#i know my paintings look like other people's rough sketches but

[isbergillustration]

Looming

[wholoveseggs]

~♡~Dating the Mikaelsons~♡~

One-Shot Edition

18+ ---- {Masterlist}

♡A date with Klaus♡

After a long day at work, you just want to go home and relax. Fortunately Klaus knows exactly what you need to unwind.

In celebration of getting to one-hundred followers♡ I wrote some smutty one-shots based on my dating the mikaelsons headcanons.

♡ Thanks for all the love and support ♡

Warnings: smut, rough sex, biting, blowjobs, rim jobs, all the jobs...I firmly believe Klaus loves booty.

{Part Two -Kol} ♡ {Part Three - Marcel} ♡ {Part Four - Elijah}

After an exceedingly long day, exhaustion had fully seeped into your bones, leaving you feeling burdened and emotionally numb. Exiting your workplace, you headed towards your car, desperate to get home and relax. Rifling through your bag for your keys, you extracted them along with a neatly folded piece of paper.

Intrigued, you unfolded it, revealing a charming sketch of your profile gazing out of a café window. The guy you were seeing must have snuck it into your bag. You smiled, the thoughtfulness of it warming your heart. You pulled out your phone, sending him a thank-you text.

You

"I found your drawing, thank you. I've had a tough day, and this made it a bit better."

Nik

"Which one?"

You paused. There had been multiple drawings? You hadn't seen anything else in your bag. You typed back a quick reply.

You

"There was more than one?"

Nik

"Maybe..."

You unlocked your car, climbing into the seat, closing the door behind you, and pulling your bag onto your lap.

Sure enough, there were several more folded pieces of paper. You pulled them all out and unfolded them. The first was an intricate study of the hands of a man and woman, fingers laced together, palms touching. The second was a silly doodle of you, looking grumpy and flipping off the viewer.

You giggled. It was actually a great likeness. The next one made you blush and look around. It was an illustration of the two of you, nude, kissing in an intimate position. Your face was obscured by his, but the details were quite erotic.

Your body flushed at the thought of him touching you; you hadn't even kissed yet, let alone seen each other naked.

You

"I found the other ones, very creative," 

Nik

"I'm glad you like them, are you busy tonight?"

You paused. What did he want to do? You had planned on vegging out and watching some mindless television. But that sounded incredibly dull.

You

"No, why?"

Nik

"Good. I'll pick you up,"

You sighed, leaning your head back against the seat, feeling the butterflies in your stomach start to flutter. You had a feeling you were going to be staying up late.

You had no idea where he was taking you; Klaus hadn’t given you any hints, and you couldn’t help but wonder what he had planned.

You were sitting in the car with him, fidgeting with the hem of your dress. It was a beautiful evening, the sky painted a brilliant hue of purple and blue.

You glanced over at him, admiring how attractive he was. You knew that he was a vampire, a powerful one at that, but you didn't mind. You had known others, and none of them were dangerous. At least not to you.

"I thought we could take a walk; I want to show you some of my favorite places," he said as he drove.

"I would love to see them," you replied, smiling at him.

He parked the car, and the two of you climbed out, making your way down the street. It was a clear night, the air crisp and refreshing, and you could hear the sounds of traffic and the chatter of people from a distance.

Klaus walked close to you, his shoulder brushing against yours every few steps. His presence was soothing, and you felt comfortable with him. He casually took your hand in his, lacing his fingers with yours.

You looked up at him and smiled. He returned the smile, squeezing your hand.

"This is the park I like to draw in," he explained. "It's quiet, and the light is beautiful in the morning."

The two of you walked, talking and enjoying the view. He seemed to know a lot about the city and pointed out different buildings, sharing stories from his past.

You found yourself growing more and more attracted to him, the more he shared about himself.

"What was it like here, one hundred years ago?" you asked.

"It was different, but not that much. There were fewer people, and the buildings weren't as tall. It was quieter, I suppose."

You nodded, enjoying the sound of his voice. You loved hearing him talk; his accent was so alluring. You walked in silence for a while, and then he led you over to a bench, and the two of you sat.

"Can I tell you a secret?" he asked.

"Of course." you replied, giving him a gentle smile.

"I love this city; I helped make it what it is, but as time passes, sometimes I feel like I'm a stranger here."

You nodded, understanding, "You must see time so differently from me," you mused. "I can't imagine how it must feel."

He was silent for a moment, his eyes staring out into the darkness.

"It can be lonely," he said, finally. "But with you, I don't feel that way."

You intertwined your fingers with his, your heart beating rapidly in your chest. He leaned in, tucking a lock of hair behind your ear. His touch sent a shiver through you, and you found yourself wanting him.

You leaned forward, capturing his lips with yours. He kissed you softly, his lips warm and inviting. You felt his arms wrap around you, pulling you closer to him. His hands wandered, caressing your back, and tangling in your hair.

You broke the kiss, looking into his pretty blue eyes, "Do you want to show me your place?" you asked, your voice a breathy whisper.

His eyes flashed, a smirk spreading across his face, "It would be my pleasure."

He took your hand, leading you back to the car. The drive to his place was filled with a heavy silence, both of you knowing what was about to happen.

You had seen the outside of the compound many times, but you had never been inside before; it was gorgeous, the décor was expensive and tasteful.

"Wow, your home is beautiful," you remarked, your heels clicking against the floor.

"Thank you," he said, smirking. "I decorated it myself."

The compound was quiet; everyone else was out or asleep. You followed him into his room, your heart racing.

He closed the door, turning to face you. He reached out, cupping your cheek. His touch was gentle and loving, his eyes filled with tenderness.

"You are so lovely," he murmured, his thumb stroking your skin.

You blushed, the heat rising in your cheeks. You placed your hands on his chest, running them up to his shoulders, feeling his muscles beneath his shirt.

You stepped closer, closing the distance between you. Your lips brushed against his, and you kissed him.

He wrapped his arms around you, his tongue slipping into your mouth. You moaned, your fingers digging into his shoulders. You pressed your body against his, feeling his hardness.

He pulled away, his eyes flashing yellow. He picked you up, carrying you over to the bed, laying you down gently. He climbed on top of you, his mouth trailing kisses along your neck and collarbone.

He lifted the dress off of you, tossing it aside. You laid there in nothing but your underwear, his gaze raking over your body.

"Nik," you breathed, your voice full of need.

He leaned down, his mouth on your breast, his tongue swirling over your nipple. You moaned, arching your back. You gasped, feeling his fingers sliding down your abdomen, and under the waistband of your panties.

"I've wanted this for so long," he whispered, his hands caressing your skin.

"So have I," you replied, lifting your head and pressing your lips to his.

His fingers circled your clit, eliciting moans from your lips. You closed your eyes, his touch was quickly driving you crazy, pushing you to the edge. He watched your face, a wicked grin on his lips.

"How do you like it, love?" he whispered, his voice low and seductive as his lips grazed your skin. 

You blushed, heat pooling between your legs. "I like it a little rough," you breathed, the words tumbling out of your mouth.

"I always suspected you were a naughty girl," he whispered, as he nibbled at your ear. You gasped, pleasure coursing through you.

He began to move down your body, leaving a trail of soft bites and kisses. He paused at your breasts, sucking on your nipples, his tongue swirling around them. You moaned, squirming beneath him.

He continued down, his teeth grazing your skin. He hooked a finger under your panties, slowly dragging them down your legs. You were completely exposed to him now, a blush creeping up your cheeks.

"Just beautiful," he breathed, as he dragged his teeth along your inner thigh.

He moved lower, kissing and licking your stomach. His hand slipped between your legs, his thumb grazing your clit.

"Nik," you moaned, your hands gripping his shoulders as he moved further down. 

He removed his hand, his tongue taking its place. He licked and sucked on your clit, his hands pushed your thighs up, giving him more room. You bucked your hips, grinding against his mouth.

He chucked, the vibrations causing a wave of pleasure to course through you. He pushed his tongue inside of you, moving it in and out, his nose grazing your clit.

You moaned, your hands tangling in his curly hair. "Fuck," you breathed, as his tongue drove you closer and closer to the edge.

His tongue moved lower than you expected, teasing your ass. Your eyes widened, a thrill of strange pleasure running through you, your hips jumped and you instinctively tried to push away from him. 

"Mmm, love," he whispered, "you like when I do that, don’t you?"

You blushed, heat rising in your cheeks. You nodded, biting your lip.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No," you whimpered, your head falling back against the pillow.

He returned his tongue to your ass, teasing and probing it, sending sparks of pleasure through you. Pressing his thumb firmly against your clit, Klaus maintained a rhythm that matched the dance of his tongue. Circles and teasing strokes sent waves of pleasure through you, the combination of sensations leaving you breathless, gripping the sheets as you trembled underneath him. Just when you thought you couldn't take any more, he pushed his tongue in your ass just as he lightly pinched your clit and you cried out, your whole body shaking from the force of your orgasm.

You were spent and panting, gripping Klaus’s hair so hard you nearly tore it out. He chuckled and buried his face deeper in your ass, groaning in pleasure. He swirled his fingers around your clit, feeling how wet you were before he pushed two fingers inside your pussy, hitting your sweet spot.

"Fuck!" you moaned, unable to believe how good it felt. He smiled and continued his assault, pumping his fingers in and out while keeping his mouth busy. His grip on you was almost painful as he held your hips in place, burying his face between your cheeks, his tongue deep inside you. 

The soft, wet sounds of his fingers sliding in and out of your pussy mingled with his labored breathing. He pushed them in deeper, fucking you harder, each thrust making you moan uncontrollably. You were in a state of pure ecstasy, your whole body tingling, every inch of you vibrating with pleasure. You could feel his groans and grunts reverberating through you, and you pushed against him, desperate for more. 

