#this is really just a sketch for an idea for a bigger piece idk how to execute rn

[robotbodies]

introduced species on furby island

[iamhereinthebg]

Hello! I hope you have a nice day, I love your art a lot and I wanted to know if you have maybe anything about your process to do you drawings?

Heya! I am having a good day ty :DD I hope you are too^^ and thanks this is really nice dshgjds TvT

I will be really honest but I don't have a lot of time to draw in general so my process is more 'this is between cosmic entities, the 30minutes I have and me, I draw whatever the fck happens in my head' rather than having really complex steps :'))

I have some speedpaints! (I record them a lot it helps me for some details)

I think this one is the most representative of how I work

I doodle a lot of stuff on the same file and I often go to one drawing to another because I can't draw more than 30min/1hour on a drawing most of the time ://

When doing bigger illustrations I do sometimes just really quick doodles to have the idea, doodle or some notes on my phone notepad (and I wrote a lot on it too, here is a chaotic example of a stuff I never finished that makes me laugh so hard)

I don't do lineart too, and mostly just 'clean' my sketches/doodles, and I do a sketch for colors too (to test stuff) before doing the 'clean colors' on bigger pieces.

I use one layer for the sketch, one for the basic background and one layer for the colors, then merge everything to paint over it. (I use some effects on layers for colors then merge them)

Here is the layers on my last sketch (I am happy I saved the steps ahah)

the sketch

the colors

and the merged one where I painted a lil bit over

I have a really doodling/sketchy style (and no time) so it works for me but tbh it really depends on what you want for your artstyle too. If you like flat colors I think colored lines look better than just sketch but this is my preference ^^

Idk if this is what you mean but I hope it helps ^^ thank you for your ask!

[annoying--moth]

No matter how many times it is explained to me or I talk about it with someone, I can't fully grasp what exactly is going on with art in the arc of a scythe universe. Because like,

It's stated multiple times that post-mortal art is "bland" and "uninspired" and "redone to death," and while I can certainly understand SOME art being like that, surely not all art is like that?? And I understand this in the sense that like, everyone's constantly remaking/repainting/making their own versions of famous paintings and such, but also there still has to be people who don't do that, right??? Like maybe I just have zero reading comprehension and somehow missed the bigger picture, but I feel like all this talk about art being redone to death implies that no one is making original art anymore? Which just. doesn't seem feasible to me?? Because as an artist myself, I can't see immortality taking away my ability to draw or come up with cool ideas. I don't draw because I'm going to die one day, I draw because I like it, and it's a form of creative expression. You can always come up with something new to draw- whether it's a cool oc, or someone you know, or just something random and abstract. The possibilities never end!

Of course, I suppose there is the argument then that people just aren't creative anymore, but I also find that hard to believe. I couldn't imagine ever truly running out of ideas. Like I mentioned above, OCs people??? I highly doubt there's no one in the post-mortal era still making weird, whacky, badass, or just cute OCs. Heck, I'd expect scythe ocs to be really popular! I wonder if it's like a thing for every kid to have a scythe oc phase..? Or at least kids in certain communities/fandoms (like scythe card trading- maybe they make their own cards for their scythe ocs!)

And also, it's confirmed that fiction is still very much a thing in the post-mortal era (I know zombies are referenced in one Gleanings story) so it's not like people can only connect to non-fiction. That's another thing that's discussed more in terms of theatre and writing- people not being able to connect to the themes because they're so far removed from it in reality. But my thing is, I've never experienced war or death (until very recently at least) and I still don't find myself unable to sympathize with people losing their loved ones to death or war or disease, although I suppose this could also have to do with the nanites. Plus the fact that death and war still exist in society as an actual thing that happens, but idk.

Also by the way- I feel like that one Gleanings story The Mortal Canvas has a subtle diss on digital art? And I have nothing against traditional art- heck I probably draw traditionally more often since I'm always doodling/sketching, but I feel like just because art is digital doesn't mean it's "uninspired" or whatever people were saying in the books. In fact, I've found myself moved emotionally by more digital pieces than traditional ones (although I don't see a lot of traditional paintings compared to digital ones tbf)

Also also I want to say- I don't exactly know how well this relates to my point but that one dude in The Mortal Canvas who made the others' artstyles into filters was a huge douchebag. AI art type shit, I was ready to strangle him reading that.

I remember the bit in The Toll about Ezra the artist, and how he said he was just "decent" or "moderately good" or something along those lines when we first met him, and I was going to make an argument about that part too but to be honest it's been a little while since I've read The Toll so I'll have to come back to that one once I reread it. But I think it also had to do with the emotional/creative aspect of art, which again, I refuse to believe immortality has such an influence on creativity that no art is original or interesting anymore. Sure it might make certain things harder, or make motivation worse, but I feel like if someone is truly creative it doesn't matter? Though then again, I'm not immortal so what do I know.

I briefly mentioned nanites earlier, and that is one thing that I do think probably has an impact, and I specifically mean emo-nanites. Since post-mortals can't feel as strong emotions as us mortal humans, perhaps that's also why their art seems more uninspired or whatever, because they can't put as much emotion into it. However, an excess amount of emotion isn't exactly needed to make art either. Like as I was writing this I was looking through my own art and realised that for some pieces I wasn't putting any emotional thought whatsoever into the pieces, yet there's still a clear emotion there when you look at them. Joy, wonder, whatever.

Anyway in conclusion, I think that it's unrealistic to say that all post-mortal art would be dull, uninspired, and meaningless, because I believe there will always be creative people who will make art not because they're gonna die one day, but because they want to and enjoy it, simple as that. Thanks to whoever stuck around long enough to read this far, I really hope it made sense. It's kinda late while I'm writing this and tbh I'm half-expecting there to be some huge detail/plot point that I missed that makes my whole argument totally invalid, whether that's me misinterpreting all the bits about post-mortal art or just being a complete dumbass with zero media literacy. Either way hope this was a fun read, I don't write long-form posts like these super often (note the lack of confidence in my media literacy skills) and if I made a really bad argument/missed something huge please be nice in the notes, I have a fragile ego :(

Uh yeah anyway I think I got everything as usual don't take my rambling *too* seriously, I just always found it confusing how post-mortal art is said to be so "uninspired" (I keep using that word cause I reread chapter 3 of Scythe today and Faraday uses it there) when I personally can't imagine not being able to be creative, though perhaps I'm just self-projecting. So uh, yeah.

[hapfish]

Hey! I'm making a F!Leo cosplay and I was wondering if you have any advice for how to do the shell? The plastron, specifically. Yours was amazing! Ty xx

Yeah of course!!! Luckily the rise plastrons are very geometric so its pretty easy to make a pattern from it! I dont have pictures of early steps so pls bear with me <3 info n pictures below the cut

First thing i did was make a pattern of my torso with plastic wrap and tape so i could see the curve of my stomach and chest. Cant say this helped a TON, but i cant imagine things in my head, so it helped me conceptualize the size and dimensions i would need the front panels to be to cover my torso.

Next i started sketching small patterns for what the cut outs may look like. DEFINITELY make a paper pattern, this took a lot of trial and error and you dont want to waste too much foam. I cannot for the life of me find my paper patterns unfortunately, but hopefully you can see part of where im coming from with the detailed pictures of the plastron!! I made patters for 1/2 of the plastron, and flipped the patters over to make the other half mirrored and symetrical.

Now the cutting. I used .7mm foam (i think?? I got it from micheals. Joann fabrics has some but only small sheets. If you want less seams you should get the bigger ones, or buy massive sheets online. EVA foam isnt too hard to find, but make sure your density and width is appropriate for what youre making. When actually cutting the pieces out, some cuts will be flat while others may work best at an angle. I used mostly 90* and 45* angles to make clean edges and corners.

Bear with me bc the pictures in this next part are kinda uglie </3 ill explain why later.

For matching the curve of the body, i used a fresh blade and made shallow triangle cuts on the backside of the foam as can be seen here:

It would have worked better if the chest pieces were also vurved by i was on a time crunch and didnt have the time to make a 3rd or fourth plastron (yes this was a second fully completed attempt orz). Im also a bigger dude so it may be easier if your torso is smaller. I also had the benefit of making my pants from scratch (using a demon slayer uniform pattern that i altered) so i made the waistband big enough to tuck the shell into, which helped with keeping it curved around my body.

