there must be flowers, always.

Well I really love your art, may I ask how do u color? I struggle with coloring turtles and I wasn't to know how do u do that?

Hi anon! That's a very broad question, so you've given me a great excuse to ramble anything I want about my coloring, eehehehee~! This will be in two parts and I'll start with talking about my simpler coloring style.

As in, when I color characters on a white background, with a limited or light palette.

The driving force behind this style is me being lazy. My time, energy, and attention span are pretty limited, so if I want to finish anything, I gotta do it fast. And with fanart, I'm usually just doing it for fun and relaxation, so there's no need to push myself to polish it too much.

Despite that, I rarely post just black and white sketches or line arts. I always try to add at least a little bit of toning or shading, because that makes the image easier to read. The characters and their shapes pop out and catch the eye of the viewer better.

However, in this particular example, just the couple toning colors don't quite do the job. The way Don and Leo are entangled makes the center area of this illustration very busy and hard to read.

As a comparison; this pic has only one tone + mask colors, and it works. This is because all the characters are standing separately and their poses are very stationary and simple.

So for the Don + Leo pic, adding some shadows helps in bringing out shapes and depths. Also in general, if you don't feel like drawing BGs, it's good to at least add a shadow below the characters. It grounds them and makes them feel like they exist within a space.

Sometimes if the posing looks too complex and busy, it might just be best to color in the characters fully.

However, even if I do full flat colors, I tend to use a lighter palette. Putting characters in their neutral/default color on a white BG can look a bit jarring as if they're floating in a void. It feels less immersive and like the picture is unfinished.

Using lighter colors makes the image more cohesive, and fits the characters into the white environment a bit more naturally.

If I'm too lazy to draw a BG, I prefer using stylized and limited colors. It feels deliberate and that the whiteness is just part of the palette, whereas the character-accurate colors on white don't match as well, even if they're more pastel.

That being said, there's nothing wrong with just slapping the flat-colored characters on a white background. As you know, I do it too. I'm just exposing my 'fancy coloring style' for what it is; me being lazy, hah!

Limited and monochromatic palettes are a nice shortcut even when you do actual backgrounds. It's faster and you don't have to worry about clashing colors. And you can still convey atmosphere and mood.

Also, on the topic of conserving your time and efforts; I think it's very common among younger/less experienced artists to think that the amount of time you spend on your art piece = how good and well received that piece will be.

Which has some merit to it of course, but it can lead to putting too much effort into areas where it's not necessary. E.g. filling the piece with tons of details and clutter that don't serve an actual purpose, but rather make the image hard to read. Or doing really complicated shading for a meme/comic, where simplicity would deliver the joke better.

So whenever I'm drawing something I intend to publish, whether it's a quick doodle or a more polished piece, I try to follow these two principles: Make it easily readable and do the bare minimum that needs to be done to convey what I want to convey.

Putting time into practice is important, but if you draw for work, it's also crucial that you know how to prioritize and use your time efficiently!

Anyway, thanks for reading! In the next part I'll go into how I do my fully colored pieces, so stay tuned for that!

FORGOTTEN LAND'S SECOND ANNIVERSARY :3

I AM SOOOO BACK

I started this drawing yesterday around afternoon and finished it just a few minutes earlier.

I went with a messier type of drawing instead of more clean like the elfilin one from yesterday, i find it fun doing it like this, mostly cause i dont have to worry about making it perfectly so i dont get as frustrated as normal. Id place this one as my second best digital drawing. im pretty sure i havent posted what i consider my best digital drawing here, tho i do have it in instagram, i might post it here one day, tho these two are way too tied up, i love how this came out, its not exactly like how i imagined it but its really close to it, and also itd say that since i dont tend to play around lighting that much, this was such a joy to draw and i cant help but stare at it a lot, at least until i start hating it because i made quite a lot of errors. i also changed my elfilis gijinka just a tad bit from last time, but its not that big of a difference, mostly.

ofc i had to draw elfilis for forgotten land's anniversary, i tend to deny it in my head but yeah they're my fave of the kirby characters even tho i hate them a bit. I wanted to draw some more doodles, like, elfilis eating cake, kirby car, a bunch of other stuff (not elfilin cuz i already drew him yesterday) but when i tried i couldnt draw anything more, guess this drawing burned me out a lot, huh?

you can definitly tell i spent all the efforts on him cuz if you look a bit closer to the bottom part you'll see its almost barely detailed, but i mean, they're the focus so make sense i guess for me not add that much detail there. um also, maybe because i dunno i had OVER 130 LAYERS jeez no wonder firealpaca was slowing down so much, i need to manage my layers better next time, tho i did do something i keep forgetting, wich is naming them (most of them at least) that was a real life saver

Also, antares (fecto elfilis' spear/cadaceus), as always, was a pain to draw, but this time its probably been draw the most accurate out of every other drawing ive made with it in it, i didnt notice it was like, a little curved when it reached the blade

some close ups since his face is a bit hard to see

silly :3

fun fact! actually, this is technically a redraw, somewhere around between february and march i started a fecto elfilis drawing for the first anniversary, but i couldnt finish it in time, and i never finished it

thats...quite the improvement! (i remember being so proud of it)

also his wings are like that cuz i did not want to draw the pattern, its way too hard, i literally copy pasted it, wait, i was talking about the 2024 version but i looked at the 2023 one and i just noticed it also has the pattern copy pasted, i guess some stuff never changes since i still abuse the ctrl+c ctrl+v to this day

Also i ended up making a huge error there, i was planing to add the phantom spears from orbital pulsar (the attack he does first when you battle them at lab discovera) but theres an innacuracy, when they do the attack, they always close their eyes, i had actually sketched him (well i mean both these drawings are basically the first sketch (2023) or second sketch(2024) with some color, shadows and lighting. i didnt do lineart in the 2024 one cuz i wanted to be a bit like the og i made (too bad i sketched that one with black since the og was sketched with white due to me drawing the bg first)) with his eyes closed but them decided to make them open for a reason i cant remember, maybe i thought itd look nicer? idk

ive had the idea of redrawing this for quite some month now so it was kinda already planned

background cuz i think it came out really pretty

doesnt have the little stars since without elfilis and the structures it looks fucked up. the actual sky in game is more blue, but the clouds have some orange, in the 2023 ver. i made the sky orange, and in the 2024 ver i wanted it more accurate, but i didnt wanna loose the orange sky, so i did a gradient. pretty...

also here's a screenshot i took when i was like halfway trough it, its barely noticeable but i changed his mouth in the final drawing

I really love katfl, like a buncha whole lot, its basically almost my first mainline kirby game. 100% the demo, finished the game in almost one day, i literally play it monthly, like, every month i put the card in my switch, start it up, get morpho sword, and go shred elfilis in lab discovera. i would probably not even be here on tumblr and the kirby fandom if it werent for it. and i love it so much i genuinly cannot express how much i like it and treasure it with words or anything

Thank you for reading my unnecesarily long rambles lol

I hope i'll post tomorrow and dont forget like usual

Jambuhbye!

