#these are actually doodles on the canvas on a proper thing I’m drawing

[jeena-says-hi]

My bio: “will make occasional fanart”

The fanart in question:

[simp-for-fictional-hotties]

Writing One shot: Lucifer Morningstar ★

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

⋆ ★ Character: Lucifer Morningstar

⋆ ★ Fandom: Hazbin hotel

⋆ ★ Plot: Lucifer x Artist!Reader

⋆ ★ Requests: Open

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

Part 1.

Read Part 2 here:

✦ The only thing that you ever cared about was making art. Not the person screaming for help while getting stabbed at a park you always visited to draw the landscape and animals. Not the time where you saw a person hanging on for dear life on a tall building from a failed parkour stunt, yelling for someone to save him, obviously you didn’t, you were too busy drawing his expression.

✦ Maybe those types of actions are what made you go to hell instead of heaven..

✦ But now that you are in hell, there is a whole new world of things to draw, paint, sculpt, doodle ect!

✦ You never were actually the murder type, or violent, not even cannibalistic. All you wanted to do was create art. That was your passion. Even if it meant being a bystander who simply didn’t care enough for others.

✦ You drew many things in hell, landscapes, animals, people, scenes that you saw happen before your eyes.

✦ You even had a power, every Sinner was born with some power, most small some big. You were lucky enough to have a decent power. You called it, the power of creation. And you used your power many times.

✦ Though your no Overlord, atleast you never tried to be, you still lived in hell pretty well.

✦ Your day was just like any other, outside drawing a scene happening in front of you, a group of mobsters beating up a lanky Sinner out on the street.

✦ When you heard a familiar voice.

✦ “Oh Y/n! I haven’t seen you in ages, still drawing I see?”

✦ Alastor greeted with a smile, a smile of which never left his face, is he actually happy to see you or is he just faking it. Who knows? Not like you care.

✦ “what a stupid question..”

✦ Your eyes never left the canvas and mob scene in front of you, not bothering to greet the Radio demon or give him a proper answer. Though, it doesn’t seem you need to since he already knew the answer.

✦ “You must be wondering where I have been all this time, Hm?”

✦ He questions with a radio tune in his voice. Which you simply hum to, only half listening. Noticing the half present state you were in with him, he smiles a little less, only a little. “I see that you are busy, as always. I was just wondering about telling you something you might be interested in…”

✦ The radio Overlord purposely trailed off, becoming more pleased upon seeing your eyes finally move his way instead of the art you’re always indulging in.

✦ “Interested in…?” You knew when Alastor says a sentence like that, he’s serious and never disappoints.

✦ Alastor waves you off in dismissal, “Oh never mind, you’re much too busy with your current drawing. Maybe some other time in the future” his smile grows when you take the bait.

✦ “Just tell me already, who knows when ‘the future’ will actually show up.” He now had your full attention, stopping your hand from drawing any more. Alastor leans against his radio staff.

✦ “I’m working on a project with a certain someone that I know you would love to be apart in” he says with confidence.

✦ You raise a brow at him, even the thought of him with a business partner sounded off, who knows what the actual project is. “Well? Tell me.”

✦”let’s just say it’s a hotel for Sinners looking to be saved, someone came up with that idea, you know… A certain someone’s daughter.. a daughter who’s the princess of hell~”

✦ You, a person normally uncaring and composed, perked up at his words.

✦ A hotel of redemption, planned by the princess of hell….meaning she was the daughter of…

✦ “Lucifer’s daughter?”

✦ Alastor chuckled at the rare sight of the normally emotionless Sinner.

✦ “Yes my dear, Lucifer.”

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

Part 1 end.

[quibbs126]

Heck I don’t actually remember if Pure Vanilla/Dark Cacao was a request or if it was something I just planned to do on my own. I know it started out as my own idea, but sometimes that happens and then before I get to doing it, someone requests it and I just make it a request, and I don’t remember if that happened here

But regardless, this was a drawing I made of the idea for a purecacao fankid on it’s own, and I’m posting it as such

Now you’ll notice that this isn’t my usual format. This is because this isn’t her official design, it’s just that last night, I had this idea for a design of her as a young child with Dark Cacaoian clothing, and so I just wanted to make a quick doodle to show you

It was just going to be that picture in the middle, as it’s more sketchy and rough, and clearly not how I usually do these fankid requests. However when I finished, I realized that I made her too small. See, if I may explain some things, for my poorly drawn comics and other things that use that particular brush (it’s the Narinder Pencil if you want to know), and I don’t like enlarging pictures drawn with it because the lines get all blurry and it loses its texture. Prior to the Charcoal Cheese comic, for my poorly drawn comics I tended to enlarge the sketch to fit the screen, and then I’d completely redraw the lines. But here, I had already colored the whole thing, plus it was multiple layers to redraw, so I didn’t want to. But I couldn’t just crop down the canvas to fit it because my square canvases are already 500x500 pixels, they’re very small (and also I think the small size might account for why they may not show up in the best quality, but I’ve been using this size for over 2 years and I’m set with it, and I feel like changing would be too much effort). And I feel like making it even smaller would just tank the quality even more

Though to be honest, I’m glad I made a second version with my proper sketching process, as I was better able to figure out her colors and design

Speaking of her design, yeah this is sort of what I’m thinking for her look, at least in terms of hair, dough and eye color. She’s not gonna keep the braid though, that’s just a kid thing

I feel like maybe I should give her streaks, but I’m not sure where to put them or what color

Also I realize that I forgot to put KitKats on her design. I wasn’t planning to originally since this is a little kid’s outfit, but also in some of the artbook drawings, young Dark Choco had small Oreo shoulderpads, so maybe she should have something similar. I had an idea for her wearing tiny KitKat shoulderpads, but I forgot them. Ah well

Hmm, does she look like a purecacao kid? I’m looking at her and I feel like she looks more like her own character than related to them. Maybe it’s the lack of streaks

Oh yeah, and one more thing I want to add, I’ve decided she’s a post-canon kid, as in Pure Vanilla and Dark Cacao got together after the events of the Dark Flour War and canon in general. The story in my head goes that Dark Cacao developed feelings for Pure Vanilla, but was hesitant to tell him about it, maybe because he’s socially awkward and wasn’t sure how to, maybe because Pure Vanilla and White Lily had something going on and he didn’t want to stir up drama between them. But regardless, Dark Cacao felt that it wasn’t so much of a big deal since they were immortal, he could tell him when he felt it was right. But then the Dark Flour War happened and Pure Vanilla seemingly died, with Dark Cacao never telling him how he felt. But then years later, Pure Vanilla came back, and while Dark Cacao was of course overjoyed, it also caused him to realize that even being immortal, they don’t have all the time in the world, and he needed to tell Pure Vanilla how he felt, and so during the events of Odyssey, he confessed to Pure Vanilla, and then likely sometime after Dark Enchantress’s defeat, they got together, and later had this girl

Also this means she has a (probably) 30+ year older brother in Dark Choco, but it’s all good

I feel bad just keeping her unnamed, but I don’t know what to call her. *sigh*

Any suggestions?

But yeah, I just wanted to show y’all this idea. Don’t know when I’ll be finishing her, but I’ll draw her officially at some point

[seawing-vibes]

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYPONY ! ! Here’s some art summary thangs <3 ! Template is by Mintcokev on DeviantArt !! I did one of full pieces and one of Sillay Doodles

Explanations of every piece & stuff is below read the readmore ! + links to the full work if its posed online !

First Template:

January -> This Sora Piece ! I am honestly still super proud of how it turned out , it was fun to work on and looking at it still gives me that nice vibe I was in while drawing it

February -> This headshot of my OC Elk! I developed and expanded on her story this year and did some headshots for their TH, still super proud of how the shading came out here ,,

March -> lmao nothin , not sure what happened in March but I dont have anything there aside from sillay Doodles

April -> This design of Blaze! One of my fav designs I’ve done recently .. shes just so sillay To Me

May -> This piece of my friend and I’s cat ocs ! Stickpaw & Frostclaw, two silly fellas <3 something possessed me here I’ve never drawn a kibby this well since and Im still super proud of this

June -> This reference of my oc Dee!!!! ITS DEE ! ! EVERYONE SAY HI TO DEE <3 ! ! ! ! ! I was so happy to finally give her a proper ref , shes one of my favorite ocs of all time and this came out so well , it looks so much like her!!!!

July -> This artfight attack! This piece was honestly just a blast to work on, the background and frame design and expression were all fun to illustrate

August -> These refs of my lomp ocs! Lomps are fictional guys made by my good friend and August was just the Month for them. These guys are (bottom to top) Fizz, Roe, and Skipper! They’re . Normal <3

September -> This piece of my fursona Kenny ! ! Just a fun piece to work on again, the colors came together way better than I thought they would

October -> This piece of my oc Houndcall! They’re feeling normal about their leader being possessed! This was like a weird experimental painted piece and ou .. I really loved working on it I wanna do more things with that method

November -> Not posed online! Surprisingly, this is a wip of a self-portrait I’m doing for class! Fathead Minnows and Rainbow Trout !! This canvas is massive (taller than me ,, which aint much but still!!) and I’ve been cracking at it for a while but hammered out the details of the trout in November so! It’s acrylic but I really wish I could’ve done oil instead .. acrylic dont blend well

December -> The final fella ! My idiot son ! Also not posed online , this is a linocut printed on hand-made paper! Fun fact, I make my own paper and my own Lino cuts as my main medium, I just cant afford the proper transfer ink, but I got some from school to use so ! My idiot dragon linocut son was born ! I hate him because he wont print proper but this piece ended up working out. Its lino-ink on handmade paper with red micron pen over it

Second Template:

January -> DNA Helicase

February -> Valentine’s Day Gift <3 !

March -> Not (publicly) posted online doodle of my epic oc Anton Bayheart giving his grandson a thumbs up :)

April -> Not (publicly) posted doodles of my ocs Sebastian (left) and Dee (right) (you saw her ref earlier <33) having a normal convo !

May -> A shot from This video of my friends ocs … the one depicted is Quickpaw <3

June -> Not posted doodle of Breezewhipser giving Rippletooth some good advice (it was not good advice) (ripple just learns hes aro)

July -> Not (publicly) posed doodle of my Oc’s Garret (BALD) and Benny (TIRED) . Also just two normal guys (they’re divorced) (and obsessed with eachother)

August -> This doodle of my ocs Savi & Skipper (Skip’s ref is in August first template <3) . Music taste

September -> a small part of this cat sketch page ! Beetlekit getting bullied by his cousins

October -> This doodle of Skipper . I appreciate him

November -> I dont know where this came from actually. Its my friends oc’s Redstone and Bumblebuzz staring kitty-like at my oc Specklestep (she is married to Red and Bumble is their daughter)

December -> Doodle of Tide from this whiteboard ! !

Have a great new year everyone ! ! ! Thanks for reading through all that if you did lmao

[kimamanitranslate]

Haruhara’s Chapter Commentaries: Senyuu F5 Ch. 1-3

Haruhara has uploaded some extra commentary and sketches for some chapters in Senyuu F5 and Senyuu+. I include the images in these articles only if (a) they’re free to view, or (b) they have content to be scanlated- otherwise, I only include a text description of them.

Please do not repost the text and/or scanlations here to another website, especially Twitter as that’s where Haruhara is. (Feel free to discuss the contents of these posts wherever though.) 

And please consider purchasing the raws if you enjoy any of the content here!

