#im not me if my art isn't incredibly messy...

[llemon-soda]

if you could see yourself through my eyes...

[vonlycsnn]

✧ — PICTURE PERFECT

~ VON LYCAON X GENDER NEUTRAL ARTIST! READER.

SUMMARY: You're a famous artist/illustrator in New Eridu, absolutely tired of trying to deal with recent problems. then you decide to call Victoria Housekeeping Co. for some help, it was the best decision of your life.

- cw/tw: none.

- A/N: im so obsessed over this man its genuinely concerning, pls help. also this might be messy/ooc(?)...it's my first time writing this kinda stuff so bare with me.

Being such a well-known artist in New Eridu is tough work. Not only do you have to keep up with your clients' demands and expectations, you also have to deal with thieves trying to steal your work. 

You were thankful that some of your most valuable artworks were in museums that had incredible security, but even so, those bastards are still trying to break into your mansion and steal your canvases that have yet to be delivered or even unfinished.

Understandably, you grew tired of all the stuff you went through, slowly becoming restless from the amount of sleepless nights you had to fight through. To the point where you wanted to quit art completely but you just couldn't. Art was your passion. You've been drawing for nearly your entire life; you couldn't quit now.

Thankfully, a kind client of yours took notice of your situation and recommended Victoria Housekeeping to you. At first you were skeptical; there's no way a housekeeping company could help you with these problems, right?

—

"I don't think they'll be able to help me..." you kindly said. The client merely smiled and gave you a pat on the shoulder.

"Just give them a call. Trust me."

—

And here you are now, constantly being served and protected by the members of Victoria Housekeeping. You were extremely grateful for their service; they've made your life so much better than you expected. 

You've grown so close to them that you became one of their most respected clients, having to be close friends with each of the members. You didn't want to say that you had a favorite attendant, but you do have a preferred one. 

Rina, although her general services are incredible and you'd always find yourself having a great time with her, her culinary skills are...questionable at best, but still, you didn't want to upset her by any means. 

Corin is a sweet girl. When the two of you became acquainted, you saw her as a little sister. Although you were surprised at how strong she is for her age, you didn't think much of it. The problem with her is how much she doubts herself; you'd have to constantly remind her that she's not doing anything wrong, and as much as you hate to admit it, you were pretty annoyed.

Ellen, well...she isn't too enthusiastic about regular housekeeping jobs, not to mention she's always low-energy. But the number of times she saved you from the most dangerous situations was enough for her to gain your respect. Plus, talking about internet trends with her is always fun.

And there's Lycaon. Oh, did you have so many words about him. To keep it simple, he was just right. His services are always near perfect; he has saved you countless times from hollows and thieves; he is elegant; he is a gentleman; you could ramble about him all day for all you cared.

To be perfectly honest, you grew a crush on him. Every time he'd lean behind you to see what you're working on, you'd always freeze in place. Too flustered by what was happening. Every time you'd hear his voice, you'd melt. The way he acts just makes your heart flutter...He was perfect.

As your own personal request for him, you wished he'd spend more time with you. Be it in the mansion or outside. He smiled, bowing down in front of you.

—

"As you wish, master. I'm more than happy to spend time with an amazing artist such as yourself." He said. You saw his tail wagging ever so slightly, but decided to say nothing; you merely smiled.

—

Every now and then he'd come to your office to check on you; he'd bring you food every time you lost track of time; he'd give you a massage whenever you had free time.

"It's always important to maintain a good posture, master." As he would say.

But being an attendant for a full-time artist comes with its own challenges. Other than having to constantly be on guard at night for possible thieves, he'd always let out an irritated sigh whenever he saw your workspace covered in paint. Especially when you're making abstract art. But he understands that art can be messy sometimes, and that's fine.

Every time you get a commission to make abstract art, you'd always rent a workspace outside of the mansion. Just so Lycaon doesn't have to deal with the mess.

But other than that, the two of you were grateful for each other's company.

Much to your dismay, however, your feelings for him grew the longer you spent time with him. You became so close to Lycaon than any of the other attendants; he knew your weakness, he knew your strengths, and he even knew some of your secrets.

You couldn't express your feelings for him with words, and so you did what you knew best: to draw. As a request, you asked Lycaon if you could take a few pictures of him. Of course he obliged. Amidst the photography, he asked.

"If I were to be bold to ask, master, what is the purpose of this?"

You merely smiled at him, saying that it's nothing important. A part of him knew about what you're planning, but he decided to keep quiet and merely chuckled.

