#this artstyle is actually kinda easy to get!

[misiahasahardname]

breaking news: weird homosexual creature appears on island, eats a bunch of marshmallows and accidentally competes on gameshow

[hplonesomeart]

Whoops hand slipped here’s some TADC character fanart. Apologies for the severe lack of Pomni in this one idk where she went off to…maybe she got lost on her way to find the exit. The lines are incredibly choppy & rushed, I know, but it was still fun art practice! I don’t draw these guys nearly enough anyways so this is a nice change of pace. Support indie animation :3

[drawnfamiliarfaces]

Is there a guide on how you draw and color each of the Homies’ eyes? I noticed each one has their own slight designs to them; maybe to signify their powers and different universes?

dude... its a small thing, but whenever someone notices and brings up details in your designs, its always suh a heart-warming notion that people see the stuff you do... thank you! QwQ this ask just made me so happy ;3 so happy that i actually made a lil guide to explain my design choices! xD

Generally, my artstyle choice is to try and keep as close as possible to the original styles, for several reasons: a) to keep the characters recognizable and b) because im too lazy to try and do something too fancy. xD

Kim was an easy transition from cartoony! Its just her normal eyes, but a bit more anime-like? lol

Jenny's is the same shape, but instead of stylized light, I decided to give her more animatronic/robot like pupil in electric blue & white color, with light in the center (imagine it contracts smaller/bigger like a robot's). Also a bit more color on movable eyelids just for funsies. ;)

Danny's was a bit weird, because I wanted to keep the og big-eyed style, so it resulted in Danny having very big eyes. xD In his ghost form, I decided to give him green sclera and a more narrow (beast-like) pupil, as a nod of other ghosts solid eye colors and a hint to his growing power. ;) (Just imagine when he gets overwhelmed with strong emotions his iris and sclera kinda meld together into solid green!) The growing power is also the reason why I often add green accents into his human blue eyes!

Jake was one of the big changes, since his og cartoony eyes are very plain and boring. So I decided to go a bit nuts. Because of his dragon form, his usual human dark brown/blackish eyes changed colors that range from red-orange-yellow (colors of fire) and his pupil is much narrower than normal human's. The change of eye color can seem like the flare of amber on brown eyes whenever sunlight hits them to other people. And if you notice, I added what seemed to be red eyeliner to his design, which is actually not make-up - it's tough dragon skin! Like Jake's sharper ears its a sign that his dragon form kinda bleeds into his human form, due to his grown strength.

Jun is another easy transition from cartoony to my style! The more notable change I added is that her light brown are now darker and less orange/reddish brown, but more dark pink in shade! It's a hint of her magical power, which is usually in shades of pink (like her hair streak). When she uses magic, her eyes can glow in very light pink colors.

Zak is kinda mix of his two designs, with a dash of my headcanons. Originally his eyes were dark brown, but as his powers awakened more, the color lightened more and more, and after the finale, they gradually turned to his TGIF design color! I kinda like the idea that when he uses his powers now, his pupil glow white amidst the orange/golden. Usually its not that noticable, but its very obvious for other magical beings/wielders.

Ben is another sorta mix, but leaning more towards AF/UA design. I like to headcanon that his eyes were darker green, before he put on Omnitrix again, after which his eyes started to get lighter with that Omnitrix glow which resulted in lighter Omniverse color.

Rex is like... practically his normal eye in my style. xD Maybe a bit more dark browner + sometimes when he uses nanites, the pupil can glow electric blue/white (kinda mix of Zak & Jenny lol).

Randy was actually the biggest pain in the ass and I'm still unsatisfied with it. ;/ I might change it later, but for now its basically the same deal as with Danny! Maybe I'll add something cooler later down the line for him. xD

But, yeah that's basically it! Thank you sm for the ask <3 hehe and i hope you enjoy this lil guide. ;3c

[usagifuyusummer]

Family Dinner Night!

Congrats Peri(winkle) for finally getting the Godparenting license!!! 🥳🥳🥳 - from your loving parents and godbrother 💖💖💖

More concept art and as usual my insane ramblings below.

I NEED TO GET THE CREATIVE URGES OUT OF MY HEAD!!! It has been bothering with my motivation to finish my gazillions of homeworks lmao. I have so many ideas I need to let out!!! It's suffocating. I hope this will satisfy my creative urges for a while... Or not I will yap about my FOP AU on a separate post (when I'm able).

I can't stop being sad thinking about this family lol. Timmy 😭😭😭

I am not kidding when I say that my head is just filled with so many things that I want to contribute in the FOP fanworks lol. There's a lot I want to do, but so little time...

For now, I've decided to practice my take on the FOP artstyle. I wanted to do something simple as drawing and coloring practice. That's why the coloring this time is flat with no shadings. I think the show doesn't focus on shaded colors too much (except on scenes where there's a heavy implication of day/night, for shock value, etc.).

Just wanted to draw something cute because I haven't been feeling so swell lately. Nothing too poetic or detailed this time.

Other than that, two of the outfits this time is actually inspired by @suki-na-kumo for Peri and an image I found floating around in Twitter/X (sorry I don't remember who shared it) for Timmy's design. Suki-na-kumo's FOP family redesigns are so cool and adorable! I like that they always include flowy attributes in Peri's outfits lol. It makes him look like a pampered brat (which he kinda is seeing how his family coddles him), an otherworldly prince and also a Twink TM (that is unavoidable lol). I kinda want to draw their other FOP redesigns, but I'll just go with Peri's first.

I am not sure where that 18 year old Timmy design is from, but it kinda can be his design for those who theorise him on becoming a lawyer as an adult. There's a lot of instances where Timmy is wearing a suit in the show, but this design is one of my favs due to the hairstyle change. My adult Timmy designs in the future will be influenced from this piece of official art. I wonder if there are more Timmy designs in the wild wild west out there that I haven't seen... It is certainly an interesting find (Teen AJ is also there, and his design also looks cool to me).

Cosmo and Wanda's oufits are something that I cooked up. I don't think the coloring looks good... I just did this on a whim, and for about 13 hours. Damn, I am procrastinating on my work lmao.

Still, the context this time is, that they've had a family dinner to celebrate on Peri's achievement on finally obtaining his godparenting license!!! Good for him!!!

This is an AU if Timmy somehow was able to find a loophole in the "losing your memories of your fairy godparents after you become an adult" rule. Because of that, he continued his life as normal (as Timmy's chaotic life can be), but this time he is able to keep in contact with his fairy family even if they're not contractually obligated to stick together. Timmy does live with the Fairywinkle Cosma's around his college to early work years, but he eventually was able to move out and live on his own at where he works as a lawyer after a while in his adulthood. (His birth parents eventually went on a lifetime vacation without him or just went away for too long that Timmy just lives on his own a lot after he is 18 and above...)

Despite living on his own nowadays (In a New Wish context), Timmy does keep in contact with his fairy family and visits them when he's not busy with his job. Cosmo and Wanda still took a long vacation in this AU, first due to, yeah, Timmy is no easy feat as a godchild lol, and second, they actually want to take their time to raise BOTH of their children (even if Timmy is no longer a child/godchild) and guide them until they're stable adults. Timmy during college years actually only stays with the Fairywinkle Cosma's on holidays, so when Timmy's busy with college, that is when Cosmo and Wanda take their time relaxing lmao.

Sometimes when they really want to have some time alone or when Peri wants to see his bro, they will send Peri to Timmy's college for a day or more. Timmy babysits Peri so much during his college years lol. They both had fun though! With a lot of Peri newfound nuclear fairy power shenanigans at Timmy's college lmao. Studying law and taking the bar exam has never been more chaotic with babysitting a nuclear powered fairy child.

There's a lot more on this AU that I've been thinking, but I'll stop here for now. I need to gather my AU ideas in one post sometime later.

Also, Peri and Timmy are both adults here, Peri's around his 20's here and Timmy is on his early 30's I think. Cosmo, Wanda, and Peri are in their human disguises here, because they want to learn more about human culture (A New Wish context) while also having the desire to be more in Timmy's life.

I headcannon Timmy to be kinda short in his adulthood. This is also a nod to that episode when his fairy family used imperfect human disguises, even Poof/Peri was taller than Timmy in his human baby disguise lol. And also hey, wearing braces during his teen years paid off! (his big teeth are visible only when he opens his mouth lol)

As usual, here's some concept art and a png lineart pic if you want to use it to color it better than I did lmao. (that was a long yapping session... thanks for reading)

[signanothername]

Do you have any tips on how to study an artist style because I haven't been able to find a video on YouTube to help me☹️💔

Oof yeah Youtube usually just has the “how to find your artstyle” vids (which are all bullshit tbh but I digress)

Ok tbh I barely do art studies, so I would try and explain how I would do an artstyle study myself and hope that helps dhhxhxhx

The thing about an artstyle, is that it’s a bit unique to each person, and not just in terms of one single thing, but everything from how they do their lineart, to coloring, shading, etc

Not only that, but an artstyle changes and grows with the person as they learn more and more about their preferences, no artstyle stays the same forever

Not only that, but depending on the artist’s artstyle, it could be really easy to study cause the artist is consistent with their art, or really difficult cause the artist has no set artstyle and they change constantly

That’s why I’d say the best way to approach it is to study it bit by bit, and not to overwhelm yourself trying to take in how an artist does something all at once during practice

But the biggest thing that I’d say would make you understand another artist’s artstyle is observation

Take multiple artworks from the artist you wanna study and just take them in, observe everything about them

Do they use lineart or are they lineless, if they use lineart are their linestrokes thick or thin, is their lineart clean or is it messy, if it’s messy, how messy? Is the lineart angular or round generally? Or maybe they use both angular and round edges?

