#ive been experimenting with colour palettes

[likesdoodling]

This is set when Myne has to stay at the temple over winter, away from her family.

I drew the lineart I'm not sure how long ago, but I felt like colouring stuff in, so I did.

:)

[askinkiskarma]

Illicit Affairs | Chapter III: Exile

Pairing: Neteyam x Human!Reader (later Avatar!Reader)

Chapter I Chapter II Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VII Chapter VIII Chapter IX Chapter X

Synopsis: Your 18th birthday has finally arrived, and with it, a gift that will change your life and your relationships - forever.

Warnings: angst, mentions of death, cursing

Word Count: 3,9k words

A/N: Hi Guys! The 3rd chapter is finaaally here, and 'm happy to say that whilst so far everything's been mostly intro and world building, things will be picking up very quickly. Hope you enjoy this story of two very broken people finding each other <;3

"You were my town Now I'm in exile, seein' you out I think I've seen this film before So I'm leavin' out the side door"

You didn’t dare look back at Neteyam. No, you kept a straight face and your gaze forward as you walked towards the village, engaging in small talk with your 3 friends, who were more than willing to fill in the silence by themselves. They knew you liked to keep to yourself and knew better than to take it personally. 

Your friends also knew, despite not mentioning, that this is a colossal feat, getting you out of the lab, getting you to leave your comfort bubble that you, willingly or unwillingly, built for yourself the past 18 years. Kiri fondly remembers you as a child, wild and free, running around barefoot on the grass and mud as if Pandora and her trees were just your own personal playground. She took a small gander at your feet, now safely covered with a pair of black Converse sneakers, the likes of which she’s seen other humans wear before and tried not too dwell on all the moments that lead you here.

You arrived at the village after a long, pleasant walk. You were fascinated with the Pandora flora, and wondered if you were ever going to get used to it, ever not have your breath hitch in your throat at its beauty. You hoped not. Your heart started to race as the sound of people idly chattering filled your ears. Soon enough, you began to see fire and tents, as the Na’vi were making their way back home at the dusk of another day. You saw some of them removing game from the back of their pa’li, others filleting a huge fish that you recognised as a dinicthoid, and as you walked further in, saw kids running around playing with toy ikrans and laughing amongst themselves, as their mothers lay on the ground watching them in adoration. 

This place filled you with so much warmth. It was clear to you the bond these people had to each other, to the clan, to the nature surrounding them, was something you will never experience for yourself, something your mum talked incessantly about every day, and you suppressed a small cry at the sudden loss of a connection you didn’t even know you longed for until now.

You made your way to the biggest tent you could reasonably see, one that you quickly recognised as the Sully family tent. It was ornate and adorned with intricate designs and two large fire lamps framing each side of the opening. It was a sight to behold, and you realised that it hasn’t changed much since you last visited. You also started to take note of the stares boring into your side from all around you and felt grateful at how close you were to the tent’s entrance. 

Almost on command, Jake Sully peered out of the tent and you watched as a wide smile replaced his previously confused expression. He was a handsome man, as much so now as he was in the still frames of your past. He was dressed in celebratory garments, a fiery red loincloth dropping from his waist and a dazzling beaded neck piece that matched. He had several arm bands circling his arms, and you took note of the way the colour palette matched that of Toruk, and how well that seemed to compliment him. He was a handsome man, you thought to yourself. Damn the Sullys and their genetics.

“Y/N, my God you’ve grown. What the hell happened??” He said, enthusiastically. He circled you curiously and eyed you intently. You tried not too blush at the sudden scrutiny and how it mirrored your own just a few moments ago. “You have time to lift weights in between experiments??” 

You let out a small laugh. “Hi, Jake. It’s good to see you, it’s been a while.”

“It’s been too long. You never visit, but we’re hoping that will change soon.” He said, then eyed the kids behind him, and whatever expression he was met with made him quickly bite on his bottom lip and turn around, as if to stop himself from saying any more. 

A small shriek came from behind him, one that you instantly recognise and you smile widely at the little girl, who, since you last saw her, somehow became as tall as you.

“Tuk-tuk”, you say warmly and watch the animated figure jump up and down and encircle you roughly in a bear-hug. Damn, she’s stronger than you already, you sighed. 

“Y/N! I have missed you so muchhh, you have to ask mum and dad to let me come to the lab more often, I never get to see you anymore!!” She cried in your neck, still holding on to you for dear life. 

“I know, dear girl. I missed you, too. I’ll make sure it will never be this long before we see each other again, how does that sound?” You speak to this child you love like your own sister in Na’vi, her English skills the least proficient. She nodded her head vigorously and with that, let go. 

She took your hand in hers and made her way into the tent, and you felt relief flood your being at finally being out of people’s sights. Two majestic women, tall and mighty as the Valkyries in your mum’s Norse Mythology books stood by the fire. They were chatting softly to each other and stopped as they heard you come in. 

Neytiri and Mo’at looked at you intently and you felt yourself cower under the intensity of their gaze. Neytiri slowly approached you with movements so nimble and fluid you were thinking she could have made a career as a ballerina back on Earth. 

After a while, she kneeled on the ground in front of you and placed her long, toned arm on your much tinier shoulder. 

“My Child, you have grown so much.” She smiled kindly at you, and you felt yourself tear up at her choice of words addressing you.My child…

Before you could stop yourself, you felt your arms cross the space between you and circle her neck. The necklace she was wearing scratched your skin painfully, but you didn’t care. “I see you. I’m sorry.” 

Neytiri’s arms tightened around you and you heard a smile in her voice as she said “Oh, my sweet child, you don’t have to be sorry.” 

