#just a sketch but i was having trouble finishing this but i think the concept was too funny not to post

[circadianrhythmofthekiller]

BB with christmas cheer? jolly and festive?

day 161 - white elephant

[thechekhov]

Hello! I'm a big fan of your work. I wanted to ask for advice / thoughts about an art problem I've been struggling with that you seem to have at least some sort of solution for?

So basically I'm an animator and digital artist (hobbyist), and I'm constantly coming up with new ideas for things to make. Only problem is that most of these ideas would take up to or longer than 2 months to make because, yknow, animation isn't quick, especially if you want to take your time to make it good. But with so many ideas that all take so long to complete, I often find myself tied and frozen as I can't decide what's most worthwhile to start first. I passionately want to complete all these projects, but my inspiration for each one waxes and wanes in a way I can't control, and I've just been stuck for several months. You juggle a lot of projects- not all of them art, but it still seems applicable here. This is excluding other life responsibilities like work and stuff, I don't have problems with getting that stuff done. This is purely within my creative hobby.

If u can't say anything thats fine I'm just curious- You have a massive output with great quality. Thank you!

This is a very kind message, and one that humbles me a lot, because although I'd love to bestow upon you some sort of advice that might help, or give words of wisdom..............I feel like that would be fake of me because

I also suffer from this very same thing

That is to say, this part of your message:

my inspiration for each one waxes and wanes in a way I can't control

It rings true for me too! I think it might ring true for many others as well.

There are stories in my head all the time. There are stories, and concepts, and IDEAS and they are all so shiny and new in the beginning, and then they slowly peter out and, since I frequently don't have time to do anything about them, they fade into the background.

I have enough trouble with this in terms of COMICS (also a lengthy medium, though less so than animation, which, OOF, you have my condolences, you are stronger than I) that I have started to just come to terms with the fact that some things are not meant to be.

Which is, I think, one of the small bits of advice I can give.

1. Some things may just be ideas, and that's okay.

I think one of the best ways that I've learned to deal with Idea-Death is making it count towards something in the future. That is to say, using them as compost.

In order for this to work, you have to actively put your ideas into the compost pin instead of the trash. That means maybe investing in either a notebook, or a sketchbook, OR just a discord server for yourself where you organize ideas and dump them all into a channel to scroll back through later.

It may seem useless at first, but honestly, it can be satisfying to PUT them somewhere instead of letting them fade away.

Plus, you may one day scroll through them and rediscover an idea at just the right time. OR you may be inspired to take parts of an old idea and repurpose it for a new idea that you DO have motivation for.

However, there's also this part, right?

I've just been stuck for several months

I.......feel this. Sometimes I, too, feel stuck for several months. There are times when even if I WANT to work on something, I just don't have the time. It takes too long to finish!

.........which is why I recommend the following:

2. Don't finish. Just start.

Now, this is the toughie. I can't exactly say that it would work for everyone. But I have learned that I am WAY more likely to return to a project and work on it again sometime in the future if I actually DO something for it the first time I get inspired.

I have SO MANY things that I have not published in my folders. I have sketches of gifs that are 10 frames long. I have concept art sketches boldly labeled with project names that will likely never get off the ground. I have Googledoc files with summary and plot outlines for stories I'll probably never write. I have discord channels with random ass concepts and a few sketches for characters.

And what I have found is that if I just WORK on these ideas when I feel like it, they are more likely to survive, even if they don't thrive right away.

I'm also a huge proponent of Procrastination Rotation.

That is to say, I have so many projects I COULD be working on, that if I ever feel frustrated or stuck on one thing, I just shift myself slightly to the left and do another thing instead. I almost never force myself to work through a block (save for a few money-motivated deadlines) just to complete a thing.

Stuck on a comic? I'll go write a few lines of fic. Unsatisfied with where the fic is going?

I'll go sketch out an illustration. Incapable of finishing an illustration?

I'll go google some references for another comic project and slap them all into an image file for later, so that I have SOMETHING in place for when I want to do studies.

And so on and so forth.

I have comic ideas, and comic sketches, and 30+ pages of original comics sketched. I don't know if they'll make it. It would take a lot of work.

But it also takes very little work - just a few extra pages sketched while I'm bored for an hour. Or a bit of lineart while I listen to a podcast. Or just a doodle somewhere which I snap a pic of and add to my discord channel for that project.

Will it work for everyone? Probably not. But I think that our creative culture is sometimes too attached to a linear production style. The truth is that art, or illustrations, or animation, or comics - none of it has to be on an assembly line. It can be tinkered with and put aside. And then, maybe, picked apart for scraps.........or maybe made into something new!

I don't know if that helps you at all, but I hope it at least helps someone.

And good luck with your animating!

[elviraaxen]

ive really been loving the pacing of your story and i enjoy the concept and the bits that have been released about the plot! youre doing really well, and i admire it greatly!!

ive been having trouble figuring out an overall plot in my own work, i just have character ideas and the vaguest idea for a storyline. i try to just write but then i usually end up taking a break (re: dumping it) because i don't have anymore ideas for how to complete the plot. i've laso been curious about how you go about writing for a comic (do you write then do thumbnails? do thumbnails then go back to figure out dialogue? a third thing?) so i was wondering if you had any advice or resource tips for writing? both for comics and for overarching plots, if that's okay

if you don't have any ideas tho, no worries. i was just curious. good luck with Felt World! i love everything that's coming out so far, thank you for gifting us it!!

Oh thank you so much!! I can't say I'm a comic book artist at heart because I really don't have much experience, I was only an illustrator for a short while and never wrote anything myself, but learning from past mistakes (i.e. I don't stick to plans), I've so far done this and it seems to work:

I'm one of those that don't like to plan strict layouts for the entire thing, because chances are I will not stick to it, so what I've done for felt world is just write a sketch for the overarching plot, the b-plot and c-plot, with rough estimates in what order I want the major plot points and settings to be. My current sketch looks like this;

(which is done in Miro) and as you can see there aren't that many plot points, because I want to have the wiggle room to come up with something on the spot. And also, my comic focuses a lot on interpersonal relationships, character development, and themes rather than the plot, which means it needs to be concise or else the comic is gonna take 6 million years to finish.

