#i don't even like colouring but i was interested in how people colour panels

[yayakoishii]

I wanted to try colouring a manga panel soooo I spent an hour and a half on this scene from Edens Zero (I forgot the chapter number, it's been a long time oof) (I hate colouring, why did I think this was a good idea, again..?)

I think I did a great job for my first try!! (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

[casscainmainly]

Small question, does it have to be Gotham for Cass? There's charas like Dick that can go establish their identity in a different city. Then there's Bruce, Steph, Jason and Duke who are so intrinsically tied to Gotham that this has to be the city for them. Where does Cass lie on this spectrum? Tq!

EXCELLENT question. I think Cass' situation is somewhat unique because of the way her character was handled post-Batgirl (2000).

In favour of Cass not staying in Gotham, she doesn't have the same emotional connection to Gotham as the four people you listed. She wasn't raised there, and in Batgirl (2000), she has next to no ties to Gotham civilians. In fact, it's when she moves to Bludhaven in Gabrych's run that she gains her first civilian friend and civilian love interest. The iconic volving panel is from Bludhaven, too. It's undeniable that the distance from Gotham, from Bruce (and arguably Babs), helps her grow:

Batgirl (2000) #71

It can't be overstated how important ownership is to Cass. To own something means, necessarily, that you not an object. You are a person who something belongs to, and who belongs to something. By calling Bludhaven the "first place that's ever been... mine," she's explicitly saying that Gotham was not hers. Bludhaven was the first place that made her feel fully human.

But there are caveats to this. Cass goes to Bludhaven in the wake of Stephanie's death, a Gothamite through and through. It's probable that Steph's death colours her view of Gotham here, and her willingness to embrace Bludhaven is in response to the pain that Gotham now brings her. (This is also after Babs calls Cass stupid). Feeling like Gotham doesn't belong to her might stem from these specific circumstances, and not be applicable in current canon.

Still, if the story had ended there, I'd say Cass doesn't need to stay in Gotham. Unfortunately, it doesn't.

Red Robin (2009) #17

After Bruce's death, Cass goes to Hong Kong. Well, 'goes' is putting it nicely. She was written off to make Steph Batgirl, which resulted in Cass a) not appearing in most comics, b) being stripped of the bat symbol, and c) being isolated from everyone she cares about, besides Tim. It's a horrific and undeserved fate, reversing everything Cass' story once stood for (narrative agency; becoming a hero; finding a family).

Though Cass regains the symbol and becomes the Bat of Hong Kong, she is no longer part of the narrative; her distance from Gotham became a representation of her distance from narrative importance. That's the real danger of Cass leaving Gotham - unlike Dick, who is a big enough character to be guaranteed solos in Blud, Cass leaving Gotham will forever hold the threat of erasure.

I'm discussing this in a meta-textual sense, but textually Cass knows the danger too.

Gates of Gotham #5

Here, Cass rebuffs Dick's assertion that Gotham will never keep either of them because they don't belong. She says, "It's about how you choose to see the world. Everything else is just an excuse." She's repudiating multiple things: editorial's decision to boot her from Gotham; Bruce's decision to take Batgirl away; even, somewhat, Dick's ascension to the Bat mantle when she wasn't given a chance.

This is ultimately why, though Cass could work elsewhere, I think she should work in Gotham. It's the place she ran to after David Cain, the place she chose to stay in, and the place that gave her Batgirl. Most importantly, it's the place that rejected her. It's not about Gotham itself - It's about how she was ejected from it, and how she fought her way back, over and over again. Cass staying in Gotham ensures history doesn't repeat itself. It rewards Cass fans who survived OYL, Batman Inc, and New 52 with the light at the end of the tunnel.

This is just my opinion! I do love her stint in Bludhaven, so I understand other people preferring her elsewhere. Just for me, she may not belong to Gotham in the way Bruce, Steph, Duke, Jay, or Babs does, but she deserves to be there.

[anticmiscellaney]

I absolutely adore your work! What's your process been like for writing NewOldRare and developing Neil and Louis? Your art and character writing feel so genuine and realistic to me, so I'm really curious how you go about it!

Thank you! I've always been obsessed with character-driven stories and interaction, so I guess this is the result of years of practice and observation, and dismantling stories that do and don't work to see why.

Unfortunately, there isn't a clear way to explain it. It's one of those "you know when you get it right" things, requiring an eye developed over a long time. I will redraw things if I don't feel like I've captured the nuance I wanted to, and a few months later I'll look at it and see where I could have done better. Same with writing. I'm obsessed with pacing and page design, I had a moment of "that's how I think about it too" when Will Eisner described comic panels like music.

The technical approach is I make notes about stories I want to write, then I expand that into outlines, then scripts, then thumbnails, then I draw the comics and colour them and finalise the dialogue. At every stage I'm asking myself if it feels right, if I'm getting across what I want to. That's not to say there aren't surprises and things don't develop organically, but every stage is an attempt to solve as many problems as I can before the next stage. My thumbnails are quite detailed because it makes pencils easier, and I spend a while on them.

I have total aphantasia so I am operating off feeling rather than any mental images. I have no idea how it works and no idea why I pursue this when I'm missing what many visual artists describe as a crucial component. I just do it and I have better things to do (art) than wonder about something I can't change. I don't think it's made me a better or worse artist, though I think it has given me different ways of approaching/developing things. But also, literally everything about you makes your work different to everyone else's work.

You need to care. If your character is into music, listen to that music. If they have an old car that keeps breaking down, read up on common problems for that model. If they work as a film projectionist, watch a training film about using the machine. The characters care about things, have things in their lives that matter, have skills and interests and challenges. If I don't care enough to understand them, why should anyone reading it care, and also why am I writing it if I don't care?

So I do, and in caring I understand them better. This helps me develop characters/story but it also gives me so much more to write/draw. Understanding how things work and how they are done from a physical standpoint makes writing/drawing them easier too. The more you put into your head, the more you can get out later. I'll do way less for a 12 page short than for a 300 page graphic novel, obviously. Pick your battles, a little can go a long way.

They tell artists to collect visual references - solid advice - but you should collect substance too. If you pay attention, you will hear and see things you could never in a million years make up.