You spent the evening catching up. You told them about your work in the lab, about how you all scrambled to find any cure or at least partial treatment to the illnesses that seem to have escalated recently among the tribes’ people. They tell you about training, Lo’ak and Neteyam’s training as well as Kiri’s, who has been spending most of her time learning the ways of the Tsahik, having a natural skill for it. 

You find yourself drooling at the delectable food, and are happy when Mo’at calls everyone to the meal around the fire pit in the centre of the tent. You wait for everyone to get a portion first, and smile fondly when Neyriti passes you a leaf with all the goodies on it. You dig in, realising how famished you actually were. 

“So, Y/N”, Jake starts, “how does it feel being 18? I remember turning 18, don’t remember much else about that day though”, he says, smiling proudly to himself. 

“Feels just the same as being 17, I’m afraid. Was really hoping the Universe might give me some sort of sign or epiphany or, anything, really, but, in reality, I feel the same as I did yesterday, and all the days before that. The food’s much better today, though” You finish with a grin, as you dig into another piece of teylu. 

“Right, well, about that.. us and the kids thought, with you spending so much time on your own, you deserve a special birthday and some special gifts. Now you can see them in the corner of the tent there, but I warn you, you’re not allowed to open them until back at the lab.”

You peered over his shoulder curiously, and were again disappointed to have to wait for a surprise you didn’t want in the first place.

“After dinner, we can all go back to the lab, and you can open them in the hub while we watch, we know how much you love being surprised!” 

“Wow, going out after curfew, I actually do feel kind of special.”

“You should, kid.”

Putting all the wrapped objects on the back of a Pa’li, you watched as Jake mounted his own and motioned for you to get on, in front of him. You did as you were told quietly, and the entire family made its way towards the lab. It was a much quicker journey back, and soon enough you found yourself dismounting in front of the cold heavy walls of the hub. Before you could enter though, Lo’ak passed you a cloth of some sort, and wordlessly asked for you to tie it around your eyes. 

“Oh, come oon!”, you said with a deep groan, but obliged regardless. What was the point of resisting now. You knew one thing though, you were very excited to go back to bed tonight, as the emotional toll this day was taking on you was, although not worse than expected, heavy enough for you to feel its weight for days to come. 

As soon as you entered the lab and removed your mask, you put the covering over your eyes, and felt Lo’ak, you knew, pick you up from the ground and carry you bridal style through the halls of the hub. You couldn’t quite tell where you were going, but you heard snickering behind you, and soon enough, Lo’ak put you down carefully and turned you around to face him.

“Now, Y/N, you’re gonna turn around and we’re going to need you to not pass out. Deal?” 

“What? This is strange, guys.” 

You felt him turn you around and felt gentle hands unwrap the cloth covering your eyes. Your eyes took a minute to adjust to the bright artificial light of the lab, and then pause.

One. Two. Three. 

You couldn’t quite comprehend what was clearly displayed in front of you. You recognised your surroundings quickly enough. The Morgue, the other humans called it. A room where the avatars of the dead humans, now serving no purpose, were kept in their respective incubators. Your eyes were immediately drawn, as if on instinct, to your mum’s avatar. You never came here, you couldn’t. Your gaze then shifted to the incubator to the left of your mum’s, the one that hosted Grace Augustin, Kiri’s mum. On the right of your mum, though, there was usually an empty incubator. There, now floated and twitched a body, blue, tall and strong, connected to an artificial umbilical cord. You peered at it intently, something about it making you shift uncomfortably towards it. Suddenly, you felt yourself stiffen in shock, and heard a loud thud as the mask and the connecting oxygen pack dropped to the ground. The new blue body looked like… you.

Neteyam couldn’t stop staring at his baby brother’s back as he carried you in his arms, and he couldn’t stop the twinge of jealousy that bubbled deep beneath the surface.He got to carry you, he got to touch you, he got to laugh with you every damn time he pleased, and now he gets to introduce you to your new life. 

Neteyam, just like the rest of his family, has known about this for months, maybe longer. Norm, his dad’s closest friend, came to the village one day and announced to the family that him and the rest of the scientists worked tirelessly for years to figure out a way to make you an avatar, and with a lot of help from your deceased’s mother’s work and research, as well as some of her DNA, they cracked the code. The newly made Avatar was a miracle of sorts, nobody having thought it would be possible to create on Pandora, so far from all the resources normally used to make one back on Earth. But they did it, and it will be ready in time for your 18th birthday. Norm wanted to make sure, if it succeeded and you accepted it, they will in turn accept you in the village, just like they accepted Jake so many years ago. He wanted you to be able to have a life, not just a body, and be able to finally be free of the shackles you have created for yourself for years on end. 

Neteyam couldn’t tell how he felt about it, partly due to the fact he’s stopped himself from thinking about it since he’s found out. Whilst his siblings and even parents were buzzing in excitement, he was scared. If you were to now be there, in the village, in his life, every day, he will be forced to deal with you, with the two of you, and the feelings he knew were buried in him for a reason. He stopped at the top of the stairs of the room where he knew the Avatar lay. Nobody cared about him at the moment, and, as a result, was relieved to figure out he doesn’t have to join you in the room and see your future body, currently inanimate and floating in liquid he didn’t know or didn’t want to know the origins of. If this was to happen anyway, he’d rather meet you properly, and see if the same flicker of curiosity and unruly smile could ever reflect in the same way it does on your current face, the one that still haunts his dreams.

You couldn’t formulate words… or thoughts, for that matter. You stared at the Avatar for what it feels like hours, and finally, Norm cleared his throat and spoke.

