#i drew them mostly without ref

[thefruityblueone]

Some doodles of Elim and and the boyss

I think I'm getting the hang of drawing turtles which is very excitingg

[existence-is-a-pain87]

TOON HANDLERS THAT GET Y/N a PET!!!

Arthur thinks that there should be more than just Pebble and Coal for pets, kids like cats right? So he goes to Delilah and asks to make a little kitty, just to test the waters,

Austin is a bit worried since the cat seemed to start hissing at other toons.. (mostly the Yandere mains) ((including Astro)) and tried to get the cat to leave them alone, but Astro is so excited! He’s read books about step parents and wants to start acting like a step-dad to the cat, who hisses at him and swats at him.

Dandy is MAAAAAAD, how DARE Sam, and Devan team up to make that HELLSPAWN hATE HIM. Shut UP about the cat liking Pebble, that’s because Pebble is warm and a good walker so the cat can nap on his back while Pebble runs around!! Devan thinks it’s funny as shit as Pebble runs around with the cat and Dandy’s chasing pebble to try and get rid of the cat

Sam is excited to know the cat does infact, hate Sprout, they give the kitty treats when Sprout is being a lil too pushy and the cat hissed at him to bring him down a notch, the cat is anti-sprout trained /j

Shannon and Shelly are pretty cool w/ the cat, the cat just wants space, and Shelly likes dressing the cat up in saber tooth tiger costumes! Shelly and y/n have fashion show with prehistoric cat costumes. (Shelly’s favorite is the matching T-Rex onesie)

Veronica and Vee have figured out how to get the cat to love them, when Vee gets a lil too hot, the cat likes to nap on her, so Vee downloads a bit too much, and she’s pretty warm most of the time, and the cat is pretty chill if it can nap on Vee’s head while she’s on a game show.

(OC/theorized Handlers)

Bailey and Bobbett are put off by the cat being so cool with Coal, the two have a secret language and Bobbett knows it!!! She’s gonna find out WHAT they’re saying (Coal and the Cat have matching collars)

Birdie and Bassie are pretty okay with it, (Bassie likes how the cat instinctively chases Cocoa around bc bunny = food) and Birdie thinks it’s cute how the cat climbs into Bassie’s head.

…

The cat keeps the rats away, it’s the only thing left of the handlers… many would much rather keep the cat because of that..

Oooh! Good idea! Lemme add what I think would happen:

Oh also, an image of MC's cat.

Ooooooh! I wonder who this little guy is? MC named him Grim.

Oh, also he talks and breathes fire. Isn't he cute?

--☆☆☆--

- Authur, trying to be a decent father to you because that's basically what he is, heard about how you were uncomfortable with the Toons obsessing over you.

- So he went to Delilah to make you your own personal companion you can talk with who will never be obsessed with you, at most just a clingy animal.

- And he went with a cat. Specially the image of a cat you drew once and called Grim.

- They matched Grim's personality to what you described him as. Arrogant, childish, loud. Desperate to be a great mage and have respect even if all he can to is breathe fire. A little glutton. Capable of standing on his hind legs and walking around like that. And talks a ton, often making cat sounds or "myah"s as he speaks.

- Both Delilah and Authur were happy when you were thrilled to get Grim, and even more so when you two got close quickly and Grim called you his "hench-toon".

- Authur was concerned with Grim's clinginess until Delilah clarified Grim is just inherently protective of you, but not obsessed. That was a major relief.

- So you had your own little buddy now! He'd help you with deliveries and let you talk with him and snuggle him. It was great!

- Everyone else had differing opinions though.

- Okay, firstly, the Toon handlers though Grim was adorable. Sure, he was loud and fussy, but he was the only Toon here that hung around you without being obsessed as fuck.

- Sam was a little annoyed by Grim, but didn't complain much. After all, Grim was cute and wasn't as much as a fire-hazard as Sam was concerned.

- Shanon thought the little guy was the cutest thing ever and was disappointed Grim refused to let her hug him. Then you told Grim to let her hug him and she was happy.

- Veronica (I headcanon her as a cat person) fucking ADORES Grim. She buys him so many cans of tuna just to see his little grin when he gets all happy to see the tuna. (Veronica is also Grim's favorite handler for this fact).

- Austin doesn't like Grim too much. Mostly due to how Grim is super loud and fucking HATES Austin for trying to make Grim's hench-Toon hang around that Astro guy. Can't he see you don't like Astro that much?? Is Austin blind?? Yeah, Grim hisses at Austin a ton.

- Devan, despite being more of a dog person, thinks Grim is cute. Sure, Grim is loud and annoying, but Devan's just happy you have more friends and there's someone helping you out now.

- Sorry I'm not gonna do fan Toon handlers (I'm sorry pookie </3)

- Dandy fucking HATES Grim.

- Yeah we doing Toons now.

- Just the mains, Dandy, and MC's canonical friends

- But Dandy hates Grim. Grim is basically the opposite of you, and Grim keeps trying to light Dandy on fire whenever he gets close. Dandy doesn't like this cat at ALL.

- Astro is very apprehensive of Grim. Sure, Grim is just trying to protect you, but Astro is a little uncomfortable with you keeping a troublemaker like this as company... First Shrimpo, now this?

- Shelly likes Grim. Grim is cute, doesn't fight back outside of verbal complaints when you and her dress him up, and plays along for when you and Shelly hang out. The two are in fact friends.

- Sprout and Grim barely tolerate eachother. Sprout due to the fact Grim help keeps Dandy away from you and Grim due to the fact Sprout feeds him. They're by no means friends. More sort-of allies.

- Vee doesn't pay much mind to Grim. Grim doesn't explicitly despise her and she just doesn't bother him too much. Barely know eachother, however Grim will go to Vee if he needs an answer to something about you.

- Pebble and Grim have BEEF.

- Brightney is concerned with how stupid Grim is. She's sitting him down and teaching him canned tuna is the same as the fish right now.

- Glisten honestly thinks Grim is adorable. Grim doesn't wear makeup much, but it's always because of Glisten when he does. Grim and Glisten are friends.

- Shrimpo HATES Grim. But Shrimpo hates everyone. Honestly, Shrimpo just hates how Grim takes up more of your attention, but calms down a bit when he realizes you still care about him.

- Finn won't stop making fish puns to Grim and Grim is crying to you about it.

- Blot, Looey, and Yatta all are trying to convince you AND Grim to do a performance with them now. Grim would make a great firebreather, wouldn't he? Because he literally can just breathe fire.

- Ginger doesn't see Grim much, but the two are friends. She thinks he's precious.

- Dazzle adores Grim even if he's noisy. Razzle's just happy you have a friend who makes you AND Dazzle happy!

- Teagan is amused by how Grim eats most of the snacks at your guy's tea parties.

- Grim is scared of Tisha since she will sit him down and give him a bath if he gets dirty. He does NOT test her.

- Basically, Grim's your little buddy! Isn't he precious?

[dino19artworks]

Viktor n Jayce guys I love them

(drew these from memory without ref so they most likely look a bit off all around. I hope to be able to draw them with proper refs eventually.. n also draw mel bc im a meljayvik truther hehe)

im not a fandom artist btw I mostly draw ocs so keep that in mind! I very rarely draw fanart but I'm making a special exception bc the arcane brainworms are real heheheh

Also um this drawing. Listen I just wanted to draw trans viktor ok shhhhhhhh you know its true. jayce looks stupid here but its kinda funny (plus I had no idea how to draw his clothes and again I apologize for not having a ref, that's why the leg brace looks off)

[trashisstillhere]

Now while I currently do really need and want to work on the things I want to draw, I’ll just give yall the currently uncolored, official ref of the New Ninja!

I mostly did this cuz I thought it was about time they got an actual ref. I mean, I have drawn them many times before yet never made an actual drawing of their full body. So I did it now! And since they’re officially one of my Rc9gn ocs, I kept the ‘UnNinja’ version of them that I drew for ask (it was about what NN looks like without the ninja suit on) long ago which was at first ‘unofficial’ since I basically said you could imagine them in any way all of you wanted but now, that’s how they’ll REALLY look like!

They don’t have any official colors yet, that is one of the parts that will take quite awhile..

Like I did with Serenity, here’s some info about them! (Mostly for the ones who may not be aware of New Ninja and all the posts I did about them before along with a few more stuff I haven’t really either told or shown before about them before I had completely stopped drawing them I guess(??).)

