#aspiring animators

[noodles-and-tea]

i had an idea but idk its a little out there. dipper is smart, but i was like him once and i think he’d get burnt out fast. mabel has been shown to be smarter than she lets on, as well as curious and interested in the strange and unusual.

relativity falls where mabel fell into the portal and dipper had to clean up and run the shack. mabel would adventure around space & time, surprisingly making lots of friends. theres a little short comic about how mabel went to the mabel dimension and allied with them to defeat evil mabel, so i think she’d be really good at making allies wherever she goes. also i’d really like to see mabel jumping over some frog dude as she runs from the time police.

dipper would be stuck at home, trying so hard to bring her back, while running the mystery shack, trying to balance all of these things and it overwhelms him to the point where he becomes a shut in, and nearly like a cryptid or urban legend he’d read about.

also your art is so gorgeous and cozy!!! i love it so much :D

IM SORRY I DIDNT DRAW MABEL JUMOUNG OVER A FROG DUDE

[shazzbaa]

"But I pulled myself up by my heartstrings, didn't I? And now my heart is yours and your heart shall be mine."

Back in June I was listening to this song and thinking about Poor Edward and had the foolish thought, I wonder if I could do a short lil animation real quick to convey The Vision? Then I fell under some sort of curse and a loose 9 second animation concept doubled in length and quadrupled in effort as I absolutely lost my mind. Anyway it's a month of feverish work later and I have 18 seconds of animation for you. PLEASE ENJOY.... WHATEVER THIS IS!! I WORKED VERY HARD ON IT

[Animated in Krita, put together in Movavi]

[adventureswithteddy]

While extremely beautiful, some of the places that Teddy ventures can be quite dangerous. He wants to remind you to plan ahead and prepare. Know your limits and don’t be afraid to turn back.

[squea]

its corns birthday today (15/9)! I decided to make fake comic covers for the two aspirations cornelius has (almost) completed woohoo!!!

[markscherz]

You are everything I aspire to be

If parenting has taught me anything, it is the importance of getting down on your hands and knees and teaching not just facts, but love and enthusiasm for the natural world.

This is my son Q and me. I have dozens of photos like this by now, even though he is just two years old.

Every chance I get, I will kneel down with him and show him the little creatures all around us. Especially when they are frogs. He loves frogs for some reason. No idea why.

It is important that we all see this together. It is beautiful. It is magnificent. We are here. It is improbable to the highest degree. It is fleeting, but it is everything we get. And we can get so, so much of it. If we just get our faces into it and really absorb it.

So that's what l'm trying to do here, I guess. Get all of you to join me in the reeds. And I am so happy to have so many of you along for the journey.

[valdrift]

whats up with this guy

[nittoka]

He is JUST a cutie

I wanted to work on poses and draw Goku so... here we are. I have no regrets.

[bunnyspiralz]

Bugg lady :3c

[ywpd-translations]

Ride 819: Sugimoto Terufumi

Pag 1

3: Ah, the weather is so nice...

4: I actually would have liked wine, but since I also have to drive I'll have to do with herbal tea

Pag 2

1: Ah, sensei...!!

We had to stop because the bus broke down, so why are you so carefree...!!

Some kind of white smoke is coming out of the engine..!!

2: You even brought out a deck chair!!

Hahaha the bus is old.... it just went in overheat

3: If we get delayed here we won't be in time for the finish line

They're going at a high pace.. we really should have gone in Touji-san's van even if he didn't want us to....

4: We won't make it in time anyway

5: Huh...!!

Sensei!!

We won't see the finish line....!? Ugh!

6: Troubles are an unavoidable part of traveling

Pag 3

1: Sometimes you have to be prepared

It's important to enjoy those moments too

2: Your friends are working hard

The passed the 1.5km left mark

There's one person in the lead

Behind, several people are chasing, with Kanagawa in the lead

4: Look at the sky and send your hearts out to them

We can support them from here too

Huh-

5: Please run through this “now” with all your strength

Pag 4

2: Naruko-kun

3: Imaizumi-kun

5: Sugimoto-kun

Pag 5

1: Run this race without regrets!!