“I know this is a lot to take in. But we wanted your 18th to be special, Ace. We have been working in secret for years to get this done, because you deserve it. You deserve the world, and you can’t have it in this lab. This world also deserves you. So now you can go and show it what you’ve got.” 

“We’re so happy for you to join us, my child.” You heard Neyriri join in. 

“Do you want to see the gifts we made for you?” Tuk jumped in, enthusiastically.

With a last look at your Avatar, you turned around and faced the people you knew would be looking at you expectantly. You didn’t know what the feelings you were feeling were, but they were all fighting to take over, and you felt yourself becoming dizzy. Steading yourself, you recognised that words will have to appear on your tongue sooner or later, and you managed to get out a whisper “Sure, Tuk-tuk, let’s go!”

Everyone around you exchanged weird looks; they really thought you would be a lot happier about this than you were. You tried your best to put on a happy smile and react in the way you knew people would be wanting you to; after all, this was indeed an incredibly nice, thoughtful and attentive gift, not to mention damn fucking impressive, and whatever trauma the thought of having to pilot this Avatar brought in you, it was something you were going to have to deal with by yourself, later. 

“Guys, I know I have not reacted in a way appropriate for the sheer insane size and meaning of this gift, but I promise that despite my very slow processing times, I am incredibly grateful and happy for this. I cannot believe something like this is even possible, and I can believe even less that it was done for me! But while I struggle to comprehend the magnitude of what’s going to happen to me, let’s open some presents!!” 

You made your way slowly towards the recreation hub where all the packages were placed on one of the long tables. You chuckled awkwardly and took one of them in your hands. The wrapping, you realised, was the same material like the one used to make the Na’vi loincloths. 

The one you held in your hands currently was blue. You unwrapped it, careful as to not damage it at all, and was shocked to see a dazzling necklace, one of the most beautiful ones you have even seen. It was a leather chocker, which adorned green and red stones, and it reminded you a lot of the bracelet you were currently wearing. You turned around and looked at Kiri, whose masterful hands you knew crafted it. She was sitting on one of the benches and you couldn’t help become emotional looking at your friend, your amazing friend, who you have known all of your life, and who always collected trinkets from the woods, trinkets that now will decorate your new body. 

The next package was heavier, and upon opening it, you were shocked to discover a rider’s mask, like the one the Na’vi wear when flying an Ikran; it was brown and braided and had bones adorning it. The lenses were translucent and shone in iridescent hues as you looked at it from all angles. You were in awe at the inadvertent admission that someone thought you capable of one day passing the Iknimaya, and you felt quite confident in saying Lo’ak was the master behind this gift. 

“I thought, you will definitely need it one day, and I wanted to get a jump start.” He says, as if reading your mind. “You may not know it now, but I think you were born for this, Angel.” 

You had no words to say to that, but were touched at how Lo’ak always seemed to believe in you more than you believed in yourself. You took a silent oath to try to live up to the version of you Lo’ak kept with him in his heart. 

The second to last package was also quite small and seemed to rattle as you picked it up. As you unwrapped it, you didn’t quite make sense of the bundle of feathers and chains, but eventually Neytiri kindly stepped in and untangled it, and you realised it was a top, a beautiful, sheer top, and you found it hard to believe this will actually cover anything. You were excited to put it on though, and felt a tingle of anticipation for tomorrow that was not there before… these were yours, for your body, for your future, a future where riding your own Ikran might be more than just a dream of an out-of-reach fantasy.

“Thank you so much.” You wanted to say more, you wanted to tell them the turmoil in your heart and how scared you truly were, and how you wish they would understand and reach over and heal the broken mess that was your mind so you could finally just go, get out of this place and make your life something actually worth living, but you couldn’t make any other words come out. So you just said thank you.

As the family and the scientists continued chatting, you managed to slip by unnoticed out of the recreation hub and made your way down the hall, looking for the missing Sully you knew would be somewhere in here, by himself. You were so mad at him, so much resentment had built up in you from the year you’ve spent apart, from the less than ideal reunion, and from his continuous attempts to avoid you at all costs. It was your birthday, for god’s sake. He could at least pretend to be happy to be here, even if only for the sake of the memories you shared. 

You found him in your room, looking over the books in your makeshift library, mindlessly playing with something in his large hands. His ears twitched as you approached, an obvious sign he heard you, but made no effort to acknowledge your presence. You half smiled at the view, and tried not to remember all the other times he has been in your room, just like he was now. You sat on your bed and waited patiently for him to speak, like you once used to do. It might take some time, but he always spoke.

“I don’t think you should do it.” He says, without looking at you. 

“You think I shouldn’t do what?”

“This, the Avatar thing. I think it’s a bad idea.”

You sat there, in silence for a while while his words twirled in your mind like his green bracelet was twirling in his hands. You didn’t realise your mouth was wide open until you felt it dry up and you swallowed involuntarily in response.  

“Excuse me?”

He turned around to face you and you saw a hard look mark his features, the old Neteyam, your old Neteyam merely a long-forgotten dream. 

“You’re not going to make it, Y/N. You haven’t spent more than a week outside in the past 3 years. You may think you got this, cause you work out in a dark stuffy room with some weights and jump a rope, but it’s not going to mean jack shit when you’re out there, in a wilderness so harsh it claims brave Na’vi men and women’s lives every day. You may think you know everything because you sit here hunched over books written by humans who couldn’t see even if it hit them in the face with a stick, but you know nothing about the real world. Nothing about what’s waiting for you starting tomorrow, if you do this. Tell Norm no.” 

