#but i also just don't want to use another artist's art because then i'd have to add it in my bio (ofc i'd credit !) & i like my bio already
Text
might teach myself to draw again so i can draw myself a leo and/or nico icon
#i wanted to use viria's fanart but all things considered she's kinda problematic (the whole coloring skin tones weird as well as--#that post where she drew the p/j/o boys in super suggestive ways which was kinda weird...but this isn't a callout post--#i still admire her skill I Guess#but i also just don't want to use another artist's art because then i'd have to add it in my bio (ofc i'd credit !) & i like my bio already#but i'm not. the best. at drawing. like i like to do it sometimes but yeash#i dunno we'll see#rose.txt
0 notes
Note
Hi! RE: your journal about the right for lolicon fiction to exist even if you disapprove of it, would you say it can also exist for titillation purposes, or do you stand by it for artistic reasons, or for the purpose of exploring dark themes only? I always thought you were saying the former, but I just wanted to ask. It's chill if you don't wanna answer this. Have a good day!
Here we are, 15 years on from that blog entry, and I still haven't read any lolicon, I'm afraid, so I have no idea about its themes. The context was whether you should be sent to prison for owning lolicon. What I said back then was,
In this case you obviously have read lolicon, and I haven't. I don't know whether you're writing from personal experience here, and whether you have personally been incited to rape children or give inappropriate hugs by reading it. (I assume you haven't. I assume that Chris Handley, with his huge manga collection, wasn't either. I've read books that claimed that exposure to porn causes rape, but have seen no statistical evidence that porn causes rape -- and indeed have seen claims that the declining number of US rapes may be due to the wider availability of porn. Honestly, I think it's a red herring in First Amendment matters, and I'll leave it for other people to argue about.) Still, you seem to want lolicon banned, and people prosecuted for owning it, and I don't. You ask, What makes it worth defending? and the only answer I can give is this: Freedom to write, freedom to read, freedom to own material that you believe is worth defending means you're going to have to stand up for stuff you don't believe is worth defending, even stuff you find actively distasteful, because laws are big blunt instruments that do not differentiate between what you like and what you don't, because prosecutors are humans and bear grudges and fight for re-election, because one person's obscenity is another person's art.
Because if you don't stand up for the stuff you don't like, when they come for the stuff you do like, you've already lost.
4K notes
·
View notes
Text
Time to make an updated post on the Guilty Gear artwork I've made up to this point!
First things, gotta include Bridget and Elphelt since these were made this year in 2023. Baiken, Testement, and Giovanna were done back in 2022. I think I'd like to do a Jack-O illustration at some point, and a friend of mine wants to help fund a Ramlethal print, so those might be coming up in the future at some point.
I've made some updates to the chibis as well to include a handful of the male cast! A few noteworthy mentions include an Axl that was inspired by an animation that my friend DoovadHohdan made, a Potemkin that works as a Pot Buster when you use it as a sticker on another sticker, as well as the husbandos in general being paired with plushies of their partners (well, missing Nago and Elphelt because that wasn't a thing at the time)
A little after the Elphelt illustration I also made an Elphelt chibi as well! This one will be double-sided once I convert it to a charm~
Finally, a sneak peak at something that isn't Strive related...well, not yet, at least (maybe). Here's a value comp for an ABA illustration I'm working on based on her Accent Core design! Hoping she makes it into Strive at some point.
I might want to explore doing some Accent Core related artwork in the future. Accent Core is a lot closer to the point of when I first got into the series in my middle school/highschool days, and there are some designs from the older games that are still hecking rad. Plus the music is awesome :D
It's kind of funny; I have to confess that I actually don't play Strive. Truth be told, the GGST movement and limited combo structure never clicked with me when the game first came out (and I was always more of a 3D fighter guy for gameplay with games like Tekken and Soul Calibur). And even though I am pretty sure I would actually thoroughly enjoy playing I-No and Elphelt with the season 3 changes, I just don't really do as much gaming these days since I'm more enamored with making art (and a few other things like biking). Plus I'm kind of just waiting for Tekken 8 at this point (dear god I hope the online is good just this one time god).
But as an artist? You bet your butt I hecking love coming back to Guilty Gear. I've been a fan of the series since the early 2000s (back when I stumbled across an abandonware PC version of Guilty Gear X and became sold on the series). The characters from this series check a lot of boxes for things I love to draw, from the way they are designed and all of their classic rock references all the way down to their zany personalities and backstories. And I feel like Guilty Gear is really special in this regard for me. Even though I'd rather play other fighting games (like Tekken or maybe even SF6), Guilty Gear is probably the one fighting game fandom I want to do art of the most.
If you are a Guilty Gear fan stumbling across this art collection post, hope you are enjoying the art! I will enjoy the series vicariously through you as I get back to working on some Tekken 8 artwork for Frosty Faustings, lmao. And if you're someone who is new to the series, give Strive a try! It's neat and the characters are great.
#guilty gear#ggst#elpheltnation#elphelt valentine#Elphelt#Bridget#Baiken#Testament#giovanna#giovanna guilty gear#elphelt ggst#elphelt guilty gear#testament guilty gear#bridget ggst#bridget guilty gear#sol badguy#ky kiske#ramlethal valentine#axl low#potemkin#i no guilty gear#i no#may guilty gear#millia rage#nagoriyuki#johnny guilty gear#goldlewis dickinson#aba guilty gear#fighting game fanart#fighting games
876 notes
·
View notes
Text
How to Spot AI images (Hopefully)
So, I did see GailyNovelry's excellent post on this (Link here), but saw that there also were some confusion and they were using a environment image as their example, so I thought I'd do a breakdown that was more character centric.
The key thing with AI images is that the program does not know what it is making. And, arguably, they thrive on that we are currently conditioned to not really look at things for too long before we hit that engagement button and/or just scroll onwards to whatever next the algorithm feeds us.
It's hard to fight that urge, I know, but if you just pause and look, you'll soon start spotting things that just do not make sense, and I don't just mean that the pretty booby elven fighter is sporting seven fingers on one hand. Those are the obvious things. I'll try to cover the general sort of artefacts that tend to tip me off to the fact that a image is generated rather than actually hand-made by someone making informed design decisions as opposed to trust what amounts to RNG. I think this is important as there's those who do not tag their images as AI generated, and try to scam people with commissions.
And, as the saying goes... The devil is in the details.
To start with I picked this image from deviantuser CeiEllem. At first glance, it looks... very impressive. Sharp looking elf lady with killer hair. 10/10 wish I could rock that haircolour.
But, it is AI generated. Aside from the general tell that is this hyper rendered, near photorealistic style that AI images often have, there's a lot of details that tips it off to just not having been made by a human who actually made the decisions.
Since AI is just working off patterns and not actual decisions, things like hair is a immediate giveaway that you're looking at a AI image.
(Deviantart users: daralyth, DavidZarn and lunayokai)
In all these three images you can see just how hair whisps off into weird nonsense shapes or even meld into the background or clothing. Because, again, the AI doesn't know what its doing, just working with shapes. Similarly, background elements that just stop and start randomly is a dead giveaway, like the tail in the first image.
As I've said, details is the key to spotting these images, and another giveaway is the sheer density of details that is just noise.
This is from users Rigtorok7, and the details are so noisy, absolutely miniscule in scale, and hypersharp, yet have no actual design to them. Artists imply details all the time. We don't render out every single nook and crevice, and since we actually know what we want the viewer to look at, we'll pull back and simplify things so you don't want to look at the big chunk of very noisy hair ornament or necklace instead of the face of the character.
For comparison, this is how it looks when I, personally, indulge in doing 'overdetailing' of something (because I am forever weak for painting jewelry).
BUT I want to stress that the key here isn't that detailing equals AI generated. The key is the lack of design choices IN the details. There's a lot of artists out there, and someone painting out all those nooks and crannies in something doesn't mean they are a AI user. This painting by Leighton is super detailed but you see the intent with all the details. You have a focus with the people in the boat and secondary read of the figure in the door, where the details are a lot more implied and less sharp.
AI can't do that, because AI isn't making any decisions.
I couldn't find any good example once I went looking, but if you're into fantasy art: look for people just holding weird 'swords'.
AI is rapidly evolving, so who knows how much this'll help in 3 months, but for now, this is how I spot things.
But, in the end, the biggest giveaway that someone is using an AI generator is that they've filled up page after page on deviantart/artstation/wherever in the past like... six to nine months, and often swing between wildly different styles. If you're unsure, look up the source of a image. Another clue can be generic 'untitled' or just 'elf lady' sort of titles, since someone uploading 30 images a week isn't going to make unique titles for each image.
Also, commissioners. ... you should ALWAYS get a sketch and progress image from a artist that you hire. My art directors would have my head on a plate if I didn't send them a rough sketch and progress shot before finalising the image.
