#in which I draw a horse without reference

[citroncynique]

bad dreams in the night

[chopshajen]

1-6.

Getting back to it with my baby, Basilica! I said I’d draw her at some point. She’s from the same Dreamlike Tea Party line as Riot, she’s black and gray colored, and she lives on my desk, which is how she rescued me from my pit of “idk what to draw I don’t wanna draw any of the things I wanna draw” LOL

In real life Basilica (and all of the other Dreamlike Tea Party dolls) has skin-toned legs and body, which is terrifying to contemplate, so I made the executive decision that her fur is actually black. LOL

[elodieunderglass]

And one amang, an Iyrysch man,

Uppone his hoby swyftly ran…

WAIT HANG ON - slamming the brakes on drawing this stupid picture - do you nerds even KNOW the etymology of the word “hobby”? The thing you do for pleasure? The thing you have too many of? The thing you spend too much money on and share with your friends? The thing tumblr probably is to you? Those hobbies?

It comes from a now-kind-of-extinct breed of Irish pony-horse. It was called the Irish Hobby. Supposedly the hobby got its name from the Gaelic word obann, or swift. They definitely were. They’d obann your pants clean off.

Fast tough little bastards, built for rough terrain and renowned for their speed and stamina, hobby horses belonged to the Celts, and their highly annoying style of mounted warfare. but their conquerors liked hobby horses a lot, kept them, used them for themselves, and found them useful enough, despite the fact that they also had famously useful things like mounted knights or horse archers. A lightweight Irish warrior, mounted on a hobby horse, was called a hobelar.

Reportedly and in depictions, hobelars rode without stirrups. Or saddles. Or bridles. Or - well - this is all sounding very improbable, because the hobelars COULDNT have just been charging around basically bare-assed on naked ponies, screaming, and somehow in the process undoing the composure of actual mounted armoured knights. Knights who, I remind you, had stirrups. Stirrups are useful! It’s quite likely the hobelars had some gear. And clothes. and weapons. And the ponies probably had some tack - I am picturing a bellyband that you could at least hang a saddlebag on, and a neck rope for catching the bloody thing, even if not a saddle. But the overall impression, somehow created by people on darling little ponies, was apparently quite striking and fearful.

I mean. God Forbid People Have Hobbies.

Anyway after a while, whatever people became the British had eventually conquered all of the rough terrain that hobbies were best at, and horse archers just got sexier, and mounted knights became aristos, and all the bog and forest people had been subdued, so it was time to sunset the hobelars. but WAIT! Hobby horses are still tremendously fun and appealing! They’re so fast! and you can ride them without a saddle! Sure, they’re not up to the weight of a mounted knight, or indeed a lot of guys… but surely we can still find a use for a hobby or two? In the back garden? Somewhere?

At which point an English king decided to keep hobby horses just for fun. No military application. No further development of the technology. Not for fun. Just as expensive, pleasurable, pets. Just for the joy of the thing.

And that is how hobby (activity done purely for pleasure) comes from hobby horse (small horse) possibly from obann (swift.) they’re very interesting and you should look all this up for yourself! because it sure sounds like Elodie doing a bit, doesn’t it?

Today, Irish Hobbies are functionally nonexistent. References for drawing include the Kerry Bog Pony, the Connemara, and (I personally think) Dartmoors and Exmoors. They’re said to have lent their speed to the Irish Hunter/Sport Horse and from there to the Thoroughbred, but every damn horse in the world claims relation to the Thoroughbred, and they can’t be THAT thoroughly bred.

At any rate - you can never have enough hobbies. Just be glad that yours aren’t expensive beasts with minds of their own, eating their heads off in the pasture! …Unless they are. In which case, you’re part of a proud tradition.

[elianzis]

SOOO...WHAT THE HELL IS THIS

First off, I apologize for tagging artists, but you should know about this shit.

I'll quickly bring you up to speed.

YouTube has slowed down in Russia and the authorities are "recommending" to move to domestic platforms like Rutube, which of course can't compete with YouTube in any way.

So, even earlier my friends and I faced that our work was reuploaded to Rutube without our knowledge.

And this afternoon kind people, threw a couple of screenshots with reuploads to RuTube also other artists. I will attach all these screenshots to this post. Among the artists I know are: @anniflamma @gigizetz @wolfythewitch @mircsy

Unfortunately, RuTube has a very shitty system of copyright reports, where they ask you to provide your personal data (passport, address and DOCUMENTS that prove your copyright), so last time with friends this situation was let go, because there were no serious hits there.

Unfortunately, the only possibility now is to try to throw technical reports, but this is also unlikely to work. I will also attach links here for some animations

I'm very sorry for this..

[the-maddened-hatter]

Alright so I pretty much said all of this verbatim on a reblog of someone else's post, but I wanted to put it here on my blog too.

As I've mentioned before, I would *very* much like to see Peri canonically having a disability that causes him to use his wand/cane and not just have it be an accessory, and so I analyzed the episodes he's in that I've been able to see so far and came up with a few observations:

As much as I'd be unopposed to seeing it portrayed, leg issues don't really seem like a major deal to fairies in general given as Cosmo misplaced his for most of an episode and a pair of sticks were a good enough replacement for him to have fun at the arcade in human form (without even drawing human attention)

And Peri can apparently use his powers as listed above without his cane since he doesn't always immediately have it on his person (especially since Dev & Hazel took his cane in Lost in Fairy World and he didn't have any power or mobility problems)

But!

I *could* easily see him having some kind of magical fatigue issue or magical equivalent of hypotonia or balance disorder, since he's shown to be

very tired after a morning spent magically creating cupcakes (a probably small but very repetitive task that leaves him running low on energy)

When his stationary float is disrupted he remains seated instead of floating back up again

3. A minor contact/startle reflex is enough to disrupt his hover and cause him to immediately fall pretty hard if not very far

4. speaking of distance, he is shown to sometimes float a bit lower than his parents, which, while not consistent and likely just an animation choice, could tie in with the other points to support the diagnosis theory

However, pain may admittedly be more of a factor than the above images suggest,

he may not just be tired from shape shifting like I'd thought since right before that he was walking (albeit in horse form) and afterwards (low) cloud float is apparently easier and faster for him than just quickly trotting past his parents

He also didn't really seem to be having too much of a problem at all before he hit the ground

Where it goes to a definitely tired and possibly more pained look.

