#i just have to figure out my palette problem lol

[keeps-ache]

hmmmm. you agree right? [<- just walked into the room]

[sitp-recs]

Some Erised Recs…

I wanted to post this yesterday but fell asleep while reviewing my blurbs lol so here’s my first 2023 reclist! Just wanted to do a lil something to celebrate these authors and artists as I did not include any Erised fics on my 2022 reclist. Hope you enjoy before the reveals, don’t forget to give these some love. You can find more lovely recs here by @thehoneybeet and here by @epitomereally

Check all Erised 2022 works!

Fic:

🍺 everything you should say by @candybarrnerd (E, 7.4k) - lush rebound fuck buddies to something else, hot and tentative, love the uncomplicated matter-of-fact tone here, sexy and refreshing!

They're not friends. But when Draco offers help, Harry takes it.

🐺 Service Bell by @shiftylinguini (E, 8k) - est relationship but make it complicated, obsessed with this nuanced pining wolf!Draco with his sharp edges and soft heart

Draco is: a werewolf, living in a cabin in the woods, minding his own business, and never going to buy plaid because he's not that much of a fucking cliche (yet). He's also counting down the days until he sees Harry again.

🎤 Meddling, Menswear, and Magic by @writcraft (M, 19k) - I’m utterly besotted with their voices, the superb level of banter oh my god. I wanna live inside this fic’s dialogue and have it for breakfast thank

Draco Malfoy is working in a job he hates and avoiding the magical world entirely, but he really is fine. When a bequest from Severus Snape brings Draco back to a much-changed magical world, he must find his place within it and navigate his growing attraction to Harry Potter in the process.

🐍 In The Company Of Serpents by @corvuscrowned (E, 25k) - an instant fave, fabulous characterization, perfect slow burn, top notch ust and some of the hottest smut I’ve read lately, so satisfying yum 🔥

There’s something wrong with the serpents at the Greengrass Ophidiarium. Luckily, a certain Parselmouth just might be able to help.

⛷️ Historians by @oknowkiss (E, 30k) - fake dating goodness with holiday vibes, the right amount of angsty pining and a gorgeous Swiss background. Just what I needed to cheer me up on a snowy day

It’s the Dumbledore’s Army Reunion Holiday, and Harry’s found himself in hot water with his friends once again, after telling them he has a boyfriend he definitely does not have. In an attempt to fix things, he’s made it his colleague on Level Nine, Draco Malfoy’s problem too. Featuring a ski chalet in Switzerland, a pair of bunk beds, and an agreement that should’ve been simple, were it not for all the bloody feelings getting in the way.

🏉 All Things Go by @sorrybutblog (E, 32k) - an enchanting 8th year romance with strong Heartstopper vibes👨‍🍳💋 our boys are so wonderfully awkward and young and lovely, my heart is melting! And the scorching UST? Superb

Draco’s back at Hogwarts by court order. Harry’s back for no particular reason at all. Some things change, some stay the same. Neither expects to spend eighth-year living in close quarters, playing rugby (poorly), staying up late, sneaking around, and finally figuring it all out.

⏳Everything is Relative to You by @thehoneybeet (E, 43k) - really brilliant take on time travel/multiverse, inventive concept exploring star-crossed lovers dynamics. It’s about the yearning!!!

Potter was supposed to have lived. Draco is certain of this. That Potter would no longer walk the earth was tantamount to the sun moving west to east across the sky. If only he could have stopped this from happening, if he’d have known… It comes to him as ideas often did: too late.

Art:

🦉Birdwatching for Beginners by dustmouth (G) - so very warm and sweet, I love the cozy vibes, the soft flirting and the ultimate Wizarding fashion as per this artist’s usual

Draco does his best to sneak out early from Ginny and Luna's Christmas party, only to be cornered by a drunk Harry Potter.

🦄 Light in the Dark by @creeeee (G) - stunning art, romantic and evocative. I love the palette and detailed outfits, want those capes in my wardrobe right now

Draco and Harry find themselves encountering more than they anticipated while performing a divine blessing within the deep thicket of the Forbidden Forest.

👔 Routinely Yours (G) by @apriicat - the softest domestic bliss we deserve, gorgeous characters (long-haired Draco!), tender intimacy, lots of cozy cuddling and boyfriending stuff

Morning routines are the best with you.

❄️ Snapshot of Moments by @drarrydoodles (E) - stunning illustrations from daily life scenes, so rich in details and full of emotion. I love how each scene comes with a short description, and the nsfw one is!!!!! 😳🔥

A snapshot of moments in Harry and Draco's relationship.

🎹 The sound of your heart by @pato-roldnart (G) - a charming and moving musicians AU, great storytelling and the prettiest boys finding inspiration together 🎵

Harry is requested to perform a musical piece for a Great Serpent, it can’t be that hard, right? What he does not expect is having to work with an annoying, distracting, good-looking Draco Malfoy.

🛌 Two Wizards, One Bed by dustmouth (G) - soft, hilarious and adorable as usual, this made me giggle the whole night! Draco’s grumpy blushing face is my fave

Harry and Draco are trapped together in a safe house. Fiery discourse ensues (intercourse, more like...)

🪢 This time, tomorrow by @bluebutter-art (M) - talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique etc etc when I tell you my heart missed a beat seeing this beauty, I’m!!!!!

Two souls, bound by fate, destined to meet again and again and again.

[ragsy]

Hey congrats do the whole list for Kenny

🔫🔫🔫

Oh, pvp enabled, OKAY LET'S GOOOOO

are they associated with a certain color? what color do they wear the most?

not really sure, actually! i've only drawn him a handful of times and only one of those times was colored in, so i haven't quite figured out his color palette yet. desaturated purple comes to mind when i think on it, though

what sort of music would they like? have you thought about what genres or bands do they lean towards? do they have a favorite song?

His music taste is what i can only describe as "my real life father's mp3 player on shuffle" which is. Not anything that anyone on here has any frame of reference for!! But that would include, but isn't limited to: Cat Stevens, Manu Chao, Sheryl Crow, Third Eye Blind, Fatboy Slim, Fleetwood Mac, Traffic, Green Day, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Shpongle.

weapon of choice? any particular reason they chose their weapon?

Uuhhhh technically his character sheet lists his weapon as his walking stick, (it only does 1 damage) (he never uses it as a weapon, he has never once in his history on a monster hunting team hit anything with his walking stick)

The rest under here 👇

how crafty/resourceful are they?

Middlingly average, for the most part. He's much better at navigating problems than actually solving them; he'll look towards his team members if something needs fixed.

how do they typically dress? does their wardrobe lean more towards practicality or aesthetics?

Sweaters, slacks, polo shirts, sneakers. Retired guy in american suburbia swag.

how do they wear their hair? do they care a lot how their hair looks?

he keeps it somewhat short, but he doesn't really care how it looks anymore. he's grateful to still have most of it, so he just kinda lets it do what it wants. he also used to have a well-maintained goatee before his time in the Other Place, but since returning to the real world, he's only done the bare minimum of keeping his facial hair mostly trim.

favorite animal? why?

not a huge animal guy, honestly! he finds the presence of birds to be extremely reassuring, though. 

do they have a nickname? who gave it to them? if it's not derived from their real name, what's the story behind it?

i guess kenny is technically a nickname (he always introduces himself as kenneth, and everyone else always decides "oh this man is a kenny actually"), but he's much more of a giver of nicknames than anything else

favorite food? least favorite? are they a picky eater? do they have any dietary restrictions?

always a big fan of fresh baked goods, especially blueberry muffins. he has some challenges with eating these days-- after having spent five years in the Other Place not needing to eat or sleep, stuff tastes weird to him now. He's got a mental list of safe foods, but he tries not to be a bother when other people are cooking, so he'll try his best with what's available to him.

if they wear jewelry, what kind? do they prefer silver or gold? do they have a favorite gem?

gold wedding band :( (deadwife trope)

what do they have in common with you? how are they different? would you get along with them?

i gave him my fear of being forgotten and love for terrible dad jokes, what else could he need?

we're actually more different than alike, i think. he's just lived an extremely different life than me; he's a 65 year old heterosexual retired dentist who has been married and has a daughter who is my age. i am literally none of those things. but i think we would get along really well; he's based heavily on some of my own extended family who i already like fairly well, lol

how long have they been around? do you know their birthday? is their birthday the day you made them or another day? what do they think of celebrating birthdays?

