#also Im still working on the style and visuals

[ask-the-xiaolins]

Here's a question- Do you guys ever fear of old enemies like Dyris the mermaid?

Kimiko: (sighs) Anyway… we are used to being surprised by old enemies. Don't worry, we will always find a way to fight back and stop evil.

[citrus-art-and-life]

theres an extremely bopping jazz dance animation going around (if you havent seen it then i would be surprised) and its getting me really in the mood to do some dance animations... i dont think ive touched animation for like. 3 years now. but the HUNGER.... i technically have dozens of ideas for tfs dancing to my favorite songs - most of them megop, obviously, but some driftrod and some jazzprowl... for obvious reasons im kind of thinking about a jazzprowl dance - less jazz dancing and more prowl dancing FOR jazz (again with the prowl-chasing-jazz thing that im obsessing over rn)...... but we'll see askldjaslkdj

[lilbirdblu]

ik ik i made this blog after the height of my kpop hyperfixation but i still really enjoy the music/concepts/etc so ima post about it irregardless

THAT BEING SAID I GET SO FUCKIN. EXCITED AND PASSIONATE OVER THE CONCEPTS AND STYLING SO FUCKIN MUCH AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH

[lesbomaticlove]

ive talked about it before but i wanna talk about it again and that's

body types in drawing especially in terms of one piece characters

and i know its because official art presents them all the same but it just does not feel right to me, y'know? especially when i look at fanart and it looks like they just drew the same body multiple times with different faces (talent in that yes but god change it up a bit PLEASE)

like with my style i like to draw semi-realistic cartoon type beat, and that means im thinking about an abstract of shape language in the way that i present the characters. i consider their fighting styles and workouts when i think about what their body type would be, not just for op ive done this with mha and jjk characters too because god dammit gege, maki deserves bulkier muscles for her efforts

so here it is. my analysis of more semi-realistic designs for these characters. all my opinion and not meant to be a call out to anyone.

also, not including the women because we all know how unrealistic they look and i dont need to explain that to you im begging just use reference.

LUFFY

rubberhose arms are ESSENTIAL in his design so when i draw him, i never put too much definition in his muscles. real definition should be reserved for gears that alter his muscles

noodly arms and stick ass legs that is his Charm thank you i dont need super definition

ZORO

on the opposite end of the spectrum, zoro.

though, i see many people draw him more bodybuilder silhouette when he should be powerlifter silhouette, youve SEEN how this man works out. stereotypical bodybuilder physique that's all muscle and no fat is EXTREMELY UNHEALTHY TO MAINTAIN and you know theres no damn way sanjis letting someone on the ship watch their weight for the sake of visuals. he should be defined and bulky, but softer edges on the abs.

USOPP

Speaking first on pre ts, what does he excel at most? long range weapons and running.

obviously he gets proper strength training during timeskip, but i really think the best representative for him is olympic sprinters

muscular, but still pretty skinny

SANJI

hear me out. ballet physique.

i see him drawn w the same physique as Zoro and it just feels so wrong. he doesnt train his upper body, so most of his definition would be in his core and legs. not to mention his flexibility tracks with that.

maybe ill come back with a figure study on these later to fully show how it translates into my drawings but. for now. tumblr wont let me add any more images to this post

[jellysshitpoems]

I don’t know any dating sims but if you’ve run out as you say then it seems like you’re the perfect person to ask for recommendations?

Visual novel/dating sim recs??? You bet I have them!!!!! Most of my recs are going to be more on the darker side because you know how it is, I live for the drama. Let’s see how I can do this with little to no spoilers.

Here are my absolute FAVOURITES rn in no particular order:

1. Binary Star Hero

Okayokay, this one is in order because its my personal fav. 10/10, no notes. Three love interests, some very different and interesting endings, most of which are with Ray/Binary Star!! Aka the loml <33 the story is set in a world with super powers, meaning of course theres also super hero’s and villains. But how heroic is the best hero really? 👀

2. Favor

Favor. Where do I begin. Alternative demon he/they thats a littleee too interested in you it seems. But when has that ever gone wrong? 😊 mostly voice acted, costumizable mc, and a story that I am DESPERATE for more of, I will wait however long I need to for the next update. I will be there when it happens. Art style is stunning and its the same creator as Binary Star Hero!!

3. A date with death

Love date with death. First dating sim/visual novel I ever played, and it may have set my standards a bit high because of how amazing it is 🫶 replayed it this weekend while im on my dating sim/visual novel kick, and its still so sweet. One love interest who just so happens to be the grim reaper, and a whole lot of extra content if you feel like getting the dlc! Its like ten days total or something?? WITH ANOTHER FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE MC!! A game after my own heart truly.

4. The kid at the back

Another story I will wait until Im eighty to finish it if thats how long it takes. Super interesting plot so far, two love interests, one is more than off his rocker and the other is a little suspicious. But they’re both cute! Seriously though read the warnings for this one carefully. Sol is my fav but that is a BAD THING TO BE.

5. Error 143

Back to sweet ones! I need a million more of this. I will pay so much money. Dont know what to say about this one really, its just so nice. FULLY voice acted, some mini games, customizable pronouns + the voice acting includes your NAME? WHAT??? Im in love with the art style, and theres a dlc!

