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languajix · 7 days

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Hello! Many people have said this but ill say it too, I LOVE YOUR COMIC SO MUCH ( ´ ▽ ` ).｡ｏ♡

I really wanted to ask you about how you do the backgrounds? (Something i struggle with) whats the process? Like from start to finish, also, to do the rise backgrounds do you use reference from the show and generally real photo of ny? Or do you come up with them? And last question- The shadow and light on the background- Like HOW

i know it’s a lot of questions but i’m just so curious qwq and wanna learn to be better, thank you again in case you read this and respond, in case you don’t, i hope you have a nice day and a wonderful life uwu keep up the great work! (≧◡≦) ♡

Backgrounds are a really broad subject and I'm always a little overwhelmed when asked this question. Just like drawing the human body, backgrounds take time, repetition, and practice!

My answer got a bit long, so it's going under a read more :) but if you digest info better in video format I found this on youtube

youtube

It pretty much goes over everything I wanted to say, but in a much better way. I wish I had found it before writing all this out lol

ok, first of all, I'm not a teacher nor was I built to be one of those cool helpful art tutorial people who do a full coloured tutorial filled with illustrations. This is just going to be a messy "how I do backgrounds / environment layouts from start to finish." kinda thing.

... lets start with a sight tangent.

Sketch from Life!!!

If you want to get better at backgrounds I recommend doing some sketching out in the real world!

When I was first getting into doing backgrounds I went to cafes and parks to just sketch the buildings and objects. Sketch rocks, flowers, clumps of grass, garbage cans, bottles, tables, street signs, etc. If you are drawing a tree observe how the trunks twist, how the bark flows, or how the leaves are bunched.

If you can't leave the house the same still applies! Sketch the interiors of your house, the walls, or common objects like chairs and bookshelves. How are objects stacked? items on the floor?

If you aren't comfortable with drawing outside or in public you can take some photos to draw from! They are good for practice and you can use them again as references later. Alternatively you can find pictures online of buildings and objects to sketch as practice.

All spaces have objects in them, it becomes easier to draw those kinds of spaces when you already have spent time observing and sketching them.

ALSO! They don't have to be good sketches! It's just to build out your mental catalogue and strengthen your perception of perspective.

now the actual thing...

BACKGROUNDS

(the pictures used for this are my own. I dug them out of my 2022 folder)

Backgrounds have slightly different rules based on what you are making them for. Videogame Environment Concept Art vs Animation Layouts vs Comic Backgrounds vs Illustration backgrounds.

They all follow the same basics, which I will go over here, but the intention and function of those designs are going to be different. It's all about how you set up the scene and what it's purpose is!

Brainstorming and Thumbnailing

I like to think about a location as though it is a character. An abandoned old house with creaky sagging floorboards is very different from a futuristic space ship with sharp metal floor panels. A gas station has a very different feeling from a library.

I usually start by asking what is this location's story? Why was it built and for what purpose? What kinds of things does this room need to fulfill that purpose? You don’t need solid answers, but its good to be thinking about it while you are working.

Next, sketch some ideas for how this place is going to look. For me, this usually involves drawing the idea from multiple angles and then making lists & small sketches of the objects I think should be filling the space.

Example: The main character of my original work is a Wanderer. They collect a lot of things on their travels, but those items have to be small enough to be easily carried in a backpack. I wanted his room to be in the corner of an attic, walled off by curtains, and filled with trinkets. You can see some of my brainstorming above.

References

I only look for references after I've done some sketching and planning; this is to solidify my idea first so that I don't accidentally copy anyone else's work. I will make a moodboard with pictures of lighting, colours, items, rooms with specific ceiling beams, old chairs, etc. basically whatever I feel fits the vibe.

Honestly, I don't use references as much as I should. For ROTTMNT fanart I look at backgrounds and screenshots from the series to study the style. I also reference actual photos of NYC to get a feel for how Rise condenses the visual information.

In general, it's good to have references of real life objects/locations, because there are so many details like cracks in pavement, stickers on polls, crowning on buildings, fancy fencing, weird chair legs, etc. that you might not think of. It's the imperfect details that can make a location feel more alive.