5K notes
·
View notes
Text
after seeing Charles hanging around in artist studios in his last vlog, i decided it was high time to make a little post about the art that's in his collection. this is mainly just art that I've been able to identify in his various vlogs (and doesn't include racing paraphernalia), but I'll try to keep it updated if we ever learn anything more.
as seen in his first Monaco vlog, he has a large photograph in his dining room by the UK photographer Lee Jeffries.
this work is called LA III, and is from Jeffries' first and most famous series, in which he photographed homeless people in various cities around the world. you can read more about the series here.
Charles has another work by Jeffries in his living room, titled Lover, which gets a lot of screen time in his 2023 Monaco GP vlog.
behind Charles' piano, he has a print by the Spanish artist Miguel Vallinas Prieto, from his Ceci n'est pas series. The exact work is no longer on his website, but you can see other pieces from the series here.
Charles also has this really cool painting in his kitchen, which looks to me like it's a spoon holding a sign that says "Get Out." i think it's so fun, and it's definitely one of my favourite things in his flat, but i haven't been able to identify the artist. I'm going to keep looking, but if anyone has any info, please let me know!
ETA: @accio-ricciardo-main has brilliantly identified the artist as Simone d'Auria and found a photo of Charles with the painting on instagram.
while i haven't seen it hanging in his flat, Charles has also commissioned a painting from the artist Devon DeJardin. it used to be up on DeJardin's Instagram, with Charles tagged, but it seems as though the post has been taken down, so I'm afraid you'll just have to take my word for it. i saw it the first time i looked into this back in 2022, and from memory, it was a black-and-white painting in DeJardin's typical style.
Charles seems to like DeJardin's work a lot because he's been to his LA studio at least twice, in October 2021 and in November 2023. you can clips in Charles' LA vlog, and DeJardin posted photos on his Instagram (linked above).
i hadn't really intended to write too much about the artists in this post because i'm not well-versed in any of their practices, but i have to tell everyone what i found out about Devon DeJardin, which is that he decided to become an artist at the urging of a would-be sugar daddy psychic:
In a message on Instagram, the man offered him money in exchange for a phone call. Against his better judgment, DeJardin agreed and the two connected. “By any chance, are you interested in spirituality?” the man asked. DeJardin said he was. “Well, this might sound weird,” the man said. “I’ve been praying for you. And I’ve been thinking about you for about three years. Something’s telling me to tell you that you need to start painting.” (x)
as soon as i read this, i understood everything i needed to know about why Charles likes him. literally this would happen to him.
the other artist that Charles visited in his LA vlog was the artist Juan Carlos Cristóbal, who created the below large-scale coloured pencil work on paper for Charles. from the video, it seems as though it's mounted on canvas. Charles mentions getting it back to Monaco in the video, so perhaps it will show up in his flat one day.
i mostly just wanted to write this down so i don't forget it, and so i can keep adding to it over time, but hopefully it's interesting to someone else besides me. and if you can think of anything i missed, i'd love to know!
#even if you think you're not interested in this post please just notice the part about the sugar daddy psychic#also obligatory to tag#art world au#cl16#f1#charles art collection
303 notes
·
View notes
Text
I'm gonna delete that reblog because I don't want to start any witch-hunt type activities, nor do I want to harass others online.
However, I'm not gonna lie - I am still of the belief that the artist in question is implementing AI images in their art, and IF they are, I think it would be better to be forthright about it.
I'd love to be wrong, but there are things that seem fishy to me.
To reply to realistic concerns from @crustaceousfaggot
I have also glanced through their blog and here is my takeaway:
I have no doubts that this individual DOES actually draw, but their style has evolved from mainly paintings of faces and portraits into machinery and landscapes in a very short amount of time.
I don't believe that this individual ONLY uses AI. It's possible they don't use text based AI software. My best guess is that they're popping an image into AI and asking it to complete/modify it.
There are images where it seems to me that the face or the hands of something has been painted over in a style that doesn't quite match the rest of the image.
Again - I don't personally care about how another artist gets their kicks but I want people to be honest about labeling it.
Even if it's augmented with actual art. People deserve to know, in general, if something is drawn or computer generated, just like they deserve to know if an image has been altered and photo-shopped!
And I'd love to be wrong, but there are way too many AI-tells in the art in general for me to not be suspicious.
217 notes
·
View notes
Text
Does Al also make you paranoid?
Look at this picture. Is it art or is it an Al generated image? Look at this text. Is this useful piece of information or Al gibberish? Look at this video? Is this real or fake?
I stare at drawings, analysing every line, I go through people's social media to see if they're artists or thieves. I look for references and take a close look at every image because I don't want to reference distorted reality. I show someone a video of snow falling somewhere and instead of "look how beautiful" I go "do you think this exists?" and I read something and then give up recognising dry like a summer desert language of a robot. I hate it here.
Today's no different. I see a picture that looks kinda nice but I immediately notice there's something wrong with it. I go to the source and there's more. Every day the person adds a new fully finished piece. Under every piece people (because they can sense something's off) ask the owner of the account what medium he uses. The answer is: "I've been using the computer to create my art since 1980, and then I print it with a vintage ink on my epson printer". The fuck? Sounds like the printer does more work that he does on the computer. They guy's old, I give him the benefit of the doubt, his bio says he's a curator of art in some institute. One of the commenters says he posts regularly and his "style" didn't change much. I go through his feed. In fact his "style" changes a lot. But oh, most of the images he posts belong to other people who have their own exhibitions and no online presence, and it's all Al shit, clear as day. I scroll down and it turns out the guy used to be into abstract art, there's tons of it before Al started to ruin everything. In another life I'd scroll past that pretentious fuck without losing 12 minutes of my life. I hate it here.
I see another artist and they seem legit but even when I see their art with all the human imperfections I can't shake the feeling they reference Al images. I see their process video but I cannot tell if they're just new to digital art and they use traditional methods or it's a bit shady. Am I paranoid or their video is just recorded that way, because I've already seen the erasing liars and pretending idiots.
It's exhausting. Constant vigilance! I don't want to waste my time on something people didn't bother to spend their time creating. They don't care about their thing, why should I?
#jabbernaty#before anyone attacks#no I don't think abstract art is pretentious#the guy who pretends he doesn't use Al and promotes other thieves calling himself a curator of art definitely is#with his antique ink and epson printer#am I too negative lately? perhaps#I need a hug or something idk
213 notes
·
View notes
Note
how do you make your colours so scrumptious... that's a vague ask but it's like, how do you make the colours mash together well and make sure they don't clash against eachother. And when you do designs, what inspires you to make your agent ocs outfits or do you just make them because they look silly.
hmmm... no.1 i stay away from pure black and pure white. i always use an off-white and a dark desaturated color of whatever i'm using, as well as for when i use grays. here's an example vv
^^ all of the colors on my tai lung come from yellow hues in various shades (if that makes sense). same with my lord shen. the red is a reddish-pink, and the black is, of course, a desaturated and darker shade of the red
i tend to stay in the middle area here, i don't really like to use bright or very saturated colors. another example is when i choose an ink color for marina, i don't use something that's TOO bright, but going for something a little darker to pair with the primary color of her tentacles and her skin
now, here's my chameleon vv
her colors were a little difficult to figure out, but i'd say they work together somewhat...they all fall into the category of being desaturated and such. mainly warm colors with the exception of the green, but i made the red a little pinkish/purpleish so it wouldn't contrast as much
it REALLY depends on the character but most of the time my lighter colors will be less saturated, and for darker colors they'll be saturated. this obviously varies, like with undead characters all of their colors would be a little more muted
i also have a theme i keep in mind for my colors. like with my fantasy marina, i think of olive or yellow-green. the only colors that i don't change (often) in the palette are the skin tones. another example is my young craig design, i think of the sepia filter and...old looking colors? like grayish browns and yellows and stuff like tha.t...i dunno
the main way i learned how to color is actually by coloring...normally? the colors all looked weird and had such contrast, but i'd overlay another layer on top with a solid color, set the blending mode to multiply, and lower the opacity. sometimes i'd do this with the mono color filter instead of a solid color
i also take inspiration from other artists! wolfythewitch is one of my biggest inspos for art in general, great coloring and anatomy. if you're looking for an artist with saturated colors that pop, check out bigskycastle!
now onto the second question...if you mean their uniforms..yeah i just went with whatever looked silly. (OLD ART ALERT ERR ERRR) cap3's uniform is intended to be a few sizes larger since it was most likely supposed to be for val before she got fired. and she wears pants instead of shorts since she wants to cover up a lot
not much is different with maggie. other than the fact that she's wearing a uniform too small for him and it ended up looking weird
but if it's for outfits in general i just scroll through the lists of gear on inkipedia and pick whatever i think the character would wear
99 notes
·
View notes
Note
can i ask advice ;; drawing wise ? how did you start to anatomy but also w stylization? did you bruteforce by studying every bone muscle etc in art school?
hmm...
First, you must distinguish between two completely different concepts: gesture and anatomy. The stylization and dynamic you often see me doing with my dancing practice is "Gesture". This is an excellent tutorial by Proko about gestures. I practiced gestures very soon when I started drawing, simply because I wanted to draw dynamically, lucky for me it was the right thing to do. This was the main reason why I'm so fast at sketching.