I find online socialising difficult, so I go out regularly and talk to people, or just hang around and observe. Chatting with strangers mostly involves listening to them. No one in gay spaces is interested in flirting with me (I'm rather homely and queer men assume I'm straight) but I think an audience is just as appealing sometimes, and maybe even harder to find. You'd be amazed what people will tell you if you're genuinely interested and listening. I once spent forty minutes at a sci-fi con talking to a guy who'd recently gotten into fisting. While I have zero personal desire to partake in that activity (and he had no interest in being fisted by me), I'm engaged, I'm invested, I'm asking questions, spare no detail.

I collect behavior and movement and the ways people interact too. Reading stories on reddit or whatever is one thing, but the words might not be as interesting as the way they're standing, the way their hands move, the way they respond. A guy in a bar once literally humped my leg like a dog because he felt I wasn't paying enough attention to him. I would never think of that as a response to that situation, but he did, and he followed through. Fortunately my friend had just tried to drunkenly sit down and missed the chair, otherwise I would never hear the end of it.

I see the leghumper around sometimes, he's got a boyfriend and avoids making eye contact with me, thank god.

[tepkunset]

Rating all* the Hellfire Gala 2023 Outfits in my Correct Opinion

*At least, all that I can find, because Marvel decided fuck making that easy in a little book or a single post like last year.

(Long post alert!)

Iceman, I love most of this look. The accented orange is perfect for the mostly blue look, and I love that he has a matching earring for his cuff-links. Such a nice touch! But those rubber boots, man... those rubber boots ruin it for me. 8/10

Fisk is giving off some Doctor Doom vibes with this outfit. I love the regalness of it, especially the golden leaves behind the ear. 9/10

??? I'm not sure who this is, but their outfit looks like they're going to a Halloween party rather than a gala. 3/10

Emma, oh my god, YES. Almost always delivering, and this is definitely one of those cases! 10/10

Xavier... I hate to say it, but I genuinely love this look. He's bringing major space man vibes, and it's super elegant at the same time. 9/10

Bishop doesn't even get points for effort. He got a red suit then slapped some belts on it. Boring as fuck. 1/10

I was about to write another "???" because I had no idea who this was, until it occurred to me that I think this is supposed to be Scarlet Witch? Except she is super duper whitewashed, so I did not even recognize her. Auto-failure regardless of the look. 0/10

Proteus looks moderately snazzy, but out of the Five is the least interesting in my opinion. 3/10

Egg has a cool coat, but those balls around his neck are way too big and awkward. 4/10

Hope looks a little like a fairy princess here, and I like that! 7/10

Tempus looks like she's going to a prom more than a gala, and I don't know what's going on with that giant shoulder piece. Did Cable lend it to her or something? 4/10

Elixir, my golden boy, is embracing the shiny and I love it! 9/10

Exodus seems to be trying out a new costume rather than a gala look, but in terms of style, it's fine. 5/10

Vision's outfit is as boring as he is. 1/10

Miles, holy shit. Miles should be giving lessons to everyone else on how to actually make a suit look unique! Bishop, take notes. 9/10

Old Laura looks like she's dressed for a gothic funeral more than a gala, but at least that's to her style rather than some crazy OOC look. So, points for that. 5/10

T'Challa... I. Am. Swooning. I know he's not a king right now but damn does he ever look like it in this outfit. The beautiful patterns and complimentary colours, holy shit. 10/10

Synch has certainly done way better in the past. It's just a plain black suit without a shirt, for fuck sake. 2/10

Captain Marvel looks like she's a marching bad, lol. The stars in the hair are a nice touch, though. 3/10

Jean's look is, I know, divisive. I've seen some people say they adore this design, and some people say they hate it. I'm personally on the fence. I think it would be better without the stupid helmet, that's for sure. And I think it looks a little too much like an Emma Frost design, if you were to just colour it white. 5/10

Fantomex? Where the fuck have you been? Anyway, he literally just looks like he always looks but with some sunglasses lmfao. 0/10

Dylan looks like a moody teen as ever, lol. I do like the black and white though. 6/10

Black Cat... Like I said, I like black and white together, but this is giving me too much Cruella de Vil vibes. 4/10

Mary Jane just picked up an evening gown off the rack I guess. 2/10

Firestar, I think? Not actually positive if it's her. Anyway, the sleeves are a bit too much for me, but I love the fiery frills on the cape. 5/10

Thor looks so ugly here lmfao I'm sorry but I hate this look. It's way too clunky. 0/10

At first I thought this was Kwannon, but then I remembered seeing panels and I believe it's Kitty/Kate. Anyway, I like the lace-up boots and I like the frills. 7/10

Hellcat looks like she's took some inspiration from a wrestler's pre-fight look, and I like that. It's simplistic but just enough stylish to pass. 6/10

Nova, going with a tits out look as well I see. I like the feathered shoulder pads, and I like the skirt. 6/10

Moon Knight, oh my god, I have a strong feeling it was Steven who pulled the strings to get a gala look, because there's no fucking way Marc or Jake would be caught dead there. Anyway, this is exactly the type of vibe I would expect from MK, maybe even a bit more playful than that with the mesh part of the top. And I really like it up until the strange boots. He and Iceman must've compared notes or something. Still, 8/10

Psylocke - now THIS is Kwannon for sure! I like the classical ninja meets evening gown look, and I like that she's sexy but not to the point of being objectified, which is a refreshing change for how artists often treat her. 8/10

Destiny and Mystique I will rate together because the score is the same: A what the fuck level of 0/10.

Forge looks fucking awesome, especially compared to last year. I love the fringe and the scarf and the jewellery and the cane... it's a complete look that gives me great vibes. 8/10

Cyclops, come on, man. You can do better than this, can't you? He looks like Mister Sinister dressed him or something. 1/10

Cuckoos look like they stepped off the set of Tron: Legacy. Or a Daft Punk concert. Not complaining to be clear, this look fucks. 10/10

[silhouette-cosplay]

Hi there! I was wondering, do you have any thoughts on the briclot concept art, for example, from the point of view of Loki's character? What did the artist want to say with it? Idk, I just like it a lot but I don't really know how to analyze costumes, and I feel it might be interesting to hear an opinion of a professional. Anything to share? 💚

So I'll start at the source, with what Aleksi said about this concept on his FB! (he generally does not talk as much about the thought process behind his work as some of the other vis dev people but that's okay!)

