#my New Year's resolution is to draw even more cute and fun stuff that we can all enjoy

[rattanwhip]

Year in review 2024 🎉🎉🎉

[greensagephase]

@sunsetdoodler omg I can't wait to hopefully see those sketches!!! (you have more sketches of Peter? omg 😭 but also sketches from part 11? I wonder if they're sad ones or from the cute scenes they had? Either way I'll be so so excited to see them!!) And I'm so happy you'll have some time tonight to relax and catch up with your feed, and that everything is going well!! And of course, always here to support you, friend!!! ❤️❤️

And thank you omg!! I'm really happy that I've been able to start drawing again, but yes I've been studying different art and using those references!! Omg, his hair is so hard to draw but ever since that reference (I think we may be talking about the same one! It has his hair in three parts and offers different angles, too - has really helped, even with his face shape - which that alone has been so hard to draw. I haven't been able to figure out how to draw his face with the circle method - I'm sorry I don't know what the correct name is but you know the circle and the cross on it method to draw the face? I don't know how to draw his face using that method so it's been interesting figuring it out - just me sharing my drawing shenanigans🤣) it has helped me draw his hair better!! And I know what you mean by feeling like you've gained a new superpower haha, that's how I felt when I started using that hair reference - I was like "wait a minute. I can draw this? And it looks somewhat accurate? 🤯" I get so excited!!

That's how I feel!! The first month of the year always feels like it goes by too fast on top of having no more festivities. It makes me sad to put away my decorations, too, and feel like I need to do so much because of new year's resolutions, etc., but I feel so much better and I hope you're feeling well!!! 🥺 And thank you for the encouraging words to take breaks!! They really do mean so much to me and make me feel better about taking breaks. It's somethin I struggled with even when I was in school and still learning to practice, so thank you for the reminder!!! Also, I'm so so happy that you're taking the time to rest as much as possible over the weekends!! (And omg your current degree sounds really interesting (I just don't know if I could do coding haha) but it sounds so interesting, and I can definitely see you loving animation and having so much fun with it!!! 🥺 But whichever additional degree you decide to get in the future, I'll be rooting for you as always!!!) And good luck friend!!! I'm thinking about you and sending you the best of luck!! I know what you mean about maybe presenting not getting easier (I'm the same 😭) but from a shy presenter, I'm wishing you all the best luck and vibes and it's easier said than done but just take deep breaths and remember that you know your stuff!!!! I hope this helps a bit!!! I'm rooting for you!!!

And aww omg, I get so happy when I see the notification for your responses, too!! I'm always like "there's sunsetdoodler!!" And haha, the pipe isn't fixed yet. Thankfully we just shut down that part of the water system (I'm not well acquainted with the terminology here 😅) all other pipes are working fine and everything, it's just this one we closed so it stopped leaking. We're not fixing it until probably Tuesday because that'll be the first day in a week that our temperature reaches over 30 degrees F (we've had some strong winds too that don't help with the cold overall haha). But all is well, the pipe is connected to a faucet we don't use often anyway! But I hope you've been staying as warm as possible, and I'm glad that your roads haven't been so icy this week and that when they have, you've been extra careful!! 🥺 And OMG - I'm going to send you a little ask in a bit but BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! 🥳❤️✨I literally meant to wish you a early/late happy birthday yesterday in my response since I didn't know your birthdate, but one of my siblings ended up coming in when I was going to type that (they were having some textbook rental problems and needed assistance from the older sibling, actually, both of them asked for my guidance now that I remember. I was like their little college advisor or something 😂) and I got caught up with them and forgot in the end but I sincerely hope you had a wonderful day and that you enjoyed celebrating with your loved ones and that you got to watch ATSV!!!! It sounds so much fun that you got to rewatched it!!! I read that it was re releasing on IMAX and I wanted to go but we don't have one nearby (closest one is like 2 hours away and the weather isn't good for driving) but I hope you enjoyed watching the movie in theaters again!!!! Also, I love that your sibling took you to watch it - it's so sweet of them!! They know you so well!!! 🥺 And omg 😭😭 every time I see Gwen's Peter I also get reminded of our Peter, and it's amazing that your sibling asked that, really!! They know about the fic and our Peter, no, that's so sweet that they remembered that since you mentioned it!! But also, I can imagine you were hit by the emotions watching Gwen's Peter, you know, and then our Peter 😭😭 but I hope you enjoyed the rest of the movie and seeing, you know who!!! 🤭 Miguel!! I wish I could see him in ATSV in theaters again fr!! And same to you!! I hope you stay inside, warm and cozy and that you can relax a bit in between you practicing your presentation!!

Also, no joke, I sat down and wrote for a little bit and had your sketches pulled up on my phone and just felt so motivated!!! I'm so happy you're using them to motivate you with your schooling, too!!!! (and no, same!! I'd be so distracted - this man I swear!!!) Also, omg I'm not kidding!!! I've had the drawing you drew for my birthday of Miguel as my background since that night!!! It's both my lock screen and home screen!!! I just love seeing Miguel smiling and holding a birthday cake for me!! It makes me so happy every time I see it!!!) @sunsetdoodler I hope you have an amazing weekend and that you get to be warm and cozy indoors!!!! I also hope you stay safe and wishing you the best as always!!! I also hope you continue to celebrate your birthday!!!!!!! ❤️✨❤️

Hi Alondra!! Thank you for replying back to me on the New Year's fanart!! there's really no pressure replying and I truly appreciate every response 🥹❤️ hearing that you still love the New Year's fanart makes me so happy!! (I promise there is more fanart for NC in the near future!!) I’m glad you took some time off social media for your mental health because that’s very important!! I’ve been quite busy lately too so I’ve been off social media more than usual this past week. I’m also happy that you’ve been sticking to drawing daily for 30 minutes!, and even if you miss a day here and there it’s still great! There are days where I just don’t have the energy to draw, so if you need to take breaks from that too it’s okay! But I really do get excited hearing these updates! Also, omg I’m very happy that you drew Miguel in a way that you liked and you’re feeling more comfortable and confident with drawing!!! Hearing that makes me so excited and i’m rooting for you!!! ❤️

Also, I just have to mention again that I’m really happy you took a little break from social media and writing, sometimes it can be too much and the last thing I’d want is for you to be burnt out from everything! (and I'm happy my little words of encouragement helped you decide to take some days off, I want to make sure you're doing okay too 🥺) you really do so much on here and you deserve the rest! ❤️❤️ Thank you so much for all the support and words of encouragement with my schooling!! (and when you mentioned getting another degree in the future- I might actually consider it!! maybe even study in a subject more for fun!) I’ve been very busy with everything and preparing for the first presentation of my capstone this Monday (the nerves are there but I'll maybe update you on how that goes! 😭) but one thing’s for sure- I still love to take the time to go on here and talk to you when I can!! And I’m so excited to read the next part when it comes out!! (please don’t stress about when you’re going to post it though 🥺) And I also promise that I read all your responses too, often times more than once because they make my day!! They mean so much to me and you don’t have to worry about replying late or anything, I understand! the weather where I live has also been arctic, haha!! (no fr today when I went out I was still shivering with all my layers 😭) and if it's also still cold where you are stay safe and warm too!! I hope you’re doing well and that you’re having an amazing week Alondra!! sending you a warm virtual hug, friend!!! ❤️✨❤️

Here are some little sketches of encouragement with your writing and everything!! a soft smiling Miguel and ok I imagine the 2nd one Miguel is giving look of like he’s proud of you 🥺 but also, he just has that signature smirk too 🤭

@sunsetdoodler thank you for being so understanding and of course, I love talking with you, so I've been trying to reply to everything!! I just got really behind on my responses 😭 but yes, I LOVE the New Year's fanart!!!

