#i learned about it from one of my favorite artists posting fanart about it

[nejackdaw]

Keep thinking about Dungeon Meshi not bc I know anything about it but bc of what I've seen on my for you. Like. I thought Laios was gonna be the cook because he wants to eat all the monsters but I guess that's Senshi??? He really wants to eat a specific soup again and sometimes he has horns and sometimes he doesn't (this is usually tagged "halfling" what is he. I thought he was a goat man. But sometimes he isn't??? Are the horns fake) There's an elf lady and I can never remember her name but she's gay with Laios's sister and always seems annoyed with him but in a hater friends kind of way. Speaking of haters my fucking favorite is the cabbage patch kid that's actually a divorced 47 year old father of three. He's the party rogue and every gene in his body is the Hater Gene. Laios and his sister get turned into birds but then un-birded and this fixes her shitty eyes. I am experiencing this manga/show through random posts on Tumblr and it's delightful. I think I should watch it

Edit: oh my god the horns are just on his hat. Except I forgot he wears a hat so they just got put on his head in my brain. Nvm I've connected the dots

[alllgator-blood]

got back from my 2nd show rlly tired and i see one of my favorite artists have posted?? thanks, this will fuel me for my show tomorrow

hope your vacation went well and wish you a full recovery from the chaos in your life :DDD

Rest well tonight and I wish you luck on your show tomorrow, if you've already done two of them I know you're gonna kill it on the third one!! I can't say I know much about musicals if that's what you're referring to, but I used to do concerts (was a violinist/pianist/harp player in school) and the last show is generally the easiest imo- you've already learned from the last performances what works/doesn't work and you know the end is coming up so it feels less stressful than the previous ones. You can just put your all into it, pass out that night and wake up the next day knowing the hard part is over!

I haven't been able to draw much new art because things keep getting crazier over here but the vacation WAS pretty sweet and I DID start a comic the other day to keep me from losing my shit during the storm. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MUSICALS BUT IF MY UNRELATED, UNFINISHED FANART CAN IN ANY WAY BRING YOU JOY, THAT'S ALL I COULD WANT TBH

I did the lines for this but the power grid went out and they are gone now......which is the funniest possible way I could've lost art progress on a tornado comic tbh

[chaifootsteps]

hey chai, long post incoming--i'm slowly chipping away at a draft of a vivzie drama masterpost i'll be phrasing as "why are people mad at vivziepop" for new-comers. i'll be including screenshots where i can and small summaries for things. that said, this is my rough list, have i missed anything that you can think of, or any specifics you think outta be mentioned?

VivziePop General Issues - Some from the Past that still happen in the Present

Inability to Handle Criticism / Confrontation

Transphobia

Misogynistic Tendencies

Issues with Improper Crediting / "Stealing" Ideas

Liking Tweets of Fans and Otherwise Who Agree with Her / Praise Her / Defend Her

Most of both her series’ “charm” is thanks to people other than her

Despite having two "LGBT+ friendly" series she primarily focuses on gay men and hasn't been the most LGBT+ friendly in other areas (acephobia, transphobia, lack of rep for queer women/wlw, thinks polyamory is just an excuse to cheat)

Conflicts between Vivzie putting forth an image of a struggling small-time creator who pulled herself up by the bootstraps and made it VS. circumstantial evidence that she is very well off financially and always has been; had her schooling paid for, spent a summer in Paris, takes expensive trips, makes expensive purchases, and lives in a million dollar house with multiple bedrooms and a pool

Testimonies of Ex-Employees and Friends

Erin Frost

KenDraws

Salem

VivziePop “Canon Events” of the Past and Present (20??-Present)

The Snake Tub & Creepy Fanart

Blaire White Fanart

Nazi Sausage Party Fan-Characters from blog “i-hate-jewce”

Starvader Drama

DollCreep / JayJay/Jiji Drama

Viv guilt-tripped a Patron for trying to get at least a partial refund for a financial emergency--many feel that while Viv was in the right for not wanting to refund the Patron, she handled it extremely poorly

Viv's 2018 "Apology"

Support of Angel Dust x Valentino as a “r*pe ships”

Her sister apologized on her behalf to someone she cyber bullied and her sister cited Viv as “having a problem” cyberbullying people. [Kedi's consequent reaching out to the sister having heard she was being a mediator for said person resulted in Viv saying Kedi was stalking her family.]

Viv kicking the original Hazbin Hotel pilot cast after saying she’d fight to keep them onboard [Michael has stated it was not a union issue and explained how he was even willing to shoulder the cost of having him on the show but was still let go.]

Viv saying redesigns are "disrespectful"

VivziePop Opinions of Other Artists

“I could destroy her” and everything else shitty she said about Kyra -- Kyra’s "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" comic & tweets People Suspect Are About Vivzie

Calling Tracy Annoying

Ashley (Creator of Far-Fetched)

- Viv wasn’t happy with Hunicast’s popularity (mainly run by Ashley) and was mad people were mistaking Ashley for the creator of Hazbin Hotel despite Ashley always making sure to correct people. - Viv learned something personal about Ashley that she used to make fun of her behind her back. - Allegedly one of the reasons Viv kicked most the original VA cast of Hazbin Hotel were due to them associating with Ashley. - Allegedly didn’t like that Ashley was leaving to work on her own indie pilot (Far-Fetched)

Bullying KediKatzen for having a similar art style, accusing Kedi of stalking her and her family, cyberbullying Kedi

SpindleHorse Related (VivziePop’s Animation Studio)

Rushed, Disorganized, Unprofessional Productions

Favoritism by Viv

“Cliquey” Behavior from Executives

Tight Deadlines

Underpaying

Working on other projects / working multiple jobs was generally frowned upon and discouraged.

In at least two instances Viv actually went out of her way to try and keep people from being hired elsewhere. - In one she told Ashley that Erin was "mentally unstable" - In another she told Nico Colaleo (Ollie & Scoops) not to hire “her artists” aka people working on her project(s).

VivziePop Criticisms Specific to Her Writing

Being Known to Skip Development to “Get to the Good Stuff”

Revealing / Confirming Story and World Lore via Liking Tweets, Making Tweets, or Behind a Patreon Paywall, instead of writing them into the series itself

Adding New Ideas Just Because She Likes Them, with Little Regard for how they Affect the Story

Rushing Characters’ Development and/or Retconning Characters to fit New Plots / Ideas

Apparent Lack of Research, Or At Least Poor Execution, of Her Ideas, Resulting in “Wasted Potential”

Concern over Mis-Management of “Morally Gray” and “Abusive” Character / Relationship Dynamics

Concern over apparent increasing themes of Inc*st in Helluva Boss

VivziePop Criticisms Specific to Her Art / Character Design

Over-Detailed Character Designs

Confusing Character Designs

Character Designs with Too Many Colors

Art style / designs that are “not animation friendly” --As well as her personal quality of art deteriorating over time

Animation is jittery, moving too much, or moving too fast

What Happened with Lackadaisy

VivziePop allegedly wanted to be on the Lackadaisy production in the past, but didn’t get hired

VivziePop has called Lackadaisy Creator Tracy “annoying” for “being active” in an animation channel on Discord

VivziePop tweeted a screenshot of a $5,000 Pledge to Lackadaisy’s backer-kit [which would’ve given Spindlehorse an Associate Producer’s credit on the future Lackadaisy productions]

Lackadaisy Crew Member ZeBirdBrain passive-aggresively replied that “since Medrano couldn’t be bothered to share the donation link, here it is!” And that money amount didn’t matter, every little bit counts.

It was revealed by SH Animator Mel in reply to ZeBirdBrain that the donation came from multiple team-members at SH (VivziePop did not mention this in her donation tweet.)

ZeBirdBrain deleted her original tweet.

ZeBirdBrain was harassed by VivziePop fans to be fired

Fans found tweets in ZeBirdBrain’s likes that appeared to be transphobic

One of ZeBirdBrain’s friends, a trans man, spoke up in defense of Ze, that Ze had known them since before their transition in 2013 and had been nothing but supportive.

Lackadaisy Co-Creator Fable, a trans masc, chimed in that they were made aware of the tweets, they looked into the matter, and were satisfied with the explanations they were given and hoped that would be enough for everyone.