After the interaction, you quickly but stealthily took a small canvas and a few of your painting supplies.

—

Days passed, and the painting was finally ready. You have pulled many all-nighters to finish this; you spent so much time carefully adding details and capturing his looks to the formerly blank canvas. And you couldn't be happier with the results; you just hope it was enough to make him understand the message you're trying to pass.

You took a deep breath and finally called for him. He quickly arrives at your workspace, noticing the medium-sized easel and the small paint stains on the floor. Your back was facing towards him, trying to hide the painting from his view. Realizing what to do, you flipped the canvas and turned towards him. He was understandably confused, and you were too nervous to say anything. You quickly walked up to him and handed the canvas to him.

"Here. I...made this for you." You said in such a shaky voice, he was almost concerned. But he gently grabs the canvas, and finally, he turns it to reveal the drawing. He was... speechless. Absolutely speechless. Just standing there, appreciating what he's seeing. You stuttered, trying to get words out of your mouth.

"...as a way to express how much I'm thankful for everything you've done. You're an amazing attendant, and I wanted to repay you somehow. W-well, other than using money." You awkwardly laughed, fidgeting with your fingers.

Lycaon continues to silently admire your work of him. You captured his features so well; the colors were so nice to look at, the pose, the lighting... it was so beautiful. He always appreciates the time and effort you put into your artwork. Secretly, he has been going to your workspace at night to admire all of the work you've done. He couldn't help but laugh once he saw how red your face was.

"My sincere apologies, master. But if I may ask, what are you trying to say?" He asked, almost in a teasing matter. Oh, he knows.

You panicked, so overwhelmed by the situation at hand. A part of you is trying to come up with lies, but ultimately, you gave in.

After taking a deep breath, you officially admitted your true feelings. Well, in the simplest way possible. You couldn't help but cringe at what you've said. This is so embarrassing, you thought.

Lycaon smiled, looking back at the painting to caress the sides of the canvas. He chuckled once more.

"What an astonishing way to express such feelings towards someone. I must say, master, I'm truly impressed."

The thiren carefully puts the canvas on a small table next to him, then he walks towards you. Gently grabbing your hand.

"As for what are my thoughts regarding all of this," he then proceeds to kiss the back of your hand. You jumped to his action, watching every move he made. He looked back at you softly.

There you heard it—the words that'd make you fall to the ground instantly.

"I'd be delighted to be more than an attendant for you, my dear."

[nicosraf]

Hello! I hope this is not an odd thing to say—but my husband and I were talking about how art is not dead and there is so much genuine art in the world if you look away from most big corporations, and I brought you/Angels Before Man up in conversation.

So genuinely, Angels Before Man is one of the most gorgeous art pieces I will see in my lifetime, and I’m 21, so I hopefully have a long road ahead of me. There is just so much creativity and prose and feeling behind it. It is truly a representation of the artist’s mind. It couldn’t be done under some big corporation or done right under one. It is such genuine, heartfelt, religiously made art. We have SO many amazing, talented artists when we look away from some of the more heartless corporate-made things they keep pumping out, and I genuinely think Angels Before Man is at the top of my list and will be for years to come.

I hope this isn’t too much to say—even then, I feel as if I can’t get my point/appreciation across enough. You jumpstarted a writing career that I thought my concepts were too dark to carry. And I can’t thank you enough for bringing my career and such art to life. Keep doing what you’re doing, you’re one of the many talented artists that make life beautiful and worth living. This is what human beings are made for. Thank you.

Hello! This is incredibly sweet of you... Sometimes I fall into the spiral of my work not being "good" art, and then I have to remind myself that there's no such thing as good art anyway. There's formulas and rubrics and mass-appeal checklists but art isn't for a grade and measures of goodness or skill are all fake in the end. Even still, I have a complicated relationship with being so alone when I write. Sometimes I do wish I had a corporation/publisher to hold my hand and make my work "good", but then it would become soulless probably.

I'm really happy ABM has made you feel comfortable writing about dark/messy things. Im so honored its helped you... Don't be afraid! If you think something's gross or too vulnerable, take it another step further. Some people aren't going to like it, but they won't forget it.

Thank u again :)

[greetingsfromuranus]

Your art is incredible... what was the most useful resource to you when you were learning? What kind of exercises did you use?