And now,, I think this might just be how I work, but I think it's easier to be creative when you have strict restrictions rather than all the choices in the world.

for me, personally, I restrict an update of 10 pages tops, because instagram only allows max 10 images per post! This means I have to 1) fit all I want to say in 10 pages, 2) it has to be concise or else I infodump on readers, and 3) I have to answer some sort of question within the update, or else I said nothing and I start over.

As for scripts, I tend to write one or two sentences of what's going to happen for the update, and then I get to thumb-nailing and sketching right away! I come up with most of the dialogue on the spot too.

And also, I think what's most important, is that you take your damn time! If you aren't immersing yourself in your own world, how do you expect your readers to do the same?

I'm very much a believer that the stories you are telling are something that comes to you naturally if you just sit with it and listen rather than demand that it makes itself known to you. When I brainstorm for felt world I quite literally sit in my bed and go "omg!! And then what? :0" TO MYSELF LMAO as if I'm not making everything up myself! I think that's extremely important that your story is engaging to you first and foremost!

And as for more practical tips

carry a notebook with you or use your notes app AS SOON as you get ideas to write them down! No you will not remember, lol.

set rules of what you're not allowed to do with your story so that you don't fall into lazy trope territory! You can do that when you brain storm, but finesse the story post brainstorm to just make it.. smarter.. if that makes sens For example, don't kill your gay characters, don't make sensitive men the butt of the joke, don't make your women fight over men (unless it's the point), etc.

set physical restrictions! For example, max amount of pages per upload, max amount of pages for the whole story, max amount of characters, etc.! That literally forces you to problem solve, which by definition is creativity! Like, oh you can't do this the obvious way? Do it the creative way! That's way more fun!

I could probably go on, but this is too long already! But I hope it at least helped somewhat!

[fayedartmouth]

Well since it’s okay please share some info about your upcoming projects sorry but im too curious and excited for my own good and i genuinely love your work read every single one in only a week

Well, in truth, I have like 20+ fics that are technically WIPs, all in various stages of development and completion.  I tend to get way more plot bunnies than I can write, and my WIPs range from rough concepts to like 30k words or more.  So it's just a wide range.

As per usual, I can't shut up, so the details are below.

For the record, some of those WIPs I really really love.  Like I have a whole series of Shoupe and preseries JJ that I'm super excited about (their first meeting, the first time Shoupe realizes JJ's getting beaten, JJ taking all of Luke's pills as a teenager, and a few more).  I have one very well developed with a preseries JJ getting kidnapped by one of Luke's associates and Luke blowing off the ransom (spoiler alert: it goes badly for JJ).  And I have a few now completely AU takes post S3, one with Rafe getting revenge on the Pogues by going after JJ (forcing him to take an overdose of drugs, and it's so convincing that almost everyone believes he did it himself) and a Sarah and JJ as siblings fic.  That's just a sampling.  There are so many more that I can't even remember them all.

One idea that just got hold of me this week is an AU with JJ and John B in the military.  There are a few other takes on this on AO3 that intrigued me, and the brothers in arms thing could be so fun to play out with those two.  And I mean, the whump. I may have wrote a few scenes....

However, the fics that I'm actively writing right now.  I'd say there are four (beyond the car accident fic I'm posting snippets of and the town council AU I did a snippet of last weekend).

1. Best of a Bad Deal part three.  This one is still in the works though technically kind of on my backburner.  I have completed quite a bit of this fic, which spans five-six years after JJ goes into remission.  I think I have a cohesive narrative at least through the third year with a lot of bits and pieces completed after that -- including the ending, which I really love.

2. My long fix-it.  I have been actively plotting this with woudsohfiv and currently have probably 70k done.  It starts around the mid point of S4 and maintains everything we see in canon -- but adds a secondary plot that manages to subvert it completely.  LOL, I don't want to spoil too much, but it heavily involves Luke.  The Pogues will still (mostly) think JJ is dead while JJ hits absolute rock bottom.  This fic is planned to be the first of a series.  We've been a little ambitious with our plotting and have sketched out plots for three additional fics.  The second one will really dig into JJ facing his trauma and dealing with his family heritage and Goat Island.  I'm really excited about this one!

3. I write fics for my friends for Christmas, and this year, I have two friends getting JJ fics.  The first one is for woudsohfiv, and she requested an AU of the S1 ep where Barry robs the Pogues.  IIn this take, JJ goes for the gun and gets shot for his trouble -- and the Pogues are faced with the reality of what they were willing to risk.  My goal is to make it eventually fit back into canon, however.  It's probably 15k in and is maybe half done.  It will (hopefully!) be done for Christmas.

4. For my other friend, I'm going on one of her favorite tropes:  seizures.  It's a fic set in that happy 18 months of Poguelandia 2.0 where the Pogues get sick -- and JJ ends up getting very, very ill.  This one is a pretty simple straight up sick fic where the Pogues have to confront that they're not quite as together as they thought they were, and wherein John B and Kiara have to face the reality that JJ isn't really as okay as he seems to be most of the time. Again, my goal is to finish this by Christmas, and I think I can pull it off. This should be relatively short hopefully in the 10k range.

Feel free to ask more questions or specifics! I'd even post snippets if you wanted. I only do completed fics on AO3 but I'm a lot looser here.

[willowisapillow]

🎄🌿 Marsh Matriarch 🌿🎄

No thoughts just them 💙❤️

First art of 2024! Hope y’all had a great Christmas. I’m so sorry if I  wasn’t able to post this exactly on the day of Christmas, I wanted to finish this before 2024, but I was busy spending some time with my family during the holidays. Also managed to get a lot of pretty great presents such as two Barbie dolls, with one of them being based on the 2023 movie, so my Christmas was pretty gud.

I’ve been getting back into South Park recently, and I felt like drawing my fav parents, Randy and Sharon as a late celebration. I also drew this as a Christmas gift for one of my older brothers, because he really likes the show too ^w^

When it comes to the characters in South Park, the parents are some of my favorite characters on the show. I don’t like them as much as the main kid characters, but they’re kinda coming close to it. I kinda have a soft spot for them no matter how stupid, terrible or unhinged they are lol

I tried combining my regular art style with the art style from the show, and I hated how the sketch looked on the first attempt, so I scrapped it. But when I started all over on a different piece of paper, I don’t think it turned out that bad. Nothing terrible or spectacular, but I feel like I could have done better.