Maybe he didn't want to tell Dev that it was painful either out of pride or because he didn't want to potentially upset him and just went with "tired" because that was what he assumed. It'd be interesting to see if it happens again in a different form.

Personally I think it'd be cool to see both and have it be a chronic condition (directly magical or otherwise) that he already had before the series began (diagnosed or not).

If he's the first fairy kid born in a long time he probably would have been monitored very closely, but it may have taken a while for doctors to notice a problem since there was little reference for comparison and may have even caused some potentially serious problems that gave Comso & Wanda a bad scare, which could tie in pretty well with their developing a high amount of over protectiveness of him, and that in turn leading him to try and behave too far in the other direction (not seeking help when he really does need it, pushing himself way too hard and suffering the fallout which he then tries to hide, ect)

If he's undiagnosed but having the problems it could be interesting to see sort of an inversion of the "character must learn to accept their disability" storyline wherein he's more connecting certain events & symptoms and we get to see him adapting to accommodations and letting himself try different approaches moreso than to having new symptoms (though we as the audience may see these symptoms more or behaviors contextualized as symptoms where they weren't necessarily before).

Idk either way I just think it would be cool (and I've probably put away more analysis into this than will ever pay off lol)

also to everyone who draws him as a disabled mobility device user: ILY please draw more of it it feeds my soul

[undead-cypress]

Some more shitposts and Jpn new game + notes

I THINK (because it's not like I have a script nor am I particularly observant) this miiiiight be the first instance of a personal pronoun? 自分 is a pretty impersonal one though, which makes sense in this context because this is the scene announcing Will's entry into the tournament. The dialogue choices here are, in response to (paraphrased because I don't remember it exactly) "Entry to the tournament? With this runt?"

> It's me who's entering

> not a runt

> don't answer a question with another question

I picked "not a runt" because it is endlessly amusing to me how obviously Will was supposed to be even younger. We're not a baby :((( not born three weeks ago :((((

(please ignore how, in my blazed out state, took me several minutes to try to type in "Jingles" - long story - on the PS4 while still forgetting to add the " to シ so now I'm stuck with "Shingles" for a mc name. Oops. The Japanese PS4 keyboard mapping is NUTS. You know how they put the English keys in alphabetical order?? When you're wired to use QWERTY?? It's kinda like that. It's hard when you're high.)

In other pronoun stuff, all the street vendors (not shop keepers though) refer to the MC as お兄さん, even though they're all universally WAY older. It's more of an informal way to show deference to a potential customer, a rank thing rather than an age or family thing.

Brigitta's pronouns for her dog are basically it/it's 😂. Mostly because she refuses to give it a name, so she refers to the dog as コレ, コイツ, etc

I think it's funny this is Strohl's default mode. I never noticed until now, when one of the ranked events had him going up to the landlord guy like this and for a second I wondered if we're supposed to interpret it as "we saw you across the street and we hate your vibes". But nah that's just his normal. Nobody else's idle pose has clenched fists, this is excellent. I've said it before but his line deliveries are a bit more aggro/seething in Japanese and maybe that's why I'm noticing.

Also, Rangief calls him Leon-bocchama. While "bocchama" translates to "young lord" it's pretty rare and embarrassing to call anyone over the age of eh.... 14 that. It does make the sub theme of Strohl's ranked episodes of coming to age as an adult come through a bit more when Rangief drops it at the end. Also it's funny. The English version places more emphasis on worthiness and responsibility rather than the growing up aspect, which I think is fine tbh because that IS the main thing. Age hierarchies matter less in the anglosphere and it would just be kind of baffling without explanation on why East Asia is obsessed with age hierarchies. And just hierarchies in general.

(it's Confucius's "trickle down ethics"'s fault)

Oh yeah the "my kind of strange" line everyone keeps screenshotting is less interesting in Japanese, it was something like "we'll get along well".

Fabienne is much more forceful sounding in Japanese and her tone was pretty scary at times. In English she comes off as more tired, but in Japanese it sounds much more like she's kind, yes, but she will beat you down with a stick with no hesitation if she must.

Bardon doesn't have an equivalent accent in Japanese and I'm not immediately picking up anything special about the way he talks. Aww. He does still sound very much like a hapless goober though.

Gloddel is even hammier, if that was possible. My god, this is what every middle schooler going through anime phase wishes they sound like.

Neuras has an accent though! He's very much still a wacky scamp.

I kept joking that Hulkenberg is horse coded so my friend made her a horse in miitopia. Then the Mind Horse (draw a horse without using references) challenge started trending again on Bluesky, and people wanted to see my mind horse. Unfortunately my mind horse is just a regular lookin horse and not very funny, so I drew Hulkenhorse instead

You're welcome?

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

Centaur Worldbuilding

this one has been in the works for a really long time! but here it is at last: the details about how I personally have chosen to worldbuild with centaurs.

My centaurs are based on chalicotheres, popularly referred to as "gorilla horses". I thought they were a perfect base to start from when making people that resemble a horse combined with a human. Though my centaurs lean way more into the chalicothere look and don't resemble humans much at all.

here are a few variations on color/pattern for centaur coats, based mostly on paleoart of chalicotheres.

(image description: six illustrations of centaurs with different coloration. The two main colors are a red-brown and a duller tan color. the three main patterns are soft gradients, stripes, and spots. end description.)

and it is a really really long post so the rest is under a cut for convenience.

The reason centaurs have six limbs is because somewhere back in their ancient ancestry, chimeric twins became more and more common and then became the default. There was most certainly some meddling from a Life entity in order to make this happen (the immortal beings who channel the world's natural magic energy to mess with living things as they please, though they can only use a limited amount of power before they fade into that vast well of energy and disappear). This does mean that the front "legs" of a centaur are actually a pair of arms. The main differences between the upper arms and the front legs are the placement of the shoulder, the amount of muscle, and how the centaurs trim their hooves for dexterity or support.

