#the background color isn't quite right but this brown is easy on my eyes so i'm sticking w it

[muffinrag]

[Image ID: a screenshot of a microsoft word document made to look like text from Disco Elysium. The background is dark brown, the font is the same, and the text is colored and formatted to look like in-game text. It reads:

Electrochemistry - He's jealous.

You - Excuse me?

Electrochemistry - He's *jealous.* Of Kim.

You - That's ridiculous.

Electrochemistry - Make the joke. I dare you.

- What, are you jealous?

- I'm not going to say that.

You - "What, are you jealous?"

Jean Viquemare - He rolls his eyes so hard you worry they might fall out of his skull. "I'm not *jealous,* asshole. I'm angry." He pauses.

End ID.]

going just a little insane with my fanfic format

[bluegekk0]

Not an ask for your AU but your drawing process. I have a few questions on how you do art and I would like to take notes as I would like to improve my art.

-how do you make your art so soft? I feel like every time I attempt it, it looks blurry.

-usually what dimensions are your images? I feel like, again, some of my art is blurry and I know part of the reason why is some of my art is blurry.

-usually what color background do you draw with? In your WIP of the Grimm art it seemed like you drew with a grey background while with some of the other arts you drew with a warmer background. Is it simply based on the mood.

That's all of the drawing questions I can think off the top of my mind now.

i'll be more than glad to talk about this! though forgive me if the explanation is a bit over the place, i'm not the best at describing my process since to me it kind of just happens haha

to answer the first question, i think it's a combination of the right kinds of shapes (rounder shapes tend to look more soft, even if the linework itself isn't) and the brush i use for my lines. it's the default mechanical pencil brush in clip studio paint, one that has a pretty low density and requires me to draw over a line multiple times if i want it to be thick. that definitely helps with making the overall picture softer, since the less "important" or inner lines aren't as pronounced. i also color the inner parts of the lineart to make it blend in a bit nicer (which also gives the whole thing a paper cutout kind of vibe, i think)

since you mentioned that your art often ends up being blurry, i'll touch up on the canvas dimensions since from my experience it impacts this aspect quite a lot. i draw on very big canvases, the default one is often 4000px in either dimension. it's definitely a bit overkill, but i'm used to drawing with a large brush size. i often end up downscaling it later to save up on storage (and whenever tumblr cries about the file size being too big), and i always make sure to use the "hard edges" interpolation method, as it keeps the lineart crispy and pencil like

as for the background, i start with a gray one since i find it to be very easy on the eyes. sometimes i leave it as it is, especially if it fits the overall color palette, but recently i started changing the tone to a warmer one, most often a muted brown. plus it adds a little bit of color to the whole piece

lastly, it's not part of the question, but a big part of the final piece is the paper texture i overlay on top. to get the best result, i put it on a linear burn layer mode with low opacity. it gives the whole drawing a more pencil or canvas like appearance, and it adds some texture to help it appear less flat. another thing i started doing recently, which i think is the most noticeable on the tone of color i use for grimm's neck fluff, is that i color it with a modified mechanical pencil brush with randomized color hues per stroke. i quite like the effect even if it's very subtle most of the time

[aalexchuu-blog]

Chapter 3: Maybe it isn't that bad in here?

Today is finally the day when the classes begin. I couldn't wait. I had Defense Against Dark Arts with da... I mean with Professor Snape and Potions with Professor Slughorn. My favorite subjects. I had my books and other equipment ready and headed towards my first class. The class room was dark, very dark only a little light was coming off candles near Professor's desk. My father always liked creating scary atmosphere. I sat in a middle row between a girl from Slytherin named Alyssa and a boy from Hufflepuff named Aaron but his friends call him 'spike'. I think it's because of his little mohawk. Classroom was full, I looked around a little I always wondered what kind of a teacher my father was. I wonder if-

*SLAM*  

- Class... Quiet, please.

*Class room goes completely silent.*

- Take notes off the board, today I will teach you about gnomes, where to find them, what are their perks and how to get rid of them.

Damn he was scary. I followed his instructions just like the rest and copied the board. Topic wasn't too bad but I think after the war, it might be a bit too easy and somehow not really that scary when you compare it to the death eaters, Voldermort and other monsters. After two hours the class was over.

