#if you're looking for a short show about post-college young adults

[anderwater]

EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT LOVE (BBC, 2022) dir. China Moo-Young & Julia Ford

[bryan-damage]

I would like to challenge the notion that there's something wrong with teenagers in TV shows and movies being played by adults.

Every now and then, a question-related subreddit such as /r/askreddit will ask a question along the lines of "What are some things in movies and TV shows that bother you?" and without fail one of the top posts will be something about how teenagers never actually look like teenagers, they look like "they are 30", and weirdly enough the age is always thirty, never one year older or younger.

And it's like yeah, of course they look older than teenagers, they are usually in their twenties because they are full grown adults.

So what?

I don't understand why this is a complaint. Is it really so hard to just suspend your disbelief? Using actual teenagers for screenplays is exploitive, it's often a full time job and putting people that young into a position where they might become celebrities could fuck their shit right up for life. The list of celebrity kids who turned into deeply troubled adults is not short.

Besides which, by hiring young adults you're more likely to have someone who actually knows how to act. Acting is a skill that people develop, it's not something that people are typically going to be born with. Kids graduate high school, they go to college or take acting courses, they become skilled thespians. No, they don't look like teenagers anymore, but they still look plenty young, it's not hard to just suspend your disbelief.

And honestly, you can't always tell how old someone is by just looking at them. Ask anyone who ever worked a job selling cigarettes or alcohol, you don't just assume you can tell how old someone is by appearance alone. Some teenagers look older. Some adults still look like teenagers.

People wildly overestimate their ability to determine age by appearance alone.

[shelby-love]

BOBBY NASH

Life as Cap's Daughter

Requested: yes

Author's note: I got a little carried away, but I wanted to DELIVER FROM POINT A (LOWEST) TO POINT B (BEST) PART OF HIS LIFE. Kept it realistic as possible plus it’s very long SO BEWARE

P.S. you can kind of see how my love for the man just SPILLED ... aka I kind of lost it and just hammered the numbers. It shows how unexperienced I am at these <3

Requests for 9-1-1 are OPEN

Headcanon

Bobby had you before Marcy and Athena were a part of his life

You were his little everything

The food he fed you growing up…

You would tell people that your dad's a chef, and not a firefighter

You thought a chef was a better job! You were four…

With your mom out of the picture it was just you and your dad for a big part of your childhood

He baby proofed the entire house

Balled his eyes out when he walked you to school for the very first time

When he met Marcy you were roughly around 8, but the two of you got along very well right off the bat

Even though he's a quiet, withdrawn man that likes to keep to himself, you were the one who brought out his witty side

He was very proud when you showed an interest in ice skating, it quickly became 'your thing' and Bobby loved that you inherited that from him

He's at all of your performances! 

He catches you every time no matter the situation

You loved Robert Jr. and Brook very much too, considering them your siblings without a doubt

You helped change their diapers, practically raised them with Marcy and your dad

Family dinners with Bobby's marvelous cooking – a must!

Bobby was very overprotective when you entered your teen years so thank god for Marcy (she was a saint)

He'd invite your date over and drill him while eating the nicest foods he prepared with extra caution

"Dad, that was a bit too much…"

"You think? I didn't even get to scratch the surface."

"Okay, honey, let her go have fun."

Marcy and the kids were there for you when your dad started to go south because of his injury

"Dad where are you going?"

"I'll be back soon. Don't worry about me."

For a moment you considered if life with him was even worth it

Wanting to finish high school as soon as possible just so you could get away from his lies was your darkest thought

But he is your father, and no one could change that

The fire though... It was the most heartbreaking moment of your life

You were out, so you weren't on the scene

But you wished you were at some point

You couldn't look at him after that

Went through the roughest time of your life

It felt like you jumped through time because you two were alone again

But that made you treasure each other more than anything

You watched him at his lowest and supported him when he started to get better

"Dad, please don't give up."

I don't think Bobby would be able to get through the trauma if it weren't for you

Not even his notebook was enough to keep him together – you were the glue

That's why making a fresh start in L.A. felt great

You two settled quickly; you giving in more effort than he did at first

Because you're smart like your father you got into a very very very good college in L.A.

"At least something's working out for once."

"Hey don't say that."

"But dad... It's true!"

When he told you, he was in station 118 you stalked researched them

Found out the address, looked at the place from outside using Google Street View

That kinda thing

"But dad. I'm just looking out for you!"