The pressure built inside you until you felt like you were about to explode. You pulled on his hair, pushing back against him with everything you had as you reached your climax. Your whole body trembled as you came, your orgasm washing over you in waves of pure bliss. The sound of his groans as he devoured you filled the room, adding to your ecstasy.

You slumped against the bed, a trembling wreck. Klaus withdrew, leaving you feeling empty, but sated. He wiped his mouth and chin and grinned, looking at you with half-lidded eyes. He kissed his way back up your body, his hands caressing your skin.

"No one's ever done that for you before?" he asked, his eyes dark with desire.

You shook your head, blushing.

"Good," he replied, he hovered over you, giving you a mischievous grin. Your fingers trailed down his chest then towards his stomach, tugging at his shirt. He lifted his arms, allowing you to remove it. Your hands explored his body, fingers tracing over his muscles, committing him to memory. He smiled, enjoying your touch as you placed soft kisses on his chest, looking up into his eyes.

He leaned down, his lips capturing yours. His kisses were hungry and desperate, his hands squeezing your curves. You grasped at his belt, unbuckling it, and pulling it off. You reached into his pants, wrapping your hand around his cock, smirking as he lets out a low moan. You began to stroke him, feeling him grow harder, maintaining eye contact as you watched him groan with pleasure.

"Love," he panted, his voice thick with arousal.

"Can I taste you?" you ask, your breath ghosting over him. He nods in response, his hips bucking as you continue to stroke him.

He moved on to his back, keeping his eyes fixed on you as you lay kisses down his neck and chest, the feeling of your warm lips making him pant. Your hand never left his cock, never once slowing, and he watched as you used your other hand to gently pinch his nipple, making him hiss out a breath, his teeth clamping together. You felt empowered as you watched him melt under your touch, the big bad hybrid brought to his knees with just your hands. You trailed your tongue from his chest, lower, and lower, not even trying to hide how much you were enjoying his responses.

You finally reached his cock, settling yourself between his legs and looking up at him with innocent, doe eyes. You smirked, holding his gaze as you gripped his cock and slid the head between your parted lips, swirling your tongue around his tip, eliciting a deep guttural groan from him. You lowered yourself down on his throbbing length, taking as much of him as you could handle. Then you slowly pulled off, his cock wet with your saliva, and he moaned, his hands fisting the sheets.

"Do you like that, Nik?" You asked in your most innocent tone. Giving the head of his cock kitten licks as you watched his face. 

"Yes," he moaned, his hips jerking. You plunged him into your mouth again, and took him deeper than before. He moaned and thrust his hips up as you worked him with your mouth, his hand coming to tangle in your hair, guiding you. You teased him with your tongue, licking and flicking it over the veins, taking him deep into your mouth and then pulling off with a pop.

"What about this?" You asked, teasing him some more, relishing in the power you had over him. You felt a surge of heat and wetness pool between your thighs, anticipating what he was going to do to you if you pushed him too far.

He growled in frustration and grabbed your hair roughly, pushing your head down on his cock, holding you in place as he thrusted into your mouth. You reached between his legs, stroking his balls, and he groaned, his grip on your hair tightening.

You continued to bob up and down on his cock, loving the way his hips jerked as he got closer and closer to his orgasm. You could feel his balls tighten, and you knew he was about to come.

You pushed your head all the way down, your nose pressing into his pelvis, you let out a soft hum, pushing him over the edge. He let out a low groan as he came, his cum spilling down your throat, you swallowed every last drop.

He released his grip, and you pulled off his cock, gasping for air. You held out your tongue to him, showing him you swallowed it all, and he let out a low, primal growl, snatching you by your hair and crashing his lips against yours. You breathed heavily, your heart pounding as you kissed him back, feeling the stubble scratch at your chin.

His hands slid down to your waist, his fingers digging into your hips and suddenly you were across the room, pressed against the wall, you let out a shocked gasp, clinging to his shoulders.  He gripped the backs of your thighs and hiked your legs around his waist, using one hand to tease his cock up and down your entrance.

"Nik," you whispered, your voice full of surprise and desire.

"Have you ever been bitten?" He asked, you could feel his warm breath against your neck.

"No, I've never been with a vampire before," you replied breathlessly, gazing at him from under your eyelashes. You felt a rush of excitement and your legs started to tremble.

He raised one eyebrow and a sexy, playful grin formed on his lips. "I'm a hybrid, love, far superior," he teased, kissing your neck softly, then tracing your jugular with his tongue.

You moaned, his fingers digging into your hips, holding you still as he scraped his fangs over your skin. He slowly pushed himself into you, and you threw your head back, moaning as his thick, hard cock stretched you open.

"Fuck," you moaned, as his lips captured yours. He kissed you with such ferocity, sucking on your bottom lip, it was almost violent, and you loved it. You tangled your fingers in his hair, tugging on it, feeling him groan into the kiss, causing his thrusts to speed up and intensify. You clung to him, your nails digging into his shoulders, urging him on. You bit your lip to suppress your moan, knowing someone could be in the compound.

"Don't be shy, sweetheart," he teased, his pretty accent giving you goosebumps as he continued thrusting into you, "It's just us. I want to hear you."

You flushed and tried to stay quiet, but the things he was doing to you had you moaning, crying out, and begging for more. You buried your face in his neck, biting down on his shoulder, the pleasure overwhelming you.

"Fuck, yes, bite me, love," he encouraged, his hips snapping into yours.

You obeyed, biting down harder, hoping to leave a mark. You gasped, your jaw going slack as his fucked you senseless against the wall. Your head was swimming, and all you could focus on was the feel of his cock buried inside you, and the iron grip he had on your hips, his fingers digging into your skin so hard you knew they would leave bruises.

He pounded into you, his lips finding yours, swallowing your moans. He broke the kiss, his voice hoarse, "So pretty and all mine," he murmured, his eyes meeting yours, full of adoration.

"Nik," you breathed, his name sounding like a prayer on your lips.

He moved a hand up, wrapping it around your throat, gently squeezing, restricting your breathing. You moaned, a shot of adrenaline mixed with pleasure coursing through you. He increased his pace, and you knew he was close, his cock swelling, his pace becoming erratic.

"Are you gonna come for me, love?" he whispered, fucking you harder.

You couldn't answer, his grip on your throat was too tight, but he growled, sensing your closeness. He ground his pelvis into your clit, sending you over the edge. Your whole body was trembling as you came, pulsating around him, he growled, sinking his fangs into your neck, the sharp pain only adding to the intensity of the orgasm.

You felt the blood rush out of your neck, the orgasm ripping through you in waves, his hips never slowed, still fucking you hard, his cock throbbing as he continued to drink your blood. You cried out as his thrusts became frantic, his pace inhumanly fast and you knew he was about to come. As your orgasm started to ebb, you felt his cock pulse, and his release spilled inside of you.

He retracted his fangs, pressing his lips to the wounds and began to place soft kisses along your neck, his hips jerking as he rode out the last of his climax. You clung to him, your whole body throbbing as your orgasm finally began to subside, and you felt weak, your strength gone. He groaned, pressing his forehead to yours, panting heavily.

"Bloody hell," he said between breaths, giving you a wild smile as he kissed you. His hand moved to the side of your face, his thumb caressing your cheek. He carried you to the bed, laying you down gently. You sighed, closing your eyes, feeling his weight on top of you.

"That was incredible, love," he whispered, placing kisses on your jawline. You lay there, panting, enjoying the post-orgasmic glow, letting his lips wander.

"Enjoy yourself?" he teased, rolling off of you and pulling you into his arms, your head resting on his chest.

"Very much," you replied, turning your head to kiss him.

"Good, because we're not finished yet."

You giggled. "We aren't?"

"Not even close, love."

{Part Two -Kol} ♡ {Part Three - Marcel} ♡ {Part Four - Elijah}

Authors Note: I find calling him Nik really hot... anyone else?

[wintfleur]

₊˚ෆ you’re my future . . .

𝓹airing ∿ stella hughes (oc) x rutger mcgroarty

𝓢. rutger telling Stella about the trade

𝔀. angst ( happy ending ) sad stella n rut :( 𝔀c. 1984

𝓻oro's note. so sorry that this took me foreverrrr to post! I missed my babies so much omg, I’m sos sorry for the lack of fics lately 🫶🏻

“It's open!” Ellen called out when she heard a soft and rhythmic knock on the back door, knowing that only people close to the family would knock on the back door and not the front. Ellen pauses on cutting up the cucumbers for the salad, to look up at who was walking into the kitchen. A surprised smile gracing her face when she sees rutger walking into the kitchen. 

“Oh, hi rut, i didn't know you were coming over tonight” Ellen smiled as she set down the knife on the cutting board, wiping her hands on her apron as she stepped around the kitchen island to pull him into a quick hug. Rutger smiled and hugged her back, before he could say anything back, she was continuing, resting her hands on his shoulders as she stepped back to ask "Are you staying for dinner?” 

“Oh, uh i’m not sure yet” he gave her an unsure smile, he didn't know how Stella was going to take the news, and he didn't want to make things awkward by staying or dinner if things didn't go well between them. God he really hoped things went well. Ellen smiled and waved her hand dismissively as she moved back to her spot at the island “Oh that's alright, just let me know so i can set a spot for you at the table” 

Ellen looked up from the cutting board, pausing her cutting once again when she noticed that rutger didn't answer, and still hasn't moved from his spot. She frowned when she noticed the spaced out look on his face as he looked down at his feet, not knowing that he was internally starting to panic as he thought of stella being upset as he broke the news, stella was already having a rough summer, he really didn't want to make it worse…but he couldn't keep it from her. 

