#i apologize for not having more art to reference i have only been drawing again very recently

[seasonofprophecy]

Briefly, here are families who have contacted me for help:

Márah Baalou: $25,815 / $50,000 (vetted by Samar) (USD)

Maha Ibrahim: £12,478 / £81,000 (vetted, #163)

Abeer Ibrahim: $24,839 / $70,000 (vetted, #157)

Intisar Abushammaleh (Bshaer): $24,773 / $40,000 (vetted, #231) (USD)

Abdallah Mousa: $2,007 / $30,000 (vetted, #315) (USD) (Last donation made 3 days ago)

Malak Al-Habil: €1,996 / €60,000 (vetted by Samar)

Katia, Nabil, Linda: £1,117 / £50,000 (vetted, #102)

Maram Ashour: £1,945 / £25,000 (vetted by Samar) (Last donation made 7 days ago)

Sahar Shehab: €63,130 / €85,000 (vetted by El Shab)

Noor Ashour: £4,587 / £80,000 (vetted by Samar)

Whadi Qanoo: £3,929 / £100,000 (vetted, #11) (Last donation made 1 day ago)

Khalwa: $13,275 / $20,000 (vetted by Mohi)

Muhammad Al-Habail: €2,000 / €20,000 (vetted by Noha)

I will try to update the amounts of money achieved every day. Last update: October 14, 2024

Donate to a campaign I highlighted with orange (Maha, Abeer, Bshaer, or Muhammad), save the proof, and receive art from me. Read further.

Spotlight: Maha Ibrahim

Maha's father-in-law has been injured and needs medical attention, risking amputation if he doesn't receive the necessary procedures for his wounds. He needs at least $1,600 USD (approximately £1,225).

New concern. Maha and her family currently have no option but to take shelter at the Al-Aqsa hospital, the one that was bombed. It is the only place that will not charge rent. It is still dangerous there. They need $1,500 USD (approximately £1,115).

My commissions are open now. Contact me through Tumblr direct messages. We can also discuss other platforms for further communication.

Second characters 75% of original price. Proof and currency conversions under read more.

(Vetted, #163)

[sporkfingers]

Some Tang Sanzang concept art that I don’t think I’ll finish anytime soon, but whateva

The scar on his head is from a spat with wukong gone wrong, spur of the moment which he regretted after he realized what he had done-

he waited for his sifu to use the fillet tightening sultra to punish him, he’s shaking, apologizing profusely in a small voice. To his surprise he doesn’t feel the painstaking ache of the band squeezing. Instead, when he looks up he finds Tripitaka, his sifu, looking at him with a horrified look on his face. But…. He’s not scared of wukong… he’s scared of himself, if he could cause such a reaction in this godly simian, a demon that the heavens feared, then…what he had been doing…it wasn’t right, it couldn’t be.

-Lololol that’s my head canon/ my own home brew story of Jttw that I’ve been making in my mind, I like to imagine that’s the point where they’re relationship starts to turn for the better and instead of reluctant companions they become friends who wish to protect each other in every way, no matter the cost. They are representative of the mind and the heart, like in most cases they clash and argue, resent and fear each other, but when finding balance and harmony throughout their journey the mind and heart grow closer and work as one. They’re relationship to me is something more than friendship, it’s love but not romantic love, but it’s also not familial love like a father and son, though some translations of the book describe their relationship as such I’d like to think of it as something deeper. Again not romantic kissy love. These babes are Buddhists lololol but it is more than friendship. I might post my version of the story on here and you can interpret as you please, father son, a couple, friends, enemies. But know that in the end what him and sun wukong have is complex, it can not be summed up in one word. At least that’s my take on them,

Also the other scars are from demons, getting captured and such, the scar between his eyebrows he got as a baby, and the read on his wrists are from rope burn, again from being tied up and captured.

I like to see the monk as having a fit build despite acting and appearing weak, though he does not know what to do with this rocking bod he has. (This drawing was inspired by gidget… I loved their reference for their tang and decided I would make my own concept sheet depicting his scars and body type as well.)

I want to start posting my dynamic stuff on here and actually drawing my Jttw ideas… I just get really perfectionist about them and end up only liking the art after a year goes by and it’s too late to post them….

If you made it here tell me what you think, I’ve spent like 5 minutes writing this and my cat is chirping angrily at me cause she wants me to pet her lolololol so pouty, my cute baby is throwing a fit

Sorry if you think these takes are trash it’s just my headcanons, they might change overtime though

[dailyhatsune]

hi! not exactly a request but i do wanna ask, whats your process when you're rendering more paint like art? (if that makes sense, English isnt my first language so apologies hdskhsjdbd) i really love how you use the colors and im curious how you do it :0

i’ve been meaning to answer this one for a while so here’s how i painted miku in today’s post (put under the read more because yeah prepare for a long post

i’d also like to preface this by saying that i never follow a set way of doing things, so in terms of what my personal process is like, these are only broad strokes of what i do! sometimes i’ll combine or skip parts entirely, depending on how i feel. also, this is not a tutorial, just how i do things, so please don’t treat it like one :’D this will read like the ‘how to draw an owl’ picture if you do

first, like every artist, i sketch. more specifically, i’m getting an idea of what i want to paint later on. this could be how a scene is set up or in this case, how a character is posed. here i’m not concerned about details or getting everything perfectly, i’m only planning how the thing will be composed. maybe a lot of canvas size changing, or adjusting what miku’s doing (note how busted miku’s right hand looks from all the transforming!) however, i still have to be concerned with how clear the sketch will be to future me, because the sketch won’t be any good if i can’t read what miku’s doing

after that, i lay down a flat gray under the sketch, mainly focusing on giving miku a clear silhouette. this is also a good time to make adjustments to the composition on the fly if i suddenly feel like something can be improved upon, like shortening miku’s left arm from the sketch!

