#stylization but from the right angle they also look like cat ears)

[jatlokgwo]

[subly changes how i draw rodents in a way that will probably never be shown]

[sanguine-salvation]

『 𝙰 𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚈 𝙳𝙴𝚂𝙲𝚁𝙸𝙿𝚃𝙸𝚅𝙴 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙵𝙸𝙻𝙴 𝙾𝙵 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙼𝚄𝚂𝙴 』 .    

repost   with   the   information   of   your   muse   ,   including   headcanons   ,   etc.   if   you   fail   to   achieve   some   of   the   facts   ,   add   some   other   of   your   own   !

NAME. Viktor Mátyás Zsasz

AGE. 31

SPECIES. Human

GENDER. Trans, Nonbinary (they/them, it/its)

ORIENTATION. Asexual and panromantic. Viktor is sex-neutral for the most part, though they have periods of outright repulsion, and will engage in sex acts for the pleasure of their chosen, as a means of closeness with their chosen, or with others as a means to barter for things they need.

INTERESTS. Dancing, reading, poetry, singing, death, stars, knives, reptiles, funny little cats, very cursed things like furbies.

PROFESSION. Formerly the head of their family's publishing company, then a gambler, then for a short while as a hitman for Falcone and a bodyguard for Rokshana Tepes, and now currently the independent vessel of death granting 'mercy' to any 'zombies' who suffer the burden of life.

BODY TYPE. Viktor is shorter and leaner than most Gotham rogues, standing at 5'8" and 150lbs. Their appearance hides their strength, though. Viktor is a great deal stronger than their frame would imply, and is very skilled at leveraging larger opponents' sizes against them. They're still athletic looking, though, and despite some occasional dips in body-weight when they forget to eat or don't have the means to eat, their figure rarely fluctuates too much. They tend to get a little scragglier while in Arkham, though.

EYES.  A very bright, pale, piercing blue. They're almost icy, bordering on grey in some light, and are probably their most striking feature, especially given they're usually over dark circles or dark makeup, or more upsettingly, usually staring straight at you. It's also why they tend to wear sunglasses, along with their chronic migraines and medication-based sensitivities. Bright light can be rough on them.

HAIR. Viktor has natural sunny blonde hair, it's mostly straight, though it can have a mind of its own, and its usually styled into a short to medium-short undercut these days.

SKIN. White, warm-toned, mostly clear aside from all the tally-mark scars littering their body, from their head to their legs, and a set on the bottom of their right foot. They actually do have some freckles, but their mostly on their shoulders and arms. They have three tattoos; a laurel crown of bladed feathers on the back of their head, a hooded figure of death with outstretched bladed wings and hands in a cradling pose on their back, and a small older tattoo of some stylized flowers on the inside of their right forearm. Their nipples are pierced, it's a wonder Batman or one of the particularly scruffy Robins hasn't made a mess out of those yet.

FACE. Viktor has a lean, slightly longer face. They have clear skin barring a scar angled up from their jaw to their cheek on the right side. They have sharp features, evident cheekbones, slightly hollow cheeks from their inconsistent eating habits, dark under their eyes, and little to no facial hair (they'd shave it even if it grew at a reasonable pace, which it never does anyway). The tallies on the sides of their head stretch just a little past their hairline and into their temples, along with the edges of their head tattoo. They have a slightly larger nose with two piercings in it (septum and one nostril, left). They have a pierced eyebrow (left), and both ears are pierced. Their right ear has two lobe piercings, a daith, two conch, and a helix. Their left ear has two lobes, two conch, and an industrial. Again, a wonder that no one's made a mess of their ears yet. (They still tend to take some of them out if they know a fight is coming.)

HEIGHT. 5′8". They swear, maybe a little defensively, that 5'8" is 'almost average height, thank you' and that there must be something in the water of Gotham that they didn't get because everyone else being so universally tall has to be weird.

COMPANIONS. Viktor is mostly a lone actor, they're not one for having companions around them with the rare exceptions of the people they have gotten close enough to. Even then, Viktor sometimes distances themself out of a weird mix of guilt and paranoia. They are not used to living in a consistent place, and might wander off for a time on their own. They tend to coexist well enough with their fellow rogues, viewing them as at least being enlightened enough to not be a priority on their mission, though that doesn't mean that rogues are necessarily safe from them on that alone either. But for as alone as they try and make themself, they do get actually lonely very often.

ANTAGONISTS. Batman and his various allies, the cops, anyone who would try and stop them from pursuing their mission to 'save' as many people as possible. However, they view them as mostly just irritations— barring Batman. They view Batman as a potential equal, a possible new angel of death, and one of the few people they want to bear their death and mark one day. They have a bit of an obsession with trying to 'wake' Batman from his misguided ways, and they feel that getting him to kill them would be the ultimate victory.

COLORS. red, black, blue, pink, white.

FRUITS.  apples, pears, pomegranates, blackberries.

DRINKS. coffee, coffee, more coffee, alcohol of any kind, sipping chocolate.

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ? crème de cassis, cognac, vodka, rum, whiskey but they're very picky about it.

SMOKES ? Never, if they can help it. They can't stand the smell, though they're a little more okay with weed, and it's okay if it's leftover smells on someone's clothing. They just can't handle the actual smoke part.

