#varis talks

[artvaris]

Hi Riikka, I stumbled across your art recently and am just blown away. It's absolutely gorgeous! *0* I am pretty new to digital art and was wondering what procreate brushes/settings/textures you use, especially for sketching (but also for painting)? I tried searching around your blog/links to see if you've answered this before and couldn't find anything so I apologize if this is a repeat question. ^^;

Hello hello! I'm so glad you enjoy my artwork so much! Thank you so much for your kind words - I try my best to level up and draw cooler every day haha Now about my brushes: I mostly draw in Paint Tool SAI 2 actually (I currently only use Procreate for simple sketches), and I've been meaning to make my SAI 2 brushes available for purchase for some months now since you are not the first person to ask me this. I mostly use textured, bristled, and round brushes, often with a custom brush shape. Nothing super "fancy", just a few versatile and functional brushes. But this is still a work in process since collecting and organizing my rather messy brushes into a nice brush set takes time, plus I also tend to change my brush settings a lot depending on what I need. So I've been creating and saving the brushes as I work (plus I've been rather busy with freelance work as well).

I also use the same brushes for sketching and rendering, because the way I render nowadays is more like drawing than painting. At least that's how it feels to me. I just change the brush settings (opacity, size, tip tapering, texture intensity, etc).

But I will post about this when the set is finally ready! But I also sketch in Procreate, and lately, I've been mostly using:

B Rough - as my main sketching pencil - from this free set: https://ghkim0045.gumroad.com/l/FREE_PencilSet

JF Grungy dilute ink Wash - I use this to fill in light gray values - https://jasonheeley.gumroad.com/l/keasb?layout=profile

I have also been experimenting a bit with this "PSKI" set, mainly using "PSKI pencil large rough" (a nice hard/soft edge brush): https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0vkcsrnf4wvtal5/AAAlVQYZGP4ZGHNMQ6kZwCTta?dl=0

I have also used the standard Procreate sketching brushes a lot, such as the 6B pencil (my favorite). I often like to amp up the texture intensity of my brushes though.

I have also used a brush called "DizzyTara's Oval Sketch 2" for sketching, but I've altered this brush a bit to fit my own taste (more texture and bigger max brush size). It's basically a pretty "basic" and textured oval brush, but often brushes like this are the best and most versatile tbh!

Other settings: In Procreate, I've also adjusted my pen pressure curve to be more sensitive so that I don't need to press so hard - this will save your hand and wrist as well!

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

we need to step away from viewing marriage as inherently romantic, or the primary goal of romance. marriage is a legal contract we use to create important ties--financial, medical, next-of-kin, mediating shared property and parental rights. the details vary a lot based on where you are and what paperwork you sign. which is not very romantic! but it does have many real-world effects on our ability to share our lives with our partners.

first and foremost, marriage is a legal right we use to build and protect our families, whatever that family may look like

[anonymousdandelion]

A general tip for students who are sending those dreaded Religious Absence Emails to your professors: Rather than asking permission to take the day(s) off, politely let them know that you will be taking the day(s) off.

In other words, consider not saying this:

"May I miss class on [date] so I can observe [holiday]?"

It's not that there's anything wrong with the above, per se. But because it's phrased as a request, it risks coming across as optional — a favor you hope to be granted. Problem is, favors are not owed, and so unfortunately asking permission opens the door for the professor to respond "Thanks for asking. No, you may not. :)"

Instead, try something along the lines of:

"I will need to miss class on [date] because I will be observing [holiday]. I wanted to let you know of this conflict now, and to ask your assistance in making arrangements for making up whatever material I may miss as a result of this absence."

This is pretty formal language (naturally, you can and should tweak it to sound more like your voice). But the important piece is that, while still being respectful, it shifts the focus of the discussion so that the question becomes not "Is it okay for me to observe my religion?", but rather, "How can we best accommodate my observance?"

Because the first question should not be up for debate: freedom of religion is a right, not a favor. And the second question is the subject you need to discuss.

(Ideally, do this after you've looked up your school's policy on religious absences, so you know what you're working within and that religious discrimination is illegal. Just in case your professor forgot.)

[s-aint-elmo]

took a crack at @laikabu's template! i have a type and it's women <3

(ID in alt text)

[mayordeas-clone]

one of the absolute funniest phenomenons in the jojo fandom is seeing an artist's style morph into being sharper and more anatomically focused as they get more immersed in the series

[fyllophobia]

seliph & ares commission, thank you!

[caterpillarinacave]

NATM Textposts; Part 3/???

[cluescorner]

The Council of Optimuses: Pleasant, generally positive, they exiled Bayverse a while ago but they still check in once in a while to make sure he's ok/out of curiosity, Earthspark enables One's 'I can fix him' delusion to the point that Prime is falling into it too, IDW does NOT want to add to the delusion pile so he shuts up, Cyberverse kinda doesn't want to be at this meeting it feels too much like a party, IDW keeps making calls to somebody but he won't tell anyone who, they used to have 'bring your Bumblebee to work day' but Skybound had a breakdown over it so they can't do that anymore, everybody is suspicious of Skybound's new arm but the only person who actually brought it up was Bayverse whose solution was 'kill him' so now everybody thinks they are getting paranoid and should maybe start seeing a therapist (they should start seeing therapists, but they ARE right about the arm).