This is my gesture practice, 1 min, 2 min, and 5 min sketch. It's about the flow of the body and which direction each part is going, use "sharp and coherent lines". I practice until it becomes a "natural reflex", a habit when I look at people's interactions.
This below is something I drew 3 years ago (my anatomy was not good sorry), notice how I use many many coherent lines? At the thigh, shin, arm stretching,... all the bigger areas? That's the remaining of gestures.
It goes without saying. Try to find the flow of gestures, even for the hair or clothes. Heh, I drew this 4 years ago, how nostalgic.
You can see how I just create the flow with Lya's hair and body movement in the dancing pics too. Like with Kylar's pic her body is straight up one quite hard mass from head to toe. You know she's leaning forward, seemingly wanting to abandon Kylar with a "pathetic loser like you? With me?" attitude (ouchie sorry Kylar nation). While in Sydney's pic she seems much more relaxed and enjoys how her body parts seem to loosen and more in sync with Sydney's movements. Her hip and legs sway more, and her hair also sways back at Sydney's body, hinting that her moves are relatively close to his body. I don't think I have enough vocabulary to describe, gestures are always just "feelings" to me. If people see what I want to show, that's the success for me.
I know many self-learners started by finding random tutorials that have muscle breakdown or box-like proportions to try and mimic. Mimic is good, drawing is mimicking and remembering what you saw, but without good gesture practice, many people tend to make anatomy very stiff.
Then, you start to apply anatomy to the gestures you've practiced. One way to do it is by learning about muscle position first, and then trying to apply it to a figure, or a model. This is my homework and it's HORRIBLY WRONG IN MANY WAYS. My teacher fixed it for me but I don't have the after with me right now, so take this as an example of how to do the apply thing, DO NOT USE IT AS MUSCLE REF it's very wrong.
In my opinion bone structure is not strictly needed like muscles. Bones are for muscles to hang onto. You only need to remember some important "landmarks" like the collarbone, elbow joint, anterior pelvis, knee, and ankle,… to hang the important muscles to it. After you're familiar with muscles and gestures, you can start to stylize. Applying your knowledge to animated characters with cartoonish design is one great way. THESE HOMEWORKS OF MINE ARE STILL WRONG but ye hope you get the idea. I'm still struggling with anatomy.
One of my all-time fav are AFK ARENA artists and what they do for the game. Aki as the main artist, Kuri Huang, and another artist I suddenly forgor the name as home screen illust. I recommend researching their works if you want a direction on how to stylize your character with great dynamic gestures and shapes.
And
As much as I hate to say this, I was particularly considered a failure, a stone-head, who couldn't be changed for the better when I was still in art school - uni. My chosen major was digital graphic design, not specified in drawing but in designing, that's one thing I regret. I traded 5 years of my youth for doing the things I don't want to do. That's why the moment I graduated, I immediately went and signed up for an advanced art class specified in drawing. I'd be lying if I said the uni didn't teach me anything about drawing. They did, but almost everything I learned during 5 years of uni was self-learning from outer sources. I encourage self-learning the most when I talk with younger artists. Proko is a very trusted source to learn from, go to their YouTube channel, and you might figure out something too.
171 notes
·
View notes
Text
Okay, actually, let me do a quick, basic primer for Mycenaean fashion, if anyone would want to try this aesthetic for their Greek myth art since Mycenaean era Greece (1400-1200 is when the majority of the myths happen, and especially the Trojan war). Not claiming to be an expert at all, here, as I've mostly googled shit and screencapped images to use as ref and then read some articles, but, I figure, it might be somewhere to start!
Here's one of the panels from the Hagia triada sarcophagus, from Crete during Mycenaean control/hegemony of the island. The women are painted white, the men dark; artistic aesthetic you see in other cultures for their visual arts of the time, like Ancient Egypt.
I think the fur(?) skirts might be religious wear, but aside from that, you have one woman and one man (specifically, the lyre player, which is probably indicative of some cultural attitudes; the lyre player in the fresco from Pylos is definitely wearing a fringed skirt of some sort, similar to what women wear) wearing a long robe/tunic, and the women are wearing some short jackets on top of that.
The jackets might be Cretan or merely "early" style, because here's a fresco fragment from the Greek mainland where the woman appears to wear something similar:
It's probable (but basically impossible to know) that the thing underneath is a long robe/tunic like the women above are wearing, short or sleeve-less.
Another Mycenaean/mainland Greek fresco. In this one you'd have to decide if the top halves of the women's dress is a short (but not cut-away) jacket, plus wrap-around, tiered/fringed skirt, or a long robe/tunic with really deep neckline and, again, a wrap-around tiered/fringed skirt.
Now, you don't need to make things harder for yourself than you have to! Women can wear a simpler style of dress (like what the man in the first fresco panel is wearing), basically the same as the men's, probably just longer:
It's possible these two women are wearing wrap around skirts below the edge of the chariot, but I doubt it. As you can see, their style of dress is the same as the man's above, with a plain, straight collar.
The various lines you see plunging down the sides of both the longer robes/tunics and the shorter ones are down the sides (under the arms and down) and might also/either be down the front, at least on the long dresses with elaborate bottom rim; the woman in saffron above clearly has a decorated line going down her front.
I'll put the rest of this under the cut!
Some nice art with Mycenaean-era dress and armour for some of our Trojan war characters. (Aeneas and Hektor notably wearing Mycenaean wear even if they probably wouldn't be.)
I like this site http://www.salimbeti.com/micenei/index.htm for both art and a lot of pictures of artifacts when it comes to armour and weapons from the Mycenaean era.
The men don't just wear those tunics, though; you can get some (short) kilts or skirts;
(In my opinion, I'd say it's basically a given the one/two dudes painted in basically black are meant to be from further south compared to the Greek dude here. Probably not sub-Saharan Africa, however. North Africa/Egyptian might be more reasonable, despite the impossibly dark skin.)
Some examples of the clothes recreated!
This article https://www.jstor.org/stable/20627591 talks about a fresco and its possible reconstructions, and, more importantly, includes photos of some women's clothes, especially the fringed/tiered wrap-around skirts recreated, and some drawing diagrams of said skirts that might be helpful!
Hair-wise, the majority of the men have hair anywhere from around the ears down to the shoulders in mainland Greece. (The exception being, again, the Pylian lyre player.)
Minoans, even mycenaean-era Minoans, might have longer hair; one of the panels on the Hagia triada fresco has a flute-player with hair down to his waist in braids (or something like that), for example.
All the women, no matter Cretan/Minoan or Mycenaean/Greek have very long hair, gathered in variously more or less elaborate hairstyles; make your best guess from looking at the frescos is my suggestion!
#greek mythology#trojan war#I might add a reblog for jewellery?#but trust me you can find lots of nice pictures of#mycenaean jewellery if you search exactly for that
376 notes
·
View notes
Note
honestly would be pretty interested in hearing about all of them, if thats alright
it's no problem o( ❛ᴗ❛ )o i like talking about this
for context, apart from making personal art i'm also an artist and character designer at Smarto Club, so I don't know if these count as OCs but i have posted art of them here: Haco from >Bubblegum Galaxy and Teacup from >Teacup.
you can check the steam pages on those games for more info if u like. i love all my characters but i don't usually make personal art of these two since i already do it as my job.
my newest Smarto Club character is a bit different since she's more in the style of what i'm doing personally so i want to make more art of her soon. her name is Abigail:
she's a kid who likes reading about bugs and catching them but she never hurts them : ) this is a short game in early development but it's about catching creatures called angels. it's got horrorish vibes but i don't think the end result will be full-out horror, since it's also kinda silly...
then there's Peklo, it's a game for which i created the whole concept and story but the plan is to develop it as a studio at Smarto Club. i wrote more context for it on this post, but for the characters, they're my favorites to make art about at the moment. the main ones are Kiku (the cat) and Mi (the bunny):
i recently created these human forms of them for fun but i'm not sure whether i'll establish them as canon or not... they're trapped in limbo/hell so there's space for them to have a past human form. they don't remember their lives but Kiku feels a deep sense of regret about things unkown to her and wants to break out of Peklo. Mi feels trapped in an eternal sadness, she longs to see the ocean, she can always hear it but has never been able to reach it.
the antagonist in Peklo is a frog entity called Guppy but i haven't really shown him outside of his froggy logo
i also have OCs from my smaller games. there's Hlina that i created specifically for >this game that was commissioned to me for a zine. i don't have any plans to use her again for now but i might make more art of her in the future for fun. she's part of a strange dream realm and is hostile to the player:
there's iro from the >game with the same name who's my oldest game OC. i created that bitsy game for her story but she existed previously in my art degree final project, it was a version of the same story but just a section of it. it's a dream of mine to create a full-fledged 3D game for her some day.
she's a bit of a defective space exploration robot, sent to explore planetoid Iridium-3 in search of human contact. it's set in a future where humanity has dispersed among the whole galaxy so lots of groups have lost contact with each other.