Wanted to go with the whole somewhat cliched but romantic mistletoe for the concept of the art, and I loved how it turned out. I had so much freaking fun drawing these two dorks. I did have to use a lot of fanart as references because I did have some trouble getting their hairstyles right, but it was pretty easy in the end. I loved how Sharon in particular turned out, especially when it comes to her little ruffles that she has at the end of her sleeves and her short haircut.

And I may or may not had a lot of fun drawing Randy’s cursed awooga facial expression, but honestly, can ya blame him 💀

Merry (late) Christmas ya filthy animals. And a Happy New Year.

[shirogane-oushirou]

RO OMG...!!!!

👀👀👀👀

UNLEASH THE WIPS please ☺️✨️

Also I adore your new Ren icon!!! The befuddled expression is so memorable and cuuute hfnfgggghf 💖✨️

( @verykissablepixels )

HI REFFIE HEHEHE 💕✨ tysm, i can't wait to show some new (old??) wips!!! i'm still debating if i want to keep the new icon, but the tails gets trolled ren kills me every time i see it kdjngkj

these are more of my safeshiptember sketches!! the one on the left was "making a meal together", which i tossed mostly bc 1) i actually have more trouble with speed than with knife holding / safety, so this doesn't make much sense, and 2) getting the pose right when he's supposed to be shorter than me was. a pain. like he HAS to be able to see the food, but if he leans over too far he wouldn't be able to hold both hands. fun in concept, not fun to puzzle through. 😭

the one on the right i thiiink was supposed to be "selfie", and i tried sketches for both ren and mars, but i was just too burnt out to fix it up ;; i love the look of selfie drawings, with the arm stretched out in front of the camera, i've just never been good at the getting them right myself lskdmf. i do want to keep trying though!!! might revisit this one soon actually; his side profile came out cute, and i think i can get the extended arm looking okay really quickly. 😊

in another ask i talked about affectionate!drunk ren... well here's pining!drunk ren!! 💕💕 we're doing a friend dinner date thing at a rooftop restaurant (are there reasonably priced allergen-friendly rooftop restaurants in [nearby city]? don't ask me kJNKSFJDN), and we're looking over the city lights and he just. looks over and can't stop thinking... kiss?? we can't kiss but... kiss???? i'm still torn on whether he actually asks on accident (to which i have to sadly tell him no, he's drunk, i won't... but he can try again if he remembers when he's sober ;;;) or if he confesses on accident elsewhere.

BUT. EITHER WAY. i started to color this, but i didn't like the from-my-brain lighting i came up with and just never went back to it to try again ;; might revisit it as well; i'd like to do a proper nighttime lighting study with it!

.....ok so there's a post about sticking your face in your f/o's tits as therapy KJANSFKJNKJADFN. ;;; i'd like to finish this one if i remember to go back to it!! it's silly and cute and i could make a version that's just him without my face in front of his open shirt :)))

(ask game)

[trinketstar]

TEKVENTURES! I wanna ramble about Tekventures.

if you remember them you qualify for a veterans discount

So they were Sgt.Frog ocs that my best friend SARAZA and I made on flipnote for edgy amvs and comics. I wanna say I wassss 13? give or take. But these little guys were my EVERYTHING. We thought of a billion stories about them. Then I got sick of drawing frogs eventually and wanted to make them more of an original thing. Our first sketches were of anthro goats, but over time with my style changes, an the fact that I hate spending more than 2 seconds drawing anything, they no longer resemble any specific animal and turned into fuzzy nondescript species of alien thing. ANYWAY I wanted to make them into a "real comic series" when i was 17. That's when I started the chapters that are still up on tumblr n webtoons! and a few other sites probably that I forgot about.

I've been harsh on it in the past but honestly I still love it to bits. What's there is a solid little comic and i still think it's adorable!

The only thing is, that's judging it based on what's there. It's a basis for a cute episodic thing with low stakes! Like the early mlp fim episodes or the new care bears cartoon. But that's NOT what it was planned for in the long term. Oh no, I was so ambitious. I had at LEAST 50 episodes planned which would weave together into this massive arc that would introduce other space teams, wayward space travelers with secret pasts connecting to the main cast, sad backstories for everyone, ALL of the family members of the main cast, a villian team with like... 'anti-versions' of the main cast, and a dramatically foreshadowed final confrontation with robot clones that want to destroy their planet. OH AND ROBIN too! Besides all that, they ALSO have multiple side story episodes about crashing to earth and befriending a human girl named Robin who has to keep them secret.

That might have been um. a lot.

But when you start writing a story with your best friend when you're 13 you most likely have NO CONCEPT of "too much". Who am I kidding I STILL have trouble pacing myself. But when you come up with a story it's hard not to think it's just GOLD! And that you've gotta keep it no matter what! Because that stuff is fun!

I went full force into the comic in my senior year of highschool and eventually I finished the first chapter! It took me a year. And then I looked at my plans for the other 49 episodes and thought "maybe I need to rework some things.."

I rebooted the comic once, tried making smaller stories, all that, but I wasn't quite feeling the same drive anymore. I realized I was comparing my work to high budget tv shows with like. a full team of writers and artists. and studio funding. and greenlit seasons and all that. And it was making me feel TERRIBLE about my art!

So I quit comics! I started hating comics! I hated how long they took and how restricted I felt (with my own expectations) and I lost my confidence in finishing projects because I was so sad about giving up on my big magnum opus. and I just kinda gave up and started only doing fandom art for a couple years. I did a jyushimatsu ask blog and kept it up for ages! And then a new season of Osomatsu came out and I realized when comparing it that I was basically writing an oc at this point. And that I CAN commit to long term projects if i dont get self conscious about it!

I still didnt wanna jump into comics again. But I thought of some new characters that I was becoming attached to. the very very beginnings of what could turn into a new idea.