So a review on Helluva boss So2 ep 6

Ok so gonna break this review down into positives and negatives with my additional thoughts.

Positives:

So always start off with this, big props and love to the animation team we know know and see your struggle working under Vivienne and animating her over-complicated designs. Props to the BG team really stunning backgrounds, was actually a bit over the top for me (Ozzie's palace and especially the dildo factory shit was moving way too fast) but did pause to have a look at the BGs it is really pretty, the shit pacing made everything a visual blur tho.

VA work stunning love always a joy to hear Alex and James in any VA work tho Fizz's song was eyyy not the best but don't blame Alex it was a shittly written song in general especially when it went to the heavy metal part, overstimulating af and again shit pacing during the song and the flashing visuals gave me a headache. Striker's new VA, Ed's voice really grew on me he should've been Striker in the 1st place because I know for a fact Norman couldn't reprise his role for future episodes.

I loved Ozzie and Fizz's relationship especially the end scene where you can see Ozzie development or got hold of the best technology to give Fizz functional limbs, was a tender scene their relationship and interactions made me smile. I'll give Viv 1 ty for not fucking up their relationship, ty Viv (I can be nice to her :). Tho 1 scene that bothered me... the 12 sec Ozzie dong scene 💀 my soul it was just so jarring especially with the fast pacing. Felt like a race car coming to an immediate stop then speeding off again. Would've like the scene replaced with Fizz telling Bliz something nice about Ozzie, why Fizz likes him. I'm tired of queer couples/pairings in this show describing their partner in 2 ways, 1. how good they are in bed or 2. they got x anatomy that's amazing. But its Viv writing this ep, sigh her and her damn middle school sex jokes I'll let it slide.

Now negatives:

I said it before I'll say it for all eternity, the pacing was dogshit bad oh my soul wtf... Viv, Adam whoever I know you guys don't listen to criticism but if any criticism you take fix your damn pacing 😑. I had to pause multiple times just to see what has happening, what was said, what this paper/sign etc said. It was bad, and that paired with the overdetailed BGs and character designs, for the 1st time ever I got overstimulted from a HB ep and had to take a 5 min break to rest my eyes (was by Fizz's song). Its a noisey spinning kaleidoscope this ep, so unpleasant and its all pacing. Stay on certain scenes a bit longer and allow the audience to take in the scene before them (that flackback scene) its makes a difference. If you get overwhelmed/overstimlated ect by such visuals I recommend watching the leaked episode its much better in terms of pacing since its mostly storyboards and there is no color, plus its just the VAs talking with no background music and zero to minimal sound effects.

I didn't care for Crimson in this episode, I know he became Viv's favorite 😒 but seeing this fucker back so soon, it wasn't enjoyable, especially since the only reason he's in this ep is for a "big score" 😑. Also I'm tired of this over convenient plots, Fizz so happened to be in the greed ring and so happened to run into Blitz and Striker so happened to be in greed meeting with Crim who need a man for a "big score" AND SO HAPPENED Striker sees Fizz/Blitz fighting outside the window 🙃. Its all too convenient for me it takes me out and I then think how the plot coming together is ridiculous.

Striker is so under utilized. Since Viv hates him (confirmed by sources I can't pull now apologies) and she wrote this episode, everything established of Striker in So1 is destroyed. He's a husk of his intended character, all talk no show, a misogynistic clown who you can see Viv has no care writing him properly because she doesn't like him which is fucking horrible, this woman will butcher an integral villian, one with a good motivation (he hates blue-bloods) all because "oh I don't like him he's not in my fav OC list", petty af.

Fizz's disability and how its handled, spoke about it in this post:

It still remains the same though now we see it wasn't Wally holding the cake just some other imp and the card Bliz made for Fizz was a love confession still doesn't justify his reaction shoving the imp and his still underlying jealousy of Fizz since they were young. Yes it was backing off from a love confession/ashamed he's not as good a performer as Fizz, Blitz was jealous of Fizz. Made another post saying how I like how Fizz sees his disability, he's content, happy, has Ozzie who understands him and even made/went out his way to get Fizz the best prosthetics to better his quality of life, I like that good on Fizzy :).

5. Going to be a separate long post on (ಠ_ಠ) Blitz, THE FUCKING BIRD IS BACK 💀💀💀 why your rotisserie chicken ass not in hospital or we just skipping past that and how Viv keeps I'm gonna say it, forcing her characters to have daddy issues by writing this fucking irritating basic fanfic trope of killing the mother offscreen/not having the mother in the picture/us seeing her face. A commenter pointed this out and it irritates me because its the 3rd time she does this, she show Tilla (Blitz's mom) in pictures, you think there would be an episode revolving around Blitz's childhood etc but no she's "in" a fast paced pitty party flashback. This woman really can't show an ounce of respect to any female characters.

This is all for now, will be making more posts the more this ep settles in.

Score: 4.7/10

WIP Wednesday

Tagged by @greypetrel @layalu @daggerbean and @zenstrike (Zen, I've decided I'm just going to post all fic things on this blog from now on, but I will post something that isn't Dragon Age c:)

Tagging @ndostairlyrium @heniareth @pinayelf @buchimgay @brother-genitivi @jtownnn @dreadfutures @inquisimer

I don't have a picture right now, but I've gotten the first two rows of purple onto the Leliana scarf and I'm really pleased with how the color looks so far! It's been really nice to do something with my hands in the evening, especially since I got hooked on a DND show I can watch at the same time.

Here are a snippet from some Mass Effect fic I'm still playing around with, then a bit from a BG piece I've been working on the last month or so.