"I know. Thank you for that."

There's a lot of buts

But dad this but daaaad that

You're very annoying when you want to be

The two of you lived together, since you didn't trust him enough to move out and live on campus

He didn't bring you to the firehouse until he was 100% sure

No scratch that: until he was 100000% sure, you weren't stepping foot on the grounds of that station

When you did meet them, you loved Hen instantly

You wanted to come back just for her

Chimney was a bit awkward

He didn't know how to act around you

You were 18 but since you were Cap's daughter he didn't know if he had to treat you like you were 8 or not

Hen didn't have that problem obviously

She was so easy going you loved her instantly

Bobby has eyes everywhere when you're at the station

MEETING BUCK WAS HORRIBLE

Your dad was breathing down on your neck when you came to the firehouse one day and Buck 1.0 was working there (just started)

HE HIT ON YOU IT WAS HORRIBLE YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO

Neither did he once he found out

That was the day Bobby fired him bc he did the nasty with that lady in the firetruck

You came by like, "Hi, I'm Y/N nice to meet you Evan."

And then suddenly you had to go like, "Bye Ev- Buck… It was nice knowing you."

Buck went home that day – pride demolished

"Did you really have to do that dad?"

"I said three strikes, and he's out. He didn't listen."

Why didn't you come earlier? Surely you could have given Buck some great tips

"Oh, well."

Buck came back!

You became friends after that. Had a teasing relationship, never looked at each other the other way after that day

Y/N + Buck = BFF

You'd joke about your first tragic meeting and you’d go out with him when he was going through a dark time because of Abby

You didn’t drink, he did

Everyone loves you OBVIOUSLY

You're Cap's daughter I MEAN WHAT IS THERE TO SAY?

Eddie came too! Eventually.

You fell in love with him instantly

But you love his son even more than him

You'd take care of him whenever you had time and Eddie was busy working

You learned more facts about the world from little Christopher than from your own father

You often came by to eat lunch at the station because that's where your dad ‘the cook’ was

Maddie and you hit it off very well and became close friends

NOW MEETING ATHENA FOR THE FIRST TIME…

Your mouth was on the floor

She was so goddess like you were smitten by her

So, your dad and her announcing their relationship to you wasn't a surprise

You and Hen won the bet

Became close with May and Harry too although it was hard not to picture them as Brook and Robert at first

After your dad and Athena got married you finally felt as if you could breathe

Knowing that your dad was safe and sound, you moved over to campus but still had your own room at Athena's place

You go there every weekend

You're essential to the party planning

Even though you're a perfect little young adult you're ready to pull out the "My step-mom's a sergeant" card

A huge party was thrown for your 21st birthday

I'm talking BIG BIG BIG

Buck and you got drunk

Your dad got drunk too

Life turned around for the better although some pieces of past tragedies still lingered

You've let go of people but you and your dad also grew and healed enough to let new people into your lives

No one knows what life has in store for you two, but you both know it will be good

As long as you have each other

He's your pillar, and you are his in return, that's how it's always been

"I love you dad."

"I love you too kiddo."

~

Tags (general (all posts)): @fofisstilinski​​ @short-potato​​ @miranda0102​​  @httphiddlestan​​ @caromichaela​​ @xx-missunicorn-xx​​ @jemmakates​​ @theravenclawmarauder​​ @httphiddlestan​​ @tclaerh​​ @chefdoeuvre​

Tags (9-1-1): /

Let me know if you want to be added to my 9-1-1 tag list! My updated tag lists ♡

[b00bconnoisseur]

60 questions for @not-my-brain

1. selfie.......Ugghhhh ok. Imma take one rn

Ok here u go (yes thats a bmth shirt)

2. what would you name your future kids?.....Ooo hmmm well when i was a kid i really liked the names disney, and mesiah. I didn't know at the time that mesiah was another name for god i think lol. I liked it cause of handlers mesiah. I still do. Ooo and maybe Tj too

3. do you miss anyone?......Yeah. My friends on Pinterest from a year ago. My friend lucas. Stan lee. Bob ross. My cousin who died from cancer some years ago. Snape. Sirius. Lupin. Tonks. Dobby. *continues to name every unfortunate death in hp*

4. what are you looking forward to?.......SE-YA next month!! Its the south eastern young adult festival at this college. You can have meet n greets with authors and alot of stuff its the besstttt

5. is there anyone who can always make you smile?......DEFINATELY. @dirtysocke @mysisterlooksforthisaccountsobye @cristal-kyd1280 @sammchenry my friend lucas and @septembersbloom. ^^

6. is it hard for you to get over someone?..... What like...romantically? Or like a death? If romantically uhhh idk it took over a couple weeks but im ok now. Ive never had another relationship so idk. If death oof yeah idk maybe. Ig it depends on how much i knew them idk. Like when my nanny (great grandma) died i was sad for days (is that alot?)

