#whatever the opposite of artistic inspiration is...

[sergle]

was trying to find inspiration / concept art of robits and androids and maybe body horror w wires and shit but i kept finding exclusively just Robot Girl Art with the rcdart captain america body proportions

these are the same picture. also just a bunch of AI bloat clogging up my search results lol

[berry-lost]

When you have the desperate need to draw because it feels like if you don’t you’ll explode and you have the perfect drawing in your brain based off of your favorite fanfiction at the moment by your possibly favorite fic author but you’re in the car for the rest of the day on your way home from vacation so all you can do is long and suffer:(

[ph-cutie]

i loveee the clothing design in disco elysium so much it's honestly the aspect of the game im most directly artistically inspired by because I've never before seen a (somewhat) realistic media in which every rando still serves cunt. kim k's perfect form that came seemingly just god himself on the first try. all the outfits are believable but often a bit *weird* in cut and size, like evrart's huge ass shirt collar or klaasje wearing a bolero rather than a normal length cardigan. whatever the fuck the ravers have going on. the characters like renè who use flashy clothes to prop up their own egos, and on the opposite side, joyce, who's dressed in modest looking and desaturated pieces made out of silks the average man will never be able to afford. or SF/charles, dressed the most boringly formal and with nothing to say other than diplomat babble. mrrr tequila sunset's snakeskin shoes and bellbottom pants in general. the green goes well with the orange. the fact that harry and Kim also juxtapose eachother in the silhouette (harrys clothes taper out in straight lines, kim's clothes are bunched up and round with his ankles/wrists left narrow). it's half an hour past midnight I just like clothes

[darqx]

Hi I understand if you don't reply, but I was wondering if you have any advice to beginners who want to start making their ocs a reality? (Like in the sense of having Charecters that have been in your thoughts for a while, but it's hard to encapsulate them into physical form?) As I have some that id like to make either into a game or comic but I'm a little stuck..

Also I'm curious if there will be any other content with the best boy himself rire?? : 0

Hullo! Ah, (physically) designing characters, how fun ❤️ - there is part of a reason why I only have a handful of them lol XD; ANYWAY here are three things that help me, so hopefully they can help you as well :)

(I'll use Demon!Rire as an example as unless you are an old guard of mine, he will probably be the most recognisable of my characs.)

--------------

❓What do you know about them?

First of all since you already have your character in mind, congratulations you are most of the way there already! It's helpful to know the general vibe of them. And I don't mean the super detailed things that may arise from like..."Get to know your OC" quizzes - we are more looking for the core feeling of a character here. If you dumped this character into different AUs what things are going to stay the same/similar? Some things you should consider are:

What is their personality like? Why do they do the things they do?

Do I already have any physical traits for them in mind? Hair/eye/skin colour? Body type? Age? Name??

📝 Write a simple paragraph or some dot points about your character with these things in mind.

---EXAMPLE---

Sophisticated and charming, Rire outputs an aura of power and elegance. His pleasing physical appearance and gentlemanly demeanour usually enchants or commands people. Realistically, he is extremely manipulative and sadistic, and finds entertainment in the reactions of others.

---/EXAMPLE---

🤔 Make informed choices

Ok cool, you know something about your charac! Now build upon what you know to make them real - it is important here to try and match your design choices with the characterisation and "why"s of the character, and less with what you personally think will be cool/cute/whatever. What I mean by this is just pretend they are a person you are describing to a forensic sketch artist - you are giving "facts" as to what you think they look like not making stuff up (eg you would NOT be like "oh yeh she was totally a punk rocker however i'm going to say she wore a long flowing gown cos I think she'd look prettier in it?"*)

*Note that designing a character with opposites in mind can work out if you can at least answer the cursory "why" of it being a part of the character design. For eg maybe the punk rocker is secretly the alter ego of a socialite - flowing gowns and high fashion by day, grunge by night. Like Batman.

📝 Feel free to use dress up doll games and image searches for particular types of clothes/hairstyles/etc if you need inspiration. Thumbnail a bunch of different designs and see what works.

---EXAMPLE---

In my prev example paragraph I highlighted a few things in red. Here I'll break down how they can help craft a physical appearance:

Sophisticated and charming / elegance - to me, these combined make me think of ballrooms and black tie functions and nice suits. A well tailored outfit and someone who knows how to wear them.

Gentlemanly demeanour (well to some degree lol) - since I already know he's hundreds of years old (973 to be exact) I decided that an aristocratic Victorian-esque aesthetic would suit him. Somewhere in between a modern look and something with a bit more fantasy steampunk flair. He smiles quite genially until he's doing it with all his teeth.

Aura of power - he's got to be a bit of an imposing character so he's quite tall (or at least taller than all of my other characs) and carries himself confidently. Hooray for the ability to loom. Dark colours for this character, to cut an impressive figure.

Pleasing physical appearance - kinda stereotypical type of good looks that aesthetically most people would be like "yeh he's pretty". Athletic build - muscular but not bulky, broad shoulders, tapered waist etc etc.

Extremely manipulative - first of all, he looks rather human, for a demon - his entire species is designed very particularly like that. Then there's the sunglasses. The "why" [does he wear them] is they function to hide his eyes (one of the main parts of him that give away his demon-ness), but also as a bit of a red flag to the audience that something isn't quite right with him. I mean, look past his charm and he wears them all the time. The black and yellow colour scheme also ties in as warning colours ⚠️

Put them all together and this was one of my first sketches of Demon!Rire.

*Note that I already more or less knew how he looked other than his outfit; you will probably have a lot more sketch duds as you figure out what your character looks like.

---/EXAMPLE---

🔐 Don't lock yourself in

Despite the fact I've just said "pretend your character is a person", remember you're still their creator so obviously you have final say over them. Sometimes you'll find that they grow and change from what you initially thought of them (or you just evolve in how you draw them). Don't be afraid to make the tweaks and changes that enhance these - whether they be physical or core characteristics - and you'll get closer to the true character you always had in mind.

---EXAMPLE--

I now draw Rire with a more pronounced V-shape, longer, wavier hair, and somehow he ended up with way more pronounced eyelashes than I usually draw on my male characs. Which works out quite well considering how I tend to draw his eyes. Anyway the point of this is that these things developed over time as I kept drawing him.

---/EXAMPLE---

🍀 Try it out with your own characs! Have fun and don't force yourself to try and get it "right" on the first go.

[silassinclair]

Like Looking into a Mirror

(PolyLostBoys x Fem!ArtistReader)

Summary: Being a vampire has it's ups and downs. But one of the biggest downs was that you couldn't see yourself. Whether it be in photographs or reflections. This means that neither of the boys have seen what they themselves look like since they were turned. So when a shy little artist introduces herself to the boys with a painting of all of them they realize they not only know what they look like but also have found their mate.