This post translates the articles for F5 Ch. 1, 2, and 3.

List of all commentaries:

Haruhara’s Chapter Commentaries: Senyuu F5 Ch. 1-3

Haruhara’s Chapter Commentaries: Senyuu F5 Ch. 11-17

Haruhara’s Chapter Commentaries: Senyuu F5 Ch. 18-32

Haruhara’s Chapter Commentaries: Senyuu F5 Ch. 43-45

Haruhara’s Chapter Commentaries: Senyuu F5 Ch. 46-53

Haruhara’s Chapter Commentaries: Senyuu F5 Ch. 54-60

Haruhara’s Chapter Commentaries: Senyuu F5 Ch. 61-67

The Commentaries section of the Senyuu online reader (kimamanitranslate.tumblr.com/senyuu#commentary) should also have an up-to-date list of all current chapter commentaries.

Note: No chapter commentaries exist for Ch. 4-10 and Ch. 33-42.

Senyuu F5: Chapter 1

Raw: ch.nicovideo.jp/haruhara-ch/blomaga/ar1736317

My first new series in four years, Senyuu Reload, has begun. It tells the tale of what happens to Alba and the others after the end. I began thinking of the story while writing Senyuu+.

Everyone, please journey along with Alba and the others!

Since I’m drawing Reload as a normal paneled manga on a normal manuscript-sized paper, I’d love to have it in a proper volume someday.

[Image: A high-quality, coloured version of the below (taken from F5 Ch. 1)]

I redraw this scene to be new and fresh. Since I might as well, I’ve uploaded a big colour version here.

I want to make can badges someday.

Senyuu F5: Chapter 2

Raw: ch.nicovideo.jp/haruhara-ch/blomaga/ar1745538

At first I planned for them to meet in a town, but when I drew them facing off in town, I thought, If I put them in a forest, won’t it look like that panel in Yu Yu Hakusho? and let my personal tastes go wild.

Senyuu F5: Chapter 3

Raw: ch.nicovideo.jp/haruhara-ch/blomaga/ar1745545

This was the first battle scene I’d drawn in a while, so it was a little embarrassing handing over a serious storyboard to the editor I’d given nothing but Senyuu+ gag plots for the past four years. It felt like showing a manga I actually put effort into to classmates I always just joked around with.

Lolo Fry Mitts. His name has no real inspiration. When I decide on Western names, I either pick random German or English words or choose whatever sounds good to me. His name was just something that sounded good to me.

When I choose based on what sounds good to me, names tend to get influenced by my own tastes, so the probability of stretched-out sounds in the name increases. (Like with Alba Paulred). I think this is because my favourite Western name is Tifa Lockhart.

(T/N: In Japanese, all of these names include a dash (ー) that indicates a stretched sound.)

Tifa Lockhart really does have a good ring to it. In terms of personality, I prefer Yuffie Kisaragi though.

As with manga drawn for a magazine, I draw Senyuu F5 panels on a large canvas, then my editor trims it a little before publication. The whole thing including the entire outer frame looks like this:

(T/N: I included the F5 version as well for easy comparison)

Try comparing them!

[Image: Natsu snapping Teiba’s leg in two at his ankle]

For this scene, I originally intended for Lolo’s leg to be blown off instead of just broken, but I decided that even Lolo wouldn’t be able to stand with a leg blown off, so I let him off with just a broken one... though a normal person wouldn’t be able to stand on a broken leg either.

[Image: Rough doodle of DakiKaba with brown hair and Natsu with red eyes and black hair]

Here’s a doodle I did on the edge of my storyboard.

[euphoriacrossing]

So, uh finally got my journal stuff.

I put it together yesterday, I am SO excited about it, it's better than I thought, BUT I have eight dividers (and can actually have more sections than that if needed because I have more dividers, plastic folders I can use to separate, and extra tabs I can use to label) and I don't know what sections I want to put so I can write it on the tabs.

I was thinking things like a tab for character profiles for the villagers, a tab for friend profiles, a tab for collecting and crafting, a tab for decorating, a tab for bells and budgets, things like that. I don't even know if I can come up with eight solid good sections, I might need to take some dividers out but we'll see.

I also have seen some pretty cool layouts. Like a play tracker someone made, I actually had a sheet come with my journal that had the months and days all listed in a chart so i am using that. But if you have any cool journaling layouts so far i would love to see them.

I am gonna try to print out my dodo airlines ticket and avatar from piccrew to paste in my journal since I can't draw. I have TONS of stickers and glitter glue and craft stuff so I might decorate my dividers with non-AC related decorations just so they are cute but I don't waste too many of my AC stickers though I guess I can always order more from etsy (lol, not really because I have already spent too much money and it's just the first of the money... but I mean, if it becomes an "emergency" I can and I can always purchase them at later days), and I actually still have some coming from etsy.

I ordered some gold letter stickers to spell out "New Horizons" on the front of my journal. I decided I just wanted to put that instead of my island name which I'll put inside on a "title page" of sorts. That way if I change my name for my island before the release I can just rip that page out and do a new one.

Oh I have both a clear pouch where I can put stencils and I have some stickers stored, and a fabric pouch where I have a pen, a stylus, and my amiibo cards. The fabric pouch I have clipped into the discs, but on the front so it doesn't hold the cover open. I know they have those pouches you can slip onto the planner with an elastic, but I like this little clip on one better. It's really small and only fits like one pen along with the other things which is usually less than I would carry BUT I guess this is already a bulky enough planner, I'm already unsure if it will fit in the AC sling bag with my switch, so best not make it any bulkier. Though my journal/planner did come with a canvas case, and it's not too much bulkier but it is a good place to store stickers and pens as long as I don't bulk it up too much, and that should help protect it if I shove it in a bag.

I guess most AC journaling will be done at home, but sometimes I go to my grandmother's or the hospital and I might want it with me to use depending on what info I end up writing down in there and how useful it becomes to me, I am not sure. I mean, I definitely have bags it will fit in along with my switch, but I ordered the AC sling bag because it was cute and I wanted to carry it, so if it doesn't fit I will possibly not be carrying it as much.

Oh also my journal stuff came with these nifty clip in to-do lists which I have a feeling i will be using to better make use of my AC time. I got some weekly planner sheets as well. I also have the monthly ones which were unnumbered so I went ahead and numbered those. =/ Tedious work. But now the monthly ones I will use to write down events, holidays, and birthdays, and I will leave those in there. The weekly planner sheets I just put in six weeks worth, and I will probably just do six weeks at a time and tear them out and throw them away when I'm done. That way I am not taking up too much room on my discs, but I can write more detailed plans and things I need to get done on those, but after I DO those things, I won't need the weekly pages at least I hope I can part with them. I am trying very hard not to make this a AC /diary/. I want it to be more like a reference book for my Island. The difference being one is nostalgic for me and the other one is actually useful to me OR anyone who might play on my island. Like if it's a proper reference someone else could pick up my switch and play and have access to say my Islanders birthdays, or the native fruit, or how much I was intending to spend on this, that, or the other. I don't know how many people intend their journals to be more like a diary, but I don't want to waste time writing things down that will only be nostalgic to me, instead I want the GAME to play as my sort of diary, for the memories I make to be playing, not writing. I want to write down things I need to remember and not just things I want to remember, I'd rather those just happen as in game moments. And if I want it to be a diary in the future, since it is discbound I can do that. But to start off that is not what I am going for. So that being said, hopefully I can part with the weekly pages and just throw those away since they won't really likely contain and pertinent info I will need in the long run. And any that do contain like birthdays or events, those will be added to the larger calendar so I won't need the weekly pages to remember when those things are.

Anyway, I am overall pretty excited about my journal being here and being able to work on it. I actually listened to some music yesterday while working on the calendar and it was kind of fun. Now I can just test different layouts, and things like that. My stencils come tomorrow I think. I ordered two sets actually so I could have more little doodles. And I can test what pens work the best and all that. It gives me something New Horizons related to do, which considering that's all my brain really wants anything to do with right now, it makes a huge difference for me.

If you have any ideas to help me with my journal, feel free to share them either in a reblog, or reply, or tag me in a post on here, whatever. I'd love to see your layouts and hear your ideas for different sections and stuff. Oh! And if you can think of anything else cool to print out for my journal, let me know! I know a lot of people are doing the dodo airline's tickets and I am gonna do that plus the piccrew avatar, but is there anything else cool I should print out? Like any reference guides or information that might be helpful when playing?

I know some people are already writing down friend codes and what not. But I am going to wait until I actually add people which will be closer to when we can actually play together.

But other than that, PLEASE share your ideas with me. =)

[dandeaix-oomph]

incomplete THEY FUCK IN THE COFFIN chapter 4: cooking/drunk

Day Thirty-Two.

Ogata wakes to Sugimoto kissing him on his shoulder.

“Get up,” Sugimoto whispers, his eyes glitter-pen gold in the dim light. “It’s snowing. First snow. Come watch it with me.”

Ogata doesn’t care. He pulls the blanket tighter around him. “I want to sleep.” 

“You can go back to sleep later.”

“No.”

For a moment, Ogata thinks that he has successfully dismissed Sugimoto as the bed dips and lifts as Sugimoto slips away. Then Sugimoto’s shadow falls over him and Ogata is scooped out of bed, blanket and all.

Sugimoto’s grin is too fucking bright for the asscrack of dawn. “You can sleep if you want,” he taunts, carrying Ogata out into the living room. 

The couch is pushed up against the window; it seems Sugimoto has been prepared. He dumps Ogata onto the couch before sliding over the armrest, sliding the windows open as he hangs his arms out.

Cold, Ogata thinks, bundling himself up with the blanket. He hasn’t bothered putting on clothes after last night, what with Sugimoto acting as a human furnace beside him. “Winter sunrises are dreary,” he comments, leaning against Sugimoto. 

Sugimoto raises an arm and hooks it around Ogata’s shoulders. “But I like to watch the snowfall.”

“Hmm.” Nuzzles Sugimoto’s chest. It’s like a memory pillow. “No snow in space?”

“None at all. Only rain and hail and occasionally, flaming debris.”

Ogata snorts. “Flaming debris? Very creative.”

“I don’t know what’s up with that too.” He buries his nose in Ogata’s hair. Kisses his hairline. “Don’t worry, no one has ever been struck by it yet. It’s like those debris have eyes: they don’t strike people.”

“So they are… semi-sentient?”

“Who knows.” Sugimoto stares out of the window again. “As much as sacred sites have their spirits, I suppose.”

-

The mortality rate always goes up during the winter season, but Ogata thinks he can afford to take a break, just for a day.

He switches off his phone and leaves the closed sign on the door, and after turning up the heater, spends the morning sitting on the kitchen counter as Sugimoto tries to prepare them a meal - an attempt quickly abandoned after Sugimoto realises that Ogata has been stealing the sliced sashimi every time he looks away.

“Out,” Sugimoto commands, trying to shove Ogata out of the kitchen. “Or there’ll be no more gourmet dishes for you.”

“Who cares,” Ogata replies, and proceeds to stick his hands down under Sugimoto’s pants.

“You know,” Sugimoto mutters, after they ended up making out on the kitchen floor and leaving Ogata frustratingly hard, “there is something I want to show you.”

“Your dick anytime soon, I hope.”

“Wait, wai -” Sugimoto seizes Ogata’s wrists. “Give me just five minutes. You see what it is, then we’ll get to fucking on a proper bed, ok? Not the, the kitchen floor, we prepare food here, it’s unsanitary.”

