garessta8

[garessta8]

He sends his toughest battles (against dust) to his silliest clown (she should've known better). Перевод для тех кто не знает высокого готика ниже:

1: Ральтия: "Мастер Зербе, я знаю что последняя миссия была пролюблена почти всеми способами которые вообще можно представить, но…" Ральтия: "Может я ещё могу как-нибудь это загладить? Как-нибудь отработать? Хм? Хмммм?" 2: Ральтия: "Я не это имела в виду под "отработкооооой!!" Ральтия: "И вообще, разве у нас нет сервиторов для этого?" Антон: "Прекрати жаловаться, Ральтия. Ведешь себя неподобающе." Антон: "А ещё ты вон там пятно пропустила."

[garessta8]

Figures: They Speak For Themselves (mildly NSFW)

Continued from the last article about costume design, today we’re going to talk about those wacky things you hide underneath clothing.  Figure drawing is a pivotal tool to any artist, but being able to effectively render humans and creatures is only part of the equation.  Even if your draftsmanship is solid, you won’t get far if your designs are uninteresting.  Effective and dynamic figures are the cornerstone of having compelling characters in pretty much any comic.

The Purpose of Character Design

The focus of art in general is to generate a particular response out of your audience; the mechanics of what you literally create are often secondary to this goal.  Something can be abstract or literal, but the point in both cases is the effect is has on the viewer/listener/reader; the creation itself is a means to an end.  In comics, authenticity and realism are not defined by what you are actually drawing, but rather how your drawings are viewed by your reader.  In the context of a visual narrative, a simplistic drawing can be “more real” than a more realistically rendered one if that simplistic drawing evokes a more authentic response.  A stickman can be a more convincing character than a photorealistic painting; it all depends on how that stickman is conveyed.

When you design your characters, you have an opportunity to both communicate information about them, as well as provide a conduit through which information about other characters and even environments can be shown.  Their appearances can augment the actions in the narrative, or even take the place of regular action.

Focused Caricature

When designing characters for comics, then, it’s not universally important to faithfully recreate how people look in real life or even caricature real life.  This may sound contentious at first glance.  After all, isn’t a big part of cartooning exaggerating elements of real life?  Certainly, but that’s only half of the equation when it comes to visual narratives. A regular caricature is mostly about emphasizing what’s visually obvious, and while that’s still present in comics and animation, on top of that there’s often the need to convey information about the character.  Even if you’re basing a design on a real person, what you choose to emphasize can determine how the audience views that character.  Again, what part of “reality” (in this case people’s appearances) you select to share can profoundly change how those characters are perceived.

Implied Motion

While they can be very similar, a fundamental difference between the needs of comic design versus animation design is the presence of literal motion.  

In animation you can give your character a nervous tick, a particular walking pattern, or any other number of facial and other motion cues to add flavor and depth to a character.  However, with the static images of comics, this approach is limited.  As such, more pressure is placed upon the designs themselves because they’re the primary visual resource the reader has for gaining information about the character.  Luckily, there’s a plethora of tools at our disposal for doing just that.  The shape, size and position of a figure can be designed in such a way that it implies motion.  Upturned brows and lips can suggest someone who is frequently bemused, an exaggerated posture can give the impression of a certain type of gait, and so on.  And since the reader’s eye can dwell on a comic panel indefinitely (at least in theory), there’s more freedom to employ subtler facial and body elements to add to a character’s flavor. 

The Body

Shape Up

Silhouettes and overall shape are the first pieces of information to reach the reader, and because of this they will always dominate any character’s design.  If your silhouette isn’t doing its job, the rest won’t matter.  Starting with a simple, clear shape and working backwards is a good rule of thumb.  And while this is naturally easier with monsters and other fantastical creatures, it applies just as much to regular people.

Body Types

People are not divided into skinny/fat/muscular.  While these body states do obviously exist, each of these will still differ from person to person.  For example, there’s not a single “athletic” body type, but dozens (as this amazing photo series shows). Don’t fall into the trap of old superhero comics where everyone looks like a bunch of clones wearing different costumes.  People’s builds, postures, hands, feet and musculatures are extremely diverse, going far beyond simple factors like age, height and weight.