Are their lines curved or very straight? Does their line weight change in the same linestroke or does it have the same line weight throughout? Do they tend to do their lines in one single clean stroke, or do they tend to re-emphasize their lines by 2 or 3 more strokes in the same place?

What kinda brush do they seem to use? Is it a very textured brush or is it a very clean inky brush?

How do they color? Do they use bright and saturated colors or do they go for muted and dark colors? Maybe something in between? How do they shade? Do they use cell shading with hard edges, or do they use soft shading, do they blend it in or keep the edges of their colors bold and sharp? Maybe both?

How do they shape certain things? Maybe their artstyle relies heavily on rectangular shapes, maybe their artstyle shapes certain things to be round and others as cubic in the same artwork

And so on

Then after observing as many artworks by eye as you can, go for actual practice

Take a shot at trying to replicate their artstyle, it doesn’t have to be perfect, just as close as you can

Again, try it to take it one step at a time, at first try to focus on the lineart for example and nothing else, just try replicating that, just so you won’t overwhelm yourself with information and end up thinking it’s way harder than it truly is

Hell maybe you aren’t really interested to understand their lineart, maybe you like their coloring, and so just focus on how they color and try coloring the same way they do with your own art

Sometimes you get really stuck with something, or you try and replicate something and you genuinely couldn’t at all, in that case, I would say, if possible, try contacting the artist you’re trying to study the artstyle of, many artists would be happy to help where they can and give you a direct response and instructions to how they do a certain thing in their artstyle (I definitely would)

So, with all that out of the way, Imma give you an example, it’ll be a very quick example without much depth, but just to give you the general idea to use as a basis

(I’ll be using my own artstyle as an example cause idk if other artists would be comfortable with me using their art without permission dggdgdggd)

Again, this is just a very quick example, you can actually take one artwork and study it to every little detail, then work your way up to multiple artworks at a time

Uuuh that’s all I can honestly give, hope it helps, good luck with your artstyle study <3333333

[momo-shut-the-fuck-up]

So i ve done the main story in infinity nikki and im gonna stop playin now, before i squeeze the game dry of content and have nothing (new) to do on release.

Time for a lil review/thoughts post

I m not gonna review every single mechanic in the game, simply things that stood out to me or that i wanna talk about. I also wont add more images, i kinda want ppl to see the world for themselves... i ll share more when the game comes out tho.

There s a lot of text under this. Tldr, i like the game i think it's a solid, enjoyable experience with a good gameplay loop, the story isn't for me, and i'll keep playin of course. And u should try it too if ur device wont blow itself up tryin to run it.

Dress up

The bread and butter of Nikki games... it's good as usual. Game doesn't shy away from long skirts or coat tails or complicated ballgowns just cuz nikki can run and jump and dash now and i'm very happy bout that. There's some clipping issues once in a while, but it's nothing major and the clothes we do have in the game are lovely. There s an evolution system for some of the sets, which makes em a diff color.... usually they can evolve once, but i saw Three extra evolutions for one of the UR sets and that scares me. Bcs to evolve them u have to craft the suit again. So u have to pull 4 copies of a suit to max it out..

Combat

Game's definitely succeeding in its quest for being cozy. There's no real stakes, combat isn't difficult in the slightest but i do welcome it- super simple but it's pretty fun regardless. The boss fights were surprisingly creative and fun for what they are, it's just unfortunate that you have to do them more than once or twice (crafting mats)- but they do change what the boss does so it's different depending on what mat u are farming for... and u can claim double or triple or however much stamina u got-le of the mat after u complete it once. So that s rly nice.

Exploration

I actually think it's really really good. Again this isn't a difficult or complicated game, not yet i guess... but with the major goal being "get new clothes" and "take pretty pictures maybe", the open world feels actively engaging to participate in. There's collectibles everywhere, little challenges you can do that are diverse but quick, styling battles, collecting everythin from animals fur to bugs to fish, and allll of this brings u closer to that never ending goal of woo more clothes.

However even if a challenge doesnt give you a blueprint, it's still just. Really Nice to exist in this world. It's very whimsical, as expected of Lilith, and the world has a combination of realism and cartoon artstyle that is just soso appealing to me. It's genuinely how i would've imagined miraland to look in 3d. Shame it's not the same miraland we know..

Story

Hmm... silly is one word i could use for it. Cute also. The story isn't doin anythin bad per se, and i did start skippin dialogue near the end w the pieceys because i want to keep at least Some part of the story for the game's release... but i get the gist of it, and it s just not my thing.

It feels like a story made for children, and it definitely would get a G rating. Easy and simple to follow, there's moments of tension or sadness sure but with the antagonist bein a literal babie lookin cutey fairy with a grown man's voice, or the creatures that i'm interacting with are a bunch of. Fuckin weird lookin big eyed balls of fabric that look closer to plushies than somethin Alive... it's all so silly and dramatic sometimes i can t help but cringe.

Part of it is a me problem, if u just open ur heart and free urself from the cringe the story is fine. It's just a little too kiddy for me and i so desperately hope it won't stay like this forever. My prayers might be answered though, there's a whole war beyond the borders and we have refugees around... shit's lookin bad for Umbrosa.

Other things i noticed that i liked:

The effect on nikki's skin when it's raining, she actually has water dripping down her face... its so cool

Momo capes are actually kinda neat ngl. Especially cuz the fucker follows u around everywhere, at least i can bedazzle him

Npc models look really good im a fan. They do suffer from "everyone is very beautiful" syndrome, which makes some of the npc villains look/sound ridiculous, but they have kid-teen-adult-elderly versions of models (i never see teen models in these games! Its cool!) And some body variation. The grandmas look so lovely i cry

The dark skin tone is really dark, and it looks quite nice and natural.

The lighting engine in this game is just rly good in general. God bless UE5

The edges of the map where there s forest, which u obv cant go thru, the forest is made to be darker, thicker.... i m a huge fan of this idk y. It's not just *invisible wall in front of an open field* nopee cant go there lets explore that area later tee hee. And it looks good to boot.

Camera function is p robust, has more options for changin brightness/saturation/contrast etc which i feel Shining Nikki lacks.

Some of the creature designs are so good man i looove themm <3.... the pieces are awful tho. Ok creature design is a hit and miss sometimes but the stray hatty? Peak. All the weirdy fashionable animals? Peak.

Bein able to quick switch thru ur saved sets while in the overworld is real neat

Oke that was it. Bye

[daedelweiss]

Hii!

I wanted to ask about the trailer, because I really like it and I think it's amazing, and I've been wondering, how much time was put into it? Cause it looks phenomenal and beautiful and it can be seen just how much effort and love went into it. So I became kinda curious for how long you've been working on it, from like day one. Literally. When you were just setting things up, like what to show and what scenes to be in it. (I'm not sure if you already answered this or said it, so if you did, I hope it's okay asking it again)

the concept for the trailer actually started december of last year!!!

i wanted a way to showcase the story without spoiling the plot so everyone knows that the story is (mostly) finished and i just need everyone to be patient with the comic :D i know what i'm doing and i already know the endgoal.

for production, preprod started in january!

it started out with thumbnails and then proceeded to make it into an animated storyboard.

i took a break after that because i was quite overwhelmed with the task at hand fdhndfhn i've made animatics before but not to this level. and certainly not colored.

i started animating the final trailer at june tho and made several changes to a) animate everything easier and b) the initial story was barely featured in the draft so i added more scenes after the part where leo is about to go in the portal. it was to show off what the story had to offer and what lies ahead. it is a trailer after all 😄

post production involved fixing so many mistakes and editing the trailer to get the timing perfect. it's not 100% perfect but i was burnt out at that point and knew that whatever i posted is my best anyway.

overall production time took about 5-7 months, depending if you add the break/training period because i spent the break improving my rise artstyle with my friends~

so yeah, making this trailer was no easy feat and was definitely a labor of love 💖 all the support and patience given to me definitely helped~

[sunnychuuya]

Cutely sobs knowing om nearing the end of sally face

I finished it.

Hey so guess who's looking up a toturoail

Whys the screen so fuckn dark

Me when I forget my lefts and rights do I start going never eat soggy waffles

I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD I DID THAT LAST NIGHT

"we are the shadows of a sleepless dream" fucking banger line??

I cannor handle seeing Diane rn I'm gonna sob

H9LY SHIT SUCH COOL ARTSTYLE

Guys I don't actually think I like the cult I kinda died cuz of them !!

having thr t

Guys this is not girlpop

ash wt Oh yirl WHAT THE FHELL DONT DOT AHT

GUYS I JUST TOLD MT FRIEND THIS DOESNT HAVE GRAPHIC SEWERSLIDE FUCK

GUYS WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED

ARE WE JUST GONNA FUCKING

BRUSH PAST THAT?!

WHAT THE FUCK

THE FUCK FUCK THE FUCK SHIT?!

-"how many loved ones will you kill to save the world. What will be Left worth saving" crying sobbing screaming throwing up

Also am I hallucinating or was that not grammatically correct

No it was

It just doesn't sound like it

"They deserve happiness after all the shit they've been through" me when the entirety of this fucking game

"Do you.. do you think anyone could ever love me like they love each other?" I'm gonna bawl my fucking eyes out sal you're amazign

STOP.

THIS IS NOT FAIR.

NOT THE MEMEORY COMING FROM THE FUCKING BOTTLW

THTA WAS LIKE THE WORST LARRY COULDVE DONE IT TOO

God

Fucking damnit

Larry was sposed to move in with them.. they were sposed to be happy.. nghehhe

NOT THE FUCKING CORPSES

SHIT

QHY

Hmm. Another textbook case of: I hate the characyer until they fucking die tragically

Sal no we're not defending her she still kinda ducked

WHAT THE FUCK

HAH?!