[Fighting continued between fans and Lackadaisy crew members but the general consensus from the Lackadaisy crew seemed to be that they knew Ze to be a supportive ally, the liked tweets were a debated subject even in trans circles w/trans folk on both sides of the argument, Ze uses/used her likes as bookmarks rather than using the bookmark feature, and the reason Ze wasn’t saying all this herself was out of fear the rabid fandom wouldn’t take her word for it and would instead slander her further.]

Later, Lackadaisy’s Backer-Kit campaign ended, at which point Backer-Kit begins processing all the payments.

VivziePop posts a screenshot that “Spindlehorse’s” donation was denied.

Tracy replied to Viv’s tweet professionally, saying they had explained to SH the reason for the denial in private.

Viv’s fanbase became increasingly volatile towards this, claiming Tracy was “unprofessional” and “just should’ve accepted the money” and everyone should “boycott Lackadaisy”

Tracy, on one of her servers, not only elaborated more on the Ze incident (repeating much of what had already been said), but also revealed they had actually reached out to Spindlehorse in private, well before the campaign ended, and requested that they withdraw their donation. Spindlehorse refused.

i think that's about it--and obv where screenshots are available they will be linked in the full post i eventually make.

This looks amazing to me, and also you're doing god's work; something like this was insanely needed.

[thecoffeelorian]

Fandom Friday, 09/13: Fanart!

Hello again, everyone…and welcome to another installment of Fandom Friday, the two-post series where I go off to find new and interesting fanworks that might need a bit more visibility.

Before we begin...I'm not sure I have a cool address created for this latest update, other than the seasons are about to change, and I think that...for better or for worse, I'm probably changing a little right along with them.

I have no idea whether this will prove to be a good thing or not in the long run, only that I'm still learning new things even as I face my elder nerd years, and my ever-increasing amount of gray hairs upon my head keep reminding me that there's still a ways for me to go here...so please. I hope that anybody still reading my words will continue to be patient with me, especially if I don't always feel in the mood to draw, write, or otherwise create eye-catching things for the rest of the interwebs to enjoy.

And so without further delay...here are my picks of the week.

THE CLONE WARS

The Clone Wars Fanart--By @clownbloody:

The Clone Wars Fanart--By @lonewolflupe:

THE BAD BATCH

The Bad Batch Fanart--By @thora-sniper:

The Bad Batch Fanart--By @elslittlestories:

ANDOR/ROGUE ONE

Andor Fanart--By @fen-luciel:

Rogue One Fanart--By @aron-mp4:

STAR WARS REBELS

Star Wars Rebels Fanart--By @hayesflint:

THE MANDALORIAN

The Mandalorian Fanart--By @shadsthequeenofthepotatopeople:

In conclusion, as part of my mission to poke around the Star Wars fandom and, on Friday every two weeks, highlight those artists who might otherwise go unnoticed…I hope you will check out the links I have included for yourselves and like, comment on, and reblog them, as well as also giving the artists a few more followers to their Tumblr pages.

Please also like and reblog this latest installment so that these links can be spread around to as many other fans as possible, just in case not all of them can tune in at the same time.

An additional thank you goes to @djarrex for making the divider I used earlier in this post, but still want to give credit for.

And finally, so that I do not forget…this post will be continued in its second half: the Fanfiction Edition.

Thank you, good morning, and I’ll see you in the next post!

No Pressure Tags: @melymigo @algo-o-nada @theosb0rnway @everybirdfellsilent @skellymom

@leos-multifandom-corner @maggie-dylan @leenabb104104 @gun-roswell @tazmbc1

@bluedeedeedoop @its-time-to-rise-above @tlmtwelve and anybody else who might be on the lookout for new SW fanart.

[drill-teeth-art]

A late night, slight retrospective on the tiny amount of Tumblr fame I've gathered that also might be slightly annoying for my audience to read so feel free to skip it if you want.

I started sharing Transformers fanart on here back in 2022, around October. I had been posting art on here for a while before actually but people really started following me and asking about my work and actually reblogging my stuff when I started posting Transformers fanart in 2022. I was in a really low place then, and I really welcomed the attention. My art was and still is something I take a lot of pride in. It's my own. There's quite a few years of my life where the fact I could still draw was the only thing stopping me from attempting suicide. It's something that has always meant a lot to me, so the attention on one of the only things I really liked about myself was nice. It was nice for a while.

But I've gotta say the slight Tumblr fame (and I do mean slight, I've only got around 3k followers which is a lot of people and more than I ever thought I'd have following me and more than a lot of folks will ever have but not like A Ton Of Fame) has wreaked havoc on my mental health. Which is already pretty rough as is. Suddenly I wasn't just some guy making Transformers fanart while desperately saving up to get out of my parents' house. Suddenly I was some people's FAVORITE Transformers artist. Suddenly I was a role model to people and I had people in my DMs clambering for my attention and I had an audience that would cheer or boo or go awkwardly silent at my every post depending on how much they liked it. And it was Not Good For Me. I had and still do have people all over my inbox, excited about how I drew fat and disabled and trans characters asking me over and over to draw some specific representation that I don't want to draw right away. I had and still have people begging me to draw their favorite Transformers character who I happen to not really care about and not want to draw at all. And I am painfully aware how often people take personal offense to my polite "no I'm not drawing that unless it's a commission" and my not answering their ask because I'm not in the mood. I've had people send in asks asking for a specific drawing and then follow up asks when I don't answer in a timely manner. And it's really uncomfortable! And it's almost more uncomfortable that it feels like a lot of people don't even notice that they're making me uncomfortable.

And I like learning how to draw bodies I've never drawn before. I like looking at a character who I think is meh and being like "well actually how can I make them interesting to me...". But it really felt and still feels like my art was getting away from me, like I was drawing more what people were asking me to make instead of what I wanted to because people would take it so badly when I'd say no. I was getting commissions though and I was saving up money to move out so I ignored that bad feeling of getting distanced from my own craft because I was trying so hard to save money and I was actually making some. And I still wanted the attention. Plenty of people were still kind to me despite everything.

Things got weirder for me after I released my Good Bi Gender comic. Which I do still recommend people read I think it's some of my best work. But that comic became a huge hit. And it made things really complicated for a while. I got anon hate. I was told to kill myself by strangers online more than once while I was already deeply suicidal. Something I thought I stated very clearly in the comic itself, that I didn't want strangers calling me "she" though I did and do let my close trusted people call me "she", was immediately ignored by my regular audience and people reading the comic. I got a lot of "you go girl!" kind of messages in response to my comic, and I didn't say anything at the time but it made me deeply uncomfortable. The comic was partly about how the she/her part of my identity is off limits to strangers. How I don't let just anyone she/her me because I work so hard to have the he/him aspect identity acknowledged at all. And it was like what Tumblr decided for me was to go against my wishes. Was to be like "we'll accept your identity for you!" when that's not what I wanted. I did NOT want to be she/her'd by thousands of strangers at the time. And though I'm grateful to have heard the understanding stories of other folks with nonbinary gender identities in the notes, it was deeply humiliating and invalidating to watch as others decided for me to accept the Girl part of my identity. The opening lines of the comic are explicitly a plea to the reader to listen and understand why they're not allowed to use she/her for me even though I'm opening up about the complexities of my identity.

And like. I don't care anymore if people online she/her me. At least I don't care right now that's why she/her is in my bio right now maybe I'll change that. But at the time it was awful. It was something I asked people not to do. And between that and the constant clambering for my attention from people I didn't want to talk to (because I was severely depressed and wasn't looking to make a ton of new friends) and the alienation from my own work I felt like shit. I felt like garbage. I still do. I hate my art sometimes. I really hate it. And for a while, I considered breaking my own fingers just so people would stop acting so entitled to my art and I would have a reason not to post. And honestly the only thing that stopped me was just trying to get by financially. Just watching my follower count and regular notes steadily trend upward so I could do more commissions so I could move out.