-New Ninja is…well, a new ninja chosen to be Norrisville’s new protector in the future right after Randy, their story is supposed to take place in a few years after all the events in season 1 and 2 in the show. (All the canon characters are like kinda older at this time, the other teens like Randy are about 17-18 now, not in 9th grade anymore but in 12th grade). Randy is actually still a ninja here, still has his mask and everything even though he soon isn’t gonna quite be the main one anymore. However the Nomicon let him keep his mask for now, especially now that he’s currently helping the new Ninja. Plus he absolutely refuses to let Nomicon stop him from doing so, he refuses to just sit back and watch another random kid struggle out there as the new ninja.

-New Ninja’s real name is ?????????… yeah…. They don’t have a official name yet either, no last name, nothing. that part will also take too damn long to figure out and work on so for now, just call them ‘New Ninja’ or NN for short. (Edit: they do have a name now! Nobu! Nobu Chiharu-Sirius! But you can still call them NN!)

-they go by any pronouns! And by any I mean ANY. I know I wrote they/them there on the ref and I mostly use those for them right now too but still, I said before they can still be called by anything and I ain’t changing it. So go ahead, use any other pronouns for this kid if ya like. But I will still keep using they/them for them. (I totally didn’t just make them gender natural who is okay with any other pronouns cuz i had no clue what gender or whatever to make them identify as. Pfft- totally not-)

-as the new Ninja for Norrisville, you’d probably expect them to either be excited to be the new hero and/or take it seriously like a pro….but they’re not, they’re the complete opposite. Instead of them being giddy about this like Randy pretty much was, they’re scared for their life. This new job of theirs has not only already changed their whole life but put so much pressure on the poor kid, they already had struggles in their normal life and now they have gotten even MORE.

-New Ninja isn’t really confident, brave, social, just nothing like the out going kids out there. They’re insecure, a coward and pretty anti social. They get stressed and overwhelmed easily when they’re the center of attention, they often have bad thoughts when they think they’re not doing good enough and worry too much about not being ‘perfect’ enough. This is exactly how they were at first, before and after becoming the next chosen one. But now with Randy being there for them as support, they’re slowly starting to work on themselves to overcome their fears. Will it easily get rid of all of their problems? No. But will it help a lot? Yes!

-Randy calls New Ninja ‘Kid’ quite a lot, it was mostly just a little nickname for them at first during his time trying to help them that just came out but now he can’t help but keep calling them that every time they are together, even acting like a brother/father figure to them! New Ninja is an only child so they never knew how it felt to have any siblings of any kind. (Found family trope my beloved)

-New Ninja gets easily flustered by all sorts of praise such as compliments, affections, etc. they aren’t really used to have so much love and support from other people, not even used to have many fans yet (even though they know that the ninja always had fans for years to begin with-). Now with Randy pretty much doing this, the kid feels like some random kid being embarrassed by their parent or something.

-New Ninja hasn’t ever really gotten to have any sort of fun times and memories during their life, they don’t even know how to play video games at Greg’s Gamehole! Poor kid. But thankfully with Randy’s and Howard’s (yes, even him,) help, they’re learning.

-and uh yeah, they do know Howard too. At first they didn’t, to them he was this random guy that Randy seemed to talk a lot to so much and couldn’t help but be curious by their relationship. After some little investigation and all that crap, they’re more aware of the chubby guy now. How? That’s another part I still haven’t worked on yet.

-because of Randy pretty much being their mentor, New Ninja can’t help but mostly cling onto them. They often feel helpless without him, always asking him for help. They do learn to not always ask him for help later on during their development, yet there are times where the kid still can’t help but feel safer around him. Not just because he is the one who gives him tons of help with ninja stuff, but also cuz they really trust him and may or may not start to feel attached to him.

And that’s pretty much all I’m gonna say for now! Because if I wrote even more, it would take WAY too damn long and this would never get to be posted here. So yeah. Sorry if there will end up being some misspelled words or grammar mistakes, I’m too lazy to read all this again to check for them.

Will a colored version of this ref be done soon? Who tf knows!

[greencharisard]

Lucifer's and Alastor's oopsie, magic-made baby, now all grown up! The grown up design was actually one of the first things I drew, but I had to introduce him properly first!

I was going to keep mostly to a red-white-black color scheme to match his daddies, but I couldn't find a hue I liked for the pinstripes, so I took a page out of his baby outfit and used some orange.

His horns are a mix: they're branched like Alastor's, but they sweep backwards like Lucifer, they only show up if he gets angry, and even then they don't branch out much unless he's using a lot of his magic. Speaking of which, his full demon form has stitching in the same places the doll had (mouth, eyes, joints) and his pupils split into 4 to mimic buttons.

Also, surprise! He has a lil deer tail, I HC Alastor has one, so Cider gets one too; the wings aren't from either of his dads tho, he gets them from the fact that the doll he spawned from had lil rubber ducky wings, same for his feet, they're duck feet.

He has a microphone cane with an apple theme and keeps his hair swept back like Lucifer's, he's very fond of both his fathers and tends to emulate them a lot.

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

HI YES I'm still alive, just stumbling trough life; I hit a pretty bad work/overstim burnout last week so I haven't been doing much, but now I should be back working on my like, 10+ wips lmao.

The baby is here! I do want to draw more of him but first I needed a ref, I wanna show him interacting with more of the cast... eventually.

Hazbin Hotel by to Vivziepop

art and character by me, do not copy, trace, repost, reuse ecc without my permission please.

[velvet-games]

I finally finished the piece for @prince-liest's OC, Tzafael! this really reminded me of how fun character design is (and also that I've completely forgotten how to make digital art, but that's besides the point...) <3

credit to @hogbogglerspirits for the umbrella design! I kind of butchered it so please look at the original and throw lots of love at them

LOTS of notes, draft sketches, brainstorming, etc. below the cut. enjoy!

(note: a lot of what I'm talking about is based on posts prince made under their #tzafael tag, so take a look at those if you haven't yet!)

thanks for joining me below the cut! here's the sketch without the colors as a treat (in case you want to color it yourself or something, idk).

notes about making the digital drawing:

holy shit this took me forever -- I was not kidding about forgetting how to make digital art lmao. I forgot how much less forgiving digital lines are and genuinely lost the spoons to even attempt lineart, hence just a sketch below the colors.

some of you might've seen the original sketch I sent to prince, which the digital version diverges from just a little. it's mostly the halo which I'll explain later, and I finally caved and drew the sixth eye (you can tell I drew and erased it multiple times in the sketch lmao -- still don't know if I prefer it with or without)

here's the original color ref by the lovely @gendermeh! my color scheme ended up looking really different, so some notes about that:

I was looking at references for magpies like this

and I wanted to basically follow that color scheme while also being somewhat similar to the original -- dark head/shoulders --> dark top of the jacket, bright blue wings --> bright blue bottom of the jacket, greenish tailfeathers --> green pants, hints of purple --> purplish sleeve and pant ends

I also tried (and mostly failed, let's be real) to capture the iridescence of the feathers -- they look like oil spilled on the pavement or iridescent hematite to me! I think the key ended up being adding bright greens/purples and roughly blending them into the blues or vice versa but I didn't really figure that out until I got to the pants lol.

I'm gonna be honest; I don't remember why I went with this shape for the tailcoat. I just remember being unhappy with the sketch and then trying a bunch of different shapes that mostly looked worse lol -- I think I landed on this because a split tail kind of looks like wings?

KEPT the shoes -- absolutely magnifique. I wish I knew how to color gold better.

added lots of jewelry! they like shiny things :)

ALSO PLEASE LOOK AND APPLAUD ME. I FINALLY REMEMBERED TO LABEL MY LAYERS!! NO I DON'T REMEMBER WHY THE HALO HAS ITS OWN LAYER.

alright, time for some more design notes/explanations + draft sketches!

but first, a couple disclaimers:

I want to make it very clear that I LOVE everything about the original design. I made a lot of changes based on personal preference/the way I interpreted the character. I was actually planning on making a digital piece that was more faithful to the original design too, but I was just out of spoons for it cause of life stuff.

you probably shouldn't try to read the notes I made in the sketches I'm about to show you unless I say otherwise. most of it is incoherent brain vomit in illegible artist handwriting and I'll transcribe/explain the stuff I think is important :) (the stuff in quotes are direct transcriptions of my notes)

I know my sketches are very messy lol. I only draw for fun, so I usually don't force myself to make stuff any neater than necessary unless it's supposed to be a formal piece. try to bear with me.

