#maybe someday i'll start drawing backgrounds

[yoselin-uyu]

Before pride ends, here goes my favorite gays 😭🫀 @khamoise

[camellia-salazar]

April's drawings and doodles!! Get ready! 🎉🌟

At first, I was gonna draw ARG tangled in some rope, but then the rope looked like a ribbon, so I made Gangle into a monster instead. Also, I drew two of the most underated cats from Warriors ever, especially Lionheart.

(I started this first but finished it second). Drawings of certain characters cause their birthdays this month, except for Colin his birthday is at the end of March. I just forgot to draw him. I just love how Cody, Popee, and Waluigi share the same birthday, tho. 🎉

Edit: (No offense to those born on April 1st, btw).

I was writing a story with these six, inspired by The New Prophecy. But I haven't written it in some time. Idk if I'll ever continue it. I don't think I'll post it anywhere, either. Probably.

The next two drawings I started a month or so ago but didn't finish until this month.

Took quite a while to finish, but I'm glad I did. Idk where this takes place yet, but it is a scene from that crossover I keep thinking about but never really writing down.

Either takes place before or after the drawing above it, I don't really remember. What I do know, tho is that I drew these drawings because idk I just felt like Adam would have interesting interactions with some other characters.

I rushed this at the end. I did not want to leave it out. I want a clean slate next month. God damn it. I love crossovers, how bout you?

More about the Multifandom lore and other stuff below if you want:

Characters who die in canon that end up in the place (idk what to call it) keep being in the clothing that they died in. (Rip Ram and Kurt from Heathers: the Musical). (Spoilers warning if needed) So Adam is stuck with his robe he wore during the war with Charlie and the others from the hotel.

Also, about the 3rd drawing, like I said, it's an idea I had that, yes, takes place in the same crossover thing I think about. The colors in the background of each kiddo are involved in it, too.

The first two drawings are pretty much just some random doodles (idk what to do with the one with ARG and monster Gangle) while the other three kinda have stories to them that may or may not be written or animated on someday. (God, I hope that last sentence made sense).

Oh, and Bluey, Bingo and their cousins got to visit the Cul-De-Sac cause of a reason that's also in the multifandom/crossover I think about, I don't know if I should explain it or not. Meh.

BTW I've tried to match the original art styles of everything before, but this time, I've taken some steps forward. The hardest thing to figure out is the claynimated ones like Orel, Clay, and Claire. But I managed (for now, probably).

Edit: i went back and fixed it, I feel so much better about it now.

I even tried to have it seem like Bluey and others are slowly transitioning to the EEnE art style a bit.

But anyways, thanks for looking at my art and reading my rant! (If you did, if not, don't worry)

Have a good one! 🌟✨️✨️👋

(i keep forgetting to include my logo in my fanarts, but whatever, maybe next time, maybe next year ill start. Idk.)

[disposal-blueeee]

stuff i never finished and why

hello and good night . i'm just gonna ramble about stuff so yeah

swings

oh man i really loved this drawing . but it was a PAIN IN THE ASS .

i had a bunch of problems with this one . i spent an embarrassing amount of time doing the line . then after i started painting it on Ibis paint i realized that i should've done the line with a textured brush .

then the background . i really couldn't make it look nice even if i tried . i spent so long just trying stuff and searching for references but i just couldn't get it right . the colors and the lightning kept looking weird .

and just when it was looking decent , oh no the file is corrupted !!! and if i wanted it back i would have to go through a speedpaint of a drawing that took me 28 hours ( i actually tried it 😭😭 but it was taking so long and after some time the app crashed )

so , i decided to just give up . i was already fed up with it . maybe some day i'll try to redraw it or something

edit : oh wait a second . this drawing makes no sense without the background . edgar looks like that because there's supposed to be a puddle under scriabin's swing and he's trying to get edgar wet with it

otgw x chapter 20 / 21

i just said i loved the other one but THIS ONE . this one is SO PRETTY and i was so excited to try some new brushes and overall just finish this . excited enough to start painting edgar without even finishing scriabin's line .

i was using a small tablet my friend let me borrow . it was actually so helpful because i could draw on my phone with it !! i used to work on this when i was at school .

then i started having problems with the background . again

then my friend told me that his mom didn't agree with him giving me the tablet and that he should give it to his sister instead so i had to give it back . great . at that point i didn't feel like finishing it so

random reference i found in pinterest

this is like a month old maybe ???? i just thought " oh this would be such a fire pfp " and after finishing the sketch i was like " alright i'll finish this tomorrow " ( i never finished it )

mostly didn't finish it because i didn't have any idea to make it look lifeless and tragic . oh well . maybe i'll try it someday i still think it's cool

papa's cheeseria

this one isn't really unfinished . i just wanted to make a doodle sheet but never drew anything else so now he's just there . alone in a blank space . poor guy .

so yeah . everytime i play papa louie's games i always make the workers look like edgar and scriabin . i thought this default outfit looked pretty cool so so i had to draw it

[crabbng]

i actually got some in process shots for this #WebcomicDay ! they are of an episode 12 page, so this doubles as a sneak peek 🤣 you can see i forgot to take a pic of the finished lines before i started on coloring (whoops)

there are a few secret steps after finishing up backgrounds etc. (scanning, cleaning up) but since this is a sneak peek, i didn't want to put the Final Product out there.

