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lovekipani · 9 months ago

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Part 2 - Alastor Smut - Alastor's Perspective

Alastor Fucks You Part 2 - Alternate Perspective

If you haven't read the reader's POV of this, you can do so here.

My partner and I collaborated on this story from Alastor's perspective to mirror my previous version written from the reader's perspective. So if you are curious what was going on in Alastor's mind when he was fucking, here's our one-shot of just what that might be. Enjoy.

Plot: Alastor wants you... bad. But not just as a one-night stand. He wants to make a deal to keep you as his personal toy. And the kicker is...you want it just as bad.

It’s 2 am, and I’m hungry for restless, mortal souls that struggle to sleep. Souls that are particularly…vulnerable…to what I have to offer.

But, I rarely get to venture into the living world these days…where TV and digital technology have taken over (fuck you Vox), weakening my access to souls – a link dependent on powers of old…the power of voice. The power of frequency. Instead, I roam Hell, claiming souls in bondage in exchange for what I can offer them…what they need and crave.

Since I expired and ended up here, in hell 90 years ago, I have been known by many names, but legend knows me as Alastor. The Radio Demon.

It seems like it’s going to be just another night in Hell. I sit in my den, dimly lit with the soft glow of demon fire, the sound of 20s jazz crackling in the background as I raise my glass of whiskey to my lips…the cold thick liquor burning as it slides down my throat.

I am tense and restless. It’s nothing new. As much as I lord over the souls in Hell, nothing down here can satiate my hunger…my shadow’s hunger…for the flesh of a mortal soul, and it has been too long since I have had my fill. My power, invisible yet pervasive, emanates like waves. But like water crashing against a dam, my powers are confined within the walls of Hell unless the perfect, damned soul tunes in.

I drift off in my thoughts. Maybe I’ll go over to Charlie’s hotel and fuck with Husk. Grouchy old fuck is so easy to rile up, and he’s the best bartender in town. I straighten my red pinstriped jacket, and fix my red and black hair – after all, a gentleman, even a Demonic one, must not be seen in public unkempt.

I open the door to step out, when suddenly I feel a shift in the air. Something I have not felt for so long, yet so unmistakably familiar. The shadows in me stir, knowing that this could mean. My stag ears straighten, scanning the airwaves. I don’t so much see her, but sense her – a sensation at once faint, but all the while so vivid that it paints a picture in my mind. I close my eyes as I feel a grin spread across my face, baring my razor sharp teeth. The tentacles of my shadow rippling under the silk fabric of my jacket. They are hungry.

I see her now, still faintly, standing alone in her dark apartment, leaning against a side table with a cold drink in one hand, her other hand fiddling with the dial on an old wooden radio – most likely a family heirloom. Her grandmother’s, maybe. I can see her frustration as she turns the dial back and forth, trying to find the right frequency.

She is a vision. Thick long blonde hair that reaches the top of a perfect ass held in low rise jeans that fit just right. The low cut V-neck tee hugging her hour-glass figure, barely containing her breasts. But there is more to her than her looks…something deeper inside. Sure, it takes a damned soul to connect with me, but there is something more. Something darker. A hidden truth. Something deliciously sinful.

Finally, she finds the frequency, my frequency. She visibly relaxes and closes her eyes as she listen to the old 20s sounds. Little does she know that she has just sealed her own fate.

“Good girl,” I whisper.

My entire body vibrates as the old radio connects with my energy, and the vision becomes clearer, and the portal, invisible to mortal eyes, that has been closed to me for so long finally opens.

I straighten my body, holding one hand against the small of my back, the other holding my staff, topped with an old radio microphone. I draw in a deep breath. I can practically smell her perfume – a familiar scent from a French fashion house – mixed with the sweetness of her skin.

I gather myself, holding my shadow in check. “Patience, Alastor,” I say to myself.

Taking one last deep breath, pulling my shoulders back and letting my frame take on its full size, I concentrate my thoughts and my powers for my long-awaited return to broadcast radio.

“It’s show time,” I mutter to myself, an evil grin spreading across my face, knowing what is to come. My body tensing, I project my energy, my thoughts, and my voice through the air, and right into her ear.

I slip into the shadows. A Demon watching his prey.

“It’s my pleasure to introduce you…"

Alllaasstor... I breathe into her ear.

I watch as her eyes snap open and she looks frantically around the room, trying to locate the source of my unexpected voice. I chuckle again…I fucking love this part. I can see her body tense with confusion.

Strange…usually what I see is fear.

I hear her whisper under her breath…”Alastor.” I watch as she leans back, taking another sip of her drink, trying to relax.

Who is this woman? It’s time that I find out.

With a simple thought, the lights flicker, and I watch with sadistic glee as her eyes widen and her body straightens. “What the fuck was that?” she says out loud to herself.

Another simple thought, and I plunge the room into darkness. I watch her in darkness, and her confusion brings on an arousal that I have long missed. I can feel my cock harden in my tailored pants, growing and aching for what is to come.

“Lets have some fun,” I say to myself, as I turn the room a sinister, crimson red. I watch as she closes her eyes, visibly shaking her head, trying to wake herself from what she believes to be a dream.

I step out of the shadow and stand directly in front of her as she opens her eyes, my eyes menacing and fixed on hers as I grin wide and bare my razor-sharp teeth.

Her body stiffens with fear as a growl rumbles in my throat, that primal hunger growing. I can feel her fear and I feed off it, my frame growing as I tower over her, my cock hardening into a steel rod as a sensual gasp escapes her soft lips. Her face flushes red and my heightened senses smell not fear…but desire. Her whole body emanates the scent of a woman in heat.

I release my shadow that I have held in check. The tentacles of my inner monster reaches out, wrapping themselves around her ankles and snaking up her legs and thighs, around her waist, gripping and squeezing her tits through her clothes, and wrapping around her throat as I lift her into the air. I pull her head back, exposing her neck as I step closer, my prey held in mid air.

I step forward, pressing her back against the counter, and lean my face close against her neck, taking her scent in like a feral beast. I bring my face close against hers, not touching, but close enough for her to feel my heat, as I growl into her ear, “mmm…you smell delicious.”

My shadow pulls her back further, arching her back to expose her breasts to me. I can feel her heat and wetness as my shadowy tendrils, like phantom hands, press and explore between her legs. Instead of recoiling in fear like many have in the distant past, her hips roll and seek me out.

Yes…that’s the deep, dark truth that I sensed earlier. This dark, sex-crazed soul that I will both set free, and claim as my own fuck toy.

As my demonic shadow holds her aloft, I grip her hip with one hand, my claws digging into her soft flesh, while the other runs down her cheek. I love the feeling of her body under my claws... so sensitive, soft...vulnerable. My shadow spreads her legs as I pull her hard against me, the shaft of my hard cock pressing against her slit through her jeans. I can feel the moist heat burning through her jeans.

I lean forward, the tip of my tongue licking softly from her collarbone up to her ear. “What a darling specimen you are, my dear,” I purr into her ear as I grind against her cunt, my cock desperate for release.

I press my weight over her, the underside of my shaft covering her slit, with the tip of my cock against her naval. I watch her face flush and contort with desperate desire and lock my eyes with hers.

