#also sorry all the people I recommended to look at for style are white

[egophiliac]

Hello! Sorry to bother but do you have any digital art tips? I’m quite new to it and any tips, tricks or advice would be helpful! Your coloring style is very beautiful and I love it a lot!

thank you! 💚💚💚 sorry this is a bit late, hopefully there's still something helpful in it!

(also, it got pretty long, sorry!)

I think the biggest thing is to just take things slow -- digital art feels different than drawing traditionally, and it's SUPER easy to get overwhelmed by the billions of cool features that the digital world offers. (I say, as someone who spends a lot of time downloading cool brushes and textures...and then never using them ever.) there is a ton of really cool stuff you can do digitally, but because there's so much, I think it's really important to take time to figure out what is and isn't working for you. spend some time doodling without any intent to do a finished piece, figure out how you like to hold (or not hold) your tablet, what keyboard shortcuts you end up using a lot (and therefore might want to map to your pen/tablet buttons for quicker use)...that kind of thing!

everyone's workflow and preferred program and style are different, so it's hard to give hard-and-fast general advice. but the things that I think of as the essentials for learning digital art programs, and what I think of as a good order to focus on learning them in (although YMMV, especially depending on what kind of art you're doing):

brush customization (e.g. flow, opacity, softness)

layers and layer masks

selections and transformations (e.g. scale, rotate, flip horizontal/vertical, skew) (skew is underrated and I will die on that hill)

blending modes (e.g. multiply, screen)

adjustments/adjustment layers (e.g. hue/saturation, curves)

and I think most stuff after that is gravy! often very good gravy though! but yeah, as overall advice I recommend just taking things one little bit at a time, spending some time just drawing and messing around with each feature and what you can do with it. whether or not you end up incorporating any of it into your workflow, it's always good to try things out and just see how they feel! :D

and just so there is at least a little more concrete helpfulness in here, here's a few more specific things that I think are super important to keep in mind!

use! your! tablet/pen buttons! I mentioned this earlier, but they are extremely useful for keyboard shortcuts that you use often! most programs will also let you create new shortcuts for other things -- personally, I use the magic wand tool to fill in big color blocks a lot, so I made shortcuts for 'expand selection' and 'fill' and then mapped them to my tablet buttons.

flop your work horizontally often! when you're working on something, you get used to the way it looks, so seeing it mirrored is a quick way to see it with fresh eyes! in my experience, it often feels like this:

(a common thing is to find that everything is sort of 'leaning' too much one way, which is where skew really comes in handy!) (seriously, I love skew, it is my savior)

if you're working with color, keep a hue/saturation adjustment layer (or a layer filled with black or white and set to Color) on top and toggle it on occasionally to check your values! a lot of people who know a lot more about color than me (and are better at putting it into words) have written about why values are so important, so all I'll say is that the rule of thumb is that your image should still be readable in greyscale:

there are some exceptions and grey areas (do ho ho), but it's a good general rule to keep in mind! (some programs also have a colorblind mode, so you can check to see how your work will look to someone with colorblindness!)

and finally, here's some digital art programs I recommend, if you're still looking for a good one!

free: krita, FireAlpaca

paid: ClipStudio, Procreate (iOS/iPad only)

[chilewithcarnage]

I, a very white and somewhat privileged person, am absolutely terrified to draw colored people. Because I don’t know if I’d cross the thin line of tasteful and authentic or racist and stereotypical…

Lol for starters don't refer to us as coloured people. This ain't 1955. Secondly my best advice to you is to use references of actual people of color. I would highly recommend staying away from those white men art station youtuber type artists for tutorials because they get a majority of their techniques and style from main stream video games and comic books, which to put it nicely don't have the best reputation for representing women and poc. tangent over, so yeah references. real life photographs of brown and black people.

pinterest is a site that a lot of current, especially younger artists like to use, but in all honesty it's not a very good source for someone trying to learn the fundamentals. it'll mainly show you 20 something year old ig and twitter models which is okay if you wanna just draw pretty people; but not the best if you wanna like I said learn fundamentals + have a portfolio that's varied. also it's rife with ai shit and stolen art, so yeah would only recommend that as an initial starting point/using it to make your own personal board for your saved images.

stock photo sites are my go to for refs. getty images, istock, alamy, etc. a simple right click save image or screenshot will work to get the images you want for free. of course there will be the watermarks, but they're honestly a very small issue to bypass. as long as they're not opaque and nearly covering the entire subject; you're good. a nice thing about stock photo sites is they usually give you the option to filter the image search results. say for instance you want to draw an elderly asian woman cooking or a young black man painting a picture or an indigenous child playing with dolls. you can look up certain terms you want in the search bar & specify gender, age and ethnicity to narrow down your search to what you want.

another awesome place for references i discovered during college is posespace.com

like with getty images, it gives you the option to filter your searches. they also have their models in clothed or nude shoots in the event that you want to practice some bare bones anatomy.

also also, get your info from artists of color. there's a decent amount of tutorials ive found over the years on here and youtube on coloring skintones, drawing certain hair types, how to avoid caricatures and stereotyping, different facial features, cultural hairstyles. the list goes on. don't be afraid to depict people outside of your race. literally just go about drawing us the same way you would a white person. don't be scared, as long as you remain respectful and make an honest effort to learn; you'll do fine.

resource links by and from artists of color:

'how i draw south + southeast asian people'

an example of what to avoid when stylizing east asian characters

'drawing asian people, source: i'm asian'

'lessons from drawing I: what is asian anyways?'

'how to draw indians'

'how to draw arabs'

'How I draw skin Part 2: DON”T DRAW NATIVE PEOPLE WITH RED SKIN!!!! A tutorial' (the link to the first part of this tutorial is broken sorry)

How to Draw Native People: a Tutorial/Reference Guide

How to Draw Black People by peachdeluxe

tips for drawing black people by rosheruu

drawing east asian faces by chuwenjie

how to draw black people series by Artistik Freedom (youtube)

✏️How I draw black hairstyles (simple) 🌱 by Likelihood Art (youtube)

there's also a bunch of black and brown artists on twitter and tiktok, so checking those sites for tutorials would be a good additional resource

good luck on your illustrating melanin endeavors 👍🏾

[dresshistorynerd]

Hiii, I love your page and you helped so much with research. I am doing a project for my costume course, I have to design costumes from 1895, 1894 and 1896 are kinda accettable, but I having problems with creating the moodboard for every outfit. I really can't find photos or archival pieces for men, especially a character who is supposed be a 17 years old and I can't really find photos/illustrations of children nightwear (boys). I know by heart every archive of every museum and I even looked on internet archive at old magazines, but still I can't find much. Do you have any niche sources that you would recommend? Sorry to bother you, just a student losing her mind

Thank you so much! And sorry for the wait! I hope you're course is not over already and I'm late with the answer :')

17 years old boy would be already dressing in basically same clothing as men. With nightwear it's also pretty easy, since all people wore basically the same nightgowns, only details would vary. Here's an 1874 example of children's nightgowns, which are long white dresses gathered at the neckline, with long sleeves and often a bit of collar. This is the basic shape everyone wore. They tended to be more simple for children and men. Women, especially rich women, might have some more decorations. Night chemise was also an option for women. It's what it sounds like and shaped exactly like a chemise, with just maybe some differences in details.

Men and boy's nightgowns were usually called nightshirts and while they were mostly the same as women's nightgowns, they were usually a bit shorter by 1890s, usually covering just the knees. Here's an add for children's undergarment with a nightshirt for boys too from 1878.

As for adult men's nightshirts, here's first a 1891 ad with unfortunately quite poor illustration of a man's nightshirt, but if does show the popular style for men, turned down lapels. Here's another example of that style in form of an extant garment form 1900s.

By 1890s pyjamas - shirt and trouser combo - had become fashionable nightwear for men, though nightshirt were still used well into 20th century. Here's an add from 1901 showing both nightshirts and pyjamas. Pymajamas were also used as fashionable evening negligee and while in 1890s nightshirts were still usually white, pyjamas were not and often had a pattern.

Underwear and nightwear are types of clothing that rarely survive history, since they are usually not fancy so they are not preserved diligently and are worn close to skin therefore quite quickly are worn down. That's why ads (in periods when they started to become a thing) are great sources for those kinds of garments. The last add is from a catalogue for mail-order clothes. These are usually excellent sources for the basics, like underwear and nightwear, which were already sold as ready-made garments in stores and by mail-order businesses by 1890s. Internet archive has several digitized fashion catalogues from around the time you are looking for so I suggest looking through them if you want to find more specific examples. This was really the first that came across me that was close enough. Some libraries also have excellent digital collections of old ads, like the New York Public Library (from where the other above ads are from), so their collections are also worth going through.

Hope this helps and I hope this is not too late for your course project!