DRUGS ? Occasionally, but not nearly as much as they did during their ride of the high life.

DRIVERS LICENSE ? Yes, though they're not sure if it's valid anymore given the whole murderer thing. Not that they care about being caught driving without one, that'd probably be the least of the cops' problems with them, let's be honest.

tagged by stolen from || @mxlevolence tagging: everyone!

[spottyissleepwalking]

May I request Bluestar for the character design?

I. Hate drawing Bluestar. Hjsbfnnf I can never get her to look the way I envision her…

Eh this is good enough…

Design notes:

Long, flowing mullet-mane that trails partially down her spine. Think maned lioness.

Flame-like mark on her nose. Otherwise, markings are sharp and curved, + a crescent moon mark between her eyes that she inherited from Moonflower.

Slender but strong, muscular build.

Face is long and angular, large ears, narrow eyes, sleek tail.

Wanted to keep the scar across her shoulders and her nicked ear. I’ll probably post some additional warm up doodles I did earlier about Blue in the aftermath of Tiger’s betrayal if y’all are interested in that ^^

LGBT+ headcanon: Entirely labelless. I personally like to think that she never really gave too much thought to it, more concerned and wrapped up in the expectations of others to truly sit down for a second and try to figure it out for herself. I also like to think, however, that she’s definitely ace, with no real definitive sway towards romantic partners in any way, and uses she/her pronouns.

[Image ID: A digital drawing of Bluestar, sitting upright and facing the “camera” with her face slightly angled downward; the entire image is outlined in white. She is a tall, mostly-sleek, long-legged, elegant blue-gray colorpoint cat with darker tabby markings along her legs, face, tail and ears; she has tall, large ears with the right ear nicked; her tail is long and sleek, and somewhat shaggy near the white-tipped end. She has a long, sleek mullet-mane that runs down her back; her eyes are narrowed and dual-colored, with the left being blue and the right being yellow-amber. At her nose, there is a dark, flame-like patterned mark; there is a scar across her shoulders. In the curve of her tail is her color palette, and the word “BLUEFUR/BLUESTAR” is written at her left side in white, all-caps. Across her hindquarters is the stylized artist signature of “spottyissleepwalking” written in faded lavender. / End ID.]

[mysticsparklewings]

