#funnily enough furries have been on this sort of thing for a long time i've run across a ton of streams of doing like anatomy practice

[cheddar-baby]

"top 10 filmmaking regrets" "if you draw like this you're doing it wrong" "go from beginner to pro with these 3 easy steps"

Feels like im wading through an overfilled graveyard whenever i have to experience the direction art youtube is going now. Something something algorithm but god it hurts to see people go from making informative videos they're clearly passionate about sharing their knowledge and years of experience with the world for free to putting out "content". Imagine stepping into a university course but suddenly one day your professor is sponsored by faber-castell and every class becomes ways to be a stronger ambassador for the brand. Its becoming harder and harder to find genuine good advice that isnt going to give you a complex about your art not being good enough or that you're doing everything wrong when thats impossible to do because its impossible to make art wrong. Its all $1 vs $100 materials where the end product of each has no informative value in it other than how to force word of mouth marketing. Its all just noise now.

Fully i would pay any amount of money monthly to just have some big name respected artist release long form videos of them silently working in the studio. Thats all i need. It doesn't need to be sleek or clean or structured. I just want to see the materials you use, how you use them, what techniques you employ, and the process to get to a finished piece. It could be shot on a crispy old phone in 480p i dont care as long as i can see whats going on and you're not compromising what you do to try and sell me squarespace or the new oil paints thats just came out.

[noblechaton]

hi. this is a post about Miraculous Ladybug - but also a post about me too. I've been on this bug and cat train since just about the beginning and getting to where we are now has made me kinda look back on it all - the show and myself so. I'mma ramble for a bit, pretty long post. gets kinda personal too

also there is like. no complaining or salt or anything like that in this post. adding this on in case anyone gets the wrong idea

like I said I've been here since roughly the beginning - not quite the first episode but close enough I feel, def within that first year or so. I've seen every episode (except "Felix" somehow. lmao, and the Shanghai special) and written countless words for this batch of furry doofuses, made countless posts that range from jokes to genuine analysis and spent what could probably be medically determined to be an unhealthy and maybe illegal amount of brainpower on the series as a whole, through the ups and downs, the fandom drama and leaks

and I know plenty of people who have fallen off for one reason or another - they didn't like the progression of the story, how things were being handled here or there, or they simply drifted from it for whatever reason. I kinda felt that way for a time, that I might be growing apart from the series as hiatus after hiatus built and my interests veered more towards other stuff, from wrestlemen to the witchy. it's scared me in the past, that I might stop loving the show, but with the S5 finale having hit and the major storyline that's been the thrust of the series mostly concluded I kinda realized something that I've kinda known for a long while

I'll never let it go, not entirely, and I'll never grow completely past it or beyond it - Miraculous is sort of a part of me

see, 8 years ago I was....drifting in a different way. I was losing touch with the people I held dearest, those irl friends I'd managed to maintain through school were fading fast and slowly I found myself almost alone, totally and completely. suddenly all the voices I'd been happily smothered by for years were just. gone. a few remained here and there, but it was fragmented if not completely cut off before too long and, well, I was scared

I was, for all intents and purposes, alone

but....then I started to watch this show that'd been recommended to me a few times, from before the voices faded. I'd written it off bc I didn't really care for CG shows, they always felt so empty and weird to me at the time, but the season was still ongoing and it wasn't as if I had much else to do, so I watched this episode called Stormy Weather and, not to sound too dramatic, but my life sorta changed

I loved it from the start, the style, the banter, the story. the animation was shockingly good, it felt alive. the characters were a total treat to see interact, the designs all but perfect to my eye. I got immediately hooked and only went further in the more I watched. slowly but surely I caught up on what was out there, watched what was coming out and at the same time, I sorta....reinvented myself, too, bc of this show