I guess I'll ramble a little bit about The Process below the cut.

SKETCH: I don't plan out my pages as much as I should other artists do. I think about the next couple shots I want, what I can probably fit on the page, and then decide how tall the panel should be. after that I draw a big line across the page 🤣 sometimes the panel gets bisected, usually not trisected. I love it when people consider the whole of the page and make the paneling choices that elevate the art. I just don't do it lmao

luckily for me, I don't have a requirement to make every piece of my comic pages The Best. So, I focus on what I enjoy: expressions and conversations.

LINE DIALOGUE AND PANELS: For inking/lining, I ABSOLUTELY have to put in my dialogue/dialogue balloons first. Since I'm doing everything on the same page of physical paper, I can't really shift things around partway through to make the dialogue and art fit better together. I also have to make sure it all fits within the panel lines I have planned. I've gotten into situations where the WORDS fit in, but in order to make a word balloon with decent space around the words, I cross over a line. Sometimes it works, but for me.. it doesn't work most of the time. So, gotta plan ahead.

You can also see down in the final section, I handwrite my dialogue! So, if I mess up, I sometimes have to add in a few letter that I can substitute in during editing.

FINISH LINES & ERASING: All I have to say about finishing lines/erasing, is that erasing can be such a challenge lmao. JUST YESTERDAY... when I was erasing.. I tore a page a little bit. And I often accidentally crinkle a corner while erasing. The obvious solution, and what I know people do, is to sketch on one page, and then use a light table (or equivalent) to do a cleaner, lighter sketch on a new page, and then do lining on that. Which is a good idea, maybe someday I'll try it lol.

COLOR FIGURES: There's really no good reason I start with the figures, besides that I like watching them come to life with the colors. It feels weird when they're blank on the page. They're also generally the most important part of the page for me, and seeing them colored helps me decide on which panels I want to do flat color backgrounds for.

But! This means I can't go back and edit skin tones etc. to be in different lighting after the fact, unless it's to make them darker! So that's something I have to be cognizant of and plan for in advance.

I use Copics for most part of the figures, except when I know there's going to be several large areas to color, like Aoife's hair or her sweater and pants. I have character's hair planned in Copics, but I have several browns from other brands (Prismacolor, Blick, Winsor and Newton, Artist's Loft) that get pretty close to her hair color. Clothing that has large areas that need to be colored are planned as being from one of those other brands from the start. I don't want to use up all my Copic juice on them!!

Also don't you just love seeing the texture of the paper through the marker? I love it. I love the natural variation you get.

BACKGROUNDS & OTHER DETAILS: Color everything else! Backgrounds and shadows generally. For backgrounds I'm once again using my alternative brands. I've got a lot of space to cover, and those markers, along with being cheaper, are generally larger than my Copics. So it works out.

Sometimes I tend to go a bit wild with the single color backgrounds, to the point where I think it can get distracting. So I have to rein it in and leave some panels with white backgrounds, so the reader isn't just blasted with colors from every angle. My rule of thumb is to try and only have color on one panel in each of my lines of panels, and to alternate sides, if possible. I feel like that guides the eye easier.

Doing things traditionally means I don't really get any shortcuts when it comes to backgrounds, including just flat color backgrounds. Every square millimeter has gotta be colored purposefully by me. And maybe that seems like a pointless use of time and effort! But man, I love the end result. I'm all for shortcuts, it's just a lot of the ones I see floating around don't apply to me 🤣

I'll talk about my other steps here too, might as well.

SCANNING: After colors and everything, I scan the pages. They're too big to fit in my scanner, so I scan the top and bottom halves separately, and stitch them together (I use PhotoStitcher).

From there, I rotate it to (more or less) make it straight on my canvas, make a .clip version, and send it off to my iPad!

I got my iPad in a workplace raffle, and though there's a lot about the UI I don't love, it's been really convenient!

EDITING: Editing consists of: cleaning up things that should be white (like eyes, teeth, and word balloons), and then cleaning up marker that's bled over into areas it doesn't belong, and is distracting. I try not to overdo it on marker cleanup, because 1) it takes a while, 2) it can stress me out if I decide I need it all to be PERFECT, and 3) it feels slightly disingenuous, just TO ME, about my OWN work. I don't think 3) is valid, so I try to ignore that part, but sometimes in my head I'm like 'mm but Jacki can you say its traditional if you have to do so much work in post to make it presentable??' (said in a very snobby voice). I went from not really caring -> REALLY caring -> hopefully I'll get to caring a reasonable amount.

FINISHING: Last steps are to send it BACK to my computer, where I have two auto actions to size the page and to export it as a .png in a large and a small size. I should be rightfully criticized for how I size the pages lmao, it's 2647x3560 pixels. Why that number specifically? That's 1) how I've done it since the beginning, so they are all this very strange size, and 2) it's about the maximum area of scanned page I can consistently get.

