#I'm also trying out a new eye artstyle

[fleetn-crab85]

I promise I will return to doctor who posting soon but in the meantime here's a little doodle of Elder Price from the Book of Mormon musical since I just saw it live and I love it so much

Alt I.D. under the cut:

I.D.: A pencil sketch of Elder Price from the Book of Mormon musical. He has dark brown hair, a white collared shirt, black tie, and gray name tag. He has a smile on his face as he looks dreamily up into the top right corner. The text "Something INCREDIBLE" can be read to his right surrounded by 6 small sparkles. End I.D.

[saguette]

What do you think Johnny's art looked like before he was stripped of his powers? This is something that bugs me a lot, and I'm curious about what you think.

ok i needed to draw a few shitty pictures to demonstrate cuz i wanted to talk about more than just his previous art but his art journey in general IDC if there's some canon tweet that proves something i said wrong or out of timeline these are my headcanons and projections so you either like it or not.. anyways I think his style pre-pre-JTHM (lets say 15-18) depicted many things, He was good at realism and fluctuated just fine between stylized art and big hefty works with a lot of detail. His stylized works looking similar to Jhonens and the whole 2000's artstyle cuz its fitting.

Of course he's like, a late teenager around this time so its GOOD but not perfect. If you pulled up a few of his drawings from this time he would probably be embarrassed by all the disproportionate limbs and goth girls he sketched and thought were badass. He probably has old sketches of friends in his style regardless if they asked to be drawn or not since his art was something he was proud of and people around him made him feel proud of. His old art also feels like it'd have anime elements unintentionally to add to that amateur artist swag. Johnny doesn't like anime copies but stuff he rips inspo from was anime inspired so it rubbed off on his work too. Moving onto PRE-JTHM (18-20) Is when his art started to get more serious and complex. In his happy era he took to drawing lovecraftian horror sometimes but it was always the secondary focus of any drawing.

Moving out and growing up was around the time his mental state started to worsen and he started using art to cope with emotions rather than just use it for fun, drawing complex monsters was a subconscious way to depict underlying mental illness that's out of his hands. He cant depict what he doesn't know he has, he can only scribble things that feel someone close to him because there is no physical appearance to emotions. He never liked his art around this time because it always felt unfinished or wrong or like it just didn't interpret what he wanted right. Overtime his art lost coherent appearance, quality, and meaning which made it feel worthless. It wouldn't be all that bad but it reached a point not even he knew what it was trying to be and it was frustrating. How can your own art not make sense to you? Its weird to let your hands go and do their own and you not recognize what they're trying to say. Which leads to SHORTLY BEFORE JTHM-and later.. Johnnys NEW preferred method for art currently is a little abstract, it became two extremes of the same thing; nothing. his art lost alot of what it used to be so he says he cant draw anymore.

Johnnys lovecraftian horror art slowly engulfed itself over time and always becomes an abstract mess. Its purposely made to be incomprehensible by having too much, regardless if its creation is poetic, an outside view not being able to tell what it is or how much work went into it is on purpose. its metaphorical or whatever.. Johnnys fucked up or something.. Whereas Noodleboy i imagine was made by him drawing a stickfigure one day to see if he can still "draw" and overtime gave him his features like angry eyes and that big hair, creating his own sort of vent sona to replace the sketchy abstract art he used before. Noodleboys chaoticness is too sporadic to rip any meaning off of, he also purposely represents nothing. His existence uses up paper the same way, just without all the extra effort. SORRRYYYY long tangent thats probably super messy i just winged it. but i cant help myself ive thought about this for a while ik i didnt strictly answer the question but i had so much more to say

[ikroah]

I've given everything I have, didn't know I'd run up such a tab, Oh, Lord, ain't the reapin' ever done? —“Ain’t the Reapin’ Ever Done,” Eddie Noack (1972)

It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin’ #25 - Ring-a-Ding-Ding IV

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Notes / Original Pencils / Transcript:

Notes:

At long last! As I've mentioned a few times, this issue got...delayed because I spent 2023 getting divorced, falling in love again, going outside, touching grass, laughing, playing, et cetera. But even if you toss all that aside this issue would still have been a doozy because I've been wanting to try an issue in this artstyle, and with a much large page size, for...well, for over a year now, ha. The thumbnails for this issue are nearly a whole year old!

Usually I have a lot of fun commentary about how a script changes over the course of working on an issue, or how the production panned out, but the making of this issue has been stretched over such a long time that I can't even begin to really describe it. Lemme just show you the original pencils so we can get out of here and move onto the next one, which will hopefully take far less than the time it takes to carry a pregnancy to term.

Oh, actually, there is one thing! If you spotted this happy couple on the first page, then check out @memepipboy's comics too.

Also, here's Vulpes in the dead Yamcha pose.

Which is also about how I feel after going on a bender of productivity last week to get the whole issue colored before it slipped away again.

Original Pencils:

Transcript:

EXT. NEW VEGAS STRIP. A small plaza outside the casinos is flushed with lights and people, all coming and going, even at such a late hour. The crowd is monitored by the Strip's POLICE SECURITRONS. Two people are exiting a casino: ROSE OF SHARON CASSIDY, and

MESSENGER: AGNES SANDS!

AGNES: Oh God, I'm--

AGNES: --wait, are you NCR?

The MESSENGER that has called out AGNES' name is a surly and middle-aged man in uniform.

MESSENGER: Correct, ma'am. I'm a messenger.

AGNES: Courier, huh.

CASS: Hell do you want, boot boy? We're busy.

MESSENGER: Your presence is requested at the embassy on the south side of the Strip.

The exchange has caught the eye of a BYSTANDER READING A NEWSPAPER.

AGNES: You said requested, as opposed to, um, required?

MESSENGER: Yes. I'll be blunt with you, Sands: the incident near Gecko and your subsequent desertion have made you a fugitive of military police since 2269. I'm sure you know that--but this is not an arrest.

MESSENGER: This isn't even about your personal case, necessarily. It's only from chance reports at the Mojave Outpost and Boulder City that intelligence was made aware of your presence here at all. The NCR merely wants to let you know that you--as well as your companion--are persons of interest to us in two of our other open investigations: the Legion raid on Nipton, and recent terrorist attacks on merchants in the area such as Crimson Caravan.*

CAPTION: *Various events of IKROAH #7-16. -Lou.

MESSENGER: There's also some other matters, which are classified.

CASS, at AGNES' side, listens intently. Then she glares at AGNES, who is grimacing but avoiding her eye contact.

MESSENGER: Now, our intelligence officers only want to speak to you, not arrest you. So there should be no cause for alarm or any worry on your part. It's your choice to come to us willingly--and on your own time. But--

AGNES sweats nervously.

MESSENGER: My orders are to make this next part very clear. This is merely the current state of our interest in you and your companion. If your presence does become required, as opposed to merely requested, by the NCR--and it very well may--

MESSENGER: --consider this a nice, friendly notice. I'm here because the NCR knows where you are. And the NCR wanted you to know that, because it wants you to keep it in mind as you mull over whether--and when--you might be feeling co-operative. That is all. We'll be in touch, Miss Sands.

The MESSENGER departs. The BYSTANDER READING A NEWSPAPER observed the entire exchange. The moment that the MESSENGER is gone, he speaks:

BYSTANDER: Ahh...I must admit, it does make me glad when people discuss my work.

AGNES: W-what?

CASS: Pardon?

BYSTANDER: And it was fortunate, as it turns out, that you were spared that night in Nipton.

AGNES: Oh...oh no--

CASS: --YOU?

BYSTANDER: Very fortunate indeed--

The BYSTANDER grins.

BYSTANDER: --that you were spared from the burning tires, spared from the teeth of the dogs, spared even from the cross and stake--all of this, there, was the finest work yet of VULPES INCULTA--against the profligates of the west, and for the glory and the might of CAESAR'S LEGION.*

CAPTION:*IKROAH #9. -Lou.

AGNES and CASS are transfixed where they stand, taken aback by the reveal. CASS scowls while AGNES squirms with terror. She remembers:

The raging fires and the horror show of NIPTON. Crucified bodies and dogs to eat the corpses.

VULPES: During our talk in Nipton, I admittedly became quite curious about you, Agnes. You had intrigued me for some reason, and I wanted to know what it was. Only later did I finally place it.

