#i'm glad they made the eye shapes different tho. they really do help me....

[fisheito]

WOW A PIECE OF HISTORY HAS BEEN LOCATED this was the first time i drew nuca characters. . circa..2 years ago-ish

[sweetlittlevampire]

I love your art and wanted to ask, when you draw real people, like cql characters in example, how much do you use reference photos to get the likeness and proportions etc right? I'm trying to learn how to draw realistic looking people so I'm interested.

Hello Anon! I am glad my art is to your liking; thank you so much!

Okay, real talk here - and I’m pretty sure I’m going to lose followers over this statement, but hey, that’s how it goes - 

I actually do start by tracing them. *gasps* Scandalous, I know! But it’s actually something my art teacher in high school - a very experienced, patient, and gifted man - recommended to me. His reasoning was: “If you want to draw a cube, you gotta know what it looks like. Your hand has to learn the shape too, and sometimes it’s easiest to just let your fingers follow its shape until your hand understands it. Then you can take the initial cube away, and make it your own.”

See, drawing - and practicing drawing, for me personally, has a lot to do with muscle memory. So if I want to draw a character, I start by picking reference images from one specific angle, and trace them. Ten times, thirty times, fifty times. Roughly, until my hand remembers the shape of their nose, the curve of their cheeks and brow - just enough that, when I sketch, someone could look at it and go “Oh, this vaguely reminds me of xyz”, when I was, in fact, trying to draw xyz.

Take another facial angle. Rinse and repeat.

It’s a long process, and I do this in my off-time with a variety of faces, of any kind of shape and ethnicity, just to practice. Those sketches are super messy, and more often than not, I end up deleting them because I’m embarrassed, and because I still have “Tracing is B A D” at the back of my mind. Basically I do this until I don’t need to do it anymore.

I use it as a means of practice, and it works for me. It might not work for others.

Now, when it comes to faces like Wang Yibo’s, or Xiao Zhan’s, who I have drawn very often recently, this technique really pays off in the sense that I am usually able to get the basic facial shape down pretty accurately without having to trace. That is the ultimate goal. The next step for me, then, is to look at a TON of detail references. Like, I have a folder full of pictures of Wang Yibo in different lighting and from different angles, and I find that, whenever I’m drawing Lan Wangji, I have at least twelve or thirteen different reference images open, just to get the shape of his nose and the shading of his cheeks right. There’s that tiny bit of skin that reflects the light beautifully between his nostril and his cheek, and it makes his face distinctively his, so - see, these are the weird details I look for. XD With Xiao Zhan, or Wei Wuxian, it’s mostly the eyes, and his smile.

For poses I have a poseable artist doll (you know, the cliché wooden one), or I look at pose reference pictures made specifically for artists. @senshistock is one of my favourites. I am lucky to apparently have a good sense of perspective, so drawing poses is not always the most difficult part for me, but that’s also something that can be practiced.

Now there are faces that seem to be more easy to draw for me - I’ve drawn a mini-sliver of Nie Huaisang once, and it was surprisingly easy for me - Lan Xichen tho, oooooh boy, his face is difficult.

But you can really see the difference between much practiced faces and less practiced faces in this - I’ve never drawn Geralt of Rivia or Jaskier before. I did sketches and traces just to practice their basic facial structures, but they still look weird and unpolished to me...whereas if you look at Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian? Whom I’ve drawn literally countless times by now? Much better.

tl;dr : I trace for practice but not for actual drawings. For those I use metric tons of references just to get a nostril right, lol. But if you want actual advice? Observe. A lot. Use A TON of references. Practice. Be patient with yourself (something that I am definetely not). Try out different methods and styles - maybe you’ll find that realistic is just your thing, and maybe you’ll discover that it absolutely isn’t your cup of tea, and that’s okay, too. No one on this very planet can draw like you. You’re the only one who is capable of doing it like you do.

