#especially in general design

[isnt-that-wizardd]

saw someone post a bingo board wayyy back but haven't seen one since so i made my own version for this new season

(if you saw the same one I did when season one came out then some of the squares are repeats because they're so good but I don't remember who it belonged to do I can't give credit)

feel free to reblog, download, and share. have fun playing!

[sableeira]

Sigma for kokoasci’s 5k dtiys ✨

@kokoasci

[front-facing-pokemon]

[jodijadekat]

DAY 11: Frames

[phierie]

BeiDoug hellfire gala concept, I was planning to ink this but I've spent so long noodling at the sketch and still not happy with it that I feel like at this point it'd be easier to just redraw it from scratch SO, shelving this for now but maybe I'll do something more with the designs one day

[otaku553]

Can we ask why you’ve distanced from Genshin? I’m thinking about it bc of the representation issues but was wondering abt ur thoughts

It’s a bit difficult to put this succinctly!

I have a lot of thoughts on this, so I’ll sum up a few on the topic of character design.

I think when most people talk about representation in Genshin, the first thing they talk about is skin tone, which is fair and definitely valid. I think, as someone who has grown up with a lot of East Asian beauty standards around me, what Genshin does is cowardly but understandable from a viewpoint of marketability. I’m sure that they know their lack of representation is controversial overseas, but either this controversy is just giving them more attention and free promotion, or they’ve calculated that the controversy generated won’t actually deal any damage to their profits. That’s mostly why I’m not vocal about it: at best, they scroll past an extra opinion that they’ll probably ignore, and at worst, they’re getting free unintentional advertising out of me.

I will say, though I think plenty of people have made great posts about the representation issues, I think Genshin’s problems with character design and representation go much deeper than just skin color, and have been a growing issue even since Liyue; it’s just gotten exponentially worse with the introduction of Natlan.

I feel like Genshin is actively making regions more modern just to avoid historically accurate cultural representation, and nowhere is this clearer than in Natlan. To begin with, Genshin introduced itself as a historical fantasy, and that is, I think, why it worked so well compared to, say, Honkai— you can tell characters come from the same game due to unified elements such as the Knights of Favonius’s crest as a motif, and the central idea of history. Though the idea of “historical fantasy” is kind of nebulous, since they don’t actually claim to be trying to replicate any real world locations or cultures, you can infer some things about the time period and general location based on the existing technology and architecture and stuff.

But it feels like the moment you get to somewhere not European or East Asian, Genshin starts making designs from a far more modern approach. Some of the Natlan and Sumeru characters, I don’t think I’d be able to place as Genshin characters if I hadn’t played the game. I actually thought that one of the teased Genshin characters for Natlan that I’d seen around online, Citlali, was a Honkai Star Rail character, and was super surprised when I saw her in the Genshin 5.1 trailer. When you can’t even tell that a character belongs to the game you’re designing for, then what are you doing as a character designer?

This is more speculation than anything, but it’s almost as if they’re avoiding proper representation of cultural clothing by making things look modern, and it’s clashing terribly with what they established the game as from the beginning. For fuck’s sake, Mavuika, who’s the archon, meant to represent her nation, is wearing a leather biking suit. She looks so incredibly out of place in the fourth anniversary art of all the 5 archons together. They seem to be losing sight of what made them successful with character designs in the first place just out of a fear to do proper research or make something less than “conventionally aesthetic/attractive.” That’s my main issue, to be honest— not necessarily the skin colors, but the clear lack of thoughtfulness in character design, not only for representation but also for what suits their setting and premise best.

I have a lot more thoughts on Genshin Impact so feel free to send another ask if you’re curious!

[turtleblogatlast]

Things I make for myself when insomnia kicks in

Just a chart about what I wanna change up and keep consistent in my art - I mainly wanna draw Raph with a tail because he deserves one, it fits too well. Donnie gets a long tail too because I didn’t realize how dino-like he looks until I gave him one, and now it’s a must for me haha.

[fisheito]

[mielwriting]

"Inazuma is poorly written" meaning the worldbuilding's great but the plot needs a rewrite. "Natlan is poorly written" meaning the worldbuilding needs a redesign but the plot is great.

[catenary-chad]

wacky alternate direction for Joule- make her a heated boxcar to complement Volta being a refrigerated one. They’re not as common irl but there was a famous Lionel toy based on them, and the irl basis was just as bright!

They carried potatoes, using onboard stoves to keep them from freezing in New England. Potato hauler sounds hilarious but hear me out: potato batteries are a thing. It even pairs with how citrus products are among the most famous refrigerated car products and also can be used as improvised batteries!

Not entirely sure how much they were electric-hauled irl, but they weren’t far from the northeastern electrified lines so they likely were to some degree.

(as a tragicomic bonus, these cars were lost in a yard somewhere by Penn Central and bankrupted a ton of people when most of the Maine potato crop was ruined, which fits with the popular fanon that Joule has ADHD. Losing things has a notable history with them…)

I’m partial to making the Components based on fast freight, especially if it has ties to the electric lines of the northeast US. It’s a job up there with “subway” that’s almost exclusively the domain of electric trains since the power needed to move heavier trains quickly is very hard to achieve if you’re hauling your own fuel/engine around (see how the CC 40100s were 5-6k horsepower vs “2700” and that’s low vs newer electric engines)

[verdemoth]

(CLOSED FOR NOW) EMERGENCY 'mice in the walls :(' COMMISSIONS

Update 01-16-2025: got some comms fast! I have 3 people w 4 artworks to work on right now so I’ll see how this small batch shakes out before i bite off more than I can chew, thank you everybody 💖💕

Art Examples mostly from the last year or so. More examples in the '#my art' tag on this blog

Yeah there's mice in the walls and ceiling and it's far too large a problem to put off or take care of on our own with a few traps. I live with my grandma, grandpa, and granny, and all four of us are disabled and can't work, so we have very little money and many problems requiring money, it's quite a pinch. Need to start getting pest control ASAP so I'm opening commissions in the hope of easing the financial strain as much as I can.

