#pencil brush...save me/silly

[scarapanna]

I'M HAVING TOO MUCH FUN RAUGHHHH

The flipaclip pencil brush has no right being this fire

[megalomaniacz]

ACADEMIC RIVAL!ABBY 🎧📓🖊️

very short and cute continuation of this. thank you all so much for the love! can’t tell you just how much it means to me. feedback, likes, reblogs, notes, comments, and asks encouraged and highly appreciated!

there are a twenty other open seats in this library, so why did she have to sit next to you? let her knee brush up against your leg ever so slightly. whisper a “sorry.” into the air. eyes trapped in a copy of the art of war.

your face is a fixed scowl, because anderson is a cunt. a crude and prissy know it all who refuses to let you have the last laugh. if you got a 99 she got an 100. if you got an A she got an A+. she was truly treacherous to be around, and somehow always magically found her way to you.

you get up to grab a book on a higher shelf and she’s behind you in no time. body leaning against yours to grab it for you. giggling to herself about you being on your tippy toes. “i’d hate to see a book get hurt after falling on that hollow, rock hard, head of yours.”

it’s moments like those that make you think about how she is just so so sweet. she’ll steal a pencil from you and pretend she has no idea what you’re talking about, even if you can see it poking out of her back pocket. is it just that she likes to argue? to rile you up?

if you have the anwser to a question and somehow find the courage to raise your hand she’d throw you a devious look that could kill. then she’d actually throw a ball of paper at you, causing you to look back and miss the opportunity to display your knowledge and skills.

but imagine this, tucked in an office secluded on campus is you and your professor. she’s smiling shyly while whisper praising you for your essay that won her competition. then she gets too close, her hands are being far to handsy and suddenly abby is? wait where the hell did abby come from?

banging at the door like a madman with urgent matters to discuss. something along the lines of a D which you know she’d never get and she looks over at you with somber and soft eyes. the first time you’ve ever seen her face low. had she been waiting outside the for you?

had she bribed your project partner to switch with her so you could be together? was the coincidence of you both studying at the same coffee shop at the same time not a coincidence? did she happen upon your number by chance, or beat it out of an unassuming and unsuspecting freshman you’d tutored?

why couldn’t she keep her hands off of you at parties? why does she only smile when she notices you’ve walked into a room? when your dorm had a surprise fire, why were you the only person she could worry about? why was she so ready to run back in and save you?

because she likes you, silly. underneath the rivalry and the smugness and her crude actions was a crush burning holes in her icy heart. you were making her ill. you were under her fingernails like pesky dirt she could not rid herself of.

she was feverishly and most earnestly in love. and she had to do something about it. so that’s why she was here, right now, softly knocking at your door. your body, your lips, and your eyes being the only thing on her mind. well, that isn’t entirely true. something had given her the hope that this conversation would lead to much more than an understanding between you two.

[raventrinkets]

Where or how did you learn to draw?? You're so good at it 😭

Aww thank you!! I'm mostly self-taught, so it's been a lot of trial and error. I started with realism before going stylized, and I still draw mostly still life, especially pet portraits, in my free time! I'm honestly still pretty new to digital art.

When I first watched ROTTMNT, I fell in love with its bright, colourful art style and attention to detail. It’s one of the few shows that's held my full attention LOL. I ended up redrawing a lot of screenshots, which helped me learn a LOT (legit finally understood how line art worked thanks to this)! Eventually I felt comfortable making fan-art, mostly thanks to the Risetober challenge. And SO many silly doodles in my class notes.

I've never been good at putting HOW I learned these things into words, sorry! BUT I'll include some more detailed stuff under the cut if anyone is interested. Honestly, drawing Rise makes me insanely happy, and I think that helps more than anything else!😂

Thank you so much!!

If you're curious what I use to make my stuff, I use Procreate and Procreate Dreams on the iPad.

I always start with a quick 'pencil' sketch, which I then do a rough inking over (I generally either use the inking brush Mercury or Baskerville for this). Once this looks good, I go over and do a final line art with the inking brush Baskerville. It has a pretty intense stabilizer, so it takes some getting used to, but it'll keep the lines smooth! Then I colour in everything (I have saved colour palettes for each of the turtles, which makes this step WAY faster), and shade (again with Baskerville). I'm sure better brushes exist out there, but these all come with the base app and they're what I've use for everything thus far😅

A really good website I've found for learning how to draw figures and proportions is called Line of Action! One of it's most interesting features (at least for me) is it's timed classes, which basically gives you 30 seconds to 10 minutes to draw a person. This helps you to learn how to quickly block out a pose, which is really handy when drawing.

Also, because I did mention class doodles, here is one of my first ever bits of Rise fan-art (drawn during a very boring lecture).

[machveil]

✨Welcome to my silly little blog✨ (18+, mdni)

my collective writings can be found on this navigation page🎀✨ some works contain +18 content - please make sure to read through content warnings (CW), your comfort comes first

request guidelines for art and writing requests can be found on this page🌸✨ my inbox is always open to CoD content - asks, opinions, and requests! if anyone submits something to my inbox that I am not comfortable making content for I will update my guidelines

hello! welcome to my blog!! we love König (CoD) so much here that he gets daily sketches<3 as stated above, my inbox is always open for you to talk to me

basic information: 19|she/they|Panromantic|currently running a CoD blog

I use MediBang Paint (pencil brush, 3.0px) and Procreate (HB Pencil)! this post goes over my thoughts/process when it comes to drawing, also includes a link to my Pinterest🌷✨ feel free to browse through my Pinterest, I have a wide variety of reference material saved to different boards! I also have this post going over how I usually draw König

my personal asmr playlist can be found on this post💤✨

I made this CoD themed divider that’s free to use🍓✨

taken anon symbols: 🐸, 🐰, 🦊, 🦥, 🍄, 🫂, 🦒, 🦦, 💐, 📖, 👻, ☕️, 💎

I’m in the following fandoms:

CoD - most active, Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, Wuthering Waves, Zenless Zone Zero, Cookie Run (any of the games), Pokemon (any of the games)

I do not have commissions open currently🤍✨ OC x OC and OC x Canon doodle requests are on hold (as of July 26)! thank to the requesters, your art is being worked on at leisure so stayed tuned

CoD requests - written and sketches - are always open to my inbox! my inbox is also generally open if you want to discuss stuff with me🎀✨

if you have questions feel free to ask! all I ask of you is to keep this blog friendly, folks

User IDs:

Wuthering Waves (NA server): 500222943

Honkai: Star Rail (NA server): 603047229

Genshin Impact (NA server): 606126104

Zenless Zone Zero (NA server): 1000594841 —————————————————————— Request guidelines can be searched as a tag — there are three clarifying asks/responses

Do not repost my work (fics and artwork), all accounts that I personally own are listed below - if you see my work elsewhere don’t be afraid to hit me up🤙🏼✨

I have accounts on Tumblr (MachVeil - 18+ content), Instagram (MachVeil, MachSpam - irl content), Twitch (MachVeil), Twitter (MachVeil), YouTube (MachVeil), Bluesky (MachVeil), and Pinterest (MachVeil)

[tiny-breadcrumbs]

Of Pencil and Paper

(Trigger warning: mention of Sexual Assault and self harm)

People often ask why I stay with analog medium? The world is moving, digital art is growing fast and it does perform better on industrial scale. But I can never find how to answer that question without it sounded like I'm selling a sad story. So a lot of people only get the "I don't like it" answer. Short and simple. Yet sometimes, I can see the prejudice in their eyes, how arrogant, they said.

It's unhealthy. I almost conviced myself that I simply didn't like it when the root was deeper than that. It's easier to tell the lie, to sounds like an arrogant old school artist who dislike digital art with passion. No, never that. I like the texture of paper and the smell of wet paint. Not in the artistic sense, at least not at first, I found peace in that because they once saved me from my darkest days. Thus, they are familiar.