after painting a flat silhouette, i start shading in grayscale, focusing only on lighting. i usually do it in two passes, one for the lightest and darkest tones i’ll use (not black and white) and then a second for midtones to blend them better with the base gray but i forgot to screenshot the result of the first pass 🗿 nevertheless, here is where i can start adding some amount of details. i’m not including any extra accessories yet, just focusing on the base design of the outfit and the character herself (for anyone wanting to draw characters from That Gacha Game, this is how i personally make the process more bearable for myself.) i still use the dark gray to separate where certain details (like the facial features and fingers) begin and end, mainly to make colouring more bearable later.

now here’s where i get the Good Colours. it’s a cheat lol. i put a gradient map layer over the grayscale painting so that there’s a little bit of color to start. some gradient maps can be applied as is, some need the layer settings adjusted to make it look good. this one, for example, is a (free) gradient map set from the csp assets store that needs you to set the layer opacity to 20% and to set the blending mode to color to achieve this result. in general, i tend to pick which gradient map i want to use based on vibes, or basically whether i want the work to be warmer or cooler, colour-wise. but this does do quite a bit of lifting for the colors in my stuff.

and then, finally, i add the colours. i add flat base colours in an overlay layer. at this stage, i’ve made the character silhouette clear enough that i don’t need to refer to the sketch anymore for what miku looks like. also, the gradient map layer does its magic by making the shading a bit more vibrant than it would’ve been without it. after that i paint over with a new layer to add details like the lace.

and then i put some extra shading on top. basically this is where the ‘better lighting’ happens. again, this isn’t a tutorial, so i’m not here to say what each part of the lighting is, but i’ve labeled which layers do which job. in other works where the lighting within a scene is more defined (from a window, from a small crack in the walls, etc) the glow dodge layer may be more opaque and sharper, but since this isn’t a work with that, the lighting was applied using an airbrush. the linear burn layer is also there to make the whole thing darker so the glow dodge doesn’t end up oversaturating miku. i also usually match the lights to the vibe i want, and use a complementary color for the shadows. so here you can see i have warm colors on the glow dodge layer, but light purple on both the linear burn and multiply layer.

and that’s it for the character—here’s a gif showing how each layer adds to miku! (sorry it’s so toasty)

as for the background, depending on the complexity, it may go through a similar process, or if i can settle with flat image backgrounds, i just go for that. it’s ok to use external image materials. i didn’t have a background in mind for this miku in specific, so i got some default csp materials and threw together something

and that’s about a rough overview of what my process for more finished works looks like! again, art is a fluid process so i never specifically stick to certain steps all the time, and you shouldn’t either. i can probably answer why i’d pick this colour over another in one particular work, but it’s something that kinda has to be learned on a grander scale. i think everyone can already feel what colors work with what atmosphere or what setting, even if they can’t immediately explain why. colors and composition do take some level of experimentation to find what works best!

[sparkanonymous]

Let's get one thing out of the way; I messed up.

If you want to go more in-depth, read this post. If you don't want to, here's the jist of the situation: For the last year - I think - I have been coloring Raj's skin tone lighter. This is completely and utterly my fault.

I'm not going to make any excuses, in fear that it will give others an excuse for their own deplorable actions. Though I don't see myself as a racist person, this is still an example of colorism, and I can't stand by it.

Total Drama is something I hold dear in my heart, and Raj is one of my favorite characters in the entire series. The fact I did him this dirty makes me never want to draw him again.

I'm so sorry. All I can do is apologize, and that's definitely not good enough. I will do better in the future. I don't want anything like this to happen again, and I won't let it happen again.

There is nothing I can say that'll fix this situation. I have disappointed myself and hurt an entire community of people. I hope I can eventually make up for my mistakes, but I know that isn't possible in a short amount of time.

I don't expect this to be taken lightly; it shouldn't be. If this is the last I see of some of you, I hope you take care.

The rest of this post directly responds to parts of thesicklycowboy's post.

○■○■○

For this portion, I have also edited Raj's hair to be the correct color. (I didn't know where else to put this part, sorry.)

I won't be responding to everything, as I do think the post was well-spoken and something that certainly needs to be said, just parts that I felt I should respond to.

Blue is for them, and red is for me.

"So when you were addressing this and saying "it's color theory" excuse why did you not show your earlier pieces of Raj as well? The ones with far darker hair and deeper skin tones? You only referenced all the ones after after the lightening had begun."

As mentioned before, I don't know when the lightening began. The pieces I grabbed for comparisons were the ones that I could actively get the flats for. A lot of my previous pieces have been deleted from my iPad after being moved to my laptop for storage reasons. While you can tell that Raj is darker in my oldest TDI posts, I wouldn't have been able to color grab the original skin color to compare it to the others, which is why I added ones that I could find the flats of directly off of my page. I do wish I had gotten the flats for the oldest ones, but I can't really do anything about that now.

"The beginning of your ask responses is blatantly false and you contradict yourself at the end? So why keep that whole schpiel at all?"

Here is the part that they are referring to: "I didn't? I think he just looks lighter because of the filters I used on top of it."

I left this in for transparency because I genuinely thought that that was actually the case. But it wasn't. This is why I added, "Looking into the color issue..." I wanted to double check the claim because it very well could have been an issue. And it was.

... "And not yet another piece that is still super light."

Okay. I think I might know what the problem is here in particular. I add texture overlays (the layers with the filter of 'Sl' - Soft Light) to give my pieces... y'know, texture. The layer color I use is usually an off-white. I do this in all of my pieces because I thought it might help with keeping my work safe from AI, and because I like the paper-like look that it gives my art. I didn't put it over the entire piece because the background already has a ton of texture.

The one above is at 50%, and the one below it is at 30% for both Raj and Bowie.

Here is the same piece with the texture overlays turned off:

(Left is w/o the overlays, Right is w/ the overlays)

I don't want this argument to seem like I'm lessening my actions. This is the only thing that I think I have the right to stand up for. Texture is something I most likely won't take out of my work, though I may replace the texture overlays with something that is more full proof against AI, like those AI-disturbance layers that Ibis Paint has.

