#thank you for adding the links!

[rayless-reblogs]

The Hit Man by TC Boyle.

an incomplete list of unsettling short stories I read in textbooks

the scarlet ibis

marigolds

the diamond necklace

the monkey’s paw

the open boat

the lady and the tiger

the minister’s black veil

an occurrence at owl creek bridge

a rose for emily

(I found that one by googling “short story corpse in the house,” first result)

the cask of amontillado

the yellow wallpaper

the most dangerous game

a good man is hard to find

some are well-known, some obscure, some I enjoy as an adult, all made me uncomfortable between the ages of 11-15

add your own weird shit, I wanna be literary and disturbed

[foxounderscorecube]

Playing playing!

[Image description: traditional art of a pink axolotl floating in blue water, looking happy. It's surrounded by smiling yellow stars. End ID.]

I've listed the original of this piece for sale on my Etsy shop!

Acrylic markers, watercolour, watercolour pencil, and gel pen :)

This drawing is Glazed. My unGlazed art is available for Ko-Fi supporters!

If you're able, adopt an axolotl to help keep their habitat alive:

[platoapproved]

So? Who broke the ice? insp (x)

[literaryvein-reblogs]

When are you updating the masterlists? No rush tho! 😊

All edited :)

Word Lists

Writing Basics. Grammar. Refreshers.

Writing Notes & References

Writing Prompts

Writing Worksheets & Templates

Character ⚜ Plot ⚜ Worldbuilding ⚜ For the Poets ⚜ Tips & Advice

[layraket]

he found a temporal solution

x x x x x

og

[mischefous]

I had seen your "I have no mouth and I must scream" comic and thought it was fantastic. And then someone reblogged one of your recent whump requests, and it was amazing. And then I just started scrolling through your blog, and I love it.

If you're still taking requests, I would love some Legend whump! Magical exhaustion maybe, or if you're feeling it, stuck halfway in and out of his painting transformation

awwweee thank you @pokegeek151!

I went with Magical exhaustion hehe. I had the idea to give him a lil bit of a nosebleed. just like what happens to Eleven in 'Stranger Things'

and ohmahgosh that 'stuck halfway in/out of his painting form' is SUCH a good idea!!! unfortunately i have no idea how I would have drawn that XD. was almost imagining like- his top half is just hanging there stuck in the wall and the poor guy just fell asleep XD

anywaysss, i hope you enjoy!💙

CW! nosebleed

also yes I'm aware his bracelet isn't there. I tried to draw it on there but it just looked awkward

[heretherebeturtles-comic]

Hello! Many people have said this but ill say it too, I LOVE YOUR COMIC SO MUCH ( ´ ▽ ` ).｡ｏ♡

I really wanted to ask you about how you do the backgrounds? (Something i struggle with) whats the process? Like from start to finish, also, to do the rise backgrounds do you use reference from the show and generally real photo of ny? Or do you come up with them? And last question- The shadow and light on the background- Like HOW

i know it’s a lot of questions but i’m just so curious qwq and wanna learn to be better, thank you again in case you read this and respond, in case you don’t, i hope you have a nice day and a wonderful life uwu keep up the great work! (≧◡≦) ♡

Backgrounds are a really broad subject and I'm always a little overwhelmed when asked this question. Just like drawing the human body, backgrounds take time, repetition, and practice!

My answer got a bit long, so it's going under a read more :) but if you digest info better in video format I found this on youtube

It pretty much goes over everything I wanted to say, but in a much better way. I wish I had found it before writing all this out lol

ok, first of all, I'm not a teacher nor was I built to be one of those cool helpful art tutorial people who do a full coloured tutorial filled with illustrations. This is just going to be a messy "how I do backgrounds / environment layouts from start to finish." kinda thing.

... lets start with a sight tangent.

Sketch from Life!!!

If you want to get better at backgrounds I recommend doing some sketching out in the real world!

