#save me airbrush save me

[trashcreatyre]

I love auto desk sketchbook but holy shit the lack of an actual blur tool drives me mad

[nguyenfinity]

I saw @flcarius ‘s element assignments for the bees and I just. I had to

[heuffopla]

WIP is no longer a WIP! Enjoy me actually knowing what I'm doing for once

[shatterthefragments]

“Uh yeah. You need to put the freezer away” - in response to if I can be paid for the overtime that would be required to do so (I spent my entire shift doing orders pretty much so uhhh I was going to run over just with my own cleanup anyway)

Anyway 2.25 hours overtime… might buy tickets for that other concert as soon as I confirm I can put in for the day off ✌️✨

[alwaysthefool]

Opposite (x Zayne)

Warnings: face dysmorphia, envy, jealousy, insecurity

Tags: Angst (no comfort), f!reader (pro trans blog), MC Reader

Synopsis: You see Zayne with another girl, and let your insecurities get the better of you.

You thought it’d be a wonderful day. There was definitely something going on between the two of you, something unspoken, and on the last trip, Zayne kissed you. You two did not address it or follow through where you left off, but there were sparks and a certain tension, always on the brink of exploding into something more.

That day, you were going to ask him about it, but at the bakery where you’d usually find him on sunny afternoons having a snack, someone else was next to him. An intern, by the looks of it. The most beautiful girl you’d ever seen. Tall, perfect skin, large eyes, sweeter voice, prettier. Pretty and smart in ways you’d never be.

Prettier, smarter.

And he was smiling. Zayne, usually stoic, was laughing at a joke she’d made. Prettier, smarter, and funny. You never felt your heart beat faster, the lump in your throat growing, and you realised the only way out for you was literally, out of the bakery. You quietly went back, breathing slowly to control your emotions. Right, why would Zayne be with you? He had better options.

You almost laughed when you finally reached your apartment. Stupid, stupid girl. You cursed yourself internally. Before you could think about anything else, you heard your phone buzz. Looking at it, it was a text from Zayne. You stupidly saved his number with emojis on your phone.

‘Don’t forget your check-up appointment tomorrow.’

Of course, that’s all he was to you. A doctor. You replied to him with a thumbs-up emoji, immediately changing his contact name to Dr. Zayne, and removing your display picture. You felt awful, insignificant, ugly. You did not want to look in the mirror. You were embarrassed.

Why did he kiss you in the first place? Were you overthinking? Was that girl why he never brought up the time he kissed you?

You sighed, calming yourself down. This kind of pain wasn’t good for the heart. You changed into your pajamas, trying to distract yourself with a movie, some popcorn, and eventually, a drink. Then two. Then three. Then as many as it took to fall asleep.

You woke up groggy, irritated, and still remembering that girl’s face, that doctor you had a crush on, and the fact you’d see them in the hospital in a few hours. You took a shower, put on some makeup, removed the makeup considering you were just going to get a checkup, looked up if it’s acceptable to wear makeup to a hospital on the internet, and then settled with a lip tint and concealer.

Maybe you should’ve called Tara to come along with you for moral support, and you could go out for drinks later, but you decided against it considering Grayson and Yvonne would be there to cheer you up.

It hurt when you saw them at the hospital chatting with that intern. It was about Zayne, something related to a surgery going well. You bowed your head, praying they wouldn’t notice you, as you almost tip-toed to Zayne’s office.

“[Name]!” Yvonne called, waving. You took a deep breath and forced a smile back, approaching the three. Upon getting a closer look of the intern, you realised she had no blemishes, no scars, and her hands were perfectly manicured. She looked like one of those models that you convinced yourself had airbrushed editing on magazine pages. Guess people like that really did exist.

“Uh, something on my face?” She asked, and you realised you were staring.

You looked away, embarrassed. “Nothing, sorry.”

“This is Jo, Zayne’s new intern.” Grayson spoke, and you bit your lip as you nodded at her. “He usually doesn’t take any, but he selected her himself seeing how brilliant her research was.”

You just smiled and nodded, stupidly, to the point you were sure it was becoming weird.

“Uh, you’re here for the checkup, right? Let me take you to him.” She looked at her notepad, and gestured you to Zayne’s office. You didn’t wave a bye to your friends, just keeping your head down. Usually, you’d hop to Zayne’s room like it was your own, opening the door with a smile, but this time the door was opened for you, and you couldn’t meet his eyes.

It felt like the universe was mocking you, and this was something you’d have to bear.

“Dr. Zayne.” She was the one greeting him this time.

You walked over to Zayne, sitting on the examination chair next to him. You didn’t meet his eyes, fiddling with the metal surface of your chair instead. Zayne would’ve immediately noticed. Maybe he did.

“Jo, you can leave.”

You watched her confused expression from the corner of your eye, and then her perfect figure take a bow and leave.

“Eyes on me.”