It seems like initially, in the early development states of Ragnarok, they were going for a much darker, Norse-Viking-fantasy aesthetic not unlike The Dark World, but even more gritty (which I would have killed for, but here we are). The materials and colours here are definitely the right vibe for that, and there are three or so other Loki concepts that have a similar feel.

Anything more than what Aleksi said here is kinda up for interpretation, since we just don't know. I definitely see a look that is still heavily influenced by previous costumes--the leather criss cross layers, the gold torque at the chest, the asymmetry of the skirt panels--but it's also veering away from the gleam of Asgardian armour and the focus on gold.

This costume brings out more green (Loki's signature colour), but it's been calmed down, desaturated, and if I may venture a stretch of the imagination--tinted with blue. Blue, of course, is the colour of Loki's Jotun form; so whether this is intentional or not as nod to that, I like to headcanon that it's some sort of acknowledgement or acceptance of the duality of Loki's nature.

This look is also much much more worn; it feels like something that's not just for fighting, but for travelling in harsh climates (could the fur be for Jotunheim?). There's less metal armour--less weight and less need for protection in battle--but the leather is heavy and layered and would be a protection against the outside elements. The leather carving on the chestpiece is particularly interesting to me because the linework is not quite what we've seen before in Asgardian style, which is all intricate knotwork; this is a little more simplistic, a little sharper and more geometric, and it almost reminds me of the lines on the Casket of Ancient Winters and the pedestal it rests on:

Is it deliberate? Who knows! But it's fun to think about!

The other thing I noticed is the metal bits on the hands—they do vaguely resemble the Mjolnor symbol—and again, whether it’s intentional I don’t know, but I do see a resemblance!

The fur cape is my favourite, because my eyes see not just fur but feathers. In the comics, Loki is also associated with birds (the magpie), and in both the MCU and mythology there are associations between ravens and Asgard. So I like the idea of the cape being this beautiful blend of creatures, a symbol of multiple natures and change and shapeshifting and adaptability and all those things that Loki is. I could probably keep going, but those are my main thoughts! And I think it's important to reiterate that this is interpretation more than anything; I don't know what the artist intended or how much symbolism is truly in the costume, but I enjoy projecting my own ideas onto it!

[velnna]

This might sound like an odd question but I’m planning on making my own comic at some point and I was wondering if you had any advice? Specifically in making the plot, deciding what each character does and maybe panel/page composition and how to make harmonious colour palettes?

Also one more question but when you were at the beginning of developing Stray Souls did you post little lore/plot snippets and character doodles/info or did you mainly wait until the comic was out?

(Sorry I know this is a lot but I was just wondering sort of what your process is because everything seems so seamless and well-put-together :> )

Ehh first of all the seamless and put-togetherness is an illusion 🫠

A lot of my work is built organically (fancy way of saying I just sorta wing it) and very dependent on what makes me excited at each given point. Generally, I come up with an idea for a character or a plot point and from there start branching out.

Say, I create character A. A needs a story so I create some beats for them, a beginning-middle-end type thing. While thinking of this, characters B, C, etc pop up as placeholders/devices for A's story, and the world gets shaped around it as well. Then suddenly something in the world gets decided that in turn changes A's story a little, and so on. Then I go into B, C, etc and do the same thing (build a story, let it bleed into the world and let the world bleed into it).

There's pros and cons to this sort of thing of course. Most of the time I over-develop characters or world bits that are completely unnecessary and clutter the narrative (especially when it's something like a comic, where things need to be explained visually and economically), and because of this sort of chaotic process I also tend to get entangled in my own concepts and lose track of my main threads. I don't dislike it entirely so it's just a matter of figuring out what works best for your own goals and processes.

Some general advice for comics that I've learned from trial and error: try stripping your story down to its bare bones and see what you absolutely need VS what's there for flavour or added context. Only add flavour once you're sure you can tackle the minimum, both in writing and artwise. Keep your character designs simple if you value your hands lol. It's fun to design complicated details but you WILL get tired of drawing them after a while. Sometimes it's ok to tell and not show 🤷‍♂️ if you're a one-man team sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet. Bear in mind that long stories will take YEARS to complete in comic format. Not an end all be all, but you do need to think about that. Also just go for it once you've got a structure you feel good about. I personally don't like over planning and don't even script things, so I don't think you need to have everything on paper before getting some chapters rolling. Most of what I've learned about comics has been making them, not thinking about making them. Oh, and readers tend to be more lenient than we give them credit for - if you're passionate enough about your world or characters, chances are at least some people will be interested regardless of whether you think art or writing are up to par

As for the other question, I spoiled the shit out of stray souls before launching it and still kinda do it for fun LMAO. Nothing too serious ofc but I've always loved giving people an insight into characters and world outside of the comic since the comic itself is a little peek into the whole thing. It also kinda serves to keep people interested imo

And I just can't keep my mouth shut about my stories lol

[panelshowsource]

i will work on that and post a set this week :) kiell was very fun!

hmm i can't say i'm sure about sandi — though i'm loving her hair this series and she's beautiful as ever!

i would also love to know anything about miles' new show, if anyone has details about it to share 🥺 it's gotten lots of positive reviews, pretty solidly 4/5 stars everywhere i've seen. but even without a personal panelshowsource follower review i recommend getting a ticket!! and then coming back and telling us about it!!

hello and thank you :) sure, i put that on my drive for you here. enjoy!

he actually is 100% that bitch

i don't have this on drive atm only because it's really so easy to source. both were just posted in tv_bunny a couple of weeks ago, for example 🥲 i recommend heading over there and making a request, and someone will have links for you right away! lmk if you have any issues

does watching it on dailymotion work for you?