Still thinking about it and how cute your OC and Miguel look together, I can't wait to see them again (and omg, more fanart!!! I can't wait to see it but of course, take your time!!!)!! And you being off social media is so understandable with your school!! I hope everything is going well so far!! I'm thinking about you and sending you the best of luck, and hoping everything goes smoothly for you as always!!!! ❤️ Also, thank you for the well wishes on my drawing journey!! I took off yesterday and today because I've been busy doing other things but I'll hopefully be back to it tomorrow, thank you, really!! And yes omg, I've been studying Miguel (I've been studying your fanart and other lovely artists' fanart plus using the amazing drawing references I've seen on here; that's actually how I finally got his hair down haha), and feel like I'm moving forward in drawing him, but it's a working process! 😂

And thank you, omg!!!!! 🥺🥺 I was debating taking a break because I always feel so guilty disappearing from social media even if it's just a day or two, but your words of encouragement to take it easy helped and I decided to do it. I tend to feel a little off after the holidays and just feel overwhelmed by everything, so this little break really helped my mental health, and honestly - it helped my writing! I was lowkey forcing myself to write prior to it, but all is well now, and I feel great now. I've done so much more writing in two days than I did over the span of several days prior to my break, so yay!! About your schooling - of course!!!!! I'm wishing you the best and rooting for you!!! As I said already, I'm always hoping and wishing that everything goes smoothly for you!!! I hope you're taking care of yourself and that these first two weeks have been kind to you so far!!! You should def consider earning another degree for fun if you're interested!! I'd love to hear what you'd like to do if you were to get another one (if you're open to sharing, if not, I understand, so no pressure!!)!! Omg, your first capstone presentation is this Monday!! I'm sending you, and will continue to send you, all the best of luck!!! I know you got this and it'll go great!!!!!! 🥺✨ It'll be one presentation down, and hopefully it will get easier as the semester goes!!!! And thank you for taking time out of your day to come on here and talk to me, it truly means so much to me!!! Please know that I understand life gets crazy, so I totally understand if you can't reply right away or not at all (don't feel pressured to, friend!! I get it!!)!! And I'm happy that my words make your day, yours make my day as well!! I always look forward to reading your responses/asks!!!❤️ And omg @sunsetdoodler I hope you're staying warm and cozy, too!! It has been very cold this week for us (there was even a busted pipe this morning because of how cold it has been this whole week). I hope you stay warm and be safe if you're out on the road driving!!! I hope you're having a fantastic week, too and that you have a great weekend!! Hopefully you get to do some fun cozy things and relax a bit despite your presentation!!! Sending you the warmest virtual hug and the best wishes as always, friend!!!! ❤️✨❤️

And OMG THE SKETCHES!!!! Miguel saying "you got this!" - that's so ENCOURAGING!!! 🥺 And his proud face in the second sketch - stop, now I'm going to imagine that Miguel cheers me on when I write and try to draw him and the second sketch is him watching me while I do my thing,😭😭 THANK YOU, FRIEND!!!! These sketches are so freaking CUTE!!!!! And his signature smirk - everything this man does gets me, I swear!!!! 🤭 (I'd get so distracted if I saw him like this actually) I'm going to have these sketches pulled up whenever I write or draw, for real!!! THANK YOU!!!! ❤️✨🥺

[tessmontyart]

2021 year in review

It’s crazy to think I have to sit down and write another one of these because *surely* it hasn’t been a whole year .. surely?? Σ(°Д°υ) But Christmas definitely happened, and so did New Years ... So I guess it has to be. 

I worked the entire year from home. In January, we finished up bits and pieces at Trackdown, and then the end of January I switched studios to Blue Bandicoot, to work on a reboot of an existing web series. It was so much fun! (ෆ˙ᵕ˙ෆ)♡ It’s just a small studio, only 7 of us, most friends I already knew, so it’s very tight knit and friendly, with kinder deadlines and more relaxed notes. 

Though I mostly worked from home, I did get to visit the studio now and again, which was nice. Everytime I visited me and Pat got to have a mini Blue Mountains holiday! 

Unfortunately annoying stuff happened,  we had record breaking floods that closed the studio for a bit (Short street in Port was underwater! The water was as high as the train bridge in wauchope! What!! )

And of course Covid got worse, as it tends to do, cases exploded causing us to have an -incredibly- long lockdown ... it was around 4ish months for most people, though I had to suffer a month longer because I had to wait to be fully vaccinated 😭It was torture not being able to visit my friends or do -anything- vaguely interesting outside ... 

Thankfully work was enjoyable, and helped the time pass very well. Those 5 months as well as the whole year went by in a flash! Σ(ﾟ口ﾟ;) I was pretty tired from working everyday so didn’t really have as much time or energy to draw as usual, but I managed to find some other creative outlets! For example ...  Figure photography! 

This year I made a figure collection instagram account specifically as a way to document all my figures, but now it’s sort of become a fun way to experiment with figure photography and I’ve already made a few sweet friends in the community. (ˊ•͈ ◡ •͈ˋ)

@tessmontyfigs on instagram uwu  

Our figure collection pretty much exploded this year lol, I suppose the thrill of looking forward to a package arriving helped the monotony of having to stay at home every day. I promise I’ll slow down somewhat next year haha ;;;

Also, figures made our annual easter egg hunt even more fun! :D

The figures are a nice way to rediscover things I used to like when I was younger. Similarly, I’m trying to rediscover my love for piano too. The passion was always there, but kind of stamped out of me by a dumb ex (like my love for figures). So this year I bought a keyboard to re-learn my old pieces and learn some new ones. I’ve almost got Stars Appear down, which makes me really happy ^_^

Other ways I battled lockdown blues, is VRchat! You can play for free without the VR, so it’s a really fun way to hang out with friends. I also love having people see me as Sakura Miku rather than the blob monster I am in real life lol. 