You couldn’t. You couldn’t raise your eyes to look at him, even though it was probably for the checkup. Zayne put two fingers under your chin, and forced you to look up, a small torch in his other hand.

“You’re mad at me.” He said, checking your eyes, his hand caressing your cheek. You didn’t respond, turning around as usual for his stethoscope to measure your heart rate. Zayne sighed, placing his stethoscope on your spine as you took a deep, shaky breath.

“Can you tell me what I did?” He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you on to his lap, breathing in your scent. You wanted to hold him back, nuzzle him, something, but the insecurity, a demon inside of you, wouldn’t let you.

“If you do this again, I’m switching doctors.” You pulled yourself away from him, irritated, standing up. Zayne also looked annoyed, and hurt. Were you the one being petty here? You didn’t think about it.

“Check-up’s done, I’m leaving.”

“It’s actually not.” Zayne spoke firmly, definitely annoyed. You sat back down next to him, looking at him with defiant eyes.

He looked down at his notepad. “Are you experiencing any odd symptoms?”

Heartbreak, jealousy, agonising mental pain. “No.”

“Have you been eating well?”

You frowned. You hadn’t eaten since yesterday, and you didn’t realise it until now, but you lied. “Yeah.”

“Then why did I hear your stomach growl?”

Your cheeks reddened. Zayne was a doctor after all, nothing got past him. He gave you a candy from his coat pocket. “Let’s get lunch after my shift is over.”

You quietly nibbled on the candy, handing the wrapper back to him, which made him smile. “My princess.”

“If I’m your princess, why did I see you at that bakery with some other girl yesterday?” You looked down, embarrassed now, realising you were mad over such a small thing.

Zayne held your face gently, making you look up at him. “That’s what this is about? Jo?”

You pulled away from him. “Not just her, but also, you kissed me, and never addressed it again. I feel like I’m a candy wrapper to you, someone to discard after use.”

“That’s-“ Zayne’s voice was hesitant. You didn’t meet his eyes and he didn’t make you. “I… I’m sorry, I was busy after that. I didn’t have the time to call you over, or-“

“But you had the time to go to a bakery with your intern?”

Zayne’s expression turned cross. You supposed he was done with you too. “She called me there, because she saw I was overworking myself. Am I not allowed that much?”

You bit your lip. Prettier, smarter, funny, and kinder. “I’m sorry.” You managed. That was all you had to say. You let your insecurities get the better of you, but… was that hard to understand for Zayne? Tears fell from your eyes but you didn’t feel like you were going to cry. “I, um… I should go.”

“No, please-“ Zayne tried, reaching his hand out for you but you stood up. You didn’t want to look at him, at anyone at the hospital. You did not want to go home, you did not want to be anywhere, you did not want to exist as a person in the universe. An insecure, ugly person, who hurt the people around them. It hurt like knives that started inside your heart and prodded their way outwards, hurting you most of all, it-

“I’ll take the day off.” You did not realise when Zayne reached next to you by the door, his large hand holding it close. “I’ll make time for you. Please, let me fix this.”

“It’s not your fault, Zayne.” You put your hand on the door handle, red eyes meeting his exasperated ones, as you spoke what needed to be said. “I just think we aren’t right for each other.”

You could see the emotion fall from his face, his hand leaving the door. You walked out, grateful that at least Yvonne and Grayson weren’t eavesdropping right outside this time. Jo wasn’t too far away, though, and she noticed your teary face. “Is everything okay?” She asked, concerned. That hurt worse than if she would’ve just ignored it, because this girl in front of you was blameless. You smiled at her, lying that it was just allergies, hoping she’d take good care of Zayne in your place.

—x—

Part 2 fixing things, anyone?

[lewdlepoodle69]

Elster and Ariane from Signalis! I accidentally closed the project file without saving the final touches (luckily it was only some colour correcting layers and very minor detailing on Elster that was lost.) Nonetheless, it's nice and warm looking and it makes me happy. I love seeing art of these two so I thought I'd do my part I think I'm going to ban myself from using any airbrush and airbrush-like tools and see what happens. I deeply fear making everything look too soft with those things.

( This descrition is old. )

[ohno-the-sun]

Oh uh forgot to ask in the previous ask (the one with the digital piece of candy and scurrying and stuff)

How do you draw art so good

Like

Is there a method you use or is that just the style you've gotten over time?

you've activated my trap card

I'm just gonna preface that this tutorial is from someone who was not professionally trained and didn't have a lot of free time for art, so a lot of the tips I have is short cuts I use to get the best results quickly

If you genuinely want to get better at art then please look at references and practice that is always the best

However if you are like me and only really do art for fun but want to go faster then these are for you pfppt

Overall I'd say my style is influenced by speedpaints I would watch when I was younger, I like analyzing how people do things and what makes something look "good" to me

