#im used to just painting so there are so many colours but i am still pleased

[eveningward]

Peach, Plum, Pear... Pomegranate!

I've been trying to make some pixel art for a potential project ;D

[puckpocketed]

who is #43?

Hello !! First off thank u for visiting. If you clicked read more by accident rip sorry it’s a lot of text. ENJOY!!! <3

1. This was the photo reference I used. I really did mean it when i said he photographs well!! I really like how scrungly he looks at times lol. v paintable

2. here’s a timelapse for your viewing pleasure in video + gif form <3

3. Process breakdown below. I am not formally trained, so don’t take any of this as professional advice!! The way i paint has been compared to channeling some evil contract with a demon also. So um . Im saying that i dont remotely think that this is efficient or correct, its just whats comfortable for me <3

3a) the dreaded lining phase. I have 2 modes of operation when it comes to painting - either i go full-dick with fancy inking/sketching + cel shading (rare, unrefined, haven’t figured out a nice workflow yet) OR i do a very very basic chicken scratch set of lines like so:

It’s less about being realistic here and more about laying down some guide lines for the chaos ahead. If i thought i could get away with it, I would start every rendered painting i do with laying down colours — but unfortchh ive tried that before and it usually ends in really weird proportions. Even with the lines i still need to make adjustments. This is something no people except me would notice but look at the above sketch; the eyes are too big and slightly too far apart, the forehead is too small and thus the hair is also not quite big enough… I have a bad habit of drawing eyes too big on faces, they’re my favourite facial feature to draw.. i barely resisted giving him big cow eyelashes (I love big cow eyelashes… all of my OC’s and most of my more stylised fan art of characters get big cow eyelashes… god…. Big cow eyelashes SAVE ME……….)

Anyway. Structure of the face + hand somewhat established. <3

3b) Underpainting!! Okay stay with me here . Ever since i figured out i dont have to paint in 03925893853 different layers, I’ve joyfully painted on 1 layer as much as possible. I dont have the brain power all the time to be managing layers so I simply dont work with that many layers. For this painting, the skin in its entirety was painted on one layer, the hair on another layer, and the effects on the last layer. There was a placeholder background off-white/grey colour for a while there, and I duplicated the line layer — one for figuring out where to lay colours, and one hidden for later so i could check back to see how accurate to the sketch/proportions were to the actual painting. 6 layers, 2 of which i painted the bulk of the piece on, 1 more at the end.

3c) here’s where I started carving out features. I think about objects in terms of volumes and light rather than lines. i love painting and sculpting because of this!! Here you see where I’ve begun to define his features — his eyelids, his bags, his nostrils. Just refining what was there before. The suggestion of facial hair before i gave it up and left it for later (his face is so naked the WHOLE time)

3d) nose bridge highlight, suggesting his eyebrows, a cheek highlight. A touch more coral red and muted yellow pull away from the grey/blue underpainting. Strategically leaving some of it peeking through.

3e) i truly start messing with the fidelity of his features here. Red lipstick <3 and some violet/blue for shadows on the right side of his face.

3f) the part where it starts looking like q.hughes to me (though, my friend said i got his vibe pretty early on which is such a compliment.. waaaaa…..) I love this part of every painting i do. I know it’s definitely not the Correct order since other parts of the entire painting are simply Not Rendered or Done, but whos gonna stop me?? :3

I love love loveeee painting faces. Adding the little shinies to his eyes + lips + upper lip + nose … you don’t know how much of a difference it makes until you do it. Also i snatched his eyebrows

3g) i really pushed the red/coral/ochre/orange here. Note the yellow highlights on his cheekbones, the forehead, and the thin thin line of pink right between where his bottom lip ends and his chin shadow starts <- very important . To ME!!!!!!! Also highlighting his waterline and adding his lashes was so so fun <3

3h) FACIAL HAIR!!! And I started rendering his hand. Some micro adjustments made to his face for proportion check.

3i) i start painting his hair in earnest and realise his forehead is too small so i make the adjustment. I really love how it falls into his eyes in this photo. <3

3j) i make some final adjustments to his eyes — a bit smaller, closer together. And i refine the outline of his jaw, push the stylisation of it just a little.

3k) Finishing details; his flyaway hairs, his moles, a bit of texture on his face, shadows cast by his hair, his little forehead cut <3

3l) i adjusted his hand here, added more texture to his skin, refined his hair a tiny bit more, and made the decision not to fuck around painting his jersey because i wanted the focus to be his face <3

3m) Canucks blue and green. Captain at 23. His form bleeds into the background. He is the franchise.

theee most fun ive had painting anything. and i finally feel... warmed up? if that makes sense. art for me is like. if i dont do it in a while it feels like nothing goes right when i come back to it. i hate that feeling, and the most difficult hurdle to clear is letting myself feel that until i get back into my Zone. after all this time i feel like im BACK !!!!!!!

i loved painting this fella. hes SO Shaped. <3

Apologies i simply do Not have the energy to write the alt text for all of these so i hope the little blurbs are okay aslkjasdklj. i gotta post and go to bed . if u made it this far, thank you for reading!!

[demvalhaken]

Just a lil cool thing for ya

I decided to draw a portrait(?) of Queen Berry, sadly she’s deceased in present day. The Eastern Hornets classified her death as assassination/asphyxiation by smoke. I’m literally the one who did this writing for her and IM DEVASTATED. It was Luna’s (Her daughter) 16th hatchday and they were going to go watch a performance in the theatre before the fire was set and burnt down half of Berry Hive. Also what’s sad is that half of Berry’s life was spent designing the hive and having it built :(

Some things must be done for the story… I will not change Berry’s story because Luna’s story wouldn’t work if Berry was still living. The red drape (Idk what to call it) is there to signify that she is no longer living. Saturn Waxing, Berry’s older sister, had painted this portrait during her crowning. Saturn is also deceased but that’s because of a disease as she was in her 60’s and didn’t have a great immune system. Also, no, I didn’t forget to draw her lower wings I swear, they’re just folded. If you haven’t noticed, Saturn is an old oc that I have repurposed as I had no idea what to do with her after the huge Catecisian story shift.

Here’s a drawing of Luna from one or my earlier posts

If you noticed, Luna and Berry are wearing the same dress. Luna took it to remember her mother. Luna’s father is unknown as Berry is a girlboss and didn’t want to marry anyone. She doesn’t look quite like her mother as she’s more after her father. Berry has Southern Hornet blood because of her white markings and longer richer hair/mane and darker eye colour.

Before Berry Hive, there was The Eclipsean Hive which had been in use for many centuries. Luna Hive was only recently built because of the fire and Luna’s forced crowning.