Santa Carla is a city of opportunity. A place flourishing with job opportunity and people buzzling about everywhere. But for yourself, a struggling artist, it was the opposite. Running away from home was supposed to be your fresh start, a way to get away from it all and live your life to the fullest. To paint to your heart's desire. But it was nothing like that.

There were no places for you to work and use your artistry to the fullest. The only place you found where you could work was the library. Reading itself was an art but not exactly your forte, but it was close enough and payed decently.

It was 8 at night. The sun set and the amusement park alive with people. By the beach wall you sat with a miniature canvas, paints, and brushes. Every night you'd come to the boardwalk and paint it's colorful passerby's. Unlike your old small town people here dressed unique. So many colors and style subcultures.

Scanning the crowd you hunted for your new inspiration. Person or people to replicate onto your canvas. Your direction was pulled to the sounds of purring engines. To your left under a streetlamp by the very wall you were sitting on, four men looking your age parked their bikes. Their fashion stood out amongst anyone you have ever seen on the boardwalk.

A bleached platinum blonde. His mullet stood sharp, almost as sharp as his eyes. A tall brunet with no shirt under his long coat. His long hair rested on his back. A natural blonde with wild hair and a just as wild personality. And finally the short one with long blonde curls and a face that could combat a cherub's.

Everything about them was perfect. You studied them for minutes and looked away when you felt their curious gazes turn to you. Having all their features down to memory you painted away. You painted all of them standing together standing in their own way. Straight and confident, collected and cool, laid back, goofy.

As you painted each of the men's features you smiled to yourself. This may have been one of your best works yet. When you finished the piece in an hour or two you would definitely give it to them as a gift. Usually you would give the paintings you made of people to them to see their reactions. Every time they were always very grateful and happy, seeing them smile is the reason why art is your passion.

You really hope they would appreciate it though, since they are your temporary muse of inspiration and these four seem pretty intimidating.

.

.

"Yeah man I'm telling you she kept looking at us. But when I would look at her she'd look away and start writing shit on her canvas or whatever." Paul said while nudging David. He didn't care when his friend told him that the girl to their right kept sneaking glances at them.

Girls stare at him and his vampiric brothers all the time. What can he say? He knows him and his brothers are hotter than hell so who wouldn't stare?

"What Paul, you wanna talk to her or something? Just go talk to the chick like what you always do." David said with an eyeroll and a freshly lit cigarette hanging from his lips.

Paul bashfully looked down and scratched his neck. "Dude I dunno.. she doesn't seem too interested. Probably looking at us because we dress weird?"

Now David was confused. Was his flirt machine of a brother.. shy? A sly grin curled onto the platinum blondes lips. He looked to Dwayne and Marko and those two seemed to catch on quick about Paul's little crush.

Putting his arm around his blonde brother David said, "Do you perhaps like this girl Pauly?"

Paul growled and shoved him off making Marko and Dwayne holler in laughter.

"Dude you're fucking whipped! Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Marko laughed and held his chest. Paul hit him upside the head with his palm.

"Shut the fuck up!"

Dwayne's laughing reduced to small chuckles. He looked over at the girl who Paul seemed so flustered over. She was wearing a long frilly black skirt and a sage green blouse. Her hair styled uniquely and anklets and bracelets adorned their respected limbs.

"Hm.." Dwayne hummed, "I get what you mean Paul."

Paul shot his taller brother a glare. "Yeah. Should have at least checked her out before makin' fun o' me."

Marko looked over to see what all the fuss was over. His eyes widened a fraction when he saw the most beautiful girl he's ever seen. And she was painting too, something he adored doing.

Sensing someone looking at her Y/n looked up and four pairs of eyes were on her. The eyes of the subjects she was painting at the moment. Feeling like she had been caught doing something wrong, she looked back down at her canvas in a flash and finished up the final finishing touches.

"She was totally checking us out." Paul said smirking, well his insecurity flew out the window.

"Dude she's cute as hell man. How'd we not see her around before? And why didn't you tell us Pauly!" Marko grabbed his terror twin by the shoulders and shook him back and forth.

David snapped his fingers and the two instantly stopped with their rough housing. "We're all going to approach her. Perhaps we will have a meal tonight boys, or more."

Deadly smiles grew on the pack's faces. Time to do what they knew best. Lure and capture.

.

.

You stood up when you finally finished the painting. The four of them painted in their signature clothing. All standing together. Two of them smiling and two not. Honestly, you were scared to give this painting to them. What if they didn't like it? Or what if they thought you were some kind of weird stalker?

Walking to the group of the four bikers they all seemed to perk up at your sudden presence.

"What a surprise, we were just about to walk over to you babydoll." The curly haired one said. Your grip on the canvas tightened. Seeming to notice the tallest and only brunet of the group asked,

"What's that you got there sweetheart?"

Ignoring the soaring feeling in your stomach you avoided eye contact with the group and quietly muttered your explanation, "U-Uhm I'm an artist and stuff... It's a hobby and stuff and I paint people on the board walk all the time. And when I saw a-all you four I couldn't help but notice how uniquely dressed you all are. So I painted all of you!"

Looking up at the group finally with a crooked smile on your face you showed them your work and flipped your canvas around revealing your work.

All four of them brought their faces close to the canvas, the two wild blondes started to push and shove and what seemed like the leader of the group punched both of their arms.

"You really did this?" The platinum blonde said. He looked into your eyes, a mixed emotion behind his. His gloved finger pointed at himself painted realistically.

"That's me?"

You nodded and handed the painting to him which he gently accepted.

"Of course that's you silly. I painted the four of y-you. Hope you all like it!"

The four boys looked up at you gratefully. It was sudden but the brunette pulled you into a hug. He didn't seem like the touchy type and it surprised you with his sudden action.

"Thank you sweetheart. My brothers and I appreciate this... a lot. A lot more than you may think." He released you from his chilling yet warm embrace.

"No need to thank me.."

"Dwayne."

"Dwayne, I do this to make people like you and your brother happy. It's what I love about art ya'know?"

He smiled and introduced each of his brothers. David, Paul, and Marko.

"I am truly grateful for this kitten. Say, you wanna ride with us? You know where Hudson's Bluff is right?"

Nodding you let him continue.

"Wanna hang out with us four for the night? Promise we won't let you be bored for even a minute." His black gloved hand twirled a lock of your h/c hair around his finger.

Shyly moving away you muster up the courage to agree and go with him. He asked who you wanted to ride with and Paul seemed to be the most eager to get you to ride with him, so you gave in and got on the back of his bike.

"Hold on doll!" He revved his engine while his brother did the same. Hooting and hollering they sped down the sandy beach taking you to their cave.

