#im afraid of myself

[thatdragononyourrooftop]

My aunt just found out that my cousin smoked

That he stayed up all night to play games

It was right before his high school entrance exam

It was a big mess

"Look at their faces!"

My demon laughed

"Fucking hilarious!"

[Stop treating it like a drama show!]

"Why not? I love watching human delusions got shattered."

[Cruel.]

"Awwwwwww, look! His face is so twisted with shame. Don't you find it amusing?"

My friend has been borrowing money here and there to learn playing harmonica without telling his parents

It's a month before our graduation exam

[Should we say something about this?]

"What!? No way! It's not the climax, yet. Let him climb a little bit higher, so that when he falls, it will be more fun!"

[No, I mean, should we help him? Cos he has talent with music, and he love it.]

"Nope. Nope. We are audiences, darling. We shouldn't interfere!"

[Again, stop treating it like a show. He is my friend!]

"Sweet! We got the VIP seat!"

[vehemourn]

smth i honestly recommend everyone should do is like. keep a private folder of art u like on ur computer lol. and like. download art u like when u see it. ur gonna lose stuff Forever if u just like it, u know? and like, discord archives arent really enough lol. I have been downloading art since like 2016 & I have a LOT of art that was scrubbed from the internet otherwise, especially due to like. the antics of deviantart & twitter. And on things like twitter theres Barely a way to save art to begin with (bookmarks is Not good enough)

u do kinda lose Credit a lot of the time (unless u save it with it named? which i do sometimes but not always) and often like, it won't be the Perfect HQ or itll have a massive watermark on it. but like. since it's not really for Sharing as much as its for my own personal enjoyment, these things don't really bother me at all... Having a collection of art that i love that I can look at offline & like, On My Computer is so nice. And I back up a lot of it on hard drives when i back up my own art! Again, like, a lot of these pieces this is the Only way i can look at them anymore, and Maybe the only archive OF them.... I've had pieces from my friends Before they were my friends, that i just saved as a "fan", that THEY lost years later... I have pieces they hadn't Seen in years. And every year I Probably save at least a few more pieces that will become like, totally scrubbed from technology otherwise. idk. i think it's nice to have an archive of this art that is in my taste but also like, that i'd likely Lose otherwise.

i Hope people save my art. I don't honestly Think anyone does, but I Hope that like, if my shit ever blows up and all my accounts get scrubbed, Someone has at least one drawing I made saved to their computer 2 remember me. u know. Its like a scrapbook. I remember these ppls characters, i remember the communities at the time, i remember how i felt when i first saw the piece. Its really inspiring but also genuinely like, really Important to me and sentimental. I kinda think everyone should have their own collection but I think people are genuinely Scared to right click & save ppls art LOL. Genuinely where is the harm, though.

[monstermonger]

bit of a silly question here but have you ever gotten afraid to draw in a journal like the one you recently shared? like the idea of using the pages "incorrectly" or "wasting" them (or running out right before you get inspiration that might have been "better" than what you'd jotted down)? your art is INCREDIBLE and I know the best way to improve is to do it, all the time, but I struggle getting started for those sorts of fears, and I want to know if you have tips for overcoming that ^^

I don't think it's a silly question, in fact I think it's one of the Ultimate Art Questions haha

Yes I 100% struggled with that in the past; i'm happy to try my best, sharing some personal tips in journaling, specifically! :D

TECHNICAL SIDE:

>> Small simple sketchbook = less intimidating to fill the pages. (Also, easy to carry around)

5x7in Moleskin, and a pilot pen

>> My journal ISN'T a place to prove that I can make pretty pictures. I have separate sketchbooks for that. I use journals to jot down ideas and notes of things I like. (yes i shared a few pages that happened to look nice, but there were 100+ other pages after all d: )

Spontaneous observation is messy and imprecise. But not in a bad way.

Rather than seeing the messiness as "bad/unworthy imperfection," try to see it as a miraculous insight to how you, a unique human being with your unique thoughts and art experience, sees the things you like

My journal process (in general): doodle a pretty cake I ate, a funny bird I saw, some weird dialogue I overheard, stickers, stamps, a character in a book that I want to draw as a dragon,......... scatter them all over the page, then look at the random blocks of empty paper remaining. Fill those up next with another lil quote, or words about the week, or some pretty vines/flowers :) etc. It's like making a collage.