I always love a story. Consuming one or writing it myself. Yeah, I used to write. Ten years old me have a dream to be a novelist. And it all shattered when I'm thirteen. I'm sexually assaulted by one of the teacher in my school. At school hour, in an empty classroom because everyone else in a middle of morning prayer and I'm the only kid at that time with different believe. And everything spiralling down from there. It was a prestigious school I study hard to get in, that jerk used to be everyone favorite teacher including me, now, I saw that place like a hell on earth.

I never get justice. Never. Me and family being silenced for the sake of keeping the school reputation, with just a word of apology and so called promise to never repeat. As if the SA trauma can be healed like that. But world is unfair and the society is in the hand of the rich. My family is in minority from every aspect, ethnic, religion stance, society, even economy. The school even has the audacity to blackmailing us, they said I'm alone in the classrom that day because I've been writing porn on my book. The book they already confiscated and read. The book where thirteen years old me write a silly treasure hunt story. I've never saw that book again.

You see, I have a lot of issue at that time. We don't even have money to pay for therapist. Nor we can get a free counseling for victim because the case was never disclosed. The school have connection with the local police and I can just bury that injustice deep in me. At one point it almost reach a self harm. I used to scrubbing my skin until it was red, but the phantom hands still there, and I very tempted to peel it out. My family hid all the sharp object, I think I scare them badly. But I found a single pencil. Unfortunately (or fortunately) not sharp. I run it across my skin, but they didn't tear. So I take it on paper.

At first, maybe I'm doing art as some kind of therapy. I pour all that anger and disgust on paper, for months it was all angry lines and colours. The texture as I scratch the pencil, the slash of black it made across the white paper, it strangely satisfying. A little bit sadistic perhaps, because I'm doing it with the face of a demon that appear every night in my dreams, that person face. But my family keep giving me more paper, they told me to keep going. By the time I'm calm enough, when I finally graduate, I start to turn that lines into a drawing. I love a story. And because words now terrify me, I finally learn how to draw.

With times, I learn to enjoy it for the fun and all the beauty in it.

The thing is, all that sensory experience became a habit. I need to feel the paper, I need to hold a wooden pencil, a wooden brush, I need to smell the paint, so I feel safe enough to concentrate and lose myself in arts. So I can loosen up a little bit and not being so hypervigilant. Maybe I'm afraid the screen and digital art can't provide me that sense of safety. That smooth glide on the screen gave me dissasociative feeling and freak me out. I try it before and nope out so fast my last bit of paint on the pallete was not even dry yet. I enjoy digital arts when I'm not the one doing it and good for all those illustrator that can make it to the industry. But I'm here first and foremost to keep myself sane.

I'm okay now. Fabulous. Fewer and fewer relapse over the years. By the time I'm fixing all my family financial problem and finally have enough to find a therapist, they said I already handle myself good. I'm carrying thirteen years old me crawling out from that dark pit with sheer spite and luck for finding the perfect outlet to regulate that negative emotion. Giving myself an art therapy without even realise it was one. I can talk freely about that now, maybe I finally find that peace with myself.

So, do you see how long this is? Thats why I take a two minute silence whenever someone ask me why I did not do digital art when I have a potential to make more money with it. How do you even explain this? And I don't think they will care. We Asian do not believe in mental health issue 😂😂 why so weak? So saying I simply doesn't like it looks like the fastest way to give answer and switch topic. Not a lie, but not the truth either.

But my therapist told me to write this out because they think it can help someone out there about the story of art therapy, and here it is. Next time when you are about to ask and pester someone about why they didn't switch into digital art, perhaps do it on a kinder tone. Maybe they have more story behind that, big or small.

If this resonate with you, here, let me give you a hug. You are a survivor and so damn strong, I'm super proud of you!

May the world be kinder to you today, tomorrow, and many years to come.

[spider-jaysart]

Hi!! I saw you reblogged the character ask game so can I ask for both Damian Wayne and Peter Parker? I love those boys and I'm curious 😊

Thank you and take care 💖/p

@zephyrwrites2

Aww you take care too and yes, you certainly can get both :)

Damian Wayne

1. sexuality headcanon:

Demipan

2. Otp:

Damijon💕

3. Brotp:

Damian and Jon

4. Notp:

Any batcest one and the canon ships with Mar'i and Cassandra Cain, plus any ones that have adult characters paired up with him, including the adult ones that were aged down just to be with him too, like Raven, Cassie, and Cassandra

5. First headcanon that pops into mind:

Besides sketchbooks, he also owns an expensive drawing tablet that Bruce got him for one of his birthdays. He makes good use of it, but he still prefers traditional more though since that's what he grew up with, so it's not something he stopped doing after getting an art tablet. He just loves the good feeling of getting out all his pencils, brushes, paints, and having fun expressing himself with them right there on his canvas or in his books. Another reason he perfers it more is because he can actually travel with a sketchbook too and just draw wherever he wants and especially because he also hates it whenever a digital drawing he's working on just suddenly deletes itself because of some error while he was in the middle of drawing it, which upsets him VERY much all the time. Most times when that happens, he just really needs a moment for himself to calm down, plus, process and mourn his erased piece that never got to be saved and truly finished.

6. Favorite line from this character:

"I'm from Earth. I'm ticked off. And I'm looking for a clown." From Adventures of the Supersons #7 (This is one of them that makes me laugh lol)

7. One way in which I relate to this character:

Okay, so remember that one Wayne family adventures chapter where Damian is struggling so much to socialize in school and it's all just so awkward for him? Well, that's me too, because I relate too hard to that lol (there's also the fact that we both love art and draw all the time too)

8. Thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character:

Nothing

9. Cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Problematic fave but one that I love very much💖

Peter Parker

1. Sexuality headcanon:

I usually just see him as straight, but I'm not against any other kind of sexuality for him at all though

2. Otp:

Hmmm, him and MJ are sweet (the Rami version of it is definitely a mess though), but I also really like Peter x Michelle from the mcu and Peter x Gwen from the Amazing Spider-Man movies too hehehe

3. Brotp:

Peter and Ned. I just love how silly and fun they are with eachother lol

4. Notp:

Black cat. She's a villain who loves living the thief life, plus, I just don't believe she's right for Peter since she's more in love with his Spider-man identity and always sees things like a game, which just doesn't work for a real relationship

5. First headcanon that pops into mind:

He got braces in middle school and would always pick orange and yellow for the bands when he got them changed every month

6. Favorite line from this character:

"What's important is not standing by and allowing someone to suffer or die because you do nothing. If you don't get that, then you don't get the first thing about being Spider-man." A line he says in the video game Spider-Man edge of time

7. One way in which I relate to this character:

We care for others a lot and always want the best for them

8. Thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character:

Nothing at all

9. Cinnamon roll or problematic fave:

Cinnamon roll frrr💗

Thank you for the asks! I enjoyed answering them!!

[vvenuspng]

vvenuspng FAQ

Main: @vvenushalo

I’m also vvenushalo on insta/twitter/bluesky (on twt/bsky i also have a priv that’s vvenuspng) but im only active on tumblr :) maybe bluesky soon too idk (social media scares me lol)

About me

I’m Venus! i go by they/them but any pronouns are ok tbh. i’m a 21yr old american-peruvian lesbian in EST. me olvide muchísimo español, solo hablaba cuando era pequeño :( I’ve been drawing all my life, but it’s mostly a hobby atp.

What's the point of this sideblog?

Well, really I just wanted to post abt helluva boss (idc abt hazbin btw) without it being connected to my main blog. I don't rlly care for vivzie & ppl are quick to judge so I’d rather keep a separate blog, especially given the adult nature of the show. I also want to hoard my aesthetic shit here and anything funny that won’t fit in my main’s queue.

Art info

I use procreate on ipad with an apple pencil (btw if ur thinking of getting a second gen pencil—do not LMAO this shit is annoying and i miss my first gen one).

Recently I’ve been using procreate’s ‘shale brush’ to line my works, but in my older drawings you’ll see me using a modified ‘HB pencil’. I have various brushes from packs and bundles I’ve saved that I sometimes use, such as Retro Supply, Joes set, clem’s brushes, feast’s pencils, and LP’s painting set, but I mainly stick to a few favorites and modify them.

