#Shading without rendering is so hard wtf

[za0mbie]

late night rehearsals🌸🐾

[flameraven]

The Dragon Prince - Progress Shots

Thought it would be fun to show how this picture came together (since it was a little bit of a struggle)

Started out doing some rough concept art and thumbnail sketches to figure out the layout. At first I was planning for a more European-style dragon until I was inspired to do something more BOTW-style.

I took the thumbnail I liked best and enlarged it, and then started working on getting the basic shapes roughed in. This was actually my second attempt, I had first tried to use a reference photo of a totally different type of rocks and it just wasn't working so I scrapped it entirely. You can also see Crowley's tail changed from the original thumbnail to make the composition flow better. I had also planned him to have antlers and a fluffy mane like the BOTW dragons but it made the silhouette too hard to read so that got scrapped too.

Roughing in colors and light sources as well as further refining the shapes of the rocks. The most important thing here was composition rather than realism. Colors were based off reference photos of the Grand Canyon at sunset. Geologically I don't think they're the same kind of rocks but the vibes were close enough.

I made several attempts at refining the clouds and could not get them to work so I gave up and drew a more detailed sketch + inks for Crowley and Aziraphale instead.

The rocks were giving me even more trouble than the clouds so besides adding in some more lighting I procrastinated on them and did the sky instead as well as roughed in shading for Crowley. X)

Starting in on rendering Crowley while I still tried to figure out wtf to do with the rocks, haha. I really put them off until the last minute. Eventually I basically took a large textured brush, did a neutral grey layer over the whole rock area, and then set it to Multiply. That really helped in giving the rocks texture without having to render all the details. I dug out more rock reference images and started laying in little lines for cracks based on those. Also putting more shadows under Crowley that I forgot before.

Final art! The last big step was in changing the rocks to the top right - the planes of light and shadow didn't make sense so I consolidated them to be less distracting. Still wasn't totally satisfied with the clouds, but I was running out of time and also thought my tablet had died, so I decided it was GOOD ENOUGH and that's all that matters.

[lemon-sugarcoats-nothing]

How do you decide what to draw, and when it's done?

Text: "This is a great question! I usually "wing it" when it comes to deciding when my drawing is done. (More below)" "Finding ideas...? It kind of depends! Sometimes I'll get a strong picture form in my head while I'm doing something else. Other times I just sit and draw whatever."

Now to elaborate on my process for deciding when to stop, how far to go with shading, etc. Most of it has to do with how I feel about drawing something, but also to do with keeping things visually appealing. Here I've laid out each general step of my drawing process from start to finish:

1. Sketch, Meant to be quick and generally convey the subject. I will sometimes draw and post things just as cleaned up sketches if just adding visuals to a text post, for shit-posting, or just if I'm not too interested in what I'm drawing.

2. Line art, I almost never post *just* line art, but i will occasionally post line art with one color to fill in the silhouette to help with contrast and character recognizability.

3. Flat color, I often post ask responses at this stage (maybe with simple hard-edged shadows here or there), but outside of ask responses I only leave character reference art at this stage just because the colors are purest for the character. I don't usually leave it without simple shading because it can be hard to read the subject's form, and its not my cup of tea. I lightly airbrush a warm color over the line art so that the harsh black doesn't contrast too much with the bright colors.

4. Shaded, a step up from simple hard edge shading I'll layer more than one shading color (layer set to multiply and lowered opacity) and blend out the edges in some places to soften the form. Then I add lighting and highlights - first using a textured soft airbrush over a large area, then use a round airbrush with hard edges for the highlights, blending out the edges in some areas to soften the form. This is usually where i stop for simpler character pieces, either for ask responses or for personal art. (Highlight layers are set to "add-glow")

5. Atmosphere, or adding additional shading elements to engage the subject with an environment or specific lighting condition. Here I've done a sunset lighting condition - I put a purple color over the whole subject set to multiply and opacity lowered, then airbrushed a reddish orange tone (on a separate layer, set to add-glow and opacity lowered) over the highlighted areas to bring warmth back to the lit spots. Then deepened the shadows using the hard edge airbrush again, a dark blue color (multiply layer, lower opacity), and then blending some of the edges out to show the form better. This is where I'll merge the line-art layer with what i now have of the coloring and shading, if i didn't already do so prior. Last I went back over the highlights with the orangey color (add glow, lower opacity). Once I get to rendering like this, I don't often stop here because by this point I'm likely hyper fixated and will keep pushing the values and adding details until I get to 6.

