#from absolutely beautiful fully rendered pieces with background and everything

[schnuffel-danny]

dogboy/catboy superior ship dynamic

[teememdee]

2023 ART SUMMARY!!!

2023 was uhhhhhhh a year! And I made art! And I’m going to talk for a long time about everything I did month by month! Yippee!!!

original individual posts can be found in my #tanner art tag!

JANUARY

Started off the year with my favorite skrunklies sleepy and snuggling. Then sleeping together while holding one another is so incredibly important to me, they’re so cute and I needed to draw it. Struggled with Kai’Sa’s face but I particularly like the drapery of the pillow behind them.

FEBRUARY

First off, just a simple Kai’Sa piece for the Vibes(TM) and background practice. I was also fairly miserable and when I get miserable I draw Kai’Sa being miserable as well. I love my favorite character of all time <3

Then a quick Valentine’s Day piece, soft gradient map stuff. Love my skrunklies, hopefully this year I can make something for the day that isn’t rushed

MARCH

In March I FINALLY finished my Star Guardian Kahri fic, be the light to carry me, and drew Kiko and Ina being adorable together to go along with it. They’re SO cute and people LOVE that fic. Chapter 3 ended up being a whole 20k words and every time I re-read I’m amazed that I wrote it.

A kiss for Kai’Sa’s birthday! This was actually two sketches mashed together because I had a good Kai’Sa and a good Ahri on separate attempts. Love Kai’Sa’s smile on this one.

NOW. Strong contender for my favorite piece of the year. Captioned “please don’t lose yourself,” my K/DA-verse Kassadin’s very dead wife’s ghost weighs on him, begging him to not get lost in his grief and lose sight of their daughter. Kassadin feels lost and broken without her. I love the emotions in this one, and I think the idea comes across even without knowledge of my headcanons. Love it so much.

APRIL

Full-body piece that took me all month. I just love this one so much. It’s just pure Kahri, pure love, pure joy. Pose inspired by Blake Belladonna from RWBY’s leg pop during the long-awaited Bumblby kiss. This piece just makes me so happy.

MAY

Oops! No art! Was too busy being on a (student) film set every weekend as well as dealing with classes and multiple other stressors. I did START a piece though, but wouldn’t finish it until the middle of June.

JUNE

I actually did the first sketch of the Evelynn piece in February, but I decided to revamp it in May, and then when school finally set me free I finished it, and it turned out exactly how I wanted it to. Her hair was a labor to render but I'm so so pleased with how it looks, as well as the blood. The first time I've finished a fully rendered Evelynn piece!

Naafiri is so fucking cool. Upon her reveal, I was seeing so much incredible fanart and I just needed to get in on it. The shapes and points are just so good. I used to draw dogs all the time as a kid, and my younger self would absolutely flip out at seeing this. I did this piece in one day, and I have no idea how I pulled that background off but hopefully I can do it again some day lol

JULY

Two drastically different vibes here. Realized it had been forever since I had drawn Kahri so I just wanted to make a cute summertime piece. Their hands should be bigger and it bugs me but this is still really cute, I missed my girls dearly.

And then my very very sad man Kassadin being very very sad about his very very dead wife. This is what I call his phase 2 design, when he's at the peak of his grief (spiraling, as emphasized by the background) and feels just so sad and alone. In my head this and the March piece are part of a series that I hope to continue.

AUGUST

Just one piece that took me all month because I was quite busy in August, and Runeterra Kahri pieces take forever, but as I always say, it's always worth it. This pose comes from mellon_soup on instagram, who makes a lot of really great pose references for artists to use, highly recommend checking them out. This piece is just so soft to me. Captioned "'you're beautiful, you know that?'" they're saying it to each other, two people that struggle with their self image finding love and confidence in the other. Also I'm so very happy with the background. I love these two so so so so much, they're my world.

SEPTEMBER

One of my goals for this year was to branch out in the fanart I made. Baldur's Gate 3 came along and I love watching my best friend play it, we love Shadowheart and I just wanted to draw her. This came after a lot of sketches of both her and our favorite Tav that ended up changing how I draw eyes. The rendering of her face here is also something I'm proud of, her nose looks great. And again, the background! This piece didn't get a lot of attention at all but that's okay, I made it for me and I'm very happy with it.

OCTOBER

STAR WARS TOXIC YURI WENT CRAZY THIS YEAR!!! Wolfwren (Sabine Wren x Shin Hati, from the Ahsoka TV series) had me by the THROAT for a solid two months or so, I haven't been that feral and deranged over a ship in a hot minute. They had me frothing at the mouth every episode even though I did not like the show overall. Anyways. First piece is a redraw of the part in episode 4 where they just have the most charged eye contact of all time, and I decided to take that in stride with inspiration from Horimiya, a favorite anime of mine, during particularly emotionally charged moments, the background changes and there's a particular color silhouette behind them. It really fits that moment of the show and I am SO proud of these faces, especially Sabine's. Drawing from a real human face reference was kinda new to me but it's taught me a lot. The file size also ended up enormous somehow idk lol

Then, my most popular piece of the year, on both tumblr and twitter. I LOVE hand imagery, I love subtle hand touches, I churned this out in I think exactly one day, it's so soft it's so cute and I totally understand the overwhelming positivity it received.

NOVEMBER

I was not doing well at this time in the year. The state of the world just had me in a horrible mental state, I wasn't taking care of myself well at all, I couldn't get myself to make art, especially something happy or cute, it just felt wrong. But then sometimes you feel something so strong and specific there's no other way to process it than to make art. To make a long story short, earlier in the year I thought a girl liked me, I liked her back, but it turned out she did indeed have a boyfriend the whole time. We didn't see or talk to each other for a few months but in November we (and the bf, lol) met up again. When she saw me at the door she smiled at me so sweetly and it was just the worst feeling ever and I just had to hide it behind a smile and a wave. Oversharing aside, this is a style I'd wanted to execute for a while and I'm really pleased with how it turned out, would love to make more like this.