"This is just the beginning!" Paul yelled over the sound of the engines. Not understanding him well you tightened your embrace around his torso and leaned in closer.

"You're gonna love us I promise!" Now that one you heard.

this was lowkey dogpiss but my head hurts so oopsie daisy

[sunderwight]

y'know what, I think it's kind of interesting to bring up Data from Star Trek in the context of the current debates about AI. like especially if you actually are familiar with the subplot about Data investigating art and creativity.

see, Data can definitely do what the AI programs going around these days can. better than, but that's beside the point, obviously. he's a sci-fi/fantasy android. but anyway, in the story, Data can perfectly replicate any painting or stitch a beautiful quilt or write a poem. he can write programs for himself that introduce variables that make things more "flawed", that imitate the particular style of an artist, he can choose to either perfectly replicate a particular sort of music or to try and create a more "human" sounding imitation that has irregular errors and mimics effort or strain. the latter is harder for him that just copying, the same way it's more complicated to have an algorithm that creates believable "original" art vs something that just duplicates whatever you give it.

but this is not the issue with Data. when Data imitates art, he himself knows that he's not really creating, he's just using his computer brain to copy things that humans have done. it's actually a source of deep personal introspection for the character, that he believes being able to create art would bring him closer to humanity, but he's not sure if he actually can.

of course, Data is a person. he's a person who is not biological, but he's still a person, and this is really obvious from go. there's no one thing that can be pointed to as the smoking gun for Data's personhood, but that's normal and also true of everyone else. Data's the culmination of a multitude of elements required to make a guy. Asking if this or that one thing is what makes Data a person is like asking if it's the flour or the eggs that make a cake.

the question of whether or not Data can create art is intrinsically tied to the question of whether or not Data can qualify as an artist. can he, like a human, take on inspiration and cultivate desirable influences in order to produce something that reflects his view on the world?

yes, he can. because he has a view on the world.

but that's the thing about the generative AI we are dealing with in the real world. that's not like Data. despite being referred to as "AI", these are algorithms that have been trained to recognize and imitate patterns. they have no perspective. the people who DO have a perspective, the humans inputting prompts, are trying to circumvent the whole part of the artistic process where they actually develop skills and create things themselves. they're not doing what Data did, in fact they're doing the opposite -- instead of exploring their own ability to create art despite their personal limitations, they are abandoning it. the data sets aren't like someone looking at a painting and taking inspiration from it, because the machine can't be inspired and the prompter isn't filtering inspiration through the necessary medium of their perspective.

Data would be very confused as to the motives and desires involved, especially since most people are not inhibited from developing at least SOME sort of artistic skill for the sake self-expression. he'd probably start researching the history of plagiarism and different cultural, historical, and legal standards for differentiating it from acceptable levels of artistic imitation, and how the use of various tools factored into it. he would cite examples of cultures where computer programming itself was considered a form of art, and court cases where rulings were made for or against examples of generative plagiarism, and cases of forgeries and imitations which required skill as good if not better than the artists who created the originals. then Geordi would suggest that maybe Data was a little bit annoyed that people who could make art in a way he can't would discount that ability. Data would be like "as a machine I do not experience annoyance" but he would allow that he was perplexed or struggling to gain internal consensus on the matter. so Geordi would sum it up with "sometimes people want to make things easy, and they aren't always good at recognizing when doing that defeats the whole idea" and Data would quirk his head thoughtfully and agree.

then they'd get back to modifying the warp core so they could escape some sentient space anomaly that had sucked the ship into intermediate space and was slowly destabilizing the hull, or whatever.

anyways, point is -- I don't think Data from Star Trek would be a big fan of AI art.

[pinkhoodi]

this color, no this color !

✎ᝰ — spider crew help y/n dye their hair !

♡⃕ — 1610!miles, miguel, gwen, hobie x black!reader

♡⃕ — genre + warnings: fluff + no warnings

♡⃕ — a/n: we are so back with atsv !

꒰ HOBIE BROWN ꒱

Ꮺ dying your hair with hobbie was a…mess. don’t get me wrong it was fun as both of you can make it but overall a mess

Ꮺ hobie introduced the idea of dying your hair to you actually. though when it came to the colors, he was indecisive just as much as you were so you two went to the beauty supply store and picked whatever color looks cool enough on you. I would say that you and hobie either picked polar opposite colors (you picked autumn colors meanwhile he went for a neon scheme) or picked something of similar color schemes, no in between

Ꮺ thankfully hobie knew how to deal with detangling and setting your hair up for the hair dye. he was very careful with the detangle cause he knows how tender-headed you can get. also before the putting the dye, he would consistently ask you if you really wanna go with this color and gave in when you threatened him

Ꮺ hobie would try to dye your hair in a more artistic way or something he knows suit your aesthetics. if you don’t have an aesthetic, he would def go off vibes and what kind of aura you carry around. but at the same time, he’ll ask you for some inspirations of how you want your hair to colored

Ꮺ during the process, he would have a reality show or his playlist playing in the background. sometimes he’ll hum a new song that’s in the works or tell you the progress his band is making

Ꮺ ngl, hobie can get a bit rude when dying your hair. only cause he wants this to come out exactly how you want it, not cause you can’t stay still….trust me !

Ꮺ in the end, hobie is complimenting tf out of your new result. he would smother you in compliments and think it’s one of the best pieces of work that he has done, no doubt

꒰ 1610!MILES MORALES ꒱

Ꮺ listen…he’s clueless just as much as you are. in his defense, it was your idea to do something spotaneus to your look and why not dye your hair? did he think you were crazy? …maybe ! but it ended being so much fun

Ꮺ miles have thought about dying his own hair before but having both parents be poc…yeah he knew better. not only that, but it’s already bad enough that he sneaks out for his spiderman duties, he do nawt need to make it worse with a new hair color

Ꮺ but for you, he is more than willing to help you dye hair. he just hopes that you have permission and you’re not sneaking out to do this. other than that, he is happily walking around the beauty supply store like a kid in a candy store while you’re looking for the hair dye. he’ll often come up to you and ask if you need this pomade or need this sort of gel

Ꮺ the night before miles did some research and called you to consult on what you need. he would screen share to show his pinterest board of color inspo (he’s lowkey a pinterest feen but that’s for another time), especially with your hair type. most of the phone call would be “okay but what about this?” “are you sure?” “so you’re telling me you’re not going with this?” miles just say you wanna dye YOUR hair like that…

Ꮺ but the experience was more than fun. you two’s favorite show was playing, he was telling you about his latest spiderman adventures, he’s rambling about any and everything he could think of. sometimes it would be silent when miles is fully focused or he’s asking questions to see if he’s doing it right

Ꮺ mile’s is your biggest cheerleader after it’s all over. after he takes a massive sigh and stretches his body, sometimes he forgets how tiring natural hair can take, even though he’s natural himself