hello! yes, you can find ladsladslads over in the standup folder :)

their breakup was certainly intense for them both... i think i recall sara saying around the time-ish that she had expected they would really be together for the long haul, so as things began to disintegrate she was very disoriented. i also recall there being a bit of an ugly period between them — like, publicly — which was unfortunate, but they both seemed to be carrying their own bitternesses and that was surely hard

it's funny — i talked a bit about this a couple months ago, but thinking about them both reminds me so much of the rhlstp with john kearns: he talked about how, in this day of social media, audiences expect comedians to show themselves on stage, to give you that peek behind the curtain and personal anecdotes/opinions/details, and really share who they are with you — and he doesn't like that expectation. he's doing surreal and often absurd comedy, playing a character who's almost nothing like him at all, so the real john doesn't need to bleed through for the show to work. but people like sara and john...they use the stage as a form of therapy; sara uses it as a form of workshopping, communicating, connecting, sharing; i often think john is grasping, sometimes desperately, at the opportunity to be seen and heard. (his new show howl, which has gotten quite good reviews, is about his sobriety, for example!) so even though there were aspects of their breakup experience that were intense and very personal, i really hope that sharing them helped them both :)

hope we'll get to see his new show howl sometime soon, which is about his sobriety!

i have my theories about how john will be on taskmaster... let's just say, i think he'll be quite earnest and try very hard, and i think what alex has said about it being very difficult to do a character on taskmaster/the show showing people's true colours will be very relevant LMAO i can def see john coming on and trying to be cool and collected and just breaking down LMAOOO but agree it will be interesting! and personally i do always love the dynamic between greg or alex and one of their good friends heh

—————

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[webcomicreads]

The Issue with "Foefic"

For as long as humans have created things, others have looked at the fruits of their labour and thought, "I can do that better." Drawing inspiration from something you see and think you could improve upon is not wrong, it is how innovation works when it comes to creating tools, art, cooking. However, some people mean it in a malicious way. A way that teeters on jealousy and, if I may, clout-thirsty.

Lore Rekindled is a "retelling" of the (unfortunately) Eisner award winning webcomic Lore Olympus. From what I saw on the post introducing it, it is "better drawn and better written." I, like many, have issue with Lore Olympus. The writing is lacking and absolutely not award-worthy, and it even misses the mark as a cheesy harlequin romance. Persephone's characterization has no consistency. The art, while striking and easily recognizable, leaves a lot to be desired, especially when it comes to backgrounds. I don't consider it noteworthy, but it is heavily pushed by Naver's Webtoon, and that is probably why it keeps winning awards. With how low my opinion of Lore Olympus was, I dived into Lore Rekindled hoping to find something with more substance.

I did not find that substance.

LR suffers in different ways than LO. It assumes that you have read or are at least familiar with the major characters of Lore Olympus, which is understandable. The characters are re-written and interact strangely. Many of the characters in LO are meant to come off as "old money," and this shows in their lifestyles, fashion, and way they speak. The characters in LR all appear to have the same voice. If I were to print out a transcript of this comic and read it out loud, they would all be indistinguishable. LR is "better drawn," but what I think they meant is it is less toony. The backgrounds are better most of the time, but the panelling is boring and lacks the dynamicism seen in the original work. The plot is, if I'm being honest, just AU fanfiction (derogatory).

When I also learned that this creator had an original comic, I was very interested to see what it brought to the table. As I understood it, LR was a side project. So you can imagine my surprise when I looked at both the old and the new Project Reaper and it is just objectively a worse comic. The the majority of the cast has same-face syndrome, and seem to live in a cool-tone hell with no furniture most of the time. The concept of how to dress and style characters seems to be locked into what a 15 year old thinks is badass, but that fits for the story. The plot and dialogue reads like something a middle-schooler would make as an RP scenario with friends. The colouring is lazy dodge and burn, which just emphasizes that the author does not care about cultivating a space or atmosphere or world for these characters to live in. They are just toys to mash together to make your angsty super cool comic that you're going to pitch to Dark Horse for REAL, GUYS. And the first comic for this series is written right to left. In the author's defense, they were a teen when they started the original comic.

So how does someone whose average panel looks like the example above come to the conclusion that they can make a better comic? It's simple: Project Reaper is original, but LR has base material you can go off of. Anyone can read a comic and think "I would do THIS for this panel, and I would do THAT for this character introduction." I did it reading both of these comics. But if I were handed only the script for either of these projects, it would not come as easily. Lore Rekindled only looks "better" because it has Rachel's work to build off of. This goes back to what I was saying at the beginning, that the "I could do that but GOOD" view isn't doing you any favours, especially when you aren't doing your own IP well.

I think writing a little hate piece once in a while is good. Draw a hate piece if you really need to (though I would just show it to friends, personally.) Consuming a little media you hate is also good. As a creator, it is important to see and understand why you hate something, what you would change, and what little glimmers of good are in an otherwise pile of garbage. It helps you grow, to realize your tastes, and what not to do in your own work. Critically acclaimed writer Alan Moore agrees! But to have a whole comic with a regular update schedule redrawing something you hate is... It's giving "look at my sonichu comic redraw!" It is loser behavior.

Plenty of people create media out of spite, and I encourage it. I do it too. But the work should be your own. You need to put this energy into your IP. If you keep being a "hater," you'll never guess what you attract. Other haters! And those haters will like you, for now. But one of these days, someone will go through your list of essays and think, "oh, but I don't see any fat people in YOUR work that aren't plus-size model attractive." All it takes is one comment or take that a similarly-minded reader doesn't like and there could be a master list about you!

I am, of course, not saying you can't make derivative works at all. The doujinshi market is full of fan creations, and every art site you go to will be full of fanart. But the difference between LR and these works (generic sexy flavour of the month artists aside,) is that they are made with love. With passion for the original work. I think back to Homestuck AUs because, while I may not have liked them, these creators were doing it out of love for the characters. I follow a few guys on twitter who have been drawing a picture of their anime wife every day for over 10 years. That's love! Then you have more transformative works like Hello from Halo Head, of which some of it's characters are off-brand animal crossing characters. I love that. I think it's neat that the creator loved that little cat twink enough to bring him into their comic in a new form.

I think the point of this post is that you can use spite as a motivator, but it should be for your own creations. We have a limited time on this planet, and even less time where our hands are still able to pick up a pen. Put this towards your passion for the medium, for the stories in your heart. It's rough out there for creators, and it can be hard to find an audience in the ever-churning seas of the internet. But, please, don't put all your effort into "foefiction." That is cringe. And, if you're going to anyways, it'd better actually be good.

