#for just a sketch where i tried a different approach :D

[werewolf-artfriend]

happy one year my love <3 @beastwife

[clover0101]

I saw a yumeship week on twt so im hoping in even if mine is oc x canon idk the differences anymore

Day 1: first meeting!! I made a drabble and a sketch for this

(click expand to read)

The shouts, complaints, and arguments filled the common area of MILGRAM, which, despite being quite large, seemed to shrink more and more for the blue-haired boy. The footsteps of the other prisoners echoed along with the crying of some, others remained apart trying to think rationally about what was happening, but the only certain thing here is that nothing was rational.

Everyone woke up in an unfamiliar place, wearing prisoner's clothes, assigned numbers and cells, and given a brief explanation of why they were there - they had all ended someone's life, and it’s time for them to get their judgement. One group protested the accusation, another part accepted it and decided to remain silent. Despite listening carefully, Haruka could not fully understand it. The place seemed to function in a strange way, to say the least, and he had always been a bit slow to comprehend strange things.

The danger of the unknown and the nerves that interacting with others bring led him to just take a seat in one corner of the room, watching the chaos come and go in front of him. He hugged his knees, trying to make himself smaller. Sudden movements made him startle, but he couldn’t react in any other way, he didn’t want to leave his precious 'refuge' out of fear of bothering others. After all, he was different, and even if he wanted to contribute, he surely couldn’t do anything...

His thoughts were interrupted by a red-haired boy, who had apparently been arguing with a brunette man; "Hey, the guy in the corner!” he pointed directly at Haruka, taking steps that seemed intimidating towards the younger boy. The other man followed him closely. "This loser here says it would be better to wait and see what’s happening, but I think we should find the guard and kick their ass already. What do you say? We need strong people on our side."

"I don't think we could solve it just like that..." The brown-haired boy scratched the back of his neck, an uncomfortable smile on his face.

"Uh..." Haruka opened his mouth, trying to say something. Someone was talking to him... These two guys were looking at him right now. His heart was pounding from anxiety and he clenched his fists, his nails digging into his already wounded flesh. "I, uh, um... Ah, n-no... I-I D-"

"Pffft. Nevermind," the redhead interrupted before he could even finish the sentence, turning his back and returning to where the rest of the group was. You can't count on anyone here, he thought. Meanwhile, the other boy waved goodbye to Haruka, who hunched over and buried his face between his knees, closing his eyes tightly. He had barely arrived and already disappointed someone? This can’t be happening.

He remained silent for several more minutes, his eyes fluttering open when the argument seemed to calm down. A person was looking at him over their shoulder, their appearance standing out among the others due to an eyepatch and big, bright red eyes that seemed to stare right into his soul. They approached Haruka slowly, almost carefully to not to scare him, which made the boy slowly straighten up a bit, but not enough to make eye contact.

"Hey," their gentle voice made the boy startle even if they tried not to. "I know this can be hard to understand, you see, I'm a little scared too!" they accompanied their attempt at socializing with a laugh, standing beside him and leaning their back against the wall, their hands fidgeting restlessly in front of them.

A few seconds of silence passed, in which Haruka debated if he should even speak. His companion quickly realized, and just continued; "You don't talk much... right? Well, you might be lucky, because people often tell me I talk a lot!" they smiled, extending their hand downwards. "My name is Matsuo Hikaru, but you can just call me Hikaru. What's yours?"

He blinked a couple times, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Hikaru's pale hands, adorned with every color he could imagine, contrasting with the simple and plain prison uniform. He squirmed in his place, looking down again, embarrassed. He wasn’t able to look at them in the eye, fearing disappointing them as he did with the other man earlier. "Uh... My name is Haruka... Haruka Sakurai." he managed to murmur after a while of silence, daring to try to look the prisoner in the eye, but quickly glanced away again. "N-Nice to meet you, uh, Hikaru..." Is this what people say after introducing themselves? He shook his head, chewing on his lower lip.

"Ah! Haruka-kun is a cute name! And your hair is also quite cute, it reminds me of lobelias!" Hikaru extended their hands again, waving them as they spoke. The blue-haired boy ducks his head self-conciously, a faint blush tinting his cheeks at the praise. Why was this person being so nice to him? "Everything that's happening is strange, but I'm sure it'll turn out well... For you guys, at least," Haruka didn't fully understand what Hikaru meant by those last words, but for the first time in their encounter he looked up and nodded. He thought that, at the very least, Hikaru deserved that from him. For giving him some attention. "Ah, of course, Haruka-kun! We must be more optimistic. Not like that idiot over there, he's just giving everyone a headache."

Their complaint made Haruka's eyes open wide. He would never dare speak about anyone like that, much less if they could hear him. Still, he laughed a little, enjoying the conversation, even though the one talking the most was Hikaru. "Hah... I-I guess you're right..."

[ryemackerel]

do you have any general art tips??

YES! OMGGJJF IM SORRY I DIDNT GET TO THIS SOONER i had this saved in my drafts for a while D: BUT! without further ado, get ready for me to bestow them upon you 😈

- whenever i do full-body character refs / dynamic stuff? i like to start off with the shape of the art first before getting to the guidelines.

following the shapes and making a rough doodle of the dynamics helps me better structure the body language without worrying about the anatomy early on. anatomy is my weakest point when it comes to character designs, so for me, i find it better to start with some random shapes THEN working my way to more complex details.

(some good examples of that :])

- this is just a general preference? but when it comes to art and you hate refining the lineart, making things neat, AND it takes a really long time to finish art (and it bothers you), might i suggest trying a looser approach to art?

heres a prime example of that! in 2020, i used to be very keen on making my art super neat. i even tried making the guidelines as neat as possible which? tbh didnt work out for me a lot. i would find myself constantly redoing the guidelines, then trying my VERY best to make the lines as neat as possible. it took a few weeks to finish these kind of drawings, and it didnt help when i liked the sketch MORE than the lineart. (some art would take up to 15 hours)

over time, i started making my lines looser. i shifted away from making refined lineart and started making the sketches themselves the lineart. my lineart started becoming messier, but i liked how it gave it that more “authentic” look. i stopped worrying about trying to accurately translate the feeling of my sketches to my lineart, and drawing became a lot more quicker. although its a bit more tedious to color (i have to do it manually now), i still like this process a bit more. :]

you could just faintly see the guidelines in my recent art :] sometimes i include the guidelines, sometimes i make the guidelines a different layer. it really depends on how i feel, but i loved doing looser art more. the quackity art took 4 hours, the simpbur-argbur art took 2 hours. :D

- lastly, dont be afraid to take inspo from others’ art!! when i developed my art, i always took small bits of others’ art and incorporated them into mine. as artists, we always copy each other.

not in the way where we’re outright duplicating entire artworks as our own, but in the way where we’re like “oh cool, you do eyelashes like that? i wanna do my eyelashes like that too!” kinda?

for my art, i was always super inspired by how people make super warm art and had this kinda, white background to them. i tried incorporating that into my art style and started loving it :]

pinterest with their photos too? sometimes photos of people wearing cool outfits or random backgrounds help inspire my artstyle. take as much inspo as you’d like from others, don’t be hesitant to be inspired! of course, you’re welcome to give credit whenever.

hopefully some of these help :] feel free to ask questions and ask to elaborate! i just woke up and typed this out while still waking up HAGSHHA!

[thedeafprophet]

#1 and #7 for the art asks? (from @neathyingenue btw ;D)

1.When did you start creating art?

I would argue that everyone, always, and forever is making art in their own invidual unique ways. while we may have certain perspectives on various art forms, i think to create is simply part of being human.

....if u wanna know when i started drawing i would say maybe around 13/14 was when i frist started sketching? I was never one of those kids who's been 'drawing since they could hold a pencil' or whatever. I never really had any natural inflication towards drawing - as a younger kid i spent more of my creative time building structures out of popsicle sticks and whatever else i got my hands on.

When i was in my preteens/early teens, i mostly started trying to draw because my friends at the time were all doing it and i felt left out 😅😅 it was a bit of an uphill climb starting from a place with less experience and no natural talent for it.

I sorta clawed my way up from there, trying and failing since then. The real skill of an artist isn't drawing in my mind; its continuing to work at it even when you feel like it sucks.

I only really have my digital art saved back to when i was 18, but i started doing it a bit before then. And it was only in the last few years that I really feel like ive gotten a handle on how I draw, where i've ever felt solidly good about things i create, even if i still struggle with self esteem. Its funny what having a muse, so to speak, in your own characters will do for your art.

hmm. this. turned into a ramble. apologies lmao

All that is too say: For awhile and with determination to not back down from it.

7. Who are some artists that have inspired you?

So when I was 13 I was like, really really into Skyrim. Like. A lot lmao. (And one of the first things i really tried learning how to draw was my skyrim character. )

Anyway, the point of this is that my biggest art influence when i was a kid was Kayla Marquez/thewickwheat on tumblr, who used to do a lot of skyrim oc art, and was very inspirational for me learning how to draw. I feel you can probably still see remenants of that past in the way i draw now. I still seriously recommend checking her stuff out, her character design and linework is phenomoinal to me to this day.

I would say one of my current inspirations, of which im sure is no surprise, is J.C Leyendecker. Specifically in the way he draws clothing. While we obviously have quite different styles, i found our form when it comes to cloothing folds to feel somewhat similar, so i find using his stuff to be very inspirational when it comes to how i approach clothes now, especially suits and shirts.

Beyond that its like... so many artists. Honestly i'd need a whole seperate ramble of a poss just for that alone, and i've already rambled. I have hundreds of photos done by various artists i like saved and sorted across different artstyles on my computer to look at and Be Inspired By. I would say now adays i take a lot of inspiration from Edwardian and Victorian era paintings in general, as im drawing the topics of those contents quite a lot.

Ask Game From Here!

[ayeon0307]

Journey and Video

8th October Sun

Context and Action

This week's goal was to sketch out a rough visual summary structure and design. I began week 10 by designing the visual summary based on the content list I created last week. Through stream leader Ayla's studio lecture and visual summary examples from last year's Design 301 students, I came up with a total journey content list of 51 pages, and six pages needed to be designed.

Ideation Sketch - I have always ideated through pencil sketches as they are the easiest way to provide design ideas. I've tried digital sketching, but there are limitations of expression and comparison.

I still don't have any other ideation method other than pencil sketching, so I would love the opportunity to share and discuss my ideation process with other student designers in the future.

-> From the Miro board, Updated visual summary table of content

The video task is currently having the biggest impact on my mental health. :D I started with the determination to complete the video script, as the previous week had yet to produce any significant results.

Script Chart - This was my first time writing down scenes and scripts in a chart format, but it turns out the result was that a short video was great. In fact, I actually introduced this method to other students besides my partner and friends, and many of them found the charted script convenient to use.

However, creating the script below took a lot of trial and error. First, I created a storyboard using sticky notes. This was a way to use the characteristics of Miro boards, but it was time-consuming and complicated to create a detailed storyboard.

Six-Scene Storyboard - I used a short six-scene storyboard before creating a full-fledged script. Where I created a short storyboard with just six scenes that outlined the purpose of the video and the important scenes that must be included without nailing down the details and sentences. This took the stress out of creating a detailed story and allowed me to reflect on the 'purpose' and 'importance' of my project.

-> From the Miro board, Video script and storyboard

Result

In conclusion, I achieved my goal for this week. Which was to create a video storyboard. :D It was time-consuming because I had to go through five reflections to complete it, which was different from how I had initially planned to proceed. Nevertheless, I have had new video skills because I was able to find a new approach to creating a script. My interest in making videos on my own has increased, and I am excited about the video I will be making next week based on the script and storyboard I created.

Learning

Some of the most memorable things I've learned are the steps to create a script chart and a video with a new way of scripting. It's definitely a tool I'll be using the next time I make a video. However, it does require time management skills as it's a multiple process. Make sure I set aside enough time so that it doesn't affect my creativity and allow for enough reflection each time.

[legends-live-in-memories]

Super-Rockin’ Wedding of the Century

AYO! Day 2 of MGI Trope Tussle! Team Enemies-to-Lovers for the win. I bring you another oneshot. but this time i used 3 prompts like a dumbass.

Fics Masterlist

Daminette Oneshot 4.3K words (no warnings except slight cursing)

Summary:

“Marinette is invited to the Super-Rockin' Wedding of the Century and she needs a date. Alya is both her best and worst wingman.”

Day 2 of MGI Trope Tussle, I used 3 prompts to make this thing: 1. "You don't have to like me, you just need to pretend you do." 2. "I like your costume. You look very cute." "Are you making fun of me?" 3. 'Write about a very unusual wedding proposal.' this is the culmination of all my efforts.

without further ado:

It was the biggest news on the internet. Global sensation, international rockstar, Jagged Stone, was officially engaged to childhood friend turned manager, Penny Rolling. Memes and fan theories stormed every corner of the web. Trending topics including #rockstar_wedding and #RollingStone permeated every social media platform. Guest lists were speculated, dress designers were tagged in every post that even mentioned the words ‘wedding’ or ‘bride’. It was total mayhem but none felt it worse than up-and-coming Parisian designer, M. D. Cheng, privately known as Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

The young adult was up to her neck in design templates, and was drowning in half-baked ideas and sketches. While the internet has only heard about the proposal for a solid two weeks at this point, Marinette was in the know for six months. Jagged Stone had contacted her in advance because he needed her help with the proposal itself.

And what a proposal it was.  

Jagged had outlined his idea in simple terms but it was still so mind-boggling that Marinette needed him to draw some visual aids to completely convey his idea. Initially it sounded simple enough but the more the man spoke, the more Marinette felt her brain fry at the mental picture. It first involved recreating a scene from Penny’s favourite movie. Which sounded rather romantic, if you ignored the fact that her favourite movie was Bride of Chucky. Then it involved Jagged dressed as the Tinman from Wizard of Oz. Oh, and the proposal had to happen on Halloween because that was the anniversary of their first date apparently, and based on everything else this plan entailed it might as well have been. Marinette’s role in all of this was to simply re-make the white wedding dress Chucky’s bride, Tiffany, wore because Penny already had the leather jacket to match. Of course she did. She didn’t even want to know how Jagged acquired the Tinman suit. Not her barrel of monkeys.

