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[bleaksqueak]

Forever traveling back in time to thank myself for doing a quick 3d head bust sculpt of Elias. Forever thanking Lyra for spending an entire chapter drawing her first and going "Good lord some angles are mentally hard to turn for you" which informed me to make a quick 3d head bust sculpt. Also shout out to the only major differences in shape design between the boys being their jaw line and cheek bones (and you know, slightly different eyes. different hair. body builds.) The point is this bust is very useful and I ran into an exact problem angle where I needed to reference it. Nomad Sculpt! It Just Works!!

[bleaksqueak]

was Audric a quiet toddler? and was Elias always energetic (before that incident happened) or did he have his quiet times as well

my parents always told me I was really calm and didn't speak much as a toddler until I started my reign of terror around 9 or 10

children are weird, I wonder how Audrun and Lyra dealt with em in the prime baby moments of "I'm never letting you sleep"

Audric was absolutely one of those mild, quiet toddlers that's more interested in studying his surroundings than fussing. Some fuss is to be expected, but he was an easy child that was fairly driven by a want to impress/please his parents and prove himself (even if that means proving he can Absolutely help and carry the watering can back to the greenhouse by himself Without Getting Scared and absolutely having to be "rescued" because he nearly made it there and out before getting Spooked). As for Elias (Before Incident)... the seminar snapshot's a pretty good look into his ability to Sit Still and be Polite (so, you know, behave lol). Equally as inquisitive as his older brother, maybe even more, but never exactly quiet about it. By exactly I mean "He has to sleep sometime". His fascination for animals was the biggest motivator in teaching him to calm down and be a little more patient. Can't get closer to the thing you very much want to study, pet, or befriend if you scare it off before you've even had a chance to get close to it.

[bleaksqueak]

This is going to seem like a dumb question lol but you are just such an incredible artist. The fact that you do this comic on your own blows my mind. But I was wondering, do you ever still struggle with your art? In terms of self confidence or skill? Or do you ever still need reference for things? You just seem so experienced and established lol

Thank you so much! The good news is I don't do it entirely on my own all the time, the pages I've been working on lately were thumbnailed for me by @elanorpam , who also made some of the frequently used 3d assets (aether vials, a couple of locis, etc.!) Ofc I'd still kill for full assistant style work for some things (flats, lettering, applying the final touch details from my asset sheets lol), but for now I do those. anywho, I think every single person will struggle from time to time, even someone who looks like an art god. If they say they never struggle, they're lying lol. There's always going to be bad art days, things you don't know how to draw yet, or a difficult angle you're having trouble composing. The good news is that when you accept that as the truth, you stop caring beyond a healthy stride for improvement, and you carry on knowing this is simply a fact of art. I'm confident in the sense of knowing I draw and paint because I both have to and because I want to. As long as I make something I either had fun doing, was proud of, or taught me something, then I'm pleased and the next comic page or illustration is taken on with a goal of repeating that or bettering it. With comics especially there's always going to be some mistakes and wonk since there's not time to obsess over correcting it. Due to this I only ever bother correcting major mistakes or mistakes that don't convey the point (expression is way off, body language way off, important detail missing. That kind of things.) Accepting those things and having fun with the act of doing it and the goal of improving leaves me confident in my work. It isn't perfect, but things don't have to be perfect to feel confidence in yourself. Flaws and strengths make us who we are, and it definitely applies to art. I've been posting my artwork on the internet since the late 90s, though, so I've had a while to build up a healthy mindset around it. That's not a requirement though, so just go have fun with your art! and thank you again.

[bleaksqueak]

were Lyra and Audun nervous when they had Audric? they both seem to have busy jobs, how did they handle that + being new parents ?

That little sketch snippet is killing me!!! I love it!! As for the ask... it's Kind of, sort of! Lyra was mostly excited, but nerves always come with something so life-changing and when one of the expecting couple has an exceedingly dangerous job. It helps when the child is planned, at least. Things were a bit more nervous for Elias, though, as he was not in fact planned, and more difficulties arose... largely due to Audun being out of commission shortly before and after the birth. We'll definitely see at least some snippets of the 'how did they handle being new parents'... Whether we'll see it through the lens of flashback gods or by the narrative influence of one of the boys will depend on the flavor it's told in. It'll be fine as long as one of the reliable characters relays the story~

[bleaksqueak]

I like this sketch, so i'll share it with you. also a stupid very quick and dirty mockup joke because That's Just What it Looks Like

[bleaksqueak]

ooooh well it's not obvious he says like there is a single part of bursting open like a bloated melon oozing clots of petrol worms and eyes with teeth that is not obviously too horrifying to bear thinking about much less interacting with oooh nonono actually i have always longed to join with the terrors and dare i even hope birth a sentient sphincter of my very own a beautiful bouncing bundle of bile god just imagine the special day when the little gupper comes bursting out of my orifices which ones who knows i want to be surprised for its first screaming wet expulsion gosh isn't that just something that’s the real magic in this wondrous world i mean what girl doesn't dream about someday becoming a--

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[bleaksqueak]

Slept all weekend, only managed to get 3 hours of sleep last night. I'm feeling very

[bleaksqueak]

It's been a while since I've drawn him.. how hard could it be to draw a chibi-fied version? it couldn't be that hard, right??

[bleaksqueak]

ooooh well it's not obvious he says like there is a single part of bursting open like a bloated melon oozing clots of petrol worms and eyes with teeth that is not obviously too horrifying to bear thinking about much less interacting with oooh nonono actually i have always longed to join with the terrors and dare i even hope birth a sentient sphincter of my very own a beautiful bouncing bundle of bile god just imagine the special day when the little gupper comes bursting out of my orifices which ones who knows i want to be surprised for its first screaming wet expulsion gosh isn't that just something that’s the real magic in this wondrous world i mean what girl doesn't dream about someday becoming a--

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[bleaksqueak]

She's right, it should be obvious... It should be in the pocket of Big Peeping.

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[bleaksqueak]

It's been a while since I've drawn him.. how hard could it be to draw a chibi-fied version? it couldn't be that hard, right??

[bleaksqueak]

A bastion of composure

[bleaksqueak]

Oh dear

[bleaksqueak]

I'm going to refrain from asking questions for a bit since I've been asking a lottt, so this is the last one before I start just putting them on a list lmao how well can the cast who wear glasses see without them? do you have set eyesight measurement units for them?

No worries about feeling like you're asking too many questions! I can just be slow answering when I get busy or (spend the weekend in bed lol) I don't have any eyesight measurements for them, despite wearing glasses myself, I don't think much about measurement numbers and have a poor memory for them. With that said, Lyra's farsighted and needs her glasses for up close work. Definitely needs them if she wants to get anything done with accuracy and no resulting headache. Audun's had a life of paperwork and active hunts in dark void zones, so definitely needs glasses to clear up some problems developed from those tasks.

Maia's eyes are awful. Her big round glasses are for 1: cuteness 2: need. Everything's just gonna be kind of a blur without them. Elias' vision isn't actually that bad at all except for some issues with his left eye, so if not for that, he'd not need them.

[bleaksqueak]

I'll be resuming answering the asks you've all sent me soon, it's been Drawing with the Madness hours over here to make up for some work I got behind on, plus... more comic pages. More beautiful wonderfully horrible comic pages.

[bleaksqueak]

Oh dear

[bleaksqueak]

Eyeggs…