i've had him as a character since... roughly 2020? but he was extremely different in that iteration (a haunting-the-narrative NPC in the motw campaign i ran and have since completed). his current iteration came about earlier this year when i rewrote him from the ground up to be a motw player character. also his birthday is march 17th, 1959 and birthdays are... complicated. if someone tried to throw him a party he would be GRATEFUL, and he would offer to celebrate someone else's birthday with them, but he doesn't know how to think of his own birthday anymore. he spent ages being extremely unmoored from the passage of time, you know? makes it hard

what languages do they speak? how fluently?

fluent in english (his first language), more than a little bit of mandarin (from his grandparents) and spanish (he had some patients who only spoke spanish; he always made an effort to be able to directly communicate with them whenever possible). the latter two are largely forgotten from disuse, though

are they any good with numbers?

he's actually pretty good with numbers, but it doesn't come up very often anymore. he's itching for the day that someone comes to him for help with their taxes

how big or small is their family? who did they live with growing up? do they live with anyone now?

very, very small. he was his parents' only child, he had a language barrier between him and one set of grandparents, and he never knew the other set. his late wife had a big family, who he has since fallen out of contact with (with the exception of his beloved nephew charlie). he has one daughter, who he is trying to reconnect with. he currently lives alone.

do they have any pets? what do they call their pets?

no pets, and he would never ever ever consider franklin the potted plant to be a pet. that's his TRAUMA BONDED BEST FRIEND

how did they spend their summers/free time as a child?

wildly unsafe summer camps of the 1960s/1970s. here you go child, have some lead paint to play with

their opinion on lying, stealing, and killing?

top three things to make kenny disappointed in you

are they quick to anger? what sets them off?

very, very slow to anger. will ALWAYS give someone the benefit of the doubt, but if they really are in the wrong, he will bottle it up for as long as possible. when he finally breaks, it's hysterical and venomous. he generally hates being angry more than he hates the things that *make* him angry

if applicable, can they drive? if they have their own, what color is their vehicle? is the inside neat and tidy, or a mess?

he's got a royal blue toyota prius :]

it's pretty tidy inside, for the most part. gotta make sure there's space for passengers inside, it's not a large vehicle to begin with!!

their favorite place to be?

alice's house, with everyone else there with him

do they sleep well at night?

HA, no, lmao

5 years not needing to sleep will fuck up your sleep schedule once you finally have to again. he wakes up at odd hours, falls asleep at even odder ones, and has crazy weird dreams (which he then has to write down in his dream journal before he can go back to sleep again)

how would you describe their voice? can they sing?

quick and flighty, like he has to get his words out as fast as he can before something stops him. he stammers a lot. he's not a great singer by any means, but he's not immune to singing along to a favorite tune in the car or in the kitchen.

do they have any creative hobbies? (art, writing, music, etc)

he tried out a lot of different hobbies while trying to adjust once his daughter moved out, but none of them stuck. he tries to augment his dream journal with drawings whenever possible, so i guess that counts? 

how good/bad is their hearing? what about their eyesight?

hearing is actually pretty good for his age; eyesight isn't great though. he's been a glasses wearer since the second grade, and it's only gotten worse as he's aged

how do they move? are they clumsy? light on their feet? do they use mobility aids?

he's not quick by any means, but he can get around just fine. he has a chronically bad knee from a car crash earlier in his life that was exacerbated by an injury during an encounter with the lighthouse keeper. he walks with a cane on days when he needs extra support.

if applicable, do they have a favorite sport? do they play any sports or prefer to watch?

he understands the appeal of sports, but was never very athletic and never really got into watching them. he'll still tune into the olympics though, just to see what crazy things they're doing with spheres and gravity in athletics these days

how do they show that they care about someone? how do they express that they don't like someone?

He cares a lot about most people he meets, so it is generally easier to tell when he *doesn't* like someone; his warm, inviting manner turns curt and closed. 

are they associated with any particular element (air, earth, fire, water)?

Air, probably? I've no grounds for this, it just feels right

do they smell like anything notable?

Uuuuuuuuuh i dunno, come give uncle kenny a whiff and tell me what you think

do they like receiving gifts? giving gifts? what is their ideal gift?

He LOVES giving and receiving gifts, he eats that shit up, but if he's the only one receiving and not giving anyone anything he starts to feel really guilty about it. His ideal gift is something small yet thoughtful. He's going to be thinking about the magic walking cane that Charlie gave him forEVER

do they have any habits that aren't particularly self-destructive, just maybe odd?

He carries around a potted plant like his life depends on it, he's removed the doors from every room and cabinet in his apartment, and he hesitates before passing though any sort of entryway

if applicable, how would your other characters describe them? i mean specifically the people around them.

Mark's the only other one who has met him, and he would describe him as "uh. Nice, i guess? He talks too much, and he's kinda weird like he's on a different planet than everyone else, but he seems... harmless."

how would your character describe themselves? it doesn't have to line up with how they really are.

"Who, me? Ah, I'm just some kook who got lost once, haha!"

do they ever return home?

He's tried. That house isn't really home anymore; home feels more like the people he's with nowadays.

[shu-bullshit]

hi!! what watercolors do you use? your paintings are always so vibrant and have such a mystical vibe to them and I’m curious lol

super sorry if you’ve already answered this, tumblrs search function fights me whenever I try using it 😭

Hi! No worries I haven't and I'd love to talk about watercolor :) I use several, in transparent > opaque order:

Schmincke > Holbein cake colors > Nicker poster colors

(family pic)

Some notes:

Schmincke: Expensive but really good, vibrant, if on a budget maybe you can get a couple blocks of colors you really like. If you're committed to watercolor I definitely recommend getting a palette. I made my own custom set. Loooove the blues.

Holbein: this is a Japanese brand, so it was actually easier to get in China than the US, I got on Ali Express. It's slightly more opaque but not exactly gouache. It looks like the really cheap kind of cake watercolor palette but a lot more vibrant. It sets on paper with a kinda of sandy texture and I really love it. It's also a bit more dense than traditional transparent watercolor, so you can also layer with it easily.

I think the 24 color set is a lot more worth it than the 12 color set. Problem is I don't think they sell blocks individually, or at least hard to find.

These recent ones I posted are the combination of these two paints above.

Nicker: Again Japanese brand. I heard this is what Ghibli studio use? But it's affordable. I could get individual jars (jars are much better value than the tubes) in China, but in the US I've only found sets on Amazon so far.

It's smooth, and still remains a good saturation when diluted compared to other gouache/poster colors I've used. I don't use this alone as much now, but this is something solely done with Nicker I made a couple years ago 👇 as you can see it has good coverage. So when I did this I didn't layer up I just painted inch by inch.

But I have to say, how a watercolor painting turns out is really up to the paper! In my opinion paper is even more important than the paint, it influences vibrancy and textures more than you would think. So I always encourage my friends to get good paper rather than expensive paint. I use Arches hot press for formal works most often, but for a cheaper option I also love Fabriano (the two lil ones above are on their postcard papers, really good enough). Both are great for layering up.

And last, you can Photoshop them :D

These stuff sure cost a lot in total, but it took me a long time to figure out and collect all these, they don't really run out that fast if you don't do very large paintings. You can definitely try it out bit by bit, and enjoy the excitement of using a new paint on the way!

[jeida-chi]

What brush do you use for your artwork? I’ve been trying to create texture on my paintings, but my circular-tipped brushes just have more an amateur looking, grade school swoop.

Also, do you know any good guides on mixing paint to make better colors?

Ok so the basic answer is: you will usually get more texture with square brushes, while the round one give a more blended look-

Though I’ve found that when it comes to brushes, the most essential part is not the shape, but the texture! The ideal texture will vary depending on the medium and personal preference, but for the ones I use:

For acrylic: now with acrylic, I like to have a brush that has a bit of body to it, while still being supple and not as rigid as an oil paint brush - my absolute favourite model are the Snap! Brushes by Princeton, I’ve found that they truly have the perfect consistency for me - they also come in a wide range sizes including very fine ones for detailed work!