ToonMe

Yeah, yeah, look at me super-late to the latest popular Art Challenge as usual. :P In my defense, this challenge came at like the worst possible time, just after the whole drawing tablet fiasco, and so at first that combined with me not liking posting pictures of myself that often because I am uber paranoid about turning into a True Crime documentary subject, I was pretty convinced I wasn't going to hop on this particular bandwagon. But I kept seeing other people posting there's, and I noticed that quite a few used a few tricks to hide or almost disguise the photo/face part. And after a little while, though still mildly frustrating, I did get more accustomed to the new set up I have for digital art, and well...after more time spent trying to get just the right photo of myself than I care to admit, here we are. The #ToonMe challenge is unique in that it challenged me to find the right balance between my usual style and something more realistic. My proportions are usually very cartoony, borrowing heavy inspiration from Winx Club and Anime. Sometimes my coloring is softer and slightly more realistic, and sometimes I go for hard, cartoony cell-shading. And this isn't the first time I've been challenged with drawing myself, either. The main things I wanted to do/accomplish with my take on the challenge included: • A seamless, almost hard to notice transition between the Toon Side and the Real Side (as I'd seen on others' and taken a liking to) • Capture my physical, real-world style but also not over-complicate what I'd have to draw • Capture my drawing style accurately but without compromising too much of the look of the photo • Make it unique to me. Naturally, a lot of how this process was going to go relied pretty heavily on me getting the base photo just right. I tried a few other looks and some different angles before finally getting the photo I used here out of the mix. And yes, I could've just used a photo I already had on hand like I'm sure many other artists did without hesitation, but I wanted this to be fun and just in general when I take photos of myself I like them to be just so. It's very rare that I take photos of myself, let alone ones where I'm not prepared for the world to see me. I wanted to do this right. Once I finally had a photo I was happy with, then came the real challenge of toon-ifying half of it. (Well, probably more than half, but you get the idea.) Naturally, my used-to-be-bangs didn't want to cooperate with me when I took the photo, so my solution to that was to use my hair part/line as part of the dividing point. This also works out because I feel like dividing the hair more towards the center would've made the overall diving line more obvious. Using the part as a base makes the two halves blend together better when viewed from far away/as a thumbnail. Other than that, I kept it pretty half-and-half, including leaving one cat ear on the photo side and one on the toon side. (And ironically the cat ear and the shirt are the two most realistic things on the toon side.) I found the easiest way to do the toon-ifying was to start by just tracing the real lines for the toon parts, then going back and stylizing/adjusting them as necessary. The biggest adjustments I made were the very noticeable stylization of the eye and bringing my neck and shoulder in to more closely match my usual drawing proportions. And, technically the hair, but as I said I knew going in I was going to have to deviate from the photo to get the look I wanted, stylization aside. (My hair does cooperate and look like this sometimes, it's just when I was taking photos for this it decided not to and I couldn't be bothered to put off taking photos until a day where it chose to behave. If I didn't think it was authentic to me, I wouldn't have done it.) I do wish I had reconsidered my jewelry choices because it was only after I started working on it that I realized the extra challenge I had added for myself in choosing the necklace that I did. Likewise, I know very well the chain is not super realistic, but I could not be bothered to draw all the individual little chain circles by hand. So I took a short cut in drawing two lines, one relatively straight (following the non-existent curve of the necklace in the photo), one wavy, and then erasing the second one as necessary to create the illusion of a chain instead. Also, I specifically wore those earrings because I thought they would be cute and relatively simple to draw. And while I'm very sure I could've made much more complicated choices, I was still a little overly optimistic in just how easy these would be. One of the trickier parts of the lines was actually the lips. A lot of the time I skip drawing lines for the lips, because I normally do full-body drawings where the face is relatively small and it's hard to get the lines to look right on such a small scale, but if I wanted the seamless look from toon to photo, it was necessary here. I must've re-drawn both the top and bottom lines like ten times each before finally getting something I could live with. Additionally, while I could've gone back and added weight to the lines in some places, it seemed more natural here to leave them pretty much as-is. Anyway. With the lines done, I could move on to coloring and shading. And I was actually surprised by how relatively smoothly that process went. It did take a few layers and some back-and-forth, but it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be to get the semi-realistic soft shading I needed so the two halves would blend together nicely.   Sidenote: You can hopefully see here that I try my best to be fairly accurate with my color choices when I draw myself these days, right down to the grayish-blue of my eyes. The main things with coloring turned out to be 1. getting the shadows in the right places and 2. getting the line art to be dark enough you could tell it was there without it being too obnoxious. And while I don't normally do this, I found the best way to balance out the lines was to use an airbrush to make the lines lighter in some places and darker in others. I actually had the .png file saved twice, thinking I was finished, only to end up going back and making small alterations to the shadows (mostly on the face) and the lines later. Which, it's kind of a good thing I had to do that because it wasn't until the second time I was doing revisions that I noticed I'd totally forgotten the shadow the necklace was supposed to be casting on the skin. It's very subtle even in the photo, but it would've driven me crazy had I noticed it only after it had been uploaded/posted. I also made a very conscious decision to have the eyelash/brow semi-visible through the hair. The eye is a large part of my stylization, and even though in a normal drawing I would've covered it up, it didn't seem right to just cover it up here. But it also seemed very wrong to leave it at full-color, too. So this was my compromise. Speaking of which, the eyebrow I wasn't really sure what to do with, since normally I either just do thick lines for eyebrows or if I do fully outline them, like the lips, they're usually far away and pretty small, so there's usually not a lot to do with them. Hence why that is easily the biggest and most obvious giveaway on the toon side. I was equally surprised at how easy it was to do sunglasses. I was expecting them to be trickier, being a reflective surface and all with a few notable tiny areas to worry about. But I think in the end they were one of the easiest things to color and shade. And that was pretty much all I was absolutely required to do for the ToonMe challenge. Me being me, though, I wasn't quite satisfied with just that. From fairly early on I had converted the background for the toon side into a digital flat color of my usual "mystic hue," which in reality is what the wall behind me looks like even though it shows as more of a baby blue in the photo. One of the first additions beyond that that I made was a few carefully placed sparkles for a little extra pizzazz, but that wasn't quite enough. I cycled through a few different ideas; making the whole thing into a Polaroid or setting it into a phone frame, etc. Just something to make it a little more special. Still, I ended up coming back around to one of my initial ideas: Wings. I am, after all, MysticSparkleWings. I do have a digital pair of wings closer to the shape/style I tend to use for my signature, but those aren't quite high enough quality for something like this. So I defaulted to the same pair of wings I used to make my icon/avatar ages ago, which were originally made based on a pair of costume wings I actually have in real life. And had I thought this whole thing through a little more, I could have worn them and had one real wing, one digital one. But alas, I didn't plan that far ahead and by the time I had this realization, it was very too late to backtrack it. It's funny. I made that other digital pair from my signature, hoping to make a new Eclipse-friendly icon with them, but they're too high quality (300 pixels) for that (Eclipse icons are 100 pixels, where the old dA icons are 50) and yet too low-quality for stuff like this. They're just not very good for anything, are they?   Even after I added the wings and a few extra sparkles, I toyed with the idea of doing more, but I really couldn't think of anything else that I felt really confident would enhance the art rather than take away from it. So, I stuck my signature on the glasses lens (that seemed like the best non-intrusive place for it), and left it at that. I'm sure it's not as spectacular as it could be, but I think considering I originally wasn't even going to attempt the challenge that it's more than enough. I just wish this challenge has cropped up at a better time. Somehow all the super popular art challenges seem to appear when it's the least convenient for me and thus if I want to join in I end up doing so usually after everyone else has moved on. Ah well. Maybe next time. This one's done and I think it turned out okay. Back to my regularly scheduled non-challenge related art. ____ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble |   Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

[quicksilverlightning]

I have chased you through a thousand novels.