Here’s an alt version of the drawing

Sorry for the sad oc lore but It had to be said one way or another. I’m also gonna start keeping character lore from you now so you can start guessing

Eat this up and stay a menace to society, just don’t commit arson.

Also wtf is with the brainrot nowadays, please don’t speak to me in new dialect, I am a literal person who doesn’t understand slang that much. Might be a little, as the tiktoks say, neurospicy. Okay bye I want tea

[the-bjd-community-confess]

making bjd eyes is one of the things i’m THE most passionate about, but i’m struggling a bit finding the best way to make them, both in regards to their longevity, but also my health. im going to talk about it and ask if anybody has any ideas :3

i want to use the least toxic materials i can. i started off using uv resin as everybody seemed to use in their tutorials, and because of that i didn’t know how ridiculously toxic the fumes are. be careful with that stuff!!!!!!!!!! im now using non toxic slow cure resins, which is less convenient, but i’d rather not die for little plastic eyeballs!!!!!! be mindful of your health please!!!!!!

im also worried about the yellowing rates of all materials i could use. i’d like my eyes to hold up for as many years as they can!! for eye bases, im currently experimenting with said non toxic resin that’s also meant to be quite uv stable, combined with titanium dioxide powder for colouring which is also used as an anti uv ingredient in sunscreen…but im not a chemist and don’t know what fumes they make together. the resin on its own can be nontoxic because it doesn’t react with anything but itself, but i don’t know what adding the titanium dioxide will do. so far it’s working okay! i just need to find ways to grind the powder better as it likes to clump (pestle and mortar isn’t working super great for me rn). i did try polymer clay for the bases, but found it really hard to get into all the nooks and crannies so they came out wrong!! as well as it being near impossible for me to keep ALL the dust out. painting over it with acrylic paint made them a bit sticky…and therefore dusty again…

for the irises i use polymer clay! i tried pan pastels, but i can’t get it to look anything but grainy and muddy, so polymer clay is best for me. im currently waiting for some new moulds that should fit the irises, so i can cure them separately and then insert them into the bases. i am NOT !! putting resin in the oven after all that work to detox the process

it’s so difficult!!! but i want to make sure i can deliver the best product i possibly can while keeping myself safe. im so passionate about my craft but it’s so hard to meet problem after problem!!!! and it’s so stressful to see people sell uv resin eyes they didn’t use proper ppe to make!!!! stop that!!!! also while i’m at it, cure your polymer clay inside the resin, the polymers will break down the resin eventually and it’ll just suck and be nasty!!

a lot of my other ideas would be super expensive to set up too, so they’re going on the back burner for now. i hope all this is worth it and people will like my eyes once i figure it all out. im still happy just to make them for myself, but i don’t have enough dolls to justify sitting and making eyes all day for that!! if anybody has any experience or ideas for how to reduce fumes and increase longevity, please tell me!!!! im trying Everything i can get my hands on. sometimes i feel like i’m losing my mind thinking solely of little plastic eyes all day long

~Anonymous

[javierduffy]

Hellooooo !! You mentioned in the tags of your latest post that you were willing to talk about your process if anyone asked and I am asking!!

It looks so good so I'd love to hear the process and thoughts behind it as someone who hasn't really touched digital painting before :3:3

- Oizys-Mutt

hi oizy :] sory for taking so long to get to this i honestly posted it and then i was like *windows shut down sfx* LOL so i never really felt prepared to answer until neow … not that i super feel like it now since its been so long since o posted the piece ;__; anyway !!! tjank u for asking about it first of all that’s so sweet ure always my biggest supporter </3 thank u ure so darling.

as for the idea behind the piece, i often like to think about how javier and kieran interact when they’re away from prying eyes. of course, i think that they leave camp together as often as they can (as unsuspiciously as possible .. if that’s possible at all) and progressively more and more as the gang falls apart and they know in their hearts that they’re about to lose each other, but because kieran and javier are both desperate lovers, i think they’re always finding romance the moment they think god is so merciful as to look the other way. this is to say, once javier feels as though there are enough leaves, brush, wildlife between he and his family, he rushes to yank kieran’s hand from branwen’s reins to hold. javier loves like a starved man, a one who has formerly been fed grapes and steak from the soft, gentle hands of a house servant, so a one whom knows what it is like to be full— it’s like it’s killing him to live with the grief of lovelessness. and kieran is a man who loves like a starved man who has never had a full meal in his life— he has no idea what it’s like to have a full belly, and he yearns in a way that hollows his chest out as though his heart has never beat once in his life. you put these two together and it’s almost as if lust and gluttony were the same, as if their clothed bodies, separated by the birdth of an entire foot, were forever eloped, connected, full, satisfied. like to merely touch one another is the same as to make love. so when they feel free, finally, away from the shackle of known perception- to be known, to be seen, to be rejected- they CANNOT be apart. it’s like javier can’t breathe if his atoms are not warmed by any of kieran’s that are adjacent. as i said, the moment the sun feels warmer on their skin than curious eyes, they’re intertwined. as simply as possible. every horse ride, trip to town, walk down the riverbank, every breath they take, it’s theirs. plural. so … uhhhmmm … at length, i think they’re always touching :] ! uhm. in not so many words. so it’s often that they will be seen on the road, in the woods, the creaks of their saddles speaking wordless ‘i love you’s as their intertwined hands next to the revolvers in their holsters convince strangers that the tree line opposite the lovers is suddenly quite worth watching instead. sorry. i just wrote a novel. thank you so much for indulging me i have so many feelings about them ;__;

hooonestly i don’t ever have much commentary on the process of the art itself, its moreso my thots behind the horse riding date LOL uhhhmm but since ure curious abt the art i can ramble abt that a bit :] for that piece specifically i really felt like painting for no reason in particular, but ive really felt burnt out on colouring, so i went with the process of .. reverse rendering ? if we want to call it that ? where u render the shadows in monochrome and then use white space as ur lighting and fiddle with the colours after the fact. i’m still not good at this process … at all ! it’s confusing to me ! but i’m more likely to do what i want with the piece, or at least a little more than i would otherwise, because im simply skipping the step that i Don’t want to do. it’s a long story as to why art, and certain aspects of it, is SO hard for me to do, but in short, i’m relearning how to enjoy it as an act after severely burning myself out on it due to setting absurd expectations for myself :] so im just going with my gut ! which … unfortunately does not leave much room for me to explain my process to you ! i’m sorry !!!!

