#i one day will study how to effectively draw backgrounds

[graedari]

Sometimes art can just be you drawing Kevin Flynn and playing around with different shading styles 💞

[Image ID in alt]

[earlysunshines]

L word

kim minji x fem!reader

synopsis: minji gets drunk while she’s away and you’re sent a video of her rambling on about how much she misses u

warnings: sappy sweet lovely ; minji a loser FORREAL i will never let this go. ; alcohol! yummmmmyyy ; anything else not mentioned ; not proofread

a/n: hello WHATS UP im HOME i have a new cat keychain and milk blush HOORAY anyways girlfriend of the year goes to

it’s the last day of minji’s stupid volleyball camp – the camp four hours away from you, her beloved girlfriend – and she’s surrounded by her teammates, a few bottles of soju and wine they somehow managed to sneak in, and the growing haze of too much alcohol. 

leaning her head against the back of the couch, she tries desperately to keep herself from losing her mind.

what’s pushing her to the edge isn’t just the alcohol—it’s the fact that she made the rookie mistake of glancing at her phone’s wallpaper. there you are, hair up, face bare, looking effortlessly beautiful as you make breakfast in the morning. you’re caught in the middle of a candid moment, gazing at the camera with a confused expression, your hand blurred as you try to grab the phone from her. 

(“hey!” you groan, rushing towards her with a spatula in your hand. minji laughs, backing away and pushing your head away with her hand, making you groan again. “delete that!”

“nuh uh.” minji grins at you, then puts her phone in her pocket. you still look annoyed, but minji finds it the best thing to wake up to. “what’s all this?” she asks, moving her head to to the side to eye the stove.

you blush, turning away and walking back to where the stove is. you check up on the four eggs you’re cooking, then mumble, “i figured since it’s your first time staying over at my place… i’d make you breakfast.”

it doesn’t show, other than the slight tint of pink on minji’s cheeks, but she might lose her mind, maybe even get down on one knee.

“aw, thanks.”)

the image is sweet, simple, and yet, to minji, you look absolutely adorable. it’s enough to make her heart ache with longing, the kind that no amount of soju can drown out.

minji tilts her head back and downs another shot, wincing as the burn slides down her throat. she squeezes her eyes shut, trying to ignore the warmth spreading through her chest. alcohol has never been her strong suit—not like you, who can handle a few drinks without batting an eye. minji’s a lightweight, and by the third shot, she’s already feeling the effects, regretting every dose more than she wants to admit.

around her, her teammates are lost in their own conversations, faces flushed from the alcohol. haewon, the team’s setter, has somehow managed to smuggle in a bottle of wine and is well past her limit, babbling on about some guy she’s been talking to and clinging onto bae defeatedly. 

minji tries to focus, to engage in the chatter, but her mind keeps wandering back to you. your image, your smile, the way you look at her—it all tugs at her heart, pulling her deeper into her thoughts, further away from the room full of laughter and slurred words. she checks her phone again after feeling it vibrate against the floor, immediately checking it and catching another glimpse of another photo of you in her lockscreen rotation; this time, she sees you studying in the background, the time covering apart of your head, and a few texts from you.

[y/n]

hey babe i hope you’re having fun! i’m going to sleep, goodnight! miss you xx see you tomorrow lovely

minji stares at her screen, her frown deepening as if the notifications had just announced the end of the world. she knows it’s the alcohol making her overly emotional, but that doesn’t stop her from feeling the weight in her chest. with a frustrated sigh, she lets her phone slip from her fingers, landing with a soft thud on the ground. the sudden movement draws the attention of her teammates, their chatter quieting as they turn to her.

“what’s wrong miss team captain?” ryujin teases, a playful smirk tugging at her lips.

minji, usually the composed and level-headed one, surprises everyone when she lets out a dramatic whine and leans her head against danielle, who’s sitting next to her. the room falls silent as minji wraps her arms tighter around her knees, her voice small and filled with longing.

“i miss my girlfriend,” she confesses with a heavy sigh. she picks up her phone again, staring at the lock screen—another candid moment that you look adorable in. “i miss y/n so much.”

her teammates exchange glances, surprised by the rare display of vulnerability from their usually stoic captain, but they can’t help but smile at how deeply minji cares for you. hanni, the libero, is very entertained by this rare sight of minji. she pulls out her phone and snickers, pressing record and holding it up secretly. 

danielle lets minji sulk into her, she’s the only sober one in the room and is in the right mind to say anything meaningful in this situation. “do you need water?”

“i need y/n.” minji murmurs, rubbing her face in her hands and making her face even more red. “i miss her…”

“it’s been four days minji…”

“i want to be with her all the time… always.” minji confesses, her voice trembling with a vulnerability that takes everyone by surprise. her hand reaches for another shot glass, but danielle quickly intervenes, her concern clear. yet, minji manages to avoid her and downs the drink anyway, the alcohol burning its way down as she wipes her lips with the back of her hand.

“i–i…” minji stammers, squeezing her eyes shut as if trying to hold back a flood of emotions. her fingers fumble for her phone, and when she finally grasps it, a soft smile spreads across her face. she turns the screen to show her teammates a candid picture of you nestled against her, your peaceful expression illuminated by the dim light from your lamp. you had completely passed out against her that day after studying for one of your more important tests, that was also the moment minji realized she loved you. “my beautiful y/n, my lovely…” she murmurs, flipping the screen back to herself as if savoring the sight. “...y/n.”

danielle can’t help but giggle softly, gently helping minji to her feet. “she’s very sweet, but i think it’s time we get this sweet girl’s girlfriend back to her hotel room. you’ve had enough, minji.”

minji shakes her head, her pout deepening as her eyes glisten with unshed tears. the rest of the team watches in stunned silence, taken aback by the raw, unguarded side of minji they’ve never seen before. they knew she adored you—her eyes always sparkled when she mentioned you, and her demeanor softened in your presence—but this...this was something deeper, something that laid her heart bare for all to see.

“i love y/n so much… she’s the only… girl… ever,” minji slurs, her words heavy with emotion as she sways slightly on her feet.

“well!” danielle tilts her head, laughing softly at minji's endearing confession. hanni, meanwhile, can’t resist giggling as she records the entire scene, already planning to send it to you later. danielle carefully helps minji to her feet, steadying her as she turns to the team. “i’m going to get her to bed—someone’s turned into a sappy lovebird.”

“no, please keep her here,” ryujin pleads, clearly relishing in her captain’s rare moment of vulnerability. “this is gold.”

but danielle, the only one with a working moral compass, shakes her head, her gaze shifting to minji, whose blinks are becoming slower, her hair a tousled mess, and her cheeks flushed a deep red. minji clings to danielle, her voice barely above a whisper as she mumbles, “i miss her… i wanna see my y/n… i love my y/n, i love her…”

danielle sighs, gently guiding minji toward the door. “come on, let’s get you to bed. you’ll see her soon enough.” minji nods, though she continues to mumble your name like a mantra, earning giggles from her teammates even after she’s dragged out by danielle.