Body Language

Your character’s motions can inform you quite a bit on how you could design their form.  If a character often stoops or shuffles, you can warp his or her spine and posture to bring attention to that sort of behavior.  In general, you want the figure to emphasize and accentuate the type of body language indicative of that person.  This is really important.  In animation, there’s a little less of a required connection between body language and design because you can literally show motion, but with comics being a static medium,  you have to imply a lot of motion without showing it.  Naturally, if your character has a very wide range of motion, your design should reflect that too.  Main characters aren’t usually designed around a single posture, for example, but side ones often are.  In the end, this is all a tool to efficiently communicate information about a character to the audience.

The Head

Shapes Again

Even more so than with the body, you should be able to reduce each character’s head to a fairly recognizable shape.  This is the foundation for developing a good head silhouette, which is vital because the focus of a page is often on peoples’ faces; recognition should be established on a subconscious level with little to no effort on the part of the reader. 

If the reader can’t immediately and clearly distinguish who is who without using details, the designs are bad.  Also note: using hair alone to distinguish heads is cheating. Similar to the superhero body problem, don’t fall into the crappy anime trap of having identical heads that are only distinguishable by their wacky hair.  Obviously hair is a component of character design, but to rely exclusively on it is taking a shortcut that only ends in sloppy composition and no variety.  

Similar to the Naked Test (which we’ll talk more about shortly), you should be able to immediately distinguish all your character’s heads without any adornments or hair.  Shave ‘em down and compare.  

Variety is Your Friend

Ears, eyebrows, skulls, eyes, eyelids, noses, cheekbones, nostrils, hairlines, necks- these are all elements that will vary from person to person.  Don’t be afraid to go beyond normal human proportions.  Exaggerating or simplifying to the point of even being a stickman is perfectly fine, so long as it suits what you’re trying to do.

Dominant Expressions

What types of facial expressions and body language do your characters exhibit?  Main characters generally require more of a range than side characters, while less three-dimensional characters can be designed to fit only a handful of expressions.  

A lot of character information can be shown to the audience this way.  Showing rather than telling your readers means you’re playing to the medium’s strengths.

The Naked Test

Once you’ve designed your figures, we move on to the Naked Test.  When developing a cast or even just a couple of characters, they should always be instantly recognizable without the aid of clothing.  Even if their clothes have some key distinguishing elements to them (which they probably should), the bodies themselves are the foundation, and if the foundation is too generic, then you’re left with a flat design that can’t be corrected by adding stuff on top.  All the basics should be present at this level: distinguishable silhouettes, unique body types and proportions, and unique facial shapes should all be there to tell your character’s story.

Figure drawing isn’t easy.  Because we’re hard-wired to distinguish even the tiniest variance in human appearance, there’s a lot of pressure to get figures right compared to other subjects.  As such, it’s easy to play it safe with conservative designs that don’t strain our draw-muscles, but it’s important to push past that. Effective and compelling character design is a skill that’s indispensable for cartooning of every kind.

[garessta8]

blessed

I didn't find "There! Right There" with Rogue Trader characters, which was an omission. This shit should be in every fandom. So I warmed up and did a thing.

[garessta8]

this is amazing

Is there a better place to display a model of your flagship?

[garessta8]

'sup, Hypnos. Fen made me fight (and defeat) the final boss of OC quizes, so I fear no quizes. Bring it on!

Raltia (van Octavius)

And it was... Kif Kroker!

I'm dying laughing. But it's not exactly wrong...

Totals are:

Kif Kroker (Futurama): 86%, Will Byers (Stranger Things): 86%, Samwell Tarly (Game of Thrones): 85%

Not tagging anyone because I don't feel like it today. Mood.

What Fictional Character is your OC?

Rules: Answer this test for your OC and select 3 characters that match your character the most!

Thank you for the tag @frauleiiin ♡ i love a good oc tag game!

Jed Solaris | imp agent

Dr. House (i’m fucking sobbing at this lmao), Dexter Morgan, Spike Spigel

no pressure tagging: @shanaraharlyah @rypnami @meowhariel @ebitenpura @stormyykat @certified-anakinfucker @wlf1221 and literally anyone else who wants to do this

[garessta8]

I am four parallel universes ahead of you.

OC tag game!

@brloche, @laurelindis, @ronavorona16 and @nananarc thank you so much for the tag!

Rules: Cross out the things your OC hasn't done. If anyone wants me to elaborate, feel free to send me an ask about any of these!