“Allasstor…” she breathes hotly. I set my demonic desires free as I tighten my hold on her body.

“You have such a lovely voice…maybe I should broadcast your screams tonight for all of hell to hear while I fuck that needy little cunt,” I growl as my shadowy hand grips her hot pussy through her jeans, pressing hard against her clit. I feel her tense and whimper, and I tighten my grip on her tits, my shadow splitting into thin fingers, slipping inside the collar of her t-shirt and inside her bra, teasing her nipples, rolling them into hardness.

“Or maybe it’s your screams they’ll hear, Radio Demon?” she moans into my ear as I claim her body.

“Oooo, I love that demonic little mouth of yours. I’d like it even more if it were wrapped around my cock. Or maybe I’ll just bend you over this counter and fuck that delightful little pussy instead?” I growl as grip and massage her ass. As much as I want to fuck this cock-sucking slut’s throat, my shaft longs to be buried inside her cunt, and to fill her to the brim.

I flip her over with ease, her tits pressed against the countertop as I press my cock against her ass. I wonder what her tight little asshole would feel like? I press my chest against her back, and I feel her hand slide back, reaching to free my cock.

“Be careful, girl. I’m the monster you were warned about.”

“You’re the monster I want,” she moaned back.

With one hand holding her down by the back of her neck, I rip her jeans and panties off in one violent motion, leaving them in tatters on the ground. I can smell her cunt, and can see her pussy dripping with desire. I flip her onto her back, my claws gripping the collar of her t-shirt as I tear her t-shirt and bra in two, her tits spilling out, topped with perfect, hard nipples.

I lick my lips, as I command my shadow to tease her cunt, the tendrils stroke lightly up and down her pussy lips, gently prying them open, exploring every wet fold, learning the contours of what I am about to devour.

“Perfect…”, I growl deep as I begin to devour my little demon whore. My mouth starting at her neck, tasting her skin and biting, marking her. My clawed hands paw her breasts, squeezing them hard until she whimpers in delicious pain, my clawed fingers pinching her nipples as I twist and pull at them. My hands grip her thighs and spread them wide as I kiss down her abdomen, down her mound and breathe in her cunt, my fingers spreading her pussy lips and exposing her swollen, needy clit as my tongue lashes the sensitive bud, licking the length of her slit as my shadowy fingers teased and rimmed her tight asshole. I suck hard on her clit and feel her press her pussy into my mouth, a loud moan filling the room.

I rise from between her legs as I watch her breathe heavily, her eyes heavy-lidded, pleading for more. I rip my shirt off and hold her gaze as I unbuckle my pants, and I watch with pleasure and satisfaction as I watch her gaze drop between my legs as my demon cock springs free, thick-veined and ridged, dripping and glistening with precum. I slide the length of my cock up slowly her slit, starting at the junction between her cunt and her anus, making sure she feels and acknowledge every inch that is about to fill her.

“Let’s give the listeners a show they’ll never forget…” the little slut purrs as she grinds her pussy against my shaft.

Pushing her ankles above her head, I slam into her in a single deep stroke, my pelvic bone crashing against her clit that makes her groan in both pain and pleasure. I can feel her cunt stretch to accommodate me while drenching me in her juices that run down my balls. There is no elegance or tenderness, just a demonic beast claiming his prize as I drive my full length into her over and over, pulling back until just the tip of my cock is inside her before I slam fully back into her, and grinding my pelvis against her clit.

“Al…Alastor…of fuuuckk…” she moans and whimpers as I claim her sweet little cunt.

I pin her hands above her head as my body keeps her legs folded up above her head, as I fuck her relentlessly, watching her face as her eyes roll back with pleasure, and moans turn into whimpers.

I can feel her pussy clenching and tightening around my cock, massaging me inside her. I remain inside her and enjoy her ministrations, as I whisper into her ear.

“That’s a good girl…I know what you are. Now enjoy getting fucked in ways you have only dreamed of…”

I feel her cunt tighten and gush with wetness in response, as though she has been awaiting permission for her true self to be liberated. I slide one hand under her ass, running a finger between her ass-cheeks, feeling her cream dripping over her asshole, as I tickle it with the tip of my clawed finger.

“Yess…such a perfect little demon whore…such a needy little cunt…You’re mine. All mine…” I growled.

“Yes…I am yours…” she gasps as her orgasm builds. I watch her face as I continue to fuck her, as she fades from the world, sinking deeper into a world of pure pleasure and ecstasy.

I can feel her pussy swelling and getting tighter as she nears her climax. Her orgasm will be my claiming of her soul.

“Is it a deal?” I ask as I seek her complete submission. My cock swells in anticipation, filling her and stretching her even further.

“Yes! Yes! Alastor!!! Yes!!!” she screams as her body is wracked by a seemingly endless orgasm, relinquishing all control to me, as her cum gushes like a fountain, soaking my thighs and leaving puddles on the floor.

Her submission triggers my release, as I growl deep and bury myself deep inside her, my balls tightening, and my cock pumping thick seed deep into her hungry, eager pussy, filling her. My cum spills out as I slide out my still-twitching cock. Needing to empty myself completely, I stroke my cock as she watches me, and finish over her body, covering her belly and breasts, howling into the night.

As I catch my breath, and slowly release my grip on my newly claimed prize, I see that she has slipped into a deep sleep. My mark glowed a faint red on her mound…the mark of the Radio Demon.

I wrap my arms tight around my prize’s exhausted body, as I summon my shadow. Darkness falls around us and in a moment, we are back in hell, in my office.

I sit in my velvet armchair and watch her as she sleeps in my dimly lit room. My eyes glide over her naked form, watching her breasts swell with each breath. I can feel my arousal returning again, my cock starting to rise.

For how long she slept, I don’t know. Time has no meaning in Hell. Afterall, Hell is forever. At last she stirs, and opens her eyes, and I see her blink away the sleep, and watch her gaze drop from my face, down my body, to the erect cock that has been waiting for her.

“Welcome to Hell, Darling. Your deal starts now, and my listeners will want more,” I say with a smile as I approach her. She rolls onto her back, opens her legs, and wraps her ankles around my waist, pulling me down against her. Her tongue searches out my mouth, and my tongue dances with hers, tasting her.

“Best not to disappoint them then,” she moaned as I sink deep into her.

Want more?

Check out the Master List here.

#blurbs #blurb #alastor #alastor x reader #alastor x you #alastor x y/n #hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel x you #hazbin hotel x y/n #hazbin hotel smut #alastor smut #hazbin hotel x reader smut

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bloobydabloob · 4 months ago

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Any tips on getting better at realism? I've been drawing very cartoony works forever but I really want to branch out and draw more realistically and hone that style but Everytime I try it never feels human 😔

Suuuure. Sorry it’s fairly long, answer under the split thing.

I’d say mainly just practice drawing from reference first. Before I started doing any sort of more abstractive or non referential realism, I spent time practicing with maybe 20 or 30 paintings from reference.

Here are just some that I made during that time. I think they really really helped me to learn the principles of painting appealing realism, different kinds of people, color, skin, lighting, and anatomy.