Her hands up in front of her face, a futile barrier between herself and three men. Benny. His gun, pointed at her, shining in the light from the moon and the lantern.

VULPES: A tabloid story from the news on the radio. A courier shot in the head near Goodsprings Cemetery.

The SECURITRON with the cowboy face, VICTOR, carried her out of her grave. Or so she was told.

VULPES: --who miraculously returned from the grave. It was you.

There were three men. Two besides Benny. She found them later, one was dead and the other had two more with him.

VULPES: It was also you, as I would later discover...who slaughtered that pack of Great Khans in Boulder City. Clearly no ordinary courier.

VULPES: Why, even now, you assassinate the leader of the Chairmen in his own casino--in his own bedroom, no less. Very impressive.

AGNES: But how did you--

VULPES: Know? From one saboteur to another, I do have to commend you, Agnes. You're quite covert...for someone who had no reason to realize that she was already being watched, that is. Just as we have been watching Benny, the dearly departed.

VULPES grins wider.

VULPES: My network of frumentarii have detected something of a conspiracy in Vegas...something about a certain piece of platinum, I hear. Which reminds me--the mail has gotten so unreliable lately, don't you think?

AGNES is visibly panicked as VULPES continues.

VULPES: The NCR'S interest in you is not misplaced, Agnes Sands, given your recent exploits.

CASS is suddenly going down the casino steps--

VULPES: But I doubt that they are as quite aware of the bigger picture as--

--and raising her fist, and--

VULPES: the--

--punching VULPES in the face.

SFX: WHAM!

VULPES is flung to the ground, his nose bloodied. One of his teeth have been knocked clean from his mouth. He stares upward, in disbelief, up at the furious woman who's laid him out.

VULPES: Ah...yes. Rose of Sharon Cassidy. I've--

PTOOEY. A wad of spit splats against VULPES' cheek. CASS points a finger at him as he shuffles back onto his feet.

CASS: Get my name out of your mouth right now. I'm not afraid of you. You just piss me off. And unless you get lost I'll deck you so hard that you forget my name. Hopefully how to form complete sentences, too.

CASS: I think we've heard enough, you goddamn dogfucker, and whatever you're selling, we don't fucking want any.

VULPES: Ah...so no less impudent than last time, despite...well.

VULPES wipes the blood from his face with the back of his hand, muttering from behind his palm in LATIN.

VULPES: Sī cognōscere nōn vīs canis senex tum nēquam praeter futuendum eris.

VULPES reaches his bloody hand toward his dislodged hat.

VULPES: Agnes--the Legion has a particular use for you, a use which comes with certain courtesies that are not extended to your companion.

VULPES: ...she would do well to keep this in mind.

VULPES returns his hat to his head. AGNES has rejoined CASS at the base of the steps.

AGNES: "Use?" What use? I don't have anything--I mean, I'm not--whatever you--whatever the Legion wants with me, I don't know anything. About this, or about Benny. If you want the chip, I--

VULPES: Agnes, Agnes--you're a terrible liar. Or else just terribly naive.

VULPES turns to leave.

VULPES: If the NCR is interested in you, and they are, then seizing you for ourselves is certainly useful enough on its own. But truthfully, this isn't about the NCR. The Legion is interested in you--I am interested in you--because Mr. House is interested in you. You and that chip.

AGNES: Mr. House!? But I...no, no, I just thought the chip--

VULPES: Vale, courier. And vale, Rose of Sharon Cassidy. And be safe in your travels, if you can help it--you never know when somebody might be watching.

As VULPES departs, a SECURITRON approaches behind AGNES and CASS, casting a shadow over the both of them.

[ep2nd]

@remy-a

Today's topic- the change in animation in LMK

I know like the majority of the Fandom has probably been sent to the ER after season 5 animation (or the emotion couldn't tell) but I think someone said that the animation slightly changed from like the Pilot to s 1-3, somewhere there, so like 3 different animation at this point, maybe??

Alright here's my thoughts

AGGAGAGAGGGGHHHHHHHH

Okay for real this time-

When I first watched LMK, I fell IN LOVE with the fluid motions, the active movement, the anime-style Influence, the exaggeration, the most random fun moments, pop ups, yse of environment, angles, camera movement, facial and body expression and other stuff I don't know the name of

Now as someone who's never watched Anime, please don't kill me, I don't exactly know what that looks like, but try going anywhere on the internet without tripping down the stairs and falling into the basement of ANIME

Also, I'm used to more rigid, beautiful backrounds, great lighting, or basic show animation. Such as Trollhunters, Amphibia, The Owl House, Big City Greens, Ninjago, How to Train your Dragon, Carmen Sandiego and others

So as you can see, this was new to me, and I fricken loved it

Now I can tell there definitely has been change from the Pilot to season 4, more refined, less sloppy

So, when season 5-

Oh dear, I love you Wild Brain, I really do, Ninjago and Carmen Sandiego WERE BEAUTIFUL

BUT AHHHHHH

I will say this, this is a new artstyle, they need practice, and I'm sure it'll improve, but this is not that time it's time to CRITISIZE GET THE RED PEN (maybe I am an English Teacher)

Remember what I said about what I love about LMK animation? Okay now throw it out the window into the Fire of FRICK THIS

Now I will say, they used some angles pretty well, such as using the environment to show emotion/tension, like when it would Pam out and something was blocking the two characters, from Wukong to Macaque to the poll in the Pagado and then a mountain between MK and Wukong near the end- look for its cool- someone pointed it out here on Tumblr can't remember name sorry

2nd, the expressions look really typical, like I miss the shot eyebrow from Wukong, or the the pathetic puppy eyes of MK, or the :3 for Mei, or the furious faces of Pigsy, the sparkly pure joy of Sandy, the chaotic gremlinness of MO, the evil Edit maker smiles of Macaque (I've seen your tiktoks) ALL THE LITTLE EXTRA THAT MADE THE EXPRESSIONS AND HUMOR/TENSION/EMOTION BETTER

3rd, the movements. Seen especially in the second episode when they escape. It's just, so basic running, like compare them running to MK's run in s2 running from the LBD and then when he ran in s4 away from the Ink scroll. Just so much more fear and dread. Also talking bout LBD, her voice actor? Phenomenal as always? Her movements and how they animate her? She seems more like a red headed doll with button eyes than the horror of something like FNAF(haven't played FNAF so can't really compare) what I'm saying is she seemed less huanting, a weary, fear-instilling, and bone-chilling(shut up let me pun) presence this time around, which really makes the scene less dramatic, but the camera angles, voice acting, and some animation still make it somewhat good.

Okay, this post is getting long and I can rant all day, and that's not even with me rewatching the show to pick it apart, someone probably already has good for them I'll look for it👍

In conclusion, comes of more dull, simple, rough, and rushed. S5 story, which has some problems, really hit deep in the last few episodes, mostly MK and Wukong, and if the studio beforehand continued animating, then I think it would have been a masterpiece, really sad to see the wasted potential

I know it's a new studio, but I wish they took more time to practice and learn, and maybe do it on a season that wasn't like the big reveal and end (I'd say a more happy season but let's be honest the Trauma train ain't stopping for a LONG TIME)

so, I guess I'll give it a 4/10, points for using the backround to storytell, still got some great angles, some funny bits here and there (the soldiers where a joy), action scenes were somewhat good, not a lot can't judge more, and pity points because I know they're still learning

[koeal]

I accidentally deleted an ask where someone asked for some art tips (whoever you were anon, I'm so sorry)

But I made this post still

All I ever posted here was fanart, so I will mostly focus on characters

1. Work on anatomy!

And from experience I know how hard it is to actually find out how to learn it, so here is little example

While knowing these few fun facts, you can experiment a lot!

For example, while people's eyes grow untill early 20's (around 8 milimeters since they are born), noses and ears never really stop growing. So while drawing babies - you can draw their eyes bigger; and while drawing elders - the bigger would be their ears and noses

1.2. Look for shapes!

Another example, because I don't know how to explain it

If it looks hard to you, don't worry, there are many tutorials online that will guide you!

2. Always have a reference!

And if you can't find a good one, I recommend taking picture of yourself! No one is going to see it besides you, right?