For Venria von Valancius

Venria by @ronavorona16 💖

Killed Someone Under Orders | Had Someone Killed On Their Orders | Killed Someone In Self Defense | Spared Someone’s Life | Invented Something | Been Hungover | Kissed Someone | Slow-Danced | Been In A Long-Term Relationship | Had Sex | Had Sex And Regretted It | Had A One-Night Stand | Had A Threesome | Experimented With Their Sexuality | Had A Kid | Adopted A Kid | Wanted To Have A Family With Someone | Done Something On Impulse They Regretted | Gone Traveling | Had A Bounty Put On Them | Eaten An Insect | Been Groped By A Stranger | Been Groped By Someone They Know | Been Dumped | Dumped Someone | Smoked | Gotten High | Flirted With Someone To Get Free Drinks | Put Someone In A Headlock | Won a Bet | Lost a Bet | Forgiven Someone Who Wronged Them | Indulged In Petty Revenge | Hallucinated | Has A Noticeable Physical Defect | Gotten A Noticeable Scar | Been Permanently Disfigured Through Injury | Kneed Someone In The Groin | Had An Unattainable Crush | Laughed Themself To The Point Of Tears | Been Kidnapped | Been Sexually Assaulted | Been Brainwashed/Hypnotised | Had A Recurring Nightmare | Been Bullied | Bullied Someone | Experienced Survivor’s Guilt | Been Tied/Chained Up | Given Someone A Massage | Received A Massage | Been Backed Up Against A Wall| Shot Someone | Stabbed Someone | Saved Someone’s Life | Cheated On Someone | Been Cheated On | Been In An Open Relationship | Had A Friendship With Benefits | Been In A Queerplatonic Relationship | Had A Stalker | Been Betrayed | Been A Traitor | Been Possessed | Been In A Bar Fight | Been Thrown Out Of A Bar | Been Arrested | Broken Out Of Jail | Been To A Funeral | Been To A Brothel | Had Surgery | Broken Someone’s Trust | Broken Someone’s Heart | Had Their Heart Broken | Broken/Damaged Something Out Of Anger | Broken/Damaged Something Out Of Spite | Gotten A Piercing | Gotten A Tattoo | Used A Fake Name | Been Beaten Up | Been Tortured/Tortured Others | Been Abused | Been Blackmailed | Gotten Away With A Crime | Framed Someone Else For A Crime They Committed | Shared A Bed Platonically | Been In Love | Suffered From Sleep Paralysis | Been Forced To Flee Their Home | Learned A New Language | Joined A Rebellion | Fought On The Losing Side Of A War | Fought On The Winning Side Of A War | Become A Godparent | Become An Aunt/ Uncle

No idea who hasn't done it yet, maybe: @sanzosin, @maggotknight, @annahenriart, @pheedraws, @nusaran, @plethomacademia, @fuchsiareign, @notringl-v02, @lylakoi, @fourraccoonsinacoat, @thatzombiecat, @lucheiah, @garessta8, @valkblue, @kshert

and everyone who likes to 💖

[garessta8]

Thank you @beelzeebub for a happy Heinrix ❤️, always love to see him smile (or even laugh).

[garessta8]

My future (and existing in Dark Heresy TTRPG campaign) acolyte!

The (van Octavius) is in brackets because it's not her birthname, she just made it up to sound cooler when talking with important people.

No ship name because Raltia doesn't have any ships (exept for her ship with Anton :D).

Thanks to @fenlirias for the template! I drew casual Raltia portrait to fill the form out. If I am to keep antonposting, I feel like it's necessary!

Full of the potrait under cut:

[garessta8]

As I rotated Anton and Raltia in my head on the back of my mind per usual, I wondered if any of them had concerns about their age difference. After all, not only Raltia is much younger (although it's hard to say how much exactly), she's a biomancer and can de-age herself.

Then I realized that this isn't a concern for both of them, since neither expect to die of old age.

Now I'm sad :(

[garessta8]

thanks @garessta8 for the tag!

Your couple (ship) and how they sleep (when together and not) questionnaire!

@thatzombiecat @maggotknight @nerrlet @arcandoria @holylustration @nananarc it would be delightful to read about your blorbos <3

Voigtvahl (Kunrad x Valento)

How often do they sleep together?

Every night.

Where do they sleep?