In terms of actually drawing realism (whether from reference or not) I think the most important tip I can give, as well as the most overlooked ironally, is stylisation. Most realism that I see doesn’t connect at all with me which I think is maybe what you’re talking about when you say your portraiture doesn’t “feel human”.

Learning to draw realism in my eyes is largely about learning how to shortcut every single thing you can. So instead of drawing everything exactly how it is using an image, learn how to stylise realism in your own way. I find that if you don’t find a way to simplify the process, it can end up being A : Busy and B : hard for you to create more realistic images from imagination or from real life instead of photographs.

Here is a 40 minute drawing I just drew from a random photo I pulled off Pinterest + small explanation on what helps me to break down an image. I simplify realistic portraiture by adopting somewhat of an angular style, but the best realism / semi realism artists I know of draw realism using their own stylisation methods.

I also personally find that it helps to start by blocking in instead of sketching with lines, but I understand that this is a personal preference and might not work for you.

I also say this for everything but there is no “cheating” in art and anyone who tells you there is fundamentally doesn’t know anything about drawing, especially in the learning process. Cheat if you want. Use grids to plot where things will be, colorpick, trace, liquify, transform, whatever. Although I do also recommend that you only use this as a way to learn and don’t rely on it as a crutch, it helps a lot to be able to draw independently of all of these factors. But I learned to draw partially *by* being a kid who traced and colorpicked and fucked around. Who cares

This applies to everything too but just practice a lot. I’m too embarrassed to show but when I first starting drawing semi realistic art without reference it fucking sucked. Like *really* fucking sucked because I am extremely extremely faceblind and I mean that. It takes me 3 seasons of a show to recognise an actor’s face. But because I’ve drawn hundreds of faces now I know what I’m doing kind of. I also never post any realism art immediately because oftentimes if I don’t look at it for a day or two, I’ll come back to it and notice that something doesn’t look quite right. I would say that definitely helps.

ALSO very important but look at it from far away or a little version. I always look at my drawing in the digital navigator on FA and it helps me to notice when something looks dumb.

Anyways hope this helped at all… lalala. I don’t know man. Don’t take my words as bible I’m just some guy and I am also not a professional and realism is definitely not my strong suit. Tutorials are bullshit and if you think any of this advice sucks for you then don’t take it and forge your own path. Bless

#ask #I’ve got quite a few asks asking for tips. I’ll try to answer them all in time but #seriously I am just an amateur at words and at pictures.#I like making pictures though… let’s all make pictures guys.#But my methods are just my methods. I try to use as few brush strokes as I can #and I’m sure other wonderful artists probably draw realism completely differently than me. I don’t know #Long as heck !#No one judge on the 40 minute portraiture in image #It was my first time using CSP today and I just wanted to try it out. So it was very quick and I don’t know the program well at all.#Lalala…

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atiny-for-life · 11 days ago

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Ice On My Teeth - Teaser 1: Observations

Before the MV drops tomorrow, here are some things I already noticed about the teaser:

There's a golden "A" on the building, indicating this is not the Black Pirates' mansion but someone else's. I instinctively wanna say it's Ateez's but they later burn it down so I doubt it.

Also, when we last saw Ateez, they were back in the A-World and all sad and depressed about being apart, so it'll be interesting to see which version of Ateez this is. Are we back in the Z-World? Are we with Halazia's Ateez? It's tough to say just yet.

Also, someone seems to be trying to pull all the furniture through the tiny window on the top floor, though why and how they plan on doing so, I'm not sure.

This guy is a doctor (we see medical equipment in the room he's in) and Yunho's showing him something that has the appearance of a CT scan but shows the mansion instead of a brain.

We see this man again in the second teaser which will explain to us why he looks so nervous here.

Yeosang's inside the mansion (which is architecturally reminiscent of the museum in Strictland - the one from Say My Name) and he's got some masked goons with him who are also depicted on a giant framed picture in the back which is rather peculiar and puts some validity behind the theory of this being a dream/not real.

Or, alternatively, maybe this is another universe or a cult of some kind in which all people are forced to wear masks and this is the cult leader's art collection. I really don't know.

Side-note: I wouldn't be surprised if Yeosang hits this tennis ball in the MV and it turns out to be a grenade or something.

As @yeontan-my-love pointed out to me, the album release date is November 15th, which is likely what Jongho's digital pocket watch here is referring to.

Next we've got one of the many ballerinas we've gotten to see throughout the promo material. And again, we also get to see many paintings featuring masked individuals in the back. This is clearly an unusual museum/art collection, dedicated to all forms of art, not just paintings and sculptures.

We also get to see the ballerina's eye as she's looking at the spinning record of Golden Hour on which Wooyoung then appears in the next shot.

Fur coat wearing Hongjoong is front and center in the next shot, kneeling by a lit fireplace as two cubes appear in the flames in front of him. Not sure what this means yet, but it could be a reference to the phrase "roll of the dice", aka your future is determined by chance.

We then get some flashing text over fur coat wearing San's frame, reading "You the one I'm tryna finish" which is likely a hint at the lyrics.

Dressed up like Zorro, Seonghwa then appears in a hallway as ballerinas run/dance up behind him and hurry past him.

Mingi begins aggressively playing the piano as we show up, which wraps up the individual introductions and, once again, shows this museum's dedication to containing all forms of art.

The words "We don't have time" then keep flashing across the screen as we cut to a scene of Seonghwa going to sit with the other members and their goons outside the mansion/museum, which leads us back to the reason why they're here.

They are on a mission of some kind, perhaps in a shared dream, and they're running out of time to complete it. Whatever that mission may be though, I can't be sure yet, but we get some clues in the second teaser.

Ice On My Teeth - Teaser 2: Observations

We're in the same building but it's now on fire and a painting of two masked people dressed like Victorian royalty is ablaze - the fire was undoubtedly set by Ateez which means they have a strong hatred for everything within this building or what it represents (the hoarding of wealth? the people depicted on the art? the owner of this collection?).

The ballerinas are entirely unperturbed by the flames, as is Seonghwa (which, again, makes it seem more like this might not be real).

Jongho is in an office, a ballerina statue on the desk behind him and a giant clock on the far wall. There's also a golden emblem hung up on the wall which likely matches the one seen on the building's facade.

The record Wooyoung is laying on is now also on fire, but he's unaffected, seemingly even wearing a nightgown. Very cozy, very relaxed.

Yunho is right outside the building amid two walls of fire. Was he the one who set it? Perhaps.

We next get the small piece of choreo we've gotten to see prior to the live stream they did just now in which Hongjoong and Wooyoung showed us a piece of the chorus.

In the back, we here get to see the furniture they dragged outside to burn it.

Next, is the most telling shot to me: the doctor Yunho talked to earlier is being dragged across the driveway outside while Yeosang watches on in the shade of his umbrella, far from shocked.

From this we can derive this guy, this doctor, owns this place. And the scan Yunho showed him earlier? It must have revealed that Ateez know there's something hidden inside the mansion, something this doctor was trying to keep secret, likely something shady, perhaps even illegal.

