#i've been working on a lot of lil things in the background and i can't wait to share them with y'all

[cautiously0ptimistic]

from left to right:

Sabrina, Nolan, Reagan, Spencer, Corrine, Lilly, Lucas, Ivy (formerly Nina), Ariel, Vaughn, Yasmin (formerly Alexandra), Samael, Xavier, & Daphne (formerly Roxana)

[kuroonyang]

彡🍶⋆｡˚ what fragrance i think the haikyuu boys use.

note: i've been getting into the fragrance world recently, so this is the result of that. keep in mind this is all just my nose's opinion ;3

characters included: daichi, kuroo, oikawa, ushijima, bokuto, kita.

daichi!

daichi smells clean and comforting like freshFRESH laundry. even after a long day of practice or a match, he definitely still has a hint of that laundry scent in the background. everyone loves it, it's very addictive, and would have u stuffing ur face into his neck just to get a whiff ₍ᐢ.ˬ.⑅ᐢ₎

'blanche — byredo' would be daichi's go-to and signature scent. i can also see him going for 'lazy sunday morning — maison margiela' since it does have that clean vibe, but people would definitely associate him with blanche a lot more.

kuroo!

kuroo smells almost complete opposite from daichi, but he smells divine ԅ(º﹃ºԅ). he's more on the woody, powdery side, but not so intense that it overwhelms you. just strong enough that it lingers behind as he's walking by.

'tam dao — diptyque' would be kuroo's signature scent. the fragrance has no florals, but still has the perfect balance of subtle sweet and spicy that suits his personality and appearance perfectly. tam dao isn't something i would class as a date night scent though, so he would change it up on those special occasions.

oikawa!

oikawa definitely prefers his florals over fruity, and a powdery scent would match his pretty and tidy exterior very well, but nothing too strong and sickening. so i also think a nice musky fragrance would be perfect to balance out the florals as well.

'fleur de peau — diptyque' would be oikawa's signature scent. the scent overall really works well with tooru's flirty and smug character. This particular fragrance is one that gets complimented heavily by literally anyone close enough to get a whiff, although it isn't one that typically turns heads, but tooru's face card alone will manage that just fine.

ushijima!

toshi would have a very masculine signature scent. something that just smells like man. he would smell very woody, maybe musky too. i can't imagine him rocking a very sweet or floral scent, which makes me think even more that it would be leaning towards woody and slightly spicy.

'oud wood — tom ford' seems like the perfect signature scent for toshi. the oud present in it isn't overwhelming (more woody), and even though there is some vanilla, it's not very in the foreground. he smells like a smart, sophisticated man. that's rich. with good taste. and one hell of a face card.

bokuto!

i can see bokuto leaning more towards just using a good reliable scented deodorant since he's always on the court, but he would still have an actual cologne that he'd use as his signature scent and for special occasions. along with ushijima, i think bokuto would have one of the more masculine scents on this list.

'tobacco vanille — tom ford' would be bokuto's signature scent. the tobacco and woody scents in the fragrance would suit his hunky, big boy build very well. it still has a sweet vanilla kick to it, which just fits him pretty perfectly in my eyes. if bokuto doesn't have some combination of woody (or musky) and sweet smell as his signature scent, he's wearing the wrong thing ☝️

kita!

SHINSUKE KITAAA 😫😫 this man likes to clean as part of his strict ritual, i KNOW he smells out of this world. even if the others smell a lil musty from practice, you will not catch kita slacking in that department. he wouldn't be overwhelmingly sprayed down with perfume, but regardless he smells heavenly.

'wood sage and sea salt — jo malone' would be kita's signature scent. If anyone on this list has just one signature scent that they live by, it's gotta be kita. i picked wood sage and sea salt because it's a clean scent and not too strong (I have a good feeling kita would gravitate more towards fragrances that aren't sickeningly strong). it's a nice marine, slightly musky and salty, scent. in three words: refreshing and clean. also, just something i think is worth mentioning, but kita's one of the few who would use a fragrance-free, clinically proven (!!) antiperspirant, so he really only smells of his signature scent.

end note: pls do go sniff any of these scents if you haven't already. they smell gorgeous ʕ ꈍᴥꈍʔ

[arcanegifs]

On Gifmaking:

So season 2's coming soon, and I wanna reflect on making gifs ever since I came back to Tumblr. I can't believe it's been 2 years of making gifs for this show!!!!! Look at how large my folder is lmao

And those are JUST gifs lol

Anyways, over time, my style has changed, especially how I color edit Arcane gifs. I kind of strayed away from a stylized filter color into just something that looks a lot more "natural" and works with the original scene.

Initially, I thought I'd save time, but I ended up not using my old arcane preset PSDs and resulted to coloring almost every scene manually. So in the end, it takes even longer to make them HAHAHA. It takes around an hour and a half for me to make a 10 gif set, basically. It also helps that I have a photography background, so coloring/editing is a lot simpler for me.

Here's a lil before and after of a dark scene (hiiiii viiiiiii <3)

Arcane is a REALLY dark show, but it goes for most of TV shows. Many of them are darker and harder to bring up the lights to make stuff look nice as gifs. Some people don't like to color their gifs, and that's okay. I personally just like color edited gifs more.

I've started learning how to upscale scenes myself, so that I have a better resolution and leeway to make things look "HD" more.

If you're wondering why my stuff look so "crisp", it's a combination of the scene's lighting, my sharpening settings on Photoshop and knowing how to upscale everything into 4k resolution. Of course, doing this needs an extremely beefy pc, which I am very lucky to own one.

Here's another before and after of a nicely lit scene. These are much, MUCH easier to do than all the darkly lit scenes because of shadows and lighting (caitlyn kiramman truly the rizzler <3)

I've been very lucky to be able to essentially take a nice, long break for like a month doing nothing after being so damn busy for the last year and a half, so it's nice that I was able to make a ton of gifs and be chronically online for a short while LMAO.

It's been so fun! But it's time to go back to reality lmao. I closed reqs for a bit because I was just so swamped with them the last few days, and I wanted to gif scenes that I like this time. I've done like 2 weeks worth of gifs. And you will see Vi a lot bc she's on my mind a lot heehee 🥰what can I say, she's such a babe <3

Here's a lil sneak peek, just look at herrrrrrr 🥰🥰🥰 and yeah, 4k upscaled resolution really helps making these tight crops, it's why i never went back to 1080p lol. It's how I’m able to make zoomed in gifs look decent (like the kirammountains gifset lol)

Thank you so much for all the support, likes, reblogs, and the nice tags you guys give. Yes, I can see and read all of them (both the nice and nasty ones lmao). If you have nothing good to say about the characters or my editing style, or anything related to the edit, please I beg you, just write a separate text post about it <3 If you have nothing nice to say, don't say it in my edits.

Lastly, thank you to the people who share my stuff outside the site and credit the blog and link them back here. I see you and appreciate you <3 You guys don't know how much I appreciate shoutouts and link backs, because people stealing my gifs is something that I've dealt with after making them for like a decade.

Tumblr is sadly not what it used to be in the 2013-2015 era. There’s definitely less activity as time goes by, so I appreciate all the people who credit and link back to this sideblog. Unfortunately, there’s more people who just repost them and it gets wayyy much more traction in other soc med sites. Yeah, ofc I get a lil jealous, but eh what can you do 😞 can’t really stop em.

I also don’t like putting watermarks because it personally looks tacky to me, but I understand why other people do it.

Anyways, if you reached at the end of this lil rambling of mine, thank you! I sadly might be busy during November because that's usually busy season, but I'll try to make time for making gifs of Season 2! Thank you and enjoy your stay on this lil sideblog :)

[illusioncanthurtme--art]

Lil general update about me:

I've been so so happy and grateful for the people who like the gravity falls stuff I've been posting. Being totally honest, and I'm not exaggerating at all, thinking about gravity falls and playing it in the background while I work has been my lifeline this past week. And it's almost overwhelming, because I'm so excited about everything, and I have so many drawing ideas, but I don't have the time to actually follow through with them. It makes me a little sad, and it's a silly thing to get anxiety over. I mean, it would be really nice to make all these drawings when the fandom is booming and a lot of people are going to see them, right?? I wanna strike when the irons hot. It's fun. But I can't really do that right now. Instead, I have all these feelings and emotions and ideas, and in my head, I'm like, you need to CREATE to get all this out of you!! But I can't. It honestly makes me a little melancholy. I feel like this:

Commissions aside, one of my cats is having health problems and I've been frantically calling around to find someone who can help her asap. I'm feeling very hopeful about things now, as I write this, because I got an earlier surgery scheduled for her, AND I actually saw her eat tonight. Which is crazy. And on top of that, I'm leaving town this weekend for a convention I'll be tabling at. So it doesn't leave much time for drawing the fun gravity falls stuff that exists in my brain :(

I feel its necessary to say this, because I've received a LOT of asks, WAY more than I'm used to, and everyone is really kind and receptive to the stuff I've shared so far!! And I don't want them to think that I'm actively ignoring them. I'm not. I'm just going through a lot atm, and my everyday todo list has been very long lately. I want to give those asks proper answers!! And weirdly, I compensate for my lack of time to do this stuff by like, thinking about answering the asks, and what I'll say. it's silly. I wanna make stuff to share with you guys, but I can't dish out the five hundred page webcomic that I'd like to make. At least not right now. I hope this GF resurgence lasts a while, because I'd really like to make a whole lot of stuff.