–

minji feels like she’s been hit by a bus when she wakes up. her head is pounding, her hair is tangled and a chunk is in her mouth, and her body is twisted in an awkward position that leaves her neck sore. 

she groans, blinking a few times as she rubs her eyes, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep. blindly, she reaches for her phone on the bedside table, and when her fingers finally graze the cold device, she squints at the screen—nine in the morning. the bus back leaves at ten.

it strikes her with the sharpness of an unexpected breeze. she gasps at the sight of the numbers, shooting up from the bed in a panic. in her rush, she nearly trips over her shoes, cursing under her breath as she fumbles to get herself ready.

her phone ends up on the sink counter as she splashes water over her face, trying to clear the fog in her mind. as the cold water shocks her system awake, another revelation dawns on her—she hasn’t responded to you yet. panic seizes her chest as she reaches for her phone, guilt and worry mixing with the lingering headache.

your texts are still unanswered, and there’s also a text from danielle asking if minji is alright, but you’re her first priority.

minji clicks on your contact, then presses ‘facetime’. water drips down her face and onto her shirt a bit before you pick up. 

“hey babe–”

“sorry i didn’t get to respond.” minji apologizes. you can only see the top half of her face looking down on you before she sets up the phone clumsily. you giggle and catch minji smiling at the sound of it. “the team and i we were…” minji can’t exactly remember much from the night before, she can only recall around seven bottles of soju on the ground, plus those two bottles of wine haewon brought. “... up late.”

“right.” you mumble, trying to contain a smile. “i missed you.”

minji almost misses her toothbrush while putting toothpaste on it. she clenches her jaw and looks at you in the camera, trying to conceal just how flustered you make her.

“me too.”

“how much?”

“a lot.” minji says, then starts brushing. it’s almost inaudible, but you manage to make out the small, “more than you missed me.” she mumbles as she brushes her back teeth.

“you’re so cute.” you murmur, then take a picture her in the moment.

minji groans when she sees the notification that you captured her while she’s a mess, minji is not a morning person. she puts her hand up to cover the camera as she continues brushing, but moves it away when she hears you giggling, wanting to see your face scrunch up cutely and your teeth show slightly when you laugh like that.

your girlfriend rolls her eyes, but smiles nonetheless.

–

minji has always been the reserved, playful type. you've seen glimpses of her more intimate side, but she's still shy about fully expressing her emotions. just like you, she's new to romance, and sometimes it shows in the way she kisses you just because, holds your hand with a gentle smile, or whispers compliments that warm your heart. 

but underneath that playful exterior, there's a lot she keeps hidden. minji’s good at concealing her deeper feelings, partly because she's shy, and partly because she’s still in disbelief that she managed to win your heart.

truthfully, minji is a mess. she’s head over heels when you kiss her cheek before you two part ways on campus. she’s even worse when you light up immediately at the sight of her outside your lecture room, and really anything you do makes her go batshit insane. but minji’s not going to show that, she doesn’t show any of it, so you’ve only seen her ‘cool, calm, and collected’ side–you think it’s cute, but what’s even cuter is the new side of her you’ve just been exposed to.

another truth is that you woke up to a good morning text from hanni before minji had even stirred. the message instantly made you feel all warm and giggly inside. there was a cheerful "good morning sunshine!" followed by a video and a teasing ":P you’ll love this girly." you clicked on the notification, squinting at the screen as you opened the video hanni sent.

the thumbnail showed minji, her cheeks flushed as she leaned against the couch. when you pressed play, hanni’s laughter echoed from behind the camera as she shakily recorded your girlfriend.

you watched as minji, looking like an adorable, sad puppy, leaned against danielle and started confessing how much she missed you. the sight made your heart swell, a huge smile spreading across your face. minji, with her flushed cheeks and vulnerable expression, showed off her lockscreen to the team, getting even sappier as she proudly displayed your photo. 

 “my beautiful y/n, my lovely…” you hear her murmur, she turns the screen back to look at it lovingly. “...y/n.”

you couldn’t help but blush and kick your feet in bed, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world. seeing how tipsy she was—four empty shot glasses scattered around her—explained why she was rambling about you, talking about how much she missed you. the whole thing made you giggle, your heart fluttering with affection for your sweet, slightly drunk minji.

what catches you off guard and nearly has you falling off your bed is when you catch minji saying:

“i love y/n so much… she’s the only… girl… ever,” she slurs it out drunkenly, but it’s heartwarming. she says i like a lead in a romance film, and it sounds genuine. then she says it over and over, and even if she’s drunk, drunk words are sober thoughts – that’s what you believe.

minji just said the L word and you weren’t there to witness it in real time. it’s been three months and minji said it first. if you could magically teleport to her in that moment you’d do it in a heartbeat.

–

your girlfriend arrives at your apartment in the afternoon. she knocks at your door and you open it with an eager smile, immediately pulling her in by the wrist and closing the door behind her.

minji giggles before you pull her in for a kiss, wrapping your arms around her neck and pulling away to smile.

“missed you silly.”

“missed you more.”

“i bet.” you mumble before pecking her again, then smiling cheekily against her lips. “hey, i wanted to ask about something – also show you something too.”

your arms are still around her neck, and her hands rest above your waist as she looks at you through her adorable black frames. “okay?” she says, tilting her head.

you grab her by the wrist and lead her over to your couch, both of you flop down on it and you lean against her shoulder. she puts her arm around you as you grab your phone, then kisses your head softly while you pull something up.

“hanni sent me something interesting.” you shrug, fighting the smile that’s trying to form on your face. “i wanted to show you.”

“hm, okay.”

you pull up your messages and minji feels herself stiffening looking at the thumbnail of the video hanni had sent. you press play and she realizes it’s a video from the night before, so she stops you, grabbing your phone and turning it off.

“hey!” you groan, reaching over to grab your phone back. “don’t just–”

“whatever she sent, that’s not–”

“just watch the video!” you poke her side and she loosens her grip, which gives you a moment to snatch your phone back. “just–”

minji’s cheeks are crimson, she’s flustered beyond measure. she sighs, crossing her arms now and turning away from you. “that’s not– look, i was drunk out of my mind…”

“okay well i don’t care, i want you to watch it so i can ask you something.”

“y/n, please baby.”

“don’t baby me.” you say with fake annoyance, pressing play again. “watch,” you order, then mumble a small, “you’re really cute.”

minji shifts uncomfortably as she watches the video, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. she cringes at the sight of herself with flushed cheeks, collapsing onto danielle, and the video captures her in a state of drunken vulnerability–it’s mortifying to minji, but you’re enjoying every second of it.

as the footage plays, minji’s cringing even more. she sees herself leaning into danielle, eyes glassy, as she gushes about how much she misses you. her gaze flits to her lockscreen being proudly displayed, her face a deep shade of red. she bites her lip, feeling every bit of her embarrassment as the video continues.

"i– i just... missed you—" she tries to explain before you cut her off.