In the final shot, the mansion has been burnt to the ground and Hongjoong has walked back inside to retrieve a tooth from a lower jaw left behind in the rubble. It must be the thing they were searching for. But why? Is this a CIA kinda tooth which contains a hidden compartment for a cyanide capsule or what? There's no real telling just yet.

Regardless, this is just what I could spot on a closer watch through of the teasers. I'm really excited for the full release tomorrow, especially the MV and the b-sides on the album!

#ateez #ateez lore #hongjoong #seonghwa #yunho #yeosang #san #mingi #wooyoung #jongho

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blacknight7890 · 1 year ago

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welp, essay time, lets talk about the clown in the room.

the amazing digital circus spoilers below!

so, Kaufmo's room.

The room of a mad man and a recently "abstracted" human. we don't know much about Kaufmo, other than he told unfunny jokes and was looking for a way out. He lost his mind at some point and got "abstracted" as the result.

What this means and how it happens is hard to say for sure as of now, but madness seems to be the main cause of it. Before he turned however, he has spread his madness to the rest of his room, so lets look at what we have here.

Most of it is simply the word "exit" over and over and over and over again with some disturbing art as well.

"EXIT EXIT EXIT EXIT EXIT EXIT EXIT EXIT EXIT EXIT"

However, there are some exceptions. Certain spots have partially readable writing on them. To start with, the head of his bed.

"CAN'T SLEEP"

Its partially obscured, but its location behind the pillow make it obvious what it says. They say that they don't need to sleep, but this implies that he wanted to sleep, but couldn't. If that is due to just his madness, or something else its hard to say. Hard to know what that means as of now, but its something to note.

Now the sketch on the back wall. The phrase is fairly self explanatory, as far as we know, there is no way out of the circus. Not much to say about that, but the drawing is interesting. A fanged Cain chasing after Kaufmo. Seems he has a fear of the ringmaster, understandable at first, but further thinking makes you ask some questions.

"NO WAY OUT"

We see at the end of the episode that Cain actually tried to make an exit for them, but never finished his simulated version of the outside. When we first see him dancing around the idea of an exit door, we assume malicious intent. However, its more likely he was referring to this exit, rather than an actual way to leave.

This place is clearly a fabrication of the world outside The Amazing Digital Circus, one half built by Cain. He said he made it because everyone kept asking about it, but never finished it and didn't want them seeing his unfinished work. He also didn't want them ending up in the void, a slightly more important reason to keep it locked up.

But regardless, he did try to actually appease them, give the trapped humans the closest approximation to freedom he could. Its clear that Cain is not in full total control of the circus, its possible that even he doesn't know how to leave.

Anyway, back to my point. Cain is weird, strange, and insane, but he's not really "evil", so Kaufmo's depiction of him doesn't make total sense. But then again, the eyes of madness are hardly a reliable source. We will need to see more of him to learn his true intentions, but for now he just seems unhinged rather than actually bad.

Back to the room though, there is one more thing I want to go over, the foot of his bed.

"WHAT DID THE E------ SAY TO THE C--------"

this one is hard to determine, but thankfully for us, this isn't the only place we see this sentence. We also see it scrawled onto one of the paintings in the wide shot.

"WHAT DID THE EXIT SAY TO THE CLOWN?"

Now at first this seems nonsensical, but remember who wrote this. Kaufmo liked to tell jokes, this is the only real thing we know about him. In that light this is clearly worded as the setup to a joke. This begs the question on what the punchline is, but it also implies that the supposed "exit" somehow communicated with him. Probably not but its something to note.

We have no idea what the punchline could be at this moment sadly. It could be that him abstracting could metaphorically be the "punchline", or the lack of a response from the exit might also be it, hard to say.

"NO EXIT"

This is all what I can really determine from what we have seen in this room, other than interpretations of his various framed paintings, but I'll leave that to an art major or something.

Of course we have to ask if the "Exit" that he refers to even is the same exit Pomni found. They might have found something else, or maybe that exit door is a lot more important than we know. Maybe that weird computer is important.

Pomni seemed familiar enough with it that the mere sight of it sent her laughing mad. That vr headset looking thing is probably what she put on to get there.

All of this is just observations and speculation on the future, and I can't wait for the next episode!

#the amazing digital circus #theory #tadc #Kaufmo

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kitty-av · 11 months ago

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Hello! I got a new sketchbook and I decided to try it by drawing a Danny with my markers. I might try doing something with gouache too, because I honestly really enjoy the process and the look of painting with it.

I also have some things to ramble about under the line, which isn't strictly dp related, more so me comparing how I work with different mediums and being a little analytical about it, you know, as a treat to my brain because it needs it. •^•

So, to start with the Danny above, it's nothing overly ambitious, I was just vibing, but I think it looks nice. Here's the thing though, it looks weird to me, and the reason, probably, is that the process I use with the previously mentioned gouache doesn't translate well to markers.

Here's the process in question btw, a smol sketch to illustrate the way I work with paint but with markers:

See, that's a process that's clearly a bit more suited to painting imo. So it looks good but a little off with markers. And it's not just to markers. Here's what I mean:

This is digital. With the same process.

It's even weirder than the markers imo, but you can still tell that there's a process going on that's shared.

And the gouache version of this process looks like this: this is my most recent painting ( literally yesterday )

This was done in flat brush, and I think you can clearly see that the process I used across all these paintings started with my gouache work. Which also might be why Danny looks a bit different than them because I had to adjust my process. Rather than starting with colouring my canvas and starting the face with a contrasting colour, both Danny, and as far as I can remember the digital dude, started blank and I had to do the glow effect thing a lot less naturally - especially with the lack of brush strokes. The scratchiness of them is aesthetic. Like, brush stroke and direction is important guys, it adds a lot.

I think if I try to draw this Danny in gouache and explain my process better this would all make sense, but I haven't had the time to get back into art because of uni, and I rather like to. I especially want to try doing digital art again, but I've been doing it so rarely that I haven't really got a process anymore, so I'm a bit intimidated to do anything but portraits.

In any case, if anybody has good Sai brushes that could help me get that painterly vibe there, I'd be very grateful •^•

I want to start drawing and creating things for the Phandom again, but all I have currently are sketches, which I know aren't traditionally the easiest things to interact with visually, especially without colour. Still, I'm just going to share things I make and vibe, I suppose.

I have some interesting designs I'd like to try to make digitally, like that mermaid lady ghost from a while back, and her sister who I decided was Pariah Dark's fabulous ex. Still not sure on Queen's design, but I just want to draw a regal lady.

Yes, I am dumping previous designs here so I can share them again, partly to remind myself of them without scrolling back my Tumblr for a thousand years.

Also my Bois, the clones, who I still want to write into a story and don't know how, but like - I love them and want to show them to more people.