“You okay sweetie?” her concerned tone broke the silence and tore him out of his negative thoughts. Rutger blinked a few times and looked up from his feet, giving Ellen a fake smile “Oh yeah I'm okay, just got lost in thought, Stella in her room?” 

“Yeah, i think she’s painting, just go on up” 

Rutger gave Ellen one more smile before making his way through the Hughes house that he knew like the back of his hand, slipping his shoes off at the front door before making his way upstairs. Taking in every detail of the pictures that decorated the long hallway, despite having them memorized already. His eyes lingered on the picture of Stella who was dressed up in her team usa jacket as she smiled and held up her silver Olympic medal, a large bouquet of flowers in her other hand. 

Rutger cleared his throat and continued to make his way towards his girlfriend's room, the corner of his lips turning up into a smile when he heard the faint sound of her singing along to the music playing in her room, through the door. He swallowed his nerves and knocked on the door, grabbing the door handle and opening it once he heard her sweetly call out “come in!” 

Stella looked away from her large canvas that she had placed on her easel right in front of her bay window seat, turning around on the small stool she was sitting on to see who it was. A smile quickly gracing her face at the sight of her boyfriend stepping into her room, closing the door behind him. 

Stella sets her sketching pencil down and quickly stands up from her stool, her back aching from leaning forward awkwardly to sketch out her cubism painting on her canvas. She ignores the subtle ache in her back and shoulders and moves towards her boyfriend, exclaiming happily “Rut!” 

He dropped his backpack onto the fluffy carpet she had at the end of her bed and pulled her into his arms once she was close enough. While his hands went to her waist to pull her flush against him, her hands went to softly hold his face, pulling him down into a sweet and much needed kiss. Their lips slowly moved in tandem in a searing kiss. 

Stella slowly pulled away from the kiss, her eyes fluttering open, smiling when she saw rutger instinctively leaning forward to attach their lips together again. The feeling of Stella softly caressing his cheek causes him to open his eyes. Locking eyes with her as she whispered happily “You didn't tell me you were coming over” 

“Well, it wouldn't be a surprise if i did” rutger smiled softly with a small hum as he looked at her, her now short hair was a little messy and he could see the lack of sleep in her face, his heart aching at the sight. It was no secret to him that Stella had been struggling with sleep for the past few weeks, the past month or so has been incredibly hard on her ever since her and juraj’s past relationship was exposed. The hate she was receiving and the paranoia she felt was all too much for her . . . so he really didn't want to make her feel worse by telling her, but he couldn't not tell her. 

Despite the smile on his lips, Stella could see in his eyes that something was bothering him, and the way he was fidgeting with her shirt was a tell that he was nervous and lost in his thoughts. Stella frowned as she asked, “What's wrong?” Rutger let out a heavy breath, it was now or never. 

Rutger softly held her waist as he pulled her to sit on the ledge of her bed with him, Stella immediately twisting her body to face him. Rutger took one of her hands in his, fidgeting with her fingers as he said, “i just got back from a meeting with my agents”, he let out a heavy breath before continuing “i’m being traded to the penguins” 

It felt like the world just stopped all around her, and that slight ringing in her ears seemed to be louder than usual. She didn't know this feeling, was it Fear? Sadness? Happiness? All of the above? “Pittsburgh?” Stella confirmed in a shocked tone. 

Rutger nodded and tried his best to muster up a smile “They want me to sign in a few days and then i'd be off for training camp” 

“Oh my god rut, i-i’m so happy for you” stella exclaimed as she surged forward to wrap her arms around his shoulders for a hug. She pushed any sadness or fear she felt deep down, she refused to let herself succumb to those negative feelings when she should be congratulating her boyfriend. She truly was happy for him. The tension in his shoulders melted away when he felt her touch, his shoulders sagging. Rutger wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, pulling her flush against him and nuzzling his face into her neck. 

Rutger held her close and tight, the tension and fear he felt on leaving her didn't leave. He thought he would be more happy – excited to hear that he was finally going to be playing in the NHL, that he was finally achieving his dream . . . but all he could think about was how far Pittsburgh was from Ann Arbor, from stella. He really wanted to achieve his dream, but not without her. 

“Hey hey hey, why are you crying?” Stella frowned as she pulled away from the hug once she heard his sniffle, moving her hands from his shoulders to cup his face, wiping away the tears falling from his eyes. Rutger leaned into her touch as he closed his eyes, his heart aching at the thought of having to leave her “i don't want to leave you” 

“You're not leaving me baby, i'm still with you, always” Stella tried to reassure him despite the sadness and fear she felt as well, she did her best to muster up a smile as they locked eyes once he finally opened his. She continued to softly caress his face, a smile on her lips as she looked into his beautiful teary eyes, her eyes watering as she whispered softly “Don't focus on the negative rut, this is your dream, it's finally happening” 

Rutger moved his hands from her waist to cup her soft face, he stared into her beautiful brown eyes with love as he whispered tenderly “It might be my dream but you’re my future – i’m scared to do this without you” 

“Oh rut” stella cooed sadly with a small frown of understanding, surging forward to pull him into another hug. Rutger slides his hands from her face and down her body, holding her waist tightly as he pulls her with him, changing their position. Stella laid on her back, resting her head on her soft pillows while rutger laid on his stomach, hugging her waist and resting his head on her stomach. 

Stella moved her hands up and down his shoulder blades, massaging them the way she knew would help sooth him, her heart ached seeing him so upset, he should be enjoying this, not worrying about her, she felt guilty in a way “Rut this has always been your dream…it's time for you to take your next step in life” 

Rutger squeezed his eyes shut, snuggling his face into her stomach as he held her tighter, scared that if he let go, she would disappear “I don't want to take that step without you” – ‘I don't want to be alone’ were his unsaid words, but stella knew him so well that she knew what he had meant. 

“I will be here for you the whole-time baby, you're not going to be alone” 

“You promise?” rutger mumbled as he lifted his head up from her stomach to look up at her. Stella's eyes softened when she saw the vulnerability in her boyfriend's eyes, she moved one of her hands to cup his jaw, her thumb caressing his cheek as she smiled “I promise”  

Stella brought her other hand to softly play with his hair, his eyes fluttering close at her soft and soothing touch. she felt an ache in her chest as she thought of him leaving her, she couldn't go with him, she had made a promise to herself that she would finish college. the thought of not being able to see him every day and feel his touch really scared her “It's going to take some time to get used to – but we can adjust, i know it” 

Rutger was quick to open his eyes once he heard Stella's voice crack, a tell sign that she was trying not to cry, she wanted to hold it in and be strong for him. Rutger moved closer to her, scooting up so he could cup her cheek and place a soft kiss on her forehead “No no no please don't cry, if you cry i'll start crying again” 

Stella lets out a pitiful sniffle before wrapping her arms around her boyfriend's waist and hiding her face in his neck, holding him tight as she cried “I’m sorry, i’m just so fucking proud of you rut” 

Rutger internally awed at her words and how cute she sounded, rutger smiled lovingly and placed a bunch of kisses on the top of her head and forehead before whispering “I love you so much stella, i couldn't have done this without you” 

Stella tried to push back the fear she felt creeping on her and instead tried to focus on the love she had with him, she couldn't think negatively of the future. The love they shared was strong, and Stella refused to lose him and the love they shared, no matter how far he was. Stella let out a shaky breath and another sniffle before whispering “I love you too rutger, so so so much” 

au masterlist - you can find everything under #👩🏻‍🎨 ͡ ꒱ Stella Hughes!

𝓻oro's note. this is honestly not the best, and it’s kinda rushed !! The dialogue could definitely be better :( i hope you guys still enjoy it <3 it was so hard to write angst for my two babies, i just never want them to be sad 😭

˖ ་ taglist : @cixrosie @toasttt11 @lovings4turn @bunbunbl0gs @petite-potato4 @winterbarnesblog @yoontwin @iceflwers @dancerbailey3

©️WINTFLEUR

[meltedmush]

Hiii!! I heard you use procreate? What brushes do you use? I’ve been trying to find a pencil brush that I like. Ignore this if you’ve already answered it. Have a nice day!!

Hi, yes I use procreate! (Sorry I’m literally answering this a month late…) But here’s a link to my earlier post about this!

It’s literally my entire main brush set. Every single artwork I’ve posted on this tumblr has been dependent on this set, including my comics, and illustrations regardless of how different in style they look. I do have other brushes which are specific to creating more realistic backgrounds, but I typically just use the traditional brush and warp it for texture. 😂

If you guys want my entire asset of stamp, and texture brushes that I’ve stocked up like a hoarder, let me know! I also recently got a watercolor brush pack I really like, and I can share that too!

But other than that, the one brush I use most is my sketching brush, which I’ve just labeled “Sketch Rough”. I’m not that good at line art (people who can do line art are incredible), so this brush has been a life saver for me! I work with more of a painterly style, and I prefer not inking my sketches or tracing over them again. (Unless I want them cleaner… 😭) I tend to just draw my sketches then painting over or under it.

(It’s also slightly texturized! It’s still pretty clean to the point where you can still recognize what shapes you’ve drawn, but the texture adds a nice touch.)