I always recommend watching them because they will often have techniques you've never seen before or do things a certain way that you can try out yourself

I consume good art, it feeds me

but seriously it can be super helpful when developing your own methodology, or just generally trying something new

Usually it starts with me pulling some references from artists I really admire and sort of sketching out how they do the things I like

For example 8um8le has like super good anatomy and poses so I focused on trying to replicate how they do that

venemous-qwille is super good at color and pulling focus so that's what I focused on in my study of them

In general I'd say my process is sketch -> silhouette -> color -> shading -> render

I really don't like doing lineart lol

I'd say for the sketch the most important part is using references and just kind of fudging it until it looks correct anatomically/physically

General rule of thumb is spend time on areas of interest, and keep non important areas light (like the stitching on his pants)

I don't do lineart because I think its unnecessary for most paintings I do

I naturally tend to put more time and focus on areas of interest (like hands and feet) and if you use a brush with opacity for the sketch, those areas are naturally going to be darker in the final sketch

Of course this is gonna be different for everyone but it's what works for me

Sometimes I do a really really sketchy layer underneath my sketch/lineart, just so I know where everything is going

Use thumbnails! They are great to help figure out the general layout of things and what pose I wanna do

Next is what I call the "silhouette" layer

This is super important for me cause it helps me refine the figure and make sure the pose/anatomy looks correct, also depending on what color I choose for the silhouette helps guide what colors I'm going to use on top

This piece is a good example of how it works. The silhouette shows me how the figure interacts with the background, how the pose looks and if its any good

The silhouette layer doesn't have to be super clean, as long as it follows the sketch decently well and shows where the figure is then its fine

I also sometimes make the silhouette layer multiple colors to help guide shading and vibe

Next is the coloring layer. I usually make this a clipping layer on top of the silhouette layer, or I change the silhouette layer to alpha lock, either way it saves me time on coloring everything in

Sometimes I am super rough with the coloring too, using like an airbrush or my fav watercolor brush just to generically block in color where I want it

Works out cause most objects have like a bounce light to them from surrounding objects, so this is sort of a cheat I use to get that effect without all the work lol

Also don't be afraid to have the lower silhouette layer shining through, having multiple colors sort of subtly shining through the piece helps lots

Next is the shading layer, this is usually another clipping layer, usually set to "multiply"

The colors I pick here is usually within this range, any color works, just depends on the piece and vibes.

Since this piece is set in a sunset forest I choose a more desaturated orange for the shading layer

I know there's a whole thing about multiply layer being a crutch (and it kind of it) but it is a useful tool when you just want some darker values across the piece but don't want to go through the process of color picking every single darker shade

Also in my opinion it looks better than picking a darker color and setting it to a lower opacity, idk I just think the color has more "depth"

Next is the hardest to explain, sort of the vibes layer

Usually its just a layer of more concentrated color on top of the normal color and I fudge with the settings and values until I get a result I like

Next is the longest step, is the "extra" or the render stage.

Usually I add a background before this step so that if I need to merge the figure better with the background I can

If I render with a white background but he's supposed to be in a dark forest, its going to mess with the lighting severely

Also this is when I add more "vibe" layers on top to get the figure to match the background better

Backgrounds in general I recommend checking out @/derekdomnicdsouza on instagram he's got lots of great tutorials for breaking down backgrounds simply

I'd say general rule for the rendering layer is to focus on the areas of interest and spend less time on areas you don't care about

I even blur stuff out on the edges I don't want people to see, partially to save time on fixing mistakes in areas I dont care about (oop), but mainly to help draw the eye to the areas I do want people to focus on

Theoretically parts of the background should like mesh with the characters, parrallel lines are a no no unless they are directing a viewer to look somewhere, things that are perpendicular help bring things together

tbh I'm still not the best at layout and probably need more practice, but overall this is what I like doing

Overall this is what my layer set up ends up being

Sort of a sandwich with the lineart/sketch as the "meat" lol

Color and basic shading below the sketch, clean-up and rendering on top

I like this method cause it's super flexible if I ever want to try something different or try to replicate someone's style

I can make each step less or more messy depending on the end result and can add a lineart layer if need be. Also if there's a part that is straight up not working or needs to be removed its super easy to do cause I can just paint over it on the "extras" layer, color picking from the surrounding area to get the same vibe

Generally rule of thumb for my style is: get the initial layout of colors, form and shading to look good, then the rendering should be smooth sailing

Really the best advice I can give to get better at art is to enjoy what you're doing and become very very obsessed with drawing a silly little guy

You'll eventually get very good at drawing them pfptpf

[kozachenko]

[Click for better quality]

Ok so as a sort of followup to that Yachie drawing, I did one of Yachie as well. I already had a pretty solid idea in mind (though tbh drawing her wasn't as fun as drawing Saki) but I'm overall pretty happy with this drawing.