While many thought Jagged was the eccentric one of the pair, due to his loud personality and being an actual rockstar, the more Marinette worked for the two of them over the years, the more she learned how absolutely wrong they all were. It turned out it was Penny’s idea for Jagged to dye his hair purple, and she was the one to ask him out on Halloween all those faithful years ago. Her calm and collected demeanor was an impressive cover for the absolute weirdo she actually was. And Jagged had planned a proposal that was undoubtedly perfect for her. Regardless of how abso-fucking-lutely bizarre it was.

To each their own and let’s move on.

The set-up for the proposal started with Jagged, dressed as the Tinman, playing the part of Chucky, who begins the body-switching chant from the movie. Everything from that point on was resting on Penny’s love for the movie. Without hesitating, Penny, dressed as Tiffany, and playing her part, knew the lines by heart and immediately began reenacting the scene with Jagged. Her lines involved telling ‘Chucky’ to kiss her while she reaches for a knife that’s supposed to be in his pocket. Instead, as Jagged was still dressed as the Tinman, Penny pulled out a slip of paper. On said paper, the words ‘All the Tinman wanted was a heart’ were written in Jagged’s almost illegible chicken scratch. When Penny was distracted with the piece of paper, Jagged had gotten down on one knee and pulled out the engagement ring. The actual words of his proposal were never actually said because, upon seeing the ring, Penny flung herself into the man, clipping her chin into his metal-plated shoulder, but she wasn’t complaining.  

So that was how the proposal went.

Wedding planning started almost immediately since the newly engaged had already picked a theme. And this is where Marinette began to regret every life choice she has made since she was thirteen; starting with opening the mysterious box she found on her desk and ending with agreeing to being the main designer for the Rockin’ Wedding of the Century. One thing that wasn’t well-known but not a secret about Jagged was that he was a superhero fan. He grew up enjoying the fictional ones in his childhood comic books and he adored the real ones he witnessed in his adult life. His song that he dedicated to the teenage Ladybug was only one part of his… appreciation. His hero-worship went so far as to beieve that a hero-themed wedding was appropriate. Or he didn’t, but also didn’t care about adhering to societal propriety and went with that theme anyways. So the Rockin’ Wedding of the Century was now the Super-Rockin’ Wedding of the Century. And twenty-three year old Marinette was incharge of the entire wedding party’s outfits.

Perfect.

As a small mercy from some god, both the bride and groom to-be had a rather short list of people in their parties. Marinette was also able to design appropriate hero-themed outfits for all of them and scheduled them for fittings in the coming weeks. That, surprisingly, was the easy part as there were plenty of heroes to draw inspiration from. However, that wasn’t the cause of her current crisis right now.

No. Marinette was up to her neck in unnecessary designs and ideas because she’s been avoiding one particular contingency in her acceptance of the wedding invitation.

She needed a date.

She needed a date because she had promised Penny that she wasn’t overworking herself and to prove it, she would bring a date to the wedding. Rather than call any of the people who expressed interest in her at some point in time, she designated herself to wallow in her situation and distract herself with designs. In the midst of her one person pity party, her phone rang under the sea of ripped out pages. She scoured for the device and hastily answered before she could accidently send the caller to voicemail.

“Hello?” She didn’t check the caller ID and was delighted at the sound of her best friend answering her.

“Marinette! How’s it going over there?” Alya’s voice was mixed in with the busy street life of Metropolis. She had moved there immediately after high school, snatching an internship with the Daily Planet and attending the local community college. She and Marinette don’t call often due to time differences, but when they do it’s like they’ve never parted. She always looked forward to her calls.

“It’s going great, Als,” if she ignored her current dilemma, then yeah, everything was perfect. “But you wouldn’t happen to have an available bachelor willing to be my date to the ‘Super-Rockin’ Wedding of the Century’ in your back pocket, would you?”  

Alya’s answering laugh was both comforting and teasing and Marinette felt herself missing her even more. What she said next, however, took Marinette by surprise.

“Actually I do.”

“Pardon?”

“Well,” she took a pause to build suspense. “I know a guy who knows a guy. But it’s nothing shady, I swear.”

“That’s not comforting.” Oh god. What has she unintentionally signed herself up for?

“You know my coworker, Jon? The guy who does the photography for all my field work?” Alya had met Jon as soon as she had started her internship. Both of his parents were top journalists at the Daily Planet so he volunteered to act as tour guide for all the new interns. He and Alya, from the exasperated stories Marinette has heard from Nino, got along like a house on fire. If he was involved, Marinette was starting to doubt even further that this was going to end well for her.

“Yes, I know Jon. How is he by the way?”

“He’s fine, but I remember him telling me how he tried to set up his best friend on several dates over the years and how they all ended poorly. He’s as approachable as a brick wall; not just a prick but the whole damn cactus. Or so Jon says.” How does that sound like someone Marinette wanted to bring along with her to the wedding? “But he’s totally your type so I could ask Jon to wrap him up in bubblewrap and send him your way whenever you want.”

“How,” and Marinette said this with a lot of feeling, “is he my type exactly?”

“Green eyes with daddy issues.”

“ALYA!” Marinette was absolutely floored at her bluntness. She wasn’t even sorry about shouting into the receiver.

“Am I wrong? You have a type and he fits that type. Jon mentioned how this guy and his dad hit several roadblocks when they first met. And I’ve seen pictures of him so ‘green eyes’ checks too.”

“That is not my type of guy.” She can’t believe this was how this conversation was going.

“Adrien.”

“I didn’t even know who his father was at the time, Alya.”

“Felix.”

“His dad is dead! That doesn’t count as ‘daddy issues.’” She can feel her cheeks flaming as the call went on. Any hotter and she was going to set her sketchbooks on fire. “Besides, I dated Luka so he doesn’t fit the criteria.”

“He’s an outlier and that’s only because his eyes are blue.” Okay, fine she had a type. “And besides, you don’t even have to date the guy. You only need him to accompany you to the wedding and you both go your separate ways after. No harm, no foul.”

Right. That was true. No strings attached. She could do that.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this but,” she held her breath and let it out loudly, ignoring Alya’s chuckle at her dramatics.” Give Jon my number to give this guy. And send his number to me.”

“Wahoo! Look at you, girl,” Alya was hooting and hollering over the speaker and Marinette found herself going along with the theatrics. “Okay, I will. But I gotta go, my cab is here. Bye!”

“Bye! Stay safe. Oh before you go, what’s Jon’s friend’s name anyways?”

“Uh, Damian, I think.” The call ended before Marinette could respond, but it was okay she mused. Tossing her phone onto her couch, she flopped down onto her floor and stared at her ceiling contemplatively.

What could go wrong?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Alya had described this Damian guy as ‘not just a prick but the whole damn cactus,’ she was right. Marinette had been texting back and forth with Damian for a month, and the guy was making this idea seem less and less worth it by the day. Whenever Marinette tried to learn more about the guy, he would ghost her for days on end before replying with a half-assed response at best. She knew nothing about him other than that his first name was Damian and that he was from Gotham. She had no idea how the ball of life that was Jon was even friends with someone like Damian. She asked as much to Alya in their most recent call.

“How did they even meet?” She was pacing the floor plan of her apartment, ready to tear her hair out. “Did Damian bully him in school or something?”

“Apparently their dads knew each other and introduced them,” Alya sounded half awake, stifling a yawn; probably because Marinette had called her at 1 am, Metropolis’s time. “Their brothers being friends also forced them to get along.”

“And that’s another thing!” Marinette had paused in her pacing and was now staring intently at a potted plant in the corner of her living room. Any more rage in her glare and the plant would have wilted and died. “He doesn’t tell me anything about him. I don’t need to know all his personal information, but if he’s going to be flying out to Paris on my behalf, I think I at least deserve to know his last name.”

“Hey, M,” another yawn echoed through the speaker, “I love you, truly, but maybe this could wait for holier day time hours?”

“I guess,” a vindictive part of Marinette felt like this was payback for all those inopportune calls when Marinette was busy with clients. “Sorry for interrupting your sleep.”

“It’s no big deal. But have you tried talking to him about it? If he’s ghosting your texts, try calling him. If he ignores you then too then maybe you should try finding another person to be your plus one.”

“The wedding is in two weeks, Alya!” Marinette partially regrets waiting so long to vent her frustration about the situation but she had tried to tough it out. “I would have much preferred if you were my plus one. You sure there’s no way to convince your parents to skip out on the family trip?”

“Sorry, M. Once the news about the proposal hit the internet, I tried everything. I even tried to use work, saying that I could cover the ceremony for the newspaper. My folks won’t budge though. My dad’s aunt is important to him and he wants us all at the funeral.”

“Right, right, I forgot about that.” Now she felt like an ass. “Send you dad my condolences when you see him again.”

“Will do. Good morning, Marinette. And don’t worry too much about the guy. Everything will turn up great. I can feel it.”

“Thanks, Alya. Good night, get some sleep.”

The line went dead and Marinette let out a rather weary exhale. She had no idea how this was going to work. She pulled up her contacts and searched for what she had Damian saved as.

‘Douche’ flashed on her screen and she hit the call button without remorse. She didn’t care that it was also currently 1 am in Gotham. He didn’t deserve that much consideration from her.

“What?” His voice was gravely and deep. And also really pissed if his clipped tone was anything to go by.

“Damian? Hi, this is Marinette, the girl you’re accompanying to the wedding in two weeks?” Her voice was pitched as if she was dealing with an irritating customer. Fake and polite.

“I know who you are. Why are you calling me at this unreasonable hour?” Fair, but Marinette was still aggravated at him so she wouldn’t concede.

“I’m calling because we need to talk.” She heard him scoff over the line and she felt her blood boil even hotter. She took several calming breaths to reign her temper in. “Don’t hang up.”

“Look,” She didn’t give him a chance to refuse and kept talking, getting everything off her chest. “This wedding is important to me and I promised the bride I would bring a date. After that you can delete my number and we never have to speak to each other ever. You don’t have to like me, you just need to pretend you do.”

“Whatever,” he sounded less annoyed from when he first answered the phone. “I will act as cordial as the situation requires, and nothing more. I also have my attire secured for the wedding and accommodations in Paris already prepared. I will see you at the wedding.”

“Than—” The sound of the call ending interrupted her and her frustration was back tenfold. With a cry in anguish she flung her phone onto her couch and stomped into her kitchen to channel her rage into baking.

Three loaves of bread and a dozen eclairs later, Marinette felt calm enough to finish the final touches on her outfit for the wedding.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the day of the Super-Rockin’ Wedding of the Century. The Rolling-Stone’s, as they were asking to be called, had kept the ceremony small. Relatively. Only two hundred invited guests, few of which were asked to bring a plus one. Marinette was over the moon at the array of outfits people were sporting. Some chose full-on cosplay while others, like herself, went for more subtle nods to the heroes. In honour of a previous Ladybug, Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, Marinette based her outfit off of Wonder Woman’s uniform, Hippolyta’s daughter. A navy blue sequined halter top bodice that flows into a blood red A-line skirt. She paired it with a thick silver belt, silver gladiator heels rather than boots and broad silver arm cuffs. It was simple but effective. Besides, all attention should be on the bride and groom today.

A tap on her shoulder caught her attention and she turned only to come face first with red with black spots. Ladybug. Someone chose her as inspiration. How flattering. Looking up to see who was wearing the Ladybug-themed suit jacket, she stared at a pair of deep forest green eyes and a sneer to ruin that ridiculously handsome face. She recognized him from the photo Alya had sent some time ago. Damian.

“Hi, Damian,” at least one of them had to be civil and Marinette knew it was going to be her. But the idea that of all the heroes for him to choose from he chose her sent her into poorly stifled fits of giggling. Images of him going ‘Lucky Charm’ and ‘Miraculous Ladybug’ were almost too much to bear.

“I don’t know what’s so amusing about my choice of attire,” his face was starting to flush in similar shades to his jacket and that made Marinette laugh harder. “Ladybug is a well respected heroine and I thought it appropriate to pay homage while in her home city.”

“No. No no. There is nothing wrong with it. I like your costume, you look very cute.”

“Are you making fun of me?” His irritation was rather cathartic for the still giggling woman.

“No, I just didn’t think you would have put that much thought into your outfit for today. You always gave me the impression that you were ready to back out at any time.”

“I made a commitment and I had all intentions to see it through the end.”

“Could have fooled me.” And her snark was back. Now was not the time to pick a fight with the guy, he did fly all the way to Paris on her behalf after all.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” and Marinette wanted to know how he managed to sound so condescending with that statement. “How did you even get an invitation to this wedding anyways? You’re not a celebrity and you don’t look like family either.”

“Actually,” she said it with more force than what was probably necessary but his slightly accusatory tone was just so irritating. “I am the lead designer for the wedding party,” her chest was swimming with confidence at the chance to talk about her job. “I’ve worked with the bride and groom for years; M. D. Cheng, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Marinette will deny to her grave the rush of satisfaction at the absolute gobsmacked look on Damian’s face. A real fish out of water. Mouth open wide ready to catch flies. She wished she could capture this moment forever.

The moment was over too soon because Damian was regaining his composure and slipping into his default stoic expression. He cleared his throat and fixed a look at Marinette. It was rather intense.

“I believe I owe you an apology then.” He looked put-out at admitting something so menial. “I believed you were nothing more than a socialite chain climber.”

“A what?”

“When Jon reached out to me saying that a friend of one of his coworkers needed a date for an event, and when that event turned out to be the wedding of someone of such popularity, I figured you were only trying to increase your own social status by showing up with me on your arm.”

“And you said ‘yes’ anyways?” Marinette was confused but pieces of the mystery that is Damian were starting to fit in place. But something else stuck out as odd to her. “Also, how would you being my date increase my social status anyhow?”

He scoffs before answering. Bitch.

“What? It wouldn’t be the first time one of Jon’s set-ups ended that way. Besides, we’ve had an agreement that I can’t turn down an offer until meeting the person face to face.” Weird deal but some friendships are just like, Marinette supposes. “And being seen with me is enough to make anyone more popular.”

“...And you are?”

“Damian… Wayne…” He spoke as if he was talking to a small child. As if it should be obvious who he was like he was some celeb— Oh shit.

A name had flashed into her mind. On the finalised guest list, Marinette had only seen it once in passing, there was a name that belonged to someone Jagged was rather excited to see. He said the friend was an old college buddy. She remembered that much. She had completely forgotten that ‘a billionaire playboy’ was also attached to the name. Damian was the son of Bruce Wayne. Suddenly everything in the past few months made perfect sense. The cold shoulder, the ghosting, and his prickly disposition. He was overly guarded because he had justified reasons to be. Now she felt like an ass.