my latest game OC is Michtat, a wizard cat that i created just for this silly zine.
lasty, there’s the characters from my comic that I’m working on, called The most distant planet. the main characters are Victor and Mitya, two 9 year olds whose families end up living together.
i'd say these are the dearest characters to me of all. i don't post as much of them because they're mostly in the shape of comic pages and it doesn't spark as much interest as my games. i love drawing them though.
they’re both little weirdos who isolate themselves and don’t fit in much with other children, so the friendship they develop is very special to them. they have almost opposite personalities where Victor (darker hair) is very shy and dorky but also very sweet to everyone, while Mitya mostly gives 0 fucks about what anyone thinks or says, he blurts out whatever he’s thinking and just wants to run around wild.
the story is mostly slice of life-ish but there’s also a science fiction element ^-^ Victor is obsessed with things like ghosts, aliens, etc but Mitya thinks it’s all just dumb tales.
another important character is Alyosha, Mitya’s 17-18yo brother. he doesn’t know how to talk or relate to his little brother and is kinda weirded out by him. they where very close when they were younger, but when Mitya was 2 he had an accident that Alyosha feels guilty about, and has been somehow different ever since.
he still worries about his little brother and how isolated he is, though. at the beginning of the story the two of them live alone with their grandma who does love them but has kind of a cold and distant personality.
Alyosha was the type of kid to be considered “gifted” but now feels completely burnt out and had to repeat a grade at school. he felt so humiliated by this he eventually stopped going entirely, so he now works part time and just studies at home. he cut contact with his old classmates but he still has 2 best friends from the last few months he spent at school in the grade below, Manon and Min Na. they’re the kind of friends who just show up unannounced at his house and job, and are very involved with his family’s life.
i’ve also included Min Jie in some art, she’s Min Na’s younger cousin and comes into the story later:
i should have like character sheets and stuff for all of these OCs but i’m the kind to just jump head first into drawing/modeling lol, that's why i included all these finished illustrations.
i really wanna publish this comic, i’ve been working on it for a long time and i’m currently waiting for the results of a public funding application here in my country to decide what i'll do next.
hope this could be of interest (^人^) thanks for the ask!
248 notes
·
View notes
Note
You don’t have to answer this question as it’s probably dumb to ask…but do you know what platform(s) would be a good starting point? Particularly for original content rather then fanart? I heard deviantart is a good place where alot of ppl got there start on but there’s lots of art thrives and such.
don't even worry, it's not dumb at all! it's hard to gauge where to Begin in the vast hellscape that is the online world. i do get this question [and some adjacent questions] often so please allow me to use your ask as an excuse to post a few of my site rankings for various art things!!
for reference, these are the sites I'll be addressing because i have used them at some point within the last year. please note: my information on Cohost and Itaku specifically may be out of date as I haven't used them in a long while. naturally, this is all solely my perspective. i run both a furry/original content account and an anime/fanart account on most of these sites and run them reasonably independently from one another. these rankings are based on how well each account fares on each site.
I will be talking about Patreon and Ko-Fi as if people will only be posting paywalled content there. you Can publicly post on both sites, but for the sake of this post i'm only going to treat them as paywalled sites since well, that's kind of their purpose.
POSTING ART IN GENERAL
the A-tier list sites here are the ones that are most practical, with a decent member presence and little to no algorithms impairing your reach. the only sites here with any sort of algorithm are tumblr and deviantart, but i feel they don't ruin your reach that much.
B-tier list is mostly centered around popularity. there are massive audiences on both masto and twitter. twitter can be really good if you're posting certain content. mastodon has countless instances [read: servers / subdomains, however you want to call them] that can help narrow down an audience and like-minded people. for example, i use mastodon.art whereas many furries may use meow.social. you Can be discovered by people on other servers than yours.
C-tier has been sorted in accordance to audience. this is solely in my experience, but not a lot of new people are flocking to cohost and itaku. we also just hate facebook in this house and i will never give a facebook products a high rating.
F-tier: if you are a new or growing artist, putting your art behind a paywall or making it a chat platform exclusive thing can really hinder your growth. you can still do this of course, but you won't get as many eyes on your work as you would on a public gallery. threads is there solely due to privacy issues that Cannot be overlooked. i will not recommend it.
POSTING ORIGINAL CONTENT / CHARACTERS / NON-FANWORKS
here's how i'd grade these sites for posting Original content, characters, stories, etc. your best sites will likely be furaffinity, deviantart, and tumblr. i've put these three here for their tag use, discoverability, and audience presence. tumblr can be a little glitchy with its tags, but they DO function.
A-tier is entirely centered around audience presence. these sites are great for showing off your work, but they don't have the same population as the S-tier. mastodon can be good as the quieter instances give you more discoverability. bluesky has been THRIVING when it comes to the furry community as of late [i'm personally on there daily] - the only reason i don't put it as S-tier is because it's invite-only AND you need to rely on your work being found through the Feeds feature if you aren't an already established artist.
B-tier: useful, but population may hinder your growth. toyhouse is GREAT for posting your original characters and stories, but it is invite-only and not necessarily gallery-focused [it can be USED for a gallery, but it's not the main purpose]. you can also post stories and lore to toyhouse. discord and telegram are Good, but again it can be hard to gain an audience through sites that require invites.
C-tier: it is DIFFICULT to grow on paywalled sites with original content. cohost [to my knowledge] has been stagnating with the release of bluesky.
F-tier: threads sucks, the end.
POSTING FANWORK, FANFIC, FANDOM CONTENT IN GENERAL
S-tier here is sorted because of audience presence. while twitter does suck, i'm finding a LOT of success there with fanart. tumblr is The fandom site of course. furaffinity is great for a surprising range of fanart that isn't exclusive to furry, and deviantart's Groups feature is still going strong which can give you that extra exposure.
A-tier is: fans Go here, but the population or algorithm can make things tricky. instagram is good for fanwork but the algorithm and the speed that things are posted there can make discoverability an uphill battle. patreon; if you make comics or art with fan characters [especially 18+ content lmao] you can grow pretty rapidly there. patreon, like any other paywalled site, should be a secondary site and not your Primary posting location. artfol and pillowfort are still growing. pillowfort has a Communities feature - sort of like deviantart groups - that you can submit your art to which gives you that extra exposure. artfol is just a nice gallery site and the tagging system is,, decent enough. a little confusing because the tag system looks up keywords in posts and titles First, you have to tab over to hashtag searching specifically.
B-tier: invite only and audience reach. again, bluesky relies on your art to be picked up in Feeds, as there's currently no tag search. inkblot is growing but has a decent audience. ko-fi isn't as known as patreon for exclusive content but it's still a good site. mastodon has tagging that makes discoverability easier, but mastodon and its many servers can make things confusing for some people. itaku's not as commonly used so it may be harder to gain new eyes there once you establish yourself.
C-tier: posting fanart to these sites Can Work. toyhouse focuses on posting and sorting original characters, so treating it as a gallery site won't get your far fast. it isn't impossible to grow as an artist there, but the site isn't intended for fanart posting. i cannot say much on cohost here. telegram and discord, again, it's harder for people to discover you out of the blue unless you mention your server / channel on another site.
F-tier: fuck threads.
lastly, to address thieves,
thieves are gonna be everywhere. i'm sorry to say, but there will always be shitty people. i recommend the following:
watermark your art. not in the corner, don't just sign in one spot, place a Huge translucent watermark over the WHOLE art. i recommend making it a colour gradient too instead of one solid colour or greyscale.
also: sign your goddamned art! put your username on there!
post a low resolution when sharing online. less than 1200px wide or tall. 72dpi. JPEG format. keep the high res privately for yourself.
add a subtle noise filter over your art. it doesn't have to be high opacity, and it'll make your art a little grainy, but it's good for fucking with AI bots and ruining any print quality potential.
i hope this offers some insight! if you have a different experience on these sites, please feel free to add your testimonial in the replies or reblogs! not every artist is going to have the same experience and growth rate.
301 notes
·
View notes
Text
long list of funny things abt my experience doing emote commissions for mike
first of all I wasn't expecting to get commissioned at all (my commissions weren't even open, I just made an exception for mike) let alone by MIKETHELINK of all fucking people, so I had nothing prepared. I had no portfolio, commission sheet, nothing. I had never made any twitch emotes, so I had no examples to show either. meaning that when barbmine showed up in my dms asking if I took emote commissions, first I lost my fucking shit, then I panicked and rushed to find the most recent emote-like illustrations I had, including animation, and the most recent animation I had on hand happened to be a viewtiful joe one lmao. the animation in question 👇
(the usernames on the watermark aren't even accurate anymore..)