From "Sure As Night," a ME WIP (535 Words):

The hum of the elevator to Shepard’s cabin had become familiar and comforting, in an odd way. 

The rest of the ship sounded just slightly off to Garrus. It’d taken plenty of hits after they’d gone through the relay, had almost certainly taken some damage from that final blast. The Normandy wasn’t actively falling apart or neither of them would be up here, but the sound of the engine was just one more thing that was…off. Or maybe Garrus was just hearing things. Wouldn’t be the first time in the past few months. 

But her elevator sounded exactly the same as always. It was…nice, for one thing to stay the same.

“Shepard?” he called. After a moment, the door unlocked and slid open. 

It was not immediately apparent where she was when he stepped inside. Garrus glanced at the trail of water on the floor and followed it to the couch in the next room (top notch detective skills there; wouldn’t his father be proud of him now?). He saw Shepard as soon as he walked down the stairs, sprawled over the couch with her feet braced on the bulkhead. Her hair was tousled and darker than usual, water droplets clung to her exposed shoulders, and the rest of her torso was wrapped in a towel. 

“Hey there,” she said, and Garrus blinked down at her. 

“And here I was coming in to give a formal report,” he said drily. She grimaced and pushed herself up, raking her hair away from her face. 

“Tell me that’s a joke,” she said. “Don’t think I can handle another emergency right now.”

She could, of course. They both knew that if there had been an emergency, she’d bolt out of here as quickly as she could and handle it. It’s who she was, after all. 

“You ask the engineers, it’s all an emergency,” he told her. “But I think they’ll hang on for a little longer or Ken would be talking less.”

Shepard snorted and shifted aside, glancing at the open space beside her. 

Well. He could take a hint. He just hoped she wasn’t about to tell him that last night had been a mistake. He’d been thinking about it plenty since then and he’d reached an entirely different conclusion. Racing through destruction with the expectation of certain death could do that to a person. 

Garrus passed the last step and settled beside her as best he could. He still wasn’t used to the human preoccupation with these squishy pieces of furniture. Didn’t they ever get stuck? He always felt like he’d sink all the way to the floor if he sat back too far. He considered telling her this to break the tension and discarded the idea immediately. He could definitely manage better than that.

“How’s the arm?” she asked him, nudging the arm in question. Garrus shrugged and rolled his shoulder experimentally. After taking a rocket to the face, he’d found that his scale for pain was kind of shot. He hadn’t even realized there was something wrong with it before Chakwas had insisted on scanning him. 

“I’ve had worse,” he told her, and she snorted. 

“Tough guy, huh?” she asked. 

“Something like that,” he paused. “And you? You took a few shots yourself.”

“I’ll survive,” Shepard said, looking at him sidelong, and smiled.

And (with a very different tone!) from a piece I am working on for Tav (234 Words):

Hope; a curious thing. She had been bereft of it for so long that its touch burned her then. 

“Be welcomed, faithful paladin,” Lathander had said. “Be free of the bonds that held you. ”

“My Lord, I will serve you for all my days,” she had told him, and only knew that she was weeping when the droplets struck the hands she’d clenched below.. 

She had never been touched like this. Nobody had ever been touched like this, she was certain of that. 

“You are mine now. The past is done,” he said. “Name yourself to me, Oathsworn.”

Octavia fell away, dead at last and free to rest. The woman she left behind took a deep breath. She had been a child once, and loved. Her family—her family had called her a silly nickname, coined by a brother with too few teeth to say her real one properly. She had left them behind too young, had left behind any hope of belonging somewhere at the same time. 

But—she belonged here now. She belonged to Lathander, as she had once belonged to her family. 

“Tavitha Hallowthorn,” she whispered. “I am Tavitha.” 

“Tavitha,” the god said, already dissipating into countless flecks of light, each of them composed of all the shades of every perfect sunrise. “Be welcome.”

Octavia was dead. Tavitha bowed her head before her god and knew herself for the first time in a very, very long time.

How do you get ideas and colors for your art? I can only ever think of backgroundless straight forward posing, Its impossible to think of settings or colors or angles anymore.

Ahhh that's a good question!! I struggled with that as well, for a time, and it really sucks when you love a character, and you try to draw them, and instead of a whole character it's like, just their design. I think a lot of ideas and decisions in my art come from 3 sources: action, emotion, and visual inspiration.

For me, the biggest switch in the direction of better framing and posing came with understanding that a character in art always needs an action to be doing. Action is the most direct way the internal life of a character expresses itself. It explores their motivation, desire, their drive... It doesn't have to be dynamic, mind you - having a prop to interact with is great, but the action can be 'sleeping', 'waiting', 'looking', 'posing' even (might sound counterintuitive, but it explores a lot about characters self-perception and self-presentation. fun stuff!)

Just coming up with an action offers a lot of posing and background solutions for your piece.

Colors and composition often come from emotion that I want to express. Facial expressions are important, but they are really just one of your tools. There are a lot of universal visual shortcuts, but I find that the most interesting ideas come from looking into the associations you have with a particular feeling. They don't necessarily have to be super creative - I, for one, often use green plants as a shortcut for peace and safety, or night sky in bg to create a feeling of intimacy. But I think they work, and they don't look corny because they are authentic to how I see the world, you know? I don't put plants in my pieces because I think it's the right thing to do, I do it because it feels right.

So that's a good way to dig for ideas too: think of an emotion you want to express, think of something that makes you feel the feeling, or something about how you feel it, or how you express it... then give it to your character! :)

The visual inspirations is.. ngl it's one of those things that you don't look for, it just comes to you sometimes. Like that inspo I had for the wuthering heights illustration, you know? Sometimes I just see a beautiful reflection of a ray of light coming into a room, or a silhouette of a sleeping beauty in the veins of the marble, or the way the curtain colors the light falling on someone's cheek and I just feel like I need to put it in my art because the sight of it is so beautiful!

So these are my sources... mostly just one of them is enough to make me want to draw something, and other elements of the pieces come in the process. Don't overthink it!! Ideas can feel a little silly, but that's one of the most difficult and most important things with your them - not to judge! Just try them out :)

Anyways, this is already more writing that I'm comfortable doing... but I hope this helps anon and let me know if you have any more questions!!

Reviewing GG character design part #1 GG 1998 Axl

I chose him first because he's the best char obviously.