One of my resolutions was to animate something outside of work, and I’m really happy I was able to ace that resolution by joining some re-animated collabs! I’ve completed 4 shots all up for a Rapsittie Kids and Sailor Moon collab, and plan to do more for those ones - and I’ve signed up for a K-ON! and Scott Pilgrim collab as well, which I’m really looking forward to ^_^

I also tried animating my own faux anime clip, which is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now. I learnt a lot just through that short clip and am keen to try it again with my own characters!

And speaking of firsts / milestones, I entered my first Piapro x Sega Prize collab! I hope to enter more in the future, not in the hopes to win but just for an excuse to design another cute miku outfit and be part of an official collaboration!

What are some more highlights ...

I upgraded my working space with a standing desk (which I got for free!) and replaced my old crappy chair / keyboard / mouse with pretty pink ones :D

Tried omurice for the first time! And loved it :D 

Discovered my new favourite album of all time (so far anyways) - Nurture by Porter Robinson! Musician is such a bop, I’d be interested to see if any other songs ever top it in my lifetime haha xD

Got into Space Boy :D It’s an amazing Webtoon and is proving to be wonderful inspiration for my own Webtoons ^_^ I love it so much I became a Patron!

Even though most of the year was spent in isolation, we did managed to go on 1 trip before the lockdown happened - we travelled to the Southern Highlands for their ‘Southern Pielands Pie Trail’ event they run every June. I tried so many pies (research for webcomic I swear!) Also probably the first and last Pie and Wine tasting I’ve ever experienced :0

Speaking of pies, I also discovered my new favourite cafe Tokyo Lamington! They do lots of japanese inspired pies (beef sukiyaki, chicken curry, pork katsu sausage rolls!?) they also do Onigiri and of course the stars of the show, Lamingtons in all kinds of wonderful flavours :D

Also me and Mel got to check out the beautiful Monet and Friends exhibit, it was pretty amazing!

In last year’s ‘year in review’, I got a bit scared about all the death happening around me and was paranoid for what was to come ... I did unfortunately have to suffer yet another loss, my Nan ... It was heartbreaking, and I have so many memories with her that I wont ever forget, but she was suffering a lot, so in a twisted way I’m glad she doesn’t have to be in pain anymore and gets to hang out with Pop again 💖

But, I don’t want to end this on a low note. Here’s some fun things that happened too!:

Pat’s family threw a late surprise dinosaur themed birthday party since we both had our birthdays during lockdown! It was so wholesome, everyone had dinosaur face paint and there were dinosaurs everywhere!

It was the year Ellen opened up her own florist! I’m incredibly proud of her and looking forward to seeing how her little shop grows, its already been getting a lot of support!

We finally got a new car, a Honda CRV! Curvy! Ka-ru-bi ... Kirby? Will that name stick? Stay tuned haha

Annnd speaking of lucky expensive things lol, we were gifted a DSLR! So now I can take professional photos of Charlie :D

That’s about it for 2021!

Last year my goals were:

“have a decent plan, concept art, chapter ideas, script and little animations done for Little Bakers”

Well, I’ve got a fairly comprehensive plan, a little bit of concept art, plenty of chapter ideas and the script is done for the 1st chapter! I didn’t get around to the animations though, but maybe those will come in 2022 :D

“hopefully I can do at least one little animation of my own!”

I did 5 animations outside work! 💪

"another goal is to make a social media account to showcase all the animation I’ve done so far.”

Hmm, I didn’t do this, and I’m starting to think my animations should just live on my main social medias, no reason making any new ones :) 

“Draw more Miku. It’s crazy that I love her this much and haven’t drawn any fanart!”

I drew 9 Miku drawings in 2021 xD So I definitely smashed that goal!

I don’t really know what to expect for 2022, but rather than being nervous I’m quite excited to see what it brings. My job contract will finish at the end of January, and then I’ll be able to have time for Etsy, commissions, and conventions (covid permitting). The biggest thing though will be that I’ll have time to seriously work on my new Webcomic, Little Bakers!

It’s gonna be a fun time :D

Be good, 2022! [2019 - 2020] [2018] [2017] [2016] [2015] [2014] [2013] [2012]

[clamydomona]

Veronica Mars Season 4 (Spoilers)

I had zero expectations going into this season, didn’t watch any interviews or trailers or look up spoilers because I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Most revivals I watched in the last years were ony so-so and most of the time when I was looking forward to something I ended up disappointed. Wth that in mind, I enjoyed a lot of what I saw.

Positive stuff:

- I loved that Veronica had a new dog that she named Pony, but I’m disappointed that he didn’t get to go on any of her snooping adventures with her like Backup in the old days.

- I’m glad that Wallace ended up married and with a cute baby and a good job and that he seems genuinely happy, that guy deserves it.

- I could listen to Cliff for hours and still enjoy his relationship with Keith and Veronica immensely. I like that he seems ridiculous but good at his job at the same time.

- Same goes for Vinnie. I can understand why the police chief is reluctant to trust PIs if most of her interactions are with Vinnie. Less so with Keith and Veronica. But at least she seems more qualified for her jobs than the Lambs ever were.

- I enjoyed what we’ve seen of Dick, but I’m glad that it wasnt more than that.

- Big Dick’s right hand man reminded me so much of Mike from Breaking Bad I sometimes confused those guys.

- The thing I enjoyed most of all was Veronica and Keith’s relationship, their teamwork and their banter. That was one aspect of the show I liked the most and I’m glad this season had so much of that.

- Logan’s character development was great as well. I loved that he ha help working through his issues to move beyond his anger and resentment that drove him so much of his life, while still being enjoyable and recognizable as a character. I also absolutely loved the scene where Logan came home with blood on his shirt, acting like nothing happened. And that Logan seemed to have very positive relationships with Keith and Wallace, after their earlier animosities.

- I also liked that scene where the murder heads were all arguing about who really killed Lily. Seems very reflective of all the True Crime culture nowadays.

- The mystery was interesting enough and not as convoluted as some of the previous mysteries.

- I also enjoyed many of the Leo-scenes, there was some pretty good banter and I liked how they snapped out of their drunkenness to draw their guns withing two seconds. Could have done without the sex dream, though I never for one second thought that thing was real.

- Nicole was a very fun character and I’m sad that her storyline ended the way it did.

So-So stuff:

- While pizza guy Penn was an interesting character, after a while he became very annoying being featured so heavily.

- Matty was interesting as a mirror of Veronica’s teenage self, though I’m not sure I would have let her be unsupervised in the office after some of the stuff she pulled beforehand.

- While earlier seasons were certainly violent enough, I could have done without so much casual beheading. Seemed way over the top for me.

- After watching Jason Dohring in iZombie, I was relieved that his head didn’t look as tiny in comparison to his very defined torso as it did in that show. For some reason that was extremely off-putting to me last year.

Negative Stuff:

- Why so little Wallace? They could have found something for him to do, it can’t be that hard. Also I’m disappointed that he was treated as so disposable by Veronica. She treated spending time with him more as an obligation than anything else. Was that the same in the show, it’s been a few years since I saw that.