7. what was your life like last year?.....Sucky af. Still is. But the highlights of my life last year was getting and making friends on tumblr, going to the tøp concert and going to warped tour, volunteering at the library, going to seya and meeting some of my favorite authors, reading, changing and improving my art, listening to all the bands i listen to now, getting into more fandoms, going to a friends house for the first time

8. have you ever cried because you were so annoyed?.......Yes lol. Some years ago when i couldn't find smtn id be so annoyed and pissed id start crying. I dont now but still lol

9. who did you last see in person?.......Hm ig family doesn't count....? Wait do u mean a friend? If so uhh my friends rebekah, anika, and Judah at a TAB meeting at the library sometime last month.

10. are you good at hiding your feelings?......I think so? Like i mean I can hide whenever i get my....time of the month from my mom (talking abt stuff like that with her makes me uncomfortable) and i hid a breakup. And other p big stuff too. So imma say yeah

11. are you listening to music right now?........*pops on earbuds after reading this* yee im listening to bitch lasagna by pewdiepie xD (do i have the best spotify playlist or what?)

12. what is something you want right now?.......To hug @mysisterlooksforthisaccountsobye but SOMEONE has to live so far away

13. how do you feel right now?........Happy that my earbud still works cause they got washed in the wash yesterday....oops. Its not my fault. I told my dad to remind me to take it out of my jacket pocket before they threw it in but noooooo he forgot

14. when was the last time someone of the opposite sex hugged you?.......Uhhhhh fuck idk it was probably from my lil 4 yr old bro sometime last week. Other than him (hes my favorite sibling) i dont let them hug me too much

15. personality description.......Nerdy. Fangirl. "Emo". Tomboy. Hotsause obsessed. Book lover. Music lover. Black. Blue. Harry potter. Introvert. Fall. Sports. Values friendship. Loyal. Uhhhh i cant think of much lol

16. have you ever wanted to tell someone something but you didn’t?.......*sigh* yes. Yes yes yes. Theres some things abt me, or my life really, that i havent told anyone on here or my irl friends that i sooooo want to so bad but i haven't cause i feel like they'd feel bad and pity me and i don't want that

17. opinion on insecurities........I dont really understand this one. Everyones insecure abt something. Is this askin like if i think its ok or not? I say its ok. Im insecure about literally everything about me. My face. My personality. My socialness. My art. What i do. What i say. Basically my whole body. The things i feel good abt are my books, music taste, and my friends (ily fuckers)

18. do you miss how things were a year ago?.........Hmm this time around a year ago....idk its sorta the same but all the stuff i mentioned abt my year from last year didn't happen yet so nah tho my life sucks rn its better than this time last year

19. have you ever been to New York?........Nooo but i want too soo baddd i wanna visit @septembersbloom !! Im coming for ya soon gramps *does the eye watching thing* my dads been to nyc before tho cause he does construction and he had a concrete job to do there. It was a 23 hr drive for him

20. what is your favourite song at the moment?........Uhhh idk!!! So hard! Maybe.....the whole thats the spirit album by bmth ;)

21. age and birthday?.....15 yrs of age and September 27th 2003 (whats yours brainy? I'll put it on my calendar)

22. description of crush......Its weird idk im not sure if its a genuine crush or not but uh....They like hp :).Thats all u get

23. fear(s).......Losing my best friend @dirtysocke and my other friends. Death. Failure. Momo chasing after me then killing me slowly keeping my eyes open to look her dead in the eyes while i die

24. height......5'6 call me short and I'll fuck u up with THIS *pulls out trusty potato peeler named now steve* dont test me boi

25. role model......Hhhhhhhh so many! But uh gosh one of them is @superraedizzle (youtuberrrr) and vexx and bob ross and da vinci and aaaaaaa so many