I’m not sure if this is helping you in any capacity, but I wish you only the best, Anon. ♥

[fictional-worlds-are-exquisite]

i am very much enjoying my vague void! it's currently blasting hozier at full volume and that's almost louder than my internal screaming (don't worry, everything is fine, i just saw a spider)

i've never once in my life have followed a recipe correctly. all of my measurements are completely random and whatever happens happens. it is no longer in my hands. whatever eldritch entities exist take the wheel. and i absolutely refuse to spell anything in english without autocorrect because y'all have way too many double letters and random vowel placement

thank you! sadly, i won't have a break right now, because we just had christmas vacations, but the start of the new semester is always pretty chill. and you're absolutely right, i should take up necromancy! the snow and the cold will add to my mysterious vibes. i just need to get a big black cape with a hood to complete the aesthetic

i definitely picture everything above 5'6 feet as the same height. 5'7 and 6'2? the exact same thing. no difference here

how is morepork a real bird name. it's just... more pork? but the bird is magnificent. i completely approve of your first order as bird queen, not that you need approval from mere peasants like me, but it's a great order. ohhh salps look really cool, and it does look a lot like it! when you said boob implant i thought of mermaids and them using salps as boob implants but then i realised wait wouldn't jellyfish be better for that? because of their shape? ignoring their little leggies they're quite boob shaped, no? and then i realised that i was thinking about mermaids and alive boob implants... if i had to think it, you have to read it. i'm sorry

i was sold before but now i'm even more sure that i want to hire you. and I'll make sure to have lactose free cheese for the backflips (unless you want the lactose version? i'm not judging). will the biting of ankles cost extra?

that sounds like a brilliant set-up for a horror movie where they kill off all the children one by one. it's absolutely horrifying. if something like that would've happened to me i would've most likely just passed out. whatever happens afterwards is not my problem. and now i really don't want to know what the hell your leg was caught on because that seems like knowledge that would get me killed

ah so you're a fellow dirt eater? according to my mom my favourite thing to do outside when i was a little kid used to be eating sand. just shovelling handfuls of it into my mouth and crying when my mom made me spit it out. which i refuse to believe. if there are no photos it didn't happen

you warm climate people are starting to make me think that i'm better adjusted to the cold than i thought i am! it's either that or our buildings are better heated. i definitely don't know if anyone else calls hot water bottled hotties but i like it so from now on i'm using it

that's so cute! i was clearly a way more selfish child because when i found any amount of money i just kept it and bought candy as soon as i could. i clearly couldn't save money then and i can't now. we have stores like that (or i'm assuming that they're like that solely based on how they sell lollies) and they used to be my favourite thing because you could get so many lollies for such a small price!! and my mom even used to let me order for myself sometimes so i always felt like a very big girl jsjshsbsjk

also the fact that i can't send pictures on anon is a crime (yes i know why and it's good that that's not possible because can you imagine anons being able to send pictures? oh no is all i have to say about it) but anyways. because i have this one super cursed photo that reminded me of you and now i can't share it :((

duuuuude, sick void bro. sounds like a vibing void. I feel like I haven’t seen a spider in awhile. Other than daddy long legs. But they’re chill. They mind their own business. 

I nearly always follow recipes exactly. My mum is like oh cook this for about 7 minutes? Yeah sure. I’ll take a wild guess. I’m like they say exactly 7 minutes so I’ll set a timer for 7 minutes and start a stopwatch so if it does seem to need more than 7 I can keep an eye on the extra time and be aware of exactly how long it takes me for next time. Other people are like oh let's see I have [lists 5-10 things in their fridge], hmm...oh I know what I could make with that! I’m like I have beans in my freezer because one recipe required them and no other recipes I know how to make do so what am I supposed to do with these now,,, this is stressful,,, basically I barely know how to cook and recipes are the only things saving me in that area. That is entirely fair. Except for the fuck duck, and murder is not the word you want surely, situations, it’s pretty helpful.

Ohhh I see. At least the start is chill! For a little! Before your entire situation spirals out of hand and you’re behind in every class and it’s taken you a whole day to read 10 pages and you’re exhausted and it’s only week 2. Just me? ok. fair. anyway. I want a cloak so bad. One of my uni friends tempted me to class because she said she was wearing a cloak so my depressed ass honest to god dragged myself out of bed and to said class just to see it. It was worth it. They’re incredible. Everyone should own a big cloak for the aesthetic.

I’m glad it isn’t just me hahaha. I can visualise my own height in feet but everything else is just the same size that is a vague amount taller than me, mentally.

