alairmena

[alairmena]

Commission for @foyle-writes-things !!

Their OC Raz has been a delight to draw! In fact, she's a member of the cast of Tangled Wires, an exciting looking WIP by @foyle-writes-things, and I recommend anyone interested to check it out!!

Here's a lil timelapse bcs i felt like it:

[alairmena]

FKA Twigs Striptease(MV) fanart

Ever since I heard this song, I've been listening to it on repeat. The music video is one of the greatest I've ever seen.

I just really feel like yapping so lemme tell you what I see in this music video and song, skip past this if you ain't gonna read all that

In the song Striptease by FKA Twigs, nothing is about actual striptease imo. It's a song about the pure need for human connection.

Lyrics go as follows, and I will give my attempt of dissecting them:

In this song, she does not want anyone to physically desire her - but rather, to let her open up to them. She wants to find connection through a conversation and her thoughts. This is shown clearly with lyrics such as "I got a birthmark on my mind, I think you'll like it" - when someone teases about a birthmark on invisible parts of their skin, they're usually asking to have an intimate time with the person they're talking to, but FKA Twigs says specifically "on my MIND", teasing the person she's talking to (even us, the listeners of the song) that they can be intimate with her through her mind alone.

Through the song, she doesn't only ask the audience to listen to her open up, but even speaks in a way that sounds like she's trying to convince us that there's something special to experience when listening to her opening up. "Opening me feels like a striptease" - this line sounds almost as if she's saying: "just talk to me, let me show you who i am inside, and you'll see how cool i am".

The next lines shows us her need to vent, to share her pain with anybody: "Silk for my tears, and lace for my fears". Girlie yearns for basic human connection at this point, for anyone who will listen, and she confirms how easier she will feel afterwards with the next line: "I'm stripping apart 'til my pain disappears".

Now the MV is genius with how precisely it points out the meaning of the song itself.

She's coming from somewhere awful, clearly distressed out of her mind after experiencing something traumatic, on the middle of the highway going through a tunnel. The tunnel highway is a perfect representation of a place where everyone is out for themselves - you drive your car, usually very high speeds and you don't care who you pass by. And that's exactly where FKA Twigs dances seductively and rips out her dress, trying to catch anyone's attention. It resembles how it feels looking for love in cold places where everyone only cares about their business - endlessly and painfully asking for just anyone's attention, begging people to just listen to you. To get to know you. "I am really worth it, just give me a chance!"

Her performance in the video is astonishing. You can clearly see the painful yearning in her eyes. Especially in the climax of the song, when she painfully yells out "I'm borderline, it's getting late, I feel alive, I wanna show you, I-I-I-I-I, I've got a birthmark on my mind, I think you'll like it!!!" once again, still calling for anyone's attention.

What happens in the weird part of the music video (anyone who watches it will know what I mean - the place where experimental electronica enters) is what I would interpret as the way of the artist. Very often, we artists just really deeply want to be heard or listened to. But nobody has the time to listen. Which is why many of us make art - it's our way of opening up to the world, and making anyone out there care to experience our minds. In that part of the music video, she opens up to the void, showing the depth of her being to nobody in particular. But at that point, a child sees her from the car window, and we can clearly see that the child identifies with FKA Twigs' struggles. That child understands her. They saw their own heart in FKA Twigs' art.

🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶

Not sure if anyone will read this far, but I really needed to share my thoughts on it. It's a song that touched me on a special level, and someday, I hope my own art will mean this much to somebody out there. I find it strange and a little bit sad how many things can be changed for the better with just a little more attention. That might just be the most poorly distributed resource on planet Earth.

KeY's UnWiLLinG asSistANt cOmIng SoOn (follow on my blog for updates)

[alairmena]

idk who is who but i made silly fanart of the cute goober on the right, me hopes u likey :3

Heyo mutual!!

Very late to respond to this ask, but just so you know, I was keeping it in my inbox as a lucky charm :))

Your fanart made me very happy and it will be printed and put up on my wall ((:

Thanks so much!! Happy writing (and drawing, you're amazing) :D

[alairmena]

Vi fanart because we didn't get enough of her in the last season tbh

Not a spoiler, you're absolutely free too look at the picture~

To be honest, I think the season 2 did her character dirty (did most of them dirty but especially her) and honestly, the story was rushed to the oblivion. But I will still hold the fond memories of it, always rewatch the season 1 avoiding replay of the season 2, and continue dreaming of what could have been if they expanded on it in the right way.