꒰ GWEN STACY ꒱

Ꮺ just as bad as miles and maybe worse since she’s not familiar with your hair type. yes, she has dyed her hair before (more than likely multiple times) but she doesn’t wanna give you chemical damage or end up having you balding. which leads to her doing intensive research of what colors you should try, which box dye to buy, and how to apply the dye to your hair. listen, it was her and youtube for about five hours

Ꮺ she would be a tad bit hesitant when you asked her if she wanna helps you. she made sure that you asked her and not hobie who might be a better help than she could ever be. you reassure her that it won’t be as scary as she’s making it to be

Ꮺ now when it comes to buying the hair, please hold her hand while yall in the beauty supply store. it’s not that she’ll wander off but she is def intimidated being in there. she has a face of confusion on her as she browses on the products laid on the shelf. also asking questions on why you refuse to buy the lesser priced box dye. oh gwen baby…

Ꮺ gwen would offer to buy your stuff :). she learned how pricey it is to buy hair products from your many rants of having natural hair, so she’ll offer to pay half or at least a good amount

Ꮺ throughout the process, you guide gwen how to detangle and part your hair. she’s taking her precious time and going slow until she has enough confidence to speed herself up

Ꮺ all throughout, she would throw compliments and how she’s excited but very nervous on how the results will be. any result that would come, she know you’ll look good :)

꒰ MIGUEL O’HARA ꒱

Ꮺ now of all people you could ask…jk jk. when you asked, the man heavily side eye you and thought you were going through a phase. like no miguel, i just wanna change my look. he’ll ask if you’re sure that you wanna dye your hair or what’s wrong with the color you have now

Ꮺ but at the same time, he does accept the offer to help you cause who is he to deny some quality time? ngl, he lowkey became more excited to do this more than you were but he would never admit to it

Ꮺ miguel, as well, doing intensive research on what products works best for your hair type. he even offered paying for the more pricey dyes until you assured him that not all twenty-dollar box dyes works the best for natural hair. one day he’ll realize that for all hair care…one day

Ꮺ while shopping for the products, he keeps an eye on you so you don’t go over the budget that he made sure you set in place. when you show him a product that you both know you don’t know, he’ll go into lecture mode until you motion him to stop talking and put the product down. ofc miguel pays for everything and he doesn’t wanna hear a ‘I’ll pay for it’ from you so it’s best to just accept

Ꮺ I would say he doesn’t really need guidance on how to handle your hair cause he’s helped with your hair plenty of times. but from time to time, he would ask if he’s hurting you or if the hair is soft enough to work with before beginning the dyeing process

Ꮺ while dying your hair, he would allow you to ramble on while he listens. he would let you take control of the entertainment aspect of the pastime, but you settled for music. also, while you’re on your rant, he would plant small kisses along the back of your neck <3

Ꮺ in the end, after the washing and drying, you don’t allow him to see the end result until you’ve seen it and settled with it. even if you’re not satisfied with the result, he kisses your forehead and tells you that he’ll help you fix it. beforehand, he’ll often say that you look beautiful with your new color

♡⃕ mia back in her atsv era 🧏🏽‍♀️?? please i miss writing for these niggas

♡⃕ lemme know who was your fave :p

𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐏 💗: 1 thessalonians 5:16-18

© 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟦 𝗉𝗂𝗇𝗄𝗁𝗈𝗈𝖽𝗂. 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍𝗌 𝗋𝖾𝗌𝖾𝗋𝗏𝖾𝖽

[aroacewxs]

my personal interpretation of cyberpunk dead boy

finished the event story today (thank you sekai.best my dear buddy pal) and looped the comm numerous times and studied the lyrics under a microscope, so i will now ramble a bit about my thoughts!! spoilers for backlit lens flare.

cyberpunk dead boy, from what i can tell, describes how modern consumerism and fame affects artists. it tells the story of an artist who started out with big dreams of portraying their feelings through their work, but slowly began spiralling into this pit of numbers and recognition and a vain desire for attention. whatever they wanted to communicate with their audience no longer has any substance or thought. they are then left wondering about whatever it is they dreamed of before this. what was the story they wanted to tell? does it even matter anymore?

cyberpunk "dead boy." the artist no longer lives for their art. there is nothing to breathe life into. are they even alive at this point?

on the other hand, we are also given the perspective of the consumers. consumers who don't care about the thought put into a piece of art, consumers who only care about whether this will make them feel good or not.

when you connect these two, you get a vain, lost artist who no longer sees their audience as individual human beings, but as VIEWERS. BUYERS. and these members of the audience are also trapped in this loop of consuming, throwing away, and finding something else to sink their teeth into. there is nothing meaningful being created.

rui's 4 star illustrates these audience members quite well. see, none of the passing people are. people. they have electronic devices for heads, and they're all glued to their phones. the little child holding their parent's hand, it should be a very wholesome and endearing sight, but it just feels wrong. there is no connection being developed between the two. this card depicts this haunting dystopian society where art no longer carries any weight for the human race, and we are all just left as hollow vessels with a mindless desire for meaningless entertainment. we don't develop any connections with other human beings, and the feelings that rui wants to evoke within his audience are futile.

on that note, the themes in this comm and the cards are incredibly oppositional to rui's own philosophy. what HE wants to achieve with his own art, his dream. compared to the thoughtless robots this artist sees their audience as, rui is incredibly caring and treats every single living being with such soft tenderness. he sees his audience as people. everything around him, the nature, the interactions he has with others, every single detail in his environment is a source of inspiration for his work. every single detail means that much to him. and whenever rui encounters a new artwork, a new play or story, he never just plays it off like "YUP another play. same old." he practically takes apart each layer one by one, studies it intently and tries to understand what kind of meaning the artist wanted to communicate. he then applies it to his own life, and to his own work. to think that rui would ever treat art and stories as something to just be eaten, thrown out, and forgotten about, is unfathomable.

this only leads me to wonder about the role sakaki will play in wxs's current arc. we ended off the story with ohara explaining to sakaki that rui is interested in stage production, and would probably encounter him again in the future. the way they framed this cliffhanger makes it only correct to assume that sakaki will return and will have a bigger part to play in wxs's story and their development.

sakaki intrigues me. his manner of speaking is very light and careless, his mannerisms even more so. compared to ohara, who is incredibly headstrong and burning like the sun with passion for his work and every single detail that is put into it, sakaki treats these details like they're just. there. takes one look at the scene ohara is having trouble with and it clicks instantly in his head. says some cryptic shit and packs his bag to leave.

furthermore, considering that most event commissions are written for the characters, for the story in that event, i really wonder who this song is about? is it about sakaki? will rui encounter this exact same problem about wondering what it was he wanted to portray from the beginning (unlikely imo, but would be interesting to see). nothing in backlit lens flare even remotely hints toward the lyricism in cyberpunk dead boy (i may have missed something, correct me if im wrong) which only excites me more for their next focus hehehe !!!

this was just a bunch of word vomit,, thank you for bearing with me, hopefully it makes sense?!?