It’s also known as the ruru. But the name morepork amuses me. It’s named after the call it makes haha. It does sound like it’s asking for more pork if you know to listen for that. thank u for ur approval, it means a lot, turns out becoming bird queen didn’t ACTUALLY get rid of my anxiety disorder weirdly enough so validation is great! lmaooo. What if the jellyfish stung them tho? At least salps wouldn’t do you dirty like that. The mermaids would just look like there are hundreds of bugs crawling around in their boobs, flesh shifting as they float around. Which is a vibe. If you’re into that. Jellyfish WOULD make a more solid, single, implant, some of them are definitely boob shaped. But that’s kinda boring no one’s gonna be traumatised by that. Salps on the other hand...yeah, that sight will DEFINITELY traumatise someone.

To be PERFECTLY honest I haven’t done a backflip in years but for lactose-free cheese? Dude. I’ll be going back to training. Gonna be the best backflip you’ve ever seen. As long as it’s not Tasty cheese I am content, but lactose free IS better. The biting of ankles will not cost extra, it is a pleasure to be allowed to do that.

Oh it absolutely would be. It’d be very funny if it reached the wider world bc people would probably be like ok but who would send kids into the bush like that,, it’s an odd concept. meanwhile everyone who grew up in nz is gonna be like y’all, you’re not gonna fuckin BELIEVE what i experienced growing up, it’s real dude. On one hand, I feel like murdering kids in a movie is questionable, on the other hand, It exists, so maybe people would be down for it. I feel like it’d be a good concept even if it wasn’t murdery tho. Like psychological horror? I’m not sure if I’m using that category correctly I don’t watch much horror. A kid following the rope but then being shifted into a different horror dimension but they never take the blindfold off because their teachers said not to and they’d probably have to let go of the rope to do it...I feel like this could work super well as a short film. The viewers see everything. The child just knows something is off and no one is coming when they call for help. I am so down for this. I also do not want to know what my leg was caught on. Some things I am better off not knowing.

yes! I am a fellow dirt eater! We had a sandpit at home (that’s a little bold. It was a large plastic shell that my parents filled with sand. technically a sandpit. but not fancy sdflsdkfsdf) but I don’t think I ever tried to eat it. Then again, I possibly did and just don’t remember because there’s no photo evidence of that one. I’d have to ask my parents sdfhsjdfs, I would however fully believe them if they said yes. it’s very characteristic of me. I don’t doubt it for a second. muuuum that’s my emotional support sand don’t make me spit it out smh the disrespect these days.

Oh I’m absolutely terrible even by most people’s standards around here when it comes to cold and hot temperatures. I remember sitting in the sun in my school shirt and school jersey in summer on a blazing day like it’s a bit chilly, isn’t it? Meanwhile my friends were in the shade absolutely dying from the heat. Likewise in winter I’d be shivering, teeth chattering, dying with my long sleeve thermal, my school shirt, my school jersey, my school jacket, my longs, warm socks and sneakers and gloves and school scarf while ppl would be walking around in a shirt and shorts like it’s a bit warm this winter huh? my body didn’t learn how to thermoregulate and it shows. But yeah NZ does also have a reputation for shittily insulated buildings and such. It shows. skhdfsfs if it’s not common use maybe don’t say can i have a hotty to someone without context but otherwise go ahead lmao. it’s a fun shortened version.

I was typically a very good saver, to the point where my extended family started gifting me gift cards and vouchers for Christmas and my birthday because if they just gave me money I’d put it in my bank account to save towards uni once I hit like, 12 years old. Which I think was a smart move. But apparently, I’m supposed to buy myself ‘something nice’ with it. I think I’m still an okay saver but I’m not as strict anymore. I’m aware of how much I can spare and I’m not just like you can never get anything for yourself ever, so I do get lil things for myself sometimes. oooo yay! At least you know what I mean. But yes. They were the gold mine for lollies. Absolutely terrific stores. My mum would be like hey lindsey how about you order? And I’d be like mother, I am 7 years old and I have an undiagnosed anxiety disorder everyone assumes is child shyness why would you think I would want to do that. Instead I will whisper my choices to you. After therapy tho I felt pretty rad for picking my own lollies by myself. I was like 13 at that point but sdfkjhsdf listen I got there in the end.

