#i also love their use of shaping especially the angular look to it all

[tendermiasma]

Anonymous asked: What are some of your favorite antique things to collect? Do you have any especially favorite finds?

Strawpage/tendermiasma

That's hard... I love furniture, it's so neat to see how they shaped and reflected trends and values and just the pure craftsmanship is so wonderful. My favorite styles hover around the 17th and 18th centuries-- Jacobean, George III, Federal/Hepplewhite/Sheridan. There's something about the crispness of the detailing of the last four that makes an ornamented piece feel so light and airy. I love Jacobean because every piece looks like it was hauled out of a fire, the dark patina is so rich. I don't actually own any originals from these periods (yet!!!) but fashion is a flat circle and Jacobean had a revival in the late 19th and a couple decades into the 20th century. I have a court cabinet from probably around the 1930s that I found here in Austin that was a part of this revival and you can see the Jacobean influence also carries a secondary Arts and Crafts influence that the US was on the tail end of. The engraving on the panels are a little bit flatter than the traditionally extremely 3D Jacobean carving, and that's what Arts and Crafts brought. They kept the dark patina look and I think it's interesting to think about how much lighter actual Jacobean furniture might have been during its time, and that we're choosing to imitate its aged look as part of its original intent-- sort of like how we thought Roman statues started out white when they were actually originally brightly painted, but we choose to make them white in most of our casual references. Regardless the charred finish looks amazing against light colored walls. It feels contemplative. Welsh 18th century design also has that quality although more pared-down but still warm and welcoming somehow. I love it.

Back to Georgian/Sheridan/Hepplewhite/Federal though, also don't actually own any from that time either, although I have been heavilyyyyyyy eyeing a credenza from one of my favorite antique dealers in Austin who randomly has some incredible pieces. I could't buy it responsibly but they're all free right there for me to study and admire. Sheridan and Hepplewhite are super similar and a good way to tell them apart is the feet. If they're tapered little unadorned pegs, it's probably Hepplewhite, and if they have a ball or box on the end or have some other angular detailing, it's probably Sheridan. THOSE styles came back around almost 200 years later in the woodwork of midcentury modern which I think is so neat. You can also help yourself date a piece with other little things, like screws. There was a period in the early-mid 1800s where screws had machine-made threads while their heads were still cut by hand with a hacksaw; the machinery for cutting screwheads came later. Philips screws weren't widely used until the 1940s so that's another possible way to tell. However you have to be careful because a lot of furniture gets repaired and modern hardware is usually used, so it's good to hunt around on it for signs of the original hardware. You can also tell whether hardware is new or possibly original by the amount of patina built up around the hardware. That's hard to fake. 

I got lost again. I also love looking at pottery and dishware because there's so much information and history in its marks. It's always such a fun little forensics game to look at its stamps and writings and symbols on the bottom to track where it's been, who made it, is it a forgery of a well-known artisan? That happened to me really recently when I found a Meissen tea set at a thrift store and it turns out I believe I have one actual Meissen cup in there from mid 1800s. The only way I could figure it out it was genuine and also its general date was because of its imperfections, which is pretty cool. Meissen had a specific way of marking B-grade dishware that they only used during certain time periods, and thankfully there's document of it, and my piece carried it. I don't care if she's not A-grade, she's beautiful and I'm a sucker for blue and white china.

I could talk a lot more but I'm just rambling at this point so feel free to ask more. I love it all so much. I've had a great time learning so much more than I bargained for with every new piece I find. I'm still mourning the Austin Antique Mall closure that happened last May but thankfully there's another great one in Round Rock and I should go back next month.

The smoking-gun wheel marks for the date and authenticity of the Meissen cup

My Jacobean-revival court cabinet from probably the 1930s

In her natural habitat. I built the fake fireplace! None of the existing ones were Georgian enough for me lol

The coffee table is I believe late 1930s and the chair is a 1960s wingback that got recovered in probably the 90s and I want to get it recovered again when I can. I'm at capacity since I'm in a 1-bedroom apartment and my primary goal is a well-designed space but when I can get an office it's going to be so over

[fallenclan]

Related to FallenClan designs! All your designs are super amazing, what’s your simplifying process/how do you decide design for cat pelts? Cause I always struggle with simplifying/deciding how they look especially bengals and cats with white patches… thanks if you respond!

I’m ADHD and struggle with consistency and simplifying lol, though more complex designs are pretty, I lean more towards what you do w/ you’re cats as they are simple but still super pretty + it makes it easier to consistently draw them all for stuff like this! (These comic like moon updates :])

(Also hope none of this came off as offensive, it’s all meant positively! I really really admire you and your designs :])

ty for the compliments!!! very sweet ask and I shall do my best to give a good response o7

generally my method with designing characters/drawing is to just wing it. fuck it we ball basically. but i DO take a lot of inspiration from other people's warriors art, taking the time to analyze what i like about their styles and what different sorts of patterns i can use

(i also regularly consult the Clangen Sprite Guide for better looks at white patches/tortie patterns and such, highly recommend)

the first thing i decide when i'm designing a new cat is what fur texture i want them to have. i have four that I pick from (pictured below, in order), wavy, spiky, curly, and square.

i decide the fur pattern based on the cat's personality (a more stoic cat might have square fur, while someone more bubbly might have curly, or someone more excitable have spiky, so on and so on), and also based on their parents/how many cats i've designed with that fur pattern recently.

after that is snout shape, which is probably my favorite part. i love to draw cats with a very pronounced snout, not unlike an oriental shorthair, but i generally slide around between that and a more typical, stubby snout, occasionally veering off into the very square snout of a maine coon. this is also a great spot to determine how sharp you want their jaw to be, which is something that can really help set a design apart! (a couple of snout examples below)

then i usually move onto colors. i like to pick an undertone for the cat first, so i know what sort of pallate to work with. as you can see in the pictures below, ravenstar has a purple/blue undertone, and toadbelly has orange/red undertones

this helps me make all the colors look nicer together, so i don't end up doing something like making a very warm colored cat with blue-toned white patches (which would make the white patches look super cold/too bright), which can be a really cool stylistic choice, but isnt what i tend to go for

once i've drawn out the cats fur shape and picked my colors, i'll move onto the base coat. over my time of having the fallenclan blog i've discovered that having a very simple pattern underneath the normal pattern can add a lot of visual interest to a cat, and make them look less plain.

here's a good example! one of the first cats i designed, oaktuft. their pattern was super basic--one base color, plus the inside of the ears, and then the color of their patterns.

and here's another cat that i designed a little more recently--Shiverspots! you can see that even just the small change of adding a bit of a lighter color to her underbelly made a world off difference. plus my style got a lot more defined lol

i have a couple of different base patterns that i use. here's a few more examples. i've even started to experiment with more than two colors!

once i've got the base done i move onto patterns. this part can definitely be tricky; trying to make a dozen brown tabbies with short fur be distinct can be . a challenge. i like to follow the steps of what i've already designed--a cat with spiky fur might have very sharp, angular stripes, and a cat with curly fur might have much rounder ones.

i think a good rule of thumb for if your pattern feels a little too basic is just to throw some more colors in there. another shade of orange, a more pale tint to some of them, whatever. and don't be afraid to erase it and start again! sometimes a design just won't work, and thats fine :)

the final thing i do is to add little design quirks. a particularly sharp jawline, downturned eyes, a crooked smile or a gap tooth, whatever! little things can really give your cats character.

i really hope that this helped!!!

[alkeneater]

favorite character design tropes go

AGHHH IT'S SO HARD TO ANSWER THESE TYPES OF QUESTIONS BECAUSE I'M NEVER SURE WHAT I ACTUALLY LIKE

Okay, let me think.... If we're talking about DESIGN, like, appearance and artstyle...

First of all, i really like 2000's cartoons artstyle with thick lineart and angular shapes,,,,, yknow what i mean.,,,,, cartoon network and stuff......💙💙💙 and i also like early 2000-2010 digital artists artstyle like they used on deviantart and youtube back then. rawr xd. that aesthetic. black blurred shading. rainbows. KEWL.

NEXT appearance and details.

Guys don't laugh at me, but i'm the biggest fan of "just a guy" characters. They usually are the main characters in the show, cis-male, white, straight (or may be a little fruity), JUST BASIC ASS CHARACTERS. I know they are created to be relatable, and i DO relate to them so much. Target audience, yeah. They are so basic and i adore them for that. Everyone calls them boring BUT NOT ME.

Hmmm... I love robots also! Not a big fan of giant mechas or transformers, i prefer small cute robots that can live in the house with you. Also, i don't really like androids that look exactly like humans (detroit become human yk). The humanoid ones are okay, i just want them to look like robots, not humans. Examples of my fav characters: Ron from Ron's gone wrong, Timothy from 3 out of 10, Robogozin and some other robots from the Russian Cyberfarm, Sonny from I, Robot, well, also Mr. B from Clone High!! etc.... many examples....