I thought "well i still love cartoons about space! even if im not making tekventures anymore maybe i could do another space story. a really tiny one."

so i started making an rpgmaker game! and it started taking forever. so in the meantime i made a really rough doodle comic about how the characters first met. as a little side story thing.

and THAT was the key. I had to stop thinking about it like i was making a big cool tv show and starting my career and all that. its just a fun thing, off the cuff, not overthinking it, just for fun and personal expression.

so im still going with it! and its GREAT! Rocket chip has 12 planned chapters, and I'll be halfway done by the end of the year.

But BOY did it take me forever to learn that.

[strideofpride]

ooh, what did you have in mind for the post-series turning 40 au?? there are so few gg future fanfics depicting the leads in actual middle age versus being late 20s/early 30s, so that alone makes it sound like an interesting concept!!

Yeah, that's exactly why I wanna write it eventually! There are so few fics that really explore the characters past their early 30s, which is a shame, cause such a big theme of the show (at least at first) was the fear of becoming your parents.

I shared this brief snippet from the opening I wrote months and months ago, but my focus has been on other stuff and finishing like a rolling stone, and I just haven't felt like I've had the time to really devote myself to it the way I want to. Also it will probably be loosely inspired by Fleishman is in Trouble, so I wanna try to do a rewatch as well.

But yeah, basically this is my "oh my god I think we became our parents" fic for Serena, Dan, & Blair, and it will be from all three of their POVs. Serena & Dan have moved out to the suburbs because of the pandemic but you can't put an apex predator in the middle of nowhere like that, so Serena keeps spending more and more time in the city, while Dan is unhappily back in the suburbs with their two kids, trying and failing to get back to his artistic pursuits. Blair, meanwhile, has recently become a single mom to sixteen-year-old Henry (Chuck fucked off to TBD - but unlike in Fleishman, he will NOT be making any appearances) and reconnects with Nate and Serena after having been estranged since Trump & MeToo. And then that brings Dan and Blair back into each other's orbit and...there will be a dairfair. Eventually.

So yeah, that's kind of a very rough sketch of it. If you're familiar with Fleishman is in Trouble, it's not going to be a retelling the way like a rolling stone has become, I'm more planning on just taking some elements from it - namely, three old friends reconnecting after one of them gets divorced, a bad reunion party, and a speech about "when did we wake up and become our parents".

Maybe it will be my big project of 2024 idk.

[asirensrage]

important questions: what's the oc for? And also I want to hear everything about them even if I know nothing about the fandom.

Aw man, I didn't post that to get encouraged hahahah I don't actually know a lot about her, mainly because I haven't finished or caught up with the anime/manga yet. BUT who says I'll let that stop me. (I'm kidding...sort of.)

It's for Tokyo Revengers. I'm sure by now you (and everyone else) is well aware of how much I adore the trope/concept of "character arriving into another time/world" and isn't this fandom perfect for it (considering the main character time travels to his past self).

Anyway, the idea started in one scene where when he's like 14/15 and outside his house, he's watching these Mikey and Draken argue with each other and they start breaking his stuff as they throw it at each other and I just thought, "wouldn't it be funny if you had someone show up and be like "what are you doing?" and it turned out to be his sister, but as far as he knows, he doesn't have a sister??? so who is she?" (ngl, I explained this so much better to @emerald-valkyrie and I forgot to save it loll)

I don't know if you know the anime, so, you have the main character Takemichi, who somehow travels back and forth to 12 years in the past and is trying to save his old girlfriend from dying in the future from gang activity, but as he does so, he gets more and more involved with the gang and people in it. He becomes determined (where I'm at now) that the best way to save her is to take over the gang himself.

Now, add in his sister (my oc) Takara. She's a year older, generally unimpressed with the fact that she's there. She's aware that she didn't have a younger brother and had an entirely separate life before. The two of them admit the truth about each other (aka time travelling vs sudden addition to the world) and Takara basically offers to help Takemichi. Even though she woke up as his sister, she still somehow has memories of being his sister (those memories slowly come to Takemichi the longer she's there). No one else is aware that she doesn't really belong.

While Takemichi is well known for being a crybaby, Takara is less emotional. I think I might give her these traits I listed when I was playing around with the concept of what makes a problematic character problematic:

Negative traits: aggressive, manipulative, resentful, morbid/pessimistic, selfish, impulsive, antisocial  Positive ones: loyal, adaptable, adventurous, resourceful, intelligent, observant, playful, charming, 

I'm not sure yet what her role will be. I have a feeling in her attempts to help her brother she's going to find herself in a fair amount of trouble (especially because of who her brother is and his ambitions).

"The problem with having a brother who’s involved is that there’s no way to keep herself separate. Not really. She’ll always be a tool for leverage against him if he gains the power he wants and as many friends as Takemichi finds himself every time he returns, he has just as many enemies."

I have a couple scenes written that wouldn't leave my head but nothing really planned out. Like I have a bit of an idea of who her romantic interests are, but I'm also not certain and I think there is probably a difference of who she might be interested in vs who's interested in her. I think it would be interesting to mainly do it from her pov, especially to show the sharp contrast in Takemichi from when he's his usual 15years old self and when he's inhabited by his future self who's trying to save people.

Oh! I also have a sketch I did of her when I was trying to figure out what she'd look like related to him. Well, a couple but I'll show one.

if you can't tell, she's pissed. especially at being grabbed like that hahaha

Thanks for asking!! Even if it didn't fully make sense lol. I might be in the middle of creating a playlist for her but I also need to nail down what her personality is going to be like. (and if she has any skills....)

[mi4012thameenahallaldeen]

Concept Art

Just a sketch for now because I cannot come up with character design sheets to have the characters fleshed out in the concept art. (on character design block because I based my design on Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt)

Sketching a few ideas so I can pick one to complete.

"Put the lamp down Mills"

The next one is a comic page style idea I wanted to go for. From my previous feedback I was asked to try to come up with concept art that has all 3 characters. I can’t think of a frame with all the characters where their faces are visible. So I came up with this comic panel idea. The movie would actually fit a comic book adaptation.

Update : There actually is a comic book adaptation of the movie, written by Richard Dyer.

Decided to go with the second idea.

Process pics.