Well, that's all for now. Hope you all have a good day. •^•>💚💜💚

#danny phantom #dp fanart #dp art #phanart #danny phantom art #ft.my art rambles #and also my other art because i went crazy thinking about #the difference medium can have on an artist's process #like legit #my guys #try it #if you're an artist try this experiment #use the process you have on digital with trad and vice versa

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malacandrax · 10 months ago

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Hi! I absolutely adore your art and I wanted to ask if you had any tips/advice on how to get lineart in facial expressions right? You always nail it and I struggle everytime even if the sketch looks good :')

Thank you so much! HM! This is tricky- and kind of two questions, so I’ll answer it in parts. I think getting the essence of a sketch across perfectly into lineart is impossible and I rarely manage it, even if the result looks good, it’s still USUALLY different. Often I don’t do a real sketch and it means my lineart is more lively, because it’s got the energy of a first try instead of a stiff copy over a sketch? (though, I’m not certain I’d consider that ‘lineart’ as opposed to sketches in a solid pen?)

I feel like kind of a bastard showing this first one haha, you can be assured there were a number of undo's.

You can see that my lines are never really the same as the sketch, and I know a lot of artists myself included leave some of the thinking for the ink stage. However, some are really really tight in the sketch stage, and I think if you aren't confident with putting down solid lines then that way might work better. It depends though, and digital art has an undo, so.

I definitely gained line confidence through drawing straight in pen into my sketchbook, I like drawing expressions from ref over and over until they feel right lmao. (idk if this is good advice for all the time sketchbooking though, it definitely makes me less likely to try new poses or expressions from imagination because I can't erase)

-------- Some general things to consider- is your sketch fuzzy, is your eye reading a lot of loose lines as having potential- and dimension, and then narrowing it down to One Line flattens the finished version? Is your brush the same size, are you drawing in something thicker and losing the vibes because the lineart is thinner? Same vice-versa, are you losing detail because the lineart is thicker than the sketch?

Facial expression wise…I feel like choosing where to draw the lines is tricky and you have to really learn which ones work well with the opacity of a sketch, and Dont work well in a solid line.

Here’s a terrifying example LOL. Outlining everything on a face vs choosing which lines I think sell the expression. (The teeth are extreme but…) Often I put full cheek creases on just one side even if I know they would be on both, and just hint at the other side. It’s often a darker crease on the side furthest away anyway, so it works pretty good.

I honestly only learned to ink in the last few years and it's been a struggle to go against my painting roots haha, I’m sure other more experienced artists have better tips than me!

#mal talks #long post #oofa doofa #sorry I have no idea if this actually answers your question

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triumphantbass · 4 months ago

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Dawntrail Retrospective

Okay, it's been two weeks since Dawntrail launched, a bit over a week since I've cleared it and have had time to think things over, wanted to do a big dump of my thoughts, a non-scored review of it all.

Full spoilers after the break.

So, I want to give this all a nuanced look; I know this has been a polarizing expansion; I did very much enjoy my time while still having some qualms, and I'll try to highlight both sides of that here.

Overall, while it would be low in my expansion rankings, that's not to say it's bad. Just as I probably bump Heavensward up a bit in my rankings because it did so much with so little (in terms of budget, gameplay tools available, story to build on, cast, etc.), Dawntrail takes a hit because I know what they're capable of these days.

But a 10 year saga is a tough act to follow, and I know if this was my first FFXIV experience (it might be a lot of people's one day, if the 'second saga starting point' for new players they mentioned ever gets implemented), I'd be going 'oh wow'.

Anyways, before I pick things apart, I'd like to highlight what really worked for me.

Sphene was my problematic fave. I know Artificial Intelligence tropes can be overdone, but I have a fondness for them because when done right, an AI is clearly authored by someone. Just like a biography, even an autobiography, paints the subject in a certain way, an AI really reflects the creators' biases.

Just as the soul technology was shown as a mechanical version of the aetherial sea, Sphene really felt like a sort of digital primal for Alexandria, the people's desires latched on to her, sort of a vtuber Zodiark.

I loved the development that her compassionate personality (taken from the OG Sphene) was distinctly incompatible with her unsustainable primary directive, protecting and preserving Alexandria's way of life (the directive from the people)

And I appreciated that part of the thesis statement of her character is "a Garnet who never traveled with Zidane would become a tool of Alexandria, her kindness taken advantage of as a figurehead''. Which makes it nice when Wuk Lamat breaks through during The Interphos to appeal to her.

She can feel like a bit of a rehash of Hades and Metion, but I do enjoy the contrast of her valuing life too much to Metion not valuing it enough; it's important to know how to live in spite of despair, but it's also important to accept that even memory is not forever.

Also while I'm here I have to say I absolutely respect the zone change of Living Memory from stunningly beautiful to hauntingly somber. I hope that change is not reverted in patches, as it's absolutely the starkest environment change in the game.

I like the idea of casting aside nostalgia to care for the living, and I thought this zone was a welcome surprise from the "Golden City" imagery a South and Central American expansion invokes.

(PS, massive Simulated Twilight Town vibes)

And I thought Cachuia was well done in this zone; I was a bit antsy earlier with how they made her into just a drone, but I liked the resolution between her and Erenvelle

But one thing I want to stress as I sing the praises of the last zone and change, is that neither half of this expansion works without the other, because unlike other split expansions (SB having the Gyr Albania and Yanxia halves, EW having Islabard then the Ancients), it felt clear in why it had both halves, and that was for the contrast of the same theme, Namely, the ideas of culture, tradition, and history, and how they affect the living.

When Wuk Lamat is giving her speech during her ceremony, she notes one of the societies taught her "they believe death is not the end, and we live on so long as we are remembered", which Sphene says almost verbatim of her people later, menacingly polite as that same belief is twisted.

There are some roots of this conflict in the first half too, with Koana's disinterest in culture and tradition, before realizing progress and culture weren't incompatible.

While Alexandria instead takes it to a logical, Black Mirror extreme, discarding culture and history, literally forgetting anyone who passes (while assuring themselves anyone who is lost still lives on) and living purely in the present moment; death itself removed from the public circle.

I don't think the Alexandria half, the modern, present-focused society works without first setting up a region with a rich culture and history.

In the first few regions, you see how those who walked before led those who walked after, while in Heritage Found... you see a heritage lost. On both sides of the divider there are abandoned buildings; a sidequest in the graveyard has the keeper note that memorials have fallen out of favor due to regulators, Alexandria had a perfect record of history (data, people, all stored in the cloud), but didn't use it; specifically keeping it away to prevent painful memories from affecting the present. While Yok Tural had an imperfect history (a lot in legends, retold/inconsistent oral history), but that history distinctly affected their day to day; even the painful memories, the tragedies, all played a part in shaping the present.

Even though it could make the pacing clunky at times, I did like that Wuk Lamat's basic setup of "learn about these people and understand why they make the choices they do" extended to Solution Nine and even Living Memory.

Garool Jaja was also a very good character, loved his performance, do kinda wish his solo duty where he confides the true nature of the contest was the very start of the expansion; I feel like it would have set the tone for this being the "The WoL is a mentor arc" better.

Also to wrap up the good side: every single dungeon and trial was ace. Dungeons finally hit a good level of difficulty for normal content, and were well designed and very pretty. Vanguard and Everkeep in particular were delights, as was the postgame dungeon Tender Valley.

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And on to my more mixed feelings.

