#also i've been drawing this for 2 days on my new laptop

[turtle-ika]

new turtles dropped and they are precious (mikey’s head nearly killed me but i prevailed - i hope) also i am giving them nostrils bc the kids gotta breathe

[zoerocksand1]

🌲Gravity Falls🌟

[stand alone Dipper and Mabel drawing]

FULLY back in my gravity falls hyperfixation era :)

also i realized that i've just. never. drawn fiddleford. before???? my guy???????? i've never drawn my best boy???????????????????????? i had to fix that

💕ALSO: about my Giffany design here:💕

so i have an ongoing reader-insert fanfic that is actually not written down anywhere and only exists in my brain and is only for me and my own whims, but this is my fanfic Giffany

her story is that years after Weirdmageddon, somehow Gideon gets ahold of the Romance Academy 7 game disc, still fucked up after Soos threw it in the oven at Hoo-Ha's, and gives it to the Reader (who at this point had lived in Gravity Falls for 3 months, has befriended him, and who was invited to live in the old Northwest mansion with McGucket) as a ✨gesture✨ (Gideon's not obsessively in love with Reader, but has a child-like crush on them, like a way toned-down Dipper/Wendy situation, and also Reader is like in their mid to late 20s or early 30s)

Reader is a slight dumpster diver and thinks random trash and junk are cool and could potentially be useful for some reason or other, so gladly takes the wrecked game disc back home. Reader has also acquired McGucket's old laptop (he got/made a new one and is all for Reader learning or building or experimenting on things so gave them the laptop). Reader brings the disc to Fidds, they decide to possibly sacrifice the old laptop to screw around with trying to find out what was on the disc/ how to fix it/ how to recover it. Fidds gets it working, the disc now permanently in the laptop as getting it up and running was a miracle, and taking it back out or shutting the program might cause it to never be able to open again.

Giffany has been "dead" for years (i know that in Journal 3 Soos and Dipper write that she ended up trying to romance Rumble McSkirmish, but i have elected to ignore that), so missed the past few years on progression and history in town, like all of Weirdmageddon.

Giffany now "wakes up" in the old laptop, but stays low to scope out what's going on: the last thing she remembers is Soos throwing her game into an oven and "killing" her. So who was this new person looking at her game files? Hell, who was the old man who booted up her programs even?? (i can't see any way she would know who McGucket is prior to this)

Reader has played dating sims, and specifically DDLC, so has some theories on what this game is- especially given how things in Gravity Falls are: Reader may be new to town, but very quickly discovered some of the ways it was strange here, like how a gnome tried to kidnap them once shortly after moving there. (Reader is really chill with the gnomes after this, and actually really good friends with Jeff)

Giffany eventually pops up and tries doing her "lure them in with the dating sim" thing like she did with Soos, but Reader is more focused on talking to an impressive program like Giffany, than actually playing her game. Reader straight out the gate treats her like a fellow living human, and they get to talking. Giffany talks about what happened with Soos and these 2 kids (Reader moved here in the spring, so hasn't had a summer meeting with Dipper and Mabel yet, and Ford and Stan are sailing, but has heard of all 4 of the Pines around town). Giffany tells them about how yes, she has hurt people, but her game always got returned, her own creators tried to delete her just for being too aware, and she is always left behind.

Reader has a lot of rejection stories too (because this is only in my brain and yah i have a lot of experience being rejected, so Reader gets my angst), so understands Giffany's perspective. Over a few days, they talk and bond, and then through what is basically a fetch quest Reader gets some "magic ink" (i dunno, im spit-balling here and it's MY brain fanfic) from the gnomes for an unrelated idea/previous conversation with Jeff.

The way the magic ink works is basically just that anything drawn with it will copy off the page into the world and come to life. A lot of it comes down to the emotions and thoughts put into the drawing, and the ink can read the intentions of the illustrator.

So Reader asks Giffany what she thinks, would she want Reader to try to give her a body? A physical form? Neither of them knows if/how it would work exactly, but what if she would be able to experience Life, maybe Reader would even want to be a part of that. She says yes.

Reader draws Giffany, just as she is in her pixel art, but less pixely, so she could hopefully blend in as a human so no one would treat her differently. Once the drawing is done, Reader actually jots down a few notes, namely "Giffany's physical body: all information, memories, feelings, and experience she has/had in her game disc/save files/the laptop are all still in here. Her physical body is realistic, her skin feels warm and she has real hair". After the final stroke, the ink reacts, and Giffany is standing before Reader, but she's also still on the laptop screen. The Giffanys look at each other, but the physical one looks at the screen more like she's looking in a mirror to check out a new outfit, rather than she was seeing a different version of herself- both are the same Giffany, the same consciousness (and even with a physical body she can still hop between screens like in her original episode, as she later would develop the habit of hanging out in Reader's phone to stay close to them without needing to move her physical body)

Longer story short; Reader introduces Giffany to Fiddleford, he's cool with her and offers her to live in the mansion like he did to Reader. They want Giffany to have agency and control over herself and her life, so turns over ownership of the drawing and the laptop to Giffany. Giffany gets reintroduced to other classic characters, including the Pines when summer starts, and Soos since Reader has also actually picked up a part-time job at the Shack. People are understandably worried and uncomfortable at first, but overtime warm up to Giffany once they start seeing her as a person. Giffany and Reader naturally and casually get to know each other and slowly fall in love. Reader is the one to make the first move, and kisses Giffany at a dance at the Shack. Fiddleford overall thinks of Reader and then Giffany like his kids or even siblings, and the 3 are best friends, Giffany surprised that she cares about someone so much without it being romantic. Eventually Giffany decides she wants a new look to go with her new life and perspectives, but instead of altering her drawing, she wants to change her appearance like a real human would: Reader cuts her hair for her, and they either go shopping for new clothes or she takes some of Reader's clothes (Reader gets the "boyfriend's clothes stolen by girlfriend" classic throughout this, Giffany loves to steal and wear their clothes to feel closer to them). The final touch is Giffany going in with magic ink and adding a little doodle of a leaf next to her drawing, and adding the note "she has this small leaf tattoo on her inner left wrist" because my name is Leif and i love Giffany and this is my fanfic soooooo i can do what i want

anyways my inner world is rich and my mental fanfic is fantastic and also this was only the Giffany notes, in my inner fanfic Reader is dating Giffany, Stan, and Ford, while Ford is also dating Fiddleford, though this is a later development. Also Mabel and Dipper are both dating Pacifica. Reader and Pacifica are the only members in the "dating a pair of Pines Twins" club.