Top ships?

Stolitz & Verbie are my top faves, followed by Fizzmodeous, M&M, and HoneyMoon. I like blitzfizz and stolitzarozzie (?) as well.

Fave characters?

My faves are Verosika, Stolas, Blitz, Barbie, Fizz, Millie, and Beelzebub! Anything including them will make me happy emote :)

I’m new to tumblr and I want to reblog, but don’t want to be annoying. What can I do?

Tumblr lives off reblogs! reblog anything and everything u like! all the time! that’s the point of a blog! u can use tags to essentially whisper ur thoughts, u can directly add on to a post by reblogging with ur opinions, and u can comment within the post itself! Do not be afraid to leave tags especially, bitches (me, along with many others) LOVE seeing peoples tags on stuff. It’s also pretty widely accepted that spam is super cool too btw, but if ur REALLY worried about that, there’s an option to queue ur reblogs or schedule it for a later time :) but again, don’t stress! <3

REQ FAQ

keep in mind these are requests, and not commissions. I do reqs for fun and because ideas are hard for me to come up with, I do not owe you any type of drawing because u are not paying me. effort given to each req varies purely on my own whims lol (as in, some will be sketches, others may end up full drawn)

What would you not draw?

as my pinned states, i’m not into stereotypical freak proship stuff. By that I mean what proship has come to be defined as of recently with extreme gross tropes, I do not mean silly little crackships that ultimately do no harm. this applies to all reqs and everything I draw.

I’ll do most (helluva) ship reqs but as a lesbian i’m obligated to heavily favour any sapphic pairs LMAO. for nsfw reqs ill only do that with stolitz and verbie and just use common sense for these types of reqs, yknow? kink is alright but please know im not personally active in the community, im more passively interacting n learning so I won’t be accurate in my depictions. I’m also not gonna get into my whole hard/soft limits list—if i don’t like what u req i’m just gonna delete the ask lol.

Would you draw multi panel comics?

yes! but please keep in mind I am not a comic artist, therefore it will be choppy and possibly rushed. I’m less likely to do these types of reqs simply because of the effort it takes to complete these (no matter how much i want to) :(

Do you do commissions?

Not really, but if you sincerely want a comm from me, feel free to reach out and we can negotiate! I will not do any fully rendered art, but I am open to sketches and/or lined flat colored works (example)

[pakeithpsy]

I give up, I give up.

I've simply decided that you are either born with this ancient, arcane unlearnable knowledge of how do draw with absolute speed and precision or you're born a talentless, mediocre loser who sucks at everything and cannot make anything above the level of "B+ middle school art student" no matter how many classes you take or what tools you use or how hard you try.

I don't understand it. I'm using the same tips, same tricks, same tools, same software, same default brush as all the pros yet they're somehow able to create beautiful, amazing masterpieces beyond comparison yet all I can make is ugly, shitty MS Paint garbage with soft lines and broken anatomy that wouldn't have even been impressive during the first year of Newgrounds. I was cursed to be born without a natural talent for drawing and now that the industry is dead and indie is the only way to go now I will never be able to live out any of my dreams, because my art sucks and nobody notices or cares about any of my original works and nobody ever will unless I dramatically improve enough to stand toe to toe with the aforementioned experts or somehow acquire huge amounts of money to hire people who actually can draw to do everything for me because I am a talentless, learning-disabled, anxiety-ridden wreck who can't even do the simplest task with any level of adequacy. That's literally the only way, except I live in the middle of nowhere, I was born into a family of nobodies with no artistic background, my job doesn't pay enough to afford a crew and would require me to save up for DECADES if not CENTURIES, and nobody knows who I am and nobody ever will because all my art is terrible and unremarkable and just gets lost in the ocean of the internet run by algorithms that favor corporations or unrealistic expectations for engagement.

I never even wanted to make the next Picasso, I just wanted to make silly little comics and cartoons that make people laugh, but apparently that's not good enough anymore. Now it's go big or go home, and I am the smallest, most insignificant, most incompetent and worthless speck of dust on the entire planet.

It doesn't even make sense. The key to the sharp UPA lines I've so desperately desired for the past 10 years of my art career are an elusive lost art and the closest I've been able to find is just make really fast strokes, but that's impossible. IF MY STROKES ARE TOO FAST THEY'LL JUST BE SLOPPY, ART IS A SLOW PROCESS, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO MASTER THE ART OF DIGITAL DRAWING WHEN IT GOES AGAINST THE VERY RULES OF ART? Even my traditional art is barely impressive, and I feel like the only reason I've ever made anything even close to presentable with plain old pencils and paper is due to my art instructors holding my hand because I'm incapable of creating anything of remotely high quality on my own. That's why I wanted to join the industry - so that way I could focus on my strengths like writing and designing characters while the rest is handled by a team with expertiese in those fields while the studio provides the finances. BUT NOW I CAN'T. The industry is a shithole that hates creatives with a burning passion and only wants to churn out AI-generated reboot slop meaning indie is now the only way to go, and you can't go indie unless you're a big, famous superstar who can outperform Don Bluth and Richard Williams combined with a massive fanbase who will gladly shower you with money, which I don't have. Even when I did have a fanbase from making fetish garbage in Blender they wouldn't even cough up one measly dollar, and it didn't even matter anyway because they were equally entertained by stolen art. Besides, I can't even draw my own damn characters from different angles or in anything other than the basic A-pose, how am I supposed to instruct other artists how to do it, too?

So that's it, my dream is dead because God or whatever outside force that controls this horrid universe decided I do not deserve the gift of being able to draw amazingly or multitask or living a life of wealth and privilege and I'll never be able to change that because I cannot learn this information no matter what and nobody knows or cares who I am. I know SOME PEOPLE on that other godforsaken hellsite will try and go "WELL IT'S YOU'RE OWN FAULT BECAUSE YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE, HURR DURR". Bitch, you think I wanted this life?! Even when I was nice to you people and earnestly showing off my art and trying my damnedest to get myself out there and asking "Hey, does anybody need a writer????" none of you gave a shit! You know why? Because I suck, and because nobody knows who I am, and because the animation world hates writers unless their name is Dave Capdevielle! An audience for my work simply does not exist and social media's broken algorithms mean I can never, ever find one or realistically maintain that audience due to this obsession on making everything into "content" that exists only to be immediately consumed and generate profits for corrupt CEOs.

My whole goal in life was to go to animation school, get a degree, find some connections, and then join the industry so I could finally live my dream of being an animator. I couldn't even handle four months in online college, and now there's no point in even pursuing it because late-stage capitalism has completely destroyed both college and the industry for all but the most rich and famous. Life is a sick fucking joke.

I should've just killed myself in 2018 when I actually had the chance. Even if it meant never seeing any of my dreams come true it would have at least spared me from watching all my hopes and aspirations for the future crumble in real time and my family could've moved on and found new happiness and meaning in their life. I guess I'll just have to accept the fact that I'm a complete and utter failure as an artist and dedicate the rest of my miserable, obscure existence to working part time for slightly above minimum wage, and even that's not guaranteed. I should've never signed up for that stupid online class. I'd rather still be drawing complete and utter garbage with joy and confidence than mediocre, barely-passable concepts that will never see the light of day while being completely and utterly miserable.

[delulluart]

do you have paper recommendations (for both drawings and watercolor paintings)? i want to get back into traditional art and don't really know were to start. also what pencils do you use? and watercolors? or do you use guache? what brushes should i get? sorry i know this is a lot of questions but it is a bit overhwhelming and i really liked you're ghost paintings 😊 and i don't want to buy bad things

oh dear, first of all: thank you, I'm very happy to hear you enjoy my silly stuff! And it is always great to hear people getting back to traditional art, since it seems like almost everyone is doing digital art exclusively these days (this is NOT me shitting on DA, i love you digital art people).

Anyway, yes, there's *a lot* of options out there and it is so, so important to get at least okay-ish quality equipment.

