happy birthday robin !!!!

Heck do all the asks

I had two more cups of coffee while working on these and my nervous system is undergoing a transformation

1. Art programs you have but don't use

I bought Clip Studio Paint on sale but still haven't dragged myself over the learning curve. I also have FireAlpaca downloaded and only use that for cropping images.

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even)

I find forward the easiest! Left and right are about the same for me, but I also do a lot of canvas-flipping, and about half the time the angle I start drawing is not the angle I end up with.

3. What ideas come from when you were little

Project-wise? I still kick around character designs from when I was a kid. In general, I think the brightest constant is that I do pretty much exclusively character art and not scenery, still life, or real-world living subjects because all my ideas are related to fiction.

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw

I love monsters and extremely complex character designs, but they're hell on my stamina.

5. Estimate of how much of your art you post online vs. the art you keep for yourself

Right now, I post maybe ten percent of my art? Most of it is just for me or for one other person.

6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn't supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it)

I guarantee there are still remnants of anime influence in my art, since anime and manga were what really cemented my identity as an "artist" (insofar as I can cal myself one, which is probably up for debate). One bit of evidence that comes to mind is my love of like... knockoff chibis? I don't think I can call them chibis, but funky lil guys.

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate

*Watercolor.* My sister works mainly with watercolor and it's something I have never been able to grasp.

8. What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in

At some point I wanted to make a collection of group pictures with the main characters from all of my comfort stories.

9. What are your file name conventions

You need to see the thumbnail if you're going to have any idea what the file contains. I drew a three-part series of doodles and the filenames are "BEE," "too," and "tree." I'm also fond of variations on "HELP" and "ohno."

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw

Tailcoats or long, flowy dresses

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what

Whatever I'm feeling! Music, a podcast, an audiobook, a YouTube video that doesn't require me to look at it, a stream if I'm on a call with ~Geoffrey~ while she's playing a game. I'm not picky but my autistic ass (affectionate) needs the sensory input to focus

12. Easiest part of body to draw

Lukewarm take, I know, but eyes. Or eyebrows if I'm allowed to be a smartass

13. A creator who you admire but whose work isn't your thing

I don't know anything about this person so it's purely from an artistic standpoint, but I respect how wildly recognizable the JJBA art style is (the actual art, the expressions and poses, the character designs, all the things)

14. Any favorite motifs

e y e s and also bones and time-related symbols

15. *Where* do you draw (don't drop your ip address this just means do you doodle at a park or smth)

Almost entirely at home at my desk, but sometimes I doodle during downtime at work

16. Something you are good at but don't really have fun doing

*U h* I don't think I'm good at a wide enough variety of things to have an answer to this

17. Do you eat/drink when drawing? if so, what

I need to have a drink nearby at all times or I will Die. Flavored water, soda, and coffee are the big three, but I also like sweet tea and assorted fruit juices. I don't love eating while drawing for sensory/cleanliness reasons, but sometimes I'll have something crunchy

18. An estimate of how much art supplies you've broken

Not too many! I do tend to mangle colored pencils because I'm too rough when sharpening them, but I don't use a lot of materials that are easy to break and I'm neurotically careful with my tablet because I can't replace it. The closest I've come to breaking that was keeping the cord in a drawer my kitten learned how to open

19. Favorite inanimate objects to draw (food, nature, etc.)

Anything That Glows

20. Something everyone else finds hard to draw but you enjoy

Armor, mechanical parts, and bones. I'm not saying I don't find them difficult, mind you, but I love it

21. Art styles nothing like your own but you like anyways

Slowly grasps Cinder's sleeve. Also Fern's. Also ~Geoffrey's~. If I have to choose someone I don't know personally, crow-caller

22. What physical exercises do you do before drawing, if any

This is a thing I definitely *should* do :)

23. Do you use different layer modes

YEAH I abuse Multiply and Screen

24. Do your references include stock images

Oh naturally. AdorkaStock is my go-to

25. Something your art has been compared to that you were NOT inspired by

Nothing that I can think of? I think that's mostly because the art communities I used to participate in heavily discouraged comparison, so I haven't heard any variant of "Your art reminds me of ____" in at least five years.

26. What's a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended

I don't have anything specific on hand, but I had a friend in middle school who jumped to sexualizing everything I drew, if that counts. There's not a lot to interpret in my art, though. It's. How do I put "shallow" nicely?

27. Do you warm up before getting to the good stuff? If so, what is it you draw to warm up with

This is another thing I should really do!

28. Any art events you have participated in the past (like zines)

I used to do Art Fight.

29. Media you love, but doesn't inspire you artistically

Most live-action media! I also don't generally feel artistic inspiration from podcasts—the exception would be TTRPG podcasts, but even those don't tend to do it for me unless the characters have canon designs.

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated

I don't have it anymore, but there was a drawing I did a few months ago of two characters of mine. It came out to about twenty hours of work (which is a lot for me) and no one really seemed to like it, but I attribute that in part to the fact that I drew a lot of it in a stream, which kind of desensitizes people.

Fic because I felt like it, mainly dialogue tho

"Pile what are you doing?" "Doodling."

James curiously peeks at the sketchbook in their hands. "Designs?" He wonders aloud. Seeing messy sketches and little phrases filled with little concepts.

The colorless humanoid nods. "Yeah been doodling a lot lately and hopefully it pays off, ya know?" They pick up the eraser next to them and erasing a little mistake. "I wanna make a little world through art. And hopefully, I'm satisfied with the designs I have created."

James huffs, he twirls the end of his black curly locks between his fingers. "Speaking of designs, how come you haven't drawn anyone other than me?" He smirks. "Am I your favorite?"

"Well you are an easy design choice. " Pile says, chuckling at the offended gasp their design gave them.

"Easy? Well I'm taking offence to that good sir!" He crosses his arms with a huff.

Pile continues drawing, flipping across pages to compare and contrast designs. Numerous pencils (that are most likely stolen) and inking pens (that are stolen) littered the area next to them. An empty pencil case sits next to Pile.

"Can you summon an engine?" James asks, getting bored with the sounds of paper and clicking pens.

"James you know how hard they are to summon right?" Pile huffs as they start another sketch. Messy linings and vague ideas slowly coming out as the pencil moves.

James rolls his eyes. "No not that, I meant the small ones. I want little James Junior."

Pile takes out a different pencil, this one having little gold markings and seems to be made of silver. They draw a little lively shape, the lead seems to be a glowing white.

"Two beady little eyes, a cute little nose, a lovely red livery, and a big personality. There we go." The drawing glows brighter as a little red being floats from the light. It grows to the size of a cylindrical pillow and drops itself on James' lap.

"Hiya there, little bud!" James affectionately pets it, laughing lightly at the little squeaks he gives him. "Been so long since you have used the other sausage engines. How come?"

Pile sighs, putting away the pencil and organising the mess a little. "Well, it would be a hassle having to deal with multiple sausage engines. They look like they can't move but trust me when I say that you will find them in the most unlikely of places."

"Eep!" The sausage engine squeaks as his cheeks are squished. James silently mulls over his thoughts. "You know... This is weird."

"Well what is weird?" Pile asks. A little note written above the sketch and a close up of a design not far from it is messily assembled.

"We are not in any setting, Pile."

Pile looks up and sees nothing but white. Stretching endlessly throughout. "Huh..."Pile shrugs. "Seems like it."

"Why are you so nonchalant over this?" James asks, calm for someone asking such a question. Little James squeaks as his nose is lightly flicked.

"Well, you are a humanized design of a red engine from the classic series and you are currently petting what we like to call a sausage engine as well as talking to a colorless humanoid figure like me who has the ability to summon beings from a sketchbook." Pile breathes heavily after the long tangent.

"Seems like it." James scratches the sausage engines underside, feeling him relax into his lap. "Is this the work of an artist or an author?"

"It depends really." Pile flips to another page. "An artist can draw their design on anything they want, a blank canvas or a drawn room."

James looks back at the sketchbook. Drawings of moving figures and various arrows littered the page. "And an author?"

Pile shrugs. "I'm not an author, bud. I'm merely an amateur artist so take what I say or said with grains of salt." A different pencil is chosen, this one having a stubbier lead for thicker lines.

"It depends on what the author is writing, fanfiction or their own world. They can give you vague ideas or let you explore the world through their own concept art. Some would describe the room to you in detail or the setting they chose is already familiar to you."

James just realized something. "Wait so are we both vaguely clothed or naked?"

"Well it's up to who ever is reading this I guess." Pile shrugs. "We don't even have genitals nor clothes when we were first introduced. Hell, my design does not have a mouth yet I'm still talking aren't I?"

"Huh, never knew that writing can kick your imagination into an overdrive." James faces them. "How was your first experience to writing your own world?"

Pile feels a shiver down their spine as they remember their early days of writing. "It was interesting when I started writing stories of my own. Having to struggle with a lot of dialogue and info-dumping on occasion. Grammar can be your worse nightmare if your don't thread carefully. Especially since I wrote everything down through paper and pencil so one drop of liquid could ruin hours upon hours of work."

"But you enjoyed it very much?" James huffs as his companion wriggles off of his lap. He moves to Pile's lap, wriggling until he relaxes into a comfortable position.

Pile pets the little thing on their lap. "Yep, the countless other little fanfictions and stories say that much. Can't believe I dedicated actual time to the little worlds but it proves to be an exciting adventure when I feel like returning."