You saw her under a black umbrella on the corner of Cherry and Wessex. Dark eyes, dark hair, pale skin; her rainbow polka dot rubber boots felt incongruous under the orange street lamp as she stepped back, avoiding the wave created by a passing taxi. The rain splatters over the taut black curve of her umbrella in a melody you almost recognize before the tempo changes with her impatience and she walks into the street just before the walk sign changes. You start from your place under the awning of a small-time lawyer in a small-time town - the compulsion to follow her, to know her, is suddenly unbearable. You duck into the rain, heading for the crosswalk, already feeling the uncomfortable sensation of water down your collar. The white walking man is blinking orange - you only have a few seconds to reach the corner and cross. Your feet graze the street just as a flashing ambulance appears from around the bend; the wail of the siren is like a death whistle, and you rock yourself back just as it passes and you can see the splash of the puddle coming in slow motion, full of yellowed leaves and you raise your arms, hoping to at least keep the grime from your eyes as you shut them tightly.

You see her again in a garden, blonde ringlets bouncing in the sunlight. Her wicker basket is full of jonquils, tulips, and a small white flower you have no name for. You place your finger in the pages of your book and rest the spine on the stone bench you find yourself occupying, breath caught between the dappled light under the trees and the translucency of her white sundress fluttering in the breeze. The hum in your ears might be the honeybees flitting in the azalea bushes, or it might be the white noise of love at first sight - you’re too caught in the moment to care which. Her blue eyes flash with a wild, untouchable joy as a dragonfly alights upon her fingers curving over the basket handle. A sudden gust sends her sunhat flying - the dragonfly takes off as she yanks herself forward to grab it, but it’s already out of her reach. The straw bristles graze against your forehead and your senses are suddenly flooded with the scent of her coconut shampoo. Your free hand rises to pull the hat down, shading your eyes from the harsh glare of the day. The heat of the desert is absolutely ruthless - your white shirt and cargo pants do nothing to spare you from the brutal gaze of the sun. The excavation is going smoothly - your team has already procured enough priceless treasures to fill a museum, and the tomb is still largely untouched. Today is the day you will remove the funeral mask - today, you will finally see the face of the woman so beloved her servants willingly followed her to the grave. You step into the tomb and the temperature instantly drops ten degrees, falling lower with each antechamber until you find yourself in the center of the complex where she awaits. The gold funeral mask is painted and stylized with harsh angles that only vaguely resemble a human face. The flicker of torchlight casts strange shadows, further distorting the false persona laid over her body. Your team is ready; all of them have gathered here for this moment, the climax to twelve years of searching. Your hands tremble only a little. The mask is cold to the touch, and incredibly smooth. You hook the tips of your fingers just so around both sides of the dense metal, pulling as gently as possible. A few strands of straight black hair rise with the mask, and fall again as you lift it away completely, leaving the face of this land’s legendary queen open to your gaze. In the dark, a black cat brushes up against your ankles. You look down, catching a glimmer of green eyes, before the cat bolts away, dodging between the puddles and garbage cans of the back alley. You take another drag on your cigarette, holding the smoke in your lungs before letting go with a sigh.Your boss is just about ready to fire you again, this time over a spilled beer bottle. It’s almost not worth going back in. You flick the butt away - it lands in a greasy puddle without a splash. You’re halfway turned towards to door when she runs by - her long black hair waves behind her like a banner and her combat boots hit the pavement like bricks as she speeds through the alley, taking almost exactly the same path as the cat from minutes ago. You would finish your turn and get back to the bar, but you saw the fear on her face - the whites of her eyes, the jerky movement of her arms, the rapid breathing that had nothing to do with simple exertion. You call out and begin to run. She makes one turn, then another, stumbling over a pile of flattened cardboard boxes and jumping over discarded two by fours. You can barely keep your eyes on her vintage bomber jacket in the poorly-lit backstreets; you rely on the sounds ahead of you to keep up, and hope you’re only imagining the sounds behind you. The passage opens up suddenly, and you find yourself in the ocean, waves crashing over the sand in cadence with the cry of the gulls. You brush the sand from your knees and reach for the surfboard that knocked you over, passing it to the sheepishly grinning boy who lost control. You make your way back to the blanket spread under the grove of palm trees, lying back to watch the clouds roll by. You must have dozed off at some point, because the sun is much lower in the sky when you open your eyes again. The sky is just beginning to glow and the ocean is a little less cerulean and a little more navy. You prop yourself up on your elbows, wondering what time it is when she walks by. Her red hair is slightly damp, clinging to her shoulders in a way that makes your swim trunks feel a little tighter. Around her neck, held loosely by a black cord, a white scallop shell hangs perfectly between her sun-kissed breasts. She’s holding a glass bottle with a rolled scrap of paper inside, and you wonder if she found it in the surf, or if she’s planning to throw it in. You pick yourself up off the blanket, stepping on to the warm stones of the cathedral courtyard. The singing is louder here, and you know you’re close to the source. You step as quietly as possible, over fallen pillars and shards of stained glass scattered all over the cobblestone. An echo of song reaches your ears, and you think you can make out some of the words. You’re on the other side now, the side covered in shadows, and you can see a set of stairs that weren’t visible from