[a-s-levynn]

About those new masks..

So i saw this take a few times already and i have some thoughts. Obviously it's paraphrasing but you'll see these a lot similar to this if you scroll in ST spaces since yesterday:

"These new masks have too much personality, they said the people behind the music is uniportant but they now have this new personalized look instead of the uniform sleek minimalist one and it is the direct opposite of what they are saying. These new looks do not fit Sleep Token"

Let me preface this: I'm not going to explore specific reasons why people might hate on the masks because... No i refuse to go there, but i will talk about the issues i have around this a bit.

No.

If you are hating on the new masks so much so as to cry about that "this is not what they supposed to be about" you are missing your own point. You are in fact shooting the opposite direction. You are no longer in it for "just the music" but you are very much caught upon the "everything else beside the music." You got distracted. You putting the blame on them instead on yourself for loosing your own point.

There is no moral highground in this whole ordeal. Please respect yourself enought to try not to look utterly stupid if you frothing about something you visibly misunderstood. Do not hide behind excuses. Do not put this on the artists. Own up to the fact that you simple don't like it.

Admit that it's your opinion purely; because ultimately the artist creating their own art will understand creative choices behind their creations more than you ever will. No matter how far you try to bend backwards.

The masks fit Sleep Token because it is Sleep Token who decided to have them. End of story. You can hate it all you want but it is still part of the shabang now. And don't try to mask your distaste over visuals with shouting about the artist not understanding their own ideology.

If you are so hung up on how they look like, more than what the music still is, than stop and think for a second please.. You have it backwards. If you really truly only care about the music, what it is about, what it gives you, than you are not going to give a shit what they are wearing on stage.

Maybe in a passing few sentences but otherwise you are not going to be worked up about it to the point you sent hatecomments to the artist who made them.. It is shameful.

Besides i hate to break it to people but they already had their personalities with their outfits just not this strongly. III had the random whacky shit. IV had the hint's of this comfy leisurly punk-ish techwear whatever going on besides the fancy stuff the past a months since the summer. II had a slightly sleeker but maybe sort of tech-ish look which is now reflected (in my opinion) much more strongly with this new look (which sorta reminds me of a stylized oni or something tbh and that is extremely in line with their older far-east inspired thematics visually, just saying).

They are not handing you the "we are unimportant" part anymore. They are not spoonfeeding it to you. Not in the way they had before at least. They presume you are mature and smart enough at this point to get it. To get to the conclusion that it is unimportant what they look like. And allow them to still have fun with it.

Or just they are being cheeky and went for something that would shake up the people. I don't know, i don't know them or anyone close to them. I don't have answers. But they are trying something new an it is perfectly fine.

Also which would have come off so much differently if Vessel is 100% btw. Be honest, if they would have been able to perform to their fullest abilities, far less people would be so loud over this.. This was just an unfortunate turn of events and when shit hits the fan it usually never just one dose. And my heart breaks for the boys for all this.

Besides, people were so loud about hating that "they looked the same" and "so hard to distinguish" and "easy to replace because of this" ... now they have personalized masks and looks and the same people cry about the exact opposite they did before..

Also it just occured to me that this is basically the same as the lightshow upgrade. It gives you something to look at at the rituals. The new looks are visually interesting, and with the lighting setup they have now they are gonna look like some seriously fun nightmare creatures btw. I love that already.

So all in all i don't know, i don't really have a point here i guess, but the boys are in such a no win situation right now and i hate the fact that people are shitting on them just because they don't fit their idea of "an anonymous collective" anymore. Which is reddiculous and sad because nothign has changed.

It never was about being a blank page. It was about being human. It flies over so many peoples head but the anonymity part isn't about not being a person under there. It is being about that person not having a name. It doesn't matter if the person has a personality or not. What matter there is that no name.

There is no definitiveness. It gives an open invitation for anyone to step into that person but first you need to recognise that there is a person there. And there is no doing that if there are no traces of personality. Or humanity if you will because personalities makes us humans. Don't make me hold a philosophy lecture here on what it means being human please.

It does not matter who that individual it is by tagging a name on them. But it is extremely important that there is a person there. Otherwise there is no connection point. If there is no person there is nothing to understand. But it does not matter how that person looks like. It does not matter what the person wears. Or what that person is called. What matters is that it is a human being. And as such you can understand it. Our at least you should be able to.

Regardless of the design of a mask.

[ellawrites-if]

SHARED DESIRES

This short (spicy-ish in a very vague, very gender-neutral (i hope) way) story was inspired by Newmann fanart I saw of Hermann and Newt sharing a dream of them kissing. The artist is @/dad-dumpster.

As always this is unedited and vaguely proofread, so any mistakes are my own. I’m pretty sure the tense changes like 8x but whatever.

Your lips crash against theirs, knocking the breath from their lungs.

That’s not unusual, although it’s usually because of your mere presence rather than your lips.

They kiss you back with a fierce hunger, with a need to wreck you, to consume you, to make you crave them as much as they crave you.

Your hands slide up their stomach and push, and they’re powerless to do anything but fall.

They hit their bed and you’re on them. Your teeth nipping at the skin of their neck and soothing the sting with your tongue. All they can do is pant and tip their head back for you. Their hands latch onto your hips and dig in. They’ll probably leave bruises, and that thought thrills them even more.

Your lips have reached their jaw, but it’s too much and not enough all at once, and they delight in your surprised yelp as they flip you onto your back.

They immediately latch onto your neck, paying you back with a love bite that you’ll struggle to cover up.

Your hands fumble with their trousers, pushing them down just enough to gain access to what you want. Your fingers explore and they moan, their voice echoing across the space.

You laugh, triumphantly, even as your pupils swallow the colour of your pretty eyes. It drives them crazy to see how affected you are by them.

They decide to return the favour, pulling your hands away from them, so they can tug your own trousers down and lay between your thighs. The only thought in their head is that they’d die here quite happily.

Their mouth descends onto you, and your hips jerk as your snarky words are cut off by a choked out moan. A bit of information to file away for later.

They want to make you feel good. Want to taste your desire on their tongue. Want to be the one you pleasure yourself to thoughts of. Want to be the only one you turn to when the need gets too much.

They’ll ingrain themselves on your soul if they have to.

You scream, your thighs tightening around their head and your hands yanking at their hair.

They’re in heaven.

It’s the only explanation.

-

Ciaran jolts awake, their heart thundering in their chest and their breathes coming out in harsh pants.