Maybe I'll respond to a couple real quick before bed.

[luwha]

lil vent, like, it's a positive thing, i just wanted to scream some things into the void that stares back

Like, i know my art is good, not in a bragging way, but i worked damn hard and i know it's not bad at all. I've been paying my bills and more with it for some 10 yeas now.

Recently (lmao 4 days ago) i had my portfolio approved and then i was interviewed by "Very Famous Comic Company That Has Cinematic Universe" talent guy at comic con. There were a lot, A LOT of talented people there, and somehow i passed. The talent guy only approved 24 people. Somehow i was one of them???

And earlier this year, i was also approved by a an independent talent guy, which i proceeded to fumble MASTERLY because of personal reasons. I met him at the event in SP and explained myself, i was so bad at it i literally went pale and almost blacked out.

He still gave me another chance.

Like... My art can't be this good.

I'm almost 30 too. There's other people out there who are more than me on every level.

I'm rushing learning blender so i would be able to make backgrounds more freely, cuz man, i am very fucked at these.

It just impresses me how lucky i am, how i keep trying to sabotage myself and things keep working out.

Let's hope i can fulfill my promise to start delivering a portfolio with a background and cover work by February (cuz i have a surgery to make then)

[helluvapurf]

Welp, after a long... loooooong road of S2 to sift through in HB, here's my official review of the "Sinsmas" finale to wrap things up (*no Christmas pun-intended lol*):

NOTE: My thoughts below will contain some obv spoilers so you miiiight wanna skip this post if you haven't watched "Sinsmas" yet; also like with all my past reviews these are just my personal opinions alone (+fair warning that I'll be getting a bit rant-y later too), so... do remember to keep things civil if you disagree with anything here (and if not, welp... yall are free to block & move on, I guess lol 🤷‍♀️), thank you 🙏🙏

Loona continuing to show more appreciation & excitement around her dad/I.M.P. is great to see, and about time we finally got her joining in on an assassination gig again (which I don't think we've had since S1's "Spring Broken"?). I like her new Hellhound friends shown towards the end too, they look chill~

As much as I've lowkey grown a bit... disinterested in M&M these past few episodes (not to a hate-level or anything but they just don't really... "spark" for me, OTP-wise?), it is nice to see a return to their bloodthirsty-based couple fluff (aka: their lil Sinsmas-based playfight at the beginning), bringing me back a bit to the og pilot days (ex. "Oh Millie" ❤️). -Buuuut dang, who would've thought things would escalate to Millie turning out pregnant?? .o. I know there's been some controversy for Millie's less-than-happy reaction about it towards the end; but honestly I absolutely don't blame the poor gal if you consider: 1) She's a proud fighter & trained assassin who's always been passionate about her current line of work, and (depending on how imp pregnancies work) having this potentially putting her out of a job for a long while would make anyone stressed out imho 2) Imps are considered the lowest-of-the-low ranked species within Hell as it is; with not a whole lot of access to good paying jobs + medical coverage (given Blitz's struggle to get Loona her vaccinations). Imagine you were someone who found yourself expecting a child with a good chunk of Hell not considering you "high-up" enough in the food chain to care... wouldn't you get freaked out too? 3) Lastly, and this being among the biggest points to me personally... did her & Moxxie ever talk about having kids before? Given the implication that they rushed to get married so soon after dating (+Millie not even knowing about Moxx's mafia background til WAY after), I... can't say I'd be surprised if Millie's fear is partially based on how Moxxie would react (for better or worse). Kids are by-far among the biggest dealbreakers for any relationship, so while I don't necessarily think this'll cause something like a split between M&M... yeaaaah I wouldn't be surprised if this still caused some lingering-tension either way, regardless of if they go through with this pregnancy or not 🤷‍♀️ (On a side note; loved seeing Sallie May popping up to give that well-needed support to her sis on the phone, aww 🥺)

The side-story with the "karen" sinner and her ex-drama was... weird, all things considered? .x.;; Like, yeah I can see the importance of how this plays into Blitz's relationship woes & such... but, am I the only one who found it weird the writing going all "moralistic" with Blitz NOT going through with the job, solely cause he imagined his idealized family in Stolas (whom I'll cover in a sec btw-) upon spying on the target + his partner & kids? 🤨 Like... I know I've seen some argue that this is "character development" for Blitz, which I normally wouldn't mind seeing... but mind you, this is the SAME dude who was all-too-fine killing a bratty kid, a wife & her happy (albeit cannibalistic) family, a whole bunch of random college kids on spring break (all for the sake of some parking spot drama with Verosika btw), and not even two shorts ago some horny fangirl got met with the same fate by his hands (mostly due to getting caught up in her own fantasy world... and thats it lol). So I just... have a hard time buying into this being some grand "change of heart" moment for Blitz tbh, cause with this whole episode taking place during the winter holiday season (an already money-draining time irl as-is), I... can't help but find it a lowkey dick move of Blitz to rob his fellow employees of a chance to have some more cash on-hand (esp. after the events of "Ghostf**kers" and him draining the company's finances over his Stolas mope-fest, like come on dude-🤦‍♀️). Heck, if he really-really didn't wanna do it (and this target family seems innocent enough to potentially escape Hell if-killed)... couldn't they have just lied to the lady that they did the deed & take her money anyway (-instead of Blitz immediately punting her out the window 'cause she was bitching about Stolas' writing😑)? Again, this IS Hell we're talking about, so a bit of dirty-dealing doesn't seem far out of the realm of normal there lmao. Buuuut idk, that may just be me... 🤷‍♀️

We're back again with Andre leading the story as the "main" bad guy, and I'll admit his final confrontation with Stolas & the I.M.P. gang was pretty kickass~ From Stolas throwing the first punches at his smug-ass face, the action-increasing with the ice dragons & Loona going "feral"-mode, and even Octavia coming in to defend everyone from her uncle (with her own personal magic) was pretty rad! 🤩👏👏 One thing that's bothering me about it all though... where tf is Stella during all this going on?? 🤨I know the show's pretty much committed atm to making her as one-dimensionally dumb & evil as possible (not even giving her much substantial dialogue after her repeated "hiLARRRIOUS MUAHAAA~" lines 😒 ), but surely someone like her wouldn't miss the chance to see her ex (+affair partner) smacked down by her brother?? Especially once Via arrived, just imagine the juicy drama potential of seeing Stella having to force herself (+Andre) to call off their attack to appease Via (further adding in salt to the wound for her later decision to walk away from Stolas). Hhhhh Viv, why must u be so allergic to developing Stella (antagonism-wise)... 😔😔

Now, as far as Stolas himself is concerned... *-sighs-* I know I'm gonna get some flack for saying this, but I caaaaaan't with his dude anymore🤦‍♀️ Yes, I get he's going through a tough time losing everything + adjusting to a simple life now (along with implied-withdrawal symptoms from the lack of "happy pills"). But just... the way Stolas kept getting MORE & more whiny/unappreciative of Blitz (after all he's done to accommodate Stolas, defend him against other imps, giving him a job at I.M.P. on top of everything-), then never uttering a single "thank you" for Blitz's efforts frustrated tf out of me 😑😑. You expect to buy that these two are these "deep destined soulmates" at the end of the day, to the point of Blitz practically becoming a giddy cheerleader to boost Stolas at every turn... ...and yet, at the same time you're telling me Blitz has never asked about Stolas' eating habits before, nor Stolas ever asking about Blitz's love of horses?? That outside of their failed date at Ozzy's, they never once tried to actually talk, share a meal or hangout aside from their once-a-month hookups (pre-"Full Moon")? Sure, the show implies that Stolas has asked about Blitz's day before (via-some throwaway lines + blink-and-you'll-miss-it texts)... but if the audience never actually sees those friendly gestures on-screen, how am I supposed to buy them being in-love now?? -_- Like, to take a note from "Swan Princess":