I also recommend tracing the reference first in shapes, boxes, as a stick man or whatever you prefer and then trying to recreate that sketch on a clear canvas

3. Follow many artists!

Just visit their page every so often, what is it that caught your attention? The way they color, the way they render? Maybe amazing backgrounds, awesome perspective? Some little details they put on every piece of art they make?

Maybe try using few of these on your art as well!

Also, it's pretty convenient in other ways as well - on platforms like Tumblr they can reblog art they like, and it's more likely for you to see more artstyles and techniques; on places like YouTube they often post speedpaints and tutorials you can take a look at!

Well, these are the main ones, but I will write some other things I can think of:

↳ While rendering, lower opacity of your brush

↳ Sometimes you can try to challenge yourself to use 1. As many brushes as you can or 2. As little brushes as you can (If you are new to art, it can help you find your favorites!:D)

↳ It's good to study a bit of everything - hands, neck, shoulders, back, feet, arms.. You get what I mean!

But it's nice to work on some other things from time to time as well! Try drawing a strawberry, a bunny, some flowers!

↳ If you can't understand how something works, try looking at human skeleton and muscles!

↳ While shading, color of your shadow will be on the opposite side of color wheel from the light (that means if your light is yellow, your shadow will be purple)

↳ Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone! Try new things, experiment!

I wasn't sure what type of tips you were asking for but I hope I helped at least a little<33

[quins-makeshift-menagerie]

hi I'm a new artist here and I literally just started digital art like yesterday and I don't have a style just yet I've only been using free bases so I was wondering if you could give me a few suggestions if that's okay please

Suggestions as in advice? Hmmm was never that great with advice but I will try

Since you’re new to digital art a big piece of advice I highly recommend is tinting your canvas color! Pure white can be harsh on the eyes. Something in the grayish area works best (example of my own canvas color)

What art program you use really doesn’t matter. What matters is you’re comfortable in it. Don’t pick something up just because everyone else is using it and you wanna seem cool only to find out the program is overwhelming/stressful/etc. Given time, you will make beautiful art with whatever program you’re using!

Study references!!! Study other people’s art!!! The world of art is unfortunately tainted with a lot of AI junk but there are still a plethora of resources and references at your disposal. If you see an interesting pose or angle try picking it apart and mimicking it!

Adding from the previous point: no one in their right mind is gonna get on you if you try to mimic someone else’s artstyle. We all learn from each other, it’s how we grow. It would be a lie if I said my style hasn’t been influenced by my favorites

Tracing is a good tool in that it helps you understand how shapes work together, but you’ll never improve if you don’t break off from that. It’s perfectly fine to trace in your free time to help you better understand how this works with that but remember it’s just as important to practice those shapes freehand as well!

The BIGGEST one: practice, but also don’t push yourself. Developing a style is something that can take years. It’ll be hard, but don’t get discouraged! Everyone starts somewhere óvò

[cursedvibes]

you got any jjk artists/writers you recommend?

Sure!

Artists

Shu draws pretty much every jjk character, but I mostly follow them for their Mahito, Kenjaku and Heian trio art. Love their artstyle, especially with their new brush. Has something of a watercolour painting or calligraphy.

@trung-roi (twitter) I mostly follow him for his amazing TenKen art, but he also draws SukUme, Mahito and stsg. It has a very ethereal sort of feeling to it that I really like and always incorporate amazing symbolism. He's also on AO3 and writes in English and Vietnamese.

@eggslamwich (twitter) Really enjoy their TenKen and MahiKen art or just art of Mahito and Kenjaku in general. It's quirky and fun and hits the dynamics of the characters so well. Always look forward to his posts.

@ginkutsudaisen (twitter) makes some great Tengen, Kenjaku and Sukuna art. I especially like their Tengen pieces and the way they incorporate her themes of isolation, enlightenment and the stars.

命さん makes great Mahito art, I love the mix of beauty and gore and surrealness they bring to it, and I'm especially happy to see that they got into ItaMahi recently. They sometimes post Kenjaku too, but always very Mahito focused.

もやし is like my go-to when it comes to TenKen art or anything focusing on Kenjaku and Tengen in general. Recently, they also posted fanart about Jin and Kaori that makes me a bit insane. The way they draw Jin's eyes is argh! Captures the vibe he gives me perfectly. They also have comic going with Kenjaku, Geto, Gojo and Takaba as children in a Reincarnated AU. Kenjaku and Geto are twins, Kenjaku mostly remembers their past life and suspects that Tengen messed with their soul to get them in this situation. They also just became friends with Takaba and dramatically gave him a speech to live to his own accord. It's really touching and even if you don't understand Japanese, I definitely recommend it for the art.

新井 their TakaKen comics are amazing. I love how Kenjaku and Takaba look in their art style and they capture their chaotic but intimate dynamic perfectly. Their comic about Takaba quite literally going through an insane fever dream to find Kenjaku before they could turn bad ripped out my soul.

dare? is another great Mahito fanartist. They also draw MahiKen, which is how I got interested in them. Their art can be either very gorey or sweet or a mix of both. Love it either way.

Last but not least, taigi (poipiku). They mostly draw TakaKen as well as those characters on their own. Their artstyle is really unique. Very colourful, vibrant, but also dark, disturbing and trippy. I love how surreal their pieces are. Also great source for other TakaKen art, they retweet a lot of it.

Writers

Fanfic writers is a bit difficult because I don't read that many jjk fanfics at the moment.

I like SenZen_Travelers KenMahi fics Complicity and Indulgence. One of the best KenMahi fics I've read. I like their characterisation of Mahito in particular. Haven't read anything else the author put out because it's ships or character dynamics that don't interest me, so I can't speak on that. Still highly recommend their Mahito fics.

I also like @urostakako fics, particularly the ones focusing on Tsumiki and Maki & Mai's relationship. If you're into Uro/Yuki I recommend them too. Or even if you're not, you can give it a try. I didn't really have the ship on my radar before, but I really like their dynamic here.

[houkagokappa]

More Yuri, More Manga

It's been a year since I embarked on my journey to read more yuri manga and it's time for a second update!

After all the yuri manga I read for my previous post, I set my eyes on josei and came to the conclusion that josei that either focuses on wlw or contains wlw relationships, is the best kind of manga there is. I read a lot of josei, and as for works that were also yuri, I read Love My Life, Indigo Blue and Free Soul by Yamaji Ebine, based on a recommendation from @theurbanfuturesoftherecentpast (thank you!!!). Yamaji Ebine has a neat minimalist style and she writes messy complex characters. All her manga had a realistic feel to them, which I enjoyed.

I explored other queer works and stumbled upon Yuri to Koe to Kaze Matoi by Renjouji Mei, which is a yuri manga focused on two asexual women and their relationship. Once again, I found the characters highly relatable and realistic. It's nice to see some asexual representation, but at the same time, I wouldn't have minded more development between them, although that might be on me and the expectations I have when I pick up a new yuri title, that unfortunately didn't fit this manga or topic. Both characters were ace, but the protagonist felt romantic attraction whereas her crush didn't. While they got a happy ending, I didn't feel fully satisfied, and would've liked if the manga had explored the partially unresolved feelings more, mostly due to personal reasons, even if the conclusion would've been the same (which it probably would've).

Back to some high school yuri, I finished Omoi no Kakera by Takemiya Jin, which I actually started reading early last year. It's another manga that's relatable to me, as it portrays characters with different sexualities, who befriend each other due to the shared experience of being young, closeted queer people. We got wlw/mlm solidarity, and characters who are more secure with their sexualities looking over those who are still trying to figure theirs out. The interactions and communities reminded me of the queer youth group I used to be part of :') In addition to that, I liked the portrayal of different kinds of attraction, and how the focus was on the life of a queer person, rather than a specific romance they experienced, since there's indeed more to being queer than some singular love story. Out of all the manga on this list, this is one of my top recommendations, and at some point I should check out Takemiya's other works. She's out as a lesbian, and you can tell she writes based on lived queer experiences.