(image description: two drawings of a centaur standing while bending down to touch the ground with their hands. the second image shows an overlay of their skeleton, illustrating the chimeric twin anatomy with its split ribcage and two pairs of forelimbs, or arms. They have three hooved digits on each hand/foot on all six limbs. visually, their face is a bit horse-like and their whole body is colored reddish-brown with a pale belly. end description.)

and yes, they can use use their front legs as a pair of secondary arms when needed. They're not as dextrous a pair of arms, but they do make a lot of tasks easier, such as being able to buckle a bag strap around one's own belly, or catching hold of a rambunctious foal before they run face first into your knees.

(any inconsistencies in these proportions from here onward is entirely down to my own artistic flaws, as keeping character/creature designs perfectly consistent is not easy)

Because they are chimeric twins, it is far more common for centaurs to be born with congenital defects than it is for any other group. The second pair of forelimbs and the added height of the upper torso may be extremely useful for leaf-browsing creatures like centaurs, but the messy nature of their gestation often causes problems. Much of the time, this leads to stillbirths and miscarriage. but some defects are survivable and every herd has a good number of disabled members.

(image description: simple sketches of three visibly disabled centaurs using mobility aids. The first one has underdeveloped forelegs, and is using a combination of crutches and a wheeled platform under their lower torso. the second one was born without the chimeric twin, resembling a chalicothere. they have a folding support stand strapped to their belly to support their weight when they need to use their hands. the last one has a ribcage that failed to split, resulting in a short torso like the twinless centaur, as well as a pair of underdeveloped forelegs. they are using a wheeled platform under their chest, which they can push with their upper pair of arms. end description.)

These are just a few of the more visible and survivable disabilities common to centaurs. wheels are a very important invention for centaur life, not only for their disabled population, but also because pulling carts is a much more effective way to carry a lot of items at once, which is very useful.

Centaurs are also enormous. twelve feet, or roughly 3.5 meters, tall from the base of their front toes to the top of their head when standing upright. They tower over pretty much every other people species, as they are basically just a remnant ice age megafauna that became sapient.

(image description: flat colored drawings of an orc, an elf, and a centaur all standing next to each other. the orc comes roughly to the centaur's upper ribs, and the elf is roughly as tall as the orc's armpit. end description)

it would be extremely rude, but anyone the size of an average elf or smaller could easily play limbo under a centaur's belly. it's a really bad idea though.

Orcs are also remnant megafauna, and it's not by coincidence. Their ancestors were the main predator of ancient centaurs. (this also means the ancestors of gnomes were the main predator of centaurs, but this fact is often overlooked since gnomes are so much smaller than their cousins). even into the modern day (of my stories) centaurs mostly live in their own isolated territories, actively keeping other people out. Especially the orcs. The journey from natural predator and prey, to sapient peoples who did not recognize each other as people, to enemies, and then to tensely peaceful separated populations, was a long and difficult journey, fraught with violence on all sides.

Where the line falls between animal and people is murky and difficult to define. When exactly did the natural behavior of hunting prey become grounds for warfare? No one is really sure. Even if the line is drawn, what would it change? nothing. the past already happened. their people already have an enormous divide between them; a chasm of blood that can't be forgotten.

(image description: a vividly colored digital painting of an ancient centaur trying to escape three ancient pig-like predators as they pounce and bite in their attempt to bring it down. end description.)

many orcish artifacts still remain in centaur territory as the result of many clashes and hurried retreats. The orcs conceded, in the end. they returned all their belongings that were made from the bodies of centaurs, allowed the centaurs to draw the territorial lines, and then kept themselves far away and avoided those areas for centuries.

Centaurs are a migrational species, so orcs were too. Orcish culture used to focus on centaurs as a sacred animal, and then they had to toss it all aside and build their culture back up from whatever they had left. and in the meantime, the centaurs who had spent so many generations fleeing predation, watching their most frail herd members be picked off, and fighting back at last to defend themselves, were free to rest and build their culture far beyond their prior means. they became master weavers, using a wide variety of plant fibers to create clothing and art and useful items they didn't have time for when they were more in danger of being hunted. Though most centaurs still choose to go around with very little clothing, if any, because it feels more practical.

(image description: three different centaur outfits. the first is minimal, all jewelry and simple gloves. the note on it says "small accessories and jewelry are often more practical for an active centaur." the second one is wearing bark cloth around both of their waists to act as a barrier between their body and the straps of large bags on their back. They are also wearing gloves and cloth wraps around their hands and feet. the note here says "centaurs are largely nomadic and have developed many durable weaving techniques to create high quality travel bags." and lastly is a ceremonial outfit, featuring a cape and gloves all dyed in vivid shades of green with leafy patterns in the cloth. the cape is decorated with a fringe of thin cedar strips, matching a headdress of the same material. behind their head, the centaur wears a skull. the note here says "Religious garb often uses centaur skulls to reflect the nature of their conjoined deities. The Withered Twins are more commonly represented because they are a healer and gentle guide." end description)

and one very common piece of clothing for all adult centaurs is the "I'm not your mom" blanket; a weighted cloth laid over the flank to deter nosy newborns during peak baby season.

(image description: a striped adult centaur wearing a cropped shirt with beaded straps and a fancy looking leaf-pattern blanket strapped around their lower waist shoos off a speckled foal who looks a bit confused. end description.)

nosy newborns very easily forget who their mom is and need to be redirected quite often. though some lactating centaurs are more than willing to share the burden of keeping all the babies fed, and their culture does involve a lot of communal child rearing. monogamous couples and exclusive marital bonds are uncommon in centaur herds.

Most herds are led by a council of elders, who are trusted to make wise decisions as they follow their ancestral migration paths and constantly assess the needs of the herd. Some of the most important elders are those who act as religious leaders, representing the conjoined deities. Centaurs generally have two main deities. The Perfected Twins, a warrior deity, and The Withered Twins, a deity representing both death and healing.