They wipe the sweat from their brow.

A dream.

The only explanation that actually makes sense.

They take a few gulps of their water from the glass they had left on night stand, and attempt to do what they always do when it comes to you.

They shove their feelings down into an abyss and pray that they never come crawling out.

Once they calm down enough to get back to sleep, they place their water back on their night stand, and flop onto their mattress. They hit their pillow a few times and force their eyes to close.

Ciaran is a master of burying their head in the sand by now. This is no different.

At least, it isn’t until the next morning when they spot you and you can’t look them in the eyes.

Ciaran raises an eyebrow at your behaviour as they sit opposite you.

“What’s up with you?” They ask, curious. “You dream about me or something?”

They don’t know why they asked you that, but your reaction makes them freeze up.

Did they send you their dream through the connection between your minds? Did you send them yours?

Or…did you share the dream? Your subconscious coming together with theirs in a mess of both of your desires.

They shake the thought away.

Breakfast, surrounded by some of the sharpest minds in the world, was not the place to be thinking about such things.

“Idiot, just eat your breakfast and stop being weird.”

That snaps you out of it.

Good.

Your nonsense should hopefully be able to stop them from launching over the table and kissing you senseless in front of everyone.

[roboticchibitan]

OK I didn't wanna say it on the post cuz I feel like a judgemental asshole saying this but it's not a judgement I promise I am just trying to help newer fiber artists but...

That tiktok of the coat made from embroidery floss? It's really cool! And very pretty! And a true work of art!

Please do not do that if you want your own tiny Granny square coat. It's very impressive but that is a TERRIBLE material to use to crochet something. There are yarns that can give you the same look with much less pain and hassle that will be much more durable and last much longer.

Embroidery floss is hell to use as yarn and less durable than proper yarn because it lacks twist. When you make a plied yarn, you twist really thin individual threads in one direction, and then when you want to put those thinner yarns into one bigger yarn, you twist those thinner yarns together in the opposite direction to make yarn. And while embroidery floss does have SOME twist, it's a very loose twist, because embroidery floss is meant to come apart.

It's meant to be easy to separate so you can work with the individual threads. When they plied it, they only added enough twist to keep the threads together until they are sold because it's expected you'll take it apart when you buy it. So it's not durable. It won't wear well at all because twist adds strength, up to a certain point.

But! There are really great alternatives you can use! Look for Pima cotton yarn in lace or four ply/fingering weight. You might have to go to a local yarn store for this, or find one online. Pima cotton has that shininess that is so attractive about embroidery floss. And it's usually very soft. Softer than embroidery floss. And it won't split 24/7 while you're crocheting with it.

If it MUST some from the embroidery section, for clout or challenge reasons or whatever, don't use the floss. Use the size 8 Pearle cotton by DMC. It's at least plied with proper twist. It's still shiny. Still thread. Way easier to work with.

It's a beautiful coat but thinking about making something out of embroidery floss makes me cringe so hard. And I've done it. I've crocheted with metallic embroidery thread before (and regular at other points) and it was absolute hell and took forever and hurt my hands. Don't bother. It's painful and slow and sucks. Props to her for having the fucking patience but if you feel inspired to make your own fuckoff tiny cotton coat, you can do it in a better way.

[fipindustries]

not a question but basically any time i remember your art exists im looking it up and down and trying to take inspiration from it. your expression work is always top notch, and the way you depict faces is the perfect balance between cartoony and well defined

oh my god this is such an amazing compliment! thank you so much!

you know, i think this has been a long time coming. im going to take this as a chance to go in depth about how my style works, why i do what i do and how i do it. do keep in mind that none of this is me saying "this is the objectively correct way of doing art" but rather just how my own process works, what I like to see in my own art.

that balance that you speak of comes from a commitment to underlying structures. what im going to call the stylization sandwich

i start with a clear, well defined solid structure, i add whatever wacky cartoony features i want on top of it (none the less strongly tied and guided by the underlying structure) and then i refine by adding as many more realistic, grounding details i want, although you can go too far with it so i gotta be careful or ill end up with those shitty "cartoon character IRL would look scary!" clickbait drawings.

(quick aside, this trend fucking sucks, its obvious the artist went out of their way to make the drawing creepy, this pretension that "actually the character would look scary irl" deliberatly misundertands the principles of stylization, its as creatively bankrupt as jokes about mario eating mushrooms)

getting back on topic, the point is that, as long as the underlying structures are solid you can build whatever you want on top of them and it will make sense

a key tool here is internalizing the way the proportions on the face work. and i say internalize because obviously i dont actually have the golden ratio memorized inside my head nor do i stop and measure and calculate all the proportions in the features. i just read a lot about drawing, i drew a lot, i tried to always keep a critical eye to what im drawing and see if it "feels" disproportionate. once you get an eye for it then you know how far you can push things before they complitely break

let me give you another example of what i feel is a botched execution of this.

if you look closely at the face on the left there are a lot of things that dont make sense. the corners of the eyebrows dip down into the eyes when usually the eyes are enveloped by the eyebrows, the way the beard grows around the nose is just not how facial hair is distributed, the mouth is too big, etc. on the left i used photoshop to reorganize the factions into something that makes a bit more sense to me

(another quick aside, the real big problem at the heart of the original drawing were not so much the proportions but the tangents, when different lines touch each other like this that is usually a big no no but that is a topic for another day)

also a lot of it is just me cheating. yeah i cheat. you ever heard how people say there is no innate talent and its all practisce and hard work. well, yeah, that is mostly true, but is also true that some people are born with inherent advantages. either taller or more predisposed to being thin or with better facial structures or better innate hand-eye coordination. i was born with an uncanny capacity to visualize stuff. i have whatever the opposite of aphantasia is. i can borderline hallucinate things if i want to. and that goes coupled with the visual intuitions i developed through practisce and training.

so first come the learned wisdom, and then comes the innate talent that helps me exploit that learned wisdom to its full potential

on top of that is corporeality, i try to draw in such a way that it conveys depth and weight to the things im drawing, certain kinds of stylizations dont care about that and choose instead to have their drawing look flat, a classic one is the UPA style

is a very fun style! very cute, very dynamic, very expressive in its simplicity. it became very popular in the 60's and 70's. personally i choose to go in a different direction. i draw in such a way that if one were to turn my drawings into 3d models not a lot would get lost in the process.

whereas other artists....

...not so much

but yeah, ultimatly it all goes back to underlying structure. any drawing can work

as long as you have a strong foundation underneath.