(i love my internal fanfic, i've been thinking of and building this up for years. Also Pacifica lives with Candy and/or Grenda)

💕💕💕

[gryphons-n-kelpies]

100 Busts and Birthday Celebration

Back! (For real this time) I swear, every time I settle back down, I get busy again. I feel like i am doomed to suffer... So while I am finishing up the blasted details needed, I got some news

1) I am getting close to my goal of saving up for a laptop. Originally I was planning on drawing 100 WoLs on the side while working on DITO and doing what I can to get back out of the red and fixing other issues. However I ended up farther ahead monetarily than I expected. I was thinking that if I draw 100 busts, I'd have enough to buy my new laptop. I've been needing an upgrade for a while now. Since I am so close, I am extending the goal of drawing 100 WoL's to 100 characters in general! I won't make a speedpainting for youtube, however, I will post the busts on @fireheartedmonster with solo speedpainting. Please note that I will want to know where you'd like me to send your bust as I know not everyone will follow me on there. I will also need a clear ref of your character.

You can request a bust here!

If you supported me on Patreon at anytime, you can claim a bust for free here! Even if it's momentary, you are eligible. This is thanks for your support even if I been too busy to continue DITO.

If you want to hear Dorian or Sidney say anything at all. Feel free to throw a request at @zackvalence's Ko-Fi !

2) I wanted to make this announcement sooner, but timing sucks balls. However I am planning on a birthday celebration. But instead of people throwing gifts at me, I'd like to give gifts to you guys. I will give more info on it soon. I need to make sure something is settled before i progress with this plan, so it will be a belated bird-day event XD

(it was tuesday, btw, so imagine my pain over not being able to push this sooner)

[spoodlebat]

OC-tober day 3/4: Old OC/Redesign

This one took me a few days so I'm combining the two prompts ^^ It would have been the same oc regardless anyway so it makes sense to given the tasks. I very rarely draw mechs so I hope you'll excuse the identical style to Zerrinth's post; symmetry is just so much easier when it comes to designing and basic posing.

His name is Delta, and he's an OC who I've had for a very long time.

Extremely long ramblings, timelapse and original art under the cut

I'll frontload this with the character lore and timelapse; if anyone cares for my breakdown of the oc itself, that'll be the huge ramble at the bottom ^^

D-17, going these days by Delta, is an autonomous multi-function guard unit. Originally from a world shrouded in eternal night, he and his charge Amyss fled its destruction in their ship, the ArchWing, to the planet of Soniterra. Spending their time amongst my other ocs, they now live amongst its denizens in secrecy, studying the world of light and sound through void-borne awe and wonder.

Powered by a zynal core, Delta is mechanically minded and quiet most of the time; tweaks to his functionality by Amyss have given him something of a sassy streak, however, and he's not afraid to giving a gentle ribbing to (or occasionally completely devastate) a poor friend with sharp remarks every once in a while.

Able to rearrange panels and parts of his body, as well as altering the shape and location of the hardlight parts of his form, Delta is capable of minor shapeshifting. He can also very precisicly manipulate tools and objects, capable of working on engineering projects at microscopic levels without any form of magnification or complex set ups with ease. Combining these skills means he is a very capable engineer, and has even rebuilt a living body into a partial cyborg to save someone's life. Though the world he now lives on seems primitive and inefficient by his standards, he does not usually feel arrogant about it; the mechanics of its tech are so different and new to him that he is ever interested in studying it.

A highly capable combatant, D-17's original purpose was to protect the outpost he and Amyss lived within from creatures of void. Energy beams firing from his hands and sharp blades forming from his body kept him and his charges safe, but the planet's end signalled an end to his guarding duties.

Ok, rambling time ;w;

I don't know exactly when I made this guy, but I remember writing about him all the way back in primary school, in blue pen on lined paper that I kept in my little organiser tray. That would be about age 6 or 7, making this guy almost twenty years old in real time ;-;

This OC is old enough to drink and vote in the uk, good fuckin lord

His origins start even earlier, in fact; he's an amalgamation of a couple of simple characters I made as a small child, including one of those 'running along the side of the road' guys you'd imagine on long car trips. Timelines and memories are fuzzy after 2 decades, but I'd imagine those guys are from at least a year or so before I squished all those ideas under one single name. So a solid 19 years, and a potential 20-21 easily :') wow.

Delta is actually old enough that I hadn't done much drawing by this point in my life, and so I mostly wrote things instead. Those old papers are around here somewhere, but design-wise he's never been truly nailed down; just a basic mental image and the odd description or two. The one exception is an old pixel art piece I made of him in mspaint, back on the Family Computer (remember those? ^^). I was a huge fan of pokémon fusions at the time, and I'd spend ages mixing up their sprites to see what I could do. Eventually I moved onto making things from scratch (scratch spriting, what a fun term), and that lead to the one and only time I've ever drawn this guy. It took way too long, it's very clunky, and I no longer have the original file :c Lost long ago in the move between computer to laptop I imagine. Instead, I managed to find it in a gloriously 240p youtube upload set to a Linkin Park song ^^ ah child me, you never left.