Taking away their childhood memory of playing together for a day, the sexual chemistry, the grand gestures, them both having goth angsty daughters... what else IS there for Stolas & Blitz to love about each other, truly? Its one thing if you wanna show them starting over as friends first (awkward roommate-vibes aside), then hell yeah I'd be down to see their rebuilding bond as a more balanced, genuine pairing down the line (making moments like their big kiss + balcony dance 10x more impactful imo)!👍

...But, with how things are now with Viv & crew rushing to go full-romance mode already (regardless of either character's emotional well-being in the story), I... don't think I can see myself joining the Stolas/Blitz ship hype tbh, regardless of what's to come in the next couple seasons...🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Now, to cap things off regarding Octavia in all this... She. IS. A. STAAAAARRR😭🌟👏👏By far the best thing to come out of this finale IMHO; just seeing Via standing her ground as strongly as she did, both in-defense of her dad AND against him... goddd, that was powerful q-q💜 And before anyone mentions it, no I don't think Via was in anyway "wrong" for her reaction to Stolas (regardless of his efforts to reach her by the end). Imagine you're in her position; the product of an loveless, toxic marriage forced upon by a rigid society, living your childhood blissfully unaware & happy until everything comes crashing down in your teen years (through your father's public affair + your mother's rampant rage). All you thought was true is now a confirmed lie, you're stuck in an emotional mess dealing with your parents, and your beloved dad is constantly putting his booty call (+marital drama) a bigger priority over you (albeit unintentionally, but still-)...

Time & time again, Via's been let down by Stolas, the one parent she's always been closest to since the beginning... and to top it all off? Several episodes later, she's watching her father live on TV willingly ready to be executed in Blitz's place (without so much as a single goodbye message to Via, mind you-), effectively breaking his promise that he'd never leave her...

...So, really, how can anyone blame Via for simply being done with her dad, by that point? Stolas may be "trying", I know... but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter that he didn't "mean" to hurt her. What matters most is that... well, he did. More than he can imagine... 💔

------------------------------

...weeeeew okay that was a bit lengthy my bad- lmao. As a whole, I'd say "Sinsmas" was an... ehhhhh-kinda finale? Like yeah I enjoyed the Via focus we got (+her song💜), the ice battle & the improved M&M + Loona writing... buuuuut oof, am I just exhausted by the Stolas/Blitz-melodrama at this point, oml >>;; No shade to those who did enjoy the finale regardless though, yall are more than valid! 👍👍 Maybe later on I'll give my overall thoughts on S2 (+the overarching story of HB) further down the line if I'm up for it... buuuuut yeah, hope yall enjoyed reading & thanks for sticking around my page~ (for any newer/older Hellaverse fans alike)!👋✨🌙

[loveandleases]

Update Time

Can't believe it's already May. So I've not been answering as many of my inbox questions. Since the one rude af anon, I took a step back from Tumblr and have just been doing things in the background. Doesn't mean I've been quiet. Have a lot of things to do this month! I've been joylessly doing a class for Uni (hate it). Had a family emergency, which then resulted in a few dr apts. End of this month a dental surgery, here is hoping for the best. It's been a bit eventful. I've still been working on the if. I decided to supply PC with a few names for their dear old doggo, but also allow you to name them as well. Just thought for those who don't want to wreck their brain thinking of names this would be easier. So here is just a little teaser of some of them. This isn't all the work that's been done, but I thought this would be a cute lil look into what I've been up to. There is a little post coming that I know the Cam/MC/Ardent shippers will be quite excited today. So, keep on the lookout!

[otterloreart]

someone on MLPTP asked for Lil' Litters puppies/kittens so I've been attempting them in the background.

More information about these sculpts (aka down the rabbit hole) after cut

The coloration of the models in my shots were based off the My Little Puppy "Pretty Poodle" family, but models were reused for other sets

For example, Sweet Spaniel family had the "blue poodle" model but a unique sitting spaniel, although it looks like the proportions + ears are the same as the other two

And then the next release had the "Funtime Spaniels" set which had the same poses but was more colorful, and also the puppies with the other "mom dog" sculpts:

The website Toysisters, where I got the above photos, mentioned that the entire second line of My Little Puppies is hard to find so I looked them up and

This was the only My Little Puppy 2nd year release I could find and its a single figure for $75.

Also in the 1980s hasbro purchased the rights to a Barbie competitor (originally made in the UK) called Sindy and reused some of the pet molds in pajama party packs:

And this one also sells for a lot and isn't really available in many places

I don't bring up the prices, btw, as a critique of vintage toy collecting or anything. I don't make these models because I think people should just make new ones all the time. I /like/ that we're preserving old toys.

Rather, I hope my sculpts are used for collectors who have part of a collection and can't find a real vintage one, or people who think it is sweet and want to make a custom one (like they could do their dog or just a fun new thing). It's just for fun and not a replacement

I think what really disappoints me about all the lil'litters characters is they don't have the colorful marks like the ponies. If you didn't know, the original pony marks were made to imitate the marks on an appaloosa horse

And to me, while they aren't the only reason the ponies did well, they're definitely one of the things that makes them unique, like the carebears stomachs or strawberry shortcakes' fruit hat

Like they made a dalmation dog and they didn't even give it like... heart shaped spots. Huge missed opportunity there imo.

Also they did the siamese in reverse dark-light colors and iut looks like a fox. Siamese cats don't work this way, they gotta be darker around the tips for a reason.

Hasbro did release a line called Little Pretty that had a similar conceit, but I find the sculpt of the toys... underwhelming. They look more like Proto-Littlest Pet Shop to me than My Little Ponies:

The one on the left is supposed to be a dog and I only figured that out because she has no ears, just hair...

I much prefer the Lil Litters sculpts, they look more detailed and unique to me, and more similar to the OG MLPs

the My Little Kitty / Lil Litters were actually released concurrently with the Little Pretty line, both around 1990, so the discrepancy in artstyle feels really weird. but also it's just such a weird choice to create two similar looking brands to me? I don't... get it.

This was also year 9 of my little pony so the brand was going wild with the ponies and its interesting to me how plain and early-years the dogs+cats were in comparison

they were giving the ponies neon colors, false eyelashes and built in pockets and decided that their other animal lines would just be... different colors.

anyways my send-off is here are the first releases of lil litters:

[lovepattranite]

Hiii your icons are so pretty, would you have a tutorial on them or tips on how to do it?

hello lovely and thank you so much!! i have been making icons for a long time, but have also just started with this style of icon, so i don't know how much of a help i can be but i'll try my best! i make all my icons in photoshop, but when i first started i used gimp, it works similar and i'd recommend it if you dont want to commit to ps just yet. this ended up getting kinda long because i went step by step on how i make my icons like the ones from this post, with a bunch of tips and tutorials linked, so i put it under a read more. i specifically go deeper into how to change the colours of his hoodie depending on your background/preferences. i hope i could help even a little bit!

1. the base

one of the first steps is deciding what you want the base to look like. you can do just a solid colour, gradients, patterns, etc. you can use the solid colours and gradients that are already a feature in photoshop, but there are also a lot of amazing resources and bases by other talented people either on here or on deviantart. just look up icon textures on deviantart, you'll be able to find a bunch of textures and pre-set gradients you can use as your base. this is a really great pack you can find on deviantart that offers a bunch of bases. if you'd like to make gradients yourself, here's a really good tutorial! i am not really an expert on explaining how to use textures because i've only really just started with headers.

2. the picture/png

onto the star of the show - the person you want to have in your icon. i usually get those from screencaps from whatever show/movie i am making icons of. you can get screencaps of most shows and movies from screencaped.net. i then isolate the person i want to be in my icon so that the background is removed and transparent. you can do that yourself, here is a very good tutorial on how to do that in photoshop, or you can use other platforms like canva or adobe express, that have features to remove the background for you. you usually cannot adjust those, so if they dont cut out things the correct way you have to adjust in photoshop afterwards. when chosing a screencap you should make sure that the person and silhupette are clear and delinated from the background, without any obstruction in the foreground, so that you can cut out the entire figure easily without parts of their body missing. i usually also look for screencaps where the head and the sites aren't cut off, so that i can freely adjust the sizing and move the figure around. i also try my best to get a scene where the lighting is alright so that i don't have to fight for my life colouring it, but sometimes it can't be helped.

this is one of the screencaps i used for my recent eddie icons and it's a good example: his upper body is clearly seperated from the background, nothing is cut off, etc.

this screenshot is an example that i personally wouldnt use because there is a jug in the foreground in front of eddie that would be in the icon as well.

buck looks very cute in his lil hat but the shot is cut off on the right and on top, so i didn't end up using it either. you just kinda go through the screencaps you have (or take your own) and figure out which frames fit for the type of icon you'd like to make.

if you'd like to make screencaps yourself, here is an easy tutorial to follow!