“Oh.” Real intelligent, Marinette.

“Oh? What, you didn’t know?” He sounded incredulous at the notion and he had every right to be. Marinette could only shake her head. Words were failing her now, her brain trying to rewrite the memories of every interaction the two ever had.

She was saved from further mortification by a call for everyone to find their seats. The wedding was about to begin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ceremony was beautiful. Penny’s dress was a silver grey, tied back with a golden belt. Instead of a long train, Marinette had attached a black cape that shimmered in the right lighting. Penny wore a tiara with two peaks to imitate the ‘bat-ears.’ A Batman-themed wedding dress was not something she ever saw herself making, but she was proud at how beautiful and confident Penny looked in it. Jagged was adorn in a royal blue suit with bold red lapels. He also had a matching red cape. His hair was styled in the familiar sleek way Superman wears it. The two made quite the pair.  

The reception was a lively affair. Jagged had dedicated several songs to his new wife and they dazzled the crowd on the dance floor. Marinette didn’t pay much attention to the speeches beyond a quick glance at Damian when his own father stepped up to the podium. He had buried his head in his hands, looking like he wanted the floor to swallow him whole. A courtesy pat on the back was all Marinette gave to him.

The two hadn’t really spoken much since the revelation that they had completely misjudged each other. The awkward tension was almost palpable. As Marinette was gathering the courage to speak to him, to try and officially clear the air, she was being dragged by one of the bridesmaids onto the dancefloor. It was time for the bride to throw the bouquet. All the unmarried women were being corralled into a tight cluster and Marinette got swept up in the tide.

Marinette wasn’t focusing on the actual game, trying her hardest not to get trampled, when she saw something move in her periphery. Years of being Ladybug had left her with finely honed instincts so she could not be blamed when she immediately jumped and caught the incoming object. The bouquet. She had caught the bouquet. Oh that was just her luck. Deafening squeals of delight brought her out of her own head and she was suddenly being embraced in Penny’s arms. She returned the hug, sharing in her delight, before breaking away to sit down.

“Nice catch.” His voice had surprised her, she hadn’t expected him to speak to her for the rest of the night.

“Uh, thank you. Just lucky, I guess.” Damian didn’t get the chance to respond because he was being dragged by his own father to join all the bachelors in catching the garter. Marinette was equally uninterested in this spectacle and had let her mind wander to other things.

A loud uproar caught her attention again and her eyes zeroed in on Damian holding the tossed garter. He made his way back over to her, dropping himself into his seat gracelessly. The two sat in silence, contemplating the implications of them both catching the garter and bouquet. The games were done purely for tradition’s sake, with total disregard of what it was supposed to symbolise. Still. One’s mind couldn’t help but wander. Minutes ticked passed and Marinette was beginning to wonder if someone was going to talk about the elephant in the room.

“So,” Damian’s voice was slightly strained, like he wasn’t used to being this flustered. It was kind of endearing. Wait what?

“So.”

“While marriage seems far out of reach for right now,” Oh god. He was going to talk about it. “How does dinner sound, next Friday?”

“Wait,” he wanted to spend more time with her? After their disastrous first impressions? “Really?”

“Really. I believe we started off on the wrong foot,” he let out a soft chuckle, almost self-deprecating. “Which isn’t really new for me, but it’s not everyday I meet someone who doesn’t recognise me at first glance. I think you’re someone who I would like to get to know better. If that is something you are also interested in.”

“Yeah,” Marinette knows all about wanting to get acquainted with someone who she’s had a bad first impression of. Just look at her past relationships. Wow, she really does have a type. Damning thoughts for later. “Friday works for me. Seven pm?”

“Perfect. I’ll text you the details then.”

“Wonderful, I can’t wait.”

The rest of the evening was spent in companionable silence with small bouts of conversation in between. They shared a couple dances on the floor and parted ways at the end of the night with budding anticipation for Friday.

As Marinette was preparing for bed that night in the comfort of her apartment, she sent a text to Alya that her friend would see later in the day.

You were right, I do have a type :(

[espressokiri]

I Love You Either Way

Izuku Midoriya x GN! Reader

For @brandmeyelena : reader loves midoriya very much and confessed, midoriya was flustered and decided to accept it (reader was ecstatic), however he has no feelings for reader at all. He doesn’t know how to break up with reader so he just lets it be.

Warnings: Angst, One sided love, Heartbreak, Death.

Genre: Angst.

(Y/n) was sorted out to be an outcast in middle school because of their interest in the quirkless boy in class. Ridicule did nothing to prevent them from getting to know the boy, intrigued in his interest in heroes and longing to be enrolled in U.A.

They were quick to defend the freckled boy when Bakugou targeted him on certain days, gazing in affection when he would go on a muttering tangent, unaware of his thoughts being said out loud. (Y/n) fell in love with the way Midoriya would not be afraid to show his vulnerability and emotions, to show them his passions and drawings of analysis. Midoriya on the other hand was in awe of gaining such a friend. 

F r i e n d.

Oh how he wished he knew the inner feelings of the one he called friend. It was not until they confessed that left him in a stuttering, red-faced daze that he realized there was hidden meaning behind (Y/n)’s gestures. Being the most observant boy meant nothing when he was dense about feelings. 

The hand brushes while walking to and from school, the small gifts he would find in his backpack from them, the lingering hugs that seem to be longer than usual.

“Izuku, I’ve admired you for a long time. Please accept my feelings!” (Y/n) was not shy while confessing, they stared Midoriya in the eyes with such passion that the male could not refuse in the state of shock he was put in. 

It did not seem to be a bad idea at the time, a relationship was forged on the foundation of friendship and they were friends already with similar interests. Midoriya brushed it off and thought he harboured the same feelings, not aware of why and how a relationship actually begins. 

(Y/n) on the other hand couldn't be happier, they seemed to glow around Midoriya and felt that they were on cloud nine on the daily. Bakugou glowered at them in class, huffing at how disgusting their relationship was.

Midoriya had dedicated a book to (Y/n) filled with sketches of them, some pages for the purpose of analyzing their quirk, other pages filled with mundane sketches of them on their adventurous dates. (Y/n) found a second home with Inko Midoriya who adored them, happy that her son was finally himself without the fear of him being bullied. 

It was when they first shared a kiss that Midoriya had come to terms with his feelings. He did not carry the same emotions for (Y/n) as they did. He felt like he would disappoint them so he kept himself quiet, wondering if they would lose feelings for him if he carried on as friends instead.

The time for U.A. came around, (Y/n) was not aware of Midoriya training with All Might. They only knew he was physically training with a ‘personal’ trainer of his. During the training period, they would make sure to cater to Midoriya’s needs, keep him hydrated and help him with homework and studies as he would fall asleep in class muttering to himself most of the time. 

Betrayal was evident during the quirk evaluation test when Midoriya seemed to showcase his quirk. He looked nervous facing both Bakugou, who was voicing his anger, and (Y/n) who had a look of disappointment hidden in their eyes. They avoided Midoriya that day, watching from afar as he happily conversed with Iida and Uraraka. 

It wasn’t until Bakugou grabbed (Y/n) by the front of their uniform and yelled at them with one hand exploding with his quirk for an explanation that Midoriya came in-between and pulled (Y/n) away. They didn’t seem to want to put up a fight with either male and allowed themselves to be dragged around. 

Midoriya ‘explained’ that he was an apparent late bloomer and thats why he was training for months, to control his quirk. (Y/n) was apprehensive but accepted his apology after he stated he didn’t tell them because he wanted to surprise them.

-

“I love you.” 

The USJ attack had (Y/n) tremble with uncertainty of their future, they said those three words to Midoriya when he woke up from being taken care of by Recovery Girl.

Midoriya just nodded his head and looked away.

(Y/n) thought nothing of it until Ochako ran to him once they reentered the class, he seemed to brighten up at the sight of her and (Y/n)’s face soured.

This event kept replaying in their mind as the days progressed. The texts became dry, the reply time took hours, calls weren’t picked up as quick as they were before. (Y/n) could feel the distance between them but they didn’t want to give up, no, they held too much emotion for the boy. 

Bakugou took note of all the differences between the two from the sidelines, despite his dislike for the pair, he felt pity for (Y/n). Scoffing at them as (Y/n) still tried to hold their relationship together by a thread. He felt anger towards Midoriya for not manning up and revealing his true feelings, instead dragging (Y/n) along with him. 

“Hey dumbass.” Bakugou huffed and (Y/n) looked up at him from their position beside Midoriya. Uraraka, Iida, and Midoriya looked at Bakugou with wide eyes wondering why he sauntered his way to their lunch table. 

“Hm?”

Bakugou yanks (Y/n) from the table and drags them out of the cafeteria, ignoring the protests from Midoriya and (Y/n). 

“What the hell Bakugou!” 

“Shut up dumbass! I’m sick of you pining after the nerd when we all know he does not feel the same.” Bakugou crossed his arms across his chest and glowered at them.

(Y/n) was void of emotion, they knew he was right but they didn’t care. They would be together, they’ve been through so much together. They love him, they’ll make him love them.

“We love each other.” (Y/n) said before turning to walk back to the cafeteria. “You’re going to get yourself killed!” Bakugou yelled after them, “If I do then at least I’ll know I’ve loved!” (Y/n) yelled back.

Their grip on his hands became stronger, the kiss on cheek before a task was a must, they’d try to converse with him about their future, joking about how they’d be the coolest pro-hero couple.

(Y/n) was losing themselves as they saw Midoriya remove himself from their approach. (Y/n) knew it was only a matter of time before he would end up saving Uraraka before them. They held no bitterness towards the girl, they’re aware that she’s just as innocent as she looks. If Midoriya wanted them to back off then he would have said something by now, he hasn’t said anything so he must still have feelings for them, right?

Perhaps they did hold the same passion as the girl they came across during the attack in the training camp. Toga was it? Either way, Toga had realized (Y/n)’s feelings for Midoriya as she chattered on about a green haired boy she came across. Maybe they should have accepted the offer to join her in gaining his feelings back for her by following her into the warp gate, maybe he would have come after them. 

(Y/n) was aware that they were losing interest in becoming a hero after all the attacks from the league, they didn’t seem that bad. They were beings who were outcasted and betrayed themselves. (Y/n) did not know what was right or wrong anymore. Everyone in class had noticed their change in behaviour, the dead look in their eyes as they lost all the light in them that once glowed bright. 

Midoriya, they’d do it for Midoriya.

-

Blood.

There was so much blood. (Y/n) took the hit for him. The burning sensation where they got impaled from Chisaki’s quirk was beginning to numb. How stupid of them to act all heroic for a boy who didn’t even mutter those three words that (Y/n) seemed to tell him everyday. 

They were only fifteen. Fifteen and feeling the bittersweet embrace of death. Midoriya was hovering above them, tears spilling over and dripping onto (Y/n). He was finally giving them the attention they craved for the past year at U.A.

Midoriya pressed his hands against the wound, (Y/n) whimpering in pain at the pressure. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry (Y/n). We can fix this, keep your eyes open okay? I’ll go defeat Chisaki and it’ll all be okay.”

(Y/n) shakily grabbed his face with their bloody one, “tell me you love me and I’ll forgive you.” Tears gathered at their eyes as they begged in their mind for him to put them at ease.

Midoriya was frantic, he didn’t want to lie. He was aware of the rift between them, he should have been straightforward with his feelings from day one. Perhaps if he did, they wouldn’t be in this predicament right now. 

“Even if you don’t feel the same, please. Just this once.” Their voice cracked and sobs racked their body. Their hand slid from his face to grip onto his hero suit.

“I love you! I love you, please hold on for me!” Midoriya gripped them tightly in his embrace, his own sobs breaking through. “I should have been more honest with you, I’m sorry!”

“It was my fault for not giving up on you, I knew how you felt but I couldn’t let you go.” (Y/n) smiled a broken smile, relishing in his embrace during their final moments.

“Tell Bakugou he was right, I did get myself killed huh?” (Y/n) dryly laughed.

Midoriya felt a wave of cold through his veins. Bakugou knew? Did he really say that to them?

His anxiety grew worse as (Y/n) began to feel like dead weight, their eyes glazing over and breathing shallow. “(Y/n)? (Y/n)!” He screamed as he gripped them tightly. 

(Y/n) was there with him through his lowest time, watching him grow into a hero in training when he had lost all hope. They were there when he felt frustrated with himself during training and offered him a shoulder when he felt like he had nowhere to go. He didn’t feel like a hero as he held them in his arms. A hero would have been upfront about everything, he failed them. He failed (Y/n). Now he’s going to have to live with knowing he was the reason they spilt blood.

[subjectnumberx]

Thumbnailing: Subject's Way

Thumbnails are an important workflow tool artists use to make creating their works more efficient. They are essentially tiny, low detail versions of the idea you may have in mind, and save time by helping you catch potential compositional errors, clashing colors in palettes(if you blob some colors on), and poses that simply might not.. work in character art as well as many other things not mentioned.

I am a very visual person and sometimes putting ideas to paper really helps me focus better on the task at hand. Organizing things into steps on the page really helps me not get overwhelmed. It might prove helpful to you as well.

In this tutorial, I'll take you through my workflow process when planning paintings and simple character illustrations.

I start off the process by doing a ton of sketches of whatever thing from many angles, poses, etc. Usually if I have a certain image in mine I simply sketch that and adjust little things like angle, placement of limbs, etc. Work teeny tiny, you can enlarge it later. I,t really depends on what the goal is for that piece what the process looks like. Here the goal was to just draw a character, so I have many options.

environment sketches look a bit different for me, as I will sketch them in literal cubes. I am still working through the technique. I just haven't gotten good enough at them yet to consider a tutorial by me would be helpful to anyone though.

Like with piece D, it's good to plan compositional elements here too. I added the moon that would go in the eventual background, swords in the hands of B and E, etc. Had I had more time, F would have gotten rough roses, but I digress.

After I have base sketches, I do very rough lines so I know what I'm looking at, and it primes me for what I could possibly have issues with in doing the final. I keep it VERY loose and don't dwell too much on details. If I'm drawing a character, I'm not even going to look up references, unless their silhouette is very complex. There is not much need for accuracy here. Just to nail down your subject's silhouette.

At this point, you can start eliminating which poses you don't want. Here I was very indecisive so I went through with sketching all of them.