1:

my first few sketches of them! (I think?) this was before I sent prince a laundry list of questions so I was still trying to get a vibe

"magpie -- beak lips?" -- you'll see this in a few sketches; I considered giving them the lipstick design that velvette has since it looks like a beak. I still kind of think it's cute, but 1) I'm pretty sure velvette is the only character that has them, so I didn't want to make it seem like they were related somehow and 2) I thought it might be distracting with how much other crazy stuff I ended up including in their head/face

also, sidenote since it's relevant to what I said about vel: something I realized was important is how one character's design relates to the designs of the rest of the cast. I wasn't sure how much I should've gone for what looked good in a vacuum, how much should be based on what other characters looked like canonically, or what other characters would look like if I also designed them. it ended up being mostly the second option, but it was honestly still a struggle. should I take away some of the tumblr-sexyman-ness (no shade to tumblr sexymen; I love them) because there are other characters that already have it? should I relate their design to sera's and emily's in the show or should I think about how I would've designed sera and emily? should I follow some of the design philosophy of the original show and just throw stuff on there because it looks cool (the answer is yes btw)? decisions, decisions ...

I don't think this showed up really well in most of the drawings, but they actually have a black line down their nose! let's take a look at sera:

since they're siblings, I wanted to include some similar facial markings. the nose line ended up being the only thing I kept though -- I was going to include freckles, but I have a compulsive need to give every character giant bottom lashes so there ended up being no room T.T I like that the magpie's hints of purple kind of match hers tho!

the wingification of the hair begins! I was still unsure of it at this point, but it was an idea I had since I was kind of struggling with how straight the feathers were in the original.

"maybe the ones on their head count as wings (so only one main pair)" -- I originally just had the 2 pairs of wings on their head, so I was thinking of just giving them 1 pair on their back so there would be still be 6 total. also this middle drawing of them is meant to be their exorcist outfit (I wanted it to be a cross between what the other exorcists wear and sera's outfit)

at this stage, I was thinking of giving them more magpie-like characteristics, so I looked at some references and tried to emulate them in a more human design. this ended up being really awkward so I scrapped it, but I still like the idea that their exorcist mask looks like a bird (kind of like a plague doctor's)

2:

peekaboo! I love the idea of them using the wing hair to cover their eyes lol. (ended up using that idea for my own seraph OC since that's their biblically accurate purpose: to cover their eyes/faces in reverence/humility -- doesn't really fit with tzafael tho lol, so they show their face most of the time)

an eyeball in the bowtie -- pretty self-explanatory. the eyeball motif is important.

the one in the middle is just me practicing drawing the original design, and the one on the right is another exorcist outfit I think. I wanted to include the diamond motif/points that sera has on her dress (the diamonds on the bottom turn into eyeballs, which is why the final design also has eyeballs on tzafael's sleeves/pants)

3:

lots of notes on the side based on what prince said in response to my ask

"localized omniscience (power of sight) -- cool + ironic that their sight was supposed to serve God but made them see Heaven for what it really is instead"

another exorcist outfit, this time including the feathers

I was also experimenting with the halo; I was trying to make it look sort of like sera's crown, but that didn't feel right ...

some practice with eyes -- my style is pretty flexible with eye shapes, so I try to make them suit the character. I drew lute's eye and also an actual magpie's as references -- lute's because of the exorcist background and also because they looked appropriately sharp, magpie's for obvious reasons. once again, my compulsive need for giant bottom lashes strikes

there was honestly a lot to balance with the eyes -- I wanted them to look condescending/bored (lowered top lid) but also amused (raised bottom lid) and like a magpie (round) but also harsh/mischievous (sharp, maybe slit pupils like a snake) and similar to sera's (but not too decorated -- also does it make sense for them to look like sera's if emily's don't even look like sera's?)

considered having wings on the shoulders -- the magpie pattern is super cool, so it would've been nice to have that somewhere more explicitly in the design. I still think that might fit in an outfit they would wear in heaven (maybe for formal occasions)

the introduction of the sweatervest! honestly I kind of love this for the way it captures more of the preppy, spoiled old-money upper-class vibe some heaven residents have, but it was scrapped since I couldn't imagine them wearing that while trying to scare the denizens of hell. maybe something they wear casually though.

"yes nictating membrane (on every eye!)" -- AHH I'm so sad I didn't end up putting this to use. I just feel like the whole effect is based on actually seeing them blink, and I don't animate lol.

4:

ugh, the nefarious laughter one ... don't worry I tried harder on a sketch later on lol.

"like the diamonds on Sera + Em" + "diamonds turn into eyes?" -- I draw the diamonds on the sweatervest turning into eyes later.

tried an actual bow instead of a bowtie -- very cute but didn't fit the vibe.

a skirt! I think they would wear a skirt sometimes.

5:

"FUCK ASS BOB" -- asghdk the wingification of the hair continues. unfortunately, I'm realizing at this point that the silhouette of the hair is starting to look a lot like alastor's. I gave a very half-hearted attempt at mitigating this, but it goes back to the thing of how much I am obligated to the original show's designs and what looks cool to me -- I think the wing hair fits them and I didn't want to change it because of alastor, plus my alastor design actually has completely different hair anyway. I did add a third pair to the back to look like a ponytail though.

introduction of the scarf! I was actually going to include this in the final design but uh,,, I forgor. are you starting to see a pattern.

the reason for the scarf is that the "tzafael going to places they know they'll draw attention/can incite chaos" reminded me of that scene in avengers where loki walks into a fancy building looking pretentious af and just casually stabs a guy's eye out. not really the same thing but I felt like the vibe matched. hence, loki's funny little scarf fit.

6:

uaoughdfjh it was SO FUN to draw the wing hair, and it was at this point that I realized they had to stay even though I wasn't sure if it was too different from the original.

gossiping with rosie cause that's the first person I thought of -- tzafael also summoned a pearl necklace to clutch because of the sheer drama of it all (your ex-husband did what??)

also started drawing the rings on their hands. magpie like shiny.

7:

lots of notes cause I was trying to compile the things I still needed to think about/incorporate into the final (I thought this was gonna be the last draft ... haha)

trying to include more bird/eye motifs

"fish ... purse?" -- ha! I forgot I was gonna give them a fish purse. I think I drew that in a later sketch, but not them wearing it.

"picked up Hellish traits bc of extended stay -- existential crisis?" -- I asked prince about the sharp teeth, and their answer implied that they became sharp as they stayed in hell longer, which got me thinking ... I feel like that's actually a great body horror concept. lucifer falling and looking like a normal angel at first, eventually waking up to more and more devilish features and feeling more and more like he's lost his home and his past self ... spooky.

another exorcist outfit -- I actually really like the eyes on the ribs! I never made a final draft for the exorcist uniform, but it would probably look close to what I drew here.

the one on the bottom was meant to be similar to the feathered shoulder pad idea, but this time with the whole magpie (with giant eyes). tried putting the "freckles" (really just dots in this case) over their brows, but that ended up looking kinda weird.

the eye is pretty close to the final design

the one on the right was supposed to be the full final design, but I was totally off lol -- the long trench coat really doesn't give off the right vibe at all

8:

playing around more with the loki vibes of the scarf, also added an eyeball to the chest

I never got happy with the design of the back of the coat -- I think it should probably just be blank at this point. but the sketch here is meant to look like wings/tailfeathers.

yet another exorcist outfit, this time with more magpie motifs. I actually like this one a lot, but I probably should've added the eyes on the ribs from the last sketch. I think I also considered giving them actual tailfeathers at this point.

9:

thanks for sticking with me! I promise we're almost done. have a trans dinosaur I saw while I was travelling as a treat <3

10:

this is after I finished the sketch for the final piece and realized I didn't like the halo design. I drew lute's, sera's, em's, and adam's as refs. (honestly I love the show's idea that each person/people of each rank have a different kind of halo -- I wonder if they can switch them out?)

my main inspiration ended up being the exorcist halo, but I made it look more like an eyeball -- since it always points toward heaven, we can say it's always "looking" at heaven.

(also sera's feather lashes! they're so cute)

11:

EVEN MORE EXORCIST DOODLES

12:

tzafael shooing away my fox demon OC

13:

these are actually sketches for my own seraph OC (raguel), but I wanted to include it since it has even more wing/feather hair variations. I also think the idea of the eyelashes being feather-like could've been cool for tzafael.

14:

some more OG design doodles

tzafael and raguel together because self-indulgence is the name of the game babey (also wanted to draw tzafael freaked out with their wings flared)

(raguel's blind btw, hence asking for eyes -- tzafael has so many!)

you can probably read the dialogue here so give it a shot. I believe in you.

