#kinda messy kinda experimental but this way fun to draw

[time-slink]

If request are open… eefo in a dress- WAIT WHO SAID THAT

Hrm… Must’ve been the wind.

[oldmanffucker]

In my ceramics au, everyone is an artist (stede just bought an art gallery he knows nothing abt running and all his staff are artists and they have staff bonding at Queen Anne clay happy hour one night and this is how stede meets Ed and Izzy) I’m still working through my thoughts abt everyone’s artistic qualities etc but I wanna lay out my artist thought so far:

Jim: experimental contemporary jewelry (pushing the limits of what jewelry is/can be, experimenting with the thwarting facial recognition, and ideas of beauty)

Swede: tooth jewelry

Wee John: fiber artist and handpoke tattooer

Fang: whimsical playful functional pottery (doesn’t necessarily have to be function but often happens to be)

CJ: kitschy crude humor pottery

Stede: handbuilt/slab built ceramics - functional work that has a main focus on formal beauty. Pieces that serve a function but are intentionally made beautiful/ornate enough to stand their own as sculptures too

Ed & Izzy in the present run a pottery business that focuses on production pottery (large scale creation of identical pieces for being sold in stores etc). They make pipes that look like other things (food/objects), mugs/bowls/plates/pour overs that have some splashes of whimsy in a color choice or pattern or shape but are overall not terribly complicated. They are unique tho. they also have the Queen Anne clay storefront that has classes like happy hour clay classes, kids classes etc.

Neither of them focus too terribly much on their own personal art but sculptural non functional personal ceramic work blooms from each of them throughout the fic as stede encourages them to explore things beyond their business/actually feel their feelings.

In college they both were like way into performance art. Ed kinda for fun and bc he loved the physical exertion of it, but Izzy was 100% serious, putting his entire being into every performance for better or for worse. They egged each other on to bigger and bigger pieces and we’re very Marina and Ulay coded. Jack thought it was all stupid and just liked to join in bc he thought it was funny and hot to slap each other for long stretches of time but izzy was frustrated bc he didn’t get it.

Ed’s college art was more multi media (bc adhd yk) but was big on painting as a throughline. His work was big and messy and loud. He liked word working and sculpture and linocut printmaking.

There’s so much more but it would be a multiple page essay if I laid it all out rn.

Buttons: the QAC kiln tech. Loves to sculpt birds from clay.

Frenchie would of course be heavily focused on music but I haven’t settled all the details yet.

Roach obviously food based but again, not all ironed out.

Lucius: drawing, life drawing classes, focus on sensuality, queerness, the body, love

Pete: life model, wood working

Still thinking on the rest.

[some-pers0n]

Hello im. Sorry to bother you but I see you on my dash as "the will wood person"(well also the tf2 person and the wof person but that doesn't pertain to this) and was thinking about listening to his stuff but idk where to start do you got any recommendations?

Yippee!! I managed to be so Demented about William Woodard that it made me the "Will Wood person" to somebody :))) That's so silly

Okay, so recommendations. It's...really quite difficult to recommend stuff from Will because a lot of his music is quite varied and it kinda just depends on what music you've already listened to. If you've gone down the Jack Stauber, Tally Hall, or Lemon Demon path, chances are you're going to be somewhat on board with his music.

Will Wood is an experimental music artist who never exactly sticks to one sound. He said he doesn't quite like it. Self-Ish, his second album, he considers a concept album due to the fact that it's mostly grungy and rough vocals with frantic and wild instrumentals all with lyrics spouting stuff relating to a singular theme. However, if you ask me there are some things about him that stick out as being "Will Wood".

Piano. A lot of his songs have piano. In some places, what other songs would have as a guitar riff, is a piano bit. Piano (along with the baritone ukulele and also occasionally glockenspiel) is his main instrument.

Jazzy instruments. Saxophones, trumpets, all that. In his latest main album, In Case I Make It, Will forgos that sort of jazzy tunes a lot in favour of more calm and folk songs, but they still linger.

Tons and tons of lyrics. Will's lyricism is one of the main draws of his music to me. He often writes about his own experiences with his mental health and struggles in his songs. Themes of mental illness, being loved despite being human, and generally just being a person trying to get through this messy, cold world.

Yeah that's about goes for the constants.

Okay, so, depending on your music taste, I don't know how to quite recommend stuff. His newer album, In Case I Make It, is a lot more folksy and softer than his previous work. It still has that Will Wood flare, but just with less loud screaming matches between Will and an alto sax. His earliest albums (Everything is a Lot and Self-Ish) are more edgy and dark with those grungy and gravely vocals. The Normal Album is a middle ground.

I personally believe the best way to experience Will Wood is to listen to the albums, but for individual songs? Here's some ordered from softer to more intense.

Skeleton Appreciation Day (Bones), Everything is a Lot

When Somebody Needs You [Song], Camp Here & There

That's Enough, Let's Get You Home., In Case I Make It

White Noise, In Case I Make It

Venetian Blind Man, Camp Here & There

...well, better than the alternative, The Normal Album

Falling Up, In Case I Make It

Against the Kitchen Floor, In Case I Make It

The Main Character, In Case I Make It

Memento Mori, The Normal Album

Laplace's Angel (Hurt People? Hurt People!), The Normal Album

I/Me/Myself, The Normal Album

Marsha, Thankk You for the Dialects, but I Need You To Leave, The Normal Album

BlackBoxWarrior - OKULTRA, The Normal Album

Suburbia Overture, The Normal Album

The Song With Five Names, Self-Ish

Mr. Capgras, Self-Ish

6up 5oh Cop-Out (Pro/Con), Everything is a Lot

Dr. Sunshine is Dead, Self-Ish

Hand Me My Shovel, I'm Going In!, Self-Ish

Aaannnddd if we're giving song recommendations, I also highly, HIGHLY recommend checking out his live stuff. Not just his live albums (those are fantastic though), but live performances recorded of him. They range from in-studio and professionally done recordings to somebody with a phone. I love them.

Here are some performances I recommended for one reason or another.

The entire BBQ show, as it shows off Will's character a lot as well as being fairly charming and fun (also good music)

Marsha Live in the Studio

Mr. Capgras (this one's I think something he did with patreon people)

Mr. Capgras/White Knuckle Jerk (WFMU radio)

Yeah that's about everything off the top of my head. See ya.

[sleepingprinceoflucis]

Another dbd tier list but it's based on how much it would hurt to be wounded/killed by them

Pinhead

Professional tormentor. Would not fuck with him. Still haven't watched hellraiser but i don't fuck with someone who's existence is based on torture. Getting torn apart by chains WAS a real torture method, and i fear whatever other medieval shit he'd put me trough.

Pyramid head

Another good executioner/punisher. Also i think the impressive size of the weapon adds some 'shit my pants' factor. His blade is clearly dull and rusted which adds some heavy pain factor. Tetanus shots anyone?? 💕 hope so.

Hillbilly

He's fcking insane and he has a chainsaw. Would not fuck with him. He's higher than Leatherface because he's messy and unprofessional. He would butcher you up with the chainsaw, not effectively kill you. Which draws it out. Ouch. 10/10 hurties.