6. Killer chat

Lowkey brought back traumatic memories from my discord days. But other than that I love it! Fully customizable mc, voice acted, and four love interests that just so happen to be serial killers 😊 finished plus a dlc! But there IS the definitive edition in the works which is gonna add a lot more depending on funds. Please check it out and please consider spending some money to support the project because its so so good 🙏🙏

[k1ddiecat]

Littling tips from experience

I don't know if anyone who follows me needs this but it's been a few years now that I've embraced my small side and I've been thinking of compiling a list of things I've learned from experience (I'm ND and have a hard time doing things without knowing why). Especially for those of us who don't have an external caregiver (EC)

-Look at references for inspiration on how you can dress to feel more childish. Find a style and then chase it slowly as budget permits.

>Clothes

-Accessories and add-ons go a long way. Sometimes it's better to focus on finding clothes that fit and are comfy even though theyre simple. Simple is very fixable later with things like patches and other clothing layers

-Mind the materials of clothes. Figure out what feels the best and what you want to avoid.

-Get a meaauring tape and make and keep a record of your measurements for online clothes ordering.

>Pacifiers and Teethers

-Pacifier wipes make it much easier to keep them clean and clean before use. Worth it if affordable.

-Have something to keep them in thats easy to access ESPECIALLY if you live with unsupportives. I use a mug that has some paper towel or pacifier wipes at the bottom. I keep it on my nightstand and toss my paci in there when Im done using it and any passers by wouldn't get close enough to notice whats inside the mug. For more stealth get a taller cup.

-Try not to bite or chew on your pacifier. This is hard for me as I'm a stim chewer and silicone is my favorite :V but they really arent that durable.

-Maybe this is basic but make sure the size is right for you or your mouth will tire faster. A lot of the common adult size ones from Etsy run big due to the goals of the seller. I use Pacifierfixx pretty exclusively for their modest but adult size nipples and small sheilds which interfere less with my breathing

- Overalls have front pockets which are awesome for tucking pacis in. Excellent for those that live with unsupportives for a quick hiding place.

-You can also very easily get away with taking a pacifier with you into the movie theater by the way. If it's not crowded no one will see you with the lights off in there. Bonus; bring a teddy to sit with you and hold during the show.

>Bedtime

-Invest time into compiling audio to help sleep. Playlists and CD's of lullabyes, soft music are worth putting together. Peaceful visuals too.

-Create bedtime riutals and bother to keep them. Link bedtime subconciously with these rituals and not only will it help you sleep, it will help you go into bedtime with a positive attitude. Still working on this one myself.

>Diapers

-Diaper materials vary. I used to be clothback only due to them being better for my environment (hot weather, not very well climate controlled living space, close quarters with unsupportive people) and because I didn't like the crinkly shiny texture of the plasticbacks I'd encountered thus far. Now (more climate controlled living space, less tight quarters but still with unsupportives) I kinda lean towards plastic because I've found ones whose texture I enjoy. Also the level of crinkle varies between not only brand but model of diaper. Research beforehand is helpful along with ordering samples if you've got the money and patience.

-Get a changing mat. If you're not incontinent it doesn't need to be a "proper" waterproof one but you should have something you can use. Reason: it catches remnants of oil, cream, or powder if using and, if you lack an EC to change you, it's good to have under your feet or your bum when you take the diaper off.

-Whoever is changing you should wash hands after using a cream,oil, or powder BEFORE attatching the tapes. Tapes are finnicky. They will often only work once.

-If you do mess up the tapes, regular clear packing tape will help you. If it's still not totally secure I'd reccomend adding breif type underwear on top to keep it in place, obviously training pants will be your easiest to clean in case of a leak second to nylon and cotton last.

-Invest in suitable wipes especially if using your diaper. These are sold at drugstores with names like disposable washcloth/ cloth towel/ etc. Flushable wipes are not actually septic safe in quantities greater than one at a time and on top of that will fall apart more easily.

-Dispose of worn diapers with double bagging. Special medical disposal bags like those from Northshore make a great first layer bag especially if using, if you can spring for it. Otherwise this is a great time to use plastic grocery bags. Once double bagged try to get them to a dumpster asap. If you plan on starting diapers at all while living with unsupportives figure out before you even buy them where and when you can safely get them to a dumpster/bin that gets emptied into the truck directly

>Kitchen and Bathroom

-Invest in Bottle soap. If there is only one thing from this guide that you spring for, make it this. I think non littles should get some too. Not only is it unparalleled for breaking up milk and other hard to clean drink substances, but the gentle formula makes it much better than dish soap at washing out of the cup/bottle/etc without leaving a soapy taste. It's like 5 dollars and can last you a while.

-Keep a container or have a dedicated spot to keep dirty dishes/ bottles/ anything you don't want to leave in the dishwasher where unsuportives can see it. A designated spot makes it essier to remember to clean and all together means that when you get around to cleaning one thing, you'll likely clean them all.

- If you don't already, having foods that can help you take meds are a good idea. Pre-packaged is convenient and therefore motivating.

-If you have a little extra change, children's medicine and hygene products are good to keep on hand. Feeling little often combines with a desire to avoid adult stuff/adult life. Being able to choose the kid version will encourage you to take better care of yourself. Sometimes the kid's version is less effective at treating adult bodies but if it gets you to use it, it's better than nothing and, during times when you need to use the grown up stuff bribing with yummy food and drink via the last tip is a good way to 'trick' yourself into it.

-Look into what kids around the world eat and maybe find some new recipes that make you feel small while keeping things interesting.