Paper

Paper is, in my opinion the most important factor, especially for watercolour works. switching to good quality paper was an absolute game changer - 0 exaggeration!

Watercolour paper:

I use mostly Hahnemühle Britannia 300g/m² cold pressed with matte surface. it comes with different surface options, depending on the effect you want (rougher surface etc., but i don't vibe with that). it is still relatively affordable, but still, hurts the bank account quite a bit.

If i want to go for some more silly stuff, i use Hahnemühle Burgund 250g/m². because it's thinner it is cheaper (you just can't put as much water and as many layers on it, which, for my use case is usually perfectly fine).

If i want to go full fancy I use the Hahnemühle mould made 300g/m². It's handmade paper, not from trees but with fabric, it is incredible how well the colours work on this stuff. Many people use Arches paper, but that is way too expensive for me. and I'm very happy with the Hahnemühle.

The difference between cheap as shit no-name watercolour paper and some good quality brand paper is, and I cannot express this enough, incredibly big. those ugly rims and splotches and uneven colour fades? that's the cheap paper's fault, not yours. It made me really desperate thinking I'm just too stupid for art, when it wasn't my fault.

For drawings I also use Hahnemühle:

my favourite is Skizze 190: very smooth surface, very white and very affordable!

another is Nostalgie: It feels even smoother in a different way, is less white. at first touch they seem identical, but handle very differently. this one is just as affordable as the Skizze 190 one.

Cheaping out on paper means you'll pay with happiness, really. save your nerves and motivation and spend the money on nice paper. trust me.

I'm not sure, Hahnemühle is available wherever you live, but go to an art supply store (a good one) and ask for help there!

Pencils

I exclusively use Staedtler Mars Lumograph pencils these days. They are very consistent in their...abrasion? there's no hard chunks in the lead, and they cost very little. They also have the Lumograph Black pencils which have a high charcoal level, which is super cool when you have very dark areas, because it won't get super shiny!

Watercolours

I got myself a set of Lukas Studio Watercolours and added a few more that i use often/ needed more than the ones already included in the set. They're not very expensive (compared to other big brands that everyone seems to use) and i like them. I never tried the expensive Windsor etc. paints, though. The price is very attractive and I never had any problems with them.

I also have a Gouache set that I got second hand from my sister by Caran d'Ache. I don't know whether it's good or not, because I rarely use it, mostly for accents on my watercolour paintings.

Brushes

until very recently I used rather cheap but good synthetic brushes for ethical reasons. I accidentally bought a natural hair one and it was....extremely good. With a heavy heart I now switched full time to much more expensive Kolinskis. Ethically this is an absolute nightmare and I will try to buy as few as possible and use them forever before buying new ones. But they are, unfortunately, much better. I wouldn't necessary recommend the brand I used because they're bad at keeping a tip, though.

But if you're just starting: go to an art supply store and get 3 synthetic ones in small, medium and slightly bigger with a nice tip and you'll be very happy for quite a while, i promise!

I also highly recommend getting a Pentel Aquash as a starting tool and for painting outside (don't buy a cheap fake, they're terrible)

alright, I hope i could answer your questions and if you (or anyone else) wants to know more, just ask :)

[theonewhowails]

@faeriefrog-blog asked how i did the funny colours on these bad boys so i've broken it down into a few steps!!! starting with the bottom most layers:

very bottom layer, just above the paper itself, we've got the background shading seen in the bottoms images here, panels 3-5 in the comic. note that without any effects applied to it, it is the same colour as the shadows, a deep teal hue. i like to keep all the shadows around the same hue for the sake of cohesion, even though these end up being altered quite a lot in the final product

a note about the base paper layer!! its not actually pure white, but very very light grey. sometimes i make it a slightly darker grey if im feeling dramatic. this keeps the focus on the figures on the foreground probably, and allows the paper layer to interact just a little bit more with colour altering layers above it (overlay layers, for example, dont do SHIT to pure white)

above the paper, the bg shading, and the sketch layer i was too lazy to remove, we've got the blocking ive put down so that the lamb, the speech bubbles, and the sweet elderly koala theyre about to yeet into the great beyond are both not grey and not fading into dark teal. this layer probably wouldnt be here if it was fully coloured!!! however, i love not doing things :]

then theres the one-colour colour layer, and the lineart, of course, normal stuff, and then the topmost layer in this chunk is the figure shading. this can be put above or below the lines if you prefer, since it wont be at full opacity anyways. teal is a pretty strong feature in the cotl palette, esp in toww's domain, so i tend to shade with teal a lot here. not much details of variation in shading strength is applied here, the only notable exception being the bell which i straight up just could not resist making all shiny. since the shading is blocked in with a sketchy pencil brush i use for like all of my art steps, it creates the idea of texture without much real effort.

directly above the shading we have this shit:

shown at normal and full opacity because i need to emphasize these are literally just gradient ovals of pale yellow and it looks silly but:

set that bitch to around 50% opacity and make it an overlay layer and it adds some light and depth to the shaded areas!! note that as i stated before, it is now completely invisible on the sections that are blocked in white, and has little effect on on the black lineart. it doesnt have to be super detailed or precise, but just have the gradient positioned in a way that suggests a source of light

finally, the topmost two layers:

the gradient map here i what i use for most of my cotl stuff, though i poke and prod at it with every image to ensure the shadows are deep and the red is vivid. then duplicate that layer, make the bottom layer somewhere around 50% opacity, and make the topmost layer an overlay. i dont know with any fancyboy words WHY this specifically works; as best as i can figure, the bottom layer applies the colours, while the upper layer improves contrast and colour depth while keeping it within the colour scheme

thats it!!! once you get used to using overlays and gradients, this becomes quite simple, which is nice because i can use these tricks on top of a little low-energy doodle i did about old people murder and have it come out really nice still!!! i love things that save me time and energy!! if you do too, i hope this is helpful!! :]

cult trait: good die young

[mafufuu]

hihi arte! 3, 17, 19, & 24 for the artist ask game?

hihihi ruya webe been on a call which is silly but i hope youre doing well rn !!

3. your favorite piece(s)?

as of now, my most favorite piece, off the top my head, is the greyscale thing i drew of lucia from tmk. i was messing around with brushes i had saved but never really used and the textures came out nice. i like the work i did on that canvas in general, i felt i got a good hold on her character. i tend to be happy with full body colored stuff i do of characters as of recent. most things i crank up the warmness on for a character and then slap a square bg on i tend to be more than satisfied with. same goes with playing around with brushes. fuuta trash and trash was a fun dabble in trying to recreate another style, and la maine de gloire i like for similar reasons. i hold a fondness for my deep cover william wisp redraw and we outta lightbulbs though that may just stem from a lot of attention on a pice that took a lot of effort

17. what is something youre confident about in your art?

uhhhhhhhhhhhhh i suppose my color choices and stylization. i like toning up the warmness + saturation and lowering the brightness of my art for a cozier feel and i like how it turns out. whenever i do contrast checks (literally just turning a piece to black and white to see if my values are good) the results are pretty good. i think most of the reason why im confident in my stylization is i just kinda like how it looks. some amount of the time i just do doodles that are just linework so i feel like ive gotten comfortable in how i translate things and i also tend to work from references. also ive been told my art style is quite unique and i feel that is the root of it

19. where do you find inspiration?

inspiration! this one is fun! at least for some amount of how i do(/did) eyes and how i color i draw from lavendertowne! her art is very cozy and nice looking, its cartoony but you can see anime influences in it. i think that's probably my main one. i also look up to drawing wiff waffles, she was the first artist i ever really became a fan of! whenever i do pick up alcohol markers (not much nowadays) i make sure to use a colored pencil for sketching. she's prolly also the reason i make sure to carry a kneaded eraser for traditional art. i like watching scott christian sava's videos. being an older artist with more life experience makes him sorta feel like the most mentor-y to me. also he's very nice and some amount active here. yunayuispink is who i mainly use for tutorials. their art style is simple but that is not to say its bad! the colors are nice and the linework is nice. i also like marikyuun's art. her use of linewidth and colored lines makes her work very merchandise-esque as she says. i own a couple studio ghibli art books that i should probably be busting out more for references. their films are very pretty. i also like to take bits and bobs from my moots' art styles that i think are cool. for instance, i think the main reason i tend to gravitate toward thin messy lineart is @/not scorb on here. though i think mine tends to lean messier (or maybe moreso them doing it gave me the confidence to post art like that.) i also take influences from other anime/manga, vaguely, often to the point where i just kinda forget the names. there's probably more but this list is very long already so ill stop