Pile looks at the endless white. "You know... I am actually glad that I used to write so much. It helped me revisit countless worlds and works that other people made, from which I have drawn so many inspired ideas from." They look at James.

"And you are now part of those endless worlds. As a humanized engine that is."

James puffs his chest out. "Of course I am! Aren't I very memorable? Practically the first problematic fave everyone seems to have."

"I should bring the others back but I'll save it for a different time." Pile gives the wriggling sausage engine back to James.

"How many did you write?" He adjusted his hold on the little thing, chuckling at the indignant squeaks.

"A lot but we can trudge down the lane when we want to."

"When you want to." James laughs as Pile lightly shoves him.

"Oh shut it you. I want to go home and work on the new designs now."

"Well..." James pats their back. "See you then."

"Alright."

(This is based off the lovely prompt you gave me a while ago, and I decided to incorporate it into the kid!verse. Khaleel is five years old now.)

Part 14 of Jimercury Kid series

Freddie’s hands were shaking as he held the wrapped package in his hand and he cursed himself internally, wishing his nerves would settle long enough for him to just open the door and give Jim his damn present. He had never been this apprehensive about giving someone a gift before; he usually couldn’t wait to surprise his loved ones, to see the absolute delight on their faces when they unwrapped the paper and saw what he had bought them. It was usually something expensive, something unobtainable to them, something grandiose that only someone with his paycheque could afford.

That’s what everyone wanted, right? Big, expensive presents?

Not Jim, apparently.

Jim was a simple man. That’s part of the reason why Freddie had fallen so hard for him, aside from his unmeasurable kindness and rugged good looks, of course. And being a simple man, he preferred the simpler things in life; he appreciated the lavish gifts and parties that Freddie treated him to, of course, but Freddie knew fully well that he could have been a road sweeper and Jim would still be in love with him. That’s the kind of person his husband was.

Which was precisely why Freddie was in the predicament he was in now.

--

He had been trying to figure out what to get Jim for his birthday for weeks, enlisting the help of Phoebe and Mary to scout out all the local department stores in search of the perfect gift. Phoebe found a nice pair of garden shears, which would come in useful, given that Jim’s current ones were old and rusting and Jim was always talking about replacing them. Practical, thought Freddie, but not exactly the most personal of gifts. Mary found a lovely ceramic cat ornament, its features hand painted by the artist; Jim would love it, Freddie knew, but he had already bought him a similar gift years before. In the end, Phoebe and Mary purchased the presents to give Jim themselves and the search continued.

It was their son who ended up inspiring Freddie, though that was hardly surprising because Khaleel was always inspiring him. Freddie had come home from a long day at the studio and found the little boy painting at the kitchen table with Phoebe, old newspapers spread out to make sure he didn’t make a mess. They had been at it for a while, judging by how many paintings there were scattered around; paintings of flowers, and dinosaurs and, of course, every one of the cats with their names scribbled underneath in felt tip.

‘These are lovely, Bijou.’ Freddie beamed, after Phoebe had excused himself to wash the paint off his hands. ‘You’re so talented. We should hang them up in your room.’

Khaleel nodded enthusiastically, adding one final dab of paint to his wonky picture of Garden Lodge before setting it beside the others. ‘Daddy said you paint too, Baba.’

‘Did he now?’

‘Yeah. He showed me a painting of Delilah you did. It was pretty.’

Freddie couldn’t help but roll his eyes fondly. He had thought he’d thrown out the unfinished portrait of his favourite cat, but he should have known Jim had held onto it. ‘Baba doesn’t really have time to paint anymore, darling. I’m too busy with my music.’

Khaleel looked disappointed. He glanced down at his messy fingers and began to fiddle with them. ‘Your painting made Daddy smile so much, Baba. You should do it again. It’s pretty.’

Freddie was at a loss for words. He had always loved art and still found himself doing the odd sketches and doodles now and then; but painting was something he had given up long ago in favour of singing. He simply didn’t have the time or the patience to commit to it. But Khaleel’s words were now engrained in his mind.

‘I’ll think about it, Bijou.’ He said softly, before leaning down to pick the child up. ‘Come on, you’re going to need a nice, warm bubble bath to get all this paint off you.’

He smiled as Khaleel squealed with excitement. (1/2)

It had taken Freddie a while to figure out what exactly he was going to paint. He still had the old brushes and materials Phoebe and Joe had bought him years ago, when he was ill and had temporarily been inspired to try his hand at art again; but as he sat there, staring at the blank canvas in front of him, he realised he had no idea what he intended to make for his husband.

He considered finishing the painting of Delilah but couldn’t summon up the motivation to continue it. He tried doing a landscape of the garden, but after a few attempts on some scrap paper, he gave up and decided to stick to what he knew best – portraits.

It was only when he leaned back in his seat and surveyed the room a moment that his eye fell upon the large photo frame he kept beside his bed; the one of himself, Jim and Khaleel, professionally taken a year before. There was a copy of it hanging up in the lounge, over the fireplace, but Freddie always kept the original right by his bed, so it was the first thing he woke up to every morning. Safe to say, of all the hundreds of photographs that lived in Garden Lodge, this one was by far his favourite. He and his two favourite boys. His perfect family.

Without giving it a second thought, he picked up his brush and began to paint.

------

It had been two long weeks of staying up late and sneaking around to make sure Jim didn’t catch him, but on the eve of his husband’s birthday, Freddie’s portrait was finally complete, and he carefully wrapped it in brown paper in preparation for the party the next day. He was satisfied with the finished product, and yet, he couldn’t help but feel his gut twist with uncertainty as he stored the painting away in a drawer to keep it from prying eyes. He knew there wasn’t a materialistic bone in Jim’s body but… what if he didn’t like the gift? Phoebe and Mary had bought him such lovely things, what if Jim was disappointed when he got to Freddie’s?

Thoughts like that were why Freddie was now standing outside the door to the lounge, trying to gather the courage to go back in. He had excused himself under the guise of getting another bottle of wine and had quickly darted up to the bedroom to collect the package and bring it down. Taking a deep breath, he finally pushed open the door and re-joined the others, who were already sitting down to start opening Jim’s presents.

‘Mary, I love it!’ Jim smiled widely as he examined the ceramic cat, turning it over in his hands before carefully placing it on the coffee table beside the garden shears Phoebe had gifted him. ‘It’s beautiful. Thank you so much.’

Mary smiled back, ‘you’re welcome, Jim.’ And they leaned forward to give each other a kiss on the cheek.

Freddie’s heart fluttered in his chest. Mary hadn’t been very supportive of his relationship with Jim at the start, most likely out of overprotectiveness and jealousy. But once they adopted Khaleel, she finally had to accept that Freddie had found the love of his life and it was time for her to move on. She seemed a much happier person for it. It touched Freddie to see her and Jim gradually becoming good friends.

Finally, it was Freddie’s turn to present his gift. Despite his best efforts, he still couldn’t help shaking slightly as he watched Jim slowly tear off the paper. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe he should have gotten Jim a new suit. Or a pair of cufflinks. Or-

‘Freddie…’ Jim sounded breathless and when Freddie looked up, he could see the Irishman’s eyes were sparkling with tears. ‘Freddie, did you paint this?’

The singer nodded, his mouth dry. ‘Do… do you like it?’

His answer was Jim leaning over and pressing their mouths together in a passionate kiss. When they pulled away, the tears in Jim’s eyes had spilled down his cheeks. ‘Sweetheart, it’s beautiful. It’s amazing, it’s perfect.’

Jim wasn’t usually one for PDA, but he was so overwhelmed in that moment, he couldn’t stop himself from kissing every inch of Freddie’s face, while their guests admired the gift that had enthralled him. It was a painting of Freddie, Jim and Khaleel, almost an exact copy of the family portrait hanging up above the fireplace except they were surrounded by flowers; yellow freesias, azaleas, and Khaleel’s favourite, Eden roses, all painted in watercolour.

When Khaleel saw it, he almost fell off Phoebe’s lap in excitement. ‘Baba painted me! Baba painted me!’

After the party was over and their friends had gone home, Jim snuck up behind his husband as the singer was placing the canvas on the mantlepiece and wound his arms around his waist. ‘So, this is why you wouldn’t come to bed all those nights? You were working on this?’

Freddie nodded, leaning back into his husband’s embrace. ‘I was going to buy you something, but I know how you always feel guilty when I spoil you. I wanted to give you something personal, that I made with my own two hands. Even if it isn’t perfect…’

He felt Jim kiss his ear, his thick Irish accent murmuring softly, ‘it’s the greatest gift anyone’s ever given me, sweetheart. And the best thing about it is that it came straight from your heart. I love it and I’m going to keep it with me. Always.’ (2/2)

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

OMG THIS IS PERFECT😭😭😭 This is the best interpretation of the prompt, MY HEART😭😭

Call me dumb, but whenever I'd think of Freddie doing something for Jim, it'd always be related to music. Until now, I had never considered art as one of the possible ways in which Freddie could've expressed his love for his husband. But this... this is so beautiful, oof.