[alairmena]

summoning!! a plea for Dutch Parish fanart!! my cowboy...

if you want obv (*∆*)//

also how are you

Sorry for the delay, the hiatus time was tough!

I thought your cowboy lil man was kind of a sassy lil himbo and I really hope I tried to match that vibe!

Belated but i hope it aint hated,

KEEP ON WRITING!! YOUR STUFF IS AMAZING

edit, forgot to answer the q: IM FEELING GREAT THANK YOU

[alairmena]

This is the amount of pleasure I expect my fellow writers to find in their writing

My favourite part about the last chapter of Into the Phantasm book 1 is that there’s this whole subplot about these two dragons that doesn’t really matter that much to the plot or characters in any way.

It doesn’t create any parallels, definitely feels like it’s been shoehorned in for no reason other than extra drama and tension and could easily be removed without much work.

But I’m not gonna remove it.

Because dragons are fucking sick.

[alairmena]

Lets try to identify where the problem is coming from - what exactly do you hate about it? The characters? The plot? The prose? Something else? Yourself? (it is a valid choice too. sometimes the writing's fine.)

To me it sounds like you've got perfectionism problem 🤔 The only way to deal with it is to pinpoint exactly where it hurts and focus how that one specific thing is supposed to be fixed!

hate that it’s so hard for me to write. it used to be so easy. but now i open my computer, look at what i’ve already written, and shut my computer bc it’s complete ass

[alairmena]

Bad idea!

Instead, hurt yourself by watching really badly written media. Especially the ones with amazing premises that are awfully realized, if developed at all. Nothing inspires a writer more than seeing a pile of wasted potential.

Be kind to yourself and go kill some braincells on bad TV shows!

Happy writing!

about to text one of my ex situationships just so they can hurt me and inspire my writing

[alairmena]

Do you have a life

Good question!

Since i gained some kinda following (70 of you guys now, that's insane 🤯) I'll have to drop a tiny lil update to my blog...

Big ass update thingy.

Now it's already been awhile since I started this blog, and let's just say -- I didn't quite think this through the moment I posted for the first time on here. So yeah I took some time to think and here's the deal:

I am Alair Mena, a comic artist and a writer

and this blog is meant for: - helping other writers achieve their writing dreams - achieve my own writing dream and build a fandom for my upcoming comic! However, it's not running away. I don't have to focus on building the community asap, as it will gradually form by itself, just like all 60 of you have showed me. I want to chill, to help all of you on your projects as well. Go around, give writing advice to more people, draw more of other people's OCs. The fun stuff, yknow. There's plenty of time to get famous 😌

Now the thing that interests you guys:

I'll be doing fanarts from the asks for free. It might sometimes take some time for me to process the inbox request... But I don't see myself doing commissions for money at this stage of blog development, because, guys...

You're promoted to my official Tumblr family!

Yes that's right! Follow this blog, I'll follow you back, and you're officially in my tumblr family of creatives! But here's the catch. Only first 1k of my followers will be my tumblr family. Once I have 1k, I will be opening commissions for people that are outside of our little community.

What this means for you, if you belong to golden 1000: you will ALWAYS be in my heart first and foremost. And you will get free art from me forever, because you were the realest ones out there :))

So now, lets help each other in this complex world of creative spaces, and make the world a better place together 😎

Happy writing!!

Additional info below:

So, my blog is supposed to be something like a treasure box full of useful information (be it about writing advice, or feed for my future fandom), and I'm trying to keep it that way. So don't be all tinfoil hat mode when you find out that some posts may disappear after a few days - they're not deleted, they're just privated - I do that so I can make this blog as easy to navigate as it can be. But here's some further help to find specific something that you need:

Tags to search:

#writing advice is going to return only the posts where I wrote writing advice.

#key's unwilling assistant is going to return all the posts relating to Key's Unwilling Assistant (my webcomic)

It ain't much but it's honest work 🥺👉👈

Also, I'll try to be frequent with answering my asks. Can't promise anything tho. But I'll give my best. One day I will beat my adhd if I continue fighting.

Shout out

If you're still reading this far you're a real one. Shout out to you. Here's the pay: your weight in cookies 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪

[alairmena]

Coming back from hiatus just to tell you STOP

STOP AND THINK FOR A SECOND

Do you reeeaaallyyy want another story? Or did you just get stuck in this one??

There's nothing wrong in switching to the project you're more likely to finish first. But jumping from project to project is never going to help you actually! You need to experience the feeling of finishing something, so you know what you're actually striving for!

All of the new ideas will never go to waste. Write them down, put them back in the closet. Maybe use some of them now if they fit? Or do you see yourself actually finishing something else before this?