“shh, shh. we’re not at the best part yet.” 

hanni pham i’ll kill you. minji thinks to herself, forcing herself to watch the rest of the video. 

minji's face flushes even more at the sound of her own voice confessing her feelings. hanni’s giggles in the background only make the situation worse. minji hears herself repeatedly saying "i love y/n" with a tone of longing, the video ending with hanni's laughter echoing.

“so,” you pull away from her, looking at your thrown off girlfriend in front of you with raised brows. “what did you think.”

“i–” minji pinches the bridge of her nose, then looks at you looking at her with an expectant expression and a teasing smile. “--look.”

“you said the L word.”

she furrows her brows. “what?”

“you said it, the L word.”

“oh my god y/n.” minji can’t help but laugh in the moment, purely from disbelief. she sighs, giving you a crooked smile. “is this about me saying… that?”

“saying what?” you push her buttons successfully, watching her bite the inside of her cheek.

“you know what.”

“say it.”

“what?”

“say it to my face.” you purse your lips, then bite the inside of your bottom lip. 

minji glances away, her face a mixture of vivid red and palpable anxiety. the embarrassment still colors her cheeks, but now there’s an additional hue of nervousness. it’s not that she’s new to romantic things like this with you—far from it. it’s just that her feelings for you are so profound, so overwhelming, that they’ve left her floundering, struggling to match the intensity of her emotions with her actions. sometimes it feels like her heart and brain work independently, or maybe it’s just her heart doing most of the work, it’s a mess, a beating wreck always.

you’ve managed to make her feel like a mess, an idiot, and utterly smitten, all by existing.

she takes a deep breath, forcing herself to look you squarely in the eye. her cheeks remain flushed, and she fidgets with her fingers, betraying her inner turmoil.

“i love you.”

“who?”

“you, y/n.” minji groans, leaning towards you and sliding her hand above your waist again. she presses your skin lightly with her fingertips, before repeating herself, “i love you y/n.” her voice is low and she looks at you through her eyelashes, now you’re all nervous.

you can’t speak or breathe in the moment, so you opt for leaning in and kissing her, but she pushes you away after one peck, looking at you with raised brows.

“you’re not going to say it back?” minji smirks, her gaze unwavering as she watches you avert your eyes. her expression turns playful yet determined as she gently hooks her finger under your chin, forcing you to meet her gaze once more. her thumb rests lightly on your lower jaw, her fingers pressing gently against your cheeks. “what was all that interrogation for if you’re—”

“i love you.” you confess, breath hitching when she looks at you like that. “i love you minji.”

minji smiles, clearly satisfied. “wasn’t that hard, was it?”

“i hate you.”

“but you love me.”

“yeah, but i hate you.”

“uh huh.” minji chuckles, fingers still holding your face and using that to pull you closer and kiss you.

despite the embarrassment she’s feeling, minji somehow remains more composed than you. she pushes her glasses up to sit on the crown of her head before her lips brush against yours with a tender softness, and she hums as she kisses you again. when she pulls away just enough to speak, her breath mingles with yours as she murmurs against your lips,

“i L word you a lot y/n.” she pecks you again, then says one more time before taking your breath away, “i love you so much you loser.”

[gaymaramada]

Rise! Boys with a S/O that vocally stims by singing:

Leonardo

He thinks it's adorable.

Likes to sit with you while you work/study because you always hum along to whatever music you're listening to.

Constantly tries to get different songs he likes stuck in your head so he can hear you sing them.

If you're humming a song he knows he'll start singing along with you.

It turns into a whole karaoke session.

“Oh my god, is that Britney?!”

Sometimes he’ll catch you singing the same lyric over and over again and he’ll tap your head:

“Should I call a handyman? I think my record player’s broken.”

Donatello

He has a similar vocal stim!! He often finds himself whistling when he’s focused on something.

He likes to have you with him in his lab — he enjoys the steady background noise and finds your voice soothing.

If the two of you are hanging out, you may end up trying to harmonize with one another.

(It’s unsuccessful, but it’s the thought that counts)

If you're humming for long periods of time, he'll have you take a break so as to not strain your voice:

"Y/N, you've been humming for the past half hour. How is your throat? Let me finish attaching this part and we can find something to do."

He helps to distract you with something so you can rest your voice, whether it be by the two of you grabbing some food or watching a movie.

Raphael

He loves the sound of your voice! He’s super impressed by how good you sound.

It took him a while to realize it was a stim, but when you kept looping the same song over and over one day, it began to click.

He’ll ask what song you're singing all the time.

He ends up staring at you with the most lovey-dovey smile on his face.

Sing him to sleep. Please.

He’s not above teasing you when you sing the same tune for a long time:

“Sweetheart, I love you, but Raph’s not sure he can handle another week of Mr. Bluesky.”

Michelangelo

He sings with you!!

He hums a lot while drawing/painting/etc. so he completely gets it.

Sometimes when you get really into the song, he’ll start to hype you up:

“Ooh! Sing it, baby!”

God forbid you get a sad or angsty song stuck in your head, though.

He will confront you.

“Good Afternoon! Welcome to Dr. Feelings’ seminar: The Mitski Effect. I’ve noticed you’ve been humming First Love / Late Spring a lot lately—”

Apart from that, he’s perfect company for when your voice just needs to come out.

[amalthiaph]

✨ EDMON RAMPART (Amalthia's Version) ✨ You know I once swore to never draw him, well that was of course before he got the James Norrington treatment so it's the Alexsandr Kallus Effect for me again. Talk about from fuck this man to I wanna fuck this man.

Teeny weeny fandom salt and salt in general coming up so if you don't like that, you can go scroll down. There used to be a cut here but I removed it. I will always be polite, but I know WHEN to talk.

From now on, I will be calling my fanart "Amalthia's version". I hope I don't come across as tone deaf or insensitive about this, but I wish I was good at art.

I've seen posts that say "I wish artists would stop drawing [character name] with [this] or [that]" or "stop drawing [character] with [this]". While it's great to hear about your preferences, please bear in mind that at the end of the day, fanart CAN BE an artist's take on a character. For me, THIS is how I draw Edmon Rampart. This is with regard to the art style I developed and the color palette that I constantly use to keep up with my blog's theme.

Another ick is an ongoing issue in the TBB fandom. In my Hunter and Omega art, I did something I don't usually do, which is add a secondary light source. A few minutes after posting, I got an anon telling me to unwhitewash the characters. I immediately messaged one of my friends for their honest opinion and they said I don't whitewash the characters. I went on to the drawing file and tried to study my own drawing and see if I really did whitewashed the characters. Edit: There really are some artists who whitewash the characters and I was trying to do a SELF-CHECK bec maybe I'm one of them.

I found out that the thing that made the difference is the secondary light source that I added. This secondary light source is lighter in color than their skin, and it created the Contrast Effect. Due to the nature of the human eye and visual processing by the brain, there's an optical illusion that the same color will look different depending on the color beside it and/or the background. It's in psychology class, paying attention would help.

In addition to the secondary light, it could also be the brown background color that caused this effect. And before anyone goes, "are you sure?" Yes, I am. I sat with a Psychology major to discuss about this whole Contract Effect thing.