Perspective

Once you have your chosen sketch we move to.... the infamous perspective boxes. Doing backgrounds is just learning to be comfortable drawing So Many boxes and carving items out of them.

Many better artists than myself have made videos on perspective, vanishing points, and all the technical bits. Videos like THIS ONE and THIS ONE are helpful (this post is great too!!). There are probably a lot of classes to be found on Skillshare or Schoolism. I learned a lot of this in my college art course, so I can't give you a specific video which helped me.

You can get by and be a good artist without learning this stuff. There are quite a few successful artists who have admitted they never bothered to learn perspective (one of these people even made a whole graphic novel series).

I personally avoided properly learning this stuff until I was in my 20s because I thought it would be boring and difficult to do. tbh I really wish I had learned it earlier because it's so much fun to make those silly little boxes imo. It looks scary and complicated but, just like drawing humans, it just takes time, repetition, and practice to develop the knowledge and skills.

Cleanup

You have your boxes and lines! Cool! Now to make a scene out of it. Fill in the details, get everything placed were you want it! Generally, the lines of each item will point back towards the horizon line, but they can have different perspective points.

Generally you would want to clean it up and get your room completely sketched before doing the lineart. I tend to combine the steps (not recommended)

Lineart

I've mentioned how I do this before. Closer objects have thicker lines and more detailed inside. Further objects have thinner lines and less detail. I didn't quite achieve that balance with the image below, but it's close enough.

Colours and Shading will have to be a separate post. In the meantime, I highly recommend the book "Color and Light" by James Gurney. I used to borrow it from my local library and a good chunk of my knowledge was learned from it :)

#drawing #reference

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languajix · 7 days

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Okay so the turtle tournament! For all tmnts I know (I have some research to do skagajsjfh) coming Summer 2025

their fighting skills (with appropriate respect to in-universe logic for each canon) will be analyzed and compared to their opponent. Winners go on to the next round, and eventually one turtle will be crowned champion!

This will be an annual event. Because it's tournament style there's an element of randomness to who wins, so it's only fair they all continue to get chances

Anyway! Y'all voted for audience participation, so here is the promised poll regarding what kind

This answer will of course affect how the fights actually look, so info on that will be coming after the poll closes

#tmnt event #this looks like fun!

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languajix · 9 days

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The Neurodivergent Writer’s Guide to Fun and Productivity

(Even when life beats you down)

Look, I’m a mom, I have ADHD, I’m a spoonie. To say that I don’t have heaps of energy to spare and I struggle with consistency is an understatement. For years, I tried to write consistently, but I couldn’t manage to keep up with habits I built and deadlines I set.

So fuck neurodivergent guides on building habits, fuck “eat the frog first”, fuck “it’s all in the grind”, and fuck “you just need time management”—here is how I manage to write often and a lot.

Focus on having fun, not on the outcome

This was the groundwork I had to lay before I could even start my streak. At an online writing conference, someone said: “If you push yourself and meet your goals, and you publish your book, but you haven’t enjoyed the process… What’s the point?” and hoo boy, that question hit me like a truck.

I was so caught up in the narrative of “You’ve got to show up for what’s important” and “Push through if you really want to get it done”. For a few years, I used to read all these productivity books about grinding your way to success, and along the way I started using the same language as they did. And I notice a lot of you do so, too.

But your brain doesn’t like to grind. No-one’s brain does, and especially no neurodivergent brain. If having to write gives you stress or if you put pressure on yourself for not writing (enough), your brain’s going to say: “Huh. Writing gives us stress, we’re going to try to avoid it in the future.”

So before I could even try to write regularly, I needed to teach my brain once again that writing is fun. I switched from countable goals like words or time to non-countable goals like “fun” and “flow”.

Rewire my brain: writing is fun and I’m good at it

I used everything I knew about neuroscience, psychology, and social sciences. These are some of the things I did before and during a writing session. Usually not all at once, and after a while I didn’t need these strategies anymore, although I sometimes go back to them when necessary.