DECEMBER

All of this was done / finished in the first two weeks of the month because then I got sick + was visiting family + jet lag took me out. Kinda sad I didn't get something done for Ahri's birthday or a traditional Kahri Winter piece but that's what January is for. Anyway.

Sometimes you just want to draw girls kissing and sometimes you wanna make it a little suggestive. Not much to say. Proud of the drapery on Kai'Sa's sleeve and you can always tell I love drawing hands.

Now it's time for classwork. Here I just have two pages but I've posted the whole comic on its own, this was for my "Art and Text" class, I have it printed in a booklet and my classmates + friends have responded to it so sweetly I'm really proud, I really really want to make more comics. This project was a culmination of so many inspirations from other artists and I'm really happy with the execution even if it was really rough for me to manage my time well for that class.

Then for my "Fiction and Allegory" class, two of my friends and I made a storyboard film (which I don't want to share publicly, but if I know you you can ask for a link) and during the all-nighter two of us pulled to get it done on time, I decided one scene needed music instead of diegetic sound, so I churned this out on garageband in about an hour. Would definitely love to try my hand at making more music in the future. Wish my classmates / teacher liked / understood the film more but oh well. I learned a lot and for the thousandth time, I'm proud of what I did.

IN CONCLUSION:

I ended up with less full pieces than 2022 but what I did create in 2023 are big, detailed, emotional pieces, and I'm more than satisfied. I think my skills in rendering, backgrounds, and colors really improved and I'm looking forward to how I continue to improve in 2024. This upcoming year has a lot of scary stuff ahead (namely graduating college) but I will come out the other side regardless, hopefully with just as much art I'm proud of.

If you read all of this, thank you!! If you've liked, shared, or commented on any of my art, thank you!!!!!! It means the world, always.

[paint-lady]

Vamptober Week 4 Reflection & Final Thoughts

Week 1 Week 2   Week 3

Its complete! Its done! I am overjoyed to rest my eyes and hands- and I’m ecstatic I have one hell of a portfolio! Of course, I have my Ko-fi for donations. Working on getting that set up to take other payments besides paypal for donations. Donations are always optional.

And HERE WE GO! Vamptober Days 22-31

Vamptober Day 22: It’s A Beautiful Night To Hunt

After Day 21, I needed to have some fun. I wanted to depict my Tampa!verse thinbloods, prowling and poaching. What could possibly go wrong with two Lasombra and a Tremere with thinned blood?

The background is actually a photo I took in Chicago. I tried to look for anything from Tampa online or in my own travels, and found nada. I started by utilizing the Auto-color features, where the program renders a set of colors and lines from the images. I usually have this setting set to low, for ease of my RAM and Graphics Card. But for this, I set it to High Quality. I was a little disappointed by the results after waiting 5 ish minutes for it to render, but I noticed the colors were bolder. I then got to work blurring. I actually painted a large portion of the building blur, and auto-rendered the street below.

Next came the thinbloods. This part was easier, aside from the perspective. I had set up some perspective guides, which I found somewhat helpful. I’m certain that tool will come in handy when I attempt to do comic work soon. I am proud that im getting much better about my color choices. Pulling tones from backgrounds is really paying off to help make everything look in in the same place.

The note I have for myself is that I needed to “pop” Damien’s silhouette a bit more. Both Hazel and Tommy have enough lighting (or too much). Damien just needed a little rim lighting and on his shadow manipulations to separate him from the background to the foreground.

Vamptober Day 23: Forbidden Pleasures

I really wanted to make this prompt non-sexual. Being horny for vampires or vampires being thirsty is certainly part of the fun of the monster- but I didnt want to depict another “forbidden romance.” So I latched onto the forbidden aspect of the prompt. The desire for knowledge often leads vampires along paths that are far from savory- paths that plenty would consider forbidden.

So boom. Got to work on drawing a new House Carna Tremere. I laugh at my labeled Book of the Grave War- as if Carna got an ISBN for that. But I could not really think of a clever way to clearly depict what was so forbidden in this image without plain text.

I really like the stipple shading of this person- but I realized one major problems with this piece. When finalizing the rendering, I really need to make sure I give my devices ample time. I was incredibly frustrated when posting this piece that the shading on her legs looked pixelated and distorted. I am still not sure what I need to do with my output settings to assist with that- other than letting my devices take the time they need to fully load the image.

Vamptober Day 24: The Prince

I had fun with this one. I absolutely love choosing unexpected clans to be Princes in Camarilla Domains. Everyone has seen the Ventrue and Toreadors in charge. A Malkavian? Absolutely bonkers. A Tremere? Oof! A Nosferatu? Now there’s something really fun! Gleam in decay you Horrid Prince!

I am really happy with the shading on this piece- and I had another breakthrough. I worked up from black on this piece. Working from a black background rather than grey or white has a number of challenges in traditional media. But digital? I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to get bold colors and let my washes show the dark tones underneath.

I then utilized this process for my Fall of London tokens and just ZOOMed through those. I continued working from a black background for a lot of pieces after this one.

Vamptober Day 25: Blood Magic Ritual

This one I took my time on. I worked up from black and layered my water color brushes and gouache brushes. I am so pleased with the color choices here- I really just....I impressed myself.

The technique I used here is something I learned from being a scenic artist. The term is called scumble, where you criss-cross your brush strokes to create a base texture. From there, I worked in digital washes. If this were a physical piece, I would absolutely soak it in paint and water, and leave it to dry for hours- possibly days before continuing with the next layer. To get the water color effect, I set the brush to paint as a multiply blend. So each time I went over a particular spot, it would get more saturated and darker. This more effectively mimics how physical watercolors work. I just kept playing with the wet blends and splatter brush until I thought it was enough.

The magic circles are from stock brushes from Clip Studio’s material catalog.