(This but only applies to future leo and i did post gluing the pieces together, but for his Top Surgery Scars™️ i cut into the chest at a 45*angle, then glued those pieces back onto the back side to seal the cut)

For gluing, i tried a whole lot of types but jothing worked as well as cement glue. It is toxic tho so make sure you do it outside or with good ventilation, and wear gloves/a mask. I did two layers on each edge then stuck the edges together, 3 if i noticed the foam absorbing it to much. Make sure you take the gluing slow and really put pressure on the pieces to lock them together. Follow the instructions and youll do fine.

For painting, i did 2 layers of modge podge, 1-2 priming layers (depends on if foam is white or black to start), and then whatever layers you need for a smooth coat of color. I topped it off with modgepodge again to seal it, but that may not have been the best idea for the following reasons....

EW YUCK. WHY IT LOOK LIKE THAT.

Well. It didnt always. Turns out when youre wearing approx 3 laters in the summer then cover your body with insulating foam, the heat and moisture makes the modgepodge MELT. and like i said before, this bottom portion was tucked into my pants so it did not breathe. I have yet to even try to find a solution but just keep it in mind when making your cosplay (and if you find a solution PLEASE LET ME KNOW! My one idea was tryna find a sealant that wont melt (obv) but idk what that would be)

And FINALLY. how to secure it to the body suit!! I used snaps!! So easy and nice (besides the melting issue but thats a different thing entirely.) They never came off or gave me problems (minus the melting) and made the shells easy to transfer/travel with and put on.

(Heres a pic of them on the suit sewn in by hand, and above you can see them on the shell itself.)

All in all, The plastron was so so hard and im honestly still not happy with it, planning to remake it before i wear him again. Please show me your cosplay when you finish it, id love to see!! Please lemme know if you have any other questions!! 🐢💙

[c-cocco]

kinda been taking it into my own hands as far as making my own little true form sukuna plushie goes since i'm not really sure if or when an official one would come out (tho, tbh i'm not completely sure how long it'd take me to actually make this x_x)

(more design rambles under the cut)

i kinda got the very general design idea/pattern from my little persona plushies i got (here's the joker one as an example)

the body is a simple front and back piece with separate arms and the head two front pieces (the face/head piece and the hair/bangs) with a little dart on the top center line and at least two back pieces (a third can be layered on top if you're making a character with longer hair), then two extra ear pieces that sewn into the side seams. In sukuna's case, his body would obviously have to be a bit bigger to fit in the extra arms but i feel like that shouldn't be too hard to figure out proportions wise (i know those are kinda off in this sketch, but i just wanted to get the basic ideas down xD;; ...i also forgot about the back two pieces of the head x_x;;).

I'm just not sure about how i want to do the details tho.. like i know that, unlike the persona ones, i want to make the clothes separate (b/c i'm a sucker for making little outfits) but, as stated in the side notes of the sketch, while im a bit more sold on doing embroidery (or embroidery + felt patches) for the face bits, im really not sure how to do his tattoos... im currently less sold on embroidering those and leaning more towards patching them on with felt (especially if i end up using felt for the skin fabric).

most of the fabric for the joker one is this 'felt-ish'/fleece-y feeling stuff that has some sort of a woven layer to it so it's a bit more stable (idk what it's called but i know it's used a lot with plushies) which makes it a good option (aside from knowing where to buy it) but i dont think patching them on would look as integrated. i could piece them in but that would probably be more trouble than it's worth at this small a scale.. i think most of the official plushies embroider them in now that i think of it so i'll probably have to do that unless there's a way i can still patch them on with a thinner fabric 🤔 (perhaps it would be a way to add a different texture too....)

the hair is pretty straightforward in comparison.. the joker plush uses that soft minky fabric with the short pile so i'm probably going to use that (it's just... hopefully i can find that specific shade of pink-beige-ish.. tho pink is still a good plan b if i can't ofc).

i think that's about it with my thoughts on the matter.. i'm also planning out a gojo one too even tho i know there's plenty of small plushies for him xDD i'll probably share those sketches as well since i'm currently messing around with how i want to do his hair and face and may need some help deciding;;; i did have the idea of doing his irises in sparkly seed beads but i may need to do a little test of that to see if that could even work xD;;;; if not there's always sparkly embroidery thread (tho that stuff is tough to work with x_x)

if you read to the end of this ramble o_O thank you. here's an extra sketch of the plush i also want to make of one of my ocs xD

[wetcatspellcaster]

hello! i have a question about finding time to write because i have an idea for an astarion fic but it's my first year in my ph.d. program and i am DROWNING IN WORK AND READINGS. how did you do this AND work on your dissertation? (also congrats on that!!! that's massive!!!)

hello, anon, congratulations to YOU on your phd programme!! many felicitations on the continuing of your education.

I took a while to reply to this, bc I'm not sure if I'm the best person to ask this question. my personal answer is 'hyperfixate on the dopamine source so, so hard until you burnout, and then feel guilty bc you haven't updated in ages (I'm currently one week since an update), and then let that guilt become your new motivator! :D'

...which doesn't seem very healthy. and definitely impacts my ability to answer the question in a way that is actually helpful.

so i don't have an answer, but my honest pieces of advice are below the cut.

idk what kinda PhD you are doing, but if it's a humanities, in my experience, there are dips and lulls. first year is always a bit hectic bc the imposter syndrome is high and you feel like you're treading water to stay afloat. but things will get so much easier, and will in fact go through peaks and troughs! in 2nd and 3rd year, i had months without any work at all. wait for a trough to do some drafting. if you're currently really struggling, then just sketch as detailed an outline as you can in a document when the idea is fresh, and then you can return to it in dribs and drabs when you have a spare moment. [if you're a scientist, apologies in advance, you have a much harder life than me!] .

this one isn't very burnout friendly, but i am introverted and treat writing fic like a hobby for when i have no social battery. then my fic battery runs out, i go be social. yes, this kinda just spreads the burnout around. yes, i also know writing is still work! but it doesn't feel like it, to me. so I guess make your fic idea as much about fun, and as least about work, as possible. make it into the catnip that will make you come back to it. treat it as an escape rather than another magnum opus, or god forbid, a second dissertation. .

this also applies to PhD work - again, if you are a humanities student, you'll inevitably hit a writing block in your thesis. these are normal, and though they feel like the worst thing at the time, they will inevitably shift. thesis writing block when i was often very productive with fic, bc my thesis wasn't taking up my brain power and/or taking time away from my thesis was exactly what i needed. If you're burned out on the thesis, maybe spend some time just playing around in your brain for a bit. my friend told me about how she used fic as a way to build 'mastery' - when she was depressed or feeling down about her thesis, she would do something she knew she was good at (fic), and this would lift her mood. in the self critical world of academia, sometimes a little fic positivity goes a long way (at least for me, but that's bc both my supervisors are very very harsh, the exact opposite of the AO3 comment box). .

find an update schedule that works for you. i used to write a whole fic before i published any of it, but that's become more untenable as my wordcounts get bigger and i need motivation. now, comments fuel me when i'm drafting. so honestly, if you think posting will add pressure, don't post. write it just for you. if you think posting is the only thing that will keep the idea alive, do it and then don't feel guilt if there's a large gap in updates. people will still read it when it eventually goes up! :)

Honestly, I don't really have an answer. I wrote a lot these last few months bc I was feeling very depressed with the endgame of my thesis, and writing distracted me and made me feel better. I try to keep two nights a week free for fic, but that works for me bc I'm an introvert who lives alone. I don't think you can force it, but what I can tell you is that the PhD does get much, much easier (and that first year is also a perfectly legit time to faff around a bit and commit some time theft if you want - at least in the humanities, bc you'll still have so much time in your project).

I'm sorry I don't have a clear answer! Fic is important to me, so I make time for it, sometimes to my own detriment. If your PhD is what is important to you rn, fic can wait! Similarly, if you want to take some time away from that treading water, maybe microdose an hour or so of fic to start building mastery :) xx

[legendsgalore]

Magolor and Taranza Gijinka

So I have been thinking about what certain Kirby characters would look like as humans recently, and have been trying to sketch it out! These are just sketches for now, but I am working on color version atm, as well as full body drawings. So for Magolor, I would imagine him to have a long sleeveless coat/vest thing with a hood, to emulate his on his little, fox/cat/owl body. I would imagine this is made out a of a heavy, but not thick material. The type that drapes very well, as he uses a belt buckle around his waist to create some shape with it. This would be a white color with gold accents on it.