Pag 6

1: 1.5km left!!

1400!

Those following Naruko in the lead can't really close the gap!!

Naruko is accelerating again!!

3: Look, the two people at the very back!!

Pag 7

1: 1300!!

1200!!

Kanagawa...!!

Sohoku, get awayy...!!

2: The two guys following in the back are having a hard time? This chase is out of the ordinary, and the pace is rising

At that speed, even just keeping up is hard

3: They've been having a hard time since earlier, and the gap in the line is opening!!

They're both breathing hard and look like they're having a hard time!!

Pag 8

2: But if they get separated from the line then it's over!!

4: Ooooooo

Kuaaaaa

Pag 9

1: And they know that too, so they're desperately holding on the wheel before them!!

2: Five times.... six times....?

3: …. maybe around ten times?

4: Since before, every time those ahead accelerates, I almost got tore off

5: I'm dashing

6: This is the lead's speed?

I don't have the luxury of sharing my thoughts

Pag 10

1: I can only see the wheel in front of me

2: Id it wasn't Imaizumi in front of me, I would have already been torn off a long time ago

3: I managed to get here, so I'll do my best!! Do your best, me!!

4: Since earlier, in my head

For some reason

5: There's the image of that time a long time ago when I was jumping rope with Sadatoki

Pag 11

1: It was before the house next door had been built, so we often went there in front of the vacant lot

2: Count for me too, on, Onii-chan!

You often asked me to count how many times you jumped

3: Alright

Watch, watch, Onii-chan!!

4: You were always so happy when I counted for you, but you always got stuck at 38 times

5: I called out to you, sitting on a block that was in the vacant lot

6: 38 again, on

It's alright, I'll teach you. The trick is to use your elbows...

7: During that time, we'd hook our rope on the fence

Pag 12

1: On the fence...

Pag 13

5: The selected team guy... he used too much strength and lost consciousness...!!

Pag 14

1: Sugimoto!!

Tch

2: You can't get our of line

Su....

Do I call out his name...but we can't communicate during the race

Te....

3: After that day, Sadatoki jumped 50 times

4: He got out of the line and he's going to crash into the wall!!

5: You did well, Sadatoki

I'll praise you again once I reach the finish line

6: When I reach the finish line, again-

Pag 15

1: Experienced cyclist!!

3: Huh!?

Eh!?

He called out to an experienced cyclist!?

4: Me!?

Pag 16

2: He hit his shoulder against the banner!

Waaaa

Pag 17

1: Kuaaaaaa

I heard a voice

A yell

2: Imaizumi's!!

4: My shoulder hurts

I don't know why but I have a throbbing pain

5: But thanks to that....

6: The one cyclist who was staggering made it back into the line once again!!

Pag 18

1: I snapped out of it!!

4: You idiot

5: Don't make me worry, Sugimoto

6: Follow me

Pag 19

1: We joined the club together, during the same year

2: You're the only one

3: who followed our practices for these three years!!

4: To be honest, Sugimoto

Right now I'm receiving strength seeing you working so hard

5: Seeing you using your whole body and hold on so desperately before the finish line of this harsh Inter High

Pag 20

1: is what's pushing me forward!!

2: Since before!!

4: Follow me, my

Pag 21

1: buddy!!

2: Sorry, sorry Imaizumi

You're probably thinking that I shouldn't make you worry

3: It seems like I've hit my shoulder against the wall

That guy in the white jersey....

He hit the wall...

4: Thank you, Imaizumi, I'll do my best.... but

5: It's clear now....

No... maybe I already realized it a while ago

6: I

Pag 22

1: have no strength left to compete for the finish line

3: Once the dash forward next

4: I can see the Flamme Rouge*, there's 1km left until the finish line!!