The figure is a depiction of Hazel’s adoptive sire, Mary Andrews. A fearsome Tremere of House Carna. Although Mary was known for Cauldron of Blood not Creatio Ignis- I do believe that Tremere would have that ritual in her arsenal if she could.

Vamptober Day 26: Ceremony of the Dead

HANDS! I pulled from a reference image for this one. I really needed it to see how wet fabric pulls across her body, and I really did a good job.

The lighting from all the hands was especially challenging- since each hand was modeled after my own- and I forgot to keep the lighting consistent. I ended up just trusting my gut and soft light layers.

I initially painted this piece to be far more saturated. In post, I actually used a subtract layer to dull some of the reds in the text and skin. This kinda creates this blue/green hue over the white highlights- as if we are under flourescent lights. Ceremonies of the dead do not need to be lavish. The notes I have for myself on this piece are: I definitely wish I could have manipulated this into something a little less like the reference- but its fine. I could have given the blood in the bathtub some more tones- indicating depth to the ceramic fixture. I should have also created a clip layer over my line art and pushed some highlights a touch further.

Vamptober Day 27: You’re Bound To Me

This one was much simpler than my other designs. I took photos of myself in the mirror to get the body postures correct. I like the body language of the foreground character a lot- I think I did a good job showing distress and an odd desire simultaneously.

If I was to redo this piece I would spend more time pushing highlights. I think the piece needs some more white tones to give it that dramatic lighting. Looking back at the layers it looks like I had toned these down- I should have left them bold. I think it would make the piece more dramatic. I also think both figures need an outline to push them forward from the background.

Vamptober Day 18: Bats!

BATS! Since creating Hazel as a character, I have had a lot more fun drawing and reblogging bats. I pulled my design from her jacket from 2020, with the thinblood mark and flowers, and a large flying fox. I redrew the piece, updating the design.

I streamed this one to my friends who play in the Tampa Verse or have role played with Hazel in the past. It was really nice to just chat and draw.

I think this piece is a little weaker than my other vamptober, but its certainly one of my favorites because I just had fun.

Vamptober Day 29: Night Off

I had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to do with this piece. I considered painting my Tampa Thinbloods in the blanket fort, but found the composition repeatedly not conveying a night off. So instead, I focused on what happens when you take a night off as a powerful vampire. Some one is going to break in and take advantage of your lack of vigilance.

I recall being rather tired when working on this piece and decided to only work in silhouettes. It was actually quite freeing to just work in black and white and then add in tones. The watercolor background is something I painted forever ago- I frequently use it as texture overlays.

My notes for this piece are that I think I got too dark and it is hard to distinguish figure from chain link fence from city. Had I toned things a bit more effectively, I think this would not be an issue.

Vamptober Day 30: Too Old To Die

*Cackles in artist* Hello old lady- lets make some artwork. This is one of my friend’s characters. Originally, I had planned to have this piece mirror day 15: Blue Blood, showing an opponent to Antonia Vicario. But my ambitious self had bolder plans and decided to not pit the Ventrue against each other tonight. Back in 2020 when I had just started using Clip Studio, I made a call for people to send me their OCs and I would just play with the new tools for an hour drawing them. I took that piece and redid it. A full year of artistic growth and knowledge to create this. I had so much fun making this. I forgot how much I enjoy my dripping paint effects. I used to do them all the time in fine arts classes. I think its gonna be one of my stylistic calling cards. I love the movement of the hair in the new piece. I did a good job with the soft glow to push her forward from the paint drips. I am proud of the subtle perspective that looks as if she looms over the viewer. I could have easily spent several more hours adding details and flowers.

The original:

Vamptober Day 31: The Sun Rises

I always let the final piece take as long as it needs. I spent 3 hours painting Hazel in a fiery red sunrise, knowing she will not burn. Utilizing my skills from the past 30 days, I try to incorporate all the techniques I learned. Although I didnt work up from black, I pulled and layered colors in the exact same fashion. I utilized pre-rendered tools for stones and bricks. I have a wonderful sense of depth from the alley to the sunrise. I think the fiery red tones were fun to paint. Whenever I tried to tone the piece to be softer, it felt off. 

My only note is to figure out how to bold her thinblood mark on her back. Since it is in shadow, it is hard to see it. I think if i had used a purple tone or blue, it would pop a little more against the reds. I really like how her hair looks so fluffy in the breeze. The shading is really well done. Originally I had it the same color as the sun behind her, but I made the right choice to tone it to red to help enforce distance. 

Lastly, the little bit of sun looks like a halo around her. We all know vampires are far from angelic, but oh its tasty.

Week 4 Reflection and Final Thoughts

I slept in almost to 11 am. I was so so so tired. I knew trying to juggle it all was going to be a lot- I knew that I needed to be kind to myself through this process. I tried so so so hard. But seasonal affective disorder is a bitch and my brain is a liar.

I think my final week was a resounding success. I had created a lot of beautiful pieces, and had a lot of fun with them towards the end. But there is one thing that kinda is a big blow to this entire thing. Sometimes- it stopped being fun.  It was painful to get something on the screen. It was agony to find something I believed was Good Enough.

I think in Week 3 I struggled with that the most. I was repeatedly frustrated with what I wanted to create versus time and work obligations and scheduled games. There was a part of me that understood that I needed to cut myself some slack, it was very busy. There’s another part that demands perfection, and failure to meet it is simultaneously unthinkable and repeatedly experienced.

I usually treat this with rest and time away from my stressor. Bubble baths and hot chocolate. But I wanted really badly to do all 31 days. I pushed through it- despite my best judgement.

I am proud of myself. I really truly am. This work is beautiful. The repeated acknowledgement from World Of Darkness’s official accounts was sweeter than vitae. But if I am going to continue to create content- I need to address this internal battle. I often reach a state of  “Fuck it!” when making these pieces that allows me to kinda have fun with it again. But I’m getting real tired of being in this cycle of  1. I got this!  2. I hate this  3. Its terrible  4. Fuck it who cares Not Me!  5. I love this and am unstoppable.