24. whats a compliment about your art that has always stuck with you?

hm. im not really sure. it might be from my bad memory in all honesty but i feel like most of the compliments ive gotten recently just tend to be a "great work!" which i dont mind or take for granted but its not really that descriptive, yknow? actually i remembered one. one time i drew different characters from a thing in chairs i thought suited them (lore rise) sitting based upon their character and i remember someone told me i was talented from the way i portrayed my personalities from how they sit. it really stuck for some reason, i dont know why actually. also being told my art is unique when i was asking my sib to describe my art style bcuz i didnt really know how. it just felt nice to know it was really something that felt like mine !

thank you for the ask !! have a nice rest of your whatever

[levis-tealeef]

“as pure as snow,,

albedo x reader | fluff (college au)

ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇᴘᴛ - both albedo and y/n have a crush on each other, and attending the same art class certainly brings out the awkward

.

A/N: admittedly this has been sitting on my phone notes for ages- but i am finally getting to posting it :D gotta love the boy albedoo <3

.

warnings: -

1.5k words

.

lost in the subtle music in your ears you painted with elegance and caution, not wanting to make any mistakes on one of your final art pieces. the canvas was quite big, so you were standing up, and needless to say your body was starting to get tired. you were already behind so a break wasn’t really an option, though, you had to admit being able to finally eat that cookie you have been saving would be most rewarding right about now.

the classroom was quiet, only the soft hum of song from your earphones being the only sounds, besides the gentle brush strokes and taps from your painting, of course. it was break time, and soon the classroom would be rumbling with students, too loud for you to work in.

you enjoyed not having prying eyes over your work, and not having the worry of someone accidentally, or deliberately, knocking into you and making you make a wrong brush stroke. that had happened one too many times and you wouldn’t let it happen again.

as it happened, the break bell came into sound, soft murmurs of voices and taps of shoes in the halls growing closer. for the moment you couldn’t hear them, but you sure would when the door burst open and your classmates started barging their way in.

with a small glance you kept your eye out for one person in particular. there was only one person in this class that you tolerated… even more so, too.

albedo.

his soul was as pure as fresh white snow. albedo’s talents and respect for the arts was something you have always admired, and his pretty appearance wasn’t the only thing that started your swoon over him.

in all honesty, you hadn’t had a crush before, but as soon as that faithful day came where he asked to borrow your pencil, his voice gentle and calming, you couldn’t help your heart flutter.

it was silly really. all this over the starting of the exchange of a pencil. though, fate was funny sometimes. it seemed to find more humour in the situation than you would have liked though. albedo thought the same too.

neither of you had confessed your mutual feelings for one another, so you were both wandering in the dark, silently wishing for another moment to come again, opening an opportunity for the fateful sentence of “i love you” to spill out.

albedo wasn’t really one to understand his feelings very well which proved as his first obstacle. his second was that, despite him being a confident speaker, he just couldn’t find the right time nor the right words. admittedly it annoyed him, so he always waited patiently before talking to you, thinking over his words. though the confession never made its way to light.

“that looks beautiful, y/n. you have been working on that for quite a while, have you not?” he peeked over at your canvas from behind him, the two of you behind one another, your canvas’ opposite.

you peeked back over at him. “thank you… and yes.” a sheepish smile made its way onto your face, though you turned around and continued painting. “it’s taking much longer than i originally expected.”

albedo hummed. he admired how consistent you were with your work. your determination too. “i didn’t notice you at lunch at all… have you eaten?”

you stopped mid brush stroke at his words. "i... have had some fruit-" you answered honestly, a nervous smile on your face as albedo made his way to your side, arms crossed with a disappointed sigh escaping his lips.

"how troublesome... while fruit is good for you, just fruit isn't the best lunch option." he tilted his head slightly. "you should take a break."

"but class has only just started..."

"and?"

"i can't just stop working- especially not eat in class. the teacher will tell me off."

"but there's no teacher in here at the moment."

darn his reasoning.

you had to admit you were hungry. with a defeated huff you nodded, putting your brush and paints down. "alright..." you gave him a small smile and rummaged through your bad for your well wanted and deserved snack.

like a thrown ton of bricks your heart plummeted at the vacant feeling of your nonexistent lunchbox. you had only brought your fruit with you.

at your lack of movement and the ever growing sadness on your face, albedo took a guess. "you forgot your food, didn't you?" with a small nod from you, he couldn't help but let out a quiet chuckle. "you are quite hopeless at times."

he picked up his bag and placed it on his seat, searching through it for something you could munch on. landing on a well preserved sandwich, he took the box it was in out of the bag, holding it out to you.

you blinked. such an act of kindness... but, "i can't take your food, albedo." it would be unfair to take his food. what would he eat?

"i insist." he gently shook the box, poking it closer to you. "please?"

it was as if a weight had lifted off your shoulders at his gentle tone. it was something you absolutely adored. how could you refuse now?

with careful hands you took the box, opening it and taking out the snack inside. "thank you, albedo." you smiled.

he gave you a small nod, eyeing the doorway. "i'll keep an eye out for you. eat as much as you want, but, please, don't rush."

and that is what you did. relishing in the kindness albedo gave you, for the rest of the day the two of you exchanged a few small, lovely conversations until the last bell of the day rang. after packing everything up, satisfied with your progress on both accords, you gave a last wave to albedo before making your way out of the classroom.

to which, unwillingly, you almost passed out after leaving the doorway. your knees were about to give out- a whole day talking with albedo. his voice was smooth like honey, his movements with nothing more than care and grace. it was a wonder how you hadn't fainted throughout the day. your heart was fluttering, the butterflies in your tummy not dying down even after now walking outside towards the main gates of the college.

another days work and another day contemplating your crush on the oblivious albedo. was it a success? you thought so.

the next few days were quite similar when the two of you happened to pass, and before long the weekend rolled around. you decided to treat yourself that saturday morning. fresh from the stress of college, a lovely scent of your favourite shampoo masking you-- you were feeling amazing, and the fresh morning breeze that you could already feel through the opened crack of your window was definitely the cherry on top.

with the refreshing motivation coursing through your veins, the happy butterflies fluttering in your tummy, you decided to treat yourself to a walk. though, when you opened the front door to leave on your adventure, you didn't expect to see albedo ready to knock on the door.

you blinked, looking at albedo's hand which was still ready to knock the, now opened, door. "albedo-?" you tilted your head.

he swiftly moved his outstretched hand to rub the back of his neck, smiling almost sheepishly. "hello, y/n..."

"it's lovely to see you," you smiled, a little uncertain. "at my home... may i ask why?"

"well... i was wondering if you were free today. you hadn't been answering my texts so naturally i was a little worried because you always answer them quite quickly." he looked down slightly. "i apologise if i have intruded."

"wha- no, no! you're not intruding at all!" you paled.

he had been messaging you? oh, you felt such a fool. he probably thought you were ignoring him which wasn't the case at all! you swore you put your notifications on, you swore. so, why hadn't your phone pinged? was your phone off? where was your phone? how could you have-

"y/n." he called you out of your worried trance, an equally worried expression on his face. "are you... alright? you blanked out." he asked, a gentle tone to his voice.

looking down you heaved a small sigh, nodding. "i'm alright... i just- hope you don't think i was ignoring you." you met his gaze again with a familiar sheepish grin. "my phone has been on silent and i haven't checked it..."

he softened. "i didn't think that... don't worry." he hummed and looked you up and down. "were you... going somewhere perhaps?"

you nodded. "i was just going to go for a walk... it's quite the relaxing day to." you smiled.

he 'ah'd', though seemed to want to say more. with your questioning glance he cleared his throat. "may... i join you...?"

thump, thump <3

now it was you who softened. such a small voice. "of course you may~!" you smiled brighter.

albedo sighed in relief, glad that you didn't think of him as weird. maybe... if he was able to wrack up this courage, perhaps it would soon be time to ask you on a date.

