#making merch design is scary actually

[abbeyofcyn]

Sketching some potentional merch designs maybe :3c

[faunandfloraas]

okay but following rockstar which had (in my opinion) some of the best and coolest concept pictures with the magic school and toy world stuff which, again in my opinion, are some of the most aesthetically displeasing is so 😭

[cyberspaceoddity]

Trying to get into new Internet horror stuff kinda sucks and I absolutely think it's linked to the way certain horror franchises directly interact with younger audiences one way or another

[mikeystrawberry]

Today is Dungeons & Daddies’s 5th Anniversary!

I haven’t been listening for nearly that long but the podcast and all its characters means a lot to me. Happy Anniversary!!!

Throwing the cropped sections under the cut because there’s a lot of stuff going on and I know Tumblr likes to throw half the pixel quality out the window. And also so I can ramble a bit about this piece!!!

This piece has been months in the making, possibly an entire year. And by that I mean I’ve had a sketch of the comp scribbled on my whiteboard for ages because I wanted to save this specifically for 5th anni art. Now onto design stuff!

(First off a random thought: I really love how the garlic knot came out, I kind of want it as an enamel pin.)

I knew I wanted to make this a stained glass piece since the beginning, but I was also going to add flowers at one point but quickly dropped the idea. It felt like too much and I also didn’t want to fuss over flower language assignments for everyone. I was also going to add Doodler tentacles, but also dropped that idea pretty early. Kind of on accident, right at the end, I figured out how to make it even more stained glass-like but taking a duplicated lineart underneath the regular layer and turning the brightness all the way down, then setting it to overlay and adding a guassian blur. It’s very subtle but it adds that tiny bit of depth that makes it look more real. As for shading on the lineart/gold, I tried adding more highlight on the characters who died but once I evened everything out it wasn’t as noticeable anymore so I’m throwing that thought here so the attempt at least known lol.

The order of characters only changed a little bit from my original comp, I flipped the Wilsons and the Oaks so the rainbow could work. As for the anchors, specifically in season 2, I lined them up to the teens since the season 1 anchors lined up with each dad:

Tony —> Scary: his death was the beginning of Scary’s betrayal arc and also Willy killed him.

Guitar Pick —> Taylor: it’s not really aligned with Taylor at all, but the anchor was with Glenn so I put it next to his blunt.

Scroll —> Normal: was only because it was the last left to give him, but there’s the whole scene of him and Hermie in the Green Room so it still works!

Garlic Knot —> Link: one of two that he broke, but the more significant of the two with him telling Grant he never wants to see him again.

Small notes on the season 1 anchors: I put the layer of mold in the overnight oats but you can’t really tell with the overlay. And to make the supper bowl more interesting I added the fantasy sodas mix they dumped into it. The lure of actually drawn before so I just traced my own art lol.

As for the other smaller triangles, it took me a bit to figure out what I wanted to put there. I didn’t even think of adding the vehicles until two days ago but I’m so glad I did. I don’t really have my own take on the mascot version of the Doodler (yet?) so I borrowed the design from one of the stickers in their merch shop. Teeny was terrifying as just a front facing head so I made him cute again.

In the outer circles, I put what I felt was the most significant quotes for each family. I really wanted to use “It’s okay to be angry, it’s not okay to be cruel” but it was just a little too long.

That’s all I can think of! If you read all the way through, thank you for indulging me in my excitement to gush over this piece.

[c0rps3partybrainr0t]

Corpse Party: Restitched AU

Yuka Mochida!

I gave myself some rules for this AU as to not mess with the story too much- just to kinda Un-Ick the characters a bit. Basically they keep a good amount of their traits just making them more I guess.. 3d? Idk I tried my best.

More indepth rambling under the cut

Yuka Mochida

Design Notes

-Did research on Junior Highschool attire for Japan, The dress she wears normally is actually meant for Elementary. So I switched it out, I decided to steal the neck shoulder thing from her Rebuilt Design, it's kinda like some weird amalgamation of the normal Sailor suit thing.

-Since she has gone home already, you would think she would have gotten a jacket or something to bring the umbrella right? Decided that the Jacket was a gift from Satoshi, it's Merch from "Bad Evil Bunny" and has a Decal on the back.

-They rabbit on her headband is also a merch piece from "Bad Evil Bunny". Satsuki has a matching Patch that's on her uniform skirt!