PS B^u

[tothepointofinsanity]

hey #1 sayaka fan (appointed by me) . how do you come up with your compositions and stuff?? like the colors u use and just generally how ur drawings are layed out, do you have any inspiration or is it just from your brain? absolutely love them ‼️‼️‼️

Oh, hello. ^^ Firstly, thank you for graciously giving me the title of the "number 1 Sayaka fan". I can think of a few people who like her way more than me, though! Anyways. You have provided me an unfortunate opportunity to ramble incoherently about my main inspirations.

Aside from acknowledging that Gekidan Inu Curry is a titular player of how my madomagi works turn out, I very much like video games a lot, specifically the abstract, no-explanation-walking-task-simulator types. Visuals and music combined can help create an otherworldly ambience unlike any other, even more so appealing if the graphics are striking, colourful, and personalised. They sort of resemble liminal spaces, and I want those vibes in my works. It's hard to directly translate them into my own drawings.

Dull colours are very effective at being gloomy, but since I'm not good at mixing them together, I often end up sticking to bright ones instead. Whenever I draw Sayaka, I also like to imagine that I'm drawing her in a world where she is the only inhabitant wandering around in it, so that's the 'composition' part. Everything in her world is lonely and vast but ambiguous in a way that feels unintentionally hostile. Music can also affect this. Did you know loneliness can be heard too?

I mentally revisit the colours and visuals of games I have previously played and kind of rotate Sayaka around in them and see what clicks for her that day. I also like putting a bunch of 'boxes' in my drawings of her, which are panels that show something happening elsewhere entirely - they are the way they are since I struggle to blend two different scenarios of Elsewhere in the same drawing. It's meant to resemble the weird, clunky interfaces of the games I like, essentially making it a drawing with interactive mechanics that don't exist.

It is also fun to try and put as much nonsense into her surroundings as possible. Because why shouldn't you give her a bunch of different irrelevant things to look at. Most of the time, though, my backgrounds are fairly empty, since I want Sayaka to be within the frame of focus, and the only thing for others to look at. Having spontaneous close-up shots of the character's face and experimenting with that also yields interesting results. < That's a lot of words to pretend I know what I'm doing.

I do take inspiration from other artists' works as well, but I'm too reluctant/awkward to post their drawings here or mention them. There is probably a lot more that I am forgetting to mention, but this is all I can compose for now. I hope it has been satisfactory. Thank you for the ask!

[keepsmagnetoaway]

X-Men 57 (June 1969)

Roy Thomas/Neal Adams

As we saw yesterday, the Neal Adams era is altogether upon us. It was mere months ago that this book was composed of stiff four-panel layouts in bright primary colours, with each panel featuring a bunch of people pictured from the waist up, conversing with each other like talking heads on the TV news. Now issues open like this.

The answer to "what's that??" is the Sentinels, but we don't have time to dwell on them because we're back to Egypt for Alex Summer's emotional crisis, which is like a Jack Kirby page if Jack Kirby had known how to draw human faces.

Then the Egyptian police show up and, let's be real, it's all a bit insensitive (I'm actually not showing the grimmest bits). Hmmm.

The Sentinels, however, are after Alex too...

Look at this! There were hippies taking industrial amounts of acid the same month this came out who weren't seeing anything even half as interesting as this.

It turns out - I'm skimping on story here to yell about the art - that Larry Trask is back, along with the Sentinels, in another defining bit of Adams work: he had some sort of fascination with, and gift for, television on the page, with all its distortions and possibilities: we'll see more of this in subsequent issues too.

Unfortunately I do have to interrupt this to talk about the back-up feature of this issue. The last few issues have all had back-up features telling X-Men backstories, and they're mostly just too dull to really go into: they don't serve the ongoing story and they're very clearly filler. But this issue's one focuses on Marvel Girl and...yeesh.

This is the first writing credit for a woman on X-Men! Ever! Yikes!

Oh my god.

Huh. Hmm. Huh.

This is so fucking abominable. To be clear, all the other stories of this kind are stories. This is just a list of gags. And then it ends.

So, that was kind of an issue of two halves, huh.

[cafemagie-magie]

Howdy! First I just wanna say you're a really great artist, one of the best I've ever seen, and I love every single one of your LWA fanarts! And if you don't mind, I just wanted to ask how you learned to draw? I've always wanted to learn, but I'm not sure how to learn the fundamentals and progressively get better until I'm as great as someone like you. If you know any books, videos online, exercises/habits, or any resource to look up and learn how to draw and slowly get better, that'd be great!

Hi! Thank you very much, I’m touched by your kind words ^^

I give you Diakko but theyre motivation coaches to wish you the best ! Have fun with drawing, it's one of the best thing on Earth!

It took some time to answer because I wanted to write a document with a lot of resources, so you and other fellows can use it :

To answer the first part of the question, I always loved doodling with a pencil and replicating manga panels like Dragon Ball, Naruto... also I love scientific illustration and fashion design! Never took art classes, but went to an art club in high school^^

I have a pencil and watercolour self taught art background, drew since 9 but with a lot of art breaks (the most recent one lasted 4 years because of pharmacy studies), digital art came very late when I hit 23 (January of this year, got an iPad!🥳🎂) and I learned it with the resources stated in this shared document :D

Now for the second part, let's say every artist have their own art planet, like the Little Prince 😊

You have your art home,  and realism is the house foundation to you build up other skills on it. The first skill associatied with foundation is observation : when you look at something...how does it work? Why is this moving like that? What are the simplified shapes of it? 

Near you home, you can plant your favourite artists seeds from other art planets in your own art garden to be inspired by them. They'll bloom into different flowers, scents and colors... they'll inspire your work as you progress :D it's like pretty things to admire and look up to! To keep you on the go and learn from them! (It works with the library metaphor too, like having a collection of your fav artists, subjects, reference...)

 Then you build up solid walls for your house, by learning/practicing technical things like figure drawing, life drawing, drapery... with these, you can already have a lot of fun!

