#here’s my foray into digital art

[aftgphoenix]

[austerulous]

So I treated myself to a refurbished graphics tablet. 👀

[on-leatheredwings]

Sleepover

Yandere! Damian Wayne x (Fem!) Reader

romantic > summary: During a sleepover, Damian makes his first foray into infatuation. > word count: 1605 > [ a/n: i just love writing from the yandere’s point of view! Damian is 19 or college-age here. honestly not much plot, just musings~ i will try to write from the Darling’s POV next time hehe.]

This must be love.

“Wow, Damian… I’ve never noticed but your nails are so pretty,” you compliment, satisfied with the boy’s upkeep. Damian feels his heart thrumming against his ribcage. You are holding his hand. 

Not for the first time either, but the thrill never fades. 

If this had occurred a year ago, before Damian learned of how casual (generous, even!) you were physical affection, he might have dumbly stated, “You’re holding my hand.” Instead, he simply thinks it, on loop, in one long string. 

You’re holding my hand. You’re holding my hand. You’re holding my hand.

Unbeknownst to all this, you simply paint his forefinger with a stripe of green so dark it looks black. 

“If we’re going to do this, it’ll be by my rules,” he had said. 

In reality, if you needled him any harder, he would’ve accepted pink nails with glitter on them. Who cares? There wasn’t anyone who dared to make fun of him at school. Not to mention, it’d be obvious to everyone that you painted them. You'd be marking him as yours, essentially. And at night… well, Robin wears gloves.

“Hn. How so?” Damian asks with feigned coolness. Mainly because he wants to hear you praise him. In your hushed, awed voice. When he dreams, you often sound like that. (And he quickly pushes that thought away.)

You look at him pointedly, grinning. Oh, he’s not so slick. You acquiesce to his whims anyway.

“Your cuticles are impeccable and your nails are finely trimmed… I’m impressed. Don’t you do martial arts, too? Crazy they aren’t more dinged up.”

Martial arts. That was supposed to explain his abnormal strength and fighting capability, the one time you saw him nearly break a man’s wrist for trying to pickpocket you. 

You accepted the excuse with only a little suspicion.

“It’s simple grooming.”

A catlike grin forms on your face. “Hm~ I don’t knowwww… Seems like you may be trying to catch the eye of a girl – you know, girls look at stuff like that.”

Damian frowns. 

He’s infatuated but not delusional. He’s aware this ‘sleepover’ is pretty platonic on your end. After nails, it’ll be skin care. Maybe you’ll even do your makeup and take goofy pictures with him. You’ll laugh and platonically huddle against him during a movie. You may doze off on his shoulder while he’ll be committing your every dewy, moisturized pore to memory. 

Because of Damian’s (self-admitted) social awkwardness with your peers, you think that gives you some sort of elder sibling-esque edge on him. You are the social butterfly, leading a naive, but well-meaning social pariah through the perils of young adult life. You don’t know you are so much more naive than he is, and he adores that.

Rather than addressing the question, he snorts. “When are you going to turn on the movie?”

You hum, completing his nail’s first coat. “Oh yeah, that’s right!” You grab the remote and press play. You continue painting, gingerly admiring his long, golden brown digits. Damian preens at the attention. 

As the movie plays, you pause often to look up and gape at the screen. It’s a horror flick, and boasts an abundance of cartoonish gore. While a bit more sensational than something he’d put on, he likes your dark taste. An annoying teenager gets their head hacked off with a chainsaw. You laugh and Damian feels his heart sing. 

There’s a chime that rings through Wayne Manor, and he has to bite back a groan.

“Pizza’s here!” you cheer. You begin to get up when Damian whips out his card in an instant. 

“I’ll pay.” To his delight, you gape in surprise, cheeks warming. 

“Oh… Thanks, Damian!” You never quite get used to him paying for things, but you at least know by now not to argue. You grab his credit card and – thank God – your fingers brush against each other. It sends the most pleasant trill down his spine. “Since you’re paying, I’ll go bring it! I won’t be long.”

A corner of his lips quirk. “I’ll be pleasantly surprised if it gets back to this room at all.” You stick out your tongue on the way out.

As soon as he hears your footsteps disappear down the hall – such clumsy, loud steps – Damian’s attention falls to the messenger bag you threw to the ground of his bedroom. He knows your diary is in there. (In his mind, he can hear you protest, It’s a journal!)

He’ll be quick. He flips open to a random page, and he already is laughing at your writing style. There’s little care for capitalizing letters and full of what you explained are “emoticons”, despite being handwritten. He flips to today’s entry, half-finished.

February 01. 

there’s a guy in class who’s pretty cute… one may even say HOT xP

Damian’s jaw tightens. He knows exactly who you’re talking about, and he won’t allow that neanderthal anywhere near you. At least, not again. Yesterday, you told him that your crush had smiled at you. Brushed fingers with you when passing papers. In the only class you have without Damian.

