#transformers 31 day drawing challenge

[sphnyspinspin]

Reposting this bad boy because I was just recently reminded that, yeah, I MADE one of these. For the sole purpose of making a Transformers specified daily drawing challenge.

And I have to admit, it looks dope af.

@asmoteeth

[johannestevans]

Monstrous May Prompt Challenge 2025

Writing & Art Challenge for Every Day in May!

It’s a few months until that time of year again, but I’m laying out the prompts to give those who like to queue up art or writing or other creations in advance a good amount of time to prepare!

THE MONSTROUS MAY CHALLENGE is an annual prompt challenge to encourage new, monstrous-focused creations, with a prompt for every day of the month. 

You can write short stories, poems, essays, recommend movies or books, make social media posts, aesthetic posts, playlists, draw sketches, paint, do bits of sculpture or knitting or crochet, or anything else! Anything you feel might be fun for a prompt, you are encouraged to create. 

If you’d like to post, post away on social media — on Twitter or Bluesky, Tumblr or Pillowfort, Instagram or Threads, on your own websites, or wherever you’d like to! You’re encouraged to use the tag or hashtag #Monstrous May or #MonstrousMay, and of course, to browse through those tags to support and engage with others’ creations. 

Here are May 2025’s prompts:

If you'd like some images to post on social media with your prompts, you can get them all on Medium here.

And in full text form below the cut:

Day 1 — Tentacles

Day 2 — Sound

Day 3 — Hypnosis

Day 4 — Corrupted

Day 5 — Size Difference

Day 6 — In The Air

Day 7 — Aphrodisiac

Day 8 — Caught in Webbing

Day 9 — Knotted

Day 10 — The Werewolf

Day 11 — Living Armour

Day 12 — Consumed

Day 13 — Eggs

Day 14 — Grooming

Day 15 — Bitten

Day 16 — Pinned Down

Day 17 — Transformed

Day 18 — Belly Bulge

Day 19 — Parasitic Relationship

Day 20 — The Vampire

Day 21 — All-The-Way-Through

Day 22 — Spines

Day 23 — Impregnated

Day 24 — Dungeon

Day 25 — Clawed

Day 26 — Beneath the Earth

Day 27 — Addictive Properties

Day 28 — Commanded

Day 29 — Scent

Day 30 — The Minotaur

Day 31 — Underwater

[instaquarius]

100 DBZ OC ART CHALLENGE

1.) Introduction.  2.) Flight.  3.) Hero.  4.) Full Moon.  5.) Transformation.  6.) Rage. 7.) Fusion (potara, Namekian, or finger fusion) 8.) Great Ape. 9.) Master and Student. 10.) Tournament. (Worlds Strongest Under the Heavens, the afterlife one from that one filler episode/arc, universes 6 v. 7 tournament, or the Tournament of Power) 11.) Fighting. 12.) Destruction. 13.) Ki control 14.) Aura. 15.) Blasts. 16.) Rivals. 17.) Quest. 18.) Family. 19.) Danger Zone. 20.) As a baby. 21.) With the Z sword (or training with the Z Sword) 22.) Victory. 23.) Death. 24.) Loss. 25.) Crisis. 26.) In other world. 27.) Snake way. 28.) Playing Baseball. 29.) At Kaio Samas' place. (In heaven?) 30.) In hell with HFIL ogres. 31.) Kaioshins' planet. 32.) Lovers. 33.) Doing Ginyu Force poses (or actually IN the Ginyu Force if you want XD) 34.) Saiyaman/Saiyagirl poses. 35.) 1st form, 2nd,3rd, 4th, (Golden or 5th form) 36.) Training in Gravity room 37.) Weighted Gi 38.) Wearing Earth clothes; casual 39.) in Dragonball art style (Like, before Z, Super etc.) 40.) Protection. 41.) Powering up. 42.) Fighting Frieza, Cell or Buu (or a movie villain) 43.) Universal Tournament. 44.) In the future. 45.) Immortality. 46.) Clones 47.) Finding the Dragonballs 48.) Meditating 49.) Fighting a God of Destruction 50.) Ritual 51.) Fighting the Legendary Super Saiyan 52.) Fighting in the Tuffle War 53.) Mind Control (by baby, Babidi, Towa/Mira etc.) 54.) As a Time Breaker 55.) As a Time Patroller 56.) Fighting the Z warriors.  57.) On Planet Vegeta. 58.) Getting absorbed (by a Majin?) 59.) False SSJ 60.) Getting turned into candy 61.) Inside the healing tank (like on Friezas spaceship) 62.) In the Hyperbolic Time Chamber (or Room of Spirit and Time) 63.) Eating. 64.) Revenge. 65.) Pride 66.) Sacrifice. 67.) Bloodied.  68.) Fear. 69.) Heart Virus. 70.) Meeting Arale (from Dr. Slump) 71.) Using the Kaioken. 72.) Climbing Korin Tower (like in original dragonball before flight was a thing) 73.) Wearing a Turtle Shell. 74.) Determined. 75.) Getting Married. 76.) Best Friends. 77.) Screams. 78.) Rescued. 79.) Mafuba. 80.) Killing. 81.) Defeat. 82.) Sadness. 83.) Happiness. 84.) In a Saiyan spacepod. 85.) Hatred. 86.) Crushed. 87.) Beam Struggle. 88.) Genki Dama (Spirit Bomb) 89.) Showering 90.) Wearing the pink Badman shirt 91.) Scheming. 92.) Fighting Merged Zamasu (or Regular Zamasu) 93.) Fighting a Black version of your OC (hint: Goku Black) 94.) Unlocked Potential.  95.) Confused. 96.) In highschool. 97.) Tears. 98.) Act of kindness 99.) Tag team 100.) With you (The creator of OC/artist) saying they survived the Challenge

Rules~~~~ 1.) Can go from any order you wish. It doesn't matter the order you do these in. 2.) Be creative. 3.) All writings/drawings must be related to DBZ in some way/the theme you choose to do. 4.) Link if you do do this? I'd love to see :3 5.) Also please leave a mention to this in your submissions~ 6.) You can use both OCs and cannon characters as long as its related to the series. 7.) Can be done whenever you feel like~ (No deadline or each theme has to be done once a day or anything) 8.) (Your also free to copy paste to a journal or something the themes to keep track of them as long as credits back to me)  9.) Have fun~

[amanda-sketchbook]

31 day Disney Crossover Challenge!

Day 1. Aladdin.

Fic + drawing

[musicfromtheceiling]

Last months i followed a prompt list put together by my colleagues, i did not manage to draw one every day but still did 12 out of 31!

For this challenge i tried to losen up my line and keep the colours to a minimum to just work on light and dark value and composition. Reducing the scale of my drawing helped achieving the look i wanted (i started a new A5 sketchbook instead of my usual A4) and also making it faster to draw and ink. It was a nice learning experience!

I didn't like them all though so you'll only see the ones i think look the best ^^'

day 2: Transformation

[starline148]

I finished my Fictober Challenge!! Two days late but being me it was the achievement. Sorry for the ugly drawing I had nothing better too use. I add a little sketch in the end to make up for it. Under the cut the list of ships used each day. The stories can be read separately. I am very proud but also very exhausted.