At this step ill also take the time to plan variants if I feel like I would be indecisive about them/need them for certain platforms (optional).

Here's where things start to actually take the form of thumbnails. I work large and draw most of the anatomy of the subject so that things are positioned correctly in the frame. Draw the whole of something, even if you know it's going to get cropped out. There is nothing worse than trying to draw in a way that is already cropped, it messes up your anatomy bad, and you'll spend more time trying to fix it, especially if you are just starting out as an artist.

Physically drawing a box around them to help with framing is really good to help plan the composition of the final piece. Again, you can eliminate stuff here as well if they don't make interesting compositions. Consider the rule of thirds and how much breathing room you want or need in your piece. The one not in a box was eliminated because I didn't like the pose nor would it make a very interesting piece.

I also use different colors on the boxes so I can overlap them and keep my eyes from getting confused where one "drawing" ends and one begins.

If I'm planning portraits/art in my painterly style, I'll take the time to block in some colors just to see what I should shoot for in the final. I will also do several pairings of colors in their own sets of thumbnails if the piece needs it/i want varients. I highly suggest blobbing so that you can see how potential colors will play with one another. Learning the teeniest bit of color theory will help, I promise, but for now, i'lI'lll refrain from the mini-lecture.

these three two (you'll see), I figured would make better cel-shaded/quicker pieces due to how zoomed out they are, any true details I would want to focus on don't exactly work for my current style faraway. Be sure to tailor compositions that suit your style. I will be keeping these sketch ideas for future reference.

It's important to remember that just because an idea doesn't get used in this piece, that doesn't mean it can't be used in a further piece down the road. I actually have a horrible habit of deleting my thumbnails after I'm done with them, but if I'm thumbnailing in a sketchbook? I find myself browsing back over them for future pieces to get some rough ideas of what could work later.

One last thing, you don't have to plan as many thumbnails as I did, but I do suggest at least 3 or 4 to really stretch your creativity.

Thumbnails also make for a good warm-up. If you're curious, I did the initial sketches in this order: A C E D B F. I think it helped me loosen up a bit, but you can be the judge of that.

I went back and tried another approach for a painting, but now I have the base for 3 paintings I could pursue, albeit rough, but it's good to learn how to paint like a sculptor, I digress.

That's all there is to it. the key is being clean enough to get the idea down, but rough enough to save time. work small, using basic shapes to create silhouettes. You can enlarge it later and use it as a base sketch.

Last two cents: I've also learned that sometimes if a piece is just not working, it's probably more than likely a compositional issue, anatomy, or perspective, Which is why thumbnailing can help you catch these issues early.

happy drawing :)

a/n: this is my first time really creating a tutorial. this might not be groundbreaking information for some of you and that's okay. this tutorial was initially created for someone in an art server I'm in on Discord, hence the slide-text-slide format. I have taken the images and text from that and compiled them here to make it easier to pick up the tips. I do not consider myself a pro on any of the things mentioned by any means, merely my take on it all. Get multiple sources, educate yourself, practice, and find what works for you. - Sub

[haledamage]

Also, have one I didn't include last time bc two felt like enough: rubatosis, preferably for Nadia/Kurt, but if someone else wants to take it, that's fine by me ;D

the Nadia/Kurt fill for this got really long, long enough that it’s going to get its own separate post 😅 so I decided to write something else for the prompt itself, and it ended up Nadia/Vasco instead! now Nadi gets to have a moment with both her Captains for the same prompt though only Kurt gets smooches this time, sorry Vasco

spoilers for Vasco’s companion quests and Those Big Reveals about de Sardet’s backstory

---

rubatosis - the unsettling awareness of your own heartbeat

As night fell and the last of dinner was finished, Nadia pulled out her journal to make notes about the day as the others spread out to sleep. She just wanted to jot down a quick map of how to get to their campsite, and maybe sketch a few interesting landmarks in the area.

She didn’t know how much time passed as she worked, the camp quiet except for the chirping of crickets and frogs somewhere past the circle of light and the occasional clink of metal from Kurt’s armor as he kept watch.

When she eventually looked up, making sure the ink was dry before carefully shutting the book, she was startled to find that she wasn’t alone. Vasco sat across from her, gazing at the fire and clearly lost in thought.

It had become a familiar look on his face lately. Ever since their encounter with Bastien a few months back, brief as it had been, Vasco had been lapsing into occasional contemplative silence, but after the recent revelations about her own heritage, he'd been keeping to himself more and more often. There was clearly something bothering him, but Nadia didn’t want to poke around in things that weren’t her business. He would seek her out when he was ready to talk about it, she was sure.

As if he heard her thoughts - or maybe just felt her watching him - Vasco suddenly looked up and met her eyes. The flickering flame gave the illusion that the ink on his face moved, dark lines shifting like shadows, and it made it impossible to read his expression.

Wordlessly, Nadia got up from her seat and walked around the fire, sitting down next to him instead. Then she simply waited.

When he finally spoke, it was the last question she would have expected. “Do you ever think about how different things might be between us if I hadn’t been given to the Nauts?”

“You mean if you were still Léandre d’Arcy?” He nodded, and she took a moment to seriously consider it. She struggled to picture him without his tattoos, dressed in one of those embroidered coats Constantin was so fond of. That man was so different from the one sitting next to her that she couldn’t recognize him. “We might never have met.”

Vasco shrugged, the motion almost sullen. “Or we might be like you and Kurt. Lifelong friends.”

“Maybe I would’ve hated you,” she countered, choosing not to correct his assumption; while she certainly considered Kurt her friend now, it had been a long and rocky road getting there. “Maybe you would have hated me.”

“Maybe we would have fallen in love as children.” His quiet voice was absolutely sincere, but the casualness with which he said it made any reply Nadia attempted dissolve before she could speak it. As if, of all the ways their relationship might have developed, that was the most obvious outcome to him.

She gave up and tried a different approach. “And what if the Nauts had kept me, instead of giving me to my mother?” She ignored the ache in her chest that thought caused, unsure exactly what emotion it stemmed from anymore. “Do you think we would have been crewmates? Would you be my Captain instead of my friend?”

“I think it more likely you would have been my Captain.” Vasco laughed a little, eyes distant again for a moment before focusing back on her. “But I see your point.”

“Léandre d'Arcy is a stranger to me, my dear Captain. If you were him, you wouldn't be you. And what a pity that would be.” He laughed again, louder and lighter. She took it as encouragement. One of his hands rested on his knee, and she reached out to cover it with her own. “Maybe in another life, you would have been legate of the Congregation and I would have been the Captain that brought you to Teer Fradee. Or I would have been one of the doneigada that you were in peace talks with.” She squeezed his hand, hoping he could hear the truth of what she was saying--and what she wasn’t ready to say yet. “‘What if’ is all well and good, but it will never hold a candle to what is. Not to me.”

“You don’t ever feel like you missed out? That who you are isn’t who you were supposed to be?” Vasco’s voice was barely above a whisper, nearly drowned out by the crackling fire, but loud enough to hear the anguish in it.

His thoughts were practically identical to hers on those first long nights after her true lineage had come to light. Nadia chewed on her lower lip as she tried to figure out a way to explain her own feelings, the words coming slowly. “I think… if either of us had done anything different, been anyone different than who we are… then we wouldn’t be sitting here together right now. And I… I don’t like to imagine my life without you in it.”

Vasco fell silent again, but instead of the fire his gaze drifted to their hands. He gently slipped his hand out from under hers, and she bit back a twinge of disappointment at the loss of contact.

Disappointment gave way to wonder when, instead of withdrawing like she expected, he only pulled off his gloves. He offered his now-bare hand and a soft, almost timid smile to her. After a few seconds to get over her surprise, Nadia gratefully accepted both; she quickly removed her gloves as well, then took his hand again, lacing their fingers together.

She could feel her heartbeat in her palm where it pressed against his, too aware of the frantic pace of it and the fact that he could probably feel it too. It sped up even further when he swept his thumb over her knuckles in a gentle caress.

“Thank you,” Vasco said suddenly, breaking her out of her reverie. “You’ve given me… a lot to think about.”

“You’re welcome.” Nadia hesitated, knowing what she should ask but not really wanting to. “Do you want me to--”

“No,” he interrupted, clearly already anticipating what she was going to say. He held her hand a little tighter as if to prevent her from leaving. “Stay. If you don’t mind.”

She settled back down immediately, trying to hide her relief behind a smile.

They let silence fall between them again. There was nothing else that needed to be said - not yet, at least. It was enough to just sit together by the fire, hand in hand.

[urstruly-ghst]

Hey ! Can I get a hc of someone making dorm leaders' little sister cry if lts ok ? I really like drawing in my free time but some people say that "I'm wasting my time doing nothing" and it just makes me feel ... sad. But the request can be different - anyway just bullying lol (idk what I'm saying at this point shajjsvsus) Sending love n kisses :D ~ ❤

whoever makes you cry will face my fists >:(( i shall f i g h t.

and xoxo sweetie.💗💗

riddle rosehearts

Being his little sister was hard, he would always make sure you are well rounded but had the fun he wished he had.

Everyone in the world knew that you, little Rosehearts, is a prized treasure of the Dorm Leader, no one is allowed to hurt you.

Until some bullies saw you sketching the day away, a pleased smile on your lips. It was at this time, you were alone, no Riddle in sight.

They targeted you, in a mean way, instead of physical pain, they gave you a bad mood. By that, they insulted your drawings and you in general.

This caused tears to pour, which in turn, got the bullies to target you more. The teasing and taunting turned silent when someone coughed politely behind their backs.

They clicked their tongues and was about to ask why are they bothering them, until they saw a familiar red head. Fuming with anger.

He crossed his arms and that familiar look of anger was on his face, he screamed; "Off With Your Heads!" as he collared them.

The bullies shook in their place, terrified of what punishment was to be bestowed on them.

While they were shaking, Riddle approached you with a frown and hugged you. He assured you that "big brother isn't going anywhere" and that he won't let you be alone again.

He made sure of it. If he can't be with you, then lets Trey or Cater or the Adeuce combo be with you.

Just to be sure you are safe and not bullied again.

As for the bullies, he made sure they got the punishment of cleaning and doing double the work, while a 10,000 word handwritten note would be given to you as an apology.

leona kingscholar

Savanaclaw's dorm head, Leona, has been forced to believe all women are to be respected. He made sure everyone knew that too.

Especially when his little sister was to visit him.

Now, everyone knows Afterglow Savannah was a place filled with strong women, you included. But you were softer, to say the least.

Your resemblance to Leona was subtle, but it stood out nonetheless. And everyone knew never to bother a Kingscholar.

While visiting Leona, he had been called to a meeting, much to his dismay, and left you unsupervised. He knew you were capable of being alone.

You were alone for a fairly long time, so you decided to go out and just sketch the interior of your brother's dorm for some memories.

Unknowingly, some new students saw you, unaware of who you are. They decided you would be their new target.

While sketching, they pulled your hair and laughed at your pathetic state. They were strong, stronger than you, so all you did was weep as the physical pain and mental torture grew on you

Luckily for you, Leona was quick to leave his meeting to see you, worried as his instincts tell him something was wrong.

He heard your cries from a mile away, and he grew angry at such notion that someone hurt his family AND hurt a woman.

Leona ran towards the source and saw you in such a state of misery, that he roared while coldly asking what are they doing. The bullies were frozen as they saw Leona approach you and pushing you behind him.

While Leona was ready to attack, you stopped him and told him to not cause more trouble. He obligated, and gave the bullies a nasty remark about to never mess with a Kingscholar, and gave them punishments while at it.

In the end, the bullies bowed at your feet asking for forgiveness while Leona stood on the side, smirking victoriously.

azul ashengrotto

While managing the Monstro Lounge, you pooped in to say hello. Azul smiled while he organized the papers and customers. He asked if you wanted anything, to which you replied your order.

Azul offered to eat at the VIP room, but you declined, insisting that you want to sketch the Lounge while eating.

He nodded and headed off, to his office, to get some negotiations going. He trusted you enough to be alone, so he had no trouble in letting you off alone.

While your order arrived, you sketched and sketched, not minding anything else than your sketchbook.

The bullies saw you, and smirked amongst themselves, a silent agreement to target you in such state. One of them sat down across you, and touched your thigh.

You jumped at the notion, and before you could ask why are they touching you, they spilt drinks all over you and your sketchbook.

This caused every one of them laughing and insulting you, causing tears to pour from your eyes. Before they could advance to harass you more, an "oya oya" was heard.

They froze and you looked up to see your brother's friend, Jade and Floyd. They had sinister smiles, while asking politely what was happening in the establishment.

All of the gasped and leaped up on their feet, scared of what was to happen next. Jade escorted you to Azul, while Floyd went rampant on the bullies.

Azul looked to see you covered in juice and tears, alarmed, he demanded an explanation. Jade calmly told the events, and Azul's frown deepened.

He whispered something to Jade, while assisting you to change and take a bath or a swim.

Let's say the bullies all had a not so fun time with the Leech twins.

kalim al-asim

As Kalim's little sister, he made sure you know all about his life and passions! He also made sure you are well protected over, knowing the threats that happen to your family.

Jamil is also protective over you both, while you are fully aware of protecting yourself, he still made sure to watch both of you.

Now, the bullying happened at a party, where you and your brother were separated due to the lively atmosphere.

While you were partying and enjoying life, someone pulled your hair and led you to a hallway and physically harassed you.

You punched and tried to kick them away, but their strength was overpowering yours, making you weep as they mocked you and laughed at you.

But, unknown to them, Kalim saw this and has called on over Jamil to help him asses the situation.

While they saw this, Kalim grew angry and threw a fit, ordering them what is happening and why are they doing this to you.

Jamil stood next to Kalim, glaring at the bully, a look of anger on his face. It was scary.

They let go of you while you sobbed onto Kalim's shirt, which in turn made Kalim cry too.

Jamil politely asked you both to leave, while taking care of the bully. Assuring you he would punish this bully with the right amount of time.

While you exit the scene, Kalim did his best to cheer you up, bringing up his magical carpet, you travelled the sky to relax.

vil schoenheit

Vil kept his private life and family life really great, no one knew of his family and personal life, and no one knew that the girl to visit Vil was his little sister.

While you were visiting, you spot a nice shade and view, causing you to just delay your visit a little bit.

Unknown to you, you were now a new target to some bullies, who were bored and wanting to go crazy with bullying. You were alone, seemingly a stranger, so you are the target that was perfect.