Artist's Notes;

So I knew that I would never forgive myself if I completely missed the oppurtunity to give Yachie face scales, which is something that I haven't really seen many people do yet. I do feel like I could've pushed it a lot more, but I'm liking the direction my take on her is going.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to talk about some of my headcannons for how Hell's fashion works since I've had this on my mind for a while. So ever since I refined my own design for Zanmu, I really liked the idea of having there be some connection between her and Satori in their clothes because they're both the defacto "leaders" of their respective Hells, and then I had the idea of having Hell's fashion trends mimic real life history where it mimics whatever the upperclassman are wearing in someway? I've always been really fascinated with the idea of how Modern Hell works as a society and also how Old Hell was impacted by it's abandonment, and while I am aware that the animal realm isn't exactly Hell and is moreso it's own thing right next to it, I imagine that there would be some overlap in the fashion and culture due to their close proximity to each other. Of course, I still kept a lot of elements in from Yachie's original design, the only thing I really added to the outfit was the jazzed up sleeves and the bottom of her shirt as well as those cool triangle things ZUN added to her shirt in 19. I also have her some nice and sharp nails since I thought they fit her. I also tried adding some scales onto the tips of her ears though tbh IDK how well they read. Her colour palette also ended up becoming a lot more teal than I had anticipated, but I honestly like it as I love it whenever people make Yachie's colour palette and design a lot more teal. I also wanted to try and differentiate her face from Saki's, though I do plan on experimenting more on how to avoid same face syndrome, as it's a problem that haunts me in my dreams. There's not really much I can say here aside from "hee hee clothing rendering go brrrrrr" and how the Clip Studio Paint charcoal brush is really all you need for any given piece and it is literally the only brush I use aside from the occasional airbrush for lighting (sometimes) and the blend tools. I've been doing a lot more simple character art recently and I've just been waiting for a cool enough idea for a full blown piece.

Though now that I've talked about some of my headcannons about how Modern Hell works, I really just want a Touhou manga spinoff about Modern Hell. Like, please ZUN I'm begging you, just do it, it would be so fucking cool because Touhou 17 is literally the only time in modern Touhou when we've been to Hell proper, does modern Hell have any settlements of Oni and other Youkai? Does it have cities? Towns? Villages? What's the technological level of Hell? How do they keep sinners from pulling a Touhou 17 and summoning a fucking god to save them? Where do all the characters associated with Hell as of right now fit into everything? You can't just drop a character like Zanmu who is stated to essentially be the king of fucking Hell and then not elaborate further on how she fits into the general framework of Hell! Is she officially the king or is this more of a "true mastermind using the official king/ruler as a puppet" type deal? How does the Animal Realm fit into all of this? Did Hecatia purposefully create Hell so it would be right next to the Animal realm? Did it just appear there on it's own once Buddhism started popping off on Earth or was it established once Zanmu established Modern Hell? How long was Keiki a problem for, and how did that affect the rest of Hell? Seriously there are so many unanswered questions here and I don't know if I just need to read an interview Zun had where he was asked these same questions and if so please tell me because these questions have all been stirring in my brain for quite some time and I really wished we'd just get a new fucking manga instead of going over the same settings in Gensokyo over and over and over and over again dear god. Like, I get that there's still a lot to explore with what we already do have, but it would just be really nice to see the Animal Realm get a little more explanation as to how it fits into the overall grand scheme of Gensokyo's worldbuilding because that would just make such an already interesting idea for a setting in Gensokyo so much better.

I'm hoping to get the drawing for Keiki done before Touhou 17's 5 year anniversary, though I am willing to postpone that and take my time on it and I also have something coming up where I won't have access to my main drawing tablet for a while so it might be a while until I post again, maybe, who knows, consistent posting schedule? Who are they, I've never heard of them. I do fully intend on talking about my thoughts on Touhou 17 though, even if it's a day or two late, it's Touhou 17's birthday month so it still counts! Also because out of all the Touhou game anniversaries, this is the one I care about the most because Touhou 17 was the first Touhou game I played and 1CC'd(???) on normal, and even though it has plenty of flaws (i.e. the many missed opportunities for it's gameplay, how unbalanced the mechanics are and also screen visibility), I'm always going to have a bit of a soft spot for it and I think that the game's strengths make up for some of it's weaknesses in my opinion.

[mustainegf]

dave comforting reader about her “down there” insecurities? reader is scared to show dave when he initiates sex because she knows she doesn’t look like a p*rn star and doesn’t want dave to think she looks weird

𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐘 ¹⁹⁸⁸

I sat at the edge of Dave's bed, playing with my fingers. The air was heavy with all unsaid things. My heart thundered inside my chest. We'd been heading here for some time now, the kissing, touching, that sort of teasing that makes your skin hum. Tonight was a bit different though. It was clear where it was leading. And that scared the shit out of me.