Paypal is my only way of accepting payment right now. I will expect payment in full via invoice after I have provided a sketch for feedback purposes & proof of work. Once payment is received, artwork will be completed as soon as possible. If an issue on my end prevents me from completing the work in a timely manner, full or partial refunds can be discussed depending on the state of the work done.

My prices can be haggled with, but at a baseline I estimate:

Coloured Fullbody -> 30 USD/43 CAD

Coloured Headshot/Bust -> 15 USD/22 CAD

Sketch Fullbody -> 10 USD/15 CAD

Sketch Headshot/Bust -> 5 USD/7 CAD

*Coloured works may be lineless or lined

Free Additions: simple accessories (eg glasses, some jewellery), simple minimal shading, some simple props (+ won't charge extra for disability aids/accessibility items), request a specific style I've used in past works

Additions at Extra Charge (discussed on a case-by-case basis): extra characters/extra artwork, complex time-consuming designs/outfits/props/poses, Extra Extra Clean lineart, scene elements, full & layered shading based on light sources, background scenery

I can do custom designs but expect prices to be higher for the extra time and work

Vetos: I will not take human/majority humanoid or complex mech comms right now as that is a great deal more work for me that I don't feel I can currently fulfill up to my own standard of quality (may change as I get a sense for my current limitations). I don't draw NSFW or fetish content in any circumstances. May reject comms I'm personally uncomfortable with

Specialty: Any variety of animals, creatures, monsters, and etc. Extant, extinct, fantasy, mashup. Especially if feral, but most anthro characters will also do.

When the artwork/design comm is payed for and done, it belongs to the commissioner to do what they want with. Credit is requested, if on toyhouse I'm Tala2121.

[doodledatkittykat]

Your art is super cool and inspiring to me be an art person. Can you show how to draw a cat please? If that is okay?

Thank you oh so much <3 it’s honestly shocking! It’s kind of nice to know im repeating the lineage of giving people cat brainworms. It’s more than okay!!!

I don’t know if this is entirely what you mean, but!!! I’m gonna be honest, a lot of it is making basic shapes and silhouettes. Usually I do more semi realistic cats. And a lot of it is your sense of shape language!!!!! But, I’ll take you through the steps. (Keep in mind that a lot of this is better said than done, as this is from years of being a self taught artist.) this may end up being a thread? There’s also plenty of artists who do cat tutorials WAY better than me. None of this is really defined!

1) CIRCLES AND SQUARES.

Twilight ended up with a circle shape, but as you’ll notice she actually ended up with a more triangle shape! Circles and squares are a best friend.

2) Basic shaping

Anytime you draw, you probably already have a pose in mind. I usually like to shape it out and mold it kind of like clay!!! But the real refinery comes later. Again, keep it basic. You iron out the details later and if you get stressed too fast due to detailing it’ll put you off from the drawing in general.

3) Minor detailing

Since Twilight was sitting, this is just kind of outlining a placement and shape for the limbs and chest I liked. This also includes tail placement!

4) Rough Flats!!!

This is the moment where you of course do the flat base color! As you can see this is usually pretty rough. Again, clay! You’re doing a basic cookie cut shape and smoothing it into the shapes you want come later. As you’ll notice I leave the tail for later since it’s usually BEHIND them and it’s less headache.

5) Put the sketch layer on top and lower the opacity !

This is where more detailing comes in. Like placement of the eyes and patterns. As you’ll notice I’ve ironed out the shaping!!!

6) Mapping

This is pelt mapping!!! Of course, it’s mapping out the patterns and shapes of a cats fur to a place im content with. Again, this kind of plays into your understanding of shapes.

7) Color!!!!

I’ll end it here, but this is for playing around on a clipping layer once you figure out a placement and color you like!!!! Airbrushing, stippling, the pattern and detail is up to play with!!!

8) And you have yourself a pretty decent cat!

Remember, shapes and exaggeration of features are your best friend!

a repeat but a more standard show of anatomy: my snow leopard study! But as you can see even in the character design I give them poof and exaggeration to make expression. Even in the final product I think I will mess around with the shapes to give off whatever vibe I want! Even as you can see for the full body I referenced I blocked out the character instead of really following the shapes.

[simcardiac-arrested]

never volunteer for anything university related man. also go listen to this

[surreal-duck]

midoyuzu is canon to me because of you

thank you anon..... im doing my part.... still havent recovered from the dream live interaction they had so heres doodles from last year of that. i cant believe they did that

on a separate note ive been kinda having mixed feelings regarding enst as a whole and while i dont think ill stop like. making/interacting w fanwork and such ill most likely step back a bit as well. even if it isnt new the racist shit that happyele's pulling really does suck ass, the fact im also really fond of akatsuki myself aside im sure its doubly worse for lots of other fans

[knocking-on-peoples-non-doors]

“When they say ‘coat’…”

“They’ll bally well have to retire the word!”

Inspired by A Study in Lavender by @oriley42 ! a fic i go back to time and again bc it is so sweet and lovely and funny and well-written.

[transingthoseformers]

How do you feel about Earthspark adjacent jazzsound :D