The reason I picked a sleeveless one, is to show off the undershirt! I imagine Magolor to be surprisingly toned, he IS a dimensional explorer afterall, he is no pushover! But as he is a mage, he is not a muscular person. So his shirt would be a fitted one over the arms, and I put some fun gear patterns on the shoulders! I imagine this as a deeper blue (you can see the color in that weird blob in the bottom right corner bleeding through the page) with the gear being a golden yellow.

Additionally, he wears a necklace that sits just above his collar bone, with an additional chain hanging from the middle bead that has a golden star at the end!

Not pictured is I imagine Magolor goes and does field research often, collecting samples, testing spells, etc. So not only is his clothing built for adventure (pockets!), but he has on a pair of good boots! They're shorter ones, and I'm leaning towards lace up style, with more gear insignia on the back. I think halfway through the adventure with Kirby, or maybe once Kirby and co get all the Lor pieces, they return to see that Magolor swapped shirts (and to return the pieces ya know). This once is a more flowy style, that drapes on his figure compared to the fitted one from before (though in my drawing it looks skintight haha). I'm unsure if I want to keep the deep blue color, or go for a lighter blue-grey here, to signify something is off about Magolor when Kirby returns.

For his hair, at first I was imagining something half up-half down, but then I remembered that is the hairstyle I always use for Meta Knight, and that was not going to cut it. This is the part I am most iffy about, but so far I have enjoyed this messy bun! I think it pairs well with him having pretty features, and a longer nose, neck, pronounced collar bone, etc. Like even though in actuality Magolor is a round little cat guy, I enjoy picturing him as an angular pretty anime boy. Kinda a heart-throb-and-he-knows-it type. Too much of an ego on him, but well earned so you can't really bash him for it. Now for Taranza, I have less pictures, but a much more solid idea of what I want him to look like. For him I think I am staying much closer to what his in-game appearance is, but with more formality and prettiness!

(Please ignore how awkward that drawing looks, I drew his head at an angle, and it looked fine in pencil, but then I inked it without giving any weight to the lines, and then I did flat colors and now he looks quite bizarre)

So he has his cape thing, which I decided was kinda a half-shoulder cape, rather than a full body one. I felt that it matched better with the idea that he works/worked for royalty. And that is reflected in how his cape is held in place by like brooches?? Idk what you actually call the equivalent for cufflinks but for a cape, but it's there.

For the rest of his outfit, I wanted it to look like a worker at the palace's uniform, but slightly fancier, so it's a fitted, collared shirt with buttons (that get bigger in the middle to match Taranza's in game design), with a belt (idk if I like the buckle or not on it), and then slightly fitted pants. He just has some slippers for now, or maybe they could be loafers, but boy is magic and flies around when he can so why need sturdy shoes?

On the same train of thought, Taranza is not very muscular, but he is quite lithe and slender. Which is part of why the formal royal uniform suits him well I think!

His hair is basically the same as his in-game, and I imagine the general shape to match Kurapika from HunterxHunter's.

[midnightecko]

hello ♡, can I please request headcanons of asmo and levi with a partner who's super into dressmaking and creating their own clothes? i thought it'd be really cute with the two of them, thanks!

My grandma used to make all my dad's and aunties clothes, so I thought this was really cute❤

The Brothers with someone to likes to make their own clothing

Lucifer

I hc that lucifer enjoys cross-stitch and so he's relatively good in the art of sewing

One time diavolo walk in on he cross-stitching

Diavolo has never seen someone get up so fast

He used to patch up all the brothers closed back up in the celestial realm

So he'll help stitch up patches

But if u asked where or why he learned to sew he won't answer

(Unless yall are like really close)

Mammon

Now we all know that this man would find some way to profit off of this

He'll probably have you make small garments to sell

Only if you agree ofc

If you say no he'll ask again...and again...and again...until you tell him off about it

He'll respect that you don't want to but he'd still want you to make him outfits

So he models for you

And if you want to start a business with him he'll race over to Majolish and talk about putting them in the magazines

Sewing apprentice

This man knows how to do basic hand stitches

Very sloppy

Some stitches are bigger than the others and some don't even go through broth fabrics

He patches up his clothes often because he's so bad at it

He's to stubborn to ask for help directly

So you'll have to start up the conversation

"I-I mean ya can help, if ya w-want. ITS NOT LIKE I NEED HELP OR ANYT-THING"

"Oww!! Son of a-, the damn thing poked me"

Levi

He was talking about a cosplay he saw at a convention once

He was jealous because he didn't have the material to do so

Luckily you had some spare in your closet

Having to idea to surprise him with it, you made the specific pieces, not having enough to make all of the cosplay

Putting it in a Ruri-chan box, then setting it down at his door

You knocked three times and ran like mammon after he sold the wifi router

Once he saw the box he brought it inside and opened it

He immediately new it was you because you were the only person that would actually listen to his cosplay tants

Now that he knows you are an almost professional in the sewing department, he asks you to help with his cosplays from now on

This man can use a sewing machine and watch anime all day

And the only time he ever hurt himself was when he was to focused on the battle happening, he didn't notice that he sewed 3 of his fingers to the fabric

Once the fight was over he looked down

Let's just say he never did that again

(He 100% did it again)

Satan

Yall make cat costumes

Since there's practically a new cat each week, you're practically on your toes making a costume a week

Your favorite cat costume hands down was the pumpkin one you put on a black cat, Midnight no. 23

Yes Satan's had 23 cats named Midnight

Asmo

This bitch actually breaks into your room to draw ideas in your sketch book

He doesn't sew

Says it's bad for his joints, and he doesn't want to break a nail or poke himself

You make up most of his wardrobe tbh

He will actually buy you materials

Once you actually came back from a trip to the human world and there was a basket full of fabric and an 'order'

He likes to place in 'orders' for what he wants

These normally contain either a really detailed sketch of what he wants or a stack of photos with what he wants circled

He will also model your outfits

Beel

Has eaten a thimble

...and multiple fabrics that have food on them

He also is happy to model for you

As long as there's food

He let's you use him for larger size measurements

You made team jackets for his fangol(idk how it's spelled lol)

Belphie

You made him a matching blanket to go with his pillow

.....and pajamas

...........and a stuffie

................and a whole bed set

Welp....that's the hc

[antiloreolympus]

10 Anti LO Asks

1. even ignoring how silly the AOW is and how the nymphs are just fodder for persephone's "story", imagine how insulting it would be to likely end up hades' "eternal free labor" only to find out your "sister" had been living and working down in the underworld for weeks & 1) never mentioned or tried to see you and 2) made a bigger point to try and resurrect/pay for the people who KILLED YOU?? like persephone just ends up looking like she cares more about her reputation than her supposed "sisters"???

2. even ignoring the fact theyre the /same exact color/, why are we supposed to buy "the twins are zeus' kids" as some twist? rachel this is greek mythology even the most amateur fan would know it's more of a surprise if someone /isnt/ his kid. then again she wants us to buy "persephone is a fertility goddess" is a shocking twist as if  she's not literally a spring and vegetation goddess?? like yeah no shit she's a fertility goddess. hades is one too as well as most deities.

3. we have panels of daphne that went through rachel's sketches (which if they were  as fully rendered as she claims on instagram this wouldnt be an issue), inks, flats, colors, rachel putting in the dialogue, AND an editor looking at them and they cant keep the colors correct and straight up don't have her pointy ears and blue splotches gone. say what you will on more traditional comic and graphic novel publication, but at least you know youre getting a well produced product over this rushed mess.

4. that's honestly the thing tho? LO really is the most lazy trope-d, uninspired story if we really break it down. No tropes are subverted or shown in a creative way, plots are random and undeveloped if not dropped completely, they talk so much (!!) yet still remain so flat with little to no progression, and there is really no themes or messages beyond ... I'm not sure, poor people are bad? "Feminism" is when your world revolves around a man and female relationships are abusive? Classism is good?