For watercolor: for watercolor, you’ll want a brush that has more of a flow to it, a brand I really like are the Windsor & newton Cotman brushes, though a lot of brushes will do, just look for something that is labelled as suitable for watercolor!

Finally, for gouache: I like to have more body than even my acrylic brushes with this medium (while still not as rough as an oil brush); now I have Himi gouache, so I use the brushes that came with the palette I bought, but for finer details I use these Raphaël brushes!

Overall there’s no right answer, I recommend just trying different types of brushes/texture, and you’ll find what works best for you! I also think that if you have the option, buying brushes at in person art stores where you can touch the bristles is the best way to do it! Getting a feel of the brush, it’s much easier to tell if you’ll enjoy working with it rather than just blindly buying something hoping for the best -

Good tools can be so essential when it comes to producing artworks you like, before I figured out my brushes were the problem I HATED acrylic paint, so hopefully you’ll find something that works for you!

For mixing colors, unfortunately I don’t really have any tutorials to rec :( I have been winging this shit for as long as I can remember LOL - one piece of advice I’d give is;; if you’re using a reference, stop trying to mix the color you think you need, and instead, actually LOOK properly at the colors - we often have erroneous preconceived notion of what things look like! Looking out for undertone is really important as well!

Speaking of - an important tip I wish I knew earlier is to put a color wash on your canvas! Gives a glow from underneath the color that gives a really nice effect + getting good colors is much easier when you’re not working on blinding white!

also an unpopular art opinion of mine would be: don’t listen to the people who tell you would should only ever use the primary colors and bla-bla-bla;;; that can be a good way to learn mixing, but if it frustrates you to the point of getting discouraged, what has been gained, really?

also these people always forget to mention one crucial thing: saturation! One thing to know about mixing paint is that the color out of the tube is the most saturated you can get - every time you mix up colors, you will lose some saturation; that can be a very good thing if you want a more natural and organic palette; but it’s important to remember it’s impossible to, for exemple, mix up an orange that’ll be as bright as one you’d get from a tube

There’s also some pigments that can give really interesting results, for exemple, making this portrait, I used this color while mixing the skin, and while it is pink, it has a really interesting purple undertone, which I think gave super cool results!

Anyway, this was a really long winded answer, but I hope you’ll find it somewhat useful! Good luck on you art journey, friend! 💕

[pixies-and-poets]

so i just saw the necromancer Woodrow AU thing, and now im curious..

what would Phantom think of this Woodrow, and how would they interact with each other in this specific universe in general? im a sucker for AUs that make a character fucked up, so thats why i wanted to ask

Well! Recently I said I'd come up with a new scenario, and it was actually putting Phandrow into this AU, since this and the werewolf one are the only Woodrow AUs I have that are untouched by my persistent shipping, lol.

I'll probably write it out eventually, but the problem is... I like the idea I've come up with but it was just a little silly thing, and I don't want to commit to saying it's the only thing that would/could happen. At any rate, being supernatural himself, Phantom wouldn't be freaked out by Woodrow's secret, and would therefore be one of the few people he could tell about it. (The only other people who knew were Sweetlopek, who had himself become undead, and Dryad, who figured it out on her own- I figure after he gets the bony hand in the original story he would just start wearing black gloves at all times and no one would really question it. They just think he developed a skin condition or burned himself due to his bad luck, lol.)

From there, I feel like there are so many different ways Phandrow could go in the necromancer AU. Phantom being a more unscrupulous person who loves (and needs) attention, you could see him encouraging his boyfriend to tap deeper into his powers and raise an army of undead who admire both the necromancer who brought them back to existence, and his partner, who can command them due to Phantom's natural game-boss charisma. Whereas beforehand Woodrow just restored things to "life" out of pity, and because he thought they died unnaturally or too soon, and then let them go on their way... Phantom would encourage him to reach deep into the graveyards of Palette Prime and Spooky Trails to raise the dead for specific purposes. This helps Woodrow gain confidence, but in turn he becomes a corrupted version of himself. With an army of half-decayed creatures at his command, he is now safe from anyone who made him an outcast, and no longer needs to keep his powers hidden... but at what cost?

[letters-to-rosie]

Hi! So my questions for the Q&A are:

Will Powder and Silco meet in the future?

What's Powder's fashion style in the fic? Do you have any visual description of an outfit she'd wear in the revolution verse, or an aesthetic pic with the right feel?

Speaking of visual aids, I'm sorry but can you help me out identifying the support cast and who is who from the show? It took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize who Scar and Kai were from the show, and Eve I know is the pink haired Firelight Jinx shorts, but I'm a bit confused as for the others 😅

Favorite scene you've written so far?

Scene from the future you're most excited to write?

Can you share a future fluffy moment between Powder and Ekko we should be excited about?

What has been/will be the more taxing scene to write due to its political and personal importance to you?

I think that's it, sorry if I pushed the bar 😅

oh my gosh these are great lol and certainly provide a (more than welcome) challenge! I'll do my best!

the plan is that they get to meet at least once, not far from the end of the story. By then, things have gotten pretty crazy, and Powder has to appeal to Silco's dad mode

I feel like Powder would still be generally in the Jinx color palette, lots of pinks and purples and black, but also blue. Lots of tank tops and t-shirts, and she's pretty much always stomping around in combat boots. I imagine her wearing a good bit of denim. She has a favorite denim jacket, too, kinda bomber jacket style, totally swallows her up, that sort of vibe. High collars, chokers, etc would still be part of her look. I see her as certainly liking style but keeping it more practical these days to make things easy. Like an effortless look. She still paints her nails fun colors. I figured I'd pull up some Mush pics to honor the originator of the reverse au design that started it all lol. These I think Powder would wear:

jacket would be kinda like this, though I'd do a lighter wash of denim:

no problem! So as far as the supporting cast is concerned, Sky is Jayce and Viktor's lab assistant. Megan's an OC, but they'd look similar (I needed someone to work at the hospital for chapter 3 and then I liked her and just kept her around lol). Gianna is based on the Firelight who kicks Caitlyn in episode 6 lol and is working on the mural in episode 7, though we never see her face. Ajuna is part of Ekko's lore from League, a friend who dies and he's unable to save. He's connected to the predecessor to the Firelight mural from the show. i just kinda threw him in there for fun because "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" did the same. I think that's it for actual characters. The rest are OCs. I really ought to gather some visual references for them. Marnie is around Mel's skintone, for example...

UGH favorite scene this is so hard lol. I still really like all of chapter 2. I just can't help it. But since I've talked about liking it before, let me get out of my comfort zone. I think it's a little too hard to pick one, so I'll give a handful: the last section of chapter 3, all of chapter 7, really, the deal scene in chapter 10, the hospital in chapter 16, the balcony in chapter 18, the room key scene in chapter 19, and Caitlyn's conspiracy board in chapter 22 are all ones I'm pretty proud of or just enjoy reading because I think they're funny lol. I'm also proud of chapter 20 in general because plot twist!

I pre-write a lot of things, but as far as a scene I haven't written yet, I'm really excited to finish some stuff for Ekko's collection and there are some fun scenes of Powder really coming into her own. In particular, there's one that'll be quite a ways off where Powder sits down with Vi and they hash out a lot of the things between them, acknowledging the need to give each other space to live their lives as they've chosen to live them.

ahhhhhhh these idiots are gonna have so much fluff! What I will say is they should be dating within the next ten chapters (lest the story get away from me which is possible but I think by then they should be together lol). Before then, though, they're going to do some graffiti, fall into a fountain, and get all sappy in Ekko's car. And then after they get together they cuddle a lot and have a bunch of sex lmao. In a way, the physical relationship relates to the broader story in that Ekko helps Powder work on her confidence and articulating what she wants, which is similar to her journey of growing as a leader, a journey he also kicks off (though he kicked that one off by accident lol).