[punkboog]

Hello! Could you please bestow upon me the secret knowledge regarding the source of your mad drawing skills? What types and how many hours of ungodly training did it take? I am enchanted 🫣❤️‍🔥

AAAAA FIRST OF ALL TYSM IM SO FLATTERED 😭😭💖💖, second tbh I'm not sure I'm still learning and still have a long way to go but my secret knowledge is that you should draw a lot stereotypical advice ik but it's true even if you're not doing any intentional practice you will naturally improve, practice from real life (still life, real people, scenery etc all that boring stuff) and do that by dissecting things into simple shapes and practice drawing just the shapes themselves, twisting them around drawing them from different angles etc and the more you practice that the more you train your eyes and hands the easier drawing gets, also when you're drawing sth and you get stuck at a certain part use a reference for it that's in regards to drawing, colouring and painting though I have no clue on what I'm doing I just throw around colours and pray shit looks good. I'm bad at explaining things but I hope this was helpful 😭🙏

tldr train your observation haki

[delulluart]

could you post some work in progress stages of you're drawings and paintings? i am trying to improve my art and i like you're style but i don't really know how to get there. and many tutorials are for digital art only or there very anime style so it dos not very help in what i want to draw :(

but only if it is not to much work of course!

have a good day :-)

thank you, anon!

starting is really tough, i get you, and yes, i finding the tutorial for a style that you want to work in is often a struggle, but often you can apply the general rules to any style!

the most important thing is to not stop drawing! just keep going, a little bit every day/every few days and you WILL see the improvement! its super frustrating when you dont get the results you want immediately, i know that - ive been doing this for so many years now and i still produce pics that i dont like, where im disappointed in myself. but you cant let this drag you down too much, because everytime you fuck something up you learn something, too! you know then that this thing doesnt work - in a way failures are actually way more helpful. (still sucks a lot...)

as for wips: i found a few photos i took of two recent paintings; i dont know if it will help you, though. generally i just do some outlines roughly, then clean them up and then just...fill it either with paints or pencil. i dont do the whole grid method or assisting lines thing or something like that. before i start the proper drawing i often make a small quick sketch to know where everything has to go (see: first pic; youll notice its mirrored - i decided to change the entire orientation last second; i kinda wish i kept it, but its too late now) and then i just...idk? put it on the paper in a way that would make every art teacher cringe in pain (i know that, because it happened multiple times).

as for water colours its the basic rules: start with the bright parts and then go darker; make sure to use good paper, let the stuff dry before going for a new layer etc. add fine details/highlights at the end,

(hello no-hair-papa-anons, have some food here)

if you have any specific questions dont hesitate to ask, ill try to help! if you can afford it i recommend going to a proper class of an artist in your area, that can be lots of fun and really helpful. in 1st grade i was for a few weeks in a free weekly thing of a local artist and she introduced me to oil paints and taught me to just let GO sometimes of the perfectionism and the control of paints (yes, even tiny 5-6 year old me was already a control freak). the things she taught me are still with me.

[themichaelvan]

tagged by @changingcore / 15 questions for 15 mutuals (oh fuck do i even have that many)

are you named after anyone? - birth name, nope. does it count if i got my chosen name from a fictional character??

when was the last time you cried? - this morning!! nothing 2 be concerned about i got woken up by the fire alarm (also nothing to be concerned about it just needs the battery replaced) and was so tired & upset i started crying, which happens. more often than i would like. hm. maybe i named myself after the wrong afton kid

do you have kids? - nope!! i do like interacting with them though but only like 3 max at a time JFJRJFNG

do you use sarcasm a lot? - irl yes, online only sparingly. & i make it very exaggerated not usually deadpanned or anything so people can Tell (which of course nobody needs except for Me but i digress)

what sports do you play/have played? - did soccer when i was a little kid (Hated It), was on a swim team for a while, and did marching band for the longest (which is my favorite and yes it counts as a sport and you cannot say it doesn't until you've been in marching band. cunt)

what's the first thing you notice about other people? - typically clothes and then hair! i have a relatively mild (but still pretty bad compared to ppl without it) case of face-blindness, and i CANNOT tell people apart by their faces at all unless they have smth like a bunch of facial piercings or a scar or smth Noticable so i tend to look at other things first.

eye colour? - ??? hazel-brown ??? no idea tbh but at least partially brown

scary movies or happy endings? - HAPPY ENDINGS. i am soso scared of scary movies i will gladly watch the little prince for the 60th time. Alternate Universe - Everybody Lives / Nobody Dies is one of my favorite tags on ao3.

any special talents? - ? What does this mean. i guess proofreading/editing?? i have always LOVED doing it and i just. naturally keep track of all the Language Rules and enjoy using them. the autism kicking in i suppose. and yes it does count as a special talent actually you would not BELIEVE how many candies i got in 5th grade from ppl bribing me to read over their essays.

where were you born? - arizona/usa. same town as my mom actually (despite her moving like 7 times in between her birth and mine)

what are your hobbies? - listen to music and pace around my room until i pass out. and painting, writing, drawing, various other arts n crafts, guitar, percussion when i have the chance (rn i only have a practice pad :|), and mobile games of heavily varying quality.

do you have any pets? - not atm but i used to have two cats (both still alive just in different household) that i still consider my little kitties :] i have 150+ pictures of them on my phone if you ever need cats i Got you

how tall are you? - 5'11" now!!! was hovering around 5'7"-8" for the longest time but i recently had a growth spurt and now im only the SECOND shortest in my family (out of six)

favourite subject in school? - by the material probably math! it is sometimes difficult for me to get a concept but once i do it's Easy. i also do have an advantage (parent has math degree and is good at explaining) but i try and make up for it by helping everyone else as much as i can jfjdndjf. by the Class def band/music class if that counts. both of my music teachers have been both very scary yet very nice to me and i loved their classes so so much and i extremely enjoy playing instruments with other people (when they behave)

dream job? - sorting pokemon cards in a comfortable chair as a day job with a 4 day workweek, being a freelance renowned fiction editor on my own time, with occasional music-related gigs (tutoring, repairing stuff, playing in concerts, etc). i give you no shit if i could do that for the rest of my life and get paid well enough to live on my own or with roommates i like, have a cat, and have enough time and energy to homecook a meal 3-4 nights a week i would be so happy. that's all i want in life. "oh you would get bored doing the same thing day in day out" no i wouldn't "how" autism.

tags: @irradiatedblood @schmope-is-dead @sapphireclaw @bmo-2143 @pokette @soldiertransgender @astral--horrorshow @catnerdenby @unrestrainedbalderdash @buggiboo @lunar-anomaly @altruisticmystik @syntacticerrortxt @catlokis-blog @rosesareredjaybirdsareblue . okay. okay i think that's 15. im pretty sure. jegus.