PS: if you like my style i cannot reccomend enough the art of @rezuaq i feel they follow a lot of the same principles i talked about here but i could be wrong.

they have been my biggest inspiration as of the last 4 years, i shamelssly stole the design of one of their characters for jennyffer. go to their blog and give them a like

[mixelation]

i've been debating what to do with deidara in reborn au, because i need to give him more but also i don't want to just repeat beats from homemade dynamite

so i was thinking: well, obviously he's doing something with art. and in homemade dynamite, his thing with art is that he's trying to carve his way to true artistic freedom. being a missing-nin means people will always be trying to hunt him down, but being in konoha means he has to dodge around rules and limitations. so his deal with itachi is that itachi will help him leave konoha in a legit way where he's not constantly fighting off hunter-nin, but until then he's trying to figure out what he can do within the village. i could totally give him the exact same goal in mutagenicity, and i don't really have anything against rehashing the same plots/headcanons (look at my 17 AUs about genin karin being kidnapped for her own good), but this doesn't really appeal to me.

then i thought: what if it' the opposite? what if deidara is like, "i want to experiment with a technique that will blow up a whole village" and minato is like, "rad, give me a couple days to find you a space. what do you need?" deidara blows up a bandit's head and kushina tells him she likes his art. they both go :/ at him when he damages village property but then their reactions are "oh, so you need a better outlet.... here, i can find you a mission--"

i think this would actually drive deidara insane in a way he wouldn't even know how to recognize. tori gets paranoid about having supportive mentors because in her past "sudden interest from the boss" means "boss might vivisect you" or "boss might decide you know too much and should die/do something insane." deidara just straight up doesn't know what to do with support. his art (in this au) was crafted as very reactionary-- his interest is in ripping apart the status quo and showing people nothing can last forever and they don't have as much control over deidara the world as they think. it's about disrupting structures and authority. what the FUCK is he supposed to do with actual support???

but also i don't think deidara has fully recognized his antiauthoritarianism as a motivator in his art because he's never been in a situation where it was absent. so when he suddenly doesn't have real issues with the biggest authorities in his life, he losses inspiration, and he doesn't know why.

and then he thinks about leaving konoha because clearly something about it is fucking with his head but, actually, kushina fills out forms to get him free clay and lets him pick missions where he gets to blow stuff up and minato lets him have a training ground to do whatever he wants, and he has his own bed and isn't living as a feral forest child, and he would be insane to leave.

so maybe we DO let tori have a C-rank go wrong because sasori interferes and she comes home and tells deidara about it and he loses his mind. he wants to see sasori because he needs another artist. he needs advice. how fucking dare sasori go after tori.

tori, trying to de-escalate: well i think he only talked to me because i was at the border and there was only one other person with me. it was just more convenient

deidara: YOU'RE NOT EVEN AN ARTIST

anyway maybe we then KEEP team 4 having a c rank go hilariously wrong because deidara gets a whiff sasori is in the area and runs off. other things go wrong that don't have anything to do with sasori but because deidara has involved him, the things are now also going wrong AT sasori

sasori: WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING

deidara: DANNAAAAA I'M HAVING AN ART BLOOOOOCK

and sasori tells him he's stupid and immature and deidara from then forward has to do some serious Self Reflection to figure out his ~art~. and he keeps looking up sasori even though sasori toLD HIM TO LEAVE HIM ALONE

kushina post mission: yeah wheat village tried to make a move for the sharingan but we managed it. sasori of the red sand was.... there....? idek he didn't really help but also he didn't NOT help

minato: what the hell is wheat village

kushina: doesn't matter because it doesn't exist anymore

also im playing with the idea of a deidara-minato vaguely student-mentor relationship (not for technique stuff, per se, but life/career stuff) because Jokes About Being His Bastard Son and also i like the idea of iwa's boogeyman helping iwa's #1 missing-nin

[raainberry]

Rewind You

« To rewind is to make something go back to the beginning or to an earlier point. »

Sana x gn!reader

Angst

synopsis - your ex’s concert is the last place you should be at after breaking up, yet here you are

⚠️this (very) short story is told backwards, so from end to the start. i wrote it so you can read it normally and from the end. both ways will make sense, but the chronology in which it’s told will change.

wordcount - 581

T/W - Food (One mention)

A/N - two crazy discoveries led to this: new sana pics and melanie martinez’s unreleased song You Love I from which the concept is inspired. enjoy! or not bc i actually dont know if this is good its too late for me to worry about that🥰

Everything was better with her…

You’d ask yourself how you ended up here, but you knew the answer already.

You felt lost, overwhelmed as a pain you couldn’t seem to let go of persisted deep within your chest, looking around in search for a distraction.

How deluding…

The music was loud, but the tune was off. The lights were bright, but they lacked color. The people around you were happy, dancing and singing along to whatever song came out of those powerful speakers, but it wasn’t infectious.

Your eyes followed the spotlight as it highlighted the artist you hadn’t seen in months. All you could feel when you laid eyes on her was jealousy.

Something you loved and cherished, a place and a person, they’d been ripped away from you the moment you’d parted ways. Yet there she was, still enjoying it all as everyone’s focus and passionate admiration landed solely onto her for the next two minutes.

Minatozaki Sana.

You should have gone to a nightclub... It was the most popular, if not customary short-term remedy to a breakup. Why on Earth were you at a concert instead—her concert out of all?

Needless to say, your split was a fall from grace. Heartbreaking, as you’d expect from a relationship that lasted this long. You’d never broken up with anyone, but you’d seen it in the movies. You knew it would hurt no matter how long you’d seen it coming. You even bought the ice cream in advance, which you unsurprisingly downed in days while living in your memories.

Years. Months. Days. Hours. Every minute you spent together, you made sure to love each other, feeling your hearts swelling at every gesture. A kiss, a touch, or even a simple look was enough to send you to cloud nine. High enough to only see each other.

You’re not sure when everything and everyone else faded out, what mattered was her. You truly liked her. So did she. Perhaps from the moment you’d met. But it took a while to realise just how much you cared about the other.

A first date only came after her clumsy confession one drunken summer night on your balcony. You thought it had been a dream when you woke up the next day. It felt like it at least, when you laid eyes on her and saw her clinging to your shirt in her sleep. Even unconscious, she seemed to be aware of your presence. To want it.

Her conscience never let a second go by without a thought of you either. She made it her mission to satisfy this mindful desire of hers. Texting you at all hours, calling you just to hear the sound of your voice, asking if you could meet her in between two schedules like you would even think about saying no to her.

She was all you could think about. Her smile, her eyes, her laugh, down to her scent. It remained in a corner of your mind, recalling each of them in the late hours of the night as you struggled to fall asleep. The feeling was enchanting, to the point you wondered if she was real. If you’d really met her and she was not someone you’d made up in your dreams to make it all easier.

Life wasn’t that much of a party until you crossed paths with her. While she described her ‘before’ as chaotic, you liked to see yours as the opposite. Just plain boring.