[calware]

I love your young!Rose design with the braids & hair beads, it reminds me of the Black girls i knew in elementary school (2005-2011), so its deffo “period accurate” and also a delightful choice. The way you draw the human kids in general is really nice, youre really good at conveying specific features with minimal lines (like her & Mom’s nose shape). Do you have any tips for how you draw faces to make them not same-face or repetitively “white” features, especially when drawing in a less “realistic” style (i dont wanna say your style is cartoony but idk what i would call it tbh)? I took a life drawing class back in 2019 but we mostly drew the same two models or our classmates, and it was both a limited pool of features plus feels hard to translate into art that isnt attempting to be 100% realistic.

Sorry if this is rambly. Congrats on 10k. Love ur new icon, tho i miss the Horb. Do you take commissions? I think i asked this before but i forgetful af.

thank you for the ask :)!! i'm really flattered that you think i'm good at avoiding same-face syndrome because i am VERY LAZY when it comes to drawing and i could definitely be doing a better job ;^^ i'm also not the best at drawing people diversely(?), it's just something i have to get better at. there are people way more qualified than me to give advice about this... but i can try giving some tips

the first is that, like with anything, if i'm not confident that i can accurately portray something or a specific feature i will usually look up a reference. i like paying attention to things like the position of the browbone, height of the cheekbones, shape of the chin, shape of the eyes, length/width of the face, width of the nostrils, shape/position of the bridge of the nose, roundness of the cheeks, etc. when i draw characters (specifically the homestuck characters i like, because i think about them a lot) i have an idea in my head of how they look and how they differ from one another. for example i see jade with a longer diamond-shaped face while rose has a shorter heart-shaped face, so i do my best to depict that in my drawings

(idk if this illustration makes ANY SENSE bc like i said i think that i also struggle with pushing myself in regards to this and i think i still have more to learn/practice)

i think it comes down to paying attention to the proportions/types of specific facial features and adjusting them each to create a unique face

that said when it comes to stylizing what you see from photographic references, i understand that it can be tricky to simplify it. i really don't have any advice for this.... i just play around with it until it looks good while also being recognizable as the specific thing i'm trying to draw.......... so in that case i think it helps to use other people's art as a reference too! i don't really care about sticking to one "style" so i don't mind drawing in a slightly different way if i want to do something another artist is also doing. so for example if you're struggling with drawing 4c hair i recommend looking at other people's drawings of characters with 4c hair that you like and playing around with if you can incorporate their techniques into your own art.

i hope this all made sense ;^^ there are definitely a lot of tutorials out there that are way more informative than this one

also, to answer your last question, i plan to open up a few commission slots next week! (as long as i have enough time to that is)

[cuddl3s4shur1]

Totally Not In Love

Inspired By: Abbott Elementry Janeen and Gregory Paring: Teacher riri x Art Teacher Y/n

Summary: Your a new art teacher at a elementary school

Authors Note:Bro Janine and Gregory ARE OBVI IN LOVE idc what anybody says they like each other

Also i would like to say im sorry for like not making story and publishing them I lowkey having been making 3 or 4 stories at the same time and than I would take breaks . So its been all over the place but I'm glad to say I'm almost done with a few and I will start making parts to somestorys you guys have been waiting for (Proud Family , When All Said And Done..Take time, Betrayed etc.) It might take more time for the stories to gett written because I at least want each story to be over 1-2,000 words. Other than that I have no annoucments

Ps:This was not revised and it is unedited if you see grammar issues either let me know or keep it to yourself

Anygays I hope you enjoy the story and or my writing style

- Xoxo Cuddles

Taglist: @saintwrld @inmyheadimobsessed @shuriislut @2k7-sparkles @locoforshuri @writesbyriri @secretgyals @lunax0654 @letitias-fav @shuri-my-love @ziayamikaelson @h34rtsformilli @malltake12 @adeola-the-explorer @niaalove @atssukoo @randomhoex

-If you would like to be added to the Taglist comment in a story ✨

Music:I made a music playlist for the story it is optional to listen to it but i do recommend it sense I used some the community’s favorite songs (WHICH I LOVEEE) I hope you enjoy the playlist

playlist

Sneak Peak👀:If only you could grip on my hair or neck like the way you grip on that little paint brush

Today was the day you had been waiting for, the day you got to decorate your art class.

When you told people in your family about your passion for teaching they thought you were joking . Especially your mother, she overall thought you shouldn’t be a teacher while your sister thought you should. But the main reason you wanted to teach was to help kids and move out of your moms house. You hated how your sister and mother would always fight over dumb stuff.

Chicken or Chicken Nuggets Lasagna or Mac and Cheese Jeans Or Leggings

Overall you got tired of it . So you put more thought into your career and found a job as an art teacher at a school. Vikington Elementary. Even though the school had a pretty weird name you liked the place, and the teachers, and you were going to like the students.

You get out of your car and you open your trunk to get a box out . The box had all your decorations for your class minus the chairs and tables you ordered. You close your trunk and lock your car doors. You begin to walk to the school entrance “Do you need help” you hear a voice ask you. “Yeah if you could open the door it would be great “ you say . The person opens the door and you begin to walk to your classroom. You see a slight glimpse of what they look like . She had cornrows and she was in a graphic tee and sweatpants that matched the shirt .

You try to look for the person who opened the door for you but the person was nowhere to be found. You open the box and you begin to take everything that was in the box . You take out the aprons and you hang them on the hooks next to the door . You take out your desk accessories and you decorate your desk the way you wanted to. You take out your white board decorations and you write “Welcome to art with Ms. L/n '' . You close the marker and place the marker on your desk. You get the last things in your box , Your paintings. You looked over for a chair that was sturdy and some tape but you found none.

You walk out your class and head to closest class next to you . “Hey not trying to bother you or anything but do you have tape and a chair “ you ask the unknown person. “Yeah I have those” the voice responded not looking at you. You think ‘that voice sounds familiar but maybe I'm trippin ‘ . They go to there desk and they search for the tape. Once they find it they give you the tape and know all you needed was a chair. “And the chair “ you reminded the person. “Yeah “ They hand you a chair and you head back to your classroom. “Im Ms.Udaku” she yells . You nod as you leave . You place the chair where you needed it and you begin to get on the chair . You get your art poster and you get you pieces of tape ready . You get on the chair and start to tape your first artwork. You feel the chair start to wobble and you fall back . You feel a person catch you . “Thanks “ you say as you look back to see who caught you. You see Ms,Udaku.

Camera Interview: Y/n “When I looked back to see Ms.Udaku it kinda felt embarrassing” Y/n says, giving a side eye to the camera.

“You can let me go now” You say remending Ms.Udaku to let you go. “Oh yeah sorry” she says and she places you up to stand . “ Thanks again that was nice of you , You're like spider girl or supergirl,”.Shuri gives the camera a side eye. You say trying not to be awkward causing it to be awkward. “Thanks I guess,” she says, forcing a smile. “I’m L/n Its nice to meet you” I say leaving my hand out to dap her . She daps me up and responds “Its uh nice to meet you Ms.L/n “ she says with a smile .

Camera Interview : Shuri “I don’t think she know i'm the black Panther but its all cool”

“Can you help me with these posters I was trying to hang them up until you know “ I ask shuri. Shuri was taller than me. “Sure” she says you hand her the tape and the prints and she begins to put them on your walls. “Did you make this art that i'm hanging up” she asks you. “Yeah I made them,” you responded . “ You're really good at art ,BUt you probably know your art teacher, “ shuri says. You can tell she was nervous about something but you couldn’t put your figure on what.

Camera Interview: Shuri “She’s a really great artist I will definitely buy some of her art” Shuri Says showing a smile

“You're right, an art teacher should like art, “ you say laughing . “Which one is your favorite?” she asks you . “Um i like the princess and the frog one the best” you say as you point to the picture. “Mhm , I like your proud family one” she says as she points to the picture.Shuri finishes putting the pictures on the wall so you invite her to your desk. You sit in your desk chair and she pulls a classroom chair and sits with you. As she sits down on the chair she begins to ask you a question “Um so What are your hobbies”

Camera Interview: Y/n “She’s awkward but i can see us being work buddies” You say ending with no emotion in the face.

You begin to face shuri and respond to her question . “My hobbies…” you mouth some sound coming out. You feel eyes on your lips so you break the eyes off of you lips and answer the question. “My hobbies mhm I like art Which you can tell “ shuri does a slight laugh at you answering. “I like sleeping. I'm really good at that but don't get enough sleep,” you say laughing . “I like eating. I'm really good at fashion . Fashion is like my second main hobby , and baking. I like eating so I know how to bake and cook.” During telling shuri your hobbies, you heard scattered laughter from her . “But what about you what are your hobbies “ you ask shuri wondering. “Well i like designing and science sometimes planting but designing and science are my main “ you nod and smile . “Thats nice I didn’t see you as a plant person” you say . “Oh mhm” shuri says lifting eye brows.

You hear footsteps in the hallway till they stop. You begin to look at your doorway . You move your chair to look at who it could be . You look at the lady confused on who it is . “Hello Im Ms. L/n '' you say waving to the unknown teacher. “Oh I’m Ms. Willam's You can call Riri though , I was looking for shuri '' she finishes . “oh Shuris right there but i guess you can call me Y/n '' say . Shuri gets up and begins to talk with riri.