“It’s not like any of us don’t swallow -”

“Later!” Sugimoto shouts frantically. Funny how Sugimoto still gets embarrassed about sex even after so long. “The garage first.”

“The garage? I thought I’m not allowed in until you’re done?” That rule is created after Ogata has ribbed him too hard and Sugimoto ended up sulking for the next two days. 

“I am done,” Sugimoto replies gravely. The statement lands with a thud, heavy with finality. “Mostly. I want you to take a look at it.”

Ogata is curious, but he is also achingly hard. “Must it be now?”

“It’ll only take five minutes,” Sugimoto stresses. 

Which is how they end up stumbling into the garage, Ogata still trying to nip at Sugimoto's ear while Sugimoto squirms and chuckles in equal measure.

“Hey, be serious now.” Sugimoto pecks him on his right temple before nudging Ogata around to face the coffin. “What do you think of it?”

“Trashy.”

“You didn’t even look at it,” Sugimoto protests, “honestly, Ogata. This is important to me. Did I do alright?”

“You’ve definitely passed at first glance, at least,” Ogata informs dryly, finally pulling away. “Fine. Let’s have a look then.”

Sugimoto clasps his hands nervously behind his back as Ogata circles the coffin. Ogata checks the seams and the edges. No problem there, as per usual.

The designs, however.

“It… is pretty good, actually.” Albeit rather simple. Nevertheless, it is a far cry from when Sugimoto first started out: Ogata likes the patterns that Sugimoto has etched on the corners instead of merely tolerating their mediocrity. That’s a first. “Although I wasn’t expecting something this minimalistic. Your drafts have been much more detailed.”

“About that.” Sugimoto scratches his neck. “I was hoping that you can finish it for me.”

That is unexpected. Absently, Ogata traces a spiral.  “I think you mentioned it before. Finishing touches, you called it.”

“I did. I wasn’t sure you remember.”

“Surprise,” Ogata answers flatly. “But the way you drafted around this space here...” He finally looks up. “This might as well be a blank canvas for me.”

“It is.” Sugimoto takes a step closer. Tentatively, he flattens his palm against the side of the coffin. “I reached the limits of my skills first, and then I ran out of ideas. I mean, you know what they say: grown-ups aren’t the most creative. Unless we fight to keep it, we will forget the fantasies of our childhood.

Ogata’s childhood has felt like a blanket made of lead, dragging him down until he manages to chip a hole in it so he can finally poke his head out and breathe. “Don’t say it like that’s a good thing.”

“But it can be,” Sugimoto insists. He ruffles Ogata’s hair, laughing when Ogata elbows him. “Just because you don’t throw them out, doesn’t mean that they’re all deadweights.”

“That’s sentimentality speaking.”

“Nothing wrong with that too. Without infusing anything with meaning, they’re all just items.” Sugimoto turns back to his coffin again. “But if you give it enough purpose… Remember how proud we used to be over some doodles when we’re kids? Sometimes, I feel like anything I create can come to life: grab a magic crayon. Draw an apple tree and a ferocious monster to guard it, and then a hot air balloon to fly you home.”

“Scribble a moon and your bedroom window around it, and then a cozy bed for you to sleep in.” Ogata taps on the edge. “And then they nail down the lid and burn you down into ashes at eight hundred degree celsius.”

“That took a morbid turn.”

“An absolute conversation killer,” Ogata agrees. “So are you done? Can we fuck now?”

“Ogata.” 

“You said five min - stop grinning like that.” Ogata squishes Sugimoto’s cheeks with both hands. “I said stop it.”

Sugimoto puts an arm around Ogata’s waist. “You’re ridiculous.”

“No, I’m blue-balled.” Without hesitation, Ogata loops his arms around Sugimoto’s neck and jumps - Sugimoto’s hands dart out to grip Ogata by the thigh, but the suddenness of the movement has thrown off his balance, and Sugimoto staggers back, a leg kicking in the air, before he rights himself and tilts forward.

For a precarious moment, Ogata thinks that Sugimoto will end up dropping him; then Sugimoto has one hand flattened on his lower back and the other gripping the edge of the coffin.

Huh. A very convenient position. Ogata unhooks a leg. It thuds loudly at the base of the coffin.

“Please don’t do that again,” says Sugimoto.

Ogata quirks the end of his lips. “We’ll see.” Then, “Hey, a bed is a bed, right?”

Sugimoto looks aghast as he pats on the coffin. “This is a metaphor."

“You didn’t specify,” Ogata retorts smugly. “And isn’t it tradition to christen a new bed?”

“Oh no.”

“Oh yes.” 

 "Ogata," Sugimoto pleads, "I've spent too long on this coffin to get any dubious stains on it."

"I know eight different ways to bleach out stains from wood."

"That's not -"

"Either you fuck me right now," Ogata interrupts, "or no sex for a week."

Sugimoto does not look impressed. “We both know that’s not going to happen.”

Now that’s not fair. Ogata may have been the one initiating sex more often, but he’s also a stubborn bastard. “Do you wanna bet?”

“I feel like I’ll lose either way,” Sugimoto confesses. Reluctantly, he lets Ogata pull him down, his body a comfortable weight on top as he tucks his arms under Ogata’s lower back.

Sugimoto buries his face against Ogata’s sternum. The tip of his ears are red. “Why do you always do this to me?”

Ogata curls his fingers into Sugimoto’s hair. “Do what?”

“You know what.” Sugimoto stares up at him, eyes accusing before they soften into something, something that Ogata does not want to name. “You’re a handful.”

(It’s insanity-inducing, the way that Sugimoto gazes up at him. It makes his breath stutter, his heart fluttering like those stupid butterflies when they struggle to free themselves from a spider’s web. Sugimoto can probably hear the way that his lungs hollow when Sugimoto smiles, so soft, so fucking tender, and what the hell is this, Ogata doesn’t -)

Ogata jerks Sugimoto’s head back, relaxing when those eyes squeeze shut. He’s going to make Sugimoto fucking cry. “Just shut up and fuck me, Sugimoto.”

“Don’t put it that way,” Sugimoto protests, his eyebrows knitting together even as his lips curl. He kisses Ogata on the left pec, over his heart, and rests his lips there. Badump, badump; the rhythm of human love and human lives. “I am fond of you.”

“Is that a confession I hear?”

“If you wish,” Sugimoto allows. “As I’ve said, It can be anything at all - I could be anything you want me to be, you know.”

Ogata grabs the baby hair at the base of Sugimoto’s skull and tugs until Sugimoto shifts again, a knee between Ogata’s thigh and his face so close that Ogata can barely feel the brush of chapped lips against his. “Can you?”

“Not anymore,” Sugimoto admits. “But once upon a time. Nevermore,” he continues, “unless it’s Neverland. But to visit you’ll need a vessel.” He laughs when Ogata raps his knuckles against the coffin. “Stop that, that joke has gone on long enough.”

Ogata grins. “Then make m -”

Sugimoto kisses him, soft as a rosebud, and so he concentrates on that. Concentrates on the pulse under his fingers, the heat, the flicker of the lashes when Sugimoto pauses to stare at him. 

Lovely, Ogata thinks before he can stop himself, and isn’t given the chance to berate his brain when Sugimoto starts tugging up Ogata’s sweater.

The hands are so hot against his sides, hot like tears, and they stream down to his hips to push down his pants to drip across his thighs and pool at his kidneys. Sugimoto’s mouth burns against his skin, and when he sucks around Ogata’s tit, Ogata feels a tremor rise from his bones, the earth rolling over in its slumber.

Kisses all the way down, cutting deep into his flesh - the thorns of rose vines, he thinks inbetween gasps, and wonders if it is worth the trouble to make Sugimoto run back upstairs for the lube. 

Sugimoto seems to have reached the same conclusion. “Don’t make me,” he begs, before mouthing at Ogata’s hipbone, as though that will drive his point in deeper. “Don’t spoil the mood.”

“You are the one spoiling the mood,” Ogata argues, jutting a knee up to nudge. Sugimoto kisses Ogata’s belly again, and that tickles, the muscles in his abdomen jumping before Ogata can pretend nonchalance. “Don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what?” Sugimoto has the widest smirk on his face as he rubs his chin above Ogata’s belly-button, the faintest shadow prickling the skin. “This doesn't feel good?”

“Of course not, you fucking tease -” Ogata curls upwards in a squirm that makes him feel more like a cooked prawn instead. “You -”

“Woah.” Sugimoto narrowly catches Ogata’s leg before it can kick him and fracture a bone, or something. Ogata almost wishes it can. “This is for making me do all the chores that you have been putting off for years.”

“You decide to outsource your labour for free, don’t complain.”

[shock777archive]

I got this question on deviantart, and I felt like reposting my answer here, in case anyone is interested :P 

THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG REPLY BUT BEAR WITH ME LOL When I first started drawing/am I self taught : I've been drawing since kindergarten. Anime specifically, since I was about 8 years old. so that's been uh...18 years since I've started drawing in the anime-esque style? I am self taught on these areas. I picked up a digital artist tablet at the age of 13 or so, (it was a wacom Graphire 4 4x5 in) so it's been 13 years of digital art practice i've gotten in. I have picked up several how to draw books over the years until i surpassed some of them. But even now i'm constantly referencing tutorials and poses, looking for ideas and color palettes, etc. I have taken some schooling in college for art. I took beginner's drawing and color theory and maybe a little of art history but that's about it before i quit lmao What inspired me to draw in the first place/what I first drew: The thing that inspired me to draw in the first place was my favorite cartoons. from a very young age i knew that cartoons weren't real, but it fascinated me that actual people could create almost living people. I related to cartoons, and even though they were fake characters, I just loved the idea of creating a whole world of my own. So I took up drawing in kindergarten. First things I drew were flowers, rainbows, trees, etc. But My first biggest undertaking was powerpuffgirls. lol This was the series that started it all. Began drawing tons of powerpuffgirls stories and oc's. For the next few years I would watch different things like all the standard cartoon network shows. But I watched yugioh and dbz and other anime things too. What also got me into anime art style was the online game neopets lol Their faeries designs ( http://images.neopets.com/games/pages/icons/screenshots/586/4.jpg ) kind of had an anime resemblance, so I started drawing those for a while. When I was 8 or 9 years old my father bought me my first how to draw manga book (this one in particular: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Drawing-Manga-Ben-Krefta/dp/1841931713  ) looking back on it, this book is terrible and the anime in it is so ugly looking lol. However, i used that thing religiously and began making my own characters like a blue elf girl and a human friend of hers. ( in fact, here's the post. i tried redrawing them recently lol: https://shock777.tumblr.com/post/145898896143/finding-old-art-is-the-best-cause-you-can-redraw ) ...Then the real transformation began once I started watching Teen Titans when it aired in 2003. I was 10 at the time. That show started my love for japan. The language interested me and I began researching Japanese songs and trying to sing along to them. I didn't know what the words meant, but the artistic style and meshing of western cartoons and anime of the show really piqued my interest. My earliest drawings of them suckedddd XD; As Teen Titans drew to a close near 2006-2007 ish, I picked up Naruto and then it was all over since then lol my anime style and weeb days really came into full force lol I thank naruto though. I learned how to draw more realistic anatomy as opposed to cartoony anatomy. It was a very wild ride, but it's all documented here on my deviantart page as I got this exact account around the same time! I started posting my work in 2008, so you can go back far enough into my gallery and see the progress XD; I keep the old cringe up because it just motivates me and hopefully others, to keep drawing and keep going farther! :) PHEW lol long history there XD I do have some of my old art!!! If you wanna see some, I've posted a little here: https://shock777.tumblr.com/tagged/old-art plus I already said there's a few still on my dA gallery haha Tips I can give to you: 1. And I think this is most important, JUST KEEP GOING. It's soooo tempting to quit drawing when things aren't going right and when you're not happy with how your art looks. Trust me, every artist I've ever known including myself have gone through this. It's so easy to compare your work to someone else's. The thing is, we're all in this together. No one expects a newborn to be able to file taxes or drive a car lol. We all have to evolve and change, and that change comes from consistent work. Art isn't an inherent talent, it is hard work that is honed over several years of blood, sweat and tears lmao JUST KEEP GOING. as I've mentioned, my old cringe art is still on my dA page. Back then when I was younger I was less concerned with things being perfect and I spam posted almost every doodle. And I began a "fanbase" i guess because of those days and my consistent posting. I've had this freaking deviantart page for 11 freakin years. If I had stopped drawing whenever I felt my art was imperfect or not good enough, I would have stopped posting around 2009. so...just keep going. And I'd even dare you to post your "shitty doodles" that you think aren't that great. Because you never know what someone else will see in it that you don't. Be confident, and never give up! 2. Soak up any tutorial and really focus on studying your favorite artist's styles. If there's something you want to replicate in your art that someone else is drawing, try to see how they do it. sometimes artists have tutorials posted and sometimes they don't. I have a few posted on my youtube channel ( https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRB9xQBsGpfetNJbmXWZ1fL9d5IlqQs1w ) and some in my gallery. Don't exactly copy some things stroke for stroke, but try to add your little spin to something. Like sometimes I will see art senpai drawing a specific eye style I wanna replicate, but I don't like one part of the process. So sometimes I'll just add my own little addition, or just omit that process completely. Usually though, if the art style isn't necessarily super unique, you can copy a lot of mainstream styles without anyone really griping saying "oh you're just copying so and so's art style". It's important to look up to art senpais i think. They make me want to try harder lol 3. Take an art class if you're able. Color theory really helped me grasp things that I never had before. LIKE REFLECTIVE LIGHT FOR INSTANCE. I never drew that shit but now I do because DUH it's so freaking obvious lol It also helps to learn what colors neutralize others, complementary colors, analogous ones, etc. It's nice to have an eye for what matches together and to know the principles of art. I still have a lot of work to do when it comes to perspective, which we did cover a little in class lol but work on your own pace. If your college near you offers a class for beginners, take it if you're able. it will help you view things differently. 4. Copy realistically. Like, I'm talking look at a freaking object in your room and try to draw it. Once you can draw it semi realistically, you can then add your own little stylistic choices to it. Like so many artists who draw chibis or cartoony things, they more than likely know the proper proportions of people and anatomy. But they draw the proportions all whacky and it creates their own style. However it does help to know how they work in reality lol 5. TRACE OVER POSES. Sometimes I do this. I'm not saying to trace someone's art, but if you see some kind of pose on say a google image, or a stock photo, try sketching over it to get a feel for where the joints connect if you're working on anatomy. It reaaaallly helps you memorize where the arm would end, or where the torso connects to the hips. 6. Take advice and criticism well. If someone sees something you don't about your art, they may be on to something. It's not wrong if someone gives you a heads up that a proportion seems lacking or something seems too big or out of place. It will actually help you to see what others see. Sometimes we get in the habit of drawing something a certain way and it's hard to break that habit especially if you've drawn the same thing several hundred times. It will help you in the long run to just accept that you're always going to be improving. You'll never be perfect at drawing, so what do you have to lose? Just keep walking forward and learn what you can. 7. Flip the canvas. This is more or less a digital art tip, but please flip the canvas to make sure the proportions are not off. lol A lot of professionals have to flip the canvas until they get a feel for where things are placed. Another good tip is to use a stabilizer of some kind to draw straight lines. Paint tool sai has one at the very top of the window. It helps tremendously. 8. Draw what you like and don't feel bad for not drawing everything everyone else likes. Don't sacrifice your morals or your personal desires for something everyone else likes. If you're paid to draw something you don't like, thats another thing. but don't let people pressure you to draw stuff that you don't want to. You'll be much happier, and build an audience that is much like-minded to you. Be considerate of what your audience likes, sure, but remember at the end of the day, art is something to express one's self. Art is not and should not be a job. Even if you get paid money to draw or design things, it's important to take a break and draw something for yourself every once in a while. Be self indulgent, and treat yo self from time to time :) And uhhh...that's all I can think of for the time being. :') let me know if you have any further questions or if I need to clarify anything :) Thanks again!

[smolfangirl]

Drawing the line

For a fic I had no plot idea for, this turned out quite long :D It’s an artist au with some inspiration from @over-the-pink-moon lovely moodboards *-* Also thanks to @miris-xo for helping me to find anything related to a plot. I hope you enjoy this, especially since I might not have a lot of internet to post new things over the next two months at the end of the world ^^

Word count: 2.9k

///

She always leaves a trace when she walks out of his place. A pencil or a brush on the kitchen table, a quick sketch or color study left to dry on his desk. Once he finds a cup with paint water forgotten by the sink. Her thoughts remind Matteo of the TV screens in a tech store – five different movies playing and without the sound, nothing makes sense. As soon as she begins to pack up, new ideas flicker through her mind, so she simply forgets what remains out of her immediate sight.

But he doesn’t mind cleaning up after her.

Instead, he puts on the playlist inspired by her and wanders through every room, searching for her clues. If he’s lucky she forgot something important and asks him to meet up between classes. Some days (mostly Tuesdays) she even asks him if he wants to tag along to the cafeteria. He never says no.

Today, she forgot her notebook on the couch. Luna has been doodling in it while he discussed the grocery list with Gastón, and the moment he walked up to the couch again, she tossed it away like it was on fire. Before he could ask, she pretended to be deeply lost in filling the canvas with colors.

In moments like these he’d trade his first guitar for a glance into her mind.

The notebook feels heavy in his hands as he picks it up. It’s not the small sketchbook she uses for first drafts and carries around everywhere. And, from experience, forgets everywhere too. He’s only seen the fancy sketchbook two times before, and both times she threatened him to not even blink at it or she’ll ruin his mom’s gift the night before her birthday.

Nothing tempts him more than to sneak a glimpse at whatever Luna is trying to hide from him.

///

To Luna: How much is your nice sketchbook worth to you?

///

The moment she holds it in her hands again, she sighs so loud that the people around them turn around and stare. “And you didn’t look inside? Not even once?”

“Is that how little faith you have in me? After all the times I brought you your other sketchbook, or your brushes, or those funny little sponges and…”

“Okay, okay,” Luna mutters, one hand playing with her hair, “I get it. I shouldn’t come over to work on that painting for your mom anymore, given how much stuff I forget every time.”

She wants to walk right past him, into the cafeteria, but Matteo follows her with ease. A smirk rests on his mouth. “That’s not what we agreed on, and you know that.”

With an eyeroll, she takes a step back to let three guys leave the aisle with their heavy trays. When she’s by Matteo’s side again, a corner of her mouth twitches slightly upward. “Just for the record, none of the people I made commissions for so far asked to watch me while I’m working. Only you did.”

“Because I’m curious to see how the magic happens. And didn’t you say you usually don’t do commissions? That this was an exception for being the hero who gave you your sketchbook back?” Five times, to be exact. How anyone could forget the same thing, in the same classroom, five weeks in a row, remains a miracle to Matteo. But no matter the reasons why, he’s happy to have found her along with the book.

They reach the dessert bar. Luna begins to heap chocolate pudding into a bowl, one arm awkwardly clenching her sketchbook. Matteo watches her for a moment, then snickers. “Do you want me to hold this for…”

“No!” She doesn’t even let him get to the end of the question. “I’m good, you don’t have to.” Realizing she had just shouted at him, she flinches. “Thanks, but no. Just pick a dessert, okay? I’ll pay.”

He chooses a strawberry cheesecake.

///

“So, did you cook this or did your mom make that for you?” he asks after they sit down at the only free table for two, nodding towards her lunchbox.

“My mom. If I tried this, everything would look like a giant mess of green pasta.”

Matteo shakes his head in amusement and chews on his homemade sandwich. “Damn, the poor spinach.”

“How’s your sandwich?” She drowns the latest bite with a sip from her water bottle, and her eyes linger on his cheesecake long enough for him to consider teasing her about it.

Instead, he puts on a smirk. “Good, of course. I just prepared it before my first class.”

They eat in silence. It’s a nice contrast, Matteo thinks, because so far, they have always been interrupted by one of her friends. And they were nice, they chatted and laughed with him, but he’d rather sit in silence with Luna alone than to engage in meaningless small talk with her friends.

“So, you haven’t answered my question yet.”

The first spoon with chocolate pudding just went into her mouth, and she looks at him out of wide, beautiful eyes. “Huh?”

“I asked you if you lied to me when you said you didn’t do commissions.”

“Oh.” Another spoon of pudding. She’s still staring at him, half lost in thought again. He wonders if she’d let him get away with stealing a taste of her dessert. (Or of her lips.) “Well, I didn’t lie. I used to make a few back in high school. But I’ve only drawn for fun since I started uni.”

“Then I’m glad you made that exception for me.”

“You mean for your mom?”

“Yeah.”

///

She’s biting her lip again. She always does when she’s thinking about which part to paint next, and in those moments, Matteo has to remind himself that he should appear interested in what she’s doing, and not in her. Perhaps she believes he actually wants to learn about the right paper, or proper colors, but mostly he wants to learn about her. About the dimples in her cheek when she laughs, and the sensation of her fingertips on his skin. One time she forgot her hair tie, so some strands of her opened curls kept falling into her face, like a frame to a masterpiece, and in that moment, he wished he knew how to pin her beauty down on paper.

“Do you draw people too?”

“Is that your way of asking if I would draw you?” She doesn’t even look up from her canvas, just frowns at it as she dips her brush into her mixed shade of light blue again.

Matteo huffs, robbing an inch closer to her with his chair while he scans her face for a reaction. “Is that your way of telling me you thought about drawing me? Because I was just curious, to be honest.”  And if, in fact, she did want to stare at him for hours to get the most delicate lines of his smile right, he’d be the last person to object.

No reply. The movements of her brush are the only sound in the living room. By now Matteo finds a rhythm in those movements, a melody he misses when she’s gone, sometimes.

Luna sighs. The brush pauses in its dance over the canvas. “Your curls would be a nightmare to sketch.”

“Wow, thanks. What have I done for you to be in such a good mood today?” (So far, she barely smiled at him, and he longs for a fraction of her focus.)

For the first time this afternoon, she turns away from her painting and gives him her full attention. “I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant. I like your hair.”

“You do?”

Her eyes pin down the paper on the table. “Yeah. I mean, the curls suit you, and they look super soft somehow. But I couldn’t do them justice on paper.”

Luckily, she already focuses on her painting again before he can’t contain the smile on his lips.

///

He thinks of her constantly. Not as much when he has a task to focus on, or when he’s with his friends or classmates. His imagination waits for him to be alone, when he stands in the middle of the supermarket aisle and can’t decide on what kind of pasta to buy, when his thoughts stray away from the lecture he’s supposed to follow. As soon as he’s alone with his mind, she’s everywhere.