I'll be back next week to answer all the messages you guys sent me, as well as continue posting, stay tuned 😏

oh GOD NO. i've reached that point in my current WIP. new ideas. New ideas, the yearning for another story.. different...... send help

[alairmena]

Everyone beware of the scammer that contacted me today!

Their name is emily4359, their blog is empty, and they claim they want you to draw an illustration of their family pet as a gift for their kid. As in the picture below, they don't want to take the picture for free, and blocked me the moment i refused money.

These guys prey on innocent artists. Beware and stay safe, always check who you're dealing with

[alairmena]

Hi, new mutual! What's your favorite project you're working on rn?

Key's Unwilling Assistant!

A lil teaser blurb would go something like this:

Yoon Hyeri is a highschool student with an unusual ability in her hands - she can know who's previously touched an object if she touches the same object herself. While she always wanted to be a detective, she was always scared of telling the truth to others, because, you know... How would they believe her? "I touched it and it happened to feel like someone might have touched it before me! I swear!" So, needless to say, she shut herself down - but never let go of her evergrowing suspicion, this feeling she always had inside her - that something is constantly happening, right in front of our eyes, and it's only a matter of time before it blows in everyone's faces.

Which it did, when her favorite professor died of heart attack - and only Hyeri knew that it was, in fact...

...a murder.

Tangled up in a twisted murder mystery and dead-set on uncovering the truth, Hyeri ends up in a deal to be an assistant to the greatest troublemaker in her entire school - Kang HyunKi -- the one person she suspects to be the murderer.

[alairmena]

i come to summon thee to ask for a fanart of someone who is not an assassin or a dilf.

the main character from my other published story, Nathan!

ill try to keep my description brief.

Nathan's 16 years old and incredibly short, 5 feet tall to be exact, his expression should represent his rage about the matter. He's very thin and pale because the boy's iron deficient and doesn't eat well, he usually wears some oversized shirt/sweater, and black shorts (or jean shorts during the summer). To top off his incredible style Nathan also wears long white socks and black sneakers. If you want more independence with his outfit just put him in anything pastel and cutesy, because he does enjoy dressing in a way that makes him look cute so that those around him ignore his disrespectful remarks.

Nathan has dark brown hair, dark blue eyes, a button nose, semi-plump lips, thin eyebrows, and he's literally always pouting and/or frowning. The most defining feature of his would be a pinkish scar that extends from the end of his right cheek to the middle of his neck.

And for a basic personality description to help you capture him better, Nathan is a diagnosed psychopath who lacks a moral compass and believes hes better than everyone around him in every way, yay!

finally, here's a picrew!

unfortunately picrews lack scar options so this is the best i could mimic his scar!

and finally thank you in advance!! :D

You've successfully summoned me!

Unfortunately it took quite a few days, but that's because I was unexpectedly busy this last week. However~

Here's your boy!

I suck with wardrobe ideas so excuse me for putting your boy in such plain throusers that he's staring me dead in the eye ready to kill me on sight for making him wear these.

Feel free to infodump about him and your story op! Im super intrigued 👀

[alairmena]

Ohhhh let me help you with that!!

1. S t i c k t o o n e

Trust me. It's easier than it looks like. I also have ADHD and it seems counterproductive to phrase it like this but actually this is the only thing that works. Stick to ONE MAIN PROJECT, and have ONE SIDE PROJECT that you flirt with when you are not working on the main. When your brain wants to think about something else, about some third WIP, punish it consciously. "NOT until i write at least 200 words in Main WIP!" The side WIP is meant for you to be able to switch places between Main and Side project in case you get overwhelmed with the first one. Literally just swap them. Woosh. Now you got another Main WIP, and it's this one. "No working on other things until i have written at least 500 words in this Main thing!" If you don't pick two projects in this way, you're forever stuck switching between all 548 wips you currently have (I've seen it in your soul. you can't hide anything from me.) and simple math can tell you that finishing 2 stories by jumping back and forth would require you significantly less time than finishing 548 of them.