5. Why does every single Eris redesign have her with long locks of feather hair? Can't a woman have a shaved head? A buzzcut? Or is that not 'feminine' enough for her fans 🙄

6. Nyx, to hades: “I had half a mind to steal you myself from your mother”

Also Nyx: *throws her actual child away to a piece of shit tyrant who is not good at all with kids*

Thank you Rachel for this great character consistency 😩

7. I'm not inherently against the idea of Hera knowing about Persephone's assault (though I'm not sure why she'd know just off touch?) however I do not understand why we're supposed to root for her going behind Persephone's back and telling it to others without her consent? Even making Hephaestus see the actual act, which is a huge breach of consent. I get it's supposed to be her helping, but it just seems like even Persephone's trauma isn't her own, it's for others to do as they please with it.

8. I hate how so many people excuse LO's poor writing and art as "that's how Webtoons are" as if they don't have countless beautifully written and drawn comics on there that get critic praise and awards without WT's massive marketing campaign behind them like they do for LO. There is a ton of talent and wonderful products on there that don't deserve to be dragged down because of LO's lacking quality having more focus. LO is the cheap fast food kiddie meal in a sea of high quality, gourmet options.

9. It honestly feels like the writing in LO is just Rachel going off overused tropes with nothing new added to it, fans comments, and thinking she's more clever than she is by doing random ideas and thinking it's "subversive". like ma'am, just listen to your editor and actually write something decent over trying to overcomplicate the story even more to make it seem more "serious" and thinking you're reinventing the wheel.

10. IDK why some of yall say Eris couldn't be a kid of Hera and Zeus (in myth) as they are the definition of a discord full relationship. Like they had the God of War and the Goddess of Bloodshed, how would discord be out of the question? Though, regardless, the only reason she's their kid in LO isn't Rachel thinking she's being "accurate" but rather needing a scapegoat for Persephone (reverse character development! RS is such a visionary) and to be like "see? all of Zeus' kids are bad!"

From OP: I wouldn’t say it’s a “all his kids are bad” thing since Hephaestus and Hebe are good. LO is just framing Zeus a a bad father in general, Eris being an exception since he had good reason to kick her out.

(I didn’t including Artemis and Apollo since he never had the chance to be their dad/involved in their lives until now.)

[pygmypouter]

hi!!! gonna start with saying i absolutely love your art,,, you’re like extremely talented & i love your style and color palettes

i just saw ur sketchbook tours on ig and i have a couple of questions bc i am,, a disaster at sketchbooks:

1) when usually do u usually use the sketchbook? is it like something u do when ur bored and it’s in your bag or do u use it at a dedicated sketch booking time?

2) for the paintings what medium do u use (out of curiosity)? also anything else that u use a lot for the sketchbooks?

3) do u come up w special ideas for the pages or are you going w the flow

4) how often do u finish a sketchbook

also if u have any other tips and such

thank u in advance💕💕💕

hi hi hi thank u sm that means a lot to me!!!!

i usually only draw my sketchbook when i feel like it! i used to be really pedantic about trying to draw in my sketchbook every day but it ended up feeling more like a chore than anything. so for a while now i've been using them mostly to sketch out ideas for bigger pieces or just to draw dumb bullshit & thats been working rlly well for me!

i know that for a lot of the older sketchbooks i posted on instagram i used a lot of acrylics and watercolor and gouache but i've mostly just been sticking to gouache for my most recent ones. i also really like to use crayola markers and posca pens and gel pens!

usually i am just going w/ the flow! i looooove fooling around in sketchbooks they r so fun when u remember that they do not have to look good at all. i feel like every time ive tried to plan pages i ended up being overly invested in whether it looked good or not and then it ended up looking like hot garbage anyway. i also feel like rlly silly spontaneous pages r the ones that are the most fun to look back on hehe.

i usually end up finishing a sketchbook every 2-3 months but it honestly depends a lot on the size and how many pages it has and how often i use it!

idk if i have any other tips but i will also say that i dont think sketchbooks work for everybody! i have a lot of friends who r such sexy sexy artists who barely use them at all and i think it comes down to personal preference and also finding ways to use them that work 4 u! i just think they r a fun sexy place to draw bullshit.

[goddess-of-geeks]

Grace and Power pt. 3

Things have changed

Me and a friend got one name, but we also want options you know...

A/N: How’s you're day?

Warnings: None, if you squint you might find a hint of violence, but you could also see that without squinting so, idk

Word Count: 2673 (This took up 12 pages in my google doc)

Pt. 2

~~~

You and Iroh stood on the outside of Zuko’s door looking at a map.

“He’s not gonna like this is he?” You asked Iroh.

“Not in the slightest.” Iroh nodded in response.

You both stared at the door for a couple of seconds before Iroh cleared his throat.

“Ladies first.” He said with a sweeping gesture.

You rolled your eyes before opening the door.

You cringed as the hinges squeaked.

“Zuko.” You called out his name announcing your presence, as if the door didn't do a good enough job of that.

Zuko was meditating, seated in front of 4 candles.

“The only reason you should be interrupting me is if you have news about the Avatar.” He said in a dangerously calm voice

You and Iroh cautiously entered, the map in your hand. 

“Well, there is news, Prince Zuko, but you might not like it. Don't get too upset.” Iroh told his nephew.

“Uncle, you taught me that keeping a level head is a sign of a great leader. Now whatever you have to say, I'm sure that I can take it.” Zuko calmly stated.

“You’re not gonna be calm after this.” You mumbled to yourself.

“Okay, then... we have no idea where he is.”

“WHAT?” Zuko shouted in Anger

The four candles surrounding Zuko flared to the ceiling with his rage. You and Iroh covered your faces with your hand in attempts to protect yourself from the flames. Zuko stands quickly and turns around to face Iroh and you, visible anger was sketched on his face.

Iroh pulled a fan out of his pocket whilst you wiped the sweat that formed above your brow.

“Never do that again.” You spoke to the prince at the same time Iroh said, “You really should open a window in here.”

“Give me the map.” Zuko said as he snatched it from your hands.

You quickly took it back before giving him a stern look.

“That was quite rude of you Prince Zuko.” You said, putting emphasis on the prince.

He turned to you with an annoyed look on his face.

“May I have the map please.” He said with gritted teeth.

“Why of course you can have it Zuzu, thank you for asking so nicely.” You said sweetly.

Iroh chuckled at the interaction whilst you were handing the map over to Zuko.

Zuko opened the rolled scroll and began to study it. Iroh continued to fan himself, whilst you leaned over  Zuko’s shoulder to get another look at the map.

You could feel heat rise to your cheeks at your close proximity, but you didn’t let it affect you. Zuko seemed unbothered. 

“There have been multiple sightings of the Avatar, but he is impossible to track down.” You said as you looked up from the map to Zuko’s face trying to gauge his reaction.

You noticed a slight shade of pink dusting Zuko’s cheeks that wasn’t there before.

Zuko may be a cold, detached, emotionless human being but he still harbored feelings for you. What feeling exactly you weren't quite sure, but a feeling nonetheless.

“How am I gonna find him, Uncle?” Zuko asked with his eyes trained on the map in his hands. “He is clearly a master of evasive maneuvering.”

~~~

You sat next to Zuko and Iroh at a table in your robes awaiting your dinner.

When the cook placed the cooked fish in front of the three he let slip that the Avatar was on Kyoshi Island.

Zuko hastily stood up and spoke angrily. 

“The Avatar's on Kyoshi Island? Uncle ready the rhinos. Y/N get dressed. He’s not getting away from me this time.” Zuko said as he walked toward the exit.

You looked down at your stomach as it began to growl.

“I was planning on eating.” You said sadly to yourself.

Iroh turned to face his receding nephew, “Are you going to finish that?”

Zuko turned and angrily walked back to the table to grab his fish.

“I was going to save it for later.” he announced before storming out of the room.

You looked at the doorway where Zuko just exited with his meal. You sighed and shook your head before looking towards Iroh.