>Recreation

- Make it easier. Go for the big crayons. Go for the simple crafts. Try the accessible versions of things whether you think you need it or not.

-Make it harder. Practice an alphabet or a language you aren't fluent in. Learn a more advanced version of something that interested you as a kid. It may not seem to be very regressive to work hard but bio kids try their best generally speaking. Sometimes it's good to remember what it was like to be new at things.

-Interact with other littles. This is a big one. Many irl events for littles are completely sfw, not hookup or dating spaces, and almost every single person I've met through these spaces are in it primarily or exclusively as a lifestyle aka they are age regressors by a different name. The practice of being a sfw little predates the internet 'age regression' subculture by a long while. There are a lot more of us out there than you may realize.

-Moodboards are good but it's healthy to see people of all shapes, sizes, ages, backgrounds etc. embracing their inner child. Especially if you have body dysmorphia about having a grown up body. Intentionally expose yourself to photos of other littles making the best of the body they have.

[logicpng]

IT BEGINS

how it started

how's it going

officially starting work on a third CaelOS ukagaka. this one will be more just focused on conversations between urs and aster without player's personal involvement.

my idea is to treat the ukgk medium as more of a simple visual novel engine rather than a character on your dekstop, so it'll work Vastly differently from assistant and terror star. but i hope it'll be still fun to explore

(and of course just to be able to watch aster walk around and idle.)

that red hopping dot will Eventually be Aster. needless to say it won't be nearly as rapid, i just needed to make sure that the animation code works as intended. taking a break for now though, that'll be a whole lot of small drawings down the line

btw since as usual for my shell making everything is much smaller on export, also want to show the whole laptop, im very proud of how it came out

(fun fact: this chat client was spontaneously dubbed Sputnik in the middle of drawing the taskbar icon. the speech balloon will be largely styled after it)

[tofupixel]

Thank you for getting me to finally try pixel art! I‘ve always wanted to get into pixel art but I never knew what to start with and always ended up procrastinating. Your blog and the post you made on learning pixel art were what finally pushed me to give it a go. It was really helpful and I managed this little animation in Libresprite.

I definitely want to improve and your art is like the ultimate goal lol. Do you have any tips or instructions for how to get better or on what to focus on in the future? I‘d appreciate any kind of criticism/input you are willing to give! How do you manage to make such gigantic and beautiful landscapes?

thank you!! and i'm so happy you decided to give it a real go, you're doing great already!! the rendering on the body and the pink shading is really nice.

i can help a little with animation stuff but i'm not an expert, ill write something out about backgrounds at the end

i hope you don't mind but i edited the sprite a little, just to illustrate some stuff

🤺Animation stuff

i added an extra frame near the top of the arc so it slows down. this is called ease or slow in/out and usually happens at the beginning and end of movements. u can do even more slow but this is just a quick version

i also removed the middle frame (where the tail is straight down) to make the swing appear a bit more powerful. this could be the principle of timing in the same video. you can exaggerate smears if you do this, its up to you!! lately i tend to exaggerate stuff a lot, things arent super noticable in motion

i also got a good bit of advice from nickwoz that helped me, basically when you begin to animate, it really puts the rest of the sprite being still into focus. try to think of how you could animate other parts of the body, even subtly. and sometimes if individual pixels stay still they can catch the eye in an unintended way as well, just keep it in mind!!

if you want to learn animation more, you could take a look at duelyst sprites, they have incredible idle and ability animations, i study them a lot

heres one i downloaded a long time ago. i recommend just downloading stuff you like and looking at it!! i have a huge collection of pixel inspo. slowing animations down can really help you understand whats going on. its just a bunch of simple elements put together that makes it look so good.

IF U WANT MORE RESOURCES/ARTISTS I REOCMMEND TO GO AND STUDY LMK!!! IM LIKE A WIKIPEDIA, I AM A BIG FAN of pixel art and love to share

🌿 OK lets talk about landscape stuff

it looks like you have art experience already, but im gonna talk as if youre a complete noob cos it might help some other people who read this!! ur doing great 👍

❓ how to learn: study (and practise a lot)

what i mean by study: draw it, copy it, try to understand it. you can try to change characteristics about it. changing the angle or lighting can help u understand how something works in 3 dimensions.

sometimes it takes time, dont worry, you will figure out your own style through doing studies, its all a process

❓ how to draw landscape details?

study pixel artists and how they do it recommendations: fool, slym, jubilee, deceiver

also please look at real world references!! you got to build that visual library

❓ how to learn composition?

study traditional artists or animation. i did a ton of studies of ghibli backgrounds which i think helped my growth a lot recommendations: arcane, studio ghibli, traditional painters

im gonna break down a piece as well and maybe that will help. this is one from 2022 but its still one of my most popular and its pretty simple too!!

if we remove all the fancy stuff what we have is actually really simple. just a few large, overlapping shapes that all point towards our focal point. it's the brightest area with the most contrast and many edges point into it.

go to pinterest or google and just search "pretty landscape" or "mountains" or something and you can see what i'm doing is nothing special or unique!! break it down into bigger shapes to begin with, its just different areas of material mostly.

and heres how you can make any landscape from any colours. purple sky or mountain? orange grass? ok !! it all works, it doesnt matter. i just blend the colours.

when parts of the landscape are in the distance they become closer to the sky colour as there is more "sky" in between you and it. its called atmospheric perspective. so if the sky was red, the clouds would fade towards red.