So what to do? I don’t know. I, understandably, feel rather drained after all of these. I’ve already decided I will be checking my finances to see if some light guidance through therapy is affordable. Because people don’t normally want to cry over things they want to do for fun. Because it isn’t healthy to drive myself to exhaustion over something I do for leisure. But theres also a confidence boost. I am going to start utilizing World Of Darkness’s Dark Pack for some of my content. I already do all this for free, why not be able to slap their logo on things? I feel like that is a good next step for continuing to make fan stuff.

The other thing is that I learned how I like to do digital art. I started utilizing techniques and tricks from my traditional mediums. And God I missed those. Its all just so fun to see how they translate to a digital canvas.

And from there, I recall a discussion I had with a local manga/comic artist I admire. She instructed me to practice getting loose and having fun. Because after all- if it isn’t fun what is the point? I think that is one of the most critical pieces of advice I have ever received. That and “stop using the fill tool its garbage.” The pieces I just let myself play and have fun are some of my favorite ones. The ones where I just let myself relax and move with confidence that I’m going to enjoy this process- and be excited to see what appears on the canvas. Going forward, I think I need to embody that attitude more.

Let the fun be the journey- not the final result.

And that’s where I am going to leave it for a bit. I need to take a few days if not a week to not draw vampires. I have a few non vtm commissions on my radar and can set up. The holidays are coming up and I need to prep a few slots for that.

But for now:

Just play. Have fun. Relax. Draw sexy lesbian vampires on the internet.

~Steph

Instagram    Ko-fi

[blacknovelist]

Half-Empty, Half-Full (FE3H Fic)

hey hi what’s up lads, so I like, 100% forgot I could post my piece for the @threehouseszine Beneath The Banner (also available on Twitter under the same name) and as such I’m like ten years late. :) But the zine has been sent out, and I finally noticed like the fool I am that others have posted their pieces, and thusly, I too will post mine! Because I can. And I want to.

My focus was on the Golden Deer post-skip, specifically in some nebulous point during the war. Being part of this zine was really, really cool -- I can’t wait for all the books and merch to arrive with everyone!

(will reblog with links because we all know tumblr likes to break things.)

A beat of something nice, amid the fragments of harder times.

In the spaces between war — between scattered supply checks and ration distribution, bandit skirmishes and long watch nights — Hilda finds the time she needs to breathe.

It came easier, back in the academy. She could simply step back and let the world move around her, steadfast in her belief that it would still be standing when she returned. Nowadays she steals the air in her lungs from glances at the sky and quick delivery walks, from the chip of chisel and steel against stone and wood, from the sensation of gems and petals inlaid on clothes, chains and hooks when she can afford to lay down her axe. Infrequency makes the beats between battles all the more precious.

With the professor around she can afford more pauses still, but Hilda watches herself. She knows, all too well, just how young she is. Claude lies at one year her junior and the professor, with their five year hiatus, sits at two. It wouldn't do for her stubborn leaders to find someone they can’t believe in among their ranks, now.

She’s on the run for errands when she spots a hint of not-plant green and wood not far off the beaten path, and she wastes no time following that tried and true Deer instinct to take a peek. Ignatz is there, as expected, easel propped on a patch of flat land, what she can see of the canvas a tasteful blend of browns and golds. He leans in, fingers dabbed in the same off-white his paintbrush dusts onto his scene. 

Now, Hilda doesn’t paint, but she does understand the stress and struggle of art, different forms aside. Which is why she waits until he leans back before she steps forward and taps his shoulder. 

“Hey, Ignatz.”

Ignatz yelps, almost drops his brush and earns himself a stripe on his palm for his troubles. “Hilda! Hi. I’m sorry, I didn’t notice you there.” 

“Don't worry about it.” She clasps her hands together. “What’re you painting?"

"I wanted to capture the cathedral, while it's still under repair." He gestures to his piece — the white forms the glint of sunlight off patches of rubble, steel and glass, along with the robes of monks and priests as they shift and sweep aside what debris they can. "A lot of artists depict places in their prime, or utterly destroyed, or after they've been restored to their former glory. I thought it would be nice to show the in-between for once. People from every background imaginable, coming together to rebuild for the future. A little different from what I usually paint, but sometimes a little variety is nice." 

"And you're doing it all the way out here because…"

"I didn't want to be in anyone's way, and I come out here a lot. I've got plenty of references with me, so it's not a problem." Ignatz shifts and Hilda catches sight of a stack of sketchbooks, some more worn than others, half-spilled from a bag. The top one gets plucked up and held between them as he flips from page to page. Statue busts, the altar and rows of pews among pillars rendered in charcoal and sleek pigment lines. Sometimes, she catches glimpses of green and blue and other colors, or shapes that don't quite match the church art he focuses on, but Ignatz flips too fast for her to see. 

Or, almost. "Go back two pages," Hilda says. A grin tugs at her lips. "Was that Claude?"

"Oh! Uh, yes." Though Ignatz learned to leave embarrassment and nerves about his art behind, something in his chest still squirms, just a bit. An image of their leader in the library, face cast in candlelight and more at peace than he ever is during daylight, stares up at the duo. "It's easier when I’m with a person, but sometimes I'll do studies on my own. Practice makes perfect, after all." 

"It's beautiful." She reaches out, pauses. "May I…?"

He passes it over. "Here. You can look at the others, too. I don't mind." Then he turns back to the easel and reaches for his paint. "Anyway, I thought this was as good a spot to work as any. There's a field down that way you can see best in the spring, and I like the view of everything from here."

"You'll have to show me when it's in season." 

Her eyes flicker over thick paper. Statues. Flowers, trees, forest paths. Distance shots of people, strolling towards town. Swirls of filigree and patterns fill whole pages in patches, tiny stylized animals and the occasional dragon tucked into the empty space. Silhouettes crowd around the pews, and even if she recognizes clothes, many of these smaller figures are faceless. 