This does not only apply in colors, it could also be to objects, that why they say all things are relative. One thing could appear bigger or smaller depending upon the object beside it. One of the things they 'check' to see if a certain artist whitewashed a character is the size of the nose. Once again, please do apply Contrast Effect. Some artist really draw their characters stick-like so try to compare all the noses they had drawn in their entire lifetimes and maybe, just maybe they did draw the noses wide in comparison to their other artworks, it just looks like that because it's part of their art style.

Edit: Please do try to analyze things first before casting down your judgement.

It's so difficult to be an artist AND IN THIS FANDOM. We never seem to be enough. If we do the character with artistic freedom, you'll say "stop drawing them like that bec they don't have that in the show" and when we try to draw them as close to the show, you'll say "unwhitewash the characters". We are never good enough for you.

So yeah, I wish I was good at this.

Link to the rest of this series:

1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7 || 8 || 9 || 10 || 11 || 12 || 13 || 14 || 15

[blackdigitalrose]

I've been staring at this card a while and wondering why it was an instant buy, despite having no real attachment to said character and it occurred to me that the TCG does a really crummy job on the alt arts of Tamers. The appeal of this card is not the effect or the character but how personal it is, Violet feels like an actual character!

It is probably why these Tamer alt sets did so well, no they aren't as personal as the one above but they are at least reflective of the character and their story. The TAMERS tamer alts to this day are still some of my faves!

And while it does feel like they have been putting a bit more effort in more recent sets, it still isn't very personal, even if it is a stark upgrade from this.

Most Tamer alts are fine, they are ok and ultimately that's it, it's all you can say about them.

So, in brief, what do I mean; basically, it isn't like the Tamers have personalities of their own or things associated with them!

I have examples! This post is already pretty long but I could likely think up ideas for all our main Tamers but for now, I'll keep it at one per show.

Tai

01 - Cleaning down his football/soccer gear.

02 - Watching a game from the stands, Agumon in a hoodie.

Tri - Walking home with Agumon on his bike.

Yolei

02 - Repairing a computer or helping out at her families shop.

Henry

Tamers - During a training session, you could have Terriermon peeping a watch through a window or in his room studying up about the Deva's with the poster from the show, Terriermon in plush mode in the background.

J.P

Doing a magic trick to cheer up others/entertain classmates or perhaps drawing up a blue print to something as a nod to his engineering prowess. (Just because I disliked it, doesn't mean I wasn't paying attention)

Tohma/Thomas

Gaomon bringing him tea while he studies or watching him boxing or a remembrance nod towards his mother.

Nene

Xros Wars - Spying on others

Hunters - Idol performance

Appmon, what's Appmon ^^;

Ghost Game sshh, bias is real

Hiro - Sharing a chocolate bar with Gammamon while camping.

Kiyoshiro - Working at any of his shown many projects e.g the Powerplant.

Ruli - Chasing up a scoop for her socials/ Lirurun.

[thebirdsareafterme]

only if you want to, would you like to share a director’s commentary about your gorgeous enjoy the butterflies art? it’s so stunning and i cant begin to tell you how many times I’ve come back to gaze loving at your masterpiece

OMG ABSOLUTELY!! Thank you for the ask, Em 🫶💜

I love talking about the process and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all the love you have shown this piece!

It all started with this reference pic:

The moment I saw it, I knewwww I had to draw him. The purpley light on the side of his face had me hooked, and it began as a lighting study. It turned out to be one of the pieces that has taken me the longest ever, because I was working on it randomly whenever I had a break from school or work.

Since it was a study to begin with, I first did some sketching to try to capture his features. The screenshot is super blurry because it’s actually just one tiny corner of a canvas.

At this point, I was fully committed to making this into a full blown piece. Gone were the days of this ending up as a quick little study, so of course I made it bigger and refined the sketch.

The next step was to block in my colours. I started very saturated colours, since I wanted to capture the undertones in his skin and play with the lighting.

For the shadows, I played with some colour theory for a bit and added in my blues and purples to counteract the bright yellow and corals. Once blended out, it started to look a little less crazy and more realistic.

I blocked in the hair and the clothing next, which was pretty boring but necessary. Since they are both super dark colours, it was harder to play around with the tones, but I was able to put some purple undertones in the hair. Also, I changed his facial features a couple of times in between, which is why he looks completely different from one picture to another.

The next step was to finish all the rendering for the skin, clothes and hair. This took me about a week to finally be happy with, since I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to things like that. I worked on it sporadically as well, so it definitely took longer than it should.

The eyes were the absolute best part of the drawing. They started out purple, because it was my shadow colour of the time and eventually shifted around the colour wheel to be multicoloured but still dark.

Now for the background. I had a lot of options and ideas for it, so deciding on just one was difficult. I knew I wanted the butterflies in there somewhere, so that was done first. Filling in the wings with very light pencil strokes took a considerable amount of time as well, but I loved the final effect.

From all the options that I put together, I liked the look of the textured lines the best.

I decided to take out the darker blue box in the end, because I thought it was quite busy already. Finally, to end it all off, I finished the details on the suit and added those little details. The FEA moved around a few times before I decided on keeping it small on the the collar.

Here's what the final piece looks like!

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out stylistically, and I think getting this done helped me deal with the overwhelming grief of losing Daniel to the Red Bull guillotine. It was hard for a while to find the motivation to finish it, as I started this in June and finished it in October after Singapore. The #thankyoudanielfest kept me motivated to get it done, and I was able to think a lot about how much Daniel means to me and how he has changed my life in the process.

Anyways, if this was too long to read, here's a short little process video I made for my TikTok a while back.

I'm so grateful to everyone who has enjoyed my art and engaged with it! The Tumblr community just feels like family, and I'm glad I've been able to make some friends in the time that I've been in the F1 fandom. Y'all are amazing.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, if you celebrate and a restful holidays!

[synniestar]

catch a falling Star and put it in your pocket / save it for a rainy day ✨

REVENGE - Star for @myaphelion !

lightly referenced from an @adorkastock pose :]

taglist: @8full

rambling: the more i look at this piece, the more i like it, despite my very apparent inability to draw more androgynous/masc-leaning faces (i need to do more studies. we'll get there). the braids were sooo fun to render, i should draw them more often tbh. and i loved drawing these prosthetics, they're so fucking cool. why have i never thought about a bjd-style prosthesis before?!

i experimented briefly with some sort of glitchy effects for this piece before deciding they weren't needed, but i do think they looked cool. maybe i'll share that at some point once i work out how to not have them overwhelm the whole piece lmfao.

a slight drawback to the piece as a whole is that the outfit is so, so dumb in the context of the background LMFAO. it's kinda like—he was cleaning around the house in comfy clothes and then came across those thigh-high fishnets, and had JUST tried them on (as one does, when it's cleaning house) when he got abducted by aliens. or something. anyway. i think it's very funny and it somehow works for my brain so i hope you enjoy it too, Ash!

[hdra77]

Woe, fan art be upon ye!