Woah ghsotie arm

Cofnused as shit ngl and this music is terrfyding

oh no! Why is everyone gone!

Giving "why is boss music playing" vibes

UHH GUYS FUCKKKK

SHIT THIS FAME COLLECTING ART STYLES LIKE POKEMON

stop. I love this. So cool.

Yea I don't quite like that. Kinda uhh sus thats like the things that humans grow in in movies

cutely Google safe combination

FUCKKK BRO THE REASON KENNY SHOT SAL IS BC OF THE PROPHECY THING... DAMN GOOD THING HE SUCKS AT SHOOTIJG PPL TOO (the like 300 ppl who died:)

Wait what Jim's latter

JumPSACRW

Guys! Thats so not girlypop!

What rhe fuck!

"You killed them" NO SHIT?!

Me after game over immesirlat

Oh wow thats so cute murder great

CHAT MY CONTEOLLERA DYOPEED AORKING HELPPPPP

OH KENNWTH WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT HOE WHYXDID YOU GOOPIE

MA BOY LARRY WHY U LOOK LIKE THAT 😭 💀

guys oop I apparently missed the thing where u see sal get shot lmao

Its fine I already knew what happened

I just looked it up and what the florp bro

chat I hate this like they all die and they can't even live happily ever after in the afterlife its just not fair.

YAYAYYAYA GHODT GUITAR

Hol up- lemme clean my glasses for this.

"eat mt ass, you red eyed birch!" ILY larry

TRAVIS LWTS FUCKING GO

YES

UES

YES

FUCK

LETS FUCKING GooooOOOOOOOO

WAIT SHIT DID JE JSUT DIE 💀

...

Fuck.

ITS NOR WORKFING

Yeah okay I knew it wouldn't be thst easy but. One can hope.

AHHHHH PIXEL SAL

Yeee guitar blasts

Pew

Pew

FUCK YOU CANT GO FROM SILLY PIXEL SAL TO

EVERYONE WE LOVE IS DEAD BRUTALLY

I diedieidid

Chat have we considered I suck at video games

I just died 3 tomes in a row

fifth death (end me)

I DIDING IT

Oh fuk pixem sal

WHY IS MY ARM GOING NUMB

SAL UR SPOSED TO POSSES ASH NOT ME

NOT THE GREATEST TIME LOWKEY TRYNA PLAY THE GAME

Ooh chairs

Oh duck that scared me

God damnit Terrence

SHUT UP THIS GAME IS SO FUCKING COOL

When I started playing sally face, would I ever have thought I would be whisper screaming "VOMIT YOUR BALLS TERRENCE!" at 12 37 am, he'll fucking no. But it happened.

This is why I am unloved.

What da fuck

Polyrgorns

THE FUCKING MICKEY MOUSE

GLITCHY SAL

Uhh I don't like how the teeth skin is closing in

UNBELEIVILBLY HYPE

Sal really said with the power of music and friendship

wdym it don't feel like over

LARRY DOUBLED DIED WHAY THE FUCK

"Maybe we see him again someday. On the other side of oblivion. If there is such a place." then it just fades out. This game is absolutely amazing.

I love it but it also lowkey felt so incomplete

Like

Idk the ending felt a little fast.

like very satisfying but it felt rlly fast.

But also sf2 is a thing in progress I know

@mypinterestgotbannedsoimherenow

[ashtxeman]

WHY I LIKE GLASS JOE A LOT

I promised a lot of information about why I like Glass Joe so I wrote this in an hour with no plan, no proof reading, completely improvised. If I planned this it would probably be WAY longer lol but I'll spare you all the pain of that. SO. ENJOY MY REASONING.

Glass Joe. Glass Joseph. Fragile Joey. It’s a name that’s been uttered for centuries in many different forms, given many different explanations. Critics, theorists, philosophers alike have carved away at their lives trying to solve the answer to the universe's greatest question. And that is:

Glass Joe, good why?

I can answer that, absolutely.

HEY I LOVE GLASS JOE A LOT IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW THAT ALREADY JUST GOTTA ESTABLISH THAT HAHAHA OKAY LETS GO. SHOUTOUT TO THE FUCKING RTGAME PUNCHOUT VIDEO YOU DID THIS TO ME.

POINT 1: HE IS HANDSOME.

I swear to God this man was hand-crafted by the hands of an incomprehensible deity because HOW is he this flawless. He’s 5’10, great height honestly I’m 5’3 I don’t want to be dating a skyscraper you know. He’s a skinny bastard but that’s okay, more on that later. His hair, oh my goodness gracious, lord above, help me Jesus. HIS HAIR. IS SO GOOD. If you put that skateboard ramp ass hairstyle on literally any other character they would look like a dumbass, but here, on this man alone, it’s the most delicately poised series of ginger strands I ever did see.

His hair looks SO soft. It’s unbelievable. It’s such a lovely shade of auburn with hints of burgundy. It must smell like cinnamon. He must take great care of it. A real Head and Shoulders, coconut oil, double wash kinda guy. A real bougie kinda guy. Yeah he’s not great physically in SPORT terms but in PUBLIC terms he’s absolutely stunning and stronger than anybody else. I wanna run my fingers through his silky locks so bad it’s insane and to understand this desire I’ll have to be strapped down and operated on. DONATE MY BRAIN TO SCIENCE GO AHEAD. THEY NEED IT. 

Not to mention it is SO fun to draw. SO SO SO FUN. Maybe I���m just lucky it’s such a wacky and dynamic hairstyle it transfers quite well into my artstyle, but it’s so fun. It’s easy, it’s fast, it creates an absolutely iconic silhouette, I love colouring it because it’s so damn pretty and ginger/red is such a broad colour scheme that can be put into a gradient so well (i love doing gradients with hair cause i hate when its just a block of colour). Nobody could understand the sheer joy i get putting that dumbass ahoge between the bridge of his fringe and the rest of his hair. That little ‘ right at the top ITS SO FUN. i love him his hair is great.

His face. Carved like the works of the finest artest. He’s a canvas of quality that can rival Van Gogh, for god sake. He’s got the jawline of a man on a lifelong mewing streak, STOP IT HE’S SO GORGEOUS I CANT EVENNNN. He is seriously so good looking. His eyes, the little pink-tinted eyebags that show he doesn’t need sleep because he’s so hardcore on caffeine, his gorgeous big ol nose i wanna kiss so bad, his super dynamic chin i wanna kiss so bad, his face i wanna kiss so bad. I wanna kiss him so bad. He is genuinely such a beautiful man its stunning, im literally a lesbian but if they somehow brought glass joe into the real world looking exactly how he does in those GOD DAMN CUTSCENES OOOOO i’d be bisexual so fast it’s crazy. He’s just that great. He’s got that power. I love his nervous little grin and the little creases on his face, cause he’s OLD AND SENILE. He’s 38 for god sake he shouldn’t look this good and sure, you can see his age slipping in a little with the eyebags and the wrinkles but that only ADDS to how stupidly divine he is in appearance. Stop that handsome man officer!! He’s breaking the laws of BEAUTY. GIVE IT TO MEEEEE. MEEEE.

His fashion sense although odd (ive never actually seen anyone wearing red trousers) just works. It wouldnt work on anyone else but it works on HIM. this is a theme. THINGS DONT WORK ON OTHER PEOPLE BUT THEY WORK ON JOE HE’S SO COOL LIKE THAT. his turtleneck kills me its so good it highlights what little figure he has and it contrasts his red hair so well cause its a really deep blue. SIGH. i wish. I have a turtleneck thats exactly the same but let me tell you i dont even breath the same air of fashion that he breathes. He’s so far ahead of the game he’s on an entirely different runway. He is not gonna sashay away anytime soon. On a constant shante. Unstoppable.

POINT 2: HE EMBODIES HIS CULTURE WELL.

Cats out of the bag, joe is a french stereotype. But. and dont quote me here. I find it very admirable HOW he is a french stereotype. Because he kind of.. Isn’t? He uses the characteristics of that stereotype sure, but he doesn’t engage with them the same way an actual french stereotype would. He likes coffee, he likes bread, he loves France like its his child, sure. But he doesnt have a twirly moustache, he doesnt wear a beret, he doesnt galavant around in black and white mime clothing. Even if that would be funny yknow it just wouldnt be as good. 

His admiration of coffee and bread is so relatable cause hell, I LIKE BREAD AND CAFES AND STUFF! He needs that coffee to keep him going you dont understand. If he misses a dose of caffeine he’ll deflate like the pyramids did in despicable me 1. He’ll be a puddle on the floor, he’ll quite literally cease to exist. Coffee is his golden idol, his hand of midas, his treasure. He has great willpower (more on that later) but coffee is that secret weapon he uses to push him just a little bit further. Plus he just thinks it tastes good and is happy to express that, you cant blame the guy for that. A good drink is a good drink. Even though i dont like coffee he’s so happy with it i respect it. He makes things i dont like respectable. Thats whats so real to me. What a goat. As for bread, bread is just great. Baguettes are yum. All the french bread i know about is usually close to white bread and autism behold thats like the only bread i can bear to eat so its alright with me man. You can go to joes house and he will have one of those fancy bread cupboards. He’ll pull out baguettes like he’s at a renaissance fair and they have a sword shortage. He’s on the case. You will NOT leave his house on an empty stomach. Like a very caring grandma, he will get you fed with the most immaculate 5 star meal you ever did eat. French food is great and theres no doubt about that, thats why he loves FOOD. I TRUST HIM. HE KNOWS WHATS GOOD. if mr glass joe turned around to me and said ‘broken glass is good food’ you bet your ass id be smashing windows and munch munch crunching all day long. 