“Someone needs to give that boy a chocolate bar.” You said before standing up to exit the room as well.

~~~

You were laying on your bed, in your battle armor, facing the ceiling. Your gloved hands clasped together and lay on your stomach.

You heard the door open with a bang. Without looking up you knew it was Zuko. His stupidity was so radiant you could feel it from miles away.

“Why yes Zuko of course you can come into my room.” You said.

“We need to talk.” He said roughly.

“That’s never a good conversation starter.” You muttered to yourself. You sat up and positioned yourself on the side of the bed. Zuko sat next to you

“Why aren’t you at home.” He asked you.

It took a couple of seconds for the question to register in your brain before you spoke up.

“How do you mean?” You asked.

Zuko made a face between curiosity and concern. He was quiet for a few minutes trying to word out his next phrase.

“Why were you with Zhao instead of your uncle? You and I both know that your uncle is overprotective of you. I truly doubt he would just let you join the army.”

He looked at you with concern in his eyes, it made your heart melt to know that he still cared for you, but you couldn't tell him why you left. You didn't even tell your uncle why you left, how could you possibly tell him.

You opened your mouth, trying to come up with a quick lie, but your answer was cut short when the lieutenant entered your room announcing your arrival at Kyoshi Island.

You quickly stood up from your bed and left the room, Zuko followed after you.

He grabbed your wrist and made you turn to look towards him.

You opened your mouth again, this time prepared to give him an answer.

“I promise i’ll tell you when I’m ready.” You knew he was too stubborn to take that as an answer but right now you had more important things to do.

Zuko reluctantly let go of your wrist and walked in front of you to give orders to his soldiers.

~~~

“Don’t do anything stupid.” You told Zuko whilst he sat on top of his komodo rhino. “We’re here for one reason and one reason only, there's no good enough reason for you to burn down an island.”

“As long as they turn over the Avatar no damage shall be done to their island.” He responded. You knew he was determined to capture the Avatar. No matter what was at stake.

You sighed and climbed up onto a komodo rhino of your own. You strapped a spear to your back. It may not have been your area of expertise but, someone had to make sure this idiot didn’t hurt innocent people.

As you, Zuko and the other firebenders rode out of the ship Zuko called out, “I want the Avatar alive.”

You, Zuko, and the others rode towards Kyoshi.

As you entered the village you noticed the absence of people in the streets.

“Maybe nobody is home.” You said turning to Zuko. “Why don’t we just leave and look for the Avatar somewhere else.” You suggested hopefully to Zuko.

“We’re not leaving because you don’t want people to get hurt. They’re harboring the Avatar, that by itself should be a crime.”

You furrowed your eyebrows. You were worried just how much Zuko was willing to do to capture the Avatar.

“Come out Avatar.” Zuko shouted, “You can’t hide from me forever.”

Zuko turned to his men, “Find him, Y/N stay with me.”

The firebenders dispersed. Traveling the island looking for the Avatar.

As the firebenders rode forward you noticed the Kyoshi Warriors jumping off the roofs and ambushing the firebenders below them. You couldn't help but grin as nearly all the firebenders were knocked from their komodo rhinos.

You noticed how one warrior in particular was running towards Zuko. You noticed how her head piece was different from the others.

“She must be the leader.” You thought to yourself.

 Zuko shot volleys of flames that the warrior quickly and easily dodged.

You were impressed with her moves so you didn't bother interfering because you knew that this could only end one way. With the warrior winning. You just sat on your komodo rhino and enjoyed the show.

You were quickly proven wrong as the komodo rhino swung its tail and knocked the warrior out of the air.

You gasped as the warrior landed hard on her side

You noticed how Zuko was preparing to strike her. You changed the course of your rhino to intercept the attack, but your attempts were deemed futile as what appeared to be a boy in the Kyoshi uniform stepped in front of Zuko’s attack. Successfully deflecting it with a fan.

You squint your eyes at the sight in front of you.

“Is that boy wearing a dress and a full face of cosmetics?” You questioned aloud. “Not like there’s anything wrong with that, If it makes him happy, who am I to judge.”

Then from out of nowhere another Warrior Ambushed Zuko and knocked him off of his rhino and to the ground. You couldn’t help but laugh at what had just happened.

You heard the sound of moving air and turned to your side to the Warrior Boy, aiming an attack at you. He threw himself at you successfully knocking you down on your right shoulder.

The impact caused you to wince and the injury on your shoulder to sting.

You quickly kicked the boy off of you and stood over him.

“I don’t know who you are, but if you ever do that again I will dislocate all of your limbs.” You said through gritted teeth.

You used your left hand to reach towards the boy.

He looked at your outstretched hand curiously before asking, “What kind of attack is that.”

You rolled your eyes and blew hard out of your nose.

“It’s not an attack it’s an offer of assistance. So you could either take my hand, or stay on the ground all day.” You said, annoyance dripping your town.

The boy reluctantly took your hand and you helped bring him to his feet.

You let go of his hand and turned your body looking for Zuko, finding him sprawled on a porch.

“What did I just witness.” You turned your head and saw the warrior Zuko knocked down.

“I don’t know.” The boy answered, looking at you through narrowed eyes, “but we have bigger problems.”

The boy motioned towards Zuko. He, the girl, and another Kyoshi warrior made their way towards Zuko.

“Don’t hurt him too badly or I’ll never hear the end of it.” You called after them. You knew they weren’t listening but you wanted Zuko to know that you still cared whether he got injured or not.

The three warriors cautiously approach the prone Zuko. 

Zuko spins around on his hands shooting fire bolts out of his feet at the approaching warriors. He knocks them all to the ground and pulls himself to his feet. Zuko leaps to the middle of the street.

“That ended so much worse than I wanted it too.” You said quietly.

You turned your head and noticed a flame atop of nearly every building.

“Now would’ve been a great time to be a waterbender.” You muttered to yourself as you quickly made your way to Zuko’s side.

“If we leave this island in ruins I will torment you for the rest of our lives.”

He ignored you and called out, “Nice try avatar but these little girls can’t save you.”

You looked at the Kyoshi Warriors he left on the porch.

“I'm pretty sure one of those is a male.” You told him.

“Not now Y/N.” Zuko muttered to you after sending a sideways glance in your direction.

“Battle is boring, don’t blame me for trying to keep us entertained.”

“Hey over here.” You heard a voice call out. You and Zuko turned the source and there stood the Avatar.

“This day couldn’t get any worse.” You mumbles mostly to yourself. 

“Finally.” Zuko said when he noticed the last airbender.

Zuko swung his left air from right to left in an attempt to strike the Avatar.

What happened next was a split second decision, you couldn’t allow Zuko to ruin this town more than he already has.

As the fire started forming in his hands, you swept his legs out from under his body so he landed on his chest. You then quickly grabbed your spear and pressed the blunt side to his back.

“Y/N what are you doing.” He asked you. His voice was a mixture of hurt, betrayal and anger.

“I wasn’t going to stand here and watch you destroy innocent people's lives.”

You looked up and saw the Avatar fly away on his staff. You assumed it would be safe to let Zuko back up.

You took the blunt of your spear off of his back. He quickly stood up and grabbed your spear from your hands and broke it over his leg.

“Hey!” you protested, “That was my new.”

“I don’t care, because of you the Avatar got away.”

You heard a loud roar and looked up to see a flying bison.

“Back to the ship!” Zuko said as he turned to his men. “Don’t lose sight of them.”

He roughly grabbed your arm and pulled you towards the ship.

“I am soooo gonna die.” You muttered to yourself.

On your ride back to the ship a giant sea serpent sprayed you with water from above. Making the rhinos stop in their tracks.

“Well this was a fun trip.” You said to no one in particular.

~~~

When you and the crew arrived at the ship, Zuko grabbed you by the elbow and pulled you to the side.

Now, not only did stupidity radiate off of him but so did anger.

“Why did you attack me.” He said with a tone of authority.

“Becuase I told you not to do anything stupid, yet you proceeded to do something incredibly stupid.”

“I was trying to capture the Avatar how was that stupid.”

You narrowed your eyes at the prince, “If I hadn’t stopped you, you would have burnt that whole village down. I was not going to allow you to do that.”

“Why do you care so much about some dumb village.” If it weren't for the fact that you were a nonbender, there would’ve been smoke coming out of your ears.

You marched up to the prince and poked a finger into his chest, “That’s not just some ‘dumb village’ that is the home to the residents of Kyoshi Island.” You said, the anger in your voice far outmatched the anger in his. “I really hope you aren’t forgetting that everyone from my home village died in a fire. The reason my parents are dead,” you said, putting emphasis on the word dead, “Is because someone set our home on fire. The only difference between my home and Kyoshi island, is that there were people who were skilled enough to stop it.”

You turned on your heel and away from the prince. You felt the tears streaming down your face but you were walking too quickly for any of the crew to notice.

You entered your room on the ship and slammed the doors.

You slumped your back on the door and slid down till you were seated on the floor. You pulled your knees to your chest and cried. You never planned on getting so emotional, but every time you thought of your parents and your home, you couldn't help but sob.

Hopefully Zuko will realize the mistakes he’s making just to win his father's approval.