Leatherface

Chiansaws just look like they hurt like a bitch. Getting your meat blended just doesnt sound like a fun time. At least he would make your body into good soup. No wasting food. Also he's more used to this, so he can be more efficient and not necessarily draw your death out. He's generally not too ill-intended either so i doubt he would have any interest in especially torturing you. Still. Chainsaw is a bitch of a weapon. So he's up here.

Pig

Another professional tormentor. But. More psychological than anything tbh. She doesn't do a lot of the work herself. Her blade is tiny and ass. Eh.

Doctor

He would draw it out and i think that's the worse part. It's mental and physical torture. Idk if electricity hurts a lot, but i know getting clubbed with that metal chunk's gonna hurt a lot. Especially because it won't kill you right off the bat. He's a sadistic experimental fuck. Would 100% rather shoot myself in the head.

Hag

Getting torn appart with someone's bare hands seeing them eat my guts? No thanks. It's animalistic, untamed, there's no quick painless death. It's absolutely brutal. I don't think she has an interest in torture, it's just her. But still. It would be a terrifying way to go out.

Freddy

Sadistic fuck. I would just be angry to die at his hands tbh. He's a little bitch. I would be as angry as getting killed and teabagged in overwatch. The disrespect!! Urgh. Idk. His weapon would hurt, it looks kinda dirty but otherwise pretty sharp. Good cuts. Uhhh.. idk. Pretty good. Lots of mental torture.. yeah. Ouch. Idk.

Wraith

His weapon's dirty and clunky asf. Got three blades so it's a lil better than trapper.

Trapper

Dull, blunt, dirty chunk of scrap. Should jot even deserve to be considered a weapon. His bear traps would hurt if u got stuck ig idk. But his weapon? Ew.

Artist

Creepy claws. And of course the bird pecking. God. She's actually terrifying in that aspect. Coraline's mother lookin... but, she doesn't have peculiar interest in torture i don't think. So. Pretty cut and dry. Still. Birds hurt like a bitch.

Twins

Another rusted weapon. Uhh.. idk. Baby isn't very threatening. They exist. They'd hurt. Idk.

Blight

Another rusted weapon! But this time angy boi gets to wield it. He has it. Idk. I feel like he'd forget about it somehow. "oh! Right! I have this STICK!"

Clown

Getting your finger cut off? Idk how it feels but i actually don't think it's as horrible as it might sound. Heavy ass mental trauma for sure tho. Clown just scares me. His weapon is ok. It wouldnt be peculiarly painful or clean.

Legion

Inexperienced as fuck, weapons of questionable quality depending on who (Julie and Frank are Mid, Joey's blade looks clean and sharp asf, Susie... is actually fcking painful to LOOK at.). Their mori is just.. yeah. They dunno what they're doing. They'l stab you werever until you finally die. They're pretty simple minded. Keep stabbing til it stops moving. Ow. Would hurt like hell.

Trickster

This man gets off to screams of pain. He hurts. Kinda. I think he's also too stupid to actually keep the victim alive trough the torture. He'd hurt you like a bitch for a while then forget about your ass and turn around curious why you stopped bitching and realize "oh. Right. Blood loss." Bats are eh.. you'l just pass out. The knives though??? Ow.

Ghostface

He's not a professional or anything, but his blade is sharp, clean. He semi-knows how to go about this. No peculiar interest in torture, kinda just goes for the kill. Pretty good. He's a good rookie. He's more sadistic though so.

Nurse

I don't think she enjoys causing suffering. Still, that rusted bonesaw will not do good. She usually just strangles though so.. Idk how painful suffocation is, but ik that bonesaw will be. She would probably apologize at your corpse after so.. idk. Respectful asf, would feel honored to die by her hands.

Spirit

She's inexperienced and choppy, her blade is all fucked up and the shards would probably get all up in the cut and ohqkenf ow. You WOULD die pretty darn fast but ow. She has no peculiar interest in torture. Not much to say. Itl be painful, will sting like a bitch but won't last.

Plague

Inexperienced, blunt object.. not really good overall. But her disease would be a bitch to contract so there's that.. you would probably just pass out and die wich isn't bad. Or you get to live with the disease for a while before you die which is what bumps her up. Vomit is gross.

Michael myers

Michael's very efficient and quick so really it's not like your death will be drawn out too much. His knife's also very sharp and clean, so the cuts will be s m o o t h. But he's also extremely sadistic and DOES have an interest in torturing you. Depends on his mood ig.

Oni

He's a skilled samurai, and even tho the entity turned him into kind of a dumb dumb i trust his honorable skills are still in there. His Kanabo would hurt like hell, but if he uses his Odachi i think it could be done and over quickly. He probably keeps his blade sharp. No rust, not dull, wouldn't be a peculiarly harsh slice. Pretty good. Kind of a flip of the coin.

Huntress

She's a huntress, she's efficient. I trust her abilities to kill quickly and easily. If you don't make it difficult, your death won't be difficult. No interest in peculiarly torturing her victims. She does what she does and i respect the fuck out of it. Would be honores to die at her hands.

Demogorgon

Doggo. It doesn't have any interest in torturing you. It just wants sum food. Maybe it would fuck you up and toss you around a lil before it bites off your head but otherwise, clean, quick kill. Relatively painless. But it's unpredictable and might decide to fuck you up hard. It's a predator, it has means to do so.

Gunslinger

Gun. Idk. You would die pretty quick before he could have a proper shot at torturing you. He's kind of a one trick pony. His trick hurts like hell but once it's done it's done.

Nemesis

Uh idk. He's not especially torturous. He kinda just slash. He's a kinda clunky enemy in resident evil. Uhm.. put more soul into it big man.

Sadako

Heart attacks are boring asf. They aren't especially torturous. Best way to go out. Psychological trauma if you ever survive this bitch but honestly not a terrifying experience to go out on.

[ratsoh-writes]

for the matchup thingy lol–

personality: punny, smart (grade-wise. Socially imma dummy lol), creative, kind (or i try to be at least), stubborn (kinda). also i can be very, very joking when i'm in the right mood lol.

strengths: good at drawing/writing/creative. i'm good at defending my opinions/myself. uh also i try to research new things and learn a lot :p

weaknesses: i internalize things a lot and think people are mad at me way too much/ i tend to have a hard time showing emotions.

pet peeves: people who make fun of others/bully others for something they can't change. also people who steal my food- like no thanks this is mine.

odd habits: i carry this one stuffy around with me a lot- oh yea also when im listening to music and stuff i tend to move around alot in the way i'm visualizing.

hobbies: i like to draw/write and listen to music. also i read a lot and i also like to sow :)

no nos: misgendering or calling me my birth name (even if we're arguing like srsly that hurts no) and making fun of me (in a serious way. teasing is okay i like teasing lol).

extra: i can be lowkey messy at times. also im non-binary if that would mean anything to the boys.

hmm yours was also pretty tricky. I was stuck between three characters and had to make my sister pick a number between one and a hundred lol. Anyways, you've been matched with POP (dancetale sans)!