I think as the story keeps going it'll just get more taxing for me in general, if that makes sense. I'm always worried about coming off as preachy or heavy-handed. I'm probably overthinking things a lot. But I'd say that some of the setbacks the characters are going to face in pursuing their goals are going to be taxing in that emotional way. So far I think some of the stuff at the beginning was hard, and chapter 17 with Powder thinking about her hair was also hard, but it's kind of cathartic. The most I struggle with is how do I write a liberation story that works, because there's not a lot in the world for me to draw on in the way that I want due to international sabotage, etc. So I'm kinda taking these movements and trying to learn from their mistakes without feeling like I've got a perfect solution, because that's certainly not true, but I want to be hopeful. That balance of hope, a gesture at realism, tone and balance, trying to learn from the past, all of that can get a bit difficult for me.

okay, I think that covers it! These were so good for getting me to really think. It got a bit rambly at the end. I need to give that last one some more thought, so I might revisit it later. Thanks so much! 😄💙

[melodybottles]

hello and happy holidays everypony!

i have nothing to do at work at the moment. let's talk about art bc i've been thinking about it a lot lately and particularly have been struggling! which is a shame bc i've had the drive to draw lately, but haven't been able to put things down on paper the way i've wanted to.

first and foremost i have still not finished sorting all my CSP assets. lol. lmao even. (i've even returned to downloading MORE, thus making the problem continuously worse for myself). when i finally do that the palette tests WILL get done.... someday.................... but unfortunately that day is not today. certainly i could already start using it, but unfortunately i'm a very organised person to the point of perhaps neurotic overorganisation so i NEED things very meticulously sorted into folders. relatedly on the topic of brushes i've also been really dissatisfied with any of my SAI ones so that's been A Struggle

SECOND OF ALL. actually this is primarily wanted to make this post about bc i wanted to lay this out and discuss it so that my friends don't have to hear me whining in dms anymore -- i've mentioned over the past several months my style has been kind of experimental, right? well. i'm at the point where i'm deeply unsatisfied with my style as a whole atm </3 and it's not even like my art style is bad by any means! i enjoy a lot of what i've put out over the past several months. but i'm really dissatisfied with my work because there are a lot of elements i want to include that i can't quite get a grasp on!

it's like.... i want something stylised. but i don't want something too stylised. but i don't want something realistic. but i want something with more realistic proportions. but also i do like doing the stylised limbs. but also. i want variety to my work but still enough consistency where you can tell it's mine. i want to figure something out that's able to integrate drawing fat people easily into it. i want to learn how to draw older characters and make sure i settle on a style that grants me the ability to do that too. i want to do art like this and like that and i have soooo many things i want to do with it that i see from other artists it just makes me kind of shut down and struggle LMAO

basically i want a lot of things! and some of them contradict each other </3 art is hard folks

[masonscig]

"stop giving them european features"... M is literally european fam. Us euro mediterraneans come in various skin tones, sure, from to pale to tan but we nonethless are white. Tanned skin, dark eyes and dark hair aren't features exclusive to any race here. I get tumblr mostly adopts american stance on race meaning that tan=poc but that's really not the case here, we don't need you defending us, we're good thanks lol M being drawn as paler than their description is the same as a long haired character being drawned with short hair to us: inaccurate (as most fan art ever made) but not offensive as pale vs tan doesn't have racial connations here. Obvs it could be different if we knew that M was greek in terms of nationality but not necessarily have greek origins but we were told they were greek in an ask about UB *ethnicities* so literally... no need to get upset on our behalf, we don't need you to, it just comes off as weird for you all to act this way tbh

it's so funny you started off with that line because when i posted it, i thought to myself "i don't need to clarify that that's about felix/farah/nate/nat right? no way! people can figure that out!" but i guess i was wrong :)

i did not need an essay about race versus ethnicity in my inbox, because regardless, this isn't about that. this is about artists having skintone palettes straight from the author and blatantly going lighter than that, whether it's about mason/morgan or not. (i myself am mixed race but only refer to myself as white because you wouldn't know i'm mixed race at first glance without discussing it with me. i get it. trust me.) and the point you made about hair is just.. not a good stance to take. you cannot compare skintones to hair in any context.

my question is, how do you not see this – what you've sent me – as enabling behavior? you would rather allow people to run rampant *like they already are* and continue to draw mason/morgan lighter than their canon description because? you personally don't feel a type of way about it? you can feel however you want to feel about it, but that doesn't solve the problem i – and so many players of color in the fandom – have brought up.

and just to reiterate, there are other characters that i mentioned. felix/farah and nate/nat, who get the most egregious whitewashing. instead of spending your time sending me a long anon about how you don't think pale mason/morgan art is whitewashing, you could care more about the other two massive issues that i presented. they don't just vanish because you're annoyed that i worded something poorly.

i understand where you're coming from, but there are bigger problems than me saying "stop giving them european features" instead of "stop giving f and n european features".

[cursedrambles]

Spent an unholy amount of time yesterday hitting the dummy because I couldn't figure out how to avoid drifting Starry Muse at 2m with 2.5 GCD (the woes of new gear). Testing out different combinations for Substractive Palette usage and how it affected my GCD, and coming out annoyed and frustrated.

I woke up this morning realising the basic RGB combo having a Healer-style weaving window means an RGB attack adds 1.5s not 2.5s. In a normal scenario I'm finishing my previous GCD with more or less 1s remaining for Starry Muse. Worst case I'm causing a 0.5 drift which is negligible.

I can just cast another RGB no problem. No need to clip or drift whatsoever or do very specific gcd combinations. I was needlessly complicating things lol

[orphanheirs]

Graphite, palette, and pastel for Tristan?

Ooh!! Thank you!! These are really thought provoking questions...

From this ask game!

Graphite: what's something decently common that your character does in a unique or different way? (like how graphite is present in all pencils, but not everyone uses pure graphite)

Tristan generally marches to the beat of his own drum, and somewhat consciously does things according to his own fancy and against convention. What's harder to think of is anything he does that's decently common. Lol. But here's a few things I can think of atm, and that I've developed specifically so far:

First thing I think of is his appearance. It was not uncommon for young boys to have longer hair in the period, and Tristan has shoulder length hair in a typical style BUT he likes to put his hair in a ponytail, which is kind of out of fashion by 1810 (I think). My idea is he ties it back with a black ribbon or finds an old wig pouch/bag. This is partially the result of his obsession with the late 18th century (he's like a "born in the wrong generation" kid longing for the 80s only he's longing for the 1780s..) and partially because of his going through a phase where he was really interested in the theories of Franz Mesmer, who rocked a similar look:

Also related to his appearance, Tristan wears suits with jackets like other boys of his era BUT once he's on his own (when he lived with his family he would not have been able to do this) he experiments with mixing in feminine articles of clothing in subtle ways. One of the ways he does this is by wearing spencer jackets (worn by women and girls) in lieu of an actual young boy's jacket. Both types of jacket were often cropped. He doesn't do this out in society either--the differences are enough where you can definitely tell which is which. He does it in the presence of all the supernatural freaks he hangs out with though, being that they aren't themselves concerned with gendered social conventions.

Left, a spencer. Right, a boy's jacket.

Tristan, like many aristocratic people of the period, greatly enjoys dancing BUT since he had so many health problems growing up he never had a dance master, so he's only been able to glean so much knowledge of how to "actually" dance from observation, and so fills in the blanks with his own fanciful movements. He couldn't do this at an actual ball, but he loves dancing about like a wild fairy whenever possible. (Usually just by himself...in the woods...)

Like most aristocratic people of the era, he speaks in an upper class "refined" accent BUT it sounds a bit old-fashioned, overly formal, and exaggerated. This is partially him overcompensating because he feels like an outcast of his family/their world, partially due to the practical shortcomings of being somewhat isolated from society as a whole, and partially due to him being a kid who's trying to sound "grown up". He also purposefully uses excessive flowery language because he thinks it sounds pretty/wants to add a dramatic flair to daily life/thinks it makes him sound smart. Since he reads so much he may use language more commonly found in writing than in casual speech. He also never goes to a school and thus hasn't mixed with other kids his own age much. Any slang he uses he gets from Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue.

Like most kids, he played with toys when he was younger, including ones that have heads and limbs, such as toy soldiers, dolls, etc. (due to his family's wealth Tristan is also lucky enough to have mechanical automaton figures) BUT their "lives" did not last long, because Tristan was quite fond of chopping their heads off with a model guillotine he also had.

Palette: list four of your character's primary skills, then share at least two ways these skills might blend or overlap

languages (French and Latin)

magic / occult

literary knowledge

hairdressing/cosmetics

His knowledge of Latin might have helped him access some occult texts. His ability to read French likely allowed him to read a wider range of literature, AND also access French beauty manuals/journals describing French fashions in hair and cosmetics.