None of my actions were excusable, but I felt this needed to be explained.

Other than that, though, I don't know what else I could possibly do to fix the piece, considering I have fixed Raj's skin tone in this piece.

○■○■○

The rest of the post is not something I feel the need to respond directly to. I do think you should go and read the original post criticizing me and decide what you want to do in this matter.

This was not a "silly mistake." What I have done is genuinely messed up. I'm not going to run from this situation and say that I was ever justified in my actions. Because I never was.

I can only hope to be given the chance to amend this situation with future works, whenever that might be. I will most likely not continue to talk about this unless asked to. Idk what else I could possibly say that wouldn't make this situation worse. I am the guilty party, and the only thing I can do is learn from this and do better in the future, which I will.

Again, I am so sorry. I have fucked up, and I am prepared to take the consquences of my actions.

[rallamajoop]

Lab Photos and Documents from Resident Evils 7 & 8

Near the end of both Resis 7 and 8, the player character gets to explore a laboratory full of significant documents and interesting photos, textured and angled such that it’s very hard to get a good screencap. So here’s a huge dump of all the relevant image assets I could find to extract from both game files (plus some rambling about everything that got recycled between them, because spot-the-reused-asset is still my favourite game right now).

Photos from Lucas' lab in Resident Evil 7

The photo of Mia with Eveline in front of the tanker can be found at the end of the Mia video tape, though it also shows up again in Lucas' other lab in the Not A Hero DLC. That DLC also throws in a few new photos of Lucas' creations.

And moving on a game...

Photos from Miranda's Lab in Resident Evil 8

(Apologies for the long post above the cut, but tumblr doesn't seem to let you tile images below a 'Read more', unfortunately.)

What’s interesting is that most do seem to be legitimate photos of the characters’ real-life face models, not just renders of their 3D game models. Whether the human models themselves posed for these or whether their likeness was simply photoshopped onto scenes composed without them I haven’t been able to find out (though the latter seems more likely to me, given that most face models don't even seem to have known what character their likeness would be used for). Either way, there’s an eerie realism to these that doesn’t occur in many other parts of the game, and it’s effective in its own uncanny way.

Since both games refer to the same research at the same lab, it's probably reasonable that some of RE8 photos are just slightly-adjusted copies of those from RE7 ‒ those two shots of Eveline in the lab most obviously. And we're probably just supposed to politely ignore how obviously Miranda's just been selectively edited into that original pic of Eveline with the scientists. *cough*

In fact, if you look closely, even that big group photo of Eveline with the research team and transport operatives has actually patched in both Mia and Eveline from that earlier photo of them standing in front of the tanker. In fact, Alan (Mia's partner in RE7) isn't even from a photo at all: that's a drawing from a piece concept art (no wonder they've got him standing at the back!) As a minor role who appeared in no photos in RE7, I assume they just didn't have any good shots of his face model available.

I'm a little suspicious even Miranda's face in the group shot has been edited in from one of her other photos, but the match isn't quite perfect enough for me to be sure.

Even that photo of the needle going into the egg and the developing foetus isn't new: you can see the same needle shot in some of the RE7 documents, and even the foetus development series gets an angled scan-over in the RE7 ending sequence.

Mind you, some of those "photos of Eveline" may actually not be Eveline herself ‒ text on them in the lab itself suggests they're photos of other members of the E-series, sacrificed during necrotoxin tests. Which makes it rather odd that the figure in the second photo is an adult man who looks nothing like Eveline, so I can only assume some wires got crossed somewhere in the dev team.

(Also odd: the suggestion that there were multiple E-series subjects, some of whom were put down for experimental purposes, even though Eveline herself is labeled E-001. But let's not pretend RE lore has ever been super-consistent at the best of times.)

RE8's "lab photos" also include a couple of shots of a man in snow gear who's apparently Spencer of Umbrella-fame, presumably for all those fans who don't feel it's a proper Resident Evil game if there's not an Umbrella in it somewhere. They're both about as rough as that one piece of concept art of Alan, so I'm guessing whoever created them was about as invested in that topic as I am.

Somewhat more interesting to me are the two shots of Miranda with babies. The second obvious Eveline, but the first is presumably of Miranda with Eva, way back in 1920 or so ‒ demonstrating nothing so much much as that in a full 100 years, Miranda hasn't even slightly changed how she does her eyebrows. /s

[overtheimaginationwall]

Favorite boss(es) in No Straight Roads?

Least favorite?

(Sincere apologies. I've been holding this one for more than a year in my box, so I hope you don't mind a really late reply ^^")

(Also Happy 3rd Anniversary, NSR!! 🎉)

I will tell ya honestly - they all are my favourites!

Tho if to be more specific I decided to set them up by TOP.

1. Sayu

Oh Sayu, my beloved <3

The Best Virtual Idol and The Reason I bought this game in the first place!

Her music and style of battle was the most fun and dancy! I still vibe to it to this day-

Sooo many references to Internet Culture and Digital Art fills my heart with warmth and gives me determination just like her song itself as well!

Funny Useless Fact: She is the only boss I've beaten on Rank B on my first blind playthrough!

2. DK West

He's OUR MAN, He's THE BEST!

My second favorite and at the same time the hardest for me to beat.

I personally didn't adore RAP genre at first and never seen anyone preform it as an actual entertaining battle until he showed up...

HOLLY MOLLY DESPITE ME BREAKING MY THUMBS WHILE GOING THROUGH THE PAINFUL DODGE GAME - HIM AND ZUKE RAPPING FELT LIKE I'M WATCHING DISNEY-

LIKE-

I STILL HAVE IDEA IN MY HEAD TO MAKE A SORT OF ANIMATIC WITH "FIRST ENCOUNTER" ALONE!!

Anyway, despite damaged fingers - 10/10, would fight again!

Funny Useless Fact: When I was drawing him for the first time I listened to his theme on loop for 4 days straight in order not to get myself distracted or lose motivation, so I finish the piece.