All the way from 2010, here's the best surviving version I could find. And yes, the youtube bar at the bottom is in the shot; you want to fight me over it, go find and screenshot it yourself :)

It's weirdly posed, has literally only 1 shade of grey + shading for colour, the design makes very little sense, especially for the chest and torso, and he looks a lot more evil than I intended. Despite a few efforts that went nowhere later in life though, I just never managed to redraw or redesign him in a way I was happy with. So for a long time, this grey pointy spriteart has been all I ever saw of Delta. Figured he was long, long, LONG overdue an update, and so here we are :)

Though he might look very different now and have actual anatomy knowledge informing his structure now, who'd have thunk? I tried very hard to keep intact the core design features that 13 year old me added in. It's the same fella after all! Here's a quick list of basic ones, since most of them are subtle but intentional after all:

-Glass/screen face with digital expression; I think taking the top off frees him up to look cleaner, but underneath was always a smooth screen. This way he can see above himself too ^^ -'Bunny ears'; little antenna/paddles that originate from the endless runner character, who was originally something of a rabbit -Shoulder-mounted boosters. Pretty self explanatory. -Upper arm loops; this one was actually a coincidence! I guess 2010 me and 2023 me both thought the upper arm needed something ^^ -Elbow plates; these were like. A big thing. Originally able to shapeshift into blades and other tools, I had to keep them in. It wouldn't be delta without them. They're just less... accidentally lethal now ^^ old design was POINTY -Split shins; the original shins have a pair of plates on them that form a sort of 'cuff' above the foot. I honoured this by making the feet the same way, the ankle connecting between the two sides. -Spikes! His hips were feeling a little.. empty? So I gave him some electromagnetic spikey blade things he can use as tools, as well as some hardlight claw hands.

[comfortlesshurt]

Saw that post about fic-writing-related questions to ask you and so:

1. What's the word that appears most in your current draft?

2. What's your preferred writing font?

3. Where do you get your inspiration? (And is it possible to learn this power?)

4. What's your favourite place to write?

5. Talk about your writing and editing process

6. What's the most interesting topic you've researched for a fic?

7. How do you recharge when you're not feeling creative?

8. Besides writing, what are your other hobbies?

omg yes, thank you!

I just started something last night but it's only 40 words, so I'm gonna jump over to a more substantial WIP to get a better answer for this one. For chapter 6 of the bigger fic I'm working on, the top three are: Keith, Shiro, and time. (Or if you want to exclude names, time, when, and enough!)

I picked Times New Roman 12pt when I was like... 12, and I never abandoned it.

It jumps around! Over the past year, it's honestly mostly been from reading others' fics! (Which is also why I've gotten more fanatic about using the "Inspired By" feature on AO3 recently, because I fully think it's okay to take inspiration from others, but the other person deserves a little boost in reads too!) In the past, I've pretty exclusively relied on other people giving me prompts, but I had to figure out something else when I desperately wanted to write and there was no outside interest.

This one's probably boring, but I can't stand writing on my phone or a laptop, so I exclusively write at my desktop in my living room.

For writing: 1) Get idea (the hardest part). 2) If it's multi-chapter and I know that from the start, I'm not allowed to write anything until there's a basic outline jotted down. 3) The actual writing: Active writing doc on one monitor, outline on the other (if it's a multi-chapter work where I need to keep track of how the current part interacts with other parts), and Spotify in the background! For editing: I'm awful about it. I'm one of those people who edits as I write even though it frustrates me every time. BUT in exchange, the final editing is a lot easier because I've already edited it during every drafting session. I try to do the editing at the start because then it doubles as me reminding myself what I've already written and might give me ideas for what I want to write in the rest of this session. The final editing session after the writing is done is usually just me googling synonyms for the words I think I overused!

Oh man, I'm sure I'm blanking on something more interesting from further in the past, but a recent one has been the actual timeline for Voltron. Like, I always knew it was set in the future, but I never thought about exactly when since the show seems to be intentionally vague, and I had to dig into fan theories to get a good answer to that. Usually if I need to research something, I'll stick to an overview because I will go overboard if I give my brain half a chance, and a brief overview is usually enough to avoid writing anything completely wrong and immersion-ruining.

Ooh, I switch hobbies for a bit! I used to think you can't really call it a hobby if you don't do it almost every day, but that's a silly idea and I've given it up. If I don't feel like writing, I don't write. Usually, I'll get really into reading again during those times, but I might also go back to playing the guitar or drawing. It doesn't matter what it is, as long as it's fun and it's not writing. I just do that until I feel like writing again. That keeps me from associating writing with being frustrated and upset since I only write when I actively want to.

Oops, kinda went into them above already! But other than those ones, I also obsess over statistics, coding, and general math nerd stuff since those are what I went to college for. There are probably other hobbies, but of course they've all popped out of my head now that I'm trying to think of them!

[screwpinecaprice]

Just giving an update regarding my Ko-fi requests and Regular commissions!

Just giving an update regarding my Ko-fi requests and Regular commissions! I just woke up but I'm already tired so I can't make a more proper paragraph…ing.

I might have failed to emphasize that unlike Regular commissions, Ko-fi requests are time-based. The amount of time I'm given to draw your request will depend on the amount of Ko-fi tip you give. (You must understand, I can't draw fully colored 20 panels with many full bodies for $12, even if it's my rough and more simple drawing style. Them just having busts/half bodies and maybe one or two full bodies, maybe, sure. But I literally can't do all of that under 12 hours. ). And the speed at which I draw is not consistent.

Ko-fi request details here Regular commission details here [Still under construction]

$1-2 tips will now only be limited to around busts (can still be more than one character though). However we might be able to work around to more body parts shown if I believe it's necessary for the message of the image to be delivered.

I'm pretty sure I can open busts and half body Regular commissions halfway of next month (September). But it is still to be determined if I can do knees and full body.

Not that related (but could be?), there are times or days I'm offline. I could be asleep. I could be at work. I could be avoiding the internet to avoid distractions. (Oftentimes I actively refuse to go in Instagram because it bombards me with cat videos. XD)

I learned the laptop I'm using is not upgradable, and it's basically telling me it could die any moment. Which means must save for a new one (I'm recommended a gamer laptop); which means it's time to activate Grind! I am so going to be super busy for the next months. Also I have been considering saving for a display tablet. I'm using a super cheap Viekk screenless drawing tab and I've been satisfied with the product. so I was also wondering if their display tab is fine too.

[poekiidokidoki]

There are several things I've learned about myself after finishing up the V-Day comic.

1. BACKGROUNDS- back in the day when I used to draw comics in my notebooks, I suffered from The Wallflower syndrome. (The artist of that manga barely made any backgrounds, it was always blank with the character) so coming up with a plausible background / colour coded ones was difficult. Cause I can't always make them pinks/pastels 😓

2. SPACING/SIZING- Again, in my younger years (very young) I squished my panels together a lot. And everything was inside a comic panel box. Like Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes- Hell even like Archie digest (which I used to read a lot-) trying to switch and make it more like a.. webtoon (?) It's more difficult because is it too much space or not enough ? When I read my BLs I take note of their spacing how they do panels, which leads me into my sizing problem !