I genuinely marvel at your ability to convey so many emotions in these short drabbles. You managed to portray Freddie's insecurities, his want to please his husband and do something special, his nervousness and fear so brilliantly. And Jim's reaction was so sweet🥺 This was truly such a special gift for him, and for their family, I am crying😭

Thank you so much for this, anon💙💙

(More drabbles by writer anon)

painting and boba (kth x reader)

a/n: hello angels!!!! so this is the first part of the maknae line’s bubble tea date drabbles! thank you all so much for giving this series so much love:((((( your kind comments make my heart warm and happy:(((( again, i am so incredibly sorry for the slow updates! school has been stresssing me out recently, but thankfully, it’s ending soon! i will finally be able to throw myself into writing once again and i am incredibly excited!! i hope all of you are staying safe and healthy during these crazy times and i wish all of you nothing but the best!!! my plan is to finish these drabbles and then work on my untamed au! also, i’m sorry if this is bad klsdjfklsdjf my negative one braincells are really kicking in 

genre: fluff, tooth rotting fluff, college au, art major taehyung!, slightly cheesy (again, you’ve been warned) 

rating: g (for all audiences)

word count: 100+

*notes: this drabble is dedicated to the chaotic heartsforbts discord gc as well as the hopeworld net gc!! i love all of you so so so so much and i am so glad that i can now call all of you my friends!! (sends a million kisses and hugs) also, there will some cowboy! tae sprinkled in bc why the heck not also he will be saying “yeehaw” bc again, why the heck not??? this is especially for my fellow cowboy tae enthusiasts hehe*

(in which you finally convince taehyung to teach you how to paint, on one condition: he buys you bubble tea. or where you demand bubble tea afterwards, as the process is quite time-consuming and tiring)

after months of practically begging your boyfriend to teach you how to paint, he finally caved, telling you to come to his dorm at exactly six a.m. on a friday morning. at first, you had hesitated at the aspect of waking up that early, on a friday, no less, but taehyung told you that he would only do this once, and so you decided that you couldn’t pass up the opportunity. he’d been hesitant to teach you, “because you’re impatient and art takes time and patience” he’d said, and you had pouted at him until he’d groaned in exasperation and gave in. 

so, here you were, in an old shirt and a loose pair of sweatpants, your hair tied back into a messy bun at the top of your head. as soon you as you stepped inside taehyung’s dorm, he’d thrown an apron at you and told you to put it on. 

now, a few minutes later, you were watching in awe as taehyung explained the process, gesturing wildly with his hands every few seconds to emphasize his points. you tried your hardest to concentrate on the instructions taehyung was giving you, but it was difficult ,especially when your boyfriend was easily one of the most stunning guys on campus. his wavy black hair was messy and unruly, strands falling into his eyes, and you resisted the urge to brush them away. it was unfair how stunning he looked, at six a.m. no less. his dark brown eyes were alight with happiness as he rambled on about the process of painting. taehyung also happened to be one of the most fashionable guys you’d ever met, and the outfit he was wearing today was no exception. he was wearing a plain white shirt with a tan brown vest thrown over it, complete with black pants that hugged his figure perfectly. needless to say, taehyung was definitely a sight to behold,  and you couldn’t believe that he was yours. then, before you knew it, a paintbrush was thrust into your hands, and you were lightly shoved towards the canvas. 

“w-what do you want me to do?” you asked dumbly. taehyung sighed. “i knew you weren’t paying attention.” you smiled sheepishly. “sorry, tae. i was distracted.” an amused look crossed over his face, the corner of his perfect lips curling into a slight smirk. “oh? by what, if you don’t mind me asking?” your face flushed scarlet. “n-nothing. just lost in thought, that’s all.” you mumbled. 

taehyung chuckled, the sound like music to your ears. “whatever you say, angel.” he teased. “l-let’s just paint, ok?” 

after what seemed like hours of painting, you gently placed the paintbrush on the little table beside you, sighing heavily. i didn’t painting could be this exhausting, you thought. “tae?” “hmmm?” he replied, looking up from the sketchpad he’d been doodling in for the past hour or so. “can we get bubble tea? there’s a cafe not too far from here.” he nodded, getting up from the stool he’d been sitting on and placing the sketchpad on top of it. “let’s go.” 

a few minutes later, you and tae were tucked into a booth near the back of your favorite bubble tea cafe, sipping happily on your strawberry boba tea. 

“so, what’s with the vest?” taehyung laughed. “what do you mean?” “i mean, what inspired you to wear it?” taehyung smiled shyly, his cheeks turning pink. “i’ve been watching old western movies recently. the cowboys look cool.” you giggled, ruffling his messy hair affectionately. “you’re so cute, babe.” taehyung’s blush grew deeper as he buried his face in his hands. “stop, i’m so embarrassed.” “it’s nothing to be ashamed of, tae. i think old movies are interesting. they may not be something i watch everyday, but i do appreciate them.” taehyung slowly removed his hands from his face, taking a long, slow sip of his taro flavored milk tea. “you know, i’ve always wanted to say this.” he trailed off, eyes bright with mischief. “”say what?” taehyung giggled. “yeehaw.” you nearly choked on your boba tea. “sorry, what? yeehaw?” taehyung’s smile widened. “yep.” “i’ve always wanted to say that.” you sighed. “i have the biggest dork of a boyfriend.” “but you love me.” “that i do.” you smiled, leaning over the table to kiss him softly on the cheek. taehyung could be a bit childish and a big dork, but those were just some of the many reasons why you loved him. 

a/n: so this was taehyung’s drabble!!! i hope you all liked it!!! and sorry if the cowboy stuff wasn’t incorporated in well sjlkfdjsdkljfklds i tried ok and again, ty to the heartsforbts gc for always supporting me!!! ily all to the moon and back!! and special thanks to the hopeworld net gc, my fellow cowboy tae enthusiasts, i love you all so much!!!! 

tagging: @suhdays @joonglows @kimcritique @taehyungsbby @kim-taehyung @sketchguk @yoonsgiggle @hueseok @softguks @kimtaehyunq​ @taesangels​ @btsrespect​ @onherwings​ @starlightstae​ @starlightseoks​ @honeylovecult​ @take-u-2-an0ther-w0r1d​ @outroshooky​ @tataehyungs​ @floralyibo​ @koosgrl​ @sweetheartjeongguk​ @vminsos​ @dylanxmin​ @swanqook​ @yourdelights​ @brilliantlybasicb​ @nahfamily​ @rcsescentkiss​ @jungtaeyoongles​ 

t2eb, day 23: “drawn on”

Roman held his hand steady, tracing a series of complicated shapes across the canvas.

“Just gotta go slowly...” he muttered to himself, tongue sticking out in concentration. “Slowly... slowly... slowly... there!”

He pulled back, triumphantly looking at the intricate designs he’d painted all across the left side of the canvas.

“Wow, that looks so cool, Roman!” Patton said from his position across from the creative side. Roman smiled at the praise.

“Why, thank you very much, Padre!” he replied. “And may I say, your drawings are incredible as well! They’re very you.”

Patton smiled down at the right side of canvas, littered in doodles of tiny hearts, houses, and cat heads. “Aw, thanks, kiddo! I’m no fancy-schmancy artist like you, but sometimes, inspiration just hits me, you know?”

“Excuse me,” Logan interrupted, “would someone hand me a towel? The canvas seems to be working against me, and I’ve once again smudged my work.”

Patton passed him a small towel, and as Logan began wiping away a section of his painting, Roman said, “You know, Teach, you don’t have to be so detail-oriented. It’s art! It can be messy!”

Logan hummed, leaning over to repaint the section he’d just wiped cleaned. “Speak for yourself. My ‘artistic vision’ is clear-cut and sensible.”

“Mine is whatever I feel like!” Patton added, dipping his brush in the paint and drawing random lines across the canvas. “Like, maybe I’ll draw stripes, or maybe I’ll draw polka dots! Who knows?”

“My art is an extension of myself,” Roman said grandly, adding onto his own drawing. “I follow the lines of the canvas, letting my brush guide me, until something wonderful comes out-”

All three stopped painting as a high pitched shriek pierced the air. Logan sighed as he once again moved to wipe away his work, and Roman leaned over the canvas with an irritated frown.

“Virgil, excuse me, do you mind? We’re trying to have a conversation.”

Virgil couldn’t respond, instead focusing on wheezing out more laughter as Patton began doodling yet another cat on his side. 

“I cahahahan’t- I cahahahahan’t,” he gasped. “It’s too much.”

Patton made a noise of sympathy. “Aw, but we’re not even trying to tickle you!”

“Indeed,” Logan interjected. “If we were trying to tickle you it would feel like this.”

He gently clawed his hands around Virgil’s hipbones, careful not to further smudge his painting. Virgil gasped and broke into peals of laughter, his legs desperately trying to curl in, but Logan’s weight on his legs kept him vulnerable.

“Nahahahaha- Logahahahan! D- dohohon’t!”

Logan pulled back, picking up his brush as he once again tried to paint the strip of skin between Virgil’s hipbones.

“See? It feels completely different, doesn’t it?”

Virgil didn’t respond, just threw his head back and laughed helplessly.

“Are yohohohou almohohost done?”

Roman hummed. “Oh, I don’t know. We still have an awful lot of paint left, and I don’t wanna waste a drop.”

He suddenly began flicking his paintbrush against Virgil’s ears, forcing the emo side to slam his head down defensively.

“Na-ahaha! Cheheheating!”

Roman laughed. “Not cheating, more like taking an artistic risk.”

He wormed the brush out from beneath Virgil’s ear, and began tracing paint all underneath his jaw, sending him into desperate giggles.

“Pahahahatton,” he begged, “hehehelp mehehe!”