26. idol(s)......First person that immediately comes to mind is @sammchenry cause he's super cool and he's really nice and his art's reallyyy good (if u havent seen it w-w-what are u even doin with your life?) And he has a great sense of humor and *continues to ramble about why samms the best*

27. things i hate.......Dabs. Transphobes. Homophobic ppl. Basically any hate on the lgbtq+ community. Bullies. The ship starker. Umbridge. Snape haters

28. i’ll love you if….....U you'll eat pizza, draw, and rp harry potter with mee

29. favourite film(s)......Fantastic beasts. Every hp film. Twilight. The maze runner 1-2. The hunger games. Spiderman homecoming. Kingsman: secret service. Into the spideyverse tho i havent seen it yet

30. favourite tv show(s)......Inkmasterrrrr. B99. The mick. The middle. Uhhh idk mostly ink master xD

31. 3 random facts........Ive never had shrimp. I had a beta fish for over a year once. Im eating pizza crust rn

32. are your friends mainly girls or guys?.......G i r l s. I have all girl friends irl and one boy. And on tumblr it seems like i just meet girls? Likei agree with @cristal-kyd1280 its like alot more gals then dudes here. But i do have some guy friends on here too. But mostly girls

33. something you want to learn.......TO DRAW ANATOMY DAMMIT

34. most embarrassing moment........Every moment of my lifes an embarrassing moment. Idk of i can pick a "most" embarrassing one. But one time i i sent my crush (now ex bf) a hey fuckface and like some hearts or whatever for an ask game that meant like "i have a crush on u" "youre adorable" etc and said Hewo but i did it all anonymously. But he confronted me askin if i sent it cause im the only person he knows that actually says hewo lol. Then later on i finally admitted i really liked him and well y'all know the story after i think. Unless you're new

35. favourite subject.......A R TTTT OFC

36. 3 dreams you want to fulfill?........meet my friends on tumblr. Get into mtsu (college i wanna go to) and study art. And go skydiving

37. favourite actor/actress........favorite actor uhhhhhh probably thomas brodie sangster or tom felton and my favorite actress? Hmmm idk maybe evanna lynch (luna lovegood)

38. favourite comedian(s).......probably kevin hart lol he's p funny

39. favourite sport(s)........basketballllllll and football

40. favourite memory........uhhhhh idk?? One oh my favorite memories was when we went to see tøp in concert

41. relationship status.....single as a pringle

42. favourite book(s)......harry potter and the order of the pheonix. Harry potter and the half blood prince. Simon vs the homo sapiens agenda. Divergent. Maze runner. Twilight. Fangirl. Fallen. Red queen

43. favourite song ever.......TOO HARD DONT MAKE ME CHOOSEEEEEE

44. age you get mistaken for.........16 and 17 sometimes lol

45. how you found out about your idol........i was watching someone on yt and superraedizzle always poped up in my feed and my mom turned on one of her vids cause she always saw her vids too now ive seen most of em i love her. Id heard of vexx but never watched him and i was watching a collab from anthony miller art and shrimpy and i checked out shrimpys channel and was lookin at comments and alot of ppl said his art is like vexxs so i checked out vexx. At first i was like eh ok. Now i cant click fast enough when he posts a vid. And i actually fpund out about bob ross from my grandpa on jan 20 2017 when trump was getting sworn in or whatever. We turned on pbs and my grampa told me to look and bob ross was on and i was IN. I loved it. I even started watching full episodes on YouTube of the joy of painting after that. Wonderful man. My first painting i ever did i think was when i followed one of his tutorials xD (i didnt know it was popular at the time)

46. what my last text message says......."ok your turn"

47. turn ons.....uhh nerds ig idk um book lovers, music lovers, art lovers, potterheads, idk and nice ppl

48. turn offs......jerks. Homophobia. Idk ig whatever i said in things i hate

49. where i want to be right now......uhhhh idk wait didn't i already answer this? Ok this ones different ig so uhh with my friend lucas

50. favourite picture of your idol.....oh shit...favorite? Idk xD i have a fave of vexx but not of rae or bob. But heres pics of them any way

51. starsign......a libraaaaa boiii

52. something i’m talented at......drawing and speed reading. Thats about it lol. Oh and procrastina

53. 5 things that make me happy.......ooooo art, my friends here on tumblr, books, harry potter, and music ^^

54. something thats worrying me at the moment.....if my friend thinks im being annoying