Right now, Matteo walks home from the bus stop down the street and plays through a conversation where she admits she likes him just as much. Then, he makes up a scene where he catches her drawing him. As he opens the door to the apartment building and fumbles with the key for his mailbox, the Luna from his imagination is blushing wildly while he tells her how wonderful exactly he thinks she is.

There’s a yellow envelope in his mailbox. Bright yellow, the color of sunflowers in August, and no post stamp. It surprises him enough to shush every thought of Luna, at least for a moment. As he takes the stairs, he reads his name written in neat, cursive letters again and again, as if they’d reveal their secret like that. Finally, he glances at the back of the envelope, to discover Luna’s signature.

His feet freeze on the spot.

She sent him something, and it’s definitely not his mom’s birthday gift. They had lunch together yesterday, and she didn’t mention anything that could explain why she left an envelope in his mailbox. He has no idea what it hides, and now his heart is beating against his chest as he takes two steps at a time.

///

It’s a sketch. Of him.

There’s no note attached, not even a date. Just his face on an otherwise blank sheet. The smile she drew radiates the same feeling he gets in his stomach every time she laughs, and she added a sparkle to his eyes he never found in them himself. He wonders how she managed to make his curls look like they’re about to bounce out of the paper, and how long she studied him without him noticing. The mere idea heats his chest up.

If this is how Luna sees him, he might be the luckiest guy in this world.

///

Matteo thanks her for this drawing five times, and one more time as she walks through his door two days later. A smile graces her lips, and her hug surrounds him with her scent that never quite seems like perfume.

“How are you?” she asks, spreading brushes on the living room table.

“Fine. And you?” Do you randomly draw your friends all the time? Or is there the tiniest chance I’m more than just a weird guy who pays you for drawing a picture in front of him?

Those questions don’t leave his mouth. Instead, Matteo sits down next to her and listens to her explanations on drawing open water. Meanwhile, he imagines taking her to his parents’ beach house in Italy.

“So, I think I could be finished with this next week. When was your mom’s birthday again?”

In the last moment, he holds back the sigh that tries to slip over his lips. “In two weeks.” In two weeks, this will be over. Luna will draw at her desk at her home, and exams will be inching too close to waste a full hour with him in the cafeteria. The semester is coming to an end, merciless in its rush of time, and he still has no idea how he’s going to see her again.

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Yellow,” Luna replies. “And yours?”

Matteo twirls his spoon in the coffee cup. (She almost dipped her brush into it three times today.) “Blue. Mixed with yellow, it’d be green, right?”

She rewards him with a smile along with her nod. “Yeah.” While she goes on about green and turquoise and color names he never heard of before, his gaze gets lost on her, dragging his thoughts along to the moon. The delicate skin around her eyes wrinkles because she’s smiling so much. Between teal and seaweed green, he stumbles upon the realization of how bright and clear her iris is. Like a gem stone carved out of the earth, polished just so the light could bring his miniature reflection in them alive.

“Like your eyes”, he mumbles, not fully aware his mouth turned his thoughts into words for her to hear.

Luna pauses. “What?”

Matteo clears his throat. “They’re super green.” Quieter, he adds, “And they’re beautiful.”

“Thanks.” Nothing more than a whisper, but her blushing cheeks say enough.

///

The week passes too quickly. He can’t afford to daydream during classes yet curses himself for letting time run out of his hands. Friday night brings him dreams of her, and he shrieks up an hour before his alarm clock. His mind is a Ferris wheel, high and low, Luna and his finals take turns riding it up to the moment she finally rings his door.

For the first time since they met, she’s wearing a dress. Mentally, he congratulates himself for changing into jeans and a decent shirt a few minutes ago, while he also has to fight the urge to stare at her for too long. He’s almost afraid of embracing her during their hug.

“That dress looks amazing,” he says. She hugs him tighter.

///

“I’m gonna miss you sitting here.”

Luna is almost finished, the last strokes of the brush, the last corrections and soon, she’ll scribble her signature into the corner. He doesn’t want her to leave, he doesn’t want to say goodbye to her after handing her the money he still owes her, and he doesn’t want to admit to himself that he screwed this up. It’s a desperate statement he lets slip out in resignation, and it’s of little comfort that his voice doesn’t tremble.

A hesitant smile sits on her lips as she glances at him. “I’m gonna miss you too.” Her honesty catches him off guard, allows him to hope, to search for right way to ask her out, but before he gathers a single word, she clears her throat. “It’s gonna be weird not having you watch me anymore. I mean, not that I’ll have time to draw during finals.”

Matteo silently nods. Inside, everything screams at him to take a chance before the paint dries and the ending can’t be changed anymore. “What’s the weirdest thing for you about drawing?”

A few seconds pass before she answers. Their knees bump into each other under the table, and he apologizes without meaning it one bit.

“Sometimes, when I look at people, I don’t really see them because I start to think about how I’d draw them. It’s like… picking them apart into single shades. Circles and squares and all that.”

His eyes dart towards the window, to buildings hiding the clear blue sky. He holds the air in his lungs, thinks twice, then jumps into the cold water. “Is that what you did too when you drew me?”

“Kinda.”

Silence. He catches her gaze. His breath hitches. “Drawing you was… different.”

“How so?” He knows they’re tip-toeing around each other, round and round, closer to a moment that’ll inevitably change something. Maybe even them. Hopefully.

“I’m not sure I can explain it.”

He doesn’t ask a second time.

///

The last brush is clean, the sketchbook back in her bag. He watches her as she puts on her shoes, heart racing in his chest. The clock next to the wardrobe ticks mercilessly, he can count along when Luna faces him, and they stare at each other out of words. Out of time.

“Thank you.”

She smiles. “Thank you too. I hope your mom will like it.”

“I’m sure she will.”

Her arms around his neck, one last time. Her scent in his nose, her curls falling into her face as they break apart. She hasn’t even left, and he already misses her.

“So, I guess I’m gonna go home now.” Her hand lingers on the doorknob.

“Good luck for studying,” he replies. The door opens. Ask her, say it, keep her here, if only for a second. With one step, she’s in the hallway. Turns around, grimaces. “Bye, then.”

His voice sounds hoarse. “Bye.”

The door closes. He let her go, he didn’t do any of the things he’s been dreaming, hoping for, and he’s the only one to blame. Matteo sighs, closes his eyes, curses.

The doorbell rings. With a frown on his forehead, he opens.

“Luna?”

“I forgot my bag.”

He steps away, and she hushes inside. “I’m sorry, sometimes I don’t know where my head is,” she says. Rambles. Her cheeks have turned into a soft pink. “Anyway, I’m gonna leave you alone now. Greet Gastón from me, okay?”

“Wait.” A plea, crossing his lips at the speed of light. Suddenly, Matteo feels afraid and brave at once, hesitant and determined. If this is his last chance, he won’t waste it. “Can I see you again?”

///

He still searches for her traces when she leaves. They’re not scattered around his apartment anymore, though, they’re all over his skin. A soft kiss, a delicate touch. Sometimes, a hint of paint when he got a little too impatient. Once, between his bedsheets, she whispers that he could be her new canvas. Matteo presses his lips on her temple and prays that she’ll never be done with him.

[franeridart]

Hi! Idk if you read fanfic, but would you happen to have any kiribaku fic recs? Or any bnha fic rec?

I’m pretty sure there’s stuff tagged as fic recs on this blog, yes! Nothing particularly new tho, I haven’t had the time to put down a new rec-list in a while ;-;

Anon said:How long does it take you to finish a drawing with and without color?

That honestly depends on a lot of factors - which tools I’m using, how many characters there are in the drawing/if it’s full body or not, how used to drawing the character I am, how big is the canvas, if I already have a clear idea of what I mean to draw or not, how precise I want to be with lines and stuff. 

That Yuuto sketch I posted yesterday took me about 40 minutes I think, and over half of it was spent trying to figure out how I was supposed to draw him since it was the first time I drew him - the tools I used are the ones I use when I want to be fast and don’t care about being sloppy. A small random Kirishima bust properly lined and colored could take me five minutes to sketch and line and as many to color on a good day, cause I’ve drawn him so many times by now I don’t even have to think to draw him. Deku, on the other hand, can take me an hour even just to sketch, I can’t seem to grasp how I’m supposed to draw him at all.

Sorry, it really depends on a lot of things, I can’t give a proper answer to this :(

Anon said:Ive been tryin to find ur art of sero carrying baku for like 20 minutes n i cant find it :(

Are you talking about this one? Or this one? There’s also this one I guess...? And maybe this one lol 

Anon said:yoooo, hey man, that cat kiribaku thing ya got going on is some 👌👌👌👌👌

HECK THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:Has anyone ever considered Hadmie. Hadou x Camie before?? It just seems like it'd be a cute ship to sail with, tbh. That just might be me tho.

I dunno if anyone has before you, but I can’t say I have, sorry! If I gotta ship Nejire with someone after all it’s gonna be Yuyu haha

Anon said:Hey do you do commissions? I really love your art and I'd love to get a commission from you!! (and also I just wanna know if there's yet another thing that I have to save up for XD)

Not right now, sorry! Maybe after I’m done with the zine things!!

Anon said:*runs around like an excited puppy* DAVEDAVEDAVEDAVEDAVEDAVEDAVE!!!!!!! :D

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

Anon said:AHHH i love your ocs so much also Nico looks so cute and i love learning new things about them

AAAHHHHH THANK YOU SO MUCH OH MY G O D!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:KIRI + PINEAPPLE PONYTAIL = THE BEST THING EVER

I’M GLAD WE AGREE ON THAT

Anon said:your oc's literally kill me!! i already love nico, and i think i speak for everyone when i say that we definitely want more of him and luca!! i don't know if it's just me, but I love when the angry, swearing types fall for someone.

SOB thank you so so much for the kind words about my kids ;^;

Anon said:OH MY GOD LUCA IS BACK!!!! YESSSSSSSS FUCKING KILL ME THIS IS A BLESSED DAY I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. MORE OF YOUR OC'S!!! (only when you want to share of course, I'm just trying to convey my enthusiasm here. not demanding at all ^^)

I think that might happen soon enough, actually!!!! Thank you so much for the interest in them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:Are josh and chris still not dating?

Sadly until I’ll sit down to write their story that specific part of it won’t go anywhere :( Chris gotta deal with a bunch of things before he’ll be ready to put a name to what’s between him and Josh 3 one day I’ll let him work through it !!!

Anon said:I'm so paranoid I'm going to repost one of your post by accident but the thing is is I never even repost anything at all but just because I know you don't want them to be I'm so scared that by accident I'm going to have something screenshotted and forget it's yours and like Ugh😂

Well, my name’s written on all my drawing so I doubt you’ll forget it’s my stuff lol to make sure you’re not reposting anything the author doesn’t want reposted you can always just ask before reposting it, tho~

Anon said:I was just scrolling through your OC stuff and I just. Love them so much. Thank you for the babies ❤

GOD THANK YOU ;O;

Anon said:Okay I've never seen your oc's before and Dave is the cutest green boy I love him

AAAAHHHHHH I’M GLAD!!!!!

Anon said:kamijirou getting together? :3 also if there were ever a scenario where jirou would confess first, what do you think she would be thinking?

I actually have half a thing planned for that :0 gimme a while to get around to drawing it!