- For tomorrow I want one page about gnomes. I want to see what you learnt today. Now, you may leave.

*Severus gives Alex a reassuring smile.*

I quickly gathered my stuff and followed the rest of the class as I wasn't sure where the potion class was being held in. I eventually got to the class and grabbed the first empty stool. Not long after Professor Slughorn entered the room.

- Hello class. I'm Professor Slughorn and will be teaching you all about potions. I can see you're all excited.

*Awkward silence.*

I think I was the only one who was excited, it was my best subjects after-all.  

- I want to see your strengths in this subject so for today you will be working individually but the next time I see you, you will all be paired up. Alright, who can tell me what is the name of this potion?

*With one swing of a wand Slughorn unveils half- filled cauldron. Students not sure what to say all turn to look at Hermione Granger who also didn't know what this potion was for.*

- Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, sir.

*Everyone turns to look at Alex in shock.*

- Oh, yes! Perfect. What is your name, may I ask?

- Alex Shier, sir.

- Now Alex, the name of this potion is correct but can you tell me what it is used for?

- Of course, it's basically used for beauty treatment. It will smooth any type of hair within seconds. This potion was created byt Fleamont Potter.

- Good, good. Very good!

*Slughorn claps his hands in excitement.*

- 15 points for Slytherin!

*One student pats Alex on the back, gesture of happiness.*

- Now class. Please take what you need from the shelves and start brewing.

*Students scatter around the room to grab equipment and ingredients.*

- Oh and the recipe can be found on page 116! Whoever brews the perfect mixture or will be the closest one to perfection will gain 30 points for their house! Begin!

*CLINK. CLANK. TSSSK.*

Alright, let's do this. Two drops of this, five spoons of that, pinch of grey sand and dragon's hair.  Oh! I almost forgot the special ingredient. Now it just needs to brew for a little while. I looked around to see efforts of other students but no one came even close to what I or Professor has not even Hermione Granger who is suppose to be the smartest witch of our generation. She actually looked very frustrated. Her brew smells like orange juice when it's supposed to smell like lavender. She probably added 5 1/2 spoons of dragonfly liquor. I could fix it but... I didn't want to attract too much attention.

*Slughorn can be heard in the distance, commenting on other students work.*

Mine is almost finished. I actually might grab some of that potion for my hair, it always gets frizzy in the mornings. Oh, it's finished.

- Professor Slughorn?

- Yes? Who said that?

- Me, sir. Alex Shier?

- What can I do for yo- Oh! would you look at that, it's perfect... it's absolutely perfect! Its proportions, ingredients and perfect temperature. I think we have a winner! You have a talent, pure talent which kind of reminds me of when Professor Snape was a student in here. He also has a gift!

*I swallowed... hard.*

- Thank, thank you sir.

- 30 points for Slytherin!

*Silent 'yees' can be heard in the background, some Slytherin students showing their appreciation of gained points.*

- Sir! Do you mind if I grab some of this potion?

- Of course, knock yourself out. There are empty vials at the back.

*Slughorn all happy from seeing Alex's work returns to grading the rest.*

I got off the stool to see a lot of hateful glares from Pansy, her friend Laurie, some Hufflepuffs and strangely Hermione. I acted like I didn't notice them, grabbed 2 vials, poured some potion and threw them safely in my bag.

- For our next class, can you please read a little about every ingredient that is in this recipe. I will be asking questions. Class dismissed.

*Students moving around, leaving the class room while Alex is having trouble with zipping her bag.*

Finally, I thought that I'd never close it. I was about to leave the room when Professor called out my name.

- Alex? Could I speak with you for a second?

- Yes, of course. Did I do something wrong?

- No, not at all. I just wanted to compliment you on the work that you did today, not many students are able to brew this potion especially on their first day. Magnificent. May I ask, who thought you about it?

- Oh... It was my father. He loves potions.

*Slughorn goes completely silent and stares at Alex's necklace.*

- It's a beautiful necklace...

- Wha-

- Your necklace, lily is it?

- Yes...