OKKK i dont know what else to say so i hope that helps!! honestly 90% of what i do is intuitive and hard for me to really explain, so you dont have to know The Rules, you just kind of pick up stuff as you go.

GL and thanks so much for showing me your art!! please keep going!! 💕💕💕💕

[darlingdolly-art]

doodles!!!

ranting under this thingy

ranma 1/2

DUDE i grew up on this show its so silly i love ittt, im so happy it got a remake, i havent finished it yet so idk if its good yet but the pacing seems better so far. i was a bit iffy abt the style at first but im warming up to it! the VAs r good too, but i do prefer the original anime.

Arcane

this show is fucking peak dude, i cant tell u how many times iv gone threw all 5 stages of grief bc of arcane, the writers r allergic to happiness and i love it, the show is truly beautiful, the way they animated it really makes it feel real, and THE LUCIFER PAINTING REFERENCE??? YES?? HELLO??? when i saw that i was in love brooo, jinx in the finally was amazing i rlly like her outfit, and the show was ended pretty well which made me happy. my top 4 chars r viktor, jinx, silco, ekko. i rlly do recommend watching it if u haven't. I CANT WAIT FOR THE NEW ONE THEY R WORKING ONNNN even if i dont rlly care abt mel and her family im still going to watch it, i rlly didnt care for her after the whole rose thingy.

Metal family

its a pretty good show :3 the first episode threw me off a lil when i started watching it, but i stayed cuz silly lil guy. dee was my favorite while i was watching it but after the last episode it immediately swapped to heavy, their relationship is so cuteeee i love how they show even if they arent on the best terms they still care for each other :333 i want to pet heavy dude, hes so sillyyy RAUGHHH.

mushroom oasis

mushroom oasis is a visual novel not a show like the restttt, but its so silly, i rlly like the writing and art! is very comfy and like cute, even with the yandere tones, rlly recommend it if you like visual novels!

love at the milky way diner

is also a visual novel :3 its rlly good and my rlly glad it got funded! i cnat wait to finish playing it, and i dont even like alien/space/sci-fi themes. i plan to replay it soon so ik whats going on in the next update lol.

[holy-reference-in-a-username]

apologies if youve had this asked before but i struggle sooooo fuckin hard to draw matts hair and you do it so well how do i do this arugh

for reference this is how i draw his hair and its just not great

(IGNORE THAT ITS HOMESTUCK IM ON MY KNEES IGNORE IT PLEEEASE)

MATT HAIR TUTORIAL!!!

ok first off I'm taking liberties with his design, obv his hair in canon is not as curly as i draw it. but ive gotten a couple asks like this so here is How I Draw Matt's Hair!!

Step 1: Bald Matt.

its always good to have a base to work off of. i cant imagine drawing the hair first lol

Step 2: Give him brain freeze

the general shape i like to use for matt's hair is like.. a cloud. or some ice cream. this is probably about what matt would look like if he didnt style his hair (ice cream drips nonwithstanding)

Step 3: tug

with the general shape language down, its time to shear it (in the mathematical, graphical, transformational sense). basically the hair goes up and forward, but still retains the fluff.

Step 4: misc

then its just the bonus bits! the puff on the back of his head, the semi-mullet, and the cute lil sideburns!

aaaand there you go! you look beautiful, matt.

....if it wasnt obvious, i tend to do most of the posing and visualizing in my head and just get straight to the lines. but ive also spent a lot of time just figuring out what shapes combine to make everyone, both for body types and their heads. everyones just made of shapes. thats how 3d objects be. including hair!!

also. you know i cant.

[sadagios]

another very long analysis from @misticalnova !! 6w6 this time im going to cut your ask into parts not because i'm going to omit some points you've made like i did last time, but because the ask is really long haha. i also would like to tackle each part. so this time i'll post your ask in its entirety!

i loved that idea so much i had to add it, especially gria's reaction to scar's voice. but yes-- since third life was one of the later seasons i watched, i was so used to proximity chat that i thought it was so endearing how they were excited about it during their first session. grian was so excited about it and the fact that someone could just catch him from behind talking to his audience, and in the lens of this au it might be a detail i could just gloss over but... thinking of VR games, the surround sound and proximity chat is one of its fun features and one that makes it incredibly immersing! Virtual reality games are so easy to be immersed in, and i do believe that if i were gria i wouldnt question the npcs having voices right away. i'd have an "oh hold on," moment way later. out of all of them, it was actually him who was the first to find it strange. even if joel found out about it at the same time as him, and -- going with third life canon -- jimmy meeting scott early on, they wouldn't find it suspicious or odd right away. that's because they're all easily immersed in the game.

for hermitopia and the life game, it was really hard for me to explain the mechanics only through descriptions and comparisons to existing games, so i do hope to create a game UI or fake screenshot of the games for better visualization of what i imagined. and yes, hermitopia is a popular game! not one that is mainstream that anyone outside the gaming sphere would know, but it might be notorious among spaces like how the elder scrolls franchise is. it's also the titular game of an AAA video game company, one that could afford to release it not only on consoles but also port it to PC, which is how Gria got to play it. i'm excited to talk more about that one when we get there.