3. Yinu

Oh, sweet child...

I love Yinu and her theme lots even if I'm not that big of a fan of Classical Music. And her backstory...Gosh! It made me cry a lot.

And I'm still feel ashamed of breaking the piano ;;-;;

Love the pace of how music goes with the fight and it feels even better when you get into actual rhythm. There were issues that gladly wore off thanks to practice and fighting this boss over and over.

Tho those slamming cords haunt me whenever I listen to the song off-battle-

Funny Useless Fact: I didn't like her Mother at first but when I read more about her and relationship with Yinu my opinion completely changed. And this is why I would nominate No Straight Roads for The Best Storytelling and Character Design.

4. EVE

Two-faced, tall woman.

Used to be one of my favorites but due to some circumstances I can't look at her the same way I used to but I still adore her as a boss!

I honestly love her style of the fight and music that changes depending on who you play.

Tho fighting her is literally like eating a lemon but eventually you kinda just accept your fate and roll with weird artistic antics happening around you.

And EVE herself as a character is so fascinating. Like this is the moment where I started to see that these aren't just bosses, they are actually characters that tie this little but complex story together bit by bit. And this is why I would nominate No Straight Roads for The Best Storytelling and Character Design AGAIN!

Funny Useless Fact: EVE was supposed to be a next character to have a complete and detailed art of but due to my forgetfulness, difficulties with her design (and many other things) - it was never finished but I hope to get that dusty sketch out of WIP folder someday.

5. Tatiana

The Bitch. The Boss.

I don't really like her music and rhythm but I can forgive that since it is kind of fitting for conflict between her and the BBJ.

She tries to hide her true image throughout the story and the fight but ultimately crumbles cause escaping from the past isn't the best option to improve.

I love her design and personality and I wish there were more villains like her. Strict, simple, stoic and yet well-written.

Funny Useless Fact: I've never drawn Tatiana until NSR announced their release on Steam with addition of Fanat Graffiti Contest that I certainly didn't want to miss out on. It was difficult but I did it and ngl, I am still proud of the results.

6. DJ Subatomic Supernova & 1010/Neon J

I can't really say anything much about both of them. Sorry, guys...

Their designs and personalities are fun and well-made but due to one of them being the first you fight as "tutorial" and the other appears only at the end of a fight. (1010 band doesn't count as an actual boss to me more like a part of it) They didn't struck me much as the others did...

I will say this thou: their backstories are interesting. One is an academy astrology teacher with a goal of achieving the stars and other is a war veteran who just wanted everyone to live in peace and he himself despite everything never stopped his passion for doll-making and making people happy.

Just simply, beautiful...

Cool Science Fact: Their VAs are GOLD!

[foxes-that-run]

Walking in the wind

Harry Styles has a gift for answering a question and not answering it at all at once. In the Made in the A.M track by track he said WITW was inspired by Paul Simon’s song Graceland.

I love how Harry's solo work draws modern inspiration from his diverse music tastes and he encourages his fans to broaden their tastes. Hindsight being 20/20 you can see where he went with his debut in that short video and this song.

When Simon wrote Graceland he and Carrie Fisher were divorcing and his relationship with Art Garfunkel was bitter. Simon said Graceland was a metaphor for the journey to mend a broken heart. Much like 2015 Harry who had broken up with Taylor and was on tour as One Direction ended. Simon also went to Africa to make this album, much like Harry went to South America for debut.

Timeline

Made on the AM was written in Japan in February 2015. Harry talked being able to just write 'good songs' because it wouldn’t be toured which made space for a song like this. WITW was probably written between February and May 2015. Harry and Taylor had been close at the end of 2014, it was over on or by his 21st birthday 2 February 2015. His smile when he saw her at the start (0:29) of BBMAs showed no animosity, but it’s unlikely WITW was written after the BBMAs in May (Woman). He also started looking even sadder live then.

To rolling stone Julian Bunetta said:

“That title was born in Japan. Just the title of it and the idea of it. Everyone’s different experiences of what they’re going through, whether it’s this or that, I’d like to think that these songs can apply to more than just [one instance].”

Lyrics

[Verse 1: Harry] A week ago, you said to me "Do you believe I'll never be too far?" If you're lost, just look for me You'll find me in the region of the summer stars The fact that we can sit right here and say goodbye Means we've already won A necessity for apologies between you and me Baby, there is none

The relaxed and happy tone depicts their romantic friendship that continues. I think they genuinely cared for each other, are nice people who both prioritised their careers. To me, “the fact we can say goodbye means we’ve already won” shows that mutual respect for each other.

To me “Do you believe I’ll never be too far” is agreeing to be apart while they focus on being massively famous and together in the future.

In the context of their later work about being end game, the 1, sushi is about having only a piece of your persons life, in as it was and golden he sings about it being time or feel her taking over.

Harry does not have anyone that would never be too far in a literal sense, and although at that time he was always with 1D they have spoken in interviews that year of that not being good.

[Pre-Chorus: Niall] Ah-ooh, we had some good times, didn't we? Ah-ooh, we had some good tricks up our sleeve Ah-ooh, goodbyes are bittersweet But it's not the end, I'll see your face again

Taylor has a similar lyric in The 1 “But we were something, don't you think so? / Roaring 20s, / tossing pennies in the pool / And if my wishes came true / It would've been you” this is about appreciating the relationship.

[Chorus: All] And you will find me Yeah, you will find me In places that we've never been For reasons we don't understand Walking in the wind Walking in the wind

Where their earlier work on Red and other 1D albums sung about always wanting to be together and coping in their career by Made in the AM and Reputation onwards they started singing about being connected but apart, on faith they’d come back together.

