by William Shakespeare.

I saw the show live and I just felt that the whimsy of it really matched cats, and I have all of the roles planned out, I think it would be very interesting and fun to write out :). I don’t want to go into too much detail here, (I really don’t want to make this post a thousand years long 😭), but if you’re interesting, just shoot me an ask and I’ll be happy to rant about it, I love Shakespeare :D

I have another au that I unfortunately can’t reveal right now, as it’s something I’m currently working on, but I promise it’ll be out soon :D

(it’s completely unserious btw and entirely for silly goofy indulgent reasons-I’m not trying to be dramatic about it but it’s just. Very special to me :)

OH‼️ there was a Bluebelle au I had, based on the movie Barbe Bleue (2009)

It’s a French movie about Bluebeard and it’s one of my favorites, it’s very vaguely historical, very gloomy with some REALLY fun scenes and ideas.

I’m more than a little obsessed with it, and at some point I REALLY want to do something with it, maybe a redraw of a still with Bluebelle, but who knows :)

Of course, other people’s au’s are the coolest in the entire world.

@/cillyscribbles has been driving me CRAZY with her human au, (it’s mostly about the Deut bros, and it is insanely good. Hasn’t left my mind since she told me all about it. Cilly when I get you Cilly)

@/margo-mania’s celestial au is SO rad, the concepts are gorgeous, and honestly could be made into a really really rad non-replica, especially with the potential of cool stage lighting, or poses (I’m thinking specifically of the eclipse (also I need Celestial!Victoria to marry me immediately))

@/pinkieclown’s doll(? Toy?) au is SO CUTE OMG. The character designs are so adorable. I want the newest design, munkustrap, as a plushie SO BAD.

Honestly, ALW should just give all of us collectively a billion dollars so we can create as many non-replicas as we want.

(Honorable mention to @/diorlusional’s apartment au, it’s my darling forever and ever)

[coffeenuts]

[wannawrite999]

[asmileforyourscrapbooks]

listening to remembering sunday and crying bc nobody cares enough to write a song about loving me 😔