- No Mac. She was missing so much.

- Why they felt the need to rob Weevil of every positive thing in his life and regress him to the character he was in season 1 I will never understand. I understand that the falling out between him and Veronica was described in the books, but without knowledge of those, their relationship this season just seemed very weird.

- Why the hell did we spend so much time in the first episode with the spring break kids before the bombing, when nothing of that seemed to matter, the scenes could have been cut out and the story would have been just as easy to follow?

- Why did none of these people, except the brother of the congressman and Matty, seem in any way trauamtized or sad that they lost their friends/family in a bombing when they instead expected to have fun partying?

- Why was Veronica belitleing Logan’s therapy so much? Didn’t their relationship fall apart numerous times because of his destructive tendencies? Shouldn’t she be happy that he sought help, even if she is incapable of getting it herself (when she, let’s face it, probably needs it more than any other character apart from Logan)? After a while I honestly didn’t understand why Logan wanted to be with her, when in earlier seasons it was mostly the other way around.

- Is Logan an addict of any kind or not? I thought he was, since he was a sponsor in the movie, but he drank (and did drugs, did I understand that “E” correctly?) with Nicole, Veronica and Dick in one episode, so I guess not?

- If for some reason the show gets another season, it’s reasonable to expect that they will drag out Duncan again, right? He’s the only ex-boyfriend they haven’t used in any of the newer incarnations of the show.

 And then the ending:

I wasn’t spoiled, but it did not exactly come as a surprise to me, because Rob Thomas so fas has been incapable of writing a relationship that survived a whole season intact (at least on Veronica Mars and iZombie, I don’t know about any other products of his. I learned not to get attached to any of Liv’s reationships, because why bother when he kils all of them off anyway?). I honestly thought there was a bomb in her car when Logan reminded her on Skype to move it and expected the bomb to detonate when she went to move it while the cartell guys were watching her apartment. I expected the other shoe to drop the whole episode, so I couldn’t even get into the wedding because it was so obvious to me that the whole thing was far from over without any explosion in the finale.

I wasn’t surprised that the bomb went off, though I am surprised that the show seriously went there and appearantly killed off one of the main reasons people still want to watch the show. After watching so many supernatural shows (and a few soaps), I remain highly sceptical that he’s actually dead without showing the explosion itself, the body, the funeral or anyone mourning at all. Especially after they did something similar in season 2 but didn’t kill off Keith.

But after catching glimpses of interviews going around, I am stunned that the death at least seems to be intended to be permanent and I don’t get that argument at all. Why the hell is it necessary to kill of one of the main attractions of the show in order to “save” it? Who wants to tune into a show that killed off one half of a couple that became an essential part of that show? Seemed to me more like he wanted to make sure he would absolutely not get another season, and providing extremely shitty closure in the process. It just didn’t seem like the show to me. In previous finales, while Veronica went through harrowing experiences, the show still managed to end on a somewhat positive note (which might arguably be the case with Keith getting healthier and Veronica willing to see Logan’s therapist, but all of that seemed extremely hollow to me). Plus, the death was so tagged onto the case storyline, not intrinsic to it at all, but just added after the resolution. Random deaths might be true to real life, here it just seems to be shock for shock’s sake, but not necessarily good storytelling. Furthermore it’s just depressing to pile on more and more trauma onto Veronica without any of the relief of healing.

Also, I completely disagree that the show would not be interesting anymore with a married Veronica. Why couldn’t the conflict and drama come from the cases itself, while her private life was stable for once? I’ve really grown to hate this notion that couples are not interesting once they are in committed relationships, so they have to do will they/won’t they, cheating and love triangles. I’ve read tons of fanfiction that somehow managed it, why are so many showrunners incapable of seeing any appeal in that at all? Honestly, the show would have been more innovative if it had let Veronica be married and at least a little attempting to overcome her trauma. But I guess a happy Veronica is not an inspiring Veronica to the showrunner.

I honestly think Rob Thomas overestimates Veronca’s appeal as a character without any of the other elements. No Neptune, not Keith, no friends, no Logan, just Veronica going around solving cases does not sound appealing at all to me. If he wants something like that, it would probably be better to create a whole new show based on that kind of premise, or write this season like that to begin with. Just kill off Logan off screen in a war and start Veronica as a lonely and depressed PI somewhere other than Neptune if that’s what Rob Thomas wants to write so much.

I really have to thank the absolutely terrible finale of HIMYM. After completely screwing over my favorite couple, I just stopped being invested in any couple to the degree I was before. I never assume anymore that the story will go in the direction I expect it to go, no matter how obvious that outcome seems to me, because who knows how differently the showrunner envisions their work and what they see as “good storytelling” (which somehow often means killing someone off right before the end, how fun!). I am kind of surprised by how angry I am about Logan’s death despite my low expectations and diminished investment in the couple since I first saw the show. At least here I can ignore the ending much more easily than in HIMYM.

[icekong]

Well, since the Best of Tumblr post doesn’t work. I thought this be a chance to go back and actual hand picks my best and favorite works throughout the entire year. Also, some months repeat because either I didn’t have anything that month or there was another worthy edit/art I wanted to be here.

Lady Medea and Artoria (Edit)

Helena “Aliens” (Art)

A Cute Helena in a Cardboard Box (Art)

1614th Elizabeth Divison  (Actual Full-Size Image) (Edit)

Tsubasa Wishing You A Happy Birthday (Art)

That A MF Symphogear Reference??? (Edit)

Bone Hell (Edit/Art)

Me As Sakata Kintoki (Cosplay)

Scathach Temperature Chart (Edit)

Excuse Me What The Fuck (Art)

The Tower Knight Montagne Attack! (Art)

Big Love for Tiamat (Art)

Anyways, I think I really enjoy this year when came to art. They were so many pieces like any of Helena drawing or Tiamat where I enjoy the drawing processes immersively cause it was out of love. Especially the Tiamat one cause I went through so many failures and it really tested my patience. Took about 30 hours, but most of that I was testing new technique on how to draw digital and I had to do over a lot of stuff. But it easy to get through that when you're drawing something you really love.

I also had a lot of fun making edits of Elizabeth. Honestly, I didn’t expect to make so much out of her, but during the TF2 Noob Cup tournament I just got really into spreading Liz propaganda. Although we lost hard, I had fun my own way with the edits.

Finally, even though you see me do art, I for the longest time kinda got in a rut in a way and thought I never do more with art beside edits in Photoshop with occasional art. But around October, I realize that the love of being the artist that I had back in my high school day wasn’t gone. I want to draw a lot more and try to shift my focus toward that more. Though it still tough finding time cause of college, finishing up on selling the website, and studying for certifications I’m behind schedule for. It hard for me to make a promise or resolutions, but I hope If anything I can still just progress a little bit in my art each year. Whether it learning new techniques or just knowing more about the art world.