Pop is a joker. he’ll adore your goofy nature. He also likes your fire. Pop is attracted to those who have the courage to stand up for what they believe in. 

as for your pet peeves, pop is definitely a tease but he’s no bully. plus he’s also an open book. If you do something to upset pop, he’ll just let you know and would rather talk it out. He’s not the kind of guy to stew over things. Also he’s kind of a slob himself so he wont mind you being messy, but you two will wind up being slobs together. You have been warned. 

Dating pop includes:

ganging up on rhythm together and totally scaring the crud out of him. (don't worry, rhythm secretly likes the attention, It lets him unleash his inner drama queen)

lots of food experimentation. Pop has a dream. He is going to try every food truck in Ebott if its the last thing he does

Music sessions where you two just hunker down and listen to your favorite tunes, exchange albums, and maybe even play some pvp shooters.

later on in the relationship after you've unlocked his tragic backstory not really, he just needs to be comfortable with you for this, you’ll even get to be graced with watching him practice his dancing to your favorite songs. 

if you're curious, the other two I almost matched you with were classic sans and mutt

[lochsides]

evermore: Track-by-Track review

I didn't think I'd be writing another review for a Taylor Swift album so soon after folklore but here we are. Truthfully though, evermore feels more like a figment of my imagination than a real album, and as a result this album has been a grower for me. When Taylor said evemore would be the sister record to folklore, I was curious as to the distinguishable differences between the two, because Taylor wouldn't simply give us the same album twice. evermore is, strangely, both the wild younger sister that's more experimental and the wise older sister with a mature outlook on life. Where folklore was a product of isolation, evermore is a product of creativity and that can be felt in the music.

I’ve written my thoughts and theories on each song, and bolded my favourites, below the cut, if you’re interested. I also included my current ranking at the bottom.

Taylor has been very good at picking leading singles for the folklore/evermore era. willow is brilliantly catchy while maintaining the alternative folk sound that she established in folklore. Her vocals suit the song so well, especially on ‘follow’/“hollow” in the chorus. They pair so beautifully with the mesmerising production. The reason this song is one my favourites is purely because of the rhythm and the guitar. The lyrics are, for once, a bonus. As an entry point to evermore, willow does not ease the listener in, the song instead throws the listener in the deep end — which I feel was intentional, as Taylor said evermore was the product of wandering further into the folklorian woods.

champagne problems is easily my favourite song on this album. Storytelling is Taylor's biggest strength as a songwriter and I think this song is a achingly beautiful example of what an emotive storyteller Taylor is. It would be so difficult for me to pick a favourite lyric from this song but I love how she sets in train in the opening line, "you booked the night train for a reason, so you could sit there in this hurt / bustling crowds or silent sleepers, you're not sure which is worse." The accompaniment is gorgeous and the composition of the bridge is breathtaking. Every time the bridge plays I get chills.

gold rush was a grower for me. I'm still not a fan of the intro/outro but I enjoy the production in the rest of the song once the beat kicks in. I think it's one of the more experimental sounds on evermore but it's very catchy. I won't even talk about how the chorus called me out with "I don't like slow-motion, double vision in a rose blush, I don't like that falling feels like flying 'til the bone crush."

'tis the damn season is the non-holiday-holiday song that still has a classic sound and production. I know this song is Dorothea's perspective but I get a lot of illicit affairs parallels with this one as well: "don't call me baby" / "you could call me babe for the weekend", "what started in beautiful rooms ends with meetings in parking lots" / "the road not taken looks real good now, time flies, messy as the mud on your truck tires".

tolerate it is a hard song for me to review because I literally zone out every time I listen to it. I think it's my brain's way of protecting me from toxic relationship trauma 🙃 but it's another gut-punch track five, what else is new? I mean she literally said "now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life, drawing hearts in the byline, always taking up too much space or time," and broke my nervous system.

no body, no crime is the best country song Taylor has ever written, period. The sirens at the start, the storytelling, the way it sounds like an old-school murder-mystery movie. HAIM on the backing vocals were great, though I do wish they had at least a verse of their own. That's literally my only critique of this song. It's that good.

There's so much maturity in Taylor's outlook on happiness. I connect this song to her tarnished relationship Sc*tt/BMG and how she's happy after leaving but she was also happy during the time she was with them. I really enjoyed the simple addition of the piano and the way it built up to add depth to the production. Taylor's delivery of the line "no one teaches what to do when a good man hurts you and you know you hurt him too" really hits me.

dorothea is a really nostalgic, retro school-dance-vibe, kinda playful song with a personality, which I adore. The production is absolutely timeless. I woke up today with the chorus stuck in my head. I think "if you're ever tired of being known for who you know, you know, you'll always know me" is fun word play and I'm a nerd of that type of thing. (Side note: to me, this song feels very reminiscent of her friendship with Karlie Kloss, right down to the "selling makeup in magazines.")

coney island gives me desolate, abandoned theme park vibes. The simplicity of the production only enhances it. It's everything I could've hoped for in a song titled "coney island" and featuring The National. Matt Berninger's vocals are absolutely astounding. What does it say about me that my favourite aspect of this song is the feeling of despair laced into its bloodstream.

ivy is another favourite but what did I expect from a song filled to the brim with longing and mentioning the crescent moon? The instrumentation and her vocal styling is similar to willow. There are also lyrical parallels of "... your freezing hand, taking mine" / "I'm begging for you to take my hand" and "how's one to know I'd meet you where the spirit meets the bone" / "I never would've known from the look on your face" and she echoes both those sentiments in a different way after the respective bridges and I wonder if that's intentional. Knowing Taylor Swift, probably.

cowboy like me belongs in the center of a country/folk/slow blues Venn diagram. It's the perfect blend of the three genres. Marcus Mumford's back vocals sound so good with Taylor's. "We could be the way forward, and I know I'll pay for it" and "the skeletons in both our closets plotted hard to fuck this up" are great lyrics.

I'm not all about the way long story short stars but the song quickly settles into its skin. This is easily the most pop-sounding song on evermore but it's still somewhat experimental in comparison to Taylor's existing discography and I think it's cool that she can find space to experiment within a musical space that she has all but mastered. Say what you will but Taylor Swift knows how to make hits no matter the genre. The lyrics "he's passing by, rare as the glimmer of a comet in the sky and he feels like home" reminds me so much of Call It What You Want.

marjorie gave me chills on the very first listen when Taylor sings about how her grandmother left her backlogged dreams to her. I love that they used her grandmother's actual vocals in the background, that's a really heartwarming detail. This song comes with some really solid advice too. It just feels very personal. I love the way production builds on "what does didn't stay dead" right to the bridge, which is my favourite part of the song.

closure is easily the most experimental song on the album with that the scratch tape sound and those drums. I love the sheer pettiness in her tone and the lyric "don't treat me like some situation that needs to be handled" is brilliant. That said, this is probably my least favourite. I think it's a cool song but just not for me.

evermore has some of the most beautiful lyrics on the album. "I replay my footsteps on each stepping stone, trying to find the one where I went wrong" and "barefoot in the wildest winter" are some of my favourites. I'm not a big fan of the sudden shift in tempo on either end of the bridge but Justin Vernon's falsetto makes up for it. The production is otherwise beautiful.

Note that the bonus tracks are currently at the bottom because they have not been released yet.