6. Details and bounce light. I texture-airbrushed a blue bounce light color, erased some hard edges in using that hard edged airbrush and then blending some of the edges out. This then gave me a guide to add in bounce-highlights with a hard pen, that i blended out in some places. I then further pushed the main highlights using a hard pen and again, blended out the edges. All layers set to add glow and opacity lowered. This is where I'll usually stop for finished rendered pieces, because I struggle to find other things to add or change, and the hyperfixation is thinning out and caving into my hunger/sleepiness. Might add hard white highlight details, but those are the finishing touches.

7. Wtf details. Added in hair strand details and fly-aways, blades of grass, I'm up way too late and struggling to end the drawing process - Or im just enjoying rendering the hair. I almost never add in stray hairs like this, but it's something i enjoy visually.

Again, a lot of where I stop comes down to my energy, time, and the vibes I'm going for. Hope this answers your question!

[bynickmunguia]

let’s talk about the demon portrait and why it’s good, actually

To do just that, we need to discuss the history of royal portraiture in the UK and what the piece traditionally would have been trying to convey.

TL:DR — just watch the video, lol

WTF is a royal portrait?

Royal Portraiture exists in three forms for public consumption: Private, Formal, and State portraiture

Private portraiture is exactly what you think it is: the informal pictures taken during times of leisure or personal significance. Like the pictures we plebs take of each other and ourselves. But better. <3

Formal portraiture would consist of showing off the individual’s personality in a polished way, think of it as PR images. Think of this royal family portrait of Kate and co.

And STATE portraiture focuses on presenting royals in positions of power and authority to their subjects and contemporaries. Think presidential headshots or these classical portraits of King George and Queen Victoria, featured in the City of London’s Draper Hall.

Draper Hall is owned by the Draper’s Company, a 600 year old trader’s guild, originally for textile workers, working with people of all trades and focusing on philanthropy and public works.

The Royal family holds a close relationship with the Draper’s company, with their members creating works of art such as whatever an anointing screen is, including this first portrait of Charles as king. With this being the first official portrait, it’s safe to assume this is also intended to be a State Portrait.

According to this source, “State portraits are carefully constructed images of power, designed to present the monarch as the embodiment of royal rule.”

So why the fuck does this look like that??? Let’s dissect the artist’s own words.

So Who’s Jonathan Yeo?

ohnathan Yeo is a self-taught portrait artist who has captured the likeness of Idris Elba, [other name], and Charle’s beau Queen Camila in 2014.

According to him, there may have been some underlying motives in Yeo suffering a heart attack during the three-year process of this painting. Though he did state it would have been subconscious.

He was quoted by US weekly as saying "It was just: I like this color,"

(Press X for Doubt)

He also attributed the color fascination to a heart attack he suffered during the production of the work.

This is a neatly packaged explanation for these rushed and rapid brush strokes, the brightness of the dominate color, and the feeling of the subject receding into the painting.

I just also find it hard to believe. . . .

I’m a commercial artist myself, though nowhere near as successful or powerful as the guy who’s just chummy with Idris fucking Elba, but I still can’t imagine making some of these choices without understanding the possible interpretations. So let’s interpret….

Blood Stained Analysis

Though the format of the portrait — King Charles in his Welsh military uniform, posed with his hand over his rapier — is par for the course for a traditional royal portrait, the lack of emphasis on his regalia denotes an undermining of his authority.

Yeo previously explained his use of red, saying that he'd hoped to "distract" viewers from the bright red uniform of the Guards.

The king is depicted with a soft and steady gaze, denoting feelings of steadfastness and assurance. It almost feels like an official headshot of Walt Disney, but less whimsical

There’s a LOT of attention and detail onto his hands, which feels over-rendered in comparison to its surroundings. They also feel oversized in comparison to the cuffs and sword. Unless Charles is actually sporting Yaoi hands. The bloat in the digits is hard to miss. These hands somehow feel older than the face of the sitter.

The most discussed element of the painting, the depth and texture of the predominate shade of red denotes a lot of movement and heat. . . which is very difficult not to interpret as fire. Or maybe grime. These textural elements are central to Yeo’s artistic style, coming off as significantly less uniformed as the texture of other portraits the artist has created, including his portrait of Camila in 2014.