Well anyways... Heres to seeing what I produce for 2019.

[fullmetalkittn]

The Last King’s Knight - Ch.2

736.V.15th, 6:45pm     

The sun had set on the little apartment almost an hour ago. Though the table lamps and ceiling fixtures worked just fine, the electronic glow from Tiger's phone was the only light in the dark room. She knew it was bad for her eyes to play this way, but who could be bothered to turn anything else on when there were pixel goblins to slay?

Ignis had logged in as promised and chosen to adventure as the five star Verdi in their possession – a harpy tank character that Tiger never had the good fortune to draw. She considered using the nine-tailed fox in spiteful retaliation, but opted for Sakura instead to make their digital outing more productive.

And productive it was! The farming was done within a half hour, and since then they had spent some time moseying through event maps and trading DMs. More the latter, than the former. A strange weight had settled in Tiger's heart, and though she may have been projecting, it felt like Ignis was a bit troubled as well. These feelings fueled lengthy back and forths as she sought to distract herself from the trepidation. The messages from her friend were as well worded as ever;

It's been quite the day so far.

An incredibly busy one, at that. There's been so much to do preparing for the trip that I've lost track of time twice already. Even as we speak, my friend awaits my aid cleaning out his apartment. I can't imagine how long that's going to take, given the chaotic state it's typically in. Heh. But it must be done before we leave. He won't be returning to it when we come back from Altissia.

That's right. Ignis was leaving tomorrow. With all the changes to her organization in preparation for the signing and the Nif's takeover of the frontier, Tiger had just about forgotten that all four of her King's Knight friends were ditching the Crown City for a while. Though they had mentioned the upcoming journey quite a bit, this was the first time their destination had made it's way into the conversation.

She smiled. For 17 years she had called Lucis home, but the Accordo capital of Altissia was the place of her birth. Too young when they left it to remember much about the city, Tiger nonetheless felt a bit sentimental seeing its name on appear on her screen.

Altissia!

My family lived there when I was a little girl. It's been a long time since I've seen it. Oh, I wish I could go with you! But there's this whole peace treaty stuff to deal with tomorrow. Crazy time to be a Glaive, I guess. I know how stressed you must be, but I think I'm a little jealous of your trip! Promise you'll try a strawberry gelato while you're there.

Do it for me, even if you don't like strawberries, ok?

Had she told Ignis about her occupation before? They'd been in contact for over a month now. Surely it had come up. And even if it hadn't, it wasn't as if she belonged to any sort of secret organization. Tiger wasn't ashamed of her affiliation, either. Though they were often looked down upon as a band of filthy, foreign refugees, the Kingsglaive had earned their place in Regis's favor through blood and steel. How many of those high and mighty Crownsguard losers could say the same?

Still, she wondered if she hadn't revealed too much, and bit her lip in anticipation of Ignis's next DM. The minutes ticked by in dark, anxious silence. It felt like twenty seven years had passed by the time the screen lit up again with the notification of a reply.

She swiped it open.

I'll keep that in mind.

While I've never been outside the crown city, I've studied the world beyond the wall ever since I was a young boy. That includes Altissia, though I imagine the words I read won't have done it justice. If only I could take you along. A native guide would certainly be appreciated and I've wanted to meet outside the game for some time now. Alas, I fear our duties will prevent that from happening for just a while longer.

As well I fear they must cut short our time now.

It was closing in on 7pm. Having yet to make herself any supper, Tiger's tummy had started to gnaw loudly on her backbone. With Ignis's obligation to his friend no doubt looming over him like the irritating emptiness in her stomach, she knew the grown-up and responsible thing to do would be to call it quits for the time being and see to other things.

She curled up in the corner of the futon and cradled her phone in her hands as she tapped out a response.

One more map, then?

:3

She was a terrible excuse for a grown-up, after all.

Ignis seemed equally unwilling to part digital paths, and in the end another thirty minutes passed before they finally DM'd their farewells for the evening. Tiger stayed logged in for a bit, staring at Ignis's offline Verdi. A profound hollowness settled in her chest.

“Ugh. What is this awful feeling?” She demanded of the vacant apartment as she stood up and finally turned on some lights.

In the kitchen, a mostly empty fridge and some sparsely stocked pantry shelves presented themselves for her dinner gleanings. Tiger had meant to go shopping today, but time spent with Ignis had taken priority. With no regrets, she foraged up a can of condensed tomato soup and some frozen waffles. As the toaster oven and stove top saucepan heated her food, she leaned back against the counter and considered her online friend's last few messages.

“So, he's a boy after all.” She said, crossing her arms as she thoughtfully tapped her lips with her forefinger. Her cheeks colored lightly. Had he worded his response just to reveal it? Her mind wandered as she tried to imagine what Ignis might look and sound like. Naturally, the portrait of his wizened wizard character eventually popped up. Tiger let out a short laugh and shook her head. “Whatever.”

Steam rose from the pot on the stove, signaling the soup's ready state just as the toaster oven chimed. She arranged her food on a lap tray and made her way back to the futon. Plopping down there in the same spot she had occupied all day, she flicked the television on and settled back to eat. There would be no Malbuddy to entertain her at this hour. Only the news, and the news was all the same.

“Preparation for tomorrow's signing ceremony continues well into the evening here at the Citadel,” droned a flaxen-haired female reporter dressed in a blue business suit. Behind her, tawny streetlights illuminated the Capitol promenade, full of black cars and people in uniform. “Security has been tightened up to ensure our esteemed guests' safety, and all are eager to see a resolution to this conflict at last.”

“Not like this, they aren't,” Tiger said in between mouthfuls. Her expression soured. The terms of the treaty would leave her parents at the Empire's mercy, and while she trusted her father to keep her mother safe, the idea of them being politically cut off from Lucis filled her with dread. This was only part of the uneasiness that had haunted her since the change in operations. Something else chewed at her like the faded memory of an old wound – a wrongness that she couldn't quite grasp.

She took a bite of her plain waffle and surfed through the channels. The same scene was repeated on them all; different angles with different reporters wearing the same fake smiles as they drummed up the joy that the peace would bring.

And isn't that worth it...?

“Even now His Majesty hosts his long time rival at a fun little gathering atop the Citadel,” one reporter was saying. His accent was obnoxious, but he was kind of cute. He winked at the camera as he continued, “King Regis makes a helluva enemy, eh? We should all be so lucky.”

Tiger's sour demeanor soured further. The other Glaives weren't going to like that. Tensions were already high among those like her, whose families would be abandoned to the Empire. How would they feel hearing that the Emperor himself now enjoyed expensive drinks and fancy little foodstuffs at the King's pleasure? How much worse for those of her comrades that were assigned to citadel security tonight, witnessing this first hand?