The rage you felt blossomed like deadly nightshade and you knew whatever it was you once felt for Neteyam was dead and buried six-feet-under in that moment. You let out a bitter chuckle and rose up from the bed, placing your body in front of him.

“You know, when I saw you standing here, in my room, after all this time, I felt some sort of sick hope. I hoped you had finally come to your senses and decided you would apologise for the way you’ve treated me. For the way you left. I’m not stupid, believe it or not. I never expected whatever we had to last. After all,  it was only a matter of time before the mighty future Olo’eyktan realised his attentions are better focused on more worthwhile things, like training, or, I don’t know, finding the best future Tsahik. I always expected you to outgrow me. I just had an ounce of hope you would have enough decency to do it while looking me in the eye. I felt like I earned that, after all the blood, sweat and tears I gave you.” 

“You know, I fucking hate surprises. I just never thought you’d be one of the reasons why.”

The silence felt heavy and all you could hear was your panting breath, as you were trying to reign in your tempestuous emotions and the tears that were threatening to spill from your eyes. 

“Get the fuck out of my room, Neteyam.” 

You found yourself forcefully taking the bracelet from his much larger hand and removing yourself from his path, motioning towards the open door. He left without saying a word and you shut the door behind you with a loud thud.

So far 18 was not your favourite age. 

[156l]

recently ive been practicing my own rando stuff daily and today i decided to paint with solely CMYK bars instead of using colour picker or palettes. i've been intending to try making my stuff more "colourful" inherently instead of just using layer modes.

final result was a bit satisfying, just adding +6 to saturation instead of needing to noodle around with gradient maps and contrast/hue/whatever. I think it has massive usage and fantastic in the detail department instead of just being flat and solid-coloured. you get to apply "random" colours in a way. the metaphorical and literal highlights are a joy to do, as they can come in different colours so long the material allows for it.

on the other hand, maybe it's because i am not that well versed in it, but changing the colour up once every 20-ish seconds kinda gets bothersome in a while. it's also wasted if the subject is very far, i think.

it's very fun, but i think it would be more so if you already had a "default" set of funky colours to use in your head instead of still needing to figure them out, and not put the most offensive combos together.

gonna end off the post with apologising for being slow in my last dregs of commissions -- IRL work has arrived! so yeah, have some random experiments i do in my free time

[kerizaret]

OK SO for context. i have a loft bed (functionally it’s like a bunk bed except Taller and bigger and it’s only the top bunk so i can have my desk/setup underneath it) and it looks so cool and i love it but as a result making the bed is a huge pain. so i usually Dont. but our landlord is coming over today and im due to wash some sheets anyways so today is the day

a bigger reason this has been a problem is because i have like 20 plushies on my bed at all times (not even counting my 4’ tall peep plush, he just doesnt fit up there) so ive had to toss em all down on the floor before i even begin to deal with the blankets and pillows

so in the process of tossing everyone down ive discovered both a pillow and a blanket tucked into the corners of my bed that i didnt even think existed???? like i have no memory of where they cane from or how they got there?????? they just kind of appeared????? so i have another pillow and blanket now. i guess. which is really funny and i probably shouldnt question it but i am anyway

here’s my pile of plushies as well if u were curious. they all have names and i love them dearly

That was me i left them there for your enjoyment hope you like my gift /silly /j [but honestly that's???? So random but so cool???? Free comfort!!!]

ALSO I GET UOU SO MUCH THOUGH WITH THE TIDYING UP I slept on a bunk bed for several years as well, both on top and on the bottom, and had the experience of making both and IT IS A CHALLENGE. Especially because I ALS9 HAVE TONS OF PLUSHIES

Speaking of which I LOVE YOURSSS THEYRE SO CUTE I love that you keep to a certain colour palette /silly but they fit you a lot! I'd love to learn their names someday too :3 naming your plushies is the besstttt

A friend of mine got me a teacher's register (for student names and grades) for my nameday as a kid and I wrote down all my plushies' names there and pretended to give them grades 😭😭 also had special notebooks for drawing them and signing them to nor forget which is which (which is.. easy when you have like 50 at least....)

[l00106]

hiii!! first of, i love ur art soooo much, no words can do justice for the feeling i get when i look at ur art but everytime i see it, its like im receiving a warm hug to my soul :")

secondly, ive been trying to practice colouring myself and im in love w the way u colour... it got me curious to ask you, have u ever studied colour theory previously or do u perhaps just follow whatever feels right? do u have a certain colour pallete u religiously follow or does it depend on ur piece? i'm new to colouring so my apologies if my questions seem a bit obvious LOL 🫣🫣

anyways, please take care of yourself, thank you! <3

Hiii tysmm and pls don’t apologize its part of learning!!

I never use color palette and it depends on every of my piece but then again its like 50% my unconscious style and 50% color theory

It is very important to at least know the basics n fundamentals of color and value coz if u alr know the basics or what is going on, painting will be more fun and u can experiment more or at least be confident w your color combinations / choices.

For the color theory, i use Marco Bucci 10 minutes to better painting series vids, he covers basically everything abt painting but, if u want a deeper understanding specifically on color theory, i really recommend to purchase his color theory videos on his website! It is very worth it, trust me i wasn’t a big fan of coloring coz i knew nothing but i tried to understand it with help of his explanation vids, now im doing so much better ☠️💪

[ren-from-mars]

I’ve been doing some reflecting on this past year, and I really truly think it is the most artistic improvement I have made in any span of time. Of course, I’m going to be completely insufferable about it and have collected my best piece from each month with a few personal notes, so why don’t we go on a sprint down memory highway together?