As you were sketching away, the bullies formed a gang on you, and started to make fun of you— from you sketching to your outfit. Even if you tried to defend yourself, they brought you down.

By now, Vil is worrying where were you, as your visit is now delayed! He ought to scold you on your arrival, but he doesn't know where you are.

He sent out Rook to get you, just to be sure you actually visited, he texted you too. But his worry is going up the roof as more time passed.

Back to you and the bullies, your state is even more pitiful as tears were now in your vision. This made them give a boisterous laugh, alerting a nearby hunter.

Rook saw this and immediately did his job, rescuing a damsel like you. He coughed quite loudly, announcing his arrival his tone harsh and sharp. Rook smiled at you, and wiped your tears.

He gave the bullies a glare, before escorting you to the Pomefiore dorm, where Vil was waiting with a frown.

When Vil saw your state, he glanced at Rook, his gaze demanding an answer. When Rook gave the explanation, all Vil did was nod; Rook knew this was an order.

So, Rook dismissed himself while Vil and you talk. He gave a stern yet loving scolding, making sure you are okay and if not, he will try to comfort you.

idia shroud

Everyone knew of his little brother, Ortho, but no one knew he had another sibling. Someone older than Ortho, and was actually a... Real person

Unlike Idia, you loved going out, and always made new friends. But they seem to never connect you with Idia. Maybe the resemblance wasn't there.

Either way, no one knew of your relation to the Dorm Leader, but even with your connection, they assumed nothing big will happen.

They were wrong, as one day,when they decided to bully you, Ortho was doing his daily stroll.

Ortho really looked up to you, he loved you lots! So imagine his anger when he saw you being cornered and crying. He sent a message to Idia and waited for an order.

Idia, sitting in his room, got a message and when he saw it... He was filled with a rage, and started to talk loudly and fast, typing to Ortho to take care of the bullies and take you back to the Dorm.

When you arrived, you cried into your brother's arms and just asked for comfort. Idia, like always, offered you to play games.

He made sure to get your favorite game on, and snacks too! Ortho also is here to cheer you up!

In the end, you decided to stay in your brother's dorm for a few weeks, as for the bullies... Ortho reported this to the Headmaster and expects them to have a proper punishment.

malleus draconia

Either you are dumb, new, or just plain fearless if you think on messing with Malleus Draconia or just his family.

You were related to Malleus, and had every right to be respected as Princess, and as a person. You were strong and competent.

Even Malleus' retainers are on full guard with you, but they trust you too to protect yourself.

However, one day, in a park, you decided to stroll! Nothing beats a nice stroll in the park.

The bullies, being bored, saw you and decided to target you. No guards or Malleus on sight, so they ought to take this opportunity!

While you were just enjoying life, they targeted you, your hobbies and others making you feel insecure and start to cry. This caused them to mock you more.

Unknowingly, Malleus walked to the park, his feet somehow bringing him to it. And when he went there, his anger got the best of him.

He flew down to where you were and glared down at the human bullies, calmly asking what were they doing. They yelped and tried to turn around but Malleus made them stay still.

He crossed his arms, demanding an apology and asking them to go with him to the principal's office where a punishment for them is due.

Malleus clicked his tongue and hugged you tightly, assuring you that another incident like this won't happen again. He makes sure of it.

[footballerindreams]

How I Met Your Mother - Kanemoto Yoshinori

Right timing! Yoshi’s birthday is coming up! Therefore here’s an imagine dedicated for him.

S/O to @treasuredays​!

We all know that Yoshi has always adored his hyung, Choi Hyunsuk. But did you know there is one more person is adored…or should I say loved more than Choi Hyunsuk. You could say Yoshi’s family but it’s already given. Actually, there is another “Choi” that he loves: CHOI Y/N.

Who is she?

Oh. She’s just a Kindergarten teacher and just the beloved and closest cousin of Hyunsuk.

And how their love story bloomed is one heck of a whirlwind.

Aside from being an idol, Yoshi had engrossed himself with drawings and paintings. He draws and paints on his other free time (the other free time is producing music). One day Haruto came to his room to ask something and Yoshi was painting.

“Woah! Senpai! When was the last time I came here?” Ruto asked.

“Uhm, last week? Why?” the older Japanese replied.

“Is it just me or your room is now full of your artwork?” the younger said.

At the moment, Yoshi’s room is stacked with so many finished paintings on canvasses on one side of the room, a few stacks of sketches and drawings on his table. And now on the floor is another painting about to be finished as well.

“Do you have any plans for this, senpai?” HAruto asked again.

“Actually, no. You know me Ruto. I just paint and draw as a hobby.”

“Don’t tell me, your going to get rid all of these later.”

“WHAT! NO! I’ve worked hard on this!”

“Ok. But for sure you are not planning to look for another room and use this room as your stock room for all your paintings. And besides your works are good. Why don’t you show it publicly?”

“I did. Treasure map?”

“Aside from that.”

“Then what do you suggest to do?”

And so later that night, the members had a meeting and decided they will have an open exhibit for all of Yoshi’s work. At first they wanted it to display on the lobby of the YG Building. But the other idols (like Bobby-hyung) and the higher ups said, “Go all out.” and in the end Yoshi’s drawings are displayed at the Samsung Museum of Art.

Then came D-Day for Yoshi’s exhibit and as expected, many people came to see his work. From fans, to even high profile people. Hell! Even Samsung’s CEO came to see and wanted to buy some of Yoshi’s artwork and the man was shocked. Did he sold it, of course…No at first. The CEO wanted to buy one of his work for more than 2 Million Won and all of the members are flabbergasted…and more flabbergasted when Yoshi refused it. But after some consideration (thanks to Hyunsuk saying that he can do more paintings if he wants to), he said yes.

 Yoshi is busy roaming around when he saw a group of children, probably Kindergarten students coming in the exhibit hall. Yoshi has always been fond of kids so he said his hellos to them, until he caught sight of their teacher.

“Y/N! You’re here!” Hyunsuk shouted running towards the teacher.

“Hi, hyung! Yeah. It happened that the kids have field trip today and I decided to take them to this exhibit when I saw an ad yesterday. I never expected to see you here too.” Y/N replied.

“Well, the exhibit is all Yoshi’s work. You know him, right?” Hyunsuk said with a smile while patting Yoshi’s shoulder.

“Wow! Is this all of your work?” Y/N was amazed.

“Hai…I mean…Ne!” Yoshi stuttered.

“They’re so beautiful.”

You’re beautiful as well.

“Arigato gozaimasu…” Yoshi bowed in embarrassment.

---

Well, that was not the last time Yoshi saw Y/N. The next time was at Hyunsuk’s birthday.  And this time he really sucked up all the courage he has…just to get her number, which she gladly gave.

Sure after that they sent messages, called, and even hanged out!

Though Yoshi is liking her more and more, he never said what he felt. He thought hanging out with her is enough.

---

“Tadaima.” Yoshi said as he entered their dorm. He just came back from another hangout with Choi Y/N.

“Well, guess who came home so “early”.” Hyunsuk sarcastically greeted while sitting on the couch. It seems like he’s waiting for a particular someone to come home.

“Hyung, you’re still up?” Yoshi said.

Hyunsuk stood up almost jumping from the couch and approached the younger member who is taller than him. “Yeah. Care to say where have you been the whole time?” Hyunsuk asked.

“I was at the studio working on---”

“Don’t lie to me Yoshinori. I know you’ve been meeting with Y/N the whole time you are out of the dorm.” Yoshi swallowed the lump on his throat as he looked at his hyung. He knows Hyunsuk is really serious.

“Stay away from her.” Just is what Hyunsuk only said and then he went to his room.

---

Yesterday

Yoshi! I have free time this Saturday. Can we hangout?

Hi Yoshi! You’re probably busy right now. I’m sorry if I am disturbing you.

Today

Hi Yoshi. Is there something wrong? It’s so unusual that you’re not replying.

I know I sound intrusive, but you know, you can talk to me.

I’m fine Y/N. Don’t worry. =)

---

Y/N is so worried so after her class she decided to go to Yoshi’s dorm to check him out.

“Y/N! Did not expect for you to come. You should’ve told me. I should’ve picked you up.” Hyunsuk said as he saw his cousin outside the door.

“It’s okay. Sukkie-hyung. Anyway, is Yoshi here right now?” Y/N casually asked.

Then Hyunsuk’s face changed. “Why are you looking for him?” he sternly asked.

“I’ve been texting him but he’s not answering. I thought he has a problem, and I was a bit worried.”

“He’s not here!” Hyunsuk replied at bit loudly making Y/N flinched a bit. “I---I’m sorry Y/N. I did not mean to.” Hyunsuk immeditaley apologized.

“Uhm. It’s okay. But are you okay? You seem agitated.” Y/N asked. She thinks something’s up.

“I’m fine.”

---

“Yoshi!” Y/N screamed as she saw the Japanese boy sitting on a bench looking towards Han River. Yoshi heard her voice and looked at her direction. With widened eyes, he suddenly got up from his seat about to leave.

“Wait Yoshi, stop!” Y/N grabs his hand. “Why are you avoiding me? Did I do something wrong?” Y/N asked.

“No. Nothing, Y/N. I just really have to go. I still have some work---”

“I TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM HER!” Hyunsuk came dashing and grabbed Yoshi’s collar pulling him closer. Yoshi is now trembling.

“Hyunsuk, what are you doing?!” Y/N dashed to free Yoshi from her cousin but she was only stopped by the Japanese.

“It’s okay Y/N.”

Hyunsuk grabbed Yoshi’s collar tighter almost ready to punch the other’s face.

“Again. I told. You. To stay. AWAY FROM HER! Which part of that do you not understand?!” Hyunsuk shouted.

“Hyunsuk! I was the one who went to him! What’s your problem?!”

“I don’t want you to be hurt again, Y/N. DO you still remember the time that you came to me crying after you found out your boyfriend was sleeping with another girl?” Hyunsuk replied.

“I do! But Hyunsuk, Yoshi is different. I know, and I believe he’s different.” Y/N cannot take it anymore and said, “I like him, Hyunsuk!”

Hyunsuk let Yoshi got when he heard what his cousin said.

“I like him. What can I do? I can’t help it.” Y/N kneeled on the ground and cried.

Yoshi came closer to her and wiped her tears away. “Please don’t cry. I’m sorry I avoided you. It’s just that I don’t want Hyunsuk-hyung to hate me and you to become sad.” Yoshi held her hand. “But now I know too. I like you too, Choi Y/N.”

Y/N hugged him tight for the first time.

While Hyunsuk just stood there, feeling guilty for what he did.

It turns out that Y/N had a prior relationship before Yoshi. A Japanese expat working at a big Korean firm. Y/N was so in love with him and she would always tell Hyunsuk about him. But then she caught him cheating on her. When Hyunsuk knew, he could not control himself and almost thrown his reputation away as an idol. Thanks to Y/N and her kindness, he stopped before he lands a fist on the guy. At that point Hyunsuk was always on guard for his cousin, especially with Japanese men.

---

Yoshi and Y/N’s relationship bloomed and stayed strong. When Seung and Yong were born, Hyunsuk tried to tease them to seal the deal and give his twins a cousin to play with only for him to get a sassy reply from his cousin.

“Don’t you dare tell us to seal the deal. You haven’t even sealed yours! Do it first.” Y/N said that made Yoshi laugh at his hyung.

We can say Yoshi is a box full of surprises. During Jihoon’s wedding, he asked Jihoon to intentionally throw the garter to him and Jihoon’s wife to throw the bouquet to Y/N. The newly wed couple made it as natural as it is. And it really happened. The bouquet was thrown first, and Y/N got it.

Then instead of a garter, a small white box was thrown and Yoshi, as intended, got it.

They were at the center and the people are watching them. Then Yoshi kneeled and Y/N was shocked.

“I want us to be the next couple to get married. I think it’s time to seal the deal. Choi Y/N, will you marry me?” And Yoshi opened the box revealing an Aquamarine gemstone ring.

Y/N can’t believe what’s happening and cried, “Of course I will!”

---

A few months after their engagement, the got married in Yoshi’s hometown of Kobe. And during that time, Hyunsuk was the best man. He even delivered a speech for the couple.

“I don’t know why but my cousin has a thing for Japanese men. But I’m happy that out of all Japanese men she met, Yoshi is the one she is spending her life with. At first I was afraid that things will go wrong again, and that Yoshi, eventhough I know he is a good man, will be the same as the prick who broke my cousin’s heart. But he proved me wrong. And also, I know Yoshi adores me so much. Even during Treasure box time. But I did not expect he would go to the extent of being a part of my family tree. But anyways, welcome to the Choi family, brother, and cousin-in-law. Cheers to the newly weds.”

And then a year after, Hikaro was born, much to the happiness of Seung and Yong.

[riisinaakka-draws]

part 2/6

2nd part of my old Black Sails scraps and doodles from 2016–2021. Not in any particular order.

This time the drawings are short comics that were abandoned for a reason or another, mostly because I lost the interest or felt like there was too much to redraw compared to the satisfaction of finishing something else more interesting. There’s also some talk about rigid mindset and how overthinking can lead to stagnation.

Contains early silverflint moments, specks of dust, rackham's glasses are found, jealous-Billy spying, desk-Flint gets caught, "squint-squint", a quiet moment and its bird dilemma etc.

And please do not steal and repost elsewhere. But if you do get inspired, feel free to make your own interpretations!

Long-ish post under the cut!

“What are you thinking about?”

“Specks of dust.”

“Liar.”

The idea was to show how much they and their relationship had changed. This was around 2016 when the season 3 began and I was still re-learning to draw with a tablet. Another art from the same time period (and idea) is this art: The Dynamic Duet. 

And for some reason I was really stuck up thinking that I’d have to first do the sketch, then the clean line art, then planes underneath, then shadows etc. and I have always struggled with that kind of approach! Mainly because I hate doing clean line work, lol. And I was a fool for trying to start with a white canvas! It’s so much harder to find values and plan things, or at least in my opinion..

“Rackham’s glasses are found”

To celebrate their new pirate alliance, they share the four lenses of Rackham’s sunglasses as they were also found at the time (because I wanted it to resurface and they could be made into jewellery you know...). This was right after the episode where Anne fights and hurts her hands (here wearing protecting mittens from Max even though she’s not trusted at the moment). Uh, this doesn’t spark joy interest me much and it’s quite stiff and would recuire a lot of redrawing faces, so - discarded!  