I think that's it? I don't know why you would, but if you have any questions, feel free to hit me up and I'll answer them to the best of my ability. Hope someone finds this interesting or helpful LOL

bye 💕 happy webcomic day!

[noxsylvania]

I'm Opening Commissions Once Again!!!!!

Hey y'all! I'm likely gonna be running into work issues real soon and need to get some extra money. If you've been following me a while you've probably heard me talk about not planning on ever doing commissions again, but desperate times and all that.

ADDITIONAL SECRET SALE [aka I forgot to write it on there...]: If you show me proof of a donation of $20 or more to the PCRF, I'll knock 25% off of ANY commission.

More Details Below the Cut!!!

What I will and won't draw:

I will draw, mechs, furries, Sonic characters, complicated armor and clothing. However these may be subject to change in price for extra detail.

I will draw gore, blood, and mildly suggestive art (including partial nudity). However on account of gore, I will not allow self harm injuries or heatshot wounds.

I will not draw NSFW, porn, or fetish art. Sorry! Maybe someday!

I will not draw anything I find might be offensive and I reserve the ability to decline a commission request for ANY reason. Feel free to ask anything if you are unsure.

Payment

I accept payment through Paypal and Venmo, payment must be in USD. After I complete the initial sketch for your commission I will ask for a down payment of $5USD, this payment comes out of the final price! Tips are greatly appreciated as well, but please make a note of it so I know there wasn't a mistake on your end!

Additional Characters:

For lined drawings each additional character is the base price minus %30. For render style 1, each additional character is the base price minus 15%. Additional characters in render style 2 are however the same as the base price, digital paintings take a long time.

About Sales

I have two ongoing sales currently available, Sonic art and Final Fantasy VII art. All sales apply to the full price of the piece, so if you have extra detail or background charges, the sale will apply to the full price PLUS these charges. And of course, if you'd rather I draw a character that you or a friend created, so long as they are designed to be from either Sonic or FFVII, they are included in these two sales. For proof of donation to the PCRF I only need to see your email confirmation showing the amount you donated, feel free to redact your name if you want. All three current sales can stack to a maximum of 35% off! All sales however have a minimum of $5USD, you have to pay me at least SOMETHING..

All sales end on April 1st! If I start working on your commission before that date, the sale will apply to your total even if I finish it AFTER April 1st.

About Backgrounds

I am absolutely happy to do backgrounds, for a price! The price of backgrounds is highly dependent on what you want so I can’t really put estimates here. Please know this can vastly extend the time I would require to finish the piece which may affect refunds. By default, all of my drawings will be transparent PNGs with a solid color BG variant. If you would like a gradient background, those are completely free! Just ask!

Timeline and Refunds

Art takes time, for me as a disabled artist, it's a bit more time than many other artists I know. Commissions are first come first serve, so please know that I can only get to you when I finish anyone else on the waitlist before you. If I do not finish your piece in 30 business days, I will refund your down payment, regardless of how far in I am.

If you have any other questions just ask! Thanks so much!

[megamagimugi]

Hey, Mugi! I saw you reblogging the artist ask game, so I'm ready to fire away 😁 How about 9 and 30? And if it's okay, I'd like to add number 12 and hear (read lol) about your process 🥰

Hey there, Zahra! Thanks for sending me another ask, and of course I'm more than happy to answer😃 However, my Dory-brained friend/aff, you already asked me 12 here. But, fear not! I'm still gonna answer it and focus on something different this time.

Let's-a go!

9. How much time do you spend drawing on an average day?

This is a bit of a tough one. My drawing, painting and animating is very irregular depending on the day and my list of tasks or projects to do. It can be anything from 10-15 minutes spent on just doodling in my sketchbook to essentially all day. And then there are even some days when I don't get to actually draw anything at all. Not sure how to even count the average time taking all of that into account... maybe 2 hours a day, at least for the artsy things? I mean, there's also the design but not art related stuff I have to do, and sometimes the line between the two is a little blurry, but yeah, let's go with that for the art. I hope it makes at least some sense lol😂

30. What inspires you to not just make art, but also be a better artist?

I suppose it's the mixture of all of the artists and animators I admire being a huge source of inspiration, my natural ambition and love for the craft, and a little dream that I wanted to give a chance after failing to fully give up on it. The dream is to become a professional animator, though the problem is, between the time that dream first formed in my head (when I was like 6) and now a lot has changed, for example the types of animation in demand - I've always liked hand drawn animation the most and it has never really changed. But it's become a little niche now. Not to mention the possible dangers of gen AI. But I still keep trying to improve and maybe someday finally get to the professional level I'm aiming at.