sdfkjsdfkjhsdf I like that a cursed photo reminded you of me. That’s all I need to hear. Tumblr said no anon dick pics but they also said no anon cursed photos either,,, very sad. for the latter part. the first part thank god. If I could turn on photos on anon I absolutely would just to see this but I don’t think I can :(

[ragnarssons]

How do you think Daenerys is going to react when she finds out Jon is a Targaryen and technically has a better claim ? Sorry you defend her well so I always come to you when I'm worried lol so many people on tumblr are saying she won't react well

I’m glad to know that I’m known as a fierce Dany defender because… that’s what I thrive to be, lol. So- about the whole Targ thing, the incest and all… really what I can say is I don’t know? Because really, I hate how “intertwined” Jon and Daenerys have become despite the obvious incest thing. Hence why I don’t ship them: with their chemistry and the whole lore behind them, were they not related, I’d ship that shit like 100%. I think it’ll be so difficult for them to “deal” with all this that I try not to think about it too much because I think they’re going to HURT a lot. I’m still able to recognize that the scripts, the scenes themselves and the actors, all state that Daenerys and Jon are in love at that point. Like, it’s not a lie, we know Jon isn’t the type of dude who sleeps with a woman for fun - or to fake an alliance *rolls eyes*. It “yiiiikes” me but it’s canon. It’s a very delicate situation.I think we have to look at the characters to kinda guess what is gonna happen. Jon has had a story about accepting who he was, a bastard, and someone who had a greater purpose than “the wars south”. Jon’s post-s5 journey has been about him claiming his place among his own family - the Starks, and still, his “greater cause” that no one else believes in. Hence why him allowing himself to fall in love with Daenerys is such a strong thing, because… well, he was supposed to have other priorities: he even states that in canon, to Davos. Davos says “I’ve seen you staring at her good heart” and Jon’s only response is “we don’t have time for that”. I really, 100% don’t see Jon learning that he’s Rhaegar Targaryen’s son and be like “well I guess the Throne is mine, then!” I don’t see him throwing that info at Daenerys to be like “I’m a better Targaryen than you!”. I think it’ll mostly affect Jon because he loves Daenerys, and he just found out that 1) they’re related (Kit himself said that Jon isn’t the type of man who would KNOWINGLY sleep with someone he’s related to) and 2) probably, that his heritage might threaten Daenerys’ claim to the Throne- and kinda shake her alliances (potentially) or her “security” as an Heir. Hence why I think Jon will NEVER come out officially as anything but “Ned Stark’s bastard”. Kinda like Ned, who kept the secret all his life, out of “duty” and love for someone else (Jon and Lyanna mostly). Jon is Jon Snow. You can see it among the fandom itself, NO ONE takes him as “Aegon Targaryen”. So I think he’ll remain Jon Snow and never claim anything more than that. And he already achieved A LOT for a bastard, he’s King in the North right now, ffs. Now of course I think he’ll tell Daenerys, but for different reasons than his claim.As for Daenerys, it’s hard to say what she thinks about incest. On the show, she has a very twisted relationship with Viserys, so that might not jolt good memories to her. But in the books, Daenerys is basically raised by her brother telling her that had she been born earlier, she would have married Rhaegar and Robert’s rebellion would have never happened (and that then, it’s her fault all their family died because she wasn’t born at the right time *rolls eyes* typical abusive bullshit ya kno). Hence, Daenerys was raised in a “well you would have married your own brother!” mentality, in the books. On the show, we’ve had Daenerys’ whole journey being about shaping her as a leader, a Queen, and a woman of her own. I don’t see Daenerys bending the knee to Jon and I don’t see Jon asking her to do that: they’re way beyond that. Daenerys swore to help Jon before he bent the knee, she was over this idea of “petty wars” for the throne and who has allegiance to who. She wanted Jon to accept Cersei’s deal at the Dragon Pit if it meant them having Cersei’s army to help them against the WW. Hence, Daenerys was ready to accept that Jon “came back” on his allegiance to her, for the greater good. I’m tired of people presenting Daenerys as a crazy despote who is STILL thinking about the Iron Throne. It’s at the bottom of her priorities right now: she’s LITERALLY riding north with all of her army, abandoning