(image description: two vibrant illustrations of centaur deities, both with a long braid of hair, their heads framed by shining circular designs like halos.

in shades of red, the warrior deity, the perfected twins, is noted to represent defense, fury, power, and hope. they have two active heads, joined at an angle in the middle so they look in different directions, two pairs of upper arms holding a shield, a spear, and a bow and arrow, and four legs. They are wearing armor on their upper waist and all of their arms. They are rearing up and look to be charging into battle.

in shades of blue, the death deity, the withered twins, noted to represent protection, healing, love, and grief. they have one active head and a smaller, partly decayed head attached to the back of their skull. Their forelegs are also underdeveloped and scrawny. their whole body is overlayed with a skeletal design. They are curled into a protective pose, holding a twinless infant with their whole torso and front limbs depicted as bones with no flesh. the deity is also wearing a translucent cape attached to upper arm bracelets.

end description)

centaurs have been fully aware of their chimeric twin biology for centuries, though they did not have the means to study it in detail or understand exactly what was happening during gestation. it's not hard though, to notice that your species is made of fused twin bodies when so many of your people are born with their bodies fused wrong, especially those who are stillborn. They believe they also have twin souls, and that the twin who is sacrificed in the womb gets to be the dominant twin in their next life. those who are born twinless usually undergo a lot of spiritual meditation to connect with their lost twin so they can meet up again in death. the stillborn foals with more obvious conjoined anatomy are said to be twins who had a fight about which of them would be dominant this time, and so they came out wrong and had to try again.

the infant held by the Withered Twins represents the sacrificed twin who waits as a spirit for their turn in the next life while the living twin uses their arms and ribs. The Withered Twins are the most commonly worshipped deity, prayed to for comfort and healing and guidance, acting as a conduit for living centaurs to stay in touch with their twin's soul. but the Perfected Twins also play an important role in centaur culture, even though their fierce warrior nature is no longer needed since the centaurs were able to separate themselves from the orcs.

the Perfected Twins represent the idealize form; the possibility of both twins sharing a body, neither being sacrificed while the other remains alive and dominant. they represent community action, partnership, cooperation. when needed, they are prayed to for strength. their image guards the borders of centaur territories, a signal to all outsiders that the centaurs have not grown docile even in isolation. at a moment's notice, they will take up arms again to keep themselves safe.

in the canon of my main stories, there was a very important historical event involving centaurs. some centuries after the Goblin Revolution shook the world and put everyone through some rough patches as various populations turned to isolation and self-imposed segregation to prevent any other interspecies troubles, while other populations embraced interspecies cooperation, there was an orc in one country who took the lead of a large clan and decided to end their tradition of isolation and reach out to the other people species in the local area. his name was He-esh and he was the first orc in that part of the world to strike an alliance with the nearby dwarf clans. he did a lot of other notable things, acting as a diplomat and repairing the broken relationship his people had with their gnomish cousins.

most notable of all, however, was his bold decision to contact the centaurs and lay his life on the line to carry an apology for the actions of his ancestors and plea for alliance between their peoples, hoping it would someday turn into friendship.

(image description: a grayscale illustration with gold accents, showing an orc kneeling in front of an armored centaur while they hold a spear to his chest. both figures have a golden halo drawn around their heads. the orc is wearing simple but elegant looking clothes, including a fringe of black feathers on the hem of his coat, and a pair of long straight tusks in his hair. his own tusks are curled with the points facing backwards. end description.)

He-esh's plea to the centaurs was received with apprehension, quite reasonably. but he never asked forgiveness, only a chance to let the future be forged anew. eventually, the centaurs accepted his plea and he was able to strike an alliance with them, gradually opening trade between them and other people species in their area. though he was never allowed very far in, He-esh got to walk into the centaur territory once to meet with their elders. at the end of He-esh's life, a centaur diplomat made history again by being the first to enter orc territory in a peaceful manner, as far as any records could tell.

this event marks the beginning of my most central story project, so I won't give away all the details yet.

as a final note on my centaurs: they don't have genders. their pronouns are based on age (child and adult) and social hierarchy (important adults).

ila/ las (child pronoun) hul/ hes (adult pronoun) ma-hul/ ma-hes (important adult pronoun)

I haven't been using the correct fantasy pronouns for all my characters very consistently, because it is a little tricky to keep track of them all and I have yet again made changes due to dissatisfaction with a few of them lol. but when I eventually have completed stories, I'll be using all those pronouns to enhance immersion.

this post has been a long time in the making, so i'm glad to finally have it done!! thanks for being patient!

[lycanm00n]

Muzzled and Free - A Small Ramble About Being Nonhuman in a Human World

I dashed out of my house this morning, the chain collar around my neck clinking softly and catching the morning light like some kind of animalistic mirrorball. The bus I was meant to catch, albeit with the stop being directly outside my house, was in about four minutes and despite being a canine, I was never the fastest runner - quite possibly due to the big combat boots I'd slipped my paws into.

My main form being naturally bipedal thanks to the 'were' in the wolf is an advantage; it isn't overly uncomfortable for me to wear human clothing like I see some of my usually quadruped peers talking about (although, admittedly, I don't so like the way jeans sit with my tail, nor do I like the way shirts seem to flatted my fur). As a result, though, I'm used to getting some odd looks from the humans.

It isn't often you see someone who doesn't quite look human and is clad in a collar and clunky boots padding desperately down the road toward an oncoming bus.

Quite frankly, I don't blame them. If I wasn't a therian, I'd probably be a little bit confused too. I mean, seriously, if you saw a slightly-human-mostly-not scuttling down the road toward you and you weren't accustomed to the veil/disguise nor the animal (therian/nonhuman/etc) community, you'd probably be a little thrown off too. Maybe you'd think it was a kind of dog zombie thing, or that you needed to go back and get another few hours sleep. Or that you'd stumbled into a weird part of town.

Regardless, I like looking like a bag of glitter with all my chains and collars, and bone shaped rings (which, by the way, I found out I have two matching ones and I am THRILLED to wear them on each forepaw like this.) - no matter how much it throws certain humans off. Despite the point of my veil, I like to make my form (of which I now refer to as my humansona) look as wolfish as possible without flat out wearing a tail.

Anyway, I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the humans generally don't care if you're frolicking down the streets wearing a collar and a tail. There are a few assholes out there, sure, but if your area is safe enough, nobody cares! You might get a couple 'wtf is lost in aisle nine' comments in the local supermarket, but I wear that as a badge of honor personally. I also think it's important to know that even if you don't generally openly express your animalism, or even at all, you're still you. You're still a horse if you don't like wearing cloppy boots, still a dolphin if you're afraid of water, still a dog even if you reject domestication. Gear isn't important, and if drawing a pawprint on yourself in biro is enough for you then more power to you, friend.