Anon said:How do you feel imagine kiri’s parents???

Actually since I’m still hoping one day Hori will give us the official versions I try not to think too much about it! I don’t wanna grow attached just to have to give them up once I’ll have the canon versions haha

Anon said:hey quick innocent question ive been following for a long time and saw a lot of your art do you have a thing for feet

Are you asking because I draw a lot of people barefoot? Feet are just easier and faster to draw than shoes, anon

Anon said:I love how you answer asks all at once. It’s nice to see that you’re getting in bulk appreciation

THANKS I honestly just don’t want my blog to be more asks than art, so I let them pile up before answering - it does mean I make people wait a lot for answers tho orz sorry

Anon said:I LOVE YOUR ART

THANK YOU!!!!

Anon said:You've open a sea of possibilities with red pineapple kirishima. You're a legend :prayeremoji:

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wouldn’t call myself that but I’m glad you appreciate him too hahaha

Anon said:i cant help but notice nothings been added to your sero tag in 4 months

That might be because I rarely use single characters tags! Try looking under #bakusquad and #seromina :D

Anon said:Hahaaa hi this is probably really really awkward but I just wanted you to let you know that you're super awesome!! And the fact that your art is something that I can look forward to is absolutely amazing (no pressure tho)!!! So yea, thank you for being cool and creating beautiful art~~ :D ✧✧✧

SOB it’s not awkward at all!!!! thank you SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:Would you mind adding some more Tokoyami art to your shop? More specifically the pieces where hes hanging out with Kiri, and the Tokoshoji piece :D Im desperate to bury my notebooks in stickers from your shop rn and the bird boy needs more love ❤

AHW I’m sorry anon, but those are definitely too small to be of any use on the shop ;-; if you’re okay with it I could add the last one I posted? I should seriously draw more of him..................

Anon said:That jacket that Kirishima has on...I NEED!

I drew it and that’s still a mood t b h

Anon said:I went so far back in your blog that it kicked me back to the beginning ;-; I was just getting to the D. Greyman stuff too

AW ;-; (..........it’s good tho, the further you go the least worth it my stuff is l m a o)

Anon said:Do you ever draw kiribaku or something else in paper or some kind of sketch book if you do i would love to see them❤(sorry if my english is bad)

I do have some doodles on paper posted on here somewhere? But tbh I rarely draw traditionally anymore unless it’s just random doodles :(

Anon said:Aahhh!!! I really love your kiribaku shit its so cute!!and you draw so goood too literally when i found this ship i instantly found you and you are so perfect in my eyes and your art!!!!! I looooooovvvvvvveeeeee yoooouuuuuu thank you for being here and showing us this stuff!!❤❤❤❤

HECK thank you!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:i adore your art so much and your bakushima comics make me smile a lot! :) you’re one of my favorite artists now dldksjshskdk

tHANK YOU OH MY G OD ;^;

Anon said:Consider this: fantasy Kirishima meeting normal bakugou, thinking that's his Katsuki 😂😂

.........................you literally got no clue how long I’ve been thinkin about drawing this............ he ck

Anon said:Your drawings give me life 😍❤️

sob thank you so so so much ;-;

[monsterbrush]

Could you tell us about how you do your art?

Okay, whoa holy shit, I gotta answer this don’t I? This is gonna get long so I’ll put it under the cut. Sorry, it’s a lot of reading:

So, there are two ways I do my art. First: Traditional sketch w/ digital coloring. You’ve probably seen my uncolored doodle pages, which are just scans of pages from my sketchbook, nothing special. When I color them, I open them up in photoshop and, after putting down a white background underneath everything, I use this handy-dandy lil trick called Multiply:

This allows me to color underneath the drawing layer, which ends up looking like this:

Very simple. Now, onto digital stuff. 

For this, I’m going to use the fanart I made for a Mad Max: Fury Road fanfiction called Unlikely, because it’s a good example of a full blown illustration from start to finish. Brace yourself for a lot of photoshop terminology that I am not going to explain because there’s no time.

Step One: The Thumbnail

This is the initial sketch of what I wanted the piece to look like. It was very small, but once I was satisfied with it, I resized it to fill the entire canvas and lowered the opacity to about 30%. I didn’t spend too much time on this, I got the basics down and that’s it. Thumbnails aren’t supposed to be pretty, they’re supposed to illustrate the bare minimum of what you want to achieve. Every proper illustration I make starts with this step.

Step Two: The Sketch

This is drawn on a separate layer above the thumbnail, and you can juuuust barely see the thumbnail underneath. For both the thumbnail and the sketch I like to use a mid-tone gray because it mimics a 2H pencil which I use for sketching on actual paper. During this step I can take the time to adjust the size of certain elements (I made Slit smaller, for example, and played around with head size and positioning), and make the composition nicer than in my thumbnail. In my sketch I also try to include as many details as I can, to make the line art easier on myself.

Step 3: Line Art

Line art is always tricky, but thanks to my detailed sketch I can get the line art down quickly. Again, I lowered the sketch layer’s opacity down to about 30%. For crisp, sharp lines I use full opacity and a round brush. For this step I use pure black because I want the lines to show up nice and clear, and I kept the size of the brush around 5 px as the smallest, 6 px as the average, and 7-8 px at the largest, to keep the line art consistent. 

Step Four: Flat Colors

Here’s where things are gonna get pretty touch and go, these steps aren’t very well documented and I employ a method I lovingly refer to as “100 Layers McGee”, because I use a buttload of layers. During this step I carefully fill in the basic color for each individual item in the drawing. So: skin gets a layer, clothing gets a layer, bandages get a layer etc. If two items aren’t touching each other, they can be on the same layer, but if they are touching they are put on separate layers. I call this the “Can’t Touch This” method. 

This can add up to a lot of layers. Don’t ask me how I keep track of all those layers, the answer is: I don’t. If I step away from a drawing for more than two days I will forget which layer certain things are on and will spend a little while looking for that thing by turning off each layer one-by-one. Yes, sometimes I don’t find which layer the thing is on until much later. Yes, I am okay with this. This is what works for me. I am willing to suffer if it makes other things easier. 

The reason I do this is because it makes the shading process much easier using this trick:

Step Five: Shading

See this button? I love this button. When I click this button all empty pixels in the selected layer become “locked”,  meaning that I can only color on the parts of the layer that already have color. It is a godsend. This is the same technique I use to color my traditional sketches btw, in addition to the “100 Layers McGee” and “Can’t Touch This” techniques. 

During this step of the process I keep a very close eye on the color panel when selecting my colors, and I use the eyedropper tool on previous drawings of certain characters in order to ensure that I get the correct shade/hue/saturation for specific elements to avoid making things too light or too dark. I will also reference other things like screenshots from the source material, or pictures from a comic page which has a similar color palette or lighting to the illustration I am currently making. I will later adjust the color of the characters according to the lighting I choose for the scene (this scene was lit by firelight, so I made the character’s skin slightly warmer and highlighted it with yellow/orange. I also used a similar color to highlight everything else in the image). 

Now, usually I have other elements like the background/clothing etc. filled in while I’m doing the shading so I know how everything looks next to each other but I don’t have a very good example of how that looks. But anyway, this is what the “skin” layer looks like with the proper shadows and highlights.

Sometimes I use clipping masks as well. I used clipping masks on the background in order to separate the cool shadows and the warm highlights, but that was just me being cautious because I was worried about fucking up something. That step looks something like this:

The coloring and shading steps require a bit of know-how regarding color theory, composition, contrast etc. basically a lot of planning and a lot of thinking. Practice is the key folks. Practice is always the key.

Step Six: Etc…

During this step I take the time to add my tumblr url and any additional credits/captions etc. I try to use fonts that are thematically appropriate. 

For most of my Mad Max fanart I use AgencyFB Regular, the font used for “Mad Max” in the Mad Max: Fury Road titles. This time I used a font called Road Rage Regular because it looked awesome, and for the dialogue I used a font called Act of Rejection Regular, because it looked awesome and fit the mood I wanted to convey. Never underestimate the power of a well chosen font (and keep in mind it should be reasonably legible). 

This is also the step in which I added the speech bubbles as well. Sometimes I might add a paper texture on top of everything with a multiply layer, however using this will slightly darken the overall image so I don’t do it often, but I did do it for this piece, though I had to make the speech bubbles lighter.

Step Seven: Sit Back and Stare at the Finished Product for 3 Hours

So satisfying.

[cosmichobi]

art lesson ii (m)

in which you begin to accept that as long as taehyung is around, you’ll never have a normal art lesson

Member: Taehyung

Word Count: 2.6k

Whenever people asked for an interesting fact about yourself, you always told them that you once managed to give three people food poisoning in as many days. Knowing this, your friend had every reason to be hesitant to try your cooking.

“Don’t look at me like that, just try it.” You waited with baited breath as she took her first bite, and you silently hoped she didn’t drop dead.

“Holy shit, this is really good!” You knew her surprise wasn’t uncalled for, but you still weren’t sure whether to be offended or pleased. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“The only thing I don’t have in me is consistent dick. Other than that, I’m full of surprises.”  

“Shut up!” Your friend snickered when you frowned at her. Sexless wasn’t exactly the right word, but she had no idea about what happened that night with Taehyung. It wasn’t that you were embarrassed by it, far from it. In fact, you wanted it to happen again, and again, and again.

You just wanted it to be your little secret for now.

“Taehyung!” It was hard to tell if your friend’s voice sounded so loud because you had been lost in thought, or if she was genuinely screaming at the top of her lungs. Your eyes narrowed once you had processed what she said, and you wondered why she said his name. The confusion on your face must have been obvious, as she began to explain herself. “I need to get him here, he’s not gonna believe that you can actually cook.”

“Why wouldn’t he believe I can cook?” He probably knew about the food poisoning.

“I told him about your past experience with poisoning your loved ones.” There we go.

“Do you two like to talk about me behind my back?”

“We do actually, he’s always asking about you.” You didn’t know how to take that information, but you said nothing as your friend left her apartment to knock on Taehyung’s door. It had been 3 days since that night, and neither of you had contacted each other. It didn’t sound like much, but 72 hours was a long time. You had contemplated sending him a text, but you weren’t sure what to say. You assumed he had a lot more experience with these things than you did, so you wanted to wait to see what he would do.

He looked good as ever when he walked in, his fitted black shirt confirming that yes, he had been working out. You tore your eyes away from him, choosing instead to tap your fingers against the table.

“I hear you’re a top chef now.” He sat opposite you, his tone as teasing, as light, as typically-Taehyung as possible. “Can I try some?”

“Knock yourself out.”

“I’m scared the food might do that to me.” It wasn’t even funny, but you laughed. You handed Taehyung a fork, and he hesitantly tried some of your food. His eyes widened in pleasant surprise, to which you tutted.

“You guys have no faith in me, I swear.”

Your friend’s phone rang, and she backed away into the living room to answer it. When she had left, Taehyung moved so that his chair was next to yours. You pretended to not be affected, but your heart race soared. “Is there a reason you’re sitting so close to me?”

“Is it a problem?” his gaze flickered towards your lips as he asked. You blinked up at him, to which he shrugged. “I was wondering if you wanted any more art lessons, I’m free tomorrow night.” You looked back to check that your friend was still busy on her phone before you responded.

“And what exactly do you mean by art lesson?” If the way he tried to fight the growing smile on his face was any indication, his thoughts were going in the same direction yours were.