And finally, an extra answer to 12:

12. Is it okay for people to ask you about your process?

This time, I'll tell you a bit about my process of drawing comics. I'm a complete amateur at this and have never even watched a single tutorial on how to do it, so I don't know if I'm doing this "correctly"... but I've developed a method that has been working for me just fine so far, and that's what matters in a non-professional setting! I create comics in Photoshop. Let me walk you through my process step by step:

Step one: rough sketch; when I figure out the entire layout of my panels, speech bubbles etc., as well as create the base for my drawings in each panel

Step two: panel frames; I typically use a rectangle tool because so far I've been very basic about the shapes of my panels

Step three: adding text

Step four: making the panel bases; what I mean is, I select my frames and create a mask in order to color inside the frame in a neutral shade of gray that I like to work on top of; then as I work on each panel, I create clipping masks for every layer, makes it easy for me

Step five: draw a speech bubble cleanish sketch/lineart; I do it separately for each panel

Step six: draw everything else's cleanish sketch/lineart; I also do it separately for each panel

Step seven: color panel by panel; I start with filling the speech bubbles with white on one layer per panel; then I like to color an entire panel on just one separate layer so I don't have to juggle between too many of them

Step eight: color the background; sometimes I do this step earlier, but usually once I have everything else colored, I still adjust it a bit; I often keep it very simple, like a gradient (fun fact about my I Was-a Too Late - The Comic: the first few pages all had a gradient that gradually became less saturated, starting with the same color the previous page ended with; to signify the shift in the mood from normal and bright to something much more grim; the saturation in the panels themselves also gradually changed for the same purpose^^); but sometimes the background or part of it can be a frameless panel, too, which spices things up a bit

That's it, that's been my comic drawing process so far!😃 Hope you found it interesting.

Thank you so much for the ask, my beloved friend!😊 Always happy to find you in my inbox.

The asks are all based on this game.

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

Hellooooo

Could I have, for your lovely Evie/Tav:

General: 2, 4 & 9

Story: 2, 3, 11, 13 & 17

Romance: 7

Thank you kindly, and I hope you have a nice day!!

(a different picrew because I can't draw. Just imagine blue eyes)

Astarion x Evie (Ace!Tav) Masterlist (for context)

General

2. Do the other companions have special comments or reactions upon recruiting your Tav?

Answered here

4. What sort of general actions raise or lower their approval?

Raise approval:

Taking her out of camp

Compliment her music

Being nice to children and animals

Respecting her wishes

Remembering things from her dialogue

Engage to playful banter

Lower approval:

Leaving her behind in camp

Insulting her profession and music

Deceptive pick up lines

Solving problems only with violence

9. Does your Tav have any escalating conflicts with one of the other companions, like Lae’zel and Shadowheart’s knife-fight?

I want to say no. Evie is keeping mostly towards the background, especially in the first act and doesn't want to cause waves.

Although, I do think she'd have plenty of background bickering with Astarion. Also Gale would start to grow more and more frustrated with her lack of understanding of her own magic outside of the fact it works. I would want part of her quest to touch on the fact that she can't read.

Story

2. How do they advise the player character on Raphael?

Evie: "The devil you do or the devil you don't". The Hells probably had a field day when that line was first spoken. I suppose they were all rather proud of themselves.

Evie: Perhaps I'm being a bit obvious, but maybe we shouldn't trust a literal devil. He compared himself to a literal cat trapping a mouse. Not exactly subtext is it.

Evie: I'm not saying his power isn't real. I have no doubt he can do exactly what he said, but that gives us all the more reason not to trust him. We know he has an ace up his sleeve, best not play at all.

3. How do they react to Astarion biting the Player Character?

Evie: A vampire? Well, I supposed I should have seen that coming. There's pale and then there's...whatever Astarion has going on.

Evie: You let him bite you? Did it...did it hurt? I mean, of course it hurt, but you know, everybody has their preferences.

11. What do they say if the PC tries to force them to go up on stage with Dribbles the Clown?

Evie: Believe it or not there are certain rules I follow when it comes to performances. Number one, never work with clowns.

Evie: I will eviscerate you in fiction when this is all over.

13. How do they react to the PC either allowing Astarion to ascend or convincing him to spare the 7000 spawn?

Allowing Astarion to Ascend:

Evie: All those people...you-- helped him kill 7000 people? For what? For power? For protection? I understand being afraid. Trust me, I do. But to lead to this? How are you not terrified?

Convincing Him to Spare the 7000 Spawn:

Evie: He'll never believe me if I said this, but what he did was brave. Denying himself that power, risking never being able to see the sun, all for the chance at real freedom? That takes courage. I hope he comes to understand that someday.

17. If romanced, how do they react to the Dark Urge trying to kill them in Act 2?

Evie: I'm up love, promise. I just need to... *eyes open wider and she sits up* Are you alright? Has something happened? You don't look well.

Evie: Protect me from what? Start at the beginning.

Evie: Alright that's...bad. I can safely say that is very bad. Truth be told I rather like living. Why didn't you tell me sooner? I know I'm not the best at understanding curses or compulsions or whatever this is, but I could have helped. I'm here for you, you must know that by now.

*Durge knocks out and wake up tied up*

Evie: Easy now love. It's alright. Nothing is going to hurt you, I promise.

Evie: I'll try not to take that personally. I know you're in there, just hold tight. I'm not leaving.

Evie: This looks like it's hurting you more than me. Don't lose focus now. I'm right here.

*night passes sick and sweating, but bloodlessly*

Evie: Good to see you back to yourself, can't say I'll miss that feral look in your eye. Now will you please tell me what's going on?