[linipik]

I want to become a storyboard artist, and I was wondering if you had any advice for someone who’s about to go into college. Classes to take, things to avoid, how to get work experience, anything you wish someone would’ve told you going into it?

OH DEAR!i am glad you want to get into storyboard :’)You are starting and what I am telling you here is a broad view for your 3 years or so you are going to spend in college. I do not have a single idea what kind of program you are in, and each has their own variations and links to the industry ans stuff like that. Anyway!

Storyboard artists work with the composition, storytelling continuity and establish relationships between characters and assures the flow of the sequence. They balance “strong drawing skills with good knowledge of anatomy, staging, acting and the ability to think quickly” .All must come natural to the storyboard artists. and that is why you better try different types of stories, techniques and audiences, as well as studying composition and narration in finished products like movies, ads and TV shows.  

The  main issue is  that getting started with storyboards is not exactly easy, since there is not just one way to do storyboards, no 12 principles or specific rules and it can go from mainstream to completely experimental. Some projects will require reworking one scene several times or drawing into model and other will be great with roughs…

Your aims are to be adaptable because you never know where you are going to end up working or in what kind of projects…And when you are starting, you want to figure out what are your strengths and what you are not so good at. 

What kind of courses?

Life Drawing is a must, illustration and design is also good, i will say painting is great since it could helps a lot with color composition and of course, animation. From my experience, it is better if you know how animation works,so your boards wont be a mess for the animators and designers. Also to really understand your place in the whole process. 

Also, anything to do with visual storytelling, or storytelling in general, from children’s books to cinematography. 

There are many books that are amazing about cinematography and storytelling for animation. it is good to watch how others work, from the roughs and thumbnails, the internet is your friend to find this.

Learn your softwares, this comes with time and is not a No. 1 priority but in the long run, it is important.. For storyboarding it goes mostly to photoshop and storyboard pro (and sometimes tv paint, i’ ve seen it) . Even when some professionals may tell you that it is not that important, and that if it is a good board it doesn't matter, it does matter for studios and junior position jobs.

Have in mind that internalizing any of this takes time and practice, but it is worth it when you are boarding you want to be thinking if the framing is dramatic enough or the expression funny as you want it to be, not much about the drawing (but you still want it to be clear and good)

And do not be afraid to ask questions.  Many of the animators and storyboard artists are really happy to answer any questions about being part of the animation industry, and they are often more accessible through their own social media. 

things to avoid?

Not giving yourself time to learn the basics (in animation, in life drawing…in storytelling and in working on groups) 

 Avoiding feedback…if you want to imrpove, then this is the only way. Sometimes you are so much in your head that it never ends on the drawing :\

 Being  attached  to your drawings. Storyboards are a tool for planning. they are not supposed to be pretty (i absolutely love them but that is just my opinion..). And most importantly, while boarding you discard drawings, whole scenes A LOT of them. and that is perfectly okay it is all of the planning process.

taking any kind of feedback and criticism too personal. Kinda difficult BUT everyone is there to make the final thing better. If something can be better, then…you can make it better or you can learn to make it better. 

how to get job experience?

create a portfolio and talk to people. but do not exploit yourself

Tell your teachers and fellow classmates that you are looking for industry experience, and this one come in hand with being able to demonstrate it with your work. If they see you are a good part of the team, they will let you know if they see something available.

Remember that you start from the beginning (as revisionist and assistant ) and it is a great way to improve while working with other professionals AND to show them you are a person they want to work with. You do not have to start as a storyboard artist and that is okay too. There are many many ways to get your foot on the door. …i would say the most valuable thing for ANYONE working in animation is to be a good person. for people dealing with deadlines and last minute changes, you want to work with someone reliable and just plain nice.   

When you want to be a storyboard artist and your goal is to work at an industry level a big part of it is about working on teams and relying on other people’s  abilities to get the most of a project, big or small. and having a broad understanding of various parts of the project is an advantage so do not be afraid to net involved in other aspects of animation.

And finally, i would say a good tip is to find something that fuels your fire and practice with it and enjoy it. Not all will be perfect but you will learn about your own way of doing it. IMO  posting your work online is good, since you learn what form of storytelling is more effective and you start being okay with sharing your work, but take this with a grain of salt because the social media world  is messy and does not reflect your actual worth as an artist. Just if you find it fun to share your stuff, do it. We all love to see more art.Finally, and after a big wall of text I hope it is helpful, I will link you to my MA animation blog…because it has everything form my MA including my final reflections on the industry and portfolios for sboard.

The only way to become good at telling stories visually is by doing it. And screwing it some times, all is part of a process.

If you have any more questions, i’m here to help

Make mistakes.  Take feedback. Improve. 

[fxckinginsaneinthebrain]

!

SEND A “!” FOR OUR MUSES MARRIED LIFE (Accepting) - @thisismystcrm

Who was the one to propose:

Chloe was! She proposed in a really traditional, old-fashioned way; down on one knee after watching the sunset or something!

Who stressed more over wedding planning:

Hah, have you met Max? Chloe didn’t really care what happened or who was there, as long as they actually tied the knot.

Who decorated the house:

They both had a hand in it, to be honest. Chloe decorated their studio (which was set up on one side for Max’s photos, and the other half for Chloe’s drawings.

Who is more organized:

Chloe! She just prefers to work in an organized mess, while Max can’t work unless it’s organized, but keeps things messy. It’s a giant clusterfuck.

Who initiates bedroom fun:

At first it would be Max, I think. After the whole ‘Dark Room’ incident, I think Chloe would be nervous about pushing her too far or fast. But as things progress, it would even up a little.

Who suggested kids first:

Max! Chloe, once again, plays stuff by ear.

Who’s more dominant:

hahahaha it’s Chloe.

Who’s the cuddler:

They’ll both deny it, but they’re both cuddlers. Their favorite part of the day is chilling with a movie in the evening.

What’s their favorite non-sexual activity:

Chloe loves listening to Max play guitar. It’s cheesy as hell, and at first Max would get super embarrassed. But it’s something they both fell into loving.

Who kills the spiders:

Chloe! ‘Cept she doesn’t kill them, she just puts ‘em outside!

Who falls asleep first:

Generally? It tends to be at the same time. But during a movie? Max. Some things don’t change.

Who is louder?

in the dirty sense of the word? Max. Max 100%.

Who is more experimental?

They’re pretty vanilla, to be honest. Nothing too flashy or adventurous. Not after that one time they tried something from a porno Chloe watched, and both of them ended up with cricks in their backs for days.

Do they fuck or make love?

Make lurve most of the time. But if they’re having ‘angry make-up’ sex or one of them is stressed, they’ll fuck.

Who is more likely to be caught masturbating?

Chloe. How do you think the thing they tried was brought up in conversation?

Who comes first?

Max. Always Max. Except if it’s a one-sided thing, like birthdays. Then it’s the recipient.

Who is better at oral and who prefers it?

Chloe’s better at it; more experience. But they both really enjoy both giving and recieving. They see it as more of a team effort.

Who is more sensitive?

Max, bless her. I kinda have a hc that the first time she, uh, ‘finished’ so to speak, was before they’d even gotten to bottom-half stuff.

Who has the most patience?