I journalled all the negative thoughts I had around writing and try to reason them away, using arguments I knew in my heart were true. (The last part is the crux.) Imagine being supportive to a writer friend with crippling insecurities, only the friend is you.

Not setting any goals didn’t work for me—I still nurtured unwanted expectations. So I did set goals, but made them non-countable, like “have fun”, “get in the flow”, or “write”. Did I write? Yes. Success! Your brain doesn’t actually care about how high the goal is, it cares about meeting whatever goal you set.

I didn’t even track how many words I wrote. Not relevant.

I set an alarm for a short time (like 10 minutes) and forbade myself to exceed that time. The idea was that if I write until I run out of mojo, my brain learns that writing drains the mojo. If I write for 10 minutes and have fun, my brain learns that writing is fun and wants to do it again.

Reinforce the fact that writing makes you happy by rewarding your brain immediately afterwards. You know what works best for you: a walk, a golden sticker, chocolate, cuddle your dog, whatever makes you happy.

I conditioned myself to associate writing with specific stimuli: that album, that smell, that tea, that place. Any stimulus can work, so pick one you like. I consciously chose several stimuli so I could switch them up, and the conditioning stays active as long as I don’t muddle it with other associations.

Use a ritual to signal to your brain that Writing Time is about to begin to get into the zone easier and faster. I guess this is a kind of conditioning as well? Meditation, music, lighting a candle… Pick your stimulus and stick with it.

Specifically for rewiring my brain, I started a new WIP that had no emotional connotations attached to it, nor any pressure to get finished or, heaven forbid, meet quality norms. I don’t think these techniques above would have worked as well if I had applied them on writing my novel.

It wasn’t until I could confidently say I enjoyed writing again, that I could start building up a consistent habit. No more pushing myself.

I lowered my definition for success

When I say that nowadays I write every day, that’s literally it. I don’t set out to write 1,000 or 500 or 10 words every day (tried it, failed to keep up with it every time)—the only marker for success when it comes to my streak is to write at least one word, even on the days when my brain goes “naaahhh”. On those days, it suffices to send myself a text with a few keywords or a snippet. It’s not “success on a technicality (derogatory)”, because most of those snippets and ideas get used in actual stories later. And if they don’t, they don’t. It’s still writing. No writing is ever wasted.

A side note on high expectations, imposter syndrome, and perfectionism

Obviously, “Setting a ridiculously low goal” isn’t something I invented. I actually got it from those productivity books, only I never got it to work. I used to tell myself: “It’s okay if I don’t write for an hour, because my goal is to write for 20 minutes and if I happen to keep going for, say, an hour, that’s a bonus.” Right? So I set the goal for 20 minutes, wrote for 35 minutes, and instead of feeling like I exceeded my goal, I felt disappointed because apparently I was still hoping for the bonus scenario to happen. I didn’t know how to set a goal so low and believe it.

I think the trick to making it work this time lies more in the groundwork of training my brain to enjoy writing again than in the fact that my daily goal is ridiculously low. I believe I’m a writer, because I prove it to myself every day. Every success I hit reinforces the idea that I’m a writer. It’s an extra ward against imposter syndrome.

Knowing that I can still come up with a few lines of dialogue on the Really Bad Days—days when I struggle to brush my teeth, the day when I had a panic attack in the supermarket, or the day my kid got hit by a car—teaches me that I can write on the mere Bad-ish Days.

The more I do it, the more I do it

The irony is that setting a ridiculously low goal almost immediately led to writing more and more often. The most difficult step is to start a new habit. After just a few weeks, I noticed that I needed less time and energy to get into the zone. I no longer needed all the strategies I listed above.

Another perk I noticed, was an increased writing speed. After just a few months of writing every day, my average speed went from 600 words per hour to 1,500 wph, regularly exceeding 2,000 wph without any loss of quality.

Talking about quality: I could see myself becoming a better writer with every passing month. Writing better dialogue, interiority, chemistry, humour, descriptions, whatever: they all improved noticeably, and I wasn’t a bad writer to begin with.

The increased speed means I get more done with the same amount of energy spent. I used to write around 2,000-5,000 words per month, some months none at all. Nowadays I effortlessly write 30,000 words per month. I didn’t set out to write more, it’s just a nice perk.