[azurechicken]

15 Questions Tagged by @nirvana-war-queen thanks for tagging me!!

1. Are you named after anyone?

Nope, just a popular name at the time which led to many unfortunate nicknames teachers gave me because there was always at least two more people with the same name in the class (i prefer nicknames my friends gave me now and am considering legal changes)

2. When was the last time you cried?

I guess it was a week ago. I needed it out so bad that it was prompted by a silly thing my bf said and I cried laughing because it was actually funny and I was having a meltdown for no reason over it ashdgsdhjs

3. Do you have kids?

Nope. Hopefully stays that way for a long while (at least till i decide otherwise)

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Most of the time. I do try to keep it light and understandable though

5. What sports do you play/have you played?

Volleyball for a while, though that was so long ago now 😭 Currently trying to match my wallet and schedule for Archery, dunno when i will start

6. What's the first thing you notice about other people?

Ohhh definitely mannerisms, hard to explain but sometimes i remember only their vibes and none of their physical appearances bc of this 💀

7. Eye colour?

Green... Seafoamish

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings for sure. I dislike scary movies bc im scared ok??? and my sister forces me to watch them all the time so I hate them more each day

9. Any special talents?

Uhhhh, I adapt really easily I think

10. Where were you born?

In a location like a bridge between Europe and Asia, with none of their good attributes lmao

11. What are your hobbies?

Knitting, reading, writing, drawing and painting, world building, playing games (mostly this lol), and I don't know how much of a hobby this can be but I love having critical discussions about stuff and I prompt it regularly with people I know who are into it

12. Do you have any pets?

Used to take in animals that needed extra care and/or was abandoned so I peaked at 11 cats at one point, last two years changed a lot in my lifestyle and it doesn't really allow that now but still considering getting at least 2 cats soon?

13. How tall are you?

1.70 (I guess that makes around 5'7)

14. Fave subject at school?

hmm, literature in general but definitely linguistics later on, love that stuff

15. Dream job?

Dream job is a myth and working sucks but I guess I would like doing translations or working on linguistics, both aren't too far dreams for my education thankfully Tagging @sillyliterature and @ferrerorogier if you are up for it!! ✨

[columbiafawn3]

I rlly want to order these SHISEIDO lip glosses and have them shipped to our hotel in the UK, but I can’t bring myself to spend $100 on lip glosses, especially given that I just asked French Sophie to order two things from country road for me back home, totalling to $120. I’m quickly spending my Mecca money I earnt in the week before Christmas.

Like it all adds up; and I don’t really have a problem with the pricing of the lip glosses £20 ea. like yes not cheap, but that’s sort of their retail price. So $110 for 3 is about the retail price in Australia.

My makeup habit is becoming very expensive I must say. And for what? Just to put stuff on my face. It’s funny because in Vienna I really haven’t even missed my crazy eye makeup looks. I feel like just a normal guy here, so I don’t really need to wear bold makeup to make myself feel interesting or different. I’m sort of appreciating the feeling of fitting in for a while. Who knows, maybe I’ll quickly overcome it and want to be a freak once more. It’s just nice to feel like I’m not seen as gay as soon as I walk into the room and that’s my only characteristic. I think in Australia, and probably in the UK and America too, there’s such a pressure to be masculine and any deviation from those standards is seen as gay. Gay is the antithesis of masculinity. And I think that’s really messed me up historically. I’m only just now coming to question it and see that I don’t need to relinquish my « right to masculinity » if I want to live authentically as a gay man. Sorry idk how we got there from lip glosses…

So, yeah I want the lilac one and the blue holographic one. After all, it was the blue holographic one that started my whole obsession with these shiseido lip glosses. The lilac one I think would be interesting because purple really suits my skin tone, and I feel like a purple glossy lid would look quite nice on me.

It’s funny because Josh thought my glossy eyelids were just sweat, and I sort of forgot that people probably don’t immediately understand my makeup through an editorial lens like I do. They just take it at face value, and even I can admit that at face value, my makeup doesn’t rlly make too much sense.

I know that at some point my makeup phase will pass and I’ll be left with all of these makeup items and nothing to do with them. I already declutter my makeup semi regularly and am amazed how many things I just don’t use. Makeup is essentially just a continuation of my tendency to obsessively buy something and become fixated on a particular thing, build up a big collection and then move on like it never happened.

Im wondering if I should try to channel all of that makeup energy into my writing, or some other form of art that isn’t so consumption-focused.

I would like to get into painting and art history. I went to the art gallery today in Vienna and was struck by how little I understand painting as an art form. I really couldn’t tell what was special about the paintings that made some more important than others, so I’d like to train my eye rather than rely on people telling me that Holbein is good for example.

And if all else fails, maybe I could read and develop an appreciation for literature.

I feel like I’ve always struggled against makeup, struggled with how authentic it is as an expression of myself. Like is putting lip gloss on my eyes really the height of my creative realisation?

It feels almost like I’ve become estranged from my intellectual side.

In other news, I’ve ordered the Nars Ecstasy and Domination eyeshadows on UK ebay.

Ecstasy is a shade I’ve always coveted but could never get my hands on. Domination is a fuchsia matte, which is actually a colour that suits me surprisingly well. I’m hoping it will be a single eyeshadow version of a shimmer fuchsia in the Nars Afterglow palette.

Im still torn about the lip glosses, because $110 is a lot of money that I sort of just don’t have, and also because I dont know how responsible it is to continue squandering my fortune on cheap throwaway makeup that I often ask my myself if I like in the first place.

Fashion in general feels like a financial sinkhole. What do I really get out of owning an extensive and expensive wardrobe? Sure I feel more confident when I go outside, and it’s fun to dress I and feel good, but is spending my income on new clothes really what I should be doing? Like I should actually be investing my money and focusing on setting myself up for a financial future. In 10 years I won’t say « I’m so glad I bought those shiseido lip glosses I ended up throwing away », but I will say « I’m so glad I saved all that money so I can afford a house deposit ». Half of my life is the opportunities, and then the other half is what I choose to do with those opportunities. I have quite a habit for squandering money, and with every passing phase I promise myself that this will be a responsible phase, only to disappoint myself.

So, in summary, will I get the shiseido lip glosses? Probably not in the end. Maybe I will, but for now I’ll hold off. I’ve survived just fine without them, and it’s not likely they will magically resolve my problems.

Im also feeling drawn to this polo shirt by CR, which is $100. Recently I’ve been trying to take on board my Kibbe body type analysis that said that I should go for classic styles with subtle twists and details. I’ve definitely got the simplicity down pat, now it’s about adding those interesting touches. And this polo shirt seems to tick that box.