Pastels: Give me three colors that best represent your OC. Now give me three colors that your OC likes best. Is there an overlap?

Purple, blue, red. Purple, blue, black. Yep lol

[luffythinker]

Another rarepair cause i love your reactions - That one friendly anon back at it again

AoyamaBakugo -> can we call their ship name Comet or burning star? thats so adorable.

EDIT after i finished writing this: i didn't mean to drop a whole ass fanfiction on you but i feel like you'll dig this i am bad at writing i can just do tellings of whats going on it isn't really a fic but ya know

Anyway Bakugo is always so nosy and in everyone's business Bakugo is also very smart so im sure if he paid attention to him long enough he would figure out that he was the traitor but lets rewind a little bit DO WE AS A COLLECTED PEOPLE REMEMEBER WHEN AOYAMA TRIED TO SAVE BAKUGO BY SHOOTING HIS LASER?? Bakugo damn sure remembers he remembers everything everyone did to save him and regrets acting like an ass for it telling Todoroki he didnt want his help and all that when they live in the dorms he goes around doing things for all the students that helped try to save him he does something for them cause its gonna burn a hole in his heart if he doesnt repay them

He already paid for Kirishima's goggles what else, made the whole class happy by making Kaminari make them laugh so it wouldn't be so bad but what can he do personally for those who helped?

For Momo he watched her habits until he found out what she likes cause he knows 0 anything about her except shes always got a ponytail, he goes out of his way to track down that expensive tea she so very enjoys the gold tips imperial (was about to call it gold nips lol)

For Deku he's already doing it hes nicer to him being nice to Deku is the greatest gift he can give him after they have their fight and everything

For Iida he ask Momo was the class prez has to do this week and does all of Iida's class prez work for the entire week (i dont know what a class prez does but whatever he does Bakugo does a weeks worth of his work)

For Todoroki he takes him hiking with him he just invites him and they have a good time Todoroki is very confused but glad he was able to see the sights

Lastly Aoyama, Bakugo knows nothing about this classmate of his, he honestly forgot he existed he doesn't know anything about Aoyama so he watches him like he did for Momo but this fucker is observant as hell and he's watching him watching Bakugo and it's scary as fuck lol

"What can i do for you mon ami?" He always catches him in his stare.

Bakugo getting shocked and startled "JESUS, i mean uh.. nothing sparkles."

"Then why are you staring so much? do i have something on my face?"

They have this conversation a lot at the end of class.

its been days into this

"You sure do stare at me a lot Kacchan"

"Dont fucking call me that twinkle toes"

Aoyama slightly turning his head. "But Midoriya calls you that all the time"

"It's Deku exclusive, and i hate being called that" He does not but he doesn't want anyone else to call him that and Aoyama gets it and just drops it

its been a whole 2 weeks

"We sure have been spending a lot of time together Bakugo."

Their conversations are very short and usually at the end of class but its a lot to Aoyama he feels like he's got a friend so he goes out of his way to talk to Bakugo more sometimes during the day or evening at the dorms.

"What are you cooking?" He wants to be of some help. "You certainly love to bless us with your beautiful cooking a lot."

"Because if i don't cook everyone going to eat take out every god damn day."

"I actually have to cook my own food," Aoyama instructs. "My palette needs to be a certain way because moi cannot eat everything everyone else eats."

"Shit, why didn't you tell me?"

This is a big thing for Bakugo he might be himself but hes not gonna willing cause stomach problems for somebody thats diabolical. They end up cooking together alot he tells Bakugo what is easy on his stomach and what he can actually stomach because of his sensitive tummy

Bakugo catches Kaminari or somebody trying to get Aoyama to try something he knows will upset his stomach and Aoyama being kind is going to try it but Bakugo stops him grabbing his wrist

"If something makes your lower intestine fucking explode why eat it?" Bakugo drops his arm. "Twinkles can't eat that he'll be in the bathroom all day if you give him that"

"Sorry dude didn't know you should have said something"

Bakugo keeps looking after him cause Aoyama like Deku fails to take care of himself properly

I also seem to remember that he did pretty bad on his test so he also might need help studying Bakugo is so on it helping him with subjects he doesn't quite understand

We are all in agreement that he is french so language classes aren't something Aoyama is very good at, Bakugo is very bilingual smart boi so he can help him with that.

"This is nothing for you twinkles" he encourages

Twinkles, Sparkles,Glitter these names he calls Aoyama start becoming very endearing.

"You have so many nicknames for me why don't i give you one if thats ok?"

Bakugo stares at him after hours in the classroom helping him with anything hes lacking with sitting at one desk both chairs so close their legs are touching. "Like an insult?"

"Heavens no! I mean like a nickname like you do for me."

"Shoot your shot i guess"

"Well, you are very loud but nothing's wrong with that dearie, since im twinkles like stars you are fire like a firework so im going to call you Dynamite darling"

This is yet another reason Bakugo named himself Dynamite.

This is like the part where your thinking Bakugo is like the alpha male of this relationship but i assure you i mean for them to be on equal grounds but more so Bakugo is so bottom in this relationship idk why i just love seeing dynamics where Bakugo isn't the boss if that makes since?

Aoyama isn't the first to make a move cause one day in training Bakugo saves him from some debris he wasn't fast enough to move so Bakugo had to "Haul his sorry ass" -> Save him it made Aoyama feel very protected the way Bakugo just swooped him off his feet.

"T-thank you so much darling"

"Whatever, be more fucking careful" sitting him down while their classmates look on with expressions that say "Yo, they spend a lot of time together are they ya know, DATING" and by classmates i mean the bakusqaud start teasing him for playing favorites with Aoyama.

Aoyama feels like he's always in the way so he does something it really isn't a lot but he cleans up and cooks and it just so happens Bakugo was really tired that day. Bakugo doesn't really notice it until Aoyama shows up in his room to tell him what he did,

"Glad to have a break?" Aoyama comes into his room. Bakugo is confused. "You did not notice all of your usual chores were done no?"

"I did, thought it was weird."

"I did them, i wanted to give you a break."

Its a unspoken thank you in Bakugo's eyes. when he says "You didn't have to do that but its whatever twinkles."

"You are very welcome, you look very tired so im going to let you get your beauty sleep, i hope you have beautiful dreams."

It's been so so long since they became friends Aoyama feels daring and puts his hand over Bakugo's one day nobody pays it any attention like when they all got together for the hot pot party thing, Bakugo doesn't move his hand or anything he just lets it be.

They dont talk about this for a long time. So Aoyama just starts fucking holding his hand sometimes and this becomes the norm for them.

"Why do you and Aoyama hold hands sometimes?" Kirishima asks because hes just curious.

"We dont fucking hold hands what the fuck are you talking about?"

"Yeah you do, you defiantly do. I've seen you hold hands like 6 or 7 times now, whats going on there bro?"

"Nothing mind your own business shitty hair"

It is now brought to Bakugo's attention he has allowed himself to become to comfortable so he tries to catch himself in these acts causing Aoyama to feel like Bakugo is resenting him.

Aoyama reachs for Bakugo's hand and Bakugo pulls away. "oh.." Aoyama minds himself and leaves it alone. Bakugo is being cold for no reason to Aoyama and it scares him that he thinks Bakugo found out he's the traitor and thats why he's doing this cause he's trying to dissociate, this scares Aoyama cause he thought they were so close and building something he's afraid so he starts to avoid Bakugo as well

Bakugo notices he's avoiding him, he didn't want this he just wanted his friends to stop calling him out on soft shit so he goes to try and confront him but somehow he's always busy.

One day Bakugo catches him in the bathroom with his face care routine you know as one does he grabs his arm "Don't fucking tell me your busy, you can talk and do that shit."

"Oh.. hello Bakugo."

The neglect of his darling burns Bakugo he misses it hasn't heard it in a while.

"please let go of me it's brutish to grab people like this."

"Bull, what is happening?"

Aoyama's mouth hangs open slightly trying to come up with something to say but his words are lost. "I don't know."

"Why are you avoiding me?"

"Your avoiding me first!"

Bakugo realizes hes taking this as him changing one thing as disliking him. "Are you mad i wont hold your stupid hand anymore? is that what this is about?"

"Clearly you know something and i can tell you dont wanna be seen with me."