Romance

7. What questions can Zethino ask the PC about Tav in the Love Test? 

If she were an animal, what would she be?

What brings her joy when the world goes dark?

What true fear lingers in her heart?

Companion!Tav Asks

[hazeisblue]

I should have posted this maybe five months ago (especially because I kindly got tagged by some mutuals for tag games and I never got to answer I'm sososo sorry T_T) but today is the first time I opened tumblr on desktop mode (!) I've been on tumblr on and off since 2011 but I only got back to the app a few months ago.

I'll use @callivich intro post :) ty for creating it!

Name: I just go by hazeisblue :)

Age: Mid 20's

What made you fall in love with Gallavich? Their realness. I've been on and off on many different fandoms and I've never seen a portrayal of a romantic relationship as real and raw as gallavich. Cameron and Noel's acting is amazing as well and I believe a huge part of gallavich success comes from their chemistry.

How long have you been a fan? I saw a shameless tiktok in early 2023 on one of those accounts that upload movies in several parts. I think I was familiar with Fiona or Debbie's storyline at first but then I got into gallavich and just ended up binging the compilation of their scenes in youtube lol. Then I went to check their tag on AO3 and well, here I am.

Favourite Gallavich moment/scene? Them meeting in jail and everything not shown that lead up to that moment. The relief in Ian's eyes, Mickey's smile, Frank Ocean playing in the background, the kiss! I truly believe that the gallavich plot could have ended there and I would be happy. In a way, that could have been their happy ending.

Favourite Shameless character apart from Ian and Mickey? Lip. I'm a huge fan of Jeremy Allen White's portrayal of Lip and Carmy (The Bear). I might relate to both characters a bit more than I want to accept. I also like Mandy and I wish we got to see more Milkovich siblings interactions.

Do you write or draw or make edits? I haven't posted anything but I have a few ideas floating around on Google Docs :) I'm not an English native speaker, so I'm not very confident with my English skills but maybe someday I'll try to post something here.

Favourite type of Gallavich fics? I love everything gallavich related honestly. I check the AO3 tag everyday and I'm starting to venture into fanfiction.net again to check some old works. I especially love fics centered around their married life after S11, but I also really like AUs (college AU, sports AU, i'm down for everything).

Favourite Gallavich quote? I'm drawing a blank here because I've loved every one of their little interactions, from their more meaningful ones to just their banter.

Anything else you’d like to share about yourself? I've been a fan for my entire life lol I've gone from tokio hotel/cinema bizarre/emo bands to visual kei/jrock to anime to kpop/k-indie/k-hiphop, and lately, to shameless/the bear/succession. I love getting into new fandoms so I love a good rec or just to chat about any of the above :)

[thisfeelswrong]

Tw: suicidal idealation, sh, sui

Nobody noticed when I stopped including myself in the photos. When I stopped trying to stand out in the group. They didn't notice that I started to fade into the background more and more. It was like I wasn't even there.

Every time I've cried it's been alone. Not once has someone helped me through a panic attack. There is no one here who will help me. I am alone. Why won't anybody help me? I've done everything that I can to save them.

I can't seem to let them go though. Especially the one who hurts me the most. Because even though he makes me feel like I don't matter and am just annoying, he's the only one who really makes me happy. So when he is nice to me my heart is so happy even though I know it won't last and that he'll be back to acting too good for me soon.

But he just doesn't get it. When I message you something random, that's my desperate cry for a distraction. I need help, but he pops in and out of the conversation and then I know that I mean nothing to the person who is my world. And then I cry. I cry until I can't breath because I need him but he doesn't even want me.

Nobody wants me.

I'm so tired. I can't keep going like this. I need someone to love. Someone to give me something to live for. But I don't have that.

So I live only because I have failed to die. I don't take the pills because I can't move my body. I just stare at the wall and feel the tears fall. I give myself drawings made of scars because I don't deserve to have something pretty without pain.

Maybe someday soon I'll finally get the courage.

[bonjourxrenae]

Some .hack//YGO AU thoughts under the Read More, bc if I don’t breathe it into existence it will NEVER BE………

I'm drawing self-indulgent arts and strips about it... might make it a fic someday...? idk

My partner Quill (@themadcaptain) and I are putting characters in situations again, and we’re here in the hit online MMO The World

*Yuki Kajiura's The World playing softly in the background*

We've really only ever seen .hack//SIGN and between us, we've maybe played 3 out of 4 of the PS2 games (we started replaying .hack//Infection again recently!) so our knowledge of the series is vague and limited at best... I'll look into the rest, but .hack is just a large multimedia franchise with SO MUCH BACKGROUND STUFF HAPPENING

anyway, BACKGROUND STUFF (.hack is a niche little project so I’ll summarize a little bit of what’s going):

The story of .hack takes place in an alternate reality in which there’s a technological rise of a new version of the internet following a major global computer network disaster, and the mysterious events regarding the wildly popular fictional massively multiplayer online role-playing game The World.