Sorry the photos are going to be all down the bottom because tumblr has trouble when I try to put photos and text.

For the polos I was torn between the light shade and the navy. I feel like the light shade is interesting, but I wonder if it would look a bit daggy and do the design a disservice. The navy is a bit less distinctive, more classic, but isn’t that what we’re going for? I’ll probably get the navy in the end, just because I know it’s safe and I trust that it won’t arrive in the mail and be a disaster.

The thing that scares me about the navy one is that it says it’s low in stock online, but I’m waiting for it to go on sale. They’re having their Boxing Day sale atm, and it’s not reduced. So now I’m wondering if it will ever go on sale and if I should wait it out, maybe risk it going out of stock. There’s also a lilac shirt I’m interested in that only recently dropped (photo will be included dw), and I think that one will only be reduced (if ever) towards the start of Autumn, maybe mid Feb. Ugh life is hard for a consumer queen like me. See why I’m thinking of switching to books or writing or anything less consumption based? I’m frittering away $100 here and there, and my quality of life hasn’t exactly skyrocketed with each purchase. I appear to be firmly stuck on the hedonic treadmill.

[061801]

im a mess omg

Okay firstly I was anxious to write this post because I'm like where do I even start? Then I looked at this blog and damn I'm a mess here too. I swear I have like blog OCD. I want 1 billion blogs for each aesthetic or colour and emotion its ridiculous. ANYWAY...

Today I want to work on myself. I feel like everyday I get distracted from what I should really be doing. I feel lucky though because there's an energy pulling me towards what I am supposed to be doing... I think. It's making me feel uncomfortable in positions I don't need to be in anymore. Drinking and partying used to be my personality. Like I started to look back and ask myself if I would even hangout with any of the friends I have if it weren't for our mutual addictions? Most of them, no. That doesn't make them bad people but they're just not the people I really wanna be around without alcohol.

So now I'm starting to ask myself... who am I without alcohol? Who do I want to surround myself around? What do I like doing? I think about my interests and hobbies when I was a kid. Gymnastics, playing piano, and photography and videography. I used to like drawing and painting and making clay sculptures. I like singing and dancing too. I actually had a crazy amount of hobbies. I feel like I had so many I never got really good at one. I used to be pretty good at art but I don't know what it is, when I try now I can't think of what to draw or paint to save the life of me. It really sucks. Gymnastics is still really intriguing to me but REALLY hard, and extremely dangerous and also really expensive. So when I can convince myself to get out of bed, I try my best to paint or do photography. I like doing portrait photography but I only have one friend who I hangout with and it gets boring shooting the same person. I've shot a couple of my friends but they don't end up liking the photos so they don't let me post 95% of them and right now the pictures I take are specifically to draw attention to my work so I can start charging. So if I'm not making any money or have any content to post, there's really no point. Yes I have fun doing it for the hell of it but I would like to do something with my photos. Maybe I should take photos of products or cars soon.

On the topic of being distracted though, I never have much money because I only work part time. Therefore any money I decide to spend I feel so guilty about it because I really don't have it, its just... I really want SOMETHING to make me happy. Whether it's alcohol, weed, clothes, food or talking to guys tbh. I've gotten used to giving in to whatever I want as long as I have the capability to do it. So I feel like in brief moments where I can't get myself what I want right away, I feel sad or bored. I want to actually work towards something I want in life but I just can't figure out what it is. I want to go back to school but I'm having a really hard time with what I want to actually pursue. I wanted to do hairstyling really badly but they only have fast track and I'm confused why they don't have a regular one. I'm not really in a position to be able to move to go to a regular course either so if they don't have it I'm going to have to pick something else. I really want to work on my G2 which I have to hangout with my mom in order to do, but i'm always stoned or when I go hangout with her I get drunk. (it is my fault that I give in, she doesn't make me do anything I don't want to. I just know its there and I get tempted very easily which I need to work on and have gotten better at.) But I just texted her asking when we should practice next because I just want to get that going. I applied to a few jobs. I feel at least a little better than before. I should call shoppers to get a refill on my prescription which I will... then I gotta text my manager and ask her when I work next and if I can pick up my cheque some time. Okay. I'm getting really distracted and ADHD and I can't focus on this anymore lol. Now all I'm thinking about is what I want to do all day to distract myself from how bored I am. First of all shower, and shave. I could do my hair, my makeup, my nails. Clean my house, take out the garbage and recycling, put dresser in my room for now, practice piano, workout, yoga. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

[k00299935]

BRIEF THREE- MOVEMENT

Week two- Painting

Canvas painting

I still felt too sick to go into the city, so instead I decided to start a painting on an upcycled canvas I had been meaning to use. If I add up all the hours I spent on this painting, it took about three days give or take.

For this peice I felt inspired by a poem I read, titled "Remember" by Joy

"Remember that you are this univere and this universe is you". What a beautiful quote. Many people believe that we are all indeed a paet of the universe scattered around, and once we die we are connected again amongst the stars. The idea that a peice of the univere is inside if us all is what inspired the painting.

I knew I wanted it to be a self portrait however I didnt want it to be a realistic one. Why? Because last year I did a plc in design/animation, and we had to draw ourselves a LOT. Not just draw, we painted, collaged, and digitally produced realistic images of ourselves. I must have about 20 self portraits in varying size and medium shoved in a folder somewhere in my room. I am absolutley sick to death my face. So I decided to stylize it for this portrait to make the process more enjoyable.

This is the reference picture I used~

I first started by sketching out a loose drawing of my reference picture, and then added a wash of purple, pink and yellow. I wanted this peice to feel ethereal and pretty.

Once this layer was dry (it was very watery so it took a few hours to dry completley) I mixed up my paints. I decided on a lilac colour scheme, and took what I learnt from Slyvias life painting class into account when prepairing my colours.

Like Slyvia instructed us in the life painting class, I mixed up 3 shades of lilac. A dark, a light and an medium shade. I then looked back at my reference picture and mentally marked out each area that each shade would apply.

The actual painting process took many hours, and to be honest Im still not completley satisfied with the finished painting. As I said, I dont think it looks like me at all and Im not haply with how the body came out. I do like the moon however, I think that came out nice.

"A fragment of the universe"

If I had more time I would have liked to dedicate a few weeks to this painting rather than a few days.