One day when I didn't have anything else to read, I picked up Luminous=Blue by Iwami Kyoko (same author as Kyou wa Kanojo ga Inai kara). It had the same beautiful artstyle as Kyou wa Kanojo ga Inai kara, was slightly less toxic, but equally messy when it came to the relationships. Luminous=Blue is about a transfer student who loves photography. She starts taking photos of her two new classmates, who unbeknownst to her used to go out with each other, and still harbour some lingering feelings towards each other. I was a fan of the different relationship dynamics and happy with the direction the manga and the relationships took, although the last pages included a twist which felt a little out of place. It's a shame, because if it had been given more time, it could've been a very interesting and welcome development, and I'm curious if Kyou wa Kanojo ga Inai kara will go in a similar direction, since it has the prerequisites for it.

I also read Toumei na Usui Mizuiro ni by the same author, which had an interesting premise of a girl with a crush on her female childhood friend, who was dating their other, male childhood friend. Normally I like this kind of setting with love triangles that include both straight and queer relationships, but since this was only 3 chapters long, the characters and their dynamics weren't established enough for the story to feel as cohesive and satisfying as it could've. At least the art was gorgeous once again, and I enjoyed the messy relationships. The volume contained two one shots as well, which I think were kinda fun, but I cannot remember that well anymore.

Next up, I read Moonlight Flowers by Tsukumo Mutsumi, based on a personal recommendation from someone who has since escaped tumblr. It's one of the older yuri works there are, as it was written in 1989. It's only one volume long and contains two stories about women who are pressured to marry men, and end up in miserable marriages, until they decide to leave their husbands to be with the women they love. It has a strong feminist message and I've seen a lot of people praise it online, but I wasn't too fond of it. I couldn't quite connect with the characters, and because of that, I didn't particularly enjoy reading about women lacking rights, or homosexuality not being socially accepted. However, I can see how others might be able to feel inspired or empowered reading about characters who overcome the obstacles in their way. It was also quite dramatic, but I will always be in favour of that (even when it's ridiculous, like it was here).

I continued with Sakura no Sono by Yoshida Akimi, which was another recommendation from the same person. It's another old manga, first published in 1985, about the romances of four girls in a drama club of an all girls high school. I found Yoshida's style charming, but it's not among my personal favourites. Some characters looked quite similar and were hard to distinguish. It was disappointing to realise that only one chapter focused on a girl crushing on another girl, while the other romances and the majority of the manga were about straight characters/relationships. If I would've known that from the start, I could've adjusted my expectations accordingly, which is a shame, because now I'm mostly disappointed by the lack of yuri, and it's harder for me to appreciate the work as a whole. It was decent, but quite forgettable.

Then I completed Watashi no Muchi na Watashi no Michi by Momono Moto (same author as Yuunagi Marbled and Kimi Koi Limit from my previous post). I first started reading it 5 years ago, but didn't finish it due to the scanlation taking its sweet time. Now I read it from start to finish. It's about a woman in her early 20's, who's spent all her life pleasing others, and is on the path to marry a male childhood friend of hers, simply out of duty to him and her mom, before her female coworker steps in and swoops her away. The manga takes a weird turn after that, as it turns out the coworker might've had some ulterior motives getting close to our protagonist, but it's interesting, until a somewhat abrupt ending. It was nice to read about a young adult who never cared for romance until she fell in love with her coworker, and for once I didn't even mind the plot point where she was about to marry a man, since it made sense for them and he wasn't overly vilified for how he reacted to her rejection or the reveal of her relationship with another woman (not that it was great either). The art was nice and I liked all the characters. It wasn't anything groundbreaking, but it was a fun read.

Another recommendation from @theurbanfuturesoftherecentpast was Maka-Maka by Kishi Torajiro, an adult manga about the close relationship between two best friends, Jun and Nene. The manga is two volumes long with short chapters in full colour, which required some adjustment from me as I'm usually only reading manga in black and white. It didn't feel like any other yuri I've read, in a good way! My absolute favourite part was how comfortable Jun and Nene were with each other, with a strong mental connection, and frequent, casual sexual encounters. Their relationship felt real and I loved how they kept smiling throughout the sex scenes, which made for an interesting combination of wholesome and horny. I highly recommend this manga, as I'm still thinking about it months later...

Next up, I read Watashi no Sekai wo Kousei suru Chiri no You na Nani ka. by Amano Shuninta. It's about seven university students and their ever changing relationships. Once again, the protagonist was a whole mood as she complained about all her friends having boyfriends which she hated, having a very relatable crush on one of said friends, before getting to live the fantasy of ending up with her. I looooved the inclusion of a toxic lesbian (and her toxic lesbian clique) who would sleep around and toy with others, letting lesbians be flawed people too, but also having wholesome and genuinely good people in the cast, as a counterbalance and showcase of the whole spectrum of different people with different views on love and sex (especially fitting for the university age/setting). There were happy times, but also angst and heartbreak, and bittersweet love, between women who truly cared for each other, but weren't suitable for each other as they had different needs when it came to their relationship and sex life. At first it was a little challenging to keep track of seven different characters, but by the end of it I really enjoyed the various relationship dynamics and the somewhat unlikely friendships that formed between them.

I also read Sweet Guilty Love Bites by Amano Shuninta, which consisted of three short stories about four cabaret girls. The first story was about one of the cabaret girls taking in a random woman she came across, which I didn't care for that much. The second story was about a single mother who unknown to her, hooked up with her child's kindergarten teacher. First she freaked out, thinking she'd be judged for her profession, but the kindergarten teacher was chill and only looking to date her. It was very sweet to see them take care of the child together. I also loved the third story about two cabaret girls who were best friends and roommates, with one of them being very vocal about her love towards women and other cabaret girls, which is a trait I always appreciate. Seeing her pining for her friend/roommate/coworker was great, and precisely the kind of stuff I love! Amano has a lot more in her library and after enjoying these two manga, I think the rest are worth checking out as well. I especially like how her characters are allowed to be horny, but there’s more to her manga than just sex.

Then I picked up Kimi to Shiranai Natsu ni Naru by Keyyan, thanks to the premise which sounded relatable. It’s about two women who are at the end of their university studies and looking for work in Tokyo, facing rejection after rejection. They’ve had enough of it and decide to run away from all the expectations and responsibilities to a small island. First of all, what a mood. Second, I really liked the art, especially the character expressions, and how well their excitement was conveyed. The island setting was also A+, and I loved the portrayal of young adults who were in an established relationship, with no uncertainty or drama about the same-sex relationship itself. They were devoted to each other, and the reason both of them wanted to work hard, so they could provide for one another. Besides that, my feelings towards this manga went back and forth quite a lot. First I enjoyed the escapism, but then I had to take a break because it became too idealised with conveniences you can't count on in real life. Once I picked it back up again, I realised that the story actually does stick to reality, when the characters start to worry about money and finding permanent work on the island. While I was happy with that development, it backfired as I was reading this while I was away from home myself, and anxious about my own future in regards to my education and employment, so reading about their struggles felt a bit too real and stressful. Unfortunately, it seems like the series got axed, because the ending was sudden and can be interpreted in two opposing ways, one depressing, one hopeful, and neither fits the story I can only assume the series wanted to tell. It's still a manga worth reading, but maybe in the right mindset.

Although I try to stay away from ongoing works, Dore ga Koi ka ga Wakaranai by Oku Tamamushi seemed fun, so I couldn't help but check it out. It’s about a girl who is unable to confess to her high school crush of 3 years, and starts university determined to find a girlfriend. And oh boy does she find potential girlfriends! She instantly meets and falls for five different women, who also become enamoured with her. What follows is a bunch of flirting, some deliberate, some accidental. The catch is, she doesn't know which one to pursue seriously. The tone is lighthearted and comedic, and the series is best described by the tagline to one of the chapters as "an endless conveyor belt of yuri encounters". I like all the girls, the girls and their embarrassed or flustered expressions are very cute, and instead of the setting falling apart with five people never confessing or trying to seriously pursue the main girl, some do, while others have believable reasons to hold back. The pace is quick enough for any interruptions or miscommunications to not feel aggravating, with several encounters each chapter. I'm curious to see how the manga will continue and potentially end, with some ships seeming more likely than others, since there has been some actual development! I'll also throw it out there, that this manga is a good example of why dark haired girl/light haired girl is an established pairing, since the main pursuer at the moment has light hair and bangs like the protagonist, and it can be a little difficult to tell them apart from some panels or angles.