“Hm?” Patton asked, looking up from his work. “Oh, sorry, kiddo! Got a bit distracted. I decided to write some little notes for you! Do you like them?”

Virgil craned his head, still giggling from Roman’s attack, to read what Patton had written in small letters up and down his ribcage.

Tickly little emo!

Virgil <3′s tickles!

BIG tickle spot here -->

Cutest little stormcloud!

We <3 U Virgil!

Virgil groaned, head falling back onto the floor as his face burned.

“I hate you.”

He was joking, everyone knew that, but for some reason the way Patton went deadly still at Virgil’s words made him nervous.

“Oh, I just thought of something we can all do together!” Patton said, voice smooth and calm. “Roman, will you pass me the paint bottles, please?”

Roman raised an eyebrow at Patton’s request, but passed him the three paints they’d been using- red for Roman, light blue for Patton, and navy for Logan.

Patton popped open the tops and upturned all three bottles of paint onto the center of Virgil’s stomach, which was still mostly bare. Virgil gasped at the cold, wet feeling of the paint of his skin.

“Patton?” he asked cautiously, but Patton ignored him.

“Roman, Logan,” he said instead, lifting his hand to hover over Virgil’s most sensitive spot. “How about some finger painting?”

Virgil’s eyes widened. “Wait-”

They did not wait. As soon as Roman and Logan lifted their hands above the pile of paint on Virgil’s belly, all three sides dig in at once, making Virgil’s laughter explode out of him.

“Nohohohohoho! Plehehehehehease! I- I- ahahahahahahahaha!”

This was so much worse than painting with the brushes. All he could feel were six slick hands, clawing and squeezing and scribbling at his belly all at the same time. Roman and Logan stuck to the outskirts at first, while Patton wasted no time in digging a finger directly into Virgil’s bellybutton.

“Tickle tickle tickle, my little stormcloud!” he cooed. Virgil’s peals of laughter were loud and bright and intoxicating. 

Around and around they went, each of them making sure they covered every single inch of Virgil’s tummy. Of course, they all continued to return to his bellybutton, usually with the excuse of “getting all of the extra paint out of there!”, which allowed them to claw at the inner walls of Virgil’s tickle spot as much as they pleased.

After some time had passed, they eventually relented, each one giving Virgil’s belly one more good squeeze before pulling their hands away.

Virgil’s chest heaved, laying limply on the floor in a giddy daze.

“Aw, look!” Patton cooed. “We made purple!”

Virgil craned his neck to look at his stomach. Patton was right: each of their paints had mixed together to form a large coating of dark purple paint all over Virgil’s tummy.

“Purple just for you, Virgil,” Roman added, pinching Virgil’s cheek teasingly. Virgil jeked away, but he could tell there was now a streak of paint on his face from the way all three of them laughed at him.

“Whatever, whatever,” he muttered without malice. “I’m glad you had fun.”

“Oh, we had so much fun, Virgil! Thank you for being such a good canvas!” Patton replied, just barely stopping himself from hugging Virgil and getting paint all over his clothes.

Virgil sighed. “Guess I should go wash off now-”

He tried to sit up, but Logan’s hand on his hip made him go still, allowing the logical side to push him back down onto his back.

“Actually, Virgil,” Logan stated, “it’s imperative to the health of your skin that you get every bit of paint off. This task would be very difficult to complete by yourself, seeing as there are parts of your body that would be challenging for you to fully clean on your own.”

Virgil’s eyes widened in giddy panic as Logan summoned a bucket of water, several soft wash cloths, and three large scrub brushes. Roman chuckled and went straight for a brush, while Patton giggled as he grabbed one of the wash cloths and dipped it in the water.

“Don’t worry, Virgil,” Logan continued, an uncharacteristically evil smile on his face. “We’d be more than happy to help wash all that paint off of you. No matter how long it takes.”

HI RAYNE i came by 2 ask if u have any art tips when it comes 2 drawing super exaggerated poses? like what is a recommended practice you'd advise ...... asking for a friend lol (im the friend)

HIIII!!!! im sorry for getting to this ask so late, i’ve been thinking about ways i could respond to it but i don’t think i have the energy to add many illustrations

i think that one of the most important parts of creating nice exaggerated poses is being able to visualise and understand whatever character you’re drawing as a series of basic shapes, straight or round! in my recent HLVRAI art i use a lot of round shapes contrasting with more straight shapes which can be manipulated easily into fun poses.

i think the next part of it is to clearly visualise what kind of pose you want, and which parts of it you want to be accentuated. depending on how Exaggerated you want the pose to be, different body parts should lend to this emphasis!

i’m not going to say that i understand how to use a line of action, i just like, Put one or two fun-looking lines and try to have the character flow along it, which i think is kinda how it works??

i also find one of the most pleasing ways to make a nice exaggerated pose (at least for me) is to see how much of it i can fit into a certain Shape. such as here, i drew two red curved lines, and fit the pose to line up inside of it! i used the wider gap at higher end as an indication of depth, so it somewhat looks like he is coming towards the camera so hazardously and lethally (He’s nice though)

the first part of his body i drew is the spine, then the arm and the fist. this is because i wanted his fist to be the main focus of the doodle. since the rest of the drawing is secondary, i sketched the rest of him out afterwards, to make sure they didn’t detract from what i was going for with that Primary BodyPart.

drawing the spine first is generally the way to go, because EVERYTHING is connected to that nasty thing... it can really inform the pose of the drawing to figure out what you want the spine to do before anything else!

although i used his fist as the emphasis here, i think this can apply to any kind of pose. for example, if you want to draw someone doing a SO BIG scream, you should draw the mouth first and have the rest of the face amplify it (such as scrunched up eyebrows/eyes).

it’s probably not the best advice, but yeah!

as a little aside, i find its most fun and easy to draw dynamic poses if you get Yourself into a loosey goosey mood. so drawing some fun squiggles&wiggles on the canvas can help! it’s good to keep a loose arm while doing this because forcing yourself to be rigid makes it harder for SURE.

the more fun you have, and the less you limit yourself, the more thankful your drawing will be!

i hope this helps at all! im sorry i couldn’t do more illustrations, i’m in a little bit of an art block, and i doubt they’d be very helpful anyways.

THANK YOU FOR ASKING!!! IT’S FUN TO DESCRIBE MY ART PROCESS!

Human Canvas | Bang Chan

✧ Genre: Soulmate!au, fluff, wee angst

✧ Summary: You were six years old when you got an inkling of what kind of person your soulmate is; they would draw little doodles on their arms all day, and you would draw back. But as an adult, its as if you two are at war with each other, with them covering your right arm with tattoos and you occasionally painting on your left arm for the fun of it.

✧ Word Count: 2.9k

✧ Want to read other parts of this series? Check out my masterlist!

                                         ✧

 Growing up as a child in the era of booming technological advances and rising platforms of social media, it was hard not to become a member of at least one standing media presence. In your case, you were a well-known star on Instagram, showing off your strange yet classical renditions of paintings on the canvases covered with colors - or, on other occasions, your left arm.

 As a child you loved to experiment with colors and silly doodles, even if you didn't have the creative capacity to paint your own designs. Your mother would frequently have to force you to take baths so she could scrub the childish splashes of color off of your arm - however on one occasion, you had noticed a little sketch of what looked to be a sad excuse of a shark on your right arm. Here’s the thing, your right hand was the only one that could paint or draw, so you had zero clue as to how or why the shark got on there.

 When you’d asked your mother about it, her lips had suddenly parted as wide as the sea. “Honey, quick - write something on your arm!” She had told you, her shaking fingers handing you a blue-ink pen she had been writing with just moments ago. You didn't question her, since you were still just a kid that listened dutifully to everything your parents told you to do, and wrote out the word ‘hello.’ on your left arm.

 Within seconds you felt a strange sensation on your opposite arm; when you glanced over at it in confusion, you saw red ink being scribbled onto your bare skin to spell out ‘who are you?’

 That same day, your mother had the “the talk” with you - in which she explained that every single person on Earth had someone they were essentially destined to be with; no one knew why or how it came to be, but the evidence was there.

 Your mother recounted on how she found her soulmate, your father, in high school. Apparently her bond was one where she could write something down, anything, on any sort of material and it would appear on the closest object (albeit reasonable) within minutes by your father. It was somewhat similar to your bond with this other kid, except if you drew something on your skin, it would appear on the same part of his body in seconds.

 The boy you were bonded with, Chan, was apparently ambidextrous but preferred writing with his left hand, which was why he never doodled on the same arm as you. Within months you two had made interesting splashes of colors, silly sketches, and much more on each other’s skin.

 However, as you got older, this came to be a rather pressing issue; in one of your college classes, you had been in the midst of a serious presentation when the professor cleared his throat awkwardly to signal you to stop. You’d looked over to him in confusion, as well as your giggling classmates, only to glance down at your right arm now covered in some rather... inappropriate designs. Why did you have to wear short sleeves that day?

 In retaliation, you casually asked Chan what classes he took at school and when he had them; clearly he mistook your questions as just plain old curiosity, because the next day during his history class you had decided to paint a mural of bright yellows and pinks onto his skin. He was stuck with the neon colors all day, as none of his friends would lend him a jacket or coat in favor of laughing their asses off at him.

 From then on it was like an all out war - he would doodle obscurities on your arm and you would stain his some ugly combination of colors. Then, one day, you’d woken up to a fucking tattoo on your right arm.