Look, I’m not saying you should write every day if it doesn’t work for you. My point is: the more often you write, the easier it will be.

No pressure

Yes, I’m still working on my novel, but I’m not racing through it. I produce two or three chapters per month, and the rest of my time goes to short stories my brain keeps projecting on the inside of my eyelids when I’m trying to sleep. I might as well write them down, right?

These short stories started out as self-indulgence, and even now that I take them more seriously, they are still just for me. I don’t intend to ever publish them, no-one will ever read them, they can suck if they suck. The unintended consequence was that my short stories are some of my best writing, because there’s no pressure, it’s pure fun.

Does it make sense to spend, say, 90% of my output on stories no-one else will ever read? Wouldn’t it be better to spend all that creative energy and time on my novel? Well, yes. If you find the magic trick, let me know, because I haven’t found it yet. The short stories don’t cannibalize on the novel, because they require different mindsets. If I stopped writing the short stories, I wouldn’t produce more chapters. (I tried. Maybe in the future? Fingers crossed.)

Don’t wait for inspiration to hit

There’s a quote by Picasso: “Inspiration hits, but it has to find you working.” I strongly agree. Writing is not some mystical, muse-y gift, it’s a skill and inspiration does exist, but usually it’s brought on by doing the work. So just get started and inspiration will come to you.

Accountability and community

Having social factors in your toolbox is invaluable. I have an offline writing friend I take long walks with, I host a monthly writing club on Discord, and I have another group on Discord that holds me accountable every day. They all motivate me in different ways and it’s such a nice thing to share my successes with people who truly understand how hard it can be.

The productivity books taught me that if you want to make a big change in your life or attitude, surrounding yourself with people who already embody your ideal or your goal huuuugely helps. The fact that I have these productive people around me who also prioritize writing, makes it easier for me to stick to my own priorities.

Your toolbox

The idea is to have several techniques at your disposal to help you stay consistent. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket by focussing on just one technique. Keep all of them close, and if one stops working or doesn’t inspire you today, pivot and pick another one.

After a while, most “tools” run in the background once they are established. Things like surrounding myself with my writing friends, keeping up with my daily streak, and listening to the album I conditioned myself with don’t require any energy, and they still remain hugely beneficial.

Do you have any other techniques? I’d love to hear about them!

I hope this was useful. Happy writing!

#writing

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languajix · 10 days

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I've started writing a fusion fic/au. For anyone interested in a sneak peek . . .

You open your eyes. You feel like you've just woken up. Or, maybe not. Maybe you only closed them on a yawn, and you're actually halfway through the day. You get the odd sense that you've been sitting for a while. Like it's fifteen minutes past your scheduled appointment, and you're still in the waiting room. You look up to see writing on a wall, words as green as your skin, and something deep in your bones tells you that really, everything is fine. A rather spiffy-looking robot comes through a set of doors on your left. He smiles with his glowing eyes. "Raphael? Come on in."

#tmnt everything is fine #love thissss

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languajix · 10 days

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TMNT: Everything Is Fine

You're in the masterpost for TMNT: Everything Is Fine or TMNT: EIF

Summary

The turtles, separated at birth, are reunited as platonic soulmates and neighbors in the Good Place.

Links

The Cast (so far)

Sneak Peek

Chapter 1: Everything Is Fine [coming soon]

About

This idea started with some connections @belleyellsaboutturtles made. I couldn't stop thinking about a TMNT/TGP fusion, and she told me to run with it. So really, Belle, this is all your fault <3

The characters aren't based on any one iteration. Instead, I've drawn from across the TMNT multiverse. Posts for this fusion will likely be short fics, scripts, and quote or text posts. Asks are always welcome if you're curious about a character, detail, etc., or have a scene suggestion for a writing snippet!

#tmnt everything is fine #i am so excited for this #love both of these things so much

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languajix · 12 days

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Mikey

#tmnt 2012

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languajix · 13 days

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Baby Steps

A Hold Every Memory short fic courtesy of @belleyellsaboutturtles, who asked about Angie's first steps.