Personality Notes

-Yuka Though being 14 has a more childish air to her. She often takes a liking to things that are geared towards younger children. Stuffed animals, toys, cartoons/anime. Often waking up early in the morning on weekends to catch an episode of pokemon or Tokyo mew mew while eating breakfast.

-She takes a liking to Stationary, More cutesy items like Pusheen and pokemon pens, pencils, notebooks, sticky notes, and pencases.

-She is introverted like straight up "Fuck new people", For like the first semester of Middle school people thought she was Mute because she never talked to anyone, that was till Her and Satsuki met and bonded over a shared interest of "Bad Evil Bunny". If you where to ask anyone else, they would say Yuka was an absolute Hermit but Satsuki would say otherwise. She'd say she would be the most energetic person ever.

-She has an horrible fear of Larger dogs, she can deal with smaller breeds such as the Shiba Inu but anything bigger and she'll be avoiding it like the plague.

-She really likes oversized and baggy clothing, her uniform is a bit larger so it can hang over her hands. Has a tendency to steal Satoshi's hoodie's or jackets sometimes because of that.

-She is the type of student that is always either sleeping, doodling, or daydreaming during class and somehow still has straight As

Relationship notes

Satoshi: Older brother! And older brother only- she loves him a lot but often gets annoyed when he forgets things and she has to bring it to him. She often refers to him as Toshi or Shi-Shi when they are at home.

Naomi: Sees her as an Older sister since she's been around since Yuka was born. Much like Satoshi, Naomi has a nickname as well. Usually it's Mimi. Yuka may or may not use Naomi as a way to get sweets every now and again whenever she can't get Satoshi to get her any.

Satsuki: BFF in and out of school, often drags Satsuki along to hang out with her and Satoshi's Freinds. She questions where the fuck she keeps her infinite supply of Potato chips.

Seiko: Finds her weird with some of the stuff she dose to Naomi and Satoshi, but when it's just Yuka and her they have a pretty nice time since Sekio's Mother hen instincts kick in.

Kishinuma: They bicker alot- like their love language towards each other is just pure aggression, they throw snide remarks at each other 24/7. But when it comes down to it Kishinuma would put his life on the line for Yuka

Mayu: Became real good Freinds after learning of their shared love of cutesy things, They trade Pokemon cards togeather and have so cosplayed togeather

Morishige: He creeps her out, more so because of his blank stare and indifferent personality to anyone that isn't Mayu.

Ayumi: Finds her kinda scary, she's sat in on some of her scary stories and they are usually too much for her. She dose like her candles though.

Ms. Yui: has only really met her once or twice so there is no real connection until the prank they played on Satoshi n Co at the begining of corpse party

[cerealforkart]

The third round of dress up dolls take us up to date!

Design notes under the cut

[part 1] [part 2]

Lincoln

* A fun fact about Lincoln’s dinner party look is that you’re never going to see any part of it again because it got ruined by Tony Pepperoni’s blood! He threw it all out

* Lincoln has entered his depression sweatpants era. Tragic. You’ll also notice that both he and Scary stop wearing their friendship bracelets at this point

* I’ve got an extra bullet point so I’ll just talk about my general style guidelines for designing outfits for each of the teens here (excluding Papa John’s/Black Parade looks because Papa John’s they were all given uniforms and Black Parade they were all trying to fit in rather than dress in their own styles) Link’s clothes are obviously sporty, prioritizing comfort and ease of movement over style. Given the choice he would wear his soccer uniform, but he doesn’t really have that choice anymore

Scary

* Maybe the jacket or skirt for Scary’s dinner party look could come back someday, but the shirt got ruined when Link shoved her with his bloody hands so we probably won’t see it again unless she wants to upset him (which is possible lol)

* I love my Scary’s most recent outfit. I wanted to completely change her silhouette, which meant the dress and a big coat, and most notably the braid sorta reminds me of a scorpion tail, just ignore how her hair grows a couple inches to make it work

* Scary’s usual style is obviously dark colours, black, greys, purples, etc. and in the past I liked to keep to very segmented outfits, usually a sorta baggy t-shirt tucked into pants or a skirt, but as mentioned above, I wanted to completely mix up the silhouette, hence the big coat and single piece dress

Normal

* Normal’s been getting back into the Teen High spirit, he isn’t wearing the mascot suit again, but a Teen High hoodie is fair game