Draw what you actually LIKE + what actually sounds FUN to draw. u can always take photos/save pics of other stuff if it's overwhelming.

>> Find your comfort tools. I love ink. how it looks, feels, etc; I hardly ever use pencil. A sketch that I need to ink over is usually too much work for my journal. I'm just trying to get down ideas before I get bored or get inspired by another thing LOL

[But yeah: pencils can be the perfect tool for someone else. Regular pencils, colored pencils, watercolor pencils... play around with a bunch of basic tools to find your fav.]

EMOTIONAL SIDE:

I highly recommend Lynda Barry's book "Making Comics." She has some lovely, and deeply empathetic things to say about overcoming fear of making "bad" art.

My journal scribblings/therapeutic studies --- someone with 10x the skill could do it better, sure, but they probs wouldn't focus on the same details, or be interested in the same monsters, or be thinking the same thoughts as me.

They won't have the same things to say about their day, won't see the same spindly tree growing from a crumbling brick wall on their walk. etc!

Also! imo this POV isn't an excuse to feel like I don't need to improve my technical skill, but it keeps me happy, fulfilled, and motivated as I'm on that road of improvement. AND it makes me appreciate others' incredible art as their own reflection of the things they love/their own experiences, rather than view it competitively/jealously.

"Drawing is so much more than Good or Bad. It is a language from another part of you." - Lynda Barry

[om340700]

sobs on the floor

[raplinenthusiasts]

j-hope Tour 'HOPE ON THE STAGE' Official Trailer 👀 setlist?

[temeyes]

[umblrspectrum]

my text disappeared here when i posted. what happened

[storytellering]

quick study of that one concept art Vergil by Ikeno because I felt like I needed a refresher on 3V's features

[tooquirkytolose]

Cut my hair real short and I've already gotten two separate people going "oh it's cute! I could never, you're very brave! :)" like what do you mean??? What do you MEAN brave.??

[arrgh-whatever]

my AC character

[bluelizze]

Doodle page of Min and Johann (belongs to @bunnygirllover45)

Min’s Toyhou.se Page

idk why but johann is like... comforting to me so im indulging myself. also i love how the entire time doodling this, i was listening to I Love You, I'm Sorry by Gracie Abrams and its funny to me bc i would've listening to something... less soft than that? but idk maybe bc it was raining and it's when nostglia hits.

also yes, the second doodle page is reference to this (which is my fav to reread)

[frostedpuffs]

does anyone else ever feel like they never Fit In fandom spaces like. sure i create stuff SOMETIMES but i feel like such an outsider in the fandom and idk why asdkfsakdf

[rev-xce]

hes my favourite but he is so hard to draw what😭

i need that full analysis breakdown of his gear RIGHT NOW

[jubshead]

The fact that swanqueen is timeless even without being canon, imagine the event it would be if they were

[laron1a]

I am also doing a book challenge with two of my colleagues this year and we made an entire excel spreadsheet with rating and word count and page count and everything! They were so kind to allow me to add fanfiction to it and its been... a revelation, how much I actually read.

BUT to get back to the point. BOOKS! I managed to get them to read one of my all time favorites, the Throne of Glass books! I ADORE them! Its full of plot twists and such good foreshadowing that spans across MULTIPLE BOOKS! Like, a detail gets mentioned in book one and it comes back to haunt you in book 6, its *chefs kiss*. Total rec if you are a fantasy lover.

Fair warning, i AM an avid fantasy reader, so these are all leaning in that direction.

Another one i cam rec on the top of my head is the Lunar Chronicles series, which takes classic fairy tales and gives them a new, futuristic twist. For example, "Rapunzels" tower is a satellite orbiting earth. I remember reading them through the night!

An older series i read years ago that really got me hooked is the Cat&Bones series from Jeanine Frost. Absolutely adore them and thinking of them, i ought to reread them.

