#traditional sketches at the bottom are from like a month or two ago lol i kept forgetting to post them so theyre going here
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it mcgucket monday (da WHOLE family hereâźď¸)
#ive had the post canon fiddauthor brainworms recently if u couldnt tell#post canon fiddauthor is literally so epic they get to lay on their super cozy comfy rich people bed in mcguckets mansion#and it cures all their chronic pain they almost definitely have and its awesome and they get to be gay together and ouughhgđ˘đ˘đđđ#im normal about them smiles#traditional sketches at the bottom are from like a month or two ago lol i kept forgetting to post them so theyre going here#also stepdad ford real#i dont think ford would be very good at being a dad but i think hed try his best#ok yap session over#gravity falls#fiddauthor#fiddleauthor#fiddleford hadron mcgucket#fiddleford mcgucket#fiddleford#mcgucket monday#old man mcgucket#stanford pines#ford pines#stanford filbrick pines#grunkle ford#tate mcgucket#tater mcgucket#trans ford pines#trans fiddleford
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Madness draws: my dä fanart from when I had my (arts) comeback in 2018
For years I didnât draw anything because of a personal (art crisis) and because I simply was studying and working so much I just had no energy left for arts.
In 2018 I was done with schools and studying and dropped out of the school I was in at that moment, and also the horse stable I was working at (school related stuff) was sold and closed its doors so also my work ended. For the first time in almost 5 years I was actually free. The longest holidays I had has was 3 weeks summer holiday in 2016, I think. I had another in 2017 but of that I actually was having health issues (nothing serious) for 2 weeks and then had to be in school for the 3rd one, after which I even got the flu.
So I was SO excited when I finally was free the first day of November in 2018. After I had got enough sleep and rest, I started to find my creativity again. And I started to âdaydreamâ before falling asleep every night, I started to write fanfictions in my head and I started to draw, too. Partially it was also because for the first time in years I had an online friend I enjoyed talking with and we had similar interests, aka dä and Bela/Farin, and that inspired me a lot to draw even more - but unfortunately that friendship did not work out in the end and weâre no longer friends.
Anyway, most of these drawings are very much Bela/Farin related again because I talked about that a lot with this person and I often asked what theyâd want to see and then drew it if the idea was something I could carry out.
This is not the first one I drew but maybe the 4th or so. Iâm just putting this here first because itâs the most âinnocentâ aka not too much shippy stuff rubbed into the faces of my followers who donât care about that. Thereâs 5 different drawings + 1 comic behind the read more link. All of these, apart from the comic, where drawn into my old sketchbook.
About the drawing above - I didnât use pencil for these first ones at all yet, I just drew them with the fineliners as I was still a bit rusty as the last time I REALLY drew anything was in 2013 aka over 5 years ago from 2018, so I had to actually look at my old comics and drawings to even figure out how to draw these characters anymore. And I think the last actual time I drew in this style was in 2011 even. And that is very visible from the first 2018â˛s drawing I did! âââ
This is the one - and wait, I have an explanation!
So with this person I mentioned, we just constantly had this playful debate over whether Bela is âbottomâ or not - and honestly I couldnât care less about that because I no longer read any fanfics. I do write fanfics - or a fanfic - but only for myself and as an asexual I have never been interested in writing about certain themes so I never need to think about the whole top/bottom stuff anyway. I used to read smut before until I one day just realized itâs SO BORING and uninteresting to read, started skipping all smut scenes and wanted to read fluff but all the fluff was so quickly and badly written because everyone wanted to write smut only, that I was left with absolutely nothing to read. So it was the old story again: I started writing/drawing the stuff I wanted to read and see.
However, back to the top/bottom topic, I always base my opinions with everything over how things are in real life and with these guys, if you look at how they are in interviews and on stage, the dynamics are not just plain black&white. Iâve never seen there anything that would indicate that just one is âtopâ or âbottomâ whatsoever which is why I kept saying imo theyâre more like just switching if you listen to their jokes. Remember: I donât read any fanfiction and donât give a fuck about smut (lol at the pun) and honestly, even tho I understand those jokes they do and say on stage, I wish not to have any visuals about any of that âactivityâ in my head.