* Will’s mentioned Normal’s time at Summer camp a couple times now, so I thought a tie-dye camp shirt would be fitting in this time as he’s trying so hard to play councillor for his friends

* In contrast to Scary, Normal gravitates towards bright colours, and like Link, style is not a priority. I like to put Normal in clothes promoting his interests or things he cares about ie. Teen High hoodie, camp t-shirt, he’s probably got some Swallows Ice Cream merch I’ll put him in at some point

Taylor

* Didn’t Taylor lose that jacket on Earth? Yes, but like a good anime protagonist, he knows the value of iconic costume pieces and has seven of the exact same jacket

* I actually really love Taylor’s little coveralls with all the pockets. I sure would love to draw it. You might also notice that his glasses were briefly fixed upon returning home, but they broke again when Link kicked him in the face through the portal to Hell

* The jacket is a must for Taylor, both because I like it and because it’s his iconic anime protagonist costume. Keeping in line with Taylor’s survivalist thing, he usually sticks to earthy colours, with the exception being the bright yellow shoes which are so colourful to contrast with all the browns and greens. He also probably doesn’t own a shirt that doesn’t have an anime on it

Hermie

* No Hermie fit for the dinner party, he was busy

* I knew I wanted Hermie to wear the mismatched suspenders with one being Mr. Freeze’s ice theme and one being Poison Ivy’s plant theme because he got those characters at the same time in the Undergrove, the rest of the outfit fell into place around that

* Hermie’s style is overdressed nerd attire. Suits, vests, suspenders, I’ve never put him in a shirt that doesn’t have buttons, etc. tbh it’s the kind of outfit pieces that if I was back in highschool and saw a real teenage highschool boy wearing, I would start praying he doesn’t try to talk to me, but then it turns out he’s not wearing a blazer to school because he’s a wannabe business major, he’s just a Joker cosplayer! And that’s definitely worse.

[everysongineverykey]

see the first thing so many mascot horror games get wrong is having the monsters based on toys look exactly like the toys they're based on (looking at you po/ppy play/time chapter 2) with barely any differences so they just look like plastic toys. and obviously this is often because the developers really want to sell merch of these things so they make them as toy-like as possible. and it's super annoying.

but the SECOND thing a lot of mascot horror games get wrong, and the reason pop/py play/time chapter 3 isn't quite as interesting to me as it could be, is the inverse- making a scary monster based on a toy, and then showing the original toy and having THAT be fucking terrifying too because it's so close to the monster's design. like, i look at cat/nap and i think okay, functionally scary design. but then i look at the original smiling critters toys and i think, there's no way a majority of american kids had the guts to sleep with those things in their arms. i mean, LOOK at the things. they show you what's supposed to be an actual cartoon promo for the catn/ap toy that was aired and shown to children in the beginning of the chapter, and. i'm sorry but none of those things are going to be america's next favourite toy. sure there will BE kids who like them but the majority will absolutely be fucking terrified of them. and it's not like parents will mostly be like yeah sure my kid'll love this fucking face staring at him all night. the gaping mouth. the empty eyes. it's cartoonishly frightening. the very idea that enough people bought those toys for the nightmares to become a subject discussed on national news is hilarious to me. find a happy medium, guys.

[kenobster]

can you explain the appeal of these ship polls to me?

genuinely asking bc i really don’t get why they happen so often or why people take them seriously. it feels like all they do is breed conflict.

what makes everyone feel so strongly about the winners, especially if it doesn’t actually represent the true popularity of the ship? (not that popularity matters bc if it’s fun then it’s fun and everyone is entitled to their feelings and opinions)

not mad or trying to be mean, i genuinely want to understand bc im bad with social cues and at reading people. what is it about them that you like? <3

so like this is actually super funny to me lol because everything you just described has been EXACTLY how I feel about sports (especially regarding American football fans in the United States). I've actually joked a couple times already about how (thanks to this poll) I finally understand what the big deal about the Superbowl is. In fact, over the last week, I've felt a kinship with overworked cashiers who use their fifteen-minute breaks to check the score throughout the day. Every time one of the previous polls taken an unexpected swerve, please picture me jumping up and down and hollering at my computer like I'm some middle-aged white dad yelling at some referee. 😆

My state has two college football teams, both with avid fanbases, and people get SO up-in-arms about it. Even after finding out I have no interest in sports, people have threatened to commit bodily harm against me if they ever catch me wearing merch of the wrong side's team. To be honest, I'm with you — I've always found that kind of attitude to be super aggressive and needlessly rude. Unfortunately.... 😖(insert my walk of shame lol) I have recently acquired an understanding of the psychology behind it....