I've actually spent nearly my entire bus journey writing this while basking in the sun (read: burning to death on the top deck), and if I don't stop I think I'll probably end up missing my stop. I'm not sure if the bus driver has sussed out my dogness but in the interest of not being taken to the pound or a conservation centre, I'm going to leave it here.

Thank you for reading if you got this far into whatever that post was! Here's a dog treat, or a carrot, or like.. the souls of your enemies. Whatever makes you happy! Please comment any thoughts, or anything (I have a disease called can't-shut-up-itis and love chattering, and I might even make another shitty blog post if something catches my eye. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or if it constitutes as an insult that I'd dare be on this website.)

Gonna shut up now LOL. Stay wild 🏕️

[crooked-wasteland]

I've always seen Helluva boss as a show that try so hard to be something isn't, and after reading your articles about BoJack horseman and how hb directly borrowed some of its ideas . It's started to make sense so here's my take:

Helluva boss can't be BoJack or anti-BoJack , there is room for inspiration sure . But the difference between two shows make it odd whenever someone try to compare them. Since BoJack is story of American man who happened to have a horse head, therefore the protagonist is forced to obey the morality rules that we as audience have . Helluva boss is story of demons live in society that only value violence , the rules of morality is broken in this world so where it makes sense for the show to calls out BoJack's toxic dating patterns, why should i care for blitzø's that man cannonly makes fun of children deaths of cours he's not a good partner. Another thing that BH like other many adults cartoon is critical of American culture (Hollywood culture for BoJack case) and while HB trying to do the same it only water down its world , you can point out to something relatable to our society without loosing the fantasy elements in your world especially if your otherworldly character travel to the human world constantly and see it from stranger point of view, but hb didn't do that it just turned the hell to american , and maybe this is thing bugs only me as non-western . It would be more entertaining if we explore the hellish society as something new and fresh.

(out of topic sorry)

But even if we want BoJack-like show the writer clearly don't know why BoJack works but I don't need to tell you since you already wrote about that, I remember watching a clip of livestream where medrano admit she blind-love her favourite media without critical thinking and I think this is her biggest weakness, she's the kind of person who would see something cool in TV so she applies it to her OCs without a further thinking which explains the directe reference of others show like BH

These are excellent points. There's a saying in writing that goes "Write what you know". The team who wrote Bojack knew the ins and outs of that Hollywood bubble due to professional experiences. And because Bojack was written by a diverse team of creative people, they even addressed how eating meat would work in a universe with sentient animals. They had the experience and knowledge of setting as well as basic life experience to ask obvious questions in the name of world building.

It's why I argue that Medrano appears to be someone with very few life experiences. Not only does her story lack emotional depth, having a shallow well to draw from, but basic rules of world building are neglected in a way that is very obvious due to a lack of human curiosity.

Writing what you know isn't supposed to be limiting. Instead it's supposed to challenge you to ask more questions. Expand what you know to incorporate it into your imagination.

[baudouinette]

Art log: old, unfinished projects… once again

Warning: long post, lots of yapping

another oldish project that I wanted to do in a KCD (Kingdom Come Deliverance) style. I have a very clear vision of the horse’s pose and his too, but… I can’t find a reference for it. (I might make it a palomino in this one btw!) Nowadays I’m leaving references behind for the most part, but for horses I’m not at that stage yet lol. // I also wanna draw him in joust in another art even if he can’t partake, just because I love the aesthetic of it 😅

The text is from the letter to Constance of France because I love that intro, but I’m still thinking of what to add next.

•The sword is the basic one I drafted over a year ago, looking at the one from the movie, looking at period-accurate references, then adding my favorite guard which is similar to the movie one but stylized to my imagination, and basing the grip on the movie too. There’s not really much to it, because there’s only so much you can do without straying from accuracy.*** But I always have to go back for measurements/dimensions for example, just to make sure (for example, i have to shorten the fuller a little). I still need to get used to drawing them effortlessly. I sometimes want to just change the guard a little (I like to make curved guards most of the time but I’m partial to straight ones too), or add stuff to it like little inscriptions or very few gems. Obv in the pommel I always add the cross, but on the other side I may add a fleur de Lis too sometimes. Especially with a ceremonial sword such as this one, he needs to be fully represented with his emblems.

***There are other “options” but they seem too simple for a king. But I do love them for knights. My OC Juliette/Julius will have a pretty plain sword for the most part, by the nature of the Order. Tho… she might acquire a bit of a nicer one along the way ;) (this is still super raw and quickly sketched so ignore the errors and goofiness. But I really like her and I think I hadn’t shared any concept or art of her yet)

I remember the first time I watched the movie and the swords were the first thing I (and I think everyone) noticed even tho I was a kid, and then talking about it in high school years w friends in a crusades groupchat like 🤓🤓😅😅😅 (some are actually ok? Funnily though, it’s some of the extra props. You’d think giving the King an accurate one would be priority)

•I have various versions for different stories (or not tied to stories at all) but in each I always give him two (“twins”): the battle-ready one and the ceremonial one. The ceremonial is technically battle ready too, but it’s got its own place and reserved for… you got it, ceremonies, and knighting, and imparting justice—hence why this particular one in the first image (name pending) has the inscription “Iudicium in Terra”, and why it’s so golden (more pure gold and expensive materials). Sometimes, I think of a heirloom sword for him too, that carries a lot of meaning. It was normal for royals to have more than one sword.

(art WIP) •The one from HCW says “Benedic et sanctifica hanc gladium cum tua serenissima pace et voluntate.” Baldwin calls this one Pais Sereine, and Sereine alone as a nickname for the battle-ready counterpart to set them apart. However, I'm not happy w the way it looks here, too similar to those exaggerated fake Templar swords that I hate. How did I draw something similar to something I hate? Makes no sense. I really should also design the Andalusi swords of the Al Jazirah family and guardsmen (bc Andalusi swords are so pretty and interesting!), as well as my concept for Saladin, etc etc.