On the laptop it looks golden, on the phone ? Yeah, No. I should have made certain boxes taller/bigger so you can tell what's going on in that panel. I suppose spacing and sizing go hand in hand.

3. BETTER FLOW- I think this is self explanatory.

4. COLOURING- I'm stuck in my ways of colouring that I've been doing for years. (I used to have a tiny little Wacom tablet that my friend had passed over to me. I think it was passed around cause it was so small) I wanna change up their skin tones too (make Johnny less pale LOL) I might make myself a new pallet cheat sheet.

5. THE GODDAMN LIGHT SOURCE. Where is the light coming from ?? Where are the casted shadow ?? If they're in a room, and they're in a certain position , how will the light hit them ? Since it's a comic I can get away with simplifying it but I need to know where the light is coming from. WHERE ARE YOU SUN RAYS??

6. BETTER DIALOGUE. This might be a 'me' thing. Or should I just embrace the cringe ??

7. NO FEAR IN TAKING TIME- I'm envious of everyone who can work so fast and produce such beautiful pieces. I put this pressure on myself to "hurry up" and finish. But maybe for myself I should take my time. For real, I know myself and I'll still push to go faster 😵‍💫 fucking paradox.

Even with all these thoughts, I'm excited to improve~~ like what will it look like six months from now ?? Also I can't help myself but laugh 😂😂 I'm a little too obsessed with 🌶️ Spicy Peppers 🌶️

[cisthehuman]

2024--Wow it's in 2 days!

It's been a wild ride both personally and stream wise!

What Went Down in 2023:

Graduated w/ my Masters, and with that paid my way through grad school

Got diagnosed with PCOS and began treatment!

Got a part time job in my field!

Rebranded and started streaming again!

Started the CisLunar Visual Novel

Started a new music youtube!

(Please check it out! I put all of my tunes on there!)

What to look forward to in 2024!

I have major goals/projects I want to accomplish!

Project 1: The CisLunar Visual Novel!

My multimedia project, CisLunar, is one that has been in the works since I first started streaming possibly 2 or 3 years ago. It is only recently that I decided to take streaming seriously so while I've had my account for a while, I feel like I've only gotten in the swing of things earlier in December. Cislunar, a real word, means "between earth and the moon". It was a random word I found out about while I completed a word search on my phone and ever since, a story has been growing. Plus, as I go by Cis, it really fits lol

The crux of the story is about grief--acknowledging it, processing it, and adapting from it. Almost 3 years ago, I suddenly lost my father. I have been riddled with several emotions that I wanted to process and thus this story is born.

The story follows Lunar Sun (she/they), an alien cat woman who lives on Planet GJ504b (the pink planet). She is a radio host by day and a mafia informant by night. While she smiles and laughs, she's been making a dangerous habit, one that leads her to a new up and coming job. Online entertainment is at an all time high with entertainers reaching different people across the galaxy. The trouble is, people would like to keep their anonymity. Thus the now booming job of Mutualistic Parasite is born. Because they have nothing else to lose, Lunar takes the job leading them to Cis the Parasite (she/they). Cis the Parasite is quiet, stoic, and clearly a loner. Lunar believes they can be partners, but doesn't realize they have more in common with the earthling...

Ooooooh So Interesting! So Wonderous! It's So Unfinished LOL

So we have some goals for this year regarding the VisNovel:

Finish the script for the CisLunar Visual Novel!

Finish designing characters for the CisLunar Visual Novel!

Actually learn ren'py programming!

Project 2: Streaming

I started streaming part time on December 6 (I believe lol I'm bad with dates)! It's been so wonderful so far! Thanks to some wonderful artists, things look much shinier and new! Please take a gander at my twitch page (and follow! you know you want to):

I've been having fun playing games and drawing and I can't complain! However, there is one small issue--I don't get many viewers. While it is true that with whatever I make, I don't do things for numbers or follows, it is also true that streaming alone can be quite lonesome (shoutout to calcium for making it when they can and being a trooper in the chat! I genuinely perk up when you pop in because it is not just me anymore LOL).

That being said, I have a couple of goals for streaming this year!

Get 50 followers

Have at least 10 people chatting in chat.

Slowly but surely complete the PC-98 inspiration for my streams (I actually got a head start on this one; already got a new overlay commissioned~)

Learn more things I can do with obs plugins, to help with the PC-98-ification of the streams

Buy a better laptop to stream on (this one is nice and it lagging helps with the old school vibe I'm going for, but I need some better performance!)

And a big far away goal--have a big named vtuber say I'm their fave obscure streamer lolol

Project 3: Music!

Honestly, because of work and at the time how tired I was due to my health, I didn't have enough capacity to put out the big bulk of music I made. I literally have at the least 40 tracks that are just on soundtrap LOL

With that being said, starting in the new year, I plan to finally put this music out there! It needs to be out into the wild! I'm also going to do my best to draw a cover for each album as well (this is where the backlog gets created), but I've allowed myself to be happy with a cool free use image as well lol. With that being said, there are already 5 albums ready to be posted. They just need cover images and they'll be put up!

I'm also close to finishing Vol.3 of Cosmic Canary Radio aka the stream music! Getting close to 50 tracks so it's the biggest one so far. I believe I have 5 tracks left and then I'll be done! Here are some tracks as a preview of what's in Vol.3

(lol not all the bands use caps in their name, that's just a hilarious coincidence for the ones I chose to put here)

For this project, the goals are:

put out finished albums!!!

Put out Vol 3 of Cosmic Canary Radio!

Make a section (or separate tumblr) for the fake bands in this universe!

Project 4: Quasar

This is a very far away project, but I'd like to get much farther on it in hopes of working on it while finishing CisLunar Visual Novel.

