#i've been hard at work drawing!

[lev1athantwins2]

Hey, I've been following your blog for a while now. Don't listen to that anon, they sound insecure. Draw anatomy however you want!

Ⴚტ◕‿◕ტჂ

thank u anon i appreciate the kind words

to the other anon who sent me a couple of asks harping on what body types i draw, and who sent in the last ask:

my dude i know how to draw fat people, i am a big woman. don't lecture a 370 lb bitch on how to draw fat people.

i'll draw however i damn well please. if my art is triggering to your issues, unfollow me because i'm not changing my art anytime soon to suit your taste.

oh, and one more thing. to the anon that sent me an ask back in feb. i haven't forgotten you. you'll get a response soon. :)

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Learning to celebrate the little wins!

[whenthewallfell]

~ I Got Them Quarter Quell Blues ~

[ambisweetiepie]

I wanted to join in @yamujiburo 's DTIYS!

I dont know what else to say here! Hope you're having a nice day!

[evercelle]

2024 art summary! it sure has been a year

[opashoo]

She's checking her pulse to make sure she's still alive.

[starflungwaddledee]

from: @starflungwaddledee to: @post-it-notes7

message from santa: "happy holidays post-it-notes! 🎄🥳 i know you very politely only wished for a few modest things- characters high fiving, or struggling in christmas attire- but i hope you'll still enjoy this given that i kinda went the opposite direction entirely! i'm an enormous fan of your work and most times you post anything i wind up browsing your art tag from tip-to-tail in enraptured delight. as such, i thought it was only fair i give back something a little more significant in gratitude for all the joy your work has given me. i knew i wanted to do a comic, so i was thrilled you already had a whole storyverse for me to work from!! this scene seemed the most obvious choice (chapter 8 of "wishful thinking" on ao3) given that i enjoy a dramatic fight scene 😂 i tried to stick as beat-by-beat to the writing as i could and worked in as many details as possible; i hope it'll be fun to see it envisioned this way! merry christmas! ~starflung 🎀🔔 "

[bonefall]

Hey, what makes a character a 'plot device but not a character'? And how do you not do that? I'm trying to do it on purpose but also I need to still make them interesting because it's on purpose, yknow?

A good skill to pick up is to learn to criticise criticism itself. A "plot device" is simply a thing that moves the plot along, it's a neutral literary analysis term! Usually, when people are angry that "a character has been used as a plot device," it doesn't mean they hate plot devices. It means they're gesturing at something deeper.

Runningwind and Bumble are equally plot devices in their deaths. They are both killed by the antagonist to escalate political tension. Runningwind is rarely "accused" of just being a plot device, and yet, we're talking about Bumble for the same thing.

So, why?

Well, Runningwind is just a background character, but in life, he was a part of the community. He was characterized as impatient but responsible. Yet, he wasn't SO important that he died with a bunch of unresolved plot threads.

He is mostly an extension of the entity of ThunderClan. His killing by Tigerstar, and the fear and paranoia that settles on the group after this, feel like a progression of the story insteas of something forced.

Bumble, on the other hand...

Is hated immediately by Gray Wing, when she's established as Turtle Tail's friend. Bumble's abuse at Tom the Wifebeater's hands invites even MORE investment. The rejection is shocking and upsetting. There's a story there about our main characters being imperfect; jealous, bigoted, and judgemental.

But, she is simply killed off. Everything they set up for this character is gone with little personalized fanfare. It's not a tragedy with a lesson about cruelty, or something anyone regrets.

It's just... plot. Gray Wing whinging that no one will like his shitty brother now that his body count is 2.

More than that, in the discussion of women in particular, "Fridging" was coined to give a name to the way women characters often don't get their stories told at all. There is a CULTURAL trend of female characters facing disproportionate violence, for the sake of advancing male plots.

Bumble has a lot going for her. Petal had a lot going for her. Turtle Tail had a lot going for her. Bright Stream had a lot going for her. When they died, they took their potential with them.

It's not always wrong to kill off a character of high potential, mind you. In Gurren Lagann, Kamina's death is sudden and shocking, leaving a massive hole in the hearts of the cast that never heals. Grappling with that loss, but also letting his memory fuel them, is a major theme of that story.

All that to say... there's no formula for avoiding it. You've gotta identify what the deeper issue is, in your specific narrative.

I can't say for certain what that will look like for your story, but here's some things I keep in mind;

When you make characters who exist to die, make sure they're people before you axe them.

Ask yourself; what about them does the cast miss?

If they just miss them because they were (pre-existing relationship), go back to the drawing board.

Fluttering Bird as an example. Who was she? Dead sister. Why do they miss her? Dead sister. No traits until after her death.

Runningwind was short-tempered and helpful. Kamina was a valuable leader who made people believe in a brighter future. Swiftpaw was fiesty and desperate to prove himself. The better characterized, the more profound the loss usually is.

If this is a female character who is dying just to serve the plot, be aware of cultural bias and tropes. How is the gender ratio looking in your cast? Is this happening disproportionately with your girls?

Note how Quiet Rain's litter had both a boy and a girl, but the girl was chosen to be "weaker" and wither away.

And how most of the time in DOTC, whenever a man had to be upset, a girl would get killed for it.

If you ever feel like the character on the chopping block is NOT a full character, ask yourself why it needs to be a character at all. You don't need to spend narrative time building out someone when a literal object of high value might suffice.

"My sister died when I swore to protect her and I can't face my family" = Old. Tired. Ive seen this.

"I lost my heirloom sword when I swore to protect it and I can't face my family." = Fascinating. Why was the sword so valuable? Will they really not take you back? How did you lose it?

When you do kill off "high value" characters, try to make sure you're not leaving too many plot threads hanging. Or at least make a point of how they will never get closure.

[gotchibam]

Heyo! I'm still currently working on my backlog but I also have upcoming rent to pay this week so I'm opening another batch of comms!

This time I'll be doing pokemon / pkmn OCs in the style of Pokemon Cafe Mix :)

So it would look something like this:

Only opening 10 slots for now! I'll try streaming the process for them as well if I can ^^

Slots are available thru ko-fi here: https://ko-fi.com/c/0451254ff4

Thank you sm!! 💛💛💛

[kylominis]

first time drawing our boi [♡]

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Five foot something and he's royalty.

[crescentfool]

orpheus and thanatos 💚

[deoidesign]

I met the me who made different choices

[ricky-mortis]

Hatchetfield @femslashfortnight Day 2: Retro

[lukazade]

I couldn't decide if I liked it with the night time overlay or not, so have both versions! :D

[chalkrub]

my SLOPPIEST lady muscanston, emerging from somewhere. would you give her a kiss? be honest