January

At the start of the year, I was both adrift between fandoms and art styles. I was mostly aiming to find which style I could keep using, finish pieces quickly yet still feel proud of. It certainly worked in the moment, but as I pushed my boundaries more it didn't stick. Still, I look back on this style fondly! also proper throwback to my old username that i had for far too long

February

This was the start of me working on colour palettes. I lay down my main colour in the background and fit the rest of my colours around that. It was a good way to start experimenting!

March

Then the shift back to finding my style- I particularly like how the hair turned out in this piece! I also started trying more interesting poses here, and actually properly attempting hands.

April

I didn't finish any pieces in april as I had started working more hours and didn't quite know how to balance myself creatively at that point. I did lean into this style of sketch much more, which was good fun while it stuck around but ive leant away from it in more recent times.

May

Not much to say about may in particular, lots of the same things as the past few months with improvements here and there! just some steady progress :)

June

Cue the crunch of getting character refs done before artfight, and then only actually finishing one (which isn't actually complete, even to this day). But hey, more solid reference for My Guy ! I also leaned into drawing furries a lot more and have improved heaps in the difference of proportions!

July

artfight baybee!! no artistic differences, but it was a lot of fun scouting out other peoples character designs! I do hope to participate more this year :3

August

back to colours, though this month felt like a bit of a backtrack. Don't get me wrong, I do quite like this piece, but contrast-wise it doesn't have as much visual clarity as I would like. Regardless, a good learning opportunity!

September

Fun fact, I rendered this one entirely in greyscale! This was the start of me getting back into hatchetfield after being reminded of NPMDs release, and lets be real this part of black friday was chilling so I had to do something about it! I consider this piece a landmark in terms of my art journey.

October

Once again no real finished pieces, I was too busy watching nightmare time while waiting for the group watch of npmd. I did do a lot of studies of star wars characters from their live-action shows though, which was a fun learning experience!

November

This was the piece where I applied pretty much everything I had learnt throughout the year. contrast, colour themes, interactive environments and poses, the lot! and also. its them. how could i not

December

A perfect piece to wrap up the year with! Another step up from november, this applied lots of what I had learnt and pushed my boundaries even more. I have been aiming for more realism to actor's faces and body types, not out of it-has-to-be-canon-sake, but rather learning how to accurately depict someone's likeness from a few photo references. good practice for both live-action and animated characters!

Overall last year was absolutely wild. I can't wait to share my journey with you all as we go into 2024 strong!

[jayextee]

Thunder Force IV is SO good.

My week in gaming has been grinding a 1CC, or one-credit completion, of Thunder Force IV for the SEGA Megadrive. What this entails to the uninitiated, is playing an arcade-style game to completion; usually on the default settings, as I have; without continuing, as if an arcade machine were fed a solitary quarter and the player were good enough to beat the entire thing.

It was such a good experience, I felt like I just had to write about it. Thunder Force IV is one of the best shmups ever, and I want to talk about why.

VISUALS Much of TFIV is codified into two colour groups; orange and blue. Exceptions exist in some backgrounds and enemy graphics, but the bulk of the action rarely strays from orange and blue where it matters; when you are shooting enemies or their protective structures or surrounding walls, the colour of the impact graphic communicates perfectly to the player whether damage is being done (orange impact) or not (blue impact). There is an exception to this in the super-powerful 'blade' weapon, which offsets its power somewhat and makes it a tool best-used by experienced players; a good balance in my opinion.

Keeping the palette to these consistent rules for a large portion of the game is a good design choice.

AUDIO Almost everyone will tell you to play TFIV with the sound turned up for the absolute banger soundtrack, replicating guitar sounds as well as the YM2612 synth ever did in the Megadrive's lifetime, and they're right about that. But what they'll miss is how well-designed the sound cues are; there's a good assortment of varying explosion sounds across a gamut of pitches and intensities, many of which will communicate to the player when a boss or enemy has been partially-destroyed and will change attack pattern. Essential in learning the game. ALSO DAT SOUNDTRACK THO.

BALANCE TFIV has five types of weapon that cover the following bases; forwards, backwards, above/below the player ship, opposing the ship's last movement direction, and homing. This is actually a veritable Swiss army knife of shmup weaponry, meaning there's a tool for every situation. In fact, often multiple approaches will work; a fact that works well with the punishment mechanic of losing the currently-used weapon (apart from the default mode of the initial forward and backward-firing types) upon death. This is complemented by a player-adjustable ship speed for fine micrododging or fast fleeing depending on the situation.

ENCOUNTER DESIGN Levels themselves will throw hazards at the player from all directions, and each one has its own particular 'flavour', which is distinct and learnable. Bosses have generally well-telegraphed attacks, a multitude of them to cover different types of space -- meaning that a player very often can't rely on 'sweet spots' and has to explore with different methods of approach and attack.

IN CONCLUSION Thunder Force IV isn't just one of the best shmups for Megadrive. It's one of the best ever, and my week spent grinding that 1CC has been A Good Time™. So much so, that I just had to tell someone about it. (crossposted from my CoHost)

[lagomorphics]

hi majora! your art is really cute, and I hope you don't mind if I ask about your process? I'm new to art and yours is an inspiration! I wanted to ask how you learned? and your process, because you seem to draw near daily! also any tips you might have for me? thank you!

HI ANON!!! ur very sweet thank u so much WAHH <33!!! idm being asked abt that at all!!

in terms of how i learnt; i've kinda always been drawing for as long as i can remember? been posting art online since around 2013-ish so i got a big big catalogue of stuff to look back on

but learning in specifics of like, how i learned to shade n draw bodies etc etc. i studied! theres a lot of resources out there that'll break down a lot of the 'basics', i dont have any i can name off the top of my head except for morpho; whole bunch of books about body types and anatomy.

im not really good at providing tips for how to learn (bad memory </3) but studying, drawing things over and over (i do with reference and then without, and try to draw in different angles/perspectives) is very useful!