55. tumblr friends......hhhhh so manyyyyyy. @dirtysocke @mysisterlooksforthisaccountsobye @cristal-kyd1280 @chinesewaffles2 @kingantlion @queen-baelin @sammchenry @septembersbloom and more

56. favourite food(s)......green beans, pepperoni pizza, and vanilla madelines

57. favourite animal(s).......basically any reptile. Puppies. Cats. Any animal really but my #1 are snakes

58. description of my best friend.....well she's a tiny bean (5 feet) and she has dark hair, she wears glasses, she doesnt take shit, she's in love with Josh dun, she's awesome, funny, nice (YES youre nice jackie) and shes the best friend ive ever had. Oh. And she has a weird obsession with spaghetti

59. why i joined tumblr.......well i heard abt it on Pinterest over a year ago but didnt want it. Then @mrfastbass-deactivated20181231 on DeviantArt said he got tumblr so i made one then followed him and figured id just post art and that's it cause i thought tumblr was boring as hell when i first got it. Now im p much obsessed with it

60. ask me anything you want.......go ahead brainy shoot. Give me smtn good

[sulietsexual]

Hey! I read that you find Friends relatable now that you're older. How is the show relatable to you? Is it specific to your generation or to people your age? Because I don't think any of the friends' lives are relatable. In particular, the fact that they're always in relationships, or hooking with random people they meet wherever, is extremely weird to me. And let's not speak of how most of them have great jobs and no college degree or higher schooling... Anyway, I'd love to read your thoughts!

Okay, so I just want address a couple of your points before I get into how/why I find the series relatable. So, first of all this part:

“In particular, the fact that they’re always in relationships, or hooking with random people they meet wherever, is extremely weird to me.”

First of all, I don’t think that the characters on Friends date or hook up or have relationships any more than characters on any other television series out there. So many shows have their characters dating lots, sustaining long-term relationship etc. Also, I think that while, yes, all the characters did have relationships and hook ups, it wasn’t as constant or as prevalent as your statement implies. Let’s look at the characters individually.

Joey - probably the most sexually active of the group but this is also a big part of his character (similarly to, say, Barney Stinson). Joey does frequently hook up with women because he’s not interested in a long-term relationship, he just enjoys the brief, no-strings-attached intimacy of one-night stands but I don’t find his promiscuity to be unbelievable, especially since it’s an organic part of his characterisation. I also don’t recall him ever hooking up with a random person? 

Chandler - Chandler spends most of Seasons 1 and 2 either single or with Janice. If I recall correctly, he only briefly dates a couple of women other than Janice in those seasons. He spends half of Season 3 with Janice and the other half single. In Season 4 he briefly dates Kathy and then at the end of the season he hooks up with Monica and, as we know, the rest is history and he spends the rest of the series in a committed relationship. Again, I don’t really see this as unrealistic? Chandler has two serious relationships and a third which never really gets off the ground and he casually dates a few women, and this is within the time span of about four or five years. That seems pretty normal to me, especially within the landscape of 90s television, which often portrayed young adults dating around.

Ross - Ross actually dates quite a lot, we see him with many casual love interests, however, as with Joey, I feel like this suits his character. Ross is actually a serial monogamist, he’s hopelessly in love with love and so I find it really in-character that he would date lots in order to find his ideal partner. Again, this is very keeping with 90s culture of dating around. And, of course, Ross has three long-term/serious relationships (Carol, Rachel and Emily) and this is over a ten year time-span, which again, doesn’t seem like a huge amount of romantic developments.

Rachel - Rachel probably dates the least of the characters. She leaves Barry, who is implied to be her only long-term relationship, at the beginning of Season 1 and then has her “fling” with Paolo, which was more about her exploring an exciting and sexual relationship which she hadn’t experienced before. She then spends Seasons 2 and 3 pining after and then involved with Ross, only briefly dating Mark post-Ross. In Season 4 she has her crush on Joshua, which doesn’t go anywhere. Her only other “serious” relationship is with Tagg in Season 7 and other than that, she doesn’t really date that often.

Monica - single for most of Season 1 with only a couple of casual dating relationships, Monica spends most of Season 2 with Richard and then the majority of Season 3 single, until her short relationship with Pete. She’s single for all of Season 4 until she hooks up with Chandler, and then she’s in a committed relationship with him until the end of the series.