Yknow, when it comes to aliens, i'm also very basic, because i love green little men,,,,,, yeah,,,, i have an oc that is literally just a green little man from mars,,,,, i know it's cool to love more complicated alien designs, but i can't help i love simplicity,,,,,,,

Ahhh also!!!! I love stickmen or stickman-like characters, YEAH BECAUSE THEY'RE SUPER SIMPLE. Omg especially the ones that have like.... wider legs and arms,,,, youknow,,,,, like that design trope,,,

well,,,,, idk what to add, maybe uhhh,,,, i love when characters have something that glows,,,, like, eyes, a weapon, some detail on their clothes, maybe accessories,,, i love glowing stuff so much. AND i also love cyber elements in designs like holographic textures, electric circuit patterns, cyber implants, scifi gadgets,,,,

so basically i'm a big fan of minimalism and being boring/basic, BUT i also love scifi-inspired design tropes,,,,, ugh,,,, that's all ig,,,, hope that was informative,,,,

[caughtthedarkness93]

Burton plays with the aesthetics of a lot of German expressionism, but doesn't really go into the themes or ideas of German expressionism. This was an early film movement that gave us a lot of really experimental stuff starting back in the silent film era. This is where you get films like Metropolis, Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, stuff like that. It ended up being wildly influential to future filmmaking, with wide influences especially in film noir and horror, though they reach pretty far beyond that (I think you could safely class Metropolis as proto-cyberpunk).

And one look at some of the stuff from this movement, and you'll see a lot of where Burton's aesthetics came from. This is what The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, one of the most celebrated German expressionist films, looked like:

Yeah, I saw bits and pieces of this film and it kinda blew my mind. Because yeah, that angular, jarring visual style is all over Burton's work, along with other influences from the same movement.

But here's the thing - Burton's work loves these aesthetics and indeed loves the aesthetic of transgression against the norm, but doesn't really go beyond the aesthetic trappings of transgression. It's something I noticed when, after somehow avoiding it all my life despite graduating high school in 2011 right in the middle of the Hot Topic era, I finally watched The Nightmare Before Christmas. The film's aesthetics are strange and uncomfy. It's got a very macabre look to it. But what does it actually seem to be saying? Well, Jack is bored with his life, bored with the role that society has decided he belongs in. So he seeks something new, gets excited, and then tries to participate. And it goes catastrophically. He nearly ruins everything and winds up back in the same box he found so unsatisfying before. It's a movie about noncomformity, and specifically about how defying and rejecting societal expectations is bad and you shouldn't do it.

And no, Burton didn't actually write or direct Nightmare, but it's a consistent thing in his films. He often attempts to take the element of the foreboding out of his German expressionist imagery. And there's something in that I actually like - things that seem foreboding turning out to be friendly. It's a major motif in a lot of films I love - it's not far off of what Guillermo Del Toro built his whole career on. Del Toro's a great example because his films are aesthetic as hell in a way that also feels like it hearkens back to German expressionism, but he's also meaningfully following through with the themes and ideas that follow it.

His monsters are often a metaphor for people who are othered. It's super obvious in The Shape of Water, but it's all over his filmography.

But in Burton movies, it feels like the strange exists to be taken out of a box, looked at funny for a bit, and then placed safely back in the box.

Forever baffled by the fact that Tim Burton is still thought of as a defender of oddness. He treats monsters as things to be gawked at, to be drawn and imagined, then put away in a safe little box. He doesn't love monsters, he loves freak shows.

[mars-ns]

Research: Personal artist research (Part 2)

Baron Ueda

Baron Ueda is a Japanese artist and character illustrator and creator of the company Frlamemonger. He has illustrated for multiple companies, such as Nike and McDonald’s, and often includes a mascot called AI Bear in his work.

Ueda has a few different stylisations, some more realistic, but I love his more cartoony work which is referred to by him as “Charactive”. Ueda’s art is bold and dynamic, with unique colour palettes, well rendered backdrops, angular, cool characters and a controlled chaos to every piece he makes. He definitely has an iconic style, especially with the way he stylizes the eyes and heads.

I think a lot of people, even those who aren’t into cartoony styles, can see the effort and pride Ueda puts into his art. While a lot of it is commercial-based and a lot to take in visually, it all has a distinct and lively flare.

website:

Kelly Ficarra

Kelly Ficarra is an American artist and animator who primarily focuses on comics. Her artwork takes inspiration from late 90's and early 2000's cartoons, with the usual cutesy and edgy touches, though her artwork also often has comedic, sapphic and sexual elements.

Most well known for her character illustrations, Ficarra draws female characters with different focuses and themes, some more provocative than others. Whether they be run-of-the-mill girls or angels and demons, Ficarra finds a way to make them all equally charming and fun, and the imperfections in her line art add a lot of life to their posing. Her best works are usually made using either watercolour markers or digitally scanned since they embody the cel frame look to the T.

Personally, I just really like her work, her designs and how “imperfect” they look overall. Despite their flatness, they have a lot of personality.

social:

OneBadNoodle

Onebadnoodle, also known as The Noodle, is an American artist and character illustrator. They generally draw fan art and redesign different characters, but also draw humanoid original characters.

Noodle’s characters are usually based on one major concept, whether it be clothing or bugs, and are given characteristics based on that. Even with this simple approach, they amplify their work with the art style; Despite the rough and sketchy nature of the lineart, the emphasis on shapes and angularity makes the designs look sleek. Their colour selection is also interesting, not being too bright but still having a bold and colourful vive. 

Personally, I already mentioned that I’m a fan of thematic and brash character designs, and Noodle’s design fit my exact tastes, though what I prefer about their art over another artists who make similar pieces is their art style and it’s cartoonish look, which especially helps showcase silhouette better and allows for more experimentation.

Social:

Some personal thoughts

So, I'm aware that we're supposed to include an artist whose work we don't like as much or don't connect with. Here's a funny thing...

I can't name any artists whose work I dislike enough to name here. I'm open minded to art and the styles people have, even I dislike them. For example, I have an obvious preference for simplicity and iconography in terms of character design, but that doesn't make artists who draw over-designed anime characters akin to Genshin Impact any less credible, it just means I don't like how the characters look aesthetically, and those artists might think the same thing about the art I like and draw.

Art is super subjective and I’m not saying that I like everything because that is a lie, but I prefer to acknowledge artists who actually had a positive impact on my life, the ones who made me love and appreciate art and who’s work I relate to and find interesting enough to be inspired by (Especially since Ai is taking away artists' jobs and you included Ai generated pictures as part of the research for this project. Even if unintentional, that is really disrespectful to the people studying art and artists on this course.). If I dislike the art someone makes, I just turn my attention away from it, and if I dislike the artist? They don’t deserve to be mentioned, because my reason for disliking them is that they’re a terrible person.

[dharmaart]

Hi! You got any advice for an aspiring painter and horse lover? Like what do you keep in mind while you’re painting horses?

Mainly it's good to have a good grasp on the anatomy. Just looking at a lot of horses and getting a good sense for what looks right is also really useful. In my paintings I focus a lot on shapes and sort of "blocking in" the horse with quite simplified brushstrokes, I almost think of it as sculpting with the paint. Look for the bigger shapes first. You can even think about unfocusing your eyes a bit when looking at your reference in the beginning so you just get the overall impression which forces you to ignore the small details.

I've included some pictures bellow of paintings of mine in that early stage. When you've got everything looking right proportion wise you can move into painting in more detail with smaller brushes.

In terms of specifics - I feel like getting the eyes right is also a key thing, many people including myself get this wrong from time to time. A lot of it is in getting the placement right. When it's wrong it makes the whole head look odd. Also horses do have lovely round swooping lines in them but they are also quite angular and blocky especially on their legs. The lower half of their legs is ostensibly just tendons and bones and not fleshy. I feel like artists more used to drawing humans (who have muscle all the way down their limbs except for hands/feet) don't think about how bony horses are.

[violettduchess]

My favorite writer taking requests! I have to ask for Carlo and kiss 8 - dying to see what you come up with!

A/N: Here you go, anon! This took some time but I hope you enjoy it! 💜

Carlo x f! Reader

Word Count: 3106

Today:

How did I get here?

You stare at yourself in the floor-length mirror, taking in the fitted, shimmering green skirt that is supposed to represent a mermaid’s tale, the filmy pale pink and yellow of the material wrapped around your midsection and chest. Your bare shoulders and upper arms have been dusted with pearlescent white powder, your hair held out of your face by small hair pins in the shape of seashells. You look every inch the siren, foreign and mystical and not at all like yourself. 