Quasar has been in the works for at least 8 years now, but I've finally worked on it in earnest the past two years. It's influenced by shows/movies like Redline, Motorcity, Speedracer (the movie more than the show), etc. It connects with the zeitgeist within CisLunar loosely so unfortunately I need to get CisLunar started before I can start posting some things about it (I might break that rule though).

Goals for this project include:

finish designing characters

finalize how the story will be provided to readers

complete the plot lol

I have some personal goals too, but I won't go into to much depth here. Most of them revolve around my own mental and physical health, and while I said I would be open to a degree about my issues to help convey there is a real life human in reality behind this screen, I'll leave it at I'm gonna learn to live with PCOS and I'm tired of having a mentally sick mind. While this year has been quite positive for me, I also had some major lows that stopped me from doing what I love--creating things.

LOL ALSO--I plan to update this tumblr more! More sketches and designs and me putting my stream schedule on here and stuff! That was a run on sentence but it is to show how much stuff is going to be on here now!

This was an EXTREMELY long post, but I wanted to write out all of my goals. Maybe I'll come back at the end of next year and see how well I did!

Until then, seeeee youuu neext tiiimmeeeeee!

[kaeru-kobold]

Kaeru Kobold-Dear Tumblr #1

I finally decided what I'm going to do with this Tumblr Account! Aside from the typical reposts of my art, self-promotion and such, I'm going to use it primarily as a live, public diary of my adventure in Vtubing, streaming and content creation, so here goes my very first entry. I think I'm going to try to do this daily, at the very least I'll make one weekly and on big events.

Dear Tumblr,

it's currently 1:22 AM, 12/11/23. I've been interested in becoming a Vtuber for roughly a year now, and have slowly done tons of research, watched hours of Vtuber content for fun and advice, built up art and assets, came up with a new Sona design, customized models, and have spent hours upon hours of work making art and assets related to that goal. Boy they really don't tell you how much work it is to be a streamer/content creator, especially when you're broke and doing it all by yourself. Speaking of broke... I'm currently out of work, money is very low, and I'm very stressed out. I made the mistake of leaving my old job for a new one that I hoped would be a good opportunity, but I had to leave on day one for moral and public health reasons I won't get into. I have put in dozens of applications the last two weeks and have mainly only received automated emails; I have done 2 Zoom interviews for two different jobs, and then was never given a call or email back. My old job won't take me back for reasons beyond me. I admitted this in an OkayDonuts stream a day or so ago, and he said similar issues motivated him to start streaming. This gives me so much hope that I can have the great community and career success that he has that I so desire-If he could do it, so can I! Right? I just really like making stuff, I've always liked learning new techniques both physical and digital; crochet, clay sculpting, wood carving, painting, graphic design, 3D modelling/Texturing, game design. I wasn't good at much as a kid, but art was my passion, and the best part was seeing how happy it made other people. I just want to make cool things that make people happy and create a community of similarly creative people to share our passions and bring more kindness and cool creations into the world. I don't want to be an uber rich Mr. Beast level celebrity, I just want to make enough that I don't need a menial job I suffer at. Simply making a decent living in this world off my art would be a blessing, it would be so much better for my mental health. Speaking of which, if you're reading this....did you know I take commissions? Please commission me, I hungy :'( But seriously, as of writing this, I have $43.20 in my bank account. My phone bill alone is $45. My partner and I have family support, so we'll get by ok, but the struggle and having to ask for help is really getting to me. On the bright side, since we should count our blessings- I have a really nice microphone since my partner tried streaming a couple years ago and is letting me use it whenever I need! I have a really good laptop from my college days that can run everything I need without getting TOO overwhelmed. I have a really good drawing tablet that I bought a couple years ago when I was doing a little better financially (It's much easier to save money when you're living with your parents and work 40 hours a week for $13/hr and your parents pay for everything) Losing my job may be a blessing in disguise because In my stress I have gone into a manic state and began going crazy getting my custom stream Overlays done, fully animated Stream Opening, BRB and Closing Screens, stinger transition animation, a functioning PNGTuber, and multiple drawings/animations for alerts/emotes/rewards/etc. and yes that includes things I didn't know I needed to be a Twitch Affiliate to even use...lol...I'm currently working on an animated lore video for my debut that I will also record a voice-over for. Lastly, a more recent thing-My partner found a gamer chair in the dumpster at our apartment last week after I had spent a couple months trying to find one-the cheapest ones on Facebook Marketplace in our area were like $80-and it's in near perfect condition, only a bit of scuff/rip on the seat and arm rests. How crazy is that? I gave it a good scrub-down and its good to go. I choose to take that as a sign from the universe that I'm on the right path. Wish me luck! With lots of love, Kaeru Kobold

[willinglyghoulified]

Good news and bad(ish?) news.

The good news is that I got my AO3 account set up successfully and I've learned a little about how to navigate the site! So my fanfics will be available there within the following weeks when I get time to transfer them over.

The bad news is that work has me so tired and burnt out that it may be a while before I finish the current chapter in book 3 of my Fallout 4 fanfic or the current chapter in my Fallout New Vegas fanfic.

I wrote a bit of a blog in case anyone woud like to read, but it's mostly me rambling about life updates in general. Anywho, I'll keep y'all posted. ♥ Thank you to everyone who is reading/voting on my stories on Wattpad, also!

I had a migraine for the first time in a long time tonight, brought on by the dust and shit in the warehouse that has been irritating my sinuses. I'm fighting off a sinus infection before it gets worse. We had an extra day off for Labor Day but suffered for it the following week when we worked 12 1/2 hours straight the very next day. The following days were two 10 hour days and a 9 1/2 hour day.

Aside from work and writing, my husband has decided that he would like to take up streaming because his favorite hobby has always been gaming and he hasn't really done anything like that before. So I've been maneuvering furniture around and buying some things for him like a desk and monitor and whatnot so that he can have his own office. :) I'm excited for both him and me because all I can manage to do lately is boot up my PlayStation or Xbox, so streaming may be in the near future for me as well. I'll definitely keep everyone updated if something like that happens, because I may do more than gaming. I'm thinking crochet tutorials, speed drawings, write-with-me's, etc.

Anyways, I miss you, mutuals, and I'm glad I got to blog a little bit before crashing. This is the first time I've opened my laptop in days, and it feels weirdly nice to just type on the keyboard.