I might buy Nomad Sculpt to sculpt all my “assets” for fun and for practice for my game dev journey. I’ve always had Blender but I need to work straight on a screen, so I’d rather work on iPad for sculpting, then for anything that needs rigging, hopping to Blender. I could make Baldwin’s “exact” sword from the movie but with accurate proportions and mod it into a game like Skyrim for funsies. I wanted to mod the mask into it too, and into Fallout for my ghoul-loving gang <3

And here’s another old concept:

JFK as King Arthur (in a non-fantasy way and w some accuracy lolol)

For Excalibur, this is just an interpretation with creative liberty in mind. The guard is supposed to have beast heads, like dragons or lions, so it’s fun to base it on Charlemagne’s for that. The pommel of Joyeuse (Charlemagne’s, although this sword is also legendary) is an Oakeshott type B or B1, supposedly the blade a slender Oakeshott type XII. Yes, this is more contemporary to his time, so I wouldn’t give him that blade, as I would for some of the crusaders n Baldwin. You can’t see the whole blade in the drawing so I’d leave it like that and not put much more thought into it. I could give him a late Roman-type spatha, but I’m also not sure, I can’t imagine Excalibur in that way for some reason, the blades are short and I imagine Excalibur a little more formidable (but I also don’t imagine that enormous, overcharged, super inscribed sword they always give him that makes no sense 💀). Although I did shorten the guard just a little to make it a bit more “accurate” and I should shorten the grip too. I might still change it into a spatha after all, if I continue it 😂😂

•I chose Romano-brit scale armor. I still had to add the pteruges (sturdy strips in the armor, typical of Greek and Roman). His shield would have a small religious icon. I in part use JFOliveras’ (who does give him a spatha) work as reference for many of my general historical works. Because he uses his references from real art from the eras, as do I. But he can sometimes help interpret many of the specific, hard to understand parts.

•I just… abandoned this because I didn’t like it, it wasn’t the vision I had, and now my skills are better over a year later. I thought of adapting it to a similar composition as the one above.

•For those not into JFK, the Camelot musical was his and Jackie’s favorite, and they played the record basically each night “before they drifted to sleep upon their cot”. And it’s also the name of their administration. Since it was more like a royal one than a presidential one. I always wanted to draw him as Arthur (and not Lancelot. Even tho his code name was Lancer.)

Speaking of sword names, I think El Cid’s la Tizona/tizón is pretty cool.

In the series Isabel they show the inscription to be “Ave Maria gratia plena Dominus tecum”. He had another one called Colada, for “cast steel”, but colada also means laundry in Spanish so I can’t shake that off 😂 Titionem would be cool as a sword name, buuuut I refuse any word that starts with “tit” LMAO or anything that can be joked about (“Taeda” could serve as a substitute tho). I thought of a Greek word too, then decided against it because it started with “dik”. A sword name that sounds like d1ck… yeah, no. 💀

⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️

////I had this post in my drafts (just added the newer art from HCW and of Juliette from Vide Cor Meum, and have other posts like this but they always remain there because I assume people don’t wanna read so much text (yapping, basically). A lot of times I cut out text from my posts and explanations because I’d rather people read a resumed version even if it doesn’t contain all info, specific terminology, or my full lore, than ppl seeing so much text and just not reading any of it, not even the beginning. ☝🏼🤓 but I know there are others who would. Would anyone also like to hear about other medieval weapons, siege weapons, languages, garments and armor, specifically chain mail (a hyperfixaton ⛓️), strategies, formations, diplomacy, instruments, music and dances, horses and horse riding and riding with ur legs and…? 🤓🤓🤓🤓 I will go bonkers even about super specific stuff like girdles/belts (I have a hyperfixation w them too 😂👉🏼👈🏼)

My brother is also a nerd (about everything) but since he’s done sword fighting for filmed media, I always make a point to ask his opinion about my swords and he’s like 🙂‍↕️👍🏼 , so we ballin’

Can’t wait to afford a real sword and duel him. Although he might lend me his Amazigh sword if he buys another one of those, he’s not happy with the current one, and we could try with that. Tho obviously I want to use western swords with western martial arts.⚔️⚔️⚔️

EDIT: oh!!! And I have this three way mirror that I was gonna use to paint a Christian triptych. But i may make one dedicated to phases of Baldwin’s life in medieval art style. I would include religious imagery too, but yeah more focused on him.

[whencyclopedia]

The Horse: A Galloping History of Humanity

Timothy Winegard’s "The Horse: A Galloping History of Humanity" is a sweeping study of the transformative role horses have played in shaping the course of human history. Beginning with their domestication in the grasslands of the Eurasian Steppe about 5,500 years ago, horses, argues the author, have “steered and dominated every part of our existence” and served as the “pinnacle instrument of profit and power.” This is a multifaceted work offering a 360-degree perspective of this unique animal.

Spread over 16 chapters, the author delves into how the horse played a key role across cultures and geographies changing the course of agriculture, warfare, transportation, travel, the rise and fall of empires, and even colonialism. According to the author, without the horse, the Silk Trade connecting the East and the West and serving as an economic lifeline for millions could not have happened. Nor could Alexander’s exploits across continents, the rise of the mighty Mongol Empire, and Cortez’s defeat of the mighty Aztecs have materialized.

A noted historian and the author of the New York Times best-selling work The Mosquito (2019), Winegard is currently an associate professor of history at Colorado Mesa University. He draws upon a wealth of research from diverse fields, including literature, genetics anthropology, archaeology, biology, and sociology, to craft a narrative that is as much authoritative as it is informative. Winegard’s discussion of the biology of the horses including their natural instincts, intelligence, and physical attributes, and how these attributes made them ideal partners for humans is compelling and insightful. The author’s discussion of the horse’s place in myth, art, and literature adds an extra valuable dimension to the narrative. The work also incorporates scores of photos and charts that serve as an important aid to the discussion and analysis.

Written in engaging language, this work should be of interest to diverse readers, including experts in animal studies, university students, and general readers interested in broadening their horizons. An extensive bibliography reflects the depth of research that went into the work. A surprising omission in the work is any reference to Michael Morpurgo’s fascinating novel War Horse (1982), which recounts the experiences of Joey, a horse bought by the British Army for service in World War I, serving as the basis for Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of the work in 2011.