“You want to improve your art skills, and I want to help you. What else could I possibly mean?”

You both knew exactly what else he could have possibly meant, which is why you were prepared before you went to his apartment. You had put on your favourite lingerie, which you didn’t get to wear very often, and hid it under a large white t-shirt, and nothing else. It wasn’t often that you left the house in just an oversized shirt, and so you dashed across the road to his apartment building before anyone could see you. God, it would be Taehyung having you acting a fool, wouldn’t it?

Music was already playing when he let you in, and the windows were creaked open slightly. It seemed as if he was truly setting the scene. The canvas you used last time was set up, and you giggled at the lack of progress you had made.

“Is that really all we got done last time?”

“I think it was worth it.” Ignoring the heat that rushed to your face as a result of his comment, you followed Taehyung’s lead and took a seat. “Okay, I thought maybe I’d try a different approach this time to see what level you’re at.” You didn’t think he’d actually given this art lesson much thought, and it warmed your heart more than it should have. Taehyung loved to appear carefree, but you knew he cared and thought very deeply.

“I draw like my three-year-old niece.” He laughed out loud at this, not doubting you for a second.

“I want you to draw what you’re thinking about. Whatever’s on your mind, put it on the page.” You thought for a moment. He wasn’t sat as close to you as he was last time, but still close enough for you to smell his cologne. He looked down at you, eyes searching your face. “What are you thinking about?”

“A lot of things.” You paused before putting pencil to paper, and smiled at your (incredibly basic) sketch once it was complete.

“That’s a penis.”

“Well, you asked what I was thinking about.” You giggled at him when he shook his head at you.

“It can’t be mine, I’m bigger than that.” You gasped with laughter, not expecting the words to leave his mouth. After some more doodling, in which you decided to draw some ice cream since you had been desperately craving it, you headed to the kitchen to get some water. You had to settle, since Taehyung didn’t have ice cream for whatever reason.

“You keep your cups under the sink, right?” you asked.

“Yeah, to the left.” Taehyung looked back into the kitchen and gulped at the sight. You were bent over, reaching inside the cupboard for a cup, and he got a perfect view of the lingerie covering your ass. He felt himself harden slightly, and he had to close his eyes.

You were going to be the death of him one day.

He got up from his chair and strolled into the kitchen, a hand in his pocket. “You know, I’m starting to think you don’t want proper art lessons.” You turned off the tap just as he finished talking, turning around to face him with your now-full glass in your hands.

“What makes you think that?” he didn’t answer, but instead watched as you took a sip. He brought his thumb to the corner of your mouth, wiping away some water. He set his hands down on either side of you. When he leaned in to speak into your ear, his voice was low and demanding.

“Can I take you to the bedroom to get a closer look at what you have on under that shirt?”

“Did you see something you liked?”

“I think so.” Setting your water down, you took his hand as he led you to his bedroom. You had no way of knowing what it looked like normally, but it was a lot neater than you expected it to be. Taehyung had you backed against the wall before you could think of anything else. His hand found its way to the back of your neck, and he brought his lips down onto yours.

The way he kissed you had your head spinning. All coherent thoughts evaporated as you acted purely on desire, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt to pull him closer to you. If he could get any closer the two of you would have melted into each other, and that was just how badly you wanted him. His hands traced your body, starting from your neck and making their way down to the hem of your shirt, which fell halfway down your thighs.

He managed to get the shirt off in one swift motion, not bothering to stifle the appreciative groan in his throat once the shirt had hit the ground.

“Every inch of you is fucking perfect.” Under any normal circumstances you would dispute that, but the way he said it had you believing him. He led you onto the bed, where he hovered over you before pressing his lips against your neck. “I didn’t get to taste you last time.” As he spoke, one of his hands cupped your sex. “Can I taste you?”

He must have realised by now that you’d say yes to anything when he growled like that into your ear. You managed to nod, the thought of his tongue on your core making heat rush to your abdomen. He took off his shirt before sinking down between your legs, putting a hand on either thigh to spread them apart.

His face was a wonderful combination of focus and pure desire as he slowly pulled the lace down your legs, he was perfection. You let out a breath that you didn’t even know you were holding when he licked you slowly, working his way up to your clit. You hissed when he swirled his tongue around your sensitive spot, his tongue moving in a figure of 8. He switched up the pace, his tongue beginning to lap at you as he looked up at you. The pleasure was written all over your face, your eyebrows were furrowed and your lips parted as the moans flew out of your mouth. You were beautiful.

“Oh my god, Tae, you’re so good at this.” Your voice was strangled, but he thought you made his name sound amazing.

“Only the best for you.” You began to grind up against him, your desperate whines filling the air. Noticing your need, he reached under your legs to cup your ass, lifting you slightly off the bed and closer to his mouth. You continued to grind against him as his tongue danced on you.

At one point, he took his lips and sucked gently on your clit. Your moans got louder, developing into cries of passion. There was a strong, strong chance that one of his neighbours would hear you but you couldn’t bring yourself to care, not when he made you feel like this. Removing a hand from your ass, he couldn’t help but reach into his own underwear and stroke himself, at this point he was painfully hard and needed some sort of relief.

“Fuck, yes, play with yourself while you eat me out.” Your words made Taehyung moan against you, and the vibrations were almost enough to send you over the edge. Taehyung took his other hand and slid two digits into you, curling them skywards as you continued to grind. He switched things up, fingering you slowly as his tongue picked up some pace. You lost control right then and there.

The orgasm rocked your entire body as you repeated his name like a mantra. You had to take a second when you were done, blinking repeatedly to bring yourself back down to earth. Taehyung climbed back up on the bed, took your face in his hands and kissed you again. When he pulled away, your hands flew to his trousers, which you were desperate to get off. Your hands were jittery from the orgasm, so he made your life easier and took them off himself. You could see how hard he was through his underwear, and you twitched in anticipation.

You dragged his underwear down and put a hand over him, and he inhaled. Using his precum as lube, you slowly ran your hand up and down his shaft, watching as he threw his head back and groaned. He looked down at you as you stroked him, torn between wanting to have your hands on him forever but also desperately wanting to be inside you.

“I need you.” He moaned, reaching over to grab a condom. You removed your hand from his dick, instead choosing to lay back in anticipation as he got ready to enter you. He’d been thinking about this ever since you left his room 4 days ago. It was almost embarrassing the amount of times he had got off to the thought of you in the time since, but now he finally got to have you again.

He pulled you by your thighs so that you were underneath him, and he slowly slid into you. You were still so wet, the crude sounds of him pounding into you joined the mix of your moans and groans.

You were more sensitive after the orgasm, and he felt better than he had done before. His hands were tight on your hips as he controlled the movements, slowly moving in and out of you. He wanted to savour every second of this, every second that he could say you were his.

“No one has ever fucked me like this before,” you breathed. The words encouraged Taehyung to keep going as he picked up the pace, and you couldn’t help but grind against him. Sex with him was intense, even when his gaze wasn’t on you, you felt it burn another part of your body.

You wrapped your legs around his back, allowing him to go even deeper inside of you. He brought a thumb to your clit, rubbing around it as teasingly slow as he could. The sounds you made were guttural, the pleasure beyond anything you’d ever felt before. “I’m gonna cum again,” you announced, and he brought his free hand behind your neck, forcing you to look at him.

“Look at me when you cum.” He instructed, thumb still circling you. You couldn’t make any promises, but you tried to keep your gaze on him when you came again, walls clenching tightly around him. He held you as the orgasm soared through you, you shook against him. You didn’t bother to keep yourself under control or understand your movements, he had you in his embrace and you weren’t going anywhere. He continued to plunge into you, picking up the pace when he was close.

“Cum for me, Tae.” Still in his arms, you wrapped your arms around his neck and rested your head against his shoulder, whining lightly in his ears. You gently bit down on his earlobe, and he thrust into you one last time. His grip around you only tightened as he throbbed and twitched inside of you. “Fuck, you’re amazing.”

Your hands shook as you cleaned up, and it wasn’t until the two of you were resting in bed that you returned to a stable state. The art lesson had been long forgotten, but it was never really the point.

“Your bedroom is really neat.” Of all the things you could have said, you weren’t sure why you chose that.

“I only cleaned it because you were coming.” This inspired the same feeling inside of you that you felt when you learned he’d actually tried to plan the art lesson.

“And you knew we’d use the bedroom?” he shrugged, tracing shapes on your arm with his finger.

“I had a feeling.” 

There was a question about where you stood with each other on the tip of your tongue, but you let it dissipate as you fell asleep in his arms.

[emhoardsbooks]

How do you do the little doodles on your edits? (which by the way are all amazing I love your stuff with the original order of the phoenix)

Hi anon!! Thank you so much, I’m glad you like the edits. Since I’m a college student who can’t afford photoshop and has a computer that glitches every time I try to download a free version online, I use pixlr for all my edits. I occasionally use canva but I’ve found pixlr easier to use. So I’m going to put a tutorial of how I use it to make edits and add the doodles below the read more. I’ll be using this new edit as my example. I go into a lot of detail so hopefully it’s not confusing, but feel free to ask me questions if you have any!

Disclaimer: If you do have photoshop I think most of these steps will work the same for you because I’ll just be using image resize, adjustment. When it comes to the actual doodling I’m just using basic brush/pencil settings which won’t be that hard for you to find on photoshop since pixlr is basically an online version of an older photoshop. Ok onto the tutorial…

1) Find all your images before you start. Then, open pixlr and use one of the options it gives you to open all of your images. I like to save the images to computer because sometimes I mess up when I’m opening from a url and that could lead you to lose an image you really like.

2) Once you’ve opened all your images, get started on making them the same size! For edits like my original order of the phoenix, I like the dimensions 500 x 750. But for things like moodboards I’ll resize everything to a square dimension, usually 500 x 500 (or 564 x 564 because many photos are already that size). You can play around to get the right size using the image > image size on the tool bar at the top as well as the crop button on the side tool bar.

3) Once all your images are the same size you can play around with how you want them to look. I try not to over edit them because I’m going to add doodles later. What I do is go to the top tool bar and select adjustment > brightness & contrast. From there I play around with each image’s brightness/contrast to try to get them looking somewhat similar in tone. I set the images up side by side so I can see how they look together as I adjust levels.

4) After you’ve done this with all your images, you can add any text that you’re thinking of putting on! If you’re not adding text, then ignore this step. But you definitely want to add text before putting on your doodles.

5) Now save them!! Before putting on the doodles it’s good to save your newly edited images in case you make a big mistake while doodling and need to start fresh. After you’ve saved them, feel free to close the images that you won’t be doodling on if there are any because you don’t want them in your way. Now you’re ready to start doodling.

6) Before I begin my doodles, I always make sure to start a new layer. This makes it easier to delete any doodles you don’t like as well as making gifs (I’ll explain that later). Go to the tool bar on the right of your screen and below the list of layers you already have, choose the little square button that looks like a page with a folded corner to make a new layer. Every new layer you make will be transparent and show up as “Layer #” in your list of layers.

7) Now you can select that new layer and draw all of your doodles on it! To draw them, go to the tool bar on the left and select the pencil tool. From there, look at the setting bar that pops up at the top. When I’m doodling with the pencil tool, I like to use the trail setting. Then I play around with the size of the line depending on what I’m doodling on.

8) Once you find the pencil settings you like, you can go ahead and start to doodle on your image! While you’re doing this it’s all about trial and error. The ctrl + z command is really my friend when I’m doing this because I can quickly undo doodles that I don’t like.