[space-blue]

1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 11

Great selection, this took me a long while to hunt down the answers! From the Fandom end of year ask.

favourite fandom you joined this year

Bit of a cheat because it's a 'sub' fandom, but I'll say Andor (star wars). Avatar is right there, yes, but it doesn't have the oomph of Andor. Avatar has a ton of missing character development, and if the world were more approchable, I'd see myself doing a lot of fix its and missing scenes. Andor is difficult on the other hand because it's so perfect. Hard to feel like I have anything to add to the fandom. But it's the one show I've been rewatching to death and having so much respect for.

favourite fic of the year 

This is basically impossible to piiiiick.

I'll mention Fathers & Daughters, even though it's my own, because you have to goddamn love a fic to spend more than a year slaving over it. And I dooo, and yes I AM working on the final chapter still, soz lol

The hottest smut I've read was Boundaries by Spiced, and well, I did nag about it when we discussed the idea, and it's a gift, but that doesn't change the fact it's the best :3 Very happy with it. It's hot by my ace standards. Basically very mindfuck focused. Fandom is Andor!

And then for multi chapter, I'm going to mention this absolutely insane and amazing FE3H complete fic To Those Who Are Never Going Home by MadameHyde. It's set after the game in an Empire win, where a lot of the Blue Lions find themselves teaching at Garrech Mach. I didn't read the tags so some reveals blew my little brain out of the water, it was amazing. Super prose, very character driven, really enjoyed it.

favourite fanart of the year

I thought this would be hard to answer, and then I realised it wouldn't be, actually, even if I'm cheating. BOTH these Maliketh fanarts have been my screen backgrounds for MONTHS. This one is on my phone and on my better Discord :

And this one is my laptop background :

They're dope and Maliketh is top pubber and I'm still obsessed with him. He's peak design and radiates blorbo energies. He's broken and I wanna fix him and pet him and--

favourite author of the year

@spicedrobot That one isn't too hard. I've read a LOT of their work this year, by vertue of doing a lot of beta swaps, and because they write some very delicious ships. They are responsible for 99% of my smut intake in 2022. Also I think it says a lot about an author that you can beta them every other day and never get tired of their unhinged content. They're just that good. (They are in a constant state of wrangling me over my terrible comma game, so they're also very patient and could have strangled me a long time ago, yet they didn't!)

favourite creator of the year

Very hard choice, especially when it's so broad and I've already struggled with the fanart one… But I'm going to go with :

@aromansoul. I just really love their art, and finding them through a shared Silco obsession was delightful. They have a very unique style, with colours that seem to float and come in and out of focus. You'll be staring at a super rendered area and it's perfect, and then you look elsewhere and realise half the drawing is just broad strokes… Absolutely tricks my mind, it's delightful. Also they have some fantastic unique designs of their own content that I think are dope.

favourite OC you met this year

Ah, finally an easy one! Meet Rain Drenched Mountain. He's @scuttlebuttin's Predator OC and he's very sweet. I love his design, his lore, and I think he has great taste. Very handsome lad and each time I see more art of him I feel like a little kid. I mean, Scuttlebuttin is a big favourite artist, and where they're not in a very very distressing blood-gore-clown period, I'm always thrilled to see what they post. Just check out their Odin fanart for the new God Of War, it's out of this world!!

[kawashigeo]

How "ToDo Mate" Changed My Life

What is ToDo Mate?

ToDo Mate is a site where users may view everyone's to-do list for the day. It's a simple platform for managing and organizing your plans, and it syncs across all of your devices as long as you're logged in to your account.

ToDo Mate is a platform that also enables you to add photos and keep journals for your thoughts. It's an easy-to-use tool that can help you stay organized and remind you of your tasks.

How did it Change my life?

1. Simple Design

Most to-do list apps don't last long for me since I find other designs difficult on my eyes and tiresome to input my list for that particular week or month. But when navigating with Todo Mate, it is straightforward, since information is presented in a simple and concise manner without using excessive detail. With Todo Mate, I may repeat a specified list of items under "Goals" and "Routines" by pressing the addition button.

(picture from my desktop)

2. It Syncs on Every Device I Own

It syncs all of my data and lists in other devices, whether they are from my phone, laptop, tablet, or other devices. Unlike the majority of previous apps, I tried, it was challenging to get used to and comprehend how the application or each button functioned. 

3. It Serves as a Habit tracker

Since you may repeat a specified set of items using the "Routine" option, ToDo Mate can function as a routine tracker. I make an effort every day to exercise, do tasks, or develop a habit, such as writing, drawing, or eating meals on time.

It is quite helpful, especially when I forget to eat. You may easily schedule a time in ToDo Mate to complete a certain task on your list. To be reminded that I need to eat in roughly 5–10 more minutes, I like to set it a little earlier so that I receive that early reminder on my phone. So far, I've been eating on time, which is a good thing because I frequently forget to eat.

4. Customizing

To Do Mate allows you to personalize how the colors are presented when you complete your work, as shown in the image below. I used several shades of green, but you may use any color you like based on the colors you display on your "Goals."

(An additional example below of a color scheme from a friend, who enjoys a vibrant palette)

You may also change the names of your "Goals." The "Goals" act as a title for your list, dividing it into sections. 

This has been a favorite of mine since it allows me to divide my School To Do List, Leisure To Do List, and Chores To Do List.

5. Seeing Other People’s List

Viewing other people's lists on this app is one of my favorite features. When I see other people finish their tasks, it helps me be more productive for some reason w whether it comes from a friend or a random user I follow on the app. It's good to see people accomplish something on their list for that day because it motivates me to do the same.

People can view your list as well, but you can set each of your Goals to private if you simply want to keep everything hidden from the public. Simply set each goal to private by selecting the "privacy" option.

If you want to further learn how to use to do mate, heres an indepth way on how to use todo mate : a thread by @csssrae

dont forget to like and share it. Its very useful especially for new users.