It will surely be the last one

They're rising their speed again!!

(*NdT.: in cycling, it's a red flag that marks the last kilometer of a race)

[ink-rachelleigh]

sparkles and spite 🖤💕

I drew TWO THINGS in the span of two days… hopefully the fuel doesn’t run out yall :,)

[fox-trot7]

BTAS doodles I drew ages ago

Me when me when Batman

[voncewwr]

Isha's simple sketch! I tried a slightly different drawing technique. Bottom line: much faster and more enjoyable<3

looking for moots

[adventureswithteddy]

Teddy peered across a massive meadow to mountains towering on the far side. He skirted the meadow on grassy sloping hills and watched ribbons of white appear seemingly from no where and plummet into the same below. There was so much to take in along the way, so Teddy was sure to take some breaks too, just to be sure he didn't miss a thing.

[mionkingsvibe]

OC JUMPSCARE

I'm trying to organize all my thoughts all together so instead have this Blitzbee baby that I cooked for the DW AU.

So far the only things I've got for her is that I renamed her Ladybird; so far out of all my characters she's the closest who actually has a civilian role!

Ladybird is just your typical girl who's aspiring to be a reporter, but she's still young. Still in the academy, she works as a part-time photographer/journalist for non other than

VENUS FOR DECEPT-FEMMES.

It's a good gig- it's especially easy when you can just take a quick picture of say that one son of Shockwave who does amazing paintings, and who just won this season's cup!

What's his name??? Icarus?? Anyways! Ladybird is determined to prove that she can be an amazing reporter— enough so that Ladybird had... almost got into trouble for a few times for being too persistent. If it wasn't for the fact that she's still a youngling, even more so that she's Blitzwing's daughter, she definitely has a little personality disorder.

But Ladybird can calm down, with the help of her older brother, Rubble. Ladybird has learned depressionly by now that she can't speed up her progress into being a future reporter.

So for now; Ladybird will have to suffice by annoying the newly employed enforcer into telling her about small cases. Rubble humoring her by letting her teach him about how to properly journal stuff, who knows! He might need it in the future.

I'm still working on her, but let me know what yall think boos!

[silverwhittlingknife]

hi Silver! o/ because that fanart made me wonder - would you happen to know when/where Dick's stuffed elephant plush Zitka turns up in the comics?

GREETINGS CAM <3333 THAT ART WAS SO CUTE

Yeah, I think your instincts are right - it's a truly adorable bit of transformative fandom, but I'm 95% percent sure it's not comics canon. Barbara has canon plushies, but I don't think anyone else does.

I got kinda invested in the investigation (it's hard to prove a negative!) and I ended up typing out an entire History of Elinore/Zitka, so, uh, if you're curious, meet me below the cut for:

Where does Elinore / Zitka - the animal - appear in comics?

Did Dick ever have a stuffed elephant toy in comics?

Where does Elinore / Zitka appear in comics?

We're gonna go in chronological order!

Dick's circus elephant friend was first created for practical reasons: in Batman 436, Marv Wolfman does a big expanded flashback to Dick's circus backstory as a way to subtly show us Tim before officially introducing him (so that we can have a technically-solvable mystery-of-Tim's-identity in LPoD). In this comic, there's an elephant named Elinore who loves Dick:

Aww. Such a cute elephant!

Batman 436 comes out in August 1989. New Titans 60 comes out a few months later, in November, and guess what? When Dick visits the circus, he is suddenly surprised by an unexpected blast from the past! It turns out that even though it's been years, Elinore still remembers him!

Here's the part where Elinore remembers Dick:

SUCH a cute elephant. I love her.

