#i would look at other people's drawings online and try to copy them just by looking

[l48yr1nth]

noivern and swoobat are very similar when you think about it...........! swoobat feels like noivern's goofy cousin or something to me. love it!!

[midnightorchids]

Hey babe- I wanted to know how you felt about booknerd!reader x Jason. Because it's been rotting my brain forever now and I need to know what someone as genius as yourself thinks about it. So like- We know Jason is a book girl. He's got huge floor to ceiling shelves in his apartment filled with non-fiction, historical fiction, classics, and maybe a few Si-Fi titles. I feel like he would love Toni Morison, Maya Angelou, Henrik Isben, Margret Atwood, and maybe even Harukai Murakami. He has this beautiful collection of leather bond additions of the Iliad Bruce gave him when he was 16. And when he finally invites you over, he cannot contain his excited smile as you start gushing over his home library. He makes you guys coffee and you spend hours talking about your fav genres, authors, online author drama - and after he's walking back to his apartment after dropping you off, he's smiling down at his phone at the message you sent. 'I had so much fun today! Ur library is so so so cool, was wondering if you would be ok going with me to Chapters next week? Wanted to pick up the new Skyward book' He's kicking his feet and hiding his face in his pillow. So deeply overjoyed that his crush shares in his immense love of literature. After you guys officially get together, he buys you so many fucking books. He fallows your goodreads wishlist religiously and surprises you almost every month with a new addition to your growing collection. He usually collects used paper backs, but for you, he splurges on the hardcover special additions. Of course it's because he loves you but it's also so that, maybe, you'll be more incentivised to move into a different apartment. One with floor-to-ceiling book shelves and a shared bed... just saying.. He branches out into more genres and authors he wouldn't usually read from just so he could talk about your favourite books with you. You do the same - your book collections getting mixed together in the process. Library dates, bookstore dates, used-bookstore dates. Your first couple of dates and realisations of love happened in and around books. You would always leave little messages inside the first page of the books you give him. So that if your every away or he's on a mission and he takes a book with him, he'll have one of your small messages of love as a reminder of something to return home to.

Hi hon!! I’m so sorry for the late response, I’ve been dying with uni and just life in general recently, but I’m back and ready to write again!!

I fully agree with almost everything that you said, like you’ve written it out so well and it’s just so cute! I was literally giggling and kicking my feet at the last one omg.

I shall try to add more stuff!!

Jason’s go to present for his loved ones is annotated copies of his favourite books. He only does this when he feels comfortable with a person because sharing his thoughts feels raw and vulnerable sometimes.

Having a significant other who loves to read and appreciates these types of gifts would make him feel happy and very emotional. It’s not often he gets to share this side of himself with people.

When he gifts his copies to his friends or his partner, he feels like he’s leaving a piece of him with the person, so he only does this when he trusts you.

He leaves detailed little messages on the margins of his books. He draws little smiley faces on the cute parts and angry faces on the parts that made him upset.

In the books for his significant other, Jason leaves little notes around the quotes that remind him of you. He highlights them in a different colour and makes sure his notes look extra tidy.

He sucks at wrapping things, so sometimes you’ll get a very poorly wrapped, tape covered novel. You’ll look at the wrapping and laugh, you’d pinch his cheeks teasingly and tell him he did a good job. He’d turn his face away in embarrassment, which leads to you placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

Then, there would be times where he doesn’t have the energy to deal with the horrible wrapping paper. So, you’ll be gifted a plain paper back with a sticky note on the front cover that reads ‘for you,’ in squiggly lines.

It’s honestly sweet and he gets very shy about it.

Also, Jason’s taste in books is very diverse, he reads anything from the classics to romance to gothic horror. He reads anything and everything and because of that, I think that it would be very easy for you to share your thoughts and recommendations with him.

Even if Jason hasn’t read the book, he listens intently with a huge smile on his face. He loves listening to you talk. If he doesn’t know the author or the book, he will try to familiarize himself with what you’re reading and branch into different genres.

There would be lots of reading and bookstore dates. You’d browse through the different aisles with his hand in yours, only letting go when a particular book catches your attention. He watches you in awe as you gush about the different series.

(Side note, my friends and I always go to bookstores and just point out the worst books we’ve read and I think Jason would do that too.)

As you search through the shelves to find your next read, he’ll come to you all excited, rambling about the book in his hand. From the looks of it, it seems like he loves the book. His hands are moving around, he’s smiling and giggling, but if you pay attention, he’s actually just cussing out the author.

This becomes a tradition in your relationship. You both bring up books that you hate instead of the ones that you really enjoy. You’d spend the next hour of your bookstore visit just giggling at the random passages that the author thought were good enough to share with the world.

I think this would also lead to a book club of reading awful books sometimes just for shits and giggles. There would be weeks where you would read amazing, well written stories together, but then there would be times when you guys would pick up something bad just to make fun of it.

Overall, Jason would love having a book nerd significant other because he finally has someone who he can geek out with.

[blueskittlesart]

What advice would you give beginner artists?

it's fine to want to do more stylized art, but nothing will help you improve quickly like studying from life. even if you want to draw very stylized figures, life drawing is still going to help you understand how the human body works and then you can build your stylization off of that understanding. I also recommend studying specifically things you're looking to improve--if you feel like your poses aren't dynamic, ask your model to do some quick (1-2 min) dynamic poses and work on getting the gesture down. if you're looking for anatomy, ask for longer, more static poses and really study the contours of the body. this also applies for portraiture and character art--my expressions and facial structure improved like CRAZY when i started doing portrait studies from life! (note: i know live model sessions aren't accessible for everyone. i'm a huge advocate for nude models, if you can find a studio nearby that's affordable to you that offers sessions, that's the best you're gonna get. however, there are sites that will give you photos of nude models to draw from, too, or you can even just ask friends or family to pose for you when they aren't busy, that's what i did before i started getting model sessions from my school!)

materials are not everything but sometimes a good material can make a difference. it's important to know what's worth it and what isn't for your skill level. invest in some decent-quality supplies or a good art program, but understand that you're still going to need to work to understand your materials and use them to their fullest potential. (if you're a digital artist buy csp. trust me on this. get it on sale. it will change your life. also do not fucking use photoshop)

tracing is ok. listen to me. TRACING. IS. OK. tracing is how you learn. don't trace other people's art and pass it off as your own, obviously, but there is literally no problem with tracing real-life reference photos. I routinely trace references for backgrounds and the like. there is no reason for you to kill yourself trying to make complex perspective and shit up from your head when you can very easily just overlay a photo and get what you need.

in that same vein, USE REFERENCE PHOTOS. find pics online or take pics of yourself and USE THEM to see how your poses work. it makes it SO SO SO much easier. the understanding that you need to create a pose out of nowhere will come with time but you're not going to get that skill unless you have a foundation of understanding how the real human body works, and the easiest way to get that understanding is by copying photos of real people.

last but not least, there's generally a sort of 'rulebook' that new artists are expected to go by, especially online, when it comes to digital art. when i was first learning, it was all about lineart and cell shading, two things that I didn't really like. Nowadays it seems to be all about rendering. the single most important thing i can tell you is if it sucks you don't have to do it. if you hate lineart just color your sketches. if you hate shading don't shade, or find a different way to shade that you enjoy more. if rendering is annoying or difficult for you DON'T BOTHER!! art is supposed to be fun. if part of your process is annoying or upsetting to you, cut it the fuck out. don't torture yourself just to do art the "right" way. i guarantee your art will look better when you're having fun making it anyway!

[heartfullofleeches]

Oohhh I love the night gallery crew!! <3

Okay so- how would the art gallery harem react to the news that their precious night guard used to pose as a nude art model for one if their previous jobs? Bonus points if they end up digging around and finding old drawings/portfolio pics of them posted online lol

The Painter

Their muse - a model in the past? A nude one at that? They can't say they aren't jealous others have bared witness to their beauty, but they won't be so upset about it if their dearest is willing to come out of retirement and maybe send their older photos up to their study. They promise not to stare too much, but they pray their muse doesn't mind if their eyes linger. It's rare for them to be in the presence of such raw perfection. They are more of a hands on type of painter so their muse wouldn't mind a few touches, no? As they would say, it’s all just apart of the process.