Maybe his admiration of his country is a little over the top to some. You know the french landmarks in the back of his cutscenes, the ‘vive le france’ and singing the national anthem. But no. i dont think its excessive, i think its passionate. This is undeniably a man that is SO passionate about his culture and the lifestyle he’s grown up around, he’s not afraid to express it to other people until they cant stand it anymore. He’ll take as many hits as he needs to in the name of france. He is an embodiment of everything endearing about being foreign, honestly. An extreme love for the things his country has: food, landmarks, fashion, language, culture. EVERYTHING IS ON HIS LIST. NOTHING IS LEFT OUT. HE LOVES FRANCE AND I LOVE HIM. YES SIR!! VIVE LE FRANCE!! YES!!! 

Also he single-handedly convinced me to start learning french. I seriously didnt care about it before but after i started to like him more and really get into punchout i downloaded duolingo and i still have a streak going AND im actually convinced to try hard in my french lessons and exams because yknow.. I want this fictional french guy to be proud of me. :] 

POINT 3: HE IS DETERMINED.

OHHHHHH BOY. okay right im gonna get inspirational here. Play some dramatic orchestral music or something. 

The thing about Glass Joe is that he never. Gives up. Never. There is nothing in the world you could do to this man that could possibly stop him from boxing. They call Kaiser a fighting machine but boy have they not seen Joe. once that man stepped into the ring for the first time, he’d found a second home, and i think thats evident. 100 times this man has fallen down, brushed it off and gotten right back up. He’s had hardships, ups, downs, tumbles, falls. But everytime, no matter what, he’s back on his feet and ready to try again. And there is something so admirable and inspirational about that kind of approach being written into a CHARACTER THAT IS MEANT TO BE A FRENCH STEREOTYPE. ‘GHHHH FRENCH PEOPLE ALWAYS SURRENDER ACSHUALLY’ SHUT UP!! NOT THIS ONE!! I like to think Joe’s motto is ‘never surrender’. Yes he’s a little self aware how ironic it is thats hes french and doing all this but shhh. He knows whats hes doing and he’s happy to do it. Because like ive said again and again, theres nothing that can stop him. 100 kos, 200 kos, 300, 400… you keep cranking that number up and he’ll keep cranking the punches. Keep those lights up, keep those gloves on, you knock Joe down and eventually, no matter how long it takes, he’s back for more.

Now dont misinterpret that, he’s not a masochist like aran ryan, no sir-ee. He doesnt enjoy losing, nobody does. But the thing is he pushes past that disappointment and those hardships because he knows that eventually, if he keeps on going, things are going to change. He knows that if he lays down the gloves and walks away, there’s no possibility of succeeding. You could drop Joe off on the other side of the world and just like that immortal snail, he’s gonna find a way back. Even if it takes forever. Cause he is weak but determined, he isn’t threatening but relentless, he is stoppable but unstoppable. Glass joe has the strongest will out of any character i know. Cause if any of my other favourites went through 100 whopping losses like he did, they’d retire on a tropical island and never interact with the world again. But not joe. Never joe. My king.

POINT 4: HE IS ENDEARING.

THIS GUY IS SO DAMN CHARMING IT MAKES ME WANT TO EXPLODE INTO CONFETTI AND GLITTER AGHHHHH.

Come on. How can you look at his smile, his lovely little, subtle smile with those shy old eyes, and not immediately fall in love with him. He’s got some many little subtle things. Like the way his pupils dart around or his little sway back and forth when he’s knocked out or the way he bounds back and forth on his legs like an old-timey guy about to have a squabble. The way his mouth goes :0 so very subtly when he’s breathing. The way he always looks either shocked beyond repair, completely zooted or very confused. It’s all so perfect. IT’S ALL THESE THINGS THEY MAKE HIM BRILLIANT.

Im seriously looking for scraps here but i love finding meaning in otherwise meaningless things. I love analysing every detail until there is literally nothing else i could possibly say about it. He is perfect for this.

His fucking VOICE. OHHH MY GOD. it was so damn funny the very first time i heard his voice, because honestly it feels deliberate how they put his humble cutscenes before his first bit of dialogue so you expect this soft-spoken kinda light-voiced french guy only to be greeted with CHRISTIAN BERNARD’S DEEP ASS VOICE. OHHH KILL ME HE SOUNDS SO HANDSOME I WANNA SINK INTO THE FLOOR AND CRY WITH JOY. i wouldnt even mind if he was a soft-spoken light-voiced french guy but they really had to amp it up a little and give this lowly frenchman the most eloquent unnecessarily deep and silky voice ever. HE DIDNT NEED THAT. BUT THANK YOU FOR GIVING HIM THAT NINTENDO CAUSE ITS ONE OF HIS GREATEST QUALITIES. Plus french is just a really fun language to listen to. I could honestly sit listening to joe’s voicelines on repeat for hours on end and be fine with it. They’re so good. He’s so beautiful sounding. Its absolutely hilarious considering his voice in comparison to appearance. COME ON!!! AAHAHHGGHGHGHGHGHGHGHAGHGHS I LOVE CHRISTIAN BERNARDS VOICE I WISH I COULD HEAR HIM SPEAK IN ENGLISH. I NEED MORE OF HIS VOICE. AGGGGGHHHHH. 

POINT 5: WHATEVER ELSE

I erm i erm i just wanna say i love joe so much. The way he’s constructed, appearance, personality, physicality, dialogue, culture inspiration, story. EVERYTHING about him is just so cool and fun to think about and in my head it all weaves perfectly together to create the best character in all of fiction. It has now been over 2 unapologetic years of me yapping on about this guy. Whether it be his canon self and the things he does or the fanon version of him thats ive sourced from other peoples awesome HC’s or forged from my own lore. Any excuse i get, i talk about joe. Because it is so utterly fun. Yeah, he’s not the only boxer i love!!! Not at all!! I have several other favourites persay, but on the punch-out tier list joe is so good he has his own category thats about 4 ranks higher than what S rank is. And that is deserved. 

He loves his culture, he never gives up, he’s arguably a weakling and an absolute screwup but he never lets that get in his way because of her persistent he is, he’s gorgeous, he’s cool, he’d be a great friend, dad, boyfriend, husband, EVERYTHING. He’s got a weird hairstyle and weird fashion sense but somehow he looks great with it. He beat NICK BRUISER CANONICALLY?!?! He’s french, he’s ginger, which in a joking sense makes him the worst but against all odds he is the best. The french are lucky to be represented by him because he’s so utterly and unapologetically awesome and cool and fun and nice and inspiring and all that jazz. There is not a single thing that could stray me away from the path of Joe. my lore for him is SO deep. My admiration for him is INFINITE. Ive read through his wiki a pagillion times. Ive beaten him over 80 times in-game simple because i like seeing him so much and.

Well. i have entire shrine dedicated to him. let me know if you wanna see that....

[gren-arlio]

Rewriting this sucks, but we ball. Welcome to Episode 13 of Waku Puyo Extras.

(...If you saw the post before I deleted it, no you didn't. I hate my internet.)

Heya everyone, Gren here, rewriting this for a second time because I accidently clicked post and lost everything because my internet decided to be a dickhead. Welcome to Episode 13 of this wonderful show I've made, where I discuss random Puyo things and hope they make sense to an audience. They usually do.

Today we'll be focusing on our favorite idiot out there, Ms. Draco Centauros. It's wild how she's been with us since day one and we haven't made anything for and about her. This one might seem more summarized and less "Gren's rambling again," because man. Retyping sucks.

Uploads have been scarce due to school, we're hitting the toughest parts by far, I plan to change it sometime.

Let's begin, shall we? I hope you enjoy.

Oh, and please play Persona 3 Reload. Amazing game.

----

So Who IS Draco in Puyo?

I have to specify Puyo so we can mention Madou stuff later, since it's how I wanna roll this time around.

She's been with us with a personality since what, 1992? And she's had two wonderful traits.

She loves beauty contests.

And she may be stupid.

We'll come to love and hate those traits later on down the line. Believe me on that. That's how she began in Tsu, after all.

However, everything changed when it came to Puyo SUN, where something very unique happened. She's now a protagonist, and I believe the first one to do so, a massive accomplishment. She's the protagonist of the Easy Mode Course, the shortest one, but that's fine.

She finds Skeleton-T heating up tea while she basically dying of heat, and she burns the tea, making the man (skeleton?) PISSED, and a fight happens, classic Puyo. After that, Draco encounters Harpy, who collapsed on the ground due to dehydration, so Draco saves her life via a water bottle. Sadly, it results in Harpy singing, and Draco to slowly die inside because...it's Harpy's singing for God's sake.

And finally, she runs into Choppun (remember that guy?) He's land surfing on a rock... before he gets properly swept away by the water, thankfully. With that, Draco tries to relax, and uh, that doesn't end well. The sun's too hot, and she goes flying, not by her free will, of course, but because sunburn does that to someone...leading to her being the first fight of Arle's story, basically in severe pain due to that.

The fact that she got a protagonist role is something to behold, and it's very interesting to know that a common Mook like her was able to secure such a spot. Later on, other side characters like Witch and Lagnus would get the role in other games (Comet Summoner, Madou Saturn, etc,) but no, Draco is the first one to do that, a very big accomplishment in of itself. Nice one Draco.

And hey, she returns in Puyo~N too, being one of the first fights in the game.

(Just want an excuse to show the artstyle. MAN, it's so good.)

Here, Arle asks if she knows who stole Carbuncle, as that's basically the plot of the entire game, but Draco has reverted back into her good old "Is she stupid?" personality, assumes she's there for a beauty contest and fights her, and loses, go figure. After that, she actually joins Arle for the search for her missing Carbuncle, alongside Witch, Serilly, and Chico.

She even says Gao. It's perfect.