🦇 Ship used each day:

🍬 Day 01: B4 + KdFd 👻 Day 02: Kurama Norihito x Minamisawa Atsushi 🍬 Day 03: Kusaka Ryuuji x Morimura Konoha 👻 Day 04: Tsurugi Yuuichi x Gouenji Yuuka 🍬 Day 05: Kageyama Hikaru x Masaki Kariya 👻 Day 06: Tobitaka Seiya x Kudou Fuyuka 🍬 Day 07: Shuu x Matsukaze Tenma 👻 Day 08: Amemiya Taiyou x Yukimura Hyouga 🍬 Day 09: Ibuki Munemasa x Kita Ichiban 👻 Day 10: Ichino Nanasuke x Aoyama Shunsuke 🍬 Day 11: Namikawa Rensuke x Seto Midori 👻 Day 12: Haizaki Ryouhei x Mizukamita Seiryuu 🍬 Day13: Makari Ginjirou x Mizukawa Minori 👻 Day 14: Kogure Yuuya x Otonashi Haruna 🍬 Day 15: Kidou Yuuto x Fudou Akio 👻 Day 16: Someoka Ryuugo x Fubuki Shirou 🍬 Day 17: Kiyama Tatsuya x Midorikawa Ryuuji 👻 Day 18: Narukami Kenya x Otomura Gakuya 🍬 Day 19: Kishibe Taiga x Nozaki Sakura 👻 Day 20: Sakiyama Shuuji x Henmi Wataru 🍬 Day 21: Mahoro Tadashi x Minaho Kazuto 👻 Day 22: Tetsukado Shin x Kurosaki Makoto 🍬 Day 23: Saryu Evan x Fei Rune 👻 Day 24: Kirino Ranmaru x Shindou Takuto 🍬 Day 25: Hakuryuu x Tsurugi Kyousuke 👻 Day 26: Gomaki Tetsurou x Senguuji Yamato 🍬 Day 27: Tsunami Jousuke x Tachimukai Yuuki 👻 Day 28: Utsunomiya Toramaru x Gouenji Shuuya 🍬 Day 29: Endou Mamoru x Kazemaru Ichirouta 👻 Day 30: Sein x Desuta 🍬 Day 31:Chaos Trio+ KdFd

[learnhowtocreatemusic]

50 Inspiring Song Topics to Spark Your Creativity

Greetings, fellow songwriters and music enthusiasts! Are you staring blankly at a piece of paper, struggling to find inspiration for your next song? Don't fret; we've all been there. Sometimes, the hardest part of the songwriting process is deciding what to write about. But fear not, for we have compiled a list of 50 of the most used songwriting topics to help kickstart your creativity and get those melodies flowing.

Can't Think of a Song Topic? Here Are 50 Inspiring Song Topics to Spark Your Creativity

1. Love

Ah, the timeless topic of love. Whether it's about falling in love, heartbreak, or the joys of romance, love is a wellspring of inspiration.

2. Heartbreak

Let those emotions out with songs about heartbreak and the pain of lost love.

3. Friendship

Celebrate the bonds of friendship and camaraderie in your songs.

4. Dreams

Capture the essence of dreaming big and reaching for the stars in your lyrics.

5. Nature

Find inspiration in the beauty of the natural world with songs about the great outdoors.

6. Memories

Delve into the past and reminisce about fond memories with nostalgic tunes.

7. Hope

Share messages of hope and positivity through uplifting and encouraging lyrics.

8. Courage

Explore themes of bravery and overcoming obstacles in your songs.

9. Fear

Unleash your inner demons by writing about fears and phobias in a haunting melody.

10. Happiness

Spread joy and happiness through songs that celebrate the brighter side of life.

11. Pain

Express raw emotions by delving into the depths of pain and suffering in your songs.

12. Adventure

Embark on musical journeys with songs about adventure and exploration.

13. Family

Pay tribute to family bonds and the importance of kinship in heartfelt ballads.

14. Success

Celebrate achievements and milestones with songs that inspire greatness.

15. Failure

Reflect on setbacks and failures through introspective and reflective lyrics.

16. Time

Capture the fleeting nature of time with songs that reflect on the passage of days.

17. Loneliness

Express feelings of solitude and isolation through poignant and melancholic melodies.

18. Change

Embrace the inevitability of change with songs that adapt and evolve.

19. Dreams

Chase after dreams and aspirations with songs that inspire and motivate.

20. Creativity

Celebrate the artistic process and the joy of creation through imaginative lyrics.

21. Passion

Explore the depths of passion and desire with songs that ignite the soul.

22. Forgiveness

Offer messages of forgiveness and redemption through soulful and introspective tunes.

23. Inspiration

Draw inspiration from everyday moments and experiences to create heartfelt songs.

24. Wisdom

Share words of wisdom and life lessons through thoughtful and contemplative lyrics.

25. Gratitude

Express heartfelt thanks and appreciation through songs that celebrate the good in life.

26. Loss

Reflect on the pain of loss and grief in emotional and moving ballads.

27. Redemption

Explore themes of redemption and second chances through songs of transformation.

28. Regret

Delve into the complexities of regret and remorse through soul-searching lyrics.

29. Nature

Find solace in the beauty of nature and the serenity it brings with peaceful melodies.

30. Peace

Spread messages of peace and harmony through songs that promote unity and understanding.

31. Dreams

Chase after dreams and aspirations with songs that inspire and motivate.

32. Struggle

Acknowledge challenges and adversity with songs that convey resilience and strength.

33. Reflection

Take a moment to reflect on life's journey with introspective and contemplative songs.

34. Mystery

Explore the enigmatic and unknown through songs that evoke a sense of intrigue.

35. Fantasy

Embrace the realm of fantasy and imagination with songs that transport listeners to other worlds.

36. Magic

Capture the wonder and enchantment of magic through whimsical and fantastical melodies.

37. Rebellion

Challenge norms and conventions with songs that rebel against the status quo.

38. Despair

Express feelings of despair and hopelessness with raw and emotional lyrics.

39. Resilience

Celebrate strength and perseverance with songs that empower and uplift.

40. Heroism

Honor acts of heroism and courage with anthems of bravery and valor.

41. Dreams

Chase after dreams and aspirations with songs that inspire and motivate.

42. Surrender

Embrace vulnerability and surrender to the flow of life with introspective melodies.

43. Nostalgia

Indulge in nostalgia and memories of the past with wistful and sentimental tunes.

44. Growth

Celebrate personal growth and self-discovery with songs that embrace change.

45. Solitude

Find solace in moments of solitude and introspection with quiet and reflective melodies.

46. Justice

Fight for justice and equality with songs that advocate for a better world.

47. Rebellion

Challenge norms and conventions with songs that rebel against the status quo.

48. Resilience

Celebrate strength and perseverance with songs that empower and uplift.

49. Serenity

Embrace peace and tranquility with songs that soothe the soul and calm the mind.

50. Inspiration

Draw inspiration from the world around you and let your creativity soar with songs that reflect your unique voice.

So there you have it, 50 easy ideas to inspire your next musical masterpiece. Remember, the best songs come from the heart, so let your emotions guide you as you embark on this creative journey. Happy songwriting!

[sphnyspinspin]

WHAT’S UP FELLOW TRANSFORMER ENJOYERS!!!