Shuri steps in the hallway and begins to talk with riri. “Aye, that's the girl I helped with the door . She seems cool. I want to be friends with her, you know, past work, "Riri says . Shuri lets out a sigh. “She just got here to relax , we're going to have to chill with her, “ shuri says .

Camera Interview : Riri “Am I in love with someone I haven't exchanged words to … No definitely not “

Shuri and riri begin to walk back into Your art class . You scroll on insta looking at your friends post of her being in italy with her boyfriend Fiance. You read the long caption that she wrote with the picture and you smiled. You had been friends before they got together so to know that they were engaged makes you smile.”who got your feet kicking” Riri says, causing you to do a slight jump. “ I aint mean to scare you ma” she says which catches you off guard. “I was reading my friend's engagement post, “ you say, explaining what made you smile . “Tell them i said congrats “ Shuri says you give her a side eye . “They don’t know you but I guess I'll help them” you say . You thought it would be pretty awkward to tell your friend that but you were going to keep your word. “Well ugh what now “ you say trying not to be awkward but you make it more awkward. Shuri begins to stare and thinks it's cute how you look awkwardly . “Well um maybe sense where co workers we should get to know each other and i see you like to paint so maybe we could do like a paint and sip '' riri says . “That's cool and I could help you if needed,” you say, smiling now. “Yeah i'm definitely going to be needing help” shuri says chuckling you join in on the laugh . “You have a nice smile” shuri says, making you flustered by that simple sentence . “I’ll give yall my number so i can send yall my address for the paint and sip “ you say smiling . You put in their phones and after words you leave so you could get your house together . THis was pretty unexpected but you could never turn down an offer to help people paint especially if they're hot .

✰ You were at home setting up the paint and sip since it was out of the blue you would have to rush. You told them to be here at 7:30. It was now 3:30 so you only had 4 hours to get your apartment together . you call your bestfriend to go get the food and supplies while you are cleaning .” Hey dia can you go to walmart and get some food so i can host this paint and sip for my coworkers shuri and riri” you ask hoping she would go to the store for you . “You're talking about your fine co-workers right ?” she asks you , “I mean if you call them fine yes “ you say as you roll your eyes. “ You should lowkey put me on if you know what i mean” she says you become awkward . “I know what you mean but can you just buy the groceries? '' you say, trying to demand but yet still be cool, calm and or collected.”yeah send me the list “ she says . you hang up and text her the supplies and or food products that you needed for the foods . You start to make your house look presentable. You changed from your school outfit to a chill sweatpants outfit

You hear a knock on the door after you change and you hope it's not shuri and riri . You check your phone to see that it's 4:40 ,probably dia. You open the door and Dia walks in and places the groceries down. “We got to like hurry we got 3 more hours” you say hoping that would help dia be more quick. “Girl i'm going to help you and then imma dip ny invited us to the club but i know you can’t go because you hosting this so when we done ima get lit “ dia says you laugh. Overall you weren’t a club person you didn’t like the loud music, People everywhere it never interested you .”Well enjoy it i guess ,but you can always stay” you say trying to be nice . “mhm” she hums as a response . ✰

Your friend dia already left and shuri and riri should be coming any moment by now- . The doorbell rings look like they're here. You had your speaker playing some music and right now it was playing ‘Outside -Bryson Tiller’ . The song was overall a chill song but when you heard the intro you were thinking about a whole different song with the same intro. You open the door to see riri and shuri . YOu began to stare at the 2. They were looking so fucking fine riri had, on a outfit that showed her toned abs . Shuri had a simple outfit yet it made her legs shine . “Earth to Y/N~” riri says as she snaps . “Oh yeah come in come in , sorry bout that must of zoned out” you say as you blink a couple times . “Or checking us out its ok “ shuri says you roll your eyes at her cockyness . “I prefer what i said i was not checking yall out “ you say as you fidget with your hands.”What ever you say ma,” shuri says as she sits down at your dinning table . It was circular and was all black you had chairs that where grey and black ,“I made so dip than we got some wing stop and hawaiian rolls and uh for drink i got some wine coolers in the freezer so it can be come like a slushie and i got the rest of my drinks in my cabinet “ you say as you either walk to what your talking about or point. “But uh ill give yall the canvas’s and ill go get the paint “ you say as you head to your bedroom to get the canvas’s and paint .

As you walk out your dining room that was connected to your kitchen shuri and riri begin to stare. “Bro we can’t fall for her you know she’s are co worker “ riri says shuri rolls her eyes . “i don’t care i want what i want and what i want is her “ shuri says . All of a sudden the doorbell rings. “Ill get it” y/n yells . She walks out her bedroom without the canvas’s nor paint brushes and or paint. She opens the door and we see a fine lady.Her outfit was cute for clubbing tbh. The whole friend group is just fine tbh . Shuri and riri begin to look at eachother . “Dia what are you doing here “ y/n asks dia. Shuri mouths her name “Dia” . “Girl so i made it the car drove their but than i had to come back i forgot my purse “ she says as she walks to couch to get it . “Be for real how the fuck did you just realize that “ y/n says riri sides eye y/n she never heard y/n cuss before. “Well i didn’t realize it because i had my keys “ y/n rolls her eyes. “Whatever dia” dia looks at the 2 ladys . “You said they weren’t fine” dia says as she trys to whisper to y/n. “You can’t whisper for shit i said if you call them fine than yes “Me and riri give y/n a flirty glare. “Well girl ima see you later also are you coming to club tomorrow “ dia says as she walks to the door . “See you dia , Most likely no but your going to force me so yes “ y/n says as she opens the door . “Good also don’t dress like no teacher , When your at the club you don’t want to look like a teacher “ dia says ,You slowly close the door .”ok i’ll remember” you say as finish closing and locking the door.”Sorry about her “ y/n says .She goes back to her bedroom to get the supplies .

“The whole friend group is fine “ riri whispers to me . “exactly “ i whisper,y/n come in the dinning room area and places down the canvas’s . “Well lets get started “ y/n says as she next to me. ✰

Y/n paints her canvas as she hums to her playlist she hums to the song”Skin Tight By Ravyn Lenae FT Steve Lacy”. We all focus on are painting until i realize i need help with some clouds im doing on my paintings “Y/n could you like help me with making clouds “ i say as i tap her hand with the end of my paint brush . “Yeah shuri i can help you “ she says as she gets up and walks to my chair. “So what your going to do circular motions “ she says i try to follow her direction with my paint brush. “Wait no let me see the brush” I give her the brush and she begins to paint in circular motions . Her hands gripping the brush had me think of what else she could grip on . Lord save me i can’t be thinking those things about my COWORKER . “Alright now you can try” she hands the brush back to me and i try to copy how she did it. She puts her hand on top of mine and begins to take control of how the brush moves . “You wanna go slow and steady you dont want to go fast” she says as she keeps guiding my paint brush to make a cloud. “And thats how you make a cloud she releases her hand from on top of mine . “thanks y/n “ i say she goes back to sitting in her chair . I continue to make the cloud yet i still think about her hand on mine it gave me some type of comfort. As I look at y/n she moves her hips to the beat of song ,’Trance By Metro Boomin Ft Travis Scott and Young thug was playing. “This you shit huh” riri says as she looks at y/n.”Hell yeah this song hitss” you continue to dance in the chair. You paint slowly making sure you get every detail .You take the paint Brush off of the canvas .You look at the canvas and begin to smile . You grab a new brush and grip the brush you begin to dip it on the next color.

Shuri watches the slight changes in brush and color . She likes the way you concentrate on each part of your painting. She sees how each stroke of the paint you make adds to the final portrait.If only you could grip on my hair or neck like the way you grip on that little paint brush .I begin to stop looking at her painting hoping to get those thoughts out of my mind.That dosent work. I trails my eyes down your body . I could tell when you did art you where more calm and loose.”When did you start painting” I would ask in soft voice. My question comes from out of nowhere. I could tell that it caught riri and y/n off guard.”Huh” she asks me not getting my question.”When did you start painting “ I re ask her . “Well I always was a artist my panters said bit I started at 8 months” she says my jaw drops. “8 Months ?” I ask her . “8 months ,My mom would give me a bag that had paint and a canvas and I would just paint” she explains , she takes her eyes off the Canvas and looks at me with a smile.”That’s hella impressive” riri remarks “Also interesting “ I add to riri. Y/n begins to hum as a response .She continues to paint me and riri look at each other than we go back to our paintings.