2. Create a disciplinary RULE

ALSO CONTROVERSIAL BUT HEAR ME OUT - without rules, your brain will forever do whatever it wants. And do you want to be the victim to your brain's weird chemistry? -Exaclty. You don't need bazillion rules for a good writing discipline. You need only one. For me, that rule is - I am only allowed to write chronologically (accordingly to the outline!). I was, as many ADHDers, the crazy ass writer that uses the story outline like a damn trampoline. Sometimes i'd be writing the scene in the beginning, then I'd jump to write a scene at the end, then move to writing something in the middle, etc etc, whatever my brain found most fun at the moment. And what did I get? A puzzle that doesn't even fit!!! So i set that rule to myself, to only write in chronological order from the outline. No backs and forths. The only forward writing I allow is if I want to write the ending beforehand - because that will help me focus on where I'm going with the story, and not meander it further. But the main writing has to happen wherever I am in the outline right now. This one rule is all the discipline in writing that I needed to be able to finish at least one of my projects. (One is in the editing phase, and other two are very well into making). It gives structure to my writing life, it gives purpose to my method. Rules are dumb when there are too many - but living without any rules is actual hell on earth. If this doesn't work: find better rule. Your brain may work in different ways than mine. You need something that you know is going to help you and not send you ten steps backwards. Maybe the rule about chronological order in particular is making your head hurt, but a rule about "write EVERY DAY, even for a couple of words" may be more applicable to you. There are many ways to create rules. And of course, once you pick your own custom designed disciplinary rule, stick to it! Even when you break every other rule. Stick to this one!

3. Challenge yourself

Make it fun. Think up new methods to spice it up. Challenge yourself! If ADHD hates something, it's routines and repetitive behaviors. We don't wanna do the same old thing of sitting down and writing because it's boooriiiiingggg. So what you gotta do is really make it fun for you, each time when the process seems so draining and boring. Write in a different place - usually writing in your room? Go to a cafe. Write in a different format - usually writing on your laptop? Write in your notebook. Write in a different time - usually writing in the morning? Write in the evening. You can always test out new ways of setting up your writing process, and go back to the ones you know are fine and working. Obviously don't do whatever would distract you [edit: i got distracted, forgot where this sentence was going. i think it's actually quite fitting] Addition with a Note: this part might not work on every ADHD person! If something works for me as an ADHDer, it's fucking spite. Find a good friend to tease you for a goal. "Yooo you DEFINITELY can't finish 4k words in an evening, literally no way you're doing this" And it fucking works every single time. My need to prove them wrong is stronger than my need to switch back and forth between the processes in my brain that I actually put the effort into it. That's literally how my friend got me to write 20k words in a week (and last 8k was on THE LAST DAY LITERALLY LAST 3 HOURS OF THE COUNTDOWN) which is clinically insane behavior that I do not expect from you but I believe that every ADHDer is somewhat capable of accessing this type of hyperfocus power within themselves. And brace yourself for the most important part in this entire course:

4. OUTLINE OUTLINE OUTLINE !!!

I literally cannot stress enough how much a good outline helps! And take it from me! A pantser! Super detailed outlines stress me the fuck out to the point I can't move! But. Super vague outlines are literal goldmine. Create a structure of your story. It'll make it infinitely more intuitive to know what the next scene is. No more writing blocks for ya. They all gone. When you do the Vague Outline™ well, it's literally so easy to write that the only thing still stopping you is only your own lazy brain. Because the Vague Outline ™ figures it all out for you. If you want me to write more about how I outline shit, I can share in another post, this one is already getting too long ^^' And, as always:

5. Never give the fuck up.

You are not your disability. You can fucking do this. Even if you're forty, even if you're employed and super busy, even if you so surely believe you can't because of an imposter syndrome or some shit. Why do you keep limiting yourself?

Trust me, there is nothing holding you from the future where you finish your stories and people get interested in them. Everything's fixable. You are not fucking broken. You're capable of achieving your dreams just as everyone else, and it may take a bit more effort, but where's the pride in writing without effort! Yeah! You get the bragging rights when you write DESPITE your situation!

If the future doesn't come to you - run for it.

If it outruns you - fucking create it from scratch.

You are your future.

Take your writing motivation dose for today:

You will finish that WIP.

You will find people that like it.

You will be recognized by someone as a living legend that you are.

It may not happen today, but it will happen. Stop the worries, stop the overthinking. You got this, you goddamn living legend.

[alairmena]

Every story has that one super cool scene that you REALLY want to get to, which is also the reason you started writing in the first place. Sometimes it's the ending scene. Sometimes it's the climax. Sometimes it's just that one cool dialogue exchange that flows oh sooo satisfying~

And THAT scene should be the one you're going towards, when you don't have the clear ending in mind yet. What needs to happen so that this particular scene becomes as satisfying as possible? Build a vague ass outline up to there.

Then, what does this particular scene imply? Is it a plot twist? Is it a major character moment? Every scene is a particular change, in characters or in readers' perception of the story. That's why the scenes in which nothing changes are just nothing-burgers that can be skipped. Scenes contribute to the story with change.