[kwanisms]

Kinkuary 18 Hyunjin — public sex // creampie

➥ idol!Hyunjin × gf!Reader summary: Hyunjin loves taking trains to visit all the small towns surrounding the city he lives in but what he loves even more is fucking his girlfriend in a train car with other passengers nearby. wc: 2.1k warnings: afab reader, adult dialogue, established relationship, sexual content (minors dni!): oral (m receiving), fingering, dirty talk, praise, use of pet names (baby girl, honey, angel, etc), public sex (sex on a train), reader is on top for most of it, sex in multiple locations, unprotected sex (just use protection lol), creampie, biting, and I think I got them all. Please let me know if I missed any! a/n: wHEW boy. This was fun to write because I had to imagine a train and then all the places you could have sex in a train lmao so that was fun. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this and as always, this is a work of fiction and all characters are not reflective of their respective irl counterparts. for entertainment purposes only. banner made by me. I do not allow reposts or translations of my works. All my works are ©️ kwanisms. Permanent taglist: @yoonguurt @candidupped @dejavernon Kinkuary full taglist: @baldi-2 @wonderfulshinee @lacie220900 @sup-dallyboy @drunk-on-dk @violagoth @mixling-blog @kosmoreads @yourfavoritefreakyhan Stray Kids taglist: @niktwazny303 @g4megirl @rapmonie2047 @indigo35 @witherednotes @cixrosie @fay-ebrahim Strikethrough means I cannot tag you. MINORS WILL BE BLACKLISTED & BLOCKED. Join the taglist!

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"Hwang Hyunjin I swear to God," you hissed, dragging your boyfriend by the wrist into the small bathroom at the back of the train car. "Make this quick," you snapped as you locked the door.

Your boyfriend chuckled and shook his head. "Fine, but be careful what you wish for, baby," he purred, leaning in to kiss you.

[twenty minutes later]

"I can't believe you sometimes," you whispered as you sat back in your seat, Hyunjin taking his seat next to you with a very smug grin on his face. "Oh don't act like you don't love it," Hyunjin replied, throwing his arm around your shoulder and pulling you into him, pressing a kiss to your temple.

"You love this shit just as much as I do."

You rolled your eyes and tried to hide the smirk that started to form on your lips. He was right. Ever since you'd met and started dating, you learned that you and Hyunjin both got off on the idea of other people being able to see or hear the two of you being intimate.

Actually getting caught was mortifying as you both learned the hard way one day when Hyunjin's roommate came home early and walked in on the two of you in the kitchen, you bent over the counter and Hyunjin buried balls deep inside you.

Ever since then, you vowed to not actually get caught with your pants around your ankles so to speak but you both couldn't deny the thrill and rush of arousal that came with the potential of getting caught. Which is what drove Hyunjin to get you riled up, hands on your thighs, sneaking under your skirt while he whispered all the dirty things he wanted to do to you until you couldn't stand it anymore and needed to have him fuck you.

The two of you had snuck off to the bathrooms because unfortunately the train was pretty full at this time of day. Hyunjin always picked the weekends for these trips to the more rural areas on the outskirts of Seoul but you weren't entirely complaining.

Exploring the areas was one of your favorite ways to spend time with Hyunjin. Especially when he found a place to sit down and start drawing. You'd spent hours watching him create all sorts of art. He loved painting, especially flowers and landscapes. He'd started sketching people recently and you loved watching him work.

The way his brow would furrow as he focused on the rough lines on the paper and the way his teeth would catch his tongue as he worked. It was subtle but he looked absolutely adorable when he made that face but over-all, he was stunning when he entered his artist mode. And after finishing his work, he'd always turn his attention to you and shower you with affection.

There had been more than a few times the two of you had sit down for him to paint a sunset only to become entranced with you halfway through and needed to be inside you. You'd lost count of how many times you'd had sex in an empty field or on a secluded beach.

Hyunjin was insatiable for both art and you and you'd be lying if you said you weren't just as insatiable for him but he definitely brought it out in you. Before him, your days were full of work, binge TV and quiet nights in but meeting Hyunjin was quite possibly the best thing to ever happen to you. He changed your life for the better.

You were brought out of your thoughts by Hyunjin's hand resting on your thigh. Your eyes dropped to his hand and back up to his face. He wasn't looking at you, instead his eyes were fixed on the window beside you, watching the scenery fly by.

You turned to look out the window and noticed that while you were lost in your thoughts the train had stopped and quite a few people had gotten off so there were less people than before.

You continued to turn your head to look out the window as the scenery zipped by in a blur of color. You knew it was sometime in the evening and your stop was coming up soon.

Hyunjin had taken you to a small fishing town north and west of the city and the two of you had spent the majority of the day exploring the town, eventually making your way to the beach where you found all sorts of sea glass and even ran into a couple sea critters.

Hyunjin had of course sat down on some rocks to rough sketch the view before needing to drag you behind the rocks and out of sight of the beach to have his way with you.

He'd followed behind you as you went from shop to shop on the main street and stall to stall in the city market, finding all sorts of trinkets and excitedly showing them to him.

It wasn't long after you left the market with a few presents that Hyunjin found a small cove in an alleyway and pulled you into it, diving under your skirt, ravishing you with his tongue, and then stumbling back onto the street like nothing happened.

It continued like that throughout the day until you finally boarded the last train back to the city as the sun started to set.

You squeezed your thighs together as images of all the intimate moments of the day flooded your mind and Hyunjin couldn't help but notice your muscle tense under his hand.

He could only wonder what was going through your mind.

You felt his thumb caress circles against the skin of your thigh that was exposed to him. "What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" he whispered, lips brushing against the outside of your ear, making you shiver as his breath fanned over your skin.

"Just the day," you admitted softly. Hyunjin hummed in response. "Did you have fun?" he asked, reaching up to brush some of your hair back. You nodded, looking out the window, a calm and serene feeling blanketing you as the scenery outside grew darker.

"Wanna know what I'm thinking about?" Hyunjin whispered in your ear, a hint of amusement to his voice. "What's that?" you replied. "You," Hyunjin said breathlessly. "On top of me."

Your cheeks burned as you turned your head away from your boyfriend. "How pretty you sounded earlier at the beach. How no one could hear us over the waves," he added, hand on your thigh moving up slowly. "How you begged me to fill you up and paint your insides with my cum."

Your walls clenched around nothing as he spoke. He had a talent for working you up with his words and light touches on your body. "And then the alley when you let me eat you like I would never have another meal again. God," he groaned softly, taking your hand and placing it over his crotch where you could feel his erection.

"I love the way you taste. It's my favorite taste in the world."

You held back a whimper as his hand snuck under your skirt, fingers dangerously close to your center where he would find you wet and ready to take his cock. "I could eat you out for hours," Hyunjin whispered, lips ghosting over your cheek and down to your neck.

"I could fuck you for hours."

A soft whimper left your lips as his fingers finally made contact, feeling your panties already wet and sticky, a smirk forming on his face. "So wet already? What were you really thinking about, baby girl?" You leaned into him as his hand slipped under your panties, finger finding your entrance and sliding in.

You bit into your bottom lip, turning your head to hide your face in his neck as he set a slow and steady pace, pumping his finger in and out of your warm cunt. "Gotta be quiet for me," he whispered as he picked up speed, adding a second finger.

You grabbed his wrists as he stopped, plunging as deep as he could reach and curling his fingers up against your sweet spot, making your thighs shake and clench around his hand.

"That's my good girl," Hyunjin whispered. "Be quiet, sweetheart."

Your hand on his crotch started palming him through his pants, wanting to make him feel as good as he was making you feel. "Hyunjin," you sighed, eyes fluttering shut as he continued to curl his fingers inside you, trying to coax your orgasm out of you.

"Shh, angel," he murmured. "I know it feels good, but you have to be quiet for me." You held back a moan, burying your face in his neck and spreading your legs slightly. "Mmm you're such a naughty girl, spreading your legs for me like a little slut," he growled under his breath. "Just for that, I should bend you over in front of everyone here and teach you a lesson."

You quickly undid Hyunjin's pants, tucking your hand under the waistband of his underwear and taking his cock in your hand. He held back a moan as you started to stroke him quickly. "Keep doing that," he warned. "And I'll fuck you right here and now."

Your grip on his cock didn't cease, instead you moved faster, shifting in your seat to drop some of your spit on the tip of his cock, gathering it with your hand and using it as lubricant. "Shit," you heard him curse softly. "Get on my lap, quickly."

You shook your head, instead peering over the back of the seat in front of you to find the car mostly empty now. You leaned over, taking Hyunjin's length in your mouth, sinking down quickly to let the head slip into your throat and forcing a choked moan out of your boyfriend that he muffled with his fist.

You pulled back to take a breath but continued to bob your head up and down, tasting the salty precum mixed with your own saliva. "Oh fuck," Hyunjin hissed. "Either you let me cum down your throat and don't get off until we get home or you sit on my cock and let me fuck you full of my cum."

You pulled off him with a soft pop, smiling at him as you sat up straight. Hyunjin was quick, making you lift up and scooting under you. He pulled your panties halfway down your thighs and grabbed your hips, pulling you back and letting out a sigh as you sank back onto his cock. You dropped your head, keeping a firm grip on the seat in front of you as Hyunjin bottomed out, his cock buried to the hilt inside your hot cunt.

"Shit," you heard Hyunjin curse softly. "'M not gonna last long, honey," he murmured into your shoulder. You purposely clenched around him, your pussy squeezing his cock nicely and pushing him towards the edge. "Do that again and I'll fucking ruin this pretty little pussy," he growled in your ear.

A shiver ran up your back as Hyunjin grabbed your waist and lifted you off him just enough to thrust up into you. Your fingers dug into the cushion of the seat in front of you as your boyfriend snapped his hips up to meet your ass, driving his cock deeper into you.

"Oh shit, shit, shit," you whined softly, eyes fluttering shut as he continued to move. "Feels so good," you moaned. "Feel so full." Hyunjin let out a groan, cock twitching inside your cunt. "'M gonna fuck you so full, baby. Fill your pussy with my cum until it spills out. Gonna make a mess," he grunted, hips hitting your ass sharply.