In other words, I think your confusion is very similar to my confusion about sports. Sports fans, especially in my state, always seem like they would really consider it a dealbreaker if I wear the wrong merch or that they would really punch me in the face if I show support for the wrong team (which does happen to people at some sports games, but I think it's a minority of sports fans who would ever do that). Most of the time, if you get upset by jokes like that, the other person will drop the act and reassure you. But sports fans will never admit they're kidding. 🙄

Anyway, with that context, I think you first must untangle the phrase "people take [shipping polls] so seriously." The truth is that we're not taking it seriously, but, like sports fans, our humor and social cues are probably difficult to read. Especially for someone not "in on the joke," we might look like we're all upset and riled up. We might say things that sound serious and aggressive. But inwardly, we're actually all laughing about it. None of us really care about the results, we're just here to have a good time playfully arguing our sides.

You're probably still wondering why anyone would find enjoyment out of this, so I think it will help if you re-contextualize it into a framework more familiar... Why do people enjoy roller coasters when the purpose of a roller coaster is to trigger your body into a fight-flight response? Why do people watch horror movies or go into haunted houses when the purpose of them is to scare the shit out of people? Why do people enjoy watching or listening to true crime drama when the stories showcase the most barbaric and cruel forms of human nature? Why do people read AITA threads on Reddit, even though they often depict the wildest examples of abuse/toxicity/etc. in human relationships?

It's because all of those examples allow a person to experience stress/terror/anger/etc. in a way that is safe. Roller coasters don't actually kill you. Horror movies have a pause button. Scary things in haunted houses are the work of prop designers and actors. True crime media and AITA threads involve stories that are happening to other people, not you. Similarly, in shipping polls, I think people enjoy having a safe way to channel their feelings about fandom rivalries in a way that is mostly harmless.

Whatever the reason for our enjoyment, however, I think once you realize that none of us actually care about the results, everything else starts to click into place. But here's some answers to your other questions:

Why do we care about the results when they're never accurate? Because we never cared about the results in the first place, hahaha. We care about what's funny. We care about what makes for the juiciest drama. (I mean, think of how funny it was when that final bracket on the Best Star Wars Character poll resulted in victory for Sebulba instead of Obi-Wan! Lmao!) In short, accuracy is boring. Bribing, cheating, and begging in order to skew results is hilarious.

Why are we so mean and hostile to each other? Because we're not actually being mean and hostile to each other.* We're teasing each other. The same way as two best friends might tease each other (example from one friend to another that I literally saw this morning: "oh my god you are SUCH a nerd 😂"). That kind of teasing doesn't work if somebody cares about the subject matter (for example, that joke would NOT be okay if the aforementioned "nerd" had ANY negative feelings about that word). But in the right circumstances, this kind of teasing can feel REALLY good, REALLY fun, and even increase feelings of security within the friendship! In shipping polls, people are probably just exhibiting the communal version of this.**

Why do people care so much about the winners? I don't actually know the answer to this because this is my first time ever enjoying a ship poll, and we haven't gotten there yet. 😅Someone feel free to pitch in.

Why do they happen so often? Probably clout. Beyond that, in order to make a poll, someone has to genuinely be curious about the results. They can theorize, but they can't know what the outcome will be. Not only that, they have to remember that tumblr polls are all fun and games (or else, imagine how incredibly infuriating it would be to see people trolling). People who want accurate results don't use tumblr polls for a reason; they use official surveys instead. In this shipping poll, OP wrote a rule for each round that the results weren't meant to be taken seriously. So I think they enjoy it for the same reasons as we do. That kind of thrill can be addicting lol, and I can see why people would want to recreate it again and again.

In closing, it's been fun, but I don't think another poll like this will similarly compel me. This has just been a one-time thing that I was able to enjoy because of certain circumstances that overlapped with my interests and sense of humor. In truth, I get just as annoyed at the frequency of these polls, and I will likely need a lifelong cooldown after this one concludes. Frankly, if I'd remembered that the final round would be for a week instead of a day, I might have.... well, I might have made different decisions to say the least, lmao.