So, to support my âthey switch!â opinion, I drew this, just for fun. And it is the official first drawing I did in 2018. I just needed to fire back bigger than I could do with simple text messages :D
***
Moving on. The person in question was very fascinated by the idea that Farin would be a vampire and not Bela (to support their top/bottom views...) which is why I drew this:
Also a very quick one, without sketching anything before drawing with fineliners. This and the first image of this post both are very small in real life actually, the signature is about the same size in every drawing so you can see from that that they are actually pretty small.
Talking of the signature: The funniest thing to me about this IS the signature. Because I was so rusty I didnât even know how to write it anymore :DDD You can compare it to the signature in the other drawings because in them itâs better. Why itâs so funny to me is because it should say âAadaâ but it looks more like âHellaâ which means âstoveâ in Finnish.
***
Next one was something I saw in my head and wanted to draw - I think this one was also done without sketching it at first:
Kinda simple, right? :D I just wanted to draw something with heavy shadows and theyâre meant to be watching TV at night. I guess it came out pretty okay.
***
The next two I drew based on one of my old fanfics I wrote years and years ago. Iâm a bit annoyed that I decied to draw these into my SKETCHBOOK when I could have used just paper I use for drawing but I guess I didnât know yet where I was going to end up with these and drew them into the sketchbook because of that. I thought I didnât sketch these at first but I have found photos of these with sketched with pencil so that means I started sketching my drawings at this point.
So, back to the fanfic, itâs one of the longer ones I wrote (but still not that long even) and set to happen in the late 80s. There was some drama in the story because of Belaâs drug use and Farin was very harsh and Bela left altogether. For some time they had no idea where each of them were but then one very rainy night they both were on a walk at the same time and happened to stumble upon each other for the first time in weeks or so. I can still see those scenes so vividly in my head and hereâs my artistic view over those scenes:
Yes. I love drawing stuff like BRICKS.
I have used my Promarkers with the second image, the paper was not the best for them which is why the black looks awful.
What comes to the image... it really annoys me to look at that because how the FUCK that is something I have drawn? And itâs legit based on something I have written. ME??? Like wtf. My aroace ass just canât handle me writing/drawing fluff like this. I have days when I need to see fluff more than anything and then have to produce the content because canât find it from anywhere else and my brain is simultaneously like âflufffff 8))))â and âboohoo whyyyyy how staaaaaph D:â because I am so afraid of being connected to what I draw. Like. If I draw or write fluff, it doesnât mean I would be a romantic person nor allosexual nor alloromantic, right? Because I can also draw a comic or write a story about a murderer and it doesnât make me a psychopath either. Itâs the exact same thing.
And in fact: I had a comic book character who was called Micro the Insane Murderer because thatâs what he was. Also I once wrote a story about a serial killer but she was also insane. But for whatever reason itâs much harder to show people fluff I have written or drawn than my fictional serial killer stuff... I guess people just easier assume that youâre an allo, thanks to anormativity, but usually donât think youâre a psychopath just because your OC is :D
***
The last one is the comic that has a Halloween theme as it was around Halloween and the person I talked with still wanted to see/read something where Farin is the vampire instead. So hereâs something that was my first B/F comic in 7 years. I didnât remember how to do pretty much anything anymore and the coloring is a bit off, and I was really still just trying to figure out how to do all this again :D
At that point I think my head was still filled with fanfiction stuff so the comic also is full of (hurt/comfort) drama - and a long-ass âbackstoryâ. You can see that from this on I have moved to more humorous stories. Sometimes I draw occassional fluffy comics when Iâm really on that weird mood (usually 1-2 days/month thanks to the uterus and hormones), but my main focus is on the humour and I wish to make people laugh.
But thatâs about it. I think I have now posted everything here, the newer ones I have posted here after drawing them since 2019 but this post is the âmissing linkâ between those old old comics and the newer stuff :D Then I of course have all the other traditional art like potraits and such I did in 2009-2012 which I have never shown here. Maybe I should post those too?
#mcrmadness draws#my dä comics#my fub comics#my dä drawings#dä fanart#die ärzte#belafarin#my OLD dä fanart
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@logicheartsoul Thank you so much for the kind words ^^ And certainly - thank you for your interest and for asking! I love working with ink so Iâm happy to talk about it :D
How I got into it
It's only been in the last maybe five or so years that I've actually started to pay more attention to art supplies. In the case of ink, it really started with fountain pens. Long story short, one of my professors was really into them and let me try one of his vintage pens, and I was vaguely interested. Then my best friend really got into them, and I tagged along to a fountain pen show (shoutout to Scriptus Toronto!!). From there it was a slow burn over a period of months from âthis is neatâ to âWOWWW OKAY I GUESS IâM REALLY INTO THIS NOWâ. It was a (relatively, for me) quick entry once I discovered the online fountain pen community. These people are incredibly passionate, highly articulate, and best of all, document EVERYTHING. I found the ink reviews especially spectacular and thatâs probably what hooked me the most.