And doing things for the numbers, even for a relatively short time, only made things worse. It sounds a little silly even to me, but I get so stressed out when my posts flop, especially if it's art I was really proud of. I'm struggling to detangle my sense of worth in my art from the online numbers game. And I'm proud of the progress I'm making, but it does really suck and it's really hard. And I really wish I was still the same person back in early 2022 who could say "I don't care about the numbers!" and actually mean it because god I WISH I didn't care about the numbers now. Especially now. I dunno if it's me posting more art people don't wanna see or people leaving Tumblr or a shift in the culture of Tumblr but fewer and fewer people interact with my posts despite my follower count ticking up slowly but surely and it kind of bums me the fuck out. But. I am very proud of myself for still drawing the ocs that I want to draw even if they get less notes every time. And even if I'm slightly frustrated they get less notes every time.

I don't really have a neat bow to tie on my personal story right now. I'm still healing and sometimes I backslide and it's hard and it sucks. I don't want to sound ungrateful or to sound like I'm trying to shoo people off my blog because I'm not. I'm really grateful for the attention and interest and I'm not trying to turn people off my art blog. But it's been a rough few years on here. And don't be surprised if you see me take more and more breaks from this website. I do sincerely hope y'all will stick around and watch me continue to post whatever art and say kind things because I do appreciate that a lot. I'm trying really hard to mend my relationship with my own art. To not be so hard on myself. And for the record I don't want any asks telling me to take breaks when necessary or reminding me to draw for me. I appreciate the sentiment, but I already know all that and I personally don't find it helpful to be reminded of things I already know. But anyway. I hope that I will draw more and more of whatever I want to, even if that means I fade back into obscurity.

If you stuck around to read me reflect on the stresses and occasional humiliation of my small amount of online notoriety, then thank you. I appreciate that. And really I do like people looking at my art on here and sharing it and sending asks about my work. And the person I expect to be responsible for my mental health and how much social media is impacting it is Me first and foremost. But sometimes I think that it's important to remember there's a person behind your favorite art blog. And sometimes when you get swept up in parasocial attachment and hype, you kind of treat that person really fucking weirdly. And no that doesn't make you a bad person or a monster. But it does mean you have to learn to deal with it when someone who you might even idolize is like "back off me you're making me uncomfortable".

Anyway. I shouldn't be up as late as I am. A headache has been keeping me up all night. I'm gonna try to rest though. Goodnight.

[syaolaurant]

Hello hello, I love your work and was wondering if you'd be open to making a little breakdown of your art style?

It's really interesting to me and I love taking bits of different artists art style elements and incorporating them into my doodles to get better

Totally okay if you don't want to! 💜💜💜

Take care and have an amazing life 🤗💜☺️

Hello!! Thanks for asking 🤗 I'm not making a little breakdown of my art style I already WROTE A WHOLE ESSAY ABOUT IT!!

Sorry I exaggerated it a bit🥲🥲...

I was very happy to receive this ask, but at the same time I felt worried. Honestly, I didn’t know how to give you a relevant answer because  I don’t even think I have a consistent art style 🥲. Except for my usual chibi style which I feel most comfortable with, I feel my style constantly changes. So after going back to review my old paintings, I think my style is a combination of children's book illustrations and Japanese anime style. Many times I have received comments about my paintings looking like they are from children's books, and I agree haha, maybe because I mostly draw small characters in big settings and I usually use bright colors. 

My favorite artists:

My drawing style is mostly influenced by my all time favorite artists Heikala and Koyamori, I stumbled across their Insta accounts during my 1st year in college (that was 10 years ago) and from then my drawing style gradually took shape. I also admire Paulina Cassidy, mostly because I like her whimsical nature sprites theme. Recently I’ve been investing in Stephanie Law’s artwork, her coloring technique is so god-like that I hope one day I can reach that level…

Ideas and Inspirations:

Japanese anime/manga culture has had a great impact on my childhood. It was a dream come true for me to be able to pursue my college study in Japan. I think this journey greatly affected my current style. I draw lots of things from small doodles to funny comics. I'd describe my drawings as “silly and cute” since I love to make people laugh and I also live for the fluffs (Sometimes I drew angst too but it still turned out cute haha..). Aside from that,  I prefer making “storytelling” illustrations with colorful backgrounds. My favorite things to draw are tiny characters in big scenery, I like to create peaceful static moments that when looking at them help warm my heart and calm my mind. 

When making game fanarts, I usually take screenshots as references for background and imagine how the character will act in that setting. I just do what I feel comfortable and use my own judgment for composition … which… sometimes results in weird perspectives (and you know what I’ve just discovered the rule of third recently 😅…). 

Characters:

When it comes to drawing characters, I honestly don't know how to explain my style. I think chibi is my most recognizable style, apart from that I usually draw characters in semi-chibi (is it the right way to call it??) or simple anime style. I don’t usually draw characters with dynamic poses or movements ( that’s why I still suck at anatomy and expression 😩😩). I think I’m shifting from anime to a more cartoon style since I kinda have same face problem and  I’m trying to practice face shapes.

I think my character drawing style is most influenced by Akihiko Yoshida (who is behind many FF/Nier/ bravely default concepts), as I always draw my characters with chubby round faces and dreamy eyes. I made an example of how I usually draw my characters below.

Technique: 

Watercolor technique is quite complex so I’ll explain how I always do my paintings in another sharing post. I’ve posted part 1 of my sharing here. Generally, I love using bright, saturated tones and black ink brush pen or color brush to paint line work. 

. I hope I could answer your question. I’m definitely no expert, all the things about art I've learn was self-taught but I'm happy to help anyway I can. 💕💕

And you 🫵🫵 yes you dear sweet anon! I wish you a happy life too!!!! 💕💕

[obsessedtomone]

Masterlist

It's simple, because I'm tired and I wanna go sleep, LOL. (I said that and then I wrote a freaking novel.) I write exclusively for BNHA Shigaraki x Reader, but if that changes I'll let you know Unravel Yourself Before Me - tumblr , ao3 ✦ Unhinged college students end up doing really stupid shit. ✦College AU (insane) Dark(?) Romance. And smut, if you get through the plot and still have the stomach for that. ✦Originally tagged as a dead dove, but I removed that and now I'm tagging it as a rough read. ✦Read the tags and all that. It's the first fic I've ever written so be gentle. And yes, I'm aware I'm a freak thanks LOL. ✦ Everything after Chapter 15 will be on ao3 because I'm too shy to post here, I don't want everybody to hate me hahaha the fruits - tumblr , ao3 ✦Only pilot until Unravel is done ✦Highschool AU ✦Angst, Resentment, Mature Themes, No Smut ✦It's more realistic and more toned down than Unravel. No smut for this one, but they're all final years 18+ except for a few side characters maybe. It deals with mature themes and is aimed at YA Fanart (from yours truly): I was a fic reader before I was a writer, and I was an artist before I was either of those. That being said, sometimes a scene inspires me so hard, I'll hyperfixate on a piece until it's done. Most of them will be gifts / tributes / offerings to fics I really enjoyed. There's not a lot of them, because I barely have time to breathe and function, but if you see me post one, hallelujah (im not religious). Rough Night!Shigaraki - The reason my account exists in the first place. August(?) last year, I was so hyped about this oneshot fic I read, that I decided to make an account where I only post thirst art for Shigaraki and the fic writers. Then said fic writer became my friend and she pushed me to write my stupid fic, hyped me up and here we are. If you like Unravel, it's her fault. (PS. my twitter acc is kinda dead, but I posted his dick on that one lol. it's @obsessedtomone, same as here. Don't like how I drew his hair tho, it was the first time I drew Shigaraki so forgive meEE, I'm still learning.) Birthday Fanart Shigaraki - Just fanart to celebrate his bday. I like how his hands turned out. Very composition, art school paid off for something (I'm a dropout 😬)

Chokehold!Shigaraki - This is my favorite one so far. I should post all the stupid sketches I did of Shigaraki this year, because holy fuck his hair texture is so freaking hard to get right. I think it turned out very GOOD in this one. Go read Chokehold because it's really freaking good. Shigaraki is kind of a psychopath in that one, but if you liked Unravel, you'll probably like Chokehold. Anyways, there'll be more to come! I have a few gifts I wanna make eventually, so look forward to that (eventually...)

[which-qsmp-egg-would]

🌸Intro post! (Changes over time)🌸

I do polls about the qsmp eggs and what kind of children they are! Suggestions are greatly appreciated, as I am a one man band!