Rosebud

Of course they are interested, but they won't press the matter unless Reader offers to share.... Please ignore the excitement of their roses - though they do reflect Rosebud's inner feelings they assure Reader it's just past their feeding time. Clearly more flustered than they let on. Refuses to look at the images because they would only make them more tempted to leave bites all over Reader to claim them as their own as they are when they see the Guard's exposed neck or wrists or pretty much any uncovered inch of skin.

The Scavenger

Hope staff gives the printer in the breakroom a nice funeral because if Scavenger gets its hands on those portfolio shots it's the end of the line for that poor machine. Anything relating to their precious treasure is the pinnacle of their collection. They must have more - even if it's the same picture a thousand times it's still not enough. If anyone comes across one of their copies it's best theu leave them their because even if they're trying to return them Scavenger will accuse them of stealing. There's not doubt I my mind they've eaten a copy or two because they're weird like that.

The Faceless Angel

Conflicted. On one hand they are interested in seeing their guard in all forms, but on the other it feels like an invasion of privacy. Unlike some, their intrigue comes from an artistic viewpoint rather than sexual. They'd give anything for the opportunity to touch Reader's warm flesh without clothing in the way. It feels like heaven on their stone skin.

The Lady in Red

It's the less images she's interested in and more the people who have seen them. Swiftly cuts down anyone who views Reader's pictures while in the gallery be they human or fellow exhibit. She can't do anything about the past, but does everything in the present to keep too many eyes off her love. Takes the photos Scavenger loses and while she keeps a few on hand - she burns the rest.

Julian

Slimy fuck is probably the first to come across them being the noisy little stalker he is. As an artist in his free time, he does use them for reference, but it's much more fun to use them for other things. Like teasing Reader about their past or taping copies to the breakroom fidge. He only does it when he knows they're the only two on shift because he'll have to hurt anyone who sees them nakee besides him. Like Lady, he's more likely to attack paintings who have gotten a hold of the scavengers copies.

Anri

Their favorite coworker was once a model? How fun! They aren't the best artist, but they can draw Reader too. A little bashful about seeing them naked so they stick to just about the shoulders. They want to at least waiting until their ten date with Reader before seeing them in such a state. Covers their eyes and runs off whenever someone tries to show them. Julian only allows Anri to see the photos because it's fun to chase them through the halls with them or point out various aspects of their features to make Anri flustered

The Director

Dislikes imagine of Reader because while they can be used to create copies of them, The Director wants the real thing. Still has one of Scavenger's photos tucked in his coat pocket.

[thunderbirdarts]

Hi! I saw your art and edits of Eowyn and Eomer as Plains Native and I really enjoyed it! Seeing as I’m not native I was wondering how to go about doing research and making respectful art to expand on this headcanon? I love Eowyn and I really want to respect her and your native culture. Please don’t feel obligated to respond to this if I have made you uncomfortable, I thought it would be better to ask than assume:)

Hii!! Thank you so much, I'm glad you like it <333

My main inspirations for Plainsndn! Rohirrim is a mixture of different tribes, namely Kiowa, Blackfoot, Cree, and Lakota. So if you want to use the same references I do, you could try that?

For clothing references, you COULD potentially use some 1800s (or early 1900s) photographs for inspiration, but just be aware that some of these photographs are staged, and the people are wearing outfits that they were told to wear by the photographer (so it may not have been theirs or culturally accurate to their tribe). That, or even if their outfits ARE accurate & really belonged to them, note that some of what they're wearing may not be what would have been everyday or casual wear, sometimes the people being photographed would deck themselves out in their best regalia or clothing specifically for the photographs (so if they seem to be VERY jeweled in a lot of beadwork, quillwork, metal, accessories, etc, that could be an indicator of this. Wearing things like heavily beaded clothing or elk tooth dresses or detailed ribbonshirts would also indicate this). Thus if you're going for a more casual look in a drawing or writing something, they probably wouldn't have all that. For any war paint, I suggest looking up photos of pow wow War (like traditional bustle) dancers.

I recommend taking inspiration & notes from antiques/artifacts on the Smithsonian online website. If you search up a tribe name & an item, usually something should come up. Like you could type "(tribe)(item)", such as "Cree dress" for instance, & it'll tell you what year it should appropriately be as well as some other info. But I don't recommend directly copying exact designs from pow wow regalia (because this counts as art theft, and many beadwork shops make people pay fines for taking photos because of this, that's how serious we take it) or even some of the antiques (because some of them might contain sacred designs, & each tribe has rules, protocols, and specific contexts for who was allowed to wear what and when) if you're drawing it or describing it, and instead come up with your own. Depending on the tribe, the aesthetics might be different, but geometric shapes are very common throughout Turtle Island. This also goes for tipis, I recommend NOT drawing/describing any designs on tipis if you're trying to portray that.

And honestly I suggest not trying to go TOO deep into research just for a headcanon, because i feel like it's not necessary, and to protect any potential intracommunity information or to avoid breaking cultural/spiritual protocol just for the sake of a headcanon. Like maybe a few site searches, a browse of wikipedia, and an encyclopedia entry, or looking at a tribal website run by the Native tribe themselves could do it. Like don't overdo it by trying to find information on ceremonies or things like that. A headcanon isn't worth invading the privacy or potentially butchering the culture of a whole tribe.

You could also take some elements of the Plains Native cultures & try to seamlessly blend them in with the pre-existing LOTR Rohirrim canon, which is a bit of what I do. That way you can try find an angle that makes it clear you're taking inspiration from Plains Native tribes, but you're also not doing too much about it & it's clear they're still a fantasy culture & Rohirrim. Like maybe they still live in wooden houses, but the carbings are inspired by Native beadwork & youve made them semi nomadic. Maybe they wear beadwork made out of metal, golden/brass/etc beads (thus keeping the golden aesthetics of the film Rohirrim, & now makss things like Plains beaded vests into armor). Maybe they have most of the aesthetics & clothing/hair of Plains Natives, but a lot of the fictional culture is still Tolkien's Rohirrim, stuff like that. Maybe you could also sprinkle in your own headcanons that don't come from Plains Native cultures OR existing Rohirrim canon, but just something you've invented yourself.

So yeah, that's what I'd recommend! I hope this is somewhat helpful dhcjg

[astralartefact]

just some doodles of some character designs I like from the Inazuma Eleven demo (i love raimon's new long water kazemaru)

i don't know if we even have confirmation that suruga's friends are team members but we need eleven+ people so it seems likely

Thoughts on the Demo (with Story Mode) below the cut

If I had to summarize my feelings in one sentence it would be: "This can't be the last game, right???"

I'm afraid it will be, but nooooooooooo q_q it can't beeee

I know Inazuma Eleven is so beyond niche that it was clear it wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in hell and given Level5's recent struggles I should be grateful that Victory Road even gets to exist at all, but q_____q I will miss Inazuma Eleven already q_q That's what the Demo makes me feel.

Like, I thought about it, but I think I don't even like Inazuma Eleven ironically, I just genuinely like it so much. If you like RPGs get yourself a copy of one of the DS games and have a good time, just shut your brain off a little bit and do not think even once. Me? I'm fine thinking about it, I was born into this utmost sincerity, I was molded by it, but as irony-poisoned as the world has become I have to point out it's.... a little bit wild. Just be prepared that Soccer might cry.

I like what they're doing with Unmei, I think the idea to have him be a non soccer player makes a lot of sense (no clue how I didn't notice that he wasn't playing in any of the promotional material)

Don't know if I like that 5 vs. 5's are gone. On one hand, probably a good choice, I think they can be much more creative with this new thing they're doing and small battles in the new control scheme would probably take forever and/or be weird af - on the other kind of lame, that takes a bunch of the soccer out of the soccer game.

I'm wondering how important the School Council President and that one other white haired girl are going to be. I kind of hope they won't be relegated to Manager roles, because as fun as those characters might have been (were they?) in OG and Go those don't really get to do anything and we already have 11 Characters + Bench already. you could just make them players...