[*] This is not inclusive of antis. There is no reason to shit on one ship exclusively when there are 5+ other ships in the running. There is especially no reason to threaten the other side with an "electric chair with a built-in guillotine" if they win. That's not fun and games. That's just fucked up.

[**] Because it's a communal version and not a close friendship, it's definitely hard to gauge people's feelings about whether they're okay with being teased. A comment, to one person, might sound like teasing, but, to another, might come across as hurtful and mean. Only intimate friends can really tell the difference (and even they make mistakes). This is definitely unfortunate, but it's kind of a consequence of human behavior in general — not something specific to these kinds of polls imo.

[dairy-farmer]

People think batman or superman is the most popular hero. Hell, maybe even wonder woman. They do a poll and... red robin is the most popular hero? But... but how?!?!? (He's always doing hero work, likes to comfort victims, relatable, fun, funny etc)

there's this fic that i almost constantly reread by dexdefyingstunts called 'fandom's favorite twink'!!!!! and the concept is that tim is almost universally used as the twink!! the default bottom in the capes community because they're all just so...hunky and muscley.

so maybe there's also a mix of that intertwined and the superheroes who were at first grumbling at the poll (because they were all expecting superman or wonderwoman to win but turns out its not even a JL member who won) all fall silent when they look back on footage and photos of them interacting with red robin and realizing how many of them just...pick him up and move him how they want to. and they hadn't realized just how....compact red robin was.

red robin is also very androgynous with frequent arguments in online chatrooms occurring about whether he's a boy or a girl because they're so well built but their hips are just a little too wide for a boy and they either have nice pecs for a boy or small tits for a girl.

red robin is one of the few heroes who opted out of having the distribution companies owned by wayne and queen industries design and make merch. merchandising like tshirts, backpacks, shoes, jackets, and jewlery is one of the ways to fund heroes, pay for their equipment, keep bases up and running, provide funds for relief efforts and repair damages done to cities. for other heroes it's also a way to make sure they have a steady income because the hero business leads to a lot of injuries and time off which means many aren't able to hold a steady job.

the assumption that superman, wonderwoman, or even batman and flash would win the title of favorite hero was because the number of sales on their merchandise reflected them as the top selling hero and well....you wouldn't buy a shirt of someone you hate would you?

red robin doesn't have merchandise but with a little digging into the accounting department, they're able to find small online sellers like artists, printers, and craftspeople who all handmake hero merchandise of smaller, local, and unknown heroes. red robin is the top seller across all the boards.

more than that there are an overflowing amount of fanclubs, social media, websites, and chatrooms dedicated to red robin. they're able to find out pretty quickly why.

red robin is one of the few heroes the public is sure is human. just a normal average human. and that means something to people. because superman and wonderwoman are borderline gods who are at levels no normal person could ever hope to achieve. same with all meta heroes. they're human sure, but they're all still at an...unreachable level for most people.

but even among human heroes, red robin stands out. batman is long suspected to be a meta but even if he wasn't he's just too...offputting, too creepy. a lot of people have made the assumption that he's mean in real life and sure bruce set out to be scary but he never intended to project...cruelty. red hood has the same problem. the lethality puts off as much people as it gets people who support him. nightwing hangs around more aliens and metas than actual humans which gives him a certain kind of...framing. it makes it seem like his feet don't even touch the ground. the new robin isn't as gentle and reassuring as the others. black bat has the same problem as batman. batgirl is more interested in getting into fights and solving cases than helping out the victims or people who are still shaking after a near mugging.

all the human heroes fall short.

they're not as good at their job as red robin.

they're not as nice or kind.

they're not as funny.

they're not...people. people in the sense that when they put on a mask, they don't rise to another level above everyone else. red robin stays at the exact same level. he talks like a person, walks like one, interacts with them like one.

everything about red robin highlights how he's as average and normal as everyone else. only that when he saw something wrong in the world- he went out to try and fix it. and even after all the years as a cape, all the hardships and pain he endured and went through, he still never lost his gentle touch or kindness.

he still thought people were worth saving and fighting for. even though his days must be filled with fighting against the worst humanity had to offer.

red robin looked at gotham, it's people, and the world and said that they were worth the pain and struggle of protecting.

no augmentations, no magical powers, no alien birth rights, no space ring- just human.

red robin wasn't popular because he had the flashiest costume, coolest powers, or longest time on the roster.

he was the favorite by a landslide because people looked at him and saw the personification of perseverance and the human spirit.

the other heroes see this and know they don't stand a chance against him. not even a little

[sapphic-suchoripterus]

might be some controversial takes about Hazbin/Helluva under the cut but honestly I really don't know what the popular consensus is about any of it. I'm gonna try to keep these short but here's a list of thoughts I have so far.