Polls will be scheduled to post at 10AM PST every day, but I also love to reblog things about the eggs! I also run events to encourage people to make eggsonas and interact with others in the fandom.

🌸More about me and my blog under the cut! (and some rules)🌸

About me!

⭐️ My name is Captain! You can also call me Poll if you want, as that is the name of this blog's mascot/eggsona.

⭐️ I use They/it/(+neos? idk) pronouns. I don't mind what you call me either, so just go with your heart kkkkkk

🇺🇸 I am American

❗️I can and will block liberally. I refuse to let this blog be swamped in any amount of negativity. I am not a celebrity, I am a pleasant escape.

🌱 My special interest is plants, I am going to start my own garden soon! I also just watch a LOT of cartoons. Oh, I'm also an artist and a writer.

🫶 My native language is English, but I have been learning American Sign Language, Spanish, and recently French. I'm not good at the French.

My main Tumblr account is Captainbee66, but I keep them mostly separate. I just reblog fanart on that one, mostly. I also write fics on Ao3!

I am an Aroace, Agender adult with ADHD :]

About my blog

❤️ Most of this is going to be polls. When requesting polls, PLEASE request them separately. I would prefer an inbox spam over a block of requests. It makes it easier. Also, your requests won't be answered right away. I actually have a lot saved in my inbox, so there's a good amount to sift through. Rest assured, requests will be saved until a later time. I try not to waste.

⭐️ Random asks and questions are also encouraged! I think they're fun. If I don't answer them though, don't be discouraged. Sometimes I just don't have a good answer!

⭐️⭐️ If someone makes fanart/fics based on anything on this blog, please please please tag me, that would be so cool.

❤️ Also, any language allowed here! Google Translate is my best friend, so you can use whatever is comfortable to you.

⚠️ Since I've been asked a few times I'll put it here: I have a limit of 12 options on a poll. We have 11 living eggs. I unfortunately cannot put your favorite dead egg on the polls for this reason. That is why the "Other/Combo" answer exists.

Who are those eggs I keep seeing? I don't remember them from the QSMP??

They're my OCs! The egg in my pfp is Poll. They're sort of my mascot/eggsona that you all helped me make! The other egg is Tequilla, their brother! He's new to the family :]

⭐️ Poll uses all pronouns, Tequilla uses He/Him

🌸 Poll's defining item is a flower crown, Tequilla's is a messenger bag

😭 If anyone makes fanart of them, I will be so emotional about it.

What is Poll's Egg Playdate Project? Can I participate?

🌸This is a community project that I started! It is to encourage you all to make your own eggsonas and make friends, despite events that have happened. We are a strong community, and I want to foster that closeness we've had over the past year!🌸

❤️everyone is welcome to participate, no matter how "late" you are to the party!

❗️Please be respectful of other people's eggs. Don't be a bully, don't put them in bad situations without permission, and just generally behave, alright?

🫶Just have fun, interact with people, and spread your creative wings! If anyone wants a list of specific eggs, I've made a list that I can draw from :]

📖🖌✏️ You can make whatever you want for this project! Artworks, doodles, drabbles, paragraphs of loose thoughts, whatever you want! In any form that you want! The whole point is CREATION.

(Feel free to ask questions in my inbox <3)

[potatochipscree]

So… idk what to say omg the worst part about social media is having to type my thoughts how the frick do I know what I think??? Real life is so much easier I say the thing and find out about it with everyone else

I’m an artist that’s just kinda looking around for now and trying to see if I like tumblr as a platform. A part of me feels like tumblr is really meant to be enjoyed through screenshots on Pinterest but I’m here now so oh well

Figured since this is my first real post I’d start off strong with one of my favorite pieces from this year. I love Attack on Titan and only recently finished it, so I’m hoping to make more fanart of it soon!!

With this piece I really just wanted to experiment more. I’ve only recently been attempting to draw landscapes and I’m finding them pretty enjoyable! I really wanted to capture a melancholic feel, it just breaks my heart thinking about Armin’s love of the ocean and how it potentially was soiled by learning that all that lay after it was a world that hated them.

[troxlerfx]

hello!! i am troxler (trox if you're nasty) and you might know me from my xwitter @ broadcastrelay or my old experimental art blog @hand-in-hand-again .

this blog is sfw. i have a more reblog-heavy nsfw sideblog, @heartshapedsignal , where i can place aesthetics, rb art that i like, Cronenbergpost & generally toss up more intense horror things & keep this one somewhat more tidy + personal-art-oriented. follow my alt if you please; although it's unlikely i'll ever post anything too explicit, there is nsfw/🔞 potential, so again, heartshapedsignal is 🔞 just to be safe!!

i have a throne account here if you'd like to support my work by helping with supplies & thereby earn my eternal gratitude:

commissions are currently closed & i will update here & on xwitter if that changes!!

i do have discord if you'd like to chat, you can DM me for my username. i'm vision impaired & it's a little easier for me than tumblr DMs (scalable font. properly mapped keyboard that allows me to hit the right keys occasionally. you know 👁️)

i am sometimes slow to respond to messages, but i don't expect you to be available all the time either--i answer things when i have a moment, & i assume others do too ✌️ i have the temperament of a displaced 11th century anchorite, am simply not adapted to the tone & pace of centralized social media.

i also unfortunately cannot voice call or stream/screen share because i am a millennial (just kidding, it's because my phone is almost 9 years old & it overheats when i check my e-mail)

learn a bit more about me under the cut ✂️

i was dropped into this simulation in the early 80s, i'm a disabled artist (vision impaired - [ask me about my atrophied optic nerves] - & have some other physical Issues so i use a cane) & my wife and i host two black cats, roughly 35% of a mannequin, and a whole lot of dolls.

all my art is trad/physical media (haven't figured out a way to make digital art accessible yet. maybe someday!!) i like to sculpt in epoxy, plastilene, polymer & stone clay, i like to mold & cast in resin, make & customize various types of dolls, & build puppets; i do custom framed work, mixed media & textile stuff like sewing & embroidery; i paint in oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache & water soluble graphite & i love ink, markers, crayons & whatever cheap & weird stuff i can get my hands on.

i have a particular affection for props, prop replicas & hypothetical in-universe items, & i like things that are handsome, durable & believable. i'm versatile & innovative, & i'm at my happiest when i'm exploring technical processes. i have quite a bit of knowledge about techniques & materials. i love a challenge!! currently all my sewing is done by hand, i have trouble controlling pedal-operated machines.

my favorite thing is horror coated in a fine layer of nostalgia & sprinkled with history. that seems highly specific, but you'd be surprised how many things fit the criteria. i tend to fixate on characters & concepts & do a lot of art about it - a habit i developed while i was re-teaching myself to draw after the changes to my eyesight. my output is largely therapeutic. sometimes people like it. maybe you will too!!

a good amount of my work is fanart & will be tagged as such/otherwise linked to the appropriate project, original work will be specified & have its own tag.

at the moment i make a lot of work related to the independent psychological horror unfiction project Welcome Home, created by ' partycoffin ' here on tumblr.

that's all for now!! 👁️‍🗨️📺

[blazehedgehog]

If one decides to start a creative project about their favorite thing, be it fanart, fanfic, fangame etc. , which approach do you prefer, the creatives involved fully dedicating themselves to recreating and recapturing what made the original works...work, or make an active choice to be derivative (this doesn't mean artists are ignorant about the original material, not necessarily) How do you feel about either, and are there any other approach you can think of?

There's this guy who used to post at SFGHQ named Sam Beddoes who now runs Freakzone Games. He's made the official Manos: The Hands of Fate game, he did both AVGN Adventures, he's the project lead on that Toxic Crusaders beat'em'up, etc.

But he's an old guard Sonic head and I've heard him turn up on a couple of Sonic podcasts, specifically to talk fangames, and by his account he got really fed up with the Sonic fangaming scene when everybody became obsessed with perfectly replicating the Genesis games, because to him, all the creativity and magic went away.

I remember hearing that and both agreeing and disagreeing with him. And I have enough thoughts about it that I've actually considered doing a video about it, and about fangaming overall.