I have some experience taking commissions but they'd always been for friends of mine, this was my first time getting commissioned by a real "client" and the client was fucking mikethelink tazercraft of all fucking people . I know he "found" me through Mine, she sent me a dm first asking for commission info, saying she would show it to mike later. the thing is that when she said that she also implied that she was in touch with other artists too, so I was like "oh ok I'll send my stuff but I probably won't get chosen lol" and then a few hours later I got two twitter notifs, one saying that mr. thelink tazercraft was now following me and another was his DM. to say I almost had a heart attack would be an understatement
later I found out Mine had made a tweet asking for artists to reach out/people to rec artists for mike's twitch emotes. that post had around 40 comments. many people had been recommended more than once. I wasn't mentioned by anyone once, and in fact, I had no fucking idea that post even EXISTED until way after the fact. I have no idea how I ended up getting this job
mike happened to contact me on a day where I was severely sleep deprived. our entire business conversation took place while I was half-panicking, half-almost-passing-out. I don't know how I survived
at many points during our conversation I gave a lot of leeway for mike to give up on commissioning me, implying multiple times that he would be better off commissioning a different artist. and it's not because I lacked confidence (though a bit of that too, of course), but because of my lack of experience. I was very open about that to him, so many times I expected him to second guess his decision to commission me. unexpectedly, he was really insistent. I think partially he didn't want to go through the trouble of finding and contacting a different artist, but also I guess he just liked my art that much (??!?)
I definitely undercharged him lol. it's not that I don't value my work, it's just that I was absolutely not prepared for any of this shit to happen and didn't have enough time to think
I use adobe after effects for animating mike's emotes. I already knew how to animate (though I had never animated anything big), but I had never used after effects before. I even told mike this before accepting the commission, but he just said it was easy and I could totally do it, and I was just like "fucking hell. fine". and look, I know my limits, I knew I'd be able to learn after effects with relative ease. if I thought it'be too much for me to handle, I wouldn't have accepted the commission. it just that to this day I'm still shocked that mike commissioned an artist who HAD NEVER USED THE TOOL NECESSARY FOR THE COMMISSION HE WANTED.
due to the point above I was pretty apprehensive about animating the emotes, but now I'm glad I got this opportunity bc it reignited my passion for animation that had been dwindling for a long time and I've been learning a lot while working. also with every new emote I figure out how to use a different feature of after effects and it makes the job a little bit easier
before giving my payment information I came out to him to avoid confusion with my legal name being different from the name on my socials. he was very chill about it and always used the right name and pronouns for me whenever he mentions me on stream
fun fact: I was reached out to by another big (brazilian, not in qsmp) youtuber for a commission but I had to refuse because I had too much on my plate already (still do..)
my favorite emotes are the devil one and the nerd one
I made his twitch avatar and banner too! I'm really proud of the avatar. the banner was absolute hell
I'm a lurker (and nowadays a vod watcher since I've been busy w/ uni work) but I do watch every single one of mike's streams, so just know that I'm always seeing you guys use the emotes :3
83 notes
·
View notes
Text
Hirakawa Yuzuki Photobook: Yuzuki
(select pages and translation below)
Publication: May 10, 2024
Hirakawa Yuzuki Interview
-Playing along with my older brother as the youngest child-
I'm originally from Kumamoto. When I was little, I was an active kid who played outside all the time. I'd play baseball, tag, takaoni (another form of tag)…I often followed my older brother and played with him and his friends. Since I was the youngest child, I was allowed to do whatever I wanted (laughs). Speaking of, I asked my mother about the origin of my name "Yuzuki," but apparently, she said there was really no particular reason. She said she chose it because it had a good stroke count. Since a bunch of people tell me it's a good name, I really like it alot.
When I was in elementary and middle school, in addition to playing basketball as part of club activities, I also did various sports related activities, such as beach volleyball, baseball and swimming. My older brother would be doing it, so I'd follow him…or my friends would be doing it, and I admired them…it often started out in a similar way. I didn't do things like abacus when it came to studying activities. One time, I enrolled in cram school during the Summer of my third year of middle school, but I wasn't suited for it, and quit about two months in (laughs). My best grades in school were in gym, Japanese, and social studies. I had been playing the electone for about 10 years since kindergarten, so I had good grades in music. Things like math and science I wasn't good at, if I had to say, I was better at liberal arts. As for what kind of student I was, I was the type of student who didn't go to school much back then (laughs). Those who know me now probably have the impression that I'm "cheerful, innocent, and full of energy," but I wasn't very good at fitting in with others back then. I'd feel hurt by a casual comment, but I couldn't say it clearly to the other person, and so it'd build up more and more…and when someone was angry with me, I sometimes felt as if I was angry with them too. Growing up, I was the type of person who wasn't suited for group living. My mother didn't force me to go to school, but told me, "If you don't want to go, make sure to properly study at home," and so I took occasional breaks. Of course, there were my club friends and close friends, but I was more likely to hang out with people like my older brother's friends, who were older than my classmates.
When I became a high school student, me and those around me became more mature, so I didn't have to be intimidated about fitting in. Furthermore, at the time, I was thinking of finding a job right after graduating high school, so I was conscious that school was more of a place to go to study than a place to have fun. I went to an information related high school, where I was exposed to bookkeeping and became really hooked, so I joined the bookkeeping club in my first year of high school. We couldn't get enough people together, so we couldn't form a club, but a "similar hobby group" (laughs). While I'm not good at math, for some reason, I'm good at calculating money (laughs), so I thought I'd like to become something like a tax accountant or a certified public accountant in the future.
-An audition applied for out of curiosity to go to EXPG, a place I had always dreamed of going to, changed my life forever-
I've always liked LDH's artists, and I used to drag my mother along with me to various live shows. During this, when I was in high school, I learned from a program I was watching at the time called "Weekly EXILE" that they'd be holding auditions for girls for the first time in about seven years. I thought it'd be just singing and dancing anyway, and that I wouldn't have a chance, but they were looking for girls with various dreams, including becoming actresses and models, so I thought, "If that's the case, I probably wouldn't be out of place." It was really more out of curiosity than wanting to be accepted. The venue for the first round was at EXPG STUDIO (dance and vocal school handled by LDH) in Fukuoka, which I had wanted to attend for a long time. Ever since I fell in love with LDH, I was drawn in by their singing and dancing and wanted to attend, but the time and money it would take to commute to Fukuoka made it impossible….So, I was tempted by the idea that if I auditioned, I'd be able to "go to that place that I had always dreamed of." However, with my mother saying she'd buy me clothes for my audition, being able to enter EXPG, which I adored, and being able to go shopping in Fukuoka, I had ulterior motives…I sent in my application just before the deadline since I wasn't sure if I should really apply. I remember taking the photo that seals the application document by propping my phone up against a CD player in my house (*picture on the left side on page 128). I also needed a full body photo, but I didn't have any clean white walls at home, so I used one at a friend's house and had it taken in a hurry…I rushed to prepare the necessary documents and applied. Since it was right in the middle of Summer break, I applied secretly without telling anyone in my class, only my parents knew about it.
After passing the written exam, the practical exam began, but I was surrounded by other girls who had been singing and dancing since they were young. I felt that these girls must've devoted all the time I spent enjoying my hobbies to their dreams, and their enthusiasm was so intense that I sometimes wondered if I was out of place after all. But, it was a miracle that I was even able to be there, so I decided to just enjoy myself. Everything I did was new, and since I had never sung or danced before, it was fun to learn how to do it, and I never forgot that feeling of "having fun" during the audition. In the final round, we were divided into groups and had to perform one song while singing and dancing, which was very difficult. When the screening was over, rather than a desire to pass, I felt a stronger sense of accomplishment, like "you've done well," and when my name was called as a successful applicant, I didn't really understand what was happening. I finally realized for the first time that I had been accepted when I went to the agency with my mother to sign the contract. For the first time, I felt a sense of excitement that I was stepping into the entertainment world, which I always thought was far away.
When I joined the agency, I left my parents home and moved to the capital, and was overwhelmed by the city of Tokyo. I walked from Nakameguro (where the agency is located) to Shibuya through Dogenzaka, and at first I thought the intersection in front of 109 was the scramble intersection that I often see on TV. And then, I went alittle bit further and there were many times more people there, and I was like, "Uwah, it's this way!" (laughs). In the beginning, everything I saw was new to me, and I was always pleased and said "uwah."
Immediately after moving to Tokyo, I took singing, dancing and acting lessons at the agency. In the acting lessons, I had a strong Kumamoto accent, so the first thing I did was fix that. I was also taught other various basics to acting. I started out taking one on one lessons at the agency, but eventually I began attending outside lessons for acting. There, I was with other kids of the same age, and I discovered new things like, "Even with the same script, this kid expresses themself in this way," and my passion for acting grew more and more. I had so much to think about during my life in Tokyo, that I didn't have time to say I was lonely, but the reason I didn't feel lonely was probably because I video called my mother every day. Still, I didn't want my parents to worry, so I didn't complain. I think my mother was probably worried about sending her teenage daughter off to Tokyo by herself. Kumamoto and Tokyo aren't close enough for me to rush over there right away, and I didn't want to cause any unnecessary worrying. That's why I barely talked about work, and just talked about casual things like, "What did you do today?"