Shuri and I begin to help y/n with cleaning ,so by the time where done we can chill with y/n while our paintings dry.Shuri does the dishes and I start to take out the trash. “You guys I could’ve cleaned up “ she says . “We know we just don’t want you to clean all by yourself when we can help” I state to y/n. Y/n begins to go to the kitchen ,”You you guys like to take any food home” she questions us. “Sure “ I say I begin to go to the kitchen and make me a plate . I go yo the nearest counter and get some of her paper plates. “Can you make me one to” shuri adds .”I got you” I say and I begin to make me and shuri plates . “You got some foil” i ask her . “Yeah let me get it for you” she begins to move towards me and she gets her stool.she gets on her stool and to get the foil.o begin to look at her body. My eyes trail from her hair to her ass. She stops stretching and gets going bed the foil to me . “Thanks” I say as I grab the foil from her hand. Her thumb caresses my hand. We begin to look at each other. She looks away . She grabs the rest of the left overs and containers for the food.

I invite riri and shuri to the couch.For some reason I didn’t want this night to end not one bit not at all. I enjoyed their energy they were calm and chill about everything. They even helped me with dishes which is lovely . And something I wouldn’t expect sense this would be the first time I invited them over. We begin to talk over wine and vibe to the music playlists . “What’s your funniest school story” shuri asks me. “Well I sent home this form for a field trip to the art museum and one of the parents route the kids nickname and wrote it and crayon” you say as you took a sip of wine . “Are you being serious” riri says with a chuckle. “Yes bro” you say laughing a little.”what’s yours shuri” you ask her .”The kids pranked me for April Fools with water balloons “ she says as she giggles. Shuri had a soft slight and riri had a laugh that would make other people laugh .”what’s yours ri” you ask she was the last one to tell her funny story. “Well this one kid asked me to be his valentine and then on Valentine’s Day he said he found someone else and it was a kid that looked just like me” riri says . You begin to laugh a little you look at shuri and she laughs.

After the somewhat comedy session you guys would talk about favorite colors, childhood,and more work stories. You walk the ladies to The door.”it was really nice hanging with y’all” you say ending with a smile. It really was a good time that you needed sense a week before school would start back you and your boyfriend would split .”I enjoyed your food your a really great cook” riri exclaims with a smile. “I’m glad you enjoyed it “ you say with a smile and you do a slight wink at riri.”You have a really great music taste “ shuri ads to the convo. “I know right ,You where playing ICU at one point and B.E.D Remix” Riri says you do a slight chuckle.Quavo was your favorite part of the remix . “That remix hits buy to be honest quavo carried “ you say. “He did tho ,But how do you get carried on your own song. “ You say now relazing your talking with you hands .You bring your hands down and mumble slightly “sorry”.”So I’ll see y’all at work” you say now just wanting to end the conversation.”Yeah you’ll see us” shuri says. You hug shuri , You would know smell the scent she wore it was some scent with bourbon. You would feel the hug last to last long so you let go and pull away . You hug riri her scent was calm and smelt like coconut.There scents where calm yet could get you hooked. You pull away from the hug and you guys all stair at each other . Shuri try’s to be suddle yet you could tell she was doing the triangle method. “Welp I’ll see y’all later “ you say with a smile .”they walk out and wave.As you close and lock the door you lay your head on the door. “i freshly got out of a relationship , I can’t date and shit” You say you leave from the door way and begin to head to your bedroom to write so you could get it off of your chest .

Meanwhile while you where practically having a break down about why you shouldn’t get with your coworkers, Your coworkers couldn’t stop thinking or talking about you. “Girl shes funny ,she has good music taste ,do i need to explain more “ Riri says . “Your right not even to mention her friend is fine to” shuri adds. “Her friend also mentioned something about the club so that means y/n will most likely dress up “ riri says. “So you thinking what im thinking” ? riri questions shuri. “Where going to the club” they both say at the same time.

[eimoonie]

Soo... like, Genshin impact crossover Bocchi the rock! crossover Honkai:star rail (hsr) HEHE

For genshin imagine (Modern Au, Band Au)

Xiao x GN!Y/N

(IM SO SORRY i dont remember the person who drew this, i hope the s/o who drew it saw this, come here bbg 🫶🏻)

You've known Xiao for being the quiet kid in high school yet you didn't know that Xiao has another side that he wont show to anyone beside the people he felt comfortable with.

You have a fond in music but you cant play any instruments, eventually you found a underground livehouse called "Starry"

Starry was recommended to you by a friend of yours. Starry wasnt so far from your house, its better to get there with a bike or on feet. You were extremely clueless about the live house. in fact, you didnt wanna be inside a band all you want to do is just get a job. You cant rely on your parents who give you little allowance that why working in a place that also plays music is the place to work at.

You just work as the bartender, and no serving alcohol! That was the rule given by the manager, youre underage to be drinking AND serving alcohol.

The manager informed you that a well-known band will be performing, "aye-aye captain, i will make sure to work hard!" You said to the manager, you dont really take yourself seriously.

The backstage crew was setting up the instruments and testing it while you clean up the remaining glasses that was left by a certain band, you saw a similar young lady that goes by the name of bocchi. She slowly sneak to the table that you had just clean up and searched around it, "are you looking for this?" You pointed out a ticket "Hm, yea, thank you." Bocchi quickly rush out with the ticket.

"~what a seemingly nice girl." "Are you washing up the glasses?" The manager took a glance at you, "yup! I've done everything that was on the list." You said, "good, take a minutes break soon the audience will come in." You nodded and sit back, drinking banana milk that you've snuck away, soon the bell rang and you went to the ticket table and wait as the audience came in, you chop the ticket and let the audiences in."Thank you for coming!" You said as the last audience come in, you sighs as reliefs.

You noticed another pink haired lady, that came in with a camera, the girl is no other then March 7th. your, well-known for photography, best classmate in school , "oh, hey March 7th!" You called her out, "Oh! Hey, whats up Y/N." March 7th points her camera to you and took a shot, you chuckles "Aha! Nothing much, just working here as a bartender." You were cutted off by a certain instrument playing,

The song : Fever (By enhypen) playing, The crowd scream as the band went in, the song playing chills you down as you went in the bar just straight away from the stage, you look at the band playing. You saw someone who was familiar. It was your classmate, Xiao. Xiao's has a better style outside in fact hes still wearing the same black hoodie that he wears to school. You slightly blushed at the look of your quiet classmate, "Oh, Xiao. So secretive as always." Talking about the fact that he is secretly inside a band—The crowd screams as it was Xiao's verse.

You wanted to be noticeable so you raise your hand high enough for Xiao to see, you wave to him.

He saw you and got embarrassed real quick. even if you cant see him, you know he's flustered. You chuckles to yourself, white light flashes multiple times as in people taking pictures, Xiao was already flustered but he didnt messed up a single time.

After the show ended, you went to backstage and visit Xiao with the most smugly face you have, "D-dont look at me like that." Xiao stuttered but he managed to show some confidence.

"I can't look at you now..?"

[johannestevans]

My Top 6 Films of 2023

Just some recommendations for my favourite new releases of last year!

Originally published on Cinemania.

2023 had a few knock-out hits as far as the cinema goes — obviously, people were very excited about the respective releases of Barbie and Oppenheimer, but my top films of the year were a bit different.

One thing I do think unites a lot of these — and a trend I hope to see from more films in the next few years — is a trend toward more earnestness and sincerity in scripts and plot lines, and I’m hoping that trend continues!

Without further ado, my top films of 2023:

They Cloned Tyrone (dir. Juel Taylor)

They Cloned Tyrone is a fucking triumph, and hands-down had my favourite costume design of the year — it at the same time feels very vintage in places, calling heavily on the Blaxploitation movies of the 1970s and their aesthetics while at the same time dragging in more modern— and dystopian — futuristic elements throughout. Teyonah Parris is a particular triumph as Yo-Yo, but the whole cast really rocks this whole flick.

This film feels in so many ways like a fever dream, layering disparate elements and tones, and for that is all the more hard-hitting with the horror and painful realism of its cynical central plot.

If you watch a single of the films recommended on this list, make it this one.

Down Low (dir. Rightor Doyle)

This film is weird as fuck, and it makes a lot out of leaning into that. Delving into the ugly reality of down-low hook-ups on gay dating apps and dialing the chaos that can arise from them up to the max, this is a surprisingly heartfelt look at gay loneliness and isolation in the white middle-class US.

It’s fast-paced and kooky with its dialogue — Lukas Gage, of Euphoria fame, co-wrote the script with Phoebe Fisher, and Gage’s particular style of verbose and down-right weird speeches are dotted through it — and while it ultimately ends in the death you know from the beginning is coming, it doesn’t feel like it’s wholly a tragedy.

Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (2023, dir. John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein)

I don’t think I need to go into great detail about this one — Dungeons and Dragons’ newest addition to its array of canons here is a spellbinding and delightful watch. A lot of the problem with fantasy films and TV shows the past few years has been how painfully over-ironic they are, with none of them being able to just lean into their premise and accept that, yes, we’re being a bit silly, and that’s the point! But the DnD movie is just spectacularly earnest and gives itself entirely over to the wonder of its world, and that feels wonderful.

Every time I’ve watched it, which is a few times now, I’ve picked up on new fun world details or little in-jokes, and there are just so many things this film does right and has fun with, most of all making Xenk Yendar even more autistic than ever whilst also making him hot with the Regé-Jean Page casting.