-I'm interested in where Hazbin could go. The concept of rehabilitation for sinners and how the meaning of rehabilitation could change, as well as the unbalanced power of heaven vs. hell and who are the true sinners is very interesting.

-I don't find myself laughing at the humor of any of these shows. It feels like the kind of humor that's only supposed to shock you with the vulgarity. Which is only really funny to a teenager, not the intended adult audience.

-the music is hit or miss, mostly miss. The Hazbin pilot songs I particularly did not enjoy.

-the animation and design are nice, tho I'm not really sure who to credit with that, as I have been made aware that Vivziepop tends to take "inspiration" from artists in an informal manner.

-really do not like the sound design. The noises are obnoxious, the volumes are all over the place and there have been times where I cannot hear what characters are saying.

-voice acting is pretty good. I understand that fans got very upset when a lot of the actors for Hazbin had to be recast with union members and tbh I'm not bothered by that. Support unions.

-im worried about what they're gonna do with Vaggie. She's starting out as the partner to the main character but she's also been established as the "PC" character who annoys the fan favorites Angel Dust and Alastor.

-I'm not at all interested in Alastor, he looks like a satire of the Vivziepop style.

-Angel Dust is interesting, and I'm not too bothered by seeing an openly and overtly queer character, even if it's not sanitized. I am a little concerned about how quickly his character depth was revealed long before the first season is even finished. Could Viv really not wait to talk about Angel Dust that much? What will be left to explore in the show?

-also like, we are getting a LOT of content for Hazbin including a spinoff already on its second season, tons of merch and lots of droplets of information that end up on the wiki BEFORE the first season of the show is even out and it doesn't feel right, like the crew is celebrating the success of the show before its even out. Weird stuff. Not sure if it's gonna bite them in the ass yet.

-the Helluva pilot was not enjoyable at all and I didn't actually start watching the show until the second season

(here comes the big one)

-I actually don't mind too much what's being done with Stolas. It makes sense that a person with very few friends and trapped in an arranged marriage with a cruel partner would make the decisions that he has, regardless of whether or not they are the right ones.

-What I am concerned with is if the story with Stolas was planned from the beginning, or if it was decided later on to recontextualize his character when they crew decided they liked Stolas more than as just a cutaway gag in the pilot.

-Moxxie and Millie are... okay. On one hand it's nice to see throughout everything Moxxie has been through, as well as literally being in Hell, he still retains his kindness, empathy and love for his wife. Millie is... okay, but I get the feeling that she exists to keep Moxxie from becoming the series punching bag, like as compensation. Or a way to inject some "wholesomeness" into our main characters. I keep hearing that a Millie episode is on the way, but I don't know what really to expect.

-as a furry/scalie who isn't into canine anthros, I'm not into Loona.

-I'm interested in seeing more of what the other rings of Hell look like, tho I fear that the Gluttony ring is going to be filled with fatphobic jokes.

-The action scenes are usually pretty cool, tho with the Vivziepop style it can be a bit eye-strain-y for me.

-vivziepop stans are scary. seeing them jump to her defense whenever she faces a major criticism is frustrating and it only incites a bigger wave of criticism. see this post if you want my extended thoughts about it.

-this series is being produced, written and released in a way I don't think I've ever seen so I'm gonna try to keep an open mind about it, but that does not mean I'm gonna enjoy it blindly NOR am I gonna nitpick it. I'm gonna keep up with it and maybe share more of my thoughts, tagged accordingly and under 'read more' lines.

[koszmarnybudyn]

Giving you an excuse to info dump about the magical girl au all you want bc I think it’s so cool and wanna hear ur inspiration for the designs

Okay here is the info dump I promise. Also thank you for all the tags they were all very nice, and they really push me to create more :)

Normal: As I always say with his design its winx and cheerleader inspired, I already dweled on the first one in a previous post so I'm gonna skip that.