the entrance. They go up into the clouds; you grip the armrests of your seat, uneasy with the sensation of taking off. The woman across the aisle is eagerly looking out the window, watching the airport shrink into a pinprick. You wish you were so comfortable with flying. You also wish you were brave enough to talk to her - it’s going to be a long eight hours without anyone to talk to. You breathe a little easier as the plane levels out and can already hear some of the other passengers un-clicking their seat belts. You keep yours on, glancing again at the cover of her book - her palm covers the title, but the dust jacket looks familiar. You open your mouth ask her about it, but shut yourself up, quickly - you can’t bring yourself to interrupt a reader, to pull her lovely brown eyes away from the page that has so captured her interest, to remind her that her coffee is getting cold and her chocolate chip cookie is uneaten and the clouds look like they might rain and you have so much laundry to do. You’re already on the third load today, washer spinning your clothes like a personal hurricane. You can’t complain though - you always save the laundry for Thursdays. You glance at the clock just as the bell over the door jingles and know she’s right on time. The basket at her hip is full of pastels and skirts dirtied with garden soil. Her moccasins hardly make a sound over the tile as she heads for a washer only a few spaces down from your own. You can see your reflections together in the laundry shop window - her; soft, blonde, gold-rimmed glasses and beads, and you; gawky, awkward, nerdy t-shirts and Converse shoes hitting the pavement with a pile of resumes under one arm. None of the big companies are hiring much, but you might have more luck in some of the smaller businesses. You wonder if the pizza place with the cute cashier is looking for anyone - won’t hurt to give it a shot. You decide to begin your job hunt in that direction, when a sudden squeal of tires has you stomping on the breaks - the driver on the other side of the road has hit someone. You frantically reach for your seat belt, struggling a moment with the buckle before rushing over to see what you can do. The woman in the street is unconscious, blood pooling at the tip of your finger as the nurse presses it against the glucose meter. She has lovely brunette hair pulled back into a bun and all you can think about it pulling it loose to watch the cascade down her back. The prim white uniform is sterile, professional, but does nothing to hide her curves. The meter beeps with a shrill buzzing and you slow your jog to a walk. You rest your hands on your knees - maybe next week you’ll be able to keep up with her. Maybe the week after that, you’ll be able to talk as you run. Maybe the week after that one, pigs will fly. You huff and lift the package over the counter; same day delivery, just like always. You wonder what she’s sending in all these boxes, and to who. She thanks you with a pleasant smile and heads out the door to the Corvette she left idling outside. Your coworker’s radio is playing Mozart on a violin that looks older than her. Her song is impossibly beautiful, and you find your eyes watering with the sting of pepper spray. The riot shields are backing your fellow protesters into a corner, and you look for the girl with green hair, hoping she’s alright. You see her pick something up from the ground - a rock? She turns it over in a her hand, her expression curious. You move a little faster, heart racing with fear; you’ve dreamed this before, and you know, with absolute certainty, that the town’s witch is in danger. You reach out an arm to hail a cab, but it isn’t going to stop. In the backseat you can see a woman in a sharp business suit, ear pressed against a cell phone with a pained expression. Her red nails are clenched into her free palm, and her mascara is running down her cheeks. You see all this in but a moment - and then the cab is gone. Speeding around the corner, you nearly crash your bike into a woman with an armful of groceries. You yank the handlebars just in time, choosing to crash into a telephone pole instead. You faintly hear the woman drop her bags in shock - your dazed head hopes vaguely that she wasn’t carrying any eggs. You are in an empty station. The trains are all long gone for the night, save one, a black and red locomotive idling before a woman in a long brown skirt, a traveling coat, and sensible leather boots. The large suitcase sitting next to her is old and frayed at the corners; the few travel stickers are illegible now. You walk to her, one echoing footfall at a time. She turns her her to you, a faint smile on her face, as you slow, stopping barely a foot from where she stands. You say I have chased you through a thousand novels. She says I know. The train lets out a whistle as the steam bellows from the smokestack; you sense rather than hear the all aboard from the conductor. The woman picks up her suitcase, holding the bar with both hands. She turns to face you once more. Then, with that strange smile still gracing her lips, she bows, once, and boards the train. She hefts her suitcase up the stairs, the conductor following just after with a tip of the hat in your direction. You can still see her through the window of the passenger car, handing the inspector her ticket. She glances to you outside; you raise a hesitant hand and she smiles, a true smile, and waves back. The train whistles again and jerks, a fog of steam clouding the window. You step once, twice, as the train begins to pick up speed. You see the woman turn her head to the future. You stop, letting the rush of cars ruffle your hair, one hand loosely gripping at your coat, watching the train vanish into the distance. You stand a few minutes more, lost in thought, before finally moving away. With a gentle sigh you close the book.

[specialsnowflakecentral]

critique p ls!  i’ve had trouble with drawing ears and cat faces (esp expressive ones) so hmu with that good ol critique

You tried. 

So like… there’s one very big thing bothering me here and that’s that the face is very flat.

Animals can have very interesting dynamic faces when you know what you’re doing. Sure, having more detailed and dimensional bits can make drawing at certain angles difficult, but in the long run, it takes your characters a step above the shitty circle-headed cats you see all the time nowadays.