I somewhat like the idea still (them having something to share, although it’s on Jack’s detriment). I tried to find a stylished comical easier doodlier? way to draw them and draw clean lines etc, but it just wasn’t for me. Also here too, the background is blank and too bright. Later I started to think things as scenes and draw everything at the same time instead of adding the bg later or trying to show everything (and everyone) at the same time.

Here’s also Billy in the same story:

He’s spying on them and since it’s so bright he’s wearing his diy “sunglasses” and being envious to the others. *cough* uhhh...Idk? Also people were shipping Ben Gunn (and cheese) with Billy, so that bled into this too... Charles’ spirit is riding the “big white bird” that was mentioned in Teach’ story and in this case it’s a pelican.

As you can see, I also wasn’t using the brushes that I use nowadays. A hard (or soft) round brushes with no change in opacity just aren’t for me. For example, in traditional art, I struggle with markers and copics, but really enjoy charcoals and watercolours. I prefer ragged edges, layering and thus blending things into each other (and leaving the viewer to fill in the gaps) instead of having stark or definite things. I also struggle with vector drawings, although I have decided to finally start learning to use them...somedayyyy.

Also, I wasn’t paying attention to anatomy, like, at all LMAO. I was just so happy to be able to put something on the canvas.

This is one of my first ink drawings, but I cannot find the original anymore. Again, I like the idea, but not how things look art-wise. And I was so adamant, that I have to get everything right in the traditional drawing and not fix anything later on on photoshop because then it would be cheating. And thus, I was never able to move on or finish this properly the way I liked it (idiot).

BUT! It was a good practise to just draw and test things on paper and gain confidense on drawing things in overall (as I was still getting back into art). To get over the fear of blank paper you know, and try to find my style whatever it would start to form into.

Oh, yeah, Desk Flint.

Desk Flint was a thing for a while (still is, lol). Another drawing from that time is this Slingshot Pirate (2016). And Desk Flint keeps repeating in many later works too. The point is mainly “Flint sitting behind his desk and people interrupt him and I don’t have to draw him fully”

Well, anyway... moving on.

Here’s a plan that has been stuck for years. It’s name is “Squint-squint.” Left is the sketch (with another sketch underneath because the expressions were clearer in the old one). On the right is the continued piece with colour scheme but I cropped the eyes panel and faces out (it was so ugly for some reason) but if I ever continue/finish this, it will be redrawn there in the middle.)

Left. “On that moment their eyes were literally open(ed).”

Right. “After squinting on the shore for days, they had actually forgotten how pretty the other idiot’s eyes were.”

I still like it, quite a lot, but my perfectionist ass only sees too much “boring” things to draw and get right, so it hasn’t been a priority for a long time and other works have kept me occupied and more interested in them.

--------------------

“Quiet Moment.” 2018 (a wordless comic happening after the events of Charles Town)

I’m going to explain after these pictures, but see how big the difference is when you start to look at references and plan things together (the space, “camera” movement, background etc). I also started to colour with coarser brushes:

I drew this around early 2018. A lot of improvement! Still quite a lot of negative space (empty white backgrounds), but it fits this work. A few things tell where we are (the ship’s cabin and the balcony). Changing distances and how things are cropped/framed make things more moving and focused (and less to draw, lol). Colours and brush strokes are softer, more layered and so on.

But guess why it’s still a wip!

I couldn’t decide what bird is flying over there.

Yeap! At first it was an albatross (doesn’t go to Bahamas?). Then a seagull (but which seagull? there’s so many subspecies! Is the ship at sea or at the harbour? what birds are there on the open water/ close to the shore?? oh noo...) So, yeah, wayyyy too much over-thinking.

At some point I ended up with white-tailed-tropic-bird which was a plus! because it sounds like the bosun’s whistle, but at that point I was so tangled and frustrated and still had so much to finish with this that I left it be. Also Flint’s face looks different in every frame so I would’ve had to change some parts, lol. And then I forgot it for a couple of years! And then I had learned to draw a bit differently and again saw too much things to do, so it’s quite hard to take on this again, especially when there are so many other interesting wips waiting...

But I still really like the feeling of it! And the colour scheme. So I might just limit the things I’m allowed to fix and then post it as it own someday. I mean, it’s 90% finished, but the last reach just feels like miles.

And that’s what usually happens with my wips. They reach a certain point and it suddenly becomes really hard to finish or get back into.

But every time I learn things and then use the information in another work! :D

Final note for this post (altough this has been said hundreds of times): use references and look how things go and try to see the structure and form beneath things. And think where it is happening and how the light and surroundings affects the characters and/or spaces. And maybe think what you’re trying to convey with the art, what idea? what emotions? what purpose? or like, what are you trying to learn with the piece? and so on...

Thanks for checking this out, I hope you had fun <3

[clonewarsarchives]

Inside 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'

By: Gerri Miller  (original article link on howstuffworks)

Sources

George Lucas interviewed August 4, 2008

Dave Filoni interviewed September 11, 2008

The sci-fi phenomenon that began more than 30 years ago with a movie about a galaxy long ago and far, far away has expanded exponentially ever since with sequels, prequels, books, games and animated spinoffs. Although the animated "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" movie, released this summer, has to date grossed a less than stellar $34 million, it was an offshoot of creator George Lucas' mission to create a TV series, and it served its purpose as a promotional tool for the weekly "Clone Wars" episodes that premiere on Cartoon Network Oct. 3, 2008.

Focused on the conflict briefly referred to in the original "Star Wars," the galactic civil war takes place in the period between "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones" and "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith." The Clone Wars pit the Grand Army of the Republic led by the Jedi Knights against the Separatists and their Droid Army, led by Count Dooku, a Jedi turned Sith Lord aligned with the evil Darth Sidious. Many of the characters from the "Star Wars" universe are involved, including Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi and young Anakin Skywalker, before he was tempted to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader.

"I was lamenting the fact that in 'Episode II,' I started the Clone Wars, and in 'Episode III,' I ended the Clone Wars, and I never actually got to do anything on the Clone Wars," says Lucas. "It's like skipping over World War II."

To remedy that omission, he tapped Dave Filoni, an animator (Nickelodeon's "Avatar: the Last Airbender" series) and passionate "Star Wars" fan, to bring "The Clone Wars" to TV.

Ensconced at Big Rock Ranch, near Lucas' Skywalker Ranch headquarters in Marin County, Cali., Filoni and his team of artists and computer animators are making 22 episodes in season one and have nearly two more seasons written.

"We're way ahead. We've been doing this ever since I finished 'Revenge of the Sith,'" says Lucas, who hopes to do at least 100 installments.

He and Filoni collaborate on everything from story to design to execution in translating the "Star Wars" universe for television. It's a daunting creative, technical and logistic task, as we'll explain in the following sections.

Building the Universe

How do you scale down an IMAX-size spectacle for television and still have it make an impact, especially on a small screen budget? That's just one of the problems Dave Filoni has to solve.

"'Star Wars' is very famous for the scale of it, and how convincing it looks. So when you're doing a weekly television series, you have to figure out how to do things on that level," he notes. "Sometimes it forces you to be creative and come up with solutions that are better than if you can shoot everything you want," he continues, preferring to consider budgetary constraints a creative incentive rather than a limitation. "The team here is challenged to come up with these giant battles. We haven't shied away from anything."

While he did some of the initial character design, subsequently, Filoni has spent most of his time supervising other artists and animators, who number around 70 in-house and another 80 or so at facilities in Singapore and Taipei.

"Everything is written here, and the story and design and editing are all done here. The animation and lighting are done overseas, and sometimes some modeling as well," he outlines.

­"I meet with George to talk about the episodes and he hands out a lot of the storylines and main ideas for the stories. I'll draw while he's talking and show him the sketch," Filoni continues. "That way we communicate right off the bat about what something might look like."

At any given time, the director notes, episodes are in various stages of completion, "from designing to working on a final cut, or adding sound and color-correction. I have four episodic directors to help me, who each have an episode they're managing."

Rather than use computer animation to duplicate the live-action films' characters or continue in the very stylized vein of the 2004-2005 "Clone Wars" micro-series, "We kind of shot for the middle," says Filoni, who endeavored to blend a 2-D esthetic with 3-D technology.

"The 3-D model makers and riggers who worked on the prequels dealt with the height of realism to create convincing digital characters. I knew that we weren't going to be able to do that for the series. And we wanted it to be different than a live-action feature, to get away from photo-realism. It was a choice to simplify something in the character models, the same way we would do things in a 2-D show."

So how did Filoni stay true to the "Star Wars" legacy in this newest installment? Read on to find out.

Clone Style

Taking some inspiration from the earlier cartoon series, Filoni

approached the characters as a 2-D animator would, "but stylized the face a little more. If you look at Anakin, he has certain edges and lines in his face. I would draw an edge or a line that might be unnaturally straight or curved, and that would play into the lighting of it. I tried to sculpt in 3-D the way I would draw or sculpt an image in 2-D, with shadow and light. I wanted it to look like a painting -- you see a textured, hand-painted style on every character. I have texture artists who literally paint every single character right down to their eyeball, because I wanted that human touch on everything."

Advances in computer animation have allowed Filoni to accomplish much more than he would have been able to in traditional 2-D. "For eight years I worked just with a pencil. I never touched a computer. But working with George, we try to look at computers as an incredibly advanced pencil. The technical side helps the creative, artistic side," he says.

Battles filled with huge numbers of soldiers can be rendered faster than ever before, but they still have to be created, along with every other prop and character in an enormous universe. "'Star Wars' is so complex in that you're building a whole galaxy. We go to many different planets," Filoni reminds. "So every rock, tree, blade of grass, native vehicle -- every asset -- needs design. We had to create a whole bunch of assets for each episode, and the budget goes up for each element you have. Once you build it, you have it, but we can't go to a different planet and have the same chair there," he laughs. "On a schedule where we need those things right away, it's difficult to get it all built."

Since "The Clone Wars" is chronologically sandwiched between "Clone Wars" and "Revenge of the Sith," it has been a mandate for the creators to stay consistent with the mythology. "That's probably one of the trickiest things," admits Filoni. "We always have to keep in mind what the characters are thinking and feeling at the beginning of this and at the end. You have a lot of room to play with when you're in the middle, but you have to remember what people say in the third movie. With characters like Obi-Wan or Anakin or Padme, I have to pay very careful attention that it will hook up. And then there's the expanded universe of "Star Wars" novels and video games. I try to be aware of it all and work it in, because fans really appreciate it."

Filoni hopes to attract existing fans and create new ones, especially among the younger generation, but admits doing the latter may be easier. "One thing we have that's different from any movie that came before is we're an animated series. But there's an instant reaction to the word animation that it's for kids. How you get around that is with the stories you tell. We'll have our snow battles and we'll also have our lighter 'Return of the Jedi' moments. Some episodes lean older, some younger. But in the end it has a broad appeal," he believes.

The recent "Clone Wars" movie (out on DVD Nov. 11 ) served as a stand-alone prequel to introduce the characters at this point in time. In contrast, "The series has its small arcs and shows you the war from across a broad spectrum of episodes. It's not just Anakin Skywalker's story," Filoni underlines. "We can go left or right of that plot and deal with characters we have never seen. There's a lot of material. It's a three-year period in the history of the 'Star Wars' Universe, and there are so many stories to tell. The longer it goes, the more chance we get to tell fascinating stories in that galaxy."

Character Study

"The Clone Wars" shows a different side of some of the film franchise's most iconic characters. "In a series, you can do a whole episode about a character and learn more about what they were like, which makes what happens to them a lot more poignant," explains Filoni. "We know Yoda is powerful, but how does that power develop? How does he use it? We get to go into more detail that you just couldn't do in the live action films, because they're mainly focused on Anakin."

While few of the actors from the live action movies agreed to reprise their roles in voice over for "The Clone Wars," Anthony Daniels, the original C-3PO, is the exception. "One of the special moments for me was hearing Anthony on the telephone, discussing C-3PO with me and his experiences. That really helps us round out the characters," says the director, who enjoyed similar input from Rob Coleman, the animation supervisor who worked on Yoda on the prequels.

Of the new characters not seen in the live action series, there's the alluring but venomous Asajj Ventress, a disciple of Count Dooku. "She is, of course, a villain, and fits into the structure of the Sith," Filoni elaborates. "Darth Sidious -- Senator Palpatine -- is the main bad guy, and his apprentice is Count Dooku. Dooku is training Ventress in the Dark Side. She's getting more powerful. I wanted to make her intelligent, deceptive and also kind of sexual. She's kind of a forbidden fruit -- Jedi are not supposed to get involved with the more lustful aspects of life. She adds another dynamic to the series."

On the other side of the good/evil coin is newcomer Ahsoka Tano, Anakin's teenage pad­awan, or apprentice. "She's Anakin's student and helps us see him as more of a hero," says Filoni. "Once he gets over his initial reaction, he takes pride in her. He's unpredictable and the Jedi know that, but he has compassion and that is used against him and it later brings him to the Dark Side."

Ahsoka was created, says Lucas, "Because I needed to mature Anakin. The best way to get somebody to become responsible and mature is to have them become a parent or a teacher. You have to think about what you're doing and set an example. You look at your behavior and the way you do things much differently. The idea was to use her to make Anakin become more mature. We've made her a more extreme version of what Anakin was- - a little out there, independent, vital and full of life, but even more so. He gets a little dose of his own medicine."

"She's been a really fun character to develop," adds Filoni, who likes Ahsoka but admits that his character tastes tend to run a bit more obscure -- his favorite is Plo Koon, "a bizarre Jedi Master. It's been fun to develop him and show his personality beyond the fact that he's bizarre looking and carries a lightsaber."

Fan Fare

Just three years ago, Filoni dressed up as Plo Koon to see an opening night showing of "Revenge of the Sith," so it's not surprising that the 34-year-old fan is still pinching himself that he has this job. "It's a very creative atmosphere," he says of Big Rock Ranch, where the lakeside setting is "meant to inspire us artistically and definitely does. A lot of the people I work with grew up with 'Star Wars,' so we have a great time. It's hard, intense work, but George is very engaged in what we're doing. What more could you ask for? I have the guy who created the 'Star Wars' universe excited and interested in what we're doing. We couldn't be happier about that."