3. basic colouring

when i make icons like these, i usually dont go too crazy with the editing, i mostly just adjust the lighting and colouring the create a well-lit base. here you can see the unedited png (first picture) and then once ive used a basic colouring (second picture).

this is a very good tutorial on basic colouring using curves, hues, etc, as i've done as well. it is for gif-making but those same editing steps can be applied to still pictures as well.

4. colour isolation

the icons i am currently making are in a style that you can see a lot around tumblr - where parts of the person in the icon, usually their clothes and other accessories, are edited to be a certain colour that matches the background, and that colour can be changed to match different bases. you can see that the hoodie eddie is wearing has a different colour to match the different colours of the background.

i desperately tried to find the tutorial that i used to learn how to do this but i can't, so i'll try my best to explain it myself (brace yourself). i have seen people do this by drawing onto the png, but i use a different method. for this you'll need to have some basic knowledge on layer masks.

we're gonna start with our png image that already has the colouring applied to it (1).

now, click on the layer and add a solid color layer (2). you do that by clicking the symbol i've marked on the bottom and then selecting "solid color...".

in the screen that pops up now you can select the colour you would like the accents to have (3). choose the colour you want and then click "OK".

your entire image should be in the colour you chose. now right-click on the solid colour layer in the layers panel on the right and select "create clipping mask" (4). this will apply the solid colour layer only to the cut out of your lil guy. it should looks like this now (5).

now we're going to adjust the blend mode. right now it should be set to "normal" (6). click onto the drop down arrow and select the blend mode "colour"(7).

now we can see eddies features again! now we want to edit it so that the pink is only on the parts that we want to be colourful. for this left-click on the white box in your solid color layer (8) so that it's selected. after that select the brush tool (9) and make sure it's set to black. we use black to take colour away and white to add colour back in.

now go over all the parts that you don't want to be colourful. if you accidently take too much away don't worry, just switch the brush colour to white and go over what you want to add in again. it looks like this (10) for me afterwards.

you can change your colour if you double click on the little pink box of your colour layer and adjust it however you want.

5. adjustments

after i've done everything listed above i usually group the two layers (your cutout and the solid colour layer) together so i can move them as one (11). after that i pull the group over onto my base and adjust it so that fits properly (12).

now that the cutout is on the base layer i usually go in to properly adjust the colours and make sure the colours on the cutout match well with the background. you can do that by changing the colour manually or using the eyedropper tool. and voilá! i know it sounds like a lot right now reading this, but once you've gotten the hang of it, it really isnt that hard.

i hope this was at least somewhat understandable and that i could help a bit! there are a ton of amazing tutorials out there for all parts of editing and photoshop in general that go deep into details in case there is a specific part you want to learn more about. for now i hope this gives you at least a small overview.

[stephofromcabin12]

Any art tips for artists just starting out? I’m struggling big time to find my style 😀

Sure.

It got kinda long. Bc when have I ever been a person of few words?

There is no trick to finding your style other than drawing a lot, and setting a, more or less, loose goal. When I was young it was old school Disney and Don Bluth. That was my holy grail, ideal style. But it evolved to be something else, because that's how style works. You'll put your own twist on things, in time. But first focus on practicing and don't narrow yourself down to just one thing. You'll also probably develop multiple styles out of convenience. Sometimes I prefer the cartoony, simpified stuff. Sometimes I'm more into fully rendered pieces.

Experiment. Make bad art a lot. The more you expose yourself to the inherent let-down of sucking at something, the less it stings. The key is asking yourself why something didn't turn out right.

You can't get good at All Art at once. Start with something you're most interested in learning. Maybe it's anatomy, or gestures, or expressions, or colors. Start with that one thing and practice is with a specific goal in mind. Fx: "I want to get better at drawing faces and expressions, so I'm going to do an expression sheet of a character once a week, and do a little practice every day if I can" – That sorta thing. Everyone is different, though. My old music teacher used to say 30 minutes a day. If we couldn't do 30; 15 mins. So on. As long as you do a lil doodling every day that's still progress.

Learning art is sometimes frustratingly non-linear. Somedays I still 'forget' how to draw a certain thing I've had down since I was 14. Other days I bang out something I've always struggled with on the first try, then fail the next day. It's not a linear progression, it's a damn roller coaster. Best you can do is throw your hands up and try to enjoy the ride. The pipe line for me is usually: First attempt (sucks ass but I've learned to laugh at this stage, just throw ideas at the wall) -> getting comfortable (this is where you think to yourself you have a concept down but you really don't) -> Getting good (you start to draw with more ease, you're not having to 'remember' how you wanted something to look, it's just muscle memory by now) -> Actually having it down (and still having more growth to go. But this is where you get to look back on the comfortable phase and go: 'wow I really had a long way to go')

In fact, having fun is by far the thing that's made me progress. More than tutorials, more than fancy equipment. If I'm not having fun, I have no motivation to keep going. If it's not fun, try and make it so.

Get into the habit of stepping back (whether physically or more metaphorically) and really looking at your art often while you draw. When you add a line, or color, or background element etc. Ask yourself "Does this work?" And adjust accordingly. It seems like a lot of work at first, but eventually it becomes a natural part of the process. I don't really realise I'm doing it but most of the patreon screen recordings I have show the way I zoom in and out of the canvas constantly lol.

Make the things you want to make. Even the most self-indulgent stuff. We have a million artists already doing their thing, but we don't have you yet. Show us what you got! There's room for everything.

Get used to people expressing mild envy/annoyance when you're drawing near them. I've gotten the 'wow I wish I could draw, I can't even do a stick figure!' comment from waitresses, cabin crews, classmates I'd previously never spoken to, teachers, strangers on trainstations, etc etc etc. But! Learn to say 'Thank you' when people compliment your art.

Don't ask for critique if you don't really want it. Don't let people critique you if you didn't ask for it.

You! Don't! Need! Fancy! Equipment! Save your money and get the version of a medium that's affordable and comfortable for you. Look at Stardew Valley's creator's old setup. It's really not about how the tools are set up or the price of them. It's how you make use of them. Didn't FNAF's creator build the models in a moving car on a laptop?

Art takes time. There is no short cut to make it take less time. But the more fun you have the more it'll feel like it's faster. If you're miserable the time will drag on and on and on.

Look at a lot of art. Take in and analyse. I wish I could go back a few years and tell myself to analyse paintings I liked, rather than just going "Oh I like that! Nice!" and then moving on. Why is it good? Why does it move you? What captured your attention? Be the person at a museum leaning forwards to see the paintstrokes, you learn more that way.

Don't feel ashamed if you want to take inspiration from others. Everyone takes inspiration from somewhere. If you see something cool another artist is doing with their rendering or lighting or whatever, try and do a drawing or two emulating it! Maybe you'll discover a new favorite technique, or you'll not really jam with it. Either is good. Both teach you something.

You'll go through more eras than Taylor Swift. Sometimes you gotta do a lil Eras Tour of your own and go back through the catalogue. I'm currently working on reviving several projects I made when I was 13-14. Keep everything. Don't delete; archive.

Get good storage. Like, seriously, wish for a harddrive your next birthday or christmas or whatever. If you're working traditionally wish for some good ringbinders and the good plastic sleeves. Much nicer than running out of storage and having to delete things. Never delete!

You are already an artist. You became one the second you picked up a pen and put it to paper, and then decided to keep going with that. So don't compare yourself. When you find yourself jealous of someone, it's because they have something you want. Figure out what it is, and make it for yourself.

Deadass? Tracing helps so much with learning forms. But it's only helpful when you also practice drawing the same things freehand.

The trick to coloring is just that everything looks good shaded with purple set to multiply, and that if you're ever in doubt go in an L shape on color wheel. Down in brightness, inwards in saturation.