I don't know what their scope with the Main Story is going to be. It seems very 'regular' - the Story seems to be weirdly front-loaded as usual, where everything happens all at once before the inevitable road to victory happens, but... I don't know, I think if this (last?) game really just has the scope of IE1 or Go1 I would be kind of disappointed ngl :/

In the same vein I'm somewhat scared for how far out this game is? This game seems absolutely massive and given what they've shown so far they could be 15% done and all they have is this little bit of story and all of the imported stuff. Maybe they just are much further along then I'm expecting them to be, but I don't know. Crossing my fingers that they know what they're doing.

Also what is the Budget of this game. Non stop animated segments, even if they were CG heavy. And how many VAs did you have for the Demo alone???? And you want to add everyone from all the games?????

"Escape Freud" you don't understand I'm trying

I don't hate the Translated Names (yet, the Go ones were a struggle though) but I do wish they had a Japanese Name Mode to go with JP VA

I miss drawing the arrows to control the team so much q____q I don't hate the new system and I get why it's kind of hard to translate the old one to gamepad controls but I feel like I have no clear control over anybody... I still think that you could turn that entire mechanic into so many cool game concepts btw, it's kind of weird that nobody ever made 'sensical' Inazuma Eleven clones

I put FF14 and Hasunosora as Cross-Over Requests in the Online Survey. The first one would be hilarious to me (and it would be possible given Yokai Watch) and for the second one I'm pretty certain that that Venn Diagram overlaps in a single dot and that single dot is me. I just think Megumegu would look great in Raimon's Uniform, okay.

[lonelyrosebindery]

What is Lonely Rose Bindery?

Hi!

If you're reading this, you're probably either interested in fanbinding, or a fic writer trying to ensure I'm not some rando on the internet trying to get your personal information or a scammer planning to illegally sell something. Feel free to message me if you have any concerns that aren't answered below!

I'm TS, but you can also call me Rose. I write fanfic on AO3 here and (previously) Fanfic.net here, blog about diabetes in fandom at @type1diabetesinfandom and @yourfavisdiabetic, and flail about misc fandom stuff on my main @too-short-for-my-own-good. I'm also on Discord @ tooshortformyowngood.

I've been in various fan spaces since the early 2010s, and I'll probably keep at until the day I die! I'm multifandom and multiship. Besides writing, I also draw fan art and make podfics, moodboards, playlists, meta, and headcanons. I've attended local and online cons and been to fan meetups.

And, at the end of 2022, I started fanbinding.

Why do I bind fanfiction?

It's March 29th as I write this, and I've read approximately 2 million words of fanfiction this year. I have over 1600 bookmarks on AO3.

I bind fics primarily to preserve them. I've seen many fics be deleted or locked before I downloaded them. (I'm sure we've all been there.) Keeping a copy on my shelf means I don't have to worry as much about losing a favorite story.

A physical copy makes rereading much easier! I get eye strain easily, and some websites just have horrible formatting.

I get to show a writer that I loved their story enough to HAND BIND it. I've met some amazing people this way!

Traditionally hand-binding fanfic pushes back against the notion that fic isn't "real writing."

What to expect on this blog:

Here, I share some of the fanbinding projects I've done, which includes fic, fan studies, meta, freely-available original fiction, public domain works, comics, and zines. Each book is lovingly crafted to honor its creator/s.

As a proud member of the Renegade Bookbinding Guild @renegadeguild, I'm part of a wonderful community dedicated to celebrating fic writers and preserving fandom's dying gift economy. It's an honor to contribute to this cause, and I love getting the chance to give people a bound copy of their writing/art--it's an amazing feeling to get to hold your own work in your hands!

To Authors & Artists:

To all the talented authors and artists whose works I've bound: consider this an open invitation to reach out to me for an author's copy! It's my small way of saying thank you for the joy (and angst lol) your projects have brought me.

I usually try to contact writers/artists directly, but sometimes it doesn't work. Don't be shy! I want to give you a gift!

I don't share any personal information (I would hope that's obvious, but this IS the internet...), and I encourage people to use a PO Box or a friend's address when being offered a fanbinding. Just make sure the friend or other proxy in question is ok with being sent fanfic!

If you don't want to risk receiving a physical copy, I can share the typeset with you instead! The typeset is the formatted PDF, to make the fic itself look like a traditionally published story. These can be plain or artistic, depending on the project and the style of the typesetter.

If there's artwork that's been made for the fic, please let me know! I look for that but it can be tricky, especially when things aren't linked together.

I do NOT share typesets to anyone outside the Renegade Bookbinding Guild, except the author/artist. Even in Renegade, I only share with established members via personal requests unless the author gives me blanket permission to share with the guild as a whole.

Lonely Rose Bindery operates on a NON-PROFIT basis.

Please note that while I pour my heart and soul into each project, I DO NOT accept commissions! I am a hobbyist driven by a deep, deeeeep love for fanfic. I bind purely for the joy of crafting, and the preservation of stories that mean the world to me.

If you are not the author or artist who worked on a specific fic, do NOT request a copy! You are welcome to ask questions and talk about the craft. My askbox is open, and reblogs are turned on.

Message me if you...

are an author/artist who wants to request multiple copies (i.e. for friends or family, or different editions)

kindly want to help with shipping costs (because international shipping is fucking expensive)

have specific colors or themes in mind for your fic

I will not take requests for specific materials, nor accept payment for any materials used.

Lonely Rose Bindery is not just about preserving fanfiction; it's about celebrating the creativity and community of fandom. With each project, I try to honor the stories and art that I love and to promote a gift economy against the rise of consumerism that has recently plagued multiple fandoms.

I look forward to sharing more fanbinds and continuing to improve my bookbinding skills. I never knew how many ways you can make a book until I started this!

Remember, my askbox is always open, so feel free to reach out with any questions, suggestions, or just to say hello. Happy reading!

[hinamie]

hiii hope ur doing well hina :3 i loveeeee your art sososososo much !!! i was wondering how u started developing your own art style??

i used to draw a lot and im trying to get back into it, but all i can do is copy images fkjdg so any advice or even just hearing abt your own experience would be super helpful :D

again realllyyy love your art especially the way u capture emotions its so (chefs kiss)

HIIIII hello hiiii !!! and thank u !!!!!!!

ahhh th art style question :') i think i've told this story before but I'm very much in the same boat in that a lot of my early drawing years were spent copying other people's art that i would find online . not to post or anything obv but i sort of treated them as my own personal studies (this was back in my traditional art days) so i just had sketchbooks filled with art tht was, fr all intents and purposes, Not My Own :'> I don't think it was until i got into digital art and posting my own stuff that i really had to start nurturing a style that i could call my own and it was clumsy and awkward and hard but like anything it gets easier !

and look ik copying (and even to an extent using reference) can get a bit of a bad rep but i honestly think it's such a good way to train the eye and learn what u like and just practice in general . ofc u run the risk of copying another artist's mistakes but that's besides the point rn. at the end of the day the things we like and the media we consume influence us !!! there's no shame in it !!! my style has run the gauntlet of cutesy to whatever tf im working with now and so much of it depends on the media im currently into ! like go back to my tg and yoi days and i think it's so obvious that i was very influenced by more shoujou anime/kyotani/idol game art styles whereas now i think it's Very apparent that my tastes have changed fHFDHh

it's so hard to put a timeline on how u Develop an art style.,, i think it just happens when you're not looking until one day u look at a collection of ur work and go Huh! but tbh even the whole concept of an "art style" is so arbitrary bc it rly is so fluid? like yeah there r elements that might b a bit more specific to each artist but i think those r just more Ingrained habits that we carry with us even while experimenting with other techniques . as fr advice i can offer its probably obvious given th earlier part of this answer but i am, as always, a huge proponent of using references and insp pics and here is my obligatory call to practice practice practice but all that to say i think as long as u r drawing u r on the right track <3

theres this quote by Yohji Yamamoto i think of often tht goes smth like 'start copying what u love and at the end of the copy u will find yourself' and tbh. life philosophy . art and media do not exist in a vacuum so embrace what inspires u to create ! i am like kirby. i see what i like, i Absorb and, to an extent, i Become :)

[alhyari-art]

Creating Characters That Resonate: Some Tips for Memorable Designs

"While tools play a role, it’s our vision that truly matters”

You know that feeling when you see a character from a game, a painting, or a comic and you instantly fall in love with it? It's not just because it looks cool or cute. It's because it has a personality and a story that shines through its appearance. That's what I love about character design: the ability to create characters that make people feel something.