She eyed her simple fare and imagined the sort of wonderful things that that bastard Aldercapt was getting to eat at Insomnia's expense. What she wouldn't give to taste such finery herself!

Grumpier than ever, she tore off another piece of waffle with her teeth and changed the channel. Luckily, a stunt course game show with ridiculous overblown obstacles appeared in the sea of on-site reporters and monotone anchors. Tiger settled in to watch, grateful for anything that would take her mind off the bitterness she felt and the troubling thought of days to come.

Three or four mindless hours later, she had just begun to doze off to an automotive sales infomercial when her phone lit up and chirped. She popped one eye open and glanced at the screen.

King's Knight: New DM received from Ignis.

She quickly set her tray aside and took up the device to check it.

Fancy another go at it?

It appears we've a bit of time and restlessness to burn before bed. The apartment is taken care of and the four of us are all logging in. Care to throw yourself into the rotation? We'd all love to play with you at least one more time before we're Altissia bound.

Just like that, Tiger's grumpiness evaporated. A warm smile spread across the Glaive's face as a strange lump formed in her throat. She felt the oddest urge to cry, but blinked it away. Without hesitation, she tapped out her answer.

Of course!

You don't even have to ask!

[itstimetodrew]

All the Reasons Why I Like Drew

The Big Essay

To truly celebrate this Drew Day, I’d like to talk about why I like Drew and what he means to me. This whole blog is kind of dedicated to that idea, but it’s not all stated outright, and definitely not all in one post. So…. here’s the granddaddy of them all. Happy reading! :D

How I found The One

So, the matter-of-fact portion: How did I get into Pokémon? When did I decide I liked Drew as a character? It was mostly on accident. I remember I was 10 and getting over my big interest in the Tokyo Mew Mew/Mew Mew Power series. I always had some sort of Big Interest, and it was boring to be without one (it had been Yugioh before and original Pokémon before that, funny how all my favorite things came back). Since I had dropped early Pokémon for Yugioh, I didn’t care for Pokémon. It was old news, not that great, not worth going back to. But then one morning before school I went through the TV channels and stumbled upon an airing of Pokémon. All the characters except Ash and Brock and Team Rocket were foreign to me…and who was that green haired guy? I thought he was cute and needed a rebound anime crush.

By 10 years old I had started using the internet a lot, and so I found out about this new series of Pokémon, and that what I saw on TV was part of the Hoenn Grand Festival, which included that interesting Drew character. Then I found out about what a fandom was, fanfiction, AMVs, fanart, everything. It was hard not to get sucked into a fan base that had so much content and excitement surrounding it! I really doubt 10-year-old me would have imagined liking the same characters at age 21, but here I am! So, the next question…

Why Drew? (Let’s do bullet points for convenience.)

-        He’s smart and resourceful! He’s sharp enough to see through Team Rocket and Harley’s plans more than a couple times. His appeals and battle techniques can also be pretty neat…mostly. Sometimes it’s just a Petal Dance and he gets a perfect score for it pfft but stuff like that Dragonbreath + Razor Wind combo? Neato.

-        The snark…I love the snark. I like that Drew brings some comedy to the show and says what I sometimes think as the viewer (The infamous scene...

May: What’s extremespeed, Brock? 

Brock: It’s when a Pokemon uses its speed to the extreme! 

Drew, appearing from offscreen because he never misses a chance to make fun: Only an amateur would ask a question like that, May. 

(like honestly girl what did you think it meant))

-        Drew is helpful! He’s obviously a challenge and barrier to May, but he doesn’t want to see her fail. Drew helps to get May, Ash, Brock, and Max out of 4 situations with Team Rocket, and his eagerness to do what’s right is cutely summed up in his first appearance 

“No clue what’s goin’ on, but happy to assist!” 

He’s a gem and has a good heart.

-        He’s so talented! This boy is a winner plain and simple. …Ok most of the time. …Some of the time. It just isn’t onscreen. You know, it’s the attitude that counts. But really!! He got to the final round of his first contest? That he got the final round of his first Grand Festival (I assume)?? He’s a STAR. A prodigy.

-        He has realistic flaws: doesn’t like spontaneity, doesn’t display emotion well, not the best with some social interaction, stubborn, secretive etc. He is definitely not a perfect character, which makes him that much more likable.

-        Drew’s motivation and dedication inspire me. He’s so passionate and focused about what he does, and he’s worked hard to get where he is. It’s difficult for me to not want to see him succeed!

-        He’s polite and respectful! Drew isn’t a jerk to everyone, he just likes riling up May sometimes, and even then, he knows when to knock it off and be a friend. Also, when he’s uncomfortable around over-excited fans, he thanks them for their support and tries to make a quick but smooth exit. He could just as easily be mean or look down on people who think of him so highly, but he doesn’t take anyone’s praise for granted.

-        That aforementioned awkwardness around fans? Absolute plus. The irony of Drew pursuing a path that’s filled with glamor and style but being weird about personal compliments is adorable, 10/10. (But it does highlight how he loves contests for the sport itself, not for fame or vanity!)

-        He means everything he says. Drew never once apologizes for his outbursts, which can be a problem and highlights a stubbornness in not wanting to admit he was wrong. But I think it also shows how Drew is careful in what he says and has little regret about his opinions, despite how they come across.

-        Drew is mature! It’s fun seeing him become more mature over the course of the series. At first he’s a typical brat and instigates conflict with May to an obnoxious degree, but by the end we see him and May having nice heart-to-hearts about losing and how to regain motivation to try again. Amazing.

-        His bond with his Pokémon. Drew is tough and not overly affectionate with them, but it’s those little hints of friendship that make it all the better. Especially him and Roselia. They’re my lifeblood. That he keeps Roselia out of its Pokeball to see fireworks? To sunbathe? Adorable. Look at them....

And knowing Roselia was Drew’s only Pokémon for the first few contests we see him, it makes his sadness over Roselia getting hurt that much more important. His small conflict and resolution with Absol is great, too. I kind of think May and Drew’s differing opinion during the Kanto Grand Festival is the same theme that goes on to compose a large part of Ash and Paul’s rivalry. That idea of what a ‘proper’ way to train is to get results. I’m getting sidetracked and wrote about this before but anyway!! They’re all great, the whole team is great. And I can’t believe Drew’s Roserade is making lovely teas for the whole region of Alola.

-        And of course……. he’s so cute. You know this point had to come in somewhere. But look at him! 

Those bright, sharp eyes. Those lovely lashes. That smirk and – if you can catch a rare glimpse – genuine soft smile. His hair, that signature hair flip he does when he wants to seem Really Cool, his controlled mannerisms, his clothes that are way too warm for Hoenn and I don’t know why he wears them but he obviously doesn’t care---- everything!!! He’s so cute and cool and lovely and 

I Adore Him.