[smileymoth]

7, 8, 14

7. Who are some artists that have inspired you? This isn't a difficult question but it's hard to like... describe why someone inspires me. I think the 1 artist that has sort of guided me to find my art style is definitely godlyDescentUFO they mostly post on deviantart/twt of which i don't really use anymore. I still think about their art a lot, and often. The colour palettes they use and the composition and body language of the characters drawn... It's just special to me. I want to replicate it. One day. Again I feel like Ive been too sucked into fandom these past few years to really do what i want to but I'll... I'll explain that later .But yeah they've been my favourite artist ever since I found them. I feel like if you just go thru their gallery you can tell why I like them

Then there's clickbaitcowboy . He's on tumblr go give them a follow. he makes godly oc illustrations and his painting skills are so... so so so so AAHHH. Im in love fr I can't explain it. The shading makes me go insane and the way he draws out anatomy and muscles and fat and just bodies in general... god

supppe, another person who is on tumblr whose colour paletes bring me joy. He makes comics and his art style is super pleasing to the eye

And from current fandom I think everyone can agree that panidanya and wszczebrzyszynie are incredible artists . Panidanyas anatomy and painting skills kill me every time and wszczebrzyszynie has this really nostalgic(?) art style that my heart can get behind. It creates art with such passion and love, you know, you can't deny that. if you look at its art you just know

Other than that the main inspiration i guess comes from my friends, from my mutuals' art. It doesn't have to be something big. It can be as simple as a small detail in someones clothing or the facial expressions. God this reminds me I miss my friends art. Evan you need to make more art I miss you

8. How would you describe your art style?

Matured deviantart emo semirealism. I dont think semi realism really fits my style bc it still feels too cartoony to me. I dont think my art style is really all that well developed idk it lacks identity to me but Im also hyper critical of my art

14. Do you prefer to make fan content or original content? This is a tricky goddamn question I thought about this for like 5 minutes and now Im even more confused. I am an oc artist first. I don't like "original" art in the sense of those paintings that just exist in a vacuum with no character stories behind them. I want something you can follow, you know. I want there to be some form of a story. which i guess is my downfall sometimes. When i draw fandom art i feel like they're also my ocs. esp bc its... its mcyt... You kind of have to make it into your oc because you have 16x16 pixel canvas and someones 2010 kakashi skin to work with.

On the other hand, bc i'm an oc artist, Im making 'fan content' of my ocs. Technically. Do yuo follow. So me drawing my babyboy Daniel 400+ times in a decade is kind of like fan content but Im the only fan... So whats original content and whats fan content.

I do feel like being so intertwined in fandom content may have hindered my art development a little bit, since I completely stopped drawing my ocs for a little while. I didn't get to explore their lives through art as much as I would've wanted to. I haven't been drawing as many backgrounds because I do enjoy mostly drawing interiors and there's not much interiors to talk about when it comes to mcyt... And ive also just been lacking motivation for it.

All in all i think i enjoy "original" art more, because it gives me more, it gives more to my heart. It's not that i don't enjoy drawing mcyt, but I think I should maybe try to draw mcyt in a more personal? matter? Without too much fandomification? I want to make more art that has "meaning" per say, with backgrounds, a story behind them. (this is just for me and what i want to get out of art, this doesn't apply to anyone else. it's such a slippery slope bc i know saying these things may feel hurtful to others but i am only talking about myself.... okay T_T) I dont know if any of this makes sense. I'm always lost in my direction with art and going to art school didn't make it any better <3

I do think that because I've been going thru a lot of personal warfare in the past 3 years, fandom HAS helped me in the sense that it helps me with creativity, since i have been severely lacking in creative thinking, I just struggle with it nowadays, so if I can draw ethubs making out under a tree bc they did so in episode 402 out of season 194 then so be it, at least it'll help me create

[ere-the-sun-rises]

My mom is the type who was a cheerleader (both in high school and professionally for a short period for a local football team) and would scream-cheer at any sports game she attends. She was super popular and fashionable in high school and has a degree in economics. She has worn makeup since she was ten.

Perhaps intended to be the moment her villain arc began, she had three daughters who do not share these interests. She described us, in her own words, as "being into that nerd shit." To illustrate this, we would raptly watch a show on Canadian television called "How It's Made" which would run through the manufacture of any number of items each episode with a gentle narration. We would literally run to watch this show.

We are also all neurodivergent (though I am convinced our mother is too). So, yes - villain origin material if I have ever seen it.

But she raised us really well, and we never once felt that we couldn't tell her about things we were interested in. We were really close when we were kids and just as close now we're all adults.

I know this is a silly post, but I have a genuine answer to the question under the cut. Feel free to ignore it.

Her success at having kids who had such drastically different personalities came from a combination of things: honesty, indulgence, listening, incorporation, inquiry, sharing and boundaries.

So, my mom started by indulging us in things we wanted to do as little kids, especially things she also liked to do. For instance, if she was painting a room or a mural (she always wanted to be an artist and is really good at it), she would buy cheap watercolour paints from the dollar store and let us paint over old newpaper in the same room as her. Even though she wasn't doing it with us, we were still included in what she was doing.

As we got older, she would include us in chores she was doing (we would "swim" in the clean laundry after our baths while she ran loads, and she would dump new stuff from the dryer over our heads) and would tell us about stuff she liked. She was constantly redecorating and repainting, so she would ask us to pick out colour tiles in the hardware store that we liked and bring them to her (even though she never used them). If it was for our own rooms, she would come to a compromise with us on the colour (one we liked that she could live with). She would ask our opinions about innocuous thinga like drape length or the colour/style of curtain rods despite the fact we did not give a damn.

As we got older, this would progress into us sharing more extensive interests, like gaming and books. She would take us to retailers to look at stuff even if we didn't buy anything, but she would let us talk her ear off about stuff. She would let us choose shows to watch or play games on the main tv to "have something on in the background" and just absorb details by osmosis. In fact, she got into Death Note because she was painting the living room while my sisters were watching it and got invested. She still asks to finish it every couple months.

She encouraged us to pursue our own interests and do the things we liked. I spent a lot of my preteen and teen years reading fantasy books and non-fiction about Ancient Egypt and Greece. Who knows how many hours of her life I've taken up rambling about ancient Mediterranean societies (which is my major now, but I digress) or mermaids and dragons. She would tell us, when we could tell she didn't get it or wasn't interested, that "it doesn't matter whether or not I like it - you do, and it makes me happy to hear you talk about something you love."

And lastly, she never pretended something was more interesting to her than it was, and she was gentle but firm when she had had enough. For instance, my middle sister is im school for medicine and comes home with cool and gross facts about the human body, diseases and such a lot. My mom will listen to the more clinical details (this muscle connects here, which does this, etc) but draws the line at things she finds upsetting or just gross. She will cut us off or wave her hands and be done with discussing something. We can do the same back to her if she's discussing something we no longer want to talk about.