But she finds a loose sketch, hair popping blond against black ink, of Raphael and a young girl with the same square jaw and broad shoulders. Claude himself appears once more, this time in wireframe form, ordinary steel bow drawn all the way back and arrow pointed to the left. When she plucks one of his other books from the stack it follows a similar trend — renderings of the cathedral, inside and out, stuck in among horse-drawn carriages and sunlit grass patches and clothes and people, both familiar and unfamiliar, faceless and defined. A few drawings are from the past few months: Sylvain in his armor, Baltie with his open-chested shirt, Leonie and her long hair, the monastery scaffolding. 

Most of his drawings are from the academy days. 

Lindhardt, leaned against a tree, the shadow of leaves mottled on his lap. Herself and Marianne seated in the dining hall. Lysithea, with a book in one hand and a swirl of magic in the other. Claude and Lorenz mid-argument. Felix as he trains blade blurred and bent as he lunges. Dimitri and Dedue bent over a table in their classroom. Edelgard as she strides across the courtyard, Hubert one step behind. Busts of the professor and Jeralt, side by side, the faintest quirk in their lips. 

Hilda looks up and pauses. Ignatz presses so close to the canvas he’s peering over the wire frames of his glasses rather than through, brow furrowed and jaw set. She shuts an eye as the sun slips out from behind what’s left of Garreg Mach’s spires. Greyscale flowers peer up from the pages, a reflection of the few asters scattered around their feet. Mountain monastery air goes down sweet and full in her lungs.

"I gotta say, Ignatz,” she says, the edge of her thumb smudged in stray charcoal. "These are amazing. How long have you been doing art?"

"Since I was little." He leans back, considers his work, then leans in again. "My parents are merchants, so we delivered paintings and statuettes to a lot of noble houses in the Alliance. One day I found some extra supplies lying around so I just… picked it up and gave it a shot."

"Well, I'm glad you did. Even these plain sketches look much nicer than anything I could do, and don't even get me started on painting. No offense, Ignatz, but no thank you. Definitely not my wheelhouse."

Ignatz pauses. "None taken, and thank you. You draw?”

"Not much." She waves a hand. "My talents lie in accessories. I like to plan before I start working, figure out how it should come together and doodle in the margins a little sometimes, that's all."

"You're always wearing beautiful jewelry, but I didn't realize you made them yourself." A smile breaks out across his face. "That's amazing, Hilda!"

A blush rolls across her cheeks and she can't stop the tug of her lips into a matching grin. "Oh, stop it. Really?"

"Of course! The colors and shapes you use match your hair, complexion, and the clothes you tend to wear quite beautifully." His brush plunges into a cup of water by the foot of his easel and faces her fully. "When did you start?"

"A long time ago, now – I'm not even sure exactly how long, anymore. I used to make flower crowns and necklaces with my big brother, and it just spun out from there." The book lies closed in her hands now. Her finger runs up and down the paper, feels the grooves between unaligned pages. "I could make them as pretty or ugly as I wanted, so long as I was happy in the end. No one ever expected anything more or less. Not that I ever made something ugly, mind you."

Ignatz hummed. "Have you ever considered selling them?"

"Not really.” Hilda tilts her head. “Do you think it'd be a good idea?"

"Absolutely! You should consider it, once the war is over. I bet people would love them."

She taps her chin. “I’ll give it some thought. What about you, Ignatz? What do you plan on doing once this whole mess is behind us?” 

“Well… Ideally, I’ll keep painting,” he says. “Even if I have to do it between my duties as a knight. It might make it hard to find a household to serve, but I don’t want to just stop.”

“Why are you aiming to be a knight? How come you’re not just going off to be an artist or something like you want to?”

“My parents sent me to the academy since my brother’s taking over the business. They didn’t really approve of the whole artist thing.” Ignatz shrugs. “I don’t really think I’m all that cut out for it, to be honest. Fighting’s never been my strong suit.” 

“Well that’s a shame,” Hilda says. “Have you ever spoken to them about it?”

He shook his head. "Not much recently, at least."

“You should. Maybe you can convince them, after all this. And if you can’t, then just come to House Goneril, okay? I’ll let you paint as much as you want.”

“That would be nice.” He smiles, then bends to reach for his bag. “Thank you, Hilda.” 

“Any time.” She holds the sketchbook out. Ignatz takes it, tucks it gently alongside the others. Before he can put his brush away, he pauses. 

“If you have time,” he starts. "Would you like to join me out here again tomorrow? We could work on our projects together, if you have any."

Hilda smiles. "I'd love to, but I'm on stock duty tomorrow. No shuffling off the responsibility for that."

"I see. That's too bad. Maybe next time?" 

"... Sure. I'd like that."

[1979semifinalist]

20 Best Rogue & Gambit Covers (Part II)

Here’s the same stuff I said before: 

For the hottest couple in the Marvel universe, there are surprisingly few truly great (and truly hot!) Rogue & Gambit covers to be published since the characters began flirting literal decades ago.

In the run up to our BIG RELEASE of Rogue & Gambit #1 on 1/3/18…and with a all of us aching for the lettered preview to drop, I thought I’d count down the 20 best Gambit & Rogue covers.

I AM including Kris Anka’s publicly released covers for our series in the running, even though they are not yet published…because…well, because this is the FIRST EVER ROGUE & GAMBIT COMIC AND HOW COULD I NOT???

If you think I missed something…it’s possible. But it’s also possible I’m just not a fan of that cover. To each their own as they say.

Most importantly…can anything we’ve seen yet beat the most iconic Rogue & Gambit cover of all time? (C’mon, you know the one!)

Anyway, here’s to A LOT MORE Gambit & Rogue hotness in our future and onto the list! :D

And HERE’S Covers #1 - #10!