He’s a bit of an idol of mine at this point. Some sort of ideal self. Which sounds weird since he’s a 10-year-old secondary anime character who hasn’t been seen onscreen in like 8 years, but whatever. I admire Drew’s drive to succeed, how he helps others, respects their feelings, and doesn’t change just to impress other people. I wish I could be as unconcerned with other people and follow my own path the way he does.

But his flaws are good to reflect on, too! His strict means of training make him inflexible, and I think his lacking ability to adapt is what holds him back a bit. It’s nice to know what you’re good at it, but if you focus only on your strengths, weaknesses become that much more obvious, and new opportunities for growth may be missed! I relate to this a lot because I’m afraid of doing new things because I’m so uncomfortable at appearing unskilled. But there’s no way to improve at something if you never attempt it!

His line about there always being someone better out there than you sticks with me, as well. I think Drew takes a different take on his own advice (“I guess there’s always someone better”) between the two grand festivals we see him in. In Hoenn, Drew uses the idea of someone always being better as a consolidation as to why he lost to Robert, he doesn’t seem too upset about it because I think it was more about the person he was facing. Robert is older, presumably more experienced, so it’s fine and understandable to lose to him. 

But when he’s faced with the prospect of May having a good shot at beating him, he’s agitated and nervous. Scared. Because May wasn’t just a ‘someone’ that could be better than him. He had seen her as a novice, and so the idea of losing to this kluzty beginner girl wasn’t acceptable. When Drew has time to sit and think about why he’s so upset, with Ash and Brock giving him some thoughts, I think Drew realizes that if he comes out of the competition stronger and more experienced than when he went in, having won or not, that is more valuable than focusing on being better than specific competitors. That’s what rivalry is. The end goal of a rivalry shouldn’t be to definitively be the winner in the relationship, but to keep challenging each other to become more skilled. You hope your rivals and friends help you improve, and you want to see them experience that same growth as well.

Pursuing any goal in hopes of being the best will get discouraging fast because there really is someone better than you, eventually, if not now. The most reliable thing is to just keep improving yourself. Hope that your past self would be in awe of what you can do now, and know that you still have a lot of growth and accomplishment ahead of you.

The reason I love Drew so much, and why this essay is so ridiculously long, is probably because I’ve locked myself into a bit of an echo chamber, honestly. Since I watch episodes with Drew most often and reflect on him a lot, he’s become extremely important and fascinating to me. I realize he’s a standard character from an objective view: the love interest and classy, arrogant rival…but after a full decade he’s developed a whole life of his own in my mind. Making headcanons and backstories and predictions for the future is so much fun! I know I build him up to be a lot more than he is in the series (I mean I usually get disappointed at the lack of depth he has when I go back to watch episodes) and it seems silly but…I’m okay with that silliness at this point. I kind of have to be after a solid decade lol

After all, I only picked up art again after wanting to bring fanart ideas to life when seeing a challenge for drawing favorite characters. Is that a laughable reason? Yeah! But do I enjoy art and I’m glad I decided to try again? Definitely!

And I thought AMVs with Drew on YouTube were so neat that I decided I wanted to make my own. So, I tried video editing, and I liked it! I still do video work and may incorporate it into a career. A career – from wanting to put clips of Drew and May to cool music. It’s so bizarre, but I’m glad that started me on this path!

Last year I also decided to finally get serious about learning Japanese which unsurprisingly, probably wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t so interested in the Pokémon anime and my doujinshis with you know……. Drew. Learning a new language is rewarding in itself because I think it’s so neat to develop the ability to communicate with an entirely new group of people. To share ideas and culture and conversation…it’s amazing! Speaking of which – the people.

I’ve met so many people because of my love for Drew. Quite literally all of you reading this. Otherwise my YouTube account wouldn’t have existed, this blog wouldn’t, the videos, the shitposts, the fanart, all the cards and packages sent to one another, the hilarious, thoughtful, bizarre, uplifting text messages, every interaction and friendship online…none of them would have happened. Not that I don’t have bonds built on things other than Pokémon (it’s hard to believe, but some people have no clue how much I like Pokémon, much less Drew lol), but it seems like a butterfly effect. Since I’ve loved him for literally half of my life and I’ve gone through my teenage and now early adult years with this Thing for him, I don’t even know how much of my own personality and experience living as myself would be different. It’s wild and weird. My time in the Pokémon fandom has factored into so much of my life that I can’t possibly imagine what my life in some Drew-less parallel universe is like. Not to say my life would be bad without this fixation, but it’s too much change and I love my life the way it is!

Although this Drew Day is entirely arbitrary and June 12th has no real significance for him as a character, it’s great to get all my thoughts and feelings focused on one date. It all probably sounds ridiculous, all the importance I put on Drew as a character, but I’m aware of that ridiculousness. I thoroughly enjoy it! Drew will likely always be my favorite character in all of media. Perhaps someday I won’t think of him much anymore, but I would have guessed that as a 10-year-old thinking of her 21-year-old self, wouldn’t I?

All I can hope for is that I continue to have a great time with the Pokémon series, and that maybe my love for Drew will end up leading me to new passions and interests even further in my life. I’m so thankful he exists as a character and that I’ve had such a great time discussing him in stories and jokes and art with so many others. So, thank you! Everyone!!

[fiftystars]

hey anonymous!! sorry for being two weeks late on this tutorial, but here it is. I’m no expert on promo / graphics, but I’ve learned enough over the years to figure out my style of promo / graphic making. So, please keep in mind, this isn’t a end all be all to promos, so when I say ‘you should’ or ‘you want to’, they’re all just suggestions. this is just a (hopefully!) helpful tutorial on how to figure out how to start making promos and develop your own style or learn!

This is going to be split into two parts. The first part (this post) will talk about the details of what I like to do with my promos and what I keep in mind when I make them. The second part (here) will be more of a visual tutorial showing exactly what I do.

First off, and most importantly: 

i. dimensions. 

You need to know the tumblr dimensions for photosets, otherwise no matter how much you work on your image, the actual resolution and quality of the photo will come out looking wonky if it’s the wrong width. For a single image, the width is 540px. For two images, it’s 268px. For three images, the width is 177px! So depending on how many images you include in your promo (side by side), you’ll have to make them different sizes to fit tumblr’s dimensions properly!

Keeping on dimensions, I usually like to make my promos simple, and try to stick to two images, three max. This is because longer promos are usually more difficult (for me, anyway) to pull off, and even if you have nine 177px images in three lines it doesn’t look all that great. So two images in a row, with either one or two rows, or three images total, one in each row, works! For two images in a row, a long height usually fits best. For one image in a row, a short height fits best. You can usually make the heights varying with the latter though! Play around with it. Make the first image short, and the second image twice as long, or vice - versa!

ii. picking an image. 