Chloe. It took a long time for them to finally go that final step, and even then it was super slow and nervous, and wasn’t too great. She didn’t even get to ‘finish’ their first few times, as she was trying to keep Max as comfortable with things as possible and not pressure her into anything.

[tdrcycle09]

Mini Challenge #2 - No Need To Adjust Your TV Sets...

This mini had our girls twisting and turning with their makeups, designing their best optical illusion makeups! Let’s see how they did!

Analyse Thropic

For this illusion makeup mini, I did a low-poly makeup look made of graphic triangles and quadrilaterals. The shapes are arranged and colored to mimic the placement of a standard drag beat, but the non-blended nature of these shapes gives the look a sort of computer-generated feel.

Lila: When you said you were doing a low poly look, I was so excited because it’s such a fun aesthetic. Now, I do like how you’ve set it out, it’s really intriguing and the effort into even the most minute areas, like how the hair and ears are covered. It’s just that your white line spacing is really putting it off the perfect-o mark for me. If you used a really, *really* thin brush the finesse your white spacing, it would honestly have made it look more low poly, because it’s coming across as mosaic rather than low poly. Good job with this, however! I hope you come back to this look in the future since it’s such an original idea.

Gluttoni:  Anal! This is a very cool optical illusion and I like your take on the facial anatomy. Can't say it's the most innovative of them all but I can tell you are listening and learning so I can really ask for more.

Letha:  I quite like the idea here, Analyse, its very “Your internet connection ain’t shit, so here’s some 144p playback”. The placement of the shapes, as well as the colors, make sense when deconstructing a face. Where you lose me is the white lines. They make everything too stark and disjointed, instead of just low-poly. I think had the shapes been connected while still holding their crisp lines, it might have been more effective. But good job, nonetheless!

Toni:I think this is a really interesting concept and I like that you went outside you comfort zone! Clearly you know your base paint because this style of paint requires you to know where everything goes. I would have loved to see thinner lines between the shapes to really drive home that it was all one image that was in low poly, as well as adding a few more triangles to add a bit more of the feel to it, but over all this is well done!

Antonina: Hey darling! I like what you’ve done here, it’s a great base for a future look. It just doesn’t feel like something finished. I think using this and adding more drag details, like more eye makeup, lashes and a fuller upper lip is something you should explore in the future, because it really is a good start. I’m not getting a super strong illusion from this, but I love the colors you have used and even tho the lines on your face could be sharper, I think they look good right now as well. You keep surprising me, keep it up!

Avana Noir

Hello Judges and TDR community.  For this Mini I was inspired by surrealism art. So i decided to paint myself with three faces. Since surrealism if very out of this world and very imaginative. I really wanted to push what i  can create with a makeup brush. This was kind of challegning but I think I did a great job. I was also inspired by the makeup used by the Japanese Geisha, hence the white face and uses of pinks. I hope you enjoy this look! Thank you!   

Lila: On paper, and in execution, this is a great optical illusion and I hope you indulge with it a little bit more since it sticks to your aesthetic really well. For what it is, however, I wish you could’ve blended the Ghost In The Shell-like real face a lot more to show that the face is beneath the illusion of a split. I’m getting a Kim Chi vibe from this and I really think you could use this makeup in your look again, just as a whole white face rather than the split, but if you were to do this again with the split, I would concentrate on detailing the looks to appear more consistent with your features, because its looking a little messy. Overall, I do enjoy this, good submission, Mom!

Gluttoni:  I was actually really surprised with your submission in the best way possible. This was ambitious and quite a cool illusion. I think this is probably the cleanest I've seen your makeup so honestly keep on this track.

Letha: This is a really fun idea, Avana, and the creativity really shows through with this concept. The illusion works if I don’t look too closely at it, but the details up close sort of spoil it. It would be more effective if your lines were crisper, and had more highlights/contours on the faces you added, as well as the perimeter of the middle face, to make them really pop. But still, good job!

Toni:Oh she had to show me she wore her nails, okay i see you! I really like this! I think it was a smart optical and for your first time atempting it I think it’s really well done. I do wish the lines were cleaned up more so it was clear that it was a clear split of the two faces and so that there arent just these huge black lines going down your face. I so think that you could have used a bit on the fine tuning of the fake faces. But over all this is a really cool look and something I think you should redo to go out in!

Antonina: You were one of my personal favorites this week! I’m getting Picasso meets Studio Ghibli from this. I don’t have a problem with the messy lines in this, because it’s supposed to be artsy. I got dizzy looking at your submission, and that’s a good thing when it comes to optical illusions, right? The line’s could be darker though, and the wig looks a little to plastic-y. A really dark line around the white face, and maybe a black wig would take me all the way to Spirited Away, but I still love this as it is. 

Daddie Dearest

Let me first apologize for the quality of this submission. I was on very constricted time this week, and I hope the judges know the quality of my work is better than this. Anyway, my favorite part of drag is the transformation, so I chose a look that displayed both sides of Daddie in an interesting way. The drag side was heavily inspired by my lovely boy-girlfriend, Ellie Dee. For the boy side, I wanted it to look like someone took a hammer, smashed my face, and removed the pieces. Thanks judges!

Lila: I think makeup is one of your strongest assets, and I love your beat a lot because it’s so creative already with the element of your beard. However, I know this mini challenge has thrown half of you off, but you could’ve taken the crack to the Nth degree here. It would’ve been fun to see some sort of skin peeling illusion or something like (this) where the paper would rip off. Although there is an illusion here, I wish it was a little bit more than it is. Nevertheless, good job!

Gluttoni:  Yo Dad, I'm just going to be honest and say I was expecting just a tad more from you. You are clear one of the more advanced makeup artist in the competition so a take on something you've done the previous week disappoints me slightly. I'm going to hold that against you because I respect you as an artist and this evidently still good work.

Letha: Daddie! The makeup is BEAT as always, and I love the contrasting tones/colors. That being said, if I haven’t seen this exact look from you, I feel like I’ve seen similar, and while it’s good, it’s not really pushing the creative envelope. I don’t get a big sense of an optical illusion, but still, there’s no denying your skills, so good job!

Toni: I know this week was really rough on you because you had to scrap your first idea and then quickly make something new out of nothing so I want to give you points for that because I know you were in a panic. I like this a lot, is it the most exciting thing out there? no but Its solid. I think you could have gone all the way and maybe blacked out some chips where it looks like pieces of your face had fallen off kinda like a cracked doll. Over all I think this is a good submission for your situation. 

Antonina: Hola papi! This is very pretty, it’s a cool submission, but it’s not the best match for the challenge. But you already know that. I think this was just another chance for you to keep practicing your makeup. You look great, but it was not one of my favorite looks I’ve seen from you so far. The gray part looks a little random and rushed. Maybe if the parts where your real skin tone was showing was white or at least a lot lighter it would give it more dimension. Keep on pushing papi, you got a lot of stuff to show us I can tell. 

Dotte Com

Behold the face of pixel perfection! It was difficult to mine my crafting skills when it came to this challenge, but that didn’t stop me one 8-bit! There’s more than just drawing squares, since your 3D shape has to appear 2D. It was one direction that I enjoyed playing with and I feel like I rose to this cyber-occasion.