A few other things that helped in the appeal factor:
I have a tendency to grip writing implements excessively hard and exert a lot of unnecessary pressure when writing or drawing with more conventional pens (ballpoints etc.) A number of people mentioned that fountain pens helped them to alleviate this because generally you donât need/want to apply pressure when using them. Iâve found it has helped.
I've always been interested in forms that combine words and images, and this merges literary and artistic worlds in a very clear way.
Iâve been on a long personal journey of wanting to incorporate much more Chinese/Taiwanese/East Asian heritage and cultural traditions into my work. Thus, I've been gravitating towards things emphasizing brush, ink, water, elements of calligraphy and... not sure if spontaneity is the word I want, but things that help me overthink less when I draw, and get better at letting go.Â
How I work with ink
My (main) tools
Fude de mannen:Â This is basically a fountain pen that mimics a brush for Asian calligraphy. It has a bent nib that enables you to change stroke thickness by varying your hand angle. I love this pen so much I got a second one so I could have a different colour; the washi tape helps me tell which one it is. You can see more of it in the video interview I did with PindotPress.
Brush pen: A pen that is a brush. lol. A number of companies make them; I use the Pentel Pocket Brush because it's the first one I tried and I liked it a lot. It's smooth, has great line variation, and the tip has yet to fail me. (Although the cap started falling apart, hence all the tape on my first one lol.) I currently have three: one for permanent black, one for permanent red, and one because I couldnât resist buying a coloured version of the pen (I have Diamine Earl Grey in it right now).
Glass dip pen: These dip pens are pretty but what is super awesome is that they are super easy and fast to clean. I can quickly switch between multiple colours of bottled inks. The grooves in the nib hold ink, so you need to slightly turn the pen as you go to access all the ink. You can also get a wider stroke by slanting the pen and using the side of the glass nib. It's not that easy to control your lines, but I actually like this because it creates a lot of happy accidents. And âoops well damn" accidents, but like I said Iâm trying to cultivate the whole âlearn to let go" mindset.
Waterbrush: Basically a brush that carries its own water reservoir. Iâve used a few different brands but I find I like the Pentel Aquash small the best. Some people fill them with ink like a brush pen, but Iâve not really done that. (I did it once with a different brand that was harder to open/refill and I got mad.) I use it to paint with the inks.
Pencil I got for free:Â Unless I really am just doodling, I usually draw base pencils of some sort, even if itâs just a very rough, light sketch or a quick thumbnail on another sheet of paper. Every so often I get an inquiry asking what special kind of pencil I use, but Iâm afraid theyâre just normal pencils rolled with recycled newsprint. I got free samples like a million years ago and I have been using them forever. (I think Iâm finally down to my last three.)
Eraser: Iâve been trying a few different ones but it takes me forever to work through an eraser. You want it to be able to pick up the lines without requiring you to scrub and take the ink too or destroying the fibres of your paper. This one actually works pretty well. If youâre really curious you can see the non-destroyed packaging here! lol
Toilet or tissue paper:Â Something to pick up the water. This is my "undo buttonâ in real life when Iâm painting/using the waterbrush. Also I drown everything with water so itâs very important.
Ink swatches:Â Every time I get a new ink I make a sample and add it here. Itâs great for colour palettes and when Iâm looking at other inks and trying to decide whether to get it or not (e.g., is it different from everything I already have? My definition of âdifferentâ is very generous...). I donât actually have all these inks; some were samples from friends. Iâve found I tend to gravitate towards very complex, nuanced neutrals. (This sounds so sophisticated but when you see them all it once it's like. Oh. Apparently I like shades of grey, brown, and other hard to classify "muddy" or in-between colours lmao. But more on that in a bit.) Lately I've been getting glittery inks because they're fun and they add a magical dimension to the physical piece.
Here is my current selection of inks - on the shelf to the immediate left of my laptop and my head as I am typing this right now. The box at the bottom left is all the samples.Â
My approach
In my mind, I broadly classify my approach into two categories: âdryâ and âwetâ.