(Also, “your crush,” he scoffs. What a juvenile concept. You and Damian share something much deeper. His feelings for you are not so trivial.)

The semester is still young. Damian can pull any string to land himself in your anthropology class.

The rest of your entry for today (and the past days prior) isn’t anything notable except for when he’s mentioned. 

stressful day, but at least i have tonight with damian to cheer me up. he’s seriously the best …. i should tell him more often !!! (but it’d give him an even bigger head)

He doesn’t even attempt to stop the smile splitting his face. 

Damian’s keen hearing catches you striking up a conversation with Alfred in the kitchen. Despite your promise, he knows you will, indeed, take long. You love talking to everyone, even in passing. It’s an admirable quality, and one he envies.

He unlocks your phone and rifles through some messages of yours. He uses his own phone for documentation purposes. What else is there to do… He spies your jacket on his bed.

There is a shameful thought and Damian’s heart skips a beat. It is… frankly, it’s humiliating as a concept. Yet he’s enticed. It’s your jacket, after all. He brings it to his face delicately and inhales, almost shyly. Once he catches the familiar scent of your body wash, however, he allows himself to breathe it in. After being lost in it for a few seconds, he rips it away. 

Only to see his father standing in his doorframe. 

He knows what this looks like. Damian knows what this looks like. After years of working with the man, Damian can hear his thoughts as if they were his own, as they happen. 

Damian just smelled your clothes. Even if it was investigative in nature, he could’ve retrieved a sample some other way. Someone’s personal journal is open on the floor. A phone that he knows is not Damian’s is unlocked and displaying text messages. All these things are splayed out in a circle around him. It’s uncharacteristically messy of him, as well. Damian’s own phone is actively on his camera. Was he taking pictures? And most notable is the absence of you.

In summary? Damian must have some interest in you. And by this sloppy job, it’s quite emotionally charged. And at his age, it’s likely romantic.

Damian’s skin rises to what feels like a boiling heat. What is Father going to say? He can’t stop him – he can’t. Damian doesn’t even want to talk about it, let alone be reprimanded. A feral need to escape bubbles underneath his skin. Despite the panic, he channels years of League training and hardens himself. 

Bruce watches his son’s expression morph from dazed, to fearful, to steel, in real time. From Damian’s seat on the floor he offers his father only silent defiance. Bruce knows his son, his darker needs that stem from his cruel childhood. And perhaps he should’ve expected this to happen someday. Bruce exhales, eyes closing. When they reopen, his slate-grey eyes are firm and hard. 

“No one gets hurt.”

And by that, Bruce means no one dies. Because Bruce and Damian are Batman and Robin – they’re all in the business of hurting people. People who deserve it, yes, but it’s still hurt. Pain.

Damian feels immense relief. He wouldn’t have killed his father – he’s not that boy anymore. But a life without you seems similarly unbearable. Damian feels… shaken. He doesn’t know what he would’ve done. He also feels grateful, that it didn’t turn out any other way. 

His eyes drop to the jacket he holds in a fist.

“... Yes. Thank you, Father.” Bruce’s gaze lingers, but he leaves wordlessly.

This encounter reminds Damian of who he is. He is a detective, vigilante, assassin, and creature of stealth. He can’t be this careless, even if he knows you won’t notice. 

Damian returns your belongings to their place, exactly how you left it. Diary back in your bag, jacket to where you were lounging, your phone underneath a pillow, because you carelessly tossed it aside. You’ll inevitably begin to look for it and he’ll grin once he places it in your hand.

You finally return to his room, two pizza boxes of deluxe cheese (for him) and pepperoni (for you) in your arms. You laugh sheepishly. 

“Sorry for the wait, Dami.” His heart skitters at the nickname.

“It’s fine.” Your eyes glitter with excitement and optimism and purity. He finds it hard to look away, you raining down a gaze like that upon him.

“I was waiting for you.”

[stephpotterart]

The Night Garden

My piece for What We Create In The Shadows Volume 4! Technically I made 3 pieces for the project, two of which are in the background of my final illustration (because I like to make things hard for myself lol). I wanted to show the juxtaposition between Nandor's past as a blood thirsty conqueror, and his present life on Staten Island. I wanted to show him caring for a hoard of night blooming plants, as a form of self-care after his foray into self help books. Included are Arabian Jasmine, and Moonflowers, which are overtaking his old portraits, as he grows and moves on from his history.

The zine is still available until July 28th, proceeds go to PFLAG! It contains some of the most beautiful art and writing, which should come as no surprise, given how loving this fandom community is. The zine also has some incredible interviews with cast and crew.

Thank you so much to the organizers who put this amazing project together, and my love and thanks to the other contributors; this was my first time working with you, and you were all so warm and welcoming. I couldn't have created this piece without the support and feedback from all of you. I am honored to have worked with you on this project!