I am currently reading Rebecca Yarros Fourth Wing series. I am on the second book Iron Flame and i am enjoying the journey so far. Its funny and a little spicy and it has DRAGONS! HOWEVER, if you're not a fan of beloved characters getting REALLY hurt and oftentimes actually KILLED, then you should think about reading this because noone is save.

I have TONS of books still sitting here on my shelves, waiting to be read and i am currently very obsessed with two things.

One, everything Danmei, right now esp all of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. I have every book right here just waiting to be read. If you like chinese culture, fantasy, martial arts and pretty boys, you may want to check them out! The donghuas are also REALLY good. Beware, some suffering and "it cant get worse...oh"

Second, thanks to Jorge Rivera-Herrans and his PHENOMENAL musical Epic (truly, go listen to it if you like musicals, its AMAZING and its on yt and spotify, he also has twitter and insta and tiktok and everything, go support him) i am currently kinda obsessed with Greek mythology, so i have Claire Norths Penelope and House of Odysseus here as well as Luna McNamarra's Psyche and Eros.

So yeah! A GREAT year for me, because there are TONS of greek and chinese mythology book right now!

This was... a rather long rant, but I hope maybe you found something that interests you!

My goal for this year is to read more books. There were a lot of books I avoided when I was younger just because I thought they weren't for me. I'm starting to realise that a lot of books are and it just wasn't time for me to read them yet. Others I've found are as badly written as I thought they would be and it makes me question why I want to read books by author's I haven't read from before.

Anyway, so far the books I've read that I've enjoyed are:

The Wheel of Time: Books 1 and 2. I have book 3 and plan to read it, however I fond out that this is an unfinished series since the author died. While it is technically finished, it was finished by Brandon Sanderson and while I have his books on my reading list, I don't think reading without Robert Jordan's penmanship will really bring justice to the world I've invested in. THAT BEING SAID, the first two books are SO good. I picked this book up by chance when I was away last year and put it back because the blurb was the vaguest thing I've ever seen. Except, then it haunted me once I heard there was a TV show. I haven't watched it, nor do I plan to since they seemed to have taken it in a different direction. But if you're looking for a good fantasy series to read, even if it's just the first few books, this one hasn't let me down yet.

The Raven Boys: I haven't finished this one yet but the book is good so far. I have the other 3 on the way that's how invested in this series I am right now. I've read other works by this author before, the Shiver one, and while I don't remember hating it I don't remember liking that one much. This book is good though. I'm enjoying it.

The Neverending Story: This one I enjoyed reading but I found that it's definitely a children's book. I picked it up in the hopes to read this to my niece when she's a little older. I thought it wouldn't be until she was around 10 before I could read this with her, but I'm happy that it's simple enough that I'll be able to read it to her maybe when she's around 3-7 Not too scary, not too detailed and while the movie is phenomenal, I really enjoyed this book as well.

The Folk of the Air series: I read them all. There were things in this I enjoyed. I liked the world building of the faerie realm. I also enjoyed some of the politics. But the book had its faults too. It's very teenager-ish. Which isn't inherently bad. The Raven Boys is proving to be better at it though. Jude and Cardan were... at times hard to read. It was quite predictable at times and it's not the best enemies to lovers book out there but I managed to finish it and I did enjoy it. It's something I would recommend to people, but not something I would rave about like I would the Wheel of Time.

I'm looking for other books to read after this. So far my list is:

The rest of the Raven Cycle (3 books) The Way of Kings series (These are so long and there's like 4 books) The Wheel of Time (Book 3 and maybe 4) God of War Inkheart

If there's anything else you would recommend let me know. If anyone has read any Robin Hobb books let me know if they're any good, I'm looking for a good fantasy series.

Also also if anyone knows if someone has written a Davy Jones and Calypso book let me know. I wish Disney had decided to do a prequel on them or at least release a book but I have yet to find one.

[thelien-art]

Lúthien and Huan😌

I´m trying to get back to posting my art, so I´ll see how I feel about posting this, and then, depending on it, I´ll begin posting my other drawings I haven´t shared. Lúthine W/O Huan below

(Do not repost)

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