the XP points are something i hope to play around with so i added it, as well as the customization aspect. i'm still working on the character designs, and i should've also drawn what they looked like when they played the alpha version, which was a huge oversight on my part! (one of many, now i realize) but for now, please imagine the customization to be something like how they all (mostly) shared a steve skin on EVO smp during the starting episodes. the customization was something new to their current game, but they were still able to use preset skins in the alpha test like how we have other default skins (ie. alex, efe, noor, etc). i genuinely forgot to tackle this aspect and it's now bothering me like a finger splinter ... ToT expect a chapter 0 where theres no words and just designs because now im going crazy over this

no you're not reading into it too much, but i did not think of this aspect and i now have plenty of ideas with it (and details i wish i could change in the last update ToT). I do want to say that they all look a tad bit different from what they look like irl! a good comparison would be their portraits here in the first part and something similar to my art of lifers in my style. but as for the facial expressions, that is a detail i did not think about... i was going to say they only rely on each other's tone of voice, but now im thinking maybe (at least only in this beginning part of the au) they have limited facial expression options that could show if they are smiling, frowning, or angry. something like this, maybe! :

i do like this idea!!! i like it a lot. that is something i havent thought far into. currently, they do not feel pain. the beginning part will be them going through it and focusing on the game mechanics, and they would react to "pain" like an immersed gamer would (ie, the streamer you watch saying "ouch" if they have been hit in-game). i wont say when they will feel real pain, but i love your take on it and i might be inspired by this when i get to writing this part. (of course, only if you're okay with that)

the background noises are such a great detail ... and i only have thought about gria's living condition, which is him renting a small apartment with his desk setup near a window (i have to draw this at some point, too.) as for the sitting down part, i do think the evo gang + joel are all standing up when they played real life, except skizz. so that is a fun idea to play around with...

ive thought about the limited movement in minecraft vr (specifically in 'real life') so much that it was my basis when i wrote the prologues instead of nicer, better tracked movement in VRChat. so ... there is motion tracking but it's incredibly janky.

scar interacting with gria was one of the only things i was intentional about, especially him putting his arm around gria and him winking. he has more control of his actions and expressions than gria and the rest of the gang at this point of time, yes :D and i am excited for the scarian moments ahead when gria is able to move freely like him. so excited.... very excited. :)

dont be sorry! your last ask helped me out a lot when i wrote the last update and it was such a delight to read through and think about. your ideas are so cool and i love them, and i am thankful something i wrote received such a long and thoughtful feedback.

thank you again so much nova !! i'll definitely come back to this ask frequently as i draft the au haha. i hope you have nothing but wonderful days ahead!

[vinhteer]

Oh boy here we go!!!! It's been like 10 months. I've been very busy D: Also I fear this is going to be LONG I'm sorry

Design notes:

Aly: "Alec looks blasé as all hell... Oh, wait, that's her sister...?! Must be a family thing, then." - Some bystander LMAO. She didn't have a lot of screentime but I could tell that she's very strong headed. She's basically a kid with an attitude, you know? And also brutally honest; she doesn't seem to be the type to mince her words a lot. She can talk to people, but I don't think she'd fully open up and show her inner world. I thought she'd be part of that closed off looking character trope that's into cute things, so I gave her this semi scene semi preppy look. I think, as a child, since you're still learning about yourself and building your identity, you tend to really want to look like certain people? I think Aly really wanted to do that when she saw scene kids online, so I gave her the hair, the makeup (sorta), the bow, the choker and the lean silhouette. She also likes cute stuff, and it translates visually with the bow as well, the pink, the oversized sweater, the skirt and the mary janes shoes. Facially, I got inspired by a family member! What I think she'd be into: BABYMETAL! Hanabie, Ladybaby, basically cute metal, plus it fits into that trope as well. Since we're still on the topic of songs; MCR, Paramore, 2010s Avril Lavigne could work too. She probably likes monster high, petshops, hello kitty, pucca, shopkins, basically 2000s-2010s things :D

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Evelyn: She seems to be the type to solely focus on efficiency and go on full-force when it comes to her goals. However, she was still taught to have manners and I bet she has housekeepers to style her appearance. Sure, she can get by the hair and the makeup– it makes her feel professional and well put together. However, the outfits? Uniforms are much more practical. It's stylish and formal and you don't need to think about what to wear the next day. So I had to. Slightly redesign some uniforms. In parallel. I can't lie I was about to rip my hair out. But I did it I guess

For her face; lord have mercy, I had a tough time for a couple months. Like in an older post I made, I thought she was gonna have sharper edges, but then I felt like it was a bit too brute, so I had to smooth it down. I basically sculpted her face. I also got slightlyyy inspired by Katniss Everdeen and Sophie from KOTLC. She's very uhh 2010s novel core but with a little twist, which makes her pretty unique I'd say! So to keep that vibe going on in my design, I overall wanted her to look like the kind of person people wrote beautiful descriptions about. Her pose, the lighting, I just wanted it to highlight her face, hair, basically her vibe.

I also got inspired by 2 ppl in my classes that are like, the studious hard working ppl who also take care of their appearance.

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Elijah: Taking ummpati's interpretation of him bc I thought it'd be cool and I really like how she wrote him! (we are good friends so I am taking that as immediate consent) (right Pati???? RIGHT???) He's in his 20s, looks like he doesn't shower (he doesn't), looks like a hoarder (most probably is!) and looks like he strolls outside all the time as well like he's homeless or some shit. I tried to make him look intimidating and composed. He has multiple faces, but I decided to just give him a neutral one; blank face but appears like he could do much worse.