her stronghold of Dragonstone, to get to Winterfell and help people who owe her nothing. People whom she knows, won’t accept her right away. Daenerys had nothing to gain in trusting Jon at the beginning of s7: for all she knew (and tbh Tyrion vouching for Jon was a stupid move, because they hadn’t seen each others for 7 fucking years and stop pretending that there aren’t tons of GoT characters who literally switched alliances in that time), Jon could have been an ally to Cersei trying to have Daenerys shift her focus for Cersei to hit her. I mean? Yes we know these characters, but they didn’t know each others at the time. In the meantime, when she learnt more about Jon, Daenerys literally trusted Jon with everything: she sacrificed one of her dragons for him ffs. She rode North, risking her own life to save him, on nothing - at this point - but his words that Ice Zombies were a real thing. Daenerys’ trust in Jon is absolute, otherwise, again, why would she fall in love with him if it weren’t? I mean I could add another argument to that using the leaks that I’ve read but I’m not going to spoil it. All in all, people who pretend that Daenerys could turn on Jon like the second she learns that he’s Rhaegar’s son are… delusionals. And just blindly hate Daenerys or like to pretend that she’s “the Mad Queen” or whatever. It’s not Dany who made a vow to help him and ends up not sending any troops. *shrugs* She’s coming to Winterfell with her FULL FORCE: the army she spent YEARS to build, through horrible trials and difficulties and all that struggle. She could lose it all to help Jon and to fight for a cause that is way greater than the Iron Throne. Tbh I think the Iron Throne is as relevant as Cersei seems to be in the trailer: not at all. Anyway now I know Spring will eventually follow and if King’s Landing is still a thing, if Jon and Daenerys both survive, the question of the Iron Throne will still be a thing. Now I’m wondering if Daenerys’ vision in the House of the Undying didn’t represent what we already saw on s7: winter coming, Daenerys walking to claim her throne, but being “called” by another purpose. She steps away from the Throne and then walks North of the Wall. It’s basically what she did by the end of s7. The Snow in KL could be a symbol for Jon and not even the fact that the King’s Landing is gonna be destroyed by the Night King, who knows. I still think Daenerys has a stronger chance to end up on the Iron Throne than Jon. Personally I’m still on the side of believing that Daenerys will even be pregnant, which would mean that Jon and her wouldn’t even have some kind of “power struggle” over whose claim is stronger than whose. They’d do what is best for their child. And yeah I know the most memorable “incest child” was Joffrey, but let’s all remember, as Tyrion himself said, that Myrcella and Tommen were very good, nice and gentle children, even tho they were born of incest. I don’t know if I believe the marriage theory because as I said, I don’t know how Jon and Dany will react about the incest thing. Will Jon still marry Dany and still be with her even tho Kit said that it’s not Jon’s type? Idk. Maybe it’ll be an “impossible love” kind of thing. Maybe it’ll be a call-back to what Maester Aemon said: what do you choose between duty and the love of a woman? The feeling of a newborn in your arms? At the time, Jon believed Ned would choose duty, that it would be the honorable thing to do, soooo? Again, seeing from some leaks I’ve read that I won’t put into details, I think it’s a strong possibility to have Jon not being anywhere near power at the end of the show, but rather roaming North, leading what could be the “after Night’s Watch”, like with Tormund and people going North of the Wall, like perpetuating this idea of “Shield that Guards the Realms of Men”. It’s also a thing that could separate Jon and Daenerys, their very different ambitions: Jon stated several times that he could just live in a cave with Ygritte, with nothing but love and food and good company ya know. While Daenerys has rejected “good company” (Daario) for the Throne, already. I mean, yeah she wasn’t in love with Daario, but Daario did offer her a “simple relationship” and she refused it. Also to come back to her vision at the House of the Undying, we do see Daenerys refusing to live in a hut with a man she loves (Drogo… it’s presented as love in the show, so *shrugs*) and their son, because something else called out to her- her dragons, reality, her claim to the Throne. I’m rambling a lot, right? Anyway to be clear, I don’t think Daenerys is a “Targaryen demon” who will unleash her wrath upon Jon and try to kill him or destroy