If you are interested in learning the basics of this art form, there are many resources available online 😅. (I will create some tutorials on this soon.) But now I'm not here to lecture you on anatomy or color theory. Instead, I'll share some of my personal tips on how to make your characters unique and engaging for your audience.

Tip 1: Dive Deep into Your Character’s World

Kickstart your design process with inspiration from your own world. This personal touch not only enriches your art but also adds depth and more meaning to your creative process.

Consider this school bully who is based on.. a person I used to know. He’s probably off picking his nose when he’s not on the page! Can you spot him?

See the bully's backpack 😈? (Illustrated for Swish! by Mahmoud Elzein.)

It’s all about discovering those tiny personal connections that breathe life into a character. Brainstorm with character profiles, create mood boards, and try to figure out “what’s in their pockets”. I’ve found that writing dialogues for my characters helps me visualize their personalities better. Honestly, half the time, I’m imagining how they would annoy each other offscreen!

Tip 2: Play with Shapes to Highlight Inner Conflict

To emphasize a character's inner turmoil, you can use contrasting shapes. By smoothing the edges of sharp shapes, you can reduce the contrast and reveal different aspects of the character.

“Good or bad?,” I always ask my students.

Experiment with different sizes and shapes and make your characters captivating enough that your viewers accept the visual logic of your art worlds.

Imagine a gorilla 🦍 and a bee 🐝 as friends in a picture book. How would you draw them in relation to each other?

A good way to enhance the narrative and ease the tension is to break down the character shapes. For example, the bully in Swish! looked threatening at first, but I used his soft facial traits to show his insecurity. I also gave him a loose shoelace to imply that he is not totally in control.

Even the smallest details can tell a story about your character. (Illustrated for Swish! by Mahmoud Elzein.)

Tip 3: Harness the Power of Color and Value

Contrast is key! Opt for vibrant characters against muted backgrounds, experiment with warm and cool tones, and introduce pops of light against deep shadows for visual drama.

Contrast and lighting for drama.

Challenge yourself with limited color palettes. This forces you to think creatively and adds an unexpected layer of unity to your work. For the ‘Museum Heist’ piece, I used shades of blue, and it was gratifying when viewers, even those not from the art world, noticed how it influenced the piece.

The blue tones were a fun challenge 💎

Tip 4: Sprinkle in Details and Accessories

I take sneaky joy in hiding personal details within my illustrations. Maybe it’s my old license plate or a memento from my parents. Details like faded scars and mended clothes add layers to your characters and imply a history, giving them more depth.

Can you find all the hidden secrets in Ella the Gorilla's room? 🔎 Let's play in the comments! (Book by Mawya Alfadda and Rama Al-Sahreef)

Tip 5: Push the Boundaries with Expressions

Imagine yourself as the director of the scene and your characters as the actors. Hire the best actors and make sure they come with the best: pose, gestures, and outfit, and nail the whole performance.

Don’t just copy the reference! Exaggerate those eye positions, play with asymmetrical half-expressions – this keeps things lively and adds charm.

Never be afraid to push your reference photos for more whatever-you-call-this characters! 😄

Tip 6: Seek Feedback and Refine

Discord and Telegram groups have been invaluable for me – asking targeted questions (like “Does anything feel off?”) gets me feedback way beyond just “looks nice!”.

How people interact with your WIPs speaks volumes. Don’t just listen to words, watch how long they engage and which elements draw their eyes.

My wife and kids are a great help, especially for children’s book and game art. They notice what I often overlook. I sometimes get annoyed when they don’t like something (I worked on for long), but I know it’s not personal. After all, they’re the best early test for my work.

Bringing It All Together

Character design isn’t just about drawing – it’s about infusing them with personality and emotion that resonates. Let’s keep the conversation going! Share your favorite character design tips in the comments below 👇

[foxpunk]

like, on one hand i get it. i logically understand the motives behind why tumblr is making the decisions they are making. i just do not think that their motives MUST line up with these specific decisions.

in the end, tumblr needs more revenue. full stop. that is not up for debate. if they do not get it somehow, then tumblr is going to shut down because they simply cannot keep things running, and it will happen much MUCH sooner than most of y'all are at all prepared for. hell, it's already something they've been delaying well past when other sites would have been scrapped (well...aside from twitter but that is a recent and extreme example).

so i get why they need more activity, i get why they need more users, i get why they need to have a shop and micro-transactions. i truly do.

but tumblr is not going to be gaining any new users if it becomes a copy-cat for something that already exists. the amount of new and active and dedicated users they will get is minimal when those users can simply be active on another app/site that does the same thing (and likely already does it better). why seek out tumblr when every other app already has an algorithmic main feed? why seek out tumblr when every other app has live video? why seek out tumblr when every other site has a minimally customizable default profile?

what makes tumblr what it is? the surface answer is it's the communities and the fandoms and the memes, but what is it about tumblr that allowed these to develop the way they did? it certainly wasn't an algorithm, or live stream, or online shop.

if you want people to get hooked on tumblr, show them what they can do HERE that they CAN'T simply do on another app. yeah sure all the new features (live, for you, etc.) are fun for new users who are used to twitter and instagram and the like, and the option to use them can make those new users feel less out of their depth. but if that's all you're promoting they aren't gonna stick around, cause they can get that literally anywhere else. if you're gonna try n sell tumblr as a product then you need to realize the key to selling a product amongst competition is making it so that people need that product and what it offers Specifically.

one thing i never see talked about for this is hashtags not just as a promotional tool but as an organizational one. you can search through specific blog and see everything in a specific tag On That Blog. thats HUGE. it's SO useful. regardless of how it can mess up at times, literally NO other modern social media site lets you do that! livejournal and wordpress are the only things that come close, and livejournal is old as shit and largely inactive, while wordpress has a VERY different target audience.

pair that together with how reblogs work and you have an AMAZING thing going here and you're just letting it Sit There with no spotlight on it.

another thing: ASKS. GOD. WHY ARE Y'ALL NOT PROMOTING ASKS. HELLO. they're such a fun and unique way to interact on this site. the messenger is great but every social media has DMs these days. asks are something truly different and, again, they're just sitting there with NO spotlight on them.

another recent feature that i actually really really love is reblog controls. they are separate from having to turn your entire account private to get people to not look at/spread a post. they're perfect for people who don't want to bother password protecting their entire damn blog but still don't want a certain post spreading. talk about that! i'm sure it'd draw some people away from twitter, since you have to adjust privacy settings for your entire profile if you wanna manage who can and can't interact with a tweet.

and if you're worried about people being confused by reblogs and replies and the like. it is literally as simple as having a little slide show with cute graphics explaining what those are when people are signing up. hell, make multiple cute little slideshows. explain reblogs vs replies, explain tags and the specific way they work on tumblr, explain the different sections on the dash. don't make it little pop text bubbles on the dashboard, people hate pop ups. 9/10 they are not gonna look at them or accidentally click out of them and then they're gone and your user is lost. just have it be a page people are directed to before they hit the dashboard. it is THAT simple. let people be able to revisit that page easily. boom. one and done. you had that annoying ass wind up denture icon popping up for all of us, why not put a little icon in the corner for new accounts to revisit the "tutorial" if they forgot something? it literally is that easy it is SO easy. holy shit.

if you're so worried about users being confused by anything different from other social media, it's your job to EXPLAIN THOSE DIFFERENCES. NOT squash them out, are you fucking kidding me hellooo!! sure okay make things a lil more streamlined and definitely improve WCAG, but don't just fucking toss out features that aren't ACTUALLY complicated or inaccessible!! GODDD

it is not actually that complicated to explain a few new concepts to new users. learn how to frame things in a fun way upon sign-up instead of obfuscating any and all information behind 10 different staff/support/wip/changes/etc blogs and the least helpful help desk in existence.

also, i know they already clarified they aren't gonna be doing this, but if they push non-optional algorithm onto the Main Feed i'm gonna blow this whole place up (for legal reasons i must clarify this is a Joke). like. just find me on mastodon at that point.