Nothing seemed as colorful, vibrant, or lush without her.

Everything was better with her.

[mauesartetc]

Regarding art asks

From this point forward, anyone with a character design or general art ask for me will need to present a screenshot (in the ask or in DMs, either is fine) proving you've donated at least 5 of whatever currency is required to one of the fundraisers listed here. No proof, no answer. Simple as that. Thus far I've been content to answer these for free, and they really are fun for me. But people's lives are at stake, and I feel especially responsible for the folks who have contacted me directly. This policy will continue until all the listed fundraisers have reached their goals. Thanks for understanding. (And if you submitted an ask before I made this post, the answers are coming soon.)

If you're new here and you'd like some examples of past questions I've answered, here they are (after the cut because holy hell, this got long):

How to design a non-generic jester

Critique of a Stolas design

Critique of the Helluva Boss poster

Check out these character designers!

Critique of Owl House posters

"It's been hell." (Character consistency and structure)

"What's your favorite part of the character design process?"

Model sheet tips

Designing a father character

What artists and writers can learn from Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel (sorry fans, I'm a bit hard on both here)

Asmodeus redline

How to draw dynamic poses

The respectable assassin

Turtle iceberg!

Showing personality through poses

"How do you find inspiration?"

Scientist, magician, mechanic (avoiding generic-looking characters)

Critique of Angel Dust's design

How many sketches to improve line art?

Fizzarolli art critique

Character size accuracy

Critique of "Allison" designs

When animation backgrounds upstage characters

Critique of Vaggie's design (If you're not familiar with Hazbin Hotel, yes, that really is her name. I hate it too.)

Making a cohesive team outfit

"How do you design an androgynous character?"

Visual reference and making colors look less "off"

The rules ain't set in stone

Thoughts on character outfits

Shape language and symbolism

Creating a unique candy character

The flexibility of color symbolism

Challenge: Random combinations

Drawings look too dirty?

Uniformed henchmen with unique identities

Brother and sister redline

Showing a character's past in her design

Critique of Niffty's design

How to make a character stand out from the cast

Critique of period outfits

Too many colors?

Characters with animal symbolism (Edwardian doggos!)

Redesign redlines

Showing personality through poses (Doctor turned construction worker)

How to create without any kind of inspiration (Spoiler: You can't.)

Stolas redesign critique

Cherri Bomb's official "redesign"

Finding the right colors through research

Drawing robot characters

Stolas redline 2

Verosika Mayday redesign redline

Clarity in fantasy prop design

"Holy crap, Lois!" (animation lip sync overview)

Spider Lamb! (research and face structure for creature design)

Character design questions to ask before you start

My least favorite Helluva Boss design

Mask design for a demon music nerd

Critique of Lucifer's design (Hazbin Hotel)

How to differentiate a character from their inspiration (Homage vs ripoff)

On characters who act the opposite of how they look

Designing a character based on a photo

Color theory and Helluva Boss

A request to "fix" Tinkerbell's design (because it's too sexual, I guess??)

Artistic pet peeves

Useful creative resources

A new outfit for Lady Kryptina

Mixing animal species in a believable way

Redesigning Miraculous Ladybug

When do a character's details become too much to animate?

The balance between characters looking related and identical

Critique of Adam and Lute

On body structure and clothing

Analyzing art style to make a fan character fit in the universe

"What's your favorite art, writing, and character design advice?"

(Cries in former art student)

Wilma and Betty time travel to ancient Greece

Linking a transforming character's two forms together

Streamlining detail on a character

Critique of Hazbin Hotel redesigns

Simplifying a statue for animation

Too many hues on characters

The planet Venus, personified

Making a character recognizable in her alternate form

Puss in Boots vs. Wish

Creature design with a human base

On AI in art and writing

How to make a plain design not look boring

What outfit would go with this headdress?

On four-fingered hands in cartoons

Making a character's fiery hair look like fire

Posing characters with props

The characters of Doll Eye (Holy tangents, Batman!)

..."Brawny"?

"Do you think a god should look human?"

The characters of Drawn to Life (How are these supposed to be foxes?)

How to make drawing humans more fun

I learn what Frutiger Aero is

Showing personality in teen vampires

Thoughts regarding human hair on anthro characters

I tried to add more but it kept breaking the post. Now do the math on how much money I could have raised to help people escape genocide if all these askers donated just five bucks each.

[when-wax-wings-melt]

Sokeefe Week 2024 Prompts!

Sokeefe Week begins on January 1st and ends on January 7th, but creations will still be accepted and compiled for months after the date!

Prompts:

Day One: Royalty

This is a good day for soldier/poet/king in any combination, if you are so inclined. Thief, rebellion, bodyguard/knight, servant, arranged marriage/alliance, ball/cotillion/coronation, whatever you please!

Day Two: Escape/Return

Maybe Keefe is running away, or maybe you’re exploring a swap where Sophie does instead. Maybe it’s literal, or maybe they’re finding an escape in each other, or something else. Secret hideouts, Unlocked/Stellarlune fix-it, prison break, breakup/second chance, anything you want! Escape can be about running away, cowardice, terror, or acceptance. It’s about leaving, but can also be about coming back.

Day Three: Meet-Cute

First date (blind date?) or coffeeshop au, maybe their friends introduce them in college or school or work, same class first day of school, or even a rewrite of the canon first meeting?

Day Four: Enemies

Rivals in school or work, competing cafes or stores or businesses, opposites attract, born and altered and raised to hate, Neverseen vs Black Swan... you could probably slip some soulmate action in here too.

Day Five: Lies/Truth

Think about foundations. This is a good day to explore childhood, confessions, and secrets— all of which Keefe and Sophie have in multitude. Tearful or sweet or angry, this day can be about broken promises and kept ones. Growth and stagnation: two things that very clearly define our lovely ship.

Day Six: Fix-It

Is there a scene in canon that doesn’t fit? The characters don’t feel right, the scene is slightly off, the situation isn’t realistic? This could apply to any time Sophie and Keefe have a scene together or any time they didn’t: what can you change to explore new possibilities?

Day Seven: Free Day

Whatever you didn’t do before, do now! The possibilities are endless: soulmates, tattoo artist/flowershop, artist/musician, nightmares/dreams, cowboys, mermaids/pirates, mythology au, historical au, crossover fic, injuries, healing, dragons/shapeshifting, switched bodies or abilities, human au, college roommates, and anything else that comes to mind!

Guidelines:

Tag your host when you create writing, art, animatics, poetry, gifs, aesthetics, moodboards, songs, playlists, or anything that happens to inspire you! Tag the post with #sokeefe week 2024

Take the time you need to complete the prompts, no matter what the “dates” are!

Reminder: The prompts and ideas are suggestions, not constraints. Go wild!