Another ongoing work I began reading because it ticked the right boxes for me was Sukeban to Tenkousei by Fujichika. As the name suggests, it’s about the somewhat unlikely relationship between a delinquent girl and a sweet transfer student. The manga is set in the Showa era in the 80s and has very charming art. I thought it would be pretty lighthearted and fun, opposites attract type of story, but then one of the characters saw how romantic love was defined as feelings towards the opposite sex, heartbroken by the fact there wasn't a name for her feelings, and I was in tears thinking of anyone who's ever felt that pain. Otherwise, it's mostly a comedy and a fun, easy read, with not that many chapters out yet.

Finally, reaching the anniversary of my year long yuri journey, I finished reading the manga adaptation of Murasakiiro no Qualia, by Ueo Hisamitsu and Tsunashima Shirou. It's a sci-fi series with psychological and mystery elements, about Yukari, a girl with purple eyes who sees humans as robots, and Gaku, the protagonist who befriends her. There are a lot of twists and turns to the story, and it gets gory and dark, as Yukari uses her abilities to help the police solve murder cases and later gets involved with a secret organisation. It's also very philosophical and a bit difficult/slow to read at times, when characters get surprisingly deep into quantum mechanics. I liked the narration a lot, because there's a lot of repetition and Gaku, who's telling the story, jumps back and forth on the timeline, giving the reader more context and insights each time. I was also a huge fan of the character development she went through, starting to exhibit truly unhinged behavior to a level that's hard to find elsewhere, but also oddly reminiscent of Madoka Magica? The ending was satisfying, and it was cool to see it circle back to the beginning. I didn't know anything about this manga beforehand and after a curious start, it kept getting better and better. I originally found out about it in the tags of a tumblr post complaining about variety in yuri, so this is me giving back to the community and passing on the recommendation.

...That was a lot more yuri to add to the library, and there are still so many different works I look forward to reading! I don't know if I'll continue documenting my journey, as I'm probably going to slow down on the yuri a bit, but who knows if the bug bites me again and I won't read anything else for months on end! Again, thank you for reading through all this, I hope you're inspired to read some yuri yourself, and if you have any recommendations I'm always happy to hear them!

[cbedfordart]

Hey! Question from one wannabe game design graduate who is also an artist and wants to make their own (very simple) little game one day - how is it like working on a game set to release one day? Did u feel discouraged learning a new skill (?) after already being a pro artist? Was the game a random idea or have you guys been planning this since a long time? Btw super excited for Sorry We're Closed and I'm obsessed with the retro look and artstyle <33

Firstly THAnk you so much for being into Sorry We're Closed - it's my lil bby pride and joy so I'm glad someone out there in the wider world is looking forward to it! I'll try and answer your questions in order and not ramble too much! I'm a little older now, and gotten to that point where deadlines aren't so scary anymore. There's a point in which you learn to live with what you can make, rather than trying to make something that's not what's within your ability (which is why we always want more time to get better while we work). But after a while you just realise its better for the idea to be out there in the world where other people can see what you were trying to do! Admittedly i will do a lot of hours sometimes if i REALLY want something to be a certain level or if I'm particularly stuck on something , but a deadline keeps me realistic. It allows for the thing to be good and exist, rather than perfect and existing only in my mind. Learning a new skill was actually extremely exciting. I wanted to absorb everything like a sponge. I hadn't done any 3d modelling before 2020 seriously (i tried zbrush once in like 2015 and i kept crashing my computer lol). I just wanted to keep going because it was so fun seeing my creations come to life! I always dreamed of designing game characters and it was literally happening before my eyes. Also, the indiedev community is extremely kind, helpful and resourceful. There's lots of free knowledge out there, and people who are willing to talk to you and help you figure things out! Being trained as an artist honestly only helped the modelling endeavour. Having an understanding of anatomy helped my understand how I wanted to approach the form of my models - what needed to be shaped and what I could get away with painting on.

So my knight is about 934 verts/1,861 tris (sort of like a ps2 character) but painting can give some fun depth. I've found this method to be really tricky though as it's highly prone to unflattering angles - but thats partly cause I'm still learning and relying too much on my skills as a 2d artist I guess. This model I made a bit later on, the Sorry We're Closed models I made were far earlier before i really knew what i was doing so they rely even more on my painting skills

but I felt it was okay since we were going for a nostalgic game feel which means some funny deformities like this

but it's whatever, i think it's kind of cute lol. We started planning the game in 2020 as well, literally after I saw my partner Tom make a character model move around in Unity (it looked pretty terrible) so i said I'll make models and he would code. Then I came up with a story, and from there we came up with how the game itself would play. Game design itself is something we were both lacking and real experience in so that has been the biggest wall to climb so far but its been a really fun and rewarding journey so far. Anyway sorry for the ramble!! I really hope you get a shot at working on a project you really love and want to pour everything into!

[lemonisntreal]

heyo! Just found your blog and I was scrolling through your stuff and noticed your AU tone deaf. And I haven't found anything about what it is or what your idea is behind it. So I wanted to ask if you could give me an introduction to your AU!

Oh! And I absolutely love your artstyle and how you draw Buster! Anyway, hope you drink enough water and have a good day/night! ;)

Dear god this has been in my drafts for a while-

Hiya! Sorry for that lack of info lol, I'd been inactive for a long time, and the time that I actually WAS posting consistently was back when things were still being sorta fleshed out. But I've got a pretty good idea of how every single part moves at this point, so sure :D I'll give a not-so-brief summary lol [under a cut because I couldn't not dump multiple paragraphs teehee ~_~]

--------------

Tone Deaf is like a dystopian version of Sing, if I were to put it super duper simply. One where Buster's issues get more emotional focus, and we get actual bonds with the cast because the movie forgot to do that.

Buster is, also, a lot more unhinged, fair warning. This fic's gonna contain violence and tackle some darker subjects [adjacent to grief and denial more specifically] so if it feels like I jumped a lot of sharks, it's because I 100% did.

It kinda started with me noticing how, in the actual movies btw, smaller characters like Buster and Mike had more difficulty getting around places. This led me to ask myself about how species differences could lead to struggles for certain animals since the city just isn't built for everyone [this is NOT Zootopia]. Ash's quills, and Meena's towering size were things I noticed too that would be massive problems, realistically. So after a lot of pondering, now we're here.

The world of Tone Deaf in present day is in a post-war period that's lasted about 50 years now [Crawly is actually a veteran from this war- which was more like complete and total anarchy if I'm being real, since there weren't really any sides until near the end...]

Long story short, the wealthy capitalized off of the war and taking people prisoner- so they purposefully kept it going. A resistance ended up forming to stand against this [Miss Crawly being one of the generals, with that classic missing eye] and after their army stormed the unsuspecting stronghold, the war finally began to conclude. It still took around a year after that to release all of the prisoners of war, and by the end of it all, the damage that had been done to some races was permanent. Even extinction-level in some cases- some animals just straight up don't exist anymore because of it.

Back to Calatonia. Laws that are in place to protect animals from tearing eachother apart are still relatively new, and the criminal underbelly of Calatonia is kinda out of control. Animals get kidnapped/poached, smaller animals are at a huge disadvantage and have basically no power [politically or otherwise], endangered species are a very real thing, poverty is a huge issue for most of the population- and in the middle of all this is Buster Moon.

He's gonna be the main perspective. And the story will also serve as a slight character study on him, mixed with my own grittier and batshit insane changes/headcanons/alternate universe ideas on his backstory. He's a ray of sunshine with a lot of bottled-up feelings that will kinda really take control of the story.

Buster has been arrested multiple times. He's been put in unsuccessful therapy. He's still grieving his dad. He's committing crime and compulsively lying about those illegal actions too. He has emotional difficulties that he hasn't dared try touching on in years, and he has issues with letting go- which, is kinda how all of his new problems come to be.

The threat of his theater being repossessed if his show isn't a success gets a LOT more emphasis too.

But on top of that is the added threat of Buster getting sent out of the city if he can't get his business up and running. Remember how I mentioned endangered animals?? Well Koalas are one of them. One of the big ones, actually. He's the only Koala in a city of almost five hundred thousand, and it's been that way for almost half a decade now. It's been causing issues for the people in charge for half a decade now. Koalas have government-protected settlements far away from here due to their numbers being so few, so if Buster loses the theater? That's the next step for him.

