#why did i draw this and why did i spend so much time on it

[corviiids]

hello thank you for asking i am very flattered. i would be most honoured to give some advice that i am most certainly unqualified to give!!

ok advice 1: hey why does everyone keep telling me to read and write a lot

i think this is the most commonly given advice. i have always found it true but incomplete, because on the face of it this kind of focuses a little too much on volume. which by itself just isn't going to do that much for you, or it will, but it'll do it very slowly and ineffectively, because the second part of this advice i don't see nearly as much (and the part that makes it work for me) is that after you read or write something you need to do The Why Interrogation. what are you looking for?

when you like something, why do you like it? not just in terms of copying and learning an author's stylistic quirks or techniques, but in a more abstract way:

is it the narrative? that the premise is novel, that the progression of the story is unexpected and thrilling, that the stakes are high?

is it the characters? what is it about them? do they have compelling backgrounds? does the author spend a lot of time in their heads? is the pov internal in a way that lets you experience the story from their shoes? does their biased narration tell you more about them? or is it a detached narration that lets you see the characters in a way they don't see themselves, so the gap is intriguing?

is it the telling? maybe the prose is beautiful - what makes it so? sentence structure? unconventional use of grammar and punctuation? elegant, sophisticated vocabulary? or maybe the dialogue is sharp and human so conversation flows naturally. is the story paced carefully? does the author linger more in certain moments?

the same exercise is useful for what ISN'T working.

if your attention is drifting, what's making it drift?

purple prose? clumsy prose?

does the narration drag?

do the characters feel stagnant, and why?

plot doesn't make any sense?

maybe this sounds obvious, but imo it's a crucial piece of the advice that i just don't see as much because people tend to focus on volume of works consumed/created. the reflection and analysis is what makes that volume useful, otherwise you're just churning through content. the question should always be why, why, why. why did that work, why didn't it work, why did i like this, why does it suck. then proceed to: if i were doing this, how could i make it work?

advice 2: don't forget that all the words you need already exist.

this is more subjective advice. this is something that works for me personally. so ymmv. have you ever tried magnet poetry? you should try magnet poetry.

i always see writing as kind of a puzzle. if i have an idea in my head, the idea exists. the job is actually a translation exercise: how do i express the thing in my head as a thing other people can see? in this way it's like visual art, but it's also not like visual art at all. in visual art you choose where all the lines and colours go, completely freely. any line you draw is a brand new line.

in language, all your parts already exist. all the words already exist. (you can make new ones if you want but that's a whole different thing.) you are plucking symbols out of a collective understanding. it is like lego. all you are doing is selecting the most effective pieces and placing them in order. so for me, i am simply trying to find the 'right' words to fit each context as best as possible. it becomes a game of arrangement, which determines your expression.

then syntax and punctuation become your rhythm, which is how you determine flow. sentence length, word length, whether you omit words or use more, whether you want to be a bit unconventional. character also plays into this - i am not writing an advice 3 because i am getting self conscious but advice 3 would have been consistency of voice.

so i would prioritise vocabulary and timing. what are you trying to say (which words do you pick) and how do you want the reader to experience your words, how do you want the words to feel and sound (how will you pace your sentences)? remembering that all the parts are already there. it is the world's biggest game of magnet poetry.

advice 3 which doesn't exist: keep your voice consistent.

this advice doesn't exist. im not writing this i got embarrassed and stopped at 2. but if i did write this it would say, remember who you are. (remember who is writing your story. are you a character or are you god? remember how much you know. remember which feelings you have access to.)

[timekiller024]

Day 2

Alright so, I don't know why these 30 minutes I wasn't able to get anything done. Maybe all that caffeine really warp my perception of time. More testing must be done.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy like, Siffrin face and some of his hair and a bit of their hat I tried to draw. WHY DID THE 30 MINUTES GO BY SO FAST DID I REALLY SPEND THAT MUCH TIME GETTING THE OTHER STUFF PERFECT-ISH!?

I... don't really know what to do now. I didn't give much thought to this whole thing, and when I was able to get the first drawing done in 30 minutes I sorta assumed I could just do that each time. I could work another 30 minutes on this tomorrow, but then it wouldn't be a new drawing of Siffrin each day kinda.

On the other hand, if I just move on and start over for the third day, this will just keep on happening until I learn how to draw really quickly, and that's probably not gonna happen for a while. So I don't know. Oh well, I'll just do my own thing come tomorrow.

Also, as a side note, this is my first time drawing something using an actual reference of the thing I am trying to draw. Most of the time what I want to draw doesn't exist, so I just try to draw however I imagine it looks in my head, which might be why I got through the time so fast, constantly looking back and forth from my reference image.

This is my reference image, btw. Literally just typed "Siffrin" into google, went to images, and chose the first image cause it looked funny.

Anyway, like last time, any advice or tips would be very much appreciated. I keep seeing so many cool fanart stuff, and I really want to make some of my own but I keep thinking I'm not good enough for it. I'm still not good enough for it, but I'll get there eventually... maybe. But, that's enough self doubting for one day. Ciao.

[ed1c24]

cora is so scary dude

[doomedclockworkdotmp3]

heeyyy gaaanggg

the pose and the background of the album version (left) are based on oingo boingos only a lad album art. not cause i think he has anything to do with it but just cause ive been wantin to draw that pose for like. weeks and i didnt know who to put there. so why not my latest bug man.

[kastillia]

hello! :) glad youre all moved in! can I request for the art request delsin rowe from infamous second son? :)

[hazmatmaid]

she's divorced, bois.

[arttsuka]

augustus making friends with the easter island moai head and they both bond over not having a body

🗿

The sketch because it turned out good (and honestly I was terrified that I'd ruin it when I tried to color it) and the Moai before I decided to attempt a background (it was too empty with the white background, I felt bad)

[yume-fanfare]

little piece from last year that i forgot about but still quite like <3 pencil on paper and digital color

[achillean-knight]

ooUUUGHHH I FINISHED THEM ALLLLLLL

[minimoll7]

A quick Cattiva drawing because I love these guys so much, they mean everything to me

Please consider reblogging if you like this

[kinaesthetiqueer]

(follow-up to this)

having grown up in atlas, weiss is very familiar with the academy's team anti-frat policy and gets very hung up on just how much trouble they could get in if anyone thinks they're dating.

(which they're definitely not doing. no, sir. absolutely not, sir.)

so better safe than sorry.

(except winter has eyes. and also doesn't care.)

[himes-things]

I think she’s neat!

[bloodiihell]

I spent way too much time on this-

[snowontreeleaves]

they're having fun... for now

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

You knew my mother was here | Moth Work

Lonan has stopped paddling. The canoe sits in the middle of the lake, lifeless like a bone in the water. He’s turned so Harrison sees him in profile and can’t tell if it’s relieving or worrying to see his face. Lonan’s jaw is taut, like there are words he wants to say but can’t. Filling up the hollow bone. He blinks slowly, like he’s trying to re-centre himself, his chest quivering with breaths meant to steady him. The water laps at the base of the canoe, whirling like his head. Dark hair tangles down his cheeks like the fingers of a poltergeist.

“You knew my mother was here,” Lonan says.

“Yes.”

“How?”

“Research.”

LONAN PORTRAIT TO GRACE (HAUNT?) YOUR DASH!! <3

Excerpt circa 2019.

[tokitooth]

medical websites love to be like “how to stop having physical stress symptoms: 1. be in less stressful situations 2. don’t be stressed”