In the Rogue Trader's chambers mostly, but sometimes they stay in the Master of Whispers' bedroom. After living on the cultists' ship, Kunrad is prone to sleep on the floor: he either feels sudden danger and feels the desire to hide or doesn't want to wake Valento up when he has nightmares. If she notices it, she joins him.

How do they prepare to sleep?

They take a bath together where they can discuss the day's events and relax, then they go to bed.

What do they wear to sleep?

Usually Kunrad and Val sleep in their sleepwear, but quite often they end up falling asleep wearing nothing.

Do they cuddle?

Yeah, they do!

What are their preferred sleep positions?

It's quite uncomfortable for Kunrad to sleep on his sides as he has augmentations on his head. He also can't sleep on his stomach as he has additional eyes on the chest – they're very sensitive. That's why Kunrad usually sleeps on his back.

Val can't sleep on her stomach beause that makes it difficult for her to breathe. She usually falls asleep on her side, with her temple on Kunrad's shoulder.

How easy do they fall asleep?

Depends. If they had a tough day, they fall asleep very quickly. They both tend to have many things on their mind, that's why they can have a hard time falling asleep.

Do they toss and turn a lot?

They both do.

Do they snore?

Nope. It's very easy for them to wake up from a slightest sound, so they're very comfortable sleeping together.

Who hogs the blanket?

They have a very big blanket and tend to cuddle, so no one.

What do they dream about?

Val often has nightmares about her youth, Theodora's ghost haunting her and Commoragh.

Kunrad almost always has nightmares – conjured by his own tortured mind or the Warp itself.

How easily do they wake up?

Kunrad and Val both can wake up from any sound, but they might have a hard time waking up in the morning.

How awake they are afterwards?

Depends! They're usually awake after leaving their bed unless they stay up late.

[garessta8]

Raltia can be a total clown sometimes, but Anton isn't as unimpressed by this as his inscrutable (mask) expression might led you believe. Luckily for her, Raltia has enough in Perception and Scrutiny to decipher his moods...

They are a harmonious match of opposites and similarities that keeps them from getting into serious squabbles without them getting bored with each other. And their relationship is the most welcome reprieve in both their lives when there's outside is tyrannic with a chance of chaos spawns.

Also I drew my previous picture just so I had a nice ship pic for this one, because despite all the antonposting, I didn't have anything fitting.

Thanks to @halkuonn for the template, it's really nice (despite not working well with CSP) :* Anyone else can find it here.

[garessta8]

No comments.

[garessta8]

Dear @garessta8 woke up and decided it's time to prompt some lore stuff

Thanks tho<3

Your ship and how they sleep (when together and not) questionnaire !

@raeb33s and @mayoonrices are my next chosen ones ✨️

How often do they sleep together?

50/50, depends on business days. When busy Bor can leave to Jae the whole bedroom, hoping she'd still find her there when Bor's done.

Where do they sleep?

Rogue Trader's chambers of course. Not much room anywhere else.

How do they prepare to sleep?

Jae yapps - Bor listens. Bor doesn't know how exactly Jae puts herself to sleep, cuz Bor falls asleep to Jae's yapping first.

What do they wear to sleep?

Bor is old-fashioned so undies it is. Bor's only request is that Jae switches her outdoors clothes before jumping the bed. Bor promised to order enough personalized lingerie for Jae if it means , she'll change before bed. (Jae uses this promise as much, as she brakes her's)

Do they cuddle?

Bor is cuddly whenever Jae in the mood for "cuddly".

Preffered sleep positions ?

Bor - flat on her back. She is actually serves like a convenient obstacle to Jae , since she just doesn't flinch , and Jae can place herself however she pleases.

How easily do they fall asleep?

Bor just drops dead in minutes. Jae - whenever stars decide.

Do they toss and turn a lot?

Jae does most of tossing.

Do they snore?

God Emperor blessed this pairing snoreless.

Who hogs the blanket?

Bor. She has a stern grip ,but Jae's mechanical arm is stronger of course.

What do they dream about ?

Bor is the happiest when she dreams of beating people. Or when there is Jae in a dream. Rarely - there is a Jae and they beat some ashmags together.

How easily do they wake up?

Bor hates waking up. Jae is quicker to get up.

How awake they are afterwards?

As much as The Emperor will provide that day

[garessta8]

The comfort acolyte.

The lack of sleep made me come up with a new tag gaaaame~~

I also tag @tumbgert and @fenlirias to do it and share the game with the Rogue Trader fandom while I'm hopelessly stuck doing moony eyes at Anton. Of course, anyone else can join if they want to.