edit: to clarify what i've already said. i think having algorithmic options (OPTIONAL options) for new users is Fine in the end. like, it's a fair compromise (mentioned that in some tags earlier but realized i didn't say that on this post specifically). i have issues with how it's opt-OUT rather than opt-IN, but in the end it's not really going to affect much (so long as chrono feeds are an option, and are not taken from users who already have them set as chrono). and honestly neither will all the smaller (general UI) changes they are going to be experimenting with. the site and it's core features will largely function the same way.

i'm mostly frustrated with tumblr making all these changes to conform rather than to stand out from the pack.

the one thing i AM worried about is that they hinted at messing with reblogs and replies more though. don't touch them lol. like i said, just actually explain shit to your new users and you'll be FINE lord almighty

[gandalfsbignaturals]

your post about fair use is entirely incorrect; fair use is intended to protect those doing reviews, critique, parody, and analysis of other pieces of media. it does not mean “i found this online so i’m allowed to use it however i want”. do some actual research into copyright law before spreading lies to support literal art theft

let me ask you something about art theft.

i have a lovely collage that was made by a friend for me. its a collection of magazine cutouts mostly. none of the images in it were drawn by a human hand; they were created by printing presses reproducing a pattern. there are likely a thousand copies of any of those images available to anyone willing to look for them.

is it stolen art?

now a different question. say i input a command for an ai to generate an image. when i input those commands, it is going to attempt to generate a unique image by collating its data from a large set of other images, and its going to place and color pixels based on its statistical modeling of the concepts contained in my prompt. it is, on a conceptual, essentially a computer-generated collage. none of the pixels were placed by human hands, no, but they were placed based on parameters set by me using statistical models that already exist.

is this stolen art?

another question. i learned to draw by copying art that i saw. mostly comic books and animation. i actually spent about a year where most of the drawing i was doing was done by first tracing over a screenshot of BTAS or a stock image, and then redrawing it without tracing, usually a few times. it allowed me to create models in my head of how human bodies move, look, and act. now, when i draw things, how they look is very much influenced by the art that i studied and trained myself on. in fact, sometimes i still reference images when im drawing, and in fact i often use screenshots of shows i like. the other day i did a whole series of thumbnails that were all based on magic the gathering card art.

am i stealing art?

you may think my questions pedantic, but i think theyre important. these ai image generators arent doing anything a human couldnt do. they just do it faster, because they are computers, and computers are made to do things that humans can do but faster.

so why is it considered art theft? is it art theft because they arent fully original images, but cobbled together based on a database? is it art theft because they are referencing other images? is it art theft because the people using them didnt have to devote hours holding a pencil to make them?

i do not think that ai generated images are any more "art theft" than any other sort of image. obviously they can be used for art theft--copying someones work and changing a few things around is kind of a dick move. but thats not inherent to ai art. just as easily as i could copy an artists style with an ai, i could trace over a piece of art or a photograph and try to pass it off as my original work. in fact, because of my particular skillset, it would probably be easier for me to do that than to try and wrestle with an ai prompt for hours trying to produce a decent looking image.

next time you accuse someone of art theft, ask yourself something. are they actually trying to pass off another artists work as their own? are they making money off of the image? are they trying to copyright the image? are they actually doing anything that a very determined human couldnt accomplish on their own?

[artofjim]

5 Years of Drawing: Part 1

Originally posted on ko-fi.com/artofjim

July marks 5 years since I started learning art and drawing every day.  As they say, time flies when you're having fun, and time has really flown!   I want to use this blog post to reflect on some things I've learned, look at some old work and compare it to current, and emphasize my gratitude for all of the support I've received in the last half decade.  This is a long one so I'm breaking it into 3, but it should give you a ton of insight into my journey as an artist that brought me here today, and hopefully help you carve out your own path!

Before July of 2018, I would occasionally get it in my head that I wanted to draw.  This would be prompted by seeing some cool art online, or needing a way to pass the time on trips.  I'd spend money on new sketchbooks and tools, and doodle for a weekend in them.  That would be that, and my sketchbooks would sit until the next time I felt like drawing again, which was no more than a few times a year.  I had a little natural talent at copying proportion and detail, but there was no methodology to my picturemaking and I relied heavily on replicating others' art.  Because of the inconsistent schedule and lack of interest in learning,  I usually say I started drawing after all of that.  Here's some sketches from before 2018.

This is a direct rip of Nate Van Dyke, with a couple additions of my own. 2014?  I learned about ink and decided that was the only medium I wanted to work in.

Around the same time. Every artist has been here at some point, I think. I found some photo portraits of homeless people on pinterest probably and took it upon myself to draw them. Lots to unpack there but we should move on (please we must move on oh God). Again, I wasn't trying to learn, I was just copying photos and other art with no rhyme or reason to it, and very rarely.  I just loved that kick when people would look at it and say it was good.

2018

In 2018 I was working in Tacoma and there was a great little book store called Culpepper's across the street.  Jerry Culpepper had ran that store for decades, and had no great love for comics.  As a result, anytime he got graphic novels in, he'd hide them in an unorganized shelf and price them way, way down.  This was also true of artbooks, but I wasn't interested in those (yet). Jerry and I had an amicable relationship, with him busting my chops about the coffee shop I worked at being too expensive, and myself ironically bringing him free drip on my breaks.  I remember him going into great detail explaining how "Black Panther was absolute shit! Waste of my time seeing that film!"  I probably went in there once a week and dug around, spending tip money on anything that looked interesting while Jerry peered down at the titles with a furrowed brow.  My love for comics started at this time, and some of the first graphic novels I bought were from Jerry Culpepper. The League of Extraordinary Gentleman and A Small Killing, both written by Alan Moore, and drawn by Kevin O'Neill and Oscar Zarate, respectively (a great place to start, if you ask me!).

Still have them!  Jerry always priced books with pencil on the first page.  He'd usually charge me at least 30% less than this, and shave off sales-tax if  I paid cash.

I bought so many comics and bothered Jerry so often that he started giving me stuff for free (again, he had no interest for comics and was intent on filling his store with civil war history and first edition antiques). I'd pay $20 and walk out of there with an armful of graphic novels, video game concept art, Japanese editions of collected Ukiyo-E plates, published artist sketchbooks, and all sorts of odd things I wouldn't normally look for. That's the beauty of local used book stores, you cannot predict what's waiting in there for you.   Those early Culpepper finds were, and still are, very influential to me. I dig through my bookshelf for them regularly.  I think it's very important for creatives to have a personal, physical collection of things that inspire and interest them, because they will bury into your style way more than temporary online influences.

"Culpepper Books: here you'll find a man struggling to get the hell home with as much money and few books as possible before he retires" -Jerry, during his last week of business when I asked him for a caption

In late-2019, Jerry Culpepper got an offer to end his lease early from a big developer and decided to retire right as the pandemic started to hit, which was definitely the right decision for him.  While writing this, I searched his name to see if I could find his online collection, and learned that he passed away in 2022 at the age of 70.  Here is his obituary if you'd like to learn more about my old friend at the bookstore who impacted my life more than I could have realized at the time. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/tribnet/name/gerald-culpepper-obituary?id=32332566

My last purchase from Jerry

Now that I was reading comics a lot, I became hip to Jim Lee, comic art superstar of the early 90s known for his work on X-Men, Punisher: War Journal, and countless other titles soon after.  Jim Lee streams on Twitch, and one day in July I popped in to watch purely out of curiosity and ended up following along with his live tutorial drawing Wolverine. There's a recording of this tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wxoH_eZgrw I had never had drawing explained to me in the analogous way that Jim Lee did.  Much of the concepts he was demonstrating are very fundamental no-brainers to me nowadays, but back then, despite drawing off and on my whole life, I had never been exposed to them.  I specifically remember him relating the teeth to a can of soup, and the triceps muscles to parallel canoes.  This was mind blowing to me, and sparked an obsession that is still roaring to this day. Here's my results from drawing along with Jim Lee that day.

A little heavyhanded on the spot blacks there, Jimbo...