Hear me out. Character design is not meant to be appealing to all viewers, they are meant to tell you about the character. If it end up being appealing to you, it's for a personal reason. FGs will, obviously, try to be as appealing as possible with their character menu for you to choose the most appetizing because they need money from your horniness and devotion. But despite all that capitalism mindset, the idea is always to explore the origin, personality, preferences and such, from the respective character.

I will try to separate it into some sections that are relevant, such as: 1. What does it tell about their personality (in Axl's case, British) 2. Is it visually appealing to some extend? (a bit more personal from an artistic pov) 3. Is it actually PRACTICAL realistically speaking? (a bit more logical from a "would anyone actually use this to fight?) and etc.

I was actually considering putting every GG game in this post, but it would take way too long and be boring to read, I think.

GG 1998

This design is quite interesting and pleasant. I see that many of us, Axlettes (this sound literally like a pokemon name, but I will stick to that for serious reasons) seem to like this one.

What does it tell you about Axl?

He's British.

just kidding. Actually... not entirely. He has that damned flag on his boots' tip, and it's a detail that really does tell you where he is from, specially in a game where you won't hear him s'peakin like di's mate. I'm not including his stage bg of course, but exclusively what you can tell by simply looking at him. He wears some grunge/punk-like bracelets, which makes him look like... well, a punk. The bandana he wears, his choice of weapon, his torn sleeves, and even the fact that his eyebrows aren't visible, gives you the impression of someone dangerous, someone you would easily see on a gang. I wouldn't be surprised if anyone who just started this game, and had just seen him, would fear him somehow. To some extend, he gives me the same energy as Billy Kane from the Fatal Fury/KOF series (they are both British and zoners and do the cat emoji smirk).

Is it visually appealing overall?

Short answer: Yes, it is. He wears a short jacket that has the same color as his shorts. That's very, very pleasant to watch, due to the harmony it presents. It gets even better when both pieces are torn at the ends. And to continue this harmonic idea, his boots are the same color as his gloves, and the details on his boots are red like his bandana. It's a never ending cycle of good usage of colors. The only considerably random color choice is that the bracelets have blueish spikes on in-game sprites, but it matches both the blue are of the flag on his boot, and the jeans colored clothing he wears. Although...

Here you can see that on the art they are white, like they were supposed to. It's normal to change when in-game due to pixel reasons, but either way. Now, with that picture from just above in mind, I wanted to say that it's very nice detail from his belt having a skull (he's sooo fire dude wow), which compliments the grunge concept of his one-arm spiky bracelet. His sickle matches the spikes very nicely too, but the best part of all that is the gap between his short jacket and his shorts. They just compliment in a very satisfactory parameter, not making it entirely blueish, but just enough for it to match nicely (it's kind of hard to explain it, but when I keep repeating this over and over on the next reviews it will make more sense).

But what I'm trying to say is this.

Just see how nicely the colors were placed on his design. It just follows a very perfect cycle. I KNOW my friends tend to think i'm out of my fucking mind because of how perfectionist I'm about those little things but it's so amazing really.

Is it actually PRACTICAL to fight with that figurine?

Mostly, yes. I do think so. Despite the fact that high boots really do bother you when you do complex movements with them, I wear them a lot and even when walking sometimes it bothers me, I can't even imagine fighting. But it's just a minor detail, they aren't even high enough to actually be some nuisance. His short clothes make it easier to move, despite being jeans. But it's a nice choice, you can actually fight with that in general and still look cool.

THIS is not practical at all. At some point everyone will see your boobs and it's not nice. But if he wants to be a whore...

Overall

Masterpiece, beautiful and functional. It's something someone like him would wear really, specially from his epoch and all. And I want to kiss Ishiwatari's mouth

your colors are so gorgeous and stunning omg…i was wondering what your process is like if it wouldn’t be too much to ask!

omg... thank u... my methods are really mostly fuck around and find out but i think there's some rhyme to it so i'll try to explain

for this piece i wanted it to be vibrant, but even with that in mind in my experience it's always easier fixing/adjusting the colors down the line when the palette isn't too harsh. so i let the colors look a bit muddy in the color-blocking process. then i duplicate the lineart and adjust the colors and overlay settings as needed (here i used 74% linear burn for the bottom layer, and overlay for the top. i also added a pink overlay to both, to make it look less flat)

if i think the colors are still looking flat i'll add an extra color using the hue/color overlay setting. generally it's better to have a balanced palette or something idk i don't remember the color theory. sorry. but yeah i thought there was way too much blue here previously so i balanced it out with some pinks from kenjaku's hair. once im more or less satisfied with the palette, i flatten the layers and mix as needed with a brush of choice (here i use csp's default gouache brush). at this point i also added the shadows on the floor to add some flair even if the bg is a flat color

AND NOW MY BEST FRIEND. TONE CURVE. this works best with my pieces that are more painterly

i duplicate the layer and then go wild with the tone curve settings. it does NOT need to look good! just go wild until you see those juicy extra values and hues, then put the overlay setting as color/hue (these are the settings i generally use, u can always fuck around more with it)

sadly i can't show the curve settings that i used for the piece that i posted but i'm gonna show u by making a brand new one

hmmmmmm yummy greens

without tone curve / tone curve on hue / tone curve on color

and more examples bc i just find it really fun

tl;dr use tone curve

SCREAM (Yan!GhostFace!Tama)

He also comes maskless! So check out his spoopy mug! 👻

warnings/notes: NSFW, college!au, reader was nearly ran over in broad daylight, Tamaki Slowly Snaps™, stalking, attempted murder(two times, reader nearly gets ran over & Tamaki's first victim manages to escape once), murder, Tamaki is a yandere(who knows his obsession is wrong, but he ends up snapping. and getting worse.), Tamaki & Mirio do the Billy & Stu tagteam except Tamaki is the killer of the duo, Mirio has his own darling which I may or may not write the origins of, Tamaki is the creepy kind of Ghostface due to his introverted nature he's slightly Micheal Myer's-esque and the opening scene features no Scream franchise signature burner calls!

This is gonna be a three part fic and I wanna say reader is a bit fruitloopy, too.(just because of what i have planned for the end. this is a consent blog, sooo)

~Masterlist~

Underage characters are Aged Up!