In all seriousness, I made this drawing to say and ask:

Your art is amazing, I aspire to become an artist like you!!!

A few questions... How do you usually shade and light? And what's the best way possible to draw backgrounds effectively? I hope you don't mind these questions!

On another note... I hope you have a good day

AAAAAAAAA THIS LOOKS AMAZING <3333 THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! This means so much to me THANK YOU 😭💕💕💕💕 you'll achieve that dream someday!! so keep up the good work!! and never stop the grinding 💪💪 ! as for how i usually render..i'm not the best when it comes to explaining things but i'll try to! when i do shading i usually just mix and play around with the colors! blending them is super fun to do

i like to experiment around with the color wheel and not limiting myself with just one color! i tend to use different colors to make them pop out more

this also adds more depth into my pieces! notice how similar but different the colors looked yet they all appear to compliment well with each other? that also applies to lighting! i mostly just winged them and do whatever that feels right

i think its already common knowledge about studying the light sources so i don't need to dwell into that! theres plenty of tutorials out there explaining better than i do and as you can see i tend to just..scribble around and call it a day

this ones one of my best example in lighting! light affects the surroundings so they have these soft little 'glow' on them it's all about the details really now as for the backgrounds: values and composition! darker colors + light colors add some depth!

you'll notice how the choice of value affects the depth in this one!

im not exactly sure how to explain the compositions that well but if you study how i draw you'll notice how a composition can change the mood of the environment!

i hope this explains everything! i'm really bad with explaining how i do art but if you need more references just search more about color theories, values,symmetry and composition!

[einsatzzz]

ok! webcomic update! previously, i said that i'm considering on making two chapters before i release it - im scratching that idea off. tho i keep jumping back to do some linearts and a few coloring for parts that i'm sure i won't change, i finally also finished the sketch/mapping as a whole for the whole script draft i wrote for chapter 1.

as i kept on mapping and sketching everything out, especially near the end, i realized that the chapter length is easily at least two times the size of what i initially expected of a standard chapter length??? LMAO so i'm technically already working on two chapters worth of story length all along, it's just that since it's chapter 1 that its longer. if i stack these long pages together, the canvas height would at least be around 115K pixels 🤣😭🤣😭

im so extra for this shit, bc this chapter is just me essentially setting everything up (=planting seeds) and getting a grasp on the webcomic creation workflow & most of the canon characters. but i love being extra for my ocs! ueueueue you will understand when you read it.

this will also be the most i've drawn tsuna and reborn(butter this one's for you 🫵), ever. so besides oc withdrawal, i am also having cute girls withdrawal, the only one keeping me alive in these trying times is my girlie kyoko-chan. if you notice her panels are extra well-done...umm...uhhhh....i love cute girls 🫶🥰✨

my alternative is to just add another segment in the end, as some form of preview on what to expect next chapter. it should be no more than another 7K pixels, it's alr so long, this is nothing at this point 🤣

in terms of art improvement, i must say that they really are not kidding when they say if you keep drawing comics your art will improve. i keep noticing things idk how to draw (=i'll need to study how to) and i'm also being forced to draw characters in angles/poses i was too much of a coward to draw before and also! things i didn't give too many shits about to draw before, including mob characters and backgrounds (that i can't 3d my way out of).

honestly, at some point in the future, i should make a custom brush for namichuu student mobs, because goddamn! it's a pain!

it's also nice that i get to also technically do manga panel redraws by doing this! i find that doing redraws of anime screenshots/manga panels is good practice for how effectively im able to eyeball & figure out poses from references.

lastly for the updated estimate of the release! the latest i could finish it if i really take my time would be by christmas (this would be my og deadline if i had planned to release two standard-length chapters). though, i'd release it earlier if I finish earlier, of course.

and im not rlly beating myself up for not making my own personal deadline, i'll just think about it like this "deadlines are a social construct, its not like i'll lose my irl job for not finishing my personal webcomic 🤣🤣🤣" lmaoosjdfhjsf pls im already so depressed the past few days & im isolating, i don't want to add more to it. and having tunnel vision on the grind to make this is actually a good distraction from nasty thoughts. also took a break today from making it, that's why im able to drop by a few ppl's notifs 🫶

[pennpenn]

FremiMay Day 8- Fatui

I took some inspo from Collei's background for this one!

Fatui Experiment Fremi!

It was mainly so I could practice drawing a different pose that I wasn't used to. You guys get a bit of line work just for a treat.

This probably comes from an au where he is sent off to Dottore before Arlecchino became knave. He gets long hair because I said so.

More details about the experiment au below because it has mild spoilers to the Fontaine archon quest

Tomorrow's prompt is 'kitty'!

The experiments being conducted would be related on how to get Fontaine-born people to resist the primordial sea water.

Dottore's plans are to see how much a person can take and what puts them on the brink of dissolving. He also wants to study dissolving and why it happens. Yet, Dottore isn't actually aware of the Fontaine people being Oceanids.

Freminet happened to be the experiment where he found the perfect point of: becomes water but doesn't dissolve. He is completely unable to control his powers and mental state. Just like Manga Collei he just kinda... Gets possessed? He becomes more Oceanid than human, the voices of his Oceanid brothers and sisters scream to him. Freminet loses the ability to act on his own and has a period of time where he just rampages.

His body has a blue tint to it, but can retain some color. Such as his hair still being blonde.

His Oceanid can escape his body but it causes his body to melt into a puddle. The tail of the Oceanid cannot leave the puddle. When the Oceanid returns to the puddle it takes a bit for his humanoid body to return.

Freminet also likely has issues with sensations. He can't necessarily feel pain due to his body being water, but he also can't necessarily die by being stabbed. Because his body is water.

Talking about his body being water, let's talk about elemental reactions:

Having cryo be used on him is probably the closest he'll ever get to the sensation of death. His body and mind are frozen, it's as if his time has completely stopped.

He cannot feel the force of geo. If you were to crush him with a geo construct he would end up reforming in a few days. If you were to trap his body within a geo construct his mind would still work. He can't necessarily die without more primordial seawater turning him into a full Oceanid at this point, so he would just have to wait patiently until he is freed.

Freminet typically avoids dendro because it zaps his energy. It becomes harder for him to fight his Oceanid urges and he loses control easier. He does, however, move slower when dendro is being used on him.

Electro makes him jittery! He violently shakes when he is imbued with electro unless he is touching something to transfer the charge. If the electro pulse is too strong then he will become immobile.

Pyro is probably the closest Freminet will get to actually feeling 'hurt'. His body literally boils if it gets too hot. If he gets too much heat then his body will be unable to keep its form and he may melt. So if you are bringing him to the Sumeru desert make sure you bring a bucket! Otherwise you may have to shovel some wet sand in your bag and wait for him to reform later.(He luckily does not evaporate)

Anemo doesn't necessarily do anything special to Freminet. If he is hit with a strong burst of wind that would shred his body apart he typically reforms quite quickly. (When he is a puddle it takes a lot longer to reform than if he just has to rebuild some water to get a neck or arm again)

Hydro doesn't necessarily effect him. He kinda works like a hydro slime. But on the note of water, liquids that aren't room temperature may risk him experiencing discomfort.(Like if you were to try to microwave a mug of cold water, sometimes half of the water is warm and half of the water is cold. It's uncomfortable to drink. He gets that feeling when drinking things other than his current temperature)

Not me coming up with an entire universe and lore for a simple art prompt.