My first job was on stage for "Moryo no Hako" with Tachibana Kenchi-san. I had never seen a stage before, so I really couldn't tell right from left in this situation. I started from the very beginning and thought, "What is the stage?" My seniors taught me everything from the basics, such as "this is good and this is bad." In any case, I was desperately trying to hang in there every day. After a month and a half of rehearsals, I took the stage for the first time, and I'll never forget how the audience looked at me and how enthusiastic they were. When I received applause at the curtain call, I was very happy to know that what I was expressing and what we had created together had become one piece of work, and I really felt that "this is how we reached the audience," which made me very happy. From there, I was motivated to work even harder on my acting. I was so frustrated by the anger I felt during rehearsals, that I became fired up and thought, "I never want to lose"…yeah, I think I'm very competitive (laughs).
-This is my last chance, I'll bet it all on a "cool" type of Sentai heroine!-
I played the role of Rita Kaniska, the king and chief judge of Gokkan, the country of ice and snow, in "Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger." I've been doing tokusatsu auditions ever since I joined the agency. I think I've auditioned for both "Kamen Rider" and Sentai about four times. Having auditioned multiple times, the image I had of the female cast was that of "the heroine," with their charming smiles and angelic appearance. But the heroines of King-Ohger were different from the previous ones, and when I received the script on the day of the audition, I thought, "A cool one is here." I thought I was more suited for "cool" than "cute," so I decided, "I'm definitely going to get this!" Rita's gender hasn't been disclosed, but they're like a medieval character. I thought that maybe there wouldn't be another role like this in Sentai for a few more years, so if I missed this chance, I probably wouldn't be able to appear in Sentai.
That's why I locked onto the role of Rita from the beginning. When presenting yourself at an audition, I thought it was normal to mention a special skills, so I announced my morning routine (laughs). I thought that I'd definitely make a better impression on the judges if they remembered me as "the XX kid" rather than my name. That's why I thought it'd be nice to be called "the morning routine kid" and when I said something like, "Every morning, my morning routine is to pick out coffee beans and drip them while having a conversation with the beans," I got them to bite, with them responding, "What, talking to beans?!" (laughs). The conversation expanded from there, and I was told, "Please be yourself, there's no need to pretend," so I approached the role with my "natural character."
When I received the news that I had been chosen, I was truly relieved. There were about five rounds of auditions, so I thought, "If I fail after making it this far, I'll never recover," and I was in a situation where I couldn't even get food down my throat. There was a time before I auditioned for King-Ohger where I thought, "I'm not suited for this kind of job after all." My work was decreasing due to the covid pandemic, and when I was alone, I often thought deeply, wondering if I should go back to my hometown and get a job.
I was thinking of quitting if I didn't get the chance in 2023, but King-Ohger was scheduled for the end of 2022, so I thought, "I can continue this job." I was very happy because I felt that I finally had a grasp of the situation, and I also had a positive feeling that I could work hard again from here. I'm glad that my mother also told me, "Good for you, keep doing your best," which I think reassured me alittle. My mother watched King-Ohger every week and became a regular fan of the show (laughs). She was quicker than I was to get information on merch, and she came to events like G-Rosso. I'll send Rita merch to my parents house, and they'll say, "It'd be cute if they were all lined up together," so they're collecting all the characters themselves (laughs).
-Approaching the character by writing my "heart's voice" in the script.-
The story of King-Ohger is more interesting than anything else. The cast loves King-Ohger so much, that I think the actors themselves are the biggest fans of the show. Everyone looked forward to the next development and eagerly waited for the new script every week, saying, "I can't wait to read the next one!" (laughs). I also really enjoyed playing the character of Rita.
I was careful about many things in my performance, such as my voice and the way I stood. Since only my left eye is the only part of my body that shows facial expressions, some parts are difficult to convey, while other parts can be conveyed too much, so I was especially very concerned about how to handle my gaze. Also, the word "Immovable" was used, so I had to give meaning to "not moving." I thought it wasn't enough to just stand there, so I had to think in detail about it, such as "why not move here?" and "why move here after not moving for so long?" I'm the type of person who writes alot in the scripts, but I wrote what was going on in my mind rather than "I'll do this here." For each line, I imagined things like, "Rita is probably thinking this here, and so they're probably saying this," and then I'd write it down. Rita particularly has alot of emotions packed into short words, so I think that if I don't properly interpret the words in my mind before speaking, my words won't hold any weight. I also made sure that I had a clear understanding of the meaning of words that I normally wouldn't use, such as "perjury," and if it was difficult, I'd replace it with a different word and interpret it in a way that made sure I understood it clearly. Since they're also a presiding judge, I tried to take a variety of approaches in order to accurately convey a sense of dignity and persuasiveness.
The final battle from episodes 48 to 50 hit me all at once. I felt the weight of a year's worth of work, and I was in pain while performing, but I also felt the bond and connection between everyone, and even though there wasn't a part where I would cry, I still cried. In terms of Rita's individual scenes, episode 30, in which the secret of their right eye that they had been hiding for a long time was revealed, left a strong impression on me. I really felt that what Rita had been carrying and what they wanted to protect became clear, and that they became stronger.
It was also a challenge to film, but even after 30 episodes, I was able to discover new things like, "Rita can be this emotional!" This was the starting point to further expand on the character of Rita again in the last 20 episodes. Also, speaking of Rita, they have a habit of yelling when they're annoyed, but in the script it's written as "Ah!" I take care about the number of "A" and "!". Each time, the number written was different. So, when I told the Screenwriter something like, "Since there are so many ! here, I should shout like this?," he was overjoyed and said "You noticed?!" (laughs).
Apparently, he also writes the lines while shouting them, and depending on the tension, he writes it differently, like "Aaahhh!!!!" or "Ah!" (laughs). Such subtle differences were interesting, and I also enjoyed acting out the screaming parts. Another memorable episode was episode 38's audition episode. I saw an unexpected side of Rita, who said, "I'll go to such lengths for this job," and I felt that they had opened a new door. As for myself, when I was first told, "Next time, Rita will become an idol," I thought, "Hmm? How did they become an idol?," but then I was given a video of the dance and was told that I'd also sing. Well, it was like I was just taking on what was handed to me. (laughs). I only had about a year's worth of experience in dance lessons from my agency, but I didn't want to do it half heartedly. I think the image my agency has is that they take pride in dancing, so I did my best not to disgrace LDH's name (laughs). The singing and dancing was challenging, but it had been so long since I performed with my face showing, that I was alittle embarrassed at first. It had probably been about nine months since I performed with my whole face.
That's why it felt abit strange to see my whole face on screen, and I was like "whoa" at first (laughs), but in the end, it was alot of fun. Twin tails and a frilly costume…it's not often in life that you get to dress that cute. More than 100 TTFC members came as extras to play audience members, waving penlights and calling out to me. The special effects were amazing and so authentic that it made me think that I had become an artist.
On the day when we filmed the dance performance, the Director told me to "dance three times," but I was so excited that I got better every time I danced, and I ended up dancing eight times. The Director said, "There's been alittle bit of an increase," but it wasn't just alittle, it was more than twice as much as we had planned! (laughs). But, thanks to that, I think we were able to get some good shots, and I also felt a great sense of accomplishment.
Everyone in the King-Ohger cast got along really well. I'm currently regaining the youth I didn't get to enjoy in my teens (laughs). At the beginning of filming, I was worried about whether I'd get along with everyone, but everyone was so warm and welcoming that I didn't need to worry about it, and it felt like we were family. Everyone was so considerate and kind, and I was truly blessed to be a member of this group. We often went out to dinner after filming, and they were very reliable seniors, so we developed a relationship where we could easily discuss both our private and work related issues. Despite all that, we usually had alot of fun talking about things that we really couldn't do anything about (laughs). On set, when someone would make a joke, someone else would respond to the joke, and there was always alot of noise, but when it came time to perform, it felt like we made a quick switch. I think we were a really good team, and I'll do my best so I can work together with them in other productions in the future.
At the wrap up, everyone was crying quite abit, but I didn't cry. If I cried, it would start a chain reaction and everyone would start crying, so I just kept smiling. For awhile, the Director said to me, "You're not going to cry?" I said, "No, I'll probably cry," but…as I thought, the Director saw right through me. I don't really know why, but…but, when the Director cried while saying that, I was touched and was like, "Director~!" He even joked around saying, "You won't even cry at my tears?" (laughs), but I was actually pretty teary eyed.
I've learned alot over the past year. In the beginning, I was really nervous, to the point where I thought my hands would start shaking when I stood in front of the cameras. But after being in front of the cameras for a year, I feel that I've become less intimidated and have been able to focus 100% on the performance. This was my first time focusing on a single role for such a long period of time, so I learned how to expand on my character, come up with ideas for acting, and gained alot more skills. I was taught from the very beginning how to act, which I had been interested in for a long time, and also how to do the dub recording…I really learned alot of things, and I'm sure that what I've gained here will definitely come in handy in the future.