The World is a fairly standard VR-enabled MMORPG, but otherwise functions as any other MMO does. It was originally created by programmer Harald Hoerwick under the name Fragment.

The story behind The World itself is largely based on an epic poem known as the Epitaph of the Twilight, written by fictional poet Emma Wieland. Hoerwick was infatuated with Wieland, and when she died, he created Fragment in order to immortalize her work. Fragment, and subsequently The World, contains a secret black box project he had been working on: the ultimate AI named Aura. In universe, this black box data exists within the game, but it is unable to be analyzed. CC Corp, the company that buys Fragment from Hoerwick, beta tests it (with beta testing ending early for unknown reasons), and releases an upgraded version known as The World.

Because of the presence of this Ultimate AI, a lot of mysteries crop up in game, and some players are met with disaster as a result (ie. many fall into comas, have their consciousness trapped in game, etc etc.) and CC Corp is trying to cover up these disasters by deflecting responsibility. However, the AI has been aiding hackers within the game in stopping the mysterious corruption in the game's files.

...SO WHERE DO THE YUGIOH DUDES COME IN?

The parallels between Harald Hoerwick and Pegasus are obvious. It would also be really cool to have his dead fiancée have more of a role other than being Pegasus's muse and motivation. (Also, if you've played the .hack games and seen the creatures in game, then you know this is something he would have absolutely created.) I don't know much about Wieland, but it's implied that she was using Hoerwick's research and talents for her own ends, which is fascinating.

I like the idea of Kaiba Corp collaborating with I2 on this game, with I2 selling it to KC... I also imagine KC still having Gozaburo and The Big Five who would be dismissive of the players' concerns about the comas and such, going so far as to delete forum threads and accounts just to save face...

Then we have Seto Kaiba. The future CEO of Kaiba Corp. Current leader of the Cobalt Knights (group of admins in The World working for KC), and this AU's stand in for Balmung of the Azure Skies Eyes (hehe). I imagine he has NO IDEA what's going on behind those closed doors, but eventually learns what role KC is playing in regards to all of this, and vows to put an end to it on his terms. I also like to believe Mokuba is also part of the Cobalt Knights, and is one of the victims who gets his consciousness trapped in the game, very much like Tsukasa from .hack//SIGN.

And Noa Kaiba? Big Morganna Energy... In .hack//SIGN, Morganna was created to oversee the birth of the Ultimate AI, but would ultimately rebel from this purpose, stalling the development of the Ultimate AI and setting off a lot of disastrous events. I imagine Noa would also be, like, the consciousness uploaded into the system - the one who could access the black box data - but could not export it to KC. With his own father abandoning him within the mainframe, Noa is working to destroy the game from the inside out... and he's responsible for trapping Mokuba in-game.

I feel like if one's consciousness can be uploaded into the MMO, I think it could stand to reason that ghosts and spirits can exist there too...

Alright, so there's some background info... and sadly we're a bit intimidated trying to tackle it all, and also trying to keep up with the different continuities between the different anime and the video games... one day, we'll figure it out... and one day I won’t be too intimidated to tackle this story from Kaiba’ POV…

I’ll probably make a separate post about what everyone else’s role is in The World a bit later!!! owo;;

[sailorsol]

Okay. So. There were a lot of interesting things in the Ahsoka series, but I still think my idea would have been a better premise, and tied a lot of the elements presented in the series together better.

We start at the end of the Rebels epilogue, with Ahsoka the White showing up to get Sabine to go on a quest. This is not long after Return of the Jedi, so we're talking ~4 years after Ezra vanished with Thrawn. Ahsoka says, hey, I have this Idea. Ezra saved my life by pulling me through a portal in this World Between Worlds. He got there through the temple on Lothal, which isn't an option any more.

But there are other portals. We know that there are other portals. We don't necessarily know where they are. So let's have Ahsoka and Sabine go off on a quest to find another one of these portals. Sabine can maybe get some Jedi lessons from Ahsoka, but I'm not sure I'm totally down with her being Force sensitive. I dunno, it could go either way on this, because also we've seen the portals needing more than one Force sensitive. We can draw this out for a while, have some of the Mandalorian stuff going on in the background, maybe Sabine having to make the choice between going to help her family or continuing to look for a way to bring Ezra back, and her dealing with the guilt of what she felt like was maybe the wrong choice.

In the background, maybe Morgan is still trying to find Thrawn, whatever. But Baylan and Shin? They're basically doing the same thing as Ahsoka and Sabine. Not for the same reasons, of course, but now we have the antagonists. Eventually we find a temple they can use to access the World Between Worlds, and Ahsoka goes in. Maybe she can have an encounter with Anakin and come to accept that he was Vader, but he had been her master too, and while she too had the potential for darkness, it was always about Choice. Anakin always had the potential to be a great Jedi, but he chose otherwise.

Ahsoka finally finds the right portal in the World Between Worlds. She finds the portal that will let her snatch Ezra off of Thrawn's ship in that moment before it goes to hyperspace, when it's too late for Thrawn to stop it from happening. A lovely parallel to Ezra saving Ahsoka from Malachor. But okay, now Ahsoka brings Ezra back out. Let's say it took them a few years to find a temple. It's 7, 8 ABY? Maybe later? But Ezra is still 18, still very recently lost his master, was just prepared to basically sacrifice himself to save Lothal.