Behind you, you hear footsteps across the wooden platform, soft muttering in the language of Benitoite and you turn to see Carlo, Prince Silvio’s aide, followed by the twittering costume designer as he approaches to get a look at himself in the mirror. Gone is the solemn man in the plain clothing that skirted the border of being shabby but saved itself through quality of material. His ebony curls have been freshly washed and brushed away from his angular face, his dark blue eyes, the color of the sea at midnight, lined with black kohl. His usual fitted shirt has been replaced by a swashbuckler’s billowy tunic, wide open to reveal a surprising amount of well-muscled chest. Carlo used to work down at the docks before Prince Silvio found him, recognized the flame of intelligence that burned in those dark eyes and plucked him out of one life stained with hardship and into another one of research and service. Fitted black trousers hug shockingly well-formed legs, the calves of which are also covered by knee-high black leather boots. A sword hangs loosely about his hips, drawing far more attention to that area than it should.

He looks up from fussing with the scabbard, seeing you and he stops walking, nearly causing the costume designer to crash into him. With a few chirps she flits from here to there, making minute adjustments now that he is finally standing still, not noticing the way your gazes have locked with one another, the way his throat works as he swallows, trying to fight the sudden dryness. You have stolen his capacity to breathe, to think. How, how will he ever even remember his lines when he has to see you.....looking like that?

You turn away, hand pressed against the thunder of your heartbeat.

How did I get here? 

Yesterday:

In your role as Rhodolite diplomat, King Leon has sent you to many places. You had proven yourself during your time as Belle and he valued your judgment in many matters. He had been especially impressed with the way you had won over his brothers, each and every one of them coming to, if not exactly like you, at the very least respect you. There was no one else he would have been happier to see take on a representative role, your intelligence and kindness and charm qualities befitting an exemplary ambassador. 

You had chosen the gift for the Benitoite royals with care: a first-edition copy of a play by one of Rhodolite’s most famous writers, a tragic love story between a sailor and a mermaid who fell madly in love with one another but whose families were locked in a centuries-long feud that would ultimately lead the sailor to drown in the arms of his lover rather than be apart from her. Leon had chosen this gift as the story is set in what is now Benitoite and hoped it would please the royals.

And it had. Perhaps too much. Silvio, mercurial as he is, had decided he wanted to not just read the play, but actually watch it be performed. When he had been informed that the national thespian troupe was on tour, traveling throughout the Ruby kingdom, he had turned those sharp ocean eyes onto you.

“I’m sure the ambassador is willin’ ta do just about anythin’ to please us. Ain’t that right?”

Alarm bells began tinkling in the back of your mind but you found yourself sitting up straighter at the table, head tilting to one side as you regarded the haughty prince. A smile, much calmer than you felt, touched your lips.

“Of course Prince Silvio.”

He leaned back in his plush chair, necklaces jangling softly as he crossed his arms. Something about the expression on his face made those alarm bells begin chiming even louder.

“Then I say you do it. You can be the mermaid princess and uh....” His gaze scanned the room and landed on the man standing by the doorway, half in a shadow, quietly reading from a small, black leather-bound book. “Carlo!” The man looked up, startled. 

“Yes, your Highness?”

Silvio smiled broadly. “You will play the lovestruck sailor.” He nodded once, pleased with himself. “Arrange for costumes, music, and all that shit. I wanna see the play tomorrow.”

Carlo blinked as he looked around the room, his expression one of bewilderment. The leap from whatever he had been reading to his new reality seemed to have clogged the mechanisms of his brain as he comprehended what had just happened.

“Go on.” Silvio waved a jangly hand carelessly in your direction. “Go meet your lover.”

His gaze jumped from Silvio to you and the question he was asking himself was written plain as day on his face:

How did I get here?

Several hours later you found yourself in the library, which normally would have thrilled you to no end. Except instead of foraging for new literary treasures, you stared at the gift you had brought like it was to blame, while Carlo stared at you, looking a bit like an owl that had been awoken far too early from its slumber and wasn’t quite sure if it was night or day.

Silence filled the room, snaking its way around bookshelves and wrapping you both up in its tendrils, leaving you awkwardly stiff and unable to form words. You had introduced yourselves, fumbling over each other’s sentences, words clumsily knocking into each other, and then you had placed the book on the desk with a loud thump. 

Since then, there was  no sound.

Finally you cleared your throat. “Staring at it isn’t going to help us. It seems Prince Silvio really is expecting us to….perform this.”

Your voice cut the strings that the room’s silence had been holding him hostage with and he sank into the chair across from you, a frown on his surprisingly handsome face.

“I would try and speak to him but I fear if he knew how much neither of us wanted to do this, he would dig his heels in even more and perhaps invite outsiders to witness our….production.”

You found yourself regarding him a moment as he ran a hand through his dark curls. “You really know him well.” Silvio Ricci was not a man that let people close to him. Clearly Carlo was one of the exceptions.

A smile, ephemeral as quicksilver, touched his lips. “Si. He is truly….exceptional in many ways.”

You sensed how there was more underlying his words, an entire iceberg under that small sentiment that poked out from the ocean of his experience with Silvio. But now was not the time….you tore your gaze away from him, clearing your throat as you placed your hands on either side of the book.

“I can edit this…write out the lines of the most important scenes. That way we don’t have to worry about the entire play.”

He nodded, encouraged by your brilliant idea. “Excellent thinking, Signora.”

You glanced at him. “You can use my name.” You added a warm smile, lifting one shoulder with a shrug. “After all, we’re going to be scene partners, aren’t we?”

You didn’t expect the flustered way he ran a hand through his dark curls, a faint dusting of warmth falling across his slanted cheekbones. 

“If…if you insist.” 

Tilting your head, you searched for and caught his gaze, your warm smile still in place. “I do.”

He nodded, rising from his seat to walk over to a desk across the room, kneeling to open a drawer. That smile was fogging his brain and he needed a moment away from its radiant light. You weren’t aware of the effect you were having on him. You were suddenly far more aware of the broad expanse of his shoulders as he crouched, rifling through that drawer and the narrow taper of his waist as he rose back up to full height. Quickly you forced your attention back to the play, opening up to the list of characters, blinking against the swift barrel roll your blood was doing inside your veins. A moment later, Carlo returned, setting several sheets of blank paper and a fountain pen of marbled blue and silver next to you. 

“You can write out our lines here?”

“Yes, perfect. Thank you.” And you got to work, forcing yourself to focus on the familiar play rather than the man who was smiling so openly it made you literally ache to touch his cheek, close to that smile.

Another hour had passed. Outside the sky was readying itself for the night, painting itself in the most striking orange and pink. You were writing madly, lost in your work as you read over the famous play, picking out the most important scenes and transcribing key lines that would keep the story intact but trim away any extras. Carlo peeked over the top of his notebook, his mind distracted from nautical calculations and oceanography notes by…..you. You, lost in the play, mouthing certain lines as you copied them out diligently. And in beautiful handwriting, no less. Especially when compared to his own chicken scratch. You, so focused, trimming the play like a master butcher, carving out the heart of the story from within the many words. He understands that kind of concentration, that singular mindset as you navigate work like a skiff on the water. That was what he told himself anyway, that he was interested in watching you work and not in the way the evening light, spilling in through the library windows, blanketed you in its softness, catching highlights in your hair, the rose of your lips, the brightness of your eyes.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, only that the sound of the fountain pen dropping to the wooden table startled him, his dark sapphire eyes blinking rapidly as he brought his gaze quickly back down to the notebook he had been happy to ignore. 

“There.” 

You slumped back in your chair, shaking out your hand, a grin on your lips. You actually did it and the pride in your accomplishment hung on the curve of your smile. Standing just as suddenly as you let the pen fall, you shoved back your chair and walked around the table to set yourself down next to Carlo. “Let me show you.”

His notebook disappeared into his pocket and he leaned in to where you began explaining the play and the scenes you chose. You spoke quickly, excitedly, as if making up for all the previous silence.

“This scene is where they meet, the handsome, adventurous sailor and the innocent mermaid…..” You went on to explain their instant connection, the fascination they have with one another. But their relationship is dangerous, forbidden by their differences, and when the sailor tries to tell the mermaid they shouldn’t see each other anymore, she responds with a desperate kiss, one of the most romantic, most famous kisses in any drama throughout the lands. 

When you got to this part, he noticed the way you paused, lifting your gaze to meet his and suddenly you were both imagining the same thing: kissing the other person. 

Your gaze dropped to his lips, tracing their shape. He has such a beautiful mouth….He found himself wondering if your lips would feel as soft as they looked. The moment stretched out, the only sounds in the room the knocking of your heart against your breastbone, the audible inhale and shaky exhale of Carlo’s breath.

And then the doors to the library swung open, scattering the moment like sand in a violent breeze.