I made this blog, spread my wings a bit and tested some waters here and there in ways totally different from what I'd done before - I wasn't always Noble, yanno - and though it horrified me as someone that's just. terrible at talking to people, at making friends and forming connections, I still did what I could - I basically did what I did to get my first crush's attention actually, in that I just sorta danced and made a clown out of myself. we dated for 12 hours, funnily enough, didn't last. hope she's doing well. anyway

all that dancing, as it were, eventually caught the eye of someone I still consider one of my best friends to this day, who back then slowly hooked me up with who have since become some of my other best friends - I have a lotta best friends, okay? but the bond we've formed, though most of them are sorta on the outs with the show and despite us all being busy lately, it meant a lot to me - they mean a lot to me. they've....saved me, genuinely. I'm sure you can pick up the subtext here, but just as well, the show saved me, too

because I kept bumping into more people and forming connections as a result of this shared interest in a silly French cartoon, my confidence changed - I started behaving more like my senior year self in that nothing really stopped me, I didn't feel as shy or bashful or timid. soon I found myself in servers, talking with names I'd never imagined knocking up against, getting into contact with people I'd otherwise never dreamed of talking with, much less becoming friends with

now I have this web of people in my life, people I trust and care for that are amazing creators, amazing people both inside and outside of fandom, now I'm close to or otherwise good friends with a list of names that could take up most of this post if I started rambling them off. and just like that, I'd found myself a home again, I felt like I belonged somewhere again, there were voices again and the silence was gone

and I still struggle sometimes, we all do, I'm not as creative on here as I want to be - and I look to change that soon bc deep down I do believe in my ability now, something that wasn't true some few years ago - and I still struggle to talk with some of those I want to befriend, but I have talked to most of them, I've engaged on a level I never could just a few years back and....I have people I can turn to again, that I trust and love. that I hope love me too, y'know, not romantically or anything just, familial? friendly? you understand, I'm sure, anyway, point is, I was terribly alone for a long while, and gradually I've found myself in a place I find comfort in again, surrounded by friends that I'd do anything for

and it's all because of Miraculous, a show I still love

yeah there's been ups and downs, things I've liked a ton and didn't care much for, but I'm still with the show - I will be with the show. I thought season 5 was maybe the best of the bunch, at least on par with S1 imo, I'm stupidly excited about season 6 despite not being so sure of it just a few months ago. and above all else I just love watching it, posting about it and creating for it. it gets so much hate, I know there's constant discourse and there are genuine issues with it, but....again, I love it, I'll always love it. even if I drift away, if my interests shift or things take a turn, for any issue I take with the show myself, I think I'll always love this show, thick or thin

because this show saved me, it's made me a better person and gave me a life I'd once feared I'd lost, and for as silly as all of this might sound I'll always be grateful to that bug and cat team

anyway. that's enough sap from me for a bit, just kinda retrospective in light of the finale, kinda crazy to think about where I was 8 years back compared to now tbh. and not just the whole "oh yeah I'm a girl" thing lol

[stars-self-ships]

When the recently closed Pastabilities leaves few options for an ideal date locale, Bea and Micah settle on Possum Springs' most renowned eatery, Clik Clak Diner, to have their first date...

... unaware that they have an audience of one just outside.

(Check out underneath the cut for the process I went about when drawing the above piece, as well as some insightful gushing on my latest F/Os— Bea and Mae!)

Just about a month ago, I finished my lengthy playthrough of Winds of Change, and the eighteen hour long experience I had with the game is one that I'll never forget. I'm working on writing a post detailing what I thought of it in its entirety, though once I finished Winds of Change... I realized my 'furry game' need wasn't entirely satiated.

That's not to say that Winds of Change didn't deliver on its promised "ultimate furry tale"— trust me, it is more than deserving of that title— though I found myself raring to dive headfirst into another furry-centric game to play on my Switch, and luckily, I remembered that there existed a game that I've been wanting to give a go for a short while now...

Night in the Woods.

Going into playing the game for the first time, I knew very little about it, save for three things— the main character, Mae (Mae-n character, if you will), one of the main characters is a goth crocodile girl, and another one of the main characters has this adorably goofy flailing animation... naturally, the such paired with Night in the Woods' GORGEOUS visual style warranted a play!

Now, I've only just reached the second act of the game, so there's still lots for me to learn about Night in the Woods' story and cast, though what I have played of it so far made me realize that— with every new piece of media I consume— a rule applies, that being "I will walk out of this with a new F/O"... and it shouldn't come as any surprise that I already have two from NiTW!