And also, Hugh Grant is here playing a horrible, sleazy bastard of a wizard, and speaking of hot —

Cocaine Bear (dir. Elizabeth Banks)

Must a film be good?

Firstly, isn’t a coked-up horny female bear wreaking havoc and ripping people to shreds enough? And also, even if it wasn’t enough, aren’t so many queer characters going through the weirdest day out ever, girlbosses galore (I’m including the bear), funny as Hell dialogue, and even plot twists enough?

We saw this in the cinema on its release, and it was utterly glorious. Everyone should have the pleasure of seeing the feminist icon of 2023, the cocaine bear (sorry, Barbie), on the biggest screen imaginable, ripping into some hapless gay with full surround sound.

The Boogeyman (dir. Rob Savage)

I normally run along to see any new releases from Rob Savage as I loved Host, and The Boogeyman was so much more than I expected — bearing no resemblance at all to the original lacklustre Stephen King short story, this film really plays so creatively with light and shadow and has an honestly spine-tingling monster design that feels viscerally frightening from its introduction to its final boss battle.

I love it when a film plays with light sources, most of all when good horror does it, and this flick really delivers on that point — not knowing where light is going to come from adds extra tension when you’re trying to see into the shadowy corners, and whether it’s from the lunar nightlight, the videogame flashes, the camera, the fridge, or anywhere else, this film really has this holistic approach to light and shadow that just fucks.

The Pope’s Exorcist (dir. Julius Avery)

Again, must a film be good?

Isn’t it enough to have a coked-up bear —

Okay, I used that line already, but this time it’s Russell Crowe, and he’s doing an Italian accent, and he’s riding a little Vespa, and it’s the funniest and best thing in the world.

Much like the DnD movie, The Pope’s Exorcist really leans into its premise and just goes really earnest about it — it doesn’t take too much time to sardonically comment on the ridiculousness of its own universe, and that makes it feel really fresh compared to a lot of other big studio horror films. It’s silly and stupid and mixes more impressive scares in with the cheap ones, and it’s just a really fun movie to watch with friends.

[farmerlesbian]

im agender and butch but i feel like... because im black i dont have the same access to androgyny and masculinity that other people do. the image of butchness or androgyny i see is always light skinned and fine haired and im just not that. it makes me feel like im never going to be read the way i want to or taken seriously as a gnc person. makes me really uncomfortable to go out

I'm going to answer this and will tell you first up that I'm white. My wife/spouse mod horseshoe is Black and has very similar experiences and feelings. when I saw your ask I right away thought of her and showed her, asked if she wanted to answer. She told me she doesn't know how she can help you when she hasn't figured it out either.

So I will tell you that one, you are not alone. Two, I will answer you similar to how I support her. and three, she is consulting on this ask (as she does on many advice asks, in fact!)

I'm sorry you're going through this, and especially that it's affecting your comfort in going out and being around people.

One thing I have done to try to help is find other darkskin Black folks that are doing gender in similar ways to her, on the internet. Just finding images of people who are similar I hope helps. I'm not particular about what exactly their identities are, just going for style and vibes. Lemme grab some (sorry it's leaning on instagram just bc it's easier for me to search accounts i follow there haha but I swear there are cool black gendery people everywhere, i'm sure you know this)

jade fox / madeyoulooks

studmodelproject on instagram

enxwest on instagram

iamdivinechi on instagram

arrows fitz / angryangryarrows and angryarrows

@boychic

ceruleanblueboy on instagram

tboys.club on instagram - a party in london that posts lovely photos of attendees

shedoeshim on instagram and @shedoeshimfashion

followers - if this sounds somewhat similar to you please go ahead and say something! or if you have any recommendations also please add them!

you can check out my style tag for like every post I've reblogged/shared that has images of people in it. it’ll have all types of people, but maybe it’ll help. you can also scroll back through my butch tag but that will not include every masc person in it. also the stud tag, and you can consider the stemme identity + label but i don't really have much in that tag rn sorry! maybe try checking the tags for these on tumblr, tiktok, instagram, maybe youtube? maybe you'll find people that look like you, or how you want to look.

my point here is that there ARE people out there doing androgyny, doing gender fun stuff and are Black and darkskin. maybe the people i'm recommending here aren't your vibe or style and that's totally fine, there are a lot of ways to be! i hope these can serve as some sort of inspiration for you. a reminder that gender diversity and androgyny exists and is possible for black people, that there are thriving communities and you have all sorts of options out there for you. also, remember that there are many ways to be androgynous, to be agender. maybe you're more a dapper butch, maybe more a sporty stud, maybe a skate style street style guy, maybe more a crunchy granola hiking outdoorsy look, maybe workwear and denim are more your speed, maybe you're a cozy dude who likes sweats and casual clothes, maybe you like bright colors and patterns, maybe you're into alt and goth styles, maybe you feel more comfortable in vintage and retro stuff. i promise that there is a way for you to look hot and feel comfortable in yourself and people will see your fabulous Black gender noncomforming self.

If you're into podcasts I recommend genderreveal by tuck woodstock- you can skip around and just listen to the episodes that interest you. I'm listening in chronological order because I kinda like going through time and seeing the development of things but you absolutely do not have to. There's a lot of episodes out, they've been doing it for a couple years now! there are plenty of interviews with black people of all gender varieties talking about their experiences and lives

i think. what's hard is that you can’t control how other people see you. you've got to come to terms with this. so you're most likely always going to have people not getting you, not understanding your deal (whether that's gender or something else). there's no foolproof way to get out of it or avoid it, no way to be 100% sure people will always gender you right or treat you right. this is not to say that you will never have people who get you, you certainly will and i wish that for you! i absolutely recommend you surround yourself with people you are supported by and who see you. but i'm not gonna tell you like "fuck what people think, do whatever you want" because i know it's not that easy ! trust your judgement, and trust your gut. all you can do is try to balance finding what makes you feel comfortable and what feels right to you with what feels safe. when you are feeling comfortable, it will help you to become confident. when you are confident and self-assured in who you are, what other people think of you and how they see you will not affect you so much. also, you deserve to be seen and gendered the way you want to be! i'm sorry it feels like it's not possible for you. I believe that it is possible, and i wish it for you soon!!

maybe you want to consider hrt, maybe top surgery, maybe try doing drag or drag makeup. experimentation is a huge thing and i can't recommend it enough. try practicing and experiencing with different styles, gender presentation, clothes, mannerisms, hair makeup jewelry whatever. you can listen to your feelings and your body and reflect on how you like it, see if it feels right. i recommend seeking out the things that make you feel comfortable in your body, find what makes you feel like yourself, and the androgyny and butchness (or whatever presentation you seek) will follow naturally.

wishing you the best in your journey 🧡

[majorproblems77]

Hi! Its time for a Recalled update! :D

Ive been following this comic for a while and i really enjoy the concept for it, I highly recommend you go and check it out over at @recalled11.

It's an interesting take on the links meet idea and i love the art style and the character designs.

Now, this is a rambly post, no I'm not sorry. Please sit with me, grab some popcorn and some hot chocolate or a hot drink of choice. Prepare to sit for like 30 minutes :D

Also prepare for blorbo hype cause he's here too :D

Lets get started!

All panels belong to @recalled11 thanks for the permission! :D

Alright here we go!!!

First off, it must must be said.

These backgrounds are incredible. like, oh yes oh hell yeah *chefs kiss* I love them.

So at first i was a little confused about the glowing eye, i was looking back at the other pages and back to here and thinking about if it's just a Wild thing. Which would make sense right?

Then they throw this curve ball

MAIN QUEST EYE GLOW, IS HE THE MAIN CHARACTER? DO THEY ALL HAVE THE GLOW EYEBALL OF QUEST TRACKING?

I DONT KNOW YET BUT I'LL FIND OUT.

Man's like, bionic? eye is doing work for us and I'm here for it. the blue glow as well, yes. Just yes.

Also with this panel. We know each of the arrows while a Link is holding it points to a Link. The same goes for Zelda.

And i've been brainstorming who is who.

So, If I've got this right, based off what i could figure out in panels where the compass appears.

Mainly this one

From directionless 2

White (Blue white?) - Wild

Green - Time

Blue - Captain

And now

Yellow - Sky

Let me know if you think it's different! :D

Moving on!

The detail in this is making me so excited, I'm wondering what it means when an arrow acts like this. Is it travelling towards the compass? It is exclusive to just Sky's point? Little thunderbolts spark from it.

Maybe im reading too far into this but the others dont do this, so Im definitely intrigued by this!

I love a full-body shot of anyone, and I love how Wild looks! The little poncho and the details with the scaring!

Now...

BIRB BIRB BIRB

MY BELOVED LOFTWINGS :DDDDDDD

Now I've not found any official names for the loftwings yet, I personally use Crimson and Luna. And will differ to these unless told otherwise. But if there are official names please please tell me! :D

Also is this the camera attachment? A zoom feature? I figure we are gonna see more of wilds ability as we go through but I'm thoroughly enjoying finding out what he can do!