When I was first getting into doing backgrounds I went to cafes and parks to just sketch the buildings and objects. Sketch rocks, flowers, clumps of grass, garbage cans, bottles, tables, street signs, etc. If you are drawing a tree observe how the trunks twist, how the bark flows, or how the leaves are bunched.

If you can't leave the house the same still applies! Sketch the interiors of your house, the walls, or common objects like chairs and bookshelves. How are objects stacked? items on the floor?

If you aren't comfortable with drawing outside or in public you can take some photos to draw from! They are good for practice and you can use them again as references later. Alternatively you can find pictures online of buildings and objects to sketch as practice.

All spaces have objects in them, it becomes easier to draw those kinds of spaces when you already have spent time observing and sketching them.

ALSO! They don't have to be good sketches! It's just to build out your mental catalogue and strengthen your perception of perspective.

now the actual thing...

BACKGROUNDS

(the pictures used for this are my own. I dug them out of my 2022 folder)

Backgrounds have slightly different rules based on what you are making them for. Videogame Environment Concept Art vs Animation Layouts vs Comic Backgrounds vs Illustration backgrounds.

They all follow the same basics, which I will go over here, but the intention and function of those designs are going to be different. It's all about how you set up the scene and what it's purpose is!

Brainstorming and Thumbnailing

I like to think about a location as though it is a character. An abandoned old house with creaky sagging floorboards is very different from a futuristic space ship with sharp metal floor panels. A gas station has a very different feeling from a library.

I usually start by asking what is this location's story? Why was it built and for what purpose? What kinds of things does this room need to fulfill that purpose? You don’t need solid answers, but its good to be thinking about it while you are working.

Next, sketch some ideas for how this place is going to look. For me, this usually involves drawing the idea from multiple angles and then making lists & small sketches of the objects I think should be filling the space.

Example: The main character of my original work is a Wanderer. They collect a lot of things on their travels, but those items have to be small enough to be easily carried in a backpack. I wanted his room to be in the corner of an attic, walled off by curtains, and filled with trinkets. You can see some of my brainstorming above.

References

I only look for references after I've done some sketching and planning; this is to solidify my idea first so that I don't accidentally copy anyone else's work. I will make a moodboard with pictures of lighting, colours, items, rooms with specific ceiling beams, old chairs, etc. basically whatever I feel fits the vibe.

Honestly, I don't use references as much as I should. For ROTTMNT fanart I look at backgrounds and screenshots from the series to study the style. I also reference actual photos of NYC to get a feel for how Rise condenses the visual information.

In general, it's good to have references of real life objects/locations, because there are so many details like cracks in pavement, stickers on polls, crowning on buildings, fancy fencing, weird chair legs, etc. that you might not think of. It's the imperfect details that can make a location feel more alive.

Perspective

Once you have your chosen sketch we move to.... the infamous perspective boxes. Doing backgrounds is just learning to be comfortable drawing So Many boxes and carving items out of them.

Many better artists than myself have made videos on perspective, vanishing points, and all the technical bits. Videos like THIS ONE and THIS ONE are helpful (this post is great too!!). There are probably a lot of classes to be found on Skillshare or Schoolism. I learned a lot of this in my college art course, so I can't give you a specific video which helped me.

You can get by and be a good artist without learning this stuff. There are quite a few successful artists who have admitted they never bothered to learn perspective (one of these people even made a whole graphic novel series).

I personally avoided properly learning this stuff until I was in my 20s because I thought it would be boring and difficult to do. tbh I really wish I had learned it earlier because it's so much fun to make those silly little boxes imo. It looks scary and complicated but, just like drawing humans, it just takes time, repetition, and practice to develop the knowledge and skills.

Cleanup

You have your boxes and lines! Cool! Now to make a scene out of it. Fill in the details, get everything placed were you want it! Generally, the lines of each item will point back towards the horizon line, but they can have different perspective points.