You can get the physical zine here or a digital copy here

@wwcitszine

[annabelle--cane]

this is all a long con so that when I become mainstream famous for my indie music career or my niche genre fiction career or my network animation career (<- this one will be difficult as my most notable foray into digital art thus far in my life was misspelling "pride" as "ppide" in ms paint in ninth grade but I think I could still swing it), my stans can post screenshots of pretty okay jokes I made on here in 2018 with the caption "her mind" and I will receive massively outsized praise for my humor on account of already being rich and beautiful. and then I will log off for a week as people debate whether my middle school vent fiction warrants burning me in effigy in the town square.

[tolbachik-art]

How does one become good at drawing planets

Hey, thank you so much for the kind words & the question!

I'm still definitely a beginner, and have a long way to go, but it really warms my heart to hear you say that. For starters, getting over any perfectionism you may have is a big must!

I know a lot of people always say this, but practice, time, patience, doing studies, and having fun are the most important ways to get better!

I'll walk you through my progress, and what I've done to get where I am today with things! I will warn you, it did turn out to be a long winded post. If you want the jist of it, you can scroll to the bottom!

So, I've been doing digital art since say, mid 2015 or so. I didn't have much of a grasp on art, and while I grew up loving space and space exploration, I didn't quite understand how things worked.

On August 2nd, 2015 (when I was just 15), I posted my first piece on DeviantArt.

This was my first foray into space art. It may not be the best, but I remember being very excited about it, and actually making a piece like that.

This first piece is a big sign of what issues I would face with space art until very recently; a lack of detailing, leading to a soft appearance.

This would plague me for quite some time; I would put very little effort into detailing, and wouldn't even zoom in on the canvas for quite some time. I would do things from afar, not wanting to zoom in for some weird reason. This can be seen in the following paintings, as well.

This one, also of Neptune, was posted two years after the first one. The framework is kind of there, but only barely. The perspective is off, and once again, the detailing is too minimal and too soft. On top of that, the shading isn't nearly as harsh enough. Compositionally though, I was starting to get a grasp of some basics.

There would be a brief artless period in my life from 2017 to 2020; every once in awhile, I wouldn't do art for a few years. Then, suddenly, I would get back into it and put out several pieces, all before growing quiet once more.

2020, once Covid-19 started happening, would see the return of me to the world of art now that I was suddenly without a job.

Once again, Neptune will be a demonstrator of how my skills changed.

I was starting to get there; in terms of composition, much better than my older works. Coloring is a bit off, but overall, I was starting to actually understand how art works, and why things like detailing were important. One big thing here though; I was still painting with color. That would be one of the last big things for me to get over, although I didn't even know it then.

From the period of 2020-2021, I made a lot of paintings and mission patches for my one friend's KSP youtube series (seen here).

Doing what were essentially mini paintings, I learned a *lot* about composition and detailing. I think the one I spent the longest on was Heywood, in which I did my best to follow imagery from Voyager. Looking back now, however, it isn't quite accurate; that's the south pole! I still had a lot to learn in regards to doing accurate portrayals of celestial bodies, down to inclinations and the like.

Anyways, doing all that really burnt me out, on top of doing free art for people I didn't even know. That's another big lesson; only do gift art if you feel up to it, and for a friend. Do not do it for strangers.

It wasn't until late 2022, in September, that I actually finished a piece again. My illness had been pretty bad, leaving me bedbound for quite some time. However, during that time, I hadn't lost my skills thankfully.

This would be one of my first somewhat decent portrayals of Jupiter and one of his moons, using SpaceEngine for getting reference images and making sure all the parts were in the right place. This would set the groundwork for later paintings, as I always use SpaceEngine now to make sure I have the orientations and sizes of things in the sky right! It's been an invaluable tool, I quite literally don't know where I'd be without it.

Anyways; after that, it was very sparse once more, up until quite literally this year. Sickness sprung up again, and I had a rough winter due to the loss of my grandfather to Covid-19, among other things.

2024 saw, in my personal opinion, the biggest and best change to my art yet.

PAINTING IN VALUES!!!!!!!!!

I cannot stress this enough; understanding what values are, and how to see them in every day life literally changed my entire perspective on things. On life! I cannot go outside anymore without comparing and contrasting values of objects and natural phenomena.

This was before values. Not bad, but still not great. Detailing was getting there. This is from March 27th, 2024, and was part of an art trade with @dan-asd of their worldbuilding project.

And this, this is 3 months later, from July 16th, 2024. Commission for @corvidist, my very first. This was a massive leap in the way I understood and processed the world around me, and in turn, what my art looked like.

Everything is in values. Your phone, with the seemingly pure black LCD touchscreen to the blue and purple phone case. The clouds, with their bright white tops and dark bottoms. The river, with the murky green waters contrasting with the bright orange stones. All values, just differing shades of gray with color added! Everything is light! Everything is the absence of light! Light is the entirety of your piece; you just have to understand where light falls, and where it doesn't.

Apart from that, everything is just rudimentary shapes and lines. The universe is made up of different kinds of lines and shapes. Entire worlds can be reduced to light and lines, people can be too. You just need to know what to look for, and how to process that into artwork.