[scorci-chan]

how do you draw the way you do, got any tips??

Thank you so much for showinng interest and asking! I'll tell you some stuff I do and some general tips I reocmmennd!

First is equipment! and choice of tools! I use Clip Studio Paint and I lean towards tools that are great for silly quick lines (even tho it's not always quick) I use harder brushes that don't varry much with pressure when lining and a kinda scratchy brush for stuff Iw ant to make extra soft or sketchy (kinda like pencil!)

I use ot draw a lot of traditional so I've had my practice of doing lines slow but my taablet fights me making the liens look terirble if I'm too slow (; w ; Huion whyyyy)

Next is influnce and style stealing!! Think of yourself as a combinaiton fo your interests! I grew up with Maplestory, anime, and Chibi Robo and all sorts of colorful cute fun things so I've obsorbed a bunch of that. Art styles and elements you like will influnce your art whether you know it or not~

pull up artists, games, maybe research a style or even look for fun little quirks or outfits or art or whatever while on your off time. I spend a lot fo time saving thing sI find pretty to look at later for ideas or jsut to kind of influnce or learn from

I have several folders of clothes and styles and aesthetics I like that I use to dress my characters <3 it helps a tooooonnnn

it's not stealing in a bad way to look at someones art and to take elements oyu enjoy!! hek all of cookie run is base don the CG gingerbread guy form shrek, Try weird fun things!!

Lastly~ Expression and Feelings!!! a thing I spend a lot of time on is getting expressions down and making an image feel a specific way. tho I often go with a rang eof Happy/ pleased to like, Puzzled or Even happier hahaha. though I'ev been leanrign to do crying better and more relaxed faces recently

this Nini from the other day has a pretty simple face but somehting I note when draiwng her is that I will ignore the mouth not being perfect cause the wonky wobbly mouth is a core part of her and her body being in a veyr sprea dout maner make she rlook all excited, hek I drew to many lines os I gave her a chin mask jsut caus eit looked cute hahaha,

for pictures without a face I treat the body or parts of it liek I do a face and add expression there instead, waggign tails, sweat beads, waggling arms, lil single word text blurbs, etc

Thank you for asking and if you have any more questions lemme know <3<3

[sanctus-ingenium]

I already posted this card on main a while back so I thought for this blog I would share a little bit of the in-progress stages. I did originally have the full version of the knotwork behind François but lost the screenshot in a discord purge... rip

Thoughts & process breakdown ⬇️

Anyway the way I approached this was to first set out all me symbolism. In this case it’s the wheel of fortune so it’s about breaking cycles. François is linked by bloodline to a living weapon, his bow, who is also a snake (kind of), and the snake would have continued endlessly perpetuating an ancient war if our man François hadn’t stopped it and essentially opted out of ending the central conflict of the book with violence. So the snake/bow/oroboros is the wheel of fortune here, and François is pictured talking to it instead of using it to fight. i don’t think i did a great job with the actual central figure here lmao i was a little more focused on the embellishment. I think my historical art style influences are pretty obvious, you can see in the sketch that I was going in a different direction for the 4 funny guys in the corners but when i was doing lineart I decided on a new route (i freehanded those)

The four creatures in the corners are set dressing because in the normal wheel of fortune card there’s just some guys hanging out. The top two are the important ones - top left is one of the creatures that François befriends and heals at the climax of the book, and it’s a manifestation of generational trauma tied to certain werewolf bloodlines. The bow hates werewolves and would rather wipe out those monsters, but François instead goes and just kinda hangs out with them (he is a very chill guy). Top right is his own werewolf form but separate from him because a large part of his journey was fighting the bow’s assertions that his lycanthropy wasn’t a natural part of him and was something to be crushed down and disregarded, but he ends up accepting it too.

idk who the two guys at the bottom are

So when I decide on the layout of the card I do up my sketch. If you look closely you’ll see that I used the exact same brush for sketch and lineart lmao (6B pencil my belovéd). Then i plot the colours under the sketch and then go nuts with curves/levels/gradient maps/anything i can use to produce a nice palette. and in this case it took foreverrrrr because i was waffling hard between having pink or gold to contrast the blue (as u can see i ended up veering towards gold). Then i draw my silly little lines and doing my flats, which I never use colour adjustments on (since I already did that stage in the sketch) and I think that took me like 2 days. I totally forgot to darken the lineart on his face so that’s why it’s like that (oops). After that I flatten it.

To get the old print look, I first edit the levels a bit so that there’s no bright white and there’s a slightly faded blue tinge like it’s been out in the sun for too long. Then I add chromatic aberration (displacement) and then noise at 4%, then i duplicate the layer and on the duplicate a gaussian blur to about 5%, then lower the opacity to less than 20%

I use mostly default brushes and the true grit texture supply free trial pack lmao. This was from before I discovered the life-saving properties of colour shifting brushes so all colours were done by hand.

If i could change anything it would be the oroboros.. the colours in particular don’t match the tone of the rest of the pic and it stands out a lot to me. i also probably should have put more effort into François himself

[erdnckaplan]

Art by Vitkaninn - The Art Showcase

How did I start drawing?

I've been drawing ever since I can remember. It has always been something I really enjoyed doing. I have spent so much time drawing silly comics of some characters I'd come up with or drawing fan art of my favourite cartoon characters. I got my first tablet when I was 15, so that's when I started drawing digitally. I never took any art classes. I've been teaching myself almost everything I know about digital software and art. After graduating high school I decided to study graphic design. I thought it had the potential to be fun, and I liked well designed things. Studying graphic design has taught me a lot about many art related things so far, but learning how to paint digitally and developing my current style is something that I did on my own.

What inspires me?

I mainly find my inspiration looking through other people's work on the internet. It's usually Pinterest, where I save interesting artworks from other painters, photographers, animators etc. I also play a lot of video games which are a source of inspiration too.

What mediums do I use?

I'm often asked what medium do I use, as people mistake my art for traditional paintings. I'm a digital artist. I'm using Procreate for all my art. In the past I've used Adobe Photoshop CC and Painttool Sai. I'm drawing on the 12.9 iPad Pro 2020 using the Apple Pencil 2nd Gen. In the past, I’ve also used various Wacom and Huion tablets.

What brushes do I use?

Procreate itself comes with a handful of really cool brushes. Some of my faves include the 6B pencil, HB pencil, Peppermint, Gesinki Ink brush, Shale brush, and the Kunanyi brush.

Other than the default brushes, I really love using True Grit Texture Supply’s brushes and textures. My favourites from them would be the Rusty Nib Inkers and the Beat Tones.