So now think, about this one particular scene, what does it imply? What does it change? Does it change the characters, readers' perception, or both maybe? Then brainstorm in that direction - what's the most logical thing to come next?

Trust me, it doesn't have to be a headache. A novel is nothing more than an episode of a tv show thats blown out of proportion (gross oversimplification i know, but it'll do to reduce your stress!). Many of the same rules apply to both, and you'll find it much easier to plot a whole ass novel when you stop looking at it like it's big.

You can do it! It's a silly little story! It is first spawned with just few connecting dots, and slowly grows more cells with time as you realize what makes sense to put in next, and in between individual points.

I hope this helps!

Happy writing!

As someone who wants to be a tv screenwriter, I write pilots. This means I don't necessarily need to have an ending in mind. I normally know where it should go, but it's never set in stone.

Trying to write a novel is just spinning my head in all directions since it means I need to actually have an ending that is complete, done, and dusted.

That's wild.

[alairmena]

Good morning good people, time is up!

You haven't been able to write more characters than I am capable of drawing!

Thanks to everyone who was participating! I'd suggest y'all to follow my posts more closely for similar events in the future 👀😎 Read down for personalized notes!

Here comes every drawing in a separate picture, so that everyone can get their flashcard!

You may also notice that the two first characters were not submitted under this specific post. Actually they were submitted late for the original "group photo of our OCs" post, so they couldn't be added there, so I decided to include them here.

Because I don't leave anyone behind!

Therefore peeps, here you go!

For @foyle-writes-things:

You didn't provide a picture, but you did provide a thorough description, so this is how I imagine Razz! Just now I notice I forgot to color the eyes green, so let's imagine they are :)) I sure hope she's a white hat hacker cuz this mf looking very gloomy 😨

For @informedimagining:

I took a little creative liberty to add her a tan (since she's a country girl and does many outdoors activities) and make her hair originally brown then dyed to blonde, because it just made sense for the character at the moment! I hope you like it!

For @chaotictravelerrants:

Time Weilder seemed to me like a mythological creature/deity of some sorts, so I tried to make him somewhat etherical~

For @strawberryflavoredblade (so happy to be able to tag you T.T):

Here have your DILF OC Leonardo! I hope THIS captures him well 😌 I did notice that you mentioned that his hair should have some blonde strikes since he's aging, so let's say that he decided to look nice for a photo and went to dye his greying hairs so that he looks all nice and dandy (I guess he has enough money and free time for that!)

And unfortunately missed opportunity to draw the crime gloves, but alas, I wanted it to look like a nice photo that you can reuse, so, here you go!

For @renzaslasher:

I must say that your OCs have immaculate design! I loved drawing this poor boy! His face was the first thing I colored bcs it's so fucking fun lmao you need to see how the lineart layer of this one looked like 😂 I drew him with a weary emoji face (😩) because oh my god do I imagine him looking like this all the time having to deal with that goober

For @nightingaleflowlibrary:

I really hope i got colors right on this one (lmao what colors, she's basically black and white even here), but nonetheless, I tried to bring the prettiness of the original drawing to my style, idk if it translates well T.T I love her from your description 🥺

For @divine-proclamations-of-bs:

Come to think of it, this OC really encapsulates the vibe of your username 😁 You're the silly one that provided the hex codes for the hair color and the eyes!!! How dare you make me search for the W3Schools hex to rgb convertor 😤/j Jokes aside, I pinpointed the exact hexcodes for the colors and put them on your silly guy! The picture you provided made me laugh so much I just wish there was more content of this dude 😂😭

For @angelicanoi:

I wanna know more about him, he seems like a charming little dude 🥰 Start sharing more about your OCs on your blog, we wanna see it!

And I really suggest everyone who's been reading this far to check out other people's blogs and read about each other's OCs! Y'all are my worshipers community, start acting like it! (jk unless)

Happy writing everyone!

And why exactly are you still reading? The post is over. This is the ad break now.

Key's Unwilling Assistant - COMING SOON

So now that i have 36 followers (12x3 🤯) i just want to clarify something to people

In case you haven't noticed, I'm weird. I'm a weirdo. Have you ever seen me without my drawing pen in my hands? That's weird.

I may or may not jumpscare all of you with unexpected fanarts of your characters. Nobody's safe

(and if that's something you're into you may reblog this with more of your blorbos, lets see if you can write more than i can draw >:) )

[alairmena]

Sometimes all it takes for success is for one person to believe in you.

That's me. I'm that one person. I believe in you

Slay that WIP, you can do this