This butterfly is often quoted as being a BLACK butterfly, but i think my own north american neighbors and I could recognize the species right away. The MONARCH butterfly is both a pun on the subject matter and an apt symbol for the artist’s stated intention— highlighting the king’s commitment to the environment. It’s suspended just above his shoulder, rendered with similar detail to the King’s face. Butterflies are often a symbol of rebirth, and Monarchs SPECIFICALLY are believed to be reincarnated souls. Considering Charle’s age and the faded effect of the painting, it’s hard not to view the little butterfly as a symbol of death. Ultimately, I do think this was done purposefully with the explicit permission of the subject in question.

Mainly because of a quote from Camila….

“People are always polite about what they say, but they can’t disguise how they’re reacting with their expressions.”

This lady wore white to Lady Di’s wedding. She and the rest of the family understand their position in society, and how much the public wants to EAT UP their gossip. And this portrait is meant to feed that beast whatever it wants to eat vs trying to tailor its food in the way past portraits did.

“I just wanted to get away from that sense of the traditional royal portrait, which is all about power, exuding power, and that’s not what the royalty is anymore, It’s a paradox, really, that’s not so much about them as how we think about them. We know they’re real people ... but at the same time, we want to buy into the mysticism a bit, the fairy tale.”

Yao wants the viewer to look past the regalia and formality of the titles and focus on their understanding of the sitter.

The painting is open to the interpretations of the viewer, to gather an opinion of Charles for themselves, rather than a carefully curated image of portraits past.

Whether you focus on the softness of his gaze or the burning effect of the background determines what kind of fairy tale you subscribe to: Princess movies or Reptilians. Either way, the sitter and the artist are giving the viewer plenty to dissect in this painting.

the devil conspiracy theories are my favorites <3

____________

Works Cited

Sources:

“A Brief History of Royal Portraiture in the United Kingdom.” Www.rmg.co.uk, www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/brief-history-royal-portraiture-united-kingdom. Accessed 30 May 2024.

Royal Museums Greenwich .

Binswanger, Julia. “MSN.com.” Www.msn.com, 16 May 2024, www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/charles-iii-unveiled-his-first-official-portrait-as-king-is-it-too-red/ar-BB1mvusf. Accessed 30 May 2024. Free article from the Smithsonian, via MSN.

Brady, Jon, and Shannon Mcguigan. “MSN.” Www.msn.com, 14 May 2024, www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/who-is-jonathan-yeo-meet-king-charles-portrait-artist/ar-BB1moic2. Accessed 30 May 2024. Free article from the Daily Mail, via MSN.com.

“For the Love of Monarchs: How We Joined the Push to Save a Beloved Butterfly (U.S. National Park Service).” Www.nps.gov, www.nps.gov/articles/000/for-the-love-of-monarchs-how-we-joined-the-push-to-save-a-beloved-butterfly.htm.

Galbraith, Alex. “MSN.” Www.msn.com, 19 May 2024, www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/the-painter-behind-king-charles-iiis-portrait-is-loving-all-the-memes/ar-BB1mItQX. Accessed 30 May 2024.

Free article from US Weekly, via MSN.com.

“Look Inside: Tudors to Windsors.” Www.rmg.co.uk, www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/national-maritime-museum/tudors-windsors-british-royal-portraits/look-inside.

Royal Museums Greenwich Royal portraiture timeline for their Royal portraiture exhibition.

“RCIN 2999908 - the Queen on Board HMY Britannia.” Www.rct.uk, www.rct.uk/collection/stories/royal-portraiture/the-queen-on-board-hmy-britannia. Accessed 30 May 2024.

Queen vacation photo.“Royal Portraiture.”

"Royal Collection Trust." www.rct.uk, www.rct.uk/collection/stories/royal-portraiture.

“The Drapers.” The Drapers Company, thedrapers.co.uk/. Accessed 30 May 2024.Vivinetto, Gina. “The Controversy behind King Charles’ New Royal Portrait, Explained.” NBC New York, 15 May 2024, www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/the-controversy-behind-king-charles-new-royal-portrait-explained/5416022/. Accessed 30 May 2024.

“What Is the History and Significance of Royal Portraits, and Why Are They Still Relevant Today?” Artdaily.com, artdaily.com/news/156539/What-is-the-history-and-significance-of-royal-portraits--and-why-are-they-still-relevant-today-. Accessed 30 May 2024.