But, to help this poor dude through all the stress of life is the found-family he develops with the cast he hired. He helps them for a lot of the first act, and then they give back his kindness in the second. They connect through their similar experiences, as well as their shared passion for music and performance. And by the end, maybe Buster's okay. Or maybe he's had a complete downward spiral [not gonna speak of act three 🥰]

Other characters have also had a shift in their dynamics. Things in the story have changed. Like for instance- Gunter already knew Buster and was a close friend of him and Eddie before the show, Judith is now the mayor and a main character, Pete has been put in place of the banker in charge of Buster's accounts, Buster unfortunately gets involved in politics, Mike actually gets to bond with the cast- actually the cast gets to bond with the cast point blank period [idc what you say, this just straight up doesn't happen in the canon movies], and to top it all of is a generous helping of angst with a few acts of violence sprinkled in 🤭

The actual Act I summary is this right now:

Buster had been in tight situations before-- suffocating situations, even. He’d been in every kind of trouble imaginable, he thought. With family, friends, local businesses, the law. But he'd always wormed his way out, either through loopholes or by charm. Or usually just by stacking another lie on top of his already crumbling facade. But this time it's gonna take more than a cover-up to fix this. ‏‏‎ Buster’s dishonesty takes him too far once again, a simple typo causing him to unintentionally land himself in a wager that could cost his very life. He has two months to fix this- to ACTUALLY fix this. And the worst part is that he hadn't even meant to lie this time. ‏‏‎ The First Act of Tone Deaf.

TLDR; Buster learns to love again after experiencing the horrors of animalkind firsthand and being healed by theater kids LMFAO

[zeeckz]

any tips on how to learn to draw heads and facial expressions? i see some of your old drawings have some flaws (such as small upper or back part of head) but newer ones look perfect to me. did you do any specific exercises to learn or follow any guides? i am really bad at this so no answer is obvious and any advice is appreciated

Hi anon! I suppose my "old drawings" are the ones I have here on tumblr? Those are from 2016-18 more or less, the digital ones I did very uncomfortably with my finger on a small iPad, so they're like. Worse than my average. But either way I'm not sure I understood what you meant - I think I've always done the same kind of head shape (small upper/back head), so I wouldn't know what to tell you about it;;

I also grew up kind of obsessed with Ancient Greek sculptures (and Greek-adjacent, aka Roman copies, Renaissance, Neoclassicism, etc), so my proportions are directly based on their canon. I think it might help you feel more comfortable with drawing faces/heads, but keep in mind it is just for that - getting used to it. You don't have to use these proportions forever, and real life people more often than not do not follow them. This is pretty eurocentric AND mathematically idealized, so it really won't apply to everyone, but you can still throw (guide)lines and adapt them to your needs

This is more or less the way I draw faces and where I position things (like the eye, the ear, the end of the hairline or the front part of the neck). Again, you don't need to follow these. You can try to learn them, if you want, but it works the same way if you do so from real people. You can ignore things you don't feel as interested by, or draw them in a way that you like more (for instance I don't really draw the double chin a real person would have, I just do the bone jawline and the neck directly attached to it, if that makes sense). You could even pick your favorite person (or character) ever and draw their face/proportions until you're comfortable enough to try different things!

I've been talking about profiles because I think I don't have that much "structure" with front faces? As in, at most I think I'm only taking into consideration where to put the eyes in relation to the nose or viceversa, but you can try to do turnarounds like this and see what works best for you or just to test yourself

(Lined notebooks are pretty useful for this...) Either way if you want me to be more specific about front faces, lmk and I'll try

Anyways, I think these should work out regardless of what your artstyle might be. By this I mean you could use, idk, Shin-Chan or Rick & Morty (or whatever else) to get the author's way of doing proportions. It's easier with 2D animation shows because they already need to do character sheets with them for the animators to draw characters consistently, but any other media should work just fine

If despite going through all of it you still feel you lack structure, then I'd suggest to learn some basic anatomy. You're lucky enough to currently be in an era with thousands of tutorials with thousands of artists, old and new, and styles that you can find for free. Honestly I don't personally own that sort of books, or if I do they're rather advanced compared to what your question is, so I could only suggest you some youtubers if you really wanted me to, but then you might already know them

As per how to draw expressions, I think my previous examples already show I've never been one to differ a lot from the lack of it, but I think this one depends more on the artstyle you want to achieve - I'd say it's way easier to clearly show an emotion with less realistic styles, as it allows you to exaggerate things more. Thus, I'm not sure what to tell you about this either. Keep things simple for now, try to recognize the way faces distort when they're smiling and compare them to when they're pissed off (or any other emotion you're interested in), look for the most basic guidelines/shapes from that, try to apply them to your drawings

I do struggle with certain things when conveying expressions or doing certain body parts, so I try to have a reference (or several) for them. This is normal. I'm not Kim Jung Gi, after all. So don't feel disappointed if you find yourself needing 10 different pictures or drawings of the same thing by different people. It's okay. Expressions are difficult. Bodies move in weird ways. Don't be hard on yourself, and have as much fun as possible

[thekadster]

puppet boy (a natewantstobattle drabble)

Fandom: NateWantsToBattle

Word Count: 757

Content Warnings: None!

Author's Notes: My first time posting in over a year!! Forgive me if I'm rusty, I'm still trying to slowly get back into the swing of things, but I'm glad I'm making progress anyhow KJHKDJFG

Possible origin story for Natemare!! I wrote this based on some art I did in 2021 for Goretober (no blood involved in the actual picture, though there are a lot of sewing pins). The prompt was "Pins" so I drew Natemare as a puppet on strings, very Coraline/Identity V esque artstyle, a bit FNAF inspired too.

Summary:

"He didn’t scream. He didn’t even know if he could.

His mind raced with countless possibilities and questions. Who had turned him into this? Why was he now a doll? Why were there indigo tear streaks painted from his eyes? Could he ever turn back? Someone knew how to do that… right?

Right?"

also read it on ao3!

Consciousness came slowly.

Even under the thick fog of sleep, the first thing apparent to Nate was the hard surface under his back. Had he fallen out of bed? Rare, but not unheard of. Perhaps he’d been fighting some over-worthy adversaries in his dream.

His brows furrowed. He arched his back to stretch his bones with a groan. His hands reached up to rub his eyes, but immediately stopped.

All at once, the world screeched to a halt.

Nate stared down at his hands. The smooth, soft, overfamiliar, and under-remarkable texture of his skin had been replaced by sewn-together bits and pieces of cloth. Hurried hands searched his face, but only found the same. His blood ran cold, though he was beginning to doubt if he still even had that, too.

As he scrambled to stand, he was thankful his joints still functioned like how they should. However, who—or what—he found in the mirror quickly quelled his spirits.

Literal brown button eyes stared back at him in the dim dusty light. His once silky black hair was replaced with threads of yarn of the same color. The patchwork of his hands extended all the way up until his chin, where two neat and clean halves of beige cloth had been stitched together down the middle of his face. His mouth had been fixed into a wide white grin, rendering his lips frozen.

He didn’t scream. He didn’t even know if he could.

His mind raced with countless possibilities and questions. Who had turned him into this? Why was he now a doll? Why were there indigo tear streaks painted from his eyes? Could he ever turn back? Someone knew how to do that… right?

Right?

Nate subconsciously lifted his hands to his face once more, the slightly rough make of the fabric under his fingers. All the while, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from his new form, its wide unblinking eyes and permanent smile nailing him to the floor. He sighed; at least his eyebrows were expressive.

Trembling slightly, he rose to his feet. He spotted a door on the far side of the room but was suddenly yanked back when he went to make a break for it. At first, he didn’t know what had pulled him, but then saw a wooden cross caught between some crates. The cross pushed against the crates with his every tug.

Fingertips met delicate fiber. His heart stopped.

The cross pulling him back was around half his size. Dust flew into the air every time he tried to yank himself free. Whoever had rigged him up to this thing probably hadn’t been back here in a long time. He didn’t know whether that was good or bad.

Plush limbs strained against invisible strings. The wooden crates screeched against the old floor, screaming at him to stop. It pierced his ears terribly, but he trudged forward, even as the knots around his wrists and ankles dug into his flesh. Whether or not that distinction was correct didn’t matter to him right now.