MINORS 👏 DNI! 👏 AGE 👏 IN 👏 BIO 👏 OR 👏 DNI! 👏 Head on over to @candybowbeansies please for my SFW pieces, or be blocked if you interact here! 😇

Similar to Ghostface!Baku, I cut back unnecessary parts(who cares how the minor bg characters croak ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ we’re here for the opening, the ending, and the lovin’), but there still is movie spoilers/references. Enjoy!

Tags: @dynamightsdaydream , @shadoweepingscream , @dementedinc-blog, @survivorofmath , @blackchim3ra

Tamaki was an introvert by nature. He wasn’t exactly the type of person to go out of his way for anything. Much to his chagrin, he was popular, but he only kept a small circle of friends. He was studious, and his nimble frame helped him greatly with sports that demanded dexterity.

He wasn’t exactly the type of person to go out of his way for anything.

But you caught his eye. And even though he denied it, he fell in love with you at first sight. His social anxiety would ultimately lead him to overthink things.

He knew what your favorite foods were by heart. It wasn’t right of him. He knew your favorite color(s), and he even knew your favorite subjects. It’s not normal. You always looked so pretty, bunny, oh God he’s such a creep, wearing your favorite outfits and styles.

Unfortunately, you were a victim of delinquents who’d always find ways to harass you. Usually, a few words would make them stop, for a while. 

But this tops everything they’ve done. Popularity can only go so far. 

Those laughing bastards drove an expensive vehicle they ‘borrowed’, tires screeching across the parking lot as they gassed it off campus, nearly running you over in their joyride.

You were on your rump, terrified and wailing from narrowly avoiding death, but everybody else just stood around like dumb asses. He didn’t waste a second, jogging towards you to see if you were okay. Mirio would know better what to do in this type of situation, he mused as he fretted over you, asking if you were hurt, if you were okay.

When you clung to him, something in him that was hanging by a thread finally snapped.

He decided then and there as he awkwardly and very hesitantly embraced you, he’d kill every last one of them.

~~~

It took some time, and unfortunately, his grades suffered a little. He had to spend late nights staking out the places those bastards frequented, and find out their addresses and numbers. He’d spend what time he could planning. He couldn’t get caught, now, could he?

He had to make sure he wouldn’t be.

He had a ghost mask Mirio had jokingly plastered hollow tentacle-like formations on from last Halloween. It would do perfectly. He had just the right things to hide his tattoos, too, just like the majority of his wardrobe.

It was form fitting, a black sweatshirt with deep navy butterfly printed leggings. He broke out the black leather boots he'd never worn before just for this, too.

One of the ones who mercilessly bullied you had to work the last hours working their family bookstore tonight. They were probably bored out of their mind, and what better electrifying thrill to face imminent death? But he wanted to have a little fun, first.

Mirio lived nearby, and with a beloved of his own, he'd be more than happy to help after hearing what those bastards did to you.

Devices in hand and a plan in mind, he thinks; yes. Yes...they would do perfectly as the opening scene.

He can't contain the deranged grin creeping across his face.

~~~

It's the small things that make the largest of impacts. Tiny objects moved from places one knows they were, odd sounds, and small new additions. Thankfully this one was observant, much to his amusement. He'd bugged that bookstore and tinkered with it, relishing in how this bastard slowly began to lose their mind.

He watched them plant their own devices; probably pilfered from friends and family. Their shifty eyes were almost comical. Perhaps they wouldn't have nearly ran you over when they were this aware of their surroundings?

He smiles widely, a giddy feeling rising in him as he decides he should acknowledge their efforts.

Armed with the knowledge of every camera they'd attempted to sneakily place, and dressed to impress, he lingers just outside the peripheral of the devices.

It was so entertaining fucking with them, and once they caught his silhouette, they'd brought it up with their family who knew well enough the crowd they mingled with.

'Perhaps one of your friends is pranking you? Don't sweat it, it's typical.'

And as typical, they threw a tantrum, knocking over a cart of books before promptly exiting. It took several days for them to come back, needing money. He watched them mind the desk for some time, before donning the costume he'd thrown together after the sun had set, close to their closing time.

Tonight was the night he'd hunt them down, Mirio tagging along.

He skulks out of sight, loitering in the back alley where they'd come out after closing up for the night.

Unfortunately for them, the alleyway was long with twists and turns. He followed them, looking for a chance to attack. All was silent, with the exceptions of his and their footsteps, and their quickening breathing. He made sure to match their steps, stopping each time they stopped.

He expected them to turn around right away-but they didn't, choosing instead to pick up their pace, soon breaking into a bolt, surprisingly fast.

In a fit of fear and desperation, they threw anything and everything they could behind them in an attempt to block his path to them as they rounded the corner to the awaiting Mirio.

Unfortunately for him, it worked. It was tough navigating through a dark alleyway at night with a mask that limited his sight.

He curses under his breath; he was so close, too.

"Whoa, you okay there, bud?" he hears Mirio, following his mock-surprised grunt when they collide into him.

As they begin to stammer in a panic, he pulls down his hoodie and removes his mask, stashing it aside temporarily with his weapon and gloves before tugging his sleeves over his palms.

"Slow down, there. Can't understand a word you're saying--" Mirio tries to placate them as they panic,  "Someone's following me, for fuck's sake, I--"

"Oh, hey, Tamaki." the blonde interrupts, absolutely beaming as he rounds the corner. "You chasing this person or something?~" he asks as that bastard whips around, heaving a sigh of relief as he plays ignorance. "Chase...? You know I'm not that type, Mirio." he fakes a worried smile behind his sleeve as Mirio all but guffaws. "Real panicky, this one, eh?" he exclaims, casually hanging an arm around their shoulder. "Hey, hey, you're shakin' up, how about I take ya home, bud?" he starts, "C'moooon, this way or that?" overwhelming them with his sunny personality, soon whisking them off the moment they point.

"Til next time, Tama!~" he waves farewell, the double edged meaning making him seethe.

This time he failed...but he has a backup plan. He'll murder that bastard's sister.

And by pure luck, he finds her going for a night time jog in the park.

He won't let her get away, no, no, not in such a wide-open space.

She'd make the perfect...what would it be called again?