Final concept art

It's not perfect and a bit rushed. But I tried using more references this time. I also need to work more on proportions (human body) and perspectives. I was unable to go to the perspective drawing workshop so I missed out on brushing up on my skills which I only had a chance to properly practice during portofolio. I try to incorporate what I learnt into my submissions since that's the only chance I get to practice my drawing skills.

I had trouble with Detective Mills A LOT. Even in the character design sheet. I had trouble with the proportions of Somerset and the Police Captain in the second panel. I had trouble measuring how tall they're supposed to be in comparison with the table.

I noticed I'm reluctant to use references because I fear ending up tracing or making my drawings too similar to the original source. I should've used the rectangle tables at uni for reference. I didn't think to use references. At this point I just wanted to finish it up and get it over with so I can focus on my other modules.

I referenced the backgrounds from the photos of my set for the backgrounds and elements for my storyboards and concept art. That's probably why I kept feeling like something is off since the set measurements aren't 100% accurate.

[characterdesignillustration]

A2 Outline

Ok, so firstly, why? What's the point in going through all this effort just to trace it over again? One word; consistency. In my messy A3 sketch I was able to play loose and sloppy when putting the basic forms in, but for this A2 poster I want to have consistent line thickness/straightness along with fully formed characters/monsters. Working in all these layers will help me actualise the look better and better with each iteration. It might take a long while before I'm done, but that's the sacrifice I suppose.

Here's some focus on the wing, making sure it looks proportionally consistent, putting emphasis on the feathers closest to our perspective. Since the feathers act as directional lines pointing towards the centre of the piece it's important to have them nice and clear in the scene.

Further elaborating on the idea of directional lines it's probably a good time to point out how I've used them. All monsters below look directly at the character bringing attention to him along with the wings pointing towards him. Add on a fisheye perspective that emphasises the middle of the composition I've basically create a cage of focus where the eye will always lead to the main character no matter where they start.

I've traced the title and now it looks a lot more solid, and I especially like the idea of the wings overlapping with the title, it adds depth and makes it feel like the title is apart of the piece. I've also made the font cleaner as well, though it feels like some detail on the tiles is missing, might add some later.

I've made the smoke collar less complex, only using big simplistic swirls to simulate smoke motion rather than many little ones that'd probably blend in with the feathers which would really mess up the composition's balance.

I've also come back to the plank detail, this time making the planks easier to read with greater simplicity.

I've also changed up Hunter's pose, this time an attack stance, or maybe in action (?). I just felt like a simple static pose wouldn't be interesting to look at, especially for a movie poster that's trying to convey a sense of urgency.

Here we go, an action scene of hunter bashing the skull of some skeleton creature, though the creature definitely feels way too small compared to hunter.

Here's the two in basic outline. I had to size up the bone creature, but in doing so their line density has gotten thicker which is definitely undesired ESPECIALLY when the main character is right beside it. Hunter should have equal or higher line density than the bone creature since he's supposed to be the main focus here. I might have to trace over my skeleton creature to get this effect.

Here's the planks now and I think they look amazing. I intended for the detail to grow denser around the ends of the walk to simulate distance, and it works quite well to create a sense of distance and scale.

The main and background buildings are in. If you look at the background buildings for too long they start to really look warped, which is intended, but what wasn't was some inconsistent window sizes. But, it's the sort of think you'd only find if you were specifically looking for it. The main building is looking really nice, and I especially love the graffiti as a concept still, just sneaking in a little subtitle that's integrated into the world so it isn't too blatant.

The rails and fence are finished. They go with eacother acting as an interesint visual parallel, also the fence chopping up the composition to make hunter really feel trapped in this situation is a good aspect as well. I made the rail planks like the platform planks cause the platform planks worked so well, though it took a lot of time. I was also having some trouble with lining up the right curve for the train tracks, so I got one good curve and copyed/pasted it 3 more times to create these rails (along with some transform warping with command + transform). It looks ok, I just really don't like the thickness of the lines and how they're quite pixelated.

I've also added this tiny pavement area infront of the background buildings, things just felt a little bar bones so this should fill in some valuable space.

Since I didn't have time to fully form a character design for hunter price I decided to do it here. 1. Cuts and bandages from fighting the monsters, 2. Iconic red coat, 3. ragged unshaven face to reflect his past, 4. hunting knife on leg to represent his interesting in hunting (hahagetit) 5. Iconic Cap for his Silhouette, 6. More practical trousers make sense within his character concept as he likes to go for walks and he hunts, 7. Scarf for dramatic dynamics when moving and also to look cool 8. a heavy backpack with a smiley face sewn onto it, a reference to the watchmen's smiley face which represents corruption, it's also a fun visual gag to lighten up a usually serious character, 9. Crowbar to hit things with.

The skeleton's lines area lot thinner now, which is better. It might clash with the thick lines of the background though, hopefully this isn't an issue moving forward.

Here's the complete designs for the skeleton monsters. Not much has changed except for the snake who's gained some light scales which give it some texture.

I was having trouble drawing this wheat field, it's hard to visualise on a page if you have time constraints. So I looked up some references and found this:

Which really helped me draw the wheat field. Now it looks great.

Added some fine detail to further deepen the poster, it looks good. A space that needed to be filled for sure.

Here's my final poster outline. It took ages to get to this point so I hope doing the values won't take nearly as much time.

[chuya-chuya-blog]

Congratulations to the winners of the My Copic Moment contest. I thought third place was super talented and would come in first, actually. That person is really skilled. Second place is really charming to me. It looks like a children's picture book and makes me feel nostalgic. The perspective in first place is really good.

I was bummed when I saw I didn't win. Call me a sore loser, I don't care! I really had my hopes up! And it was super disappointing to see I didn't even place. Is my art bad? Were my concepts bad? I don't know. This is also coming on to the realization that I will not be able to enter the Pixiv Global Contest that I wanted to, either.

I had PLENTY of time to complete an entry for that contest and continue working on my own web comic afterwards but I just couldn't find the motivation. I had a cute and funny concept and I really enjoyed drawing it but eventually the motivation just died. Somewhere between my usual struggles with making backgrounds look like anything but bland boxes and my inability to draw dogs, my drive turned to fear, and I just froze.