I cannot stress how much understanding that, and doing tiny little paintings really helped me get a much better grasp on things.

Take some time, get a small canvas out, and paint your favorite celestial body. Take as much or as little time as you need, and just have fun with it. Play with color, play with values, whatever your heart desires!

Once you're done, take a step back, and compare it to the picture. Analyze what areas you didn't enjoy, and what areas you did. Look for what doesn't line up with the picture, and think of how you could better approach it. Think of how you can change the lighting to make it seem more real, what effects are needed to bring it to life.

Art is the process of taking what you love, and putting it to paper (digital or not!). Focus on what you enjoy doing; it will all come naturally with time. You'll start to pick up on things, big and small, that will bring your pieces closer and closer to what you want it to be.

And please, for the love of everything that is holy, have fun with it and don't overthink it! You will be so disappointed in yourself if you hype yourself up for a piece, only for it to come out not the way you expected. That's ok! That's part of learning! It can be disheartening, but if you take the time to look at how and why you don't like the piece, it'll come out so much better next time around!

Talk to people, too! Talking with my dear email-pal Eduardo was my first step into understanding astronomical art, and thinking on how to improve my work. He really helped me step into the right direction when I was just starting out, which I am still eternally grateful for to this day. I think of him and his work often; he really was a massive help.

In more recent times, talking to @whirligig-girl helped me to get a better grip on realism, and how better to portray celestial bodies. She was a huge help in giving me pointers for fixing up my View From Amalthea piece, as well as the ones that followed after. Talking to artists more experienced than you and getting critiques is always a huge help; it can really show you things in a new light!

Speaking of, don't be afraid to let a piece rest and marinate for a bit. A day, a week, or even a year. It doesn't matter. You will come back to it, and you will see new things you never saw before, and think of new ways to improve upon it. I have a piece that's been in limbo for YEARS, and I still have yet to actually get to paint it (the top one, the alien one (i will never finish that Uranus piece though lol)). I have it perfectly envisioned now, so waiting really did pay off in the end.

Essentially, it all boils down to this:

Everything is light, or lack thereof.

Don't overthink it, and have fun.

Do not do free art for strangers.

Everything is shapes and lines.

Step back and look at your pieces, deconstructing them in your mind or on paper.

Examine your everyday life, and see how everything interacts in terms of values and color.

Do studies, please god, do studies they're so fun and eyeopening

Warmup! Warm! Up! WARMUP!!!!! They are critical to getting your mind in the art headspace! You will feel less interested and less focused otherwise!

Don't worry about your medium, just do what you enjoy and works best for you! There is no such thing as a perfect brush!

Talk to other artists in fields you enjoy!

I love talking about art, I really could go on for hours, but I will stop myself here.

You decide what you get out of art; it's your skill, your time, so do what you desire! These are only anecdotes about my experiences with art; they aren't universal, but I do hope they've helped. If you have any questions, any questions at all, don't hesitate to reach out!

Lastly, here are two resources for you for any future artworks you may do:

I got this book many years ago, but the lessons it gave me were invaluable. I mean it; they helped me to understand the importance of doing studies, and for detailing!

Paid membership, but an organization dedicated to doing astronomical art. I have yet to join, but I've heard lovely things about it! Hoping to join later this year, funds allowing.

I will finally end this here. Thank you so much for the ask, and I hope you have a lovely rest of your day!

[theplaidfox]

Happy Valentine's Day everybody. Here's my first foray into digital art. It's so hard!!

[jamiesfootball]

@jamietarttsnorthernattitude and @sighonaraa since you both sort of asked by way of mentioning it at all, here’s some of my artwork that I have screenshotted on this device. Most are old inktober drawings and then two from my short foray into digital art (not really a fan. I basically just use it the same I would a paintbrush)

[artwithteggy]

Diving into Nomad Sculpt: A Rock-Solid Start to My 3D Sculpting Journey

Hey there, everyone!

I've recently taken my first steps into 3D sculpting, and I chose Nomad Sculpt as my starting platform. Why Nomad Sculpt? It seemed user-friendly and approachable for a beginner like me. And guess what? It was a great choice!

Nomad Sculpt introduced me to the art of manipulating objects with various sculpting tools. I got hands-on with tools like the move tool, boolean tool, crease tool, and smooth tool. Each tool opened up new possibilities and ways to shape my creations.

One key lesson I learned early on was the balance between detail and file size. More geometry means more detail, but it also means a larger file. I discovered that simply increasing vertices by subdividing isn't a magic solution for detail. It's a delicate balance, and understanding geometry is crucial. I've got a lot more to learn, but in the meantime, I've been having a blast pushing the limits of Nomad Sculpt.

Now, let me introduce you to my first creations: a series of rock sculptures. These aren't just any rocks; they're my initial foray into sculpting, each with its unique personality. I've taken these digital sculptures and brought them into the real world by printing them in resin. And for a bit of extra fun, I arranged a little photoshoot for these cute rock dudes.