[Verse 2: Louis] Yesterday, I went out To celebrate the birthday of a friend But as we raised our glasses up to make a toast I realised you were missing

This may be referring to Lily Aldridge’s birthday where they both were. Harry’s 21st birthday was 2 weeks later but Lily and Taylor were in Nashville. In Hunger he sang about making her cry on his birthday, if it was for Debut the 1 year to 2 timeframe line up for that. (Hunger also sings of “your stuff” as in music, doesn’t taste the same, as in Two Ghosts)

Later on 27 February he posted the overgrown winding wheel and she started dating CH.

[Bridge: Harry] And I know we'll be alright, child Just close your eyes and see I'll be by your side Any time you're needing me Oh, yeah

The bridge is similar to Fine Line, which also ends on “we’ll be alright” in Fine line he’s reflecting on being friends with someone he’s in love with. Here he is asking his muse to have faith that although they are not together he’s there for her. Also Sign of the Times "Just stop your crying / It'll be alright"

I just wanna love you leak

In September 2023 a leaked song, I just wanna love you referenced WITW with “A week ago you said to me: "We've started running out of time" / Crying over memories that we lost and cannot be found / Why don't we stop talking now? / (I just wanna love you)” which to me, in the sound and this lyric is the sequel to WITW, he’s saying it’s time. It also refers to Late night talking, and The 1 and Question…? Where they explore friendship with someone they love, in WITW they seem to agree to leave a live unresolved, on Harry’s House and Midnights they are contemplating that unresolved love.

[asteracaea]

Hello! This ask is way too long, I apologize 🥲

This is about your post regarding the albatross, and @bettyshoweduptotheparty’s addition (I wanted to send this ask to both of you but I prefer being anonymous, sorry I’m shy); if either of you (or anyone else) want to talk about this song, please do, here’s your excuse to do it. Mainly 2 things I wanted to talk about / ask.

1. So, I didn’t know the original line from romeo and juliet, and I hadn’t understood the line “a rose by any other name is a scandal”, and now I’m wondering if the reason I don’t understand many lyrics is that I’m missing the reference. I’m sure it wouldn’t be the only reason, my interpretation skills are rather limited, but I would love to find out. So if anyone wants to make a list off the top of their head of taylor lyrics that reference something, I would love that so much. If anyone would like to do it, please include the obvious ones, good chance of me not knowing it (wish I could blame it on english not being my first language but, again, probably not the only reason). But anything from english literature, and references to popular sayings, I probably won’t know even if it seems obvious. Of course this would be an extremely long list and very time consuming to make, that’s why I’m asking if anyone can add some that they remember off the top of their head. I would absolutely not oppose if someone wanted to make a complete list, though.

2. After gaining some insight on the rose line, I wanted to understand it in the context of the song etc etc and once again my (lack of) interpretation skills are failing me, so if anyone can help me out with the meaning of some other lyrics in this song. “Wild winds are death to the candle”, I figure it’s a popular saying (like “one bad seed kills the garden” in the next part), but I don’t really understand what point it’s trying to make. Next we have “one less temptress, one less dagger to sharpen”, “only liquor anoints you”, and the one I’d like to know the most: “devils that you know raise worse hell than a stranger”. Also the whole bridge (😭 look, I said the interpretation skills were poor) “and when that that sky rains fire on you, and you’re persona non grata, I’ll tell you how I’ve been there too, and that none of it matters”.

Okay, I guess this is it, I’m sorry it’s so long, I really won’t hold it against you if you just delete it.

Goodbye <3

oh dear sweet anon, your ask is not too long and i am very happy to respond! i'm sure @bettyshoweduptotheparty will be as well! thank you for writing!

taylor references so many things in her lyrics, and they often have multiple layers and interpretations, and that's what makes it so fun for me to contemplate and discuss them - i'm always discovering new meanings, even years down the road! and our wonderful brilliant mutuals here on tumblr are constantly discovering new meanings and drawing parallels that really deepen and enrich my experience of taylor's songs. i've been here 4 years now and i won't be leaving because i'm constantly learning about linguistics and art and symbolism and (lgbtq) history.

her music is amazing because it can be enjoyed on a surface level of fun and beautiful music, but you can also dive down the rabbit hole and learn things that are so much more complex and nuanced and universal than just what people she's dated or who she's writing about. imo, she is so much more brilliant than most people realize rn. it's funny because she's like the most popular successful beloved artist in history and yet i don't think most people even begin to know how brilliant she is, or appreciate the art she's been making!

i'm not sure if a comprehensive list of references exists yet, but that's definitely something i would love to do someday! can you imagine the tome... but i think tumblr is a living evolving compilation of references like that. taylor herself has said that she puts easter eggs into her art that people won't understand for years (as we have seen with things in rep, now knowing her conflicts with BMR and SB) and things about her private life that we cannot know now that she may or may not share with the world at a later date.

but i think you may be asking about literary and idiom/phrase/language poetical references? some people may have already created masterposts and analyses of individual songs and lyrics, and if anyone has or knows of any offhand please send them my way and i'll reblog them! but yeah, we're all collectively constantly finding new references which is why i can never leave this hellsite 😂 i'm constantly learning! and especially with this heavily poetic and linguistically dense new album, i'm sure we'll be mining it for YEARS! and that is just so fun and exciting and beautiful to me.

i hope i didn't go off on too many tangents! and you've inspired me to want to start an intensive comprehensive analysis of ttpd and all her music! so yeah in conclusión, that's a great goal, to make a compilation!

[wistfulvulpine]

so my depression has gotten bad enough that I'm constantly talking myself down (doing it as I type ✌), and remembering that the wizard book lady would live longer than me if I did it kinda snapped me out of it. sort of. those kinds of thoughts aren't easy to dispel lmao but I suppose spite helps a little. (reminder I will feel unsafe at positive/references to the wizard book series)

honestly idk what happened in my brain to make me suddenly fear going onto social media. I literally would post the rare art then bounce. like, I didn't check tumblr, twitter, bsky, or discord (the last one rarely). the only "social" site i frequented was twitch??? but even then i only chat in two or so channels... more than the last few months ig

I suppose it did me some good that I didn't get upset at random things as much, but it felt bad that this mental block kept me from even checking for the good parts (arts, mutuals, funny posts etc) every time I told myself I was going to use this site again (which is my main socmed atp) something in my heart stopped me and made me anxious for no reason at all. guess that's just how mental illness goes. no other explanation.