I would sketch here and there but just couldn't bring myself to do my absolute best. I'm ashamed because I've always been this way when it counts. I just couldn't buckle down and do it. Not even the free three years of Clip Studio could get me to do it. And I really wanted that too! But I guess I just didn't care enough. I couldn't make myself do the work. And it's not like I'm still a kid, either. I'm a full blown adult who can't manage discipline and time management and it's embarrassing. So many people around me have been able to get stuff done through consistent steady work and I can't figure out how to manage myself. And no I don't have ADHD. I actually got really REALLY good grades in school. So I can do the work when it counts. I just couldn't do it this time.

It's worrisome because if I want to start making money off of my art, I have to be able to meet deadlines. I have to be able to finish things. I have sooooooooo much trouble finishing things! I don't know what's wrong with me! It's why I barely post because I can never finish anything. Sometimes I'll be really motivated and will love a piece I'm working on, but I'll just put it somewhere and forget it exists. I really wanted to produce more work in 2024, but the fear that I'm not actually cut out to be an artist is creeping up on me. I have to improve my focus and discipline this year!

This sucks, but I wanted to be transparent. One of my resolutions this year was to draw a lot more and complete a lot more art. I haven't given up, but I need to improve my workflow. I need to work out the kinks beforehand so when I get to a road bump I can navigate it. This whole time I put my other projects on pause because I HAD to complete this contest entry...and got nothing done. I was completely stuck in some weird limbo and could not make it out. I did do the script and layout but after a while, I just didn't CARE. And when I don't care, my art immediately devolves and when my art devolves, I start hating myself for drawing crummy art. The gag is that when I'm drawing random things in my sketchbook without even thinking, some of it comes out SO COOL! It's part of why I opened a sketch dump!

I wanted a publisher to notice me and say, "wow, she's good!" But I can't seem to get my artwork to agree with me when I want it to. I can't even win a drawing contest! I didn't even get an honorable mention! (And that hurts, I thought I'd AT LEAST get mentioned.) This isn't a one time thing, either. I have NEVER won an art contest, NEVER had my work accepted to a magazine I submitted to. The ONE time I got second place in an art contest was something I did in high school and was just screwing around because I had no idea what to paint, and was sure an "official art contest" wouldn't accept anime art. And you know who won? Someone who drew anime.😐 (I was SOOOOOOO mad! Are you toying with me, universe? Are you telling me art is not my calling after all?)

What if a publisher DID contact me and ask me to draw something I don't care about? I have the worst discipline ever, and if I can't force myself to do good work when I need to, then I am of no use to them. I've accepted that I'll probably never do commissions, either.

If a publisher comes across this post, I don't mind. A bad work ethic is bad for business and the manga business is tough. They want people who grind HARD. It's well documented. We've all heard the stories about the mangaka struggle in Japan. And I've been in the workforce long enough to know that employers don't care about your feelings or your mental health. They only care about the results they can pay you pennies for. And that's life.

I'm still happy with the art I did for the My Copic Moment contest. (It's actually one of my favorite pieces in my portfolio right now, and I want to draw more pieces like it.) I actually want to try and enter their big copic contest for the year now, but wasn't going to because I only have like five markers of theirs and for this contest, you HAVE to use their products. But maybe I can screw around and mysteriously win this time. (The grand prize is 300 markers! Or something like that.) You can draw whatever you want, too. Maybe I'll do something really really crazy. I'll just unleash my emotions on the canvas like the first episode of Barakamon. (And then he went right back to struggling with his work. WHYYYY are we like this?😭)

I've also decided to set some time aside for scripts and planning. Since my excitement tends to come in waves, I'll try to get pre work done so I can heavily focus on a task at hand when the time comes. For instance, since I'm scripting right now, I'm really excited about the stories I'm making and fleshing out the plot points for them! I love coming with ideas and dumping my creativity out whenever I can. So if you give me a paper and tell me to just write, it feels so freeing. I'll hopefully work on these scripts and come up with a bunch of cool stuff to draw this week. Then I can do the layouts and get excited about the focus on flow and design of the pages. I tend to come up with new ideas and change my mind about things during the layout stages, so I'm going to proceed with caution. But for now, the plan is set and I'm going to move forward. The task is a lot less daunting when I have my ducks in a row.

[writinglittlebeasts]

Oh look, something else to distract you! 😈

When you get this, answer one of the questions (or all if you really want!) then pass it on to 5 writer friends! 🥰 If you have more than one WIP, pick at random! We want you talk about your works and celebrate with you! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 1. What are you most excited to write with this WIP? 2. How has this WIP changed since the “daydream/brainstorm” stage? 3. Who is your favorite character in this WIP and why?

~tabswrites

NICE TRY but i already submitted my swap write-up 😌distract away, demon

i will answer :

2. How has this WIP changed since the “daydream/brainstorm” stage?

i'm going to talk abt erotica now lol

so i've mentioned before that wolf's tooth was initially just, like. i was at c2e2 and i was sitting in on panels and i needed something to do with my hands so i started designing characters for a smut comic feat. werewolves and that those characters were raleigh and kirby. and then i never finished the comic lol but i kept drawing the characters-- raleigh in particular, who's made of such fun shapes and doesn't have kirby's fucked up nose and is just so fun to draw over and over again for eternity.