I wanted him to look imposing, I wanted him to vaguely look like a VULTURE because he gets rid of corpses :))) #smart #symbolism #bigbrain #Im-Onto-Something-I-Swear. His coat looks like a normal winter coat but the fur is giving viking too, so it doesn't give much of a modern look, which I think works very well! He probably finds the military cool as hell; if Elijah was uh a bit more normal in the head, he'd probably be a soldier. I headcanon his coat, shoes and pants to be from his grandfather who's a war veteran.

I also personally really like how his messy and disorganised look is in parallel with Celeste (in terms of visual language), with the cowl neckline, the necklaces, the tattered pants, etc. On the contrary, Celeste has that zig zag silhouette but Elijah's is sharper, much more imposing. It's just fun seeing their common and opposing traits.

Oh and I added hidden weapons cause it's 1. unnecessary 2. SOOO ELIJAH. The glove you're seeing is a combat glove with gardening claws because he DIYs like that. I wanted claws bc 1. it helps digging a little bit 2. Claws!! Like the ones of a bird!! OF A VULTURE!!! He's a melee guy so I thought it'd be HILARIOUS to give him some weapons. He probably fantasizes about situations where he'd pull them out. He also probably names them.

For his face: I had a classmate who smoked and when my teacher found his electric cig, he was defending it saying that it's better than a normal kind. Needless to say, I used the right guy as a reference /j

[nameification]

a collection of potential symbols and references that could be used for anaxa

what hours of research does to a person...this list is mainly laying out some of the potential symbols and references ive both noticed and would like to see connected to anaxa. a lot of these are based in either alchemy or his design. a lot of these are also kind of based on vibes but hey! what works works

Kabbalah, the Tree of Life

okay this is an Intense one to start with but it's the one taking space in my brain the most because. okay kabbalah is heavily associated with alchemy and the likes and anaxa has So Many references to how Kabbalah is visualized on his design

like. you look at this and yeah sure maybe it's just a general reference to alchemy but some of the circles have. text ? on them? and the fact kabbalah is called the tree of life and i guarantee you trees will be important to anaxa trust me on this

the grove also seems to be architecturally use the same shapes im just gonna note that

1b. this specific planetary style arrangement

okay yes it does bear resemblance to how kabbalah is arranged but it's different enough for me so thats why im separating the two but i want to point out how this is a graphic not seen often within the game and the only other times we see anything similar are with fu xuan's kit OR in the vortex of genesis (and fu xuan has ties to erudition)

the planetary array style of the hsr map resembles the pattern on the cracked glass behind anaxa. it also bears resemblance to some other hoyo games

in this video ashikai shows the symbols for a skill badge from hg2 and the alchemy table in genshin. alchemy table. specifically look at the vortex of genesis map actually. the similarities are so close it's driving me insane

even without the similarities to other games the fact fu xuan's kit is one of the only other places i can think of where this kind of symbolism is seen within the game is very interesting to me

3. philosopher's stone (magnum opus)

the philosopher's stone is described as red so the red crystals and accents in anaxa's design could very well be a reference to that (also the symbol on his left sleeve reminds me of the symbol that represents the philosopher's stone. the symbol that represents him in his as ive written. or it could be a reference to the relic screen bg but. not going down that rabbit hole just yet)

4. tarot cards

his card in the as i've written book is very obviously a reference to the hanged man tarot card but he potentially could have references to at least two other tarot cards (i'll further elaborate odin and the hanged man next just wait)

he is referred to both as the fool (mostly in promotional content) and as a magician (by mem) and those corresponding cards (esp the magician) fit him very well

5. odin and yggdrasil

one interpretation of the hanged man tarot card is that it depicts odin hanging from the world tree irminsul. odin, very famously, is missing an eye (and a hand but anaxa currently still holds all four limbs for now) because he sacrificed it for knowledge of the runes

anaxa, very notably, is missing an eye. and anaxa seems to have a history of constant willingness to sacrifice his own soul

honorable mention to the real life anaxagoras (because if i added everything from all that i would be here all day) and his ideas of nous (oh how i sincerely believe anaxa knows of the aeon nous) because i want to wait just a little bit longer before i start breaking down the fragments in relation to anaxa

[grizzlart]

Hello hello!! Haven't posted anything im a while again, oops. None of my shareable WIPs feel worth sharing rn soo yeag.

ANYWAY I'm here to say I'd finally like to take an art request or two!

THEME IS DRAGONS. I WANNA DRAW DRAGONS.

And more specifically I would LOVE to draw some dragon kintypes, linktypes, kinsonas, hearttypes, and/or system members who are dragons! Or anything along those lines! I know you folks are out there, let me draw yous!

Info / rules:

Yes, this is completely free. No, I'm not taking commissions, sorry!

Will probably be in my usual clean lined digital style. May be shaded or unshaded, depending on what I feel like doing. Generally I find fullbodies more fun so that's what you can expect by default!

You can specify ideas for pose, expression, etc., or if you want art for a specific purpose, such as an avatar or ref sheet.

I'm happy to work from a text description if you're happy to exchange messages with me to make sure I get it right!

Not first-come, first-serve. More like I'll draw whatever sparks my inspiration and do as many as I feel like doing. My levels of energy and motivation are unpredictable so I can't really give any idea of how many I'll end up drawing.