“There ya are. I’ve been lookin’ all over for you.” Silvio sauntered in, shaking his head, golden earrings swinging with the movement. “You’re still my aide, ya know, Carlo. I ain’t got all night to wait while you two practice your little show.” He stopped walking, taking in the blush spreading across your cheeks and the way Carlo had immediately shoved his chair away from yours. Blue eyes snapped from you to him like taunt sails in the wind and then a slow, wicked smile claimed the prince’s handsome face.

“Looks like I'm interrupted somethin’.”

You sprang to your feet, dipping into a quick curtsy. 

“Prince Silvio. We were just going over the edits to the play I made.”

Silvio cocked his head, moonlight-colored hair falling to one side as he continued to grin. “Yeah I saw.” He paused, considering his next words. “Well I hate to break up ya’ little rehearsal or whatever but I need my man here.”

Carlo nodded, brushing down the front of his shirt. “Of course, your Highness.” He turned to you, not meeting your gaze as he pointed to the papers on the table. “May I borrow these in preparation for tomorrow?”

“Of course,” you answered, the words coming out a touch too fast, stumbling on each other’s heels. “I remember which lines I transcribed. I can study them from the original.”

Amusement has Silvio’s eyes gleaming like coins in the sunlight. The sardonic curve of his mouth told you both how much he was looking forward to whatever happened tomorrow. He turned on his heel, jewelry jangling and snapped his fingers as he strode out of the library, but whether the motion was a signal for Carlo to hurry up or simply a sign of his glee at the situation he had forced you into was unclear.

Carlo started after him, holding the papers you painstakingly wrote carefully to his chest. Suddenly he stopped mid-step, turning to look your way one last time. Your eyes locked and then he gave you a quick bow.

“Until tomorrow.” He glanced up quickly, and then in a softer tone, added your name to the thought. The sound of it coming from his lips, rounded by that accent, sent a flare of warmth from your stomach up through your face. Every nerve in your body felt incandescent and alive. You managed to incline your head in return, hoping he didn’t notice the flush you knew was rolling across your skin.

When the library door closed behind him, you found your legs too shaky to support your weight and you sank back down into the wooden chair, drawing in several deep breaths. 

How did I get here, you wondered, hand pressed against your midsection as if calming the tornado of butterflies that had taken residence within.

And what am I going to do?

Today:

Carlo is a marvel. Never would you have expected the quiet, seemingly shy attendant to step out from behind the red velvet curtains and become the witty, bold sailor who enchants the mermaid princess. He strides across the stage, a new man, shoulders wide as if challenging the world to even try and burden them. Sometimes, as he delivers his lines, you recognize shades of Silvio in the lilt of his voice, the swagger in his movements. Carlo mirrors the Benitoite prince as he brazenly proclaims his love for you, swearing to fight the seven seas themselves if it means he is allowed to be yours. He makes it easy, so very easy, to slip into your role as the lovestruck siren, completely taken by this man, wondering if she could risk everything to be with him.

You’ve arrived at the turning point of the play, the moment when the mermaid princess has had enough of denying her feelings and makes the decision to follow her heart. How does she do this? By interrupting a passionate rant, grabbing handfuls of his shirt and yanking him towards her, stopping the flow of words with a kiss.

Carlo is pacing, his lines flying from his lips, memorized with the same perfection he uses to calculate wind rates and ship speeds. His hands, glinting with golden rings under the bright stage lighting, are as active as his mouth, punctuating his words with gestures, emphasizing his embattled state of being in love and never wanting to wonder what could have been.

And then it feels like a dream, like you really are swimming underwater as you cross the stage to where he is standing, roughly gathering the soft white cloth of his tunic in both hands. You pull him to you, leaning up to press your lips against his.

The ocean roars in your ears the moment they touch. The stage, the gathered audience of royals and nobles, the cavernous ballroom where the performance is taking place, the dazzling stage lights. All of it is swept away, like the sea raking its fingernails over the shore and pulling sand along with it. All you know now is the shape of his mouth as it fits against yours, the feel of his arms as they wrap around you and pull you tightly against the safeguard of his body. It is both electrifyingly new and astonishingly familiar, as if your body already knows something your mind doesn't. His lips part and he seeks entrance to your mouth, brazen as the wind when it plucks at a ship’s sails, snapping them to and fro. There is no resistance. You yield, softening in his arms, relinquishing your hold on his shirt to run your hands down his sides, around his body, palms pressing possessively against the small of his back. You are sinking, down, down, into the taste of his mouth, the heat of his embrace. Still waters run not only deep but hot, full of unexpected fervor and heart-stirring excitement. 

You have no idea how long you kissed, the time it takes a wave to caress the shore once, twice, fifty times. What you do know is when you finally break apart, the audience is motionless, breathless, hanging on the edge of their seats, and in Carlo’s midnight gaze you see truth, burning like the fire of a thousand stars.

In the front row, arms loosely crossed, Silvio Ricci smiles slowly. Knowingly. His instincts had been right and he practically glows with the satisfaction of it all. Benitoite will likely be seeing much more of the Rhodolite ambassador. Che bello.

Tagging: @aquagirl1978 @alixennial @alexxavicry @queengiuliettafirstlady @rhodolitesrose @ikemen-writer @bellerose-arcana @thewitchofbooks @redheadkittys @dear-mrs-otome @firestar-otomeobsessed @curious-skybunny @kpop-and-otome @writingwhimsey @mxrmaid-poet @silver-dahlia @wendolrea @otomefoxystar @nightfoxqueen @myonlyjknight @queen-dahlia @aceuuuuu @scorchieart @bubblexly

[gojira007]

Puttin' my comments under the cut for Ease of Scrolling. ^_^

The distinctive angle here and the way it lets you emphasize the Presence of the polearm is immediately striking and effective!  I also love how well you juxtapose the loose playful pose from Madeleine against the firm straight look of the weapon too, and the light but clear texturing of the coat works great too. 

The particular look 'n' feel of the textures and perspectives here, from the richly defined look of the face to the nice sense of depth and dimension in the flowers, is really nicely done.  The great gentle feel you craft through the feel of the pose and the framing of the flowers around the character is just lovely.  

Awwww that believably Considerate look in the expression is so sweet, you handle the specific feel of it so authentically and the crisp cool feel of the lines really makes it click.  The way you show the wisp of steam being blown away from the mug is also great, the clear sense of its motion is really nicely handled. 

There's a distinctively nuanced believable feel to the physicality of the posing here I really appreciate; the motions aren't Big or Dramatic, but they are Clear and Expressive too.  The little lean in the head, the set of the shoulders, even just the turn of the eyes all have this very keenly observed sense of detail to it that clicks so nicely. 

Very nice use of differing line weights to capture the particular weight 'n' texture of each element here.  The slightly fuzzy feel of the hair, the firm angular look of the gun, even the light flow of the coat all come through really clearly! 

Gotta love the pitch-perfect reference, for sure XD  You definitely handle the sense of motion in the orbs themselves wonderfully, the mild glow effect is perfectly played.  Moreover I LOVE how well you use the distinctive birdy features of the face to make that playful fun expression work so nicely; the popped-open beak especially is perfect. 

I quite like the almost collage-like feel of the composition here, the cool graphic way each element feels layered on top of the other.  The way those stripes of color burst out from Orion's ring is especially good, but I also like the keen way you literally parallel Sterling with Rigel too. 

perfect use of burst-lines is perfect.  The whole scene here is just so charming, you handle each character's distinctive shapes and active poses with such a great style.  Their rubbery elongated lines just play off each other so perfectly. 

Art Fight 2024! Nearly all of these were revenges this year, haha. But I met my goal of doing 5 attacks~

Madeleine for @starlitskvaderart Omeesha for lovely-ento Berkan for @riyamilea Darian for @jammerlee Magma Gun for @inbarfink Shew for SpinosaurusSoup Wrong Man, Sterling, and Orion for @starkatstories Cypress, Val Amar, and Mavuto for @kingspriteful

[kottkrig]

Hello, Kott! How do you come up with faces/head shapes? Do you have any inspirations on that helped you make all your characters look different from each other? Please give this struggling artist some tips 😢 Thank you!

Compiled some old answers to similar questions here, here, here and a bonus about teeth here

The easiest way to convey a good stylized design for me is consistency with shapes; softer characters being built with circles, angular ones with a lot of long rectangle features, jagged edges for a harsher and maybe sinister look, strong characters being square shaped, etc. etc. The same shapes can convey different things depending on how you use them, but the key factor is that they keep showing up in the same design (doesn't have to be in everything, but in many things for consistency!) From their face shape, eye shape, nose and lips, to hair, body shape... you get it Also looking at pictures of real people and trying to figure out if you can map some shapes from their appearances. I like striking appearances for this reason, they don't necessarily have to be conventionally beautiful to be appealing and memorable.

And don't be afraid to add wrinkles even on young characters! Especially if they're expressive!! I love a good wrinkle!!!