10. X-MEN LEGACY #259 - CLAY MANN. Absolutely gorgeous. Again, BIG points off for Rogue bringing another dude to the party, but this is gorgeously illustrated, has a ton of tension and heat. What Mann manages to do with just Magneto’s hand on Rogue’s shoulder and Gambit’s on Rogue’s thigh and her hands on both of theirs is...sorta awe inspiring? And the fact that she’s got her eyes locked on the reader just puts it over the top intensity wise. It’s ironic, because this loses points for including Magneto...and yet the things that make it work like gangbusters demand that Magneto be there...conundrum. I think what it really highlights is what a shame it is that we never got a hot canon Rogue & Gambit cover from Mann.

09. GAMBIT #16 - YANICK PAQUETTE. Finally THEY. ARE. KISSING. Omg. I can’t believe we had to get to #9 before we’ve got them actually kissing! AHHHH. So. This is a great illustration. Beautiful treatment of both Gambit and Rogue...I love the body language especially. And I don’t mind the minimalist red background - and it might even be intended as a call back to the red background on that iconic Rogue & Gambit cover (you know the one). The big problem with this has nothing to do with Paquette’s lovely work at all...it’s that hideous absolutely massive “storyline banner” that takes up more than a fifth of the entire cover. It honestly wrecks EVERYTHING and makes me furious tbh. 

08. ROGUE & GAMBIT #1 - KRIS ANKA. Amazing energy and movement, love the confident use of white space, and the sassy attitude they both have in body language and expression. I am also a really big fan of the title block text as it is here...BUT that’s not how the final is going to look as it will have the “Marvel Legacy” trade dress...which is fine, but not as good as this. So slight points off there. I still like the actual “Rogue & Gambit” title block itself a lot. And the “Ring of Fire” part 1 text banner is small/high/unassuming, so it’s pretty good overall! You’ll see. And yes, I’m very biased here. Fully admit that. I’m a huge fan of Kris Anka’s work, he’s my friend, and this is my book. I come with ALL THE BIAS AND AM HAPPY TO ADMIT IT. ;D

07. X-MEN LEGACY #224 - LEE BERMEJO. This is a little dark compared to what we’re used to seeing for these two in covers and a little more realistic than I tend to prefer...but I totally dig it. It’s got a ton of intensity, and the body language and expression work is awesome. They really feel almost about to kiss, which, if you’re not going to get the actual kiss, is quintessential Gambit and Rogue, right? The title block stuff is really simple and unassuming as well.

06. UNCANNY AVENGERS #5 - CARLOS PACHECO. A really nice homage to the accepted most iconic Rogue & Gambit image of all time...it doesn’t beat it, but it’s totally lovely. A gorgeous illustration that feels like that old cover, but nicely updated and its own thing. It loses points for a little bit too much text nonsense going on...and the expressions don’t QUITE work for me, plus I’ll never love Rogue with short hair ;D but all in all, a beautiful piece.

05. ULTIMATE X-MEN #53 - ANDY KUBERT. If you can believe it...this is the only other cover on the list (ever?) with an actual lip lock! Crazy. But at least it’s GORGEOUS. I really do love this one - the blue tones, the rain, the intensity, the simplicity, I just love it. It loses a few points for really dumb stuff though. I hate the blue borders with the X symbols (so dumb) and some slightly obnoxious title block/giant numbers stuff, but mostly...I just...really hate Remy’s hair? Yeah, it just doesn’t look like Gambit with that weird wavy hair. That’s honestly my biggest beef with this otherwise gorgeous piece.

04. ROGUE & GAMBIT #2 - KRIS ANKA. Admittedly this is getting a bit of a pass for not having the title block on it, but since I know about what that will look like, I think I know enough to be okay with it. And I think people will love this cover even more when they see what’s inside the issue. But based on what we have here - it gets so many points for pure fun, plus it has great energy and movement. PLUS the obvious connection/chemistry between our leads. Bonus points for Rogue’s glorious thighs. Bonus points for Gambit’s conveniently torn uniform (and hairy chest). And Bonus points for Gambit’s perfect smirk! Again, noted that I’m highly biased...and I don’t care!

*runs away, fingers in ears*

03. X-MEN 92 #2 - PEPE LARRAZ. So here’s how much I love this cover...I don’t buy print comics any more (no room!) just digital and then trades for some stuff for my shelves. But for this I went out and bought a print copy. Had to have this in my hands. I love everything about it. Well, okay, in a PERFECT world Cassandra isn’t in the background, but everything else is perfection. The swooning, the love, the drama, even the little raven with the “heart” word balloon. LOVE IT. And no surprise really because Pepe Larraz is a hell of an artist who went on to draw a spectacular Rogue (and sometimes Gambit) in Uncanny Avengers!

02. ROGUE & GAMBIT #3 - KRIS ANKA. So...there are great, beautifully illustrated covers...and then there are great, beautifully illustrated covers that are also PERFECTLY CLEVER and instantly become iconic. That’s this one for me. As if a dozen versions of Gambit and Rogue weren’t fun enough, the heart shape they make... *kisses fingers* ...it’s perfection. I wish nothing more than us not having to put ANY text on this. I wish we could just send it out as is. Alas, no. And that is gonna knock it down JUST ENOUGH to NOT unseat the iconic classic. (But maybe issue #4 or #5 will??? We still have time!) :D

01. X-MEN #24 - ANDY KUBERT. It all comes down to this, as you knew it would. The classic cover that launched a thousand ships...or rather... CEMENTED them. It’s just gorgeous. It’s perfectly 90′s. It just BATHES in the nostalgia of classic Gambit and Rogue. it’s not afraid to cover up more than half the title block (YOU KNOW WHO THEY ARE, YOU DON’T NEED NO PESKY TITLE BLOCK!). That it rocks the most classic, well-known, and beloved looks for both of them only cements things further. And because they were still doing the “no touching dance” in these early days...their state of almost touching is just...PALPABLE. I’ll also say that though Rogue’s face gets the focus, Gambit is just really lovingly rendered too.