Even though the idea of using simple forms like soup cans and canoes had been demonstrated so brilliantly by Jim Lee, I immediately went back to my old ways of rote copying.  Only now, I was doing it for a few hours a day.  I also started streaming art on Twitch during this time, and I'm amazed anyone watched because I was completely directionless.I was reading a lot of Frank Miller and the interest in ink was renewed, and I would just copy things straight out of comics, line-by-line.  I didn't have the tools or direction to study in a more meaningful way, so I just copied and copied and copied, with no real improvement besides hand-eye coordination, and my ability to copy from image to paper.Jim Lee had also mentioned Bridgman, and I found a copy of his big book at Culpepper's and copied a few pages (poorly) before giving up. 

Notes?? Why would I write down anything from the book?  This is drawing!!  Sarcasm aside, this was the extent of it.  Whatever concepts I pulled from it, I didn't cement with mileage so it was all for not.  Granted, Bridgman is not beginner friendly at all.

I also took part in Inktober for the first time in 2018, and actually attempted concept creation.  I knew I was bad at drawing heads, so I decided I would twist every prompt into a helmet of some kind.  Strange method.  You can view the completed pieces here, if you really want to: https://www.instagram.com/p/BokqcKngdlz/

2019

In 2019, I began to become invested in history, and really enjoyed drawing historical garb.  Japan especially grabbed my interest, and I bought tons of books about it from Jerry.  I'm surprised I didn't try to copy more Japanese  art, especially Hokusai's ink sketches.  I was filling sketchbooks regularly by now, still just copying for the most part, and getting a little better at it!  When I look back at those sketchbooks now, there's a  common "Jim" thread present even if I wasn't being very original.  I want to point out that I don't think there's anything wrong with copying references, ever, but especially as a beginner artist.  The way I was doing it, though, was from a limited perspective: drawing straight to final linework and not considering anything but the 2-d image.  I wish I had pursued fundamentals more, and varied my tools, but I just didn't have exposure to those things.  I was still wielding a brush pen like a club on every drawing, and using expensive markers that bled through the page.

I learned about Karl Kopinski, and some of the other star artists from Super Ani, and didn't know about all of the mileage and proper practice between where I was and where they were, so I tried to just do what they were doing. Of course, KK appealed to my interest in historical costume, and I copied a bunch of his drawings in my sketchbooks. I also dug into Sergio Toppi, attracted to his painterly hatching and masterful ink compositions, and learned about Moebius. I picked up a Final Fantasy 1-7 artbook for $10 (thanks Jerry) with tons of drawings by Yoshitaka Amano in it, and tried to match his watercolors with my bleeding Copic markers. Because there was no method to my drawings beyond copying mark-by-mark, there was an element of luck involved that decided the success of each drawing. The artmaking journey, then, was just chasing that next lucky winner drawing, which is not sustainable long term! Sure, I might get lucky more often as I copied more accurately, but I wouldn't know why, and I had no lens to understand what made an image work.

Toppi copy

One of the lucky drawings

Kopinski copy

Amano copies.  Notice the difference in quality between the Toppi samurai above and these; this is the element of luck I'm referring to.  There was no repeatable process, just diving into the final lines and gambling on it.

Beyond that, I wanted to create, not replicate.  I would watch Karl Kopinski, Kim Jung Gi, and Peter Han create worlds on the spot, with no reference, and have no idea how to accomplish that.  I figured it was my poor visualization ability holding me back.  All I thought mattered was drawing a lot, and drawing a variety of things.  I would stream on Twitch and take requests to draw anything anyone wanted for ten minutes.  I drew 20 different outfits from the Camp-themed Met Gala.  I drew video game characters, Power Rangers, cartoons, and Kermit the Frog smoking a blunt.  Occasionally, I'd try to draw people and places from life. 

My first ever POV sketch

I knew that clothing was something academics studied,  so I "studied" some drapery as well! All that meant for me was copying, line by line, a few reference photos.  I downloaded Autodesk Sketchbook, a free drawing program, and tried my hand at digital art.   If I wasn't just attempting photocopying, I did try my hand at some imaginative work, with a degree of realistic rendering. Here's those paintings, just so we can compare to my current paintings later.

I would paint over Bill Sienkewicz sketches, this is one of those

This funny little fellow is a Japanese God, Fukurokuju. The drapery is looking especially mushy.

In mid-2019, I decided I would challenge myself to making a comic for Inktober.  I was very naive, but still took a lot of time planning for it before October started.  I scripted out the pages, did some character "designs," and even  worked on turnarounds.  My thought was that if I took the time to figure out what a character would look like from any angle, I could just use that as reference when I needed it.  This is true, and how animators do it,  but I created this sheet by smashing together references and finding an image for every expression and angle I could need.  I also sculpted the main character's head so I could use it as reference.  I had not rediscovered the power of "form" yet, despite Jim Lee's great tutorial that started all of this, and the literal sculpted 3d form sitting on my desk.

Here's a few pages of my Inktober comic, Dog Days.  I made it 13 pages in and burned out super hard, since I was working full-time still and spending at least 8 hours a day on the pages.  The cyst on my wrist got massive and I was not sleeping at all.  I took a break for a few days to go on a trip and just never came back to it.  Surprisingly, I haven't ever experienced a burnout since then.

If you're interested in checking out the other 11 pages, they're available to Ko-Fi Members for $4.50/month, along with my other comics.

For my first comic, I am extremely proud of that work.  There's a sort of energy that is now inhibited by experience and judgment.  I was fearless and committed to every page, because I had no idea how long it would take me or what challenges I might face.  I  don't think I will or should ever finish it, because I cannot replicate that vibe.

I returned to drawing a few weeks after the burnout and dove back into Japanese historical drawings, becoming obsessed with the photos of Felice Beato, who brought photography to Japan right as it modernized.  Some coworkers of mine were my first ever commissioners, asking for some work relevant to what I was already studying.  The first was a family portrait taken in the early 1900s.  The second was a 6 panel piece on the history of Taiko drumming.  I think they spent more on the frame then what I charged them for the piece, which is hilarious to me now.   I also experimented with some blacklight ink and collage, which was a nice change from all the inking I did in October. 

I did these on expensive Awagami rice paper with ultra-archival Noodler's fountain pen ink.  I was fooling myself into thinking that expensive materials were necessary for any sort of "professional" work, and that they would elevate it.  In the end, it just made the process nerve-wracking and left no margin for error.

I will continue with years 2020 and 2021 in my next post to keep this one from getting any longer!  Follow my Ko-Fi to get  notified via email when that comes out, or tune into my social media: https://linktr.ee/artofjim

If you'd like to support my art career and get some goodies in return, become a Ko-Fi Member in exchange for art in the mail every 6 months, monthly giveaways, access to my comics, discounts in my shop, and more.  Starts at $4.50/month, goes up for better rewards. https://ko-fi.com/artofjim/tiers  Thank you to all of my members, past and current, for enabling me to pursue my greatest interest in life more comfortably. 

[agentravensong]

so, fun story: the playwriting professor i had this past year, my senior year of college, and really liked -- the one i quoted in this r & g are dead post -- has written some plays themself (not a surprise, i'm sure).

i asked them a while back for a copy of the script of what is, as far as i know, their only full two-act play, to read, for funsies. they finally sent the most recent draft to me a couple of days ago, and i just sat down and read it. i knew going in that it would be about two women in the modern day trying to discover what happened to the crew of a ship that disappeared in the artic in the 1840s, with one of the women being a young musician and the other being an older and more jaded scientist.

i did not know that in the half of the play set in the past, the two main guys would be a ros and guil duo. a love and rhetoric duo. in way over their heads, constantly getting on their crewmates' nerves and often wounding each other but, at the end of the day, reliant on each other and only each other. playing silly games to pass the time and keep their wits sharp. stuck on a boat, together, even. and, spoilers, but, they don't get a happy ending in this one either. doomed by the narrative, as it were.

which is to say: i knew i was going to like it, but, man. i cried.

(and to be clear, the stuff with the two women in the present was great too. there are even parallels to draw between the two sets of protagonists, because that's good writing for you.)

the even crazier thing is, i looked up this professor online after my first class with them in fall 2022, which is when i not only originally found out about this play, but also learned that marian call had written music for it. marian call being an indie musician i learned about back in 2020, whose ep Swears! specifically hit hard for me back during my Fail Semester (don't ask).

what a fucking coincidence, right?

anyway, i listened to the song on her bandcamp that she wrote for the show after finishing the script, and let me tell you: that song already slapped (i've listened to it plenty since first finding it), but with the full context? fuck me.

the worst part of all this is that there is literally no one else i can talk about this play with. other than my professor, whom i shall be emailing shortly with my brain worms thoughts.