While I'm sure many people interacting with this post are familiar with these characters, I'm going to take a moment and introduce them both to followers who are unfamiliar (Seeing as it's also an excuse to gush), starting with my newest romantic F/O, Bea! Say hi, Bea! 🖤💚🖤

That'll do! Bea is a grungy and stoic crocodile who serves as the "like, whatever" character of Night in the Woods. She is a very melancholic individual with a habit of smoking, and is easily identifiable by her all-black outfit. It would seem that Bea was once best friends with Mae when they were kids, but upon growing up and enduring hardships, a rift of sorts has grown between them, though Bea still has respect for Mae even if she doesn't show it.

From being one of the main reasons behind me playing Night in the Woods, it was almost a given that she would see a spot on my ever-growing list of F/Os... and funnily, much like my experience with Valessa, my admiration for her was yet another 'love at first sight' instance, seeing as I recall audibly gasping when she appeared on-screen for the first time... and that's not even getting into how I reacted seeing fanart of her.

I'm positive that Bea is the first of my romantic F/Os to be of the despondent type (Think Forsburn from Rivals/Lovers of Aether), though I've always had a deep love for that kind of characterization and— on top of finding her incredibly bea-utiful— Bea is a character that I think deserves to be welcomed with open arms and showered with the love and affection she deserves.

Like, seriously. Look at her. That is the face of a girl who deserves all of the hugs in the world. Something tells me that she's the type that keeps her feelings to herself until she finds a person she trusts enough to confide them in, and to be that person for her feel wonderful... Bea deserves so much love.

You know who isn't the type to keep her feelings to herself?

Mae is a reckless and cynical cat that serves as the star of the show in Night of the Woods. After dropping out of college during her sophomore year, she ventures back to her hometown, Possum Springs, in the hopes to continue her 'lay-low' lifestyle, but finds it tough to when the familiarity of her home is crumbling and all of her friends have grown and matured (But certainly haven't forgotten about her).

Now, look— I know I say this every other new F/O, but since the first few minutes of gameplay, I was very much sold on F/Oing Mae as a younger sister F/O, because I see so much of myself in her. Granted, I don't smash cars with a baseball bat or walk on powerlines, but there's just something about her that reminds me so much of myself.

... it might be because she's got a lax lifestyle, or maybe it's because she's a known gamer, though I think the trait we share the most is holding onto our friends no matter what. Mae's friends were one of the first few people she went to after arriving home, and it really seems like they're almost family to her... I mean, they're all in a band together. How could they not be tightly knit?

Mae is for certain a F/O I would adore to hang out with. Running aimlessly about Possum Springs and crashing in her bedroom to play video games and listen to her practice her bass make for the most pleasant imagines, and it's something I'd love to focus a future art piece on.

Speaking of art pieces... the process behind creating ship art for a Night in the Woods-ified version of myself and Bea was actually a lot more fun than I thought it would be! In my many years of recreating artstyles, I think NiTW's artstyle is the one I can most closely recreate... just look at the turnout of my very first attempt!!

I actually thought I would struggle with it, seeing as it's all lineless, but it seemed easy enough that I wanted to try my hand at drawing myself with Bea! The idea of a 'first date' type of scenario came to mind almost instantaneously, and after whipping up a concept of what I would look like in the NiTW canon, I was ready to get to work...

... but where would we have our first date?

Clik Clak Diner, a restaurant that Mae and company hang out at after she reunites with them, seemed like a perfect fit! Not only do I like its aesthetic, but it also looked like it would be a fun challenge to redraw for the setting of the art piece! It took a good deal of attention to detail in colors, lighting and making sure it looked as closely to the original as I could manage...

... and I think it's safe to say I nailed it! Everything you see above was remade from scratch (Save for the mostly obscured framed photo on the far right, which I copy-pasted from an upscaled version of the diner's interior), and the only thing I had to slightly change was the color of the booth's seat so that Bea's skin (?) color could stand out more.

Night in the Woods veterans might also note that Bea is rocking a new outfit! I was originally going to draw her in her usual gothic duds, though after daydreaming about how pretty she would look in a striped shirt and necklace, I drew her in just that while staying true to her sense of fashion in terms of the shirt's darker colors!

There are several other little details that I'd like to discuss about this piece, though I think I'll save those for the tags since what I have already more than enough makes for a good read! I think this Mae Bea my best drawing of 2022 so far (Geddit?), and I'm so excited to finally show it off!! 💖💖💖