(Guess who else still remembers Dick even though it was so long ago. Guess which other character is about to be an unexpected blast from the past. Guess which character Elinore is directly paralleling guess guess guess sorry everything is about Dick and Tim in my mind but I can focus I swear)

Four years later, in 1993, Batman: The Animated Series retells Dick's origin story. They like and keep Wolfman's elephant, but they change her name to Zitka:

Wolfman doesn't return to the elephant beyond those two appearances, and a few years down the line, New Titans gets cancelled and Wolfman's not writing Dick anymore anyway. So the animal gets abandoned for a while, until Devin Grayson, a fan of both Wolfman and B:tAS, revives the Wolfman-era Titans team in JLA/Titans and then the ongoing series Titans 1999.

Grayson then brings back the elephant in a flashback to Dick's past in Titans 16 (Jun 2000), where she imports the B:tAS name. Sometimes I'm skeptical of TV-to-comics imports, but honestly, I endorse this one. You lose the alliteration, which is a shame, but IMO Zitka is a better elephant name than Elinore.

Here's Dick with the newly-christened Zitka in Titans 16:

Grayson also briefly references the elephant in Gotham Knights 20 and - in a final angsty callback - in Nightwing 88 (Feb 2004), where Zitka tries futilely to comfort Dick in the midst of his trauma conga line:

... And... honestly, I think that's it for comic appearances? The two Wolfman comics plus the three Grayson comics.

Both Wolfman and Grayson are writing multiple titles - Batman, New Titans, Titans, Gotham Knights, and Nightwing between the two of them, spanning a big chunk of Dick's post-Crisis canon - and both writers use the elephant for heartwarming moments of nostalgia, which means if you're doing a post-Crisis readthrough for Dick, Elinore/Zitka feels memorable. But I don't think she actually shows up that much.

For post-2011, I am not as well-informed - throwing this out to the dash? anyone know? - but I feel like Zitka the heartwarming symbol of Dick's heartwarming circus past is, uh, thematically very at odds with the Court of Owls evil!circus vibes, so my instinct is that this story element was almost certainly dropped in the reboot.

Did Dick ever have a stuffed elephant toy in comics?

In WFA, yes; in main comics continuity, no. Technically, I have not read every comic ever published, so I could be wrong!! But I don't think so.

Below, find my rambling reasoning on the tonal vibes of pre-Crisis, post-Crisis, and post-2011, and why this particular story element doesn't seem right to me for the first two.

Pre-Crisis (...okay, mostly the Silver Age): stuffed animal, yes or no?

tl;dr no, requires too much background knowledge on the part of the reader, plus the elephant wasn't a thing until later

Elinore doesn't get created until post-Crisis, but also just generally, pre-Crisis callbacks are more along the lines of this reference in Batman 129 (published in 1960), where, wow, Batman and Robin are hunting jewel thieves - and it turns out Robin recognized this strongman! BUT HOW?!

The comic goes on to recap Dick's entire origin story in flashback, on the assumption that you may not know it.

(BTW, if you'd like to know more about Haly's Circus throughout the years, nightwingology has a great post here summarizing a lot of fun plotlines and characters!)

Basically: Silver Age comics are very self-consciously episodic and kid-friendly; they're not generally gonna do overly-elaborate callbacks because they don't know what comics their kid readers may have randomly picked up or remember.

By the time of post-Crisis, comic books were being written for an adult audience buying from the direct market, i.e. readers who are collecting whole runs & don't need or want Dick's origin story to be recapped to us in full every time it's referenced. That's why in post-Crisis, we get stuff like "hey, neat, this particular soda brand is getting mentioned in several different books!!" or "in order to understand this story arc, buy SIXTEEN DIFFERENT COMICS in FIVE DIFFERENT RUNS and read them ALL ACCORDING TO A NUMBERED ORDER and also you better be following the individual plotlines and recognize these five minor characters who we don't bother to introduce!! Good luck!!" But the elaborate post-Crisis plotlines - and subtler worldbuilding like a stuffed animal callback to Dick's backstory - don't make a lot of story sense UNLESS you're imagining your readers as completionist adult fans.