Asked why he thinks "Star Wars" remains a fan favorite today, three decades later, Lucas says diversification is the key. "We were always able to deal with different aspects of the story in various forms and I think that keeps it alive. It is a lot of fun and it's a universe that has been created to inspire young people to exercise their imagination and inspire them to be creative, and I think that always works."

"The original 'Star Wars' had broad appeal to everybody, and it holds up so well," adds Filoni. "I think there's a timelessness to it, even though Luke looks like a kid from the '70s with that haircut. Luke is a farmer boy and Han is a cowboy. Jedi Knights are like the samurai of Japan or the knights of Europe. Those archetypes work the globe over. It's a world phenomenon that speaks to everyone. There will always be a character you can relate to."

[gods-and-punks]

Ratatouille Voice: "Anyone Can Draw"

Okay idk I'm not a professional artist, I don't even consider myself "good", though I've made some pieces I'm proud of. [Shameless link if you wanna see how full of shit I am.] But I honestly truly believe that anyone can draw, and anyone can improve. Yeah, you might not be where you want to be, but if you really want to get better, let's harness that "feeling bad about my art" and turn it into drive "so I'm gonna do something about it"!

I've been drawing off an on for over a decade, but I've really improved in the last 3 years, and here's what I think happened:

I learned to 3D model fast. Which is to say, I learned to turn shapes over in my mind and figure out how slight changes in angle affected what I see. I can't conjure images in my head very easily or with much detail, so learning to layer details and give volume to an idea in my mind was a huge hurtle I never realized I had until I uhh had a senior project that required me to face and then get over it.

I started making deliberate decisions about what I wanted. (Ie, my art isn't a passive experience "i guess this is how things are", I started making choices of what I wanted it to be like.

I stopped mindlessly practicing - I started doing research and doing very deliberate practice and experimentation. I did research, I found videos, and I chose what I spent time on. I tried different combinations, I drew low-stakes sketches that no one had to see. I also stsrted doing warm ups!! It matters!!

And I know this doesn't sound like the "ideal" that art should be spontaneous and natural and I feel it too. But I don't have talent, so I have to work at it. And I am a PhD student in a non-art field, so I have limited time - so I have to work smart.

Part 1

So I know 3D modeling isn't really accessible, approachable, and all that (it's also not not accessibly, i just learned school of hard knocks so I literally cannot teach anyone how to do it); but I also don't think it's necessary. What you need to do is draw still life. Yes, its not the fan art you want to draw, but it will help! (And I do not suggest starting with your anime figures either, use simple kindergarten shapes.)

Learn to draw things you see in your room, go pick stock photos and recreate them. Trace parts only to learn how the lines come together, duplicate from sight!

I strongly advocate taking up charcoal if you can, it teaches you how to think not just about the thing you are drawing, but think about it in reference to its surroundings.

https://youtu.be/KD2v0Dwg2og

https://youtu.be/nkDObgH6ixg

https://youtu.be/emcO79uteN4

Part 2

This is the one where you gotta swallow your pride and ideals, and look at things practically. If you want to be in an art industry or just help yourself feel better about your hobby, your art should never be an "accident".

And what that means is that you chose to draw faces like that, you chose to use darker thicker lines, etc. "That's just how I draw x" as a response to art criticism is a really bad sign. But if you've already decided that you aren't happy with your art, then I think you're already... ready... to make a change - you've already had this "come to earth" uncomfortable epiphany that you probably have some room to grow. And honestly, I love and respect you even more for it!! Everyone can grow, and you have done the hard introspection to say that you want to!

So now we need to start looking at what other artists do that make you admire them? I love how sketchy the lines are in Tite Kubo's Bleach manga is, so I try to emulate it. I'm not stealing his art, I'm learning from it. I love how fluid Katsura Hoshino's D Gray Man is, so I embrace that and try to incorporate it in my scenes. But note: these are "qualities" of the art. I am framing these as "attainable characteristics" that come from the art I can look at. Its not "D Gray Man is pretty, why can't I do that" or "Bleach is so cool, I'm just not good enough".

No! Kill your doubt gremlin!! and start looking at the reasons you love and admire the artists you do. Go on insta, find someone to adore, pour your <3's on their pieces and learn from them by looking at how they use line and shape and tone and whatever.

https://youtu.be/NEvMHRgPdyk

Part 3

So I just kind'a put links where I though they would help, so now I'll list the various playlists that I keep my favorite videos in. The people who make them are good, not always gentle, but they have helped me out a lot.

Remember that things that work for one person may not work for another, but you have to try. If you don't have talent (which tbh is pretty common and is 300% not an insult, just just something I had to accept), you have to work for it. And that sucks, but that's life, and you have to decide if this is worth the effort.

And if it is, I hope this helps you see that you already had the agency to learn this!! It's all free on the internet, because of content creators who want you to learn!!

Anyway, take it or leave it, but this actually worked for me so I thought I'd post about it.

[vegetacide]

Veggie art’ing Part II complete…  This is a continuation of THIS 

Also for something a bit new as I had several notes asking what was going on with the previous pic I wrote a little something to accompany this.  It took a rather unexpected direction on me as I had ordinally intended for this to be a reconciliation picture..   Just were my mind veered for some reason.. I blame these two idiots…

I have spent far too long plunking away at this so bare with me if its absolutely crap. 

Anyway.. if you wish to read it.. look check out below 

Working title: …haven’t come up with one yet.. meh. Sue me

Blanket warning: Hints to adult subject matter that some might find offensive or triggery..mentions of past trama…. etc etc

Rating: Teen.. I guess

Word count: 2726 words 

Characters: Virgil/Kayo

Fandom: TaG’verse A/U

Location: My made up beach house located somewhere on Tracy Island..  

Veggie notes:   Any errors are completely my own and I am sure I will catch them at some point on one of my obsessive read throughs of self doubt.  :D

Enjoy…

o0o 

Damn, how in the world had it come to this? 

Virgil watched as she padded on quiet, bare feet across the beach house deck.  Retreating again and effectively shutting him out.  Her slender shoulders so small under the too big flannel of his shirt, were hunched as she protectively wrapped her arms around herself. Closing off like she always did when things got too close and too real for her to deal with. 

His chest hurt, a dull ache behind his breast bone and he rubbed at it subconsciously.  Like his heart was too big and in its floundering it was trying to break through the meager sack of flesh that housed it.

Cursing, he rubbed at it again and resisted the urge to drive his fist in the plastered wall of the beach house.  The effort wouldn’t serve any meaningful purpose anyways other than splitting his knuckles. There was no detracting from his present circumstances and potential broken bones wouldn’t change that. 

He should have taken more care with his words instead of letting his thoughts run free as he did and he kicked himself for his short sightedness,  not that it fixed anything.  He’d been too caught up in his own little world,  completely forgetting the reality they were living and now here they were. 

On opposing ends of a vast chasm.  Him holding on with all his might to keep his family whole while Kayo fought against it. The horrible twisted image of family that a mad man had imprinted on her at too young an age warping her view on things to the detriment of them both.    An idea she had been fighting her whole life to make different and one she couldn’t escape, it seemed no matter how hard they tried to.  

The old doubts and worries were always just beneath the surface just waiting to spring forth to bugger things up. The present being a prime example.  

The morning had started out completely different and felt almost like a dream to where they were now.   Warm and lazy with a vague like quality one found just upon waking.   

Kayo had been snuggled in his arms. Her legs tangled with his among the rumpled sheets. A sweet ocean breeze blowing through the gossamer curtains and dancing pleasantly over their satiated bodies.  Wicking the dew of sweat from their skin as their pulses slowed and their minds drifted back from the bliss of carnal sensation. 

His fingers had been lazily tracing up and down her back, over the sinewy grace of her shoulders and down the curve of her spine. Paying homage and mapping every glorious inch to his artist brain. 

He’d been lost in a day dream of what could be. The gentle rise of her hip, the varied valleys of her ribs  directing the course of his thoughts.  A picture was forming of a future, one that stretched out before them like a blank canvas, waiting for them to take up the brush and fill it with colour and life. 

A story in images had started to sketch itself  in his mind’s eye.  The two of them, together.  Healing, growing and evolving with a world of opportunity before them and nothing to hold them back. 

Not being able to contain himself as he lazed with her, Virgil had voiced his thoughts. Letting loose all that he’d hoped for.   A tumble of words spewing forth that had Kayo suddenly growing still and stiff to his touch. 

“Virgil,  stop…”  Had been all she’d uttered before she’d turned from his embrace and slipped from the soft comfort of their bed.  Her hair a tumble of love tousled ebony, hiding her face. 

“It would be a nice picture to paint.”  He’d replied, mind still on other things and not on the present.   “Go anywhere, wherever we want.  Take in the sights for a change instead of just jetting by them.  Go to that little cabin by that lake I told you about… it would be a perfect spot to..”

“Enough! …” The abruptness of her raised voice had him snapping his jaw shut.  

With jerking motions, she’d grabbed up his shirt.  The match to his favourite pair of lounge pants.   The one she loved to cozy into and entice him with. A glimpse of flesh here as it rode up her thighs, a flash there as supple mounds peaked out between the row of loosed buttons. Now though it covered her in a different manner entirely.  Like a shield, she clasped it tightly 

He’d pushed up to his elbows, brows dropped low with concern as he’d finally taken note that something wasn’t quite right..  “Kay?"  

She’d cast her gaze back at him then.  The briefest of looks had been enough for him to catch the shadow of disquiet in them.  Their usual vibrancy muddied by brewing clouds of anger that had him sliding from the sheets and reaching for her. 

“Don’t.” Was all she said, shaking her head as he’d risen and moved towards her.  Her hands held aloft to hold him back as she’d strode from the room.  

“What… Tin,  what’s going on?”  

Grabbing up his pants Virgil had stumbled after her, hopping as he yanked them on amid a  litany of colourful words. 

“Shit… Wait..”  

Steps later he was confronted by a fury he hadn’t expected considering where and what they had been doing mere moments before.  

She had been pacing like a caged animal,  across the expanse of the living room and back again.  Rage flowing from her with each hurried step. 

“What…?”  Was all he managed to say before she turned on him.  Fire in her gaze,  colour high on her cheeks.  

“You know what?”  She seethed, poking a finger in his direction as she did another circuit of the room.

He’s own anger bubbled to the surface,  “Actually, I don’t. So would you enlighten me to whatever erroneous infraction it is that you think that I’ve done?”  

“Oh, don’t give me that.  You know exactly what the problem is.”

Virgil’s brows shot up as her words had struck a chord in his grey matter. “Problem? You really think…”

“What in the hell were we thinking?!”  She growled out, shoving a chair out to the way and knocking it over with a crash. “Selfish..Stupid.”

“With the lives we lead….You can’t ask this of me!”   

Her words had been like a physical blow and Virgil had taken an involuntary step back. She’d wanted her words to hurt and she’d succeeded.  She never did pull her punches and her aim was as impeccable as ever.

He’d seen the realization of what she’d said flicker through her gaze but she’d quickly buried it. Instead of saying more, she shook her head, turned  her back on him once more and walked out the open sliding doors putting more than just distance between them. 

And he’d let her go,  his shoulders slumping at the writing between the lines of what had been said. In his mind there was only one option open to them but maybe for her that wasn’t the case. The implications of those options was something he couldn’t dare to fathom…but it was a road he wouldn’t let her travel down alone.  

He had a responsibility to uphold,  as  her husband and as the man he prided himself on being.  A rescuer in dark times, when there was no one else capable of the job and sometimes those that needed rescuing were closer to home.

Squaring his shoulders he went after her.  She was begging for a fight. An obvious distraction from the core reasoning behind her lashing out at him but he wouldn’t take her up on the invitation.   He wouldn’t let her push him away to deal with whatever this was on her own. 

Passing through the doors,  his eyes scanned over the deck and his breath had caught.   

She looked so small, fragile and it had brought him up short. Slumping,  he braced himself between a support post and the beach house wall.  An uncanny exhaustion suffusing him as he saw the uphill battle of the task ahead.  A task he was determined to see through to the end, no matter the outcome. 

He hated seeing her like this and despite her best efforts to push him away, Virgil knew her too well.  Had spent most of his life knowing her.  He could read her nuances, gestures and mood even when she tried to close off from him like she was trying to do now under a mask of anger.  

“Tin,”  He said carefully, dropping his hand and pushing away from the post.  He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, letting the tension slip from his shoulders.   Approaching her with all guns blazing would only crank her defenses up higher and wouldn’t get them anywhere.

He watched her stance with a practiced eye as he stepped closer.  She was like an abused animal.  Even with all of her training, when she was emotionally compromised as she was right now the scared little girl she had been came to the fore.  The one they met when she’d first came to live with them, hiding behind her father’s leg.   

He hadn’t known her history then,  the actions of her uncle and the effect that it would have on the rest of her life.  How it would shape her into the strong, determined woman she was today.  Never letting anyone get close enough to see the frightened child she closeted away inside.  Virgil though had managed to find his way inside,  found the cracks in her apparent impenetrable armour and had broken through to  the core of the woman inside.  The one she tried desperately to hide from the world in a shell of fierce resolve and purpose.  

Under it all was a woman, who had seen too much.  Abused, battered, basically orphaned by her absentee father and desperately afraid.  To top it all off, she hated the weakness and fought tooth and nail to hide it from everyone.  With the exception of him,  she didn’t have a choice there. He’d wormed his way in and he wouldn’t stand by and let her retreat from herself or from him.  

Gently he placed his hands on her tight shoulders,  cupping their slender, wavering strength and he whispered her name again.  “Tanusha…”  

Her head bowed further,  a meager attempt to hide in the fall of her hair but he could feel the quiver in her body now,  hear the soft stuttered intake of her breath.  She was crying and trying oh so hard not to be. 

Pain and love swelled through his chest, and an undeniable protectiveness.  

Virgil pulled her back into his embrace, encircling his arms around her waist and with little resistance she melted.  

“I’m sorry,”  He whispered over the curve of her ear,  brushing his lips across the elven-like arch of it.  “I’m so sorry.”  

He put all his love he could into the words, hoping that by apologizing for something he wasn’t wholly the cause of would help alleviate her suffering in some way. 

“I wasn’t thinking and it was insensitive of me.”  He tightened his hold on her,  reassurance imbued into the gesture and slowly began to rock giving her the time to pull herself back together again. 