People who say you can never use white or black in drawings are jerks and you should not listen to them. You can do literally everything you want. Sure, experiment with other ways of using white and black. But art advice is just that: It's an option, not gospel. As a wise prophet of our time, Justin Bieber, once said: Never say never.

People will say you should be your own biggest critic. But fuck that. Be your own biggest cheerleader. Love what you make, even when you hate it, find something that works. That stepping back I mentioned in point 6? Sometimes that's zooming out and saying "Damn! That looks really good!" – People will often make art out to be something that should be suffering and painstaking. It's not though. In my honest experience, I've made just as much good art when I was happy and content, as I did when I had severe depression and anxiety and burnout. You're not an artist because you suffer. You're an artist because you can't just sit in that suffering all the time. You know there's beauty besides your pain, and so you'll remind yourself in the act of creation that there is always something more.

Once you realise you have the power to draw truly anything, you'll start having a lot more fun. "Oh but I've never done it before" or "Oh I tried and it just didn't work" Okay. So?

In case of frustration to the point of throwing your art supplies out the window: Take a breath. Go for a walk. Sometimes it's just not your day. Sometimes the rollercoaster gets stuck in the middle of a loop or right at the top of a hill. Wait it out. Try again.

You have absolutely got this. Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

[skyward-floored]

Hey peg, got a non tri force heroes related ask (woah!, shocking!, unprecedented!) whats your opinion on my favorite lil guys; ravio, yuga, and hilda. since ALBW is also my second favorite zelda game. which weirdly enough is also the ONLY other zelda game I've played (to competition) weird how that works ya know? also, hows the youse? I'm pretty good rn, on my mid winter break so I'm feelin nice and practically useless.

Oooooogggghhhh albw makes me feel so many things it's one of my favorite zelda games even though I rarely talk about it (I also haven't played it in a hot minute so if I get details wrong here that's why and I'm not proofreading so hehe this might be a disaster)

(also spoiler warning if anyone hasn't played albw)

I LOVE Ravio. So much. He's goofy and silly and a has a little pet bird and has a rabbit hood and dances when he makes money but also he's more or less a refugee trying to save his doomed home in the only way he can think of. He's a buisness man and his prices are ridiculous but he has concern for Link as well, and is actually his counterpart and their dynamic and everything makes me crazy. Also he's a coward and I relate to that so much. I feel like a coward so often, and I know a lot of people feel inspired by Link's brand of courage but honestly Ravio's is just as important to me if not more. Cause yeah he's a coward. But he has enough courage to leave his home (go to another WORLD) to find somebody who isn't cowardly and who can help fix things and stop Hilda from making a huge mistake. And it pays off. Ravio is a hero in my eyes and I love him.

Yuga I don't have a huge opinion about, but he's an interesting villain. I do like how he merged himself with Ganon, that was a gutsy move I did NOT expect the first time. Plus his whole thing about being obsessed with beauty and paintings and things, it's creepy and stuff, but makes him stick out more in my mind then some other villains. Other then that I don't have a lot to say about him lol, but his whole thing with manipulating Hilda and stuff was interesting too. I'd love to see more of his and Ravio and Hilda's background/story. also his weapon is neat.

Hilda is great <3 Her turning out to be the bad guy was REALLY unexpected (like I maybe suspected her a bit but I was so busy with her encouragment and saving the world and everything I wrote it off), and her motivations were SO interesting. She's making horrible manipulative decisions, but she's trying to save her people, her home. It's the only option that's really left to her and she's desperate to do something to help them, but Ravio helps her see that destroying another world isn't the way. And like, she just seems so scared to me. She's trying to pull together a kingdom that's literally falling apart, Yuga is whispering poison in her ear, but she's so determined to save her people, at any cost. She's an awesome character, and her face at the ending after Link and Zelda restore Lorule's triforce just about makes me cry. That's the face of somebody who lost her hope and thought she deserved nothing, and got everything. She can't believe it. I love albw.

...Also you asked how I'm doing, the answer is not bad! Swimming in too many AUs at the moment, but it happens. Trying to get reasonable amounts of sleep and failing recently lol. I've just been really tired and it's very annoying. But aside from that, pretty good.

[feelingpure]

“I'm sure you don't want to come, considering what a fucking self-righteous bore you've turned into!”

When I catch Hawkins Fuller:

Further live reactions under the cut, because wuifdbivfyisvdtusdyif I need to yell about whatever tf else is gonna take place.

THEY GOT MY BOY DOING BLOW Y'ALL 😭 (ok it's the late 70s so yes everyone is doing coke, and he didn't do it like a novice, but I'm still blaming them idc). And the finger sucking... we'll come back to that at some point lmao. What is going awn?

Ok, now he's been fed pills on the dance floor. 😂 Anyway the soundtrack is banging, so now i'm like (booging to forget):

Not this being-jealous-of-craig thing pls.

Tim is... not looking like he's having a good time anymore. 😭

And something's happening with the rest on the dancefloor. I'm feeling very anxious.

Marcus and Frankie having a domestic at his work place. “I have news for you. You are a big chocolate gay man.” and his student is watching in the background. 👀 Ok Marcus, time to confront some things (I hope)! And then he said THAT, and then he did THAT. Omg, the way Frankie yeeted him 😭 everyone is in pain.

Skippy is very 💅 here. And I can't decide if I fully hate Craig or... he's v annoying but also lol?

The boyfriends are fighting! Aaaaahhh, GET HIM TIM!

Ok suddenly something very different is happening... also that Tim/Hawk kiss, yes! (it was a lil slutty, but that's all I've been wanting). OH I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS WTF IS HAPPENING OMG WFQOVBSDVBSFJKB!

Nvm... it's not happening, even though Hawk tried to force their heads together like a kid playing with 2 dolls. Cause look at his face peaking from between theirs hahah. 😂 Anyway... WHEN DID CRAIG TAKE HIS SHORTS OFF LMAOOO?! They just weren't there all of a sudden??!!

WAIT I'M ACTUALLY SCREAMING. IT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING NOW (via some v questionable words from Hawk but).

👀👀👀 WAIT WHAT-- WHVBDLAD. So Hawk can get it up if Skippy is there. Alright. And Craig's dirty foot just hanging out right there as they kiss aaahhh lol. Ok, apparently I've hit the image limit haha, but there's a lot of limbs in places... and someone is calling me rn so I have to pause wtf. 😭😭😭

So I came back after I finished watching it and. Well well, that was a terrible time to pause ietbhfvebigadwn!!! Anyway, I'd keep blabbing on next to more caps if it'd let me.

But just... that whole episode was A LOT. The way things escalated, the way scenes turned upside down and then back again. The explosive husband arguments! The ending to that threesome was wild. The final 70s Tim/Hawk scene. OUCH.

Yes, Hawk's been hurt but. Hm, I have a lot of feelings, will probs have to be a separate post if I get the chance. There's too much to dissect. All in all; I am a Tim Laughlin warrior, and if you're yelling at him Hawk then I'm gonna have to yell at you.

[aaaaaaaaaaaa-hey-its-jude-or-bee]

EYYYYY what's up I'm back with some ideaszzswkrnfkehfn classes are OVER!!!

again not a request :-)

okok but harvey picnic date

HARVEY PICNIC DATE!!!!!2!_+#?_!!!

raging rn because hARVEY MAKING SOME CUTE LITTLE OCTO SHAPED SAUSAGES yk the ones right????, LWIKEHTKEEUEUUERRTHH *explodes*

mmmmmmm magic,,,, what if magical!farmer x rasmodius mmmmmm? Them trading recipes for potions like invisibility or trading magic spectres/staffs? Totally can see magical!farmer choosing hilltop side farm/wilderness farm for the loot ngl

djtkrhenr I'm on the angelic dragon hybrid again-

ok but farmer hiding his hybrid traits until a (dilf) bachelor and/or elliot accidentally walks in on him masking his horns and farmer's just like : 😦

AND THEN FARMER KICKS THEM OUT

broski has no idea what to do and just shoos them away like

“uhh, can you leave?” AKSNBFDBFNS

ooOOOOO ok I've said this before but farmer who crochets stuffed animals x morris

Can definitely see farmer teaching morris how to and being extra nice when his bee (hah) doesn't turn out quite right LMAO

farmer then tells him that crochet can't be machine done, explains why, and then morris suddenly falling in love with the hobby (and the verY attractive farmer too)

omg siren!farmer (who's rich) x pierre.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

- 🫚anon

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

All of them are SO GOOD OMH!!!