ALSO VERY IMPORTANT: literally do not worry at all if what you draw the first time around looks wonky or "ugly". being negative towards yourself about your art only serves to stunt ur growth!! shakes you (and anyone reading this) by the shoulders. it can be very easy to slip into hating your art and not enjoying anything ur drawing. this is me telling u to try and draw something youve never drawn before. experiment. it may not look perfect or even "good" but it will refresh ur brain!!!!!

MY PROCESS...... oh man i really have been drawing pretty much daily huh? i do draw every day but its been a hot minute since ive been doing finished pieces haha

but basically what i do is; start with a few warm-up doodles! just anything to get me in the groove

then over the course of the day i slowly chip away at whatever pieces im working on (lined stuff will usually take me a few hours, rendered stuff takes a day or a few....)

i cannot really assist in like "so how do you draw?" because i honestly just go Lights Off Its Drawin Time! but i always do a rough sketch of an idea i have, refine the sketch, refine that sketch, and then if its rendered i'll make a palette for myself somewhere, but if its lined i'll start on the lineart and then fiddle around with colours.

i draw for fun, so if i dont like how somethings turning out, i'll stop drawing it. no use frustrating myself over a piece to the point of hating it!!

(this ones just forfun and just for me) i keep a small little doc full of notes about my own pieces! i like analysing stuff, and also enjoy talking about why i draw something in a specific way, so this is just a nice little thing for me to have fun with. also helps me avoid potentially slipping into "hate this. bad" mindset bc im specifically noting things that i Liked (i do obviously have a bit of chatter like "hmm i think i couldve drawn this better, i should keep that in mind" but its only when its helping myself. the jora does not talk bad about its art)

aaand then i do some cool-downs to get any last little doodles outta my head so i can relax in bed

in terms of tips? do stretches, walk around, TAKE BREAKS! draw at your own pace, and also Have Fun With It. experiment with different colours, limited palettes, different styles!

seriously though do make sure you take breaks and stretch im lookin you in the eye okay?

I HOPE THIS MADE SENSE AND IS HELPFUL IN A WAY i ramble. far too much. and im not the best at articulating my thoughts!! but i hope u have lots of fun drawing very cool stuff <333

[georgiaeveritt]

Studio Day - ISTD

15.11.23

Feedback talk with emily:

ive been struggling with motivation for my istd project at the moment so i had a short helpful chat with emily about the direction of my project.

start by creating a bank of colour palettes and typefaces to grab from

initial experiments in illustrator - don't have to be good

don't have to make a book or a type spec only if you want to submit project to istd - for this submission can just do the mockups & posters

websites:

[libartstudio3]

300 word artist statement

I have been learning about insects and the intertwining of both of our (humans and insects) actions to conclude in the current state of the world today. This learning has symbiotically informed the approaches I have taken while painting. My main focus has been to use layers to create a sort of depth, and I have come to enjoy the grit and texture created when scratching away the thick top layers of paint to expose the underpainting and scrapped painting ideas underneath.

I’ve begun to explore characters within a sort of insect universe. The way that the different creatures look, and the energies that they give off. The under layers they would otherwise conceal. Other ideas i’ve painted are more abstract looks into the way that the insects might see and perceive the world that they exist in - something other worldly with hints of the familiar. 

Again I have been finger/hand painting - when I moved up in scale i tried using brushes but it took what I enjoy away from painting. The physical and textural experience of making my work. I did start using blades and palette knives to carve away sections of wet paint, and to mix colours on the canvas. Ive been further mastering the limits of what colours can be mixed and to what degree before making the work unintentionally dull and muddy. using acrylic for faster drying under layers and texture has helped speed up what could be a more lengthy process otherwise.

Ive have only done four larger works now and feel that I have much more to try in the larger space. Depict more insects, abstract them further, and keep trying to look at the world though their eyes as well as mine. using more new techniques, mediums and research to grow and learn with.

[art-h]

St Ives.

The trip to St Ives was today, covering the Tate Gallery and the Barbara Hepworth Museum. Having lived near the Tate and visited once when I was a small boy with Primary School shortly after it's opening in the early 90s I have been aware of it's impact and the art community of St Ives for many years. That said, I have never attempted to look again at them with adult eyes. Admittedly I struggle sometimes with modernist art and similar forms on display at the St Ives Tate. I can't explain fully how it makes me feel; I have an old soul and sometimes it is more than I am capable of comprehending. That said there were a few pieces that caught my eye and my imagination.

Since my focus lately has been on oils and impasto, pieces of a similar nature catch my eye almost instinctively now. This piece by Joan Eardley really spoke to me, it's rough brushwork and layered effect really hit me. The viewer can clearly see it's subject but the roughness of it ties in with how rough fishing is as a profession and the wildness of the sky definitely tie in with the Scottish landscape in which it was painted. I love the feeling of comfortable isolation I get from this piece.

As mentioned in the card to accompany this pottery piece, what caught my eye were the mermen depicted in the painted work. As someone who loves Ancient Greek urns and their storytelling motifs, I was drawn to the similarity between the colour palettes also, almost in reverse orange and black. I was also taken aback by when this piece was made, as it speaks of a much older tradition of pottery. Even though it's depiction of mermen speak of the ongoing current LGBTQIA+ dialogue, it could easily be referring to an Ancient depiction of lovers from a time before the norm of same sex relationships became viewed as wrong. For example, there are several mentions of same sex lovers in Ancient Greek art, literature and history - the word Platonic for instance, not meaning relationships without a sexual component, but named for the philosopher Plato, as he, like many in his society, was most interested in the same-sex relationships between older and younger men.