So IMO a stuffed animal wouldn't be a pre-Crisis thing unless it was The Episodic Story Of the Week, and I don't think a stuffed animal is action-adventure-y enough for the fast-paced storytelling of the Silver Age. (Unless it, like, came to life and tried to eat you or something.)

Post-Crisis: stuffed animals, yes or no?

tl;dr: no, Dick's a manly tough guy, he's not gonna have a stuffed animal, that'd be lame, like something Tim might do

Part of the edgy grimdark adult vibes in 80s/90s comics is that some characters who used to be kinda silly & goofy & lighthearted - like Batman and Robin - get reimagined as Serious and Angsty and Edgy in a Tough Cool Manly Brooding Way. This massively affects characterization for Bruce, Dick, and Bruce and Dick's relationship.

(I obviously love this change & love the tense Bruce-and-Dick interactions, but plenty of fans of the earlier fluffy comics really disliked the edgy retcons of Miller / Wolfman / Starlin / et al.)

The upshot is that post-Crisis is a period when you could have a recurring reference like a stuffed elephant, but you wouldn't have a stuffed elephant, not for Dick. I think a toy like that would be too cutesy / childish / effeminate to give a male character in post-Crisis, unless you were poking fun at him.

Now, you could probably let Tim have a stuffed animal, because Tim is sometimes cool but also sometimes a tryhard loser who is faking being cool and not entirely pulling it off (see e.g. the Robin comic where he practices tough-guy faces in the mirror, or the Teen Titans comic where Conner discovers his cringy Enya CD, or when he's fanboying over Connor and it's awkward, etc etc.). A stuffed animal would be deeply embarrassing, and you'd have to be careful to compensate by having Tim do something cool afterward - but Tim's character concept allows for "he's kind of a loser sometimes."

But Dick isn't!! In post-Crisis, Dick's a tough / impressive / "cool guy" character, the kind of guy anyone would want to be, even in the flashbacks where he's Robin, and even in the stories where he's more lighthearted than angsty. It'd be kinda lame for Dick to have a stuffed elephant, so he wouldn't. I feel like Dick would be more likely to poke fun at it if someone had one, like when he's making fun of Wally for liking the Hardy Boys. Dick could have a Batman action figure, at most, and if he had one he would have it ironically.

Basically: in post-Crisis, a male character hugging a stuffed elephant feels more likely to be a punchline to me, not something poignant. (Even with Tim, Tim could have an embarrassing stuffed animal, but he couldn't hug it when sad - that's too far. Maybe Booster Gold might do this. Probably he wouldn't, but spiritually, he would. Sorry Booster ilu! <3)

Instead, Dick instinctively deals with his inner turmoil like the TORTURED ACTION HERO he is: by punching things and brooding and yelling and joining the mob and sleeping on rooftops and going on obsessive secret missions and acquiring Angsty Stubble!! Just like Batman!

(Technically I don't know if Bruce ever joined the mob but you know he would.)

Anyway as you know this is my favorite continuity and I am poking fun affectionately, but uh, yeah sdfsfdsfs. No stuffed animals.

Post-2011 / Infinite Frontier / Wayne Family Adventures: stuffed animals, yes or no?

tl;dr it's in WFA! Probably not anywhere else, but it could be.

Post-2011 stuff tends to be cutesier overall, most of all in the current Infinite Frontier era. So I don't feel like this would be tonally out-of-line with IF comics. Taylor tends to go for more meme-y references rather than fanfic references, though.

So the obvious best fit is WFA, which is aiming for a rough approximation of Silver Age family-friendly vibes - wholesome, episodic plots, Teaching Good Moral Lessons For The Youth, etc. - plus lots of Easter eggs for fanfic readers and some comic references.

And look, here we are:

Aww.

Whew - that's everything I could find!

Anyway as you can probably tell, I LOVE the elephant, so this was a very entertaining rabbit hole to go down, thank you <3

[write-with-will]

I might seriously start considering animation as a career guys