Bakugo goes to grab his arm again but thats not nice so he just positions himself in front of Aoyama both hands on either side of the bathroom sink Aoyama in the middle. "I'm not like that, i just didn't think thats what this was...." Bakugo looks around in thought before looking back at Aoyama. "You like me?"

This is far from what Aoyama thought was going on he's frizzled pink just as Bakugo is, both a blushing mess now that their feelings are in the air.

"D-do you like me?"

Bakugo can't answer him he opts for backing up and giving the other blonde some well deserved space cause he needed it too, he needed to think.

"Do i like you?" He's more asking himself this question. "Oh my god i think i do."

It didn't even start out this way he just wanted to know what he liked so he could get him a present or some shit how did he end up having feelings?

"Fuck i do like you, FUCK."

Aoyama just chuckles covering his mouth. "Darling you have quite the mouth on you when you're embarrassed dont you?" It's the first time in awhile he's heard that laugh. Aoyama comes closer backing Bakugo up into the wall of the bathroom stall until his back its the door. He looks into those purple eyes a hand caresses his face like he's never felt before there is a fucking boy about to fucking kiss him and hes a deer in the headlights he can't do anything except breath which he can barely do that.

"A-are.. are you.. fuck, are we allowed to do that?"

"Are we allowed?" Aoyama laughs. "Of course, somebody said you weren't?" Aoyama suddenly backs off a little. "Oh, are you not like that? sorry, was this over steping?"

Hes gone and Bakugo wants him back that close again, Aoyama gives him his space. "Excuse me for rushing things like that."

All Bakugo can think is how is he going to get out of here and how he really wanted him to kiss him.

"You...Don't apologize twinkles. I gotta get ready." He barges out of the bathroom and Aoyama watches.

It's been a couple days and Bakugo is thinking about that time like it's yesterday, he can't get Aoyama out of his mind. he keeps wondering what would have happen if they did kiss.

"Bakugo can we talk?" Aoyama approaches. "I don't know where we stand you haven't really been avoiding me but i think there are somethings we need to talk about."

Bakugo is bad at talking about his feelings so he always finds a way to do just that, hes not avoiding him he just doesn't know how to go about talking about this so he always finds something to get himself into so he doesn't have to talk to Aoyama about that.

It's the end of the month, Bakugo is sitting on the roof of his dorm, Aoyama is good at climbing onto balconies so he gets up there with him. "I bought gifts so please don't push me away or leave,"

"There really is no getting out of this for me?"

"Darling we have baggage, we need to talk."

Bakugo offers to help him up the rest of the way he's got blankets and capri suns. Offerings. "Shoot your shot." Bakugo says drinking his capri sun.

"What are we?"

"Humans."

"Very funny, i mean what is our relationship status mon cheri"

"I don't know, i was hoping we could go back to whatever the fuck we started as when i first started talking to you, that was easy."

"Oui, i agree. Lovers of the past life."

"Thats a strong word."

"Lovers?"

Bakugo nods. "Even stronger words exist that are stronger then that."

"Do you want to be strong words together?" Aoyama's hand places over Bakugo's he's ready for him to pull away but he doesn't. Bakugo looks over at him legs pulled into his chest.

"I... i'm unstable right now i don't know if i can be strong words with you right now."

"Do you feel strong words about me?"

Bakugo holds his hand tighter. "I feel a lot of strong words about you." Bakugo doesn't know if hes able to come through with all the things he has inside, everything he feels. "I don't know if im ready."

"Do you want me to wait for you?"

"I don't know how long you'll have to wait until i know everything."

Aoyama holds his hand back even tighter, it's sweaty. "I can wait for a long time if you can wait for me."

Bakugo has no idea what this means but he feels a lot of love from this, he leans over and lays his head on Aoyama's shoulder. He doesn't deserve him. Aoyama quietly ask him if he can kiss him Bakugo nods into him, Aoyama kisses his hair, Bakugo curls up to him, he kisses him more in different places like his cheek his eyebrow everywhere that isn't his mouth cause he isn't ready.

"We don't have to commit to anything but i would like to." Bakugo says between kisses and snuggles. "Give me a reason to want to be ready."

This is his way of saying kiss me on the mouth and Aoyama does. Bakugo balls his hands in Aoyama's shirt, it gets messed up cause his hands are sweaty but neither of them care.

THE KIDS ARE KISSING UNDER THE FUCKING MOONLIGHT ON THE ROOF IT DOESNT GET ANY BETTER i hope i made you scream of joy with this long ass fanfiction im on that Bakugo perspective sorry for cussing so much

Glad to hear from you again anon, hope you're doing good <3 Let's call them Comet cause I think it's cute and fits them so well!!

[so i tried to eact as i was reading so here goes random sentences that may or may not make sense!!]

yes, we do remember that!!!! Bakugo is so funny to me, he really thinks nobody can do anything for him out of kindness or goodwill, he NEEDS to pay them back somehow just to make sure they're evenkldflkfd

especially with the whole traitor thing, i think Aoyama is cautious to not let anybody discover anything from him, so I wonder if he felt nervous once Bakugo started paying attention to him

[pause to scream about "kacchan" being Deku exclusive, my poor bkdk heart can't take it]

THEM BEING COOKING PARTNERS :(( I assume Aoyama can't eat a lot of spices and things like that, so I imagine Bakugo going out of his way to make different food just for him :>

"Bakugo keeps looking after him cause Aoyama like Deku fails to take care of himself properly" YOU CANT DO THIS TO ME IM VERY WEAK HEARTED OKAY

twinkles is actually such a cute nickname, especially for a twinky boy [everybody laughs at my lame joke pls]

BAKUGO NOT GETTING THE CONCEPT OF A NICKNAMEKJJKDFK "like an insult??" MY POOR ANTI-SOCIAL BABY

I don't mind bottom Bakugo at all, I actually love it! I love that he has a strong personality and still isn't the more dominant one hihihi

Not Aoyoma doing acts of service to thank Bakugo, that's so sweet actually :(

ohhhhhh the hand-holding?? I guess it could come naturally to them, just like bit by bit, but with confrontation about it he would pull back a little (he's just very gay and confused okay)

NO IMAGINE HOW SAD HE FELT SEEING HIS FRIEND PULLING AWAY LIKE THAT, and with the traitor thing going on in the side… oh lord

I'M GONNA CRY PLEASE DONT FIGHT

"I'm not like that" oh for heaven's sake

"i think i do" KHFDJKLDFLJDF WHY ARE GAY PEOPLE LIKE THIS

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD ARE THEY GONNA KISS

NO COME BACK FUCK FUCK FUCK LJSDLJSDKLSDLKMDSLKNSDLKSD I CANT FUCKING BELIEVE THIS

NOT AOYAMA HITTING HERE WITH THE WHAT ARE WE QUESTIONDSODSJ

not them using "strong words" instead of properly conveying their feelingshsdisdo gay people are such a headache

I won't judge them for waiting, but also i know it can hurt so much

KISSING EVERYWHERE BUT ON HIS MOUTH OH IM GONNA COLLAPSE

OH FUCK THEY ARE KISSING THEY AREUHSDJKCVLJXDKPO

OH MY GOD I GOT SOKJSDKLSDLK MANY FEEELINGJSDKDFKO

omg i just… have no words, i loved this??? this was really brilliant, I hope other people here enjoy it just as much as I did! it was such a fun angsty read

I like that Bakugo was honest with his feelings, about how he needed more time to sort things out because yeah it can be really complicated :( i'm wishing the best for these two

[phoenix-before-the-flame]

Im sorry im sot sure how to word this right but, how do you manage to change the characters race while still making them look like well, them? I've tried but it never comes out right.... they allways look like a new character when i try.... again im sorry to ask....

Tis not a problem at all dear comrade! I'm always happy to try and answer art questions, but just a heads up i might get a lil bit rambly in some spots so i do apologize beforehand.

First off, change that negative tone!

I understand how you feel and its easy to feel down when the piece isnt turning out how you picture it but that's ok. You're setting foot into new artistic territory, something you havent tried before thats still a fairly big unknown. Instead of seeing it as a failure see it instead as a step in your artistic growth. No one starts off god tier right? Changing your framing of how you see your 'bad' drawings can really help you see em in a more positive light (and help with motivation when you attempt something new another time!)