Even after the arrival of trains, planes, and automobiles, horses, as the author documents, continued to play an indispensable role in various areas including warfare. More than a million horses were deployed by the Allied forces alone during the First World War serving as indispensable transport horses towing artillery, armaments, rations, water, and any other conceivable articles of war.

Some of the merits of the book also serve as its weaknesses. The author could have delved more into analysis than presenting an overabundance of facts which many average readers might find overwhelming. The author also tends to over-romanticize the role of horses as if they were the sole forces in historical transformation. Lastly, the staggering costs and ethical dimensions of using horses in human pursuits are largely absent in this work while the author himself admits that the First World War was the “bloodiest conflict for horses in the history of warfare.”

Despite these limitations, this book is a major contribution to our understanding of the role of horses in effecting historical change. It is a valuable complement to other recent works in the field: Raiders, Rulers, and Traders: The Horse and the Rise of Empires (2024) by David Chaffetz, and Hoof Beats: How Horses Shaped Human History (2024) by William Taylor. All three works came out within only a few months, enriching and deepening our understanding of this unique and trail-blazing theme in human history.

Continue reading...

[saturnvs]

commissions open: pride flag horse icons! now closed

hello :D i mentioned a short while ago that i wanted to do pride flag icons/profile pictures as june is approaching and now i'm opening them!

my dear polaris is the model for the example drawing. it will be a simple headshot with some minor rendering + the background being the pride flag of your choosing! if several flags apply to you, i can provide the same drawing with different backgrounds without extra cost.

edit: if you would also like the drawing without a flag background that can be arranged as well!

the horse in question can be an oc, a horse from real life, a fictional horse from a show or a video game ... you name it! all the horses are welcome here :)

price: $15

paypal only. full payment upfront!

I may not be able to work very fast at the moment but I will do my absolute best considering the circumstances!^^

if you're interested, send me a message here on tumblr and i'll get back to you as soon as possible! alternatively, you can also email me at art.saturnvs@gmail.com

what i need from you:

clear reference images of the horse

for you to tell me which pride flag(s) i should add to the background

payment

that is all! i will then let you know when i've started and let you know when i estimate i'll be done.

if you are not interested in getting a commission but still want to help out, you can find my tip jar here: https://ko-fi.com/saturnvs

happy (almost) pride!

[jayietheriverwarrior]

I've been picking at this one for a while between working on other things, and I'm honestly really happy with how it turned out. :D It's so different from my usual style, I never draw people or horses, and the sort of animated style of it and more stylized shading is so removed from what I usually do, but I think it turned out really good. :D

I bought the new Zelda game Echoes of Wisdom the day it came out, and while I hadn't been wild about the chibi style and top-down camera view going in, I was still excited about getting to play as Zelda, and I ended up enjoying the game despite those initial hesitations far more than I expected. :D The story was engaging, the flexibility of echoes and various ways to use them was a ton of fun, and even with the chibi style the game had some truly gorgeous moments.

But even though I didn't end up minding the chibi style while playing the game nearly as much as I thought I would, I still just wanted to see what Zelda's design, outfit, and horse would look like in the more anime-ish style of BOTW/TP/SS/TOTK, so I decided to try my hand at drawing it, despite the fact that I haven't drawn humans or horses in literal years. XD I think it turned out pretty good in view of that. I liked aspects of Zelda's main adventuring outfit in the game, especially the ponytail, but something about the cut of the skirt (or were those pants?) was bothering me, so I spent most of the game in the blue dress you can get from a Zelda amiibo, and that's the dress I most wanted to see in this style, so that's what I drew her in despite it being a super side option in the game itself. :P Ah well. It's pretty, and I regret nothing.

I used that promo shot of BOTW Zelda standing all dramatic as a reference. I used her chibi design from EOW as a base, then for the details the chibi didn't show (like eye color/detailed face shape/etc.) I kind of mixed and matched from various games. She's got a narrower face and eyes than her BOTW design, but not as narrow as her TP design, it's kind of a mix of those two looks, with some SS Zelda thrown in for flavor. She's got the bright yellow golden hair from the EOW chibi, with the blue eyes of most of the Zelda designs (minus BOTW which is more teal-ish?). I think it works well for a Zelda design overall without looking like a carbon copy of any one Zelda design, if that makes sense.

Overall, I'm really proud of how this turned out. :D

[chimchiri]

can you draw a horse from memory

I tried to add an AJ but could not get her right and ended up deleting her. I am... somewhat satisfied with this Rarity lmao. She looks too sexy for my liking but without checking references I couldn't figure out which parts to correct.

[crookshanksagentofowca]

Daffodil

“If you could add another constellation to the night sky, what would it be?” Narcissa asked one warm night. The sisters had decided to camp out on the roof of their family’s observatory and were nestled in a pile of blankets and pillows they had dragged up there, staring up at the diamond-scattered sky.

“A star,” said Bellatrix. Her sisters laughed. “Think about it!” she insisted. “Isn’t it crazy that we have constellations representing nearly everything except the thing they’re made of? We wouldn’t have constellations without stars! We wouldn’t have anything without stars! They deserve more appreciation.” “Okay, I guess that makes sense,” Andromeda conceded.

“Or maybe a cat,” Bella added, petting their own cat, Denebola, who was curled up on her belly. “I know we have the Leos and Lynx but there’s three regular dog constellations, plus a fox and a wolf! The sky needs more cats.” Andie and Cissy murmured in agreement, reaching over to pet Denebola as well.

“What about you, Andie?” Narcissa asked. “Hmmm…” Andromeda thought for a few moments. Her favorite things were winged horses and music, which were already covered by Pegasus and Lyra. “Maybe another instrument? Or several. It would be fun to have a whole starry orchestra!”

“You have to pick just one, though!” Cissy insisted. “You let Bella choose more than one.” “She said ‘or.’ If we were actually going to make new constellations she’d have to choose. But I guess you can give me your top two choices too.” “Fine!” Andie screwed up her face in concentration. Then she grinned.