That's the key - mutual standards. Both parent and kid exchanged interests and understood/were taught that there is value in engaging with the other's interests even if they are boring. We would spend time together, even if it was doing different things, and let each other have separate interests without judgement. We can also disengage if we're really uncomfortable or not interested.

I couldn’t have kids because what if I didn’t vibe with the kid. What if the nerd genes somehow passed them and they were really into sports and I had to sit at the ballpark in 85° weather and watch them swing at a baseball over and over again? What if they really liked Disney and their favorite Disney princess was one of the really boring ones? What if they grew up to be an investment banker and expected me to listen to them talk about their job and be proud? I’d still love them I’m sure but I think wasting years of my life entertaining my normcore child would be so sad. I don’t think these things would happen because I think I’m only capable of spawning freaks but I’m not going to tempt fate. My parents are so lucky that I like classic literature, antiques, cheesy movies and history just like them. What if I had been normal? Nightmare.

[renatapatata]

!spoilers for stranger things s4!

... ok im genuinely surprised that so many people are sort of giving up on will and mike getting together when ive never been this confident about a ship??? ever???

if im wrong ill take the L but Cmon Now :

• the show recap purposefully shows the mike and will scenes, putting an emphasis on their dynamic instead of the mike and el scenes

• last season el and mike were going thru it but in the end, el tells him that she loves him and he stood there sort of slack jawed and stunned and couldnt say the words back even then within that scene

• which brings us to the beginning of s4 where mike still cant say ily to el even through the letters and correspondances hes had with her, either a) cuz hes going thru some insecurity about his feelings and the show is building up to a big romantic gesture or b) because hes internally struggling and a part of him knows if he said 'ily' back to el in a romantic context, it wouldnt be true

• meanwhile will is very blatantly pining what with The very pointed slow romantic tune that plays whenever he gazes at mike for a bit too long, and he evidently has a painting for mike and im guessing its contents will be revealed in volume 2 next month

• as for the way mike is treating will, giving him a bit of the cold shoulder at first, the awkwardness and avoiding his gaze, it could be because he feels guilty and weird about how he left things tense between him and his bestie, but then again mikes attitude feels like hes going thru it with el and it could b because he has some underlying feelings for will that he hasnt realized yet and is unknowingly taking out these frustrations on will (rip)

• and i did appreciate how mike apologized to will and that heartfelt talk they had as will was packing his stuff - again, the talks and discussions they had were continuously will trying to console mike despite his shit attitude towards him, so mike finally saying that 'he doesnt deserve to be treated that way' and the Pure hopeful expression on wills face and mikes big smile when they established each other as being each others besties again,.,.,. what was the reason What was the reason

• also this has nothing to do with anything but the background posters in wills room of Jaws 1975 and the og little shop of horrors musical (the lyricist to that musical being howard ashman, a gay man) ... gay!! Gay (source for this being im a mega stan of these two things and i am gay thank you vry much)

• back to the topic at hand tho, i feel like theres some sort of specific costuming choices what with the characters outfit colour schemes and id do a deeper analysis if i knew what i was talking about

• like smthing smthing about how mike brings el yellow and blue flowers and shes dissapointed with how he still signed the bouquet by writing 'from, mike' not 'love, mike', and from what google says about flowers blue can be interpreted as representing peace or a balm to anxiousness, i read somewhere that it also represented desire and romance tho, but for yellow its apparently 'the ideal color for symbolizing friendship'

• then again will has been wearing yellow and blue plad shirts and mike has been wearing an equally chaotic mix of yellow and blue in his outfits and those are just two contrasting colours that compliment each other well, indicating that the writers just purposefully wanted their outfits to be coordinated wink wink

• and to just really get into it theres this General disconnect between el and mike and how they just arent on the same wavelenght anymore, el's message that she leaves behind for mike also being signed with a 'from, el' not 'love, el', seeming to indicate that unless mike apologizes and professes his love to her in volume 2, their romance is kinda officially fizzling out

• honestly ive always rooted for mike and el pre realizing that will and mike was a possibility in the shows plot, and what with el going THRU IT in the following episodes of season 4, i feel like her and mike latched onto each other super hard at the start of the show and whats coming to light now is that their bond is just as valid if it remains platonic

• so we dont see the california gang as much as up until episode 7 it focuses on the vecna plot, and with the last 2 episodes of the season releasing in july being longer and the usual recipe for a stranger things finale being everyone meets up near the end, im guessing will, mike and el are gonna make their way back to hawkins somehow and join the others in the upside down, either intentionally or by force

• by that i mean that theres this specific payoff that has to come with the reveal of what will was painting in episode 1, and el herself says its for a crush, and we know that crush is mike, and so will is still dragging this painting around with him in his backpack for it to be revealed at a surely emotionally charged moment for him

• think of it this way: theres surely gonna be more mike and will screentime in volume 2 now that weve gone thru all of that setup, and whats the point of heavily implying will is crushing on mike all for mike to just be like 'oh haha thx bestie im an ally and all so hashtag gay rights good for you but i love el sorryyy 🤪'

• like Why parallel how mike and el cant seem to work as a couple anymore and mike just seems desperately trying to salvage their relationship and say what she wants to hear, all while having this constant pensive and frustrated look on his face vs how mike was being super dodgey and sketchy with will to giving him these super soft looks and almost being in tears when they had that conversation and reconciled as besties for like 10 seconds?

• it seems cruel to string ur (queer) audience along with the possibility of byler being real only for mike to admit how much he loves el romantically and will to end up heartbroken... like wow... such compelling storywritting (sike) and theyd get Major shit for it Instead of the potential praise if they were to just go thru with endgame byler

• and heres my final crackhead theory but since vecna feeds on peoples guilt and its the dissapearance of will and his connection to the upside down that opened a gate and the upside down being stuck in time on the day he did dissapear,.,., what if the closer he gets to hawkins and the gates he becomes its next target? will could have potential guilt relating to keeping his sexuality/crush hush hush, and being in the closet in the 80s is just surely a shit enough time so i can just imagine the possibility of him being vecnas next or final victim to pick on, and it would be the perfect wake up call for mike to panic at the chance of losing will Yet Again

• or idk im getting a cw supernatural vibe that will is gonna confess to mike, then get yeeted into super hell I Mean the upside down, but lets hope that this time mike pulls his head out of his ass and realizes that the reason things with el feel off is because hes been repressing his feelings for will because hes an oblivious and emotionally stunted dork!!!

anyway thank you for coming to my TED talk my inbox is always open if you also want to scream about all things strange

[twisted-tales-told]

how does one go about binding books? it sems so interesting and im just wondering if i ever want to prints fics yk

also picturess

FINALLY SOMEONE ASKING ME ABOUT BOOKBINDING. I have all this knowledge and no one ever asks. I LIVE for bookbinding. I picked up my phone to see this after bookbinding for the past hour.