 You were tempted to rant about it in a caption on a post, but decided you were better than that. Instead you took out all of your frustrations on painting your left arm with a plethora of delightful blues and yellows, creating a sort of rendition to the piece Starry Night by Van Gogh.

 You snapped a picture of your artwork, feeling quite proud of yourself, and posted it on your Instagram page, it being only one of the many other art pieces you had on your page. In minutes the comments had been flooded with mostly positive remarks and a few mindful critiques, not that you minded; feedback was feedback, and all of it would hopefully further your progress as an aspiring artist.

 Still, you knew that you needed to find Chan before he put even more tattoos on your body; you were a person who kind of needed to be presented as classy, and that meant no tattoos on your skin - sure you found it ridiculous, but you also didn't mind the pay you got from your job at the hospital.

 “Y/N - is that, is that a tattoo?”

 “For the love of - zip it, Minho!” You hiss at your amused yet stunned coworker, a fellow nurse by the name of Lee Minho. Both of you had gone through the basic stages of medical school together, and now you both happened to be some of the best nurses the hospital had seen in ages; so naturally, the two of you were rather close. “I didn't choose to have it, okay? That stupid soulmate of mine got it a few weeks ago.” You explain softly under your breath so passing doctors and nurses couldn't hear you.

 Minho lets out a small noise of understanding, though his lips are still pulled into an amused smirk. “I see, I see. But why don't you just let it be seen, it's actually really cool.”

 You sigh at his question, knowing he was just curious as to why you didn't want to show it off or anything. It wasn't like tattoos weren't allowed, per say, but you knew that it came off as more professional if the ink wasn't visible, no matter how cool it looked on your arm. “It’s just more professional this way, Minho. Don't get me wrong, I think the design is really interesting and beautiful, but now I have to wear long sleeves even though its hot as hell in here.”

 “Fair point. So, you don't know where this Chan guys lives, or what his full name is?” The nurse asks, waving to a senior doctor that passes by you with a clipboard in hand.

 “Nope.” You reply simply.

 “Then why not ask him? All you need to do is write it somewhere on your arm, right?” He presses on, the curiosity eating him alive as to why you hadn't just asked your soulmate who exactly he was and where he lived so you two could actually meet each other.

 You blink at him, once, twice, and then once more. “You... have a point,” you admit to the man, who is now smirking all too victoriously at you, “but - whenever I asked for his name all those years ago, he said that his nickname was Chan. I’m guessing he doesn’t like his real name or isn’t ready to find me yet.”

 Minho whines at your explanation, his fingers going to the that had ridden up to expose the ink, tugging it down for you. “It wouldn’t hurt to ask now, right? I mean, you’re both adults now. There’s no way that he doesn’t want to meet you yet.”

 You shrug softly to yourself, subconsciously tracing over the part of the sleeve that was covering the tattoo. While you had been ready to finally meet your soulmate, you had an odd hunch that Chan just wasn't ready, and you were afraid to accidently pressure him into it so soon.

 “I’ll think about it.”

 About a week later you finally decided that you really needed to find Chan, because he had gotten yet another tattoo on his arm - now along with the stunning rose covered in dark thorns just under your shoulder, there was a shorter cluster of thorny stems; it seemed like he was working towards getting a full sleeve.

 It's not like you disliked the tattoos - in fact, you were amazed that you didn’t have to go through the pain or process of spending the money on the beautiful designs. You just wanted to lay out a few ground rules - like, nothing on the face... what, tons of people got face tattoos these days, you had a right to be worried about what else the guy wanted on his - and your - skin.

 You’d been in the middle of scrolling through your feed, a french fry lazily resting between your lips as you nibbled on the salty snack, your eyes trained on the bright screen of your phone. Suddenly you stopped mid chew, eyes widening at what had caught your attention.

 It was the same exact tattoo inked onto your right arm, except the stems had been extended towards the wrist where they wrapped around the skin to look like roots, and there were falling, wilting rose petals drifting down the sketch. Within seconds you had clicked on the suggested account’s username, waiting anxiously as it redirected you to an account run by what appeared to be a tattoo parlor. If you were right about the sleeve being an original design, then that meant there was a big possibility Chan had gotten his ink done at this particular parlor.

 Furthering your investigation and completely abandoning the fries next to you, you click on the linked website in the parlor’s description, praying it wasn’t too far away.

 Oh my god, you thought to yourself in a mixture of pure shock and growing excitement, staring at the directions from the map that had popped up when you allowed it to use your location, its only three miles away!

 Not caring that you were still wearing loose sweatpants covered in cat hair along with a baggy, very wrinkled shirt, you literally jumped out of bed to run and slip a pair of shoes on, swinging your door open and shutting it quickly. You stared down at your phone as you hopped into your car, activating the GPS as you began your drive to the tattoo parlor.

 The entire drive you felt like you were either going to puke or cry - maybe both. After all this time, after all those years of communicating through scribbles of messily written words on your skin, along with the silly drawings, you might actually be able to meet Chan... your soulmate.

 When you arrived it was just another hour before it closed for the night, so you could only hope that someone working there would recognize the tattoo on your arm and be able to tell you who else got it recently. You quickly locked your car, nearly dropping your keys you were so jittery, and walked into the parlor. At the front desk there was a man with dyed blonde hair and darker brown roots, and the second you walked in he had glanced up at you with a warm, welcoming smile.

“H-hi,” you breathe out after a second of silence, still trying to catch your breath from rushing out of your house so fast, “um, weird question, but has anyone else gotten a tattoo like this recently?” You ask the receptionist, turning and lifting your sleeve so the entire piece was visible.

 The man lets out a small hum, looking up at you from the desk curiously. “Our main tattoo artist designed that himself a while ago, he’s been working up to a full sleeve since about... four weeks ago, maybe?”

 “Is - is his name Chan, by chance?”

 “That’s his sort of nickname around here, yeah. His actual name is Chris. Are you... a friend of his?” He asks you, chuckling softly at your disheveled head of hair and red cheeks. Clearly you had been in a rush.

 You shake your head at first, but remember that you are the guy’s soulmate, and technically you have known each other since you were kids - in a sense. “Is he here, right now?”

 The receptionist nods again, jerking his head to a door behind the desk. “Yeah, he’s alone cleaning up right now. Go ahead.”

 You send him a thankful smile, nearly stumbling into the corner of his desk as you walk slowly towards the door that is acting as the only barrier between yourself and your soulmate. Your mind is screaming at you to walk away out of sheer fear, but your heart is pounding so hard in your chest that you ignore any other thoughts racking your brain - and you walk inside.

 Holy shit he’s gorgeous. Is the first thing that pops inside your head when your eyes land on the man, his right arm dotting the same tattoo on yours, his hair a pretty sort of silver color. The man raised an eyebrow at you, then glanced down at your arm as you quite literally held it out towards him.

 “Um... what am I looking at?” Chan hesitates on his words, glancing back up at you in confusion. Your eyebrows furrow in wonder; was he seriously choosing now of all times to play around?

 “We have the same tattoo, Chan - it’s me, Y/N!” You insist after an awkward pause, only to recoil in shock as his eyes narrow into a glare.

 “Alright sweetheart, you’ve gotta be high as shit right now because I don’t see one dot of ink on that damn arm.” The artist retorts lowly, as if he was offended by your rash outburst. “I don’t believe you - Y/N would have to have my design on her arm, and you don’t.”

 Your lips part in hurt, and a bit of... pride? Here Chan was, standing right before you with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring down at you because he thought you were some random chick claiming to be his soulmate.

 Then it hit you.

 “Um - you know what - never mind, I guess I got confused.” You apologize to the man. “Actually I came in to get a - a tattoo. I completely forgot to make an appointment, so I can come back tomorrow or-”

 “Just lay down and tell me what you want, I could care less about an appointment right now. No one else is scheduled to come in.” Chan instructs and you listen, going to lie down on the leather chair. You were nuts - here you were, getting your first real tattoo just to try and prove that you were his soulmate. Were there easier ways to do so? Obviously, but the adrenaline pumping through your veins mixed with the loss of any rational thought had skewed any other possible plans to convince Chan of your identity.

 “Can I get... three birds on the back of my shoulder?” You blurt out suddenly, knowing that it was a simple tattoo. Chan hums at your choice, telling you to lift your shirt off so he can prep your skin. He tells you that he has a design like that and shows it to you for approval, and you of course nod in agreement and wait for him to get everything ready.

 The next thirty minutes go by as a blur, with Chan inking your left shoulder with tiny black birds and tiny details of wind and feathers. Once he’s done patching it up, you tap his arm to catch his attention.

 “Can you um... look at your shoulder?” You ask him, your cheeks heating up when he snorts at you in disbelief. You’re not sure if he’s just trying to flatter you, since to him you were some weirdo who’d popped into his tattoo parlor out of nowhere for no real rhyme or reason; but he does as you suggest, walking over to a mirror hung onto the wall. He dips the hem of his shirt downward and tilts his head to see - nothing.

 There wasn’t a trio of black birds on his skin.

 “Holy shit - you really are Y/N, aren't you?”

 You glance up at the baffled man in bewilderment, wondering how he had figured it own even though your tattoo hadn’t showed up on his shoulder.