Your couple (ship) and how they sleep (when together and not) questionnaire!

How often do they sleep together?

Whenever their duties allow, which is usually whenever Raltia isn’t on a field mission, since Anton leaves the Bastion Serpentis much more rarely.

Where do they sleep?

In Anton’s bedroom, on his luxurious inquisitorial bed. The secrecy isn’t a concern–in his private part of the Bastion, he can allow guards and servants that definitely won’t snitch.

How do they prepare to sleep?

Before going to bed, Anton usually has to take off his power armor, which is a process in itself and requires assistance from a tech-adept.

Raltia meditates in the evenings a little to sort her thoughts and bring peace of mind.

Anton often works on his data-slate even in bed, late in night, just to wear himself out. In this case, Raltia also writes her diary entries in her own data-slate or reads something on it or out of solidarity until Anton stops. Even if he tells her not to. Which actually makes Anton put his work aside and at least try to sleep so Raltia would do the same.

What do they wear to sleep?

Anton just sleeps in his underwear.

Raltia also puts on some old shirt, but not out of modesty, but because her back chills (regardless of temperature in the room) without it.

Do they cuddle?

So she wouldn’t make it even harder for Anton to fall asleep, Raltia goes to sleep on her own side of the bed.

Then Anton pulls Raltia closer and uses her as a comfort toy. This never wakes her up, but often ends with Anton being drooled at.

What are their preferred sleep positions?

Anton usually sleeps on his back with his hands to the sides.

Raltia falls asleep on her back in the “corpse pose” (with her hands folded over her stomach), but then usually turns to the side.

How easy do they fall asleep?

Anton has light insomnia caused by professional paranoia–he has a hard time falling asleep unless very tired and wakes up from any sound.

After her service in the Guard, Raltia can sleep anywhere, in any position, almost instantly.

Do they toss and turn a lot?

Anton tosses and turns plenty, especially if something wakes him up.

Raltia barely moves at all.

Do they snore?

Anton snores a little if he sleeps on the back.

Raltia doesn’t snore, but if she sleeps on the side, she often drools.

Who hogs the blanket?

Like reasonable people, Anton and Raltia have their own blankets. Then Raltia inevitably gets too warm from Anton’s cuddling and throws her blanket aside, sometimes to the point where she ends up accidentally pulling Anton’s over her anyway...

What do they dream about?

Anton has a lot of old nightmares, which he had long learned to ignore and mostly forget in the morning.

Raltia rarely remembers her dreams at all, but when she does, they are usually prophetic or pretend to be (a side-effect of her divination abilities). She does her best to ignore them, believing that trying to predict the future is a way to madness.

How easily do they wake up?

Anton wakes up from any sound, whether he wants it or not.

Raltia wakes up immediately and with a start whenever her brain registers an important signal nearby: her name being called, gunshots, a drill sergeant’s shouts (even from two dozen meters away), a sound of a field ration being unpacked... Otherwise, she’s a deep sleeper.

How awake they are afterwards?

Anton only needs a mug of recaf to be ready for work–not because he’s a morning person, but because he's an equally-tired-all-day person.

Raltia works at her 60-80% capacity for about two hours after being awake, no matter how much stimulants she might use, or how awake she actually looks.

[garessta8]

Template:

[garessta8]

"In addition to his political skills, Zerbe is a powerful psyker, although this fact is not generally known within the cabal. Zerbe keeps his psychic talents in reserve should he be forced to vanquish a particularly dangerous foe personally." (c) Dark Heresy Rulebook, pg. 318

As a continuation of my previous post with this image... Masked version. Which Anton you like more? I know I love him no matter which way he's just so cool *_* He stole my heart already, and I'm on my way to build a cult following of 2,5 people for him before Dark Heresy is even released.

(please, don't mention that he still might get a Theodora treatment of dying in prologue... I know :C)

Close-ups:

[garessta8]

His psychic power is one of Anton Zerbe's most well kept secrets. Can you be trusted to keep it, Acolyte, or should you be buried with it?

This took me a while, but I learned to love watercolor brushes and hate perspective. The face is based on pixel-hunting the illustration from the Dark Heresy rulebook.

I also plan on making a complimentary piece where Anton has a mask on, but I couldn't wait, I just had to post this now. More people must know of the glory of this man!