Wuk Lamat- I don't hate her, but I don't like her that much either. I tried to keep an open mind for the full MSQ, but ultimately she's not a character I really vibed with; I do get the shonen protag/Naruto appeal, but it's really not for me. She's been described as 'Lyse 2.0', and while I admit I have similar feelings about Lyse, I do think Wuk Lamat has a more natural progression. Lyse started Stormblood feeling like a 20 something on a mission trip, while Wuk Lamat feels like a reasonable candidate who just needs a little encouragement.

I don't mind too much our WoL taking a mentor role and taking a backseat, while downplaying their powers; but what I struggled most with was fatigue. Wuk Lamat was always there, like the memes of "Talk to Wuk Lamat" say. Like Shadowbringers was the expansion where Graha was the main character, and a lot of the time he was away doing city stuff or being mysterious. Wuk Lamat would have benefited from more time to breathe, especially in the back half of the game. She should still be there in the back half for sure, for the expansion to work she needs to be a player in all this, but I'll admit I sighed when I got to Solution Nine thinking I'd explore by myself (probably bumping into her at one of the locations) but instead needed to escort her. As I noted earlier, I don't mind the Interphos interruption (though I did appreciate the chance for the WoL to be at full strength) because Wuk Lamat appealing to Sphene's humanity fit the expansion themes well.

Succession- I'm happy this didn't go into my worst fear: a retread of the Azim Steppe where we actively interfere in another nation's politics by being their champion; but it left a bit to be desired. Notably, while I knew the Scion Civil War was a bit of a misdirect, it felt kinda pointless? Like Thancred and Urianger are here helping an alumni from their university out as he applies for the same job, but they're totally chill with you. And honestly there are no stakes to him getting the job, he's the only other qualified candidate to the point where you hire him later yourself.

I didn't want any longstanding inter-scion conflict, but for a character as frequently duplicitous as Urianger and driven as Thancred it just felt like a waste.

Also, GJJ clearly told the WoL that the keystones didn't determine the victor; he would pick a successor that was worthy- I kinda wish they just stuck to that. Having the "good' rulers and "bad" rulers paired together for the cooking challenge felt like a bit of a cop-out, , plus needing to win back a stolen keystone, etc. just felt like missed opportunities.

Zarool Ja and Bakool Jaja - I get what they were going for in the end with each of these: ZJ being the "impossible son of an impossible son, the weight of expectations causing him to shun those around him, and that loneliness twisting him", BJJ being desperate to help his people, feeling the major survivors guilt of his own life costing so many others.

but neither of their narrative arcs are smooth, and in the first half, especially during the trial, they seem to be doing comically evil Wacky Races Dick Dastardly behavior with no regards for a continuous arc. BJJ releasing Valigarmanda was the icing on the cake for me. He could have done this in a reasonable way, weakening the seal in an attempt to sabotage the trial, then feeling guilt over what he did in desperation, but no he walked up to the gate keepers like 'no I'm evil, I'm gonna destroy that now' any hints of ZJ sympathy come like, during his trial and from the Wandering Minstrel, who even notes most will see him as a one dimensional tyrant

I also think they could have distinguished both more from just being warmongers; in the same way that Wuk Lamat and Koana are somewhat aligned but have different visions, personally it would have made more sense to me if BJJ had a different brand of conservatism; putting a stronger emphasis on defense and isolationism rather than world conquest. It would fit his background better too, as someone who wanted to protect his homeland

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My most negative thoughts are really just pacing. I would like to not have so many quests just running around talking to people, not learning much of note. I know there are only so many things you can do (stand in purple cloud and kill 3 enemies isn't great either), but at this point I'd honestly just take a shorter MSQ if it meant better story pacing.

I know the first half is meant to be like an abbreviated ARR, and I don't mind it being low stakes, just wish it had a bit more polish.

I will also say I felt a lot more limited in my dialog at times? Like I don't need every box to have "I'll kill your god if I have to, maybe even if I don't", but there felt like a lot of instances where you had two ways to say the same sentiment. I like it when the game lets you have opinions, even if the opinions are objectively bad (you can straight up tell Noah the Allagans were visionaries) A lot of that pacing was more actual story content than the quests though; the first three zones could feel like extended allied society quests (solid enough ones), which wasn't bad for a 'fresh start', but Shalooni is where things felt off. I liked the vibes but frankly the quests left barely any impressions at all.

(loved the trolley dig though)

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Overall, like I said, I enjoyed my time. While it may not be a favorite expansion, it sets a good baseline for another ten years, and I hope they can refine it in the patch series and beyond.

There's a lot more I could probably say, I realized I didn't have a chance to touch on Erenvelle (very glad he tagged along) and Krile; but I feel I'll have more thoughts on both of their plotlines after the patch series.

P.S. though I rolled my eyes at some of the running jokes I genuinely got a chuckle out of Wuk Evu always freaking out then snapping back to polite with "well I won't overthink it then" and similar. Felt very Chocobo Racing GP.

P.P.S. Wood-carved owl nouliths are the best idea. A+ weapon.

#dawntrail spoilers #dawntrail #ffxiv #final fantsay xiv

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mrfellsans · 5 months ago

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✩Smg8 info dump✩

Btw this might take a WHILEE

Smg8 is from a different universe, technically he's like an alternate version of smg4 and smg9 also being an alternate version of smg3, in smg8s universe all the characters are different from the og universe but I'll touch up on them later. Smg8 just like smg4 is a YouTuber and he works hard on his memes and animations, while smg8 runs a meme/animation channel he also has an art channel which is his main channel where he works on his art and comics etc, he usually records him doing the art if it's painting or traditional or digital art and while he does this he does some commentary and plays music in the background or collabs with other people, he's a cartoonist so he mostly just draws cartoons on his art channel and he usually live streams gaming on his other channel too. Smg8 also has a little schedule thing for when he post his stuff on his meme channel and art channel so he has enough time to hang out with the smg8 crew and to go on silly adventures with them.

Also smg8 is best friends with smg9, they did start off as mortal enemies from the beginning where smg9 would try to copy smg8s videos and steal his art but after years of fighting they started getting to know each other better and smg9 stopped trying to steal smg8s stuff and they soon became best friends and smg8 and 9 would teach each other about there own art styles, something smg4 and 3 will never do in there universe.