Adding windows will bring you some fresh air as you'll explore colour theory, light and shadow... at this stage, traditionally or digitally, you'll be able to create really cool sketches/llustrations! You can always use references and observe them to understand the light source, a particular scenery, or some tricky anatomy position, etc...so you can incorporate it in your drawing.

Then you can make your house bigger by adding new rooms: learning how to draw specific things like detailed backrounds, animals, weapons, machinery, everything you'll be interested in...if you started with humans only for example.

Later on, you can decor your house with things like art style, aesthetics, that little somtheing that makes people recognize your works...these come naturally as you progress so dont worry too much about it!

Building a comfy house takes time but it's your home and even if there will be struggles/frustration... enjoying the process is key to a happy artist journey ^^

Hope this helped, and you can always dm for more specific things, if needed (or ask anonymously again, I’m shy so I’ll understand lol)

[damnation-if]

wrestling with canva like i’m crocodile dundee... this probably won’t end up being anything like a real UI because i don’t think a lot of it is Possible jsfdbgs

It looks amazing, how did you do that? 👀👀👀👀👀

hi, thank you for the compliment! i took a bit to answer this because i'm not really... equipped to be making Design tutorials haha. graphic design is my passion neither ironically nor unironically and i'm absolutely rubbish at art - however, canva has enough tools to help me feel like i'm building something visually interesting despite my. abject lack of talent XD i'll put a cut here and some like. explanation and tips underneath.

i have premium for my non-IF-related work, but the free version is what i started out on and it's honestly surprisingly good and has a generous licensing agreement. the biggest drawback for the free version for me is the inability to save files with a transparent background or resize files mid-edit, but for most people making banners or concept art you're not going to Need transparent files - that's more of a thing for actually creating assets.

the biggest ADVANTAGE of the free canva license is that you are licensed to use anything you make using the free assets in commercial products if you want/need (including games or promo for them). many similar design products only allow personal use for free licensing. (however, i'm not trying to sell canva to you; rather i'm pointing out that sticking with the free version is actually very convenient and the premium features are probably things you won't need lol)

basically canva allows you to search for graphic design elements by keyword and drag and drop them onto a design piece, mix them around, change their colours and sizes etc. and combine them together to make something. i'll talk a little bit about the UI design you're mentioning (the one i showed off here for anyone curious) not to brag about my Skillz(TM) but just to show how easy canva makes it for a total newb to make something that looks really neat!

there's about 30 different elements in that particular UI design - the "console-y" looking frame itself is half a dozen on its own: the basic frame (those cyberpunky lines at the top and bottom of the screen); a semi-transparent box i added to make it look like a holo-screen; the panel on the side, which was originally square until i cropped it down to make it look like a panel and colour-shifted to match the main box; the little connector between the side panel and the screen, which is actually two of the same asset with one upside-down and cropped; and then the various text assets, not to mention all the logos, which are also all separate (and also the little 2 unread messages symbol is another 2 separate design elements i put together lmfao).

canva will probably seem overwhelming once you first start using it because it has So Many tools, but most of these are for companies and you'll probably find you don't need to even look at the vast majority of them. for example, it'll probably ask you to choose a template to start a design, and there are like. 100s. that it'll want you to sort through. but you very probably won't ever use more than one or two. i think i've used three Ever for IF stuff - tumblr banner (for banners, obviously), social media banner, for the RO banners you can see on the ROs page, and 16:9 Blank Presentation, which is what i use for UI designs because it's just. a big blank page size. you can Literally ignore all the others unless you need something specific!

you can either use the pre-generated aspects of the template and simply replace their designs with ones you prefer, or do what i do and delete it all and put your own stuff in lmfao. the templates can help if you don't have much of an idea of what you want your design to look like but obviously for me with UI design it's a bit. Pointless because canva doesn't have a template for that XD

anyway once you have your blank canvas, you can search for "elements" in the search panel and look through them for ones you want to use. the pro version assets are labelled pretty clearly so you probably won't mistakenly pick something that requires paying to use and the search filters themselves are pretty hefty - i rarely run up against a search term that brings back nothing unless it's HIGHLY specific lol

here are just a couple of tips that help me get basically closer to what i want out of the whole thing:

when you're changing the size of an element, canva only increases or decreases its size by the exact ratio of its original dimensions - you can't Only make an image wider, for example, it will also automatically increase the height to match. that's why the "frame" asset in my Gone Dark UI design is centred in the page instead of taking up more of it - i couldn't make it wider without it getting taller and the top and bottom bars disappearing off the page. you can get around this by using elements that are mostly plain - i could have, for example, made the semitransparent screen box as wide as i wanted, because it's uniform in design and there'll be no visible difference in where i draw its boundaries as it all just looks like plain rectangle.

combining photo images and less realistic graphics can look jarring but there are handy image editing tools (found by clicking "edit image" in the top toolbar with the image selected, and then "show all" in the lefthand sidebar to show all of the filters) that you can use to make photos look Less Photolike - lowered blur and heightened clarity especially can make it easier to make photos fit better with other graphics.

some of the text effects (found by clicking "Effects" in the top toolbar with the textbox selected) can make it way easier for text to be visible against certain backgrounds - this is not much use if you're designing something for another medium like a UI, because you can't replicate them in other software, but if you're just producing an image like a banner they add a lot of neat flair.

when you have a lot of elements working together they often look a little better with at least a slightly lower transparency to hide that their borders/edges aren't uniform - 85-90% is usually opaque enough to not notice it's slightly transparent but soften the edges.

it can be hard to figure out the exact size (in pixels) of an element while you're In a design - there are rulers that can be applied through the settings menu, but the maths often fucks me up, so i find it's easier to resize the image by dragging the expand handles by like a single pixel and then putting it back to normal - while specifically holding the expand handles (until you let go of the mouse and "drop" it in the desired size) it will give you an exact reading of the height and width in pixels along the bottom toolbar that you can read easily.

this one is pretty specific but when you're making boxes to put behind text they often look better with a slight blur filter on them as well as transparency - for Gone Dark in particular the blur gives it a nice fuzz that makes it look even more like a projected screen. if you look closely you can see a slight difference between the text screen and the side panel screen background - that's because i forgot to blur the side panel lmfao.

aaaand that's probably all the advice i can offer. i'm far from an expert, but i do feel like i have fun with it XD i'm glad so many people have thought it looked cool! sorry this got so long but. it's hard to explain without actually Getting Into It haha

[clay-cuttlefish]

Round 3 and FINALLY I'm onto Vic's solo. I've read all of these at least twice and have a lot of ground to cover, so this won't be as measured as they deserve, but hey maybe it'll be something.