Phoebe - Phoebe dates a lot but again, I don’t necessarily find that unrealistic? Like Joey, she doesn’t seem to want or need a long-term partner (until she meets Mike) and she’s happy to just casually date around. At the risk of sounding repetitive, this once again (to me) ties in nicely with 90s dating culture and I think it suits her character. However, I do find her relationship with Mike rushed and it did very much feel like she was shoe-horned into the relationship by writers who seemed afraid of having a female character end the show single. That being said, I do find her and Mike sweet.

So yeah, I’m not sure if it’s a personal thing or a generational thing but I never felt that the romantic relationships and dating habits of the characters felt unrealistic. If anything, I think each of the character’s dating habits and relationship organically tie into their characterisation.

Now, the next part I want to address: 

“And let’s not speak of how most of them have great jobs and no college degree or higher schooling…”

This isn’t completely accurate.

Ross and Chandler both attended college (this is how they met, they were college roommates) and Ross has a PhD, so he definitely completed higher education. While it’s not wholly realistic that Ross would have a PhD and a high-paying job at the Museum of Natural Science at the age of twenty-seven (his age in the first season) it not entirely inconceivable, especially in the early 90s when a college degree actually did guarantee one a job and the job market was much better than it is these days.

Chandler completes college and then works in the same job for several years before receiving a promotion, which does come with an adequate pay rise, but again, he had to slog it out in a cubicle for at least four or five years before receiving said promotion, which he did so at about age twenty-seven, which seems pretty realistic, especially for the 90s. He then works at this job for the next several years, making solid money, before quitting to pursue a job which he’s passionate about. He completes an internship at an ad company and is then offered a more senior position due to his age and experience. I think this is all pretty realistic.

Rachel at least started college (she mentions in a Thanksgiving flashback that she’s taking psychology because the parking’s closer to the building) and she ends up having to work as a waitress for several years because of her lack of job experience, not exactly a great or high-paying job. Her lucking into the job at Bloomingdale’s is a little unrealistic, but she does start at a lower-level position (an assistant) before being moved to personal shopping, which she mentions is a step down for her. She interviews for and obtains the Ralph Lauren position based off her previous experience at Bloomingdale’s and is promoted after being there for a couple of years, again, a fairly realistic trajectory for her. I think Rachel’s work situation is perhaps the least realistic, given that a lot of it rests on luck, but I don’t think it’s completely unbelievable.

We have to assume that Monica went to culinary school, given that she’s a professional chef. It’s not unrealistic or unbelievable that she would be working as a Sous Chef at the age of twenty-six, especially in the 90s. She then loses her job and is forced to work at the demeaning and low-paying diner for over a year, before finally being given the chance to run her own kitchen, where she stays for several years, before being head hunted into a better-paying job when she’s in her early 30s, a realistic move for her, given her experience.

Joey and Phoebe are the only two who are explicitly stated to not have completed college (and in Phoebe’s case high school) but neither initially have particularly demanding or high-paying jobs. Phoebe works as a masseuse, for which she would have needed to complete a certificate or diploma in massage therapy, which she easily could have done in her early twenties. She appears to make enough to live on and doesn’t seem to want a different or higher-paying job and it is mentioned that she doesn’t make as much money as some of the others. And Joey spends so much time on the show unemployed or working odd-jobs in-between auditions, only really starting to get good/steady work towards the end of the series, so I think his career is pretty realistic and an accurate portrayal of how sometimes breaking into an acting career is about right place, right time.

Wow, that got long. Let’s get back to your actual question, of how/why I find Friends relatable.

It’s more little things that I found relatable as I got older. Things such as wanting to work a job I was passionate about (Chandler’s dilemma in Season 1 and again in Season 9), not having a plan for my life (Rachel in Season 1), going against my parents wishes for my career (Joey), having overly-critical parents (Monica) etc. Even smaller things, such as using sarcasm to cover childhood trauma (Chandler) or Monica’s OCD or Rachel always crying. These things made the characters real and relatable to me, even if the world they live in isn’t always completely realistic (their apartments, for example. Even in the 90s Monica wouldn’t have been able to afford that apartment, even with rent control!)

[suketchilt]

Can you please give a tutorial on how you draw face shapes, emotions, and bodies? I'm trying to learn, and I would really love to learn from you!!! P.S. I really like your art!!! You're so talented!!!