I could go more into a ramble on if he escapes then his own personal Amber(as she is Collei's hero) would be Chongyun. Cuz I think that would be cute.

Anyways kudos to you if you actually read everything. If you want me to make this into a full fledged au lemme know in my ask box or in the comments. If you wanna be goofy then if you read this far put 🪼 in the comments. I like jellyfish.

[megamagimugi]

Hey there, my friend! I saw you reblogging an artist ask game, so please allow me to make you a few questions 🥰

How about 2, 12 (I'm interested if you're willing to share!), 15 and 25? 💖

Sure thing, my friend!

Based on this:

2. How long have you been drawing?

Short answer: for as long as I can remember.

Long answer: I drew a lot as a kid (fun fact: I used to make quick uncolored pencil drawings to tell stories, kinda like storyboards; I would do it for hours and use so much paper that my parents eventually told me to draw on both sides😅). The fact that my older sister was very good at drawing - and I was very competitive - also motivated me to work hard and try to get as good as her. Then I drew less often in high school and in my first college since I had less time and was focused on schoolwork, and then started doing it more often again as I now study graphic design and would like to maybe become an animator if possible - the dream job of my childhood that I gave up on too early. When it comes to digital art specifically... I got my tablet, the very same one I use to this day (Wacom Intuos 4), for Christmas when I was about 15 or 16. Because it was so hard for me to learn how to draw digitally, and like I said I soon started spending less time drawing in general, sometimes I didn't use my tablet for long periods of time. That, of course, eventually changed into using it nearly every day.

12. Is it okay for people to ask you about your process?

Yes, it's okie dokie to ask!

...Or did you mean you wanted to know right now?

In which case, well, it depends on the medium and the specific piece since I don't always do my art the same way. Generally in digital art, for the characters I like to do a rough sketch first, then either a cleaner sketch or lineart (I rarely bother to do both, even in animation - unless my initial rough animation is like... really rough and basic, just to get the feel of the motion). Then I do flat colors, often on separate layers, and then shade/render each part. Or I do the whole character minus the sketch on one layer, it really depends. For example, I did Mario and Luigi both on one layer in my Brothership repaint/wallpaper, other that the yellow glow on their hands. For backgrounds... it really depends, but I usually build them up layer after layer, from general shapes to details, like a normal painting. Of course, I use some sort of sketch for most of them too, unless I don't need it because the BG is very simple or abstract. If I don't want my sketch to be visible, I basically just remove it and refine the parts that look bad without it, sometimes adding some brush strokes imitating lineart in some places. Happens to both characters and backgrounds. I use different brushes to create different effects, but in the majority of my works I've been sharing on here, I only really use a hard round pressure opacity brush for both the final sketch and rendering.

15. How long does an average piece take you to complete?

This one is always tricky to answer (yes, I've been asked this before by some classmates). Uh, several hours? It's really hard to tell exactly simply because I rarely just sit down and complete a whole piece in one go. Unless it's just a simple sketch/doodle. So in reality my average pieces often take me a few days.

25. Do you like to draw in silence, or with music?

There's one piece of advice in Richard Williams' fantastic book The Animator's Survival Kit that I don't think I'll ever be able to heed. It's this one:

Sorry but no, I do almost everything with music. It makes things more enjoyable and ironically makes it easier to focus in the long run. So, definitely drawing with music💯😁

Thank you so much for the ask, @silenzahra!😊

[the-art-of-sanshoku]

Thanks @lucksea and friends for providing the prompts, this was challenging but fun to participate in :)

Here's a compilation post of all my tokucember artworks ^^ (you can see them individually in this tag) honestly, still can't quite believe i did all of them and not a single one was late either~ I didn't draw every day since some days i could get 2 done but i did draw almost everyday. Multiple hours at a time even. And did tokuhols at the same time o.o

It was fun to do a lot of variety and show some love to pretty much every toku ive seen :> i forced myself to do a lot of coloring too, which i usually avoid lol. I also did a bunch of painting which ive never really done before outside of a few studies (that hand on day 3 im still very impressed with like wow that was me)

Honestly I'm surprisingly happy with a lot of stuff i made this month even though they were made in one day, just a few hours and a dream. I'd say the average was like 2-3 hours, and the min being maybe 30min and max 5-6 hours? Maybe its because i know of the time constraints im a bit less harsh on them lol. But also i am genuinely impressed too.

Doing all this also really highlights what needs to be worked on- linework is a huge one and ive always known that to be a weakpoint. Also you can tell i love doing chest up portraits because i do not know how legs work orz. Also you can see that i avoid backgrounds... But yeah just means i gotta work on it 👍

Let it be known l will not be making this much in january lol hopefully ill do some proper studying instead of just brute forcing pieces all the time. Surprisingly not burnt out though and its kind of had this effect where i havent made anything today and i feel antsy. Mightve gone too far in one direction...

If i participate next year it will probably be in a more limited fashion this took up a bit too much time but it was fun! And enlightening. And showed i could dedicate the time and motivation to art which i dont think i had the mental/emotional capacity for in like any other year of my life. Also was good for like, making what you feel like and not caring if it flops because who cares theres 30 more posts to do type of thing. (Well may have gotten depressed a handful of times but moved passed it quickly which is the important part >>) Just kind of a good thing for me i guess.

May we have an artful and tokuful 2025 🙏

[giddlygoat]

some of my thoughts on drawing, learning the accordion, and how they apply to each other.

i have been drawing my whole life. the last time i can remember feeling genuinely ashamed of my artistic skills was when i was probably 12. at some point i was able to look at my art and realize it wasn’t anywhere near perfect, and i became okay with that. nowadays, i have no anxiety about posting my art or leaving a piece with flaws, because i like my style and i’m comfortable enough in my skills and the knowledge that there will always be room for improvement to allow myself to simply enjoy what i create.

i have always been fascinated by the accordion. around age 11 i started considering learning to play it. by 13 i saw one at an antique store and seriously considering buying it for a long time, but did not. as the years go on i find that artistic burnout is becoming more of a frequent issue with me, and i often find myself desperately wishing i had a gratifying way of expressing myself other than drawing.

i’m always humming, and doing the mouth trumpet, and clicking and clapping out tunes all day. singing and scatting are some of my favorite pastimes. i can do all this but it’s not the same as playing an instrument. i feel like it can never quite extend past my fingertips; like i’m cranking out all this energy and excitement but it can’t go anywhere. it’s like not being able to get past the sketch when you have a whole painting inside you.

about three months ago, i finally picked up the accordion. i don’t know how to read music. my understanding of the technical side of music is pathetic, although i have a good natural sense for it, and now, a good teacher. i am scared.