I, the wonderful Sphny, have created a Transformers themed prompt list, for the month of July. But then I realized it could be used for any month to be honest.

For context, I recently made the terrible mistake of deleting a majority of my beloved masterpieces and I have been scrambling to find proper inspo to cope with my loss. Yet I couldn’t find any drawing prompts that fit my specific needs. So low and behold a very random roller coaster of creative prompts for creative minds!

These can be used for anything creative. That’s why I didn’t call it just a drawing or writing prompt list fyi. I thought it was clever.

ENJOY!

Check This Out! @novafire-is-thinking @asmoteeth @sonia-aquamarineson @sonicnerd @jessenitrogen @gelu-the-babosa-multiversal @luciolefire @bdwarrior1

No pressure to do this with me, I’m just extremely proud of this. And I like being a show off!

[stockxpo]

Top Streaming Service Stocks: Choosing the Right Picks for Your Portfolio

Over the last decade, how people watch TV shows, movies, and videos has transformed significantly. Streaming services like Netflix and YouTube have become the go-to choices for many, surpassing traditional media. This change opens up investment opportunities for those who can pinpoint which streaming platforms can draw in viewers and make money.

Top of Form

Top streaming stocks

1. Netflix (NFLX)

2. Alphabet (GOOG and GOOGL)

3. Amazon (AMZN)

4. Disney (DIS)

5. Apple (AAPL)

6. Comcast (CMCSA)

7. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)

8. Paramount Global (PARA)

1. Netflix (NFLX)

Netflix has become a big name in streaming, changing how we watch shows and movies. With around 270 million subscribers worldwide, it's one of the few streaming services that makes a lot of money. Experts like Morningstar analyst Matthew Dolgin say Netflix is the best in global streaming and will likely stay that way for years. 

Netflix's success comes from its huge audience and the many shows and movies it offers. They keep growing and making new stuff, which keeps people interested. So, if you're thinking about investing, Netflix might be a good bet because it's expected to keep leading the streaming world for a long time. 

2. Alphabet (GOOG and GOOGL)

You might not think of Google's parent company Alphabet as a big player in streaming, but YouTube, which they own, is huge. People around the world watch over 1 billion hours of YouTube on their TVs every day. They also have a service called YouTubeTV, kind of like regular cable but streamed online, and it has over 8 million subscribers.

3. Amazon (AMZN)

Amazon, known for its online shopping, also has a streaming service called Amazon Prime Video. It's become a big deal, especially for people who subscribe to Amazon Prime. The CEO, Andy Jassy, told shareholders that they believe Prime Video can be a big and profitable business by itself.

Lately, Amazon has been adding ads to Prime Video, which has more than 200 million viewers each month. They've also started showing live sports like Thursday Night Football NFL games. This shows that Amazon is serious about growing its streaming business and making it even more attractive for Prime subscribers.

 4. Disney (DIS)

Disney is changing the way it does business by focusing more on streaming. Their main service, Disney+, now has about 118 million subscribers who pay around $7 to $8 per month. Disney also owns other popular channels like ESPN for sports, ABC for news and shows, and the Disney channel for kids' entertainment.

Even though Disney has these great assets, it's facing some challenges as the industry shifts. Morningstar's Dolgin says that while Disney has advantages, the new way of doing things might not be as profitable as before. Still, Disney is adapting and finding ways to stay strong in the ever-changing media world.

5. Apple (AAPL)

While Apple is famous for creating iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers, it's also made a big streaming service called Apple TV+. They don't share a lot of details about it, but it's believed that around 25 million people pay for it, and more might get it through special deals.

Popular shows like Ted Lasso have attracted viewers to Apple TV+, and they've even started showing live sports like Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer. So, even though Apple is mainly known for its devices, it's also making a name for itself in the streaming world.

6. Comcast (CMCSA)

Comcast, a well-known media company, is shifting towards streaming with its service called Peacock. It owns big brands like NBC, Telemundo, Universal, and Sky. By the end of 2023, Peacock had around 31 million people paying for it, but it also faced a loss of about $2.7 billion.

To attract more subscribers, Comcast is focusing on adding live sports to Peacock. They've already streamed an NFL playoff game in early 2024, and they also show college basketball and football games. This move shows that Comcast is serious about competing in the streaming world by offering popular sports content. 

7. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)

Warner Bros. Discovery is a big company that owns a bunch of popular media brands like HBO, CNN, Discovery Channel, HGTV, and more. They also have famous franchises like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and The Lord of the Rings.

At the end of 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery said they had nearly 98 million subscribers for their various services, which include HBO Max, legacy HBO, and Discovery+. This company came together in 2022 when Discovery merged with AT&T's media business, showing that they're a major player in the entertainment industry.

8. Paramount Global (PARA)

Paramount Global owns lots of popular media channels like CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV, and Comedy Central. Their streaming service, Paramount+, had over 71 million subscribers by March 2024.

Right now, Paramount is thinking about merging with another company, but it's not certain if it will happen. They've been talking with Skydance Media, and they also got an offer from Sony and a private equity firm called Apollo, who want to buy Paramount with cash. These talks show that Paramount is exploring options to grow and strengthen its business.

Netflix started offering streaming services in 2007 and has become the biggest player in the industry. They have around 270 million subscribers worldwide as of March 2024 and made a profit of $5.4 billion in 2023.

Seeing Netflix's success, other companies jumped into streaming, but most haven't done as well. Big names like Disney and Comcast tried with services like Disney+, but they mostly lost money. Tech giants like Apple and Amazon also joined in, with varying levels of success.

Recently, Disney said Disney+ gained over 6 million new subscribers, and its losses in streaming got smaller. But the stock still dropped about 10% because they don't expect more growth this quarter and costs will hurt profits. Paramount Global, struggling to make money from streaming, is considering takeover offers. Sony and a private equity firm called Apollo offered $26 billion in cash in early May.

[yukiwhitetm]

Drabblecember mascot Snowy made in @wagirain’s picrew maker.

Daily Art and Writing Challenge Drabblecember 2022

by @yukiwhitetm (otherwise known as @sentariana)

Rules

What is a drabble? A drabble is a quick snapshot of a story, which sits anywhere between 100 and 1,000 words. Inspired by this, Drabblecember challenges you to write, at least, 200 words or to create a fast and fun piece of art and crafts per prompt.

Anyone can join in and do anything artistic. Write (with paper and a pen, on your computer or on your tablet/mobile), at least, 200 words of a drabble, short story or a chapter of a larger story. Sketch, draw, paint, sculpt, knit, crochet and sew. Or even do some calligraphy!

Drabblecember is about being creative and having fun.

Tag your work with #drabblecember2022 so everyone knows you did a Drabblecember daily prompt!

31 Daily Prompts

Day 1: Electricity

Day 2: Music

Day 3: Transformation

Day 4: Freedom

Day 5: Journey

Day 6: Wildlife

Day 7: Snow

Day 8: Choices

Day 9: Lost

Day 10: Friendship

Day 11: Light

Day 12: Witch

Day 13: Fire

Day 14: Afterlife

Day 15: Venomous

Day 16: Monster

Day 17: Family

Day 18: Loss

Day 19: Rain

Day 20: Glass

Day 21: Comfort

Day 22: Fashion

Day 23: Knight

Day 24: Time-travel

Day 25: Children

Day 26: Forest

Day 27: Battle

Day 28: Machine

Day 29: Phoenix

Day 30: Royalty

Day 31: Promises

That’s all of them. I hope you have fun making stories, art and crafts with them. Have a wonderful December Holidays.