But after that, it kinda went all over the place. It was her last real major/semi-prevelent role for a good bit. She's there in Minna, but she doesn't exactly do a ton. She's part of a long fetch quest where mail has been messed up, and her mail got lost 3 years ago because Witch accidently got it instead, but that's really about it. And then, like everyone in Compile besides Arle, she vanishes for The Fever Era. She doesn't even appear in 15th, when Nasu Grave and Zoh Daimoh made it. But hey, jokes on them, they haven't appeared since.

But after so long, Draco makes her grand return in Puyo 7.

(Wonder who you saw first in this image. For me it was Raffine.)

Here, she's in the Bermuda Triangle because Dark Arle told her that there's a beauty contest there, and she just believes it. Ringo and Amitie go there for plot reasons, and Draco assumes they're there for the same reasons as her. Sadly, they're not, and Draco has been HOODWINKED. And as we know, if you play as Amitie, Witch and Harpy make their cameo appearance, new designs as all... just to not use them ever again. Makes me sad every time.

Draco reappears in 20th Anniversary, where Witch also makes her real debut back. Harpy died sadly. She got smacked to the Land of Chronicles instead. Back to Draco, she wants to find a really cool swimsuit Arle mentioned, but it's Draco, life hates her. After a slew of mishaps and ruining people's day, she finally finds it... and finds out it's from Suketoudara. Rip.

And hey, she reappears in Chronicle, where she's just minding her own business until she gets yoinked by the book that took everyone else to Ally's world. And in Draco Fashion... she assumes Ally and crew are there for a beauty pageant and won't be usurped. Wonder how many times I've mentioned her and beauty pageants, gotta keep count sometime.

She's in Tetris 1 and uh. She tries to eat O.

And uh...she does a talent show with Witch in the DLC. That's it.

TETRIS 2 TIME

She's one of the many people who got corrupted by Marle, but had Ringo fooled for a good bit on accident, and apologized for her odd behavior. Not her fault Marle is uh... quite the character.

And in side story stuff, she's just playing around with Mini Puyos since she finds them interesting. Unfortunately, Witch also finds them interesting and makes Draco her test subject for studying Mini Puyos, saying it'd at least be a good workout for her. And since we're playing as Draco, she does just that...for science, we swear. After that, Witch notes that due to their smaller size, much higher chains and such, before Draco says she's just there for a good time, much to Witch's annoyance.

So That's Puyo. How About Madou?

(One guy out there just decided to make the coolest Draco art out there. Thanks man.)

Draco began in the series like many other characters, a Mook, a random encounter, a person Arle ran into during dungeon crawling adventures, the sort. It's simple enough, it's her beginnings.

However, I won't exactly be going in chronological order for this, rather, I want to mention some things here and there as I go.

Draco began to get fairly popular due to her design and appearances in Puyo, ala Witch, so she began to make a lot of appearances in side stuff, such as Disc Station games. She appears in a few off memory:

Tower of the Magician, where she's a random encounter Schezo can fight. Here though, she has a little more personality since it's been more established.

PuyoLympics, where she makes a cameo appearance in the swimming section of the game. She's not playable, like Rulue and Schezo, but she makes an appearance.

Rulue's Spring Break of Fists, where like many other characters, she talks a lot... because it's a visual novel. She only appears in one story route, like almost every other character in the game.

Arle Man'Yuki, where she's uh. There.

Madou Saturn, where she's a playable ally, but a temporary one.

Waku Puyo Dungeon and it's manga, where in the manga, she fights against and alongside Rulue.

So let's talk about her role in Saturn first. She's been chained up alongside Witch due to Incubus being Incubus, and you're given a choice to save her or Witch first. Today, it's Draco.

Arle and Rulue save Draco, and Draco's first thing to do is go to a beauty pageant...to find out that she's late and it's already over.

And it leads to this. She's gone, bros. To the point where she doesn't help fight Schezo 3 minutes later. However, after said fight, she regains her senses and enters a whole other contest since the reward is a key that opens literally anything. You know, so they can save Witch.

Unfortunately, Yog Smoke is appearing, and it's not looking so good for our heroes, but we skim some smaller details, some fights later, it's honestly quite similar to Witch's route, down to the Schezo Refight and Jaan appearance, I guess to give players similar experiences. It's honestly a very nice role Draco has at least, where she's able to kinda bounce off Arle and Rulue decently well, and she's no slouch in combat either.

After saving Witch, she does leave you, but reappears at the end of the game at the very least. And that's mostly her role, she has her own quirks and her personality, while a little one dimensional as always, still leaves room up for some unique conversations with Arle and Rulue.

And even then, her role in Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon and its manga are at least more than that, to an extent. It depends on the Route.

In Arle's Route (yeah, sorry for not translating in a hot minute. School work over that, sorry.) she relies more on her stupid self and assumes Arle is there for a beauty- basically the usual. However, at the very least, she does canonically say she can make 5 chains, before realizing they her and Arle are gonna PROPERLY fight rather than Puyo battle, which is neat. And even after defeat, she just trains to become even better, which is honestly a nice change of pace.

And in Schezo's route, it relies on Schezo also being partially a Grade A dunce, since the boss dialog is him misunderstanding Draco completely about "Something," before she says it's a Battle, leaving him to feel stupid for not thinking that. And after defeat and near the end of the game, Schezo runs into her again, and he says that he's not really interested in appealing to women or anyone, leading to Draco assuming he's gay, much to his annoyance. And on another talk, Draco mentions if he was more in touch with how people feel and watched his wording, Schezo would be even more popular with the ladies, before he's shocked that he's popular in general.

Notice how I haven't spoken about Rulue yet, and it's because...I dunno how she acts there. But I do somewhat know how she acts in the manga.

(This requires context. Believe me.)

Like in the game, Draco is the boss of Fire Mountain, and since Rulue and Minotauros are there...to put it bluntly, the three fight. Draco's no slouch though, as she's able to actually fight Rulue competently and WIN round one, so to speak, which is the top image of the entire post.

When knocked out, Rulue begins to dream about Arle...and Satan. The rest is history. Round two happens, and it's a real back and forth, honestly. Draco lands good hits, Rulue gets good hits, before out of nowhere, steals the Naruto Handbook and Shadow Clone Justu's, shocking Draco and ending the fight there.

It's worth noting that it appears Draco might (or definitely does,) like or even crush on Rulue herself. Since this stupid 10 image limit it kicking my ass, you can probably find many pages online of those moments. Draco even tags along in fighting... these guys, who are basically traumatized from fighting Rulue.

(They're in Saturn, that's for sure.)

And as such, ends our talk about Draco. She's a very fascinating character, since she hasn't changed a whole lot throughout the decades.

She's been fairly two-note for years now, but it doesn't really stop her from being a good and fun character, especially when Compile/SEGA decide to give her a little more than "Is she stupid?" and beauty pageants.

That'd be all from me. Adios.

[inbarfink]

I do think it’s kinda fun the way the DHSAB prequel Comics play around with the idea of POV. Like, the Captain Hammer, Moist, Penny and Dr. Horrible Comics all include one shared event - a confrontation between Captain Hammer and Dr. Horrible during a CH autograph signing event in the park. But the way each of the characters seem to remember the event is… very different.

Captain Hammer’s version of events is extremely dramatic and dynamic. Constantly portraying the Captain himself in Cool Action Poses, while Dr. Horrible look as pathetic as possible

And the whole sequence ends with Captain Hammer throwing Dr. Horrible into space (or at least, like, halfway across the park). 

It’s also drawn in a very stylized art-style (courtesy of Dave Canete and Dave Stewart) that exaggerate and cartoonify the features of the characters in a way that is very complimentary to the Captain and very much not so to poor Billy. 

Plus, this is the only one of these comics that seem to be, like, an in-universe diegetic work. Like, this is a PSA Captain Hammer is making to the audience that exists in the Horribleverse. So that’s another layer of Fiction put between the comic and what really happened. And all in all, it’s very much promoting the audience to doubt this version of events (especially considering, you know, Dr. Horrible probably couldn’t survive in the vacuum of space). 

So when one reads through the Moist comic, and see how that old’ familiar scene plays, but with a more realistic artstyle (by Farel Darlymple and Dan Jackson), and a considerably more understated tone that allows the not-so-good Doctor to retain some of his dignity 

And even the ‘power-neutralizing ray’ being a better match to Horrible's usual tech aesthetic compared to the Captain Hammer Version’s Dinky Raygun-Gothic Thingy…

It might be easy to think this is a simple matter of Captain Hammer, being the full-of-himself antagonist of the whole DHSAB narrative, overexaggerating and aggrandizing the events, while Moist’s version shows us what really happened. But, well… let’s look at how our protagonist, Dr. Horrible recalls the events…

On the one hand we do get the added context that the ‘evil scheme’ Captain Hammer supposedly foiled that day was - in fact - all part of Dr. Horrible’s actual plan. 

But also… Dr. Horrible’s version of events has him sent blasting off again, much like the Captain Hammer version of events.

I mean, there's no 'thrown into outer-space' stuff, but it still resembles Captain Hammer’s recollections much more than Moist’s. And Dr. Horrible version also doesn't include his first meeting with Moist. Perhaps implying Dr. Horrible doesn't consider this encounter as important to his personal narrative as Moist obviously does? Plus, the art style (by Joelle Jones and Dan Jackson) is not as exaggerated as CH’s story, but still kinda cartoony. 

So… where does it leave us? Is Moist underplaying the confrontation in his version of events due to his own kinda laid-back personality or because the matter of how Captain Hammer knocked-out Dr. Horrible is just not as important to him as the fact that Doc even stood up to him in the first place? Or are Captain Hammer and Dr. Horrible both overdramatizing what happened back there, because obviously it’s good for Captain Hammer’s ego to see himself as so effortlessly thwarting and humiliating his enemies but also it’s actually good for Dr. Horrible’s ego to focus on Captain Hammer’s strength because then it feels even more impressive that he is able to match him as an arch-enemy? Or is it a bit of both? 