He stared into me, his bright red hair falling messily over his eyes in that way that normally sent my stomach somersaulting. Now, I didn't know whether the somersault was excitement or deadly anxiety. Maybe both. I swallowed a deep breath, trying to hold steady, but the fear just crept in and tightened, tight around my chest.

Dave leaned in, his fingers brushing my arm soft but with intent. "You okay?" he asked, his voice soft and low and rough around the edges, like it always was.

I nodded, an obvious lie. "Yeah," I said quietly. My voice broke, a complete betrayal. I wanted this. I really did. Dave and I had been so close for such a long time, and he made me feel things with him no one else ever had. But part of me wasn't sure how far I was ready to actually take it.

He leaned in closer, and the warmth was comforting and sizzling all at once. "We really don't have to… y'know, hurry anything, if you don't want to," he said, almost like he knew what I was thinking. His hand fell on my knee, it saved me from the edge of my panic for a second.

I swallowed hard as my face started to heat up. The words tumbled out before I could catch them. "I just. I'm scared."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Scared of what?" There was no judgment in his voice, only concern. Always so good about that, but I hesitated, that wave of shame building in my chest again.

I looked away from him, instead focusing on a spot on the floor. "I don't look like… like them."

There was a long pause, and I could practically feel his eyes rest on me, just waiting. The lump in my throat grew bigger with every second. "I mean… I don't look like the girls in… you know, in porn, in the magazines."

I steeled myself for some sort of outburst, but Dave had simply stayed silent, letting me keep talking.

"I know it's stupid, but I just…" My voice started to break. "I'm scared that when you see me, you're going to think I'm… Y'know.. ugly."

There. I said it. What had been really gnawing at me for days, perhaps even weeks, if I was being honest with myself, was that I was afraid once Dave saw all of me he wouldn't want me anymore, that he'd compare me to all those perfect, airbrushed bodies and be disappointed.

Dave didn't laugh. He didn't tell me to brush it off. He leaned closer, leaning beside me on the bed and pulling me into his arms. I relaxed a little as the warmth of him enveloped me.

"Hey…" he whispered, his hand running through my hair. "You don't gotta be scared. Not with me."

I bit my lip, not quite knowing how to believe him. How couldn't he see what I saw? "But I don't look like them, Dave," I whispered. "I'm not… perfect."

He drew back far enough to look into my eyes. "Perfect? Who the hell is perfect?" He snorted, and with that, some of my angst dissipated, and a tiny, shuddering smile claimed my lips. "Those girls aren't real, babe. You know that, right?"

I nodded, but the doubt was there, clawing at me. "I know, but.I still feel like I'm not good enough."

Dave shook his head, his face softening. "Look, I'm not with you because I expect you to look like anyone else. I'm with you because I like you. Every part of you." His hand slid down my back in a slow, comforting motion, his words sinking in little by little.

"I don't want you to be some shitty fantasy," he scoffed now, that teasing in his voice. "I mean, where's the fun in that? You'd be all… glossy and boring."

I couldn't help but giggle a little at that. Leave it to Dave to lighten the mood with a stupid quip, but somehow, it helped. He grinned, very pleased with himself at getting me to laugh. "Seriously," he went on, his voice lowering a tad. "I think you're fuckin' beautiful. You don't have to look like anyone else. Hell, if you did, you wouldn't be you, and that would suck."

I melted into him, my head coming to rest on his shoulder. His words were sinking in. I knew it wouldn't all just magically disappear in an instant, but being here, in his arms, made me feel safe. He pressed a soft kiss to the top of my head, his lips gentle against my hair. "We don't have to do anything tonight," he murmured low and soft. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm happy just being with you."

I leaned back a bit, looking up at him. His blue eyes were somber, but there was something soft in them that melted something inside me. I knew right then he meant it. He wasn't just saying what he thought I wanted to hear. He was here-with me, in this moment-and that was enough for him.

"Thanks," I whispered, and felt the sting of tears come to the corners of my eyes. I wasn't even sure how to really explain what I was thanking him for, maybe because he was patient and didn't make me feel stupid or.because he was him. Maybe for all of that.

He smiled, cupping my teary cheek with his hand. "Don’t thank me, baby"

I nodded, relaxing into his touch. I felt like I could breathe again. We lay back in bed side by side, my head resting against his chest, his hand absently playing with my hair. I can hear his heart thudding in my ear, such a soothing sound.

[sbeep]

Time to demystify the process!!! This piece took 40 minutes or so, as I used the lasso tool to block out the foreground (and some texture brushes to paint in the snow) and a purchased licensed photograph* for the backdrop- "photobashed" in with airbrushed lighting and depth. Then, the whole thing was vertically mirrored to create the reflection and I sketched the figure in. A final adjustment of tone curves helped everything gel together.

This mash-up process saves a lot of time and energy, and lets me block in a whole scene quick enough to catch the mood and atmosphere I have in mind.