...though i suppose i've said enough in this post that other people could probably do some digging and at least find the song, if they wanted to.

...and i suppose if any mutuals (or fellow r&g heads whom i've previously interacted with) wanted to read it and asked me for it... as long as the file wouldn't be too big for discord... what would be the harm in that?

[signedeclipse]

hi hi!! i See you take matchups so I wanted to send one in if that’s okay with you and I’m sorry if you have a lot on your plate rn , but since I was matched up with a hashria before (it was mitsuri romantically) so I wanted to know which demon I would get matched up with platonically?

Anyways, firstly my name is Joey, im 14 years old, i use he/him prns, Im transgender aromatic and unlabeled, i have adhdism, my zodiac sign is ♒️ but the others are ♌️♐️♈️, MBTI is ENTP, my enneagram is 6, extroverted and that’s all for here

Personality: well I am a ENTP and my enneagram is a 6 but firstly when I meet someone I’m usually shy and awkward so I may not talk/feel comfortable much to that person until I get to know them more later on, i usually love to ramble about my interests a lot, I hate getting into drama bc it makes me emotional, I love to text on my technology a lot to my irl/online friends a lot and say stuff like “hai” and “im homophobic” as a joke😭 don’t take the second one seriously, and I also enjoy making sexual jokes to a person when I feel completely comfortable around them.

Looks: Im 5’6, I have a rectangular body shape as I have a more masculine looking body and I use binders, i have white skin, brown hair, hazel eyes, i wear a lot of different styles like goth (trad goth, romantic goth, mall goth and nu goth, gyaru (hime gal, himekaji, agejo, rokku, manba, kogal and tsuyome), scenemo/emo, and vkei ouji and lolita and when I’m not wearing those styles I’m usually dressing plain usually at home like t-shirts(regular and anime ones and etc), jeans, sweat pants, and etc

also this is how I would see myself in demon form if I could (^^)

Interests/Hobbies: anime/manga, gaming, art(drawing, pottery, painting, digital art and more), fashion, playing basketball and volleyball, social media, cosplaying, singing, dancing, playing piano/electric guitar, cooking, learning new languages (like Japanese and Spanish), diy, gardening, photography and more on

Likes: cats, hajime hinata (danganronpa), a silent voice, albedo (genshin impact), lemon demon, felix kranken (twf), bread, sharks, christmas music/christmas in general, scp 3008 (roblox game), get a snack at 4am (roblox game), hotels, and my friends!

Dislikes: negative mentions of my voice, comparing me to people like “you remind me of ____”, also spiders I hate them With my life, hate talk about my interests and that’s rlly it

Thanks!

You got…Douma!

He is a very eccentric man, and he is really easy to befriend if you're someone who will put up with him! Though, I'll say it was a while before you could actually be next to him without wanting to hide away because yeesh one drop of attention and he clings.

Douma doesn't have hobbies of his own, rather, he just copies others so long as they are next to him. You want to draw? Let him talk and he'll draw with you! Gardening? Well it's cold up here but he'll help you build one at the bottom of the mountain if it means getting away from the cult for a bit!

Okay he is very dramatic, but he won't drag you into drama. He has so much tea to spill about his """coworkers""" and changes in the upper and lower moon rankings, he also complains that none of the other demons speak to him! Usually ends with him praising you for being such a good friend.

Really, really likes fashion and wearing things that stand out! A lot of your clothes are too small for him but anything loose he will try on, especially any accessories! He really likes whimsigoth styles which he picks up by picking some of your gyaru style with your scenemo style.

There's a spider? He's a bit playful, he will pick it up slowly, and then dangle it over his mouth and eat it. He finds it really funny how scared you are of something so small, but he will always get rid of it.

Authors Note - Okay I tried searching what aromatic is so I just assumed you meant aromantic, sorry fi I messed up your preferences!

Random note but you mentioned SCP & hotels which is funny to me because I work in a hotel + help run my parents bed and breakfast! And I'm a staff + author on the SCP wiki! Thats what I do when im not on here lol

[blairstales]

Historical and Modern Use of Tracing and Reference For Art

There is an ideal image that people think of when they are asked what an artist does. To many, the artist simply grabs a pencil, pen, or other medium, and creates masterpieces with just their tool of choice and their imagination. This is what causes people to say that artists are “cheating” if the artist is spotted using references.

Well, what many people (both artists and not) don’t know is that art has a long history of so called “cheating.” Today I am going to be talking about both using references and tracing in a historical sense, and a modern one.

References:

Artist often collect many images when something in it inspires them. It could be the folds in clothing, a color pallet, a pose, an expression, or many other things, but the artist takes those reference images, and combines them into the work of art they are picturing. This saves time in trying to get everything just right, but it can also add fine detail that might be missed otherwise.

When artists like Leonardo Da Vinci started taking part in human dissections, yes, learning how the body worked was some of the goal, but the other part of the goal was so that he would have his own drawings and notes of body structures to reference while creating. He still got some anatomy aspects wrong, but his research and reference material gave us some of his realist looking artworks.

When an artist uses “direct reference,” that means they are creating something while using a single reference source, such as an image or a model. For example, the Mona Lisa was painted with a model (Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo) sitting posing for it, and animation giants, such as Disney, used live-models while animating.

Note to Artists: If you like to use direct (one image) reference, do not use another artists (including photographers) work. If you directly copy from another artist, it feels like theft. Instead, use free reference image websites, or take your own photos.

Many artists think that any photo on the internet (specifically google) are free to use, but that is not true, and can lead you into legal trouble. In fact, there are companies that purposely spread their photos online so that they can sue people who use them.

It might sound hard to get caught, but if you are accurate enough in your copy, then it could show up in a reverse image search.

Tracing

Tracing has to be the most frowned upon method of creating, but even it is used by professionals and has a long history for famous artists. Yes, tracing another artists work is wrong if your goal is a direct copy, but there are other ways to trace as well.

Some artists trace photography poses to create basic figures (almost stick figures) to use. Why? Well, it saves time in trying to get a pose just right.

Other artists, especially comic book artists, will trace their own work. Let’s say you are creating a comic book and you need a side profile of your character, and have drawn one in the past of that same character. Well, instead of starting from scratch again, you can trace your own past image, and add in the other aspects of the scene on top of it. This is something even Disney has done historically.

One of the most well known ways for painters to “trace” was once the Camera Obscura. Put simply, it is a creation that projects images onto a wall (more on how it works here) and it was used for many famous paintings.

For example, it is suspected that Johannes Vermeer used the camera obscura to help make his works so life-like, that some could be mistaken for photography.

Today, many artists also trace, especially webcomic artists. To save time, they create or download 3D models, pose them as needed for the scene, then trace the models. Webcomics often update on a weekly bases, so it is very important that they are able to produce panels quickly. Tracing helps those artists focus on keeping up with those timelines, instead of spending many hours on designing a car that readers might not even notice.

Other comic artists regularly snap pictures of features in their city that can later be used in a panel.

A Note To Artists:

You can trace your own photography or your own artwork, but tracing the artwork(including photos) of others can lead you into legal trouble.

For example, the artist(Shepard Fairey) of the now well-known poster of Obama, was sued for copying from a photograph. The artist was found guilty.

To play it safe, use 3d models (either online or physical ones, like body-chan), free stock images (read the copyright info and use agreements), or take your own photos.

If you do end up tracing the work of another artist(which is a common learning method) don’t post it online or sell it.

[miximagic256]

Points of Interest (January - February 2023)

So here's something I may or may not do continually, Points of Interest is where I talk about anything I've been doing lately whether it's a project I'm working on or something I find interesting to talk about that is relevant.

The things I'm going to talk about date back to early January and a lot has happened during that time, so without further ado...

Short classes I've done

Back in January I joined two free short courses, one being art and illustration, and the other being about sewing, with the former lasting just 3 days (which honestly is way too short for a course) and the latter lasting 5 weeks. I realised this year that I love being creative and as such I should try and tap into various creative mediums to see how much I enjoy them.