Lila: I LOVE this, and I expect to see you continuing this type of experimentation. This was a huge risk and it is up there with one of the more creative choices of this mini challenge. Two things (because I’m nitpicky) that you could’ve enhanced our digital experience with, the pixels could be a lot smaller in some places, your nose contour is looking a lot wider than usual and it could’ve been shaped just to make it more narrow. And, instead of the wavy hair, you could’ve treat us to more of a squared off headpiece or wig, just to tie in that digital look you were trying to serve. This illusion was really exciting to wait for and you did such a great job with it, none the less!

Gluttoni:  Dotte! I am so proud of you for this one! You really took the theme and ran the fuck away with this. Not only that  you definitely tied it into your own persona to really seal the deal. It's a little rough around the edges but I think got good grasp on different hues and saturation that I wouldn't expect from you. Keep blazing a path like this for yourself and I think you may find yourself in the top way more often. Being tenacious will get you everywhere in life.

Letha: This is a really cool idea, Dotte, and totally fitting for your aesthetic. I’m not totally feeling the hair here, as something shorter or maybe with a blunt bang might have carried the whole “cybernetic technomatic” type vibe a little more. Overall, the pixels are in cool places and seem to mimic a face (as well as down the neck yas thank you for doing that), I would appreciate cleaner lines though, as it appears muddy in places. I love how you took this mini as an opportunity to both experiment with your makeup skills, as well as expressing who Dotte is, so Halleloo to that!

Toni: Dotte I was worried for you with this that it wasn’t going to be enough but I really love this. I think its fun and just enough of an illusion to really be interesting to look at. I love that you paid attention to the challenge and did everything from shoulders up because that was asked of you and not many of your sisters took that chance. I think if you were to do this again it would be nice to slow down and really make those lines hard and crisp, mostly around the eyes. I really loved that, good job this week!

Antonina: I think this is the  best I’ve seen you look! The colors are perfect for your face! Of course you shouldn’t do pixel makeup every week,but I think you could really use parts of this in your “normal” makeup. The dedication alone of painting your chest is great. I know hair isn’t part of this challenge, but a small comment on that anyway. I love this hairdo, I just want some more volume on top of your head. Great work this week. 

Ebony Boss

For week 2 I told myself I was gonna step it up majorly. I feel as if my cracked porcelain doll really did that. I wanted to do an illusion that is not the most well known for being an illusion. I think the look is one of my best and really does make me look like a cracked porcelain doll.

Lila: While I agree that this is the best you’ve looked in a while, this is a little safe for what we’ve received for the challenge. I do think you have stepped in terms of bringing us a stronger beat than you’ve done in the past, but I think it’d be much more impactful if you chiseled your contour to a fine point to try and create that porcelain perfection most dolls have. Try to bring in your contour on your nose a little bit more to make it seem more narrow. I wish the elements had a lot more, like adding really thin cracks in different shades, a brown perhaps, just to compliment the harsher cracks. Overall, this is a good submission this mini!

Gluttoni:  My dear Ebony, I am glad I got to see you start and finish this look because I can easily differentiate the growth for the before and after. You took my advice for cleaning up your line and might I say I think the overall illusion benefited from that greatly. You have a very stoic face which I think would be softened if you were a little more expressive. I want you to look as personable as you actually are. The concept of this look is good and extra points for making it a whole look but do you think this the most inventive idea you could achieve. Push yourself darling.

Letha: You really are improving with every mug you do, Ebony, and that is evident with this look. The cracks have believable shapes to them, especially on the forehead, and some shading/highlighting would sell them even more. The nose contour is a tad muddy and doesn’t really make your nose look thinner. The cheek contour could also be moved up a bit, as it is basically on your jaw. The contour color threw me for a second, but it does make sense with the story you’re telling, but it is a bit muddy/patchy in places (the forehead, for instance). I wish the lips had a more “dolly” shape to them, but the mouth lines are cute. I will say this for taking mug pics- find your lens and find an expression. A wide-eyed doll expression could have helped sell this look, but you look a tad over it, so keep that in mind for the future! Strong work!

Toni: I said this to you before but I’ll say it again, I think this is the best you’ve looked ever to me. I think that you should take what you did here and apply it to your normal makeup. I do wish the lines were a bit more clean and sharp, as well as maybe being a bit more, for lack of a better term, polished and flawless like most dolls are if that make sense. I think if you spent more times on your eyes as well to give us that doll eye shape would sell this more. Also girl, where is your lash going? what is she doing? over all I am really proud of you!

Antonina: Hey babe! Great step up, I don’t even recognize you besides that nose contour that still needs work! The look is very cute though. To really make it an illusion, I would have wanted you to make your skin look like porcelain. A lot of shimmering highlight might do the trick. I see doll, I just wanted MORE doll. Take it over the top, the concept is cute but needs more work to really fool us you’re a cracked doll. Keep on pushing doll face!

Judah Kiss

Hi judges! So we originally talked and this mini was going to be late due to personal circumstances around my new job, and I was very upset about it. Woke up this morning at 7am and couldn’t sleep; so I got right to work to submit something.

For this mini, i chose to attempt to recreate Bearonce Knowes’ negative face makeup, with the purpose of makeup turning my face into ‘camera negative’. With more time and more blending I think it would have come out better, but the idea is there, and I’m very happy to have submitted something on time.

Lila: I see a drive in you that is surrounded in a lot of passion for this competition, so I wouldn’t be so hard on myself! Now, Although there are elements that are slightly askew and rushed, I do like this. It’s a nice play on an optical illusion in the sense that it’s more of a inversion - bezold illusive where you’d have to manipulate the image to see it’s opposite contour-highlighting. I think you’ve said it best in your description that if you did have a little more time, you’d have been able to perfect this makeup job. Nevertheless, great job, I hope to see you come back to this idea and perfect it in the future because its a fun little makeup you’ve created!

Gluttoni: Judah, girl.... This is probably the opposite of what I expected from you. I know you have a keen eye for detail and this keep of makes me want to retract that idea I have of you. The idea itself it's definitely on par with the creative force that I know you to be but the execution leaves something to be desired. I think your proportions need to flesh out sometime during the competition.

Letha: This is such a cool look, Judah, and even though it is a replica of a look someone else did, it’s very creative.  I do agree that some more time on blending would have served you well, as well as having more time to make crisper lines. More work around the eyes, and perhaps some white lashes would also have been a really neat addition. I do think the bare neck reads as stark against the grayscale face and the dark shirt, so either painting it black or some sort of gray would have helped. All in all, strong work, Judah!

Toni: I’m glad you were able to get on in time and I see the clear influence. I do like this and think for your first attempt at it that it was done well but due to rushing there are issues with it that really shatter the illusion. I think if you had more time to slow down and focus on blending and making sure it was one flawless transition from dark to light then it would be a really amazing look! Good job!

Antonina: I didn’t need to read your explanation to understand your concept. It’s very obvious, and I like that. It’s a good thing that you have references and tries new things. I know your lines and blending is normally much more clean than this, so I hope stress won’t be your downfall in this competition. I see creativity and passion, so I hope you will have time to really perfect your next submission.I know you’ve got what it takes.