I think there is a stigma to replicating something perfectly that's very adjacent to people who are concerned about young artists who start out by tracing pictures other people have drawn. Plagiarism is a real, legitimate problem. But it's only a problem if you lie about tracing.

I'm of the mind that if you're starting out drawing, half the problem is just learning control. Tracing can be a valuable tool in helping you to understand hand motions and give you a perspective on the construction of an image. For the earliest beginners, I don't think there's any shame in starting out by tracing. It's building muscle memory. Just don't say you drew it.

Similarly, my game development skills went way, way, way up about the time I started to analyze and perfectly replicate existing games. Like, the long canceled Sonic Forever project used an early enough version of the Sonic Worlds codebase that I had to read the Sonic Retro Physics Guide and use their data on how to add Knuckles in from scratch. My code matched how he worked in the Genesis games almost 1:1, because it was largely me just interpreting the values into something Clickteam Fusion could understand.

Something similar happened when, in 2012, I started (and never finished) a remake of my famous Mario Blue Twilight DX fangame. That's when I started really paying attention to how the source games worked so I could get a better sense of how a Mario game needed to "feel" in order to be correct.

And that trend continued with every fangame project I worked on following that, like when I figured I could make my own version of Sonic 2's Hidden Palace Zone, since I wasn't happy with the Retro Engine version. The idea was to be accurate above all else. In some cases, I'd even watch recordings of official gameplay in slow motion just so I could see exactly how the game was created, and in some cases, count frame by frame the duration of certain actions.

And all of this just makes me think of when I showed a friend my game jam game, OverBite. He complimented me on how nice the controls felt, in that kind of backhanded way where he said "When did you learn to make games feel so nice?"

Because if you go back to those really early games of mine, they all feel like garbage to control. And I attribute it to putting in a lot of time pulling apart the nuts and bolts of real retro games and putting a microscope up to why they work the way they do. Deconstructing all of their little nuances and sub-states and then trying to put it all back together again in a different programming language.

You learn a lot when you're forced to stop and understand why a piece of code exists in the way it does. Why there are all these little edge cases that you never notice but still exist to make a game feel just a little better.

At the end of the day, yes, Sam was right. Games need to have creativity and seeking out the perfect replication of the Sega Genesis Sonic games can feel somewhat futile. Every SAGE for the last ten years, there will be at least three games that instantly vanish from my memory because they are basic, plain Sonic Worlds Delta fangames with no style of their own. They just want to make Sonic 4 and we've had a lot of different Sonic 4s by now.

But the thing about learning is, you gotta learn the rules before you learn why and where to break them, because breaking (or at least bending) all of those boring, standardized rules is where your personal style starts to emerge, and that personal style is ultimately what people are going to be interested in at the end of the day.

So I think it is vitally important to start at 1:1 exact recreation and once you've made a comfortable replica, only then should you start asking yourself what you'd change and why. Make sure you understand the material before venturing further. You gotta learn to do it right first.

[ultramarine-spirit]

Spoon's Q&A, fun facts and more! (NHK Culture Center Class)

As promised, I have translated the contents of Spoon's NHK class. This post includes answers to the Q&A, fun facts and interesting info I noticed from the session.

Disclaimer: Unless stated otherwise, these aren't direct quotes, nor a literal or complete translation of the whole class (it was over an hour long, it would have taken me much longer...), it's a summary. Also, Spoon talked very fast, so while I fact-checked my notes with native speakers and translators, I could have made mistakes.

Many thanks to my friends @carlachen and @ mananokobako on Twitter for sharing their notes with me!

Q&A

Q: The outfits featured on “Who Made Me A Princess” are very beautiful, what’s the process behind their designs? [Note: This was my question!]

A: When designing the outfits, Spoon researches the appropriate aristocratic costumes and dress codes, mainly from the 1870’s and 1880’s. She also uses material collections, books about clothing and web seaches, and used them as reference for details and hairstyles. In fact, this process could get very research-intensive and take many hours, something Spoon hadn’t anticipated, so she thanks the readers for liking them and taking notice of the clothes’ details.

Q: How did you come up with the name "Spoon"?

A: A friend recommended it to me, saying that the pronunciation of the word "spoon" was cute and that it suited my illustrations.

Q: While there are happy times when you draw manga, you must have also experienced many difficult and sad times. Is there anything that gave you the strength to overcome those difficult times?

A: The words of support and feedback from the readers gave Spoon strenght. When she heard that one of them was able to overcome depression after reading "Who Made Me A Princess", she was really moved to tears. Another happy event she remembers was when a foreign reader sent her a letter and a gift through the publisher company. She was so grateful that they would come all the way here [Korea], and also thanks the publisher company.

Q:  What’s the most important thing to focus on while doing art, and is it needed to receive formal education or one could be self-taught? This may be a contradictory question, but what do you do when you lose interesting in drawing or you don't want to draw? Also, what’s your favorite type of ramen? [Yes this is the correct translation lol]

A: Spoon believes that the most important thing while doing art is to complete your work. If you don't complete it first, you can’t find flaws or bad points in your art to improve. Whether you learn by self-study or by attending art school, if you can become a professional or not depends on your effort. Try to be as specific as possible in your goals, and think about what you need to do to become better at painting than you are now. When Spoon is feeling unmotivated, she thinks to myself, "If I take a break now, I will regret it later, won't I?".

Among Korean ramen, a type called of sesame ramen called "Chamke ramen" is Spoon's favorite.

Q: I was always impressed by the beauty of Spoon-sensei's paintings. I wanted to know if there is an artist that influenced your art.

A: Spoon’s style has been influenced by the art of Naoko Takeuchi [Called it] author of Sailor Moon, Ikuko Ito, creator of Princess Tutu and animation director of the original Sailor Moon anime, and Katekyo Hitman Reborn’s author, Akira Amano [In fact, Spoon is a big fan of the series. You can check some of her old fanart here]. Spoon says that she respects them very much.

Q: Do you have any stories, manga, TV dramas or anime that have been greatly influential for you?

A: Studio Ghibli’s Nausicaä and Laputa: Castle in the Sky, and Disney’s Moana, stories where the female protagonist has adventures and overcomes adversity. Spoon thinks those stories of growth are really wonderful.

Q: What’s your favorite anime?

A: Spoon likes all the films directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

Q: The person asking this questions comments that, after reading "Who Made Me A Princess" they gradually became interested in family stories in which two characters who were indifferent before become close and come to cherish each other very much. Their question is, since there are many combinations and genre settings, if there's a particular pattern or setting that Spoon personally likes.

A: Spoon likes to see a character change depending on emotions such as love and friendship. Emotions are intangible, but they have the power to change a person's personality and behavior. She thinks that's what is so wonderful about it.

Q: At what stage do you draw the shadows? Do you add them in from the beginning or in the middle [of the process of painting]? Also, when do you start thinking about putting shadows in there? I would like to know if there are any points you are conscious of when drawing.

A: Spoon adds shadows when she is considering the surrounding lighting of the drawing. Even if the object in particular is a flat surface, it's important to paint it as if it were three-dimensional. In order to get better at this, it's absolutely necessary to carefully observe photographs to see the way in which shadows are cast when an object is exposed to light.

Q: When you are drawing, which part do you like the most?

A: Spoon enjoys when she is putting the finishing touches the most. She is filled with a sense of accomplishment after completing it.

Q: In some scenes, Athy does a swirly gesture with her arms when she is embarrassed. The person who asked this question doesn’t quite understand it, as it’s not something you see in Japanese manga, and would like Spoon to explain it a little.

A: [Spoon shows gifs of Korean TV shows where the participants make a sort of “grabby hands” motion] Spoon laughs and explains that this is a common physical way to convey embarrassment, surprise or cringe in Korean culture [If you search “오글거리다” you can find some examples]. The word used literally means that your limbs "shrink", so that's where the gesture comes from, but it can also be used in other situations, such as being horrified, in pain or cold. In Japan, this is usually represented with goosebumps.

Spoon elaborates about how certain cultural differences are fascinating. For example, when someone is talking about a character behind their back or in another place, in Japanese media the character will usually sneeze. On the other hand, in Korea that kind of situation has the character’s ears suddenly itching.