Stay tuned for some snapshots from this photoshoot in my next update!

Also, i have a little Cults3d shop and you can download this guy for free here :

[hexiva]

My first foray into Fakemon! This is very different from my usual style - open to tips on how to make it look more "pokemon," with the caveat that I can't do digital art and would need to be able to pull it off with markers.

I love bugs and bug-types and I'm always disappointed when I open up a Pokemon game and I have to pick a non-bug for my first pokemon - so here's my take on three bug-type starters.

P.S. I know that a sea hare is not a "bug" (neither is a spider, for that matter) but we've seen molluscs as bug-types before so I figured it would fit, and I don't have any aquatic arthropods that I'm particularly attached to.

[averagepoet]

I CHANGED MY ICON TO MY NEW OFFICIAL FIRST FORAY INTO DIGITAL ART (that being my oc for jwcc) SO HERES A BIG VERSION OF IT

[barbwillbrb]

Fun fact: Rackal is actually one of my oldest OCs (in the fact he’s been with me the longest). He’s born from my online RP days, and specifically comes from a pretty intense, goofy, fantasy/sci-fi kind of story I’ve worked on and off alongside a very close friend for many years. As the while thing started from an RP that allowed characters from multiple universes to get together, the story got weird but cool as fuck.

Anyhoot, sometime last year I doodled a lineup of Rackal, along with the other main characters/family. Peep Clairice as well (gotta update her flag tho). I will redo this whole thing eventually but I’m still proud of it (also hay forays into digital art).

Tivern and Tora (unfortunately forgot to add the trans flag for Tora [mtf] on here) belong to my friend, all others belong to me.

Some quick facts about these folks (be warned this is some goofy cringy shit and I refuse to change it, but will make it work in the final story):

- there is a lot of fucked up timeline, parallel universe shit at play in this story. Magic and science run alongside each other.

- Tivern is a grim reaper.

- Tina is a cupid and grim reaper.

- Vega and Rackal are enemies to begrudging allies to rivals to friends to lovers. Tora was the only thing keeping them from going at each other’s throats (calm, rational one vs. two hot-headed fools).

[shinygoku]

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

This album has been discussed 'till the cows come home, and I won't have anything that new or insightful to say about it. Every Beatleologist has been there, done that and often got the T-Shirt. Still, I have one thing that is entirely my own; my Takes!

So, after an uncharacteristically long delay, with "only" the incredible Double-A Side Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever to tide people over, there were apparently rumours circulating about The Beatles having run out of steam. This sets up the hilarious reveal, but there was truth to it, the Bugs needed the break and it's during such a Vaycay that Paul came up with the novel idea of this Alias Group, where they could step away from the expectations of The Beatles and instead become an Edwardian Military Style Band. Did this foray into old fashioned whimsy pay off? Did what they make count as a Concept Album? Does it indeed contain their singular Best song? And who is the much mentioned Billy Shears, really?

Much ink, on pages and digital, has been spilled about this picture, so I'll keep my words here brief. I looooove their extremely bright uniforms, and the subtle differences each has. Though I can also see how there's confusion about John and George's colours, as in other pictures John is more clearly Lime Green and George is somewhere between orange, tangerine and scarlet. Also, it has Karl Marx in it, so it's easily the most Based album art ever.

SIDE ONE

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: Starting with the sound of instruments tuning before kicking off before the cheering crowd, we already have a fabulous image of a live concert! Paul's vocals sound a bit hoarse but that isn't a bad thing, though I feel like it's the Harmonised parts that stand out most. This is also one'a the songs most attached to the following one which has me constantly listening to an upload on youtube that keeps the smooth transition, rather than the CD or other individual song uploads on the official channel lol

With A Little Help From My Friends: It's not just my Ringo Bias, I swear, but I do consider this one'a the stronger songs on the album despite the stiff competition. It's just a nice, straightforward song, which enough interesting instrument flourishes and the backing vocals making a conversation that make it rather endearing. I may not understand every lyric (what DO you see when you turn out the light?! Are you boys being cheeky here? XD;;) but it's main message is truthful and timeless~

Oh, by the way... BILLY SHEARS IS RINGO!! RINGO!!!! He's literally introduced as being the Singer, Billy Shears, and then his song follows seamlessly. Plus, Ringo had mentioned in interviews prior that he liked the idea of opening hairdressing salons... hence the Shears! Case Closed. (I have more thoughts about the PID stuff, mostly negative, but I don't want to derail this too much!)