The biggest thing here is the eyes and eyebrows. In anything but a full on front view, the eyes and sockets will not have a perfectly round top. What’s implied here with the eyelid markings is that the brows are quite literally just drawn on, and that the eyes are flat. This shouldn’t be the case.

(also note here: the curve on Sweetpea’s nose here “cuts into” the far eye. yours doesn’t. the eye goes through the snout, further fucking with things)

The brows, combined with the foreshortening with the eyes makes them look flatter the more the animal turns its nose down. Without the brow cover and foreshortening, it looks like the cat’s eyes and sockets are bulging out of the skull.

Let’s also talk about the mouth really quick. Cats don’t… really have lips. I know this is a stylized drawing, but just drawing the mouth onto a vague snout shape is lazy and lacks a lot of expression.

To open the mouth of a character, actually open the mouth.

When an animal or person opens their mouth, the lower jaw/mandible physically, actually moves downwards or rotates out on a sort of hinge. The lips move more as a side effect. 

If your character is talking, screaming, sucking dick, whatever with their mouth, the chin should visibly be in a different position. With more detailed styles, you can also indicate more tension around the corners of the mouth or under the nose. 

It’s right that for a top view of a cat’s head, the chin would usually be hidden. But with an extreme of mouth movement, it’d be at least a bit visible. 

Another anatomical thing: the neck and shoulders are very off.

When you add a line to differentiate the shoulders and belly on an animal and to define the pectorals, there’s a bit of a rule to use. Place 3 points: one at the outside base of each ear, and one on the top of the sternum.

Combined with the correct curvature of the drawn body, this is a pretty foolproof method. 

You did alright, but seemed to forget that the neck had volume… which is why it seems so cramped.

Keep in mind that the flesh of the neck also connects and “drags” from the bottom of the jaw. This seems to be the biggest issue with the neck here.

The ear is also not a flat shape. Hamm here shows it better than I could: it’s conical, and curved where it attaches. 

On that note, study cat body language. The ears are rarely one-forward, one-back, if ever. I can do a post on animal body language after I recover from this one.

Otherwise? Add some more midtones in coloring, and shade that fucker.

You can do better.

-Ken

[boorat]

https://www.deviantart.com/boorat/journal/M-BN-Hero-Academia-Art-I-Want-788414779

I'd like 2 pieces in My Hero Academia(僕のヒーローアカデミア Boku no Hīrō Akademia) art style.   1.) My main OC PackRat. 2.) My Mockmaid sea-creature, Dru-Scylla! Both pieces I want in the style of a character profile sheet!  So 3-4 full-body pictures per-character with a few close up head-shots! 1 Full-body front pose in school uniform, 1 Full-body front-angle pose in gym/swimming uniform, 1 Full-body front-angle pose in hero/villain uniform, 1 Full-body back pose in hero/villain uniform, 1 unmasked head-shot, 1 masked head-shot, and 1 emotional head-shot! I got a list of character references and parts I want for each character that I'd like!   For Dru-Scylla: The head is a hybrid mixture of a Hammerhead Shark's and the 1st Nomu.  with the Nomu's metal lips. With a mixture of a boat prop and a drill bit on her nose like the character Slash from Street Sharks. Sirius's Good Ears: 4 catfish-like whiskers; 2 short ones in the front and 2 extremely long ones in the back that end in earphone jacks: Curly hair that resembles a sea anemone! A torso like the female Ninja Turtle: Four muscular arms like Fourth Kind but with fused fingered flipper hands like the Batman Returns Penguin! Fin-like wings on her back between her arms and her tortoise shell. For this version they should resemble the wings of the High-End Nomu's Shoulder-Mounted Jets: High-End has shoulder-mounted jets which can allow him to hover in the air and fly!   The legs and feet should be like those's of Froppy(Tsuyu Asui)!  Well, when bare footed her feet here should look just like slightly oversized webbed humanoid feet. Between the legs are 2 flippers en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelvic_f… The 2nd torso on her back is that of a Ganguro-style teen girl with mermaid themed features: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganguro with a cephalopod for the back of her head after her hairline like the Innsmouth siblings! They share a long muscular eel-like tail that ends in a sting-ray that ends in a electric plug stinger: Their profession costumes(hero/villain) should have goggles over the shark eyes that looks like Tsu's  a full-body wet-suit like Selkie's , but more revealing like BubbleGirl's with an animal/scaly print pattern like  the leggings/boots being more like Tsu's as for the 2nd torso's on her back her uniform is more like Midnight's but with a breathing helmet that looks like's  Ochako Uraka's !! Now for PR's design! 1st one of them in their school uniform looking like a combo of Tokoyami and Shoji  in that he’s got an animal head and aesthetic with a mouth and nose obscuring mask.  He should also be missing his left arm at half way between the elbow and sholder with the sleeve pinned rolled up. 2nd of in the UA Gym uniform showing off more of his unique physiology like his tail , winged ankles , finger-like toes, reptilian right arm  which is more muscular and larger, his left arm is a cyborg prosthetic, the light of his chest reactor shining through the fabric of his shirt, ect…   Maybe here we can have like his mugshot showing his un-hidden face and he looks like a Nomu mixed with Principal Nezu.3rd one is him in his Hero costume which mostly is his costumes in his reference images above but made to look more like how it’d translate to the BNHA style.  His mask is much more stylized like the plague doctors mask worn by Eight Precepts of Death mixed with Toga’s  gas mask, he’s hot his top hat, harness, 3 different types of swords on his back, a war-hammer on his belt, a Spartan-style shield on one arm, pouches, a single knee pad, combat boots, ect…  Basically he’d gravitate more towards Snipe or Midnight as a mentors over All Might unlike Izuku!  His hero costume would have elements of BDSM gear and military gear.