"Fuck, fill me up, Hyunjin," you whimpered. "Cum inside me."

Your walls clenched once more, driving both you and Hyunjin over the edge and his teeth sank into your shoulder as he came, his hot load painting your insides as you sank onto him, your thighs trembling as your orgasm washed over you in waves.

After a few minutes, Hyunjin lifted your hips, his soft cock falling out of you and scooted back to his seat, putting himself back in his underwear and zipping his pants back up as you pulled your panties back up and confined his cum inside.

"You're so pretty," he said suddenly, reaching out to caress your cheek that was still warm. "God I love you so much," he added softly, leaning over to kiss you. "I can't wait to get home and go again," he said with a cheeky grin as you pulled back.

"You just came," you said incredulously, in awe at the sheer audacity of your boyfriend to be ready to go for another round when you just finished. His smile widened, kissing you again.

"I already told you, baby," he replied softly.

"I could fuck you for hours."

[hansoeii]

Several things: -LOVE your art, it’s amazing! Especially the one with Crowley and Aziraphale under the umbrella - which software do you use? Your art always look SO gorgeous (cheeky quote from GO right there lol) - how did you get so good at drawing?And thank you for encouraging other people to keep drawing and being so kind as I sometimes can’t help but compare my sketches to others and feel silly, but I guess it’s just a learning curve… Thank you so much for bringing your art to the world!😊

Thank you so much!!

I use Clip Studio Paint for drawing and Photoshop for small adjustments!

2. Haha thanks! Honestly...it's the hyperfixations. I managed to improve a lot in just a year because I've been drawing SO much cos there's so many shows and movies I became obsessed with that I wanted to create art for. So by drawing a lot I just naturally improved. For example these two Illustrations are just a year apart:

I actually didn't actively try to improve, it's been a while since I did proper studies (I just don't really have the time for it between freelancing and art school), it just happened.

But I can absoluetly recommend going on YouTube and look for some art tutorials if you actively want to start improving! There's some channels that helped me so much back then:

moderndayjames

Incredible shape language and super insightful tutorials on all kinds of topics! I learned so much from him.

Ahmed Aldoori

So many awesome tutorials on so many different areas of art. Love it.

Marco Bucci

Incredible tutorials on color theory and understanding how color works in general! Learned SO much from him!

Sinix Design

The OG tutorials I began learning from. I watched his videos religiously as a teen. I adore his painterly style and adopted it in some way, haha.

Ethan Becker

This dude sometimes drops these tiny art tips that just completely blow my mind and that I adopt immedietly. He's super entertaining but also such a great teacher.

And I can also recommend checking out this book by James Gurney if you want to get better at colors!

And for anatomy I highly recommend the Morpho books!

But improvement doesn't only come from drawing a lot. A lot of the time I don't draw for a while and just study the world and artists around me and suddenly I improved when I get back to drawing. Don't ever overwork yourself to the point that you don't enjoy what you do anymore. Take breaks and listen to your body!

I learned to try and not compare myself to other artists, which helped a lot. Through conventions and social media I made so many lovely artist friends and realized how we're all struggling in a very similar way. A lot of us don't even really know what we're doing most of the time, haha. But we help each other out, it's such a wonderful community. I think when you're not actively part of the community it tends to feel like other, more successful artists are some kind of art gods that have perfected the craft and never struggle. But believe me, all the artists you admire go through rough times all. the. time. Sometimes what they do feels easy and natural, other times (more often than not) it feels like you have to try and learn how to walk all over again and you start to doubt your abilities. I personally go through that so many times.

So what I'm trying to say is that instead of comparing yourself to the artists you admire, learn from them instead. Ask questions, befriend fellow artists, study the artists you enjoy and just have fun with it!

And finally I thought it would be fun to share some of my horrendous Johnlock fanart from a decade ago for some motivation:

I hope my answer didn't overwhelm you, but I thoight it would be nice to give a more detailed answer!

Have a wonderful day and keep drawing! :)

[amustikas]

hi!!! <3 I love your art so much <3 your style is soo good, especially your coloring, it's so pleasant to look at <3 also, mind if I ask what kind of software and brushes do you use? The texture of the sketches, lineart etc. look so nice and I was wondering if there's something like that it Photoshop. Have a great day! <3

Hello!! Thank you for your sweet words!! <3

I work on procreate and mostly just use these two basic ah default brushes. I am sure photoshop equivalents exist for both of them out there somewhere!

And since I work a lot with these two I thought I would give ya some extra insight into how exactly I put them to use :)

The 6B Pencil brush has got to be my all time favourite brush and I use it for literally everything!

From rough sketches..

to lineart..

to colouring and details.

This brush is quite pressure sensitive, so you can achieve many different variations of size in one stroke by changing the amount of pressure you apply by hand. Through it all, it maintains it's relatively rectangular shape and brings with it soft grain like texture.

Come to think of it, I think I drew this whole next piece with only the 6B Pencil, start to finish. I think it really goes to show that in the end, it's not really about what brushes or software you use, but about how you make them work for you and how much fun you have while creating. I find that the drawings I have the most fun with end up being my favourites in the long run.

And to me, the 6B is just a damn fun brush to use!

It is perfect for adding silly little shapes and lines all over the place :)

And the other brush I find myself coming back to is Salamanca from the Painting category.

I use it for filling in bigger areas of colour and just colour blocking in general. I like it's subtle canvas texture and the fact that it is not entirely opaque by default, which allows for interesting variations of hues.

But that is not all! I like to size it down to use it to add details and colour to my portraits. I find that it's softness works really well on faces and it's transparency makes it easier to bring in variations of colour.

And would you look at that! More shapes and lines! It's really all I know how to do haha

At the end of the day, I try to just enjoy the process of drawing as much as I can :)

I find that young digital artists often put a lot of emphasis onto finding the correct drawing software and brushes. And while that is important, I find that it is equally as important to throw caution to the wind sometimes and to just try out new things and to not care so much.

I mean hell, people create masterpieces in MS Paint!

My drawing process usually boils down to simply trying to ensure art stays something fun for me, and these two brushes have helped me achieve that over the years.

Hope this has been some help and not all pure gibberish!

[leixo-demo]

any tips on how to draw in the splatoon style?

Ive been trying over and over to answer this question but i simply can't, cus i dont know how i make stuff, i did 2 tutorials in the past and they are simply me going "yeah you just go black in your mind and then come back and boom!" I tried to film myself a few times but still it's simply me zoning out filling a canvas of millions of sketches and then just drawing and drawing. There's no step by step thing, I simply just go BRBRBRBRBBRR and like adding really REALLY specific details and then BRBRBRBBR.

I tried hard, to think, why I make it accurate, I honestly tried for over 4 years to do splatoon looking art before i even opened this account, especially for commissions or doing more splatband art, people can give you feedback and if you're good enough they'll pay you.

I really came to think I was the best to just hate the art i did 3 days after, I did the "pufuu" moment trying to fake leake art or something and you can really put there if ppl is 1) so desesperated for new art 2) youre good at it

Then I tried to think, well did i studied the style? Yesss,,, at the begining, then i starts to differ as different artists besides Inoue, and his style also develops, so basically as long it fits,,

These 3 drawings just look complely different from each other and still it simply makes them more unique.

"But then how you make it splatoon?" You simply can't, cus it is not just one person, there is a lot, make it your own, give it your own twist, but, what about brushes, THATS what gives the style... right?

MogaChumu, on devianart

this art LOOKS officinal, but it isnt, thre's barely any rough edges like in original, there's some shading but it is not like in the original

is it the anatomy? neither, you can clearly see how they change every time how they draw inklings, sometimes the draw eyebrows in place, sometimes they round the faces sometimes they color pink they mouth despite the ink color. IT IS NOT JUST ONE PERSON.

I can't really give you more than this. As I mentioned in other posts, I use clip studio paint, my brushes were made by myself 4 years ago. If you have a hard time making your own there's (again) pufuu's brush set for procreate: https://x.com/pufuulive/status/1427743911708143617?lang=bn

the same but for psd and csp: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15Ib-jyvKxIDi0um0FnX3LcBet6m1pym3

and if you use another program just search for "Splatoon brushes" and go to the image tab, ive seen brushes uploaded in devianart for paint tool sai and for ibis paint. I just searched for splatoon tutorials and I found this saved: https://www.tiktok.com/discover/how-to-do-splatoon-art-style

Here's one of my videos if you can take anything and analyse it better than me, I'm sorry I can't really give you anything better,

[lemon-wedges]

Hello!!! I love your art and your style. I'd love to hear your inspirations behind how you draw and, in addition, hear a bit about your painting process (I love the impressionistic look your paintings have)

ahh!!! thank you so much ;u;

Ill tried my best to break down my thought process behind my drawing, so i hope this all makes sense aahaha

undercut cause it came out real long

SO Karl Gnass is an instructor that i took an anatomy class with. and who broke down anatomy in a way that really helped me grasp space. like space a figure occupies. and from that i think my characters feel a bit more...grounded? im not sure what the right word would be but tangible is something people sometimes say about my art.