 “Didn't you... didn't you see the birds?” He questions you quickly, only to furrow his eyebrows when you shake your head slowly. “Wait - maybe, maybe we can’t see what we’ve done to the other person’s body - I’ve heard of it before, in cases like this-” The silver haired man starts to speak a mile a minute, taking short steps towards you with each rushed word that escaped his lips.

 “Sometimes, when soulmates are close to each other in terms of distance, the bond acts on its own and can make a sort of - barrier, I guess? Here, look at your wrist.” He says after he’s grabbed a stray pen from his cluttered counter, doing a quick doodle on his own wrist. You flatter him, looking down to see a cute little smiley face staring back up at you - then you glance to his wrist, seeing the same exact doodle in black ink.

 “You can see it, right?” You nod, too shocked to speak. You had finally found him, your actual soulmate.

 Chan lets the pen drop to the floor and wraps his arms around your body tightly, pulling you into his chest.

 “You found me, Y/N.”

                                           ✧

A/N - thanks, I hate it! :)

My first memory of a wedding dress is a little vague but I can still remember the feelings of awe and wonder it inspired. It was my cousin’s wedding and I was her flower girl. I was decked in a frothy, flowery pink dress and my cousin who seemed to fill the room with her height (I was tiny then and everything looked huge from my perspective) was in the biggest ballgown I had ever seen. Struck by the beauty and sheer mass of the dress, I began to look forward to the day I too, would get my ballgown moment (opinions have since changed- I am no longer a ballgown aficionado).

Since then, I have been on a quest to find the most beautiful wedding dresses in the world- and from my rather hyperbolic title, you can tell that today’s post is going to be a doozy.

Hello and welcome to another post where I fangirl over a topic.

Today, I’m going to be pulling together all the wedding dresses I’ve ever loved, from cinema to real life, you name it! This particular post is in two parts and I’ll be discussing why I love the dresses and why I think they make the top ten all-time list.

First up, wedding dresses from film.  

Carrie Bradshaw’s Vivienne Westwood dress from Sex and the City

The Sex and the City universe was a fashion trip. Although I never actually watched the series, I was glued to the products of Carrie Bradshaw’s wardrobe in the movies. The photoshoot for the magazine after her engagement was announced was amazing, giving us shot after shot of what happens when you get the all-star treatment. The dresses from the designers were works of art but none embodied the fashion forward spirit of our heroine than her Vivienne Westwood dress. To even begin to understand why the dress is so special, you’ve got to first look at its creator. Vivienne Westwood is known as the godmother of punk fashion, and to dip her nib in the wedding ink, you know that such a designer is going to do something extraordinary.

And extraordinary it was. Carrie’s dress is a ballgown, holding true to her princess-like status. But it is also sleek and modern, capturing the very essence of a woman who sees herself as the heart and soul of New York. It is beautiful and paired with the feather, it was stunning. This dress is an all-star entry, deserving of its own spot in an exhibition and I’m sure there a few people who would agree.

Mia Thermopolis-Renaldi’s dress in The Princess Diaries 2: A Royal Engagement

I don’t know how many people know this but I am not the biggest fan of lace, mostly because lace in all its forms disagrees with me.

However, I am willing to forget all that when I watch The Princess Diaries, especially the second movie. I love all the fashion moments, from Queen Clarisse’s dress to Mia’s 21st birthday party to their parade outfits. But the zenith of all moments was Mia, gliding down the aisle in the most regal wedding dress a fictional character has ever worn.

And you know what it had?

Lace, and a good amount of it.

Mia’s A-line beauty was built for a queen-in-waiting, the lace being a sign of that girlish, somewhat careless nature of hers and the smooth silk providing structure to the lace, strong support for a girl transitioning into a woman; a princess into a queen. For anyone who is looking for some sweet royal inspiration, look no further than Her Royal Majesty, Queen Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi, Queen of Genovia.

Lisa McDowell’s wedding dress in Coming to America

You know what’s wild about Coming to America?

It’s how they managed to pull off all that Euro-African headgear! It cracks me up every time.

Anyway, Coming to America doesn’t disappoint when it comes to delivering iconic lines and equally iconic fashion. I’m sure by now we’re familiar with the various interpretations of Imani’s court presentation dress during prom season but least talked about is the dress that ends it all- Lisa’s bubblegum pink delight of a wedding dress.

If you’ve read my colors post, my total abhorrence for the color pink is no surprise. That hatred melts away when I see Lisa’s dress. In form, it is the typical choice for an African bride- massive ballgown with a bustier and a towering tiara (the only thing it’s missing is the typical jacket- you know the one). But in color, it sets her apart. That’s not to say that there aren’t members of court who are donning the pink for the wedding. No, this is different. They are clad in soft gauzy pastels but she is the American woman who stole the heart of their prince and she is in a quintessentially American color. She is representing.

And in this thesis, I will discuss why everybody needs to vote Lisa McDowell for president…

Just kidding. Tl; dr: Lisa got the best dress a princess-to-be could ask for.

Toula Portcullis’ dress in My Big Fat Greek Wedding

For anyone who hasn’t heard of Toula Portcullis, she is the much-harangued heroine of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Honestly, her pains are many especially after she gets engaged and has to balance the cares of planning an intercultural wedding while still managing to stay sane. She’s stressed and if not for her fiancé, she would have lost it completely.

That aside, the reason her dress is here is not because it is a great beauty (it’s not quite to my liking, really) but for the sentiment attached to it. Toula, as the last female to wed in her family, is gifted with the poufiest dress in history, a dress steeped in a mix of love, culture and good wishes. It is her family’s wish that she lives and lives well and with the way they handle they dress, the ball of fabric passing from happy hand to happy hand before it gets to the bride, their coos and prayers are following her. Even though she declares, “I am a snow beast” as she sees herself in the mirror, she’s still as her family wanted her to be- the most beautiful bride they had ever seen. Later on- after some reverse tailoring by the new couple- excessively frilly, silly and poufy becomes pretty and sweet.

And that is the end of my story.  

Tiana’s wedding dress from The Princess and the Frog

Tiana’s wedding dress is as a few of my friends from school used to say, special spesh. Besides being the first and only black princess in the Disney Princess franchise, she’s also the only one whose dress can boast of what it’s made of.

First, it is straight up juju- a feat I am yet to see any Nollywood movie accomplished. Tiana had the best dressmaker in the world and I know this because from what I know, any woman who is called ‘The Voodoo Queen of the Bayou’ has got to outrank another who goes by ‘Fairy Godmother’ (I’m sorry, Ms. Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Bo but it’s a fact).

Second, her dress is 100% natural- everything swamp material. Tiana marries (pun intended) fashion, function and today’s buzzword, ‘sustainability’ in what is perhaps, the grandest statement a new princess can make. It is green, regal and eco-friendly and who better to wear a dress that striking than a woman who understands how to live a no-waste life.

And next, wedding dresses from real life!

Grace Kelly’s wedding dress

No list about the best weeding dresses is complete without mentioning Grace Kelly.

Before there was Meghan Markle, there was the original American superstar to marry into royalty and her dress… Constructed by her studio’s seamstress, Helen Rose, Grace Kelly’s dress was built in such a way that it did not overwhelm her in the way that many wedding dresses can. The lampshade silhouette of the dress, though uncommon now, is quite unique, especially with the way it stands- with unnoticed support structure, of course. The lace is delicate, sculpted into style that is both modern and old. It fits its wearer perfectly and makes her quite the standout bride. The dress is timeless, an opinion I’m sure most bridal enthusiasts would agree with.

Beyoncé’s vow renewal gown by Galia Lahav

There’s something about Galia Lahav creations that just transport the viewer or wearer into another world. Dresses from the brilliant folks who make them are elegant, stylish and beautiful, and this particular dress – worn by none other than Beyoncé – takes the cake.

I’ve always loved seeing Galia Lahav dresses and this particular dress has been my favorite for a long time. When I saw that Beyoncé had nabbed it for vow renewal, I was practically jumping for joy. It is an elegantly crafted piece, with a structured bodice, statement sleeves, sections of skirt that stylishly expose the thigh, and both delicate lace and rococo-style detailing juxtaposed beside each other. It’s beautiful dress for a beautiful lady who makes beautiful music.

Was that too many beautifuls?

Angelina Jolie’s wedding dress

Just like Toula Portcullis’ dress, Angelina Jolie’s dress was steeped in sentiment. A simple enough dress, pleated at the bodice and attached to an A-line skirt, the main draw of the skirt was what was it’s back. Made by Versace, it was as simple as it was sweet.

Giving her children license to express themselves, the back of the wedding dress was transformed into a canvas for them. Each of her children contributed drawings, doodles and sketches which were then transferred from paper to fabric and transformed into high art. It was, in short, a beautiful tribute from loving children to their loving mother. I bet Maleficent would have loved it.

Kate Middleton’s Alexander McQueen wedding dress

Whenever a royal wedding rolls around, regular folk and royal watchers get buzzing. All royal families are well, royal and there is none more royal than the most famous one of all: The British Royal Family. So, when a future queen gets her wedding day, the best designers are entrusted with the task of making the royal bride look the part.

To execute this task, the Duchess of Cambridge turned to the house of Alexander McQueen. Head of house, Sarah Burton delivered in a big way, turning the volume on the phrase, ‘English Rose’ all the way up. Incorporating motifs of the English Commonwealth into a traditional princess look, lace and silk and delicate detailing were the order of the day. Her Royal Highness’ wedding dress beat all on her wedding and it has continued to be one of the top contenders on the list of the most defining wedding dresses of the last twenty years.