With the Art & Illustration course it was a matter of looking at illustrations the tutor had picked out and trying to copy them while also trying different drawing techniques (such as drawing without the reference of what you're copying), despite this course only lasting 3 days it was very enjoyable and I got introduced to some really interesting illustrators. To be honest I don't think people give illustration enough credit, not only is it everywhere you go but there's an incredible amount of variants and styles from just the last 100 years alone and anyone that has any related interest in art should definitely look into illustration and illustrators.

The sewing course lasted 5 weeks (one day for each week) it was a beginner course so we were taught how to use a sewing machine and various stitching techniques, by the end of the course we had a choice of making a bag or a pincushion (I choose the latter), Despite having a sewing machine I haven't used it much but I hope I can find time to do an intermediate class at some point since I want to keep this momentum going and not lose what I have learnt. The last time I did sewing was in high school so the course was a refresher on a lot of things and the reason I wanted to take a sewing course was because I want to try and make my own clothes for cosplaying reasons, if you know me than you'd know that I have a huge list of favourite characters that I love to pieces and seeing some of the incredible cosplays people online make made me realise just how close you can get to looking like a certain character! Now granted it would probably take me a long time to reach a level like that but in the meantime I want to try and take it slow while having fun in the process!

Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy

My Crash Bandicoot history is a little weird, growing up I had Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and then later I got Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, but despite being a big fan of the series and having fond memories of Crash 2 I haven't actually played many of the games. Nevertheless the announcement of N. Sane Trilogy made me and many others excited as this would be Crash's return after years of being dormant, however only recently have I been actually playing the remake and it's been a really interesting experience especially considering I haven't actually played the original Crash 1 and 3, I have to admit I wonder how I will feel about playing the Crash 2 segment of the game since that's the one I'm most familiar with.

On the subject of Crash 2, I have to say that the original game has aged incredibly well:

For one the game has a save feature in a time a lot of games were still using passwords, sure games having save features predate the PlayStation but those were often expensive and not common so as a result games would resort to using passwords instead, I imagine that in 1997 most people managed to get a memory card so there wasn't a need to try and beat the game in one sitting which also got rid the need of writing down whatever password you were given to continue from where you last left off.

Second, Crash 2 had fluid and expressive character animations for Crash and especially Dr. Neo Cortex which was way ahead of many other games at the time considering that PS1 games were infamous for having stiff character animations, Dr. Cortex in this game is pretty interesting compared to how he is later on the franchise because unlike future Crash games which toned down how threatening he was in Crash 2 he's not only the main villain but he has complete control of the situation, he forced Crash to a warp room and gave him vague instructions which Crash follows because despite having a previous negative encounter Cortex knows that Crash has no other choice but to follow his instructions, and this is expressed even further in the game over screen where if you press "Yes" he says "play again Crash" while if you press "No" he says "I guess you didn't have what it takes Crash".

Notice anything? In both choices Dr. Cortex isn't sad or angry and that's because if you think about it he wins in either outcome, if you continue the fact that you are Dr. Cortex's biggest threat doesn't matter because you're collecting the crystals for him, if you don't continue Dr. Cortex may not get the crystals anymore but his biggest threat to stop his plan is now out of the way which again shows just how much control he has over the situation, this isn't even mentioning his incredible performance by well known voice actor Clancy Brown who absolutely kills it as Dr. Cortex (ironically he only voiced Dr. Cortex three times, with Lex Lang voicing the character in most of the series' duration, however Lex Lang does a good performance as Dr. Cortex as well I want to make that clear!)

Oh and remember the game over screen I mentioned earlier? They actually re lip synced Dr. Cortex's lines where he was speaking in different languages which means Dr. Cortex has different lip syncing to match the new dialogue which is incredible for 1997 and even by today's standards!

On top of all of this? Crash 2 was made just 11 months after Crash 1, yet there are so many improvements, minor and major, that it's hard to list them all and I don't know how Naughty Dog put so much effort in so little time. However they managed that, it shows!

Social media

Yeah, I'm going to talk about social media in this section, because as of this post Elon Musk has some(?) control of Twitter, now I haven't been using Twitter regularly for nearly a year (I do plan on coming back fully though) but from what I've heard a lot has happened in the time since he stepped in. Now the reason I'm bringing this is up is because some people have said that the issues brought to Twitter recently makes them think the website might be shut down or abandoned, something a lot of people see as something to celebrate but let me tell you why Twitter shutting down is a bad thing:

A lot of websites have come and gone on the internet (chances are 10 years from now the internet will look different yet again) however historically whenever a website shut down all it resulted was the users of that website moving to another more popular website. Remember when Vine shut down and all the Vine users moved to YouTube? Or when a lot of Tumblr users moved to Twitter nearly 5 years ago? When both of those migrations happened a lot of the issues the original website suffered from got carried over, that's because when a website disappears it doesn't mean the people who use it disappear as well since the only way to fix a website's userbase is for the users themselves to sort themselves out.

(If you think I'm being broad keep in mind I'm only talking about social media websites, of course a lot of websites have gone over the years but my point is if a website is large enough to gain a large userbase then they will remain online regardless if that website stays or not, also I have to say people from Twitter coming to Tumblr is honestly a full circle moment that's incredibly ironic).

A website's userbase is often formed from two things: the people themselves that use it, and the way the website is structured. How a person uses said website is up to them and this can range from person to person, however my point is while websites can be riddled with issues the fix is far more complicated than to just delete the website itself, a website redeeming itself can only be done through its management (if it's structured in a way that has them at least) or for a site like Twitter it's for the userbase to try and be smart with how they use it (sending tweets, dealing with accounts they don't like, etc.) I know this is easier said than done and chances are this won't happen on a large scale, but even being aware of the algorithm and how you add to it can help by a long run even if it's just you advising your friends on how to make their social media experience better for them and everyone else that follows them.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

I originally wasn't going to include this as I only planned talking about the things above, but as me and two other friends saw this movie on February 25th and considering that I don't plan to make a full post about this film, I've decided to include a segment dedicated to this as well:

WOW what an incredible film! Dreamworks is a studio with a weird track record (after all what do you do when you've achieved revenge - the very reason your studio was made in the first place?) But sometimes when they have the right direction they make something fantastic. There's so much I could say about this movie but to keep it short – what I love about Puss in Boots: The Last Wish so much is its execution.

A lot of the themes the movie tackles (vulnerability, accepting your morality, living to the best you can) are themes a lot of films (and especially children's media in general) have tackled with, but unfortunately sometimes when they are used they are either hamfisted or they aren't properly delved into making the impact far smaller than it has the potential to reach. But this film not only tackles those themes I mentioned above but it tackles them full-on, including the darker parts of those themes to such an extent that the film overall feels very mature since it knows what tone to have at that given moment.

The main plot about following a magic map so you can make a wish shows the desires of every character who wants to use it, for our three main characters Puss in Boots, Kitty Softpaws and Perrito, they all showcase themes the film is trying to show. Puss' wish is to gain back his missing eight lives because he always tries to aim himself towards this legendary status of himself that he can defeat anything and now that he's down to his last life feels that he can't live up to that. Kitty's wish its wanting to trust someone but feeling like she can't because of a history of being backstabbed, since being able to trust someone requires you to be vulnerable which results in making her closed-off. Perrito unlike Puss and Kitty doesn't have a wish to make because he's already happy with both himself and his life, which while it's clear a lot of that is a result of ignorance of how dark people can act he ends up helping our main protagonists because they realise it's possible to find people that don't want to use you and legitimately want to befriend you (Kitty) and to realise that even with one life that you can live and be happy with just one (Puss).

The film also stands out because of what it does differently, I've mentioned the themes above that it executes but it also has a traditional villain in a period where Disney hasn't done one in ages, not to mention there's a lot of fairytale characters that haven't really been seen on the big screen before which thanks to this being Dreamworks allows them to be utilised in interesting ways, since Dreamworks doesn't try to have a "clean" image of themselves unlike Disney.

There's so much more I can say about this film but I'm afraid that if I do I'll spoiler it (plus this post is quite long as it is!) If you haven't seen this movie yet then please find an opportunity to do so! You will not regret it.

Topic End: Epilogue

Well that's everything I wanted to cover from January - February, I hope you've enjoyed reading and I'll see you next time!