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds: The song that is Not about LSD - if ya need one'a them Revolver has plenty! No, what this song does is far more Lewis Carroll and visual amongst the strange twanging instrument, deep bass plunking, flair of electric guitar and dramatic percussion. This is another song I find hard to detach from the Yellow Submarine video for it, even though that's far more focused on a mystery Girl rather than trying to depict the strange world John describes. A bit of a missed chance for the Train in a Station with Plasticine Porters with Looking-Glass ties, but oh well! A fun song based on a drawing which I'm unsure has ever been shown to the public lol

Getting Better: This song is fine but I feel it could have been a bit more improved, admittedly idk how. That's their forte, not mine! Again, the main feature of this one is a conversation and the contrast of the Paul lines and the harmonised counters. The tale told is of someone who is turning their life around and admitting their faults, though the sotto voice is saying the only way is up, as it "can't get no worse", making this jaunty song somewhat pessimistic ^^;;

Fixing A Hole: This one is also ...fine. Honestly I like to quote parts of it but I sure don't go to listen to it often. It's esoteric and some of the lyrics seem profound, but it's also a muddle that I find difficult to parse. The instrumentation is very good (shocking, I know !) but it doesn't mesh that well with Paul's irregular candance to me. There's some kind of Fairground esque sound that I can't identify, but it adds to the Album's collective vibe even though I don't really dig the song.

She's Leaving Home: In what feels to be a spiritual spin off from Eleanor Rigby, Paul weaves a narrative based on a real occurrence that was in the newspaper (put a pin in that notion), but also countless other incidents along the same lines would have the vibes reflected in this song. A girl runs away from her parents, not for any major transgression but instead feeling trapped by a mundane, unexciting middle class existence.

I think it's worth noting that a lot of the Older Audience are approving, of percieved Side Taking - they remark on how the parents are sympathised with. And that's true, but the song isn't a Young vs Old or black and white conflict. The girl is sad about her choice and dissatisfied with her own ability to put it into words, but the need to go out and enjoy herself was stronger. The parents are described as being devastated by the cold treatment and maybe the sheer anxiety of their offspring out in the world, but the John Vocals saying "we gave her most of our lives", "how could she do this to me" and "we never thought of ourselves" indicates to me that they were, in fact, thinking of themselves and were perhaps too wrapped up in these notions and working for the living to have been able to accommodate their daughter's need for excitement, their later introspection being bewilderment that "we didn't know it was wrong" ...to have been blind to the daughter's real needs. After all, she's clearly housed by her parents her whole life, but for that time she was living alone.

Again, it's the blunt banality that drives it home. Nothing that horrendous has occurred, yet we feel profound sadness. Though there's arguably a silver lining in the Girl's catharsis, her successful bid for freedom and fun, the almost nonchalant "Bye bye" John vocal that closes the song, as well as bookending it back with the dreamscape-y harps. More a story than a song but the music is excellent.

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!: The lyrics to this are famously John reading an antique poster, a move he would later disparage. And yeah, it's one of their less inspired or memorable songs, heaping in the Carnival and, to be blunt, scary energy. It's a neat little experiment but very much an odd one out and I can't rate it highly or remark on much.

SIDE TWO

Within You Without You: I feel guilty whenever I say that one of George's songs doesn't do anything for me, all the moreso when it's Sitar based cause then I feel uncultured. But it's my thoughts and I never stated myself to have objective and correct views! It's nicer than some of his Revolver outings, this could be an improved Love You To. The message is better here but it's not one I wanna listen to much, the laughter at the end also not gelling with the song as a whole.

When I'm Sixty-Four: I looooove this one though ^^;; What can I say, it's whimsical! I've seen a claim that it's Paul's parody of expectations that older folk have, but when I asked for a source they were unable to provide one :/ (given that this was in a vid on the terrible 70's movie where this song is used for a dirty old man, the claim the song is a parody is like excusing its use in a rancid predatory scene which is already pretty disagreeable, and I disagree with much harder given I'm not at all convinced!! But I digress...). I do know Paul wrote it when he was a teenager, so the previous generation influence feels strong in that way.

In Yellow Submarine the sequence with the moving numbers is another high point~ Even without that, it's just fun to listen to and it incorporates interesting sounds, like what sounds like a clock chiming and the steady, rhythmic brass. Little parts of it like the "Oooooo" harmonising, the way Paul adds a meek little "if it's not too dear" qualifier to the Isle of Wight plans, and also the cadence of "Veeeera, Chuck! and Dave!", it's a jolly romp, even if it's unclear exactly what vibe Paul was going for lol

Lovely Rita: Allegedly loosely based on Paul getting a parking ticket from a female parking warden! I'm keen on this song, it's bright and sweet, with witty lyrics and a cute scenario. I find it interesting how Paul likes the girl who looked "a little like a military man" and I like how he pronounces Book as Boouk. There's fun sound effects like a clanking and a kazoo, and then the end of the song takes a bit of a turn for the steamy... the Super Deluxe mix leaves less to the imagination there, though it's my least favourite part of the shebang lmao

Good Morning Good Morning: I'm sorry, but this isn't one I enjoy. It's too much noise when it's noisy and the lyrics are just a bit of a slog. The animal sounds are novel but I feel this needed more time in the oven. However the Cat meow is Very, very good and they shoulda capitalised on that notion more!

