#adeltalks

[adelphenium]

sign of life please? with or without any piece of art you want to share, just missing you on the dash 💕💕💕💕💕

hello helloo it's been a longgg while..!!!!

i've been drifting a bit from hockey lately,, i just haven't quite felt the pull of it for a while, mayhaps bc i don't have a lot of Guys i'm super into at the moment U_U

BUT one thing i'd like to share is the hockey trumps hate charity auction!!

i've signed up as a creator there alongside so many other awesome writers + artists + editors + more, so please check it out if you'd like to donate to a good cause AND get some fanwork + fan labour out of it ⭐ bidding ends tomorrow, june 8 at end of day est!

i don't have all that much in the way of hockey art rn, but i do have some silly crossover doodles on my sideblog if you'd like to see em ^_^

ty for reaching out, i'm hoping to be back soon too :D!!!💌💌

[adelphenium]

Your Adam Larsson peice is so so delightful I’ve been trying very hard to be polite and not ask for him with Dunn, but I’m picking out an outfit for a funeral, so fuck it (no pressure bud, your art is genuinely brilliant and we are blessed to have it, just wanted to ask in case you felt inspired)

hello there, i'm so sorry for your loss -- i hope you're doing as well as you can in these times 🫂

thank you for your kind words + the req!! unfortunately, while i'm still learning more about hockey culture + history, there are some players i would rather not draw given certain things i have heard or seen about them, and sadly dunn is one of them :(

it's never my intention to shame or "cancel" anyone (esp not other hrpfers); it's more that i'm not really comfortable with drawing certain players knowing what i know -- i hope that's understandable.

instead i hope this solo lars can brighten your week a little!

[adelphenium]

art related question !!

how did u get so good at capturing faces and such ... i often have such a hard time getting my drawings to look like someone and their likeness . do you have any tips or anything ?

hii hello ty for the ask!! honestly i can't really offer much in the way of advice beyond suggesting lots n lots of practice, which i know is what everyone says... but i find it's true :") i have a few thoughts below as well!

i think drawing lots of diverse face shapes + features kinda helps you to recognize patterns over time and decide what to emphasize to make someone's face look more distinctive.

mainly, i think less is more!

to use a basketball example (just bc that's what's been on my mind lately):

russell westbrook (top) has lots of really unique facial features (square face, deep-set eyes, strong nasal wings, mole, small ears, wide mouth, etc.) but i find that actually makes him hard to capture. on the other hand, to me, kevin durant's (below) most noteworthy features are his wide nose and semi-hooded (?) eyes.

for a hockey example, i would say the same about linus ullmark (crinkly eyes, soft chin, thin nose bridge, small mouth + thin lips) and jeremy swayman (sparkly eyes, wide/prominent nose) respectively. i personally have a harder time drawing ully than sway!

it's also helpful to look at multiple reference pics from various angles to see how these differences play out.

these are just my personal thoughts -- i don't know if the way i latch onto certain characteristics is actually ~accurate~, and i also take some issue with what i conceive of as "natural" or conventionally attractive features as the baseline to more unique ones. i try not to lean too much into caricature territory, but it's a hard line to ride.

overall, though, the whole point of cartoony art is to simplify and focus on a few key points! it's subjective but i think that's all part of balancing your own style with portraying people in a way that's recognizably Them.

i always feel a bit out of my depth about giving out art tips but i hope this helps a little! <3

[adelphenium]

is there a particular reason your tknp fish photo art has reblogs off? I only ask because I love it sm and wanted to rb!!

hello hello, ty for the ask!

initially i had turned off all reblogs on my np / tknp art due to the alleged np burner situation just so i could think through and process everything. while i'm still not 100% settled on my stance with relation to the "real" and the "fiction" of rpf, i've (tentatively) come to the conclusion that even as my work is tied to the public images + likenesses of these players, its value comes from the derivative nature of fan works that goes so much beyond the original individuals.

it's actually pretty funny timing that you sent this ask in when you did! i was reading some amazing tknp fic this morning that addresses how fandom community at its core works to reappropriate source material, and how that disjunct between fanon / "canon" is a troubled but necessary one.

the main thing about rpf engagement for me personally is that fic offers such a rich space for reimagination and pushing + prodding at the unsavoury bits of real life, but fanart feels more surficial. i don't quite feel comfortable depicting people whose words and actions are at such odds with my own without being able to qualify those depictions, but i also know that what we do here is meant to be messy and unorthodox and ultimately fun. while i'll oscillate between positions, i've turned reblogs back on! though as of rn, i don't plan to draw np again.

this definitely won't be a one-and-done scenario for as long as i'm in rpf circles, but i think it's an important consideration to be grappling with. thanks for sticking around if you've read this far and for liking my art!!💌💌

[adelphenium]

hello, I just want to tell you that I love your art! Also, the Robo one you did a while ago really made me happy. As someone of East Asian descent, it's kind of frustrating to see drawings/paintings of other East Asian/Pacific Islander people where they just... look White (though I understand that sometimes artists have certain styles/aren't skilled enough to create subtle differences like that). Your depiction of Robo was awesome and I loved to see it! Thank you. :)

ahh i'm really glad to hear my depiction of robo really resonated with you!! :,)

as someone who's also of east asian descent, i do end up reflecting a lot on what it means to represent poc, especially in the sphere of mainstream hockey and its particular institutional setup + organizational makeup (which is a very different context from the other fandoms i've come from) -- but i also think it's a much broader question that all artists should engage with!