I also can't help but be afraid I've burn out on art again, or it's general apathy halting my movement. my head has been messed up for months and I just have to push through 🤷‍♂️ maybe I have to simplify how I draw even further...? idk, I'm still collecting screenshots for my merlin ss redraw so maybe that'll break me out of my funk

not gonna promise anything in case that scares me out of coming on, but I'll make an effort to stop being afraid to come online again. apologies and much appreciation to everyone who's still with me o7

on a lighter (?) note, local dragon age fan unable to play new dragon age because his rig is Not enough to run it (can't run Yakuza and the best it can do is Hades), fan falls to his knees in Walmart...good thing I don't mind spoilers here since I can't play

[andiey-multi]

Can you draw my Oc, Please.

Hello there! I sincerely apologize in advance that I cannot and will not accept anymore Gacha related references/characters as art requests to draw and make because;

1. I don't have anything against people who use this for their art, I just don't like it in general. That is in terms of seeing them around in my interests or platforms, no strong or aggressive hate though. It is also because of having a slight "PTSD" from them if you know what I mean.

2. I don't want to attract more Gacha users to my blog for art, same with other things mentioned in 1. I only did the first one because it's already been a while since they requested me that.

Maybe you can ask me again with a different character/references that isn't Gacha and I might reconsider and try my best to make it! I sincerely apologize again for the inconvenience. ;)

[thatgothsamurai]

I'm not sure if I already asked you this, but which pen do you use for sketching digital art? And with device do use to draw or recommend for beginners? And, would you consider to post more time lapse videos? Principally of the process you have for new fanarts based on real ppl? Still amazes me how similar they look with the original person/actor but still have your art style!!

Hi hi!! I know this ask's been there for a long time let me apologize first it took this long to answer😭😶‍🌫️

If you're asking for brushes I use, you can see it on my previous ask here

And if you're asking about device, from the very first time I start digital art until now, I only use an old wacom intuos pen tablet. As for beginners actually I don't really know since I've been only using this one device up until now😂 I choose that pen tablet at first only because I think that time it's the cheapest one😂😂 but I heard ipad is beginner friendly? Since it seems handy and you can draw directly on surface like on paper?? (i really want to try it too tbh..)

Right, for the timelapse, I'm sorry I couldn't make it before but since you ask again I tried to make one this time (sorry it took long I'm super lame at this sksksksk) Please welcome Khun Vegas from Kinnporsche The Series as the fabulous model

please note that there's no tips or anything it's just how I draw using reference.. and also please don't see it as some kind of guide bc I'm afraid it could be misleading😂

My way of drawing stylized character based on real people is to remember: use references!!!, proportion matters, unique features (what makes them not like others?), and character’s usual expressions😉

Also sorry it's just a little sketch, I was afraid my laptop couldn't make it if I record whole painting (it could take a whole day)😅 Or does anyone here have app/software recommendations for making timelapse vids??

Hope that helps!!💕

[vampstel]

Hi Vampstel, I hope you are doing well!

This is gonna be a bit all over the place and I am so so sorry.

What inspired you to start making art? And what influenced your art style?

I can’t remember if you have said this anywhere but I’ve been a long time fan of yours and you are why I’m now posting my own work on tumblr instead of crappy Twitter (No offense to anyone uses it it’s just really mean to smaller artist like myself and it’s hard to get stuff out there especially original work)

I cannot wait for your next video. I love your Draw with me series. I’ve been enjoying watching your work every time I need a helping hand with lore or just general background noise to keep me entertained

You have no idea how much I inspired to be like a inkcreable artist like you (Yes the pun is intended I think you would know what the ink is referring to. (For anyone who doesn’t know it’s Bendy and the ink machine. I love Alice Angel so that’s how I kinda know that franchise)

I remember when you made your oc Laurence Winters? I think that’s the character inspired by Sammy Laurence. I am so sorry I can’t rewatch to correct myself I have terrible memory. As soon as you had said you were into demonology I was shocked when you grabbed the Bendy reference. It isn’t often I find an artist that likes the same stuff I do. So that was cool to know!

I am so sorry that this makes no sense and it’s all over the place. I really love your work and I really hope I can learn more on how to story write from you in future draw with me video. I really hope you will keep going (Make sure you rest and take care of yourself don’t overwork yourself!)

Hi Katie!! I’m doing very well actually, and I hope you’re doing the same too ^_^

No need to apologize about the messy ask hehe I don’t mind at all!! But to answer your questions…

A lot of things have inspired me to start drawing. It’s mainly my passion for cartoons that drove me to pursue art. I was really into Spongebob and Tom & Jerry as a kid and would regularly draw them whenever I could during school. I started interacting with fandoms pretty early on in my childhood and seeing so many big artists (specifically those on Tumblr, Deviantart, and Amino) made me really interested in learning digital art.

I think I started drawing digitally around 2016 but only took it seriously during 2018. I wasn’t all that good with drawing so I used Gacha Life as a base to help during my first years. Which… I guess you could say my art style is inspired by it? I don’t know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It’s really hard to say what influences my style since I don’t have heavy inspo you can point out. Honestly, any artist I follow or talk about is someone I’m inspired by. LavenderTowne and Dreamalgia are the ones that come to mind first though since I adore their work :P

I’m really glad my content’s entertaining and helpful to you!! It’s always a delight when people say that especially since I doubt my own capabilities with content creation sometimes lol. After all, I kinda just throw crap at the wall and see what sticks. I’m the most unprofessional YouTuber ever 😭

But yes, Lawrence is my OC that’s inspired by Sammy!! I think it’s very obvious since they’re basically the same person, but just in a different font. Bendy has been a longtime special interest of mine, actually. I’ve been fixating on it ever since the first chapter of the first game came out. A lottt of my characters are inspired by the characters in Bendy. Joseph Sinclair, for example (and I’m sure you can tell from the name alone), is inspired by Joey Drew. Especially when he used to be a sleazy villain archetype until I changed him into a dorky mess.