Generally you would want to clean it up and get your room completely sketched before doing the lineart. I tend to combine the steps (not recommended)

Lineart

I've mentioned how I do this before. Closer objects have thicker lines and more detailed inside. Further objects have thinner lines and less detail. I didn't quite achieve that balance with the image below, but it's close enough.

Colours and Shading will have to be a separate post. In the meantime, I highly recommend the book "Color and Light" by James Gurney. I used to borrow it from my local library and a good chunk of my knowledge was learned from it :)

[joyfuladorable]

Mikey and Raph being besties and rassling (From the book Lean, Green Smackdown Machine!)

[puppyeared]

The garment, worn by those in good standing with Hyrule royalty, has been reworked with the latest improvements, such as a new shoulder guard.

[creativesplat]

I would also like to see some miphlink, if that's okay!

I was really struggling with what to draw, and then I remembered your ask from ages ago (dang ADHD brain...) anyway, sorry its such a late answer, but Miphlink inspired by Dicksee's La Belle Dame

[catofoldstones]

Lady as the priest’s favourite sacrificial lamb - so docile and sweet and I hold very still when they put the rope around my neck

Bran I - AGOT // Wolf in the Moonlight by Fredric Remington - 1909 // St. Francis Comforted by an Angel by Francisco Ribalta - 1620 // Sansa I - AGOT // Akela the Lone Wolf by Maurice and Edward Detmold for Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book - 1903 // Sansa I - AGOT // Eddard III - AGOT// A Dead Wolf by Jan Fyt // Eddard III - AGOT // The Sacrificial Lamb by Josefa de Ódibos - 1684

[storge]

What if I told you, you can go back to the past by using a picture. Do you want to experience it?

Link Click (2024)

[mvsic0]

toralei caressing draculaura’s face with her tail and covering for her being a witch while a music cue plays i won (i have no idea how to link vids on tumblr TRUST ME)

[sehaniine]

what if zelda’s dragonification left a different kind of scar?

[everynicorobin]

Current funds: €6,643 / €15,000

#161 on the Vetted Fundraisers Google Doc

Let's work together to get this fundraiser to 100%! If you can't donate, please share this post/link!

If this fundraiser gets shut down before reaching its goal, I will replace it with a new one.

[always-a-joyful-note]

Welp. Tag tagged by @justplaggin for the game

rules: spell out your name or url with songs

I couldn't resist, and thank you very much for it, Jay/Plagg!

To challenge myself, I'm gonna see if I can stick to songs from anime East Asian shows/stories

A - All-in (Alien Stage)

L - Last Dimension (TRIGGER)

W - wi(l)d-screen baroque (Revue Starlight)

A - Artistic Partisan (ALKALOID x Valkyrie)

Y - Yumemiru Architecture (Kagehira Mika; Enstars)

S - STRONGER & STRONGER (Zool)

A - Ame (MEZZO)

J - Joker Flag (IDOLiSH7)

O - OMEGA (STEREO DRIVE FOUNDATION; Yuukoku no Moriarty)

Y - Yume Shizuku (Re:vale)

F - Forever Note (MEZZO)

U - Until it Dies (覃云; Link Click)

L - Lily (Luck Life; Bungo Stray Dogs)

N - Now and Then (Re:vale)

O - Or the Beautiful Golden Drop (Knights; complete version out on May 22, so have the game version)

T - THE POLiCY (IDOLiSH7)

E - Eccentric Party Night!! (Five Eccentrics)

19 songs...and I tried to find ones that I genuinely enjoy right now (RIP to me making this challenge harder), so hence, the above mostly-Japanese-dominated list.

No pressure tags: @bobisnolongerhere @lizzieonka @rosencrantzsguildenstern @msperfectsheep-posts @mahounonbinary @praise-the-lord-im-dead @nitunio @akitchenknife @teslathelame @koi0boi @mihai-florescu @forebodinglight @imissthembutitwasntadisaster and anyone else seeing this because i am now incredibly curious about what songs you will choose (im so sorry if I forgot someone)