The perfect opening scene.

i loveee ur art its sooo expressive and it has such a 90s feel to it.. if i may ask, how do u pick ur colours? do u have a specific colour pallete u adhere to? thanks!

thanks so much :DDD im curious what might make it feel 90s 🤔 thats so interesting

anyways stuff abt coloring below

honestly i kinda just fuck around with color, technically i somewhat understand color theory but despite that im bad at choosing the right colors straight from the color wheel so a lot of times i just hsb adjust things until theyre right

ive got two different ways i color things currently:

softish shading with a marker brush in greyscale, applying too many color adjustment layers, and then coloring a little on top of the greyscale to make things not monochrome. usually i color on top of a clipping mask bc its a lot easier, which i did in the ace attorney one but not in the merlin one for ?? no reason i guess i just didnt think abt it lmao

the other way is i decide what color i wanna cast the whole drawing in and i make that the base clipping mask layer (which ive been making like. neon green a lot lately lmao) and then i block in color on top of that, and shadow color on top of that. the cybersix ones a great representation of what im doing there but its a little chaotic since all of the sketches were meant to be cropped oops. the cowboy danny phantom ones a lot cleaner of an example haha

i really like doing the second method because it also works great with lineless and also i really like comparative colors? i know theres a better phrase for it but like. when one color looks like a different color when its put in a different colored space. like when im making things green, id color blue things in the scene green and red things in the scene a muddy orangey color. or when i was really into yellow id make the blues purple. idk usually the “blue” in the scene is first color i like to figure out im not sure if its because its my favorite color or if its because i love drawing jeans but thats just how it goes lmao

oh also putting things on a or neutral bg helps to pick colors a lot easier than keeping the default white bg, i always turn it off and leave it transparent until im finished lmao. i use procreate light mode so its still rather light but not too bad

i dont really have any palettes that i intentionally adhere to, no, but i do get kind of stuck using the same colors for a few months before moving to something different. rn im very stuck on green and need to accept that not everything needs to be the grossest greens ever and ive been stuck on it for about six months? in the past i was really stuck on yellow haha

"Yeah, but you can't quit!"

"I got yelled at, got my ass kicked, and then gave him my money! You know who lives like that? Hookers."

"Yeah, but he's not that bad a guy! You gotta give him a chance. You don't know him like I do."

"...that's hooker talk."

***

Hey so remember when I said the winner of the GOAT Miguetri Moment poll would get a thing???

WELL I AM A WOMAN OF MY WORD DAMMIT

I realized I've never actually made these two a friendship moodboard and that!!! Will not stand, dammit!!!

Anyways their S1 dynamic was/is so important to me. Cute lil idealist Miguel truly believing Johnny Lawrence can solve all problems and cynical defeatist Demetri who has the only brain cell and is like "hey, this dude shat on my other best friend for something he can't help, embarrassed me for trying to defend him, AND I had to pay him??? At least I don't gotta cash out to Kyler." Dude's got a point, honestly. I'd get hazed out of Cobra Kai SO fast, and my parents would be like "thank god, those lessons were expensive" XD Demetri bby never let anyone shame you for making financially smart decisions that are also good for your mental health!!!

And the subtext of Demetri kinda trying to look out for Miguel and steer him away from idolizing this disaster man who peaked in high school??? Like I think I mentioned this on a previous post, but the way he tries to give Miguel the wake-up call Demetri thinks he needs and encourages him not to bend over backwards for people who (at least from what Demetri's seen!) don't treat him or people in general very well is kind of adorable. Like of course Demetri's being cheeky and smug and sarcastic about it, but he's basically saying that Miguel deserves better than Johnny and should respect/value himself a little more!

And Miguel, my beautiful hopeful babygirl Miguel Diaz <3 <3 <3 Like he believes in Demetri's potential long after Demetri's clearly given up on himself??? And tbh I've never read this scene as Miguel being annoyed Demetri trusts Miguel to protect him from bullies (like that's what you do for your friends lmao. And Miguel would in a heartbeat if he needed to because he's a loyal mf!!!). If anything, he seems worried about what Demetri's gonna do when he's not around and can't scare Kyler off and frustrated that Demetri's just dismissing his own potential that fast. Miguel clearly has 0 issue looking out for Demetri when the cards are down, considering how he talked to Johnny about Kreese punching him and readily sided with him after the Arm Break Incident.

Also something I've already mentioned in other posts, I'm sure, but the fact that a) Demetri completely trusts Miguel to protect him from bullies and implies he would do so with no hesitation and b) they're close enough friends after a few months max that they can comfortably walk with their arms brushing and casually give each other little affectionate platonic touches (most notably this little shoulder slap thing they do) is the cutest fucking thing on earth. This friendship is so slept on. Like every time I think about them I wanna cry because they're so fucking ride or die and they've easily had the most wholesome, loyal, and unproblematic friendship in the entire show and WHY aren't more people talking about them??? Any disagreements they have really ARE in the vein of "ugh you're so wrong never talk to me again for 10 minutes but then I have karate gossip I wanna tell you." I love them so much.

THEY ARE BESTIES YOUR HONOR

An argument could also be made that these two have a closer and healthier friendship than Miguel & Eli ever did and I ain't kicking that hornet's nest today but perhaps I will someday :3

"Wanna be my best friend and then judge me" also just. PERFECTLY captures their friendship XD SO much mutual judgment going on in this scene and I am LIVING for it.

Went for a red, blue, green, and white-ish color scheme for this to match their clothes and the bg! Hopefully it came out okay.

As always, pic credits available upon request!

do you have any favourite design work, just in general? your mecha work has always struck me (as someone obsessed with that kind of thing), but the dreamlike feeling of the semi-abstracted backgrounds is incredible

im gonna make this a bit long and also gonna introduce the 'good asks' tag for asks i spend a long time writing an answer for so its not lost to time

a huge inspo for my sense of design, wildly enough, was space patrol lulucos backgrounds. i cant find a better shot in google images of the way it renders space, but the screentone clouds really stuck with me and influenced how i use it heavily. i was really obsessed w the collage like bgs in particular and v singular color grading

gunbuster and diebuster are hugely influential, in different ways. im obsessed with the palettes in diebuster.. everything about the lilac stems from the exelion in gunbuster, the zephyrantes took its root entirely from the idea of a warship so large it has a train network and painted skies inside of it etc... the oppressive mech cockpits are heavily drawn from gunbusters. the nerv stuff in eva is also a big source of inspo.