Happy Creating!

[wolviecat]

Of course Sam knew how Steve looked ~before~. He'd seen the exhibition, and pictures in the history books, and, on one night of drinking and talking, Steve's photo from an actual police file ("Bucky took his date to a science fair while I was trying to swindle my way into the army. Why everyone thinks HE was the troublemaker?").

But pictures are one thing, and suddenly holding him in your hands like that, tiny and frail, is something completely different.

For the first day of #whumptober2022 “This wasn’t supposed to happen” Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson. Not sure if this was HYDRA or AIM or whoever else...

All pictures will be cross-posted on my Instagram john_in_london.

As I bonus, I decided to add my signature in every drawing in “creative way”. Would you be able to find all 31? 😜

And for the fic portion of the challenge, come over to AO3 and... surprisingly, the same fandom, with a little look into the side effects of the serum.

[amanda-sketchbook]

31 day Disney Crossover Challenge!

Day 4. Bambi.

Fic + drawing

[helsaweenfun]

HELSAWEEN 2021

Header by @kije999​ who drew this lovely poster for Helsaween 2020’s Draw This In Your Style (DTIYS) Challenge (which Helsa fans can still participate in!)

🎃🎃🎃

Icon by @puryartist who participated in the 2020 DTIYS

The Helsa server on Discord (https://discord.gg/ARshcdKPZH) is happy to host another spooky event this October 2021. Our (not-a-cult) group are opening our arms to welcome fellow Helsa lovers to participate in a month-long Helsaween event!

Don't be afraid to let creativity and inspiration creep in! Create fanfiction, fanart, comics, edits, mood boards, videos, headcanons, poems, essays, cosplay, anything you fancy!

🎃🎃🎃

EVENTS

Week 1 (1-7 October) — Harvest

October is the month of the Harvest!

Whether that be harvesting souls or pumpkins 🎃 partaking in a Harvest Festival or, perhaps, a Harvest Moon ritual 🌙 is full of fun! Whatever the case there's bound to be something for everyone.

Week 2 (8-14 October) — Shapeshifter

What is the Halloween season without costumes, make-up and monsters? Be it a product of magic or make-believe these transformations are something synonymous with the season 👀

Week 3 (15-21 October) — Haunted

To some, Haunted Houses might be a fun attraction, but most Hauntings (especially if they are real) aren't so pleasant and often frightful. Yet, Ghastly ghosts 👻 aren't the only things that can haunt us, our past and inner demons can take their toll as well.

Week 4 (22-28 October) — The Other Side

There's a twisted side to everything. Deviant Worlds that are Wicked, Warped, or D i s t o r t e d; a Delusion perhaps from the one we’ve grown to love. Who really knows what's on the other side? 🚪

Free days (29-31 October) — Free space/Repost

🎃🎃🎃

The examples above are merely ideas. Feel free to use your own interpretations of the prompts.

🎃🎃🎃

When posting your work, please:

1. @helsaweenfun

2. Tag #Helsaween 2021 and/or #Helsaween2021 and/or #Helsaween.

3. Tag the Week(s) your work is inspired by (i.e. #Week One/#Week 1/#WeekOne/#Week1), along with other appropriate tagging (fandom, characters, ship, spoilers, NSFW and content warnings).

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask :) Have fun and Happy Halloween!

[thatsthat24]

New Inktober for 2019!

Once again, I was asked to create a new list of art prompts for October this year! These creations from you guys are ALWAYS so amazing, so I’m excited to bring you a new list! I got so many suggestions from my friends! You can use #TSinktober if you’d like to share your creations!

Remember: Even if we’re on Day 31, and you wanna post art based off the Day 1 prompt, you DEFINITELY can! There is no lateness for posting art, because it’s all entirely for fun! Hope you enjoy!!

Day 1: In a twist from the past years’ Day 1 prompts, I want to see you take a traditional Halloween monster or character, and draw what they look like Sep. 30th, and then their traditional look when it’s October 1st!  Maybe they don’t get spoopy until October 1st haha.

Day 2: Turn fall weather into a character! Could be the human embodiment of Fall, or the spirit responsible for Fall occurring, or something else!

Day 3: Turn a famous painting into a spoopy Halloween version!

Day 4: Draw a classic still life of items belonging to your favorite character. Let us guess who the items belong to!

Day 5: Draw your best friend or yourself (or both) GOIN GHOST. Ya know, that good ole Danny Phantom transformation!

Day 6: A Pokémon hanging out with (or running from) the zombified version of itself

Day 7: Choose two months, personify them, then draw what their first date would look like

Day 8: Sanders Sides characters on their dream vacations!

Day 9: A business that a Halloween monster or character would thrive on if they ran it!

Day 10: Take any popular author, imagine if they were a superhero, and draw what their comic book cover would look like!

Day 11: Portray any Disney princess as the “monster/scary thing” from a horror movie such as The Conjuring, The Nun, etc., either depicting them in a scene from the movie or the poster for the movie!

Day 12: Take any two coffee flavors, like Pumpkin Spice and Peppermint, and draw a battle between them, Mortal Kombat style (brew-tality lol)

Day 13: Take any Avenger from the MCU, and reimagine them as a Pokemon Gym Master! What would their Pokemon team look like?

Day 14: Reimagine a Sanders Sides, Cartoon Therapy, or other original character from our content as a kind of humanoid piece of candy or sweet treat!

Day 15: I really enjoyed this prompt from last year, so this year, take any Disney Villain, and use them as the inspiration for a Met Gala outfit! NO DALMATIAN PUPPY FUR ALLOWED, ALL OF YOU CRUELLA FANS.

Day 16: Take any traditional Halloween monster/character or any horror movie villain and make… them… CUTE. Now whether that’s adorably cuddly cute or va-va-voom cute is completely up to you! - Erin

Day 17: Take your fave character or OC and reimagine Steampunk versions of them!

Day 18: Take your fave food and create a cartoon character based off of it! It can have its own style, be stylized after an existing cartoon, whatever you wish!

Day 19: Take a quote from a book, song, or movie that particularly inspired you, and make it the main centerpiece of this day’s piece of art! Wherever you’d want to take the art from there is up to you!

Day 20: Here’s a cool challenge for ya! You can draw any Halloween-themed picture you want, BUT It’s all in ONE pen stroke. You can’t take your drawing utensil off the paper!

Day 21: What if anyone else from Halloweentown, other than Jack Skellington, had discovered and fell in love with Christmastown? Would anyone else have tried to dress up as Santa? Would they hatch another plan entirely??

Day 22: Back due to demand, take your fave character(s) from two different animated tv shows/anime/movie and depict them in each other’s animation style! An animation swap, if you will!

Day 23: Ever watch a movie or show and wish it had ended a different way? This is your chance to correct the plots to conclude the way YOU wanted it concluded! Oh boy, this may end up getting controversial lol

Day 24: We all know traditional Halloween monsters... but create what you think the Halloween monsters of today or the FUTURE would be!!