*Snowy Peaks pack provided on a freelancer/solo license.

[tervaneula]

Ohmigosh... IT'S TURTLE TERV...!!! Or Tev, for short, because I cannot for the life of me come up with fresh nicknames based on my url lmao. I've been working on this so slow because of my hand and then I got a fever but finally I can post this<3

Tev owes her life to @spacemimz who so insanely kindly wanted to make a turtlesona for me ;_; ilu Mike there are still no words to describe how much this means to me!!!!!

AND YES she is based on a diamondback terrapin!!! An absolute galaxy brain choice from Mike, I was veering towards darker coloured turtles but they didn't really feel like me and then bam, problem solved, just like that

Ramblings about design changes and stuff under the cut:

The biggest changes I did to Mike's original design (I got granted free rein with it which, AWESOME SAUCE because initially I was dead set on designing the sona from scratch) are no hair because the absolutely adorable ref had my hairstyle and it was so cute but I just can't for the life of me to get it look right ahhgdhs but hey maybe... sometimes, she will wear wigs... I also simplified the shell pattern, made the hands and feet opaque for clarity and gave her slightly different clothes (which are subject to change because I'm goofy like that).

GHHH I. I LOVE THE CLAWS AND THE BIGGER HANDS AND FOREARMS those I absolutely wanted to keep and it's also funny because I have tiny EU size 7 hands but this sona is the complete opposite. It honestly just makes me happy!!

And because I'm extra, I have now two different ways to draw her markings lol. I like the spray airbrush and the hand-saving gradient it gives but I know for certain that I won't be patient enough to always use it so the silly kinda-chibi "Gosh darn it dropped my glasses I hope no one saw" pic has all the spots hand drawn. It works well for smaller scale pics and is also cute so win-win >:3

Anywayyyy I'm in love with her and I could ramble forever so I'm just gonna hit post now ahahaghsdf

[jo-harrington]

Corroded Coffin Fest - Day 30 - Fame & Fortune

Summary: Fame and fortune mean nothing when you can't do things for the people who matter the most.

Word Count: 943

Rating: T

Warnings/Themes: Not FOI compliant (Eddie's mom dies when he's 10 or 11), angst, hurt/comfort-ish, minor grief, fluffy, Eddie has a big heart

Check Out the Main Post for @corrodedcoffinfest here! There's only one day left after today, but you can still participate.

Tagging: @the-unforgivenn at her request.

You can find my masterlist here.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

Eddie Munson was used to going without.

Shit, he’d gone without for most of his life.

When he was younger and his mom was still alive, he didn’t necessarily know that he was missing out on anything.

She did the best she could. Cooked hearty meals the way a real midwesterner knew how to do—the kinds that stuck to your bones on those cold winter nights—and made sure every dollar stretched as far as it could. That way they could have anything they needed.

And even some of the things they wanted.

Wayne upheld those practices once Mom had passed, and by the time Eddie was old enough to understand the things he might have missed out on, or the things his mom and uncle sacrificed, well…he did his best to make it up to Wayne on both of their behalfs.

Admittedly, he'd been a little selfish when the first real check came in, the first big one. Souped up the van, got it a new paintjob, a little airbrushed mural on the side that matched the cover of the first album. Replaced some ratty old t-shirts, bought some new expensive boots.

He wasn't sure what Italian leather was and if it was different to American leather but the price sure was higher so that had to mean it was better, right?

But the second check, the whole thing, went to Wayne. Despite many protests and complaints on the phone.

"You said you were sending me a little something. To help make ends meet," Wayne scolded him. "That's all I agreed to."

"La la la, I can't hear you." He and Wayne shared a laugh. "Do whatever you want with it. Cash it and put it in that coffee can under the sink. Get a new car. At least get the radiator fixed on that old clunker."

"Eddie--"

"Wayne, please. Let me do this."

The next few checks were for him again. The thing about growing up without everything you want is that when you got older and you had the ability to have them...well, suddenly you had all of it.

And Eddie had all of it.

Before long his apartment was full of too much shit that his inner child desired--action figures and that really nice minifig set for DnD and all the books he could ever dream of and several really nice guitars. It wasn't until he came home with some obnoxious model of the Death Star and that he realized he might have gone too far.

That's when he tried to go back to Wayne again.

"Oh no. No more. Why don't you do something nice for yourself?" his uncle suggested.

"I've already done enough nice stuff for myself."

"Put the money in the bank. Save it for a rainy day."

"I'm already doing that too!" Eddie threw a hand in the air and then mashed it on the top of his head. "You know if mom was still around, she would let me do something nice for her. A house. New clothes. Slippers! You remember how she always wanted new slippers for her birthday?"

"You'd ask for all the change from the cupholder in the car every time I picked you up from school so you could get them for her," Wayne reminisced.

Both of the Munson men sighed over the phone, thousands of miles apart but still sharing their forlorn thoughts.