EXCEPT.... you'll notice that in the drawings from 2019 ( those trad sketches are, like, The First Raleigh And Kirby Drawings, Ever, Drawn At-Con) raleigh Already has his story-reliant neck scars. that's because those were initially a sex thing lmao, BUT because i wasn't going to be finishing that original comic and i was getting more and more attached to the characters (and because i love thrashing my characters), i couldn't just... Not... explain those scars. And Therefore:

(look at how itty bitty the scar on his face is btw... it's just a baby :')...)

so the concept behind this stage in wolf's tooth's narrative is largely the same: raleigh goes to his boyfriend's mother's house with kirby's cousins and the house is surprise-attacked by another pack of werewolves; raleigh is bitten but he doesn't turn into a werewolf (at this point it was just, like, biology; sometimes it doesn't work and we don't really know why-- may revert to this if my balls out draft doesn't mesh in the end) and the gang goes on a roadtrip to get some revenge. However, in this stage the pedersen pack was much more, like... Chill. i'm really into werewolves and i love reading werewolf stories, and i'm really into comics so i had been spending a lot of time reading on tapas, and i realized that there was like a veritable wellspring of indie werewolf prose fiction on tapas. Unfortunately a lot of what i ran into was that, like... essentially-just-omegaverse; crazy-unexamined-power-dynamic; gender-essentialist; one-of-these-characters-is-just-going-to-be-a-woobie-nervous-baby-while-the-other-one-is-a-hotheaded-d-bag; one-of-them-is-16-the-other-is-30; horny-but-in-an-adolescent-way -type deal, and a lot of them had these like heavily abusive hypermasculine misogynist (without any women???????? this is the omegaverse factor bc even the, like, gay omegaverse is like bioessentialist misogyny with extra steps) pack dynamics that were seen as like Genre Standard (and i think it's because the Algorithm was feeding me largely romances + genres tend to eat each-other like that) and the oversaturation of it was really grating on me so my little transgay anarchist ass was like 'my werewolf pack is just going to be one big happy family', so i had essentially just cut the power dynamic factor entirely.

uhhhhh but then i had trouble writing the story, because there was a single conflict and i couldn't make that conflict work in my fluffy little werewolf world-- it just didn't fit the vibe, it didn't make a lot of sense. so i started to add power dynamics back into the story in a way that felt more meaningful and thematic: lovise wants her direct bloodline to maintain control of the pack but kirby doesn't want to be the alpha; the pack is too large for a single alpha to direct, because she can't be everywhere at once, so her subordinates are becoming impatient with the rigid rules she's implemented to try to keep up; individual interpersonal conflicts between wolves in different pods that make the pack less cohesive; external pressure from other smaller packs because the pedersens are just so scary powerful, etc. it's much darker and more stressful a narrative than it was initially, but to my genuine relief it's nowhere even close to those stories that i was trying so hard to push away from lmao

and that's how awtfr went from pwp (porn without plot) to pwp (porn With plot) to handing out trauma like i'm bad santa

thanks for the ask lol

[keefwho]

April 24 - 2023

9:24 AM

I feel like there’s some kind of stigma against sticking with the people you love. At least around where I’m at. It’s almost like everyone is expected to up and rush off to their career or dream or whatever and are meant to leave everyone behind to meet new people. I got that treatment and still do. Personally I have old plans to live in the same town as my childhood friend when he gets back from the air force but when I tell mom that, I get “Are you just gonna copy him your whole life???” Like, no, I just don’t have anything keeping me tied to one place so I have the luxury of following someone important to me. If I wasn’t moving near him, I’d be staying around here with my family or moving to live near another friend. I don’t want to partake in this “leave everyone behind” mentality that was pushed on me and others since high school. I’d prefer to think people are more important than careers or personal dreams to an EXTENT. Obviously people should follow what they want to do in life but for people like me who aren’t quite sure or are content with what they are doing, it’s best to stick with my friends. 

Really this rant is all about expectations put on me by others. Basically me and everyone in my class were told “Go to college at all costs. You will be leaving everyone you know behind but don’t worry because you will make new friends :)” I didn’t even WANT to go to college, but I did. And guess what, the friends I made there were gone as soon as college was done and I was left with NO ONE but the friend who decided to stick with me because maybe he too realized how important it was to stick together. 

Or maybe it’s all about not giving up even if you get separated. I know there are some people I would never give up on under any circumstances. But I’m a loyal person. 

Its a bold claim but I think depending on each other is underrated. Not in an unhealthy way, I think it’s a delicate balance to “depend” on someone in a healthy way but it is possible. Normal even, because that’s how we used to be not even that long ago. It’s part of that tribe-like mentality. 

5:00 PM

I’m very aggro today. I don’t like how angry I can get sometimes at seemingly nothing. Not that I do anything with it. But I end up feeling like a bad person with such baseless negative emotions. Well I guess they aren’t baseless, they all have a root in something. Right now I think it’s jealousy and maybe a bit of being fed up with having to put up with people in general. 

11:56 PM

Today was mid. I was productive at least. During stream this morning I was having a ton of trouble with the commission getting the colors right and more or less gave up for the day because I have all week to do it. I figured it would be best to stop until tomorrow. Other than that I worked on some sketches. I really wanna get all the sketches on my desktop finished as fast as they get replenished. I have some minor fear though that it might be weird how many of them are of a certain horse but I shouldn’t feel like that at this point. I shouldn’t have ever felt like that. The fact is I have commissions and then things I actually WANT to draw. If I didn’t have commissions then I would probably have more art variety with my personal drawings but at the moment I only have enough creative energy to work on what’s most important to me and that is art of my own OC and the bestie. In my heart thats what I want to draw and I will not limit myself because of some silly thoughts. I know what I’m doing is welcome. 

I did everything I was supposed to today and got very tired. The afternoon didn’t have as much relaxing as I’d liked but it was okay. I mostly just watched MoonMoon and then finished the night off with some Mother 3 in call. 

I’ve really been struggling developing that elusive sense of self. Probably because it’s a fairly obscure concept. But I know something is wrong because of how I perceive myself and how hard it is to relate to others. One of my biggest goals is to form more meaningful connections but it’s hard to do that when I don’t have myself figured out. There’s too many points to go over in detail but I know I need to work on being more present rather than caught up in my own thoughts, and I need to work on seeing myself and my interactions with others as being current and dynamic rather than a sort of pre-scripted event. I know that line of thinking comes from my personal belief system that I and the others around me are pre-determined characters. I always think things should go certain ways with certain people. For instance, if I speak with someone I haven’t seen in a long time, I would likely think that they must be doing so much better than me and I should be humble in their presence. They probably want nothing to do with me and see no value in who I’ve become. It would be wrong of me to even think otherwise. That obviously not true but thats the kind of way I think about myself sometimes. I can’t see certain situations going any other way than I’ve pre-determined for my character and it’s extremely limiting to how I operate and the kind of friends I can make. I’d probably consider this one of my biggest flaws and something I’m still only beginning to tackle. 