Hey Anon. O:! Those are… very big, general topics. I can’treally impart, like, all my knowledge on all of that in one post. Tumblr wouldprobably explode, so I’m going to make my answers more general, but stillstupidly long ‘cause that’s how I operate. If you want to ask one or two veryspecific things, maybe I can help a little better. O:! I wrote this based on how my mind works, so don’t be upset if it doesn’t really resonate with how your brain is set up.

I got partway through writing this and realized how scary itlooks so HEADS UP: If you need to learn a LOT, break things into pieces. Youknow how a textbook will have a whole unit that is broken into chapters andthose might be broken into lessons and even those are broken into a few parts?Break things up.

If you need to learn the whole body, you might focus on theface first. If the whole face is too hard, maybe focus on noses, then eyes,then mouths, face shapes, then mapping out proportions, then adding the eyes,noses, and mouths you’ve been practicing to the face shape with proportions.You can break it down even further to only female eyes or only female eyes fromcertain ethnic groups or only nostrils or only nose bridges, etc.

I suggest spending at least a week on each topic you makefor yourself, and spend half an hour each day. If you don’t, no one will getmad at you, but it will take longer because your practice time will be morespread out. You also don’t want to just work seven hours in one day and go, “THAT’SMY WEEK.” Like with homework and school lessons, your body and mind needrepetition to get used to what you’re doing and to truly learn it in a morepermanent way. When you learn stuff well enough, it becomes a reflex and theyou can free your mind to work on other stuff. Remember you had to learn all ofyour letters, and then you had to sound out words, and then you learned harderand harder words and now you can read polylingual stegosaurs devour apatheticangiosperms? Once you feel good about faces, you might move on to other partsof the body, or to practicing colors. What you learn, when you learn it, andhow long it takes you to learn it are all dependent on you. There is no truetime limit. There isn’t even true mastery. Drawing well enough that YOU cannotsee your own mistakes means you are drawing the best you currently can, butthen finding those mistakes and fixing them is your improvement and learning.(At art school, we had to spend 4-8 hours per week in art classes doing artstuff, and then we would have art homework. I did a hand study and drew atleast one hand per week for a year and a half in middle school because I gotbored after half a year of self portraits.)

If you’re having trouble with something, you need topractice it. Consciously. I don’t mean just copying references, I mean tryingto figure them out and making mental notes, or even written notes and your owndiagrams. Like, “Oh, that muscle is only visible over ½ of that body part… I see…”or “OH, that part of the arm gets covered when that part of the hand is in thatposition, so that’s why it looks so weird when it is foreshortened…!” or “Ifsomeone is holding their hand towards you and they are very close to you, thehand looks really big. But if they are far away, the hand almost looksnormal-sized. I could use this to show how close a character is to the viewer,or if I mess this up I might confuse the viewer and they’ll wonder why someonefar away has a giant hand…”

While doing this, you want to look for patterns, like commonproportions that you can memorize. For example, the length of the legs is abouthalf of the whole person’s height. You will also want to see which things are particularto certain scenarios, like how most males won’t have hips as wide compared totheir bodies as most females, or a small child or a little person might havedifferent proportions than an average adult. You can actually look online andfind charts people have made showing proportion patterns they have noticed, andthere are art help Tumblrs you can follow that pass around charts, reference sheets,and studies others have made. (In case you are wondering, my brain has wiremodel mannequins inside with marked proportion points.)

Remember: Not everyone will have the same proportions, sosome will look different, and it is okay to alter them when you make yourcharacters. You want to learn the ‘normal’ stuff, but that doesn’t mean youhave to follow them all the time. It is good to break ‘rules’ in art. Art rulesare guidelines, and many artists have had whole series based on trying to arguerules. Anyway, you may want a characterwho specifically does not follow their sex’s stereotypical traits as much, likea male with big hips, or a tall female with very well-defined muscles, or maybesomeone’s eyes are very far apart, or they’ve got lips so thin you barely seethem. Some of these will be due to what the character does, like a sportyperson will probably have bigger muscles, or someone who eats too much anddoesn’t exercise enough might be fat if they don’t have a metabolism that cankeep up.