Some of illustrations by Vit - Vitkaninn:

Vitkaninn: Instagram

[cryptiql]

cherry starbursts

pairing: bakugou/reader (male reader in mind but is gender neutral)

warnings: none, i think?? lots of cussing though, courtesy of lord explosion murder

words: 3.6k

a/n: yuzuya's audios giving me so much brainrot...gonna be thinking about this all week. also the way this started out as god tier writing but gradually turned into shit at the end 🏃 nonetheless, i hope i did this gremlin man justice </3

a contemplative hum tickles your throat as you observe the paragraph laid out before you, the pads of your fingers tingling as you trail them across the pages. on the occasions where you've found your nose nestled deep within them, a muted scent of pears and sawdust would invade your senses, and the urge to rest your head in the plains of your chemistry textbook would become overwhelming. however, the threat of being cuffed over the head by a rolled up magazine makes you think twice about slacking off, so you begrudgingly slump back into your seat with a resigned huff. the clock in your dorm is no doubt ticking away like always; the second hand rounding at great speeds while the minute and hour hands crawl by at a sluggish pace; but you aren't there to hear it.

instead, you reside in bakugou's room, basking in the unencumbered atmosphere created solely by his diligent efforts to keep his space clean and organized. it's just the way he is, you have to remind yourself. not because you stubbed your toe on his dumbbells last week and he felt sufficiently guilty as to make sure nothing was in your path the next time you visited. that would be silly. all that considered, bakugou's room isn't much different from your own—save for the few comfort objects brought from home that give off a hospitable air—but the lack of stimulus it holds is apparent. anything that could disturb your tranquil study date has either been stored away or placed beyond your reach.

damn him, the bastard! he's completely oblivious, you silently muse, bracing your elbows on the desk to plant your face in the palms of your hands. you chastise yourself at the same moment for forgetting your headphones, but in your defense, bakugou screaming for you to hurry up had prompted a hasty departure. if he had the patience to wait two more minutes. . .

rather than finishing the thought, you pull the textbook closer, hoping that somehow the enlarged print will stick to your brain like a temporary tattoo. you only need this information long enough to pass the exam, but once it's over, you swear you'll never mention anything chemistry related unless it's the bond between you and your neighbor. the idle scratching of pencil led against paper erupts from his side of the room, lessening the static in your head by a fraction, but it doesn't last. he mutters something unintelligible under his breath as you spin in your chair to look at him in desperation.

he remains ignorant for the next minute or so, only glancing up at you briefly before returning to his notes. your nostrils flare as you reach down to untangle your laces and pull off your shoe. you chickened out last time this happened, but being ignored has successfully fed the flames of your frustration, and you simply will not stand for it any longer. you blame your sleep-addled mentality for the lack of better aim, but it stokes your pride when bakugou flinches as your shoe hurdles past his shoulder.

"the hell was that for, dumbass!?" he growls, his eyes narrowing into slits. you respond with a high pitched whine; one that would be considered overexaggerated in his opinion, but in yours, was perfectly reasonable when being held against your will to study a subject that has no business being this tedious. "sukiii, i'm booored."

the blonde makes a 'tch' sound, positioning his arm in a warning manner before throwing his pencil at you, which you manage to catch easily. you revel in the deflated expression he wears, twirling the pencil between your fingers and kicking a leg over one arm of the chair. all this, while never breaking eye contact, was sure to break through to him. you're hopeful, what with the way katsuki's gaze—gradually failing to hide his infatuation—travels over your build from head to toe. whether because you giggle at his reaction or decide to kick your feet like a giddy child, he snaps out of his trance with an all too familiar scowl and shuts his own textbook with unnecessary force. his demanding stare is fixated on you as he tosses it haphazardly to the edge of the bed.

"give me back my pencil, idiot." he completely ignores your previous statement and jumps straight into business, as always. "give me back my shoe first, hot stuff." you challenge, smirking in a way that you very well know gets him hot under the collar. the teasing endearment will either put the odds in your favor; earning you your shoe as desired, and perhaps the lovely little blush that often dusts his face whenever you flirt with him; or seal your fate in hell where the everlasting flames may burn similarly, if not just as hotter than bakugou's explosions. it has taken years of practice to uphold your smug attitude in the face of his unyielding rage; nose wrinkled and canines grinding. even now, he is the image of perfection—a powerful god emblazoned in brimstone and baneful inferno—and you, a mere lover of art. after a moment, bakugou's resolve seems to falter. his piecing glare relents only slightly to give way for a pensive expression as he sighs, gently rubbing along the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. he throws you your shoe while standing from the bed, and as you slip it on, he shuffles over to his clothes drawer to pull out his own pair of sneakers. this prompts you to raise a brow inquisitively, but your silent question is left unanswered up until bakugou claps a hand on your shoulder and grumbles.

"c'mon, i'm fucking starving. there's a seven eleven nearby that's got spicy ramen."

and just like that, all thoughts pertaining to the test have been pulverized to dust by katsuki's unrelenting fists. the promise of food after hours of relentless mental abuse has you brushing off the sudden change of inclination in seconds, meanwhile the hothead to your right mulls over it during your trek through the empty hallways, stuffing his arms into the holes of his jacket. he had been able to overlook your constant fidgeting and intermittent noises of vexation, but too soon it became obvious that you weren't getting anywhere with the session. he would have simply offered to help if not for his own inability to concentrate, which had made itself known within the last half hour when he caught himself staring at you between taking notes. so what if he found your pouting cute? just maybe, he had started to fall in love with the way your brows furrowed at the instance of a misunderstood question; the absentminded tugging of your earlobe; the way your eyes looked without seeing, as if the smallest things held the greatest importance. sure, the tapping of your nails against a desk was a bit much, but he could always put a stop to your fretting by lacing your fingers together and kissing the back of your hand. just maybe, your bashful reactions made him want to hold you closer; to see you lounging across his lap—a throne befitting for a king—with your rose hued cheeks nestled in the crook of his neck.

not that you needed to know any of that. no fucking way would he endow another reason for you to tease him when the list was already so long.

curfew isn't for another hour, but bakugou would rather not waste time dawdling, so he uses this as reasoning for hooking your arm with his and practically hauling you out the exit. he mutters something about you being "too fucking slow" and "leaving you behind if you don't keep up", but the fact that he's dragging you along at all shows that he would have no problem resorting to desperate matters. the right amount of groveling and or compromising might mean a piggyback ride to the store, but regardless of how tempting the idea is, you decide not to further burden your friend with carrying you.

the towering shape of heights alliance becomes more and more like a speck of dust as your journey continues, the weight of your thoughts heavy on your already weary mind. you eye katsuki's side profile, noting the distinct lack of malice upon his handsome features, and smile softly to yourself. friend. it was the first word that occurred to you, albeit the least desirable and in no way comparable to the term that caused your heart to flutter within the confinements of your ribcage.

you aren't together. you don't know if you'll ever be, but when the the milieu; brimming with chaotic screams, booming laughter and disorderly merriment belonging to that of your closest friends; is whisked from the narrative, katsuki looks at you differently. whatever fragments of disdain and spite tend to crumble within the first few seconds and are replaced by an emotion that was unheard of ever having manifested in the depths of his vermillion hues. it holds a semblance to adoration, perhaps even respect, and for as long as you can recall, that is all you've wanted to see from him: to be regarded like no other.

sure, it's not like how you dreamed—he isn't very affectionate in public, though you doubt he would be even if you were together, and it always stings when he shrugs your affections off with a deriding comment—but that's just it. it's not a dream. after every scornful remark; after the day has passed and the dwindling moon takes its place in the evening sky, breaking through the curtains of his dorm; he'll kiss your hand, your blooming cheeks, your lips, all to atone for it. where no one else can see, he treats you like a divine being, and part of you wishes to think that it's because he's selfish. a bit of possessiveness has lead to many nights of a shared bed, ruffled sheets and smothering cuddles, but who are you to complain? everything he gives you is more real than any well-constructed reverie.

he may not be yours, and you may not be his, but no one else will suffice for either of you, and that is the unspoken truth.

the minimal bitterness in the autumn breeze makes for a refreshing atmosphere with the only discontent being the hunger that claws at your stomach. bakugou has never been merciful towards anyone, let alone the self-acclaimed nuisance who interrupts his studying with half-baked plans of adventure, but you're ever so grateful for the rare times where he is.

you know you won't have to wait long now that the smell of milk bread and takoyaki trickles into the air, much like the faint pitter patter of raindrops on the concrete. the shower is horribly ill-timed, but you hardly mind, especially when the droplets cling to bakugou's eyelashes like crystalline gemstones; glimmering faintly with every blink as they catch the suns rays. it settles below the horizon, only a sliver of golden yellow to be seen dancing in the tree boughs above, and the fuck if the way it illuminates your not-boyfriend's visage isn't absolutely breathtaking. the glimpse of honeyed skin and kissable lips—pulled into a pensive pout—draws you in deeper, and deeper, and oh god i've been caught—

"you got a staring problem, dumbass?" he grumbles, a roseal color dusting his ears that he swears is from the cold.

even his offensive nicknames are laced with an abnormal tenderness, and knowing that you're the only one with the privilege to hear it causes your chest to swell with delight. you nibble your bottom lip, hoping that it will somehow hide the fleet of giggles bubbling in your throat, but it does no such thing. "yeah, it's weird. whenever i see something beautiful, i just feel compelled to stare at it."

you don't need to look at him to know you've struck a nerve, but you do anyways, and his face grows redder under the intensity of your teasing leer. he sputters, curses falling from past his lips like a waterfall, and rips his arm from your grasp to cradle it as if you've burned him. any sane person would have backed down the second mini explosions began flaring up from his palms, however, you are perhaps the exact opposite, as to be expected when surrounding yourself with the infamous bakusquad, who (excluding bakugou) procured one braincell to share amongst themselves. years of having to put up with and, by extension, learn how to effectively handle bakugou's fits have proven to be time well spent.

you remain none the wiser to the concerned stares of others as he spouts a line of insults; incomprehensible from behind his curled fist pressed tightly to his mouth.