a huge impact on how i approached backgrounds for coquette was tsukihimes, the singular blue color is why i only use a v limited palette for coquettes backgrounds... where i got started with planning coquettes bgs was the thought of using the same filtered approach but to simple 3d instead of photos. i ended up good at 3d so it never was simple though

hidamari sketch is maybe my fav work on the planet, and its a huge part of why im obsessed with screentone... my attention to detail with the living spaces of characters comes from it and the detail it gives to every characters room in the apartments, and how they each use the same floorplan differently. its visually stunning top to bottom in a way that only comes through when you watch it imo.. the use of photos etc has stuck with me forever, it rly is a show using 20000 art styles at once and rly gave me a lot of thought on treating direction as collage of styles you like

heartcatch precure is one of my favs ever, especially visually... i love how far it leans into like being very digital looking and uses color so strongly to convey a mood.. i remember being immediately struck by how it uses this sickly green color for the world/sky during the fights etc to build unease. i love how high contrast it is, i definitely drew a lot from its stark orange and black backgrounds for doing the duchy stuff

a lot of movies definitely stick with me visually, but its easier for me to think in terms of 2d/3d... the mishima movie (lmao) has directly influenced my bg art heavily, especially when i use these kind of overhead diorama esque shots

in terms of how i do 3d and shade it etc... a lot of is heavily inspired by the use of 3d in the code geass ovas (lmao), noone watched this ever so none of its documented but this AMV has quite a lot of it. the harsh shading in the scene around 00:20 is what influenced me using that style in the ch3 opening animation... the snappy fast violent animation is kind of my ideal for how i wanna animate mechs

i think a lot of how i design things is through trial and error, but theres a lot consciously floating thru my head around what kind of look id like to achieve... i dont actually plan much, ever. i animate with no storyboards, write without an outline, only do one sketch before settling on any designs, and mess around w colors for a scene until its done

thrift shopping

pairing: non-idol!yoshi x gn!reader

prompt: ugly sweaters

word count: 0.7k~

warnings: bg hosh + hao ment. just soft idiots in love.

daisy’s notes: you can tell im really soft for him huh. also this man called himself a tiger... i have a type...

There was something adorable about the way Yoshi’s eyes lit up.

Thrift shopping with your boyfriend wasn’t something unfamiliar to you. He seemed to have an eye for nice things, and even when you didn’t leave the store with a new piece to add to one of your wardrobes, the two of you found fun in the little things. In ugly shirts that you’d joke about gifting to one of his friends, or the matching jackets in neon colors that he’d always have to (lovingly) talk you out of. Maybe next time, he’d always say, even if there was no clear next time in sight for something so bright and bold. Not that he wouldn’t gladly match with you any day: Yoshi, truly, loved matching clothing with you. That was why you wore the baby blue sweater that day, just to see the pure joy in his eyes as he intertwined his pinkie with your own and talked about the holiday party his friends were throwing. Since all of them had been scattered for the holidays, they were doing things late: gift-giving and gingerbread houses and all the sweet things that people saved for before Christmas.

Hyunsuk had been the one to pose the idea of an ugly sweater contest... and Yoshi knew that the moment you caught wind of it that you’d make sure he won. As happy as he was to just go and kick back with the others, maybe drink a little too (before stumbling his way into your apartment to press soft kisses and “I love you”s into your skin before falling asleep in your arms), he liked the way you lit up at the idea of competition. His friends said that the two of you balanced each other well: Yoshi kept you grounded, while you dared him to be a little bolder.

Thrift-shopping for sweaters was in itself its own adventure. As good an eye as Yoshi had (you’d tease him and say you got lost in them all the time, just to see him blush and giggle), yours was better for ugly sweaters. Where Yoshi knew how to dress himself and pull an outfit together, you always seemed to find the tackiest things in the store--typically to make him laugh because you lived to tease him, but the bold patterned shirts in both of your wardrobes spoke for themselves.

“What about this one?”

He looked up from the sweaters he’d been looking through to see the bright red sweater with Olaf from Frozen printed across it. “It’s cute.”

“Okay, but imagine it,” you said, “with tinsel and ribbons.”

Another thing Yoshi knew (and loved) about you was your love of art that the two of you shared. You’d met in a freshman level sculpture class, and you’d always been interested in crafting whatever abstract things out of clay when you could. There was a reason Asahi liked you: the two of you were a little out there in the best way. Maybe that was why Yoshi liked you so much: you were so you that he admired everything about you.

“Really?”

You smiled at him. “Hyunsuk didn’t say we couldn’t decorate it.” 

“I know, but...” It felt a little like cheating. “You know how he is.”

He watched you purse your lips for a moment before putting it back. “Okay... So... How about this?”

You’d pulled out a black sweater with a bright orange tiger on the front of it, the words MERRY CHRISTMAS written in bold white lettering above a series of candy canes forming the backdrop. He’d gasped at the sight and then grew flustered, looking around to see the one of the only other people on the aisle was looking up Yoshi had to pretend he didn’t see the way said other guy had seen the sweater and looked as though he had struck gold--only for his leaner friend to elbow him hard.

He almost said no, because he felt that with the orange hair he’d currently been sporting, he’d net some teasing over ‘matching’ the animal. But the glimmer in your eyes?

Well. That was enough to make him say yes to most things... especially when you produced a second one from the rack in your own size.

(Besides... Yoshi was very certain that that would have gone for both sweaters the moment you put it back. Couldn’t risk you matching with a stranger rather than your own boyfriend, right?)

taglist: @twancingyunhao​

✨Weekly Progress 2023 #10✨

Commissioned a musician for SFB

Sketched designs and sprite poses for EKL

Updated SYVNH outline

Finished all sprites for EKL (6)

Wrote 3.2k words for SYVNH

Tested BG styles for EKL

All the sprites for Exorcist Killing Lie is done! My brain really didn't want to write and since manga style has little coloring... I just sped through it. I timed myself for the last two sprites and I somehow finished the lineart in 2 minutes. Maybe I just got speedier over the last year...? I should time myself my often.

(The girl in the center, Duiva, is designed by sinn.)

Come closer to the actual BAF VN Jam time period, I'll talk a bit about the sources of their designs.

I'm taking the easy way out this time for BGs 😶I just found some models and applied CSP magic. Here are some rejected concepts, tho the final thing isn't much different.