The Question Vol. 1 (1987) #1

This is such a fantastic first issue, it gets me every time.

Tot's here! Myra's here! Shiva's here! Vic sucks!

First real appearance of the drowning motif, and it's a good one. The countdown til death is so good.

#2

Batman sucks at giving advice. I mean, I interpret this as a hallucination and the previous meeting as a real memory, but I'm still going to blame him.

Shiva is so fucking cool. There's a lot to criticize about how she's written but every time she shows up I get distracted by how cool she is.

The reinterpretation of the stock transformation sequence is SO good.

#3

Myra my beloved.

I love Tot's stupid project car. He's got his own interests, even if Vic isn't paying attention.

The lack of sound effects and minimal hit effects is a really cool look.

#4

Myra my BELOVED.

"better you than me" I am going to bite drywall. What is wrong with you.

#5

gender

Izzy's self-perception is a really succinct criticism of the police, and then it immediately shoots itself in the foot.

I like that Vic still says dumb one-liners. Bits of his old characterization show, even in his better moments.

The detours into other people's lives are a fascinating choice. They give the series a distinct mood, even if they aren't always well-executed.

#6

Vic and Tot referring to each other by full name is more natural here than in a lot of other books. It feels like a running bit between them.

Same with the exposition. Tot loves explaining.

This is one of the best transformation sequences. No dialogue, interesting texture, cool use of panels.

The art, inking and colouring on this whole series is fantastic. It isn't often pretty, but the texture and movement is consistently excellent.

#7

Vic and Myra's relationship is so. Augh.

This story sucks. I knew it was racist but it's worse than I remembered.

#8

I don't know how to feel about this issue. The core of it is interesting, but none of the actual pieces mesh quite right, and the Mikado theming is just bizarre.

I respect Tot's theatre kid past though.

#9

The lettering is odd in places. It's being affected by the hallucinations, I guess, but it's subtle enough on a couple pages that it's just strange.

The panelling is so good in this issue.

I love Tot and Vic's banter. Even if Vic's not a great friend, they're still clearly close.

[binder-reviews-by-arden]

forthem binder review

i just received this binder in the mail, and decided to post a review. details under the cut

i was a size "ethereal" in this brand. First off, can I mention how much I hate the sizing this company uses? “we dont do sizing bc body positivity” honestly id rather be called fat then go through that confusing shit. picking out your body shape was also confusing as hell, none of those looked like my shape at all. in an effort to be body positive, they just ended up being really confusing and honestly a little insulting. like, come on. kindred? ethereal? fire? amethyst? balance? what the hell do those even mean. i get its supposed to be like “omg sizes dont really MEAN anything” but since they GET the sizes from the apex chest measurement, it would make SO MUCH MORE SENSE for the sizes to just have a number that represent that measurement. way easier than taking the stupid fucking customization quiz every time you wanna see your size. if you were so concerned abt people seeing a number associated with their body, then why are you having measurements at all? if you acknowledge that measurements are incredibly important for clothing (which they are), then WHY are you trying so hard to avoid that fact when giving people their sizes. just condescending especially since the person who made the goddamn things LOOKS pretty thin to begin with so like… who is this helping. just feels off to me. does anyone feel GENUINELY better about themselves bc a quiz called them size “fire” instead of a size “40” after their chest measurement?

but back to the actual binder review. The binder was pretty easy to put on, no issues there. The colour I got for "forest green". The fabric feels kind of like thick swimsuit fabric. It pinched a little under my armpits but I'll go into why I don't want to get a bigger size later. This is likely just due to my stupid disproportionately large ribcage than a flaw with the company's sizing. The reversible style of the binder was pretty interesting. It was fairly comfortable to wear.

As for the actual binding quality? Not good, and worse than all of the binders I've previously reviewed. Honestly fits like a sports bra, which is weird because I could feel it compressing: I got that kind of breathless feeling right after I took it off. The compression I could feel was roughly the same feeling I got with my gc2b binder, except the gc2b binder made me considerably flatter. This is likely due to the front panel design, while the forthem binder is just the same all around. This is the reason why I don't want to get a size up, since it would likely be completely useless even as a bra. I was in the middle of the measurement for my size too. The pinching will likely go away when it stretches though, and i remember a similar feeling when wearing my gc2b binder for the first time.

Comparison of my wearing the forthem binder in a tight-ish t shirt vs a regular bra in the same t shirt:

overall, would i recommend this binder? No, it's not worth the price. These binders cost $48, I got mine for a little less because I found a coupon code but that's way too much for what you get. Considering returning it so I can use the money to buy a different binder. It's comfortable but only a little more comfortable than my gc2b binder and that one compresses way better, so I'd just recommend getting a gc2b.

(a side note: im not trans (butch lesbian), but i tagged the post as such so this review would reach people most likely to buy and wear binders so it's as helpful as possible for anyone trying to find good binder brands. just wanted to clear things up in case anyone was wondering, don't want to claim stake within a community im not technically apart of)

[nuranalknowsall]

.....

hot take: but i think the reason why pulp is addicting is because it delivers in action but when it ends, its just empty thematically and thats how it leaves you wanting more? if that makes sense?

like i just finished reading the comic 'my name is chaos' and conceptually it had a lot of potential but it went unfulfilled and left a lot to be desired... the art was good. afaik there was no continuation tho smh so there were a lot of loose threads.

The art was gorgeous like most sci-fi stuff during the early 1990s.

I personally don't see the point in the violent development in Steve's experiments tho? Or why they were there in the first place? Were they suppose to be a parallel to the martians? and why even bother to mention moron's intellectual upgrade at all, if the upgrade wasn't on panel?

like most stuff written in the 90's, the way women were written made my eyes roll... even tho sarah arguably and barely passes the ailia test, she's still used as a prop for man pain and jealousy and doesn't have any agency whatsoever. I was also confused on whether or not Thomas was even aware that his wife used to be together with his brother Steven?