You want to point things out, figure out why it ishappening, and see if there is a pattern that you can remember so you can do itlater without needing a reference. The reason you need to consciously pointthings out, is because your subconscious mind doesn’t pick up everything. Haveyou ever driven down the same street over and over and never noticed a small shop,and then found out it’s been there for 20 years? Your brain didn’t see it asimportant, because it was tucked away and you were more interested in a biggerstore nearby. Just like how little kids draw a face and arms, but forget necksand sometimes the rest of the body- the face and limbs are probably the most important parts to them, and their young brains haven’t really memorized the other parts or seen them as necessary to communicate ‘this is a person.’You want to train your brain to look for the small, subtle things, and you willneed to ask yourself questions to get it to start. “Why is that like that? Isthis line smooth, or does it have dents and bumps? Why isn’t it smooth- isthere a muscle there, or maybe a joint or bad scar? Is something nearby havingan effect (like a shadow)? How big is this compared to the other things I havealready drawn/noticed?”

There will be a lot of things that you won’t learn rightaway, because there are a LOT of details. For example, maybe you’ll be drawingsmiles, and you won’t think to check the effect of the muscles involved on therest of the face. The more authentic the smile, the more a person’s eyes willget squinty from the bottom, because the cheeks are raised. If the person isonly smiling half-heartedly (maybe they don’t feel so great, or maybe they’reonly pretending to like what is happening) their eyes might not squint from thebottom as much. They may even be half-lidded from the top if they are beingpolite, but also sort of want the person they are smiling at to know that theyreally aren’t all that interested.

When doing expressions, a lot of artists (including me) willmake the face or imagine ourselves making the face. Some people will also touchtheir own faces while they work to check if there is something subtle they aren’taware of, like a nose crease when they wince. Mirrors help a LOT, especially ifyou don’t have another person to use as a model. When you are checking your ownexpression or the one of a model or reference image, make yourself check everypart of the face. “Have the eyes changed? Is the mouth level, or is part of itup higher than the other? Are the muscles tense in my cheeks? Does my foreheadfeel tense or warm? Are there more creases on my forehead? If I tilted the head,has this affected the neck at all? Is anything in the way, such as if I movethe head, does it hit a shoulder or part of the chest? Does this contact presson anything?” There are a LOT of questions, and it is okay to work on only afew at a time.

For face shapes, you want to think about how round, pointy,boxy, long, and short the face is. The top of the face (like, eyes and above)might have different shapes than the bottom half. The proportions (big foreheadvs small jaw or the other way around) are part of how you can make people moreidentifiable. Knowing what the face is made of (we memorized skull parts incollege and although I remember how to draw it, the only words I remember are ‘ZYGOMATICARCH’) helps you look for specific parts. Like, you know the cheekbones, so howwide are they? Are they up high or lower down? You know the jaw, so how wide isit? How long is it? To be honest, if you use character creators in games, thinkof the sliders. There’s one for jaw length, so what is the jaw length like onthe face you are drawing right now? There is a slider for eye size. How big areyour model’s eyes? Can you measure them compared to other parts of the face? What parts of the face line up? Are the corners of the mouth equal with the pupils? Where do the nostrils line up with the eyes, mouth, and chin?

Face shapes also may reflect or suggest a character’spersonality. A more masculine character will usually have a boxier, moreangular face. A more feminine character will have softer, rounder features. Acharacter with a bigger forehead might be thought to be smarter. A large browridge makes people think the character might be dumb or more instinctive/feral/orat least gruff, because they think of Neanderthals. How clean a character keepsthemselves or certain portions of their face tell about their personality, too.Thin, clean eyebrows probably belong to a feminine character who takes pride intheir appearance. Thick or scruffy eyebrows mean the character is probably moremasculine and/or does not care as much about their appearance. These aregeneralities, of course. You can have a lady with thick eyebrows who views themas a fashion statement, or as a statement against women having to be ‘pretty’by removing all their hair. Or a guy with long, flowing hair could still have asuper masculine personality and mindset. There are stereotypes, but part ofwhat makes characters interesting is when they break the stereotypes. Like, thetough guy who loves tiny dogs and kittens, or the thin teen girl who wants tobe a boxing champion when she grows up.

Analyze stuff you look at. Like, everything I mentionedreminded me of a video or drawing I’ve seen and ‘taken apart,’ or a specific character or a realperson. Look at real people and real expressions and other people’s art and tryto ask yourself questions to help you really see. Take it apart- analyze it. If you can figure out how it works, you can figure out how to put it back together again on your own and in your own way.

I think I’ll stop now, but if there is something morespecific (like a question just about ‘eyes’ or just ‘negative expressions’ or ‘angryfaces’ or ‘arms’) maybe I can help better and draw some stuff. And to think- wehaven’t even discussed the elements and principles of art. >8U!