15:

you know what? the fish purse deserves some doodles

16:

putting them in Situations! I was reading over prince's posts again and I realized there were some funny things I could draw them doing/saying

again you can probably read the words here

angel dust also loves fish (but is apparently bad at taking care of them, hence the suffocating blobfish), so tzafael shows him their aquarium (complete with live fish and flora ofc)

I thought alastor was 8 ft but apparently he's 7.3 ft? so tzafael is enjoying the .2 ft they have on him

trying and failing again to come up with a design for the back of the jacket lol

THE crowley quote

apparently the halo still sends signals from the exorcists -- thought their reaction to the battle at the hotel would be funny

the nefarious laughter (take 2) that I promised -- based on a doodle of alastor viv did that I found

them being sad and curling up in a pile of shiny things like a dragon

OKAY I'M DONE. huge, huge thank you to prince for sharing their OC! this was a lot of fun and clearly inspired me a lot haha. please check out their writing; it's literally so good that I can't read anything else these days. I am chewing on their thoughts constantly.

this was an absolute monster of a post, so if you're still reading, I am both impressed and bewildered at your patience. I hope you enjoyed! (I certainly did!)

[junksqueezer]

Introduction Post

Figured I should probably make an actual pinned intro post since there's too much I wanna say 💔

- Call me Junk

- I'm 22 and my birthday is April 3rd

- I am a big strong scary evil woman /j

- 🇫🇮/🇧🇬 (I can speak Bulgarian besides English but my Finnish is ass 💀)

- My art tag is #junkdraws

- My tag for random bullshit is #junkyaps

- My OC x Canon ship tags are #bethommy, #gloe and the ship names for any OC/SI x Canon ships my moots have since I try to reblog others' ships I like when I can

- Yes, my username means exactly what u think it means 🙂

- This blog will be SFW like 90% of the time but I draw stuff with violence and bruises sometimes so I'll put that under a Read More cut with a warning. If I draw anything suggestive I'll tag it with #nsfm and #nsft, but for more mild and harmless things that may still be just a bit uncomfortable I use #sensitive content

- My main hyperfixation is Moral Orel, but I also like Gregory Horror Show, Our Reason for Living, My Little Pony, (Infection AUs primarily), Wasted Youth, 100% Orange Juice, Staxel and The Black Heart, among many other things

- I tend to take long ass breaks sometimes to touch grass bc the internet pisses me off, if I disappear for a long time don't worry about me I usually come back in like a week or two

- My Discord is junksqueezer if you want to keep contact when I vanish, but I can't guarantee I'll be on there either 💔 I'll more likely be there than here though

- If you play the My Little Pony Gameloft mobile game pls add me, my friend code is 326bba and I send hearts daily 👍

*My Moral Orel OCs are Gloria Squeezer, Beth Carvedson and Mrs. Carvedson (Collette Ovenbake/Collette Carvedson). I don't have proper refs for any of them so take the first portraits I drew of them without the text 💀💔 They're usually tagged with their full names except for Mrs. Carvedson, her tag is just #mrs carvedson lol

*I do a lot of OC x Canon (literally like 80% of my total art and content) and I also selfship, if you don't like that, go away

*Tommy Littler is my soulmate and I love him to bits 😇💖

*I share all my f/os except Tommy and my ORfL f/os

*MO f/os: Tommy Littler (soulmate), Joe Secondopinionson (attracted to) & Mr. Carvedson (attracted to, more mild)

*Other MO characters I enjoy bc they r nice & silly: Ms. Censordoll, Doughy Latchkey, Billy Figurelli, Ms. Sculptham and Ms. Secondopinionson

*Other f/os: Reo Miyao (Our Reason for Living; soulmate), Kazumi Yashiro (Our Reason for Living), Janos (The Black Heart), Haniwa Salaryman (Gregory Horror Show), Oscar (Staxel), Kai Shiden (Mobile Suit Gundam) and the Protagonist from the horror game To Do List

*Always remember that my name is Junk for a reason if I ever upset you with anything. I am unironically not a good person and I have genuine serious problems with anger and aggression. It's part of why I take internet breaks so often 🤷‍♀️

*DNI list is mostly general stuff; irl propara, pedo/MAPs, zoo, necro and other general things unlisted here, but I also really don't like people who ship Tommy with other male characters, idc if you're proship or antiship or whatever as long as you keep ur shit properly tagged and 1000 ft away from me if it's something I don't want to see. More on that down below;

VERY IMPORTANT:

•Please DO NOT send me MLM ships with any of my f/os or discuss them with me

●The ship O.relTommy makes me sick to my stomach (quite literally, I genuinely feel a tickle in my stomach and throw up when I come across content related to it, especially art, that shit makes me unironically want to kms) and it makes me EXTREMELY uncomfortable. MLM ships with any of my f/os in general make me a bit uncomfortable because of irl past events but if you ship Tommy with any male characters, especially Orel I will very very very likely NOT get along with you and you will see yourself blocked. There is literally only 1 person who is an exception to this rule bc they ship this but don't post or talk about it. If you like this ship and other ones that make me uncomfortable idfc, just please keep it to yourself, I really value my mental health but I'm not afraid to get aggressive before I block 👋

○Since this gets misinterpreted A LOT, just because I don't like seeing my f/os with other men does not mean I'm homophobic. I am fully ALLOWED to be uncomfortable with certain ships and whatever the fuck I want, especially if it involves a character I am attached to with every fiber of my might. I cannot self-insert as men. I do not ever want to self-insert as men. I don't like seeing my f/os "cheat" on me (unless it's a female character bc I can self-insert with it 🤷‍♀️), even if they're not real after having such a thing happen irl before. If you have a problem with that, kindly block and leave

[chamaesotis]

Thanks for replying to my ask ! I mostly wanted to ask about your Blue Lock OC, Mori Mie.

So, Mori and Bachira met at school, and they became friends, but it seems Bachira didn't tell him about the letter from the JFU... When did they reunite, and what was their reunion like ? Was it during the break between U20 and NEL ? And is Mori allowed to hang around the Blue Lock building during the NEL ?

Mille Yap Moment (Response)

OMG okay, i was js talking about how i never talk about mori LMFAO (this ref im pretty sure is the most recent thing i drew for mori, so if he's not in a wheelchair, assume some lore points weren't canonised yet)

so he's actually very distant about it(Mori uses She/He pronouns but refers to herself as a girl when asked). Mori doesn't really feel joy or excitement from anything, but Bachira was able to get him to feel Something and Mori was very grateful about that.

(they meet when mori's father moves them to chiba, so around when mori was like 10, the actual age is written somewhere for sure...)

So when Yuu was like 'oh mie:( he didn't tell you?' Mori was like, shocked and appalled and kinda sent back to a numb state. ('if he didn't bother to tell me, I must not have meant much -› if I didn't mean much, I'm wasting these feelings)

She ends up skating at night often to soothe his thoughts, despite Kiyoko Hanami(OC) jumping in to try and be Mori's friend in place of Bachira (she jumps on the opportunity be it looks like Mori is experiencing real emotion -> Mori was outcasted because she was an average looking girl who lacked reactions). Mori gets hit by a car and is no longer able to skate - told that walking would be difficult in his state and she should give up any ideas of ever skating again.

Hanami(OC: Hanami Kiyoko) and Mori become closer when Hanami visits Mori and Hanami tries to talk to Mori about soccer related things. But quickly notices Mori gets aloof at any kind of mentions of Soccer or Bachira, so she tries to steer conversations more about having fun and school and dreams(now that Mori can't skate).

Mori(before the crash) was rather athletic, but she's bad at soccer. She tried very hard to play and be better for Bachira. And while it's a nice thing for a friend to do, it's nothing that would soothe the monster. Mori and Bachira both understood that.

But they pretty much clung onto each other because they both felt they were the only ones who were really able to understand each other and who gave each other a chance, which is why it destroys Mori that Bachira never said anything to him when he left. (and why Mori was reluctant to give a second chance)

Hanami is the one to propose going to the U-20 match. And Mori only goes because Hanami is very excited about it(So is Bachira's mum, but Mori makes an excuse to why she can't go when Yuu asks). Bachira notices him by his mother, doesn't notice the wheelchair. so he is confused about why Mori isn't cheering, standing up and waving his arms around like how his mother was(be mori used to be like his biggest fan or wtv). btw this is also how Mori meets Isagi's mum. Hanami is like. shocked that they managed to sit by Isagi's mum after the last goal and Mori is more just focused on the field.