Harvey making cute lil foods omg wjsjsjsjs he will never make cute pancakes ☹️ he hates pancakes .... I'm still super upset about it when I bring it up m... Grrrr.mmgng

What the fuck Morris and his bee... BEE... Morris and crochet bees and stuff.. omgg,,, I have like the entire rainbow colors for each bee that's been crocheted, each color is a bee. He would love it.

I imagine them to the angelic dragon just

*waiting for them to shut the door, staring at each other. Intensely. And they're not leaving or shutting the door out of shock*

"...GET THE FUCK OUT—"

"*SCREAMS AND SLAMS THE DOOR SHUT*"

I imagine the siren male!farmer and Pierre just yayayaya!! but the siren m!farmer is like possessive about Pierre because he's a siren!! Of course he would be!! He treasures the things he loves dearly!! Meaning he treasures Pierre because he's his of course!! I think siren male!farmer would just be all over Pierre when they're at home and then stands close and by Pierre whenever he would get the chance when he's not busy, even biting him to put marks on what's his and just keeping his hands all over Pierre while he works when it's the siren male!farmers day off,,,,,

But the Magic trading is just sonaiahwisj

but like imagine fallen angel male!farmer... Hiding his background and lying, he never has any hints of lies within his words or tone, even if someone uses magic to see if he's lying it never shows, him saying he used to work at Joja but he really didn't work there and never has, he sees people working there and uses what he knows to make it fully believable that he worked there, he was working for the heavens above and then something happened to make him lose his own job from the gates of the heaven above, and he becomes a fallen angel, he is just purely angelic even if he is a fallen angel as he knows more than he seems because he's been here for over who knows how long, how many years, we will never know but he's been working up there for so long, so he's a handsome lad, never seems to be getting older as he seems more younger, rasmodius senses like there is something about you but he can never really tell even if he uses everything he knows to try and figure out what's up with you and he never gets a single thing or information about you at all but you know who he is, you know him and all of the other magical people he has came in contact with and knows, you know a lot of people, the information dug deep into your mind as sandy and lance show up once in a while to pelican town, Krobus acts much differently from Gil and Marlon to you, he senses you're more powerful and magical than you seem, you aren't just some wee lad Marlon and the wizard say you are, he knows you're older than people think you are, unlike the wizard, Sandy and Lance and even emily, who try to use their magic to see who you are or try and get information about you, he knows what you are, he feels it, he senses it, he knows you. And you know him. Yet, you two seem to have an unspoken agreement that none of you will ever say a word about who you are, even when you trade magic and knowledge to the wizard he knows there's something about you the more you give him information about some magic he wants to learn, you're young aren't you?? Like one of those young adults in pelican town, but. It's clear you aren't just a young adult, you can't be. You can act like one sometimes but he watches from afar and sees how you act, no young new wizard ever does or knows what you do, when you first visit Mr.Qi, he knew who you were, of course, he's been watching you, and you know what kind of magic and powers he possesses, you two talk often and you visit him from time to time, talking about what it was like, and what's been going on, still the others, cannot seem to figure you out. You remain a mystery to everyone, except from Mr.Qi and Krobus.

[underthebluerain]

FAVE CREATORS ART CHALLENGE

The premise is simple. Just think of your fave creators on this site and write a post listing some of your fave creations that were made by them. Tell them why you like it, if the coloring is pretty, if the blending is top notch, if it inspired you or just gush about the characters... And don't forget to tag them so they can see it.

Radskier Kiss by @misterkarchie

What goes through my mind when I see this art is "Since the invention of the kiss, there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind." Enough said, I think. Actually, no. I really like that it's b&w -some pieces look better like that than in color, imo. Love the pose and the hand-holding, and how soft the hair looks!!! The lil' tear in Radovid's eye GOT ME. This looks so romantic and sweet I want to look at it forever.

Rhaenicent Appreciation Week Day 2 by @maxanor

Oh, you feel the show's relationship between Alicent and Rhaenyra wasn't heartbreaking enough? Gifmakers got you covered! In all seriousness, the blue&gold compliment each other so well here. The blending is fantastic (special shout-out to the first gif with its mirroring tree scenes). The quote is as melancholic as these two, and the waterdrop effect... and the fact that it's used to transition from present to past… and how it makes it feel like tears falling on it because of the nostalgia of their happy memories??? Wow.

16 Years Of Merlin by @ughmerlin

I absolutely dig the VHS edits I've seen around this year, and this one is fantastic. Love that each season is color-coded and how each gets a few iconic scenes (and it can't have been easy to pick!). The blending is amazing, and the little circles with a choice quote are a cute touch. BBC Merlin was the very reason I joined tumblr, I can't believe it's been that long since it aired, and I can't believe that not only the fandom is still active but also making such cool pieces. I don't recall if I was still using VHS by the time I watched it, but this makes me feel like I can just pop it in and relive my first tumblr hyperfixation.

Family Tree Of House Nymeros Martell Of Sunspear by @ivashkovadrian

I've never been in a book fandom so dedicated to facecanons, and they're super fun! This one must have been A LOT of work. So many different characters from different pieces of media being brought together to represent characters that are unseen on screen, plus all the planning and organization to make everything fit and look good. Love the backgrounds, with a texture that reminds me of old parchment -special mention to the first gif with the gorgeous sea shot, and the second where the army appears to be riding into the unknown sandy void of the desert. And lastly I love to see fictional family trees, it kind of scratches an itch in my brain.

The Borgias Costume Appreciation 56 by @lady-arryn

As a costume-obsessed viewer, I have reblogged my fair share of costume edits on tumblr, and I can say with certainty lady-arryn's are the best. Eliza manages to gif crisp even the little details of the clothing and does gorgeous collections of outfits in different media. Although an incredible gifmaker overall who also has fantastic concepts, blending, fonts and coloring in other types of edits, I think making these costume edits is deceptively difficult! I could've pulled up any example, but I chose this one because this dress is one of my favorites. Along with that gauzy, dreamy sharpening, the coloring makes the red POP in a beautiful way. I once kept this gifset open on my browser for like an hour while doing other things simply because I wanted to keep looking at it.

Radskier + And If He Sinks To Darkest Night by @naumaxia-art

Kit is one of the visual artists who has been keeping this fandom watered throughout the drought, and I am very thankful for it. I love the layout of this piece in particular, which calls to mind the kings of a deck of cards. The cloudy orange to dark works wonders as a background that's pretty but doesn't steal attention away from the main event. LOVE the details (the tiny buttercup on Radovid's hand! The signet ring on Jaskier's! How soft and flowy the hair looks in the breeze!). And how they're together but back to back, separated but thinking about each other. The star-crossed lovers of it all......... Yeah.

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs + flowers by @endiness

Kai's colorings are always incredible, animation or live-action, it does not matter. I LOVE the sheer vibrance of them, taking me right back to the time in tumblr where this kind of extremely colorful gifs were everywhere. I struggled to pick one, but Snow White was my favorite movie as a child, and I love to see people giffing it, especially so beautifully. Plus, my grandmother watched this film in theaters and she absolutely loved it and was mesmerized by its color (I mean, it was 1937!). I wish I could show her the even more intense coloring of this gorgeous gifset of a simple lovely scene.

Kanthony + The Seven Stages Of Falling In Love by @crowley-anthony

There are many fandoms that have incredible talent (many of which are on this list), and Bridgerton is absolutely one of them. From the winning combo of blue&pink coloring (I am still amazed that people can just change a scene's coloring so dramatically and still make it look great), to the tiny quotes at the top of bottom that remind me of a movie poster, to the flawless blending, to the subject (who else is doing it like them, they're unhinged) to the level of detail (I did not notice the novel-esque writing background in the rings LITERALLY until i was writing this!!), this is an amazing example of that talent.

The Hunger Games Appreciation Week Day 01 by @nataliescatorccio

The best thing about finally watching this film for me was finally being able to unblock the tags and finally reblog all the beautiful edits people made of it. And this is the perfect example because!!! this!!! coloring!!! Becca's colorings being incredibly gorgeous is not new (her tutorials have really helped me this past year), but this set I feel is one of her best. I love an orange&teal combo, it's a trope for a reason (oxidized copper is such a beautiful color palette, a wise tumblrina once said). The blending is so good as usual. Putting this pairing with the Wuthering Heights quote is nothing short of brilliant, it fits scarily well. And the ombré in the font...