So: here you go:)  A guide.

*This is specifically for fanfiction, if anyone has any questions about making journals etc. I can answer those too :) 

Before we start, here’s a start to finish actually binding it tutorial This Man Must Be Protected At All Costs. We don’t deserve him. He talks you through putting the book together really well.

I’m putting the rest below the cut because I’m nice. (there’s pretty + useful pictures there) 

Some Bookbinding language: 

Signatures. Signatures are the lil groups of paper u bind with. They’re usually grouped into four UNLESS you’re using water colour paper or cardstock. (Just in case someone reading this knows absolutely nothing about paper, don’t use either of those for your fanfic pages you’ll hate yourself and the final product.) (ignore the ice cube tray in the background, its my paint pallet. Don’t judge me. 

Book Press: A thing used to press the signatures. Mine is so gross and destroyed I refuse to show it, you can make one out of cutting boards.

Bone Folder: yes, it is made out of bone. Yes you can choose to find a plastic or wooden one. I personally have terrible sensory issues when it comes to paper so I need to use one made out of bone. They’re used to fold the signatures. 

*You don’t actually need one if you have a book press, cuz the signatures get flattened in there anyways, but your hands will hurt a bit after all the folding if you don’t use one. Or, at least mine do.They look like this.

Kettle Stitch :This is, in my opinion, the superior binding method for fanfiction. It’s simple, it’s easy to learn, and its great for actually reading cuz the spine is strong but the pages like flip well? That’s hard to describe. The link at the start of this is my favourite tutorial.

Materials & some tips.

Paper: You can use anything. But, beware of the thickness, I use eco recycled paper, which is better for the environment, but you need to be a bit more gentle when actually binding so it doesn’t rip. 

A) NYLON thread. Don't come in here with your cotton or polyester thread. Nylon. Is. Superior. It won't break and it's easier to untangle (waxed thread is kind of overrated and expensive)

B) a bone folder and book press: you can really use either or, but if you’re only going to use one, it should be the book press.

C) Board. It’s for the cover. I am begging you, if you are still learning, do not attempt a paperback. You will get severely frustrated. Get yourself some Davey Board or any thick(ish) board of any kind and use that. The tutorial guy will help you with sizing. The trickiest part is the spine, getting it the right size just takes practice. 

D) Fabrics: Repeat After Me: Book Cloth Is Stupid. Some book binders hate me rn, but its true and I’ll die there. And then, I show them This:

Do you see this shit? Not one is book cloth. Look How Pretty Your Books Could Be. The purple one is drapery cloth, theres some cork board ones, and the top two are just thickish cotton. The book industry is just boring and they don’t know how to have fun. Also yes, I know the cork board two look kinda awful, they were the first ones I ever made. Leave them alone they’re doing their best. 

E) Glue. PVA Acid Free bookbinding glue is the best option, I recommend getting a one of the really soft paintbrushes from Walmart or whatever cheap and big softer one you can, it just makes spreading it easier. I’m really picky about the glue I use because I’m paranoid. This is the one I get, but It’s expensive, you can honestly use tacky glue and you’ll be fine

D) Curved Needle Please splurge on one. They’re like an extra dollar than one of the straight needles, and you will save yourself so many injuries. Every single tutorial will say “oh, you don’t need one” and they’re Idiots for it. Well I don’t like the feeling of stabbing myself repeatedly, and I’m willing to spend 10 dollars on a Set of 36  so that I’m not just in pain all the time. 

Ah, Typesetting. Hell on Earth

You want pretty chapter titles? Get Canva. There’s a free version and she’s lovely.

I, personally, will die before I print from a PDF. That being said, I wish with all my heart and soul that I had microsoft word. Because I use Literal Pages (if you don’t have a mac, you’re confused as fuck. If you do and you’ve had the pleasure of attempting to use pages, yeah. I know. It’s not great but it’s what I have)

Get rid of all your margins. Make sure your title images, if you’re gonna be a fancy canva title bitch like me, are moving with your text. I wish I could help you with a table of contents but I do it by hand aka, insert a table & tracking the pages as I copy paste + “fix up” chapters. *by fix up I mean correct colouring, add the indents, change the font size & type etc. Add italics. 

Indents should be 0.5 inches or it looks weird. You can do the pages so they’re the professional wall to wall text, but I cannot stress how much work it is to make sure it copies properly. 

Now, if you’re stupid and use pages like me...you have to redo all the italics. Good Luck. 

If you want to risk seeing if a PDF works---which it really can go badly if your margins aren’t literally Zero (and even then sometimes PDF adds them which is rude of them) you can, and you won’t have to redo all the italics. It’s your choice and if you find a better way Tell Me. 

Specifics:

You want Chapter One to be on Page 7 of the typeset. Again, this might change if you’re not using Pages, but that took me so long to figure out that I need to include it here. Before that there’s the, what I call, The Blank gluing page, another blank for the back of that page, the pretty Image + quote page you open up to, a blank one, Table of contents, Blank, Then, Finally, Chapter one. 

You can also do some weird settings for changing the page numbers so Chapter one, aka page one, you “Start a new section” and “start at 1″ Then you can delete the page numbers from the previous 6 pages and you’ll get page one on the actual first page of the book.

Font Size: There’s going to be two pages on one paper, so your font size is going to be 16/17. I prefer 17 because I’m blind. 

Here’s a Muse In Secret Typeset as an example that I made one day because I was bored. I don’t know if the Author gave permission for us to print it out or not so I haven’t but I made the type set so I could learn with a decent sized project. 

So that’s kinda what it looks like. 

You print it using the “layout--> Booklet” feature. Print in groups of “16″ which is 4 pages, 2 sided. 

Now for: Mistakes I’ve Made That You Won’t Have To Make Now

1.You need to use Thick Cardstock or something stronger to do the interior pages. 

It needs to be strong enough that it won’t rip. Don’t be me and think, oh I can use pretty paper, because this happens

*ALSO, and this is a weird one, A03 for some reason....the text is not black. And hey, you have to highlight everything to change the font size, type, and add indents anyways so you might as well change it to black as well. It makes a big difference. 

Other than these basics, the fun is the creativity and figuring it out. It’s okay to switch up fonts & design elaborate chapter titles, and add art and fanart you love. Make it personal to you. It’s why I don’t share my typesets. I put so much work into them and I can appreciate every little detail because of that.

Good Luck Amon!! It’s a really fun hobby, and it doesn’t have to be super expensive. Except for printer ink. I have no solutions for that one.