[liketwoswansinbalance]

I absolutely love this concept! Fascinating. Is it weird that I relate to a lot of the character traits you’ve assigned him? He's quite writerly. And besides, the small hours of the night are my time, and I rarely ever lend books to anyone, for probably the same reasons as his since I don't want them to be damaged, my poor tomes, haha.

Also, you don’t have to take these suggestions at all! I just had some thoughts:

The houppelande cape, a medieval outer garment, would fit a humanized Storian well to my mind (especially because it could have an elongating effect due to its high, tight collar and its overall length, brushing against the ankles. And if you wanted to exaggerate the effect, you could add vertical ribbing to some of the fabric). This garment would evoke modern legal robes or academic regalia (as if it's not already a more primeval version of that from a bygone era), like the type professors don on ceremonial occasions such as commencement or graduation. And, for the Storian specifically, the scalloped, flared sleeves could have a sharper cut, with edges shaped like its nib.

In addition, the Storian could wear pointy, (silver?) poulaines (the shoes depicted below), to mimic the needle-like tip of his pen form.

Now, returning to the matter of his cape—it could be lined with highly embellished, brocade fabric, similar to a damascened weapon or pen, or the garniture of certain plate armor once made for nobles.

That said, I think the German style of armor, in particular, with a blued (Black Oxide) finish, would fit better for these purposes, too—say, if the Storian were a scholar with an army at his beck and call. After all, the German style is sharper, more streamlined, and above all, less bulbous than the Italian style. Perfect for launching holy, ahem—storied wars.

The lining's fabric could likely be black, white, and silver, to remain on theme, perhaps with the miniature swans or the mysterious inscriptions along the Pen's sides.

Lastly, if our foul fellow is to have a hat, to complete his look, I'd recommend something feathered, to evoke the swans, following forth with the color scheme I've already established, something stiff and angular, like this:

The oil-slick looking feathers also recall Rafal's bird motif, but it could still fit the Pen himself. In fact, the Storian deriving his style of dress from his Masters wouldn't that unexpected, I'd guess? Some articles of his clothing could be more ostentatious than even Rhian's fashion sense, and others could be more understated and austere like what we could assume Rafal's mode of dress would be like, effectively meaning he's surpassed both School Masters at once.

Also, I completely agree with how you chose to make the Storian a man since I think I've always imagined its voice/narration as male (even if it's canonically genderless). Yet, I also find it interesting, how fitting this decision happens to be, that it's been turned from an "it" to a "he," seeing as, in Middle English (versus our Modern English), the possessive, third person pronoun its used to be spelled as his. Basically, back then, instead of the neutral object's set of pronouns, it/it/its (as opposed to the usual human set of he/him/his), it used to be hit/hit or him/his.

Was thinking. What if

Hear me out

Humanised Storian

Lmao

All i know

Is.

- long. Like. Think long-legged bird

- gray & blue. Skyscraper colour palette

- fuckton of feathers (think poets, birds, freedom)

- fuckton of long, sharp shapes

- his pen form in his hair

- cape!!!! Not like a regular one but still, cape!!!!

- idgaf about you eyes. You know what i mean

Sketched something will flesh it out later mb:

[casukaga]

I'm sure you've been asked this hundreds of times but how did you develope your art style? I especially love the way you color your pieces. They're chefs kiss for sure lol

i think of art styles as just ways you view the world,, how you choose to emulate what you see from life. disregarding how skilled you are in art, how you draw rn is your style, it just develops over time.

if you follow artists on social media, you’re gonna see elements of their art style you enjoy and may want to include in your own art (you might copy the way one artist draws eyes, another on their noses, another for their coloring style, etc.)

(i answered a separate ask about my own inspirations that influence my style here!)

and the more you draw, you’ll slowly find out what works for you.

for example, if you copy the way one artist draws eyes and continue to use it in your own style, over time, how you draw eyes could develop into your own way. that artist was just the foundation to help pave the way for your own art style.

like, your art style isn’t just made up of your favorite artists’ styles, it’s also based on choices you make. your style can be made up of:

(1) things you find appealing! if you like sharp angles and geometric shapes, your style may be more angular because it’s something you like! it’s not necessarily because an artist you admire did it, it could just be because you like drawing things that way and like how they look.

personal example: i like drawing lines in hair! i find it really appealing and like the shapes they make when i do it. i took inspiration from a friend who drew in a geometric style, but i didn’t rip this exact hair technique from them or any specific person. i just happened to do it and liked how it looked. i find it appealing, so now it’s just part of my style.

(2) things you just have fun drawing! if art is your hobby and something you really like doing, of course you’re gonna wanna have fun as you do it! so find particular things that you really enjoy drawing out.

personal example: when i sketch, i really love little scribbles like these! it’s just so fun to taper off lines this way.

i’ve done them so much it’s practically become second nature when i sketch. i like to be loose with my lines and don’t like making them entirely clean cut. i like the freeing feeling of letting my lines go wherever, and often the result is just scribbles like these. they’re fun to do, so i keep ‘em!

(3) techniques done just for the sake of convenience. you may start to find shortcuts in drawing/coloring certain things, and over time that technique will just become implemented in your style.

personal example: as aforementioned, i like keeping my lines loose and sketchy. if you look at my lines, you’ll see that they’re not very clean; they go off the edges and are open ended sometimes.

it’s a mix of inspiration from ramonn90’s art, but also it was just convenient for me.

i’ll be honest: i’m lazy. sketchy lines are convenient because i can be lazy: i don’t have to spend time cleaning up my lines and i can leave in my mistakes.

additionally! y’know how some artists complain that their outlines look boring and less expressive than their initial sketches? i also felt that way about my art in the past, but i found a way to counteract that that worked for me:

nowadays whenever i sketch, i copy and paste it onto a new layer. i keep the parts i like, erase the ones i don’t, and then continue to outline everything else onto that layer.

for me, this is convenient because it helps maintain the expressiveness of my initial sketch, because i’m keeping parts of the sketch in the final outline.

another personal example: how i color backgrounds. again, i’m lazy. because i’m lazy, i don’t really draw out backgrounds—i don’t want to spend time drawing every little leaf and tree and detail in the back. instead, i throw a bunch of blobs of color onto the canvas and call it a day. let viewers interpret it for themselves.

this was all out of convenience because i’m lazy. but hey! it works, i like the way it looks, and i have fun doing it.

there are probably more factors that play into the development of your style, but that’s all i can think up atm.

also, if you’re curious about my coloring in general, i like impressionism and blocky coloring styles. i love traditional paintings where you can see each brushstroke and color. here’s a pinterest board of art with that kinda style that i like!

compare that to some instances of my coloring—

and you can see the influence.

i used to get so hung up on what my style was, but as i continued drawing, the development just became natural and not something i put as much thought into.

this is all just how i interpret art styles, so i hope that gave you some insight on my thought process!

[potato-lord-but-not]

HI! ik i've been sending you a lot of asks but I have a lot on my mind about ur art and stuff!! it is a big inspo for my art and I love looking at all the new pieces.

anyway, do you have any advice for drawing dynamic poses? especially with 2 or more people interacting with each other? thank you sm

Well gosh ty!! I’m glad you enjoy it all so much! ^^

Unfortunately tho idk how helpful I’ll be with this specific subject because I literally just wing it,,, I’d say don’t do want I do, and actually USE refs because I’m sure they work spectacularly (I can somehow manage to not use refs and still make decent looking art so! idk man I’m fucked up in the brain).

Definitely get bendy with it tho, cus sometimes using hard angular shapes for guidelines makes it look more static. Also when using refs, don’t be afraid to change it up and not have it match the ref 100% (to keep it unique, and also sometimes having it match the ref just doesn’t look as good).

If you’re doing traditional DEFINITELY have a spare piece of paper handy to practice the pose beforehand, this works wonders especially if you got shot paper like me where if you erase it too much it just. tears apart.

So yeahh idk if that’s helpful but!! hope it helps even a little bit

[springsaladgaming]

The ROs get invited to a masquerade ball! What masks would they wear? + Maybe add our family and their masks?

Ooooh, this is an interesting and fun one! Excuse me while I absolutely dive into this.

Alex would wear something that was wiry and lacey so that it's elegant and fancy but accentuates the natural features of their face. It would be gold or silver with modest use of colorful accents—enough to make the mask pop, but not so much as to be ostentatious—in the form of gems or pearls. The overall design would likely be asymmetrical, leaving certain parts of their face bare.

Teagan would wear something fairly simplistic in design and also probably an angular but full-face covering. Decoration would also be relatively simple, probably more geometric in nature, using either negative space or raised filigree or both. The mask would be a single, dark color, like black or a dark bronze.

Ansel would wear something that covers the eyes and nose in a symmetrical fashion (in terms of shape) but is asymmetrically decorated on the face as well as the right and left fringes. The decoration on the face of the mask would be inspired by designs often depicted on jester masks while the fringes would be decorated with feathers. No matter the colors used, the asymmetrical pieces would be contrasting.