As for Stevens arc itself, he plays the typical mad scientist role. He does display emotions, in a cold and distant way. He also does act as a leader tho and stages a coup against the primary government of mars. Personally, i would have liked to have seen his accident and his reasoning on why he didn't want his family to know why he was dead. I also wanted to see more of his estranged relationship with his brother, Thomas. The themes of humanity having things out of their control could have been leaned in more, with Steven and his origin accident story, and perhaps even provide a deeper motivation?

Ok. Now onto thomas. I will admit, it was drawn to the cover of my name is chaos because it made it clear that the protagonist was going to be a black man. But I think it's safe to say that his role was race neutral? (like he would have been switched with a white man, and the plot wouldn't be impacted is what i mean.) And we do need more sci-fi stories set in the future ft black people just existing and facing other types of conflict. there is one trope I disliked tho and see trending in different characters of colour, and that is, thomas is moved out of his own body and switches with a martian but doesn't seem to be himself, even tho his conciousness is suppose to be unaltered otherwise? idk just a trend i've been noticing.

Like i've earlier, i would have liked to see thomas's relationship with his brother, steven explored a bit more. You get to see the strain when steven controls where thomas goes and spends his time. One part that did strike me as interesting, was steven mentioning his respect for thomas's work bc it also set up a sort of rivalry aspect? Which would have been better and make way more sense then them fighting over a woman, because there's that intellectual aspect too.

I also would have liked to see thomas's connection with nature specifically, talking to whales, be more in depth. Especially on a dying, dystopian Earth. (idk maybe i just like the implication that the whales are evolved versions of the martians too.) His ascension into a high consciousness by being connected to aliens was surprisingly not v colonizer-y. up until he was like 'yea they want me to be their leader.' (eye roll.) And the burning of the martian's bodies too was kinda unnessecary imo. i can definitely see this having influence on that 'blue avatar ppl movie.' I def liked his ability to feel Mars as a living being.

While the last page hinted that steven's conciousness was still around, i think, if this series had continued, I would have liked it to be more about the aliens and them fighting for their sovereignty against a colonizing earth, and more development in thomas's connection with nature and the universe.

[minthe-lover]

Episode 206 Kronos Fight

So I have a few things I do like about this chapter, the final scenes with the people reuniting is kinda sweet. Though really wish we got one between Zeus and hera. Another thing, I think giving Tartarus a physical form was a cool interesting and definitely a fun way to end the fight.

My favorite shot in the whole chapter is between Tartarus and Poseidon. Cause one is just generally cool looking, and the other is just really sweet.

All my critics are under the cut... it's probably gonna be long.

Besides that I mainly got problems, the main one is the general tone of the chapter. It's not a super serious chapter about an epic fight, or even a nervous one about thinking about what happens if Persephone fails in this fight. It's done in this largely comedic light, where your supposed to laugh at kronos fails attempts to fight or more like annoy persephone.

Like why are the reporters there adding commentary, it seem extremely out of place? why are Athena and Ares not helping and instead making a few jokes? why the fuck would you choose a joke about bees during the final big fight of the season.

This is a power we've never seen, with the trees and water we can assume it's connected to her other powers... but this is something completely different. That along with them showing up near the end with the final few panels. Think how much better this would have felt if the final panels were connected with petals or something, or even we saw Persephone summon a single bee and struggle to summon more in the past. (also they look alot more like wasps then the traditional bee but still)

That along with the fact that because their isn't as much dialog this chapter feels alot smaller. Which isn't fully the fault of rs since that just a side effect of having large pictures. The art work is not that bad, Persephone gravity deify boobs that almost pop out of her dress ever panel are distracting and the colours are a little boring but it's not terrible.

I think it would be alot more striking if persephone magic was more green or her pink colour. That way more of the panels would pop and show persephone power more.

The first panel isn't to bad, but the last one. The muted dark colour of the tree just doesn't stand out that much against the black and dark blue of the background. It just doesn't stand out as much as it should. The trees Persephone has made it the past have big bushy green leaves or just are fully pink, why are these ones not?

My next big problem is with kronos. He doesn't actually do anything to fight Persephone. He dodges her attacks and throw petty insults. He isn't an actual threat despite 100 of episodes building him up to be the big bad. Persephone doesn't get injured during the fight, I don't fully like calling characters mary sue as its often used in a sexist light. Along with the fact that it's more a fanfic trope which I don't mind in the slightest, fanfictions are free fun doesn't matter how bad it is.

Though Persephone is 100% over powered in a way that makes this really anti climatic. Like why not have Persephone and hades defeat Kronos together... or see Persephone struggling in the fight. Honestly I wouldn't fully mind if Persephone defeated Kronos herself if she actually saw some difficulty in the fight.

Show her struggling getting hurt, show the words effecting her that she moves on from. Show her actually having some difficulty. maybe have kronos be close to wining, then have the other gods show up and attack kronos all together but have persephone having the final blow. Or even just show that it takes a bit for her full pomegranate effects take hold.

The next problem is the final interactions between hades and Persephone.

First for a supposably 'girl power' type media where Persephone destroyed the big bad sort of all by herself. How did hades help? like... I mainly just confused over this line.. if someone can explain it I would be appreciated. that and the beauty of just... the long pointy noise.. that look way to much like persephone would accidently be stabbed in the eye.

Another thing that I wish to note.. is how the whole eating the pomegranate mean Persephone is now 'stuck' with hades. This feminist story has a finally based on the idea that the main female character is now forever bonded to the realm of her first love. Even if later persephone decided she didn't wish to be there she literally has no choice but to stay.

In a healthy relationship there should be an understanding that if someone wishes to end it they will be safe and free to do so. Relationships no matter how long you've been with the person should be okay to leave. This is an incredibly important as time can often change people for the worse or simply show new part of their self.

In the relationship shown, not only does it start with hades being her boss, control her finances, and use a teenager as emotional support but it ends with Persephone stuck with a man that she hasn't even been on a date with and he already dreams of having children with her.

It is just... a weird way for a relationship to go in a supposably 'feminist' comic.