She tries not to hang around Bachira's mum, but Hanami kinda like makes Mori stick around.

During the two week break, Mori does her absolute best to avoid seeing Bachira again. Mori and Isagi actually have a small bonding moment because Mori's favourite animals are lobsters, and Isagi likes them too. Bachira's a bit lost because Mori seems to be either ignoring him or not really caring about anything he brings up. also some strange bitter feelings but dont mind that shshh

Hanami is just trying to mend the weird thing going on because Mori will not without any sort of push to. So she sort of ditches Mori with Bachira so they can hopefully talk things out. And they do. Mori explains she blames his inability to skate or walk on Bachira, but that she knows it's wrong to. And Bachira is like . You can't skate?

Ever again? Ever? and is like devastated for him.

It only takes a few days for Mori to cosy back up to Bachira, because Bachira is attached to Mori and doesn't leave him alone(persistent 💔). Bachira explains he got a message to return to Blue Lock and Mori is happy for him. All he wanted was To Know, and now Bachira has Let Him Know.

Mori isn't faculty / staff in the Blue Lock facility. She's just a high school student studying to be a marine biologist. BachiMori don't really date until Mori is completely comfortable with their positions and with their understanding of each others' needs. Otherwise, Mori just appears as text messages on Bachiras or Isagi's phone.

Mori is definitely just A Girl, Chilling, Maybe Just Goofing Off. I think Ego might deem him a distraction for Bachira, so I feel like it would really just stick to phonecalls or texts, and she could get to know some NEL members via someone taking Bachi's phone and like spamming her line specifically because of the nature of bachira and mori's texts(playful, brink of relationshippy).

^ this one was supposed to have a part two with younger! mori, but I never got to it bc i disliked the way it turned out 💔 but now i am back in my bluelock era so who meows maybs i wills

[candiednova]

thing i drew for a map thumbnail contest for @louixie ! progress from sketch to final under cut

initial sketch ! originally was going to be cloudy and generally dimmer

lines and flat colors, tried doing the crows different colors as they went to the back to maybe help with perspective but i ended up ditching that (also i am using the wrong colors for her here wegh)

starting to rough out the shading

and cleaning up the shading itself, here is where i realized i didnt like the colors bc they were super dull but i had no idea how to change them-

but in between then and here i found there were color refs for this map and referenced those instead of the others i was referencing and changed the right crow to be her moms colors, also changed the bg bc watching the map animatic and looking at the references i realized that it is very much a clear sky! also started on the lighting (started with it like 100% opacity just to make sure i could see it at all rtjtdyjs)

did the shading and lighting on the crows finally and mostly finished up her lighting, also changed the chin bc i was just not happy with it and ouh i am so happy i did

and then this is the final thing without the words ! added the ripples here and changed the shading/lighting on the crows and crowpaw a bit, also moved somethings around on her like lowering her tail and back- and yea thats about it !

[dragonfoxstardesigns]

Where do you like to start when drawing characters? Inner details going out? Pinning down the covers to suss out the baddy beneath? Where did you pick up your preference?

Me, I misunderstood Deviantart body bases. Tracing is frowned upon so of course evry1 just references these, right guys? - me circa 2013. I gotta draw the entire silhouette of the anatomy first, even if it’ll all get covered up later. Makes you feel closer to your art, and a nap, lol. Nah but it’s a trap, save your time and energy.

Parting question, has muse or discipline played a bigger motivator in your work?

Good question and thank you for the ask, Parsio!

When I start drawing characters, it depends really based on what the criteria is. For character design, I look up elements of the character that I like and outfits (if any) that I feel that would work. Adding scars sometimes or tattered ears for example like I did with Koh Ta to tell a story without having to say what happened to them. If its a headshot or bust, I'll start with the face - planning out where their features go especially if its a character design that I have to create from my own observations like the commission of a trandoshan/barabel hybrid of Nat. From there, I use the rule of thumb for proportions to get the shape of their face right along with making sure the proportions of their other features to balance.

As for full body characters in a standing pose, I mostly draw them based on what I learned proportion wise from head to toe though if its a difficult or dynamic pose I will use references to help guide me (multiple refs). It's not wrong to use references or trace so long as you aren't outright tracing the entire piece. You can outline the shapes and where the line of motion is especially if it is foreshortened. A lot of illustrators take that approach in order to meet deadlines.

I unfortunately make my life harder as an artist with drawing the anatomy first before adding clothing/armor on top though I try my best not to be too critical with it because it doesn't need to be accurate/exact to get the vision across. Mostly it helps me with making sure nothing feels 'off' in the piece.

Lastly, for muse/discipline its a bit of both I would think? My drive comes from my passion of making characters especially when it comes to character design, but also discipline from my many years of learning art fundamentals in high school (2 years), community college (2 years), and university (4 years) along with years that I drew art for fun ranging all the way back to when I was little drawing characters from my favorite shows/comics/games like Pokemon, Digimon, Naruto, Neopets, and Zoids just to name a few.

Discipline and muse go hand in hand. You can't have one without the other at least from my own personal experience. It's what keeps the drive to create while growing as an artist. I hope that makes sense!

[abandonambition]

Who drew these Capricorns? It's me! I did it. S...Sorry.

HI TUMBLAR. I'm Dana. I draw animals and mythical creatures (mostly capricorns and dragons). I like to reflect on lesser-known or dark aspects of nature, feelings of distress and despair, or creating designs that just look cool for the sake of looking cool. I have a sort of positive nihilist outlook on life, in that I'm rather upset with the general state of things but I still feel compelled to find or create beauty and interest anyway, even if my darker feelings sometimes come out through my work.

"Abandon Ambition" is both grimly serious and darkly humorous. I was raised in both a household and country that emphasized setting lofty goals of acquiring high earnings and impressive assets, but the timing of my pursuit of these things has laughably aligned with global financial crises, global pandemics and lockdowns, and now global heatwaves and global conflicts. Abandon ambition, and instead embrace what you want to say and do and create and build now; Tomorrow is not yours, and your goals may not be waiting for you there.

Be responsible, and be kind. But hope and wait for nothing.

So uh, yeah, I draw a lot of stuff and explore a lot of things that I think I've been holding back on for years for one reason or another. I want to draw dark goats, glowing bats, tempest capricorns, skinny dragons, snarling wolves. So here they are.

Check out what I made!

A lot of my designs find themselves on fun and/or practical merch! I like to create things that are high quality and have a long shelf life: I don't want to make something thinking it'll go in a landfill in a year, I want you wearing and enjoying my work for a very long time.

Here's a hat that glows in the dark!

Wow! Here's another hat that doesn't glow in the dark, but still looks really nice.

Pretty! If keeping your skull cozy isn't your thing, I've printed my art on fabric, too. I like this idea because if you move house a lot and/or can't afford custom frames, art printed on fabric can be displayed anywhere, and folds up nicely when packing up for your next move, without any breaking glass or anything.

A big part of my thinking when I'm designing products is also what do I myself use in my day-to-day life, and lately I've been desperately trying to cut my phone addiction by going back to pen-and-paper planners and books and things instead of using screens. And to keep track of where I am in my planners and books, I've made bookmarks!

I had so much fun designing these. You have something enjoyable to look at on both sides of the page it's clipped on. How fun is that?

Okay lastly, I make a TON of stickers. A lot of my designs translate really well into small, self-contained things like stickers, and I only ever print vinyl stickers, so they live a long time on your laptop or phone case or wherever you wanna put them.

So that's a small collection of the things I've done and made. Do you like them? I hope you like them. I liked designing them.

A COOOUPON JUST FOR YOUUUU

If you'd like one o' these things for yourself, you're in luck!

You, lucky Tumblar user, can visit my shop and take 20% off with code TUMBLR20. This coupon expires 1st April 2024 (or does it...? That's April Fools' Day after all... Okay yeah it does actually expire then. Sorry).

Oh, commissions?

Hey! Sometimes people like my art style and want a custom commission. That's great, and I'm so glad you're interested!

If you'd like a custom ink mailed to you on a postcard that also features my art on the back (so it's like... you get two pieces of art on one postcard), these are exclusive to my Patreon right here. I have limited slots per every month, so check back often in case I'm sold out.

I also offer what I call "instant order" commissions via my Ko-Fi. You pick out one of the offerings I have, send me your ref sheet, pay, and I just...get it done. It's as close to instant as commissions can get.

Besides those, I also do more bespoke work, so you can send me a message to discuss your idea and we'll work something out. :corporatethumbsupemoji:

Honestly? Thanks!