Ok but onto what you actually asked about. How do you change a character but still keep them the same? Well in my eyes to do this, you have to

Break down thedesign

Let's take in the character we wanna redesign. We gotta really look at their original design and identify all their relevant features and shapes that make them easily recognizable as them.

Lemme grab my assistant Gajeel to illustrate my point.

So we have our Gajeel, yea we know what he looks like but! What exactly are we looking for here? Well we're looking for the key features to his design, features important enough where if he had a completely different hairstyle and colour palette ( and perhaps even body type) would make you go 'yea that's gajeel'.

So in breaking it down we note that he has:

Triangular shaped eyes with a bit of a dark outline

Small eyes with slit pupils

Prominent cheekbones

Jacked up hairline

And of course the most noticable feature, the multiple piercings

These- to me- are the most important parts of his design so i leave them generally unchanged when i go about drawing him. Which means everything else is on the table to change!

Though for me when I got about my redesigns i focus on changing 3 things mostly- nose, lips and hair. These really push a race change design, specifically in this case, makin em black

Now of course with this you are going to change skin tone that's obvious but relying solely on colour palette change makes for a somewhat weak redesign. If you turn off the colour and you can't tell if the character is nonwhite then it needs some work.

Noses and Lips

Now there are a great many ways to draw wider noses and it can be a bit difficult figuring out to interpret em without em lookin janky but i find that less is more!

I only ever really show the base of the nose where the tip part is and the nostrils, the bridge of the nose is only ever shown in my style when the head is a bit turned.

The same goes with lips, you only really need about 2 or 3 lines at minimum to emphasizs thick lips- one for the actual lip line, one for the top lip and one for the lower lip. Some people choose to leave out the line for the bottom lip and thats fine. Just don't do this-

If you do that im putting you in the ground myself.

Hair

Hair is a bit of a 50/50 for me to change most times because i really enjoy drawing that spiky anime hair lol. But I think that the important thing to keep note of changing the hairstyle to a more natural one is to keep the overall silhouette of the hair recognizable.

The silhouette being y'know, the shape and all that. If you're a pokemon fan then you already know how much a silhouette builds recognition. So as an example, Juvia's first hairstyle was that straightened looke with the tight curls at the end. The shape of that hairstyle was mimicked by using braids with puffs at the ends to help with maintaining that silhouette.

Gajeel has very big, spiky and wild hair so I tried to mimick that with dreads

(Also to note with the Gajeel redesign is that his face is slightly wider with the features a bit lower but thats more of a liberty I took than anything hard and fast so dont even worry about that)

Again, if i am changing the hair then i try to follow the shape of the original design as closely as possible. Even with a design such as my Black Gray design with a vastly different hairstyle i still sketched out the shape of his og hair to maintain the overall spiky shape (with a few liberties lol)

So uh, yea! I think that's the most basic breakdown of how to go about doing a black redesign. Identifying the key design traits i think really is the most important step to do as it really helps to cement what's necessary to keep and what can or cant be changed.

But some other stuff to be mindful of when redesigning:

Refs naturally are your friend. If you have difficulty with interpreting irl refs then theres no shame in using someone elses art as a reference to help you to learn and understand (just no tracing!)

Please for the love of god use saturated browns for the skin tone. I cannot tell you how often i see designs with a gray-brown skin tone. It makes the character look ashy. Please don't make them ashy.

Also speaking of skin tones, be mindful of being accidentally colourist, where all your darker skinned characters villains or angry, loud, violent, sexual, etc. Not saying you can't redesign characters who have those traits to be dark skinned. But if all the characters you redesign to be dark skinned have those traits while others with more positive traits are lighter shades you may want to step back and do some reflection.

Don't be let down if you don't get a redesign on the first try! You don't see behind the scenes for other artists, it definitely takes a few tries to get it right so dont get hung up on it!

These are not hard and fast rules, just really what works for me and how I do things. If you need anything clarified better or wanna ask anything else feel free to! Happy redesigning comrade!

[pillowdash]

btw here's the concept doodles i did for the halloween art ^^ i spent way too much time on research just to come up with these... they're very simple costumes, but the thought process i went through was anything but simple, lol. if you're curious, feel free to read about it! (lots of text below)

my goals were 1. i wanted to imagine what would be reasonable for them to wear to a small kind of family gathering 2. i wanted for Susato and Ryunosuke to stick to their culture's mythos for this occasion 3. and ideally, i wanted their getups to be in character Iris was the easiest one, because to dress up as a "Witch" was a rather popular choice back in those days, as many photoprints would prove. she would have no problems finding materials or sewing patterns for her outfit, i thought. i considered making her dress more colorful... but decided against it. after all, despite her love for colours, Iris normally wears clothing with a rather 'calm' colour palette... and too much colour on her would potentially only harm the picture, anyway :P i figured the Japanese duo wouldn't be able to spend a lot / find materials in a foreign land for their costumes. so even if they wanted to dress up fancy, it would be difficult and impractical to seek out accessories or clothing just for this occasion... and it would be entirely too troublesome to try and sew something (materials needed, different sewing techniques than what was common in Britain, where to find pictures to use as a reference for something elaborate, etc etc). so, they wouldn't try do anything too complex, i thought, which means they'd either choose to dress as characters that require cheap, ragged outfits (would be relatively inexpensive to make), or they'd use things they already had. i've given a lot of thought about their choices of characters, but long story short, i've decided that a somewhat devious or fearsome, but not necessarily evil, creatures, that were very well known and easily recognizable even with minimal accessorising, were the best option. i don't know if Ryu has anything like this kimono on him, but if he had, it'd be very dark or black, i think - makes sense with his design ^^ finally, i wasn't sure what to do with Sherlock at all... would he be lazy and forget to make a costume? possibly. he loves to dress up, though, (and one pout from Iris would motivate him enough anyway) so he'd probably have fun with this holiday. i thought of making him dress as a vampire at first, then a Grim Reaper or some kind of skeleton... but ultimately stopped at 'ghost'. i definitely didn't want to just throw a sheet over him, and photos from the end of 19th century showed ghost costumes that were made for little kids and were very, well, childish... not to say that Sherlock wouldn't wear something like that, lol, but i decided to make him wear his own ghostly theme. his outfit is based on fashions from a few decades earlier, so these articles of clothing could still potentially be sold somewhere in London, and they'd give him kind of a vintage look. i have no idea if anyone would be interested in this enough to read this far, but here we are xD here's a couple of other random details: they have carved turnips for lanterns (those came out looking a bit too big, i think) i also thought they'd have soul cakes on the table, to give away/share with others, or maybe eat by themselves, but the bowl is barely noticeable at all, lol ok, that's it!

[sylensombrr]

Afterdeath Family Headcanons

No one asked for this, but I wanna talk about it and I don't wanna forget lol. Get ready, this is gonna be a long one. In my head canon, the Afterdeath family consists of Geno and Reaper,(obviously), who are the parents, and their kids Raven, Sorell, Silver, Goth, and Shino(as well as other fan kids like Candy, Momo, Demise etc. but they won't be mentioned. Might make a separate post about them if yall want/if I feel like it). They live in a huge gothic mansion, I don't know where it's located but if it's in an AU it would be next to a graveyard.(They give off huge Addams family vibes, so I had to take influence from that) They also share the house with two pets, a cat named Krueger and a raven named Archimedes, as well as three other people, Lotus, Rurik, and Palette, but I'll talk about those three later.