I usually go to google or pinterest (or my own photo libraries if it comes down to comic characters) to find my images. I try to go for high quality and large versions of the image, because A.) the quality is better and B.) I can scale it down or keep it big and I have more freedom and options to work with in terms of positioning / cropping. If I want just the bottom half of the face in the image, I can move it so just the bottom half of the image shows. If I like the whole thing, I can just scale it down. If I want only the right half of the face, again, I move it so only the right half shows. So try to pick an image that’s big enough and not pixelated or low quality.

You also want to keep in mind what kind of promo you want to make. Do you want it to be dark, serious, and solemn? Bright colors and a smiling face or a cute art style miiight not be your best fit. On the other hand, if you want something bright, positive, and upbeat? Then bright colors and an uplifting image works! Of course, psds + image arrangement can always help with this, but not always. If you want to include text in your promo too, this is also very important to keep in mind. You want your image to match the text you’re going for. If you have a quote / text / poem that talks about the strength or the sacrifice of your character, you want to have an image that, when someone looks at it, they think of that. Similarly, if you have anything that talks about how vibrant / positive / youthful your character is, you’d want an image that conveys it. The medium is the message. You want to make sure people don’t see conflicting messages!

iii. image cropping / positioning. 

Another big one! The image you choose doesn’t have to be entirely what you’re looking for. What I mean by this is that if you like the torso / neck area, but not the face? Crop the face out, but leave everything from the chin down. You like the face, but not the torso? Keep everything from the bridge of the nose up. This also really depends on what kind of message you’re trying to go put into your promo. Chin down usually puts the focus more on symbolism, where face only puts the individual at a more personal standpoint for the audience. I usually like to browse on pinterest to find any images in promos that aren’t fanart or canon art of my muse, especially in more abstract promos. I run into a problem a lot though: I find an image I like, but it’s only 240 pixels or so compared to the 540 I need. No worries! Usually, this is solvable. Just right click on the image, and click search google for this image. It’ll open up a new tab and give you the option to look for the same size file of the image, or a bigger size file of the image. Around 80% of the time you’ll find an image that’s at least 500 pixels big, if not bigger. The other 20%, maybe not. But still. 540 pixels isn’t big enough. You could either make the other forty pixels transparent, or!

iv. white space. 

White space, or empty space, is a really cool way of using an image in your promo without the photo needing to be 540px. It works best with actual people - art or photos - and when most of their body is visible. If there’s an arm or a leg that’s slightly cropped off you can always position it to that end of the image to make it look complete. (ie. right arm slightly cropped out, move it to the right end of the image. ta-da! you’re good.) What white space means is just that. A bunch of white (or empty) space around an image. No background scenery. No gradients. It puts the focus directly on the image since there’s only one thing that you can focus on. For example:

Lots of white space! No face showing, just a smile to go with the actual pose. Singular color (red) that’s kept bright to match the smile and keep a bit of vibrancy in the promo even though the rest of the image is monotoned. The text matches with the middle being the same shade of red as the gauntlets to kind of emphasis and draw attention to it. It’s a really simple promo graphic with not too much going on. But it works! 

v. matching.

This is another little thing I like to do. I like to match my promos with my themes if I make them at the same time. Not exactly alike, but close to it. It looks nice on the theme itself, and it really helps convey the stylistic elements of what your muse portrays without actually needing text. The colors and textures in that case do it for you. And speaking of matching ...

vi. text. 

More specifically: fonts, sizing, positioning, and amount.

 I think we all know by now not to use comic sans, lol. I’m not an expert on text, but usually a nice script font paired with a simple sans serif (or serif!) font works really nicely. They contrast but compliment each other really well. I typically avoid using two sans-serif or serif fonts together because they mimic each other too much, and don’t draw enough contrast on the eyes so they kind of blur together. Again, going back to what I’ve been saying practically this entire tutorial lol, you want the aspects of your promo to match thematically! So a font that kind of fits to your promos theme will help a lot. 

The sizing is also a cool thing to mess around with. Again, I keep my stuff fairly simple, and kind of predictable, lol. Big and bold for what I want to emphasis, and smaller, regular text right below (or above). Usually I keep the big and bold text shorter. Either the URL, or the title of the character. The smaller, regular text is longer so that it fits within the dimensions of the bigger text, and it’s usually the details of the blog. independent / affiliated, selective / private, single / multi verse, etc etc. 

For example:

Big bold name! Smaller, regular text containing the details. Again, cropped out eyes, lol, since the focus is supposed to be more on the solemnity/weight of it all, with the people behind him.

Positioning of the text is important too. You don’t want it to interfere or clash with parts of your image. Don’t put your text in places where it’s hard to read, and don’t make your text the same or too similar of a color as the background that it’s placed on either. If your promo has text, you want it to be read and sort of its own independent thing, important enough that you, y’know, included it in your promo. So place it where there’s a lot of white space, or if it works in the center of the promo. Which leads us to ... amount of text. 

Text on promos is fun. They’re cool! They help whoever sees it get a feeling for what you’re going for, what your muse is like / what they represent, who they are, etc etc. But too much text is a thing, and it’s not a good thing. It can make the promo or graphic too cluttered, it can take the focus away from the image you selected, and if there’s way too much, then you might have to make the font smaller to make it fit, and then on top of all that it won’t be easy to read.

For example:

The white text alone was not visible and clear enough against the colors of the image, so I added in a drop shadow to help make it more legible. I centered the text to the middle of the image and didn’t make it too small so it would draw the most attention to it. I kept the font the same through and through, only changing the size. The url is big, bold, and italicized to emphasize it, with the details of the blog underneath being smaller. The colors match! It’s two colors, bright red and gold because Tony Stark / Iron Man’s colors are red and gold. The quote, with ‘aflame’ ‘burn’ and ‘like a phoenix’ also are imagery associated with these colors.

The text I added underneath in the actual tumblr post was centered and justified as well, to keep the symmetry and balance of the promo in mind.

If you have a long image where the actual image itself isn’t the focus of what you want to put through, but the long quote is, it can work! It’s worked fantastically well in those cases, because you read the text while seeing the image out of the corner of your eyes. But you have to make sure the text is legible and doesn’t clash with the image, and that the text isn’t the size of the entire image either. it also works with promos of shorter height, but again: keep in mind what the focus is.

for example:

this is a very text heavy promo. but i made it fit, by making the images dark and faded into the background, and keeping the focus on the text. the quote was long, so i divided it up intil three different images. big bold text for the url, with smaller blog details underneath. the font is uniform, with only one used throughout. too many fonts does not look good. try to keep it at two at a time, three max.

that’s all i can think of at the moment, lmao. there are really simple graphics: not a lot of textures in them, not too saturated or hard - mixed. not animated. but this is less a ‘these are the kinds of promos you should make’ and more of a what you might want to keep in mind when making any kind of promo! 

overall though, what you want to do most is experiment. use photoshop. don’t be afraid to try new things, to use different features. if you never use them, you’ll never know what they do or what they look like, what kind of effect they can make on your graphic. find your own style, your own preference!!

hopefully this helped some anonymous!