I'm more likely to be inspired if you tell me a bit about the subject and why you'd like art of them!

Art received is for personal, non-commercial use only and cannot be modified or distributed without my permission. That means no feeding it to AI, no selling prints of it, no tracing, etc.

If you are impatient, demanding or rude then I won't do art for you. If you start being rude part way through, this still applies and I won't finish your art. Be nice!

Subject restrictions: dragons only! Not wanting to draw humanoids or "furry style" anthros rn, but beyond that go wild. I also won't draw NSFW or fetish art (no judgement, I'm just sex-repulsed '^^).

You can check my tumblr for examples of my art!

Enter by submitting an ask or messaging me with the info I need!

At minimum, I need a visual reference or text description. Other helpful stuff: brief personality or vibe description, specific ideas you have in mind, context for the request (is it an OC, a kintype, etc.? What do they mean to you? Why do you want art of them? That kind of thing. Works to motivate me. :P)

[ducktracy]

i hope you dont mind me asking; but do you have any general tips for getting into/starting storyboarding? or anything on fighting perfectionism when you draw??? im having a hard time just actually drawing to begin with because of it and its gotten worse and worse recently and its just... really disheartening ghsjdkmgs- ive been combing through bsky for production art for the day the earth blew up and looking through storyboards in general has always really inspired me; the way that it doesnt Need to be perfect and just needs to like, convey the absolute basics and get the idea across has always been really comforting in a weird roundabout way? if that makes sense hdsjkmgsd-

HEY THERE!! i don't mind at all, i'm so flattered you'd come to me!

to answer the first part of your question, i'm going to link to some posts (here and here) where i've answered the same question. NOT because i don't respect your time (trust me, i hate being like "eh just go with all the others and look at this" LOL), but because i trust Past Me to have answered it a bit more clearly and clearheadedly than Present-Me, who would just be rambling trying to think of what Past Me has said. so i hope these are helpful!

THE SECOND PART OF YOUR QUESTION! you are both asking the right and wrong person, because i struggle TREMENDOUSLY with this as well! right in that i can offer empathy/share my experiences, wrong in that i still don't quite have a cure-all and it's something i'm struggling with right at this very second :')

but, as someone with debilitating OCD and perfectionism (to the point where it extends to even the most inconsequential of tasks and habits completely unrelated to art--even/especially things i enjoy doing!!), i struggle HARD with this. and my director turned me onto a bit of a lifesaver that's streamlined my storyboarding process tremendously: THE CHICKEN SCRATCH METHOD.

it's exactly as it sounds. just churn out the quickest, most juvenile scribbles imaginable. you're not thinking about drawing at all. it's just to get something down on paper--starting is always one of the most difficult parts for me, and once i have something down, even if it is GODAWFUL, i feel like i've broken the ice a bit and can carve deeper.

i'm linking (and posting screenshots) from this WIP animatic i posted last week--more than half of it is chickenscratch, and me doing exactly what i do for work! this is how i start every single storyboard. complete 4 year old level scribbles. even Porky here is a bit too fancy, you can see i gave him (and Daffy's face) construction lines out of habit haha. you don't need to do that yet!!

but, also, you can see that earlier on in the animatic, where i've begun to clean it up (i call them "drawovers"), it looks like my normal art style!

i also again recommend actually watching the video, because the motion is the important thing here--you can see how articulated my drawovers are in drawing and acting in comparison to the chickenscratch bits, which are a bit more broad but still convey a general idea

what i also tend to do is chickenscratch my chickenscratches--for my boards, i usually will doodle the broad acting ideas elsewhere, and then transfer those ideas onto my board. it helps with that feeling of easing in and doesn't make me feel as suffocated by a blank screen. i will say that i've been working on excising this process entirely, as it's sort of unnecessary and maybe more of an omission of my own lack of artistic confidence HAHA--i'm trying to get there! but it helps with the artistic brain demons and makes getting started easier, and that's the important thing

and, again, these are a bit fancier than what i usually do: here's some old thumbs for an actual section i boarded for work

it's also very good for someone like me--i'm an extraordinarily detail-oriented person, but i really struggle with the bigger picture. this commonly bites me in the butt when i'm storyboarding, as sometimes i have difficulty visualizing how a sequence will flow in the grand scheme of things. and since my entire job is being An Artist Who Draws Images In Sequential Order, That Go Into A Sequence, That Relies On Every Little Part To Be Working, Because It Is A Sequence, that's not very good! and so chicken scratch helps exactly with that. you're communicating the main idea. you're putting the foundation down, and you're able to get a vague idea of how the ideas and sequences flow together.

HOWEVER. i will say that's about the most advice i can give before it delves into "if you find the answer, lemme know" HAHA. my boards for work are stupidly clean and should not be as stupidly clean as they are. it's something i've been trying to work on for years--i still struggle with getting into board artist/animator brain vs illustrator brain, and a lot of times i'll have a very pretty drawing, but it isn't functional at all and i'll have to throw it out. and it's my own fault! THIS IS SUCH A HARSH METAPHOR and i said it once to my director before being like "wait wow wtf is wrong with me for saying this" LMAO but it's still the most apt way i can describe it. clearly gotta work on my artistic confidence. but in regards to this, i've said "a polished turd is still a turd" and there is hopefully a much kinder way of getting that point across, but yes--clean drawings are not the end all and be all of boarding and animation! in fact, in my experience, they cause more harm than good! i've been trying very hard to unlearn it, it's been a very difficult and taxing and frustrating process that's soured a lot of my already meager artistic confidence--but that means i'm growing and learning.