-My first impressions of the snowy landscape was quite literally, "It's dazzling!"-
The idea of publishing a photo book was mentioned to me casually by my manager during a completely different meeting. They said, "This is totally off topic, but do you want to publish a photo book or calendar?" When I heard that they were interested in a project, I asked for it with, "Definitely!" In our meeting to discuss the concept, I expressed "my wish to see snow," since I myself am from Kyushu and had never seen a snow covered landscape. Since Rita, the character I was playing at the time, was king of the country of ice and snow, I thought it'd be a good idea to use "snow" as a theme, and the location for the shoot turned out to be Akita.
When I actually saw the snowy landscape in Akita, I thought the snow was dazzling. I had never been exposed to light reflecting off snow, so at first my eyes weren't completely annoyed by that pure whiteness. But thanks to that, I think my skin looked nice and beautiful (laughs). Some of the snow had piled up quite abit, so I enjoyed flopping and rolling around in the snow, something I'd never have been able to normally do. There are some shots of me just having fun, so be sure to check them out (laughs). The sight of snow on the mountains was also something you don't see in Kyushu. It was so beautiful, that it cleansed my soul. I also made and ate kiritanpo by myself. I love rice and hot pots, so I enjoyed it tremendously. I never had a chance to visit the north before, but when I went to Tohoku for the first time, with delicious food and beautiful scenery, I thought it was the best. Lake Tazawa was so spectacular that it was like being overseas (laughs). It made me realize that there are also alot of beautiful places in Japan, and it made me want to travel around the country.
In addition to Akita, we also had the opportunity to shoot at "AMAZING COFFEE" (coffee shop produced by EXILE TETSUYA, also known as AMECO) in Tokyo. Previously, there was a period of time where I did a societal study at AMECO, where I learned alot about coffee there. Personally, I've always been a coffee lover, but there are many staff members at AMECO who know coffee inside and out, and many customers come to AMECO for that quality. So, I learned more about coffee than ever before. Now, I have fans who say things like, "When you think of Yuzuki-chan, you think of coffee," and people I meet say, "You love coffee, right?" I feel that it's become recognized that coffee is my hobby.
The photos here are the ones of me seriously facing the coffee and just enjoying latte art (laughs).
This time, the makeup artist did alot of creative styling with my short hair, and the style without bangs was very fresh. The costumes all had things I liked, so it was hard to choose. Also, the photographer, Mae Kosuke-san, was a very nice person who really helped me out. Even though I'm used to being in front of cameras, I still get nervous when taking still photos (laughs). Mae-san relieved me of that problem in a good way, so I was able to relax and feel at ease. The photographer, stylist, makeup artist…everyone created a great atmosphere that helped me relax during the shoot, so I'm very grateful.
-The "it's okay to express yourself more" that my friends in King-Ohger told me-
Acting allows me to experience many things that I could never experience in my own life, and above all else, I love the time I spend facing my roles. I've enjoyed the past year very much, so I'd like to continue to face different roles, absorb various things, and discover my potential and new sides of myself. I'd like to try anything, regardless of genre, whether it be film, stage plays, or voice work. In terms of expression, I've been doing some occasional modeling work, so I hope to expand that as well.
The roles I'd like to play in the future are ones of working women, such as a police officer or firefighter. I'd like to continue to do action, so I'd like to play cool roles that make use of those skills. I also really want to wear a uniform. I'm embarrassed to imagine a romantic role, but I'd like to play the role of a best friend position, someone who assists the main character in their love. Something like…"Actually, I'm in love with the same person the heroine is in love with, but my friend talked to her about it, so I can't confess anymore." I'd like to play a role in such a sad position like that. There are things like "getting together someday" right? (laughs). I'd like to play a role that makes people think, "I wish that girl had gotten what she deserved."
Now that King-Ohger is over, I'm currently in a period of taking occasional breaks.
When I'm at home, what do I do…as expected, I often immerse myself in making coffee at home. I'm not good at switching between emotions, so in a positive sense, I use coffee like a switch. I often brew it when I'm motivated for things like, "Let's do the laundry now," or when I need to take a breather and immerse myself with, "Now it's time to relax." And then there are times when I just feel relieved (laughs). There are times when I just sit on the sofa for two hours without watching TV, listening to music, or looking at my phone, and just stare at a single spot (laughs). Hearing this might make you worried, but since I talk alot outside of home, I'm very quiet at home. On days off, I don't say a single word, and I seem to unconsciously create time to be relieved and think about nothing. Something I consciously do as a mood changer is to go for a walk. When I set out, I can leave all kinds of things behind. If I'm thinking about something at home or on my way home, I end up remembering it when I arrive at the same spot. For example, if I sit on the sofa and reflect on something that went wrong, the next day when I sit on the same sofa again, it's like the bad thoughts I had yesterday come back to haunt me. That's why I'll do something like stretch my legs and get out of my comfort zone, throw away my frustrations, and go home. I'm like, "Don't come here anymore!" (laughs).
I guess what I value in life is thinking about the feelings of others. I'll think about what the other person would think if I said "this"…I place great importance on understanding and trying to pick up on the feelings of others. I'm mindful of being considerate to those around me as to not be selfish. In the past, I used to take it too far and become overly concerned about what others thought, but the members of King-Ohger told me, "We think it's okay to express yourself more." That's why I thought I'd try my best to be myself in a way that wouldn't make the other person feel uncomfortable. Right now, I'm in the process of growing up and trying to find the right adjustments (laughs).
Finally, I'd like to thank all of my fans for their support.
Thank you for picking up this photo book. I always receive alot of love from you all through SNS and fan letters, and this is the driving force behind my activities. I've only ever been given energy, smiles, and courage from everyone, so I'd like to give alot back in return. I'd be happy if you'll continue to support me going forward. I'm also looking forward to seeing tons of feedback on the photo book!
#yuzuyan I'm a forever fan 🥺#yuzuki hirakawa#hirakawa yuzuki#ohsama sentai kingohger#kingohger#rita kaniska#rita kanisuka#my scans#my translation#toku cast#super sentai cast#kingohger cast#ohsama sentai king ohger#king ohger#tokusatsu#interview#the photos of her wearing overalls were my favorite#her short hair really suits her face#the interview also made me emotional#I'm so glad she was picked for rita
57 notes
·
View notes
Text
PICK A CARD reading
Messages from your Higher Self
Pile 1 -> Pile 2
Pile 3 -> Pile 4
Deck used: Seasons of the Witch Beltane Oracle
TIPS | BOOK A READING WITH ME | PATREON | LINKTREE | SUGGEST A PAC TOPIC
Pile 1
Oracle
"Spirits of other worlds: tell me tales of the unknown, tell me tales of the forbidden."
Hi pile 1! Your Higher Self really wants you to tune in to your intuition. Listen to what your guides are trying to tell you and don't doubt yourself so much. Yes, it's important to exercise discernment when it comes to the magical, but you shouldn't doubt yourself all the time. Sometimes the messages that you receive are simpler than what you make them out to be.
Most of all, pile 1, your Higher Self wants you to focus on honing in your intuition (be it through learning tarot, using a pendulum or paying attention to your dreams). This is because your Higher Self really wants to talk to you directly, your guides have a lot to teach you, but that information needs to flow directly between you and your guides.
What you also need to know, pile 1, is that your guides and ancestors are on your side and they want to help you. Simply ask for their help with the problems that are troubling you and you shall receive.
Pile 2
The Lovers
"Love lulls all sorrow and bewitches flesh, mind and breath, reminding me that I am unafraid of the unfurling winds of my eternity."
Hi there, pile 2! Your Higher Self really wants to put you at ease here. They want to tell you that you are safe and you can relax now. Trust that everything is okay for now - and if for some of you it isn't, trust that it will be okay for a while. There's a feeling here of deep relaxation, it's like your image, swimming calmly in a pond.
This is also the card of vulnerability, so you are being told that in order to forge deep connections you need to be vulnerable. You don't need to be invincible all of the time. In fact, you just can't. Learn to lean on others for support and don't be ashamed to ask for help when you need it. I know that it hasn't always been easy, but the people who love you really do want to help you and support you. They want to feel that you need them too.
When you manage to be vulnerable is when you can really show who you are to other people without fear. This vulnerability doesn't need to be just about your personal relationships, but it could also be about your work. Let's say that you are an artist, but you don't want to share your art because you are afraid of being judged. Your Higher Self wants to encourage you to do either way, in spite of that, because you will learn something from it.
Pile 3
Wildcat
"Be still and tune in, for there is something afoot lurking alongside you."
Hi, pile 3! The Wildcat is the card of danger, but don't sound the alarms right away. Your Higher Self isn't saying that you are in danger, but that you should be aware of what is happening around you. Not just your surroundings, but also your relationships, work or school life.
With this card it's possible that someone's hiding something from you. This could be something as simple as a surprise birthday party or the fact that someone has been talking behind your back.