Then Eddie had an idea.

He didn't even give Wayne a chance to tell him whether or not he thought it was good. To Eddie, it was brilliant.

And it was.

He said a quick goodbye and started making phone call after phone call to see if it could happen. The band's manager, Phil, might have been curious about the request, but was still happy to help.

It was not as wild as some other things he'd been asked to do for clients throughout his career. And for that he was grateful.

A few weeks later and everything was set.

Eddie got a flight home, just a quick visit. Crashed on the couch at the trailer--but not after a bickering match with Wayne about moving into a double wide at the very least--and then went about the business that he needed to.

He drove his rental car across town to the old graveyard, and then started his trek.

Elizabeth Munson was laid to rest in 1975; her funeral had been unremarkable but attended by many friends. Neighbors, the regulars at Benny's, people she'd gone to high school with.

Eddie remembered the way a few people had passed some cash off to his uncle.

"Get her a better headstone," they murmured, over and over, glancing at the roughly hewn stone marker set into the ground. "She was a real angel."

He'd asked Wayne about it years later, and Wayne just scratched his head trying to remember. Sure, some of the money had been used for the funeral, but the rest probably went to things that Eddie needed.

School shoes and a new winter jacket.

His mom had gone without once more, so that he could have things he needed.

He hadn't thought about it until the other night on the phone.

And now, instead of that headstone in his memory, there on her grave sat a monument of red granite with an angel embracing the epitaph in its arms.

It was big and maybe a little gaudy compared to some of the adjacent graves, but it was an emotional sight to see.

He ran his hand over it reverently, tracing his finger over his mother's name with a soft, "Hey ma."

And nothing less than what she deserved.

[reegis]

Yo! Do you have any notes/tips for your coloring process? I've always had trouble with that part of drawings looking good lmao and I really like yours! If not for your specific style, do you have any tips with that in general?

Iv gotten a few asks about how I color but iv always avoided answering because

A) I am absolutely awful at explaining things, and

B) I am a very Very lazy artist you should probably Not do the things that I do

BUT i feel bad gatekeeping(?) my horrible technique if it helps anybody ig ill try and explain so

✨✨✨Welcome to Reegis’ Probably Not Reputable (But Very Long Winded) Art Advice✨✨✨✨

line art of a random character for the example, just pic whatever colors you have in mind for your base colors, you can try using palette generators or basing it off of existing palettes/characters/whatever I have absolutely no idea how color theory works (& this is why you shouldnt listen to me) so im solely going off of vibes. but it is Rough so onto step 2 & 3

(edit to add i usually start off with the skin hair & clothes on separate clipping layers and merge them together towards the end.. i think i forgot to say that at all here oops)

I abuse the hellll out of layer blending modes. overlay, saturation & multiply mainly, but also difference, brightness & screen. (just doodle something & try all of em out to get a feel for them honestly ik theres a Lot and they can be intimidating) for this i just wanted a more cohesive warmer tone to start with so i added a peachy overlay & a slight ombré to the hair to add a bit more interest to the character.

then just the most basic of rendering, some blush & highlights just wherever i think theyd go.

Another thing they tell you Not to do, my next step is to block out all my shading in a vaguely purpleish multiply layer!!! i cant be assed to do it any other way im sorry…. once i have the basic shading down, i lock the layer & go in with air brush eraser & also airbrush in other colors wherever I think the purple is maybe too harsh/clashing

still wasnt 100% happy with the colors so messed around with some more layer filter/modes/whatever you call them then colored in my line art! i think this is honestly the saving grace for all of my art shshsdhhf color your lines people. doesnt have to be all (i dont, i like the contrast) but it usually helps to make some at least a little less harsh

then with a little more color tweaking im done! one random sleepy dude, fully colored (by my standards)

and then if a piece needs more dramatic lighting you justttt

im so serious play around with layer settings! these are just basic multiply & add(glow), there as so many others you can abuse the shit out of & nobody will know or care in your finished piece.

was this?? in any way helpful???? I hope so.

[dark-fuckprincess]

Long Post Abt World Eaters

Working on some World Eaters now. This guy is ready for oils and enamels. I did the armour by stippling with an old brush I have cut specifically for stippling. I did a grey primer and then stippled Celestra Grey, Celestra Grey/white, and then white in limited areas. Then I glazed some blue in the shadows to make the white more vibrant and strictly on the cool spectrum (more colour information is usually more interesting). Difficulty with this method is making sure moisture of brush is removed after thinned paint is applied to brush.

This recipe only took maybe 30 or so minutes to do a majority of the work. Usually my airbrush hits the executive dysfunction part of my brain and makes actually completing a miniature difficult. Taking it from airbrush station back to painting station back to airbrush for varnish back to painting station for oils. Well I've been using oils without varnishes and fine so far.