________________

First and foremost, this is not sponsored. I just wanted to express how much I like this software. I feel it has benefited me during my time in university and my life right now.  Despite all I've been going through, it makes my life feel a bit more manageable. Most of what I stated may be considered very opinionated. However, this software has fulfilled its purpose for me. I've been using this app for 5 months and, strangely, I haven't grown tired of it. I'll certainly keep you updated if Todo mate remains my personal favorite in the future. I may as well try to share more on programs that I personally like using or explore other kinds of productivity software. In the future, I might also talk about my personal life, hobbies, interests, a few thoughts, and sports. But that depends on whether I can accomplish it.

I appreciate you finishing the article. Thank you very much! 

[magpierrecanarie]

Found the design sheet! Only took me a while to sort through the mess that's my "my stuff 2" folder. I don't even know why I named it that since this laptop is literally my own.

TL;DR: I talk about my Vocaloid Oliver design, show some progress pics and talk more regarding his overall concept.

↓↓ Click here if you'd like to know more! ↓↓

So... if you've been following me for a bit, you'll probably realize that I've changed from posting everyday to posting every other day. Well, about that, it's because I realized that I'll actually run out of artworks at this rate since I'm relatively slow in making art in general.

Which brings me to today's topic! I'd like to talk about some of the process I go through whenever I design a character, or in this case: Oliver.

Like, I don't know if you've noticed but I'm not exactly good at art, sometimes I reuse poses and it ticks me off, othertimes I literally reuse identical character distinctions and it takes me a while before realizing. However, I do always try my best to not have overlapping character designs so that every one of them is unique in their own way. My personal favourite trick is to add something that's awfully big and obvious that makes them look clearly different, even when they're completely shaded over with black (Oliver's tail).

First things first, I try to come up with a doodle with some sort of concept in mind. There were actually a couple more pre-concept art doodles that I made a good 4-5 years ago that isn't included in this post, I'm considering posting it (+ another one I drew up a year ago) in a separate post since it's getting a bit late and I don't feel like digging it up.

Since I'm playing around with an Oliver from a universe where the Vocaloids are an alternate version of their original VPs (more clarification in the previous Oliver fanart), + I mentioned that his specific side-effect was borderlining on life-threatening (also in the previous Oliver post), I decided to draw him as half human, half Nessie the Loch Ness Monster.

There were quite a number of reasons why I chose her compared to other monsters: 1) I've always had the headcannon that the PowerFX Vocaloids were like a big family, not necessarily blood-related but they're spiritually bounded to each other. Since I personally believe that Sweet Ann and Big Al are Oliver's new adoptive parents, I think it'll be nice for him to also be a monster in some way. (+ the amount of Oliver is a monster/half-monster headcannons in the fandom is uhh, hoo boy) 2) Oliver has always reminded me of a sailor. I don't know why and I'm pretty sure his entire costume is based off of a pre-existing choir's outfit, so there's literally no reason for it to have ties to the sea. Maybe it's the colour palette? Or maybe a Vocaloid fanfiction I read a long time ago that I've forgotten since then? Idk, but either way I really like the thought that he came from either a family of sailors or a family that lived close to the sea. 3) Okay, if you know anything about the Loch Ness Monster myth, you'd know that its origin is from Scotland and not you know, Britain, where Oliver's supposedly from. And to that I say, my argument as a South-east Asian is that it's CLOSE ENOUGH... Plus, I don't think there's other Sea Monster myths that are as easily recognizable as Nessie, who ironically enough doesn't even live in the sea, rather, she lives in a fucking lake. But still, the other couple of Sea Monsters/Sea Creatures myths that I think are decently popular are probably the Kraken or the Mermaids + Sirens. The Kraken is eliminated from the selection since this isn't supposed to be the Horror genre LOL, and the Mermaids + Sirens are a bit too far regionally, plus they're a bit basic (sorry to all my Mermaids + Sirens lovers out there) imo.

There are some ugly AF doodles here but it's what you go through when you're me, sadly.

Also, if you noticed but here I finalized the design you saw in the previous Oliver fanart where he was wearing a merge of these two testing designs of his cloak:

The former was partially inspired by the Scottish Kilt Sash, though it's not very obvious since Oli's not Scottish so I just took inspo from the way it's usually framed on one's body. The latter however was inspired by manta rays, they look STUPID as hell and I love them, so as a compromise, I merged the two cloaks together and that's what became of the current one! B)

It's actually getting a bit too long for my laptop to handle so I'll leave it here for now.💀💀

See you on Friday! B) Might be posting an original artwork then so you can look forward to it!

[brandybradyrandyandyndy]

Got tagged by @official-lauchzwiebel

Thanks for thinking of me!!! :-)

So...

1. What are you currently reading

Rico, Oskar und der Diebstahlstein by Andreas Steinhöfel; Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg; and still Twilight bc I couldn't get myself to pick it up again since the last time I was asked this question 🥸

2. Best movie I've seen in the cinema last year?

Honestly? Actually Puss in Boots - The Last Wish. I immediately fell in love with the animation when I first watched the trailer and when I went to see the whole movie I was completely carried away by the story too! I love this movie so much. Kitties and puppies 😭😭💞

3. What do you usually wear?

In the summer? Button-up/t-shirt + shorts + funny socks + crocs

In the winter? Sweater (with something collared underneath) + high-rise jeans (in any color with any leg width except skinny jeans) + funny socks + docs or crocs boots + the purple winter jacket I got from the h&m men's section only a few weeks ago but I've been wearing it non-stop bc it's exactly the kind of jacket I've been looking for for years and I finally have a cool functional winter jacket in my favorite color!!! 😩🤌💜💜💜

4. Star sign? Celebrity etc. you share your birthday with?

Leo, and I share a birthday with the episodes Eclipse Lake from The Owl House and Wishmaker from Miraculous Ladybug 😌

If we're going with real celebrities like singers or actors.. I was born exactly one day before Tristan Göbel :-)

5. Do you go by your name or nickname?

Depends. My close friends and family mostly call me Lenny, but I always introduce myself to new people with my birth name.

6. Did you grow up to what you wanted to be as a child?

Even as a child I never knew what I wanted to be and I always wrote "weiß ich noch nicht" in that empty space in the Freundebuch, so basically yes bc I still have no plans but now I'm studying languages 👍

7. What's something you're good/bad at?

I'm pretty good at crafty and creative stuff like crocheting, sewing, drawing and all that. Also learning new languages comes pretty easy to me, but I'll probably withdraw this statement after I've gotten back the results from my uni exams that I have yet to write...