And what about Penny? How does she recall the event?

Well, Penny was in the park that day, but as far as she was concerned that epic confrontation of Good vs Evil was just in the background. Only slightly more notable than a guy losing a grip on his dog’s leash.

Because this is really what defines Penny in her POV comic, as the opening panel summarizes in a wonderfully succinct visual manner (as drawn by Jim Rugg and Dan Jackson). 

Until the event of DHSAB, for Penny, all of these superhero vs. supervillain business was just background noise, the really important stuff is the suffering and inequality she sees vividly around her on the ground level, in all of it’s grim detail - and despite it all she tries to remain bright and optimistic. That panel is really just... Penny in a nutshell.

And that’s a really important throughline with how this comic characterize Penny, she is out of lockstep with the mainstream because she doesn’t worship superheroes, maybe even resents them just a bit, because she kinda sees their super-escapades and fights against supervillains as… fun little distractions from the real problems of the world. The ones that she’s trying to correct little-by-little in that unglamorous non-super way of hers. 

And this is… I think the reason why the Fridging of Penny can feel so infuriating sometimes, is, well, leaving aside one’s feeling about the behind-the-scenes crew, it really feels like there was a really compelling character with her own story that was kinda tossed aside just for the sake of Billy getting ‘punished’ with her death.

Because when you read the Penny Comic, and you see, not just her general lack of worship for superheroes, but also the way she’s running herself rugged with different charitable activities

(It is probably not just a stylistic flare that Penny has bags under her eyes in almost every panel of this comic)

And the way she tends to bury down her own grief and negative emotions, to the point of lying to her fellow volunteers about her parents being alive.

And the way that as selfless and kind as she is, that kindness doesn’t always come easy to her. Sometimes she will grit her teeth and sigh in regret even as she keeps giving away all of herself.

And the way that she’s struggling, really really struggling to, as the title says, keep her head up. 

Like, ‘hope’ is the Big Obvious Motif of Penny’s character. But this comic really really drives home the fact that Penny is not some incorruptible platonic concept of Hope, and she’s not some storybook character living in a fantasy world. She’s just a person, trying her best to keep up a positive outlook in a world she knows is cruel and unfair. 

Like I said earlier, the different art styles of the comics can be seen as a reflection to how these characters see the world. Captain Hammer and Dr. Horrible both have an outlook of the world that’s maybe kinda exaggerated or cartoony. Even if the Doc is still considerably more tethered to the live-action reality. 

Meanwhile, Moist’s art style is more realistic, but also detailed in a way that makes it feel… kinda icky in a way that’s very Moist-appropriate.

And Penny’s artstyle shares the grounded feel of Moist’s and also the same kinda over-detail, but what distinguishes it is… this element of contrast. The contrast between the way the poverty and suffering around Penny is portrayed in a way that emphasizes grimness and grime (compared to the other art styles here at least) while you can also see how Penny is trying to see the brightness and beauty in the world, and preserve her own brightness and kindness as well - while still being fully aware of what kind of world she lives in. 

It seems like the default position in the Horribleverse is to just…buy into the spectacle and distraction of the Superheroes. Admire and flock around them, while ignoring the Real Issues around them. 

(note how the robot is described as 'disgruntled', so this is probably another Dr. Horrible-like situation of supervillain or super-menace being motivated by the inequalities of society and a superhero who does nothing about it but punch them into submission)

And Penny is specifically not that kind of Oblivious Happiness. Her brand of Hope confronts all the uncomfortable things Captain Hammer and Wingspan and their ilk would usually ignore, while still preserving a positive attitude. That’s, like, what all the imagery in ‘Penny’s Song’ is about.

Even in the darkness Every color can be found And every day of rain Brings water flowing To things growing in the ground

But also, this is hard, and she still struggles sometimes with keeping that balance between reality and optimism. With how the casual cruelty around her is so frustrating. With how much this takes away from her ability to have a ‘normal life’. With how isolated she feels caring about stuff so few around her seem to care about. 

And with all of this context now retroactively added to Penny in the actual Sing-Along Blog, there is actually so much going on with her character. Like, the entire events of the plot revolve around her worldview getting totally turned around again and again all in a row. 

Like, her falling in love with Captain Hammer after he supposedly ‘saved her life’ isn’t just ‘augh, typical Horribleverse Civilian obliviously fawning over their stupid superheroes’, or ‘well, Penny basically just met her idol'. Penny would not usually care about Captain Hammer, but then he (as far as she could tell) saved her life and, well… maybe it’s easier for Penny to read about Captain Hammer stopping a rampaging van some supervillain tried to hijack and go “Oh, that’s nice, but what about the people starving on the streets?” but to actually be in a life-threatening situation and get saved by a superhero… Maybe that was the first time in a long while that Penny actually understood why everyone thinks Captain Hammer is so great.

And then he started putting his charm on her at just the right time and then he agreed to go with her on a date at one of the homeless shelters she volunteers at. We the viewers understand that Captain Hammer only agreed for the sake of scoring with her, but Penny doesn’t come into it with the preconceived desire dislike CH cause he's the antagonist or has the time to watch out for the microexpressions of disgust on Captain Hammer’s face…

For her this is just… a wonderful turnaround on her previous opinion on superheroes. Here is an actual big name superhero taking an actual interest in the life of the poor and unhoused. Finally, after all of these years of not believing they’re going to do anything to really help people, here is a superhero actively taking interest in Penny’s most important issues. Because of the inherent goodness in his heart, and because of… love.

Like, the whole thing about “My Eyes” is that it’s about a change in perspective. (You know, “I cannot believe my eyes!”). It's about both Billy and Penny’s perspectives… intensifying. Billy is growing more cynical and more misanthropic and more resentful due to jealousy over Penny and Hammer's relationship, meanwhile Penny is shifting to be more optimistic and hopeful than she was before. 

I cannot believe my eyes How the world's Filled with filth and lies / finally growing wise But it's plain to see / And it's plain to see Evil inside of me / Rapture inside of me Is on the rise

If anything, I’d say her part of the song is even more overtly about a change in worldview than Billy’s are…

You know, the world is ‘finally growing wise’, because… a lot like Billy, she was also frustrated with the stupidity and shallowness that surrounded her, but unlike Billy who has fallen totally into self-important misanthropy, she was actually trying to keep her head up despite all of that and have some faith in humanity and the general public - and now, with Captain Hammer learning to care about homeless people… that probably validated all of her hopes for the whole world... well, at least in her eyes... 

But then a few days pass, the rush of that Heroic Rescue is starting to subside, and obviously the longer she keeps interacting with Captain Hammer the more chances there are for her to see the cracks in his facade. So she is starting to have some second thoughts…

Billy: How are things with "cheesy on the outside"? Penny:... Good. They're good. He's... nice.

Especially since at the same time she is starting to get closer to that cute guy from the laundromat.

Okay, so the fact that Billy’s crush on Penny was never a purely one-sided affair was another thing explicitly confirmed by the Penny Comic. Specifically in the very final panel.

But I think a lot of the previous interactions in the comic also help with that as well, both with the terrible awkward date that shows how Penny behaves around someone she has no ill will towards but also no affection or attraction towards… and also just in general how she seems to keep even her fellow volunteers at emotional-arm's-length by just repressing all of her emotional anguish away from them. Like, not just not opening up to them about her problems, she is actively lying to them about her parents not being dead.

And meanwhile, like… she is finding Billy to be someone she can open up too, that she can commiserate with about her own problems and like… okay, so ‘Penny’s Song’ doesn’t have her directly say ‘you know, I’ve had it pretty rough cause my parents are DEEEEAAAAAAD’ - but it does allude to it repeatedly. 

Here's a story of a girl Who grew up lost and lonely Thinking love was fairytale And trouble was made only for me

Grief replaced with pity For a city barely coping Dreams are easy to achieve If hope is all I'm hoping to be

In contrast to ‘directly flat-out lying to friends about her parents being alive’ I still think this must be a huge step for emotional intimacy from her, and she feels comfortable doing that with Billy. 

Also just like her verses in ‘My Eyes’, this song is about how perspective shifted from despair into hope. And I think this is as much about her initially going into charity work to cope with the grief of her parents’ death, it’s also about going from kind of the low-point of isolation in the comic and feeling ignored in ‘Caring Hands’ to now making new connections and feeling like the world is finally paying attention to her causes. 

But even with the ‘high’ of having her superhero boyfriend literally just easily gifting her the building her charity was working so hard to acquire - literally the manifestation of all the hopes she had for getting Captain Hammer involved in her causes… she is still noticing the red flags about Captain Hammer…

So they say we'll have blankets and beds We can open by Monday Thanks to you Thanks to me

And she’s still having her doubts. On one hand she’s out of the honeymoon phase with Captain Hammer and is getting more and more ambivalent with him and the cult of personality around him…

This is perfect for me So they say I guess he's pretty okay After years of stormy Sailing have I finally found the bay

But as always, the need to balance an acknowledgment of reality and the need to hold on to hope is the defining internal struggle of Penny’s life. Does she acknowledge the red flags, or… does she just allow herself to believe that this is a world where she can have love and happiness and make some real positive changes and the world is in general heading in a better direction? 

There's no happy ending So they say Should I stop pretending Or is this a brand new day

“Should I stop pretending or is this a brand new day?”

Stop pretending to herself that she’s still in love with Captain Hammer (note that she’s literally waiting for Billy for a Laundromat Frozen Yogurt Hangout as she sings this)

And also… stop pretending that a better world, a brand new day, is coming. Again, keeping her head up is as much a struggle for Penny as it is for anyone else. And in her darker, loneliest moments, drifting away from her boyfriend, her new friend and crush disappeared to Plan a Murder, hearing how shallow the media storm around Captain Hammer and Caring Hands is - she thinks about it not as hope, but as ‘pretending’. But she keeps on going, because… maybe this is a brand new day for her? Is this a chance she can afford to miss?