Yeo, Jonathan. “Biography.” Jonathan Yeo, www.jonathanyeo.com/biography-1. Accessed 30 May 2024.

[llynethsfandomblogthing-blog]

My favourite Let’s plays list

So i decided to make a list of all my favourite and most watched let’s plays. Idk about you, but when i’m doing art, cleaning my room,feeling sad, or just can’t stop thinking too much, i tend to stick on some let’s plays to watch. Most of these are youtube videos, but there will be some text & screenshot Let’s plays too.

I’ll try to add as many trigger warnings as i can remember, and add some info about the game, LPer and their work too, but i apologize if i miss something out.

Onto the Let’s Plays!

<u>Soothing and interesting Let’s Plays:</u>

<a href=“https://www.youtube.com/user/anamardoll“><b> Ana Mardoll </b></a> - The owner of the site <a href=“http://anamardoll.com”> Ana Mardoll’s ramblings </a>, she plays a lot of visual novels and story driven games, some of which double as walkthroughs (although updates mean some no longer work). Her videos are usually extremely long, often between 1-2 hours per video.

She’s a great one to watch or listen to, because she is always very invested in the worlds and lives of all the characters, and talks in depth about various story elements. She also analyzes and reviews books on her website, which is always worth checking out!

Warnings: Ana herself is brilliant but some of the games have the normal kind of thing: violence, murder, etc. In particular “The Royal Trap” has instances of Transphobia and racism.

<a href=“https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0knZ0OjXYIQ&list=PLaEje4Qf_FwrqdyORCK4okrRlpWnJs8qR&index=5“> <u> Long live the Queen - Naval battle </u> </a> This is the 5th video she has done for Long live the Queen, showing off how to win the game by winning the Naval battle. This is one of my favourite videos in the series! It’s the video where she gains momentum after mastering the mechanics of the game, so she’s much more confident. Earlier videos have her talk a great deal about story elements which are new to her though, so they’re worth watching too! 

Long live the Queen stars Princess Elodie, a 14 year old who has just lost her mother and will have to claim the throne as Queen when she turns 15. She has the whole year to make decisions about her country, learn vital skills at school, maybe learn magic, repel an invasion and hopefully survive to reach her coronation! Although it’s really cutesy and any deaths Elodie suffers are rendered in chibi style, it’s a really tough game, with some mean choices.

Warnings for this series in general: Lots of murder and death, references to incest and sexual abuse (not explicit), abuse.

<a href=“https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLX-Fc_GVTA&index=18&list=PLaEje4Qf_FwrJ_5Bqbm2IwJQLGqRz9Jeq“> <u>The Royal Trap - Dolores walkthrough </u> </a> Sliiightly more action orientated than Long live the Queen and made by the same people! This video is the shortest in the playlist and definitely my favourite, even though many of the game’s secrets aren’t uncovered in this route. I recommend watching another playthrough, maybe the Callum route, before this to understand the story although it can stand alone.

In this game, Madeleine is your main character, a woman who is a teacher, servant and friend to Prince Oscar, as well as overall badass who can climb walls and fight with daggers. It’s a visual novel that’s...kind of a dating sim, but it has it’s share of mysteries, political intrigue and action. Madeleine and Oscar arrive in another land to attend the coming of age ball of Princess Cassidy, and hopefully win her hand in marriage, but things start to go wrong when she goes missing.

Warnings: Transphobia, really awful parenting, murder, racism, ableism, abuse

<a href=“https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL240F838BF69FDA54“> <u> EVO: search for Eden Let’s Play by Ssskinner </u> </a> Kind of an old let’s play now, but still interesting. Gaia, daughter of the sun and embodiment of the Earth, creates you and tells you that you must journey through several periods of time spanning a billion years, evolving into different creatures as you go, to earn the right to enter Eden and become her immortal partner. Possibly as a terrifying dinosaur fish hybrid. It’s a weird game.

Ssskinner’s LP is awesome - she researched a lot about various animals from different periods, and has a lot of interesting info to say about them. Her voice and the information is incredibly relaxing, so i find it great for watching when i’m anxious, as long as you don’t mind dinosaurs eating each other. All the creatures you can turn into are really cool too, so it’s a great thing to watch if you love dinosaurs or animals in general.

Warnings: A lot of animals die in this game. I...think that’s it?