I have another character by the name of Thomas Huxley (again, obvious name) who’s sort of inspired by Thomas Connor. I’ve shown him on Twitter before but here he is since I’ve never shown him on here before!!

Honestly, most of my characters are just inspired by other existing characters lol. But Bendy is definitely the biggest influence I have on my work. Literally love that franchise so much I could ramble about it all day if I wanted to.

Other than that, thank you so much!! I won’t overwork myself but hopefully (fingers crossed) that Draw With Me will come back soon. I have tons of ideas for the comeback of that series and I can’t wait to show it all soon :3c

[ask-twiset-princesses]

Hello and welcome to my MLP AU!

Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer are sapphic princesses . . .

In this AU, Twilight and Sunset were studying alongside each other in Celestia’s school of magic. They used to be friends in filly school, with mutual crushes on each other, but grew distant as time passed. Sunset was a grade above Twi and moved on to high school. From then on, Sunset grew distant and became cold towards Twilight, treating her and everyone else like competitors. Few liked her, but many feared her. Celestia took her under her wing, hoping to strengthen her magic and help her make friends.

When Sunset moved onto college, she was top student, and one of Celestia’s closest pupils. She excelled in all things magic, but couldn’t seem to accomplish the one thing stopping her from leveling up in her studies: making some friends. Then Twilight finishes her senior year of high school as the star pupil that hatched a dragon egg, and everyone’s talking about her. While sunset struggles, Twilight quickly takes her place as top student and grows closer to Celestia. She wasn’t as friendly with everyone, but ponies liked her a lot more than Sunset. It seemed as though Twilight could do everything better.

This starts a rather one sided rivalry as she attempts to sabotage Twilight’s place in the school, hoping to get her expelled and humiliate her. However, Celestia discovers what Sunset had been doing. When she confronts her, Sunset explodes. This is where the things happen with the mirror, and Sunset escapes to the other world. Celestia blames herself, thinking that if she had spent more time with Sunset and not been so hard on her, maybe this would not have happened. She becomes desperate to help Twilight make friends, and sends her to Ponyville.

Years pass. Twilight is now an Alicorn, and Sunset returns through the portal to steal the element of magic, which she learned can be used to harness incredible power in the other world. The element is on Twilight’s crown. This is where the events of the Equestria Girls movie takes place. However, when all is said and done, Sunset stops running, and she comes home.

Celestia gives her grace, and apologizes for how small she made her feel. Sunset makes up with Twilight, and is allowed to continue her studies. She makes friends, and even starts becoming close with the main group, though they are apprehensive at first.While Twilight focuses on princess duties and training, Sunset is top student again, and she’s working hard to join her. In fact, she’s realized how much her and twilight relate, and they grow closer when time allows.

Celestia and Luna eventually decide that Sunset is the perfect compliment for Twilight, and someday they can take their places as rulers. Sunset is sent to Ponyville, and eventually is transformed into an Alicorn. Now she is with Twilight almost all the time, and joins her in the castle of friendship. They grow stronger together, and their bond strengthens as well.

Eventually Luna teaches Twilight how to have power in dreams, and twiset raise the sun and moon together. However the current focus is on their princess training and how they fall in love! These are the references I made for them:

Questions and Answers

Can I copy this AU?

You can absolutely take inspiration from my AU! I do not own these characters, so go wild! However, please do not copy every last detail and claim it as your own creation; please credit me if you do. Additionally, please do not use my own art and writing for your own content. That’s mine!

Can I use your art with credit?

No! I am the only one allowed to post and use my art.

Can I make fan art for this AU?

Absolutely!! I would adore this! I only ask two things. One, please tag/credit this account. Two, if you’re drawing them with a pride flag, please use the sunset lesbian flag for Sunset and the bi flag for Twilight. The standard rainbow pride flag or sapphic flag can fit them both. Don’t erase their identities in my AU please! You can do whatever you want if it’s your own AU.

What questions should I ask?

Anything you would like to know! Obviously, keep it SFW and relevant to the blog. For example, it could be about their relationship, what they were like beforehand, their backgrounds, personalities, interests, daily lives, friends, the lore, their future… anything really!

Who are you?

I am Fawn, aka Fawns Furry Creations! I am a 19 y/o furry artist. I am autistic with adhd, and I have a lot of interests. This one is currently an escape from life for me, since it’s been difficult. You can see more of my stuff on instagram!

I hope people enjoy this AU as much as I do!

[minevn]

WE DID IT!

We've reached 100 followers everyone! Thank you so much for your support! This has been such a journey and never in a million years would I have expected people to like and enjoy my stories as much as I do, seriously, it means so much to me! Thank you all once again for your support, it's been amazing and has made me so happy to read all of your asks

I would also like to apologize for not posting as much recently. My brain has been a little fried from writing, but I'm slowly but surely working on the drafts! Sorry for the people who sent asks and are waiting!! Here's to hoping this event will be a little bit more of a break and motivate me again!

ANYWAAAAAYS!! For the poll, Mine doodles won! I'll be taking 50 requests for Mine doodles! I've also decided to add some flat colors! As mentioned in the poll post, in the beginning you may only request one drawing that way anyone who wants to request gets a chance, after requests start dwindling/ a certain time period ends(still deciding, maybe a week or two!) you'll be able to request more, all a ask is that you don't spam please! No need to worry if you don't get to ask a request, either because you weren't here the first time, or time ran out or all the slots filled up, this event will be repeated eventually and you can ask then!

I do have a few more things you can request/rules and what you can't! Please read carefully and if you have any questions let me know :3

CAN

Request multiple Mine characters in one piece

Request your oc/s with a Mine character or multiple!