And then the opening ceremony comes and… turns out all the fears she’s been suppressing over the last montage have been confirmed. Captain Hammer talks about her in a way she clearly finds uncomfortable and his speech makes it clear that he hasn’t been actually listening to anything she’s been actually trying to teach him about homeless people and their problems. 

Everyone's a hero in their own way Everyone's got something they can do Get up, go out and fly Especially that guy – he smells like poo

And worst of all, everyone else is eating it up. The entire crowd is just 100% buying whatever comes out of this superhero’s mouth and most of them probably don’t care at all about homeless shelters and will probably stop caring once the big shiny superhero isn’t there. Not only all of the suspicions she’s been having about Captain Hammer validated, but all of the negativity she used to have about superheroes but pushed away once she started dating him has been validated as well. 

If superheroes can really help the impoverished and unhoused, Captain Hammer sure isn’t really interested in it.

In a way, it also kinda reminds me of the moment in Dr. Horrible’s comic, where Billy first gets disillusioned with superheroes.

But this is a lot more personal.

Really, the only way this moment can be any more of an emotional low-point for a character who always tried to hold on to hope in the goodness of humanity is if it turns out that the other person she’s been getting kinda emotionally intimate with recently is actually a murderous supervillain!

But what are the odds of that?

No sign of Penny - good I would give anything not to have her see It's gonna be bloody, head up, Billy buddy There's no time for mercy Here goes no mercy...

Yeah, she’s clearly mouthing ‘Billy?’ in this shot, she does know what’s going on now.

And okay, leaving aside the criticisms of Penny’s death from a thematic standpoint, I’ve also heard some complaints about it from a purely Wastonian perspective. Of, like, how the hell was she even hurt by that explosion happening on the other side of the room and basically no one else? But… I do think it’s notable that the general crowd is seen dodging the Death Ray Explosion Shrapnel by ducking down

And the last time we got a look at Penny she had just decided to stand up. 

Right after recognizing Dr. Horrible as Billy and then seeing him hesitate to pull the trigger. Maybe... She was considering confronting Billy directly? That despite him running around gloating with a death-ray, she still believed she could talk him out of it somehow? Was it just pure instinct to do something as she saw Captain Hammer in mortal danger?

And if she was still standing as Captain Hammer turned the tables around, was she just frozen in shock, or was she still considering if she should run ahead and intervene as Captain Hammer pulled the trigger.

Well, whatever was going on in her head, it seems like this instinct to try and get involved in that situation while still being too unsure to actually go ahead and try and do it - is what did her in. 

So now Penny has been disgusted by her boyfriend and disillusioned by the general public and emotionally betrayed by her best-friend-slash-crush and now she’s dying and it’s all the fault of these two aforementioned dudes and also maybe the fault of her trying to believe there’s something worth saving about both of them and I dunno how lucid she is to realize all of this but… I think the emotions of these events have made their impact regardless.

And like, Penny has spent her entire life running herself rugged trying to do the right thing, the actual right thing. And she’s been playing this balancing game of choosing both to not ignore all of the societal problems and not just focusing on ‘wow!! Cool superheroes!!’ and also keeping some amount of optimism and hope in humanity all this time. And sometimes it makes her just so isolated and depressed. And sometimes it gives her false hope that is just yanked from under her in the most cruel way.

So… why bother? When her life is so obviously over? Why bother keeping that balance of realism and hope? Billy decided to give up on hope and gave into self-important misanthropy. Penny couldn’t give up on hope, so she decided to give up on reality. Decided at that last moment to try and just be one of those civilians fawning over superheroes and hanging all their faith on them and ignoring everything else. She shouldn't have 'stopped pretending', so should start pretending harder.

Penny: Captain Hammer will save us...

This isn’t Penny holding on to her optimism and ideals despite it all, this is Penny giving up, for the last time. 

Well, this is my read of Penny's last line with the added context of her prequel comics. There are other places you can take this of course. You can connect it to that 'pie' motif that's also present with Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer's characters - You might think that Penny's hopeful attitude is naive and overly-idyllic and fawning at superheroes. But actually she's a lot more world-weary and savvy than that and she's actually the only civilian around to recognize Captain Hammer's bullshit when the time comes. But also deep down she is maybe overly naive and would want to believe in that fantasy of the clear-cut hero who will make it all better, and that's the feelings she retreats too when it's all over.

That's just one off the top of my head, there's probably other readings as well. But the main point is that regardless of what reading you take, Penny's prequel comic really contextualizes a lot about the character. The confirmation of her parents being dead explains the lyrics of her song, the reveal she was always kinda into Billy help shed light on her perspective of their interactions and seeing her pre-DHSAB feelings on superheroes really recontextualize how one can look at her last words. Cause it can't just be like "oh, Penny is always holding on to hope and faith in superheroes until her last moments", because we now know this is explicitly ISN'T something she would always do. Something has changed within Penny.

But also… you really can’t avoid the fact that the main narrative focus DHSAB gives to her death scene is not as a culmination of an arc about realism and hope and the failure of superheroes… It is mostly as This is the Most Emotionally Devastating Thing for Billy to hear Penny say. And that the narrative prioritizes how Penny’s death’s effects Billy’s arc. Where she mostly plays the role of a Symbol of Hope and Optimism and Goodness. Rather than a person who struggled with what it means to be Hopeful. 

And that’s just… really frustrating sometimes. 

[arkus-rhapsode]

Manga Publishers: Shueisha and Shonen Jump-What's the deal? (Quick Post)

Hello all, Arkus Rhapsode here again this time with a much smaller post. Recently I've been getting asked by people what a "Shueisha" even is? "Isn't it all just Jump?" Which reminded me how, at least in the west, manga fans really don't understand the difference between publishers and how something like Weekly Shonen Jump is an imprint part of a larger publishing company known as Shueisha.

Shueisha itself has numerous other magazines underneath is such as V Jump (monthly Shonen magazine aimed at middle schoolers), Weekly Young Jump (A weekly seinin series), Jump+ (An online service that allows multiple manga with more range and broad genres), Ribon (A monthly shojo magazine), etc. With the ones containing the word "Jump" being part of the Jump Line of comics which are usually Shonen and Seinin series.

The amount of magazines may vary from company to company so it may be too much to ask of everyone to know all of them. In fact with digital platforms they kinda just blend together. And as someone in North America, I can see the SJ stamp placed on non shonen jump series by viz because they don't use categories like "Jump Comics" at viz.

Now this is information I really don't expect the average western manga fan to know because back in the day, we all had to use stuff like Manga Panda or Manga Stream which would post chapters from One Piece and Naruto alongside stuff like Fairy Tail and the Seven Deadly Sins. So for a lot of people the distinction of what is even inside "shonen jump" can change. Even with modern convinces this makes it hard for some as they think Spy x Family or Kaiju no 8 are shonen jump because they're updated on the SJ app.

This did get me thinking about how much publishers in Japan don't really make the company the "brand." In America, Marvel and DC slap their names on all their comics. This is the "Marvel Universe" or the "DC Universe." Now part of this is because they are a connected universe so they need a single unifying brand so you know what's what in a world with things from super science to mutants to magic. As well as the fact most of their characters are owned by the company. But you see this with things like animation too, its easy for networks to remind you that this is a Cartoon Network show or this is a Nickelodeon show even though they may have wildly different tones or genres or artstyles.

But in Japan, its interesting to see how much Shueisha as a publishing company isn't really concerned with tying its identity with the brand of their magazines. Part of me wonders that if its due to the fact that the publishers of these companies don't actually permanently hold the rights of the series that run in them. There's actually a lot stronger creators rights in Japan and a creator can simply choose to walk away from a publisher, famously Hiroyuki Takei would leave shueisha and take all of the Shaman King franchise to rival publisher Kodansha. Then Tsukasa Hojo and Tetsuo Hara both famous for their work on City Hunter and Fist of the North Star respectively, would create their own publishing company called Coamix and take the rights to their series to bolster the value. And none bigger than Makoto Raiku, a creator heavily critical of his former employer Shogakukan and creators rights enthusiast, would end up taking Zatch Bell with him and having its sequel independently published.

While in the case of Marvel many creators made characters on a work for hire contract which would stimulate that anything they made would become the property of the company.

Now that's not to say Shueisha don't invest in their brand. "Jump Comics" is a brand that possibly gets more promotion than another. As mentioned previously, you only really see Weekly Shonen Jump making manga the focus of their magazine cover. Heck some of the best covers are when you see all the characters inside the magazine hanging out. And my personal favorite is the Shueisha puts on Jump Festa, a convention specifically for jump related announcements and advertising which are almost always host to a massive mural each year of series running under the "Jump" label. I wish more companies honestly did this, particularly Kodansha and Shogakukan, but it Nintendo Direct vs Sony State of Play has taught me anything, its that not every company has that fanbase that'll make a big deal out of everything to sustain such a venture.