The Witcher: Wild Hunt Intro Monologue by @seance

As someone who this past year enjoyed The Witcher show, books and game, I love to see edits mixing and matching them, especially considering the frequent negativity one sees when it comes to this franchise. Pairing the truly epic monologue that begins the videogame with scenes from the Netflix show, this eerie edit blew me away with its incredible blending and striking coloring (and managing to make all these different scenes look well together in such intense yellow/blue can't have been easy). It managed to get me pumped for both the show and the game!

[domsaysstuff]

(ronance, robin(/a lil bit stobin too)-centric, side steddie fic idea)

So I'll probably at this point will never write this idea but I still wanted to share it with the fandom so I'll just dump my ramblings abt it here

I've been toying with the idea of actually nancy falling for Robin first and also Robin's queer adolescence and how Robin's trauma goes into her relationships

Specifically her relationship with Vicky

I just want her to care? To feel like the world is breaking because it's her first relationship??? like i want her to try and try to make this relationship work and still it doesn't because vicky wanted a clumsy cute normal girl and robin is all of that but also, also she wakes up in the middle of the night screaming, there are days where she needs to keep holding steve's hand to be okay, to remind themselves that they are real and here and alive and she has a group of people that she's very codependent with, a group of people that vicky will never fully be absorbed with and like all of this is fine if it's something vicky could take but she doesn't want and she doesn't have to!! but like it still hurts robin deeply because vicky is kind and she likes her back and she's her first love and to lose that slowly, to see vicky get overwhelmed with all of this is killing robin, it's making her feel even more broken and it hurts but also, it's just how things go

sometimes you fall in love and you get loved back and it still doesn't work out

it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt tho

so i just want her to care i want her to be hurt deeply in a way only first relationships hurt

Like I want Vicky and Robin to be cute and together and I want Robin to like her so fucking much and I want it to fail anyway because that's how it sometimes is no matter how smitten Robin is, how much they want it to work and it hurts, it hurts because it's unfair and it hurts because it's just how it goes and there is also just nothing special about it

And like Robin understands, but it hurts and it feels like there is just one more wrong thing with her, before she couldn't connect with people because of her being a lesbian and now when she found a girl that likes her she can't connect with her because of her trauma and it feels unfair, so fucking unfair

And at the beginning from Robin's side Ronance is platonic because she's preoccupied with Vicky and also because Nancy is Robin's first female friend

The thing is that Robin has grown up weird, it's like everybody could smell the queer on her before she could even understand it herself and so at first ronance from robin's pov is just a lot of being grateful for having a girl friend, for experiencing girl nights and sleepovers and Nancy doesn't make her feel like a freak and it feels safe and girly in a way Robin has never allowed herself to feel, always just too uncomfortable around girls even before she knew why, so she's kind of reliving her girlhood and honestly i think she deserves it

Meanwhile Nancy in the background is just working through her compulsory heterosexuality and figuring out she's a lesbian and she has been halfway in love with Robin since the Creel thing

Also I feel like Vicky would try to be supportive but she wouldn't get it but Nancy does

i have this scene

in my mind

like robin's nightmares are fine for vicky, it's when she's waking up all panicky and she needs steve in a way Vicky just doesn't get why, it's not that she doesn't try to be supportive but she doesn't get it

but one night when robin sleeps over at nancy's and she wakes up with steve's name on her lips, she gets nancy's hand on her back drawing small circles, little movement reminding her she's not alone and nancy calling steve on the walkie, not because robin asked but because nancy knew it was what robin needed, robin fell asleep again with nancy's arms around her and steve's voice on the walkie that night

and then in the morning nancy is like "don't mention it, sometimes i need to call jon, just to hear his voice, i understand the need" bc i'm a firm believer that jonathan is to nancy what steve is to robin and i will take no criticism (but i will accept that it might also be eddie and not jonathan but like also they are both her bestfriends you honor)

but robin is like feeling this queer dissonance bc she still doesn't know nancy isn't straight and it's like, yeah, but it's different. It's always different for me. you call jonathan because he's your boyfriend, that's what couples do, i call steve because he's an extension of me i didn't knew was walking outside of my body before i found him and suddenly i was whole again, i don't want to ever kiss him but i want to spent my life with him but she doesn't say that, because nancy might be kind and understanding, but she still was nancy the priss wheeler and robin doesn't want to lose girls' nights and sleepovers in one bed and this easy friendship because she's different again, so she just smiles and later when steve arrives to pick her up she cries in his shoulder

Like this scene is mostly a foreshadowing of how much Nancy fits and gets it

Also Steve and Robin platonic soulmates supremacy so a lot if this is also platonic soulmates stobin because Robin realizes she's going to leave for college soon and she doesn't want to leave without Steve, even if he won't be alone in hawkings bc he has the kids and Eddie (bc Eddie lives, ofc, i'm not killing my baby, lmao, also there is a steddie sideplot, imma talk abt it in a second)

But Steve is hers and she is Steve's first and she doesn't want to leave him, can't imagine, feels like leaving half of her body and it's not fair, but also can't take it upon herself to ask him to leave with her because she doesn't think she can handle it if he says no

And so like the fic would starts in late April/early may and Robin is trying so hard with holding the ones she has so close because she's going to leave and she's trying to grasp on the last crumbles of her teenage years and onto her relationship with Vicky and throughout all of this Nancy is this constant that just is there, steady, safe and becoming actually one of her best friends

And it surprises her, because it was easy to be friends with Eddie once they bonded over being gay and also caring for Steve, it was somewhat comfortable to have a budding relationship with Jonathan and Argyle, caring for the kids came with caring for Steve because they are somewhat also a part of him and he is part of her so they are also hers but Nancy always was so unreachable, so far away so untouchable, except she wasn't

Except she was there inviting Robin to sleepovers and over milkshakes and stupid diners and going over college application with her and talking about Steve and Jonathan and Eddie with fondness because these are their boys and somehow Nancy has become an integral part of Robin's life

And so a lot of the first part of the fic is Robin trying to hold onto all those things before she moves to college

And then Vicky breaks up with Robin in the middle of july, and it's a nice weather, Robin wishes it was raining and the thing is that even when breaking up with her Vicky is just so sweetly nice, so perfect and Robin wishes she could hate her, that she could be mad, but she only feels sad, so incredibly fucking sad, it feels like something that she saw coming, because she did, she knew it was going to end like this, but even when breaking up with her Vicky wasn't mean, was nice enough to tell Robin, to lie, she just doesn't want to do long distance

it's when Steve is comforting her abt the break up that Robin ask him to come with her, she already had her heart ripped out once today, it's a little bit self-destructing, it's maybe her punishing herself for her codependency that in her eyes cost her her relationship, but he says yes, is ecstatic, because wherever she goes he won't hesitate to follow, they are a package deal after all, somehow they also rope Eddie into it and it makes sense, it makes sense to leave with both Steve and Eddie that have become such vital parts of her, steve is an extension of her outside of her body, but Eddie is someone who understands and fits between the spaces that she and Steve leave behind seamlessly, it would make sense to leave and take them with her

quiet interlude to explain the steddie side plot because it's now kind of necessary

so i have this in mind that like steve knows he's bi before the whole vecna, he figured it out with robin after starcourt

and robin already feels like having one other queer person in hawkings is extraordinary but then vecna happens and eddie joins the crew, eddie with his bandana, eddie with his big boy and chains and jokes and attitude and robin and steve argue back and forth if he is queer or not, while also steadily forming a friendship with him and it's just robin wants him to be so bad, because a part of her feels like eddie understands the queer parts of her that steve bless him never could, bc steve somehow could hide behind the heteronormality but robin and eddie never had a choice, they were always too weird, too different for that, but robin is afraid, it's steve, brave steve that ends up coming out to eddie first in a comment that he plays of as nonchalant but robin sees right through him, he's afraid and yet, and yet he barrels through, holds himself under eddie's gaze and is brave because that what steve is, brave

and so they're my three queer best friends and i love them

Also this is once again me pushing Steve is a brave, beautiful boi agenda

and robin sees how eddie looks at steve and steve at eddie and she thinks that maybe steve just is oblivious (i mean after they all came out to each other, thanks to steve) but then she talks to steve about it

and the thing is that steve knows that eddie wants him, that he's attracted to him, but steve actually fucking likes eddie, might actually fucking love him

and after the whole being bullshit and all the girls that went out with him because they wanted king steve and not steve he doesn't know, doesn't trust himself to know if eddie likes him the same way