him when learning he’s HER BROTHER’S son. Like? Okay I know Dany never met Rhaegar, but she still tried to learn a lot about him - in the show’s canon. She’s named her dragon after Rhaegar. She loves him, and she’s in love with Jon. These things don’t just go away, and the characters won’t become sudden enemies circling around the Throne and making war to each other. I just roll my eyes at all this “targ bowl” / “dark!dany” bs. It won’t happen. Daenerys is better than that and I can’t wait for all these people to shut the freak up for good- when the show ends. Daenerys is painted as a hero on the show, and anyone not seeing it, is just trying to bend the story. Yes she’s had to make hard decisions, just like a lot of other characters have. She struggled with these decisions and had remorses about these decisions, like A GOOD PERSON would. I think Jon and Daenerys in their relationship are beyond the Throne. I don’t think Jon fell in love with Daenerys with the idea of “well I’ll become King if she wins!” and I don’t think Daenerys fell in love with Jon with the idea of “wow I’ll unite the North and the South by doing that!”. As the scripts and the characters point it out: it’s not the right time for it to happen, it’s not even right for it to happen because in fact they’re related (hence Bran’s voice over the sex scene), but it happened because… sometimes heart is stronger than duty. Hence, it mirroring Rhaegar and Lyanna’s marriage on the show: Rhaegar and Lyanna chose love over duty (even tho no comment about book!Rhaegar). They ended up being a tragic story. That’s a very strong theme in both Daenerys’ and Jon’s storylines. Duty vs Heart. I do think there’s a decent chance for them to choose love, even tho it would probably be “too good” of an ending for GoT- like “they lived happily ever after”: so maybe they’d turn tragic like Lyanna and Rhaegar, idk. So I’d say maybe they’ll choose duty and that will split them up? And if that’s the case, well we know from their storylines, that Dany’s duties will be as a Queen, while Jon’s always lied elsewhere, dealing with things Kings and Queens didn’t bother to take seriously. I’m sorry to all their fans, but I think Bran’s voice being over their most intimate “love confirmation” scene, just kinda foreshadows the fact that they won’t just be a fairytale story that will end all good. I think they have more chances to be tragic, but I don’t think they’ll be separated by their claims over the Throne. They won’t fight over the Throne. But tbh as much as I don’t see that happening, I also don’t see Jon and Dany just shrug the incest reveal away and keep on being lovebirds in denial. I think it’ll hit them in their intimacy as people and not as Heirs, is what I mean. *shrugs* A very long answer, sorry. I probably rambled a lot. I think people are jumping to conclusion: even tho he’s Rhaegar’s son, Jon has no relationship to him and no ambition to claim it as any “legitimacy” at ending up on the Throne. To me, Jon has never been a character wanting power like this- several characters said, “Jon Snow is no King” or “Jon Snow doesn’t want to be King” and these are important traits of his character that won’t disappear just because he has a new daddy who would have sat on the Iron Throne in another reality (also let’s remember that Rhaegar REFUSED his place as Heir to the Throne, and that he left Westeros with Lyanna *shrugs*). To me, Rhaegar, Jaime and Jon are very similar characters, in that they’re mostly Knights and don’t thrive for power. Rhaegar already refused power. Jaime also did as an Heir to Casterly Rock. Daenerys, Sansa and Cersei are the ones who are similar to each others, on the other hand. All three were raised to be Queens. All three imagined themselves as Queens. Anyway, that’s my take on that, I think the fact that only the “legacy characters” (Sam and Bran: Sam wanting to be a Maester, and Bran being the Three-Eyed Raven) know about Jon’s real heritage, is also a big clue: that it’s not about the story, but more about the legacy of what will survive after the Winter, and what will become “History”, kinda. I mean, if you think about it, after Robert died, Ned could have come out with his bastard son and say “well he’s Rhaegar Targaryen’s son!”, I mean? He would have had Howland Reed to back him up. But he didn’t, because I don’t think it’s meant to make Jon into a “player” for the Throne. And I think Sam and Bran are the most loyal, selfless characters, who will accept Jon’s decision if he decides not to “come out” officially as Rhaegar Targaryen’s son and Heir to the Iron Throne. Did I end up answering the question? Idk, man. Sorry about all of this, lol…