a common mantra we try to recite is "clear, not clean". and the TDTEBU boards (which, aren't they amazing??) is the very definition of that! i'm trying to beat that into myself more and more. likewise, working on the Sponge shows is a bit of a special circumstance since the animators directly trace off of our boards; what we draw is what ends up on screen. that includes mistakes. there's definitely a higher amount of pressure, especially compared to feature boarding where there seems to be a lot more leeway for looseness. so i'm maybe coming from SOMEwhere here HAHA, but yes, clear, not clean!!

i say all of this knowing i'm going to clean up my pig and duck animatic and have it be as clean as my boards for work, sort of defeating the entire purpose :') i still have a lot to learn and internalize, obviously! but i hope this at least offers some camaraderie and the understanding that you are NOT ALONE! i struggle with Perfectionism Paralysis with every single task i ever do, i'm much less fond of my art than i come off, etc... but i'm working on it and i know we'll both do great!!!

i hope this could be helpful, or at least reassuring!! thank you so much for coming to me, and i wish you the best of luck! you've got this!!

[quibble-auk]

Yk what no one asked for? My art process.

At least when it comes to drawing transformers... I don't put a lot of my other stuff up here haha. This guide probably won’t help with drawing TFP stuff tho. I like sticking to my cubes.

Who knows. Maybe this can help someone. Or provide amusement cause I have no idea what I'm doing. Just thought l'd share some stuff lol. And an unpopular art opinion.

So yeah, my secrets. Which like.... my art isn’t incredibly impressive or anything but... you get the point.

If you ever really wanted to try out whatever my style is called, here’s your guide. Along with a tutorial on how I draw Sunstreaker, but it’s like 5 steps lol.

I apologize in advance for the sheer amount of yapping I’m about to do. I’m just trying to makes sense

~~~~~~~~~~~

This is the part where I share my tips and tricks yippee! Small disclaimer, I just kinda do half of this stuff as a go. There is no real order to this. I’m basically just explaining how my style works (despite how much my style varies tbh)

There’s a general build for the body that I’m pretty sure most people have figured out. The head, chest, torso, and weird hip thingy. Then the legs are broken into two main segments, the arms are broken into three, shoulder, upper arm, lower arm.

Here we go, unpopular art opinion rant.

When I make my base I usually work from the head down. Don’t be afraid to use the lasso tool to readjust the sizes of different components. If the head you started with has the right angle but is too small, lasso it and make it bigger. If ur doing traditional, sorry, you’re just gonna have to redraw it.

I’ll usually try and clean up overlapping lines, but I wanted yall to see the shapes before I did that.

Then we can start adding details. I look at other artist’s designs and the source material and pick out reoccurring traits that will help make the character easily identifiable.

I tend to add the most detail to the head simply because that’s what is commonly used to identify characters. Usually when designing my version of a character I allow myself to kinda make up details for this part.

But do feel free to add your own details to make sure people can tell it’s “your” design!

These are still very simple shapes and not detailed whatsoever. We are keeping it basic on purpose.

Very loose shapes, extremely vague idea. Just putting down the most identifiable parts that are important in building it, if that makes sense. I put down the bare minimum for this.

You really don't want to over complicate things. It makes it difficult for the viewer to figure out what's going on. A crowded design is distracting and unappealing. The simpler the better.

So now we have our sketch layer done. Because I'm impatient, it's line art time baby!

I end up just kind of feeling it out with line art. There will be some changes between the sketch and the line art. I’ll also use line weight to just general shading stuff sometimes. In this one it’s not very consistent but I was kinda losing motivation cause… adhd my beloved.

This is pretty self explanatory. Use your sketch to outline what you want, adding details as you go. I'll still leave my lines pretty loose and messy for most of these, just because it adds a bit more... character? Makes it feel more authentic? But feel free to clean it up as much as your little heart desires.

Smth im really passionate about is not overcomplicating the designs and crowding it. I know I already mentioned it once but… yeah.

While adding a bunch of detail can be cool, if not executed right, it can become overwhelming and difficult to understand visually. Keep it simple, you don't need to add every crease or seam. Just the important ones that can help a character stand out or fill in an awkward large space.

Usually after that l'll just put flat color down. Nothing fancy. I like to just do greyscale but you can go crazy. I'm not stopping you.

But adding a flat color under your line art helps pull together the sketch. It makes it easier for people to understand what is and isn't a character and makes it simpler to understand the character’s shape.

If I have several characters in one picture l'll usually make them separate colors to help make sure you can easily identify them as different people. I usually try to keep in mind the characters actual color when doing this. People with darker colors get a darker gray.

I’ll also try and give a different color to an object they are interacting with so it doesn’t get confused with the character themselves.

The entire reason I gave Sunstreaker a gun was to show this. I hate drawing guns.

These are also rarely perfect. As long as it's not extremely obvious that you're out of the lines, no one will notice. At least that’s been my experience.

I usually do this on separate layers

There's a lot of personalization when it comes to drawing and I don't know if I explained all of this very well. Ironically I don't really think much about how I'm doing it, I just... do it.

If you need any further explaining, I'll try my best to help. And if you made it this far ive got mad respect for you. I’m pretty sure I’m just rambling for half of this lol.

Have fun creating!!!!