And now here he is, in a world where the Empire has been defeated. Where Hera has a son. Where Leia is a senator and her planet is gone and Luke is trying to start a new Jedi Order and oh by the way, Master Kenobi and Master Yoda are both actually dead now. The world has moved on without him, but for him no time at all has passed. And sure, maybe Thrawn has found some way to get back, and now Ezra is sitting there wondering if he made the right choice.

Always about Choice. Sabine's choices, Ahsoka's choices (compared to Anakin's choices), Ezra's choices. Baylan and Shin make choices too--is Baylan trying to find a way to go back in time to save the Jedi? Who knows. But we could have had so much more depth and still end up with a similar result and a lot of the same world building and mythos building with a more logical story line.

Sigh. Someday I'll be a spec writer.....

[two-fu]

my art process

it still amazes me how a blank canvas can turn into a concept from your head like woah there hands and brain thank you for cooperating during this crucial time in my life /hj

if anyone's curious about my art process, i'm gonna put it down below (otherwise, just scroll past pls i'm mostly just rambling) this is not a guide. i repeat, this is not a guide (￢з￢)

ok, first let me let you this. sometimes my last few braincells work and i actually sketch out a concept straight from my head, but most of the time i just get inspired by a random editorial pic i find on pinterest or a movie scene that i find interesting and then just start with that. be warned that my process is pretty messy and probably only makes sense to me [lmao] but this is how i usually do it so...

i'm gonna use my most recent art for ref which was inspired by a ghost in the shell movie scene. first i sketch the character placement into the scene, then i move on to the bg. i loosely paint the background in one layer first, then paint the additional background details on a separate layer (in this case, the ceiling...holes?? yeah those holes with the light coming in)

i keep going and add in the rest of the background details as much as possible before i draw in the characters: glass panels, lights, wires. once i'm kinda satisfied with the background, i start to add the characters. i usually just paint them in a single layer, except for when some additional elements that need to be in the front/back of the character come into play.

in the case with kdj, i drew him in one layer, the wings on a separate layer, and the wires on another, so it would be easier for me to modify them as needed without messing up the kdj layer. for yjh, i just painted him in a single layer since it's only just him sulking lol

[also, whenever i feel like the character placement/scaling is off, i'm not afraid to resize the necessary layers because i know i can just correct the bad resolution by painting over it]

then i add a bit of lighting/shadow elements on the characters (don't come to me for this bc i don't have a solid grasp on that either. i swear i'll diligently study it someday but for now i just put in whatever feels "right" lmaoooo)

when i'm satisfied with how the characters look, i add in more small details that i hope could make the piece a bit more interesting and not too flat: glass reflections, floor texture, yjh's shadow, and some light reflecting off the cement floor

another thing i added was the bloom effect on a duplicate layer of the copy-pasted canvas. then i lowered the opacity for the bloom layer so it wouldn't look too severe, just the right kind of ambient glow from the lights and kdj's coat. ok that's about it. i could stop there BUT...

personally, i like to do a bit of post-processing after. this part takes a lot of experimenting and this is really the part i enjoy the most, especially when playing around with the colors to really set the mood for the illustration. for this one i...

added a layer for grainy texture and set it to soft light at 9% opacity

copy-pasted the entire canvas then duplicated it before adding a gradient map for the dupe layer then setting it to color dodge at 24% op (just to give it a bit of color and not make it look to desaturated like it originally did)

added an additional color dodge layer to brighten up the lower part of the canvas a bit

and that's how i usually make my art ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧

sometimes it takes me only a couple of hours, sometimes times it takes days when i'm procrastinating a piece, and sometimes i just completely give up and trash an entire concept lol yeah it's fun and can be frustrating but i like that it shuts my brain up for a while and keeps me from thinking about awful stuff. idk maybe that's just me idk idk

if you've made it this far in my post, wow, i really appreciate you for sticking around through my yapping /srs ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

[captainstarburst]

4 8 16 25 26 30 :)

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw

tbh.. me ANDKSHF nix/starb. i love that guy (me) but hes like. just slightly complex enough to make my quest to want to draw him the same every time really hard. i love to do it though

8. What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in

uuhhhhhm. in terms of old old stuff i used to have an entire comic i was making when i was like. 12. sometimes i miss making comics. more recently. honestly i finish most of what i start bc i haaaate unfinished stuff but i sketched a version of the hapsburg lippp animation meme that i never ended up lining or anything. back in january of 2021 i think. maybe someday i'll remake it but thats a very slim chance

16. Something you are good at but don't really have fun doing

id say probably painting backgrounds? i dunno. sometimes i enjoy it but it tends to be kind of a slog but i feel like they always look nice. just takes a long time

25. Something your art has been compared to that you were NOT inspired by

oh god my memory. ppl dont really compare my stuff to other stuff too often i dont think? but theres probably a bunch of cartoons people think ive seen that i actually havent LOL