Most of all though, your Higher Self wants you to be more present. If it's something that you enjoy or are interested in, why don't you try to do a bit of meditation? If that isn't really for you, I'd recommend you research and try some grounding techniques.
Another message from your Higher Self is that you need to spend more time in nature. Go for a walk or sit on a bench in the park and just listen and observe. Listen to the birds or other nature sounds around you. Observe what's happening around you, do you recognize the plants you see? If it's safe touch them, what do they feel like? It's really important that you tune in with nature right now.
Pile 4
Sacred Waters
"Drunken by the swell of the sea, I can feel the blanket of her embrace. Unafraid of the presence releasing the cords, I call her in, I call her deeply within."
Hi, pile 4! This is the card of healing. Your Higher Self wants you to let go of the things that have hurt you in the past and allow yourself to heal. Your guides want to tell you that they care so much about you, they see you and they want to help you as much as they can. Just like with pile 2, don't be afraid of asking them for help.
This is a period of healing and change for you pile 4. As you accept your past you begin to feel more at ease with your present. The song "Never let me go" by Florence and the Machine just came to my mind. This might represent a bit of how you have been feeling. And now, I just heard "What the water gave me" also by Florence. This pile has a very strong Star energy. There's this sense of deep hurt here, but finally feeling hopeful that it might turn out fine. I also think that you guys also really love music - it might be a way for you to process things - because I keep getting songs in my head. I think I'm going to leave you guys a little playlist at the end of your reading.
A very important message that I'm getting is that your Higher Self is asking you to please be gentle with yourself. Be gentle with the things you say and think about yourself and please, please don't be hard on yourself when you don't manage to live up to your own standards. This is a time for healing.
Never Let Me Go - Florence and the Machine
What The Water Gave Me - Florence and the Machine
Quarter Past Four - Avriel and the Sequoias
Youth - Daughter
Standing By - Pentatonix
Ophelia - The Lumineers
270 notes
·
View notes
Text
Namjoon gave an interview to El Pais in Spain and I wanted to share the translation of the interview for those who may not understand Spanish.
Question. The track opens with the lines: "Fuck the trendsetter / I'm going back to the age of 9 / when I was more human". Does the stratospheric success of K-pop dehumanise the artist?
Answer. You start your career very early and as part of a group. There's not a lot of time to be an individual, but that's what makes K-pop shine: very young people, trying very hard at the same time…. You generate energy that you only have in your twenties. You fight day and night to perfect the choreography, the videos, the music, and there's an explosion, a big bang. From 20 to 30, we put all the energy and time we had into BTS. You get success, love, influence, power, and after that? The root of it all remains: the music… What was the question?
Q. Does the system dehumanise?
A. My company doesn't like the way I answer this question, because I partly admit it and then the journalists throw their hands on their heads, "it's a horrible system, it destroys the young people! But it's partly what makes this such a special industry. And things have improved a lot, in terms of contracts, money, education, there are now teachers, psychologists...
Q. Korean record companies train their artists for years, you lived with your peers from 16 to 19 before your debut as BTS in 2013. What did your parents say?
A. My mother spent two years, "Go back to school, you were so good at it, go your way, go to university, make music a hobby!"…. But there was no going back.
Q. The biggest lesson from your time as an apprentice?
A. Dancing. I was incapable.
Q. And what did you miss out on by being one?
A. College life.
Q. The cult of youth, the cult of perfection, the cult of K-pop overexertion? Are these Korean cultural traits?
A. In the West, people just don't get it. Korea is a country that has been invaded, razed to the ground, torn in two. Just seventy years ago there was nothing. We were getting aid from the IMF and the UN. But now, the whole world is looking at Korea. How is that possible, how did that happen? Because people are working fucking hard to improve themselves. You're in France or the UK, countries that have been colonising other countries for centuries, and you come to me and say "oh God, you put so much pressure on yourselves, life in Korea is so stressful". well, yes. That's how you get things done. And it's part of what makes K-pop so appealing. Of course, there are shadows, everything that happens too fast and too intensely has side effects.
Q. What is the biggest prejudice about K-pop?
A. That it's prefabricated.
Q. What would your career have been like if you had developed it on the alternative circuit or in another country?
A. I think about the multiverse a lot, and the lesson of Doctor Strange is always the same: your version of the universe is the best possible one, don't think of others. There is nothing better than being a member of BTS.
Q. Did you imagine this version?
A. Not at all. My dream was not to be a K-pop idol. I wanted to be a rapper, and before that, a poet.
Q. Your influences include rappers like Nas and Eminem, groups like Radiohead and Portishead, but you never mention boy bands.
A. The Beatles were also called boy band... I'm not comparing us, they were the creators of everything. But I guess you mean NSYNC or New Kids on the Block: bands whose pop music I actually liked, although I wasn't a super fan… What got me was rap: rhythm plus poetry.
Q. You say you get jealous of who you admire, for example?
A. Kendrick Lamar, always. And Pharrell Williams. He's living history, I'd like to be one too, maybe in the future. That's why I don't paint, to be jealous of Picasso or Monet would be too much.
Q. You do collect, how do you choose the pieces?
A. I've only been collecting for four years and I've been changing. My focus is 20th-century Korean art. But I'm not Getty or Rockefeller…
Q. You don't do it to invest.
A. I guarantee it. If I wanted to invest, I would buy black artists, women artists, emerging Indonesian artists… My goal is to open a small exhibition space in about 10 years because I think Seoul needs a place with a young taste, but respectful of the Korean legacy, to which I would also like to bring artists like Roni Horn, Antony Gormley or Morandi.
Q. Have you always had the collector's bug?
A. I've collected toys, little cars or Takashi Murakami figures, then vintage clothes, then furniture, I love Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret [both collaborators with Le Corbusier], but my favourite is George Nakashima.
Q. On your album there are songs from very different genres, some critics say it's inconsistency, others say versatility…
A. I think the word genre will disappear in a few decades. R&B, Hyperpop, Jersey Club, UK Drill, Chicago Drill, K-pop! They don't mean anything. Music is an accumulation of frequencies that makes people get into a certain mood.
Q. Are you fed up with the "K-" label?
A. You could get sick of Spotify calling us all K-pop, but it works. It's a premium label. The guarantee of quality that our grandparents fought for.
Q. Your album features Anderson Paak, Youjeen and the elusive Erykah Badu, how did he convince you?
A. She knew BTS because her daughter is a fan, but that's not enough. I had to persuade her, I sent her a text with Yun's story explaining why I needed her wise queen voice for those verses.
Q. You mix English and Korean sometimes in the middle of a line, how do you decide?
A. Words in different languages have different textures; the same message, with a different brushstroke. It comes naturally to me. I don't play instruments, I compose and create melodies with my voice, which is my instrument and most of my songs start with words.
Q. You have also gone through several identities, as a teenage rapper you were Runch Randa, then in BTS Rap Monster and then RM (for Real Me). Have you thought about using your real name?
A. [laughs] We all have a past, a dark history, we say in Korea. Runch Randa was my nickname in a role-playing game, then I wanted to be, you know, "a rap monster!″, then I matured… I prefer my name to be known by as few people as possible, I'm not John Lennon, Paul McCartney, I can check into a hotel quietly and I like that.
Q. You've also changed a lot in the way you dress.
A. I went through XXL T-shirts and baseball caps. Then I got into high-end brands… Like Rap Monster, I started wearing only black and white [rolls his eyes and shrugs]. Now I'm interested in timelessness, I don't go for trends, I look for vintage jeans, cotton t-shirts, natural things, that don't scream "hey, I'm here".
Q. Rumour has it that you are going to collaborate with Bottega Veneta, whose fashion show you have just been invited to in Milan.
A. I would love to. Although I've lost interest in brands, in fashion weeks and that constant change of Pantone… Bottega is different, they don't use logos, they have a history with fabrics and leather, they don't even have Instagram, they are beyond fads and fashions.
Q. How heavy is it to have an army of fans?
A. You can't walk around in the middle of nowhere without being recognised and the standards to which you are subject weigh heavily. But you have to grow up and deal with it, not be pitiful like "oh, I just want to be normal". Look, if you want to think fame is a rock, it's a fucking rock, but for me, it's given me what I was looking for: to get influence and financial freedom as quickly as possible to make the music I want to make without worrying about the charts… I'm not there 100%, but I try to focus on the noise inside, not the noise outside.
Q. And how are you facing your thirties?
A. I've never experienced such a confusing time. For a decade I was the leader of BTS, and it was very stable and fun, always going up. In 2023 a lot of things have changed, professionally and personally, although I can't tell. As I'm about to turn 30, I like myself more than I did when I was 20. Now I will spend a year and a half in military service, which is very important in every Korean man's life. And after that, I am sure I will be a different human being, hopefully, a better and wiser one.
423 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
lyllxplayz
OH NO! IT'S AN ARTIST!
justkeepbreathing101-blog
A Day in the Life of Me.
finalhomearchive-blog
FINAL HOME ARCHIVE
tomydarling
題名未設定
celestialkangin
Kim Youngwoon