And i do think when youre able to make a figure look like its really wrapping its hands around something it makes character interactions a lot more intimate.

heres a few under sketches i do when i start a drawing (i am trying REALLY hard not to use my nsfw ones tho those are pretty perfect when it comes to showing u anatomy RIP)

after i got the poses done ill turn down the opacity and rough sketch out details on top of these. and once THATS done i move onto lineart. and the most important aspect of this step is NOT TO TRACE YOUR UNDER DRAWING!!!! thats what sucks the life out of your work!!!!

instead you use your undersketch as a guide. ilI actually redraw the simple anatomy underneath very lightly, erase where they over lap and then add line weight variety + darken up the details.

examples of this are gonna look a little messy but. Left is the original pose i drew out with rough details. right is the drawing i do on top of it. you'll see theyre not one to one and theres some lines i didnt fully erase out when redoing the anatomy. i find my clean up has a lot more energy when i do this.

the thing about my style is that you'll notice i never actually do actual clean smooth lineart. and thats because i HATE DOING THAT SHIT. like i did learn how to do it and consistently forced myself to do it for over a year. and while i do think i learned a lot about line weight and drawing clearer. i realized? its just not for me. I like a textured brush and i like being able to see those small lines i didnt get to fully erase out because i think they look cool lol and thats ok!! do what you want forever man!!! its your art!!!

Also before i move onto painting ill show you this neat little trick. you know those more "loose" drawings of mine that feel more gestural? the begining process is exactly the same. the difference is i use a chunkier pen and try to see how much i can simplify details + just feel out the energy of lines

NOW PAINTING.

man. where to even start.

the thing about painting is that its an entire different set of skills that need to each be honed on their own and will slowly build up together. ill break it down like this.

VALUE, COLOR, and TECHNIQUE

I've said this on another ask before but you'll notice ill do a lot of black and white sketches. and i do that to practice choosing how to group values.

like this example. how light is laios' wolf coat compared to his skin? or kabrus skin color compard to laios coat. when do you want to really push the contrast of light and dark and when do you let values be closer to each other when you DONT want attention

the next step from this is adding a light source.

and when you're working in black and white its a lot easier to pay more attention where you want your light/how its gonna look like hitting youre characters and how far youre gonna push your shadows.

and you know if you get good at this you can play with limited color palletes

this is literally just be picking out blues and hitting the bottom with the gradient tool to light it up

NOW COLOR

is a lot harder and also very subjective. I do a ton of impressionist studies where i just color pick the fuck out of a piece to see what colors masters used + knowing the history of paint and what colors were available during that time period. +knowing what colors = what mood + knowing what colors to use when you want to be more realistic vs when you want to lean into more stylized+ what colors YOU specially incline towards + AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

its a lot and im actually still learning myself

But when i do a painting i collect a LOT of refrences of the kind of mood i want my own painting to feeling like. I've show the first example in another ask before but heres one from my latest labru too

WHen i actually start a painting tho they look like this. The top drawings are just flat colors with a simple outline of where i want the light to be hitting. like in my value studies im just trying to get the idea down, seeing what values need to be darker vs what is lighter. and how the light source covers the character.

figuring this out in the begining makes the rest of the painting so much easier because youve essentially made all the big compostion decisions NOW. from here you can start playing with colors.

my second stage, youll see with drawings at the bottom, is when i start using my texture brush to lay in extra shadows and just play with variety.

and then? i start rendering

that would be TECHNIQUE

And well....thats also something thats gonna be very subjective.

With my own style im not interested in rendering everything to perfection. Im trying to figure out how to texture hair/skin/clothes in ways that make them feel like the materials they are while also showing the energy of my brushstrokes.

I dont zoom in while i paint btw. everything i do is zoomed out so i can see the entire drawing. it helps me not tight up my strokes while also letting me build up all areas of the painting equally. the only time i zoom in is when im lining out the eyes/mouth of a character. and yeah. it drives me insane doing this because ITS SOOOOO Tempting to obsess over paint 1 area forever then zoom out and see that nothing matches lol

The other thing about my style of painting. Is that im not gonna use the exact same formula for every piece. like this isnt cell shading. you can have an idea of how to texture skin/clothes/hair and sometimes it looks great and beautiful in one painting and then it looks like shit in another. ive overhauled a lot of paintings multiple times because what i thought would work doesnt and ive had to force myself to explore and play with my brushstrokes. and you know? i wouldnt have it any other way. it means none of my paintings are gonna look alike! and i think thats pretty cool :D

ill leave you with this in the end. a painting im in the middle of doing and debating to overhaul cause im just not feeling the strokes. who knows what ill look like in the end

anyways i hope this helped a little? even if you look at all this and go. IM NEVER GONNA DRAW LIKE THIS BOZO ahahah

BUT I WISH YOU LUCK ON YOUR OWN ARTS :DDDD

[technically-a-kiwi]

Hi guys ! I’d like to share with you my take on a possible DLC (or even sequel) for Pizza Tower:

Overturned Pizza Tower

(Yeah it’s a working title, I’m not even sure if "overturned" is english…)

Basicaly in the game, Peppino is forced in another dimension by a familiar looking but oddly different Pizzahead and has to conquer the Tower all over again, some stuff here and there are different with different levels and a much more different atmosphere, that being that this alternative tower looks far more luxurious than the canon one, let me know in the comments if you want be to develop on how the tower could look like in this mysterious alternative world

first cutscene rough storyboard:

And now for the juicy part >:) hehehe

The bosses:

When designing new designs for the bosses, I kept in mind to not go overboard with the modifications, what makes Pizza Tower’s characters so fun to draw is their sheer simplicity, and I must say in some of my early sketches, I was awfully close to the “ORIGINAL CHARACTER, DO NOT STEAL PLEASE” limit. So without further ado, here they are:

Pepperman:

So as you can see, our favourite fabulous pepper is rocking some boots, shades and a jacket, In this timeline his talent was recognised and became quite a celebrity in the tower, experimenting in other forms of art outside of painting such as photography, origami and clothing. I honestly think that the two drawings I did on the bottom left corner that Pepperman would absolutely embrace his fame and wouldn’t mind that much if people always ask him for an autograph in any place he walks in, he would be quite a diva if he could wouldn’t he ? Let me know your opinion on his design and if you think I should change some stuff.

The Vigilante:

Nothing much changes with Vigi here except a tiny scare under his left eye and a peace of turquoise on his hat, in this timeline the Vigilante is known as the "Bullseye" due to the extraordinary capacity of never in any circumstances miss a shot that it be with his gun, lasso or anything else he can throw at you (unless he misses willingly of course), outlaws truly quiver in fear at the site of him because they know they’re doomed. I must say Vigi was the hardest to redesign, because there’s so much you can modify with him until he just looks a slime with goggly eyes, a funny hat and an angry expression with random details… which…is kind of what he is but in a bad way… you know… Again let me know in the comments what is your opinion and if you think something should change.

Fake Peppino:

And here he is, the fan favourite, the goofy goober elderish monster of the saga. In this timeline the only difference is that instead of a tang top he wears an apron that is stained with a bit of… uh… tomato… sauce… yeah tomato sauce and he constantly holds in his right hand a ladle, he’s the proud owner of his own pizzeria of which he takes vey good care of (or at least he’s trying his best) and most of his clients are actually Peppino clones, as long as they pay for their food Fake Peppino don’t mind their presence, any other clients are very rare considering there is a rumours about the chef killing any clients who doesn’t leave a tip…Honestly one of my favourite design so far (wow how original, the goofy goober is my favourite…) once again leave a comment of your opinion and what you think should be different in my design

Final boss:

Yeah sorry I won’t give you my take on the final boss (yet), but if you think a little and look carefully I think you can already gess who’s the big bad guy, I’ll even post something if y’all really want

And that’s all for now folks!

Thank you so much for reading my post, if you really want me to give you more concepts and ideas for the characters, atmosphere or if you want full arts of the design I just showed, let me know in the comments. Don’t hesitate on giving me your truest opinion may it be positive or negative on this concept and if you think it could work for a DLC or sequel! See you next time :D !

wait… what is that ? Where’s The Noise ?

let’s… let’s not talk about him…

[raccoonfallsharder]

a handful of OCs

art masterlist | navigation | fiction masterlist your OCs masterlist | current queue | rocket art

a library of art for my OCs, including ones i haven't drawn yet but plan to! this lil masterlist does or will include art of

jo aka jolie from Window Across the Galaxy ✓

pearl aka madame lizette lavenza from cicatrix ✓

sanna orix from cicatrix , giftwrap, & take what you need)

anaya’s wife from cicatrix

jolie from Window Across the Galaxy

jolie is a normal terran girl who is only a badass when her protective instincts are triggered. mostly she just likes to draw pretty things, including that raccoon she saved from yondu udonta's ravager vessel. also she's a mess.

favorite scene from WATG (rocket & jo) ✓ initial jo sketches & concepts ✓ more jolie sketches with more detail ✓ official og jo portrait ✓ lineless jo [COMING SOON]

other peoples' jolie-art

jolie's painting of rocket by @hibataao3 makes me cry every time i look at it

very first portrait of jolie by @raccoonmybeloved ~ so fucking cute i died

sims of jo by @evolvingchaoswitch ~ particularly love her paint-spattered outfit

an absolutely drool-worthy nsfw of rocket & jolie by @lazarel-3000 that permanently has altered my brain chemistry and lives in my mind forever ♡♡♡

adorable jolie sketches by @moonnpiie that truly capture what i mean when i describe jo as having “everywhere-hair.” plus her lil art-glove! (and a really cute rocket)

the cutest jo by @frostedwitch in her chapter xxvii sweatshirt. she is so cute with such shiny eyes and cute freckles and i love her so so so much! ♡♡♡

this shiny-haired jo by @miinsie! i love her hair so much in this one - it almost looks iridescent. i swoon. thank you for taking the time to read and to share this lovely interpretation of jolie with me!

pearl from cicatrix

pearl was lured away from terra as a child and essentially groomed to be the high evolutionary's bride (which mostly means being repeatedly broken down over the years). currently pining after the raccoon who saved her (despite their rough start), enjoying her newfound semi-independence, and learning her strengths. she's gonna be an asskicker eventually

favorite scene from cicatrix ✓ official pearl portrait ✓ pearl & rocket snuggle-sketch ✓

other peoples' pearl-art

art of chapter one. nemotia. by @frostedwitch. this is like. one of the most amazing things i've seen. pearl's eyes are so shiny, the dark background is so ominous, the reflection in the mirror is heartpounding. love this so much it makes me cry.