“What about just one constellation that is an entire orchestra?!” “Clever,” Bella said. “But what would that even look like?” “I don’t know. It would have to be one of those big, sprawling constellations where it’s nearly impossible to see the whole thing at once. Like Cetus or Draco. Maybe I’ll try drawing it sometime. What about you, Cissy?”

“A daffodil,” the youngest Black sister replied quietly. “And it would be called ‘Narcissa.’ That way, I’d finally have a celestial name like the rest of you.” There was a split second of uncomfortable silence. Then Bella and Andie each reached out and took one of Cissy’s hands. “You do have a celestial name,” Bella said firmly. “Father made sure of that.” “But it’s my middle name. That doesn’t really count.” “Sure it does,” Andie insisted. “It’s still your name. Besides, not all our ancestors are named after stars or constellations.”

“And what kind of name is Polaris anyway? It sounds like a boy’s name!” “I don’t think so,” Bella said. “And having to have separate names for boys and girls is stupid anyway. Besides, Polaris is a really important star!” “I know, I know. It’s the North Star—” “Exactly! It’s been helping witches and wizards find their way around the world for centuries! Most navigation spells were developed in reference to it—in this hemisphere, anyway.” “Plus, all the other stars revolve around it, and we know how you like being the center of attention!” Andie joked. “And it’s part of the Little Bear and you’re our little sister!” Bella added. “I know,” Cissy snapped. “I know all that. I just wish…I wish my first name fit in with yours.”

They fell silent at that. The truth was, both of the older Black Sisters also wished Narcissa’s name matched theirs better; perfecting their trio-hood. But they knew that saying so would only make her feel worse. “It doesn’t matter,” Bellatrix said instead. “It’s our blood and our last name that make us sisters, not our first or middle names.” “But if either of us ever discovers a new constellation, we’ll name it after you,” Andromeda promised.

Narcissa sighed. It wasn’t enough and all three of them knew that but it wasn’t her sisters’ fault and there wasn’t anything more either of them could do so she let it go for now and they stared up at the stars in silence. @black-sisters-microfic

[stivesketch]

Would you share your headcannons for the Julie-Beau-Edyth throuple dynamic?

Thank you so much for asking! Here is a summary: Two supernaturally powerful best friends fall for a man they can easily kill.

Now context. I am writing and drawing an office AU, so all the characters I adapt are older here than in the original text. Beau is 26, Jules is 24 (keeping in the spirit of Jules being 2 years younger), and Edythe was 27 when she died.

Starting with Edythe. She is less close to the Cullens. Edie considers them to be cousins, just like the Denalis. Edythe frequently relapses into hunting bad people, barely being able to go through a year without feeding on human blood. She still tries, occasionally having golden eyes. But after a couple of relapses, Edie could not stand the thoughts of pity and guilt from the Cullens. So she left. Edythe still keeps in contact with them. She sometimes even visits for Christmas and Thanksgiving. But only as a cousin.

Edie keeps the surname out of gratitude and respect for Carine. She has also fostered friendships with other meat-eating vampires. Of course, the Volturi are in contact with her. Edie has lost track of how often senior management tried to poach her. But she has befriended wandering vampires too, such as Victoria and Lauren.

However, when Edythe met Jules at her new job in Seattle, the vampire promised herself that she would not run away. She would stand her ground, and finally become friends with a non-vampire. Edie knows that Jules is also an immortal like her. If Edythe’s new co-worker kept shifting into a bear-sized wolf, she would have a human-ish friend for the rest of her immortality.

Which brings us to Jules, who heard of the old legends, but since the Cullens did not return to Forks in this AU, Jules only started turning after the new girl arrived. Too sick to even drive back to La Push for help, answers, or guidance, Jules thought she was going to die in her studio apartment. That is until the new girl entered through her window. Jules’ apartment is on the 12th floor.

Initially furious, to the point that Jules almost shifted in her small living quarters, she calmed down once she saw Edythe’s sorrowful, guilt-stricken face. After a discussion, the two women agreed not to kill each other. Jules was even okay with Edythe drinking human blood after the vampire explained her selection criteria.

To their surprise, Jules and Edythe became fast friends. Edythe had found her immortal non-vampire friend at last. Jules had a tour guide for the supernatural world. But soon, the friendship grew beyond that. When they talked about the Star Wars prequels or whether a hundred duck-sized horses could defeat a horse-sized duck, Jules and Edythe knew they were inseparable now. And the two women would talk about cars and motorcycles a lot!

With that, we arrive at Beau. He had known Jules since childhood and hung out with her again when he returned to Forks. However, they only became best friends. After high school, the two went to different universities and lost contact. So it was to Beau’s surprise when he landed a job at the same company Jules was already in.

It was even more surprising when Jules’ new best friend acted strangely around him. The half-blank, half-apocalyptic look (Yes, it is an IWTV reference) that the Cullen girl gave him from across the office. How Edythe would ignore him one day and talk him up the next. The way her eyes would shift from honey-gold to dark crimson as the weeks rolled by. How Edythe stopped him from slipping on a wet floor when he could have sworn she was at the other end of the vast lobby.

Jules was herself, maybe a bit happier since she sees her two best friends at work now. But Beau wondered how every time they high-fived or placed hands on each other's shoulders, Jules’ skin was uncomfortably warm.

He must be imagining things. Beau decided that he probably should not dwell on it. He is best friends with the two people he admires most. Sure, Edythe and Jules are starting to get flirty with him. But right now, things are looking up.

Okay, context done! Now for some of their dynamics.

Edythe wants to shield Beau from the supernatural. Jules believes that Beau has a right to know, especially since it concerns his physical safety. Beau has some inkling that something is off, but it is a future Beau problem.

The two leading ladies do NOT want their feelings for Beau to ruin their hard-won friendship. Of course, neither has yet to confess to Beau. They still believe the man will pick up on their signals.

As for the fun stuff, Edythe and Julie are 100% doms & Beau is 100% a sub. The two women love teasing Beau & the man still cannot believe how lucky he is.

But at its core, this AU is about three best friends who love and cherish each other more than anything else. The three know that whatever happens to them romantically, they will always be friends till the end. Or not. They could all live forever :)