<a href=“https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB8F47C6867017A55“> <u>The void/Turgor Let’s Play by CannibalK9 </u> </a> Oh man, this LP. This is a long, long game but totally worth watching. This game is made by Ice-pick Lodge, Russian developers who also made Pathologic. It’s a cryptic game, with little being explained fully. It’s pretty arty, with an incredibly haunting soundtrack and sprinklings of poetry throughout.

In this game the player is a soul without a name, lost in a barren place called The void. It’s a place that’s described as a link in a chain of worlds, where there are worlds below and worlds above. Unfortunately, you’re in the world above absolute death (basically hell) and the Void you’re in is dying, so the goal is to collect enough resources (in this game, that’s colour. It’s interesting) to either escape, or sacrifice yourself so someone else can.

It’s a adventure type game with resource management that is incredibly hard, but also gorgeous aesthetically. I love this LP especially, because CannibalK9 has a very soothing and haunting tone which absolutely fits this world. He tends to wax poetic about various philosophical things and it’s pretty great.

Warnings: body horror (the brothers, oh wow), suicide ideation, suicide, A whole heap of nudity (there are characters called sisters who have little clouds that try to censor their jiggly bits but it mostly fails), references to abuse and disturbing themes. 

<u>Exciting and humorous Let’s Plays:</u>

<a href=“http://lparchive.org/author/The%20Dark%20Id“><b>The Dark ID</b> </a> A let’s player who has a youtube channel but mostly does screenshot and text LPs. He can be really funny, but he can also be very offensive, so watch out. Special mention goes to his Dirge of Cerberus LP where he constantly refers to Vincent as autistic and makes jokes about it.

<a href=“http://lparchive.org/Drakengard/“> <u> Drakengard! </u> </a> My favourite of his LPs! It’s a hilarious 100% playthrough of a game with terrible combat and an awesome, completely messed up story.

Drakengard tells the story of a murderous prince called Caim who is trying to win a battle and save his sister, but gets mortally wounded. In this world, people can form pacts with creatures to sustain their lives, but it comes at a price (voice, sight, hearing etc.) so he forms a pact with a dying dragon and goes off to save the world! But...uh...things don’t really go as you expect them to? This series is weird and has so, so many screwed up things. Caim’s party consist of a racist old man, a cannibal elf, a pedophile, a little boy and Caim’s sister, who is in love with him. 

Warnings: Not much from The Dark ID themself, but the game has...a lot.

Racism, murder, child soldiers, references to pedophilia, necrophilia, child abuse and incest, neglect, demonic? possession, abuse, casual violence, probably ableism.

<a href=“http://lparchive.org/Drakengard-3/“> <u> Drakengard 3 </u> </a> One of my favourite games! Also extremely messed up, but a lot more self aware and comedic than the last (he’s also covered Drakengard 2 but....it’s not that weird and it’s pretty cookie cutter, tbh).

This game stars a girl called Zero who is an intoner (a goddess like being who uses the power of song to cast magic) and also murderous and wants to kill all of her 5 sisters to steal their powers. Alternate universes are also involved. Saying anything else is spoilery, but it’s definitely not that normal or straight forward. Also the music is fantastic especially the fourth sister’s battle music and Zero’s theme song, kuroi uta.

Warnings: A lot of toilet humour, murder, possession, ableism, body shaming, slut shaming, violence, references to torture, mental illness, rape, neglect,child abuse and a relationship that isn’t consensual. 

<a href= “http://lparchive.org/NIER/“> <u> Nier </u> </a> Another of my favourite games! It takes place some time after Drakengard’s ending D. Nier is a middle aged man with a daughter called Yonah who is slowly dying from an incurable disease called the black scrawl. The game is his attempt to save her life, while saving his world from the threat of monsters called shades, but as usual for Drakengard things do not end as you hope.

Your party consists of Kaine, a bloodthirsty girl who is part shade, a sarcastic, Alan Rickman sounding book who can cast magic, and a little boy who wears a blindfold because looking into his eyes turns people to stone.

It’s slightly less WTF than other entries in the series, but it’s definitely still odd and definitely worth reading. The music is also incredible omg, look it up on youtube, it’s beautiful.

Warnings: transphobia, murder, death, child murder and endangerment, torture

<u>Things that aren’t technically Let’s Plays but are also good:</u>

To be added!

I will try and update this b/c i have more to add, but this is it for now =D