"Dry" - ink only, no water. I have pretty unsteady hands and hate "inking" - if we think of inking as an exercise in achieving a "clean", controlled line drawing with consistent line width/stroke thickness, neatness, etc. So I love pens that support me in what I think of as controlled loss of control - wide variations in brush width and stroke character. Brush pens and fude de mannen pens are perfect for this. They have lines that offer a wide range of dynamic, organic, and textural opportunity. My Inktober illustrations fall into this category. A few examples below, followed by links to the full set.
Inktober 2017 - fude de mannen
Inktober 2018 - brush pen
"Wet" - Basically I blob water around. Depending on when I do it (before, with/during, after the application of the ink), you can get different results. The water causes the ink to bleed, semi-watercolour-like, and can be used for shading, environmental effects etc. For obvious reasons, this works best with non-waterproof inks (which the vast majority of fountain pen inks are), but you can do this even with waterproof inks. Just let the ink hit water before it has a chance to soak into the paper and you can get cool effects :D. And you can also do it with other pens too, not just fountain pen inks. Examples:
Tiles of Toronto urban sketch series
Raizen and Hokushin doodles
Arikoto from Ooku
As you might imagine, this is really great for on-the-go drawings, because you just need a pen (or a couple of pens) and a waterbrush.
The âwetâ approach is also where the very complex inks that look "boring" (greys, taupes etc.) are just complete magic. When the dye elements separate, other colours emerge, and you get really wonderful textural effects and rings of colour where the ink pools and dries. Diamine Earl Grey is a colour I've mentioned several times that I LOOOVE because it separates into blues, browns, purples, even pinkish tones. It's a gorgeous ink. You can see some examples and closeups here.
Another colour that does this really powerfully is Sailor Rikyucha. Itâs a dark tea brown-green that separates very easily into pale blue-greens and more and has amazing tonal and textural qualities. The Tendril Wreath illustration here really shows this.
For the most part I look at things I like and then experiment to figure out what happens. After working with the same tools for a while, you get a sense of how the different elements might react and respond naturally. The Genjimonogatari series employs both dry and wet extensively and is an example of the experimenting and playing Iâm doing - I keep finding new aspects to the inks I thought I knew, and making âinterestingâ mistakes. And trying to fix them as I go with varying levels of success, haha. But Iâm always learning!
One more thing about this hobby
I feel compelled to finish with some talk about the pure aesthetic appeal, or the MULTIPLE LEVELS OF FUN I get out of these inks. Not just the colour, not just how the ink behaves, but... the name of the ink as well! Some inks do this more effectively than others. Similar to how the presentation of a dish is part of the experience, the name of an ink adds so much to my enjoyment of it. My least favourite ink names are [standard adjective]+[standard colour name]. My favourite ones are really convoluted with literary and poetic references, I just love them hahaha. Asian fountain pen inks I find tend to do this especially well - partly because of how much you can pack into how few syllables, I suppose. It makes me sad that a lot of sites donât include the original names, often referencing them with just a number, though I understand it is difficult to translate. But I learn a lot with these names as a starting point! For example, Zhenjing, which I mentioned recently in the Kurama âLightâ illustration, took a bit of back and forth with my parents to look up the source and then to interpret the complex line of poetry. It was a fun and fascinating exercise.Â
A great name canât save an ink I donât like, but a good name elevates an ink I do like even more, and it can be really inspiring for making stuff. For example, take Pen BBS Mirrorflower Watermoon. I adore the colour of this ink - it's a very subtle grey-pale green with silver flakes. I used it heavily in the Hokushin fanart âNorthern Deityâ (you can see it here with photos of the sparkly).
The name is actually highly recognizable if you're familiar with classic East Asian literature/poetry. I read it out loud to my parents with no context other than "this is the name of one of my favourite ink colours" while they were eating dinner and they both said at the same time, "I know this! DREAM OF THE RED CHAMBER!" lmao. It's a very Buddhist idiom or phrase referring to the illusory nature of things, likening it to the reflection of a flower in a mirror or the reflection of the moon in water.
I hope this was interesting and helpful! ^^
#art supplies#logicheartsoul#replies#reply#fountain pen ink#ink#waterbrush#brush pen#fude de mannen#art by Maiji/Mary Huang#how I work#process
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