Geno(He/him) •Geno is in a group called "Triple Threat and Regret" consisting of him, Lust and Dance •They try to go out together every Tuesday, Geno's favorite location being Ccino's café •He's a bit of a hoarder but not much that it's a problem •Super fucking emo •Has a bit of a habit of adopting children he finds, ex. Lotus •Krueger is his cat. He found her in the graveyard. She was too old to live out in the wild, so he kept her •Horror movie fanatic, one of his favorites being A Nightmare on Elm Street •Coffee addict/Likes black coffee Reaper(He/they/it) •Best friends with Bill Sans •He's in a nameless friend group consisting of him, Bill and SD!Dream(Idea by @/_.dxnce.sxns.stan• on Instagram) •Huge heavy metal fan •Archimedes is his raven, which he treats like a familiar •Likes giving advice to his kids •Most of his kids vent to him rather than Geno •Surprisingly good cook •Wants to be or was in a band with Geno, Bill and 404 depending on the timeline/AU •He can play the guitar and scream Raven(He/him) •Loves to go to Comic-Con every time it comes around •Introduced Blueprint to rock •He and Blueprint and sometimes his cousin Gradient go to concerts together •He enjoys getting high with Blueprint and just vibing •Blueprint is a year older than him

Silver(He/it/xe) •May or may not be adopted(idk I read it somewhere, but now I can't find it) •Loves to play with Shino •His favorite siblings are Shino and Sorell •Trans male •He is a bit annoyed by Rogue but doesn't mind when ze stays there as long as ze doesn't talk to him •Has a tiktok and likes to make cosplay videos, mainly anime •Would cut you if you told anyone

Sorell(He/they) (If anyone has or knows where I can his canon info, please tell me I can't find it anywhere) •Afab nonbinary •Big anime and manga fan •Raven and them like to trade manga •He likes to hang out with Tatyana sometimes(They garden and take care of her animals together) •Asexual •Grayromatic Goth(He/they/she) •He knows about Palette and Cray's rivalry, but chooses to ignore it •He was originally pretty cautious around Lotus and Rurik but warmed up to them •Prefers to hang out with Lotus over Rurik •Cray is like a brother to him •Thinks Rogue is pretty weird but still likes zir •He tried to keep Rogue and Rurik from meeting out of fear of them fighting •Wants to wear heels so he can taller, but Geno doesn't let him(he's too young) Shino(She/her) •Loves to play with Sorell, Silver, and Rurik •She keeps trying to get Rogue to play with her and is mad that ze never does (I don't have much to say about her lol)

Miscellaneous Geno and Reaper(mainly Geno) doesn't let any of their kids ages 13 and under be in the house by themselves, so they have either Rogue, Bill, Dance, or Lust watch over them. As of recent, Geno and Reaper also like to have family get togethers with Ink ,Error and their kids(Paperjam and Gradient) as well as Fresh. It usually ends up with Error and Geno fighting/debating over something stupid with Fresh, Ink, and Reaper watching them while the kids play Mario Kart or Smash in another room.

Next onto Palette, Rurik and Lotus which is where I kinda diverted from canon mainly with Rurik and Lotus to the point it could be considered an alternate version of them. Palette(He/they) Because of being busy with battling against Nightmare and his gang, Ink and Dream couldn't and weren't prepared to take care of a child. So reluctantly Dream asked Geno and Reaper to take care of Palette until they could, who was a newborn at the time, which they gladly did agreed to. After that, Palette only saw his Dream twice again and never saw his Ink. They downright abandoned him. •Palette idolizes both Ink and Dream, seeing them more as these fictional action heroes rather than actual people •He refuses to accept that they abandoned him •He wants to go help them fight and reform Uncle Nightmare when he grows up •He didn't even know Ink's name until he met Blueprint's Ink •He has low self-esteem due to him believing he'll never live up to the fictional and unrealistic idea of his parents that he has •He can't use his magic properly due to never being taught by Ink or Dream, can only summon his roller but can't use it •Rurik will give him lessons on his magic later on •He loves and wants to be friends with everyone •Except for Cray •He thinks Cray is annoying but enjoys their rivalry •He's secretly jealous of Blueprint for having contact with his Ink Rurik(He/him)& Lotus(He/they) Rurik and Lotus somehow ended in the Underverse, and now they can't get back to the Fellverse. I have an idea why, but I'm not done with that yet. They didn't have any place to live, so Goth and Palette brought them to Geno and Reaper. Since they were most likely never gonna get back to the Fellverse, Geno offered to adopt them and let them live in their house. Lotus accepted while Rurik declined now but still decided to stay there. •Lotus did not want to go back to the Fellverse while Rurik did •They are the same ages as Palette and Goth(this may change) •They have never dated in this AU, but might in the future •Rurik idolizes his parents similar to Palette and doesn't realize that they are abusive •Lotus has never met Rurik's parents, so he doesn't know what he's going through •Lotus and Rurik have the same powers as Goth and Palette(this may also change) •Rurik refuses to use his roller since doesn't want to be seen as weak with his "girly" weapon •He uses knifes and daggers instead •Lotus hates his parents •Rurik really likes Rogue and later begins to idolize zir •Rogue sees zirself in Rurik and later acts like a parental figure towards him •Rurik likes to play with Shino •Rurik originally started to hang out with Cray just to piss Palette off, but then he actually began to enjoy his company

Okay, that's all my headcanons I have for now. Yall can steal these if you want, but a credit would be nice. Might illustrate or talk about these more in another post if I feel like it.

[madillhethen]

I just finished the original series PMMM, and just wow. It definitely is a great anime. There were at times where I felt pacing could’ve been done better but the bittersweet ending and the character relationships were really amazing. (I’ll watch the side story and movies afterwards or finish the NGE rebuild movies and then finish PMMM) but I wanted to post my thoughts on each of the girls. In order of my favs:

1. Mami: I thought she was suspicious at first because the weird ‘letting them tag along’ and going into this series with the knowledge of the girls turning into witches already known, but no, she was really what the show defined her as. She was lonely, and didn’t get a choice. But she did fight for others and she did try to mentor the girls as best she could. Something about her design I really like, I think it’s her color palette and tavern maid type of attire (no idea what you call it lol) also she’s mature but still has a youthfulness of her. Plus her combat is hella cool. Definitely my favorite (wish I saw more :’D of her).

2. Madoka: I feel like in the series I felt she was interesting because she was the given protagonist but many times she felt as if she wasn’t the limelight, she wasn’t the hero, she was just a girl who tried her best. And I don’t know, I really liked that. She couldn’t understand the things around her, Kyubey or Homura, and she didn’t have the answers but she was there and she tried, and was just really hopeful. She has so much heart, and in the end, it was really sad but the way she steps up, the way her potential becomes unleashed and her wish to save everyone with her sacrifice was really bittersweet but beautiful. Her goddess form is so pretty, and gosh I could just talk about the symbolism of the design (maybe I will.)

3. Kyoko: when she first showed up, major Mordred vibes lol. She’s like the fusion of Cu, Li Shuwen and Mordred that’s what she makes me think of but I like her tough but sensitive attitude. She has a good heart and a rough exterior. I liked her relationship with the other girls—it was nice with Sayaka if not one sided (and I bet ppl ship em…can’t say I’m a fan). Her powers are interesting, and I hope to see more of her fighting capabilities maybe in the movies? Well I kind of just want to see her with the other girls in general.

4. Homura (I actually want to say she’s tied at 3 with Kyoko): I wasn’t initially impressed with her cool, angst attitude, in fact I was frustrated with the fact she didn’t just tell everyone what was going on. Her design is pretty (kind of looks like Akiha Tohno to me) but I think what made me like her more was when I saw more emotions. She feels like she has determination and potential to do whatever it takes (and she does) her dedication to save Madoka is heartbreaking, if not a bit obsessive? I think I want to see more of her relationship with Madoka in her timeline to fully understand why go through so much lengths. I think her time powers and fighting is cool, the shield/clock type of weapon is really cool. I love the symbolism of her having the shield and what it means.

5. Sayaka: oh boy… she’s my least favorite. There were times that she kind of screamed Shirou Emiya, the ally of Justice, the wanting to protect others not fight people and the sword being her main weapon but my God…. She came off entitled and preachy. I felt a lot of the times she was just projecting her own problems on others, and I get it they’re all like 14 so of course no one has anything figured out, but it’s just hard to like her in my opinion. I think where Shirou has a lack of sense is that Sayaka had too much self—she heard Kyoko’s sad story and went ‘yeah, I’m better than you. My wish was to help someone else’ and sure, it was and it did but it also…was for herself? She kind of pushed it to be like it was for Kyosuke when it felt more like it was for her. I think it was more the initial reaction when Mami warns her not to do it for others, she kind of gets put-off and defensive. BUT Sayaka does have a strength of Will, when she wasn’t projecting her issues, she was there for others, and she tried to care more for others than herself and I think that’s where the problem came from. I do think her story was heartbreaking though, especially when they find out about the soul gems. I wish to see her in action mode? I don’t have much opinion on her beyond her magical girl outfit looks cool.