9) As you can see above, the pencil tool works really well when you have an image where you want to trace/outline some of the elements. But there are other tools I use when doodling. The shapes tool is good for making lines. Select it from the left tool bar and then at the top, choose the line setting. I like to size it to 2 or 3 because it makes more visible lines.

10) Another doodling option is the brush tool. The brush tool is beside the pencil tool on the left. The top gives you options for how you want the brush to look. You can use a simple brush to make dots or use more advanced brushes to make patterns. 

When you select the brush menu circled above it will drop down with all the different options you can use. I like to use the smaller circles but there are also star shapes available that are really cute. The more button to the side will also lead you to an entire variety of brush designs that you can load and use (no downloading required). When you use those you often have to play around more with the diameter meter circled at the bottom of the brush screen.

11) And that’s how you make the doodles! Keep playing around with those pencil/brush/line settings until you get something that you really like. Now, you can also take it one step further by gifing the doodles, which I’ll review now.

12) After you’ve doodled on your new layer, make another new layer over it and start doodling on that one! You can make these doodles completely different or similar depending on how you want the gif to look. As you can see, I’ve kind of overlapped my doodles here because I want the gif to look like they’re jumping around in the same area.

13) You can keep doing this for as many layers as you’d like! Once you’re satisfied you’re going to need to save each layer separately. Deselect all doodle layers except one and then save that under a new name that you’ll remember. (I like to do the same name as the original and just add A, B, C etc). Once you’ve saved that layer, deselect it and reselect the one that you hadn’t selected before. Now save that one. Keep doing this until you’ve saved each layer as its own image.

14) Now, again, this is the poor college student version of editing so to turn these layers into a gif, I use the free gif website: ezgif. Go to that website and at the top, make sure gif maker is selected. Then you can upload the image files of your saved layers.

15) Once you upload all the doodled on layers it’ll show you them lined up with little boxes beneath them that say “delay”. Ignore those and go down to the Gif Options section where there will be a main “delay time” box. Here you can type in a delay time, I tend to do anything from 25-55, it really depends on what you’re making. After you do this click the animate it button below it and it will create your gif!

16) If you’re not happy with the way the doodles move, you can continue to play around with the delay time. If you are happy, scroll to the tool bar below and select the save button! Sometimes it autosaves to my downloads, so you should go to that folder right away to drag it out to the folder that your edit is in and give it a proper name. But sometimes it does pop up with the option to choose where it saves to! And once you’ve saved it you can go back to the top of the page, select the gif maker tab again and start making another doodle gif!

17) After you’ve done all of that all you have left to do is upload your images to tumblr and post them! Good luck, and please tag me (I track #swearwolflupin) in anything you make. 💕

[drawingfranco-blog]

Ch 48. The 30 Days Drawing Challenge Day 1 - draw (not) yourself

Chapter.48 30 days drawing challenge - draw (not ) yourself

 Hello all,

Thank you for coming by, this time I draw my own face, but with imagination and without reference. So it's kind of like drawing a doodle as usual, not much detail and without sketching first.

it's just that, unfortunately, video footage when I drew the doodle I can't edit because of the limitations of the tool I guessed, so I skip it.

 by the way, actually I'm not very good at coloring watercolors, yes, but the important thing is it's fun. We can play with watercolors as best we can. yup. I'm not a pro.

 FYI, this is not the proper paper for water color, and i used cheap water color, even though it didn't wait for the first layer to dry in appliying ... how does it lack the technique u said ... I just paint it as how I know paint, like in canvas, with acrylic paint.

 You can search for many challenge themes on the internet. And this is one of them, the important thing is that you can draw or paint as you can, the important thing is that you are happy. Hahaha, happy drawing yes brothers, sisters ...

 well

Hope you guys like it,

thank you for watching my videos. Please like and subscribe for more. And do not forget, keep drawing because drawing is also beneficial for health: D

 See more at

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/drawing_franco/

Twitter : https://twitter.com/co_frn

Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCupbIRadWsnae4_k3uIA4Rg

Tumblr : https://drawingfranco.tumblr.com/

[caveartfair]

Alia Shawkat on How Art Helps Her Recharge from Acting

At the age of nine, Alia Shawkat began acting in earnest. Early on, she appeared in Barbie commercials, landed a small role in a David O. Russell film, and, in 2003, made her debut as the devious ingenue Maeby Fünke on Arrested Development. The critically acclaimed sitcom would carry her freckled face into the living rooms of millions of Americans for the next three years.

Since then, Shawkat’s become an esteemed staple of indie films and TV alike. Now 28, she currently stars as the misguided millennial crime-solver Dory Sief in the noirish comedy series Search Party, which returns for a second season this November. Shawkat also recently appeared as a seductive pre-school teacher in the fourth season of Transparent and co-wrote and acted in the forthcoming film Duck Butter, and in 2018, she’ll return as Maeby on the fifth season of Arrested Development. Despite this busy schedule—and in addition to moonlighting as a jazz singer—Shawkat has developed a serious art practice.

Work by Alia Shawkat. Photo by Emily Berl for Artsy.

It started in New York around a decade ago. “I’d gotten into Sarah Lawrence and I left after three days,” she tells me over the phone from Los Angeles. “Nothing against the school—it’s beautiful—it just wasn’t for me.” Pressed to choose between freshman year at the liberal arts college and a role in an independent film, she opted for the latter. “I kind of got my own education, though,” she reasons. “And then I didn’t act for a year. I started painting.”

Her boyfriend at the time gave her a space to work in his parents’ basement. “I started with a big canvas and a bunch of scrap paper. I didn’t really know anything about my style,” Shawkat recalls. Growing up, she’d filled notebooks and diaries with drawings and doodles, but she never formally pursued art.

But that first painting soon lead to many others. “That’s when I got more into visual arts and found the artists I liked,” she remembers of that time in New York. “I would get dressed up and go to museums by myself every day.” These days, she’s gravitating towards the figurative works of R.B. Kitaj—“I’m definitely the most inspired by him right now, his colors and placement of a mix of cartoonish characters and realistic images”—and George Grosz—“he’s one of my favorites, these amazing line drawings.”

Work by Alia Shawkat. Courtesy of the artist.

Shawkat’s own work skews toward drawings and paintings, in a raw, at times scrawled aesthetic, picturing people and bustling patchworks of color and texture. A drawing she posted on Instagram a few weeks back was a gut reaction to President Trump’s move to end DACA—a feverish, dreamlike scenario of a young man putting out a fire, while his thoughts and his vision are consumed by money.

“I think that any kind of art is naturally responding to what’s going on,” Shawkat notes. “I’ve been feeling kind of frustrated and a little helpless lately, and I think a lot of artists are. Art is very important in these times, but sometimes it’s hard to know that when you think you should be flying to Houston and helping people,” she adds (we’re speaking just after Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston). Those frustrations have come through in her art recently, she admits: “My work has definitely been a little more angry— there’s more of a scratchy feeling, like I’m taking it out.”

As far as her process overall, Shawkat tends to be spirited and spontaneous. “I’m not a very organized artist,” she says. “I like to have a lot of materials and different colors and textures to pull from. I just look around and see what works in the moment. I don’t usually pick one medium in a piece”—though she’s particularly fond of oil pastels.

Work by Alia Shawkat. Photo by Emily Berl for Artsy.

“I take a lot of bad photos on my phone and then I go home and mix them together. There’s something about little angles I see on the street, and the way people look when they’re walking. I’ll do a quick sketch version of them and add them into a big montage.”

A series of drawings of Donald Trump she made years ago have also surfaced recently. “Weirdly, I did those before he was in any way political. He was just a character,” she notes. “I never understood where he was coming from.” In one, Trump’s tie is dragging on the floor, in another, he has large, sagging breasts. “Now, I don’t feel like drawing him at all,” she continues. “Maybe I’ll go back to that though. I’ve always wanted to do political cartoons, like Ralph Steadman, but I always end up doing more abstract stuff. I’d like to do some version of abstract cartoons.”

Her current practice, which is primarily focused on mixed media drawings and paintings, has since become a complement to acting—not only an adjacent creative endeavor, but a therapeutic passion to dedicate her time to off-camera.

Alia Shawkat, Face Bandage. Courtesy of the artist.

“When you’re acting, you’re literally using a lot of emotions,” she says, and adds that to be able to access those emotions quickly is taxing. “You’re interacting with people on the crew, you’re aware of yourself more than you should be in your real life, you’re in this state where you’re pushing out energy, feeding off of people, being reactive, talking about ideas, and being very physical.”

Shawkat acknowledges that she’s been lucky to have done so much acting this year, but that the work leaves something to be desired. “After a while I always just crave something different, because I don’t really have anything else to pull from,” she notes. “You don’t have a normal life between gigs sometimes, so that’s a lot of what drawing is for me.

“It’s a way to reflect on what’s been happening,” she continues. “There was a period of time where I was going out a lot in L.A., going to a lot of parties. Then I kind of stopped and started working again on drawing. All of my drawings were of characters in these packed rooms; there were people everywhere, the walls were always closing in on somebody. [My work] is always an expression of what I’ve been feeling.”

Work by Alia Shawkat. Photo by Emily Berl for Artsy.

Shifting gears into making art, though, isn’t always easy. “It takes me a while to just sit down and actually do it, to get back into the rhythm,” she says. “It’s like going to the gym. Nobody wants to do it, and then every time you go, you think, ‘I feel amazing, I should be doing that every day.’ But every day it still takes a little bit of effort to go, even though you know you’re going to feel good.”

This fall, as she’s shooting for Arrested Development in L.A., she’s making her art a priority. “I signed a lease on a studio to just be able to work while I’m actually here, to focus on it,” she explains, noting that the show has her occupied on and off, a couple days per week. “I need to have a routine, of going to a place every day, so I can try to make as much work as possible, before I have to leave town again.”

During this time, she hopes to produce work for a potential future exhibition. Over the years, she’s shown her work at a handful of galleries, like Known Gallery and Dilettante Gallery in L.A. Last year she worked with Dilettante to publish a book of her drawings, and had a book release party at L.A. restaurant Kitchen Mouse. While admitting that she’s “just not very organized,” Shawkat does have ambitions to pursue her art practice in earnest; she’s particularly fond of the potential for a proper solo exhibition at a New York gallery.

Alia Shawkat, Gangster. Courtesy of the artist.

Until then, you can see her latest work on Instagram. She refrains from posting many personal photos on the site, but admits that it’s “the most successful way people see your drawings quickly.” She’s used the app as a platform within her practice, to display and disseminate works that feel urgent. “When the whole DACA thing was happening, I was able to sit down and draw, and it felt nice to have a response. I could make a small piece quickly and post it and then work on something bigger throughout the day that maybe one day would be in a show.”

That Instagram account and her artist website (where she’s selling drawings and paintings on the range of $100 to $1,200) both use the name Mutant Alia, which has become something of an alter-ego or persona Shawkat uses, inspired by a graffiti tag she saw years ago. “It just said ‘Mutant’ and I really responded to the word. I even have a tattoo of it,” she explains. “My friend said if you add an ‘e’ to it, it’s ‘mutante,’ and in Portuguese that means ever-changing.

“It definitely doesn’t have anything to do with ‘X-Men,’” she adds, deadpan. “But I like the idea of being something that’s always mutating, morphing.”

—Casey Lesser

from Artsy News