And this absolutely fantastic creation!

This dress looks like Christmas morning, with a side of ‘It’s my birthday!’ You can be sure that though my preferences aren’t with ball gowns, this is one dress I would not hesitate to put on if it were given to me!

And that folks, is the end of today’s post. I know everybody’s got their favorites and I can’t wait to hear yours.

This post marks the end of the ‘clearing out my drafts’ spree and I, for one, am glad that now, I can really begin to work on new stuff. A few pieces are currently cooking in my head and who knows, maybe a certain suspended series might get some new life! It’s the season of second chances and I am just brimming with joy as Christmas Day approaches.

Until next time, ciao!

Top 10 wedding dresses of all time My first memory of a wedding dress is a little vague but I can still remember the feelings of awe and wonder it inspired.

I got this question on deviantart, and I felt like reposting my answer here, in case anyone is interested :P 

THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG REPLY BUT BEAR WITH ME LOL When I first started drawing/am I self taught : I've been drawing since kindergarten. Anime specifically, since I was about 8 years old. so that's been uh...18 years since I've started drawing in the anime-esque style? I am self taught on these areas. I picked up a digital artist tablet at the age of 13 or so, (it was a wacom Graphire 4 4x5 in) so it's been 13 years of digital art practice i've gotten in. I have picked up several how to draw books over the years until i surpassed some of them. But even now i'm constantly referencing tutorials and poses, looking for ideas and color palettes, etc. I have taken some schooling in college for art. I took beginner's drawing and color theory and maybe a little of art history but that's about it before i quit lmao What inspired me to draw in the first place/what I first drew: The thing that inspired me to draw in the first place was my favorite cartoons. from a very young age i knew that cartoons weren't real, but it fascinated me that actual people could create almost living people. I related to cartoons, and even though they were fake characters, I just loved the idea of creating a whole world of my own. So I took up drawing in kindergarten. First things I drew were flowers, rainbows, trees, etc. But My first biggest undertaking was powerpuffgirls. lol This was the series that started it all. Began drawing tons of powerpuffgirls stories and oc's. For the next few years I would watch different things like all the standard cartoon network shows. But I watched yugioh and dbz and other anime things too. What also got me into anime art style was the online game neopets lol Their faeries designs ( http://images.neopets.com/games/pages/icons/screenshots/586/4.jpg ) kind of had an anime resemblance, so I started drawing those for a while. When I was 8 or 9 years old my father bought me my first how to draw manga book (this one in particular: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Drawing-Manga-Ben-Krefta/dp/1841931713  ) looking back on it, this book is terrible and the anime in it is so ugly looking lol. However, i used that thing religiously and began making my own characters like a blue elf girl and a human friend of hers. ( in fact, here's the post. i tried redrawing them recently lol: https://shock777.tumblr.com/post/145898896143/finding-old-art-is-the-best-cause-you-can-redraw ) ...Then the real transformation began once I started watching Teen Titans when it aired in 2003. I was 10 at the time. That show started my love for japan. The language interested me and I began researching Japanese songs and trying to sing along to them. I didn't know what the words meant, but the artistic style and meshing of western cartoons and anime of the show really piqued my interest. My earliest drawings of them suckedddd XD; As Teen Titans drew to a close near 2006-2007 ish, I picked up Naruto and then it was all over since then lol my anime style and weeb days really came into full force lol I thank naruto though. I learned how to draw more realistic anatomy as opposed to cartoony anatomy. It was a very wild ride, but it's all documented here on my deviantart page as I got this exact account around the same time! I started posting my work in 2008, so you can go back far enough into my gallery and see the progress XD; I keep the old cringe up because it just motivates me and hopefully others, to keep drawing and keep going farther! :) PHEW lol long history there XD I do have some of my old art!!! If you wanna see some, I've posted a little here: https://shock777.tumblr.com/tagged/old-art plus I already said there's a few still on my dA gallery haha Tips I can give to you: 1. And I think this is most important, JUST KEEP GOING. It's soooo tempting to quit drawing when things aren't going right and when you're not happy with how your art looks. Trust me, every artist I've ever known including myself have gone through this. It's so easy to compare your work to someone else's. The thing is, we're all in this together. No one expects a newborn to be able to file taxes or drive a car lol. We all have to evolve and change, and that change comes from consistent work. Art isn't an inherent talent, it is hard work that is honed over several years of blood, sweat and tears lmao JUST KEEP GOING. as I've mentioned, my old cringe art is still on my dA page. Back then when I was younger I was less concerned with things being perfect and I spam posted almost every doodle. And I began a "fanbase" i guess because of those days and my consistent posting. I've had this freaking deviantart page for 11 freakin years. If I had stopped drawing whenever I felt my art was imperfect or not good enough, I would have stopped posting around 2009. so...just keep going. And I'd even dare you to post your "shitty doodles" that you think aren't that great. Because you never know what someone else will see in it that you don't. Be confident, and never give up! 2. Soak up any tutorial and really focus on studying your favorite artist's styles. If there's something you want to replicate in your art that someone else is drawing, try to see how they do it. sometimes artists have tutorials posted and sometimes they don't. I have a few posted on my youtube channel ( https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRB9xQBsGpfetNJbmXWZ1fL9d5IlqQs1w ) and some in my gallery. Don't exactly copy some things stroke for stroke, but try to add your little spin to something. Like sometimes I will see art senpai drawing a specific eye style I wanna replicate, but I don't like one part of the process. So sometimes I'll just add my own little addition, or just omit that process completely. Usually though, if the art style isn't necessarily super unique, you can copy a lot of mainstream styles without anyone really griping saying "oh you're just copying so and so's art style". It's important to look up to art senpais i think. They make me want to try harder lol 3. Take an art class if you're able. Color theory really helped me grasp things that I never had before. LIKE REFLECTIVE LIGHT FOR INSTANCE. I never drew that shit but now I do because DUH it's so freaking obvious lol It also helps to learn what colors neutralize others, complementary colors, analogous ones, etc. It's nice to have an eye for what matches together and to know the principles of art. I still have a lot of work to do when it comes to perspective, which we did cover a little in class lol but work on your own pace. If your college near you offers a class for beginners, take it if you're able. it will help you view things differently. 4. Copy realistically. Like, I'm talking look at a freaking object in your room and try to draw it. Once you can draw it semi realistically, you can then add your own little stylistic choices to it. Like so many artists who draw chibis or cartoony things, they more than likely know the proper proportions of people and anatomy. But they draw the proportions all whacky and it creates their own style. However it does help to know how they work in reality lol 5. TRACE OVER POSES. Sometimes I do this. I'm not saying to trace someone's art, but if you see some kind of pose on say a google image, or a stock photo, try sketching over it to get a feel for where the joints connect if you're working on anatomy. It reaaaallly helps you memorize where the arm would end, or where the torso connects to the hips. 6. Take advice and criticism well. If someone sees something you don't about your art, they may be on to something. It's not wrong if someone gives you a heads up that a proportion seems lacking or something seems too big or out of place. It will actually help you to see what others see. Sometimes we get in the habit of drawing something a certain way and it's hard to break that habit especially if you've drawn the same thing several hundred times. It will help you in the long run to just accept that you're always going to be improving. You'll never be perfect at drawing, so what do you have to lose? Just keep walking forward and learn what you can. 7. Flip the canvas. This is more or less a digital art tip, but please flip the canvas to make sure the proportions are not off. lol A lot of professionals have to flip the canvas until they get a feel for where things are placed. Another good tip is to use a stabilizer of some kind to draw straight lines. Paint tool sai has one at the very top of the window. It helps tremendously. 8. Draw what you like and don't feel bad for not drawing everything everyone else likes. Don't sacrifice your morals or your personal desires for something everyone else likes. If you're paid to draw something you don't like, thats another thing. but don't let people pressure you to draw stuff that you don't want to. You'll be much happier, and build an audience that is much like-minded to you. Be considerate of what your audience likes, sure, but remember at the end of the day, art is something to express one's self. Art is not and should not be a job. Even if you get paid money to draw or design things, it's important to take a break and draw something for yourself every once in a while. Be self indulgent, and treat yo self from time to time :) And uhhh...that's all I can think of for the time being. :') let me know if you have any further questions or if I need to clarify anything :) Thanks again!

Jasmine, Ceylon, Turkish

26. Jasmin tea: Can you draw / paint? Wanna show me something? 

Yes, I draw AND paint but like I’ve only painted a couple of times… (I should really make a sketchbook tour video cause there’s some gems in there) 

and YES I want to show you something absolutely

but since I can never decide on anything, here’s a little horde of my favorite previously unposted drawings/paintings :) Three on my legs(yes you read that right), two watercolors, two paintings on stiff boards, one on a large canvas, and four drawings 

I’ll be putting them under the cut with notes on what they all are because I’m so incredibly indecisive so I’m just putting a bunch of them :D

15. Ceylon tea: Do you have a song you like, but have bad memories with?

So there’s not one that popped in my head, but I did spend like a month learning Snowy Day by Caroline Dare on the guitar for a school talent show and I was freaking out about it for the whole time and then when my audition came I totally choked and I was really upset that I didn’t do a good job at the audition. Needless to say, I didn’t get in. So it does come with those feelings when I hear it now. 