Klinker

I'm the Russian Window. The ruined country post war represented by Windows with their flag's color. 

Lila: I’m gonna be honest, I don’t see much of an optical illusion with this makeup. It’s more mondrian artsy fartsy than a head being taken off the body or an eye socket being pulled all the way down to the chin. With your makeup, try to set it so that it isn’t shiny with translucent powder, or even baby powder for that matter. I wish you gave this a little bit more dimension as well as the flat colours could’ve had that Phi Phi O’Hara look to them. Overall, its an alright submission.

Gluttoni: *Gluttoni’s Critiques will be edited in later, she apologises in advance!*

Letha: Heya, Klinker! This look makes for a cool photograph, but I’m not really getting “optical illusion”. Part of optical illusion is tricking the eye to seeing something that isnt really there, and the best way to sort of “cheat” new shapes is to have either a totally matte surface, or to have shine in very specific areas. With this paint, the colors aren’t “set”, so your skin sort of shines and the illusion is betrayed by the real shapes that are there. I would suggest powdering to make it more believable, but good job, nonetheless! 

Toni: Well dear I can’t say im too excited about this submission because it seems instead of doing an optical illusion you decided to give us a bit more of an art movement, something very “some body that I use to know”. that aside im glad you went out of your comfort zone but for next time you do this make sure you set your makeup so you dont look so dewy and make sure to have very clean and very sharp lines like an actual mosaic would have.

Antonina: As art photographs, I think this is really cool. As submission for this challenge, not so much. I don’t know how to critique this really, because I like it for all the wrong reasons. The photos are strong and feels almost political for some reason? You are so unexpected, and I love that, but for the second time in a row I can’t really connect your submission to the challenge. Don’t waste this chance to grow, because I see a lot of good in you that I want to see more of. 

Lexi Lamour

Well would you believe this shit?! I woke up from a well deserved nap after results were posted Monday and when I went to roll over and get comfortable my body moved....but my head didn't!!! When I went to reach for my head I found that it was detached from my body! In a PANIC I picked it up and ran to the mirror only to find out that my fear was true! I came to get my phone only to find a message from that witch bitch, Analyse! She was NOT happy about coming 2nd in the main for week one and while still in her witchy look cast a spell on me to sever my head! Only thing is there are 2 things that worked in my favor. 1) She got the spell wrong.....and 2) I don't have a soul....just a dark empty void of a shell. At first I was shocked, but then I decided I still looked good. I guess things could be worse!  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯Hi, Judges! I knew what I wanted to do as soon as I saw what the mini challenge was. This was a fun bit of makeup that I've always wanted to try and see how it looked. I really enjoyed doing it and taking a multitude of different pics. I couldn't choose which ones to do, so I picked 2 that fit in with the first part of my description. Now....can you tell Analyse to fix me.....before I throw my head at her!!!!!!

Lila: I am honestly happy with this. No, it’s not a full face of makeup, but it’s definitely an optical illusion that I was expecting to see. It would’ve been fun to see you in some face makeup, even if it was just like a little beat on, it would’ve been funny to even have some sort of like Toni face mask realness, like you were in the spa chair getting your facial done. Take care with how you draw the hollow part of the neck, I would’ve love to have seen some reds or whatever your drag character oozes inside, even if you stuck Lisa Frank stickers all over the inside area I wouldn’t have been mad! Nevertheless, I’m happy that you went down this route, and I like this submission a lot!

Gluttoni: *Gluttoni’s Critiques will be edited in later, she apologises in advance!*

Letha: Now THIS is an optical illusion! Even if I hadn’t read your explanation it would have made sense, which is always a plus. I’m guessing the “curse” aspect is why it’s such a clean cut, but I still think adding some things like a trachea or some arteries (not gore, just a cross-section) might have helped sell the illusion a bit more, as right now it’s just sort of a patchy gray. I do wish there was a little more going on on the face, even like a sleeping mask because you “just woke up”. Still, this is a great job, and you really sold it!

Toni: This is an illusion! I really am shocked by this because this is so cool and at first i was like “what the fuck?”. I would have loved if you had done more thought, because it is a shoulders up it does seem a bit bare, even a light paint would have added something to this submission. It was smart to ahve a balck back ground that way it would make sense to have the black in your neck. Over all this is a really well done illusion. 

Antonina: Hi Lexi! I’m gonna be honest....I don’t see it. Maybe I’m just stupid lol. The disconnected head is a good idea though. Without any face makeup, the neck is the only thing to look at, and then it looks a little weak. Maybe I’m just a little spoiled with your last main challenge submission. The top part of the neck makeup where it’s really black looks really cool though. The idea is good, it’s exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for. The end results just didn’t match my expectations because I know how fierce you are. 

Marcella Fox

Hello judges! Let me introduce you to my great Aunt Hortense - she was a model back in the 1980s, known for her high cheekbones and striking gaze. She felt out of the public eye after a scandal involving a grapefruit, and since then has kept a low profile. The menopause has been rather unkind to her, resulting in a more-than-barely-noticeable moustache and, as you can see, she is still recovering from her recent rhinoplasty procedure. Still though, she never steps out of the house without a face full of make-up - I’m sure you can all agree she still looks glamorous! I had a lot of fun with this mini challenge! I immediately thought of doing an upside-down illusion, and I was inspired by this cyclops I saw while googling ideas. I made an eye to put in my mouth, turned my actual eyes into giant nostrils, and hid my real nostrils with a plaster/bandaid. My eyebrows became a moustache, and I drew a giant pair of lips on my forehead. I wrapped a scarf around my head to look like, well, a scarf :p And held some hair underneath my chin to complete this fab 80’s look :]

Lila: SHOCKED. GAGGED. PULLED THE PAG. Marcella Fox, this is friggin’ CRAZY and I love it. The fact that some people won’t be able to establish you’re upside down and your eyeball is your mouth opened, I keep having to look back and do double takes because it’s SO interesting. I only noticed that you were upside down when I saw your hand holding the wig, and I’m just a sporadic mess because there’s no words to describe how you hit the nail on the head for me this challenge. One thing, and it’s a little nitpick, is if you had some sort of stand or piece of fabric tacked to your headwrap so that it looks like your character has a body, but like, honestly, the tiniest nitpick isn’t gonna take away how much I am impressed by this look. Great submission, Marcie!

Gluttoni: *Gluttoni’s Critiques will be edited in later, she apologises in advance!*

Letha: Up until this very moment, Toni had always been my favorite Cyclops from the 80′s. But NO LONGER, Marcella, it’s your Aunt Hortense! You managed to brilliantly combine camp/comedy with technique and the result is honestly so amazing. The lines are great and make sense, and the highlighting on the lips is so good. Your workarounds for hiding your natural features are also quite clever (though i would have suggested a bit more dramatic of a bandage for the rhinoplasty, as the beige of the current one gets a little lost in the shuffle of the face). These are honestly just nitpicks though, because I am still in AWE of this piece. Amazing job, Marcella!