Mockmaid   mermaid   anime  Druscylla   Dru   Scylla   flying   lion   fish  star   eel   squid   tentacles   frog   legs  anthro   sea   monster   girl   woman  lady   musume   mant   sting   ray   turtle  tortoise   shell   mutant   cat   whiskers  hammerhead   shark   saw   tooth  narwhal   sword   sail   fin  

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 4 September 2017

Three comics made the favourites list this week. Made Men #1 from Paul Tobin and Arjuna Susini, Seven to Eternity #9 by Rick Remender and Jerome Opeña, and Star Wars: Captain Phasma #1 by Kelly Thompson and Marco Checchetto. Published by Oni Press, Image, and Marvel respectively.

Made Men #1 is a mix of a crime drama and horror, introducing us to the world of Jutte Shelley (nee Frankenstein), a cop who tried to leave behind a world of monsters.

While the story did grab me, what really made this book stand out was the artwork by Arjuna Susini. He has a style I’ve been seeing pop up more again recently, that shows a certain influence by Bernie Wrightson, but also artists like Richard Case, Bill Sienkiewicz, Sam Kieth, and Kelley Jones, and it’s just wonderful. Dark and evocative with nice use of cross-hatching and some hard angles, Susini probably veers closer to the Richard Case end of the spectrum. Still realistic and not nearly as stylized as Kieth or Jones. It’s very impressive work.

The introductory narrative from Paul Tobin, gives us a first-person narration by Jutte that is fairly direct, clinical, and visceral in its description of what’s going on and allows for a distinct window into the procedural way her mind works. It really aids in driving home the cop drama aspect to the story and provides an interesting lens to perceive the carnage.

Needs more talking cats, though.

Seven to Eternity #9 concludes the second story-arc of the series. And hoo, is it a doozy.

In many ways, this series has been telling the story of the fall of a hero. Or at least someone who sets out in the first issue on what seems like a hero’s journey. What Rick Remender really seems to be writing about is how the protagonist, Adam Osidis, has become potentially compromised and has begun a spiral into selfishness over the steadfastness of his father. 

Especially as a large part of this issue is a discussion on the nature of good and evil, and of how whispers and rumours--the weapons of Adam’s antagonist and current travelling companion/hostage, the Mud King--and thereby perception shape the reality of an individual. And then, of course, there’s a climactic magic battle.

All of it made beautiful by Jerome Opeña and Matt Hollingsworth. It’s nice to see Opeña back after a couple issues by James Harren--to his credit knocked it out of the park as well--as this series remains what’s probably the best looking book on the shelves.

The only downside to this issue is that we now have to wait until February 2018 before the series starts up again.

Star Wars: Captain Phasma #1, or more accurately the unwieldy title of Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Star Wars: Captain Phasma, is a direct continuation from Star Wars: The Force Awakens chronicling what happened to Captain Phasma, the First Order Stormtrooper played by Gwendoline Christie in the film, in the destruction of the Starkiller Base. Wacky hijinks ensue.

Okay, maybe not.

Although certainly a matter of coincidence in timing, Kelly Thompson’s narration for Captain Phasma serves as an interesting comparison to Tobin’s in Made Men. It too is clinical and succinct, but where Jutte is no nonsense and direct in her observations, Phasma is cold and emotionless. Both characters adhere to a certain type of ruthlessness, but one is seeking vengeance for a wrong-doing and the other is taking a pathological approach to covering her tracks. It’s interesting to see the difference in a similar narrative approach in how it relates to ostensibly a hero (Jutte) and a villain (Phasma). 

Beyond just that comparison, this first issue is compelling in its own right. There’s a nice bit of humour in juxtaposition of Phasma’s log recording of the events of the destruction of Starkiller Base and what was actually going on, deadpanning much of the explosions.

This issue also features what is probably the most gorgeous art in one of Marvel’s Star Wars titles yet. And that’s saying a bit since they’ve had artists such as Kev Walker, Phil Noto, and Salvador Larroca working on them. The art here from Marco Checchetto and Andres Mossa is just breathtaking. 