~~~

A/N: This is kinda shit but honestly who cares

Masterlist

Taglist form

[knocking-on-peoples-non-doors]

tagged by @comradelup ! ty jupiter!!

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 8 (ish) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome work! 

oh jeez this is gonna be rough, especially given my lack of posts earlier this year, but in no real order, let’s go

IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN

actually currently rereading this book! losing my mind over it once again, i have a sketch of a comic-ish piece in my sketchbook that i wanna draw bigger. 

i love love love the colours on this piece, the way the deep blue sky meets those golden waves of grain i just,, the contrast,, also, (i’m gonna say this is unsurprising but idk if it is really) i like drawing bones!! especially skulls, there’s something nice about getting the lines right

How do you make beauty in ugly times?

another piece of media that hit me hard this year. really happy with the background, especially as it was sort of by mistake!! you can also see some fingerprints in it over the right shoulder, and like,, not to be too pretentious here, but there’s something in that - you can’t make art without leaving a bit of yourself in it, maybe? anyway, this is me teaching myself to use oil paints still, and it was nice to give myself that space to experiment

minecraft end poem

don’t have much to say about this one. i think, after a lot (?) of time spent teaching myself to do realistic stuff in watercolour when i was younger, it’s nice, sometimes, to do something a bit looser. the depth of the colours in this one makes me really happy

pizzaaaazz

spent a lot of time watching tomska’s #CONTENT this year because it makes me happy! and this drawing makes me happy!! i think i did a really good job of capturing an expression, i guess?? just,, fills me with joy,

tired of this body

it’s,, emotional, i guess? gets to the heart of how i feel sometimes. and i think the colours play really nicely in this one too! nice crisp white lines against that deep blue background, that took some effort, and i’m proud of it!!

Duck Newton!

haha music stuff hasn’t shown up much in this list so far, but this song. anyway i adore the background on this one, and i think the posing and the colours are all really really good. in the tags i say it’s objectively not The Best thing i’ve done lately, and that’s still true but it works well for what it is. it strikes at the heart of what i wanted it to be,

Lay me Gently

another music one, on a technicality. and another one of those sort of abstract watercolour ones. making marks and choosing colours carefully. and it gives nice results! this is the header image on my art blog because it makes me happy, and the pose of the skeleton is good, and the colours are good and i sort of just generally go *chefs kiss* about it

Nadolig Llawen

i think the good omens hannukah one would also fit, but this one feels just a touch warmer. i’d actually had this idea since last year, but hadn’t got around to doing it, and wasn’t expecting much from it. the resulting piece still takes me by surprise honestly. it feels very intimate, and warm, and good generally. feels like the way reading the book feels.

and finally, i said no particular order but when pressed, this would probably be The Favourite:

Funky Orville Peck

1) using a limited palette, but still putting consideration into how those colours are used and 2) dynamic pose!! movement!! someone told me they thought this could be a moving neon sign on the twitter version, and honestly i don’t disagree!! 

this piece makes me want to keep doing art, it makes me happy when i think about it. even though it’s absolutely fanart it also feels very uniquely mine and i love that about it.

tagging @mysticaldesign if you would like, and anyone else who wants to do it!! <3

[water--gang]

for now they are close here too!! I mean I can wait but you absolutely have to get your first one as soon as possible :') the choice of the studio is super important!! you have to make sure the tattoo artist has a style similar to the one you like and that they make you feel comfortable!! so think carefully <33

ooh sweetie it's totally fine to be scared!! but I don't think that I have a high pain tolerance either and I really felt nothing sjkghl (of course it's different for everyone!) and AAAH i wanted to ask you what are you gonna get!!(so please feel free to share all the tattoos you have in mind🤧) I'm so happy you're just as curious about tattoos as me lol okay so I have just 3 tattoos and they are all pretty small! the letter J (the initial of my brother), the word 'hesperus' from a poem I really like and the latin quote 'hic et nunc' (my favourite one so far but that's another story for another time fellas)

i don't actually know if they're closed here. I'm planning to message to one studio tomorrow to ask if they are open haha i don't really know... how to choose because I'm looking at everything online sjxnjs and the style... well. i have my own design and it's very very simple so i think any tattoo artist can do that? they have a couple people working in the studio, i looked thru the profiles on their site and based solely on that i liked this one lady. i also saw one of the tattoos she's done is like... just lines and not some intricate picture so yeaaa i prolly wanna go with her!

oooh those sound really nice! mine are a biT biGgEr ahhaha.

ahhhh I've loved tattoos for so long man, i can't wait to get my first one uwuwu

hmm well this first one is gonna be on my forearm, now i don't remember if that's where the pain is worst or okay sjdnjs I've looked at some many pain maps but i still don't remember smh

I'll put the tattoos under the line so people don't have to scroll so much to skip this djxndn

aight so

firstly. the one i wanna get first! also the first tattoo i came up with hehe i have pictures for like... 5/6 of them. i drew all of them on myself so they look scuffed but they'll give you the general idea yaknow

i drew this on myself like 2/3 years back. i included the second picture just cause i think it looks cool but yea the first one is the version I want. for now hehe i actually have plans for modifications i could get for this one :))

i also have recent pictures from like idk 5 days back but they include two more tattoos as well so I'll keep em for later

secondly. my finger tattoo! probably the second or third one I want to get. i say or third because I might get a matching tattoo with my best friend first. anyway here starts the theme of stars that carries over a couple of the tattoos sjdjjs

tiny and simple. but i love it! i love the stars and the moon which is why I want to have this one uwu also i love finger tattoos and this is the best I came up with jsnxn

this brings us to another one which i actually want to get at the same time as the finger one because it's gonna be on like... the thumb? it's a symbol! here I'll give a picture if the symbol only and later on I'll give pictures with it on the thumb. cause those are the ones that include the first one as well haha

these are on the left hand btw

moving on to the next one. this one is a text tattoo! a lyric tattoo if you call it that. from my favorite song uwu it will be on the right handy thumb to wrist area. i tried writing it on myself but I'm right-handed so you can see how that would go awfully sjdnns

so yea excuse the awful writing please sjnxns if you can't decipher it, it says Step out of them Voices. placed somewhere around that area, it was hard to really choose properly since I was writing with my left hand sjdnns

next up. a small one behind my ear. a lil star! yes. i love stars a lot sjxns was thinking i could get this one sometime without anyone knowing and waiting till someone notices it sjxnd i told have a picture for this one cause... yea it's behind the ear. or like you know somewhere behind there cause i just think those are cool

last but not least. the chest one! it's not like a big complex piece tho. just a sun and some stars. because. once again, i love stars sndnd and just the sky in general you know. I'm in love with the sky uwuwu which is why I have so many pictures of it on my phone from when I go on walks ahahhah

and here we have it. please excuse my awful skin jsndjd i don't expect to get all these tattoos anytime soon because of the price so I'm hoping my skin gets sorted till then you know xjdj

also apologies for how scuffed it looks jsnxnd ngl drawing on your chest is vErY hard. i drew the sun off of a reference i found but i was honestly rushing thru it cause it was... just difficult and i knew i wouldn't get it right anyway sjdnd

the placement isn't gonna be 100% like that cause once again, i drew it on myself sjxnd i want the sun on my sternum, I'd love to explain the exact place but uhh... i can't sjdjd and yea i want the eight stars around it. most likely more spaced out because I feel like this is... too close together, it would look better further away from each other. and the place for them would be like under my collarbones?? cause collarbones hurt a lot right?? ehh well I'll just have to handle it somehow. but yea! that's my six planned tattoos ahahha

now for the whole left arm. aka the three tattoos in one pictures

sorry about the even more scuffed sketch of the first tattoo jsbdns i did that during class cause I was bored and wasn't exactly trying to be precise ahhaha

but yea that's how my left arm should look after I get all of these uwu

andddd here are my plans for adding onto the first tattoo

in this picture the three lines just go all around BUT my plan isss... i want the lines to come together and intertwine on the other side of my forearm, i want them to come to one point where they're like knotted up andddd i want a flower to like rise from that point, i want it to go down to my hand, with it's end on my wrist probably, don't want to it to go all the way on the hand.