HOTT.

So. There you have it. My picks for the 20 Best Rogue & Gambit covers of all time.

Don’t forget to hit up your LCS on Wednesday 1/3/18 (or Comixology) for Rogue & Gambit #1 and keep reading to see if we (ahem, KRIS ANKA) can unseat the 20+ year title holder of “Best Rogue & Gambit Cover of All Time”

No pressure, Kris! :D

[ouf406lf262194-blog]

Useful information - 10 Top Tips for Fashion Illustration

From clothes to accessories, fashion illustrations have a long history as a visual reference for a designer’s concepts or current fashion trends.

What makes a good fashion illustration, though? With help from content from Envato Market, let’s count down 10 top tips for creating great fashion illustrations to better your own sense of design and improve your illustrative work!

1. Understand Anatomy

It’s not always apparent if you’re looking at a stylized fashion figure that the artist is at their best when working from anatomically correct proportions. Knowing how to correctly draw a body allows for a variety of freedom when drawing figures and correctly drawing clothing. So whether you’re drawing from photographic reference or from life, you’ll be prepared with knowledge of the shape and proportions of what may not be visible when drawing clothed figures.

If you are presented with a figure whose body is hidden underneath a large dress, for instance, knowing the gestural form beneath it allows you to create poses that may not exist quickly and easily. Being able to move your figure around without having to directly copy from a photo or ask a model to make said pose means more flexibility when your client asks for a specific pose or concept.

2. Stylize to Optimize

When you do stylize your figure, after having learned basic anatomy, you’ll want to do so in order to bring more focus to a particular element of design. For instance, fashion figures are often long-legged and much taller than the average human. In average human proportions, a figure is six to seven heads tall, whereas a fashion figure is eight or even nine heads tall, with most of that additional length being taken up in the legs. This is often used to bring the viewer’s attention to the length of a dress or give the artist more space in which to create folds, movement, or texture within the fabric itself.

Exaggerate features of the figure or face of the figure in order to accentuate the designs being displayed. A tiny waist or large hips can show off the curves within a dress. Few facial features will keep the focus on the clothes or body itself. If the focus is on accessories or hair, make the hair big or understate the clothing. Much like caricatures or cartoons, exaggerations within the drawing will diminish some features or make others more prominent. Use stylization to tell a story with your fashion illustration.

3. Move With Purpose

A static fashion figure can be alright to draw, but you’ll find that it’s often a boring piece. Unless you’re telling a story about the serenity of design, you’ll want your figure to move within the space you set it. When you pose a figure dynamically, you create action for the clothing, hair, accessories or whatever else you’re drawing. You’ll also instantly aid your storytelling within your illustration. Is a figure dancing, walking, or flying through your picture plane? Answer such questions with your drawing. Illustrations tell stories through imagery.

Movement can also help the viewer understand what makes up the clothing you’re drawing or painting. We’ll discuss texture and weight within textiles more fully below, but understand that if a fabric is light and flowy or heavy and stiff, one of the best ways to show that is through how it moves when placed on a body or when the body itself is in motion.

A good way to understand how bodies, clothing, and various fabrics move is to watch models walk down a runway. They’re constantly in motion and often make a point to really show how their garment moves through exaggerated motions and turns.

4. Use Your Composition to Tell Your Story

In addition to clothing and movement aiding your storytelling, composition absolutely matters too. Is the figure frolicking through an empty white space, or are they in a setting complete with a background and other figures?

This is where fashion illustration may collide a bit with editorial illustration. Perhaps you’d like to illustrate the figure walking down a runway or through a busy city. Allowing a simple background into your work may help viewers understand the context for where or when a design is worn. Please note, however, that if a background is busy, it may overwhelm the fashion design itself.

Alternatively, you can eliminate many details if you use your composition to help fill them in. Perhaps you’ve decided only to create a line drawing. Allow portions of your figure’s movement, dress, and hair, to complete an image without having to draw it in. The viewer’s eye will do the rest of the work.

Take advantage of negative space and you’ll create more dynamic illustrations without having to create a background. Suddenly the plain white or solid color used within your piece is a part of the design itself, and you’re allowing the figure to exist not only within that space but because of that space.

5. Differentiate Between Fabrics With Texture

In my opinion, one of the most fun parts of fashion illustration is when an artist can show the weight and texture of a fabric within their drawing or painting. Whether they’ve taken the time to render corduroy or are skilled at showing the fabric’s weight through movement, I, as a viewer and artist, love to revel in these sorts of details. Instantly I understand the garment I’m seeing, and it’s far more tangible than everything being worn or shown looking the same.

Sure, it’s a green dress, but is it silk, tulle, or a heavy woven material? The way it’s drawn, the way it drapes around a figure, and even the way it’s colored or painted should give the viewer an idea of the sort of textile being depicted. At the very least, I want to understand what a garment may feel like when worn. If I’m being sold clothing from an illustration, for instance, I should be able to figure out if the clothing is warm and cozy or light and breezy. You’ll want to viewer to understand if the textile is smooth and soft or stiff and itchy.

You can show that something is smooth and soft by using longer, curved lines with illustrating, or show that it’s stiff and itchy with shorter, more rigid line work. Additionally, drawing in knitted textures would help the viewer understand that it’s a hand-knitted sweater versus a machine-woven garment or something made from jersey.

Practice textures within textiles by drawing swatches of your own clothing or experimenting with different textile styles you may be viewing in fashion magazines or on fashion-related websites.

6. Make Patterns Aplenty

Surface designs are often a big deal in fashion. They can make simple pieces more interesting and even be a focal point within an illustration. There are only so many silky dresses that will go down a runway before patterns start popping. Being able to really show off a Moschino show in illustrated form would be nothing without being able to showcase the patterns created for their garments.