I want EKL to look just like a manga since the tagline of BAF Jam is

Make a visual novel that feels straight out of Shounen Jump!

What better way than mimicking actual manga style/techniques?! Oh, and also, I've always wanted to make a VN that looks and plays as though you were reading an interactive manga/comic.

Other than that...

For A Sky of Falling Birds, this is the first time I've commissioned music for a project so I hope it goes well. I've heard one of the tracks so far and I quite like it.

I also made (a small) progress (compared to last week) on SYVNH's script. I've hit a bit of a snag... But I will press on!!

Commission sheet info!

Greetings! As I'm trying to save up money to purchase something right now [and just have a way to save up money in general], I'm planning on making extra money with some commissions! The sheet is right here to look at [Rules I'd politely ask you to look at for what I will and won’t watch is there too], and down below I'll say some stuff about myself, and what my hobbies and such are!

Prices [Can vary depending on complexity]:

Lineart: 1-5 Dollars

Flat colors: 10-15 Dollars

Fully Shaded: 15-20  Dollars

Bg’s are an extra dollar or two if you want it to be something besides a flat color, sorry, i’m just not good at making bgs yet [Art Trades and doodle requests would be free]

Prices are subject to possible change in the future! Message me for details or to set things up! [Down below is the do’s and don’t, and a bit on me/links to me talking about my ocs]

What I will draw:

Ocs

Franchise characters / Fanart

Backrounds [depending on complexity]

Character reference sheets / Species reference sheets

Further things that can be discussed that I didn’t put here yet

Willing to atleast draw injuries to minor degrees, like bleeding or cuts/bruises

What I will NOT draw:

NSFW

Explicit and graphic Gore

Fetish/kink

Mecha bodies [that is.. in no way near what I can do]

Overly complicated designs [or anything TOO difficult for me to draw, I will judge whether or not I can or not]

Nudity in any way shape or form

Like above earlier suggested, I can deny or decline any request sent to me, no complaining, and trying to force me to do it will immediately make me less likely to accept any future requests [there would never be any hard feelings if I decline a request or commission or not, don’t worry]

As for a bit about myself...

I’m currently Aro/Ace, and a boy! I’m trying to get better at writing and drawing at the moment! My current interests are in Bug Fables, Mother 3, Pokémon, Persona, Kirby games in general [And brainrotting heavily in KATFL and Elfilis/Elfilin], and a few others I can’t name at the moment!

Along with that.. I have a unique tag I made [Caeont] for the stuff I write about my own interpretation of Elfilis and Elfilin that i’m making with a friend! [Even if the stuff is basically non-canon now lol], and i’m always estatic to answer any questions that you may have! [Note, I’ve kinda stopped developing this lol, I got the brainrot for Mewtwo’s now]

Speaking on which, link to my Mewtwo oc post! 

https://www.tumblr.com/lazarguy/733108574887313408/oblitus-information-doc?source=share

I’ll update or edit this as time goes on if I remember, but that’s it for now!

#industryQs

What do you think should be in a animation or storyboard portfolio? Like should it be project base or a general portfolio? I’m struggling trying to find out what I should put in mines - Oort Anon

Ooooh! So when it comes to making a portfolio the most important advice I've taken away was the following: • Make it easy to find your work and contact you

• Curate your work to the job you are applying for

• Showcase strong foundation skills

• Do not be afraid to create samples that speak to what fulfills you creatively as an artist Point 1: I think this is self-explanatory. Make sure your website, portfolio blog or whatever is easy to find for recruiters and always make sure your contact information is included. A lot of people miss this step and it's the #1 thing recruiters look for when looking at potential hires. Point 2: Curating your work. Now I understand you might think, "If I show that I can do multiple things then that will widen my chances of landing a job." This isn't the wrong line of thinking (will explain in part 2) but on the recruiters' end it might be confusing for them to discern what you want to do. In 2D TV animation, there really isn't a generalist role (in 3D there might be). So it's best to clearly broadcast the specific skills you have for a specific job so recruiters can place you into a production easier. So if you want to be a board artist, focus on a good storyboard portfolio. It would be confusing for them to get a board artist applicant and then review a portfolio that isn't storyboards or is just a hodgepodge of different skills not pertaining to storyboards. Part 2 of Point 2: So while I do suggest you should focus on one thing rather than a generalist portfolio, there are cases of industry professionals in having portfolios with multiple disciplines (I am one of those people). So if you want to do 2 disciplines I think that's fine since I do the same...but from what I've learned working in these studios is that it's just easier for recruiters to know instantly what you are going for if you're trying to break in. As you gain more experience in the industry and learn more about the pipeline, it does become easier for you to try out different jobs when those opportunities arise. For example if you're a board artist who wants to try BG design, you can ask to join a design breakdown meeting or ask the art director to see what kind a tests are given to potential hires for the BG design team. Those are few ways you can start to learn/try different jobs in the pipeline while also getting a better understanding of the full scope of an animated production. It's one of those situations where once you get over the first hurdle (breaking in), it's easier to jump over the next hurdle and so on. Point 3: Gosh, this is probably the second most thing I suggest when it comes to portfolios. Foundation skills make you a more versatile artist and you will be able to adapt quickly to any production (regardless of its visual style). And I don't just only mean anatomy, color theory, perspective and such. I'm also talking about staging, screen direction, composition, acting and cinematic language. Showcasing that you have a strong understanding of both set of skills makes your portfolio stand out more. You provide your team a strong foundation (haha get it) that they can work with and build off from that making it easier for you to adapt to the show and work on your assignments. Point 4: "So what kind of boards should I make then?" Make samples for genres you would love to work on! If you want to work in comedy, make comedy boards. If you want to work on a show similar to ATLA, make an action adventure board. If you love a type of storytelling, make samples of that! It's also good to showcase you can work in multiple genres but what catches eyes most is when you create work about things you are genuinely passionate about. Don't be afraid to make a sample about your own personal stories (I did that and that's how I got selected for the Nick Artist Program). A lot of people in this industry love to see original ideas. And it doesn't have to be some grand epic. It can be a short scene, no more than 200 panels (unless it's like a chase sequence or something). Give them a little golden nugget and make them ask for more. Showcase who you are as an artist and what stories you not only want to work on but also stories you want to make. Woof that was a lot. I hope this was helpful and it answered your question!