Q: The person asking the question says that the way in which Spoon draws jeweled eyes is very beautiful. They want to know how did Spoon think of that idea, or if she developed a process of creating them.

A: How she would draw the jeweled eyes was one of the things that Spoon worried about the most. What she wanted to convey was the feeling of a “cut gemstone”, and how precious, shining and beautiful the eyes look [Here she explains it while doing “cutting” motions with her hands. Think something similar to a karate chop]. She did her very best and is glad that she got a good response from readers.

Q: Athy and her friends looks so beautiful and cute in the dresses they wear. I would like to know what was the most difficult or honestly troublesome dress to draw in your work.

A: The coronation dress was very difficult and time-consuming to draw. At that time, Spoon had to do a lot of things at the same time, such as revising the physical version of the webtoon, so there wasn't enough time to do everything at the same time, but Spoon was happy that the effort she put into it made it look gorgeous.

Q: Who is your favorite character to draw, or the easiest to draw? And who is the most difficult to draw?

A: It’s Athy, because she’s gorgeous and cute. But Spoon also greatly enjoys drawing Lucas. Drawing him is fun because he is handsome and has many expressions. On the other hand, it's difficult to draw cautious characters because their facial expressions don't change much. However, she says that all of the characters are beautiful and elegant, so there’s no character that Spoon dislikes drawing.

Q: What is the most important thing for Spoon to draw in “Who Made Me A Princess”?

A: Spoon expands on the themes of “Who Made Me A Princess”, about the various relationships within the family that wasn't connected to one another. She thought that even if the characters shared blood, they hadn't been able to communicate, so they could only become a family if they thought about each other. And even if they are not connected by blood, if they care about each other they still can become a family.

Q: The person asking the question goes over how the color of both Jennette and Anastasius’ eyes changed once Lucas removed their mana. Jennette’s eyes became green like Penelope’s, while Anastasius’ turned black. It seems like the jeweled eyes are related to the characters' mana. So, if they didn’t have any magic, would Athy's eyes become a beautiful and mysterious color like Diana's, and Claude's eyes would become almost brown like his mother's?

A: Spoon elaborates about how the way in which a person’s eye color is determined is very complex and tricky, as it has to do with genetics, but in this setting it indeed relates to the royal mana. If Athy didn’t have any magic, her eyes would look like Diana’s.

[Note: This is also shown with Aeternitas’ cloudy jeweled eyes, since his mana was very weak].

Q: The person asking this question asks Spoon why was Diana a dancer, and if she could get a little more into Diana’s character, her past and what type of person she was.

A: Spoon imagined Diana as a minstrel or a wandering artist. Like a ballerina in a famous theater troupe who tours, she travels with her dancing and singing, putting on shows in different countries to earn money for her travels, so Spoon characterized her as a free soul.

Q: Obelia is called “the land of eternal springs and summers” in the last chapter. Does that mean winter doesn’t exist there?

A: Spoon says that indeed, there’s no cold weather in Obelia. That's why the characters don't have winter clothes. However, as there are a lot of cute designs for winter clothes, she would like to draw an illustration of the characters in winter clothes in the future.

Q: What your schedule is like when you are working on the series?

A: Spoon exercises as soon as she wakes up, for about 2 hours, eats dinner when she gets home, and starts working right away all the way until she goes to bed.

Q: It’s very rare to see Claude in uniform or tight clothes. The person asking the question wonders why Claude's clothes are so bare and asks Spoon if she could elaborate a little on his fashion sense.

A: Claude used to be a prince who wore his uniform properly, but after meeting Diana, he came to like the more casual or loose style of clothing. So Claude's fashion sense comes from Diana’s influence on him. Even when he didn’t remember her, he kept wearing such clothes because of that influence, and also because he genuinely likes them.

Q: Who’s Spoon’s favorite guy?

A: [With no hesitation] Claude.

Q: How did you improve your drawing skills before becoming an illustrator?

A: Spoon used to emulate her favorite artists and draw fanart.

Q: Do you have a favorite japanese word?

A: When she was traveling in Japan, Spoon was impressed by the name “Nippori” [Referring to Nippori train station]. She looked up the meaning and thought “Oh, so that’s what it means!” [Note: Nippori means “place where the sun sets”]. In Nippori, she didn’t do anything in particular, Spoon just passed by it on the train.

Q: "Who Made Me A Princess" has great clothes, but I also like the flowers that appear in each scene. I know some of them problably don't exist, but is there a flower that you use as a model?

A: It was a long time ago, so Spoon doesn't remember much, but she tried to draw beautiful flowers with overlapping petals.

Q: Is there anything that Spoon-sensei takes special care of in terms of physical condition?

A: Her wrists. Spoon demonstrates how she does her stretching routine. She also takes supplements when needed.

Q: I love Athy's hair color, it's so soft. Did you have any difficulties or problems deciding on that color?

A: At first her hair was a little darker, but Claude's hair is a dark blond and Athy's is a light blonde. So, in order to make a difference between them, Spoon lightened Athy's hair. She had a hard time fixing it so it wouldn't be too bright.

Q: What do you keep in mind about color schemes when you paint? They are always beautiful and I'm always fascinated by them.

A: Spoon tries not to make the color scheme too dark or complex [This answer was hard to hear, it could mean too dark or complicated/oversaturated].

Q: A question asking for commentary on the characters' expression and they way in which Spoon draws them. The answer focuses on Claude’s expression when Athy collapses in Chapter 18. The comments mention how Claude’s perspective of it in Chapter 102 was very moving and made everyone cry. [Here Spoon showed the panel of Claude’s surprised face].

A: That scene was especially difficult for Spoon. It's a precious scene that shows how Claude had allowed his heart to worry about Athy. It was quite difficult because she had to give the expression a “Claude-like” quality and be careful to not deviate from his personality, but she also had to express how shocked he was. But it was a lot of fun despite the difficulties.

After reading the comments saying that this scene made everyone cry, Spoon adds that this is her favorite scene in the webtoon.

Q: The last question of the class. What will Spoon do in the future?

A: Spoon was thinking of going back to being an illustrator after the serialization of “Who Made Me A Princess” was over, but after the encouragement and happiness she received from readers, she decided to continue as a cartoonist. Look forward to seeing her next work!

Spoon realized that it makes her very happy to see and meet readers who are happy to read the manga she drew. She will continue to create good works as much as she can. She ends the live part of the class thanking us readers.

Q: At what age did you start drawing? [Note: The following questions are direct quotes. Because they were provided in written form, I was able to faithfully translate them].

A: My parents told me that I was very young, ever since I was able to hold a pencil, I was already drawing.

Q: What made you decide to be a cartoonist?

A: I have always dreamed of becoming a cartoonist since I was a child, but I thought it might be difficult, so at first I aimed to become an illustrator. After a while of working as an illustrator, I was asked to make my favorite work into a webtoon and decided to become a cartoonist.

Q: What’s your favorite manga?

A: I really enjoy reading Dungeon Meshi [Delicious in Dungeon] these days.

Q: What’s your favorite Japanese food?

A: I like sushi and ramen / I like cheese and creamy foods. It’s not good for my health… But it’s delicious, isn’t it? ( ;ω;   )

Q: When did your current art style take form?

A: After I started working as an illustrator and studied styles suitable for the genre (mainly romance fantasy), I guess… It’s not completely set in stone, it’s still developing.

Q: I’d like to know what’s your average working time per day.

A: Basically 8 hours, sometimes more than 12 hours when the deadline approaches.

Q: What software do you use for illustration?

A: I use Clip Studio Paint by CELSYS.

Q: Please tell me how to draw jeweled eyes!

A: I posted a tutorial on YouTube. Please watch the SoSpoon channel! [Link to the tutorial]

Q: Please tell us about Athanasia’s daily life!

A: Athy enjoys having tea and cake while performing her duties as princess. She will also play with Lucas, who shows up from time to time.

Q: Did you expect “Who Made Me A Princess” to become so popular in Japan? Did you work with the intention of expanding to overseas from the beginning?

A: At first, I didn’t think about publishing overseas. At that time [when the serialization began, in 2017], it wasn’t a time when overseas expansion was very active [referring to how back then, it wasn’t common for manhwas to get translated into other languages]. I was very happy that Japanese readers enjoyed my work, and I’m looking around for feedback with a lot of gratitude. Thank you so much for all the love.