i have all the usual beginner issues: my hands don’t know where to go, i’m not used to the weight of the instrument, and it feels alien in a way, just to name a few.

there’s another problem, too. i’m good at drawing.

everywhere i go, i see things i want to paint. i’m taking pictures of the pickled jalapeños and carrots at work because i want to study how they interact with the opaque black plastic container, all little dynamic shapes of green and orange swimming in vinegar. i’m watching a cat stretch and yawn on the concrete and lay down in a sunbeam that looks too heavenly to be real - it gives me an idea for a sketch.

i look at the arms of the man loading hay bales with me, and try to commit to memory how the muscles move under the skin, what foot he puts his weight on, how he wipes his forehead and shifts his weight. it makes me want to draw pages of people doing mundane things, studying how weight and action and stylization works together to create something satisfying and alive. i want to do the beauty of the universe justice.

when i open procreate to draw, i am not thinking of anything. my hands know where to go, i don’t even have to look at the buttons or tools to know what i’m doing, and all these complicated layers interacting with each other and their applied effects and backgrounds etc come like second nature to me now.

the first day i used procreate, i was so overwhelmed, i was afraid to touch anything.

the first day i held an accordion, it was the same.

my problem is that i know how to look at art and examine why techniques work or not, and i don’t quite have those skills when it comes to music. sure, i can slap beautiful harmony onto any song, but heck if i know what notes they are. i couldn’t tell you what key the song is in or what defines a measure.

and i realized that while now i am looking through this frosted glass trying to make out the basic shapes behind it, one day, i will be able to peel back the mystery and truly understand not only how this instrument functions, but how music flows, too. because i see art in everything. i understand the weight of people and objects and how they would interact in a cartoon. the colors of a blooming cactus in my yard become lemony saturated in the early light and pale and dusty in the late evening. i can see the line of action in characters and better understand the composition behind paintings, and why it works.

it’s my hope, that as time spent with my accordion goes on, i will start to see music in everything, too. there’s nothing i want more than to understand it and speak its language as i do with art. i want to someday pick up my accordion and make up a melody as i would sketch out a doodle. this is the kind of stuff i think about all day.

[t34-mt]

How is the Vexology of the Manuel and kyhuine?

Completely obsolete worldbuilding 2023

i was craving to mention flags some days ago so this is awesome ( for those who don't know cause I didn't either, vexillology is the study of flags)

Flags are not really a thing for maanuls and kyhuines, they do not feel the need to have a flag to assemble everyone in x region under a single piece of tissue, they kind of see it as a way to just divide their own species by creating a weird nonsensical pride for a flag that supposedly represents them all, when within a single region there are various cultures and subcultures, and nomadic groups. They see their species as like a network of mycelium roots(? idk if that sounds clear), that they can connect to each other no matter where they're from. So the thing of belonging to a flag would feel like an unnecessary barrier

They already don't have no borders so flags? i don't think that would fit them. But colonies do have symbols that translate to where they're from, by that I mean an example is on stustumali's botanist gear. a flat wooden piece with one side saying for example "west", flipping the piece there is the specific name of the colony they're from.

That's something maanuls that go out of the colony for x reason have, kyhuines can use a specific rock only found in their region, a little wooden symbol which is either a plant, animal, or mythical animal that shows they're from x colony that uses that as their little emblem thing which is the closest thing to an actual flag.

But that doesn't mean flags never existed in the history of altuyur! they did appear once, tho unfortunately they appeared in GA for the worst reason: Propaganda. The propaganda of kaar'kchir used a distinct flag to be impactful, and the red troupes seeing how effective it was adapted the same technique. And it did work well,it added to the impactful imagery and made their campaigns more aggressive.

The flag of kaar'kchir section 4 (GA)

now forgive me it's my first time trying to draw the flags correctly so it's not perfect as I'm not specialized in that. But this is the flag created after tamtam became captain of section 4. harboring their distinct color. Compared to the red troupes, they're easily spotted from far because of the green, while the red of the red troupes can hide them a bit in certain biomes.

The flag of the red troupes.

When the council appropriated the north star to use it as a focal symbol in its propaganda it harmed what the north star was about in the first place, for a while during the silver age people were too scared of using that symbol anymore. before had more meaning to it than being related to some terrible group of GA. it was a symbol of myth, power, and wonder for the world around them. But with time, they detached its connection from GA and started reusing them like they used to in their culture. But they still can't put a north star on a single red background with nothing else, that just calls back to the red troupes flags.

Devious branch of Kllte (timsitkah)

Now that's not a flag for a brainwashed military faction like the two above (section 4 and red troupes), but they still used the imagery of having a flag so people would notice them more, if their symbol was "tagged" people would know who did this. Tho they decided to use a square flag to stand out from the rectangle ones.

Now Ktlle is an anti-war, pacifist movement created during GA as a response to the war. Ktlle uses blue clothing to be recognized but does not use flags as they associate that with section 4 and the red troupes. But a devious branch of it ,"timsitkah", led by Äme and Satmuh, who had enough of ktlle not acting started to use violent methods to fight off section 4 and the red troupes. While them using violence is understandably justified when it comes to fighting against military oppresing factions, they still got banned from ktlle because ktlle did not accept any use of brutality in their group as they wanted to continue traditional philosophical rules of the two species, that any violence equals stupidity and spiritual blindness. That banned devious branch left, and then made up their own faction on their side, with a flag/symbol (the timsit worm), thus is how Timsitkah was created.

Although the start of timsitkah was quite messy, and unorganized. It had people in their rank wanting that wanted to use radical tactics, these people were mostly made up of teens and sub-adults that would do acts of literal vile terrorism, using kunsip (a section 4 invention, equivalent of gunpowder) in the name of timsitkah. While these people would get quickly shut off from timsitkah when these accident would happen, section 4 and the red troupes would use the terrorism accidents for more propaganda. Saying that timsitkah is all filled with violent terrorists that would kill civils in the name of their illogical ideologies. Which is completely hypocritical of section 4 and the red troupes to say. but its propaganda, so yeah it will always be stupid.

Ktlle is a full pacifist faction, and Timsitkah wants pacifism to come back AFTER fighting off section 4 and the red troupes and thus going back to times like AOS (tho that new age after GA gets called SA). Timsitkah will not hesitate to kill a member from any of the two military factions, in its ranks it had spies for section4/red troupes. But in the section 4/red troupes there was also spies for Timsitkah, notable people that did that are Qua'tuli (spy the red troupes) and Kaasim (spy in section 4)

thank you for reading i hope you liked my answer :)

[doctorstrangereview]

0044: Strange Tales #150

Cover Date: November 1966 On-Sale Date: August 9, 1966

This month's story is a more noteworthy one. In fact it's noteworthy enough that the cover blurb blows the plot. We do get to meet Dormammu's sister, Umar the Unrelenting. When the complicated family lines are worked out, we will learn that Umar is Clea's mother, making Dormammu her uncle. Clea and Doc will eventually get married making Umar Doc's mother-in-law. Where Dormammu is living fire, Umar is human(oid). This will be explained in a couple of decades. All this happens on the final page of the story, and with the cover spoiling the fact that Kaluu doesn't obliterate Doc and the Ancient One, the first nine pages seem moot. On a side note, this story introduces writer Roy Thomas, so expect an exponential increase in exclamation points and speech in bold letters.