[mnkiss]

A quick list of animes I watched and don't want to forget 3:

Satsuriku no Tenshi - perfect for halloween, it was a short story with an easy to forget plot and characters I could root for. Tbh it hooked me with the never ending suspense and Zack. And I'll never forget the heartbreak at the end. So toxic and broken and tragic. The horror elements were fun, sometimes scary even so 7/10! Demon slayer - Its a bingeable shounen. The story is mid, the animation is cool, the MC is kind and likeable + i love how they show us the difference between "city japan" and "rural japan" (especially technology and behaviour-wise), but the constant screaming and second hand embarrassement is just too much. And besides getting stronger and using better techniques there are no character arcs (as of in S2). The boar + thunder kid just ruined the whole series for me t_t And the mountain peasant/animalistic superpower schtick is boring as hell after an episode or two. 6.5/10

Samurai Champloo - y2k graffiti/breakdance meets samurais. Boi, what an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G anime! The AV, OST, art style, all the fight scenes and character design... all of it is 10/10. Of course the found family trope can never be trumped, however the story itself was adventurous, not repetitive (except for them never having money lol), captivating, witty and emotional when it needed to be. Also the episodes tie into each other a lot, which makes the storytelling natural (+ its not just episodes put in order). The MC's are all 3D with weaknesses, believable behaviors and distinct manners + they have easy to remember names and styles. Watching the messy trio's friendship come to live is something I want to witness again for sure.

Konosuba! - A surprisingly bad and adorable parody of the isekai genre that I could only watch all the way through after the 3rd attempt. Most characters are completely helpless/stupid/naive but in an oddly charming way. The MC is ofc a pervert neet that is insufferable, but his oversexualized companions are cute, their friendship is cute, and their boobs are huge. Watch it while having dinner 6/10

Ouran highschool host club - light hearted and stupid and has some second hand embarrassement, but its a must watch! I wish the artstyle was different tho :/ 8.5/10

The Apothecary Diaries - Sherlock Holmes meets chinese historical romance fanfic. Beautiful, captivating and rewatchable. Very dreamy (but i have a feeling that theres going to be a lot of drama and sadness in the future? idk i havent started the light novel yet) 9/10

Midnight Occult Civil Servants - its so much more worth it than ppl think! Yes, the power of friendship is strong in this one, buuuut 1) its not overdone 2) the story is not sugarcoated and there are some interesting philosophical topics that we touch throughout the episodes 3) even though the MC is a naive and ridiculously hard working boy, he learns a lot from his mistakes and kinda grows up. His friends are lovely too! I just wish that their design was a bit more detailed, the animation got a bit more budget and that we could have gotten a bit more chapters... 8/10!

Mignon - a korean BL manwha adaptation. Each episode is around 5 mins so the story isnt too complicated. It has vampires (why dont we get more of them nowadays??) and sexy man-love. 6.5/10

Golden Boy - It is a golden comedy (and educational) anime and it's so humorous that I actually laughed watching it. At first it seems annoying/ridiculous but from the end of the first episode I understood the premise and the point of the anime. The boy doesnt learn much, but the women around him do. 7.5/10

Kamisama Kiss - I loved it at the beginning and then felt really let down by it, cuz 1) I learned about the end of the story and got pissed off (because ***SPOILER ALERT who the fuck thought that giving up your occult superpowers and long life is romantic? WHO?***) and 2) it got so rushed at the end. The art style is not my favorite ad some of the frames looked cheap, but I loved the comical use of expressions and some of the designs were really cool. 6/10 (and -100/10 because of the ending of the manga. Seriously. Fuck that.)

[threeninetiez]

I recommend watching the echoes of wisdom announcement before you keep reading because i talk about the game mechanics and stuff you might not understand if you haven't seen it...anyways...

My mom excitedly showed me the announcement yesterday and I was fairly excited with her but i thought it looked kinda lame I'M SORRY but i'm disappointed that theyre just recycling the link's awakening remake artstyle,, it's cute and all but i personally would've appreciated a more serious one.

The echo mechanic is...neat? It looks fun to play around with but the way i saw monsters being used to fight alongside you makes it look too easy for me... however i'm picking up signs that this won't necessarily be a combat focused game so if that's the case i wont give it too much shit for that.

However I am happy that we'll get to actually play as zelda now i think that's very cool! I've been wanting to since I was a little guy. Also wisdom is a good theme for me because i'm starting college this fall.

My mind isn't entirely made up because it was just announced so i hope i warm up to it, but for the most part i'm not particularly impressed... for now i give it a 4/10. don't let me stop you from liking it tho! i like when people like things, everything i said was subjective etc live your truth okay seeya later i'm playing stardew valley

[e-adlirez]

Why are you this ick about the friendship things in the books? I mean, for a book series that aimed for preschooler shouldn't it be expected for the books to have a lot of corny messages about friendship and love? Like, I feel like you gave way too many expectations for a silly kid series

Okay yeah that's fair, maybe my expectations for the series is holding the bar a bit high, and it might just be a me thing (I could never get into MLP for the life of me)

But hear me okay

The reason I don't like the power of friendship being mentioned in the books is because it clashes with what I've seen of the series so far.

See one thing the books did very well was allow you to imagine that the girls are grown-ass adults in university. They are very good at selling the bit that the girls are adults, without infodumping the crap out of it. For the best look into how this is done, see graphic novels 1-4, as well as the main books that were done in the older artstyle. The way the books are written allows you to really believe these girls as grown adults-- there are occasions where the books' age sticks out a bit... too much, but most times, it's smooth sailing, and the girls are very believable as adults.

Case and point: I got into the books when I was eight years old, and one thing I appreciated and still appreciate about the older books is the fact that the immersion is on-point. The books are rated 6-10, but only in terms of the language level (it's short and easy to read is what I'm saying). The plots of the books are well-written, and most importantly, the books do not treat you like a kid as you're reading. You'd be surprised how valuable that is nowadays,,,

Even the friendship bits in the older books worked hard to sell the bit in a way that it fits with how the stories are written, which is very grounded and realistic, actually (minus the cheese puns):

The girls gave Thea a fancy jade and called her "the keeper of our friendship"? Friendship bracelet logic, which is a very valid logic. Colette's cousin mentions the girls' friendship? Well yeah, it makes sense in that scene because she's hosting a fashion walk, and the girls literally carried and were kinda the reason why Julie's finals project wasn't completely scrapped; that part where the friendship bit is mentioned is literally the perfect moment for a cheesy-ass speech. (There's a really good one in non-English Shipwreck too but that's a story for a whole 'nother day.) The way the plots are written is very down-to-earth and grounded, and the inclusions of the friendship bits back then reflect this. This was the way the bar was set for me, and thus it's how I judge the later books.

As the series progressed, things got more explicit with the age range. Nothing atrocious, but you could tell things were getting more and more openly kid-friendly. You know it's progressed when more than a handful of people mistake them for being highschoolers instead of grown-ass adults in university.

There is still action, and there is still adventure and shenanigans that you get fully immersed in, but if you're like me, you would be happily immersed in the adventure, trying to solve the mystery alongside the girls, but also hoping and praying to your holy deity of choice that a friendship bit doesn't come up in the year of our Lord 2024.

Only to die inside when it is brought up and the delivery sounds so blatantly sugary it can give you a cavity. The kind that hurts to see stick out like the sorest thumb.

So yeah, my standards might be high, but my standards are high because I've seen the series reach that bar before, and I know they can do it again. I am mentally ill for this franchise dammit /affectionate

[medicalunprofessional]

I just saw that insane Sasha Nein art you did, where he’s smoking and his mom is in it. I have to say that was some of the COOLEST ART I HAVE EVER SEEN ON THIS SITE, EVER. And I saw that you said you draw on your phone?!?! I’m actually begging you to tell me what app you use pLEASE (also I have always wanted to know how to render but I don’t even know how to start is there any in progress shots you can show so I have something to go on ;U; ty)

GYAHHHHH THANKSS YOUI wwhhh… I had written more in response to this but… Tumblr crashed and deleted it so… Im trying to remember all the points i went over haha… But… Yes… I do draw on the phone with my fingers. The key? Ibispaint… Its really good. You just gotta believe in yourself…. Its rlly not that hard :)

But… On rendering, i feel like everyone renders differently… It really depends on yout artstyle… But i will gladly go over my process (again(thanks tumblr)). Ill be using a different piece as an example (the one of sasha? I didnt render that in my normal way. Just kinda Drew Shapes) -

So i always.. sketch it out. Roughly. Get the details down, yes, but this part will pretty much be invisible, so it doesnt have to be perfect. (yees there was gonna be red string but i didnt like it so. Goodbye red strintg.. Sorry boyd) In this piece (and some others) i redid the sketch a few times to get everything placed and sized how i like it…

After this..? I just put in the colors under the sketch. Here, id like to get them relatively like how i want them to be (though sometimes ill just put in a single color and choose the colors WHILE im rendering)… Its Good To Keep Them Messy I Think

And then… I put all the layers into a folder and render it all on a new layer…. Its that simple… Some people will do it on a bunch of layers to keep all the different elements separate, but i feel its confusing and youll get tripped up in all the layers… I simply use one. Sometimes ill make a new layer if im not feeling confident about a detail, but, usually, its just one. The colors i laid down? im simply colorpicking those and making them more defined, usually blockier.. And dont worry! Its easy to move things around, having to repaint some stuff isnt as bad as you think (ESPECIALLY if you dont use lineart. I hate lineart sometimes😌)

And its done after i get alll the details i want in (sometimes, you dont need to detail everything. Focus on whats important! If you like..). Well, the drawing part is, atleast. I usually run it over with some special brushes i made to make it look more scratched up and dirty. Then i do some chromatic abberation shenanigans! And some noise. Then… Its done :)

Though… if there is one thing i must say…… You can wiggle around the hue and saturation a little while rendering it makes it more interesting and flavorful… You can wiggle it around ALOT to make things look holographic…. Oh! and keep it simple… And also desaturating colors a lot combined with the context of other colors around them can do some crazy stuff… I can make orange look like green 🕴️ (Okay that was . More than one thing. And?)

But really..:: Do what YOU want. Its your art :) I cant tell you what to do! Do all of these things. Do none of these things. Just do what YOU want to. Nothing I or ANYONE says dictates what you must do or what is correct in your expressions.

Yay!