26. What's a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended

oh man. honestly any of my weirder art. the one with starb as a tamagatchi and villian got a lot of reactions of ppl calling it cute. which wasnt not my intention? but also that piece was abt like. the kind of unhealthy stuff they had going on for a bit. theres also stuff like the giant starb piece that ppl have been Weird abt when its really personal and symbolic to me. and that always makes me a little peeved

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated

MOST OF MY ANIMATIONS. i wish spending like a week on an animation had more of a reward than it does. but uhhh i dont really know how to judge if something is underrated. mostly if i like it im happy with it GHFJKGH but theres probably some stuff with lower notes if you scroll through my art blog that id say is underrated but i dont get too hung up on it

[duckiesdoodlesdelight]

my favorite part about requests is that i can be as inconsistent with my style as i want and No one can stop me 

[joycew-art]

Hey there! I absolutely love your art!

Do you have any tips for new artists on where to start?

I can do some simple line art as long as I have references, but it’s very stiff and the colors are flat. I can only hope to be as amazing as you someday! 💙

Thank you so much, that is so kind of you! That's a very broad question, but I'll try to explain my process in this to the best of my ability.

First, just find the subject you really want to draw. Wither it's characters, environments, objects, it doesn't matter, grab your interest and go crazy with it! Doesn't matter if you draw it 10 times, a 100 times or a 1000 times. The most important thing is to have fun, cause if you have fun it's always much easier to want to try new things!

So, for example, if you really love drawing a certain character, draw them a lot to get familiar with them. Look up a lot of references. Not just from their original media, I tend to look up fanart as well, to get inspiration of how to stylize the character you're drawing. Maybe there's a certain way you love how they color, or how they draw the eyes, or do the lineart, etc. Trying to copy or trace them can be a very good study, but of course you shouldn't claim those pieces as your own.

It's important to just learn one thing at the time tho! If you jump from one subject to the other it's harder to remember the things you've learned. Of course if you get stuck, it's also fine to move on for a bit. Sometimes a thing won't click until later. There are many tutorials out there and many ways to learn the same thing, but not all of them work for me either. It's up to preference.

The way I learn new things is by doing this;

I analyze my own drawing and compare it to the references I got.

I find the problem, for example the hands. (sometimes it can be multiple things, so then you pick the one you want to fix the most).

I then google 'how to draw hands'. I also try other websites like Youtube or Pinterest, you don't always get the same results.

I also look up references of hands, like photographs or images from media I like (recently I screenshotted hands from the manga Bleach, cause I love how the author draws them).

I then follow the tutorials that I found, sometimes mimicking exactly what they do, sometimes I only copy the parts I am most struggling with.

I use that new knowledge trying to copy the hands from the references I've saved.

If you feel like you've got enough of a hand (pun unintended) on the subject, then I try to apply it to my own art.

Most often I actually learn new things while making big, complicated art pieces. Like, when I drew my Toxic Rick piece last year I had to google how to draw slime textures, since I've never done that before. And it's not really a subject matter I normally stumble into. Sometimes I go through the whole process I described above, but sometimes I can apply it immediately. It kinda differs from situation to situation.

And just start learning the thing that interests you the most right now! I always put off backgrounds in the past and forcing to learn them while I didn't want to never gave great results for me. It wasn't until recent years that I finally got interested in drawing them and then learning to draw them went much easier.

___________________

There's one tip that might help with stiff lineart; gesture drawing! For a long time I've had the problem where my poses felt very stiff as well and gesture drawings really helped for me. Actually this video has almost the same workflow as I have; gesture first, then the structure, then the lines.

Of course, look up many tutorials of gesture drawing, there might be one out there for you that will work even better!

___________________

For the flat colors, it might help to focus on values instead. What I mean with that is to look at your drawings in black and white.

I always check my values by adding a gray layer above my whole drawing and put it to 'color' mode. I just switch that one on and off whenever I need to check my values.

Here's an example video where they explain what values are. They talk quite fast, but the video has subtitles.

Of course if this video doesn't help, you can always try to google for more. There are many videos like this out there!

Perhaps you can try the process above to find the answers you need?

Good luck on your art journey! I'm very flattered that my art is something you want to strive to. Be patient and kind to yourself, you'll get there! :)

[britishsass]

Fun fact-- In August of 2021, I started trying to make Psi-Portals for the Thorney Towers quartet.

And, well, then things snowballed with Psychonauts 2, and this got left behind. Even so, I'd like to post these and the ideas I had with them.

Edgar's: Complete. It's the one with the hearts and black background. I wanted it to look like the paths in Black Velvetopia. Fred's: Complete. Brown border, colored hexagons to mimic a Waterloo-O board. Gloria's: Incomplete. I was going to make it look like a stage with curtains, which is why three sides are colored red and one is brown. My goal was to make it very theatric. Boyd's: Incomplete. It's steel gray with a white backdrop. The plan was to make this one look rather clinical, and reference how the Milkman looks much more than anything else.

Maybe someday, I'll re-draw them and add more. For now, though? I'll leave this here, and I'll let others put their own spin on the idea. Have fun, folks.