there's no easy way to work through it, just based on all the structures of normativity that surround us (cough my self-portraits as a kid cough, most manga/manhwa coughcough); in that sense i'm a little less inclined to see it as being just about individual skill per se.

it also gets so much more complicated when there's all these subtle differences, as you've mentioned -- e.g. how to balance characterization vs caricaturizing, how to maintain a consistent style without falling into a euro-centric same-face syndrome......

that being said, there are plenty of guides + resources out there from other artists of colour much more qualified to talk on these matters than i am, and i totally get the frustration from a representational standpoint as well.

i'm also always reflecting on how to go about my art, and comments like yours mean a lot to me!! i hope you're having a lovely day; thank you for the ask and for opening up the conversation!

[adelphenium]

you pump out such good high quality art like every day 😭😭😭 how do u do it 😞

oh jeez i mean. all i do is school work and drawing that is my entire life rn >.< i'm very type a, get-things-done-NOW with my work, but art is what helps me to unwind after a long day! i never treat it as a thing i have to produce or pump out per se, it's just a central part of my day-to-day and sharing it on tumblr with lovely ppl is just a nice bonus ^-^

but additionally, while grad school is a lot more work than undergrad, it's a lot more flexible -- my circumstances are big determining part of what i can do! i like to recognize that we've all got different capacities for different kinds of work at different times in our lives, and that doesn't say anything about who you are as an artist :0

[adelphenium]

do you have a fave player to draw from each team? or if you haven’t drawn a player from each team (/maybe even if you have and he wasn’t your fave) who do you think they would be?

ahh this is gonna be a long one! i'm taking you at your word and listing one from every team..... under the cut :D

also i've divided it up based on the teams each player was on when i drew them!

favourite players i have drawn, by team:

East

sens: definitely chabby! however i will also note that i have not yet drawn timmy in a finished piece and i am very much aware of how criminal that is. i will try to rectify this soon.

canadiens: i haven't drawn many but probably pk!

leafs: auston bc he's got really nice distinctive features! conversely i don't like drawing mitchy bc he's too conventionally attractive :( another forbidden answer is bertuzzi . he was so rancid i HAD to draw him and it was admittedly fun.. but it was only a one-time thing.....

panthers: matty tkachuk!

bruins: sway! he's got the sweetest face BUT so too does ully.. hm..

red wings: dylan larkin, gorgeous nose

pens: s. crosby, legendary nose

flyers: nolpat! love his blush and lashes and terrifyingly blue eyes

canes: brady skjei in all his grey glory <3

devils: nico!!! amazing brows

West

avs: natemac, no question. PHENOMENAL nose, dare i say the best. though cale is a close second!

wild: kirill!!! squishy and doughy

jets: i've only drawn heller and his HUGE ears but it was still fun

stars: robo my beloved!! though seggy kinda reminds me of mtkachuk (?just me??) so he's been fun too

chicago: so far only seth jones

oilers: i Cannot Believe i'm saying this but...... connor. he seriously grew on me like a zebra mussel. i had such a hard time getting his features right at first (why is his mouth so small. why are his eyebrows Like That. what's up with his facial hair) but he's. he uh. listen davo propaganda is real and i have submitted completely to it. i love drawing him now

sharks: i've only drawn ekarlsson but he was so fun with the flow and twirly mustache

ducks: definitely jamie drysdale! i am a sucker for freckles..... praying for his contract 🙏

canucks: only quinn as of yet but he is fun and pretty

kraken: only matty beniers but he is extremely fun!!

knights: only mark stone so far

teams whose players i have not drawn but want to:

East

lightning: i tried drawing vasy once and it went Very Badly. i think it'll be the same for stamkos. so maybe bogo!

sabres: definitely need to draw jeff skinner!! maybe i'll draw him with ej and josty just to make myself sad

islanders: mat barzal bc he reminds me of a handsome version of br*ndon urie

rangers: zibanejad!! i'm quite fond of him bc he looks like a male bearded version of one of my friends 😭

caps: nicke or sonny!

blue jackets: i don't really know these guys but maybe gaudreau.. he always looks a little freaked out, so. interesting

West

yotes: matt dumba! he reminds me of another one of my friends

preds: erm.... i gotta say ryan o'reilly. he's very pretty to me and i don't really know anyone else on the preds......

blues: brandon saad, super cute smile!

flames: i've drawn matty tkachuk while he was on the flames but he's otherwise represented on the list so i don't think he counts..!! so maybe naz or hanny?

kings: either kopitar or pld!

i really like to draw players with distinctive faces, but i am extremely partial to those i've emotionally imprinted on.. as well as those i've already drawn multiple times...... you can see i've got a bit of an eastern atlantic bias haha

[adelphenium]

love your art style and in particular your use of color!! would love to hear how u approach choosing a palette when u start a new piece

omg thank u mr styles! ok i'm going to be completely honest . i don't really know how colour theory works or how to create nice palettes :(

i think when it comes to referenced pictures i try and bring out interesting tones hiding in shadows or the environment, but for original pieces it's more about the mood! i generally choose whether it's gonna be a cool (blue, green, grey) or warm (red, orange, brown) piece, but i end up using a lot of pinks and yellows throughout for romantic hues. my go-to combo is blue/orange/yellow; i think that's as close a coherent palette i have!