He doesn't trust himself to not be bullshit again

and eddie is a bit of coward, like let's face it, that boy is ready to pine his whole life for steve harrington if it gets him to just exist in his space

and so steve just doesn't let himself have this

because he would rather to have him as a friend than an ex-hookup and he couldn't have handled it if that's all what eddie wanted to be, so they're like tragically pinning, they're my idiots you honor

So then the summer is ending and so they organize a party to celebrate the last days they have together, the whole party and when there is only a spicy six left Robin, my baby comes out as a lesbian!! And she's so afraid of Nancy's reaction, but Nancy, beautiful, kind, stubborn Nancy just takes her hand and says with a smile that she's glad that she told them and her smile is beautiful, happy and Robin feels like a weight is lifted off of her because now, now she doesn't feel like she might lose her friendship with Nancy too, because she was so afraid that once Nancy will know, it will be the end of them, it's why she waiting until both of them are going away, until the pain of missing her won't be as visible because Nancy isn't supposed to be there with her anyway

So after that

Nancy ofc goes to NY

Robin, Steve and Eddie somehow land in Chicago and my boy Eddie is a mechanic for sure bc i love the idea, Robin ofc will be studying and I haven't decided what Steve will be doing

And Jonathan and Argyle will stay in Hawkins, taking their gap year

Robin thinks it's partly why Steve wasn't as afraid to come with her, knowing Jon will be there keeping an eye on Hawkins, on the kids, because it's not that Steve doesn't trust Joyce and Hopper but he doesn't trust them to call them when things go bad, and kids are always too preoccupied to call when things go wrong and he trust, trusts Jon to call when things go code red in Hawkins, also i think Jon deserves a gap year, let that boy relax please

And so Nancy calls, all of them do actually, the kids and Jonathan with Argyle, I kind of like to think that like sometimes all three Robin and Steve and Eddie are gathered around the phone talking with whoever calls, like Steve is painting Robin's nails while listening to Eddie and Jon arguing about some music thing on the phone while Robin keeps adding her opinion only to stir shit up even more and sometimes it's Eddie and Steve parenting Dustin while Robin just lays next to them doing her school assignments

But Nancy calls when she also knows Robin is just there alone, Nancy calls and asks her about Chicago and college and it's good, it's good talking with her

Also I have this scene in my head where Nancy and Robin talk about Barb, it's late and Robin is alone in the apartment, Eddie and Steve gone somewhere together and Nancy is talking about how sometimes she finds it hard, knowing that Barb probably wouldn't have recognized her now, that she changed, grew up and she isn't the same person that Barb was friends with anymore (my personal headcanon is that Nancy didn't even want to be a journalist before Barb's death, but after seeing how they covered it up, how the press twisted and manipulated the truth she wanted to be the one good one, for Barb, a sense of justice paid to her through others, it's why she wanted the facts for Eddie so hard)

And Robin asks her how she deals with it and Nancy says that she just has to, it won't go anywhere, she won't stop aging, "besides" she says "eddie recently told me something and, don't tell him that, but it was actually pretty smart"

"Impressive for him" Nancy giggles and it's good to know her giggles make her feel the same feeling of accomplishment even through the phone

"Anyway, he told me that we survived so we could change. That we are the lucky ones that get to change, dead people don't change. So it's good, to sometimes, become something new"

And it sticks with Robin and she somehow that leads her to asking Steve to cut her hair even shorter because hair holds memory and she wants to have space for new ones, the good ones, she wants to see them grow (one of this days I will think of a sapphic idea that doesn't involve hair, i swear, but today is not the day) also both Robin and Steve dye a strand of their hair pink, for platonic soulmate unity reasons

so anyway chicago is good, good for her and Steve and Eddie and they're thriving and they're finding queer bars and are growing up, becoming adults together and like Robin manages to hook up with a girl and meet more queer people, grow into herself and there a set backs and bad days, like once a girl started roleplaying a cop as a part of foreplay and asked "where do you work" in a voice that reminded Robin too much of the russians and the torture, she cried for an hour and a half on the girl's floor, before she managed to exhaust herself and only then she managed to give out their number so the girl could call Steve to pick her up, she cried in Stevie's arms the whole night after that because she just felt broken like yes she could move, she could grow up, she could experience new things but the trauma will always be a part of her

and so then! we have like two important seeing nancy moments

one where everybody comes back to hawkings for smh idk if will be holidays or smh or smh different, but even if nancy and robin called on a regular it's the first time she's seeing her since they went away for college and during that time robin finally catches up to nancy and realizes she's in love with her

But she thinks it's hopeless because Nancy hasn't yet came out to Robin (in my mind Eddie helped her in figuring it out during summer, she came out to Jon in the meantime after moving but before this coming home and during the stay in Hawkins she will come out to Steve but it will be unnecessary bc honestly Steve suspected that Nancy liked Robin since fucking the first words of the fic) and so Robin pulls away

Also during this visit is when she asks Wayne how he dealt with dating people after going to war, did he ever manage to separate his trauma and his dating life and he tells her that there are people who will understand and love her with her trauma not despite of her (with like a heavy look towards Nancy bc Uncle Wayne knows what the fuck is up)

Oh also per Chicago being good for the boys, it's where Steve finally allows himself to be loved, it's where they come home to each other, it's where they stay with each other, it's where they slow dance together in the kitchen, it's where Steve realizes that Eddie is here to stay, when Steve tells Robin he kissed Eddie over dinner, they both cry, simply because they are happy, Robin is so glad that Steve finally, finally is happy and healthy and is letting himself be loved how he deserves

and then we have a second time where the whole spicy six gather in New york to celebrate with nancy i'm thinking maybe new year??

and then nancy comes out as a lesbian and like than robin realizes what nancy was doing all this time, she realizes that they are steve and eddie (because eddie has waited, all this time until steve was ready, was right beside him when steve blossomed into someone who could trust that eddie wants him back, eddie waited and nancy... nancy waited too) and it's like the both of them go to bed together ofc and robin has this like feeling of, they had time, they finally have time, and they could take it in whatever pace they want, this like finality of feeling that they are finally on the same page and the rest is like fluff

Also something something Nancy belonging to NY and being even more beautiful somewhere where she is healthy and happy and thriving, something something about rosy cheeks and long coats and frosty kisses

So i guess i just want Robin to like grow into herself and who she is in relationships and have experience and grow comfortable in herself before she let herself love Nancy, i want them to be friends first and also i want the slow burn of it all

[pichlive]

Undertale Yellow is a marvel of a fan game-- both in its scale, but also in the fact that it was even finished to this level of scale and polish in the first place. I would personally say that not only does it rival the original game in quality, but also does many things that makes it stand out-- not as something 'better', mind you (the classic Undertale is still… well, a classic to me), but as something that, if you were to erase everything 'Undertale' about it… well it'd require a lot of rewriting… but it'd stand just fine on its own lil heart legs!

I feel I would be at a loss to not mention the amount of artistry on display with this ENTIRE game! For one, the sprite work is beautiful-- I was in awe at not only the amount of smooth animation, but also I loved all the backgrounds during certain sections… I wanna say they were some of the most memorable parts of the game. While the aesthetics are demonstrably different from Undertale's-- I wanna say Toby's style is far 'simpler' in terms of sprite work and not as detailed as these are-- that's not to a detriment. I appreciate that they're not trying to surpass or replace the original Undertale but instead are doing their own thing.

Now the music… don't get me wrong-- there are some bangers. Like, I loved all the songs in the OST-- especially whenever they're referencing actual Undertale songs. I do still appreciate them having their own identity… but, at least for the pacifist songs, some of the boss songs in particular felt… off, to me, if that makes sense. I think the problem comes from how 'bombastic' they are-- like, they give me the vibe of 'I would enjoy if I heard this on its own but idk how well I'm feeling hearing this in the moment of the fight'. So the music is excellent-- but there's a dissonance between how some of the more intense songs fit some boss fights.

Now, the writing is where things REALLY shine, imo. I loved all the characters and their quirks and their faults. I know there's discourse regarding some but like… other than we forget so soon how the OG game was written-- I think that's the point. If anything, it makes it more poignant that Clover would choose to be so kind. Honestly this game went from a 3/5 to a 4/5 straight to a 5/5 the moment I hit the pacifist run finale-- I think the game's done something right if I feel so attached to these characters that I can't bare to think of doing a neutral or geno run-- as great as I've heard they are.

Ultimately, I can't recommend Undertale Yellow enough if you loved the original Undertale (if you haven't been recc'd it already)-- my one request is you keep an open mind about it. Both in writing and how it differs from Undertale-- if you hold back your expectations, I promise you'll enjoy something special.