The threads snapped all at once, sending him falling with a grunt. It was only then he realized he could still speak.

From where he lay on the ground, his eyes caught golden daylight filtering through the narrow murky window. The sweet embrace of sleep sang to him from behind his eyelids. Maybe he could close his eyes, drift off into oblivion, and wake up to soft sheets and the four walls of his bedroom. He didn’t protest the thought of simply staying there for a while, if only for a moment, he could detach himself from reality. If he could turn off his brain and allow the world to spin on without him.

But whoever had turned him into this probably wanted exactly that.

He began by stretching his legs; he was thankful it was a somewhat familiar experience. His back and his arms followed. A small flame swelled inside of him—something akin to taking a deep breath—as he propped his palms on the floor. With a push, he was off the ground, albeit swaying slightly at first.

With one last glance around the old storage room, that flame only flickered brighter. One thing was for certain: he had to return to the man he was before. And if that meant hunting down whoever (or whatever) had cursed him so, no matter how deranged or sadistic their desires, he would face any and all odds.

Nate was going to get his life back.

[digo3d]

Here's another ask: 1 thing you like + 1 thing you dislike about each TC movie

Almost guaranteed these are gunna end up being more than one thing because I don't know how to shut up but let's see

Beverly Hills Cats:

I like that it's silly and also because it gives Brain more of a spotlight, also it confirmed a few of my lesser headcanons (Spook can play the drums and Brain likes rats) also The Rap for their costumes (specifically Spook's and Brain's they slay) also Spook's voice is very gruff in BHC and so now I have a REAL reason to make his voice a little gravelly/give him a little growl when he talks whenever I read a dialogue from him other than just because I want to

However the PACING OH MY GOD THE PACING 😭 some of the movie just drags and the dialogue feels clunky sometimes, also the visuals look dirty if that makes sense? Everything's a strange color y'know? Also The Rap because it's so poorly composed and it makes me die a little. Also Amy Vandergelt fuck Amy Vandergelt all my homies hate Amy Vandergelt. Also Dibble didn't really feel like Dibble y'know like he was oddly mean and (extra) dense like 😭

Top Cat: The Movie:

I am inherently biased because this is a movie from my childhood I was FUCKING OBSESSED with it and would watch it every day once I got home from school in 4th grade and I still remember a dream I had about it years ago and I'm pretty sure I put Spook into a story I had to write for class 😭 it's how I got into Top Cat in the first place so I hold The Movie very near and dear to my heart anyways I really love that it legitimately feels like Anima Estudios put a lot of love into it and like they made a genuine effort to make it feel like OG even if they fell short. Also THE ARTSTYLE I WOULD FUCKING KILL TO GET A REBOOT IN THE STYLE OF THE MOVIE ARARAR GEOMETRIC ARTSTYLES EATS A BRICK anyways also Trixie, they could never make me hate you Trixie (I need to draw her more) also the robots are funny as fuck for no reason

While I still think people greatly exaggerated how bad the movie was, I can kinda understand where they're coming from because the plot holes are ABYSMAL OMG 💀 also fucking Rob Schneider is Strickland in the British dub which is immediately awful, also not as awful but Dibble doesn't feel nearly as like strict or intimidating as he did before and I think that's mostly because of the voice they gave him, it's very squeaky. Also I feel like Strickland could work as a good antagonist but I feel like they leaned into the 'oh I'm so handsome I'm the prettiest in the world' thing too hard and it just made him feel really annoying and not like an actual threat at all, also naturally the flanderization of Brain (Anima Estudios must've had beef with him or something cos they did him even more dirty in Begins)

Top Cat Begins:

To be completely Frank, to be completely David even, there's really not that much I like about Begins other than Hellcat Spook (naturally). I mean I like Furletta Duchat because she's purdy and Dib's grandmother (Grambo) because she's fucking insane. Chooch's little waddle of a walk. OH I actually REALLY like Mr. Big as a villain. He's an actual threat to T.C. and the gang and his design, voice, and behavior is actually intimidating and probably the best crafted out of any of the new characters in Begins (also his model isn't fugly like most of the rest of them). If a new movie or series ever gets made I hope he makes a return even just as like a minor villain. Also Diedrich Bader voices Bad Dog and that's an inside joke between me and my sister lmao (also I do really like Bad Dog he's an excellent goon)

First things first for things I don't like about Begins, THE MODELS. WHY ARE THEY SO UGLY. WHO'S IDEA WAS THIS. I mean like they could be worse BUT THEY COULD CERTAINLY BE BETTER 😭 I mean I do appreciate them for giving us canon eye colors for the fellas but good fucking lord

Help him 😭

Tbh I'm trying to think of who the worst offender is and tbh it's almost all of them but I will say that Benny and Spook look the best, Fancy isn't ugly but he doesn't really look like Fancy, (same with Dibble) and ig T.C. isn't bad but he's not good. Brain and Chooch though what did they do to my lads. Chooch has gingivitis and lacks fangs (actually all of them lack fangs except for T.C. and Benny which I think is especially offensive) and Brain's model is built in such a way where any mouth movement he makes looks FUCKED UP. Also his eyes are really small and so are his ears and his proportions are generally fucked.

Fun fact I found some like beta promo art for Begins a while ago and Fancy's model is completely different and dare I say he looks better than his official model

Anyways models aside I think this is kind of a dogshit origin story for the gang. Making T.C. and Benny meet Fancy, Chooch, and Brain all at the same time only to not see them for the next 45 minutes was real fuckin lame-o and lazy and they also retconned that whole thing where T.C. and Benny were in Boy Scouts together which I really didn't appreciate. Also could've stood to have moar Spook in the movie instead of him being a deus ex machina and having LESS THAN TEN MINUTES OF SCREENTIME, like shit dawg. Also I always thought it was lame that he was just the pizza guy and not ACTUALLY involved with Mr. Big y'know? Also he's got a bit of a plot hole where he's like 'why should I stick my neck out for you' and then legit like 2 minutes later he's like 'i've been following you around so we can join forces' like ok bro if that was the case you would've just pulled them up and not've done that whole thing where you made it seem like you would've left them there but alright dawg. In my opinion I would've had it where Mr. Big sends out Spook to find them and follow them around after they lose their tracks of them and then when they escape Spook's grasp THEN Mr. Big fucks up Eleanore. Anyways what else. Uhh. Oh I can't tell if they just forgot what Dibble acted like or they tried making him younger in Begins but like. That's not Dibble. Who is that. Also again, Brain flanderization to the extreme and some mischaracterization of Fancy. Anyways I think that's it actually

This turned into a full rant I'm sorry 😭 but yeah I think a remake/revamp of Begins is in order because it's so bad and then BHC isn't bad, just mid at times, and then I've always found The Movie to be charmingly bad despite it's plot holes

[ikroah]

Pistol packin' mama, lay that thing down before it goes off and hurts somebody! —“Pistol Packin’ Mama,” Bing Crosby (1943)

It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin’ #24 - Ring-a-Ding-Ding III

Collaborative Issue! Guest Artist: @yesjejunus

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Read IKROAH on Archive of Our Own

Notes / Original Pencils / Transcript:

Notes:

Oh noooooooooooo :(

These pages might get shrunken a little by Tumblr for some reason so either right-click to view at full-size or just read it on AO3 at the link above. And give a round of applause to my wonderful and wonderfully talented friend @yesjejunus who returns to guest art duty with this new issue, which is just another car crashing into the pile-up that is happening to Agnes in the closing half of Volume 2. Issue #25 will be all of my own art again, and I've been working for a long time on reinventing the look, feel, and production of IKROAH's artstyle so I hope you'll all be as excited as I am. Some really big things are about to happen.

Original Pencils

Here's another reason why mr. jejunus deserves a round of applause: patience. I talk often about how IKROAH is a very long-term project but this issue marks the longest collaboration in the history of the comic: the original pencils for this issue were drawn in August 2021. This was also when yesjejunus and I first discussed him doing guest art for this issue, and it would have been a lot sooner, of course, but you know, things (like months of burnout) can just happen. By the time this issue was finally next in the queue, I had committed to increasing the resolution of IKROAH's pages just to ease my own production, but these pencils were still formatted for the old size. I had to reformat these pencils for the new size and aspect ratio.