The Council of Megatrons: They are having a great time even if it looks horrible from the outside looking in, Prime constantly wants to fight IDW for his spot as the strongest Megatron but IDW is not about that, they tried to kick out Earthspark but he somehow keeps getting in (IDW leaves the door open), One has like 5 devils on his shoulder telling him to escalate and two fallen angels who are desperately trying to get across that maybe total destruction isn't the move, IDW is trying to hide his redemption arc in order to keep the situation under control (only Earthspark is aware of it, though Skybound has his suspicions), Cyberverse always tries to kill the others to take over their universes and it's the highlight of everybody's month, Bayverse is mocked for being killed by Optimus but secretly everybody is kinda jealous about it (Prime especially), one time an unidentified Starscream (it was Animated) broke in and it was on sight (he got away because every Megatron wanted to be the one who killed him and they fought each other over it), IDW keeps taking calls from somebody but he won't tell anyone who, Skybound can listen in on his Optimus's meetings due to being his arm and reports back, there is an ongoing debate about whether Galvatrons should be included.

Inspired by @jyang030107 's art of ES and IDW Megs advising their One counterpart.

[wwheeljack]

A rarepair I am utterly obsessed with, and this piece was done by the amazing @/collisioncha0s_ on Twitter for me of these two. I've never been obsessed over a ship before, but these two grabbed me in a chokehold and I cannot get enough of them both.

Please go support the artist here (https://x.com/collisioncha0s_), they have many other pieces of art of the Constructicons, Beachcomber, Blitzwing and the Insecticons!

[ahalliance]

antoine + étoiles insane moments, p.2. aka the ass saga. p1 here

transcript + context for some of the clips below

[Video Transcript:

[First clip plays.]

Rivenzi: You want to see Etoiles’ ass, of course…

Antoine: Yeah, I’m gonna stare at your ass, Etoiles…

Etoiles: Fuck, what dread, during Popcorn [a talkshow Etoiles had been invited on the previous week], when I went up to the map and you said that, and I thought ‘whoa—‘

Antoine: Sorry

[Second clip plays: the moment during Popcorn]

PA/Domingo: Antoine Daniel has posted a tweet for us: ‘I wanted to look at this map of Africa, but Etoiles’ ass in the shape of a standing bell is driving me crazy. Smiley face with eyes in the shape of hearts.’

[Third clip plays: a continuation of the first clip.]

Antoine: Sorry, bro…

Ponce: Oh but that tweet, besides

Rivenzi: A standing bell…

Antoine: What’s more is that I never tweet and when I do it’s to tweet this sort of shit

Ponce: That’s exactly what I told myself. When PA read the tweet, I thought to myself, ‘but he never tweets!’ And he tweets to talk about Etoiles’ ass

Antoine: There needs to be a good reason, you see

[Fourth clip plays: a clip from the Team du Lundi’s minecraft server.]

JDG: Someone (in chat) said, ‘I can’t tell whether the atmosphere is good tonight or—‘

Antoine: It sucks, it sucks

Florence: You don’t need to ask every time, it always sucks

Baghera: Always sucks. Especially when Etoiles talks about ass [which had been a previous topic of discussion for him that night]

Antoine: Stooop, I enjoy it

Mynthos: You enjoy it?

JDG: It’s true tonight that it’s more weird than bad

Antoine: I like it when Etoiles talks about ass….

[Fifth clip plays: a second and different clip from Popcorn.]

Etoiles: —you’re not allowed to tell me that [Xari claimed to not know much about cinema]. I know you, I studied, because you’re my rival [in pop culture]. I really enjoy what you do in life, Xari, and you’re really knowledgeable about cinema

Antoine: What do you mean he’s your rival? And I’m just shit?

Etoiles: You, you’re my lover

Antoine: Oh yeah, sorry, my bad

PA/Domingo: One of the three is gonna die soon. There’s a whole situation, there’s a whole lore

[Sixth clip plays: a clip from the QSMP.]

Antoine: Don’t you want to get married, dude?

Etoiles: Well, I don’t have the time to fuck

Antoine: What the fuck?!

Etoiles: I don’t have time to fuck, dude. I just need to kill everyone

Antoine: No but just a marriage, you see. You’ve watched Game of Thrones— you haven’t watched Game of Thrones, you can’t know how marriages work in that series

Etoiles: I’ve watched it, but I’m married to the street, dude. I can’t give out my heart that quickly

Antoine: Yeah but you can give out your ass quickly, no?

Etoiles: No, frankly, my ass—

Antoine: What the fuck?!

Etoiles: Giving out your ass takes time, dude

Antoine: What the fuck…

Etoiles: Then again, I need to think about it. I’ll give you my answer. I need to discuss, and everything

Antoine: I’m tired of getting betrayed. You get married with someone else—

Etoiles: Never in a million years!

Antoine: —it’s like yesterday. Apparently Maximus got the mic from his ass removed while I wasn’t there. I was supposed to be the one to do it

Etoiles: Oh okay, so I’m your second choice?