My response ended up quite long-winded and all over the place, so TLDR:

1: study other art and the processes the artists use (look at sketches, watch videos of people drawing/painting, look at how different industries handle learning and teaching stuff)

2: figure drawing is always good for you (humans AND animals) + a good warmup I sometimes use: draw cubes and stuff from different angles, try out different types of perspective, and try bending and stretching them all weird, playing with the shapes as much as you can

3: experiment with different styles, subjects, and mediums so you can learn different things and find what you're most comfortable with

4: draw what you LIKE because passion makes art good (also RELAX and don't get too caught up in things, just chug things out for a bit and get your hands warmed up)

5: this one isn't mentioned below but you'll have to make 1000 crappy drawings before you make good ones so just muscle through it until you get where you want to be (it'll be ok)

6: oh oh and I like to make lines that feel good in my hands specifically, do whatever feels natural it'll be fun. Don't always dwell on your weaknesses, explore your strengths and expand them.

7: also I've gotten good by physically drawing things bigger, zooming out and all that. Dont get stuck with regular notebook paper, get a sketchbook and make your art feel special (or if you're doing digital art make a special folder or somethin)

8: only take advice from ARTISTS that you KNOW AND TRUST, not some jackass on YouTube, or your parents (this has held me back the most)

I'm gonna start out by describing what I've done to learn, and then talk more about the mindset that REALLY got me where I am. I will also mention that I'm very much still in the process of learning, there's so much more I want to be able to do, and I am by no means an expert.

I've gotten my art where it is recently by studying how other artists draw - specifically looking at the processes they use, different methods of sketching what different materials/tools they use and WHY, etc etc..... I've experimented with a variety of subjects and styles over my life, and learned different things from each one. I think that's really important to do, because it allows you to find out what you're most comfortable with, and learn the different methods that you can even apply outside of the medium you learned them from. With how much art is out there,it can be intimidating and seem like too much to grasp, but you just gotta muscle through it. Learning is fun!!!

My biggest inspiration to my current style is definitelyed edd n eddy, and especially the art of Raven Molisee - I look at his art specifically because you can often see the sketches behind the lineart, which is super useful in figuring out what his drawing method is like! Specifically the thing where you sketch in a different color than you do lineart in, it's really obvious honestly but I've just never done it! But sketching with the same pencil i line with can be restricting, and end up just looking messy, leaving me less satisfied with the result and less motivated. Anyways, I think it's good to study the art you like, and find exactly what it is about it that you like so much, so that you can take those qualities and put them into your own art!l

I've also done a decent bit of figure drawing since I was a kid - understanding the structure, musculature, movement, etc... of human and animal bodies helps immensely with the styles im often going for - but understanding those specific things isnt required! I think having a good grasp on forms and silhouettes is equally important, and im currently working on getting better at that. I've been looking at cave paintings and other prehistoric art, their grasp on form is incredible, and the more conceptual view on figures is really interesting! While we're on that topic - I think it's important to study art from other time periods and cultures!! That's where you'll find the greatest variety in methods, mindsets, and completely different ways of making and viewing art. (I reccomend looking at some pre-rennaissance art.....incredible stuff out there...)

Now as for the mindset side of things:

I'll start out by saying: I've never taken an art class past middle school, so my technical knowledge is very lacking... one thing I was told early on was "don't use art as reference, only use real life-" But that's bogus!!!!! The way I've gotten my art to improve so much is by looking at other artists work and seeing what techniques they use to get their stuff the way it is. Humans can be as incredible as they are *only* because they can pass on knowledge to eachother. When it comes to cartoons/animation specifically, the the absolute best way to learn a certain style is to copy it over and over until you can get it the way you want. And study it on a deeper level of course. Get your favorite character and draw them over and over and over until you really understand their movement and volumes and expressions, that's what I do lol.

I would recommend taking some sort of art course, or following one of those youtube series where they teach you stuff, it would REALLY speed up the process of fixing the things that hold back your growth as an artist, but dont let other's critiques get to you (ive heard thats the problem with many art classes). I think the best way to get gud is to figure out what YOU want your art to be, and only take critique from yourself so that you can make the art YOU want, not what somebody else wants. Audiences are fickle and they don't actually know what they want, so never listen to them (ive learned this from some of my artist friends)

ALSO don't watch those YouTube videos about how certain art is BAD and this other art is GOOD, if you take their advice, you're just gonna be sad and you art will get boring.... draw the things you want like you're 8 years old and drawing your same favorite animal every day. MLP oc critics are the reason I can't color for shit, I took their advice and limited my colors to a certain amount and now I don't know how to use more than 3 colors at a time. So I just dont color. Which I'm sad about lol

[averlym]

hi you're rly pretty and ily -🤡

w h a t

thanks? ilyt?