If I were to do a warm white I'd do less steps on the basecoat and really more on Burnt Umber oil wash. I wonder if I can do something similar with Paynes Grey. Could be an experiment.

This is the same mix but done with drybrushing. It's alright. Not sure which I like better. This one looks more like typical drybrushed crap texture so maybe I'll try tapping the actual brush on a damp sponge.

This is what it looks like as a wip, that horrible texture is less apparent. Still gave trim and blue glazing to do.

Both these look better than my older stippled WE imo

The one on the left is stippled. There is a big contrast in the shadows to the light areas. Just a diffe4ent look that I don't prefer. The one on the right is done with the airbrush.

Looking back a lot of those World Eaters I did don't spark too much joy. Maybe it's just the place in my life I was in at the time. Just bad feelings about them. Learned a lot about painting white though. And hey that Cataphractii on the right above is quite good imo and one of the only Cataphractii I've done that looks good. Those models are not fun to paint for me. They give me the ick. Don't like their shapes. Not friendly to my autism.

As a throwback here is my test model for my World Eaters, the first one I did ever as well as the first model where white was the main colour. The second model I did was greatly improved and was a gift for the girl I just started dating at the time and ofc us being still together I credit to my amazing skill in painting.

This of course in an amazing way fits the grimdark styling of 30k and I quite like it overall. I used a burnt umber/lamp black oil wash and learned the lesson of just how much an oil wash can darken a colour of a piece and progressively over many minis learned to push the white highlights higher and higher to fit my preferences. The Chainsaw is orange because of Chainsaw Man.

I think I'll start posting more of my old minis and projects and such. I have many pictures saved up.

I've been in a good groove with my hobby lately. Time away from painting has given me space away from my habits and a new perspective, learning to detach from old ways and learn new ones.

[honeysickledream]

Dioramas - John Price x GN!Reader

NSFW at the end, minors & ageless blogs dni cw: brief smut at the end, implied hand kink (Price has one, fight me) | that's it, i think

Thinking about Price and his diorama-building S/O. He has an entire bookshelf in his office on base that is dedicated to the miniatures you make. You’ve made mystical woodlands inside gutted old books and underwater horror scenes suspended in small resin cubes. You often do your work in the second bedroom of the house which had been converted into your art studio. It was too small to house the many tables and tools you’d need to build bigger dioramas, especially the ones that required a 3D printer, a fume hood, a place to airbrush and spray paint, and so on.

It doesn’t escape John’s notice that you’ve been itching to work on bigger projects. When you’re restless at night, you turn on resin-casting and diorama videos to fall asleep to. It creeps him out that the videos with the suspenseful music and horror elements are the ones that put you to sleep fastest but at least you manage to get some sleep.

Being the acts of service man that he is, John starts saving up money to add onto the house or to build a comfortable, livable shed out back for your art studio. He’s hiring the guys to help with the building (he ‘hires’ them by promising good food and says he'll cover their paperwork for two months). Everything you need is put into place: fume hood, windows that promote good circulation, bright lights that can be dimmed, their temperature changed to ward off headaches or strain. He finds the most trustworthy 3D printer, airbrush set-up, and sander and buffer he can and helps you set everything up.

You try desperately to teach him how to use the 3D printer, but he gets too frustrated and tells you he’ll stick with sanding and buffing whatever you need him to. He asks for videos and pictures of your most recent projects when he’s deployed or when he’s staying late at the office (bonus points if your hands are shown, he's a fiend for your hands).

He loves your mind, your creativity, the ability you have to look at something—pictures or drawings for instance—and bring the scenes to suspended life. There’s a science behind mixing the resins, letting it set, picking the tools best for the job, measuring everything perfectly…

He can’t think about it for too long or he gets aching hard and desperate to pin you down on your worktable so he can fuck you while you babble on about your newest project and the progress you've been making.

[This was all purely indulgent. I need to learn how to use resin and get my hands on it, I wanna make so many things!]

[sara-paints]

Next model slated for repainting is this guy! I wanted to get some good "before" pics, since I forgot to do that with my last Lord conversion repaint.

Not gonna lie, I'm actually pretty proud of the paint job I did all those years ago. I really don't hate this model and I love the little conversions I've done. This will be a little tricky...

Like the Lokhust Destroyers I just finished, I definitely want to keep the coolers the same, but make them look less flat with the airbrush. As you can see, I actually tried to add some texture to the flat purple area by making it look like wailing souls... I'm not sure what my intent was there, but it was 15 years ago and I was trying something new.

The guardsman he's about to skewer? 🍡 That guy I'm probably just going to mask off and save as is. The more I look at him, the less I think I'll gain from repainting him.

The base will most likely be switched out as well. B as much as I love the bisected guard under him, the base doesn't fit my other bases, so I'll be swapping it out for this one that I did a while ago :

It fits the rest of the army, it still features a dead enemy, and it's coincidentally the same size.

Let me know what you guys think!