i have no idea if that was understandable enough. i suck at explaining sjdjsn but i think it would be pretty??? and i think it goes with the theme i gave it in my head pretty well

so... yea

those are my tattoo plans ahhaha i love talking about tattoos sjdjjs

sorry about the long ass post

— admin

[lordshaxxion]

Guys holy shit i’ve been working on this referral for an hour or so and i have sO MANY MORE IDEAS than when i did this project initially what the fuck!!!!

i’m legit and honest to god so excited to draw more for this idea for once and i’m loving where it’s looking to be heading

(gonna shove this under a cut i didn’t expect to suddenly explain eVERYTHING about this project in this post holy shit i’m just so excited and this got so long sO quickly omg)

essentially this project was set by me to challenge myself in designing creatures and bosses for a game and the first time around i didn’t do so well (obviously, i mean i failed the module d u h hence the referral) but i also couldn’t get into it thoroughly either. I based the three boss designs on yarn, crystal and metal but fell supremely short on the metal design (it fucking sucked yo) so these are the crystal and yarn designs i did (and i’m still pretty proud of ngl, and no you aren’t going to see the metal one it’s literally. the single worst thing i’ve drawn known to man in terms of quality and i’ve fucking drawn asher with his nips out aight)

Now ofc they need their own attentions and not all of the aspects of them are all that great etc. BUT. since i’m redesigning/doing more design work for this project in general i’ve taken literally one look around my room for inspiration for the yarn-based creatures i’m working on and lo and behold my room is full to the fucking brim with yarn. so that’s not hard to find inspiration right??

smash cut to me fucking taking one look at the biggest jellyfish i’ve made to date (with the usual jellyfish for fucking reference on how BIG this fucker is)

so immediately i think “well jellyfish could make for an interesting enemy. CROCHET JELLYFISH THAT IS” and already i’ve got sketches for a hostile jellyfish that’s literally based on that giant bastard up there AND sketches for a passive jellyfish based off the three-tentacle jellyfish in the commissions post.

general idea for the hostile jellyfish is that it has the thicker curly cues like above and strands of yarn for thinner stingers etc but it can actually grab the player with the thicker tentacles and electrocute them etc (because we all know yarn can hold a fucking static charge and a half like the bitch it oft wants to be)

general idea for the passive jellyfish is that it literally is just that - passive. the three tentacles (as opposed to six) denote that it’s a passive creature, and it’s just subtle enough a difference between them that the player wouldn’t necessarily notice at first and think it’ll attack them. all it does is serve as like a bouncy platform or a drifting platform for the player to be able to get around on

sO. branching off like haywire from this i looked at the shawls i’ve got lying around and immediately was like ‘LETS CONTINUE THE DEEP SEA THEME WITH FUCKING SHAWL-RAYS’ because i am a fucking. GENIUS. so shawl flap-flaps that wrap themselves around the player to crush them to death fucking SURE and with added thread needles on the end as a stinger and such

t h e n. i was thinking about what the fuck the player character would look like and y’know what? @cappurrccino i must thank u for sharing that picrew mouse maker because otherwise i wouldn’t have thought of this because wHAT IF the player character is a fucking mouse.

This is the first one I made just as a bit of fun but then I remembered it as i was drawing just now, went to have a look at it again and thought ‘YEAH THIS’LL WORK FOR A PROTAG FUCK YEAH ITS CUTE AND ITS NOT HUMAN’ so i went back to the picrew maker and made ANOTHER

now THIS badass little shit looks more like the adventuring type!! since the whole premise of this project was at first to design a game based on numbers which lead to a game based on collecting things. This little guy looks like he’s gonna be collecting ALL the things and the hook and rope make it even better because then he has a means of getting around and swinging from platform to platform or hooking enemies and jumping on them to damage them etc or even getting other weapons to use - without just defaulting to ‘GIVE MOUSE NEEDLE-SWORD’, even though i am. hella fucking tempted to now. if hollow knight bapy gets a nail sword, mouse bapy gets needle sword.

I would use the first one, but i don’t want to make redrawing the little guy over and over a pain in the ass to do by having so many details on there to keep consistent. i learned that the hard way with soile’s design from my comic - by the end of that monster of a project, i fucking hated drawing her because her design was so convoluted. absolutely great for one-off pieces and stances, fucking awful for continuous redrawing in different comic panels. so yeah, not fucking doing that again.

plus this feeds into the themes for each enemy type - yarn, crystal and metal. each thing is something you could easily expect to find in some kind of house or something, and are naturally bigger than a mouse in 99% of cases, so it makes sense for a little mouse to be traversing whatever places and facing off against these things. ofc it won’t actually be set in a house, it’s in some kind of world idk the full nature of yet but still.

i still think i may overhaul the boss designs entirely and resubmit a way better version of this project because the first time around i was dealing with a lot of personal stuff at the time and lost focus on it altogether. i literally didn’t fill up half the sketchbook i got for it, that is a pretty good indicator of how badly i flubbed this. BUT. i really, really like where this is going so far!! and all in an hour or so since i sat down to start working on it!!

i apologise for just how rambly this got but holy shit i NEEDED to put this all down somewhere before i forgot anything and i needed to give my thanks to cappurrccino for unknowingly inspiring me for the main player character :D 

[atvie]

all of the artist ask meme because i can and i love you ;)

ilusm!!!!!!! i’m putting them beneath the cut cause.. Long.

🖍️ when did you start drawing? do you remember?  when i was born????? idk i have a huge memory lapse from a lot of my childhood so! i really don’t know, but i’ve been told i took to it pretty quickly

✏️ do you prefer traditional art or digital to relax?  traditional! but it’s hard cause it’s not as pretty / more stressful when i’m not using lined paper / when i’m using lined paper it makes it harder to upload / i can’t use cool colors (i’m terrified of using colors on real paper……) but!! idk it’s just kind of soothing

📏 what’s your go-to canvas size?  that’s been changing recently.. but either 900x900 or 2500x2580! and then just cropping near the end

☕ do you do warmup sketches before drawing? (bonus: do you have any to share?)  yeah! except they really are just. normal sketches i guess. they’re usually the ones that i end up not finishing even part of the face.. but i generally share All of my art (except the ones i’m really anxious about… see below) so i don’t really have. any to show except for.. uh. here)

🙃 which is easier: faces facing left, right, or front view?  front view?… out of those options. i’m just really bad with noses from the side, but generally i hate doing a perfect front view or side view… i like to kinda play round w it

📚 how many layers do you typically use?  80+? but when i use a bigger canvas it limits me at around 45, so then i start merging the ones im ok with. i just like having a lot so that it’s easier to clean up cause i’m paranoid (but i usually end up merging them a Lot towards the end)

🐻 your go-to things to draw when you need comfort?  people? i don’t really draw for comfort.. at least in the way that i think the question means. i basically only draw people anyway so. yeah. (that’s another thing i’m working on;;)

🎁 do you prefer drawing fandom stuff or your own characters?  my own characters……… but no one’s really interested in them? i mean i know my friends are and some of my mutuals but realistically y’all can’t be invested in them as much until i release the actual story? (or like with you, rubi, where you’ve met them through rp smgksd) so it’s kinda been .. boring? because i like showing them to people to make people happy and when it’s my character it really is just For Me. like…. a lot of the things i draw are for me, but often i think of ‘oh x mutual might like it if i drew their favorite character’ even if i don’t tag them in it……. but then, those are usually the ones i don’t post, because my standards raise hugely when it’s For someone. (like with you! i’ve drawn a lot of kaya, but it’s never Enough for me, so i only end up posting any of them for my own art progress.) also my friends’ ocs. but again it makes me p anxious

🌈 do you use more warm or cold colors?  warm!!!! cold colors scare me SMDGJS… even when i use cold colors i tend to use warm undertones (is that the word? idk)

🎼 your favorite music to draw to right now?  i have a playlist!! um but usually i like drawing best to bastille.. 21 pilots (yes i unironically like them), khalid!!!!!!, my chemical romance, AJR, marshmellow, alan walker, coldplay(?) and imagine dragons! just the kind of. mystical soothing tone? it’s hard for me to describe but it’s really good for background for me!! oh and lizzo, pentatonix & the greatest showman’s soundtrack are fun to draw to!!