Toni: YOU COME INTO MY HOUSE? AND MAKE ME LOOK AT THIS MONSTER?? I’m shocked, gagged, disgusted, horrified and I love every bit of it! This makes me so freaking uncomfortable to look at but in the best was possible. I think this holds truest to what a makeup illusion should be because this is so hard for my brain to process. If you wore this look out youd get tipped no question. Just make sure to have those really clean lines so that everything looks a bit more realistic, but over all im SHOOK BITCH.

Antonina: Wow! This is like a challenge: “How many faces can you find?”. I get so much backstory just by looking at your pictures, and to read your description was a joy. Keep taking every chance to be funny! The creature you created is so interesting and I can’t stop staring at it! I honestly don’t know what to say more than you did such a great job. 

Paprika

My makeup for the mini was inspired by 80s Patrick Nagel, in the way that he drew the features of so many of the women in his prints and the color scheme he used, as well as (obviously) miss Kim Chi. I love drawing on my face and doing creative mugs so for the opitcal illusion challenge I wanted to play off of that and BECOME a drawing.

Lila: You are so pretty and no matter what you do, optical illusion or normal face, you’re always gonna make me jealous. I would consider this an optical illusion because I’ve seen a lot of people try this with the Marilyn Monroe tutorials and stuff, so I’m pleased to see you go down this route! You look like a CD cover for an indie music band which I enjoy. I wish the black was a little more black than grey. I’m guessing you used either a black face paint or eyeliner, so to get that pure black just set the area with some eyeshadow of the same colour. However, great submission this week, Paps!

Gluttoni: *Gluttoni’s Critiques will be edited in later, she apologises in advance!*

Letha: This is a very cool look, Paprika, and beautiful as well. The colors are simple but the effect is still striking. I would suggest better lighting (I’m guessing that’s a window to your right, try facing it so the tone is more even all over your face) as well as a better backdrop, even hanging up a black sheet could work. I like the shapes of the face a lot, but I would recommend setting the black with shadow to help make it as opaque as possible. The hair is brown instead of black, which is fair if that’s all you have, but having a more solid (less flyaway) hairstyle would match this look I think. Overall, great job, Pappy!

Toni: As someone who has Nagels art hanging all over her drag room i am so glad to see you do something like this! I really think this is striking and true to the art style. I don’t think this is what would be considered a standard illusion but the way you did it really sells it for me. I think if you really darkened thosse shadows and cleaned up your lines it would be so amazing. Good work this week babe!

Antonina: I really like this. I wanna see a video of you in this look reading poetry in french. It looks really good, there are some areas that could use some more work though. For example, the crease lines are very different from eachother. If you’re gonna do this again, make the dark parts darker and maybe some cool collar bone shadows? I think you’re on the right track, keep it up. 

Phoebe St. Jefferson

For my mini I was really anxious about this, because make up is for sure one of my insecurities in drag. Despite this i chose to do something really ambitious and yolo my way through this. I decided to turn myself into a snake/reptile type creature, but also blend my hand into my face. For this I followed the example of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sekYblpNDAo But I also tried to make it a little more cartoony, something fun that will actually look like my kind of style. For the make up I primed, sketched out where the mouth was with clown white, then darkened the lines with a cheap eyeliner pencil. For the color of the snake I went in with clown white mixed in with a little black eyeshadow. The hardest part of this challenge was taking a picture where all the lines matched up. Anyways enough of me rambling. Hope u enjoy boos xoxoxoxo.

Lila: WHAT? Scared of makeup my ass! This is by far it’s one of the more creative submissions we received! I see an optical illusion in this, honestly. It must be a trend to have snakes on this cycle, so I cant wait to see who does a snake for the main challenge. One thing to watch is your positioning with this type of optical illusion. I can see a small shed of skin at the bow of your thumb and index finger, and you could’ve colour matched your hoodie and background to try and make it pop a lot more. Otherwise, great submission, Phoebs!

Gluttoni: *Gluttoni’s Critiques will be edited in later, she apologises in advance!*

Letha: This look is honestly incredible, Phoebe! It’s very creative, and you went outside the box by incorporating/camouflaging your hand into the illusion! Are the lines perfect and crisp? Not entirely, but the effect is still there. I would appreciate a bit more detail on the mouth itself, as it reads more of a flat pink, but it’s still really cool. One way I could see this look being elevated would be to have had the hand painted as a CLOSED mouth with maybe the tongue flicking out, then lowering your hand to reveal the open mouth, but I can understand the difficulty of trying to pull that off lol. You should be very proud of yourself, Phoebe, and I hope this mini helps you with your makeup insecurity, because from what I see, you can do great work!

Toni: Honestly for your level of makeup skills this is amazing and I’m so glad you went down this route and took my suggestions. I would make sure to pay attention to where you are taking your pictures and their position because they can alter how its viewed and I think if you had the opportunity to take it against a solid background it would have made this more striking but I really love this over all!

Antonina: Thanks for the nightmares Phoebs!! This creature is scary af lol. This is one of the most memorable submissions we got this weak! That paint must have taken you quite some time to do! If you want to do this look again, get some snake eye lenses to get the full fantasy, but for a week 2 mini challenge of TDR I think you’ve shown a lot of dedication already. All the blacks could be darker, but most imporantly around your eyes. It looks a little sloppy. But hey, whatever, this is a great sssssssssssubmission. 

Sugar Monroe

For this “optical illusion” mini, I was inspired buy a lot of color blocking makeup I saw and also stained glass? Idk. This is what I came up with. Lol

Lila: When I opened up the submissions, I got a little bit of an Indiah Ferrah / Phoenix 1st Episode Workroom vibe when I saw some of the other girls doing a similar look to what you’ve done this mini. While the whole mondrian-mosaic fantasy is kind of the go-to illusion, it’s not really optical, or for that matter original. a spin on this could’ve been following the natural contours of your face with the shapes or even doing your contours with the black lines and a blending of all the colours. It just doesn’t scream illusive to me. With your colours, try to add a darker and a lighter hue too, just to make them seem 3-D. Overall, this was an alright submission.

Gluttoni: *Gluttoni’s Critiques will be edited in later, she apologises in advance!*

Letha: While I do think the colors are very refreshing and vibrant, a lot of the critiques I had for Klinker apply here, Sugar. The black lines are generally strong and not muddy, but setting the areas with a corresponding powder (or even a translucent color all over) would have sold an illusion more. You lose opacity in some place, the white/purple most noticeably, but most of the areas pop quite nicely. I feel like the illusion aspect of the challenge could have been executed better, but I do enjoy the look you made. Solid work.

Toni:I know you had some troubles with this mini but i do wish you had worked more with the judges to find something you were able to do ebcause this is much less of an illusion and more just kinda an art style makeup if thake makes sense. Be careful on that babe. But I do want to give you props for going out side of your normal paint, if you were to do this again I’d say think out those black lines so that you can have more color showing as well as adding more shapes. Good luck this week love!

Antonina: The red and the pink looks really bright and good, but what’s going on with the purple on your forehead? All the other colors looks good, but you should have filled in the purple a lot more. It’s not my favorite submission this week, but that doesn’t mean you look  bad, it’s cute. I just wasn’t surprised by it. I think you did a good job for what it is, but I wanted more of a concept. Also, a little more color on the lips wouldn’t hurt. I believe in you Sugar, surprise us next time! This is alright, but give us more!