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise): Off to another gradual build up, a more rocking version of the opener with very prominent drums and a crowd eagerly clapping with suitably adjusted lyrics. I like this version more than the opening, and it makes an interesting little fake-out given the song that Really closes the album...

A Day In The Life: When I heard this was commonly agreed to be The Very Best Beatles Song, on kneejerk I disagreed... but then couldn't think of any single song that does quite measure up. It's still not my favourite, and other songs have more Meaning to them, but yeah, this really is Peak LennonMcCartney. The way their parts do NOT melt into each other, they remain very obvious and distinct, somehow makes the song as a whole much stronger. It's like it's telling the same man's POV but forward and backward in time.

This is famously partly inspired by John reading the newspaper (hey, it's that Pin from before!) as well as personal experiences - his role in the film How I Won The War [I tried to watch it but even though it's satire I just couldn't get into it. I just whizzed through to see John's acting in the end lmao], and the man alluded to who had a car crash was an associate of the band. The other neat little real life bleed being the alarm clock that was used for timing perfectly dovetailing into Pauls "Woke up..." part!

I really must draw more attention to the thunderous drums and complex fills here, too! It's a strong showcase of some of Ringo's skills on top of everything else...! I will say though, that the mounting crescendo, darker elements to the narrative and that climatic chord also make this one of the more Scary songs, so I prefer to listen to it when there's daylight XD;;;

I can hear the high pitched whine put in to rouse dogs lol, and then there’s that gibberish that sounds like “never was any other way” or, when played backwards “I’ll fuck you like Superman” …one of the most beloved albums, everybody!!

CONCLUSION

Best 3: With A Little Help From My Friends, She's Leaving Home, A Day In The Life

Blurst 3: Fixing A Hole, Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite!, Good Morning Good Morning

I can't claim credit for the notion, I believe it was from a show that aired on BBC4, but someone suggested that the Thematic Thread that runs though this album isn't the Edwardian Band, but instead, Liverpool. This is much stronger if one includes Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane... but I'll cover them where they wound up, even if they were intended for this one.

There's also a CRAPload of Counterpart Vocals, the boys were big on harmonising but half of these songs are conversations or Greek Choruses! I notice I've quoted waaay more than normal here, and I think that too is a hallmark of this album, it's Intelligent and has themes and distinct plays on words, more than even the last two absolute banger albums. Does that mean it's inherently better? Not really, but it's interesting all the same.

Is this a Concept Album? Not as much as Dark Side of the Moon is, no, but it's a very solid prototype in my opinion. It's about Liverpool, and what the band have been witness to, and ordinary days and the slight fairground vibe from their colourful uniforms and musical organs. It's expressing thoughts and conversing. It's personal to them. ...Hmm wait, maybe it is a Concept Album after all, if not planned as such by the band?!

Part of me wants to keep talking about tangents, like the shitty fucking 70's movie that sucked ass and sucks out everything cool and unique about this Lower-Middle Class Liverpool experience into grey American slop, or me wondering if calling it the transcripted サージェント・ペパーズ・ロンリー・ハーツ・クラブ・バンド is better than the translation of ペパー軍曹の独り者楽団 (the latter I got from Japanese cover versions on YT! Some are very, very good adaptations!), or my distaste for the PID theory which, while seldom taken seriously, has still rather invaded Beatle Spaces to my chagrin. But this already got longer than I planned so I'll leave this notions here. For now.

So yeah, my summary of Sgt Pepper's is already bolded but may be hard to see in the sea of text, so here it is again: Intelligent, with a heavy dash of Whimsy. You can tell it's Paul's baby at a mere glance!

🪲🪲🪲🪲

Next month I shall be deviating from my UK Canon Only trend for the Magical Mystery Tour US release! The buzz around it seems positive, indeed several orders of magnitude stronger than the odd TV Special they had bearing the same name, but how much of that is the stolen valour of SFF and PL?

[deb79ful]

"Beware, adventurer, if you plan to journey to the Akai Woodwastes... for those who survive in the fog, live only for fear and blood."

An old digital art piece! It was inspired by something I'd been doing with a friend around the time it was drawn (the location name is unique to me, though), and as one of my earlier forays into digital backgrounds it holds up pretty well! The adventurer does stand out a bit too much against the drab colors, in hindsight—were I making this today I would definitely add shading to mute his tones. (My sharing this here was partly inspired by how foggy it was this afternoon...)

[arwendeluhtiene]

✨♀️Tolkien Women series♀️✨ - Erendis for Women's History Month, a 2016 graphite portrait and the 2018 digitally colourized version. This started being just a Preraphaelite Rossetti study, but ended up joining the ranks as Erendis Tar-Elestirnë of Númenor. This is also my main (and simple) foray into the world of digital colouring to date, and, although I prefer colouring as traditional art, I'd really like to delve into it more!