Edit: they still fight eachother and stuff lmao they aren't super friendly like in this photo lol ☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟☟

Anyways supplies! ✨

Important Supplies Smg8 has:

Smg8's secret sketchbook has a state of the Cats lock on it which means it is literally impossible to open without the kitty key that was given to smg8 during the ending of the war of the cats arc in his universe given to him by the kitty god, also the kitty god gave him a kitty, his name is kitty and ever since smg8 has sworn to protect kitty just for the kitty god. (also wanted to say that kitty was given to smg8 in like almost the beginning of the start of smg8 and the crew, when it was only Mario, peach, smg8, and 9 and smg8 and 9 still looked like Mario)

ArtsyMario89's Pencil is a very powerful pencil that was used to save the universe from Bowser who tried to steal that pencil to make the whole world bow down to him, this pencil has the ability to make anything you draw in air or paper come to life, like axols pencil in a way, Artsymario89 would use this pencil to make creative arts and statues for places and many other things and one night Bowser kidnapped ArtsyMario89 and took him to space where Bowser had started making a whole empire and needed artsymarios help so now artsymario was like a slave working tirelessly on the moon to satisfy bowsers evil needs, when smg8 found out about his idol being kidnapped he immediately started asking around and found out he was in space so smg8 asked Mario to do a BLJ to space and it worked, together Mario and smg8 had to go through many weird levels and stuff to get to bowsers castle and they eventually made it but since the empire was too huge everything started to form a black hole behind the castle and Bowser fought smg8 and Mario for a bit till the hole got huge and started sucking everyone in, Artsymario89 started getting sucked in and smg8 tried to hold onto him and artsymario told him to grab his pencil and draw something big enough to seal it and he also told smg8 that he believes in him to do this just for him and smg8 was crying since that's like his idol and then artsymario89 let go and flew into the blackhole dying, to make things a bit shorter smg8 told Mario to get ready to BLJ while smg8 drew a huge sealing net thing to close the black hole and then when he closed the black hole he quickly got on Mario and BLJ'd back to earth while Bowser flew back to earth in his koopa car, though artsymario89 died now smg8 had something of his to remember from him.

Here is artsymario89 by the way :3

I'll find more little supplies that smg8 has later :3

Also another character that starts an arcade cuz of his hungry ass

Basic info about him: tophatman is the consumer of smg4 universes, his job is to consume universes that are absolutely useless, like a universe where smg4 has a mustache in his redesign or something, obviously before he consumes universes he must kill everybody in said universe and then he eats them just to make sure they don't cause any chaos while he eats the universe lol, anyway how he starts an arc is that he gets sick and tired of eating these absolutely useless universes because he has heard that the ones that are ever so slightly Relavent taste way better so he goes to smg8s universe to kill off everyone but he fails because he gets beat up really badly so he just decides to leave but in the process he accidentally slaps smg8 and 9 into the multiverse and 8 and 9 are left in the multiverse alone and they decide together they are gonna go swim around and look for a universe that could help them and suddenly when they did they found the smg4 universe, it was in the center of the universe and they swam there knowing that they could probably get help from there and then they crash landed in the universe sadly separating from each other for a bit while they are in the universe...

The info dump shall continue someday

Smg9 belongs to: @yago-undertale

Also @izzy-the-chaotic-gremlin if you wanna know more info on smg8!

#smg8 smg4 #smg8 #smg4 au #smg4 oc #smg8 crew info dump #smg9 smg4

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thedreadvampy · 11 months ago

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I got a black jacket with a big inviting canvas of back space and I'm contemplating. a silver on black painting. thus.

with the rat black with silver outlines and the pigeon silver with black outlines.

idk if it will work. I'd like to simplify the forms and embellish a bit, this is just a layout idea. might do a digital version tomorrow to try some stuff out.

#red said

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deepdreamnights · 12 days ago

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More video tinkering with Vidu 1.5

Vidu hit 1.5 this morning for testing, which I get access to as part of the artist's program. While making raw material for a "Big Professor" project-

(Shown here to establish a 1.0 baseline)

-I nuked most of my credits, I've still got enough to try out the new features and give you all a rundown of them.

First major change is resolution options. Fast, 720, or 1080. Shown here is my first attempt at a 1080 gen, using the same prompt as above. While most vids in this post will be gifs for ease of use, this one is an MP4 to provide full evaluation.

Ignore the odd playback speed, since that's something you'd fix in post. The gif at the start was one of my most stable renderings of Big Professor under v1. Got some minor wonk in the details, little distortion around the prof's claw and the kid in the first half second, but otherwise well above the average of the 1.0 versions I've been working with, especially the clarity on the button text.

The second one is a re-run of the same prompt, minus some detail issues with one shin, the level of consistency is promising.

720 can go up to 8 seconds, 1080 tops off at 4. At present, 1.5 does not have an upscale function. If you're not tinkering to test out prompts I'd generally recommend 1080, even for lower-res projects, for the purposes of being able to crop and/pan.

For most of these, assume I'm using either 720 or 1080 gens.

Multi-Subject Reference-to-Video

THIS is the big winner of the setup. Previously, ref-to-video only could handle a single referenced subject image. The current setup now allows you to reference up to three per generation.

Those can be characters, props, or settings, and it can be used for morphing effects. This is good, because first-frame-last-frame is more finnicky than reference-to-video. The obvious use is to create multi-character scenes, and it works well for that:

But it has other uses. For example, here I used:

And while this one was reversed and trimmed, it displays the potential for using the feature for transformation sequences. The backgrounds are especially helpful, since Vidu's internally-generated toon backgrounds are very modern and digital-painting-looking (the gif of Mrs. Nice turning back and forth into Mrs. Nautilus at the top of the section didn't use a background image reference) and as always, I like it retro.

To that point, using the more comic-booky Mrs. Nice control drawing didn't work near as well as the more period-accurate one:

And while I'll personally be cutting out frames to produce a more accurate 1980s TV animation look, the raw fluidity is bound to appeal to the majority of users, and minor issues like the color of Mrs. Nice's blouse changing mid-transformation are easy enough to fix manually (though if a flaw looks enough like a traditional animation screwup, I might just leave it in)

And another fun feature? Movement amplitude control.

In my last post about it, I said Vidu likes to move, and if you need a more subtle shot, like this one, setting the movement amplitude control to small is your move. (Funny how the robot interpreted the book binding as a mouth.) If something's too static you can up the movement as well, but I haven't had that problem much.

In terms of generation quality, 1.5 is a good but not huge leap up from 1.0. at least in terms of what I've made so far. Aesthetics are very similar, but issues of tearing, distortion, and wonky action are lessened.

And it's way better at understanding triceratops, so thumbs up there.

This is one of my wonk-tests, but man, check that walk cycle. This is why the movement controls are important, sometimes when set to auto a dialog scene becomes a weird chase.

Now, in terms of generation costs (and this can always change), 1.5 seems more expensive but in the end it works out more or less the same.

A 1.0 quality 8-second gen upscaled to max res would be 24 points (16 for the quality 8-seconds, 8 for the upscale), and an 8-second 720 render is also 24 points (as is a 4-second 1080).

Yeah, you don't want to use "Fast" in most cases. While both the 720 and fast versions here both have flaws (Bruce's disappearing popcorn bucket, etc), the 720 res version is substantially more on-model for both characters.

To close out, a bit of fun wonk. To try out the effect, I prompted using a "Specialist Matt Trakker" G.I.Joe/M.A.S.K. crossover figure as a character reference, to see if it could translate a character from toy to live action. And it can-

Though it is very, very literal.

The combination of live action-esq person and accurate G.I.Joe joints is harrowing, but there's potential there for some wild variants on the Toy Story/A Christmas Toy/'Wynona's Big Brown Beaver'-Music-Video-by-Primus concept.

#ai video #vidu #vidu ai #long post #tyrannomax #mrs nice #mrs nautlius #big professor #little professor calculator #80s cartoons #nostalgia #ai assted art #ai tutorial #ai discourse #ai animation #M.A.S.K.#Tyrannomax and the warriors of the core

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amerricanartwork · 1 year ago

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Current digital art process!