Patterns can also tell stories in their own right. Classic patterns like houndstooth and chevrons may showcase current fashion trends or tell the story of clothing from a certain era. Consider the stories to be told of individuals who wear quiet, understated prints like simple dots or stripes versus loud, bright florals or paisley designs.

Textile patterns can also help coordinate various pieces when you match up a color or two from a print within other garments or accessories in a design. This is especially apparent when you’re illustrating a line of clothing and begin to notice how various pieces within a set, though not all worn together or by the same person, may call back to each other with the use of the same patterns or colors from a pattern.

7. Get Your Hair Done

Hairstyles, color, and textures can do a lot of an overall design. Different types of hairstyles may be worn by different people for a variety of reasons. Consider the way in which culture and ethnic heritage may affect the types of hairstyles a figure could wear. Not only will you be telling a story about who the person is or where they may be from, but you’ll also be allowing limits for the hair’s movement and style itself.

For instance, someone with very thin and straight hair wouldn’t be able to wear their hair in locs like someone with thick and textured hair. Learning how to illustrate braided, straight, curly, or other hair styles will also widen your skill set for every illustration occasion.

Hair can also help in the composition or be a main focal point as well. In terms of composition, the movement of the hair can be just as important as the movement of a garment. You’ll notice in many of the images in this article that most of the hair depicted is long and often moves with the dresses drawn in the illustration. You may want to consider hair to be another piece of the illustrated puzzle when creating fashion illustrations.

Additionally, hair can be a main focal point of a fashion illustration. If the story of the illustration is to depict a hairstyle or show off various hair accessories, the hair may be what drives the composition of the piece or even holds all of the action within it as a dress in a larger, full-body illustration would. Many of the tips for clothing apply for hair as well: form, texture, composition, movement, and style are all relevant points when featuring a hairstyle within your fashion illustration.

8. Focus on Accessories

Sometimes the entire focus may be not on a garment or hair, but on an accessory. This may mean a portion of the body is the only thing depicted in a fashion illustration or that there is no figure present at all. Additionally, you may be creating a full-bodied illustration and accessories may just feature heavily in your illustration.

Consider, for full-bodied pieces, what sort of stories can be told with the addition of accessories. Imagine drawing a beautiful, historical queen. What sort of accessories would she wear? Crown, jewelry, fancy shoes, and a scepter, perhaps. You can tell a story of decadence the more accessories you add, or of simplicity by only featuring a small bracelet or simple necklace within a design.

Consider, for accessory-focused pieces, what you would think about if you were drawing garments on figures: texture, patterns, composition, stylizations, and more. The same tips that apply to clothing and hair also apply to accessories. You’re telling stories with objects placed on or around a figure.

Consider, for accessory-only pieces, what sort of information you’d like the viewer to understand without seeing an associated figure. For instance, if you’re only drawing shoes and a handbag, coordinating the two based on material or design may tell a story of a well put together person. Or a pair of sneakers and a backpack would tell the story of a student or young person.

9. Understand Perspective

The topic of accessories brings us to another foundation skill: perspective. Understanding how objects exist within a space can only help you illustrate them in an accurate way. While stylization is definitely welcome within your designs, knowing the rules can help you break them in interesting and aesthetically pleasing ways.

Consider, for accessory-focused pieces, what you would think about if you were drawing garments on figures: texture, patterns, composition, stylizations, and more. The same tips that apply to clothing and hair also apply to accessories. You’re telling stories with objects placed on or around a figure.

Consider, for accessory-only pieces, what sort of information you’d like the viewer to understand without seeing an associated figure. For instance, if you’re only drawing shoes and a handbag, coordinating the two based on material or design may tell a story of a well put together person. Or a pair of sneakers and a backpack would tell the story of a student or young person.

9. Understand Perspective

The topic of accessories brings us to another foundation skill: perspective. Understanding how objects exist within a space can only help you illustrate them in an accurate way. While stylization is definitely welcome within your designs, knowing the rules can help you break them in interesting and aesthetically pleasing ways.

10. Render Non-Textile Surfaces Differently

Much like being able to show how an object interacts with others within the same space, non-textile objects should be rendered so the viewer understands what is being depicted.

For instance, if you’re illustrating Cinderella’s glass slipper, you’re going to have to create a transparent, reflective shoe that the viewer will understand is glass or crystal or something similar, rather than something that looks exactly like a leather or silk shoe.

If the artist has created a metallic dress and they mean for it to be made of metal versus just being gold or silver in color, they’ll need to really showcase the reflective properties of that material (as well as construct it within the limits of a metal object) so the viewer understands that it’s not just paint that’s making something look gold, but rather gold itself being depicted.

Much like showing the texture, weight, and limits of movement within a textile, being able to render various objects so the viewer understands what they’re comprised of not only helps communicate concept design and storytelling within a fashion illustration, but also allows the viewer to better connect with what’s been drawn as being analogous to a real-world object or familiar material.

Let’s Break It Down!

Now that we’ve run through all ten tips for creating fantastic fashion illustrations, let’s break it down with a handy checklist:

Understanding anatomy will help you draw fashion figures in a variety of poses.

Stylize to optimize the garment, accessories, or design being depicted.

Create figures in motion in order to keep your figure from looking static and stiff.

Use both positive and negative space in order get the most out of your composition.

Render textiles and show the weight and movement limits of them so viewers understand what sort of fabric is being illustrated.

Draw patterns within your textile designs in order to create more interesting clothing or tell stories within your work.

Don’t forget about how important hair and hairstyles can be to a design, composition, or your overall illustration.

Don’t forget about accessories: they can complete an illustration or be one in their own right.

Understanding perspective and how objects interact with one another or a figure within space will help you draw nearly anything needed for your illustration.

Render non-textile surfaces accordingly so the viewer understands the difference between each surface within your illustration.

(ref: https://design.tutsplus.com/articles/10-top-tips-for-fashion-illustration--cms-25881)