El's first heavy, pattering steps had carried him a foot or two across the floor of the tiny apartment and into Lou's tearful arms.

Lee spent weeks chirping for everyone's attention before trying his own, bursting into dramatic tears every time he fell over, until the day Don was busy reading the manual for their new radio and Lee bumped right into his ankle, chirping and baby-signing for food.

(…Don suspected Lee had been practicing walking for a while right under their noses.)

Dee's first steps had been in the astral plane.

Given how deeply the astral plane affected their physical bodies - a language of proof spoken in bruises, sprains, strains, and scars - Don thought that it counted. Lou was of a different mind.

That was fine, because after a long time of watching, expression flat and eyes curious, Dee had stumbled determinedly towards Don in the astral plane, seeking his quiet co-parent after he tired of his Uncle Mike's antics, but he'd taken one wobbly step towards Lou in the real world a few hours later.

(This was something they could share.)

Angie had been the only one who hadn't rocketed through all the stages, or skipped them somewhat, in his race towards neurological and physical development. From a rocking crawl to an eager scoot, Angie had taken his sweet time all the way up through to cruising. And there he hovered, moving about their bigger lair via tightly curled fingers around every bit of baby-height furniture they had - chair legs, the edge of the couch, Lou's pant leg.

And there he stayed.

For quite a while.

---

"Puzzle solving," Don said for Lou's benefit as he held Angie's favorite toy - a soft little duck with chewed-up wings, puffball feet grown ragged with love, and a floppy cowboy hat - just a step out of his reach. "He can't reach this by crawling; he's going to have to take a step."

Angie stared at the toy for a good minute or two, little tail wiggling slowly, and Don's heart fluttered in his chest, feeling like they were so incredibly close to the tipping point…

…Angie sat back down, and reached little grabby hands up, requesting Don deposit the toy in his hands like the good parental figure he was.

"Figures," Don muttered.

---

The next time Angie started cruising, he hit a gap. No chairs to hold, no cupboard doors to lean against. How was he going to cross the living room to reach his beloved Papa, who was reaching for him with open arms and a gentle smile?

"That's it, little Orange, you can do it! Just one step, for me. Walk to Papa."

Angie plopped down and scooted himself across the floor, climbing into Lou's arms with pudgy hands and an affectionate nuzzle, and Lou melted, kissing him on the top of his head.

---

Don read parenting book after parenting book. Give Angie space, give him encouragement. Challenge him, be careful not to stress him out. Angie was content to confound every attempt, almost as mobile on his hands and knees as Lee had been and otherwise very happy to be picked up and carried wherever he needed to go.

The Uncles got in on it, too, offering what they could in bribery and gentle coaching, but somehow none of that mattered in the face of Angie's stubborn pout and determination to stay rooted to the floor.

"…I wouldn't think," Don began, a quiet little mutter to himself.

Lou looked over to him with both brows raised.

Don took a breath. "I mean, do we know for sure the mutation was consistent for all of them? If- Angie has always been a little behind, in his behavior and all. What if this is as far as his changes take him?"

What if Angie was going to stay like this forever? They'd love him no matter what, of course. Still, it would be good to be sure. Don hesitated to break out the medical equipment unless he had to, but…

---

Physically, Angie was fine and still developing as expected, which was both a relief and a frustration. He could walk. He just didn't seem to want to.

---

Dee was having a bad night.

Someone in the neighborhood above was having some sort of party, and Don had finally stopped feeling the boosted bass rattle in his chest, all the way to his teeth. He had thought the soundproofing in the tiny lair was good enough, but apparently it was no match for whatever monster machine the local teens had procured or built. The police had undoubtedly paid them a visit, but the damage to Dee's routine and comfort was already done.

Dee sobbed, and Don and Lou struggled to soothe him. The toddler was curled up on the floor, his favorite satin sock in his arms, trembling and red-faced and miserable, screaming when anyone tried to so much as touch him.

"I'm so sorry," Don whispered, close to tears himself.

A firm tug on Don's pant leg urged him to look down, to see their tiniest toddler pulling himself to his feet, wobbling on his little pudgy ankles. "Not now, Ange," he murmured.