The slight tremor slowly dissipated,  her breathing settling into a somewhat normal rhythm and he knew that she was ready to hear. More so when she dragged in a ragged breath and exhaled a long drawn out sigh. He could almost hear her counting to ten in her head.  A method she used to reign back in some of her control and a calm he knew well creeped back in. One that camouflaged a great deal of hurt. 

He did the same,  his warm breath stirring her hair and ghosting across the smooth column of her neck which peeked out from the drooping collar of his shirt.   

“You know we’ve got this, right?”  He questioned though he wasn’t expecting an answer.  “Yes,  he’s out…”  She stilled once more in his hold but Virgil couldn’t stop now,  Kayo needed to hear this even if it was just a band-aid to the problem.   He couldn’t sit by and let her lose herself in fear so he pushed on. There was too much at stake.

“Yes,  he’s upped his game in a big way.  Dad knew he was capable,  your Dad knew….” A flinch at the mention of the absentee man but again he pressed on.  There was no backing down now.  What he had to say, needed to be said.  

“We were unprepared but we know better now and I promise you, Tanusha Kyrano Tracy;  just like I did on the day you said ‘Yes’.. That I will never,  ever let that man hurt you again.”  

He slipped a hand down,  between the soft folds of flannel,  across her silky, soft skin that concealed honed muscle and deadly skills. Brushed the edge of fine lace and stilled, cupped and shielded that which was only known to the two of them.  

With strength of purpose his chest swelled,  a determination unlike any he had ever known bulked up the threat behind his next words.  “I’ll do everything in my power to protect both of you, I swear it or the Hood will regret the day he heard the name Tracy.”

She turned, taking his hand in her own and lightly brushing her lips across his knuckles. “You’re too good for me Virgil Grissom Tracy and I don’t deserve you.”  

The brief storm of anger has fled from her eyes, leaving behind only doubt and fear.  “But I don’t think it’s as easy as that. You’re too good a man to stoop to such levels and I don’t think I could live with myself if you made that sort of sacrifice on my behalf. 

Besides,  what sort of life could we offer with him out there.   He’s already been the cause of so much pain.  You and your brother’s have suffered for years because of it..I don’t think I would have the strength if he was to get you or….” 

Virgil’s frowned.  “Tin,  I married you.  All of you and everything you brought with you. I knew full well what I was marrying into but that man,  that bastard… he can’t come between us and what we want unless you let him.”  

Her gaze dropped and with gentle fingers he lifted her chin and waited for her to meet his pleading eyes.  “Don’t let him win… not in this. Please God, not in this.”  

“We may not have a choice…” Came the whisper of her response, her forehead resting against his own as a lingering tear slipped from her lashes. 

“Tin, please….”

“Virgil, I love you.  God, how I love you but I can’t tell you what you want to hear.  Not right now. If the Hood found out…. 

Just then the island klaxon blared  and Virgil’s comms started to ping with urgency.

Kayo took a step back from him and he stared after her. Brain going a mile a minute with words he wanted to say,  emotions he wanted to express.   

“Go…” She said with resignation, her arms once more crossing over her frame.   “You’re needed..” 

“I’m needed more here.”  

His comms buzzed again followed by the voice of his star loving sibling. “Virgil, you’re needed in Ops. A.S.A.P.  Please confirm.””  

Conflicted, Virgil stood unmoving,  his fist clenched at his side.   Trapped between the woman he loved and the life they’d chosen.  

“Go,  I’ll be here when you get back..”   

His brother’s voice sounded again from his comms, pulling him in two directions at once.  The hint of stress he picks up in it though had him unfreezing and heading for the underground access to the hanger.  

Passing through the automated door and hitting his comms to reply to John, he looked back at Kayo.  His heart sinking and doubt filling him as he watched her turn away from him.  

Uncertainty prickling across his skin as he questioned the validity of her words but there was nothing he could do right now.   Lives were at stack…more so than just those that needed rescuing and his hands were tied… 

“FAB John,  on my way…”

FIN….????

[kashuan]

All right, there are quite a few things that come to mind with a question as broad as this, so here’s my best attempt to sum up what character design means to me in like 5 minutes :,D. I’m going to start with a few very quick sketches that talk about more my general approach to drawing, but I’m going to build up to how it all connects with character.

Step 1) Find reference! Whenever you can, use reference, it will always make your character’s posing look 100 times more genuine than anything you can pull from your brain, and that’s nothing to feel bad about. It’s not cheating because we’re not stopping at Step 2 either, which is where the misnomer comes in that you’re just ‘copying’ (protip: even step 2 isn’t a straight Copy; as long as you’re not tracing, you’re not copying, and even tracing has its uses for personal studies). I could do a whole answer of it’s own about picking your reference, but I’ll keep it short by saying: not every reference will fit every character. Keep in mind your character’s attitude when choosing your ref. Some poses are so generic they’re one size fits all, but even this very simple pose has unique character to it. The way the legs are posed, to me, gives it a young and girlish feeling, and depending how you played with the expression, you could even make it come off shy. An overbearingly confident character, while also taking an arms crossed pose, will likely position their legs differently, assuming a stance that takes up more space, etc.

Step 2) Draw pretty much exactly what you see first, but keep it simple. Think of the body like individual shapes; anatomy is not the focus right now, and you’ll actually hinder yourself if you hone in on that first. What you want to do at this stage is capture what the pose is generally doing; character isn’t involved yet Step 3) Now, working off 2′s framework, start considering body type. If you skip the previous step, you might have a hard time capturing the gesture correctly, since it’s a lot for your brain to juggle at once. When I sketched these two different body types, I built it straight off the first drawing, erasing lines as needed.

So the first image includes some extremely basic body type variations, this one pushes that idea further. 1 is the basic frame from the last image, while 2 is about playing with proportions. There are a lot of ways you can play with proportions, and as I’ll come to sound like a broken record about: make those decisions thoughtfully. For example, when I made this version shorter than the reference base, I had to consider exactly where I wanted her to lose that height. Here, I made her shorter waisted, took a little length from the legs, and gave her a squatter neck as well. You can do one of these or all of them. Just keep in mind those are all individual options. Letting your train of thought stop at ‘this character is short/tall so I’m just going to generally shrink/stretch their body’ means you’ll run out of variety pretty fast, and sometimes the overall proportions can end up looking wonky (though there’s always exceptions to the rule, remember that the individual body parts should remain correctly scaled in relation to each other). Image 3 is another approach to proportional manipulation, except rather than focusing on height, it focuses on fat distribution and to a lesser extent bone structure. Again, there’s so many individual places you can focus on here, make sure to mix them up. Arm size, shoulder broadness, chest and hip size, leg thickness and musculature, foot and hand size and so forth.   Image 4 is a further exaggeration of image 3 and the lines have started to get a little more stylized. While image 3 is still reasonably realistic, 4 is just starting to cross into cartoon territory. Advantage of 4 is that when you are able to push the proportions further due to the leniency of style, you can sell a clearer idea and a clearer character. Downside is, well, it looks more cartoonish now, and depending on the needs of your image that might not be what you want ie: it can look like a mistake rather than a purposeful choice if everyone else around the character is drawn more realistically.

Also… I see variations on this general advice quite a lot for women, but don’t forget about doing the same for men. It’s great to see how eager a lot of artists are to experiment with the female form that is simply absent in a lot of mainstream media, but I find that men really tend to fall by the wayside here even though they often get equally shallow treatment in the mainstream. There’s usually like 2-3 ‘go-to’ body types for men and that’s it. Men’s bodies can have the exact same amount of variety as a woman’s, including the individual ways the fat can be distributed on it, and the assorted ways their proportions can be played with. Whenever I find an artist that does this it’s like striking gold to me tbh. 

So there’s some very rough hows. But, perhaps even more importantly than any of that, is WHY you make these choices. This is going to get a little stream of consciousness, but with a question this broad, I tried to hit on as many general points I could think of in regard to my own process.

-When I start to design a character, I really need to have an understanding of them first. This includes things like backstory, personality, habits, so and so forth… Yes, all of this stuff shows up in their design, even if it’s just a drawing of them standing straight up. This isn’t just like ‘this character got this scar at age 7 so I need to know where it goes′, I mean in depth info about them. I touched on this a little bit earlier, bringing up the different ways a character would assume the same general pose, but let me expand on that. -What do I mean by personality? So there’s the most obvious answer, which is that a bubbly character will assume bubbly poses, a sullen character will slouch more, etc… But let’s take it further than that. This is a concept I’ve touched on in past tutorials, but here’s a quick recap. A character’s personality involves their opinions, for one; how do you make that show up in their design? Well, one of the most obvious questions I always ask myself is: what is their opinion on their own appearance (the thing we are drawing)/how do they want to be perceived by others? Consider a strong character. I see a lot of artists who take this thought as far as: okay, this character is strong, so I’m gonna throw a 6 pack on him, maybe a nice pair of guns, and call it a day. Which leads to like, nice art, but also...kind of bland? I think that’s because this is a rather half-baked approach. How can we take it further? Ask yourself more specific questions. Is your strong character concerned with being perceived as an ‘ideal’ sort of fit by others (the type you give that showy 6 pack to) or does that not matter to them? (more likely to look ‘chubby’ if not outright fat, though probably is just as if not more capable of actually doing some real heavy lifting than saran wrapped abs man). If they’re some kind of mystical being that can look like whatever they want (ie: the anime waif that can also lift 1000 lbs-trope), you should still take into account their personal perspective on appearance. Don’t just stop at ‘this guy/girl is strong so they’ll look super shredded’ or ‘they’re magic so I’ll do whatever’. Doing this, you’ve instantly lost a chance to inform the audience more about the individual there beyond ‘they’re strong’ -Break it down further with their habits. What is their daily life like? If they’re running ten miles every day they should probably have some strong looking legs. If their job involves a lot of lifting, maybe focus on the upper body more and leave the legs less defined. Do they eat a lot? Or drink? The way the fat distributes in both these cases will be noticeably different (and this isn’t even taking into account points like an endomorph vs an ectomorphs body, which I always suggest reading up on). I’d definitely recommend drawing as many different body types as you can just as studies, in order to add these variations to your mental library. I’m sure every artist has seen this popular athlete line up by now, but really study images like this. Don’t just mindlessly copy what you see when you create your own characters though; think about why those athletes have the bodies they have, what they specifically did to get them like that, and how that can apply to your character’s own life. -One thing that has always bothered me is how often artists are afraid to use the head (not the features; I’ll get to that in a second) as an extension of the body when it comes to imbuing it with variety and character. While it is absolutely possible to have a thin face and a fat body (as is any combo), it’s another missed opportunity not to experiment with chubby cheeks, a soft jawline, etc. It’s a cliche to mention him at this point as an inspiration, but one of my very favorite things about Mucha’s art was how he was able to make fuller faces look so beautiful despite being a rather nontraditional approach (so many art books try to tell you this is a big NO). example, example. These faces actually look like real individuals to me than a drawing that focuses too hard on being generically aesthetically pleasing. -So, facial features. A face with less traditional features isn’t just going to be more memorable than Stock Beautiful Face #73, but it’s basically a more zoomed in version of informing the audience about the character in the same way the body does. -Know tropes, play with tropes, do not rely on tropes. Sunken bone structure, long features-guy will always pretty much read like a villain (or at least someone off-putting), but find somewhere to make the formula your own. Give him thicker eyebrows or big ears. Give the girl with the standard doll-face a nose that sticks out a little more prominently or a crooked smile. -Speaking of are so many different ways to draw a smile, do not underestimate the mileage you can get out of this one feature alone. Artists tend to have a favorite way to draw smiles, in my experience, but remember your character. Would they have a big toothy grin, a handsome ‘cool’ looking smile, a small shy lopsided one, ones that touch the eyes, ones that don’t… This is probably a repetitive point by now but just do whatever you can not to draw the exact same feature on two different characters, and make sure to think through your reasoning for every choice you make. To me, it’s always immediately evident if an artist really knows their character or if they’re just trying to make something aesthetically pleasing. The former is always more attention grabbing in my opinion. -One of my favorite things to consider when designing a character who’s part of a family: genetics and how you can play with them to inform the audience more about the character’s story. Does this character take after their mother or father? How? Why? Why why, you might ask? This isn’t a photo of a real person, this is an illustration that you should be making deliberate choices about every step along the way. It’s one thing to draw a character that looks like their parent simply because logic dictates they should, another to make meaningful decisions as to where and why they do. Some examples: He has his father’s eyes because they carry the same intensity and other characters are a little put off by him because it (conversely, maybe he’s such a gentle character that this detail stands out twice as strongly). He has the same hair as his father, but he styles it differently to avoid the association. She has her mother’s nose which everyone compliments her on so shes happy to be seen in profile. She has her father’s broad shoulders and she’s a little self conscious about it so she tends to wear baggier clothing. Etc etc! In all these cases, you can communicate these details through even a simple drawing of the character standing alone, and should try to as often as you can. -In the end, the only way you’re going to know how to draw all these different details, whether they be different body types or different facial features, is by studying real people. Draw as many different kinds as you can, add them to your mental library. Your reference will never give you everything you need to work it, and I’m not sure if that’s maybe what this question as getting at-- if I have a reference folder of go-to ‘types’ or something. I don’t. I have a folder of poses labeled with characters I think they’d fit, and that’s about it. If you’re just imitating what you see in a photo, you’ll always be drawing That Person, not Your Character. So you are going to have to pull some of it out of your brain. Note, however, the important difference between just ‘making it up’ and recalling information you’ve studied in the past. That said, while on this last topic of expanding your mental library, that includes not just doing studies, but also learning and observing the ways other accomplished artists work. Here are some of my book recommendations when it comes to those which have most helped me in regard to this particular subject. This includes books that specifically tell you how to vary your body types, but also ones that just have a lot of examples of different kinds: Morpho: Anatomy for Artists Morpho: Fat and Skin Folds Famous Artists School Course in Illustration and Design (If anyone is interested in this one and has trouble finding a non $500 copy, hit me up and I’ll help you out) Spirit of the Pose Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters Drawing People: How to Portray the Clothed Figure Figures from Life (my favorite currently; not the most varied array of figures but he goes in depth on how to successfully grow an academic study of a model into an illustration influenced by your own ideas and personal style) If you found this answer helpful, although it isn’t specifically about character design, I go a little more in depth about some of the topics I briefly covered here (such as choosing the right reference, good vs bad reference in general, honing in on shapes, pushing the pose, etc) in this short book of mine :>