The internet has become a pretty weird and honestly rather hostile place. I'm a solo act that's as indie as they get. So, it really does mean a lot to me when your eyeballs land on my stuff and you click that little heart or reblog icon, or even better when you add it to your cart and click check out. Your eyeballs land on thousands of stuff every day, so the fact that my stuff brought you joy or interest or something deep that you resonated with means a lot to me. I think in a sense it makes me feel like my brush strokes are going somewhere far beyond whatever canvas I've otherwise confined them to.

This is a pinned post to share who I am and help me get some coins to fund my life and art projects, but yeah you can reblog it and share it around planet earth, I don't mind. It's nice.

So yeah, that's me! Feel free to comment if you have questions or want to know whatever else, I'll uh... reply and like answer them and stuff.

[livewireprojects]

This took a little too long & I've also been having multiple days were I've felt too exhausted to get onto my laptop to post this. Sorry about that.

-

I was commissioned by my friend @tay-likes-toons to make this for their rewrite/reimagening(LINK) of their fanfic(LINK) Your Favorite Martian the movie which was a fic made with the help of an RP we did to likely get some inspiration for some stuff.

The fic was meant to take place after the final episode of Your Favorite Martian the series were Puff risked house arrest(well he had to stay close if not fully in the tour bus) to have a date night with Tig. In YFM the movie Puff was able to get with Tig after getting out of jail but an incident led to their divorce & Puff living a miserable life in a run down house. At some point Puff meets a fan of the band at a bar he regularly goes to, in an attempt to show off/woo her he convinces her to travel with him to get the band back together. There does seem to be a problem though, the band split up when he went to jail so he has to go searching for them as they have moved on & got their own lives. Another issue is a mysterious person that seems to have plans for them.

The rewrite has been changed some, instead of being after the house arrest episode Puff gets arrested for drunk driving & causing some serious issues. The band broke up & left having had serious issues/life changing of their own at the time of Puff's arrest. Years later Puff is a drunk that misses the good days & his marriage is on the rocks thanks to becoming strained due to Puff becoming disillusioned. Everything seems to turn around when he meets Dimentia, a fan of his that he by chance met at a bar. She leads to Puff deciding to get the band back together to impress her(along with wanting his old life back) leading to the two going on an adventure to find the other band members who have moved on & try to convince them to come back. As they travel around & see what Deejay, Axel & Benatar are up to someone seems to have dark plans for the band.

Vincent asked me to draw everyone in the art style of gen 2/reboot YFM, it was tough but I finally got everything setup. A lot has changed since I last drew everyone, Dimentia while mostly the same as ever has had a big design change.(Link1 & Link2 to old refs)

I'm making this a little too long so I'll put some stuff under a keep reading & put the bios in posts meant to be splitting everyone up into groups. There's some extras under keep reading so hope you like it.

Links to cropped vers:

Puff & Dimentia | Deejay & his family | Benatar, Axel & their kids

This started out as wanting to make a second pic of Benatar & Axel without the apron & Axel off the clock, in the end this ended up just an extras section for some stuff I wanted to draw & alt outfits.

Left to right

Dimentia: This is an update of her original design for the original version of YFM the movie. This is a mix of a Kisekae version of her meant to be a ref & the design I sketched at some point.

Benatar: Exactly what it says, just a better look at him without the apron on

Axel: Axel off the clock with his hair untied & his favorite hat on. His daughter put a sticker on & he likes it cause it makes him think of Nicki.(She also put the drum sticker on his clipboard)

Pixie: This is the very first version of Pixel, Pixie was an OC Vincent made to pair with Deejay. It's also at this moment of typing that I realize I forgot her tights that have holes in them & I can't do anything about that.(Well I could with some editing) Link to reference pic of Pixie, link to sketches I made of past designs for Pixel.

"Original" Pixel: This is a design that was going to be Pixel's design for the original YFM the Movie, he's meant to be pastel goth. There were other designs that I drew them in in the past but the designs are too detailed in certain parts to try & the design refs were lost to time, in fact I remember checking something & the description mentions I had a fit over dealing with all the details. I guess you could say this is the most recent version of the design I guess.

Club outfit Pixel: This is an alt outfit for the current version of Pixel, for the club they work at with Deejay

YFM Watcher: He's not really suppose to be here I just wanted to try drawing him in gen 2's art style.

[amethyst-marshmallow]

more school doodlessss

ignore it if some of these have random lines btw my blue pen is running out of ink

also I will post more, I have SO many doodles and only 30 images per post

(sorry for no alt text, there are WAY too many things to describe)

These were all on my schedule, i carried it around during the beginning of the school year so it makes sense it has so many doodles lol

I dont even remember what half of this stuff is i was just drawing random stuff fr

doodles of marsssss and also one of amethyst

i draw mars shocked a lot lol

Some random peeps

none of them have names lol, a few were just to practice certain features (the last two were facial hair, and the one before that was buns) and some were cuz i was just bored

some faces (they look bad on purpose) the first one was drawn without picking up my pen and the second ones were just weird doodles to see how extreme an expression could get ig lol

random and ocsss

i might also turn the first one into an oc idk she looks kinda cool with the scribbled out face but erm yeah (it was actually an accident since i did draw a face but i didnt like it so i just scribbled it out, it kinda has a cool vibe tho)(if she does become an oc i might change her hair since it looks very similar to millie's)

Some birdish guy??????? idk i was kinda spaced out when i drew him but he had a cool coat so i drew that again

Animalsssssss

the 5th image is kinda abstract but we love him (it is a fox with 6 tails) also idk if the third image is a cat or a fox?? it looks more like a fox but idk it might be cat

catzzzzz and also fish

I mostly drew the fish cuz we were reading life of pi and it has all those fish on the first page so i used those as a ref to draw them

frisk👍 this doodle is so small

how do atom lol

anyway thats it. expect more soon

[sabrinatvband]

A Comprehensive List of Essential Comic Making Resources

It's very easy to get surface-level information about the art of making comics. But if you want the real shit, some curation will help. Some of these are neat informative images. Others are books that you'll have to find yourself. There will be some links to videos. Let's get into it.

[Link to a WordPress version of this post so you can share with your friends who don't use Tumblr]

ESSENTIAL BOOKS

There are enough books by professional, highly regarded comic artists and writers out there that you never need to buy a "How To" book by someone without industry experience; something to keep in mind.

Making Comics by Scott McCloud Scott McCloud is maybe a little too afraid of making definitive statements, but otherwise this is an incredible macro-level overview on the subject of making comics. Understanding Comics is also essential; Reinventing Comics is more of a time capsule. Perspective for Comic Book Artists by David Chelsea A comic artist who doesn't know perspective is like a guitarist who can't do alternate picking. This book, which is itself a comic, is a very effective resource on the subject of perspective. I made a short video about a cool trick from this book that they don't teach in art class:

This book has a sequel, Extreme Perspective for Artists, which is good at being what it is, but the advice is a lot less widely applicable. Framed Perspective Vol. 1 and 2 by Marcos Mateu-Mestre Going to be honest, these books are mostly redundant if you've already read the [imo] superior David Chelsea book, but they aren't bad books in isolation and if you get the perspective sickness like I did you'll probably want to read them anyways.

Figure Drawing for All It's Worth by Andrew Loomis Andrew Loomis wrote a bunch of highly regarded illustration books, but this one is my favorite. It has a lot of great practical advice related to drawing figures in perspective together, which begin with the iconic "John and Mary Problems". Here's another essential Loomis diagram:

Drawing Scenery: Landscapes and Seascapes by Jack Hamm I really need to re-read this one, and take it seriously this time, because my rocks look like shit. The other Jack Hamm books [Cartooning the Head & Figure, Drawing the Head & Figure] are also good. Writing for Comics by Alan Moore This is a very brief book, and it's maybe not super revelatory, but none of the advice within is bad. Writing for Comics & Graphic Novels by Peter David Nothing groundbreaking here either, but also not a book that will teach you wrong lessons. PROTIP Remember that any books about writing craft will be applicable to writing comics in many ways; books about writing comics specifically might have a few specialized tidbits, but 90% of writing advice transfers across mediums. Chuck Palahniuk wrote a series of essays on writing that I really enjoy that are floating around in a PDF somewhere; I'm not sure if that PDF turned into Consider This. Eclipse Tips from Top Cartoonists by Various This book is long out-of-print and rare, but you can see a flip-through of the book here. There's a lot of great stuff in it, but the most essential part is probably Scott McCloud's bit. [PROTIP: Using an upscaler on a screenshot of a book can make small text a lot more legible; the image below was upscaled.]