This might have something to do with my environment. It doesn’t help that I feel like I’m in a place that is completely unchanging. I don’t get out and see people actively doing things with their lives. My parents seem to do the same things over and over. The house never improves. It’s like I’m stuck in time sometimes. I have to constantly seek out and make note of actual changes like an online friend’s schedule or how my art is doing or new games coming out. Small things like that are the only sense of change I get but I don’t think it’s enough. But thats why I’m trying to get off the property if only I can keep finding a good reason to. 

[justwilfee]

Answer to all this? ":D Well, okay, I'm an artist (A bit a writer, but… Not much)

Oh… Those were the distant times, when there was probably no 1.8.1 version of Minecraft yet. I just found the skin of some fire-water girl and it was my OC called "Ognennaya Nyasha(rus)" (Eng. Fiery Cutie). I had it until the moment when I found creepypasta and "Nata the killer" appeared, who is now better known as Natalie Wilfred. And she changed maaaany times, her design was more unstable than my mood. She had the same name all the time, but the surnames changed with each new fandom.

Newest OC… So, he seems to exist, but the concept? The base is there, but the character himself is not there yet. There is no name, no exact appearance. I liked my angelic cat, which I drew out of boredom, I want to keep him, but maybe change him a little.

Eh… IDK, what does that mean? :"D

Natalie loves different music, she is a music lover. Of course she won't listen to EVERY song, just what she likes. Hmm… Barney likes something calm, not too rushed music. The exception is if he is at some events and holidays(It doesn't matter what genre, although one of his favorite genres is jazz)

Natalie is a total fear, she is afraid of a lot of things. She is afraid not to be afraid and get into trouble(XD) But one of her big fears is spiders… Barney is afraid that something will happen to his friends and loved ones and he will not be able to help them.

Probably not. Except for the cat, who doesn't exist yet, haha. I usually try to create stories for the characters, no matter how cringe they are.

Oh, Barney and Natalie have a warm relationship despite their different personalities. But I can’t even call them a couple, because they aren't. They are very close partners and both have reasons not to be lovers, and yet they are nice to each other.

I didn't think about it. Unnamed parents haha xD

I can't pick one! I love Natalie and Barney. There are only two of them, of those hundreds of abandoned characters that I created before, they are the only ones that I have for so long ;-;

So far, this is Natalie, because it took several years before she had an eternal surname and appearance.

Purple star, it's probably about stories. I will say that both stories and art I have a lot of unfinished works and they will not be finished XD

Eh… I don’t know, I had the story of my BatIM au in my head, but at one moment I realized that I was too lazy to do something about it XD

Eeeh, next question

... Can I kept silent?(If I understand the question correctly. I have several word files. And almost all of them aren't finished… I will only talk about one… 39242... Yeaaah, I got really carried away writing fanfic… Cringe fic…)

Yes, all. I doubt I'll finish anything. Because it's just for fun, most likely I'll delete them sometime

I have so many fanfictions behind me, haha, I don't know

There will definitely be some kind of demon and some kind of mental trauma for the characters

Huh? ":D

Games, movies, other stories and cartoons. (One of the stories I really have is not related to Bendy or anything else, rather inspired by one film, but it was not taken as a basis)

None XD

A long time ago, I loved to draw in kindergarten and always wanted to become an artist

Mostly digital, just sketches on paper, I rarely draw with paints. And I also didn’t have to draw works in some style (Cubism, impressionism, etc.)

Eh, no.

Yesyesyesyesyes. It would be nice. And I actually want to be a graphic designer

IDK ":D

I don't read much, BatIM books are the only ones I've read (Although I still can't read "The Lost Ones", I'm constantly busy)

Don't know. I rarely watch movies. I watch TV shows and if it's a detective, then I'll probably watch it.

A lot of. Actually I'm listening to Electro Swing right now, IDK why. My musical taste is strange, the first song in the playlist is "Fur Elise", and the second is in the genre of Hardstyle or DeathStep.

I don’t know… Although… It was either Creepypasta or Minecraft (Who knows or remembers Minecraft myths? Herobrine for example, haha) and yes, I was already drawing then. I wrote stories and drew art.

Hehe, I'm fine, thank you.

I didn't answer some questions… Because I didn't understand them XD Well, who also wants to answer?

Writer (& Artist) Ask Game

Reblog this and let your pals ask about your OCs, stories, or about you! Remember to check your inbox, and feel free to tag someone you want to see play :)

* Who was your first ever OC? Do you still “use” them? How have they evolved over time?

Who is your newest OC? Why did you make them?

Biggest self-insert OC?

What kind of music do your OCs listen to?

What are some of your OCs biggest fears?

Do you have any OCs without stories? Will you ever create one for them?

What are your favourite relationships between your OCs? (romantic or platonic!)

Do you have any OC family trees?

Favourite OC?

OC you most struggled to make?

* Sum up one or more of your wips!

Which story took the most research?

Which story has the most lore?

Current word count of all your main wips?

How many projects do you have going on right now? Are there any that you doubt you’ll ever finish?

What was you first major project? How far along is it?

What are some tropes and character dynamics found in your wips?

Describe the setting of one or more of your wips

What are some things that inspired your stories? Real events? Maybe a dream?

What story are you the proudest of? Why?

* When did you start considering yourself a writer/artist?

What are all the “kinds” of writing/art you do? (short stories, poetry, screenplays, digital, painting, clay, etc.)

Are you in any writer/artist groups? (Ex: discord server!)

Do you have/want a career in your medium? If not, what do you do/want to do instead?

What’s your favourite genre to write? Is it also your favourite genre to read?

What are your favourite books?

What are your favourite movies?

 Favourite songs at the moment?

What was your first fandom you were in? Did you make any art/fanfic for it?

How are you doing? <3

Ask away!

[made-nondescript]

artists who want to write but have trouble doing it may I suggest thinking about the getting-words-down part of writing as just sketching. like most sketches aren't perfect! most sketches don't get cleaned up and finished and that's okay! sometimes a fic is 200 words and it stays there, because it's just a sketch. you can always "redraw" the same concept later. sometimes it takes a few sketches to get to something you want to finish but no sketch is wasted because each one helps you get closer to where you want to be