🙌 draw a doodle with your non-dominant hand  i regret everything

📐 whats your favorite kinds of lines to draw?  i literally have. no idea what this means sry? fsdkfdf

💐 do your drawing suit your aesthetics?  no :/

🦋 do your drawings resemble you?  no..? not really i mean.., i’ve done self-portraits sometimes, but even then those are more.. my idealized self? cause atm i’m really….. self-conscious i guess,, so i don’t like looking at myself much To draw..

✨ how often do you draw?  whenever i can!!!!!!!!!! i doodle all of the time! though, recently i haven’t had paper to access, so i’ve brought my tablet around & drew on it!! it’s a lot easier to

🌗 is night or day better for drawing?  mmmm.,,, not really either? just whenever i feel like it, which is basically all of the time. nighttime is often worse though just cause i’m more tired / it’s harder to see

🍭 what’s your main art blog / what do you tag your art with?  this is it! and i usually tag it with ….. the most-used name of the character. other than that, i’m unreliable ;;; i try to do the fandom too um but i don’t have any specific tags? come to think of it .. i should probably make a tag for all of my art to go under…. but also i don’t want to look at my old art, even to add tags to the posts mkfsdjg 😔

🍀 you wish your art was more..(fill in the blank)  good???? sgsjdf i just really look up to a lot of artists (a lot of whom are my friends) and so it’s just. idk. i guess i wish my art was more well-rounded. like.. i’m getting good at faces and such through practice, but i don’t have .. basically any experience with backgrounds / animals / things like that. so it’d be nice to be able to draw what i imagine without problems.

🌊 what’s the hardest thing for you to draw?  animals, because i tend to make them hyperrealistic which doesn’t merge with the rest of the piece(s). ;;

🙊 share your latest silly doodle with no context

[resbang-bookclub]

AMA Transcript: Marked in Constellation

For our final AMA of the season, @sojustifiable stopped in to answer questions about her Resbang, Marked in Constellation! Here’s some of what went down:

Q: What inspired this Resbang?

Amanda: Combination of going to Peru and living in a tent and my own experience camping, and then I think there was a movie that came out a while ago that was about someone doing a solo trip up the PCT [Pacific Crest Trail], which inspired the specific setting.

Q: Were any scenes or events within them directly inspired by your Peru or camping experience?

Amanda: I think mostly the little things about camping like hand washing clothes and having to deal with cleaning drinking water. I got a review saying that it felt well-researched which was definitely validating because of those pieces of personal experience.

Q: What kind of research went into the fic?

Amanda: Ohhh man. A lot of research on the trail specifically, marking off day by how far they could get and using elevation charts for and landmarks for describing what they were actually seeing. I used all real towns for when they would resupply and just basically wanted everything to be as true to the setting as possible.

Q: How much time would you say you spent in the planning/research phase of this versus the writing?

Amanda: I did the research mostly as I was writing, I had a window open that had like four or five tabs open, a couple for docs and outlines, and then a couple with maps and charts for the research so I could be constantly cross referencing as I was writing. I had an outline with basic check points but realized at a certain point I needed to adjust the literal pace to cover the distance needed. I did find a really useful tool actually that you could input different sections of trail and a relative pace and it would give recommendations for how many miles to put in each day.

Q: What were some things you added that you hadn't originally planned to write about?

Amanda: Butt mountain for sure. I think it was sig (@sigsegv) who saw that on the map and suggested it needed a place in the story. I think just the general focus on the little places they stopped and cameos of characters they would come across. Pretty much the only things initially planned were encountering a bear and some skinny dipping.

Q: What was your favorite scene to write? And if applicable, what was your favorite mood to write?

Amanda: I definitely enjoyed writing the ending the most, just getting the point of having emotional release/communication made it a lot more satisfying. There had been a little bit of smut earlier, but it wasn't nearly as fun to write because it still had so much emotional constipation, so it didn't end up being satisfying to write or for the characters, I think. Also writing the ending meant being done and that's always a good Resbang feel. [I liked writing] any emotionally charged bits where there's romantic tension and connection building between the characters.

Q: Did you find it hard or not bad at all to come back to Resbang after a writing break? Did you feel like things got smoother as you went along, or was it more or less fine from the get-go?

Amanda: It was definitely tough starting out getting motivated. I really wanted to get back into writing and write Resbang, but I hadn't really had a lot of writing inspiration the last couple years. It was definitely one of those stories that was 99% perspiration 1% inspiration, but I think once I got into a rhythm it was good to see that I could do good work just by internally motivating myself.

Q: Got any tips for internal motivation?

Amanda: Step 1 was setting pretty reasonable word count goals from early on so that I would never be forced to scramble right at the end. I gave myself designated days off or rewards for getting ahead of schedule. Step 2 was accepting that it didn't need to be perfect, especially not to begin with, and it was better to get words down and edit later. The last time I did Resbang, I ended up writing 10k in like 3 days right at the end and didn't want a repeat of that, so I imposed a schedule on myself early on and used the productivity channel to sprint A Lot. [Last Resbang] was horrible and that's when I was in college still too, so I had to do school stuff also and would go sit in this room with a bunch of taxidermy birds between classes to write as much as I could during the day. I think my usual goals [for this year] were 1k a day 5 days a week, and then if I got more then I could take 500 words off the goal for later on, like if I did 2k in one day then the next two days could be 500 words each. Definitely a slow and steady wins the race situation.

Q: Did you find that your word count estimates changed a lot as you went on, or was it pretty stable the whole time?

Amanda: Oh definitely, I expected I might have underestimated it, but I think I started out thinking it would be about 25k and then I want to say it ended up being like 40k. I really should know better at this point.

Q: Did the process of writing this get you in the mood to plan some hikes or camping trips?

Amanda: It did definitely make me want to go camping again. Not immediately, cuz Resbang season is bad weather season, but it did bring it to mind for sure.

Q: Was there any scene or part of it you struggled more to write?

Amanda: Uhh the first smut scene was definitely a struggle. Writing sex where there's emotion behind it but it isn't being expressed was a different challenge for me and I don't think it ended up being as good because of that. I wanted to project the insecurity and sense of performativity into that, but it was a lot of nuance to put into a smallish scene.

Q: Did you notice that your writing style changed at all after your break?

Amanda: Honestly, I haven't read anything old that I've written in a while so I'm not sure how it reads. It felt pretty similar, I just had to get over the feeling of it being less authentic because there wasn't as much pure inspiration behind it. I think it did give me a better sense of being able to write without needing as much inspiration, though, which would be a good skill to hold onto.

Q: Since you’re also an artist, did you do any sketches or paintings or anything to help you visualize stuff as you wrote?

Amanda: I didn't do any art for it. I've thought about doing some after the fact but I feel like the art that sig did really captured everything well. In general I don't think much about small visual details when I'm writing.

Q: What about music? Did you have a playlist you liked for it, or any songs that remind you of it?

Amanda: No, I actually have some problems with auditory processing so if there's certain kinds of music on I won't be able to focus or write. I pretty much listen to exclusively to some kind of white noise generator. If i listened to music that reminded me of anything while writing... I wouldn't get any writing done. Or I would end up typing out the lyrics or something because if there's music going on, that's all I'm going to pay attention to.

Q: Is there anything you'd do differently, or like... anything you regret not being able to get in?

Amanda: There isn't anything I wasn't able to get in. I think the main habit I would like to try to get out of is the compulsive need to write chronologically. I think it would've made the writing process easier if I had let myself do anything out of order. BUT because of the nature of the journey and research it would've been hard to do out of order, so idk. I think it would've been tough because partly I was keeping track of location in my outline like there was always a bolded Day: # and Location if I needed to reference any details about where they were.

Q: Do you have any other writing projects planned?

Amanda: I've been working a bit on some original stuff, but I have a couple thoughts for Resbang next year. One is a brand new idea I'm definitely excited about, tho I haven't done any planning and also it would be a bigger project so we'll see. I think I'm going to try to do a shorter thing this year, though... shorter is relative and doesn't tend to end up staying short. I think the one I'm thinking of could be around 15k tho, which realistically means 30k in Resbang conversion. … Or I could try doing the new idea, which I would start out estimating at 40k, which realistically means 70k.

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Thanks to Amanda and to all of our authors for some great AMAs this season! You can see the archived transcripts on the GrigoriWings forum here!