This is the correct reaction when you see a GIANT BIRD flying at you at speed. The people of Wild's world have been through so much at this point the assumption of another monster first its absolutely fair.

HIM

THE BIRB

NDKJSAGNJKFDLSBGKJ;DAFD

When I tell you I had happy clappy hands at this panel I mean my phone fell to the floor with more than a thud.

There's a lot to unpack here, first the reigns with that little gold detailing from the clasp. The saddle? Is it a saddle for loftwings? The leather straps around Link's loftwings.

And Sky's design!

If you know me you know that SKSW is my fave game and that SS link if my fave in pretty much every AU that i encounter. This one is no exception

I'll go into detail later, when we have the detailed screenshots. But just look at my boy!

Also the goggles were a nice touch! It just makes sense for them to wear them, they fly so damn fast imagine the dust.

Captain is a fight first ask questions later, man is ready to go!

Crimson is out here getting half pages and he deserves every inch of space he gets. Such an extra boy and i love him. The details with the feathers flying from both of them too. I love it. I love them

Loftwings my beloved!

Shout out to Zelda for landing Luna not right in the way of everyone, Sky please. Your scaring the adults. The kids think it's cool and want a ride.

But the detailing on the feathers and the eyes even from this far is just incredible.

Crimson please, your scaring the adults. Im here for just the amount of people in lookout landing who sprung to its defense.

While wild is just up here chilling out, This is a totally normal Tuesday!

this reminds me of my chill cat and it makes me love Zelda's loftwing even more. Just a birb chilling.

And this reminds me of my other cat. Loud noises!

Are loftwings in this universe just giant cats? Two types, Chill and crazy.

The real mvp right here. He is ready to fight the big bird.

From a later panel, we can see that the one at the back here is Captain. This means he not only drew his sword he was straight-up ready to fight by this point. He is fast!

Sky my beloved, god I love his design so much.

Also captain's face, He's seen the green tunic and is like. Well, its another child to add to our collection better put the sword away before he does something.

Yes malon, yes they are! And they are wonderful! :D

Time looks worried, is Time afraid of birds? My understanding of oot is that he and the owl were friends?

My fave panel, the best boy with best birb.

Crimson totally knows this is a comic and breaks the forth wall to smile at the reader as well as the others in lookout landing. I love the details here. I love him so much.

He know's he is stunning and will flaunt it every opportunity he gets

Also Sky and Sun having matching sailcloths? I am in love. I love them both.

I'm gonna mention the feathers now too. I love the details of them having their loftwing feathers in their hair as like a head dress. That's such a cool idea i love it!

These two panels had me laughing I wont lie.

First off, Sun responds to Hylia. That is the face of someone who's heard their name. Second off, Flower is a mood. running out of bed with a sword, questions later style.

The detail on Zelda's loftwing too. Such a pretty creature. So well-behaved.

Also, Zelda(flower) asking captain what's happening and the link responds rather than one of her captains.

I really like captain, He's a chill guy. while Sky is just confused. Really cool of captain to be the one to introduce first, he seems to be the one who will be the main referral when it comes to authority. I assume he will be the one who introduces first for all of them.

Time for me to be excited about their designs.

Skyloftian goggles, I love it. It just makes so much sense.

I love Sun, Her dress, the way she's got an sailcloth wrapped around her shoulders like that, the way she's got loftwing feathers not only behind her ears but at the end of her longest braid too. I'm very excited to see more with her.

And Sky! where do i start without going on a twenty minute rampage about him. The way he's got his sailcloth around one shoulder like that. I assume to make it easier to use if he ever needs to use it to land. The loftwing feather hanging off his belt. (Which I notice Zelda doesn't have. Is this just a him thing?)

I can't get over the headdress with the loft wing feathers. Is that a skyloftian thing? Is it ceremonial? Is it because they wanted matching headgear?

I want to know more about Skyloftians in this universe.

Also totally not Sky being an absolute cinnamon roll. Beloved. I love him.

Time and Malon are an absolute mood. time just existing in a state of confusion. And Malon being excited about loftwings. Me too malon, Me too! Let Malon ride one of the loft wings as soon as possible.

Captain behaving like a dad already. Gives me 'Where is the wild child' vibes. Which is funny, cause Wild is older than him.

Oh and I will mention the scars on Sky's face, I love the scars that they all have. It's all so detailed. Sky's lightning, Captain's burns. And the two cuts on his face.

The fact that this is an expression at all, let alone one that the rest of them are not going to understand cause you know, No remlits on the surface. Poor cinnamon roll man is confused.

Again chill dude with all the friends, i love Captain so much. He's just here to help you out.

Oh man, I enjoyed this update, this was good. I love Sky he is wonderful.

Im sure she can and im very excited to see what's next!

thanks for listening to me ramble for so long. I'm gonna get something to eat and you should too.

See you later! :D

[expatesque]

Oooo if you’re open to helping us shop please help me find my wedding dress (big ask)? I feel like I’ve tried on every dress in London and am about to give up! I’m not tied to it being white (blue? metallic?) I just want it to feel special enough that I don’t look like my own guest, but not a full meringue moment because there’s only going to be 15 people total. Vibe is casual Saturday afternoon picnic in the park and drinks at our local afterwards, my budget is £2k!

Sorry I should have added that I’m super short so midis tend to fit better, maxi not really my vibe and I’m worried it might feel too formal for the picnic!

Oh my god this is my dream task. First off - congratulations! Sounds like it's going to be a beautiful wedding. Okay so I've got a few thoughts first before we dive in: (1) You can get anything shortened - I'm also relatively short (well, actually I have long torso and short legs, but works out the same) so 90% of my bottoms are tailored. And what better time to invest in some good tailoring than your wedding! Assuming the dress isn't beaded / heavy on appliques, it's usually<£30 to have something shortened, and it's the same price to have something taken up half an inch vs taken up a foot, to make a maxi tea length. So I'm going to recommend a few things that are longer but know that I always mean you should have them shortened if you want. (2) Have you thought about a veil? I just think it's the easiest, most obvious way to say 'Wedding!' but still keep things cool. Personally I love a birdcage moment but I'm also partial to a short veil, particularly if you get something meaningful embroidered on it (this one is fully customizable and I love the look of the phrase running down the side).

Okay now that we've done that, some thoughts: Rixo makes cute, special but low key dresses. For a city wedding feel, I love the shorter ones (60s vibes! This CAPE) but there's loads of cute options (remember, you can have the longer ones taken up!). They're also v affordable which is always nice.

On the less classically bridal end of the spectrum, we have La Double J who go big on color and pattern. Again, I'd consider adding a veil (maybe in a fun color?!) to feel more bridal. I'm not sure your body shape but this top and skirt combo! With a pale blue veil?! Come on. They also do have more classic bridal pieces as well. There's also Zimmerman - flirty and flouncy, their dresses have pure romantic vibes. Something like this could definitely read bridal (+ a birdcage viel and a little shrug maybe?). If you're not put off by black (again, veil and accessories can help) then this is to die for and super re-wearable. Or embrace the chill vibes and go yellow! They have loads of great options.

I'm sure you already know this but just in case: Reformation does bridal. Like their normal dresses, the options skew towards people with model proportions but they've got some gorgeous ones - love this minimal take. I'd also recommend Wolf & Badger again. Do you want to be a hot and cool minimalist? A sea foam mermaid? (I'd personally have the slits closed a bit and the whole thing taken up but that's me). A ball of spring flowers? The Badge has you covered.

And then of course, a net a porter troll. Are you a disco queen? The most elegant woman alive? (Prob not best for the park, but def could work for a pub). A garden fairy? A jumpsuit (!) babe? A queen of less is more? (maybe with tulle gloves!) A column queen? (I'd style with blue shoes that match, I have this pair from Ferragamo that I love).

Again for lots of these I think accessories are key. You add a veil, a glove (consider short too!), a white shoe and all the sudden, bang it's clearly bridal. I hope some of that is helpful, and good luck!

(okay also you did not ask about this but just a thought: you can get really beautiful, affordable, old embroidered white table clothes fairly easily online and at antique shops. How gorgeous would your wedding picnic be on all white 'blankets'? Maybe with something waterproof underneath because, London).

[perfectlovevn]

(i'm so sorry, i'm not sure if you accept reviews or not so feel free to ignore this)

Helloo!! I'm brazilian and i'm still learning english so forgive me for any grammar mistakes. I've gotten all endings (i guess- please let me know if i missed anything!) so here's my review of Perfect Love! ♥

I loved this game sooo much! I never played an visual novel with a mean main character and it was just amazing. The trope of ''us'' being the actual villains is very interesting and it made the game super unique! It's also pretty obvious the amount of effort and hard work that's in the game, I was impressed by the quality of it all.