Acting on @shkika 's request because making my redraw for this post actually ended up giving me more confidence in my digital art process! As such, I'm gonna use it as a reference. And if this walkthrough of sorts turns out nice, I might do it again as my process evolves!

I started off with a quick sketch of sorts, trying to focus both on movement and volume, and get the general idea of where each element is located. I edit the image dimensions and placement of things a lot in this phase, as my ideas often tend to change once I actually begin drawing them. In this case, as I got it down, I decided I wanted it to look like some cheesy animal motivational poster, so that influenced where the text was.

From there, I began to clean and sometimes edit the sketch, mainly by thickening the lines to make the shapes more definite, and erasing what wasn't necessary and interfered with other parts. Volume is one of my biggest focuses in my drawings, so I try my best to get the volume of each character at least hinted at with the lines. This is something that will probably remain in my process for a while, as I quite dislike doing separate lineart and like the messy, sketchy feel anyway.

I also wanna mention, in addition to having references and such in other windows, I've recently begun having a second mini window of my current drawing off to the side so I can see what it looks like overall more easily, regardless of how much I zoom in on and flip the main window. It's quite helpful!

For reference, this is what the final sketch looked like:

Then, I went on to add the flat colors. Another tip: I almost always set my sketch layer to "Lumi & Shade" because I think it makes the line colors a lot richer, but since it's based on what colors are underneath, it colors the lines a lot more individually than changing the sketch color as a whole. Here's some comparison to a version without the effect (left):

Then, I add some shading using a (really nice) marker brush. This is honestly one of my favorite parts of the process, just trying to carve out all the volumes, especially since I usually use a pretty blue color for shadows!

Sometimes, I honestly just leave drawings finished at this step, because I adore the sketchy look so much, and because I really don't like the tediousness of more realistic rendering in the painting process; from what I've seen/experienced, it often involves having to basically paint the entire image over again, which I've realized I find REALLY boring (and is also why I clean the sketch instead of making a new lineart layer). As such, one of my hopes is to reach a point where I could almost completely avoid having to clean up the image in a traditional painting method, instead being able to lay down lines and colors so well that they convey nearly all the volume necessary on their own, still have that sketchy appeal, yet also look finished and professional.

Alas, I did do a bit of clean up on this image, but I think it still turned out alright!

Here's the finished drawing! I'll have to practice with this process a bit more to truly solidify it as my digital go-to, but nonetheless, I think this came out adorable! Thanks again shkika for the ask, and thanks to @mintscampi for the sweet prompt! I hope you guys like it!

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retronator · 1 year ago

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I never played Karateka in the 80s, but as a big fan of Prince of Persia and Jordan Mechner's journals, I was stoked to hear that an interactive documentary about Jordan's prototypical cinematic platformer was in the works by Digital Eclipse.

Released this week, The Making of Karateka on the surface looks like any other game you buy through Steam ($20, Windows-only), GOG, or whichever favorite store or console you prefer (available also for Xbox, PS4/5, Switch). Once the thing loads though, you really get 3 things: a documentary, the original Karateka, and a new remaster.

The documentary part is an audio-visual slideshow retelling Jordan's development story starting with his teenage years pitching his earlier title Deathbounce to the publishing house Brøderbund. It's an interesting look into the iterative process, seen through correspondence letters, journal entries, and many playable builds at various stages of completion. After we reach the eventual rejection of that title, Jordan comes back with a prototype of a visual-narrative experience unseen on home computers. We get to follow Karateka's full life cycle from pre- to post-production, ending with the conception of its sequel (which eventually turned into Prince of Persia). It's a real treasure trove! Fellow pixel artists will appreciate the many graph-paper sketches and interactive overlays of final game sprites compared to rotoscoped outlines and filmed footage. There are also video segments, from a comprehensive breakdown of the music to interviews with other developers reflecting on the impact Jordan's games had on their careers. You'll even encounter a fan letter signed by the one and only "John Romero, Disciple of the Great Jordan and worshipper of the Magnificent Mechner!" (I kid you not, you can't make this stuff up).

Perhaps just as crucial for an interactive documentary like this, you can launch any of the floppy disks in the emulator, trying out various iterations and ports of Karateka.

The emulation is fantastic and lets you fiddle with display settings (monochrome or color display, scanlines, pixel perfect or zoomed) as well as enhance the frame rate. You can even rewind the many deaths you will face if you've never played the game before (like me). If you spend some more time obsessing over the weird artifacts of the Apple II hi-res graphics, you might even go down the rabbit hole of realizing that on the Apple II you didn't really paint colors as much as you used different monochrome dithering patterns that the graphics display would then turn into 4 different hues. A fascinating learning experience if you include some of your own research online!

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Add to this the Commodore 64 and the Atari 8-bit versions to compare how the graphics got adapted across the earlier ports and you have a nice way to relieve the mid-80s with a bit of help from modern emulation (I did beat the C64 version without rewinding though!). I'd love to see more art from the other remakes, especially the 16-bit Atari ST port, but I understand their decision to omit playable versions of those due to the lower quality on the gameplay side of the translations.

This brings us to the final part of the package, the modern remaster. Unlike the 2012 complete reimagining of the game (with 3D graphics and all), Digital Eclipse approached the remake as the ultimate port of the original to an imaginary system along the lines of a 90s VGA PC.

It's well done. Some of the fully-redrawn scenes are a bit overpainted for my taste (I'd prefer a pixel art rendition of the castle than a blurry photographic collage, although there were many games in the 90s that did take this approach), but the in-game graphics are really in style, including the smooth animations that are like one would imagine granted a beefier CPU. It's also a sort of director's cut with previously unseen scenes added, in particular, the battle with the leopard as a clever action-puzzle in the middle. The AI is unfortunately even less challenging than Jordan's implementation. As great as the 6-move fighting system could have been, you yet again resort to simply kicking away opponents as they tirelessly crawl into your range. There isn't even the nuance from the original where you were the one who had to approach some enemies with skilled timing. On the other hand, you now have optional goals and achievements that make the repetitive/easy combat work in your favor (stringing various combos, beating opponents or the level under a time limit …). As the Digital Eclipse president Mike Mika admits at the end of the welcome commentary mode, they didn't manage to achieve their perfect port, but they did come close.

In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed playing both the original as well as the remake and while the combat system lacks any sort of depth beneath its stunning animations, Karateka is instead a monumental experience for its presentation. Big characters with personality and realistic motion are displayed through cinematic camera cuts and story vignettes (3 years before Ron Gilbert came up with the word "cutscene"). There are details like animating the unfortunate falling off the cliff at the start of the game, or respectfully bowing to the first guard as they bow in return. Jordan's creative work is precious and worth the attention this release gifts it.

I highly recommend The Making of Karateka to all retro gamers and/or game developers for its immersive documentation which provides an experience that goes beyond the usual video documentaries. It's interactive—just like the subject it's talking about—something I want to see more in the future. And if the $20 by any chance seems high to you, consider that the original retailed at $35 (and that was in 1984 dollars).

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#Feature #Gaming #Pixel Art #Digital Eclipse #Jordan Mechner #Platformer #Documentary #cover2 #title3

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