And apart from Erendis, here are all the women (to date) in this series of Tolkien women portraits, often inspired by Preraphaelite portraits: Artanis Nerwen (Galadriel), Lúthien, Bëorian wise-woman, Morwen, Nienor

"All Day Everyday Therapist Mother Maid Nymph Then a Virgin Nurse Then a Servant Just an Appendage Live to Attend Him So That He Never Lifts a Finger

24/7 Baby Machine So He Can Live Out His Picket Fence Dream It’s Not an Act of Love If You Make Her You Make Me Do Too Much Labour (...) If Our Love Ends Would That Be a Bad Thing And the Silence Haunts Our Bed Chamber You Make Me Do Too Much Labour"  (Paris Paloma - this is a very fitting song for so many women, unfortunately :S)

Erendis is a character that I find really interesting, especially because she is one of the few women in Tolkien's universe who makes an openly feminist speech (to her daughter Ancalimë) - even though she's not that well-seen in the narrative, and often in the fandom itself as well 😬 She gets called 'bitter' and 'resentful' and the like, while ignoring her incredibly unhappy and non-fulfilling role as Aldarion's wife. 

This vision many people have of this kind of female character made me think of Preraphaelism and especially Rossetti's portraits. While I absolutely love the art style, Preraphaelites are well known for drawing either passive women (dead, asleep, trapped, waiting to be rescued, dying) or intense 'femme fatales' who frighten and allure men at the same time.  I see Erendis as having quite an intense presence, in the manner of many of Rossetti's portraits of Jane Morris, the kind of intense presence, in the manner of many of Rossetti's portraits of Jane Morris, the kind of woman who gets called 'femme fatale' (and worse) because of her assertiveness, intensity and intelligence. These portraits, showing the woman so serene and intense and 'alluring' often from the pov of men, also makes me think of sadness, anger and frustration, often pretty well hidden and yet present. And she's holding an apple instead of a pomegranate, yes, make of the symbolism what you will xD Maybe Erendis did eat from the Tree of Wisdom xD

🎨ArtStation

🎨Instagram

🎨 DeviantArt

[sanguineverefae]

Hello darling 😘

Here to ask you a few questions from the Writer (& Artist) Ask Game: 18, 24, 25 & 26.

Looking forward to reading you ❤️

Ah thank you so much for this lovely ask @cleverblackcat . I actually had to think about some of these, which was the point of the exercise of course! Hoping to see yours soon too! 18: Describe the setting of one or more of your wips Oh gosh.. *eyes twitches as I look at my WIP folder* .. For TWC I'm currently working on chapter 2 for "To break the Unbreakable" The setting for this is Catherine/Kitty struggling with her feelings for Mason when they explictely agreed they would keep it purely casual. Then there's Chapter 7 in Gwen's playthrough write-along (which, tbh, is now already 2 books behind and will probably never end). Currently the setting for this is pretty much still the beginning of Book 1 TWC *laughs somewhat nervously*.. so yeah.. The rest is under the cut ^^

24: Do you have/want a career in your medium? If not, what do you do/want to do instead? Ah, that ship has well and truly sailed. It's definitely a hobby for me, both the writing and my dabbling in digital art on the side. I really want to learn to work with software like CSP and PS, but I don't have the patience and dedication it takes to become an artist. Out of the two, writing has always been my first love, ever since I first started scribbling my little make-believe stories in my notebooks at age 9. 25: What’s your favourite genre to write? Is it also your favourite genre to read?

Fiction, with my favourites being Fantasy in any shape or form, although high-fantasy/medieval fantasy and Urban fantasy are at the top. Gothic/Horror next and SF/Crime after that. Although tbh I enjoy pretty much any well written (fictional) story. Anything that helps me escape reality for a bit. And yes, both for writing and reading.

26: What are your favourite books?

This pretty much changes with the latest book I read, there are so many amazing ficton authors out there. I love epic stories, seeing that there's more than 1 book instantly gives me a sense that a world is worth investing in, that I won't get invested in characters who will just be gone in 400 or so pages. So for that reason:

Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. The first fandom I ever got heavily involved in and my first foray into fan-fic writing.

The Earthsea trilogy by Ursula le Guin

Black Jewels series by Anne Bishop

Any of Robin Hobb's books

A song of Ice and Fire (GoT) . Read this before it became popular and always loved the characters and the world (George R. Martin)

Kingkiller Chronicles (Patrick Rothfuss)

Malazan Book of the Fallen (Steven Erikson)

Any of Terry Pratchett's books.. I mean.. c'me on.

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant/Mordant's need by Stephen Donaldson It's honestly painful to pick and choose, I also have great admiration for Brandon Sanderson, Neil Gaiman, Joe Abercrombie, Jack Vance, Stephen King, Tanith Lee ... the list goes on and on. Thank you for letting me think about this, it really was a great exercise. Tagging @cleverblackcat @serenpedac @glitchthemimic and anyone else that would be so kind to indulge me. Would love to see your responses to these! Please tag me!