The music and sound effects are pretty good, I loved it all! The artstyle is very pleasing to look at and the black/white/grey contrast with Milo's blue/red eyes are such a nice touch too. I also loved the amount of easter eggs (you couldn't imagine the face I made when I named myself 'Ren') and secret endings/scenes.

Fortunately, when I first played, I knew nothing about the game nor about Milo (which I believe made the experience better since everything turned out to be surprising) and the endings were really good. Through the gameplay, I've encontered one grammar mistake (which I forgot to screenshot it, sorry) and one sprite glitch but nothing that made me annoyed.

After finishing the 8 main endings, I decided it was time to look a little bit on the official Tumblr's page of the VN and that's when I decided to test out all of the easter eggs and that's when I discovered the secret scenes.

So, to summary it all: absolutely 10/10! I can't remember the last time I had so much fun playing a game and being so invested in unlocking all of it's content! I was flabbergasted when I lost all of my endings heh

Please let me know if I missed anything- I'd be more than happy to clear the game entirely.

Hello there! I love reviews. On my other blog I always write recommendations/reviews for other vns, so I'm always open to seeing what people like and dislike about the game. I hope you don't mind that I'm just gonna mash these two asks into one ask.

Thank you! I also think that a lot of vns don't always focus on being the bad guy in the story and those that do I usually enjoy quite a lot! I'm glad you like the quality of it, it was a lot of fighting renpy and it's UI because I have a one sided rivalry with the base renpy UI. I tried to make it look good though I think I maybe should have attempted to redraw some of the sprites for Milo (for like the third time).

For the art style itself, I actually did it in black and white because it was originally for the 2023 yanjam and I wanted to make a style that wouldn't be extremely tiring for me, and I really like lineart so I made everything in black and white (and also because I'm lazy, I say as I animate half of my assets). The red and blue really make it pop at the end since it's one of the few time color is used in the game. I love when people put easter eggs in their game and I know of a lot of yandere vns so I wanted to put in a ton! I'll probably put in even more in the update when I get all of the extra stories done because putting easter eggs like that is very fun.

Having no knowledge of a game is always a good way to be surprised about the premise and I think it definitely was something good in your case too! For the grammer/ sprite errors if you do ever play or remember what they were, please let me know. I'll try to fix it in the next update if possible.

It's always so nice seeing that people like my game though! I tried my hardest to make it a worthwhile experience and considering it's (technically) my first game, it really makes me happy to see that people really like it! Hopefully it doesn't have too much of the first game amatureness that tends to come (nothing wrong with it, but I hopefully have showcased I kind of know what I'm doing, I say, sweating profusely) .

Yup! That is all of the scenes in the game so far. At least that you can access. If you look inside of the code, I actually have two scenes that I put in there. One of them is pretty much a test scene featuring the character from the next game I'm making, and the other is a special scene where you go to Milo's apartment. You can't access those in the main game, but you can play them if you edit the code a bit.

Basically (for those who don't know), all you have to do is put "jump" and then the name of the label afterwards (so for instance if the label is "rabbit" you would put "jump rabbit") after label start in the code. The two scenes that are not accessable in the game are the last two scenes in the script.rpy file just to make it easier for you. (I put a note that says like "#I'm very dedicated to my craft I say as I disect Milo and then beat him with a stick" because I'm sorry Milo, you deserve better)

But yes, thank you for taking your time and writing your long review! I love it so much.

[velvetsart]

Hello! I saw some of your colored pencil works and I really love your style! I myself am trying to get into colored pencils as a medium and I just wanted to ask what resources or tips do you have for someone who's an intermediate drawer but a novice with color and colored pencils

thank you!! i don’t have any specific resources but when i first got ‘serious’ about colour pencils i did research into oil vs wax based (eg prismacolor) pencils before buying a set. i use faber castell polychromos because i prefer the qualities of oil based pencils, but it’s all down to personal preference

paper type also affects pencil drawings greatly, if you want texture & a lot of layers, go for a rougher tooth, and if you want minimal white spots at the cost of fewer layers use smooth paper (i use bristol board for pet portraits)

you can also experiment with using pencil on top of watercolour/marker etc bases or coloured paper, e.g. for this deer drawing i did a watercolour base which you can see in this vid

with paint people say to start with fewer colours and learn how to mix but for pencil i would say get as many colours as you can bc the only ‘mixing’ you can do is layering and there’s a limit to how many layers your paper (and hand) can take. its also hard to buy the missing colours later without rebuying the ones you already have. you can def make do with a smaller set if you want to do highly stylized art

'burnishing' is good to know about

for colour in general i think just study art that uses colour in a way you like, the principles will be similar across mediums. i don’t really believe in right or wrong ways to do things, as long as you’re achieving what you want. if you don’t know where to start, i recommend checking out james gurney, he has painting vids on youtube which give an interesting insight into how he uses colour. i just found a vid which shows him combining watercolour and coloured pencils

also find colour pencil art you like and think about how it was made. i love @ink-the-artist ‘s pencil art, i think they use marker bases in some of theirs and it gives it a rly saturated warm look (esp ones w yellow bases) & i love how the darkness is made up of different colours. they use prismacolor which gives it that waxy blended look

sorry this is kind of a word vomit, i hope at least some of it is useful to you. good luck with your colour journey! ♡

[elis-exists]

cool tips and stuff in sky:cotl part 2

YIPPEE let's go- some of these might be well-known, so sorry about that (having to upload the videos was a pain plus only being allowed to have one video uploaded but I improvised so sorry for the inconvenience-)

In Hidden Forest, you can go to the last tower with all the white candles and the rain will be turned off in that area, meaning that you can explore the area without worrying about the rain (the water you can swim in in the area still looks like it has rain when it doesn't).

In Daylight Prairie, you can go above the clouds.

If you have a daily task like "__ a friend", you can use the guides in the realms to help since they count as friends. (I don't have a picture or video on hand, but it works. I tried it with the Trials Guide.)

If you switch your flight mode while landing for something, you can get better control of where you land.

The wax from the bundle of candles always refills your light no matter how many wedges of light you have.

The yellow stars on the map are in the general direction of where the winged light spirits are, but it's not all that reliable.

If you want to get up somewhere high with your winged light boosts, it's better to use the first flight mode (i don't know what they're called) from a distance to get up higher than the second mode (you just have to be somewhat decent with controlling unlike me).

Also, you can use your camera to help your character turn better in the game.

Holding the jump key and the key to switch flight modes automatically puts you in the faster flight mode when you fly.

Even though it takes a long time to get to because of how many people you need, finishing the Treehouse guide's tasks makes it where it doesn't rain in the Treehouse area anymore.

The realm with the daily tasks for it that day has the eyes lit up on the gate.

The spirit you need for the daily quest appears like you haven't unlocked it yet even if you have before the daily tasks. (I don't have a picture on hand since I already did the spirit for today, but you know what I mean).

If you want to put something on the wall of your nest, but the rotation doesn't make it look right, put something on the wall and then place the item on there to make it look like it's on the wall.

Not a tip, but I just love the little diving animation for no reason like look at him go (I named him Flint).

Also not a tip, but you can merge into things in your nest if you enter and stand where a piece of furniture is before it loads in. You won't get permanently stuck and you can move out of it easily.

Also catapult in Golden Wasteland

Some cool websites you can use for helping you with Sky include these two:

The fandom wiki helps as well, but it's pretty laggy for me so I'd recommend it if your device can handle it.

Also unpopular opinion: this game would make for a really good fan series in the sense of the style, the emotes, and the locations (if someone wants to do that, hit me up because I want to join-)

Sorry there's so much info on here, I love the game too much.

[bison-appreciation-club]

wait how have you been hated on for liking Native American history??? That's so weird 😭😭

oh boyyyy do I have stories for this.

I've never received any online hate, for which I am extremely grateful, but people have been exceedingly weird about it in real life, ranging from bizarre to just plain racist. I can't remember all of it, so I'll just take you through the highlights.

My grandmother never quite knows how to introduce me to her friends (because she has a lot of friends and is quite the social butterfly) so she often introduces me as 'her grandchild, who knows a lot about Native American history'. Which isn't really true. I know a little (well, maybe more than a little) about a very specific area of Native American history. So most of the following things have come from my grandmother's friends.

Native Americans aren't actually American *smug face* they actually come from Nepal. *smug face again*. She seemed so pleased with herself to know something I didn't. And honestly I didn't know how to react. I think that one was more funny than anything. Why are you trying to out-knowledge someone sixty years younger than you. why.

*Accusingly* I suppose you hate Columbus, then. Yes. Yes I do

You're only interested just because you like the aesthetic the what now?

It's just because you're woke why do conservative people have to use the word woke so many times. hey, sorry folks, researching cultures different to your own is WOKE. Proper right-wing fellows are INSULAR. they don't CARE about the rest of the world.

You're disrespecting and abandoning your white heritage ok. Tbh if you consider yourself peak white heritage, I'm glad to be out of it. Seriously tho, how do you think race and nationality works? I can be white and interested in Native American history. The two don't cancel each other out.