Day 25: This one is purely selfish because I’m still so in love with the past creations. Take ANY character of your choice from ANY piece of media and draw them in the style of a Tim Burton illustration!

Day 26: Speaking of classics, gotta include this one cause it’s tradition! Draw your OTP in Halloween costumes that are designed to go together!!

Day 27: Take any dramatic scene from any scary or Halloween-y movie... and meme it.

Day 28: How to Train Your [Insert Monster/Demon/Halloween-y creature here]

Day 29: This one is SUPER open-ended, but I’m into that. Take any book, turn to the 13th page (so the book has to be at least 13 pages lol) and go to the 13th word on that page (if it’s an article like “a” or “the”, just go to the next adjacent noun/verb/adjective/adverb) and use it as the inspiration for a one-worded scary movie/book. Draw that poster or book cover!

Day 30: Slightly inspired by the eerie vibe one can sometimes get from Spinel (SU), Betty Boop cartoons, etc. take any character, Halloween-y creature or otherwise from any of your fave piece of media, and depict them in the classic rubberhose/ Max Fleischer-inspired art style!!

Day 31: HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Do you remember a specific Halloween that was especially memorable for you?? It might have been because of the friends you spent it with, or a memorable moment that happened, or because of a costume you were particularly fond of. Or maybe there were a series of Halloweens that were dear to you because of a tradition you did with your family (and maybe still do!). Depict that moment along with an explanation! If you just wanna write about it, that’s fine too!

As always, you guys have been absolutely blowing me away with your incredible creations!! I love this time of year and seeing what your talents produce!! Thank you for all the amazing works and have a WONDERFUL October!!!

Thank you to all my friends whose suggestions helped to make this list!

Dahlia, AJ, Tammy, Ellen, Adri, Fariha, Brei, Rafaela, Jack, Esteban

[raimispiderman]

From the booklet which comes with the Spider-Man Trilogy Limited Edition Collection blu-ray!

This talks about the making of Spider-Man 3, here’s the bit about the first Spider-Man movie and here’s the bit about Spider-Man 2.

Click for a transcript:

OLD FRIENDS… AND NEW FACES

“The heart of the Spider-Man films has always been the depth of the characters and their interconnected lives. Peter’s love of Mary Jane Watson and his friendship with Harry Osborn have always been the richest parts of our stories,” said director Sam Raimi.

In Spider-Man 3, Peter Parker faces his biggest challenge to date – and the greatest battle of all is the battle within himself.

“We wanted to explore the darker side of Peter’s character,” said producer Laura Ziskin. “When his suit turns black, it enhances and emphasizes characteristics that are already in the host. In this case, it makes him stronger and quicker, but also more prideful and aggressive.”

“When I read the script I was really excited about the different direction we were going with Peter Parker and the other characters and storylines,” said Tobey Maguire, who returned to the role of Peter Parker. “We are covering a lot of new ground here, with a fresh take on the story while maintaining the continuity of the characters from the previous two films.”

In Spider-Man 3, Spider-Man takes on two classic villains: Sandman, who first made his appearance in the fourth issue of “The Amazing Spider-Man” and Venom, one of the comic book’s most memorable villains.

“Marvel comic books – and especially the Spider-Man books – have always had a great bunch of villains to choose from,” noted Raimi. “So many great Marvel artists and writers developed these characters. It was a very easy task to pick up these wonderful tales and images and develop our story from them.”

Thomas Haden Church played Flint Marko, a man haunted by the mistakes of his past, who is caught in a physics experiment gone wrong. “I consider it an honor, really,” said Church, an Academy Award nominee for his role in Sideway, on joining the franchise. “The Spider-Man films stand tall in the pantheon of superhero movies. Many are called, few are chosen, and I’m proud to be one of the few.”

“Flint Marko becomes Sandman when he stumbles into a radioactive test site where they’re performing a molecular fusion experiment and he accidentally becomes fused with sand,” Church added. “As a result, he can change his shape and adapt to his environment. He can be 10, 30, 80 feet tall. He can form giant sand fists, hammers, a mace. He can shift into a sand tornado, or sift into sand. He is as malevolent and menacing as any villain can be.”

Church spent over a year preparing for the role, with a physical training and diet regimen which led to his gaining about 20 pounds of muscle before shooting began. “In the comic book, Sandman was a bulky-muscled guy – he looked like a guy out of the WWF,” said the actor, “For the movie, we decided on a leaner look – street hardened, like Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront.”

Topher Grace joined the cast as Eddie Brock, a character in some ways similar to Peter Parker, who transforms into Venom – Spider-Man’s arch-nemesis. “When I was first talking about the movie, Sam asked me if I knew what ‘arch-nemesis’ meant. I thought it meant a huge villain, but Sam pointed out that it really means a villain who has the same powers and abilities as the hero, but uses them for evil,” said Grace. “Sam has gone to great lengths to make this character Spider-Man’s equal and opposite. You might say that Eddie is the guy that Peter would have been if he didn’t have the good fortune of having Aunt May and Uncle Ben to bring him up.”

Grace, a self-described “skinny guy,” put on about 15 to 20 pounds for the role, working out during the several months before shooting began. During pre-production, Grace was subjected to body scans and motion capture data analysis for use by the costume and visual effects departments.

“They were doing a scan of my body, and someone mentioned that the scan would be really helpful for making my action figure. My action figure!” recalled Grace. “It hadn’t even occurred to me that I would become an action figure! It was very exciting.”

“The Spider-Man books have probably the greatest rogues’ gallery of any superhero comic – there are so many memorable villains throughout the books,” said executive producer and Marvel’s president of production Kevin Feige. “With the villains in Spider-Man 3, we wanted to continue the tradition – following the Green Goblin and Doc Ock – of presenting villains that not only provide spectacle and a physical challenge to Spider-Man’s abilities, but characters that are multi-layered and conflicted.”

“At the beginning of Spider-Man 3, we find Peter Parker pretty much where we left him at the end of the second Spider-Man story,” said director Sam Raimi. “He is coming to terms with what it means to be a hero and the sacrifices he has to make to do the right thing. Peter has never had anyone look up to him as someone they admire. Certainly, he’s never had anyone cheer for him before. This has an unexpected effect on Peter: it stirs up his prideful self. This is the beginning of a movement toward his dark side in this film.”

That dark side is brought to the forefront when he comes into contact with a black substance that attaches itself to Peter’s Spider-Man suit. When the substance turns his suit black, he finds he has greater strength and agility than ever before… but also the substance brings out his pride and his vengefulness. “In the climax, Peter has to put aside his prideful self. He must put aside his desire for vengeance,” Raimi continues. “He has to learn that we are all sinners and that none of us can hold ourselves above another. In this story, he has to learn forgiveness.”

Another fan favorite, Gwen Stacy, made her film debut in Spider-Man 3. Well known to fans of the comic books, Gwen made her first appearance in December 1965 “The Amazing Spider-Man #31” and quickly became Peter Parker’s first love. Bryce Dallas Howard took on the role. Despite the differences between the comic book and screen versions of her character, Howard was able to use the comic book as inspiration in bringing Gwen Stacy to life. “There was a very deep relationship built into the comic books – that became my foundation,” said the actress. “This a person who, had things been different, could have been a good mate for him. Because her father is a police captain, she’s accustomed to someone leaving and putting his life in jeopardy every day and loving him unconditionally. I was able to build on that, to play the character that was written in the comic book.”