Q: What does “Who Made Me A Princess” mean for Spoon-sensei?

A: The webtoon “Who Made Me A Princess” is like a benefactor to me. Thanks to this work, I was able to receive a lot of love. Thank you so much.

Q: Have you been asked to make an anime adaptation of “Who Made Me A Princess”?

A: Yes. I heard that it was ranked the 2nd manga that people want to see animated in Japan. Thank you very much.

[This year, “Who Made Me A Princess” has also been nominated to receive an anime adaptation. Read more about it and vote here!]

Fun Facts and Other Info

I'll answer what everyone is probably wondering about first: No, there was no mention of the side stories. But also, no one really asked about it. It seems to be a sort of taboo topic among japanese readers, and since there is some kind of issue with their publication, nobody touched the subject to not ruin the happy mood.

Apparently, Spoon received over 1000 questions for the Q&A.

The NHK translator mentioned that there were students from many countries!

Spoon gave a quick overview of her working tools. They include: a Cintiq 27QHD (tablet), two Dell monitors, and a Streamdeck. She also mentions using a 24-inch pen now, because it's easier to use.

Spoon has volume 9's cover as her PC's wallpaper.

Spoon's voice is very cute! But wow, she talks so fast. Taking notes was very challenging.

She seemed to be shy but was very happy and looked healthy! The first thing she did was thank the readers for all their support and for giving her strength.

There were many comments about how cute the gestures Spoon made were. I agree!

Spoon has a ton of WMMAP merch. A whole bookshelf filled with it, and I believe she had at least one item of... everything. Even the chinese exclusive merch.

She also had a bunch of WMMAP volumes, both normal and limited versions!

Spoon has a special brush for drawing blushed cheeks, and it's in fact not pink but orange and light red, with the contours being lighter.

She had a very cute crab pencil holder. She said it was a gift from her assistant. Spoon likes it because it has a cute shape and she loves cute things. Like this (green one):

Most people already saw, but the results of the popularity poll for the character people wanted Spoon to draw were: Athy in 1st place, Lucas 2nd, Claude 3rd, Ijekiel 4th, and lastly Jennette 5th. The numbers of votes weren't revealed. Spoon drew the following illustration to celebrate:

That's it for now! I've been told that the class will be re-streamed soon (though I don't know if it will be made public or just for those who paid), so I'll try to watch it again and chat with friends that attended the class to see if I can add more interesting information to this post.

(February 4th, 2023 Edit) With the invaluable help of my friend @ mananokobako on Twitter and listening to the class again, I was able to translate new questions and improve on the past translation. I hope everyone can give it another read!

[bluegekk0]

Bit of a ramble about something that's been on a mind for a while, about HK and the AU. Not really a vent, but just wanted to talk about it. It's pretty long so I'll hide it.

My relationship with HK these days is a bit complicated, to be honest. I absolutely adore the game, I get this warm feeling every time I hear the soundtrack and I still get the itch to replay it from time to time. It's a work for art and I'm so, so grateful I played it, even if I was quite late to the party all things considered.

But I can't deny that I fell into the rabbithole of having too many headcanons where I can't engage with other people to the extent I perhaps used to. I don't like many of the popular characters nearly as much as the fandom does, and those that are close to my heart I interpret in a way that speaks to me, but one that feels very distant to how other people view them.

It has some downsides. I avoid looking up HK fanart and I'm slowly starting to dislike getting posts about it recommended to me in the For You tab a little bit. Not because the art is bad, far from it, there are incredible artists and other members of this community that deserve all the love in the world. It's just that it keeps reminding me that my interpretations are so personal, and headcanons that go against them almost feel like mischaracterization, as ridiculous as it sounds. Some interpretations end up upsetting me more than I'd like, too. Some of it is misinterpretations that annoy me, but some are just things I personally don't agree with.

But part of me makes me think that it's my fault somehow. I can't quite explain it, I think this is somehow rooted in my self-esteem issues. I often fear that I don't belong, that I'm doing something wrong by not following the general fanon, that my AU feels like an insult against the canon because of how derived and self-indulgent it is. I didn't have that problem before, not to this extent, but as my mental health got worse over the months, it makes sense that something like this would also start to make itself known. Or at least it makes sense to me.

So deep down I'm torn. On one hand, I get weirdly protective over my interpretations and it's gone to the point where I struggle to separate them from the versions other people talk about. On the other, I'm starting to feel guilty that my AU versions are so different that they might upset some people.

I had some moments where I considered turning them into OCs. But every time I I think about that, I reach the conclusion that no, I don't want to do that. I love them the way they are, despite their designs evolving with time, I wouldn't want to change anything about them, let alone turn them into different characters. And it's not like I'm really changing the character from the canon. Some details are different, but it's also easy to forget that we don't really know much about a lot of these characters, so in many ways I'm just filling the blanks and writing the story around it. Not to mention, adapting canon in ways that I find personally engaging is one of my favorite things about the worldbuilding and lore of the AU. And then there's all the engagement from people who like the AU and want to learn more that is genuinely the main reason why it's as expansive as it is. I don't think I would've stuck around making art for it for this long if I was doing it for myself only.

But it's not just art, knowing that people care, and getting all the interesting ideas I haven't considered inspires me to expand the world of the AU even further, I think about it in my spare time, of all the ways I could develop the world, I still get random ideas for it that I eventually want to include, I read about something in the game's lore and I immediately think of the way I could adapt it into my AU. It became a personal project that I find comfort in, and changing it would just feel wrong. And I know how my brain works (well, at least I think I do), I know I wouldn't remain as invested if I were by myself, I need to share it with other people. And I doubt they would be as interested if it wasn't for the connection to HK. I think that's natural and to be expected.

So all that leaves me in a bit of an awkward spot. I love HK, but over the last year I built a wall around me and the sandbox of my personal interpretations, that creates this disconnect between me and the rest of the fandom. I don't think that fact alone makes me upset, either. There's a reason why I'm still sitting there and playing in that sandbox to this day, and it's because I genuinely love doing it. I guess the disconnect just feeds into my already existing confidence issues and worries. Then again, I haven't really left the fandom, and I'm not planning to anytime soon. All I'm hoping for is that my low-confidence plagued brain improves, and stops telling me I'm doing something wrong by playing in the sandbox by myself.

Okay, not by myself, that would be selfish of me to say. There's still a lot of you here, people whom my silly AU clicked with, people who want to see more of it and are still there for the 6th slice of life drawing of the week. I love and appreciate you all, and I'm really grateful I can share the sandbox with you. You're the best, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'm so, so happy that you found something in my art that resonated with you.

I don't know how to end this post tbh. Again, it's not really meant to be a vent post, not the usual kind at least. Even if some things about this frustrate or upset me a little bit, I think I'm slowly moving towards the acceptance stage. I don't want to change my interpretations so they're more in line with the rest of the fandom, and I don't want to force myself to engage with things that upset me just to feel like I belong. All I'm hoping is that I eventually stop having doubts; about this, and everything in general.

I guess I just wanted to share my thoughts. Maybe someone else feels like they're in a similar spot. Maybe hearing some words of encouragement that I'm not going insane with this would also help me accept the position I'm in. Maybe it's Maybelline.