Similar to that one, is my personal favourite:

You're committing cultural appropriation by being interested in Native American history. What. This was also said to me by some rando in a bookshop when I was buying a book on, well, guess what topic. I thought they were one of the staff at first, but looking back at it I think they were really Just Some Rando. Why would you say that to someone who is just trying to buy a book. You don't even know me. I don't want your opinion.

That one really worried me for a while, I'm gonna be honest. I had to send a particularly grovelling anon to some Native American I found on Tumblr. And they said it wasn't cultural appropriation. AND they gave me book recommendations. So yeah.

(PS I can't remember who you are, but if you see this, then you metaphorically saved my life and literally saved my dignity)

That's all the specific incidents I can remember, but there have been a lot of other things. Jokes, mostly. Quoting westerns. Speaking like the Native Americans from Peter Pan or some shit whenever I enter the room. I once had someone make those western style war cries at me for five hours.

Making fun of their names is a big one. (Guys, there are only so many times you can make fun of anyone's name, and that amount is zero. even if they're called some shit like techno mechanicus -looking at you, Elon Musk. I literally don't see what's so funny about the name Black Kettle anyway. Either I've been reading about him too much, but it's not a weird name?? Also. He got fucking murdered. I'm researching how he got murdered and you're taking the piss out of him. Get some respect and dignity).

Also. If I have to hear one more joke along the lines of 'did you ever have any reservations about studying this topic' I am going to wring your neck.

So uh I'm sorry I turned your question into a bit of a rant but if I've learned one thing it's this: researching non-white history really shows you people's hidden racism. The amount of shit people have said to me about the Native Americans. My guys your opinions belong in a Victorian dime novel about the frontier. And that's not a compliment.

[cressida-jayoungr]

Why the "Rings of Power" Costumes Fail to Reflect Their Source Material

Tolkien-geek nerdrant incoming.

I'm not currently watching The Rings of Power, but I have been seeing images of the costumes, and I just have to rant a little about them. Apart from their general attractiveness or lack thereof--mostly the latter, in my opinion--they are making me wonder whether Kate Hawley, the costume designer, has even read the source material. Or understood it, if she did read it.

I hear that she has done much better work on other projects. But I'm sorry, she really dropped the ball here, and it can't be chalked up just to not having enough money or time. There are fundamental problems at the concept level.

It's easy to guess the general thinking: "Since the LOTR movies were designed around a medieval look, the look of this series should be based on Greek and Roman styles, with simpler construction, in order to convey that it's an earlier time." This would make perfect sense for most fantasy series, but it's dead wrong for Tolkien.

In Middle-Earth, "progress" isn't really a thing that happens, unless you're talking about the Years of the Trees or maybe the First Age. After that, it's all downhill with a few small backtracks along the way. Each civilization is less grand than the one that came before it. Knowledge and techniques are lost. The costumes should reflect this. The clothing of the Second Age should be more intricate and decorative than that of the Third Age. They could go full Bollywood with the jewelry, for both Elves and Númenoreans: ropes of pearls, gem-studded belts, etc. (But also take a lesson from Bollywood on how to make lots of jewelry look tasteful and not over the top.)

Speaking of jewelry, there is far too much use of gold. In the source material, Dwarves like gold, but Elves are all about silver, or better yet, mithril. And pearls and white or clear gems such as diamonds. Stuff that makes them think of starlight. You're telling me Gil-Galad, whose name literally means "bright star," would dress entirely in gold from head to toe? I don't think so. Gold also has a slightly negative connotation in Tolkien's writing as being a little bit base and corrupting. That's why Ar-Pharazôn's title of "the Golden" isn't entirely a compliment; it's a hint at how he embodies the perverting of Númenor's society. Lana Marie put it well in her video on this show's costumes when she said, "It's almost poetic how Amazon seems to think that plastering gold on everything makes a garment look regal and expensive and classy."

This brings me to the show's idea that the symbol of Númenor should be a sun. It shouldn't; it should be a star. The island is shaped like a star. Its alternate name, Elenna, means "starward" because of the star that led the first people to it. (And before anyone wants to be cute and say the sun is also a star--no, in Tolkien's world, it's not. It's a fruit of the golden tree, Laurelin, carried through the sky by a maia on a flying ship.) I could buy the idea of Ar-Pharazôn introducing the sun as a new symbol or making it his personal royal banner, but the show starts before he becomes king and they're already using suns, so nope.

And finally, nobody should be wearing full plate armor. Nobody in Tolkien wears plate armor. It's always mail of one sort or another. Yes, I know Ngila Dickson had the Gondorian army wear plate armor in the ROTK movie, but she was also wrong. (Besides, she said it was supposed to make them look outdated and irrelevant.) Frankly, as wonderful as the design of the LOTR movie trilogy was, I feel that most of the stuff in Gondor wasn't up to their usual standard; maybe they were running short on time and/or energy by then. But that's a whole different rant.

I'll close out by recommending Lana Marie's redesign of Miriel's costume.

[wordshaveteeth]

My aim for this year was to read more books. I read twenty nine, which was a vast improvement on last year (I read nine). There’s only twenty eight listed because I forgot about Kurt Vonnegut and Suzanne Mcconnell’s Pity The Reader. Sorry about that.

I tried to expand beyond my preferred genres, and made a concerted effort to read the recommendations given to me by friends and work colleagues. Nevertheless, a few of my own comfort reads made it on to the list.

Here they are! (There’s also a Q&A with myself under the cut)

The Best One

Metaphors We Live By - George Lakoff and Mark Johnson

I came to this book via two others. Philip Pullman in his nonfiction book Daemon Voices: Essays on Storytelling, referenced Mark Turner’s The Literary Mind, which in turn referred to Metaphors We Live By. It was an exercise in reverse-engineering, starting with Pullman’s perspective (whose style I greatly admire), and then working backwards to see what has informed his writing.

Metaphors We Live By helped me understand the importance of word choice, the messages we send through them, but also, how very wired our brains are for story-telling. It spoke of metaphor being fundamental to our conceptual system, not just as a poetic literary device. Whether the science is settled on this is irrelevant for me; it’s helped my writing immensely, and also been very useful in my day job. I just came away from it being so excited about language, life and brains.

The Surprising One

This Is How You Lose The Time War - Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Firstly, I would never have picked this for myself. I don’t really read typical romance, and the idea of having to read love letters… ugh. I was so glad to find out from my book club it was less than 200 pages—I wouldn’t be wasting too much of my time.

But I think around page 30-40, something clicked and I was hooked on the intensity and—I don’t know—violence of the love between the two characters. The prose was quite abstract and there were a few new words I learnt, which is always exciting (‘apophenic as a haruspex’ comes to mind). And after, at book club, when I discovered the unusual way it was co-authored, the inventiveness of it left me feeling even more impressed.

The Not So Great One

Lucy By The Sea - Elizabeth Strout

I just did not connect with the main character at all, and there were a few sentences that irked me by the end of the book. If I recall, it was something like ‘What I remember about it was this:’

It was also the second book I’d read that touched on the subject of the pandemic, and my own experience of the pandemic coloured my response to the main character. I judged the hell out of her, in other words, and found her to be a bit of a rich, white idiot. I don’t have time for that.

The Best One About Writing

Steering The Craft: A 21st Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story - Ursula K. Le Guin

I honestly hadn’t heard of Le Guin until this year, so I read Wizard of Earthsea. And then my writing club set this as reading, and I just loved it. It’s more workshop and pragmatic (not a writing memoir, like Stephen King’s On Writing, or Lamott’s Bird By Bird), but I liked how accessible it was, and the exercises set at the end of each chapter (which I did not do but would like to with other people). Oh, I also loved the excerpts from other authors she used as examples to press home her points. They were great for context.

The One I Couldn’t Finish

The Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros

I read to chapter 4 of The Fourth Wing and I had to stop, and it was for an incredibly petty reason. It’s not a spoiler because this character very quickly dies and serves no other purpose other than to demonstrate the danger the main character Violet faces in trying to become a Dragon Rider. BUT… we see this poor guy getting hugged by his family as he leaves to start training (oh look how loved he is), then he pulls out a ring from underneath his shirt while in a queue and says so innocently, so completely unaware that he is a foil, that he and his fiancée will get married once he’s a Dragon Rider; how confident he is, so tall, and so strong, he is already halfway there. But oh wouldn’t you know it, he slips on the stone bridge and plummets to his death.

I think I was meant to feel a little bit sorry for him, or that maybe he was going to become Violet’s friend (she definitely needed one). But this guy was meant to be twenty years old. TWENTY. And engaged?

I am too old to trust the judgment of anyone who thinks getting married at twenty is a good idea. And the fact that Violet wasn’t thinking that made me question her judgment too.

It reminded me of every action movie ever involving soldiers: as soon as a side character mentions they have someone waiting for them back home—especially a baby they’ve never met—you know they’re going to die.

But… does this mean I’ll never try and read it again? No. I’ll just choose a whole bunch of other books before I look at it again.