Angelo just frowned, uncharacteristically uncheery, and looked over towards Dee.

Don wasn't expecting it, not in that moment, as Angie lifted one foot and set it down, listing a little to the right before balancing himself.

Finger by tiny green finger, he let go of Don's pant leg.

From across the room, Lou inhaled sharply. They both watched as Angie slowly, but purposefully, toddled the couple of steps over to Dee. It was there that he finally lost his balance, and both of them dived to pull Angie away before he could land on Dee and make things worse, but the moment Angie's weight settled abruptly across Dee's body, Dee stopped crying, and both adults froze. It took a minute, but his hiccuping breaths evened out. He started scratching his little claws lightly against the floor in a familiar self-soothing gesture.

From on top of him, Angie started quietly rumbling: a high-pitched, reassuring purr, rolling from his plastron and out through his teeth as he grinned happily.

Lou and Don held still, crouched over their children, barely daring to breathe.

The lair was quiet.

Lou waved his hands in the air, silently, conveying his excitement with wide eyes and splayed fingers, gesturing towards Dee, towards Angie, towards Don's pant leg. !!!!

It figured, Don thought, that Angie's first steps weren't for himself, or for any of his uncles or parental figures, but for a brother.

#hold every memory art #CADOO I LOVE THIS #I love this I love this I love this #the colors!#The linework on this is so nice #the little hearts!#Angie looks so happy ;A;#That duck is so well loved #and it has all those colored PATCHES #This is so adorable #Cadoo I love your art so much #*Thank you* for making art of this story aaaaa #!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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languajix · 13 days

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Baby Steps

A Hold Every Memory short fic courtesy of @belleyellsaboutturtles, who asked about Angie's first steps.

El's first heavy, pattering steps had carried him a foot or two across the floor of the tiny apartment and into Lou's tearful arms.

(…Don suspected Lee had been practicing walking for a while right under their noses.)

Dee's first steps had been in the astral plane.

Given how deeply the astral plane affected their physical bodies - a language of proof spoken in bruises, sprains, strains, and scars - Don thought that it counted. Lou was of a different mind.

(This was something they could share.)

And there he stayed.

For quite a while.

---

Angie stared at the toy for a good minute or two, little tail wiggling slowly, and Don's heart fluttered in his chest, feeling like they were so incredibly close to the tipping point…

…Angie sat back down, and reached little grabby hands up, requesting Don deposit the toy in his hands like the good parental figure he was.

"Figures," Don muttered.

---

"That's it, little Orange, you can do it! Just one step, for me. Walk to Papa."

Angie plopped down and scooted himself across the floor, climbing into Lou's arms with pudgy hands and an affectionate nuzzle, and Lou melted, kissing him on the top of his head.

---

"…I wouldn't think," Don began, a quiet little mutter to himself.

Lou looked over to him with both brows raised.

---

Physically, Angie was fine and still developing as expected, which was both a relief and a frustration. He could walk. He just didn't seem to want to.

---

Dee was having a bad night.

"I'm so sorry," Don whispered, close to tears himself.

A firm tug on Don's pant leg urged him to look down, to see their tiniest toddler pulling himself to his feet, wobbling on his little pudgy ankles. "Not now, Ange," he murmured.

Angelo just frowned, uncharacteristically uncheery, and looked over towards Dee.

Don wasn't expecting it, not in that moment, as Angie lifted one foot and set it down, listing a little to the right before balancing himself.

Finger by tiny green finger, he let go of Don's pant leg.

From on top of him, Angie started quietly rumbling: a high-pitched, reassuring purr, rolling from his plastron and out through his teeth as he grinned happily.

Lou and Don held still, crouched over their children, barely daring to breathe.

The lair was quiet.

Lou waved his hands in the air, silently, conveying his excitement with wide eyes and splayed fingers, gesturing towards Dee, towards Angie, towards Don's pant leg. !!!!

It figured, Don thought, that Angie's first steps weren't for himself, or for any of his uncles or parental figures, but for a brother.

#hold every memory au #my writing #jix shortfic tag

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