"you-you can't just say that kinda shit out loud, dumbass!" and although he may seem mad, he's already dragging you down the street. you test your luck by huddling closer and resting your chin on his shoulder, your steady pace never faltering.

"is the katsuki bakugou stumbling over his words from a little compliment?" it almost feels like you've won, but then the blonde proceeds to cover your face with his still damp hand. the little shit had timed it perfectly so that your open mouth would taste the saltiness of his sweat—quite the contrary to its sugary caramel aroma—and if you weren't so preoccupied by the resonance of his cackling laugh, you might have spent the rest of the trip gagging and complaining about the whole ordeal. he hardly seems bothered, wiping your saliva on his trousers and going forth with that customary lumbering strut, which always has you torn between fawning, chortling or questioning if he has fucking weights down his pants.

nonetheless, you can't help but murmur how cute he looks as you swing your free arm in tune with your steps.

by the time you've arrived at the shop, the sun has long since disappeared; welcoming hues of purple, navy blue and hints of orange to dapple the heavens, along with the foretelling of stars. you can't begin to describe how lucky you are to be living in a city with such beautiful scenery, even when the thin clouds of smog from factories often hinder your view of it. the fluorescent lights from the 'open' sign flash sporadically, casting a cobalt glow to dance across your dazed expression. katsuki watches with intent, chuckling at how easily distracted you can get as he tugs you inside by the cloth of your shirt.

the person behind the cash register spares a customary greeting before returning to their magazine, and bakugou makes a beeline for the intended isle, something akin to excitement radiating from him. he wears it much differently, and it resembles is go-to callous guise in almost every way, but you're able to detect the slight shift in demeanor as if its the easiest thing in the world. you hardly register that he's removed himself from you until the distance grows too large to ignore, and you shuffle over to the place beside him with a newfound adrenaline. the crisp air of the corner store heightens your senses as you tap your foot to the pop song playing overhead.

the only other sound is of katsuki examining the ramen and deciding what level of spice he should get, encouraging you to ponder what sort of hellish nightmare he has planned for the rest of the group. it was just last week when he dared kaminari to try some of the noodles, and the poor boy had spent ten minutes weeping in snot-nosed agony that you would have to be insane to put something that hot in your mouth. bakugou had laughed at his misery and carried on eating with vigor, mocking the others for their weak taste buds.

after a beat of silence, you decide to test your luck again by poking is shoulder, as well as batting your eyelashes at him and cocking your head to the side.

"can we get some candy?"

bakugou waves his hand dismissively, which is all the conformation you need before rounding the corner to peruse the variety of sweets on display. you immediately spot the marked parcels of sour gumdrops and assorted licorice and giggle to yourself as you pick them out, unaware of the gentle smile the blonde wears in regards to your child-like glee.

"yeah, just don't eat it all in one sitting. you go through that shit way too fast—it's unhealthy."

you won't bother commenting on his strict, motherly advisement, because you know it's in his best interest. he's grumbled about "stuffing your body with all that garbage" on numerous occasions, and while the hypocrisy might have annoyed you at one point ("and i assume gouging yourself on spicy ramen is completely different?") you realized rationing your candy would benefit both your health and your wallet. you nod, despite knowing he can't see, and idly feel for your back pocket, wondering just how much katsuki plans to stock up. money isn't exactly an issue, so you suppose it doesn't matter, but the amount of packets he normally brings back is downright criminal.

"don't be shy," he eventually says, "i'm buying. you're responsible enough not to buy out the whole store, right?"

your confusion overwhelms the urge to roll your eyes at his sarcasm, but there also lies a hint of elation that he would offer to buy.

"i figured i'd be paying as compensation for messing with you." you stand on the tips of your toes to poke your head over the isle, feeling very tempted to ruffle his hair whilst he gathers the packages of ramen into his basket.

"nah, you can pay me back in some other way." his eyes flick upwards to meet your devilish smirk, and he turns away with an affronted noise, blood rushing to his cheeks.

"oh? i can't wait to see what you have in mind~."

and there go the sparks. they last but a few moments before katsuki composes himself, presumably because he realizes making a scene won't help the situation, but he still throws a glare at you from a distance as he beckons you closer. it seems like he's gotten all he needs, so you hastily grab whatever sweets are left on your mental list and rush back to the counter. a comfortable silence sits between you both as your items are checked out, and in that time, you observe the significant difference between pre-late-night-shopping-run bakugou and food-deprived-study-date bakugou. his shoulders are more relaxed, as is his facial appearance, and you'll be damned if you ever forget the way he smiles when he catches you looking from his peripheral vision.

it's soft and unguarded and leaves you struggling for breath as he waits for the cashier to turn away, then promptly laces your fingers together. what? katsuki takes the bag and pulls you effortlessly; like a ragdoll; a mere toy at his disposal; out into the brisk evening. his thumb brushes the back of your hand, making you jump in surprise at the suddenness of it, and he titters freely. what? the streetlamps glint brightly, flickering at random intervals as you travel onward at a leisurely pace. the roads closest to U.A. aren't as packed as the ones deeper into the city, and thus you are the only two souls to be found, save for the few cars that speed by under the faint luminescence of nearing traffic lights. katsuki squeezes your palm, then slithers his hand out of your hold to replace it at your waist, methodically caressing the skin there in a way that has your knees buckling. you sputter witlessly, attempting to catch the thoughts that flee from your mind like birds to the wind. the blonde is nothing less than ecstatic to be the reason for your flustered state, and he takes full advantage of it by leaning in and hovering his mouth just inches from your own.

"i'll take my payment now." and oh lord, you think. he doesn't have to ask me twice. your lips collide with his, molding together like melted toffee; just as sweet and addictive. you've shared kisses before; ones that left you bruised and scrambling for a coverup the next day; ones that felt like fire but were tinged with honey that soothed your throat; fleeting ones that were never enough. you were sure that your need for affection would never truly be satiated unless it was from the boy you held most dear, and with the moon as your sole witness, katsuki was happy to oblige.

"starbursts. . ." he huffs after pulling away, massaging your hip to subdue your dissatisfied hum. "you taste like cherry starbursts."

he doesn't seem to mind by the way he leans in for another kiss, and another, and another, until you're a jittery mess in his arms. you press against his chest, a wistful sigh escaping you when you part once more.

"not that i'm complaining, but where's this coming from? you're usually not so touchy." the last bit of your utterance trails off as bakugou presses his lips to your forehead and keeps them there. moments pass, and when he finally pulls away, its to hide his blush by walking ahead of you. "i should be able to kiss my partner whenever i please, shouldn't i?" he doesn't even give you a chance to catch up, because his words have you rooted to the spot. what urges your feet to move is the haughty smirk he tosses over his shoulder, and even then, the race has only begun; your demands for him to stop echoing down the street as you chase him.

cheeky bastard.