sanna orix from cicatrix, giftwrap, & take what you need

sanna orix is a genderfluxe merchant from a planet called cyxlore in the telladore system. like many cyxlorades, sanna orix recognizes the sybila nix ora, a goddex who watches over the dead and may provide them with simple pleasures to make their time in the afterlife more joyful, comfortable, and sweet. it's impossible to say if this spiritual path influences the cyxlorade culture or vice versa, but relatedly, cyxlorades tend to be a very tactile people who deeply value small and sensual luxuries: fine cloths, good food, beautiful homes and scenery, and more. sanna orix lives these values through their work as a merchant, peddling fine goods (and often, fine advice) to all her customers, whether she is on their home planet or abroad.

lineless portrait [COMING SOON] sanna orix & bestie wona beax [COMING SOON] sanna orix selling panties [COMING SOON]

anaya's wife from cicatrix

anaya's wife is the owner of anaya's armoire, a luxury lingerie shoppe on sovereign. she's an extremely skilled domme and while she does have her own name, she doesn't care that we don't know it. she doesn't mind being known primarily by her relationship with her sexy, subby lover ~ and as far as she's concerned, referring to her primarily as anaya's wife in public conversations is only its own form of free advertising.

lineless portrait of anaya [COMING SOON] anaya's wife & anaya [COMING SOON]

[pointdotiozao]

The wait list for the second semester of 2024 is open!

DM me if you’re interested! Rbs are appreciated!

More info under the cut ↓

Process and general info

DM or email me (rose_captain@hotmail.com)* your inquiry so we can discuss the quotes and book you a slot if none are available at the moment. *I might take I little longer to reply emails.

Payments are made via PayPal invoices, so I’ll need your PayPal email.

All prices are USD.

My wait list is just a rough estimation. The time I take on each work varies and sometimes there are cancellations, as well as other external factors, so even though I’m mostly on time, the possibility I will be a bit late or a bit earlier than expected exists.

IMPORTANT: If you change your url after getting a spot on my wait list please remember to give me a heads up so that later I can still find you!!

It’s alright if you need to reschedule your comm for another time, or even just cancel it, just let me know. No cancellations once I have started working though, and no refunds.

I start working after receiving half the payment upfront.

References are appreciated but not required, and well detailed descriptions work just fine, but please try to have all information necessary for the commission ready. (References and/or descriptions for the characters appearances, facial expressions, clothes, poses; background, if any; lighting/type of coloring.)

I won’t charge for tattoos of which you provide transparent pngs.

I reserve the right to refuse a commission.

I reserve the right to post my artwork and use it on my portfolio, but I’ll keep a commission private if so requested.

The commissions are for personal use only.

Will Do

OCs, fanart, ship art;

Suggestive themes, NSFW, and even fetish art (with only a few exceptions I highly doubt I will encounter here, but who knows);

Gore and body horror;

Animals, humanoids and furries.

In doubt just ask, I’ll give almost anything a confident try.

Won’t Do

Mecha;

Hateful imagery;

IRL shipping (doesn’t apply to actors interpreting characters);

Create new designs (characters, clothes, etc.);

And I will no longer be accepting irl face claims/painting real people on painting style commissions (this doesn’t apply to realistic looking video-game characters).

The styles:

Sketch- just the early stage of the drawing, rough forms and somewhat messy lines. May include 1 rough color for emphasis;

Lineart- clean lineart with the brush of your choice (I have 3);

Flat colors- includes lineart and simple coloring, no shadows/source of light;

Shaded- includes lineart, more detailed coloring compared to flat colors, simple lighting/one source of light;

Painting- either pieces with no lineart (regardless of type of lighting), or those which have lineart + complex lighting/two or more sources of light.

You can see more of my art on my blog tagged as #myart. If you find a style you like but is not sure of which category it fits in, just ask me!

〃く⁠コ⁠:⁠彡 ₊ ˚ ⊹ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

And finally, seen below are my other contact info. Most of these accounts are still empty and I honestly don’t plan on leaving tumblr, after all the real “tumblr is shutting down” is the friends we made along the way yadda yadda, but seriously my heart can’t take it anymore. I’ll rather be safe than sorry.

[xephia]

Hi, i hope this question doesn't bothers you, do you have any videos of your process?, im currently starting to learn how to do digital art and have trouble knowing where to start and what to do (im always like, should i start drawing this part first?, is it better to do clean lineart or just paint over the sketch?, do i work on the lights first or the shadows?, etc)

I can probs make you a video on this at some point based on something I'm currently working on, although I have a few on my tiktok already (@ xephia) if that helps!

My process is a bit messier than many other artists - I alternate between stages of sketch and colour before I even think about ‘final colour’. I’ll start with a sketch like the ones below, then slap some rough colour on. This is because IMO colour is an important part of the composition so I want to see what works before I line. They’re not meant to be pretty or social media ready. This stage can look super messy or tidy depending on how I feel or how complicated it is. And they can look wildly different; here’s some examples:

That stage also helps me decide if I want to finish the piece or if I should abandon it (I abandon a lot). Sometimes this stage takes 15min, sometimes 2 hours, it really depends on the piece. But for me personally, it’s crucial because otherwise I find it very hard to envision how it will look later, or forget what I was planning.

Then, I do at least one more layer of ‘sketch line art’, which is basically a first layer of line art to see what works and what needs changing. I colour the important bits relatively cleanly (usually character/s) and add might some subtle shadows/gradients and/or lighting to get a feel of what it will look like finished. Sometimes I repeat this process a couple of times if I’m not happy with how the first iteration looked. This stage usually looks a little like this character sheet I’m working on, and this slice from a Kiki delivery service sketch:

It’s usually not until I’ve done all that, that I go over and do the final lineart, making it thicker, colouring the lines, redoing the flat colours, tidying it up, and adjusting where needed. Essentially I don’t start ‘finishing’ a piece until I’m happy with where everything sits and what colours I’ve picked. It’s only at this point I feel like the sketch is ready to line, and lining and final colouring can actually take less time for me than all those layers of planning somehow haha.

At this point I keep tidying, cleaning, lining, colouring, until the piece feels complete. Sometimes complete for one piece is tidier than complete for another, it really depends.

I’ll also use Procreate’s push tool to adjust things as I go in all steps - it saves a lot of time and isn’t cheating.

Although as you can probably tell from my examples, I do change this procress up a lot depending on the piece! Sometimes I’ll even paint over parts of my final piece like I did in this magical girl street. I think find whatever works for you, everyone will work differently and things like mood, energy levels, how patient you feel, how stressed you are, if you have any hand pain or shaking, and how much free time you have that day to draw can all affect your process day to day, week to week.

Some days it will be easier and more comfortable to sketch messily, other days tidier. Some days you will draw well, other days not well at all. At least for me, I find consistency almost impossible.

So I think there's no right or wrong order to do things and it's great to switch it up and keep things interesting for yourself, and different processes work for different people. Hope this helps!

[papiliomame]

Road to 3D- Sam Manson (Part 1):

Model sheet

Part 2: Character Modeling

Hi! On my recent posts of my 3d models I got many asking questions about how I made them. I'm currently working on a 3d Sam model from scratch and so I thought I can document my process here and add some thoughts through my process.

Before I can model anything in 3d I need a reference and a plan. For characters this means I need to create a model sheet, so here we are.

Some disclaimer first before I continue:

I'm just a self-taught hobby artist not a professional or proper art student. The infos I write here down are just the things I do and can be completly wrong or different in a professional setting.

This is not a tutorial or a step-by-step-guide for character design or how to make character sheets in general. Just additional things that I pay attention to when I make a model sheet for my 3d models.

As someone who just does 3d modeling in my freetime for 2 1/2 years I see myself still as a beginner. I'm still in a experimenting with different techniques and artstyle. This and the following posts describes just stuff I do for this model, it could be some other method next if I feel this didn't work out that well. Nothing is set in stone.

I do the 3d models just for myself for practice and for fun, you cannot download them anywhere. I just post screenshots and do sometime animations to archive my progress.

Under the cut are my thoughts of how I approach a model sheet for a 3d character:

First things first I search for references and make some rough sketches to decide how I want the character to look like. I found this image of a character on pinterest ( anyone knows who the artist is? I cannot find the original source) and use this as a reference for my Sam model.

After the inital phase I first draw the front side of the character. For a 3d model I need a symmetrical neutral character in a T-pose, an A-pose or a standing pose in which the arms doesn't obscure the body. This makes it easier to model and rig them late on.

Speaking of obscuring the body it's also better to have a character without their clothes on and in multiple angles. It is easier to model the character's full body first and then model the clothes around it as an anchor point.

The most import angles for me are the front and side view. The other angles are more for the details to get the likeness right. I try to model the front view most accurately and the sideview is more for the proportions. I don't often see people only from the side view so whatever I draw from the side cannot 100% be accurately be modeled like that. I also made a different side view on the right with the arm seperated from the body, this makes it easier block in the form of the body and it's easier to model the arm and hand seperatly because hands are not only difficult to draw but also difficult to model.

For the different angles I use a mannequin model in blender as a guide and reference. Clip studio paint (the painting program I use) has also 3d mannequins but I personally find them difficult to move around so I prefer to use blender for this.

When I'm finished with the model sheet I also make a quick turnaround animation to see if anything looks consistent enough.

Yeah that's it. Now onto the modelling process!