Will Eisner Books by Will Eisner I'm going to be honest, I once read Comics and Sequential Art and found a lot of the information within to be very pointless musings about things [e.g. "What if I drew some panels over a skeuomorphic drawing of a comicbook?"]. But Eisner's books are held in high regard by a lot of people, and obviously he was a talented cartoonist. Maybe I read his worst book on the subject. How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by John Buscema Read this historically significant book, absorb the four or five nuggets contained within, and take everything else with a grain of salt.

Morpho Art Books by Michel Lauricella I find these art reference books a lot more useful than equivalent resources. A lot of comic artists could definitely benefit from reading Fat and Skin Folds; it's not always about muscles! How to Draw: The Best of Basic Training by Various Wizard Magazine used to have a feature called Basic Training where various comic artists would give tips on how to draw. A lot of these tutorials were perhaps too short to be good, and some of the gross ones reek of an assumption that women won't be reading them [see: Sultry Women by Adam Hughes], but there were some real gems in there. Artists such as Joe Kubert, George Perez, Kevin Maguire, Scott McCloud, Steve Lieber, Mike Mignola, and Brian Bolland contributed. The image below is from a piece on drawing realistic women by Terry Moore.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating a Graphic Novel by Nat Gertlet and Steve Lieber I've never personally read this book, but Eisner-winning Steve Lieber is a highly respected cartoonist and Gertler had been Eisner-nominated before writing this book. I imagine it's a solid resource. How Comics Work by Dave Gibbons and Tim Pilcher Another book I haven't personally read, but obviously Dave Gibbons is a master of the medium. Frank Santoro wrote a mixed review about this book for The Comics Journal. Words for Pictures by Brian Michael Bendis I remember flipping through this for a while in a Barnes & Noble and thinking it was entertaining. The Art of Comic Book Writing by Mark Kneece Kneece doesn't have a very substantial bibliography as a comics writer, but this book is highly regarded by many people. The DC Comics Guide to . . . by Various DC made a whole series of books related to various facets of comics craft. I haven't read most of these myself, but they're all well-regarded and were written by top talents such as Dennis O'Neil and Klaus Janson. The only one I have read is The DC Comics Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics; solid book, implies good things about the other books in the series, but this specific volume is only really worthwhile if you use Photoshop. The Art of Comic Book Inking Third Edition by Gary Martin et al I've never read the third edition, but I have seen the first edition and that was a good book in itself, with the subsequent editions being more highly regarded. The third edition features contributions from a murderers' row of comics professionals: Terry Dodson, Adam Warren, Brian Bolland, Kevin Nowlan, Mike Royer, and many others.

ESSENTIAL BLOG POSTS AND SUCH

Jesse Hamm's Writings on Alex Toth I can't tell you how many times I read Jesse Hamm's LiveJournal posts about Alex Toth [and a handful of other artists] during class in highschool. Unfortunately a lot of the images are now broken, and so you'll need to pull out the Wayback Machine to make sense of some of these. Don Simpson on King Kong Don Simpson, across his various blogs, has made a lot of neat process posts, but these two posts about his King Kong comic are probably his most essential. Rough Riders: Kong Art from Concept to Finish First Kingdom: Kong Thumbnails from 1990 Shit I Wish Scott McCloud Told Me This old Tumblr has been ravaged by time; the formatting has been ruined after years without updates and inactivity, and much of the advice was written by people without credibility [cough]. But there were some real nuggets here. Jim Shooter on Comics Craft There's a website that compiles Jim Shooter's opinions on various facets of comic craft. Shooter was mostly known for being an editor, but he did write and layout some highly regarded comics in his time. Probably worth watching these videos as a companion piece of sorts, especially if you're not familiar with Shooter's ethos. Kelly Turnbull Tutorials The most useful tutorial is Let's Draw Abs, but you might find some use in the other ones. Matt Fraction on Daredevil: Born Again The triangle stuff here sounds made up, but apparently it was intentional. The Schweizer Guide to Spotting Tangents You're going to want to avoid tangents, which can make pictures look visually confusing. Jim Rugg's Octobriana 1976 Process Zine This PDF costs $5, but it's worth it to see over 300 pages of sketches, breakdowns, insights, etc.

THE BEST CARTOONIST KAYFABE EPISODES

I do realize that Cartoonist Kayfabe was a divisive Youtube channel; if you'd like to hear more of my thoughts you can read an article I wrote about the channel on my blog here. In short, I think Cartoonist Kayfabe was one of the greatest educational resources on comics craft. Here are the videos from the channel I found the most educational:

Thumbnails, Layouts, and Roughs Dark Knight Returns Original Artwork Watching the Watchmen The Charlton Comicbook Guide for the Artist / Writer / Letterer Frank Miller's Conversation With Will Eisner Templates for Faster Comic Making The Killing Joke Brian Bolland Layouts How to Draw Comics the Bill Griffith Way How to Ink Comic Books Absolute Batman: Year One Famous Artists Course: Composition Full Make More Comics Playlist

OTHER NEAT YOUTUBE THINGS

Helioscope PDX Helioscope PDX is a large studio in Portland shared by many cartoonists, and they have some neat videos. Terry Moore's Youtube Channel The guy who wrote and illustrated Strangers in Paradise has a Youtube channel where he posts neat, often wholesome videos. Strange Brain Parts Not actually a channel about making comics, but as far as analysis goes Strange Brain Parts is the best comics channel on Youtube. Neat!

COMICS WITH PEAK CRAFT

This list is obviously far from being exhaustive, but I think all of these comics are at least a 9/10 on a craft level, if not also a dramatic level.

OMAC by Jack Kirby A lot of Jack Kirby's 70s books with Mike Royer and D. Bruce Berry on inks are really impressive visually, but what makes me recommend OMAC so often is that it's only eight issues long. There's an incredible panel in issue 2 where OMAC is standing outside of a door and listening to a conversation, and it has an amazing foreground-background element. One of my all-time favorite panels.

By the 70s, almost every panel Kirby illustrated was a masterpiece. So many incredible compositions designed to guide the eye in a circular motion; check out this late-period composition from Captain Victory, which not only guides the eye in a circle but also has a lot of depth.

The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller The 16-panel grid this book uses is masterful; really absorbs the reader into the world and creates a special, often intimate atmosphere. Weapon X by Barry Windsor Smith The compositions, atmosphere, pacing, etc in Weapon X are perfect.

Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli At least as good as Batman: Year One on a craft level, but also a more entertaining story.

Sim Hell and Fatal but Not Serious by Adam Warren These comics are very effective at creating a sense of space, and also the lettering in these books is incredible. I wrote an entire article extolling the formalism of these books.

Wonder Woman: Earth One by Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette If you want to see what modern 3D-model assisted fastidious comics craft looks like, check out this book!

Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons Do I need to say anything?

ODDS AND ENDS

Wally Wood's 22 Panels That Always Work Wally Wood made a reference sheet detailing 22 visually interesting panels to help him work through dialogue scenes and meet deadlines, and it wasn't long before every working comic artist had a copy of it taped to a corner of their drafting table. Here's the original, as well as a visually cleaner remake by Michael Avon Oeming.

Jim Steranko's The Laws of Action Solid advice on how to liven up figure drawings.

Alan Moore on Word Counts Moore recounting a guideline from editor Mort Weisinger: What he said was: if you’ve got six panels on a page, then the maximum number of words you should have in each panel is 35. No more. That’s the maximum. 35 words per panel. Also, if a balloon has more than 20 or 25 words in it, it’s going to look too big. 25 words is the absolute maximum for ballon size. Right, once you’ve taken on those two simple rules, laying out comics pages — it gives you somewhere to start — you sort of know ‘OK, so six panels, 35 words to a panel, that means about 210 words per page maximum… [so] if you’ve got two panels you’d have 105 each. If you’ve got nine panels, it’s about 23 – 24 words — that’ll be about the right balance of words and pictures. On the subject of drawing stuff digitally; -Krita is a highly regarded piece of open source software. I personally use Medibang Paint Pro, but I wish I didn't, because Krita has a lot of useful features. I'm unfortunately too used to the way Medibang feels. Clip Studio Paint is a popular paid piece of software that's still quite affordable. -I own a Cintiq and Intuos [drawing tablet with screen, drawing tablet without screen]. Granted I've only used my Cintiq a handful of times because my computer doesn't have enough video outputs, but I actually find that I enjoy the Intuos a lot more; a computer monitor is generally going to be a more pleasurable screen to look at than a Cintiq screen, you don't need to worry about your hand covering or touching things accidentally, and for most people it will be more ergonomic. It also doesn't take up as much space and it's a lot more portable with a laptop. Oh, and it's way cheaper. Remember that art tablets use drivers; it's my understanding that a computer can't have, say, Huion and Wacom drivers installed at the same time. So, if you're planning on getting a screenless drawing tablet and upgrading to one with a built-in screen [not something I recommend for the reasons I've established], consider the driver situation, because you'll probably want to be able to use both at different times, and also probably won't want to regularly uninstall and reinstall drivers. Carapace There's a free piece of software called Carapace that can be used to create perspective grids from photographs. A download link can be found in the description of this video.