* Alex is shocked from the sudden change of topic.*

- I used to have a student here long time ago, she had a good heart. One day I found a half-filled bowl of water on my desk. There was lily, floating inside. It suddenly started to sink and when it hit the bottom of the bowl it turned into a little goldfish. It was a beautiful and pure magic.

*Slughorn stops for a minute, Alex not sure what to do looks around nervously.*

- Her name was Lily, the student that gave me the goldfish. In return I gave her this necklace.

*Slughorn points at Alex's necklace.*

- But... it was my mothers. My father said that it belonged to her, you must be talking about a wrong necklace. There could be hundreds of them in the world.

I grabbed my stuff and quickly ran out of the room.

*Alex slams the door and leaves.*

- I must be... *Murmurs Slughorn.*

He doesn't know what he's talking about. My mother, he couldn't know her. My father said she died in young age. That she only attended Hogwarts for 2 years. I believe my father. How could he say that to me. He's old... he probably gets confused a lot. That must be it.

*Alex calms down and goes to the dining hall for dinner.*

I decided to go with the roast beef for dinner tonight, it looked delicious. I started with the beef, and then made my way to the vegetables.

- I heard you're quite smart!

* A strange student unexpectedly sits in front of Alex making her jump.*

- Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. So tell me, is it true?

- Is what true?

*Alex still shocked.*

- That you scored us 45 points in one day, smarty pants.

- Oh... that... yes.

*Alex puts down her cutlery and wipes her mouth.*

- Nice, thanks to you Slytherin is leading the race.

- What race?

- You don't know? Each year all houses compete with each other to win a house cup. Slytherin hasn't won in years. Maybe thanks to you this year will be different.

*Stranger grabs one of the chicken wings and bites into it, grinning.*

- I'm Eli. I'm attending Hogwarts for 3 years now, well 2 if you exclude last year. I'm also a seeker in our team!

- Nice to meet you Eli, I'm Alex. I started this year.

*Eli wipes his hands and proceeds to shake Alex's hand.*

- Lovely to meet you too. *he smiles*

- So have you met any cool people yet?

- No... not really. Most people in here suck, they're all mean.

- You. are. breaking. my. heart. girl.

*Eli pretends like he's about to cry.*

- I guess there might be an exception.

*Alex smiles at Eli and his dramatic act.*

- Thank you!

- I gotta go, but if you ever need a friend to talk to. I'll be there. I know how hard it is to fit in.

- Thank you, it means a lot.

*Both smile at each other, Eli begins to leave but stops halfway and says something.*

- And Alex, generally every school suck and most of the people in it but, try to find people who don't there is a few. Trust me.

*Eli smiles and leaves.*

Eli was right, and he was one of those people who didn't suck. He was nice to me, and from what I've noticed he isn't mean to anyone and I'm pretty sure that he is friends with everyone even Gryffindor. He doesn't really fit into Slytherin, he's more of a Hufflepuff type. He was tall with mid- long brown hair, he was sporty and had green eyes. He seemed cheerful and was friendly where most of Slytherins are cold and mean. Maybe I could be friends with him? After-all he made an offer... didn't he?

The rest of the day went pretty fast. I finished my homework and also used some of the sleek potion on my hair, it was all over the place. I thought a little about what Professor Slughorn said maybe the girl that he talked about was my mother? I wonder if there is a yearbook in the library that I could look at, maybe I would recognize her somehow? I'll look for it tomorrow, the library is closed now so no point in going. Instead, I went for a refreshing bath, at this time no one was really around students either were in beds or sneaking off with their girlfriends or boyfriends for some alone time. It was a plus as the bathrooms were completely empty. I turned all of the taps on, it was amazing. So many different colors of water and soaks started to fill the bath. It was the best bath I ever had. I dried my hair and dressed myself in a pajama with house crest on it. I went back to my room. I still wasn't tired so I decided to read a little. I had my first muggle book that I have ever read with me, it was called 'Winnie the Pooh'. It was a kid's book but I didn't mind, even if it was a muggle story it was still magical, at least to me. I sat at the windowsill and found the page where I left the other day:

                                                                    'How sweet to be a Cloud

                                                                         Floating in the Blue!

                                                                           Every little cloud

                                                                         Always sings aloud.

                                                                                'How swe...'

*Alex reads the book for a while but eventually falls asleep on her windowsill.*