Cherry would wear something modest that doesn't make her stand out too much but still caters to her tastes. The mask itself would probably cover her whole face, being one solid piece with filigree in floral designs. There would be light floral decorations along the edges. The mask would overall be white in color with the accents and decoration being varying shades of pink.

Lucia would strive for something bold yet elegant. She would want bright colors, but they would complement each other more than contrast. Her mask would be an asymmetrical shape with the designs on the mask being inspired by stained glass works. It would have accents in dark filigree that create bold flowing designs along the rim of the mask.

Rene, being ever the artist, would strive for something with an especially artistic pop that he would make himself. I'm thinking he'd attempt to make a mask out of origami pieces, using all different colors of origami paper. (Think a mask base with a bunch of small origami pieces puzzled together, not a folded mask.) The mask itself would end up being asymmetrical simply by the nature of putting a bunch of different origami pieces together.

??? would wear something extremely elegant, asymmetrical, and dark in color. I could see her going for a butterfly motif that uses black, purple, and blue as the main colors. Alternatively, she might want a mask with a tree or flower motif, with branches meandering from the mask. Still with dark colors—she absolutely wants to project dark vampire lady vibes. (So now you know her aesthetic.)

Sungjae would have a symmetrical raven mask (long beak included), black in color with feathers decorating the whole. There wouldn't be any details besides that to detract from the overall look. Because Sungjae can sometimes have a sense of dramatic flair, the mask would look more spooky than it would elegant.

Arthur (Dad) would wear an understated mask, something that's decorated just enough for him to blend in but not so much that he would stand out from the crowd. Color and shape doesn't matter to him so much as function—he wants something that will let him float around the masquerade and collect gossip inconspicuously while also being able to look respectable in a one-on-one conversation.

Miranda (Mom), in the same vein as Rene, would use the opportunity to tap into her artistic side. She would probably make or acquire a mask with a white base that she could paint herself. I imagine she would try her hand at painting something using watercolors, which she doesn't use very often. She's probably attempt to paint fairies. Failing that, she'd focus on something floral.

Thank you so much for the fun ask, anon! I love masquerade masks, and this was extremely fun to think about!

[felassan]

Dragon Age II and Dragon Age: Inquisition concept art & assets from a 2016 talk/presentation by Matt Rhodes, titled “The World of Concept Art” [watch link & source]

It’s an interesting and insightful talk which I recommend watching, especially if you have an interest in concept art and related things like character design and how it fits into the overall game dev process. It’s also interesting to see a bit about how the DA team’s art direction/process has changed over time between games, and hear a bit about how they’ve been doing things going forwards for the next game.

This is Part 1. [Link to Part 2]

(Some notes on the commentary given on the images and in general in the presentation under the cut due to length.)

On image 2: DAII had a fast, hot production period where decisions were made very quickly. The devs knew that the central hub, Kirkwall, had been a center of an old slavery-based empire in the past, and wanted to have indications of this [in its art direction]. There were going to be giant statues that the PC eventually fought - on the right is the design for the statues as they originally were. In the top left, this is all they had for the location [owing to the intensive prod period]. They also had a general idea that they wanted to have tableaus that came to life, shown in the bottom left.

On image 3: Going back to the design of the giant statues, the beautiful golden clockwork version of the design doesn’t really say ‘tool of an ancient slavery-based empire’, so they took the model and tried to come up with something that had more of the kinds of shapes that get into the back of your head and say things like ‘aggressive, hard, simple’.

On image 4: So here they had started doing concepts trying to find some of the right poses, accessories etc that these things would have. One of the hearts of the internal ‘DA art [direction] codex’ is “gray and pointy”; if they give a concept like this to [then] Art Director Matthew Goldman he instinctively wants to go “Yes! Approve!”, and so has to kind of reign himself in a little bit.

On image 5: This is where they ended up getting to and how the concept art turned out in terms of the model, with some negotiation back and forth. This is an example of how their art direction process now tries to tell a story with the art (i.e. it tries to support the story through art aspects of the setting and the environment). Historically, they would have just thrown the French-looking, Baroque clockwork version of the statue into the game and gone with it. They are getting more and more intentional with this sort of thing.

On this image: This was an internal image made for internal discussion. The characters in it aren’t ones that exist or that became other characters, with the exception of the Warden, who kind of became Blackwall. In this image, they were trying to think about visual separation among members of a group at the most basic level (simple graphic design principles, like different shapes and colors). This image is part of trying to solve the design problem of having 4 different characters on-screen in the party at once in their games - as in, players of course need to be able to easily tell who is doing what and where.

A general comment: At BioWare, the concept artists nowadays involve themselves in the character design process much earlier than they used to. Historically, as in earlier games, the writers would write up a bunch of characters and then concept artists would be brought in to draw them. Through negotiation and back-and-forth they would then come up with something. Nowadays though, the concept artists are involved from Day 1. The writers now write down 2 words to describe a character and the artists do sketches based on that. The writers then will write a sentence and the artists will do more drawings based on that. Then it progresses to a paragraph and drawings based on that and so on. In this way it goes back and forth and they build it up so that the visual aspects and the writeup/content of the character are developed completely in tandem, complimentary to one another. This is their goal. They aren’t quite there yet, but this is what they’re trying to strive for in this area.

On image 6: These are Dorian concepts. His initial 2-word writeup was “rockstar mage”. They had different artists take different swings at him. The middle concept is Matt’s. The third concept is by Casper Konefal. Everyone was very excited about it and so it was then taken up to a more final stage (image 7).

On image 8: Casper is one of Matt’s favorite concept artists because he goes in and lovingly details absolutely everything - all the pieces of jewelry etc. Each ring has a story. This attention and level of detail and thought behind it adds authenticity and verisimilitude. 

On image 9: In game development, there is an effect on character design that can happen during review meetings. The concept/character artist will know what they need visually from a particular character’s design in order to visually tell the story and to help the character support that. Oftentimes, people who aren’t artists don’t have the language to describe this or realize that’s what’s going on in a character’s design, and instead they just see imperfections in the presented faces. What this can lead to is that unintentionally a group review meeting can slowly trim away all the features of a character that make them interesting or distinct. This is why, for many characters across the game industry, if they were shaved and had their facial decorations etc removed, it would be kind of hard to tell many of them apart, as they have all been subjected to this sort of “council sandblasting” process. Casper figured out an idea to help with this; annotating concept drawings with artistic knowledge that artists know intuitively, as has been done here. Artists know, for instance, that certain shapes and angles can allow for certain assumptions about the character to be made (for example, think about Cassandra’s personality and then consider the angular, straight strong lines that make up her face). Annotating like this and then presenting both versions alongside one another helps these aspects of character design be recognized in the review process, and helps characters remain more distinct.

On image 10: They knew that in DAI there was going to be a character who would be with the PC for the whole game - the humble little hermit, non-intrusive, someone quite closed off who the player wouldn’t know much about. “[quote] And at the very end of the game you’d basically find out that he’s Loki himself, or the embodiment of this ancient god that had been tricking you and basically manipulating you the whole time, characterized by a wolf.” And so Nick Thornborrow hung a wolf’s jaw bone off his neck and it was just there in plain sight the whole game. Because this detail was in the drawings at an early stage, it sparked conversations with the audio department, and the audio department could add touches from their end like having wolves howling when he walked into a new area. They could then get all of these different elements and things that could be hinted at, so that when you play the game a second time it’s like ‘They weren’t even hiding it!! It was there the whole time!!’ He loves that.

A general comment: Any one of BioWare’s 3D modelled characters standing in-game talking or animating probably ends up costing them something in the 40,000 - 60,000 dollar range (they calculated this).

A general comment: For DAI, the concept artists also started to get heavily involved in the storytelling side of things at a deeper level, doing things like quick’n’dirty storyboards for the cinematic designers and spending more time with the writers talking about what emotions they were trying to convey at different points and so forth. Since starting doing this, this has become a built-in part of their process.

A comment in the context of giving advice to up-and-coming and student artists, on the subject of how concepts and ideas are naturally thrown out during the process of iterating on ideas etc: “[quote] Right now, the project that I’m working on that I can’t talk about, I have 3 versions of the story in the garbage, and it’s awesome. Because now I’m working on the fourth with our lead writer and it’s so much better than it would have been otherwise and we’re doing it so much earlier so that we can actually change things up.” Said project could be DA4 or something else. (Please remember these comments were made in November 2016. MEA came out in 2017 and DA4 has been rebooted)

[source]

[melisusthewee]

Be the ship you want to see in fandom

I had feelings and emotions yesterday and I had to get them out so I could go back to working on other things.  I don’t know if this is something I want to publish.  I don’t know how I feel about it.  It’s an idea, but it’s... *clenches fist* I don’t know.