If there's a specific pose and/or outfit you want me to draw the Mine cast in, please send in some references, thank you!

I ask that you send requests in my askbox, you can turn on anon ofc!

Also please be kind of specific about what you want. like if you want to suggest maybe like Yani and Jun, like what are they doing, is there any sort of place you had in mind for where they are? Any kind of outfits you want to put them in? If you just want a drawing of one of the characters, you can just say (name) plain and I'll try to come up with something! I'll also assume that an ask with a Mine character and you oc is romantic unless stated otherwise, so please be as specific as you can, even if you think I may not need it or it should be obvious, I need things stated to me clearly :3

CANNOT

Request nsfw(I'll probably have that event on twitter at some point!)

honestly, anything that goes against my rules so like no proship or bigotry or anything else gross like incest(Please dni with my stuff if you're into any of that stuff)

No requesting other people's yandere's(You can suggest your yandere oc with mine though if you want to, just not any solo drawings of a yandere not in Mine.) Also if you're requesting your own yandere, I ask that you keep anon off for that ask, just so I can make sure it actually is your yandere, thank you! Also if you don't want your account to me linked with mine, then you can send me a message of your ask and I'll send the ask to myself :3

Also I'd prefer to not draw any solos of your ocs(Once again, totally fine if you want me to draw them with the Mine cast :3)

Please don't request shading or clean lineart, it tuckers me out quickly and makes me lose motivation, if I did that, this event would never finish LMAO

Please don't rush me either, I have a life outside of Tumblr and Mine. I may also not like how the drawing is turning out(I'm sorta a perfectionist when it comes to my own art) and I may also lose motivation or just may not feel like drawing(Kind of like what's happening with writing rn)

Honestly, for my don'ts I don't think I have to worry, everyone who has followed me has been really kind and respectful but I felt the need to clarify things and say things because of some of the stuff I've seen on social media. Anyways, HAPPY 100 FOLLOWER MILESTONE EVENT!! I appreciate each and every one of you so much more then you could ever know, I wish I could express my joy and gratitude better! MWAH MWAH <333333

With that, let the event BEGIN!!

[botanautical]

Hey Sea!! Happy New Year! I love the atmospheres you create in your art! The beautiful color palettes capture the mood so well 🥰 I’m still absolutely obsessed with your Oda Wanderer above the Sea of Fog artwork it’s so wonderful! What are your favorite pieces you created this year?

Hi Sable!! Happy New Year to you too, apologies for only just seeing this; this was so kind of you to send and really lovely to see in my inbox!!

I didn't manage to make a whole lot of art last year, but I am pleased with the ones I did manage to make. I think above all of them, my favourite would have to be the piece I did for Dazai's birthday! I really enjoyed creating this piece, I had been struggling to feel motivated and inspired as an artist for a short while prior to making it, but for some reason the process for that one flowed very organically for me and I'm still very pleased with the end result! I think it embodies a lot of my goals as an artist regarding emotion and atmosphere, and was a suitable homage to both the character and the writer.

Another that stands out for me is my art of Ranpo from the Untold Origins light novel. This piece is quite a dark and personal one, but I think the end result is very evocative and dips into the waters of abstraction which I have been rather keen to explore through my artwork. I believe I have improved technically quite a bit since sharing that art (almost exactly a year ago!) and I sometimes grimace at the messier aspects of it, but I think it conveys a raw and specific emotion that ended up speaking to not only me, but a lot of the people who saw it - which was certainly a pleasant surprise.

Also, seeing as you mentioned it, I feel really pleased with the piece I shared most recently of Oda! I really enjoy creating art that is referential to pieces from art history (and Sable, I really see you as a master of this in the bsd fandom asfdgsdfgs - I still haven't recovered from your Soukoku redraw of The Fall and I believe I'm behind on some of your recent works!!) - this was my first time really sharing one and drawing it was very fun and engaging. The Dark Era and similarly the relationship between Dazai and Oda are two of my favourite things about Bungou Stray Dogs, so I wanted to acknowledge this in a meaningful way, while also working on improving my handling of composition. I put a lot of symbolism into that illustration and it was also nice to pander to my interest in graphic design while doing so by making it look like a mock-up for a poster or book/movie cover. The direct reference to the Friedrich painting came rather naturally - it feels fitting for Oda's character, particularly during that specific arc. Similarly, the visual of Dazai's hand reaching out was a direct nod to the anime, and the instance of Dazai doing so not long before the culmination of the narrative. It's a moment that struck me personally when I watched it, and resonated with me enough to depict it like this; it perhaps adds another layer of meaning to the artwork when one considers it to be from the perspective of Dazai.

Sorry for rambling, this was a really lovely question and it was nice to reflect on some of my work from last year! Thank you once again, Sable!! Happy New Year everyone, I look forward to sharing some more art with you soon! ⭐

[atomicdela-au]

Hi there, how are you? I know it’s been a while and again I deeply apologize. But I finally have art of the victims!

Well, I only have one character done, I still gotta do one more reference but I got all what I need to show.

The first character I am going to show you is Mark Heathcliff. My art isn’t the greatest but at least it gets the point across of what he wears throughout the AU lol

Anyway, hear the references. The first one is Mark in his regular clothes, or as I like to call them “bunker clothes”

Since this is a nuclear fallout AU of sorts, the characters in this AU live underground, due to the radiation and dangers that can lurk on the surface.

Think of this as how the vaults work in the fallout games.

The second reference right here, is the church clothes. When there is an underground society, there is bound to be a church. And since Mark is religious it makes sense.

The third reference is Mark in his uniform when he goes out to the wastelands.

The fourth and final one (the reference that I haven’t finished yet for some reason lol) is supposed to be a thirty five year old Mark being a general for the Mandela Solider Regiment for the Commonwealth war.

I also added in three bonus sketches of Adam and Hugo (Or 6/Intruder) and these were created in November of 2023.

I hope you like these art pieces as much as I loved making them. I promise to get the others done too. It’s a lot to draw XD