[chiricat]

another ramble about art again so i’m hiding it all under a ‘keep reading’ thingy so as to not clog ur feeds :]

aka thoughts about imposter syndrome, fanart, and what it means to draw stuff loosely disguised as a ‘ramble’. maybe a bit of akito almost-kinnie-isms (and probably ena) in there too because why not. also sorry this gets a lot less coherent as it goes on (i lost my train of thought near the end. it’ll come back someday)

i want to keep getting better. i want to keep growing and improving, so that i can convey the ideas in my head to others. i’m afraid to stagnate for too long, because what if it means i’ve hit my limit? what if i’ll never get better than i am right now? an irrational thought, really, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. hell, i felt like i hadn’t improved all that much from a year ago, when i tried to redraw a few of my older posts.

part of this stems from the question ‘how do people see my art? what kind of artist am i to them?’ which comes from when i got into fanart and fandom spaces, a long time ago. i would categorize the people i looked up to, my idols, my role models. there was the one that made comics that felt like home with your friends, and there was the one that made pieces that felt like i was sitting in a café in the middle of a busy city, and there was the one that made renders that felt like i was looking at liquid gold. i was fascinated by the effects of all these different artstyles, and decided that i wanted to do the same. i wanted to make art that made people feel at home, like a fic that you keep coming back to, or art that conveyed how i felt well enough that others felt the same way, or could understand it at the very least. 

naturally, as i continued to draw and admire these artists from afar, i wondered why exactly their art appealed to me. at first, the answer was simple: i like looking at it. but that wasn’t good enough - what about the things i didn’t really care to look at, then? what made this piece any different?

so i tried to understand, why i liked something, or why others liked something. after studying art for a little (yay classes) i understood more, i understood why those artists made the choices they did. for one, it was their powerful composition, and how they wanted to pull the viewer in with the characters. for another, it was their color palettes, which were always balanced yet strong and guaranteed to catch your eye because of it. other times, it would be the lighting, angled to present the characters in such a way that it made you feel like you were there too, or linework that made you feel just how much the artist cherished the characters. there were other, less technical things too, but i was trying to build a foundation before diving into things that were harder to learn.

in short, there was so, so much more to everything than i had realized as a kid.

so i asked myself the same question. why do people like my art? why is my art appealing and worthy of your time? and where did i fit in, if i were to categorize myself? 

these questions got a little worse. incredibly irrational. imposter syndrome was kicking in when i saw that more people were liking my art, especially when i compared it to myself from a year ago. or when my favorite artists were following me back. (it was weird, somewhat. i had always seen them as worlds away from my own space, artists that i had admired from afar and thus never believed that they would turn around and see me.)

‘do people actually like my art? is my art actually worth anyone’s time?’ i wonder. ‘do i deserve these nice comments, or even these likes?’ 

‘am i even getting better at all?’

these are a bit foolish of me to think. it shouldn’t matter, really. as long as i’m enjoying drawing and having a fun time, then why should it matter whether others like it or not? i don’t have to be doing my best, giving it 110% all the time, i’m allowed to make goofy art or self-indulgent art. this is my motto, for the most part. as long as you’re enjoying the craft, then it’s worth it.

but with the goal of improvement, i don’t always want to stay in my comfort zone. i want to keep pushing my limits, even if its just a little at a time, so i can make something impressive, something that really resonates as much as i want it to, as much as certain pieces resonated with me when i was younger. the same way that i kept coming back to certain pieces (and still do), i want to be able to do that too. i don’t want to feel like a kid playing at an adult’s game, like someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing and it shows.

it’s a tricky balance. i’m not sure if i’ll ever truly feel like i’ve ‘finally done it’. i think that most artists are never truly content with their work as a whole, anyways, and that’s okay. that’s something i should be more okay with. i can make art just for fun, and i can also make art with the intent of solely improving or practicing. i can even combine the two, and most of the time, i try to anyways.

(sorry, i lost my train of thought after writing the last few paragraphs... i dunno where i wanted to go with this exactly HHH.

tldr; i’m always stuck between ‘i’m happy making this art even if its bad’ and ‘i need to get better and leave people in awe to feel like i deserve the love and nice comments i receive’.

if you somehow managed to get to the end of this, ty for reading, even if it was a hot dumpster fire LMAO)

[nerves-nebula]

I thought you read all of Homestuck? Sorry this is not an accusation or anything, I just swear that I remember you saying that... Memory is weird lol. And it's not like I have read it or planning to do so anytime soon, but yea

went on a bit of a rant here oops

i have read all of homestuck and it sucks. sometimes you become older than 14 and understand more about the world and realize this thing you used to think was cool actually sucks in a lot of ways. to be fair though, i did also think parts of it were shit when i was 14, so like. yknow. there were also parts i didn't understand before which i now understand, which makes me hate them, cuz they sucked. mostly the ableism and racism. there was other stuff but i refuse to re-learn anything about homestuck so I guess my other complaints will fade away as i live a life free of homestuck.

coming back to finish it when it ended was a slog but i couldn't stand the idea that I'd read most of this really long thing and had tapped out near the end.

the fans of it can also be a pretty mixed bag. what annoys me isnt normal fandom cringe stuff, but rather that a lot of them don't seem to be able to disconnect homestuck with the common tropes homestuck is pulling from. sometimes it's like homestuck is the first and only piece of literature they've ever actually engaged with meaningfully so they go into other stories and go "this is just like homestuck" because homestuck is so big it's got tropes from fucking everywhere.

someone once called Maureno a Lusus cuz she's a big animal who takes care of a kid, as if being raised by a magic animal isn't one of the most classic tropes out there common in mythology all over the world. it'd be like if every time i saw a mentor and their charge i was like "omg this is literally eda clawthorne" regardless of context or if the dynamic was the same at all. it's funny a few times but after a while it's just obnoxious. at least it is to me.

i'm biased tho since i hate homestuck, i don't usually care about people saying "this is just like my blorbo" about literally anything, ever, but for homestuck it's just slightly annoying. cuz i don't like it.

that being said i have been known to reblog homestuck art from time to time. cuz it's good art. and i don't begrudge people for liking homestuck, i used to like it too.

ALSO I'mma be real that post I made before was a jokey joke. like, drawing the characters as black is some of my favorite fanart. it won't make me enjoy homestuck again but it WILL make me appreciate the black artists who put so much time and thought into their fantastic designs.

[tblsomedoodles]

Now that we're entering into 2024, I'm asking some artists and writers that I follow:

1) What is the one piece you're most proud of from this past year?

2) What are some pieces that you would have liked more people to see? If you can include links, I'd love to go check them out!

3) What were your top three favorite pieces (art, comics, fics, etc) that someone else has made this past year?

(As always, no pressure to respond! Feel free to just ignore, or let me know if you'd rather I not send you these kinds of asks in the future.)

Oh let's see!

1 ) Fic wise, i'm really proud of "Proud Family Tradition". I was actually able to finish it this year, which i'm super excited about and, in general, i just love how it turned out vibe wise.

Art wise, that's a hard one. Um...I'm going to go with the "Non-cannon Leo meets Clara comic" b/c i love how it turned out. The looser render style mixed with the limited dialogue and not-overly-distinct panels look so cool together. and it helped me start experimenting with other brushes by doing so.

2 ) Probably anything with Jenny (from Family Web). For whatever reason she doesn't tend to get very many notes at all, especially compared to anything else really.

For specific things, ummm...probably My Good Omens doodle from september. I redid a panel from an old animatic of mine and I love how the whole thing turned out, but it didn't do well at all. And Maybe my Forever Alone animatic. Again, love how it turned out, but it's for an au that i haven't really done much with beyond this and a donnieverse stop so it didn't get seen as much as i would have liked. It's based on the first thing i wrote for rise (though i haven't quite posted it yet. I've got to get on that) and i learned a lot making that video. Heck, i even got a decent looking fightscene in there lol.

3 ) Only 3?? ok, i'm gonna try lol.

ok, so no particular order (b/c i'm literally just going through my bookmarks on ao3 lol)

"things that ought to Crawl" by mudlarkspur (WisteriaParfait) (AO3). A very good "Draxum finds a little feral donnie and accidentally becomes a parent along the way". Very cute. Love it. Been meaning to do some fanart but haven't gotten the chance (or courage) to do so yet.

"Minor Interference" by bambiraptorx (AO3). Basically The turtles accept Draxum's offer to train them so they can prank him while doing so and everyone starts catching familiar feelings along the way. Super cute. definitely recommend if you want some chaotic shenanigans and occasional fluff : )

oh last one...um....ummm....ummmmmmmmm........Oh!

"Rotten Reflections" by Nicoforlife (AO3). Rise Leo and Donnie end up in 12tmnt, but it's dark/suspenseful, and they're both feral and injured. Idk, i just love this fic in general. I've read it 3+ times over the last year (i don't really reread that much that quickly, so that's significant) and will be rereading again so to catch up. (i'm behind on all my reading atm. it's sad) I just vibe with it. Again, another fic i need to do fanart for but haven't yet.

(this was so hard! There's just so many i love. picking only 3 was very difficult)

Thank you!!