[Overlapping]

Antoine: No! It was just to help him—

Etoiles: No, but, okay

Antoine: He got— listen—

Etoiles: There’s no problem!

Antoine: Fuck, nevermind

Etoiles: There’s no issue! Oh, so you’re opening my chest and stealing?

Antoine: I was just looking! Out of curiosity

Etoiles: Yeah, that’s it

Antoine: I don’t even understand what’s in it

Etoiles: Yeah, out of curiosity. Dude, your opinion on my cave?

Antoine: Well frankly it’s big

end Video Transcript.]

[artvaris]

Your art is beautiful do you have any tips on how to draw faces thank youu 💖

Hi! I'm glad you enjoy my work! If you are a beginner, it is good to start from the beginner basics, such as learning the basic proportions of a face. Everyone learns a bit differently though, so use the resources that fit your learning style the best, be it YouTube videos made by professionals or art theory books, etc.

And remember to use references! When it comes to learning anatomy, here are 3 anatomy books that I've personally found educational and useful:

Morpho, anatomy for artists: Simplified Forms

Anatomy for Sculptors

My approach to drawing faces is loosely influenced by the Loomis method, but I've kind of merged various technical influences into my own process over the years. (Note: I have only included a few resources as an example since I do not wish to overwhelm folks with too much info/technical resources. Getting swarmed by all kinds of resources and information all at once can easily make you feel overwhelmed and confused.)

It's good to know the classic "rule of thumb" proportions, even if real human faces have a lot of variation depending on the person. It's still good and beneficial to know the "rules" before you bend them when you draw and stylize your characters.

The classic proportions act as your basic guidelines so to speak, which you can use to build all kinds of faces with different proportions. This previous Tumblr post of mine (regarding shape simplification, stylization, and drawing faces) could also be somewhat helpful because a lot of the stuff that I talk about here also applies to drawing faces.

[icewindandboringhorror]

I know this is just a silly bad quality random screencap of a screencap that I found on facebook lol, BUT it's a succinct enough image to easily describe the concept in a quick/accessible way hopefully :

-

(and of course, feel free to elaborate in tags, etc.! (especially elaborating about other senses as well.. can you "hear" in your mind just as well as you can "see"? taste? etc.) It's an interesting topic to me, as someone who's like a 4.5 at MOST lol. I'm curious what option will be the most common :0c )

[catgirlstalin]

Hi! I hope it's okay to ask this but would you happen to know any books on Stalin that don't repeat the same old stuff about him being a bloodthirsty dictator etc.? I wish to learn from more nuanced and anti-anticommunist sources since I'm learning about communism and ussr rn, and you seem to be someone who might know about these! Thanks if you're able to answer!

hii of course im happy to recommend stuff :3 mutuals feels free to add stuff as well

Another View of Stalin. Ludo Martens (1994) – one of my go to recommendations, it goes into the most commonly brought up issues such as collectivization, the great purge, and the molotov-ribbentrop pact

Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend. Dominico Losurdo (2008) – another go to; in addition to addressing historical facts and myths, this one also criticizes the concept of 'totalitarianism', and the resulting conflation of fascism with communism as equally bad (something that is still done to this day, see 'horseshoe theory')

those two i would say are the most prominent books specifically about him, and for good reason as they cover the most important myths about stalin

another author ive had recommended to me who has multiple books about stalin and the ussr is grover furr, but i havent read any of his works yet

also while this one isnt specifically about stalin as a person, i also wanna throw in The Soviets Expected it by Anna Louise Strong. It was published in 1942 and covers the years leading up to and including the second world war. its not really an analysis, as anna louise strong was not a historian, but a reporter who lived in the ussr at the time and she reported a lot on the living conditions and experiences of the people which provides a really interesting view into the 1930s and early 1940s in the ussr. its also a rather short and easy read

then theres of course also first hand accounts from people who knew him, like Molotov Remembers (done in a sort of interview style, the author is anti-stalin but molotovs accounts are interesting nonetheless), or Next to Stalin: Notes of a Bodyguard (also very short, not particularly well written but interesting and at times also entertaining)

also in my opinion one thing that also provides some insight into how stalin was and how he thought is just to read his own works. theres a whole collection on marxists.org

i find his interviews fairly interesting to get a bit of insight into his thinking, and theyre very short and easy to read

Interview with H.G. Wells Interview with Emil Ludwig Interview with Roy Howard

i hope some of this will be interesting to you!! have fun with your reading, theres a lot to learn and discover out there

[imgoingtotraumatizesteeb]

Oh I love them so dearly I wish them all happiness I want to see them struck by lightning

[artifeast]

telesphore tkh and hamid rqg interacting, cuz why not. and also i love them. and also @yamikakyuu suggested it

[insomnya777]

hiiiii guys !!!!!!!! so me and @toximblee were cooking up some ideas ..... basically to all my author moots would u perhaps be down to do a little secret santa fic exchange 😄 super casual kinda thing we can make a little discord server have some fun with it ...... maybe ????? reply if ur interested ???????