I mean, don’t think about how at the end of “All New Faded For Her” Solas disappears into the Fade for a time, looking for where his friend used to be.  Don’t think about the dialogue you get with him afterwards where if you ask him questions about it, he explains that most spirits inhabit a state of semi-existence and that if a new one formed where his friend once was, it would likely have a different personality and not be the same one he knew.  Don’t think about how Solas might know this, because if he did ahead of time then why would he go looking for his friend?  Don’t think about what compels Solas to realize he has a different friend waiting for him in a different place.  And especially don’t think of all those beautiful things Cole can say to Solas about Wisdom and Solas’ memories of her.

Or, you know, think of all of those things, because I sure did.  And I will continue to think about these things, because @darethshirl and @rosella-writes are terrible enablers who I love dearly.

This also needs a title but how does anyone top the anagram of “All New Faded For Her”?

The dream around him was not as he remembered nor was it what he wanted it to be.  He had thought dreaming here would be easier, a place where the Veil had been stretched almost to the point of breaking from the civil war.  But there was too much death, too much sorrow attracting curious spirits who moved about him and reflected too many memories he was not interested in seeing.  He saw scenes of sorrow that grew dark with fear as bodies broke upon ramparts, and the loud call of Valour who Solas always thought shone too bright and too bold to be very good company.

This was his fault.  He had come here with a heart full of anger that burned hot and drew in memories of those who felt the same.  She would not be here for there was no wisdom in acts of war.

He turned away from images of Orlesian captains in their colourful plumed helms, of colourful houses engulfed in smoke, and sought other hidden spaces in the world.  There had been happier memories once, of tall aravels crossing ancient paths that to the Dalish had always been there.  He thought of the painted murals, bright colours splashed upon rock faces of herds of halla.  Softer spirits lingered here, Hope and Love left uncorrupted and constant through countless journeys over countless years.

This was where he had first met her, he realized, in a corner of the Fade tucked away from the constant procession of memories.  He felt it, even though the nature of the Fade was to constantly shift and change.  Glimpses of a library - her library - formed around him, but they were incomplete, altered, and despite his attempts to try and pull the images together, they no longer shone as brightly as he remembered.  Instead he saw crumbling walls overgrown with ivy, shelves emptied of their tomes and scattered across the ground, and none of the comforting quiet he once knew.  The space was barren, empty, and yet…

A figure sat, perched on a stack of books that swayed almost precariously.  There was something familiar in its expression of shape, but it was not the familiarity of her.  He should have known better, he realized.  At most this might be a piece of her, but it was not the same.  His friend was gone.

<How do you know?>  He heard and felt the voice as it spoke to him, still in the old tongue of his people and yet different.

<I am sorry,> he said, offering a hasty apology.  <I did not mean to offend.>

The spirit laughed, and Solas was reminded of someone else in the voice that echoed in his mind.  The Wisdom he had known had been softer, quieter, and rarely laughed.  This one was more boisterous and sharp in its expression.  Pausing, as if it could sense Solas’ confusion, it rippled and faded for a moment before appearing in greater focus.  As it did, a memory bubbled up to the surface, the whisper of honey and incense beneath a haze of smoke.

<I am as I have always been,> said the spirit, sliding from its perch to land gracefully on its feet.  <It’s you who is different.  Those mages were afraid…>

Solas stiffened.  Those mages had tortured and killed his friend - the very being this new spirit was but a fragment of.  They should understand better than anyone that they were no longer whole because of those mages.  What he’d done had been deserved; it was justified.

<But you wanted him to stop you,> the spirit continued.  As it approached, Solas realized it was taller in its shape than she had been, broader in the shoulders than the wisp who had walked hand in hand with him and smiled when he needed it the most.  <You still want him to stop you.  Which is why you are here and so am I.>

<I came to find my friend.>

The spirit smiled, and as it did familiar features flickered into focus for a brief moment - a sharp nose and bearded chin, and eyes that radiated the swirling colours of the Fade.  It was only for a moment, but it was enough for Solas to take a step back, uncomfortable with how close it leaned in towards him.  This was not Wisdom.  This was something else lurking in the space where she had once been, waiting for an unsuspecting dreamer.

<I disappoint you.>

The smile was gone, and while Solas would not have described the expression as sad, it was more distant as if the spirit were preparing to vanish back into the void beyond the edges of the dream.  Perhaps it was the face it wore and the uncomfortable familiarity it brought with it.  Or perhaps it was the distant memory of what it once was and what he missed so dearly, but Solas found himself apologizing, reaching to grasp the spirit by the hand before it could fade into nothing.  He didn’t mean to offend, he just didn’t know what this new spirit was.

For a moment, the spirit’s form changed, and Solas saw the face of his old friend, the delicate elven features and quiet smile he had been searching for.  She smiled, fingers gently entwining with his own, spreading a warmth through his chest that he had ached to feel again.  With a delicate affirmation on his lips, he moved to embrace her.  But as he did, the image shifted and delicate features became more angular with a smile that was more impish than anything else.

<I am Wisdom, lethallin, even if I seem unfamiliar to you.>

Solas frowned as he realized this spirit was not strong enough to take form without the influence of the dreamer.  And it was not that it was unfamiliar to him, but that it was a form that it should not be, speaking a language that its likeness would not know.  But of all the possibilities, of all the faces that had passed him through the ages, why did it express this one so strongly?

<Because you came to find your friend.>

***

It was a late afternoon when he finally returned, passing under the gates and finding Skyhold’s front courtyard empty save for a single lone figure lounging on the steps that led up to the main keep.  A wisp of smoke drifted up from the pipe they puffed lazily, the smell mixing with the cold crispness of the mountain air.

Solas knew he had been spotted almost immediately, but the man on the steps didn’t move, though he did sit up a little straighter as Solas approached.  The afternoon sun shone golden in his hair as he stretched and rolled a set of broad shoulders.  He smiled at Solas, but the brightness was deceptive and didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I guess I owe Varric an ale.  I wasn’t sure you were coming back.”

And yet, there he sat, prepared to wait all the same.  The lines beneath his eyes told as much, that the normally impatient man had sat in that spot and would have continued to sit there for however long it took.  The idea made Solas’ heart feel just a little less heavy as he thought back to the spirit in the Fade, a younger Wisdom who wore a human face and spoke in a voice that belonged to someone else.

You came to find your friend.

“You did everything you could to help,” he said softly, the faintest ghost of a smile playing across his features.  “I could hardly abandon you now.”

The Inquisitor seemed to consider Solas for a moment before he smiled back.  And this time, Solas realized as he watched Fade-flecked eyes crinkle at the corners, it was genuine and full of warmth.

[novantinuum]

On the corrupted!Steven theory...

So, originally when I mused on this yesterday I was just playing around with random possibilities.

After combing the series for info about corruption, though, I’m mildly spooked at the increased potential for this to... perhaps be a thing? I’m not saying that this is what I for sure believe will happen- to be honest, I’m not even sure Crewniverse would go this direction at all- but just for funsies, let’s see what kind of “evidence” or “foreshadowing” exists that might support this potential story path in the context of canon.

(EDIT: 10/7/19 

I honestly no longer think this creature is a worm at all whatsoever, it’s either more akin to a horned caterpillar or potentially has limbs. Either way we can see so little right now that it’s hard to tell. I’m not editing the rest of this post because I want it to exist in its original form- but do keep this in mind reading the rest! XP)

1) The design of this worm creature.

Let’s start simple. Let’s start tangible. 

For future reference and simplicity, I will be henceforth be referring to this creature as... “Wormy Boi.”

So, let’s see what we’ve got here. I’m definitely not the first person to point out this fella’s pink nature, and the jarringly human-like nose they’ve got. (Compared to other corruptions, which have had distinctly non-humanoid features.) In the photo above, we also have Wormy Boi sporting glowing pink eyes, which then send out a flare of pink light/energy. So, seemingly a powerful entity.

If you watch the short segment before they sit upright, you’ll see that Wormy Boi is super, super big. They’re in the background, but BOY do they loom. The shadows cast upon them especially push that sense of size. They’ve also got a whole bunch of spikes on their back and framing their face.

So, then. What evidence could be made for this being a corrupted!Steven, as opposed to some other run-of-the-mill monster?

Steven Universe Future is a limited series, described as ‘tying up loose ends.” To me, as a viewer, it would make far more sense for the antagonists/conflicts to deal with big concepts that have already been established since there’s such a limited amount of time we have left with this world. Introducing a completely alien species in the last act of the show would feel offbeat from both a writing and a viewing perspective. Corruption- on the other hand- is something we don’t have full answers to yet.

We don’t see any gem, yes- but Steven’s gem is- of course- on his belly. If this theory were to be true, that would translate to the gem being on Wormy Boi’s underside, far out of our sight in this shot, due to how massive they are. As an addition to this, not showing the gem gives an air of mystery to this creature’s true nature- which makes it seem like there’s something surprising to discover here.