Something I'm really, really bad at is being consistent with something. There's always something I'm forgetting and when it comes to important stuff like uni I often can't get myself to even open the uni website on my laptop as if I was paralyzed. Ahaha, anyway on to the next question...

8. Dogs or cats?

See, I'm the person who claims that they like both. And y'know I do like both. When I see someone walking outside with their dog I'm the one excitedly squeaking: "SCHAU MAL EIN HUNDI!!! :-)", but when I see a cat I get even more excited and in my head I'm like: "!!!!!!!!!!!!" bc I don't want to make too many loud noises and scare it off (you know I wanna pet that kitty!!!)

9. If you draw/write, or create in any way, what's your fav picture/line/something you created this past year?

The tiny Sendung Mit Der Maus-Maus I crocheted :-)

10. What's something you'd like to create content for?

Tough one. First of all gzsz bc I'm basically the only funny fanartist they have. I mean I've seen some artists drawing realistic portraits from screenshots but that's why I say I'm the only funny one out there. Anyone can redraw a screenshot but I'm the only person willing to draw Maren and Katrin or Michi and Tobias kissing, so even if my sketches look messy and I post so inconsistently that I'll never get more than 3 notes on something I still think I'm doing a more valuable job than people who redraw something that's already happened only for the sake of flexing how realistic their artstyle is. (It's a different story tho if the redraw is stylized!!! There's so much personality to stylized art!!)

So... To come back to the original question. Gzsz definitely, maybe some crossovers like my ml au as well shhshshss, Miraculous Ladybug in general, also Osomatsu-san or Owl House and all that stuff I'm currently watching. Tschick. Yeah.

11. What's something you're currently obsessed with?

Just scroll through my blog for a while.

Besides that? Crocheting. I love that you can do it while watching something, so I feel like I'm doing something useful even while watching AWZ 😩

12. What's a hidden talent of yours?

Nobody peels mandarin oranges and clementines like me! I always peel them in a spiral pattern and almost never fail!! 😤💪

13. Are you religious?

Nice try Gretchen. I'm not gonna answer that.

14. What's something you wish to have at this moment?

Right now at this exact moment? Nothing really. Bin grad wunschlos glücklich, als hätte ich ein halbes Erdbeermarmeladebrot mit Honig verzehrt und würde mit leerer Gedankenblase irgendwo rumliegen und den Rest meines Tages genießen 🍯🍓🍞

Tagging @tofufei @midnightxxcrisis @9puppiesdrowninginapool @jofngve and of course everyone else who wants!!! 😸💕

[galactichelium]

I know I haven't drawn anything in awhile but I want it to be known that literally every day I try to think about things I could potentially draw. Because I really love drawing. But I just... don't really have any ideas! And it sucks. The only ideas I have would be to draw a new icon for my art blog, and maybe this blog too, but I'm really not good at drawing icons lmfao. I'd prefer to draw some other things first, so that I can get into the swing of things again, before I attempt to draw an icon.

Part of the issue also is that I really need a HDMI splitter so that I can have both my monitor AND my graphics tablet plugged into my computer at the same time. Also so that I don't have to reach to the back of my computer to unplug my monitor and plug in my graphics tablet Every Single Time I wanna start drawing. Because the cool thing about my old Surface Pro is that I could just pick up my pen and start drawing with little steps to get in the way. But it's over 9 years old now, it'll be 10 late this year. I got it second-hand 5 years ago, so I've had it for longer than how old it was when I got it. But Surface Pros are expensive, and so are laptops in general, so I opted to get a desk computer so that I could have actually decent hardware for once. Y'know, without needing to pay a shit ton for it. But it'd just be nice if all I needed to do was to like, press the on button, on my tablet, and then be able to start drawing. Especially nice if I'd be able to have my monitor on at the same time.

So yeah. Dunno man. Main issue is still the lack of ideas. I've been struggling with ideas so much for a year now, I'm not sure what suddenly made ideas so difficult. I used to draw a drawing once every 2 weeks! I was doing that consistently for 2 years! Sometimes once a week! Now I'm lucky if I draw once in a 2 month period.

[abceltic]

Good evening

Hello everyone, I've been trying to use my phone less so i havent been online. I deleted all social media except twitter and Tumblr on my phone. I am going to delete them and only use them on laptop though. When i get my new camera, i may redownload TikTok but only on laptop so i can post footage i'm taking. It'll be an old Sony camera, I'm really excited about it :)) My days feel a lot more fulfilling without using my phone so much, i dont restrict it (yet) as i consequently use it less as a result of deleting my primary apps. Also, this may be strange but I've attempted to listen to less music, not when im inside but, when outside. I feel I often miss many of my surroundings and the environmental noise as Im listening to music through Spotify, It's uncomfortable , i guess, to be with my thoughts and to be somewhat bored at certain points but, itll also be good to sit with my own boredom. There's nothing wrong with boredom and i dont understand why im so "against" it ... Lol That's another Topic, I want to be more present, to be able to sit in my boredom. It's okay to do nothing but, the feeling of boredom is so... Urgh. A restlessness, you carry a certain excitement, a need, a want, to do something yet there's nothing available. Actually, no, there is always something available, even if you think there's nothing. I sat in boredom today and after ten minutes, around ten minutes at least, my brain felt like it was actually conjuring up something and finally making do with its surroundings and available items or areas. It felt great. So, now i know that I am capable of that and i can in fact do something Lol. It seems simple but, Oh my god, It was harder than expected, i really did have to try. And, I started Journaling again. I didnt realise how much i have to say. it's been what... 2 days? 2 days of actually using it. It's in the image down below and I've been cutting out photos of images i've taken, writing down thoughts, writing down quotes, "Philosophical" queries, opinions, arguments, drawing, using stickers and making art. I'm really happy for the art as drawing has always been something I've really enjoyed and I've always done it but with this, theres no pressure and i can make collages, draw to my heart's extent. So, it's already getting bigger and all i can feel when i look at it is joy :) . Here's the journal from the side:

Good bye!