“It’s wonderful to bring new actors into the series because, although you have an existing set of rules and storylines you want to adhere to, at the same time you need to shake it up, bringing new voices and energies to the film that we haven’t experiences before, “noted Raimi. “It gives the audience a new experience, with the characters they love, but with a new energy dynamic, with those new faces on screen with them.”

“In terms of logistics and scope, Spider-Man 3 is by far the largest of the three films,” said Ziskin. “Sam has really upped the ante for this film, in terms of action sequences and visual effects involving Sandman and Venom, so it is a gigantic endeavor, with over 1,000 people working towards that goal.”

During production, Raimi relied on key members of his filmmaking team to bring to life before the cameras as much of Peter Parker’s story as possible. “Whenever it’s safe and practical, I like to capture the action in camera,” said Raimi. “Visual effects are an amazing tool for action that human beings can’t do – but if a human being can do it, let’s do it.”

The talented team of stuntmen was ready, but so was the cast. Bryce Dallas Howard, especially, surprised the filmmakers by being game for anything they could throw at her. At one point, the actress found herself hanging from a harness.

After performing several portions of the sequence on soundstages in Los Angeles, Howard was eager to get in the harness again to fly with Spider-Man over Sixth Avenue. “What’s so great about movies is you get to really experience these crazy, crazy stunts, things that you would never emerge from alive in real life,” says Howard. “I knew I would be 100% safe because Sam and the stunt team really protect the actors. So I tried to do as many things as possible, because it’s really fun and a great adrenaline rush!”

Thomas Haden Church was also up to the challenge – in fact, even more so. Whether it was being yanked five feet in the air so he could do a face-plant in the mud, or being chased (and caught) by dogs, or dangling off the side of a set, or falling onto train tracks, or having his face smashed into a pane of Plexiglas, the actor found himself bruised and battered repeatedly, but was ready for anything. According to producer Grant Curtis, “It wasn’t intentional, but it seemed sometimes like if any actor was required to get beat up in any way, Thomas was always drawing that short straw.”

Two members of the production team that played key roles in ensuring that these action sequences were both as safe and as spectacular as possible were special effects supervisor John R. Frazier (who previously served in the same capacity on the first two Spider-Man films) and second unit director Dan Bradley (a veteran of Spider-Man 2). “Working with Sam is like going back to school,” said Frazier. “You have that moment where you say, ‘Oh, this is going to be really, really hard, but a lot of fun.’ It’s  not unusual for me to be on a movie like Spider-Man 3 for nine months, from the beginning planning stages through production.”

One scene that highlights their work is the Subway Drain portion of an elaborate fight sequence between Spider-Man and Sandman. Raimi worked closely with Frazier, Bradley and visual effects supervisor Scott Stokdyk on the sequence, in which Sandman is blasted by the force of a burst water pipe and, quite literally, goes down the drain. Sam wanted Sandman to melt away, in essence, during this sequence.

“This is the largest water gag for one shot I’ve ever done for a film,” recalled Frazier, who had previously supervised the special effects for Poseidon. “We used 50,000 gallons of water, shooting out of a pipe which blasted the rear of the set fifty feet away. When you see this sequence, the water appears to be a six-foot-thick column of water; however, we made the center of the pipe hollow, and used a restrictor plate to control the size of the column of water. The water is recirculated using pumps, which are able to pump 3,000 gallons a minute. We can fill both tanks in about five minutes, so that we are ready for another take.”

The sequence was covered using eight cameras, according to Stokdyk. “This sequence is where Spider-Man discovers Sandman’s weakness – water. We had to put a CG Sandman in here because the velocity of the water is too great to have Thomas Haden Church or a stuntman perform portions of the sequence. Water is a huge challenge for visual effects, especially on a large scale, so our goal here was to seamlessly integrate the elements for the sequence between practical and CG.”

Bradley and Frazier’s work is also on display in an action sequence during a bank heist, in which a security guard (played by none other than producer Grant Curtis) falls victim to Sandman’s wreath. “As a producer, Grant is uniquely qualified for guarding money,” laughed Bradley, “so Sam typecast him and invited him to spend a lot of time on set being buried underneath tons of sand as one of the armored car guards.”

Apprehensive as he might have been about performing the stunt, Curtis says that it would have been pointless to argue. “I’ve worked with Sam for ten years, so I know that once a decision’s been made, he’s going to get his way,” he said.

The sequence begins spectacularly, when Sandman smashes into the top of the armored call with his fist – which, in reality, Frazier’s team made of polyurethane foam. It was eight feet tall, six feet wide, and weighed over 500 pounds. Then, debris – sand – came flying at Curtis. “On the first take, I anticipated the crash and reacted too early,” he remembered. After an adjustment, he nailed the second take.

At the end of the sequence, the guard is buried in sand. To film the scene, the armored car was lifted and tilted at a 50-degree angle so that the sand could be dumped in and fill the car but with a fraction of the pressure on Curtis. The producer soon found himself beneath 4,000 pounds of ground corncob – the filmmakers’ ingenious substitute for sand.

The idea of using ground corncob as a double for sand did not come immediately to the filmmakers. The first man charged with investigating what kind of sand would make Sandman or solving any number of other costuming challenges, Acheson’s motto was: when in doubt, go back to the original text. “We derive our inspiration, as always, from the comic,” he said. “Sandman is one of those remarkable characters who can change shape, dissolve, disappear, grow, or become mud or concrete. We designed various stages and different scales of Sandman’s evolution, working with wonderful sculptors to create maquettes, small statues of Sandman in his various appearances.”

As much as Sandman required each of the departments to step up their game, so, too, did Venom – Spider-Man’s equal and opposite. Acheson and his team created various stages of Venom’s look, working with Raimi to create a tension in the sculpting of the suit. “It was important to Sam and to James that we keep the suit really sharp and aggressive, as with the tendrils that crawl across Venom’s face at points,” said head specialty costumer Shownee Smith, whose company Frontline Design worked under Acheson’s direction to manufacture the specialty costumes for the film.

For scenes where Brock transitions into Venom, Grace spent an hour being placed into the suit, which added between 120 and 140 pounds to his weight. The actor then spent an additional four and a half hours in makeup for the addition of appliances, including special sets of teeth worn by Grace to give the character the illusion of a larger, more menacing mouth. The filmmakers also attached monofilament to the skin on Grace’s face so that they could pull and distort the character as he makes his transformation.

“At one point while shooting the transition scenes, I thought, ‘What have I signed up for?!’” Grace laughed. “I had black goo poured all over me, wires attached to my face that people with fishing poles were pulling up, and other people below me were pulling down… When you see my character in pain, well, there wasn’t a whole lot of acting required.”

Also interacting with each of the departments was production designer J. Michael Riva, the member of the team responsible for bringing Raimi’s stylish vision to life. Riva was especially proud of his work in cresting the construction site that serves as the arena for the film’s final battle. “Making a construction site doesn’t sound very difficult, but if you have only eight weeks to design and build, it’s practically impossible,” he said. “We used over 20 tons of steel, 100 welders, and 200 carpenters working around the clock, seven days a week to get it done! But we all did it.”