Using Blender A lot of modern comic artists use 3D software to position complex items for tracing purposes [e.g. spaceships, cars, etc]. Blender can also be used to build locations you'll revisit a lot , and the grease pencil tool can be used to place skeletons within a space to stage complicated scenes while maintaining perspective. As you can see below, checkerboard textures can be applied to objects to try and make it easier to make sense of perspective

A thing I was working on for a one-page dungeon Blue-Line Pencils You should buy some non-photo blue pencils if you don't already have them. They're designed to be visually unobtrusive, which makes them great for drawing perspective grids and skeletons, and the color is designed to be easily filtered out of scans. They can also be erased.

EPILOGUE

I've been reading about making comics for over a decade, and I think this post more-or-less contains everything worthwhile I've seen on the subject. Remember that the most important thing is actually sitting down and practicing your craft. I do have one big thought relating to comic craft philosophy; a lot of people really love heavily premeditated comics by guys like Dave Gibbons, Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, etc, but they also want to make as few iterations as possible and / or draw directly onto the board. I'm a firm believer that the only way someone can really create a book like The Dark Knight Returns or Watchmen is by creating a lot of concept art, illustrating detailed layouts, making a lot of notes, etc. You have to adopt the same seemingly impossible working methods that these artists used in order to get a similar end result, or at least I think so. If you can't get anything finished while using such working methods, that's a workflow issue, and there's nothing wrong with that. Jack Kirby did everything improv and he was one of the greatest comic artists ever. But I do think studying and emulating the ways people made great comics, while taking into account advancements in tech, is very important.

[dirtfrosting]

Do you have any drawing tips? I’ve been doing it all my life but I’ve been in a block recently. I haven’t quite found a drawing style that I like. How do you go about drawing anatomy?

ngl I was also in a block but then I found rhett hehehe

whoops im a yapper so I'll put it under the cut!

tldr: Kaycem vids, anatomy for artists drawing form & pose by tomfoxdraws, copy a little, draw a lot, use references, try a bunch of stuff, and have fun :D

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For style, I look at other artists that I admire and break down what specifically I like and try to do the same. Is it their line art, color scheme, composition, or their stylization? If its stylization, then is it the proportions, facial features, etc.? Its easy to say you like everything, but narrowing it down gives you something to focus on.

Yoinking one aspect from one artist prevents you from copying one person, but there's also more to style than what you like. I think Kaycem mentions this, but your art style is an amalgamation of the shortcuts you take. Some you learn from other artists, others you make on your own based on what you like to draw and what you know how to draw.

idk what im trying to say😭 My style woes come from a lack of technical and fundamental proficiency. Stuff looks wonky because the anatomy, proportions, or perspective is wrong. I can't always tell what's wrong, but it still looks wrong ya kno? So learning from other artists can give you a good starting point, but ultimately, your knowledge is the deciding factor

.....speaking of......

I like Kaycem's art bootcamp series on youtube. There's 30 videos, mostly around 2:30 hrs long. I watched them on 2x speed and drew along, pausing if needed. The vids are recorded livestreams, so there's some off-topic stuff, but I just use that time to catch up or skip past it. He has some edited versions, but not for all 30 days. Lowkey forgot everything, but my drawings at the time were some of my best imo! (i fell off 😔)

I also found anatomy for artists drawing form & pose by tomfoxdraws really helpful for understanding 3D form! (there's pdfs online if you know where to look👀) I read the text, copy the drawings, and apply what I learned.

I only got through the head section and haven't touched it in months 💀oops I definitely need to get back to it

Some of the stuff Kaycem mentions are also in tomfox's book, so its a nice introduction! I've also tried proko's anatomy vids but they're a little more complex. Sinx also has some good vids. EmilioDekure's videos are also helpful and he has a slightly simpler style if that's more your vibe. Just try a bunch of stuff and see what works!! The stuff you absorb will combine with stuff you like to create a style you can tweak as you learn and experiment.

(ngl I feel like the only anatomy I've kind of figured out is the upper arm 💀so I use references to fill figure out the rest)

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Sometimes I like studies bc you mostly copy stuff, but other times its soo draining. Trying to apply the knowledge can be especially frustrating so remember to take breaks to have fun!!

I loove drawing straight in pen, sometimes without construction lines at all. It trains you to be more intentional with your marks, but it's also super relaxing/meditative for me. I just copy what I see, which takes less brain power imo. It's not as helpful for learning form bc I'm only thinking in line. It is good for observational skills, though, which come in handy for copying refs when you can't figure out the anatomy teehee

(also i hate pencil smudges)

Like everyone always says: just gotta practice! The time will pass anyways!! Sometimes a drawing turns out good, then the very next one looks like garbage, but who cares! Enjoy the process! The next one will be better!!! Never stop drawing!!! Yippee!!!!

[two-fu]

my art process

it still amazes me how a blank canvas can turn into a concept from your head like woah there hands and brain thank you for cooperating during this crucial time in my life /hj

if anyone's curious about my art process, i'm gonna put it down below (otherwise, just scroll past pls i'm mostly just rambling) this is not a guide. i repeat, this is not a guide (￢з￢)

ok, first let me let you this. sometimes my last few braincells work and i actually sketch out a concept straight from my head, but most of the time i just get inspired by a random editorial pic i find on pinterest or a movie scene that i find interesting and then just start with that. be warned that my process is pretty messy and probably only makes sense to me [lmao] but this is how i usually do it so...

i'm gonna use my most recent art for ref which was inspired by a ghost in the shell movie scene. first i sketch the character placement into the scene, then i move on to the bg. i loosely paint the background in one layer first, then paint the additional background details on a separate layer (in this case, the ceiling...holes?? yeah those holes with the light coming in)

i keep going and add in the rest of the background details as much as possible before i draw in the characters: glass panels, lights, wires. once i'm kinda satisfied with the background, i start to add the characters. i usually just paint them in a single layer, except for when some additional elements that need to be in the front/back of the character come into play.

in the case with kdj, i drew him in one layer, the wings on a separate layer, and the wires on another, so it would be easier for me to modify them as needed without messing up the kdj layer. for yjh, i just painted him in a single layer since it's only just him sulking lol

[also, whenever i feel like the character placement/scaling is off, i'm not afraid to resize the necessary layers because i know i can just correct the bad resolution by painting over it]

then i add a bit of lighting/shadow elements on the characters (don't come to me for this bc i don't have a solid grasp on that either. i swear i'll diligently study it someday but for now i just put in whatever feels "right" lmaoooo)

when i'm satisfied with how the characters look, i add in more small details that i hope could make the piece a bit more interesting and not too flat: glass reflections, floor texture, yjh's shadow, and some light reflecting off the cement floor

another thing i added was the bloom effect on a duplicate layer of the copy-pasted canvas. then i lowered the opacity for the bloom layer so it wouldn't look too severe, just the right kind of ambient glow from the lights and kdj's coat. ok that's about it. i could stop there BUT...

personally, i like to do a bit of post-processing after. this part takes a lot of experimenting and this is really the part i enjoy the most, especially when playing around with the colors to really set the mood for the illustration. for this one i...

added a layer for grainy texture and set it to soft light at 9% opacity

copy-pasted the entire canvas then duplicated it before adding a gradient map for the dupe layer then setting it to color dodge at 24% op (just to give it a bit of color and not make it look to desaturated like it originally did)

added an additional color dodge layer to brighten up the lower part of the canvas a bit

and that's how i usually make my art ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧

sometimes it takes me only a couple of hours, sometimes times it takes days when i'm procrastinating a piece, and sometimes i just completely give up and trash an entire concept lol yeah it's fun and can be frustrating but i like that it shuts my brain up for a while and keeps me from thinking about awful stuff. idk maybe that's just me idk idk

if you've made it this far in my post, wow, i really appreciate you for sticking around through my yapping /srs ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