A corrupted diamond would surely be MASSIVE. Also, very powerful. The beam of pink light hints at Wormy Boi being quite a powerhouse.

The spikes on Wormy Boi’s back and around their face highly resemble rose thorns. We all know how much the Crewniverse loves their rose symbolism, and design wise, this aspect would make a lot of visual sense for a corrupted Steven. Running off of that:

The face/nose shape and the five horns on this creature’s head give off a very Steven-like silhouette. 

The nose, of course. The face has a very Steven-like shape to it, overall- although noticeably more angular and sharp. The mouth is reminiscent of the Watermelon Stevens’ mouths. And as for the horns, there’s five of them positioned equidistant around their face, just as Steven’s hair is always formed from five lil’ bumps at the same positions.

Okay, moving on.

(Read more under the cut!)

2) We do not yet understand the true nature of corruption.

“I guess it’ll take more than a kiss to heal damage from the Diamonds…” -Pearl, Monster Reunion

Corruption is still- bafflingly- a huge mystery. The Gems we’ve watched the CGs bubble since season one have been healed, yes, but there are still many gaps in our understanding of it. With Steven Universe Future’s promise to address some lingering story threads, it would make sense if corruption was on the plate for further discussion. So, what DO we know?

We know it’s something the Diamonds can do. Interestingly, it doesn’t seem to require all four diamonds. Three of them together were able to cause all the damage to Earth. There’s also no statement made that more than one Diamond is required to cause effects like that. 

In Legs From Here to Homeworld, Blue and Yellow Diamond weren’t actually aware the corruption was something they were capable of producing. They seemed to assume they obliterated the Gems on Earth. Corruption is then, even a mystery to them. That’s... odd, isn’t it?

Pearl states that it’s “something nearly impossible to describe.” Garnet goes further to say... “It’s sorta like... if MC Bear-Bear didn’t tear the fabric of his arm, but the fabric of his mind.”

"A sound… A song?” There’s a lot of association between corruption and music.

It causes Gems to lose touch with their usual forms, instead warping into a more outwardly "monstrous” version of themselves that appear to be “just a bundle of fight-or-flight reflexes and survival instincts.” As seen by Centipeetle in Monster Buddy and Monster Reunion, it appears as if corrupted Gems try to regenerate with their original forms if unbubbled, but are simply not in a state where they can maintain that.

As seen with Jasper in Earthlings, extreme emotional distress very much seems to speed up corruption’s effects. This is less of a stated fact and more of my read on that episode, but I believe it to be an important tidbit, especially since Garnet states that corruption’s damage is mental rather than physical, at least at its core. This can also be seen in Monster Reunion with how Centipeetle’s partial healing backfires when she remembers the trauma of being corrupted and reacts strongly.

Now, when it comes to healing corruption, Steven tries to heal Centipeetle himself, and does make some nice progress... helping her regain a hold on herself as he treats her with love and compassion and understanding... but it’s ultimately not a healing that can occur in isolation, helping her on his own. She needs more support before she can heal from this corruption to a state where she can truly be herself again.

And that eventually comes in the form of the other Diamonds. So, all four diamonds can help relieve the corruption if they help these Gems all together. 

3) How could this theory potentially fit into the story anyways, you nutter?

Well, here’s the part of this post where I make some broad conjectures. I honestly am shooting fish into a barrel here because again- we know barely anything about how corruption actually happened initially, and my thoughts are very jumbled. Please forgive me.

"I don’t really know how the corruption works. It’s like they’re sick. They don’t remember who they used to be.” -Steven, Gem Hunt

So, corruption seems to be a mental ailment of Gemkind, turned manifest. It also seems to have a deep connection to a Gem’s emotions, with Centipeetle growing smaller and slightly calmer upon feeling more secure in Steven’s presence, and corruption speeding up as Jasper grew more and more emotionally overwrought and self-deriding about herself. 

When it comes to the Diamonds and how they perhaps caused it originally- without fully realizing- we know that at least Blue and White have abilities focused on causing others to act in certain ways. Blue has sway over one’s emotions, and White has a knack for forcing her thoughts and self upon others. (I’m not sure how Yellow’s ability would play in here.) Mayhaps, mixed with their grief and guilt and anger, their power simply pressed all of that hurt emotion onto all the Gems on Earth in one whole fail swoop...? Tearing their minds in the process of it all?

The question I still have, though- is whether a single diamond could produce effects like this. And whether a diamond could turn that ability on themself.

Could Steven accidentally corrupt himself? Why might that happen?

Well, let’s look at our boy here. 

He’s got a wide circle of support at this time in canon, but notably, he’s notorious for bottling up his emotion and not letting others in to help him- instead dropping everything to help them with their problems. Just to name a few examples (a few):

The Test. He feels betrayed and hurt at the Gems for a moment about the way they’re babying him with the rigged test, but instead of admitting the hurt he feels about the scenario, bottles that up to help them feel more like good guardians.

Joy Ride. He opens up to the Cool Kids about deep, incredibly troubling stuff that’s long been on his mind, but he’s never once talked about it with his family.

Mindful Education. The perils of bottling one’s emotions is literally the whole plot of the episode. The kid has a full out sobbing breakdown while he’s plunging to his death. Connie gets through to him a little here, but later episodes show that the resolution we see here is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Steven’s internal issues. 

Storm in the Room. Externally, Steven tries so hard to put on a guise of content and positivity, but once alone in Rose’s room feels safe enough to let the full brunt of his emotional trauma come out in an almost explosive manner. Geeze, get this kid some hugs. 

Gemcation. Steven actually fails bitterly on putting on his customary smile in this episode, simply because the weight of his problems have become such an impossible burden to him. When the other Gems are trying to help him open up, he isn’t immediately responsive to their efforts. 

What’s Your Problem? Amethyst spends the whole episode trying to cheer Steven up and find out how he’s doing, and instead Steven downplays his own feelings on the matter and ends up helping her sort out her own emotional issues.

So to sum: Many an Emotional Issue, a chronic tendency to avoid outwardly addressing said issues in favor of helping everyone else instead... and to avoid accepting other people’s help.

Even if he’s surrounded by all these people who love him, the fact of the matter is that Steven still feels as if he has to face his own inner demons alone.

Now, let’s look at the lil’ teasing synopsis that was given for Steven Universe Future:

“After saving the universe, Steven is still at it, tying up every loose end. But as he runs out of other people’s problems to solve, he’ll finally have to face his own.”

Blatantly sounds like we’re gonna finally get some addressing of Steven’s emotional state, now doesn’t it?

4) A concept on what could, theoretically happen

“Maybe… it IS a guy in a monster costume. I don’t mean literally, silly! What I mean is... there might be a conscious Gem still inside there, somewhere. What if the monster is turning back and forth into its original form? If it is, it might not be as corrupted as we think! There might still be a chance to save it!” -Steven, Gem Hunt

Suppose Steven- by some as-of-yet unknown means- ends up accidentally corrupting himself. His sorry emotional state only further amplifies the effects of this corruption, and makes it really hard to retain control. Wormy Boi as a form could be like... all his inner demons made manifest, a metaphoric mirror into his current mental state. But- as he is half-human- he’s not entirely unaware of what’s happening. Perhaps... as the quote above could be sneaky foreshadowing for... how he’s turning back and forth between this corrupted form and his normal form. 

He likely wouldn’t want everyone to see him like this, doesn’t want everyone to visibly know the sheer depth of how much he’s hurting. But just like the corrupted Gems were only able to be helped in community, with the support of the CGs and the Diamonds in preparing the fountain, Steven can’t fix this on his own. 

He can no longer face the dark alone.

At some point, everyone has to take a brave step. Reach out. Accept help. 

Steven’s helped so many people, and surely he deserves that same love and care in return, too.

And perhaps, when he’s eventually healed from this- and has gotten the opportunity to be open with his family and friends about the hurt he’s facing- he’ll be left with “corruption scars” as well. I think it’s an important thing to address, that no one goes through experiences like these without lingering effects. Stuff stays with you. Healing is not always linear. But life is a continuous journey, and with the support of people who love you surrounding, you too can make a change... can continue to live to the fullest at every moment possible.

I think the above would be a lovely moral for Steven Universe to tackle in its last run of episodes, no matter how they approach it- daft corruption theory or not.

Now, in the end- a reiteration. This is just a wild theory. I’m not trying to be any authoritative voice saying that this is for sure what will happen, because in reality I have no idea what Crewniverse is cooking. However, I do think it’s fun speculation, and I am kinda spooked at how well things fit. 

Whatever happens, I’m sure it will make me weep like a baby, though. Hoh boy. Grant me sanity in these coming months as we wait for answers.