The set took six weeks to complete, using tons of steel from a cancelled building project. A construction elevator, complete with operator, transported cast and crew to the various levels of the elaborate set. For the extensive lighting and electrical needs required for the sequence, a labyrinth of connections was designed and installed 80 feet above the stage floor, using over four miles of electrical cable. By the time the set was ready for shooting, Stage 27 was outfitted with approximately 21,000 amps, enough power to service over 200 homes.

“The great thing about a construction site is that it’s a very dangerous place. First, besides the implied height of the set, you have a lot of steel and rebar lying around at such a site. You can always rely on Sam to see opportunities and come up with an effective way to use these set elements to enhance the danger in a scene,” said Riva. “Second, it was an open structure, pretending to be 50 stories high, open on all sides. It offered Sam a jungle gym of possibilities to web up and down, to do a chase all over the face of the steel structure. The higher they go fighting their way up the building, the more the danger and tensions increase. It’s a long way to fall if you’re not Spider-Man!”

For visual effects supervisor Scott Stokdyk – the man charged with bringing the visual effects to the screen – those words were the beginning of a two-year process to develop the technology that would make Spider-Man 3 the most visually stunning film in the series so far. “When we began the pre-production process, the computer programs had not yet been developed which could achieve the look of Sandman and his capabilities that Sam wanted to see,” recalled producer Grant Curtis. “However, Scott Stokdyk and his team created new technology to manipulate every piece of sand on our character. The existing technology allowed management of thousands of particles at once – but to animate Sandman the way Sam wanted to, we would have to be able to render billions of particles. In the end, the new software they wrote required ten man-years to code.”

Stokdyk says that he and his team prepared for the challenge by first observing how sand moves in the real world. “One of the first things we did was to organize a sand shoot with Sam and Bill Pope, the difrector ofg photographer,” Stokdyk continued. “We shot footage of sand every way we would need it – thrown up, thrown against blue screen, over black screen. John Frazier, the special effects supervisor, shot it out of an aero can at a stuntman. Anything we could imagine sand doing in the film, we shot.”

“There’s a character the, emoting, but it’s just a pile of sand,” said Stotdyk. “If we’ve pulled together enough grains of sand to make feel something, then we’ve pulled it off.”

In the end, the artists were all extremely proud of their creation. “Sony Pictures Imageworks delivered on Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, but for Spider-Man 3 it changed the industry standard,” said Curtis.

Sandman, of course, was not the only character that posed a considerable challenge for Spencer Cook; animating the black-suited Spider-Man required subtle changed to reflect the character’s more aggressive personality, “He’ll move a little quicker here and there, hunch his shoulders a little more, put his elbows up a little higher when he’s stuck to a wall. We tried to find poses that the classic Spider-Man would not do – where the red-suited Spider-Man was graceful and elegant in his motions, black-suited Spider-Man is more blunt, rough, and reckless.”

In creating Venom, Stokdyk notes that the character has at least three different stages. First, of course, is the initial transformation, in which Topher Grace’s skin is pulled away from his body and tendrils of goo cross his face until they completely envelop him. “As he gets angrier, he turns into more of a monster, more of a beast,” Stokdyk noted. First, he becomes a kind of double for Spider-Man, played by Grace. By the very end of the film, he becomes an entirely CG character – the classic Venom from the comic books, with a menacing, unhinged jaw and a full mouth of very sharp teeth. “Everything is alive on ‘comic-book Venom,’” Stokdyk continued. “The challenge was to make a character that was monsterous, very detailed, very kinetic – but not delicate. Despite all the detail, he’s still menacing.

Stokdyk was also determined to break new ground in terms of live-action integration with the visual effects. The supervisor was on hand during production so that he could be ready to take the ball as soon as the scenes were filmed. “It was important to Sam and me to incorporate as much live-action into the CG as possible,” he said. “The typical reason a shot is animated is because a person can’t do all of it. We wanted to find a way to have an actor or stunt person do part of the action, and synthesize the rest. The goal was to find a balance between keeping the shot real and making it exciting and cinematic.”

One dramatic example of this idea comes early in the film, as Peter Parker finds himself ambushed by the New Goblin – his friend, Harry Osborn. “It was Sam’s idea to show Peter fighting as Peter not as Spider-Man,” said producer Avi Arad. “It’s a terrific amount, because it brings home what a personal battle this is for Peter when you can see his face.”

Tobey Maguire and James Franco completed much of the aerial stunt sequence themselves, doing wire work suspended high above the stage floor. “Tobey is really handy with stunt situations, and he picks it up really quickly,” said stunt coordinator Scott Rogers. “James is also terrific – he’s got a great attitude. Both actors are used to the type of physicality required for their roles, and they excelled.”

For Stokdyk, achieving such great heights would not have been possible without the contribution from his team at Sony Pictures Imageworks, assembling, in the end, between 200 and 250 people to complete more than 900 effects shots. “You live and die by your team,” said Stokdyk. “They were always ready to respond, always on their toes. That’s bit of the process of working with Sam, you have to be flexible and ready to deliver.”

“When developing this third installment, we asked ourselves, ‘What does this young man still have to learn?’” said director Sam Raimi. “We placed him in situations where he’d be forced to confront his absences of character – obstacles that, in previous stories, he might not have been able to surmount. In this way, he would either be defeated or grow into the heroic person who might be capable of overcoming these obstacles. As the depth of our characters grow, they become richer human beings and can achieve more than in the previous films.”

[greatworldwar2]

• Sherman Firefly

The Sherman Firefly was a tank used by the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth and Allied armoured formations in the Second World War. It was based on the US M4 Sherman, but fitted with the powerful British 17-pounder anti-tank gun as its main weapon.

The idea of fitting a 17-pounder gun into a Sherman tank had initially been rejected by the Ministry of Supply's Tank Decision Board. Although the British Army had made extensive use of the American-built Sherman tank, it was intended that a new generation of British tanks would replace it in the anti-tank role. First, there was the Cromwell tank, which was expected to use the Vickers high velocity 75 mm gun; this gun would have had superior anti-tank performance to the US 75 mm and 76 mm guns that were mounted in the Sherman. The second was the A30 Challenger, which was based on the Cromwell but with the even more powerful 17-pounder gun. These two tanks—and their successors, the Comet and the Centurion, which were already on the drawing board—were to replace the Sherman in British service, and so the prospect of diverting resources to mount the 17-pounder on the Sherman seemed undesirable. Nonetheless, several unofficial attempts were made to improve the firepower of the Sherman. The earliest attempt can be credited to Major George Brighty of the Royal Tank Regiment while he was at Lulworth Armoured Fighting School in early 1943. Despite the A30 Challenger undergoing initial trials at Lulworth, Brighty was convinced that the Sherman was a better mount for the 17-pounder. However, the turret of the Sherman was too small to allow for the very long recoil of the gun. In a radical adjustment, Brighty removed the recoil system and locked the gun in place, thus forcing the entire tank to absorb the recoil, but this was a far from ideal situation and there was no telling how long the tank would have been able to handle such a set-up.