I selected this piece as a genuine attempt to understand abstract art. I was aesthetically familiar with Piet Mondrian, having seen pieces of his line-works in popular culture and used for all sorts of advertising and gift shop works. Paying close attention to the way the card describes this piece, I tried hard to fathom the connection between mathematics and space and the colours and lines on the canvas, alas, I am afraid my brain is not yet ready to receive the secrets of this form of art.

I spent a few moments with this piece of sheer comfort. Snow scenes always portray a bleakness which I have always found deeply comforting in a strange way that invokes in me a sadness that somehow makes me happy. Almost like a catharsis of some sort. It also helped that Park's brushwork was textured in a similar way to my recent foray and experience with impasto.

Not my first firsthand experience with a Picasso painting, but they always catch the eye no matter how famous they are. What drew me to this was not the work itself, but the note at the bottom of the card "Accepted in lieu of tax"! I had to remark on this as slightly humorous in it's way - there are worse things to accept in lieu of monies owed than a Picasso painting!

I enjoyed this piece on first viewing aesthetically, but what really struck me was finding out when it was painted. The stereotype of the early 20th century is that most portrait art would be very realist, painting exactly what is in front of the painter. I admired the greens and teals in painting the facial expressions and in the skin tones, a choice by the artist that I deeply enjoy.

I know that there was a large part of our day at the Tate and subsequent visit to her studio museum dedicated to Barbara Hepworth, but I must confess I struggled to understand both her space and her art. Much in the same way I struggled with Marlow Moss' work with abstraction, I couldn't see the correlation between Hepworth's work in sculpture and discs and her love of Greek Mythology for instance. I might not be ready artistically to receive the understanding of such art or I might just be close-minded to that which I don't want to understand. I will try again in time nonetheless.

I took the rest of the afternoon to create some pieces of my own. First I sat on the harbourside and drew in my sketchbook, after this I headed to the beach. Playing with the idea of the temporary, I wrote some phrases in the sand, knowing that they would not last. Given the topic of this current module, transitory things are very present in my mind, including ways of life and life itself. I saw some rocks near the harbour area and took some time to create Cairns. Cairns were traditionally used as way markers or memorial sites, but in my mind, they act like a sort of primitive selfie. A way in which to say "someone was here", I like the anonymity of cairns and the mindfulness they bring in the making. Stones make up so much of our planet and they will be here long after we are gone from this Earth.

I also found a piece of driftwood on Porthmeor Beach - I later discovered that the painter Alfred Wallis used scrap panels of wood to paint on, so this will be useful in my later planned painted pieces.

All in all - not the day I expected, but a very beautiful winters day nonetheless.

[n1mzbl0g]

[Image description: A digital pixel art drawing of Youtuber ImpulseSV in a yellow & black maid dress. He is holding an armful of Redstone dust, some has fallen, leaving a small trail behind him. He is bending down to pet Jellie, a cat, who is happily leaning into his pets. Impulse looks very happy. End ID]

I know we’re meant to be drawing Maidtyn but @kishdoodles​ drawing of maid impulse was so cute i drew him first <3 Plus bonus Jellie! the redstone kinda looks like strawberries but that honestly adds to the wholesome factor. also i got 320x240px & 4 colours to work with here, give me a break! /lh

pixel colour palette under the cut!

heres the palette i made for this! i wanted it to be warm & very yellow, like Impulse! the bars are just the flipnote colours, those are what make all the other colours! <3

[Image description: ten pixel art circles showing the palette used in the first image. Six bars coloured with black, white, red, yellow, blue, & green. End ID]

heres a close up of the illusion, it starts to break when you look closely.

[Image description: a close up view of Impulses smiling face. You can better see the individual pixels that make up the colour illusion. End ID]

[seaquestions]

i have like. aimlessly monologued so much abt dark souls just pacing around my apartment. its 5am and i just cant shut up about it. LIKE. i knooowww that people have been going on about it for like eleven years now and im sure none of these thoughts are original but i wanna ramble!!! ramblings under readmore!!!!

this game is good man, its so good. the tone and atmosphere most of all. i think cos its y’know its melancholic and quiet and lonely but it’s also so whimsical and funny and silly. i find a man in the sewers trapped in a pickling jar and roll into it to get him out. when i talk to him later i find that he’s this really genuine, kind-hearted guy. i roll into this fortress full of death traps and a snake man turns to look at me and then suddenly a boulder comes outta nowhere to run over him and it’s like i’m in a goddamn looney toon. the colour palettes of the environments is quite colourful actually, it’s within a certain range of tones but it’s not like it’s a depressing game to look at. it’s not that bleak. it’s not grimdark, it’s not edgy. it’s fun!

like, really. it’s such a fun game! i already knew i was gonna love the world of dark souls, the environments and the npcs, i just needed the gameplay to be something i can work with. and it is, and even more than that, it clicked with me. somehow i didn’t expect the combat in dark souls to be so fun, but like, that’s a big draw of the game. it’s very fun to fight in dark souls. there’s something to it that just feels really good. i think the enemy placement factors into the rhythm of combat quite a fair bit actually, and it’s typically well done. and i think another thing that’s great is how much control you have over the pace of combat. there’s a push and pull with the game as it throws challenges at you and tests your limits of course but you get to dictate quite a fair bit about the way you face these challenges.