[mikaikaika]

Hello I've seen you around the QSMP spaces a lot, but I'm curious!! Do you have any cool headcanons you wanna share?

Hey anon! Thanks for the question and sorry if it took me a while I was recollecting my thoughts. I don't have any set hcs but a few thought sparced around here and there so here they are. They are mostly about the eggs but some people found their way in

Tallulah has all of Wilbur's letters memorised and she repeats them when she finds herself in danger. However sometimes Chayanne hears her muttering in her sleep and if he pays attention he can hear the repeat of Wilbur's words.

Richarlyson does not like to take baths due to his parenthood side that comes from Catboy Cellbit

Flippa and Tilin were very clumsy and often got injured so they had a bet going on with each other about who can convincingly tell their parent the most batshit crazy getting injured story without worrying them too much. Their record was never broken despite their exaggerated shenanigans

Missa was the better chef of the house who used to make diverse meals. Seeing him Chayanne took up cooking because he wanted to help after he saw how exhausted Phil was while taking care of two kids. It now helps him make proper use of all the potatoes and now he has one more skill he can use to provide for his loved ones incase they are stuck in danger

Not mine but someone had a hc that Antoine is an alien due to his moon and the tomska sketch he was a part of. I just wanna add to it that that is the reason his mc skin is layered with an outer layer. So it is him trying to imitate huamans and trying to fit in. That's the reason he has like three faces cause he wanted to fit in by doing his best attempts possible

Since Phil said they shop at hot topic cause they're a emo family, I think Tallulah hates it, so as a little sign of rebellion she keeps choosing tshirts with the most ridiculous captions to take home like one that says "crazy plant lady" with weed on it but Tallulah insists it represents her venues or anything over the top pink that she can find there like I'm talking mable pines level fluffy

Dapper is really good at doing rubix cubes and loves them but Ramon absolutely hates due to how engrossed Dapper got when he was learning it

As Chayanne grows up he end up outgrowing his duck floatie. So he ,with the help of Ramon and dapper, devises a belt with a duck belt buckle on it that can turn into a floatie anytime it is required. It comes in handy more often than you think.

Baghera is deathly afraid of snakes cause she's a duck

Cellbit's family are his anchor anytime his past comes haunting him back. He often gets nightmares that wake him up but all it takes is him seeing the picture of Richarlyson with he Favela Five or turning to his side and seeing the face of his sleeping husband and with one squeeze of his hand - Cellbit comes grounded back to reality and peacefulness.

When he's outside and people are accusing him of being a traitor or when things get too rough, you would often find Cellbit toying with his ring. It serves him as a reminder that his past is behind him and now he's in a better place and no matter what he would always have someone looking out and waiting for him - something he has never had before

The dragon colours that the eggs would be turned into coincides with the signs they use. Flippa's would be green similar to what gegg uses, Bobby's was brownish since he used normal signs, Tilin's would be slight orange as hers was red but she passed hers down to Pomme and Trump is light blue since his was blue but he passed it down to Richarlyson as Richas is more socially "loud" than he is

If Tilin and Juanaflippa were still here, their name together with Tallulah would have been TFT trio

Pac paints his nail but it's always chipped due to him working with Mike but you would never see it completely gone and no one knows how/when Pac reapplies and redamages it

Also I love this hc that all the partners of the people on the server are some kind of godly entity with specific powers that tie into the story

[shelandsorcery]

Astronomics Game Art : Designing Mining Equipment!

Gonna talk this week about designing mining equipment for the sci-fi game Astronomics - demo on steam right now! - And I thought I'd start with a little conversation about research and process (...that doesn't really have on a much art in it but just stay with me) and maybe get to tap in a little bit into how someone like me who doesn't do a lot of technical design learned a lot about how to get excited about that whole field through the research stage of this game.

So when I say research I really do mean fairly old-school research — and this is probably gonna be a theme with a lot of the posts about this game in particular, because I don't think you can build sci-fi without some understanding of engineering systems and current scientific realities to then play with, you know?

As you may gather from the trailer, Astronomics is a game about asteroid mining, among other things. Which meant that we had a lot of need for legit industrial feeling props and tools for the player to use, things that felt functional and believable without feeling complicated or delicate. I really enjoy the challenge of adding appeal to something that maybe people don't always think about being appealing or fun or cute (this is never an absolute statement — there's always somebody already able to see more appeal in any given subject and I could ever imagine) so part of the research stage is going and looking for that appeal. So above you can see a sheet of loose rough sketches I did in clip studio paint from reference that I gathered with the rest of the team and by myself that seemed relevant to some of the designs we were pursuing.

If you've had the chance to play the demo, you'll know that it's not just surface mining but we are going to be letting you mind gases and liquids and underground mineral veins as well — these are all things that people do in the real world of course, so process one was taking a quick look at those actual industries and then figuring out how I could condense that activity down into a pretty simple and easy to understand machine.

So turned out what we needed was something that drilled and dug, something that pumped liquids, something that sucked air, and all of these things needed to then produce some sort of container to hold what they had collected.

In a videogame you really need to communicate to the player why each act they do is significant and different from the others, and as the art director it was my job to figure how to do that through visual design of the tools they're going to be using. So that meant that even though you could certainly store liquid and gas and solid resources in the same kind of box, I wanted to try and find ways to keep each thing feeling different. Best case scenario is that you're able to look at a prop we've designed and know in a split second which of these three states of matter it will be containing; in the research stage one of the things I'm looking for is any existing visual language that we have (in this Western English-speaking North American videogame audience culture) that already solves this problem.

The great thing about industrial design is that they indeed have very intentionally tackled this problem. Part of it is purely physics optimization that the field of engineering has been working towards for human history. For example, when you're storing liquid and you want to remove all of it from a container you probably don't want something with corners — that's how you end up with cylindrical liquid storage. When you're storing a gas you're likely keeping it under pressure, which means you need a shape that will withstand pressure evenly, which means you're looking for something with literally no corners or edges ideally — and that's how you end up with bubble-shaped gas storage like a propane canister. And then when you're storing something solid and you want to use the space most efficiently and be able to stack whatever it is that you have packed it into, you have a box.

Real good news is, a box and a cylinder and a sphere are all wonderfully visually distinct shapes in a fantastically strong place to start when it comes to solving the question of storage. So then we get into the challenge of the machines themselves — what distinguishes a drill from a pump from a vacuum?

So that's the beginning of some of the questions that you have to answer when you're designing props for a game — in the research stage is only one of bunch of different ways you start figuring out these answers. But I want to talk for just a second a little bit about how I personally wrangle my research, because I am definitely not telling you this is the only way to do it. It seems like it may be worth explaining what I get out of this process and see if anything here make sense for you!

One of the reasons that I have this huge page of sketches, big and detailed or tiny and loose, all laid out in one place for me to look at, is because I personally learn and remember things more strongly by taking notes. With my hand holding a pencil ideally. And when they're abstract concepts or verbal or numerical then I'll use writing and I won't have a problem with it, but my job at this stage was not to figure out abstract concepts or to find themes — my job was to solve visual problems. So my first order of business was visual research specifically. Now for me, that involves lots of things — I have a Pinterest board for any sort of subcategory of stuff I'm researching to just do enormous broad research with; then I probably bring most of those images into a huge working .PSD file and move them around to create groupings. And then I start drawing.

I really think that drawing is integral for me at this stage. I don't think I could do this without drawing as part of my research. There's so much that I just don't bother noticing if I'm not going to be drawing the thing that I'm looking at; even the worst, fastest, sketchy as drawing makes me pay infinitely more attention to something then I do when I am simply collecting information mentally. I'm phrasing this in a somewhat exaggerated, self-deprecating way, but I really can't exaggerate how much more I get out of things when I sit down and draw them. They talk about drawing is a way of seeing, and for me that's a practice I've intentionally pushed and explored in my life.

The other thing, though, is that visual problem that I need to solve. Sometimes solutions to the problem aren't obvious until they are visualized — it can be very easy to get distracted by things like surface details and miss the silhouette language, or vice versa, but when you are doing the drawing you have to wrestle with the silhouette and the details and make decisions about them. Visual trends appear way more clear when you are drawing something for the 10th time as opposed to simply seeing it for the 10th time. And all of the layers of cultural meaning and context that clutter up a photograph can be simply ignored as you transfer only what you need to a drawing, where you might discover something that everything else hid until then. Beyond that, one of the things you may notice about the sketches is that they are somewhat cartoony — I'm certainly trying to capture important details and be representational to a degree, but much like gesture drawing the human figure, researching this way lets me start finding out what the gestures are of these different sorts of subject matter. This is something that I knew about creature design, and about flora design, and one of the real joys of this game in particular was proving to myself that this gesture approach applied to industrial machines and technology as well.

I mean, I knew that there were cute trucks out there, but gosh.

I think if you are in need of something to reinvigorate a particular piece of subject matter for you — if you're designing something that you are just not that excited about, or if you don't feel challenged by the work in front of you — I really think sitting and sketching from reference can open up the complexities and help push you and your work farther. It certainly works for me and I know that the learning I did on this game is something I carry with me to future projects as well.

That seems like a pretty strong place to leave this post in particular, but I'll be back later this week with more breakdowns and screen caps of the actual design process of all of our adorable mining equipment!

I would really love to hear from folks if you also engage in similar research processes before going into full design mode — or if you have a completely different way to get your mind revved up and ready to go, I would really enjoy reading about it!

In the meantime, if you're curious about mining asteroids but it's cute please feel free to check out the Astronomics demo on steam, I made an awful lot of visdev art for this and handed it off to some incredible game creators who have done some really impressive stuff taking their ideas and my ideas and running to honestly some pretty new and exciting places with them.