Quick Bits:

All-New Guardians of the Galaxy #9 begins telling the story of what exactly happened to Groot to make him into Baby Groot at the beginning of this volume. Aside from corporate synergy with the second Guardians of the Galaxy film that also saw the rest of the team more reflect their cinema brethren. The answer Gerry Duggan gives in the story is interesting, adding a new wrinkle to the Guardians’ tapestry.

| Published by Marvel

Astonishing X-Men #3 continues the Shadow King’s game with the X-Men trapped in the Astral Plane, this time focusing mainly on Old Man Logan. Ed McGuinness tackles the art this issue and I’m still wondering about how the overall arc will read in one go. Unlike the past two issues, though, this one doesn’t necessarily play to McGuinness’ strengths. The art is still good, but I would have expected something more bombastic or action-oriented from the story.

| Published by Marvel

Black Bolt #5, like every issue preceding it, features some excellence in storytelling from Saladin Ahmed and Christian Ward. There’s also a nice four-page sequence illustrated by Frazer Irving that gives a summary of Lockjaw’s relationship with Black Bolt. 

| Published by Marvel

Daredevil #26 kicks off the three-part Land of the Blind story-arc with the return of Ron Garney on art, delivering some absolutely gorgeous work.

| Published by Marvel

Elsewhere #2 continues Amelia’s Adventures in Wonderland, with the revelation that she’s apparently going to end this world and summarily sent to be executed. Jay Faerber’s story is still a bit of a slow burn in introducing this world, its people, and what exactly is going on, but it remains interesting.

| Published by Image

Giant Days #30 deals with the fallout of Ingrid and Daisy’s relationship. It’s a funny, but sometimes accurate, look at how a first love--or even just a new love--can affect a broader friendship dynamic.

| Published by BOOM! Entertainment / Boom! Box

Hawkeye #10 reminds you that you should be reading the series if just for Leonardo Romero’s artwork. Even if the story from Kelly Thompson wasn’t entertaining in its own right, Romero’s visual storytelling from page layouts to character work to panel transitions is just a visual treat. But the overall story is entertaining too, with some fun dialogue, humour, and an interesting take to see Madame Masque as Not-Kate.

| Published by Marvel

Iron Fist #7...just look at this spread from Mike Perkins with colours by Andy Troy. This issue is a feast.

| Published by Marvel

Royals #7 continues Al Ewing’s trip through obscure(ish) Marvel cosmic and Inhuman continuity, deftly weaving past tales into his ongoing narrative that seems to be his signature. Not to mention some great character moments and development.

| Published by Marvel

Scales & Scoundrels #1 was very nearly my fourth favourite book of the week, it’s a damn impressive debut. Sebastian Girner has offered up another winner after his Shirtless Bear-Fighter a scant few week ago. As its title suggests, this is a fantasy book taking after traditional Dungeons & Dragons tropes, but like other recent series like Night’s Dominion and Ladycastle, it seems primed to turn some of those conventions on their ear. This issue is full of humour, action, and an interesting protagonist in the titular scoundrel, Luvander.

The art by Galaad is also magical. It’s deceptively simple, reminding me of a more abstract Albert Uderzo, and it propels the story nicely.

| Published by Image  

Star Wars: Darth Vader #5 is Charles Soule’s third book this week, after Astonishing X-Men and Daredevil, and it’s another solid read. There’s an interesting missed path What If...? in the issue as Vader works to construct his lightsaber. Giuseppe Camuncoli’s artwork is fantastic as usual.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars Adventures #1 is good all-ages fun. There are two stories here, both written by Cavan Scott. One focusing on a young Rey on Jakku as a continuing story and the other a “Tales from Wild Space” tale of Obi-Wan one and done. If you like Star Wars and want to share with your kids, this isn’t a bad choice.

| Published by IDW

Thor vs. Hulk: Champions of the Universe #1 is a digital original on Comixology and Kindle from Jeremy Whitley and Simone Buonfantino. I’d consider it more light-hearted, out-of-continuity, all ages fun, probably meant to be collected in time for the Thor: Ragnarok release. It features Thor Odinson and Bruce Banner, so if you’re missing the classics, this is a good get.

| Published by Marvel

Venomverse #1 is every bit as good as the preceding Edge of Venomverse mini-series of one-and-done stories introducing some of the players in this event. Cullen Bunn and Iban Coello deliver an entertaining first chapter here, setting up not just a playground for alternate Venoms, but also a series of adversaries in ever more alternate Poisons.

| Published by Marvel 

The Woods #35 has all of the chickens coming home to roost. This penultimate issue of James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas’ series is epic. After this, I can’t wait for the conclusion.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Other Highlights: 4 Kids Walk into a Bank #5, Ab Irato #5, Animosity: The Rise #3, The Greatest Adventure #5, Harbinger Renegade #7, Inhumans: Once & Future Kings #2, Jessica Jones #12, Kingsman: The Red Diamond #1, Lazaretto #1, Millennium: The Girl Who Played with Fire #1, Motor Crush #6, Nancy Drew & The Hardy Boys: The Big Lie #6, No World #5, Outcast #30, Postal #22, Rocket Girl #9, Spider-Man #20, Spider-Man/Deadpool #21, Usagi Yojimbo #161, Venomverse: War Stories #1, The Wicked & The Divine #31, World Reader #6

Recommended Collections: Black Beetle: Kara Bocek, Extremity - Vol. 1, Iron Fist - Vol. 1: Trial of the Seven Masters, Kong of Skull Island - Vol. 2, Manifest Destiny - Vol. 5: Mnemophobia & Chronophobia, Pathfinder - Vol. 1: Dark Waters Rising, Throwaways - Vol. 2

d. emerson eddy knows where the bodies are buried. Which bodies? The ones that hit the floor in 2001.