Around June 1943, a colleague of Brighty, Lieutenant Colonel George Witheridge of the Royal Tank Regiment, arrived at Lulworth. A veteran of the North Africa campaign, Witheridge had experienced first-hand the one-sided battles between British tanks armed with 2-pounder guns against Rommel's formidable tanks and anti-tank guns. While at Lulworth, Witheridge inspected the A30 Challenger, and "joined in the chorus of complaints" about the tank. Upon looking up Brighty and learning of his attempts to use the Sherman, Witheridge lent his assistance. He advised Brighty on methods to solve the recoil issue. Not long after, Witheridge and Brighty received a notice from the Department of Tank Design (DTD) to cease their efforts. Unwilling to abandon the project, Witheridge, using his connections successfully lobbied Claude Gibb, Director-General of Weapons and Instruments Production at the Ministry of Supply, to make it an official ministry project.

It was W.G.K. Kilbourn, who transformed their idea into the reality of the prototype of the tank that would serve the British forces from the invasion of Normandy in June 1944 onwards. The first thing Kilbourn had to fix was the lack of a workable recoil system for the 17-pounder. The 17-pounder travelled 40 in (1.0 m) back as it absorbed the recoil of the blast. This was too long for the Sherman's turret. Kilbourn solved this problem by redesigning the recoil system completely rather than modifying it. The recoil cylinders were shortened and placed on both sides of the gun to take advantage of the width of the turret. The gun breech itself was also rotated 90 degrees to allow loading from the left rather than from on top. The radio, normally mounted in the back of the turret in British tanks, had to be moved; an armoured box (a "bustle") was attached to the back of the turret to house it, with access through a large hole cut through the turret. Kilbourn had to deal with other problems. On the standard Sherman tank, there was a single hatch in the turret through which the commander, gunner and loader entered and left the tank. However, the 17-pounder's larger breech and recoil system made it significantly more difficult for the loader to exit quickly if the tank was hit; a new hatch was cut into the top of the turret over the gunner's position to resolve this. The final major change was the elimination of the hull gunner in favour of space for more 17-pounder ammunition, which was significantly longer than the original 75 mm.

By October and November 1943, enthusiasm began to grow for the project. The 21st Army Group was informed of the new tank in October 1943. Even before final testing had taken place in February 1944, an order for 2,100 Sherman tanks armed with 17-pounder guns was placed, as the Challenger programme was suffering constant delays and it was realised that few would be ready for Normandy. Similarly it was discovered that the Cromwell did not have a turret ring wide enough to take the new High Velocity 75mm gun (50 calibres long). This left the Firefly as the only tank available with firepower superior to the QF 75 mm gun in the British Army's arsenal, earning it the "highest priority" from Winston Churchill. The nickname "Firefly" was adopted due to the bright muzzle flash of the main gun. It was sometimes used at unit level (brigade/regiment) war diaries from March 1944, along with "Mayfly". During the war, Shermans with 17-pounder guns were usually known as "1C", "1C Hybrid", or "VC", depending on the basic mark of the vehicle. In British nomenclature, a "C" at the end of the Roman numeral indicated a tank equipped with the 17-pounder.

Three different variants of Sherman Firefly served during the Second World War, each based on a different variant of the M4 Sherman. The Firefly conversion was carried out on Sherman I (M4), Sherman I Hybrid (M4 Composite) and Sherman V (M4A4) tanks. Some sources state that several Sherman IIs (M4A1) were converted and used in action, but photos allegedly showing these conversions are in fact views of the front half of Sherman I Hybrid Fireflies. The Sherman VC and IC variants are easily distinguished by their lower hulls; the VC having a lengthened hull, and a larger gaps between the suspension units. They employed the three-piece bolted transmission housing. The Sherman IC usually sported the cast transmission housing. The Hybrid can be distinguished by its upper hull, which is cast and gives it a distinctive curved look in comparison to the more boxy hull of a typical Sherman. Production of the Firefly started in January 1944 and, by 31 May, some 342 Sherman Fireflies had been delivered to Montgomery's 21st Army Group for the D-Day landings. Production was limited by the availability of suitable tanks, with the phasing out of 75 mm Sherman production. To make up numbers, Sherman I and Sherman I Hybrids were also converted. From D-Day in June to the end of the Battle of Normandy in late August, almost 400 Sherman Fireflies were converted, more than sufficient to replace any permanent tank losses during the battle. By February 1945, some 2,000 Sherman Fireflies had been built and British, Commonwealth and Polish armoured units were equipped with a 50/50 mix of 75 mm and 17-pounder-armed Shermans.

Fireflies were introduced to armoured brigades and divisions in the 21st Army Group in 1944, just in time for the Normandy landings. The timing was fortunate as Allied intelligence had begun to realise in early 1944 through statistical analysis that the Germans were fielding a much larger number of more formidable tanks (such as the Panther) than had been anticipated. Panthers and Tigers accounted for only 30% of the 2,300 German tanks deployed in Normandy; the rest being Panzer IVs, Sturmgeschütz IIIs and other tanks that the 75 mm gun Shermans were able to effectively handle. However, the importance of Caen and Montgomery's operations, which pinned German armoured forces in front of the British positions so the American units could break out to the west, meant that British and Commonwealth units had to face over 70% of all German armour deployed during the Battle of Normandy, as well as over half of the elite, well-equipped Waffen-SS Panzer units. The Sherman Firefly was perhaps the most valued tank by British and Commonwealth commanders, as it was the only tank in the British Army able to reliably penetrate the frontal armour of Panthers and Tigers at the standard combat ranges in Normandy. This fact did not go unnoticed by the Germans, who realised that these long-barrel Shermans posed a much greater threat to their heavy tanks than the normal Shermans, and German tank crews and anti-tank gun crews were instructed to eliminate Fireflies first. Similarly, the Firefly crews realised that the distinctive long barrel of their 17-pounder gun made their Fireflies stand out from standard Shermans, so they attempted to disguise their tanks to reduce the likelihood of being targeted. Some crews had the front half of the olive drab gun barrel painted white on the bottom, or white with dark green on top, to give the illusion of a shorter gun barrel.

Despite being a high priority target, Fireflies appear to have had a statistically lower chance of being knocked out than standard Shermans, probably due more to how they were employed than to the actual effectiveness of the attempted camouflaging of the long barrel. Given the high value placed on Fireflies, a common tactic was for commanders to reconnoitre the battlefield before a battle, to look for good overwatch positions. During the battle, Fireflies would stay behind in those positions and cover the ordinary Shermans as they pushed forward, eliminating any enemy tanks that revealed themselves when they opened fire on the advancing Shermans. Similarly, when on the move, troop commanders tended to position Fireflies in the rear to reduce the chance of their being knocked out. However, given the relatively unpredictable nature of battle, this setup was not always practical or possible, and many times, Fireflies were forced to engage enemies in the open. Although the Normandy campaign had priority, Fireflies also served with distinction in British, Commonwealth and Polish units in the Italian campaign. British units in Italy also used the Sherman with the US 76 mm gun M1. The Firefly's increased firepower was much valued, and during many engagements, the Firefly proved its worth, knocking out Tigers and Panthers at long range, as well as less formidable tanks like the Panzer IVs and StuGs.