Last issue we find that Kaluu has entered the Sanctum on the maid's day off and everything is Dorothy Gale's house after the tornado level of disaster except for two stinky candles burning in a study. Kaluu realizes that his targets have vanished and must find them before they figure out how to de-power his all-powerfulness.

Kaluu finally sees the candles. "Oh crap, they've escaped into the past like when Doc went back to rescue Cleopatra which I totally don't know about." Kaluu huffs and puffs but the candles stay lit.

It looks as if the candles feel the effects of Kaluu's long windedness but stay lit like those trick candles you put on the birthday cakes of people you don't like. Every appearance of Kaluu is accompanied by a wall of text, whether or not there's anyone else present to hear it so we know he's got a great pair of lungs. We should investigate if the dimension of Raggadorr is the cure for COPD. Kaluu continues to try and extinguish the candles and blurts on about how the Ancient One's shield cannot withstand his power forever. There's lots of talking in the sequence, but little trying.

Doc and the Ancient One are flying through time attempting to recover the Book of the Vishanti which Kaluu sent back in time instead of securing it with his awesome power. These magicians really need to take that extension course on security. Fortunately, the Ancient One has managed to pull himself out of his magic flying carpet for the trip through time.

The duo arrive in which Bill Everett cleverly avoids drawing except for a tiny bit of mountains. Doc and the Ancient battle the griffin that guards the book against a background of stars and other lights. Doc gets frustrated when his spells have no effect. This is the 60s and the invention of mystical Viagra is several decades away so his magical impotence is quite frustrating for him. Then the Ancient One reveals that since he initially battled the griffin for the book it is he that must defeat him again. (It's time travel and technically this is date of the book's birth so he shouldn't have actually done that yet.) The griffin is banished and a suggestive looking tunnel of pink and yellow opens up.

After spending several pages retrieving the book, the Ancient One pretty much says "I'm done. You can take it from here. I'll be at my pad in Tibet if you need me. Sayonara!" The Ancient One turns into a crackling black silhouette and bolts. Gee, thanks boss!

Back at base, Kaluu throws around his magic but the candles still stay lit. One flares up and lo and behold, Doc has returned! While Bill Everett is far from my favorite Doc artist, I really like this particular image.

Kaluu wastes no time attacking Doc.

It turns out the Book of the Vishanti itself is the ultimate defense with it's I'm Rubber and You're Glue, Everything You Hurl at Me I Throw Back at You spell.

Kaluu is frozen by the spell he intended for Doc. Everett has another great image here. He's got a thing for silhouettes this month.

Doc needs to figure out what to do with him. "I know. I'll contact my buddy the Ancient One! Hey, old dude! Remember how you deserted my a few minutes ago and ran back home? Well, I did what you told me despite you bolting when the going got tough. What the heck do I do with your problem that you made my problem?" The Ancient One banishes Kaluu to some sort of Limbo.

One would think that we were done and Doc could sneak in 40 winks for a nice recharge. But no. We turn our gaze to the Dark Dimension. Remember how we learned over and over that Dormammu conjured a barrier that held back the mindless ones and appeared to be constantly maintaining it? Well Dormie is gone, presumed blown to little mystical bits. Guess what?! You got it, the mindless ones time-out is over and they are free to overrun the overly bright Dark Dimension. Clea sees this and attempts to contact Doc, but it must be a cloudy day somewhere in-between the two because she gets lots of static. Notice how she say "My sole hope" and not "Our sole hope". That's a bit self-centered.

All is not lost, apparently. In the midst of the rocky cyclopes appears yet another silhouette. This one more shapely than the previous ones.

Thus we are introduced to Umar. When fully formed, she puts the mindless ones in their place while spouting all sorts of ominous stuff to a huge horde of beings who can't understand her.

Look at that! We get yet another green coded villain! She does appear to be wearing a truly classy BDSM harness. Kudos to Everett for that. She goes all ominous in the last panel to make sure we know she's not a good girl!

We've got something of a magical quest as Doc and the Ancient One search for The Book of the Vishanti. It's a good thing they find it as, like Obi Won Kenobi, it was their only hope. One wonders why Doc doesn't carry it around with him all the time. It would be more useful than Captain America's shield and save lots of time and effort. Doc could be cleaning up twice the number of magical menaces. I feel that under the Lee/Ditko regime, the Ancient One would never have deserted Doc. He might have stayed in the background and only intervened if necessary, but would never have bolted. Boo, Roy! Bad form! Kaluu was disappointing, but Umar's brief introduction steals the show anyway. Let's see what's in store.

[heatherhpogson]

Week 2: Good Omens "The Nanny and the Gardener"

Downloadable Version Here

One of my favorite things about the Good Omens TV series is the costume designs. There's so many different looks just for Crowley, and after watching the entire series, Crowley as a nanny is iconic in my eyes. Not only that, but Aziraphale's gardener look was so shocking I had to do multiple looks to understand that it was indeed Micheal Sheen playing as Brother Francis. I love the talent of this show.

As I was making this piece, I tried to capture the look of each character as best I could. I don't think it looks like them, but that's my opinion as the artist. I'm naturally blinded to my own accomplishments, and all I see are mistakes. I don't think that's a bad thing. It helps me improve, I think!

To prep for this piece, I re-watched the scenes I wanted to emulate. Now, I haven't read the books....sorry~! I know! There's no excuse, but I'm a mama of two little cubs who barely give me the time to do art! In any case, I tried to "study" the costumes and get ideas as to how I was going to approach this piece. Using my iPad, I took visual notes and tried to figure out how to get a certain effect.

With Crowley's nanny look, I noticed that you could still see the eyes through the sunglasses. It is an effect that I appreciate more than once throughout the show.

When I was drawing Aziraphale, my cubs kept making fun of me... saying he looked a little creepy or not like him at all. I hope the finished look more resembles him. Haha.

The time I took to finish this piece was significantly shorter. I had become more aware of the art program, but I still had a few hiccups. The sun, for example, kept hindering my process, but because it had been days since my last dose of vitamin D, I kept my blinds open.

Then, there were accidental shortcut keys pressed. I had nearly had a panic attack when I turned on a thing called "wrap around mode" when trying to label a layer. Luckily, someone else had the same problem on the interwebs. I was able to figure out how to fix it.

Overall, it was a learning process. The background is subtle, but it's supposed to be the tree from the garden of Eden. It was going to be colorful, but I later changed it because I felt it was distracting. Maybe I should've kept it like it was, but I'm still happy with my end result.

I'm still feeling optimistic about this silly 52-week challenge. I don't know what to expect except that I hope my art improves. I'm curious about what I'll finish the year with! I hope you enjoyed this week's progress report! I'll see you next week! Bonne journée!