something i enjoyed the most i think is like, not even within the game. so like after fighting the taurus demon and the gaping dragon for the first few times and dying, i ended my gaming session and like. couldnt stop thinking abt the fight and ended up thinking about what to do next time i fought them. which ik is nothing but i’m a really simple guy okay, i don’t strategise usually. but i wanted to beat them and move on to the next parts of the game, and so it made me think about the tools that were at my disposal that the game gave me and like - i think that’s great! successful game design bit. idk, it’s prolly not that big of a deal but it felt really good when i went back to the gaping dragon with A Plan, and executed on it flawlessly.

man.. ive just been having a lot of fun that i kinda didn’t ever expect to have. im feeling like i fell in love. like i thought it’d be impossible for me so i never played it but it turned out to be such an enjoyable experience so far. i dont even care if like…. i come across and bit thats too hard and i might give up forever i still had a lot of fun and it was worth it but i believe in myself man!!! i wanna finish this game forreal and that means a lot coming from a guy who like never finishes anything ever. ima just keep on trucking babey. if you die seven times and get up eight it’s not a matter of life and death its about your will and the barriers in front of you and whichever one will break first or uhhhh however that line from that vaatividya video goes. and like it’s not for everybody (there’s uhhh no map. i thankfully am good with creating mental maps but if you are not this game will be a much less fun time) but idk man……….ultimate game of all time is fuckin right actually…………. anyway………. im a changed man now……..gootbye……

[pyrosomatic-metamorphosis]

For the art thing, 4, 6 and 17!

'ello, dakrai! o/ 4. favourite thing to draw?

faces <3 I have. so many sketchbooks full of just headshots lmao. Eyes are my go-to distracted-doodle, so theyre a staple favourite, but lately I've been actively enjoying drawing clouds over a distant horizon, so that's coming in first for the temporary faves

6. warm colours or cool colours?

....at first this was a tricky question and then i looked at my art and. yeah it looks like i naturally gravitate towards cooler colours lmao. It's not something i really consider when i choose my colours (i like to go more for contrast considerations than cohesive palette thoughts) but ive always been a sucker for green and blue

17. what do you love getting compliments about?

oh this is a weirder one to answer. literally anything i guess lmao. like, I know what i like about my art, and I know what appeals to me about it (or i wouldnt be making it kjshdfk), but there's been once or twice where someone has said "oh i like xyz" and ive gone "really? :o " because it didnt occur to me that aspect made such a difference. It's nice tho because then i get to look at whatever it was i did and go "hm....." and experiment with it in future art. I like knowing what stands out to people, I guess!

ty for the ask ^^

(ask me an art question!)

[mattelektras]

i struggle so much with allowing colours to go beyond my initial colour palette (say my colour(s) are blue (and maybe another colour like ... idk maroon) i have a hard time restraining myself from selective colouring the fuck out of them so that they r either the shade of blue or maroon i want :/// i almost wanna say i cant allow spontaneity in that sense? you have any tips for me? since i see you use colours more like a guide than a rule (if that makes sense)

oh i absolutely get where youre coming from. thats something ive been trying to move away from recently?? my instinct is to be super strict with colours because i dont want anything to seem like it doesnt match. some stuff ive been trying recently though!!!

get a colour thats slightly off from one of the ones youre already using. if your scheme is orange/black/grey, try to work some yellow or red in there too. eg w this i started with black/white/purple but ended adding in some pinks too

adobe colour suggests additional colour for u!!

different shades of the same colour

with regards to selective colouring everything, ive been trying super hard recently to just... not do that recently which sounds kind of like an easy fix and it it were as simple as that none of us would have any problems but, if you look at like. wonder woman's costume, my reflex would be to keep the red, desaturate the yellows and blues but try to KEEP those colours and make them a feature. even if its just one panel with a yellow instead of red background. just tie those little accent colours to something somewhere in ur graphic?? like with this, there was a lot of pink and purple shading used which isnt something i would necessarily associate with shuri but i kind of forced myself to keep it in and tied it to the leaves panel??

something ive been experimenting with is using blacks w a tint of another dark colour like eg purple / blue / orange. blue is an easy one wrt comics because a lot of coloursits use blue to highlight black

complimentary colours!! tl;dr opposites on the colour wheel that dont seem like theyd go together at first glance but colour theory just means that they work exceptionally well together because like. psychology or something, so to use a colour's opposite as an accent colour is an easy addition to a palette even if the colour doesnt appear anywhere in what u edit

failing that just go absolutely hog wild i guess???

[isthisadrawingiseebeforeme]

hi! do you have any tips for learning how to draw/improve drawing skills? i'm kinda new to the whole thing and i'd really appreciate any advice :D (well i mean ive been drawing my entire life and i know a few things its just that i beginning to take it more seriously) i love your art so much keep doing what you do <3

Hi! thank you i appreciate it!! :3

im self-taught so my advice from my own experience would be to draw/doodle/create without putting pressure on yourself and to draw for fun and passion. and be okay with drawing lots of silly, wonky, weird, not-perfect things. and to draw what you like.

i found drawing challenges to be really helpful in getting myself focused and practicing regularly and to explore different themes/subjects/techniques you might not think of doing so if you have the time/energy that'd be good.

oh and look at lots of art! find stuff that inspires you. see if you can draw in that style or use similar colour palettes or incorporate techniques of a particular artist because then you'll find what works for you and you'll be adding to the range of artistic capabilities at your disposal.

also...i use reference pictures all the time and constantly google like how to colour certain things because i need it and have no clue how colours work sometimes.

i hope this helps you in some way!