I’m Still Here by John Rzeznik (Treasure Planet) literally always makes me feel like crying a little bit because it really resonates with me and whatnot. I love it though, it’s a cathartic one :) So not specific memories, just like a general theme.

19. Turkish tea: What is your favourite cake? 

Look. If it’s cold cake I’m not super picky… 

Funfetti just makes me happy :Dbut my other top picks are white/yellow/vanilla and chocolate

Thanks love!

Art from the first question under the cut with explanations/commentary/notes

This was the first drawing on my legs I ever did and I like it even though it’s really underexposed. Cute little winged figure :)

This is part of a set of doodles I did all over my legs at a later date. Cute Klance doodle :)

and this was on my other leg(the rest of the drawings did not look nearly this good so that’s all from that :)

This is a watercolor vaguely inspired by one of my closest friends IRL and I gave it to her for her birthday

And this is my favorite more recent watercolor landscape :)

this one is hard to see but it’s a painting on a thin board canvas. The idea is that it’s of a pine tree clearing and the stars on a clear night(I was camping and I really wanted to paint it so this is the first real painting I did)

And I love this one that took me like two days and I’m so proud of how the lighting and the fire turned out so I’m really proud of how that looks(also a thin board canvas) It’s not a character I just liked the idea and how it ended up looking

This is my first big painting on a stretched canvas and to be honest I hated it when i first painted it but I was proud of the tree in the middle and the grass along the bottom, but it’s about a year old and it’s really grown on me. :)

And some drawings from my sketchbooks:

This pose is inspired from some HTTYD concept art in the credits of the second movie that I thought the pose matched the fire nation in my book series so that happened

This is day seven of last Inktober that I never posted but she’s adorable and I love her so much

Another Inktober pic I never posted but they’re cute little stick figures dancing in a bottle with hearts coming out the top and I made it gay after my brother left the room so honestly what more could you want

And finally a Toothless redraw that turned out REALLY well and I was SO happy about it and honestly still am

What about the RFA and Unknown and V finding out that MC has a career in the arts (author, artist, actor or something like that?) @saeranlover

Lol it’s been like 5,000 years since I’ve done a request, here you go bbies

Yoosung:

It was always a lingering thought in Yoosung’s mind

The thought always came randomly, but sometimes he swore that he  recognized your voice

Like the one time you yelled “Come at me!” at a friend who was teasing you and he just froze for a second to think about why it sounded familiar

It wasn’t until one day he was testing out a LOLOL character he’s never played before and she screamed out a line of dialogue before her attack

And suddenly he heard your voice behind him perfectly recreate the line

He turned around to see you cheekily grinning from your place on the bed

But it was wiped off your face soon enough because baby boi just pounced you into a big hug

“MC WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME YOU VOICED A CHARACTER IN LOLOL I WOULD’VE PLAYED AS HER MORE OFTEN IF I KNEW.”

You giggled as he rapidly asked you other things you voice acted in and gawked when he recognized the other characters you’ve voiced in games and cartoons

He’ll shyly ask you to reenact his favorite lines or scenes and his inner fanboy will show

Yoosung’s never really been into the behind the scenes stuff but he already somewhat was a fan of yours before so he’s basically dating his favorite VA

Silly lil’ peanut is gonna ask for your autograph on his merch of the characters you’ve voiced

Jaehee:

She found out during one of your nights in

You were in the kitchen preparing the snacks while Jaehee sorted through the set of musicals the two of you had rented for tonight (you finally convinced her that watching ‘Promiscuous Jalapeno’ for the 8th time in a row was a little much)

Once that was all said and done, you cuddled up to Jaehee while the movie started as she fed you popcorn

Oh crap, you recognized this movie

You actually got the part of the main dancer in this film (it was your typical dance batte film)

You somewhat never wanted her to find out  that you were an actor/dancer in fear of always being compared to Zen

Once your character was introduced, Jaehee’s eyes squinted a little at the screen before gasping and shaking your shoulders

“MC, MC, IS THAT YOU?”

“U-uhm nooooo...?”

“Wait, why would you keep this secret from me?”

After explaining your reasoning as to why, she just pulled you into a tight hug

“I’d never compare you anyone else, I love you just the way you are, famous or not!”

After watching the movie, she put aside the time to scour the internet for every performance you’ve been in and is about to be the proud owner of all your merch

jaehee please no that was our grocery money

Zen:

“lolol zen have you seen mc’s latest cover?”

“Cover? What’re you talking about?”

“the one on her youtube channel???”

“...”

“you do know what she does for a living, right??”

After Seven endlessly mocked Zen for not knowing what his own girlfriend did for a living, Seven graciously provided the link to your Youtube channel

Zen then proceeded to spend the next 3 hours of his life going through

your entire channel

He knew that you liked to sing and sounded like an angel but this

This is something extraordinary

You actually made a living doing this and he never even knew!

 He finally made his way up to your latest cover (which was uploaded about a week ago), and HO L Y  C R A P

It was the song he’s practiced at home for months on end for a musical he recently just starred in!

When you get home that night, you’re bombarded with compliments and questions (mostly compliments)

You explained that you never recorded around him because you were afraid that he might’ve thought you were going to use him for popularity

“Babe, I know you would never do that NOW WILL YOU PLEASE DUET WITH ME--”

Guess who has the best mashup cover of ‘Butterfly’ now

Jumin:

Coming home a few hours early was indeed a rare occurrence for Jumin

Usually when he came home, you were instantly there to greet him with a hug and kiss

He called your name, but there was no response, just a faint typing sound

After hanging his coat on the coat hanger, he began walking towards the noise, his hands already working on loosening his tie

“Ah, here you are, my love,” he said upon entering the officeroom

“Jumin, you’re home early,” you smiled, letting your husband wrap his arms around your shoulders and resting his chin atop your head

“The office had to close early for some renovations,” Jumin explained, “but I’m more interested in what you’re working on.”

“I’m working on my next book!”

The surprised look on his face made you remember that you never brought it up to him before, but now is as good as time as any to explain

Jumin seemed genuinely intrigued as he listened to your explanation on your book series, which was apparently very popular

When you finished, he asked if you could lend him the first addition, as he did enjoy reading in his spare time

And soon enough, he was hooked

He’d have long talks with you over dinner on how he wasn’t expecting a plot twist or how well you wrote your characters

Or about how you should hurry and finish the next book because you left him on a cliffhanger

707:

He’s known since the background check that you had a job in digital art but he tucked that away in the back of his head because there were too many other things happening at the time (eg the hacker, your sudden appearance, his emotions and job...)

It isn’t until one day where he’s been able to work for a few hours straight without you lecturing him about how he should take a break

So he got up from his chair, slapped his right leg a few times to wake it up, and ventured outside his office to find you

To no surprise, you were huddled inside in the bedroom, but this time with your drawing tablet in hand

“Hey Saeyoung,” you tiredly muttered, eyes still glued to the laptop screen

His eyes trailed to where you were looking and a look of mock hurt morphed on his face, “MC, how dare you draw a picture of another man!”

You stifled a laugh at your boyfriend’s dramatic tone, “Zen just asked me to draw some things for his website so I’m--”

“You should me drawing me instead! Here, I’ll even pose for you!” 

You regret even looking behind you, because Saeyoung was already stripping down to his boxers, need I remind you the pair with cat faces on them

“DRAW ME LIKE ONE OF YOUR FRENCH GIRLS.”

“SAEYOUNG PUT YOUR CLOTHES BACK ON AND GET TO BACK TO WORK!”

V:

Usually you were making some sort of noise in the house, but today you were oddly quiet

“MC? Where are you?”

“I’m in the living room,” you hollered back as he started making his way over, “Be careful not to bump my arm though.”

“What’re you doing?” he asked, taking a seat on the floor next to you

You explained that you liked paint and used it as a way to make some extra pocket money

V was very happy and excited to hear that you had an artistic career just like him

You were always delighted to describe the paintings to him, and you always did it with such passion

After awhile, he started to miss photography and he so badly wanted to see your work for himself

So he decided to get the eye surgery

Once he did, he was shocked at how much he can see your heart poured onto the canvas

You often went out into nature together and sit there together for hours to photograph/paint and enjoy one another’s company

You also loved painting some of V’s older photographs and he loved it and every single one is framed in the house

#artsycouple

The day you painted a picture of the sun and gave it to him, he cried

Unknown:

The first time Saeran ever walked into your room, his eyes immediately darted to the big, colorful collection of sticky note pads on your desk

He picked one up, noting that every one had a slightly different drawing than the others, “What’re these for?”

“Oh, I’m an animator! I like to use these sticky notes when I’m bored.”

He never got to watch cartoons as a child so this was all new to him

Watching you peacefully work is very, very soothing to him, to just watch the lines fill with color so smoothly

You even let him have some of your already drawn-on sticky note pads and he likes to flip through them when he’s nervous or needs to calm down when something’s bothering him

His favorite is the one you made for him where it goes “I love you, Saeran!” with a cute little doodle of a cartoony-looking you kissing his cheek on it

As mentioned before, he never got to watch cartoons or movies as a kid and he’s willing to watch the ones you’ve worked on

It always amazes him that you made what was on the screen and he loves it (he’s never said it out loud but it shows on his face)

He really enjoys the ones that are story-based rather than the nonsense slapstick ones (which is what Saeyoung enjoys, much to his dismay)

Seeing the childlike innocence in his eyes is heartwarming and you wouldn’t trade it for the world