The tumblr editor keeps crashing every time I try to include them, so here's links instead: [1] [2] [3].

The thing about working with yesjejunus on comic issues like this is that at this point we're so deep in each other's heads that I barely even need to give him feedback. He understands the assignment completely because we're both sickos pressed against each other's brain-windows going "Yes…ha ha ha…yes!" and drooling. It's the kind of friendship as well as creative partnership that you really just treasure.

Transcript

INT. BENNY'S BEDROOM, THE TOPS CASINO, NEW VEGAS.

AGNES SANDS stares down, exhausted, at BENNY, the leader of the Chairmen and the man who shot her in the head.

BENNY does not stare back. He is dead. His eyes have rolled up lifelessly and blood is oozing from the gruesome wound in his skull.

AGNES looks away.

Suddenly—

SFX: KNOCK KNOCK

VOICE FROM OUTSIDE (off): Hey, Ben-man! Everything alright in there?

AGNES jerks up in surprise. She searches her surroundings frantically, looking for a way out. The gun that she shot BENNY with—the gun that BENNY shot her with—is still in her hand. She sees a side door, barely ajar, leading out of BENNY'S BEDROOM with a dim light coming from behind it.

AGNES sprints forward, her arm outstretched to shove open the door, and barges in. Then she freezes in her tracks. In front of her is a large and ambulatory machine, with claw-like arms and a computer monitor in its center. The monitor displays an unchanging vector of a happily smiling face. It speaks.

THE MACHINE: Hello! I'm Yes Ma—

AGNES raises the gun with both hands and fires repeatedly, her eyes wide and mouth agape in terror. She empties it of every single other bullet that was left in it.

THE MACHINE (shorting out): I-I'm sorry…!!

THE MACHINE crumples from the repeated shots, which shatter its monitor-face like a glass window and send it falling backwards. Its robotic corpse snaps and cracks with electricity and malfunctioning hardware as AGNES remains stunned in the doorway.

SFX: KNOCK KNOCK

AGNES looks up as BENNY'S men pound harder on the door to the suite.

VOICE FROM OUTSIDE (off): Benny! We heard shots! We're coming in!

AGNES drops the gun and flees through the hallway's secret private elevator.

VOICE FROM OUTSIDE (off): Oh, shit, somebody iced 'im! Get security!

[just-a-carrot]

Helloooo!!! I was looking for inspo for my own visual novel a little while back, it's set in a ballroom so eventually the keywords lead me to discovering save the last dance (and itch.io in general im a total noob to this lmao) i dont know what it was but it just like took a vice grip around me INSTANTLYY.

So I downloaded the main game today and I am actually silently cursing you because I got nothing done all day I was just like transfixed. The artstyle grew on me alot, and oh godd the character designs... God I love the designs, espcially Genzhou's. There's just so much love (even in every gruesome death scene lol) put into this it's almost difficult not to get obssesed...

Also sidenote I found it kind of encouraging almost to see that you're (self-proclaimed) older, I found that really inspirational lol. There's something that just makes me want to create and actually sit down and learn when I play your games. I guess I've always had this feeling of having all the time in the world but recently I've been feeling almost like it's too late to learn new skills (which is kind if ridicolius since I'm like smack dab in the middle of gen z). Regardless I guess your work made me realize the artistry in visual novels, I could keep going but I tend to ramble lol

ahhhhhhhh this is so sweet!! i got very weepy reading this, especially as i'm already feeling quite soft today as it was a bit of an anxious one... 😭💕

that's fascinating that you found StLD first searching for ballroom stuff!! i am always curious how people first find out about any of my games. i'm happy you enjoyed it, especially enough to go play the main game sob. i'm incredibly touched

and i'm even more touched that you've been enjoying the main game so much 😭💕💕💕 especially all the kind words about the art!! i've grown more confident in my art more recently but especially in the beginning stages of the game i was incredibly self-conscious and worried about it because it was rather odd-looking and didn't match any other typical VN styles. so that's really sweet of you to say. this game certainly has had a lot of love put into it (and blood, sweat, tears, my entire life... etc.). it is very much a big passion project and my eyes were perhaps too big when i got started, but because it dug itself so deep into my psyche and i also made some good decisions like releasing in parts, etc., i've been able to keep working on it until the end despite it taking me like 2.5+ years so far. i'm not even sure i can put into words what this game and chars have done for me and my life and the many journeys and discoveries i've made along the way

dkjfalsdkf yes... i am a millenial, i will say that much. though i don't often feel like one. except for the fact that i often have no idea what people are talking about or referencing and tend to be awkward and confused most of the time LOL this is also why my characters are all older, as well. i sometimes feel a bit strange since i feel much older than many of the others in the VN dev sphere (well, perhaps in age only, not really in mental maturity maybe LKDJAFLKDS). if this can give inspiration to others that are also a bit older though, then i am glad 🤣 i have spent much of my life going from thing to thing and never really knowing exactly what i want to do. case in point my current job has nothing to do with my master's degree. though the one constant has always been creation of some kind, whether it's drawing or writing (and now with games, doing both of those on top of scripting and coding and a bajillion other things lol). i don't think you should ever feel "too old" to do something. or to get started doing something. or to feel like you "haven't done enough" etc. i say this so strongly because i also try to reassure myself sometimes perhaps LOL it's also ok if you don't know what you want to do so you're just trying out different ideas that you're passionate about. so many of us just wanna find something that makes us feel fulfilled and passionate, that makes our hearts ache, that fills us with joy and motivation. so if you can find something that does that for you, no matter how old you are, grab it and don't ever let go lkdajfalskd

at any rate, i'm glad i could also help you discover more about VNs in general. i hope it will be helpful as you work on your own games!!! 💕

[jazzyblusnowflake]

Out of curiosity may I ask for your thoughts on hazbin hotel? I’m not the biggest fan of it. I do like nifty and sir pentious though.

Also I enjoy your murder drones art. I love the way you draw uzi :)

Ehhh, the relationship with me and how i feel about about HH is a long one, considering ive been following viv since her deviantart days lol. well i wasn't ever that much of a fan, mostly cuz ive never been too into that stretchy cartoonish artstyle she used to use for her comic "Zoophobia" buuuuut i had to hand it to her- she def managed to accomplish something a lot of us wish we could do with our world buildings huh? so ill give her that much lmao. but I'm gonna say that i haven't watched the show YET.

tho as far as controversies surrounding her uh... religion imagery goes- even as someone whos been brought up as a religious muslim- i don't really care tbh. you need to have a certain level of capacity for satire like this and if you don't, its really not for you //shrug. mostly to say you need to really know your own rights and wrongs to not be affected by a cartoon made by people who have their own beliefs yknow?

but as far as the story has gone so far in Helluva boss im not really.... ANYWAY- its fiction, and i don't have to like EVERY aspect of it, i don't think the writing is GREAT i don't think its AWFUL- currently I'm in a very big MEH area towards it lmao-

but i can say for certain that i absolutely LOVE the songs and adore them- especially thankful of having found one of my favorite artists eVER through HH- "SILVA HOUND"- there is almost no work that he has put up that i don't go crazy over- when the beat drops i feel my soul ascend yall don't understand 😭 <33333333

and well finally the art i guess? i like it, not bad, kinda tired seeing so many people trying to imitate it to a tee- i agree that imitation is the highest form of flattery lmao but it gets old when everyone's trying to be similar yknow? but character-design-wise, again, i feel like the character designs are amazing? but.... misplaced i guess.... we all know that these characters are vivzies old ocs, but lore wise- none of the characters look like what they are supposed to be... like we all know the issue with Beelzebub, sigh, that was weird for my eyes to behold as someone who remembers queen bee from zoophobia- and im not even sure if Vaggie is a moth anymore considering her uh... new backstory??? was she even a human at some point anymore? is Adam a human? are half of the heaven population wearing masks? why do they look like characters from monsters inc. that got a yassified by James Charles?? im... so confused lmao. why do angels have horns and hell sinners have wings?? looking at husker- skipping the Alastor controversies- yada yada yada- is Charlie supposed to be a goat when neither of her parents are- yeah okay im tired never mind.

short version: its interesting on the eyes, confusing to the brain XD

overall my final comment is: its fun as long as you don't take it religiously serious ;p

and thank you so muchhh :D