I really wanted to incorporate a star motive in his costume (thus the star top which I adore but was a pain to choose colors for), because I just think it fits him very well, he does lose some of the teenie memorabilia (without the SD for san dimas and the T's in his design) because I thought it is reminicent of his departure from the costume, yet it comes after his "trying not to be himself" phase (the third outfit) so it does bring back the previous colors.

He has teal as his main color because I really like the idea of the Oaks being green, but because ge doesn't quite fit (and because he is the new generation pc) he gets mix of blue and green which is teal (also because blue and white are the schools colors but i only found that out later).

His "trying not to be himself" costume brings in elements of the others costumes, with the chunky shoes and wings from Normal, he is trying to his friends yet pieces of himself still poje through. It has red and blue for Taylor, purple for Scary and yellow and white from Link.

I imagine this look comes after his confrontation with his dad (I want him to try to not be a magical girl for a while, like with the dance arc, and when he tries to transform after his outfit glitches and his powers malfunction, later it turns into this when fightning before he has his realization and it goes to the powerup version).

The last outfit is just his everyday (I considered drawing the teenie suit but It didn't fit on the page unfortunetly lol), I imagine he wears a lot off school merch because he still misses teenie (and yes it still very much stinks).

I think he looks the most like the classic magical girl, I really enjoy the poofy skirt because I didn't draw a lot of skirts here (it either defies logic or has shorts underneath because a skirt is not practical)

Scary: again I think I talked about the first outfit previously, I did tweak the colors and design a little bit (I struggled with the hair color a bit) but nothing very major changed.

She has purple and red (classic villian colors because she is cool and edgy). I think I started this before the betrayl but the second powerup outfit definitly happens after the reveal.

She has a lot of punk and rock influance in her outfit (and yes the platforms are impractical but they do add to the vibe). She gets cool chains but no wings. Also the prop is the Kellog knife.

Her everyday outfit is one I designed a while ago yet really like (I actually made a Scary doll and She wears the same one).

Taylor: god this was such a hassle for color choices it was terrible, just hard to draw in general and I did the Hermie powerup too many details abomination.

He gets flaiming hair like his dad, its also blue like his dad. Its definitly sailor moon inspired (I'm debating whenether Hero hates super gero Taylor or likes him, either way she does point out the sailor moon similarities either as an insult for being unoriginal or as an admiration thing because she does like sailor moon) (I just realized if I make Hero a superhero she gets the tuxedo mask inspired design for sure).

There was samurai inspiration in this (thanks Usagi chronicles you have ridden my mind) and his second outfit has a very faint flower pattent which I really like.

I think apart from power up link he has the most armor. He does get wings but they are tiny and don't really work at first but then do in his power up. Which he might get after going to hell. He does get a tail which I forgot to draw and his ears get pointer (he does also have fangs which Scary is jealous of).

He gets a staff in classical magical girl fashion (and because of his sword staff) and a katana which he does summon and do cool anime stuff with, and it does catch in flames. I really enjoy the Taylor is disabled headcanon thus the staff and i do think he has compressors in his costume.

Hermie: my boy changes designs way too aften, there is his everyday pre magic (he does get the joker stuff still).

He is a magical girl that kinda just joins the gang and is kinda a trickster, Taylor and Normal don't realize he is actually Hermie for a while (Normal doesn't know the longest) while Link and Scary know very quickly (Link is annoyed at Normal for not realizing it and it becomes a gag).

There is his 1 magical girl outfit (its practiclly the same to my previous drawings of him as nothing really changed), then there is his accident outfit (he gets it after the cheese accident), his two-face arc (also talked and shown this one previously), his after the accident everyday and then his power up.

God does it have many details, there is joker, poison ivy and two-face as inspiration in it (his hat has leaves for ivy and coins for two-face). He gets two eyes in his mask and more trickstery look in ode to his father scam. I was really inspied by court jesters and harlequins. I like how he ends up looking like a fea. Oh also question marks for riddler.

He is a silly little guy and I adore him but drawing that again will be a pain.

Link: finally my boy, after Normal he was the second finished drawing. I had a slight problem with his colors, finally picking almost white, yellow and really light green.

His norma outfit is the most practical and soccer players inspired. He gets cool lightning and angel imagery (I really enjoy his contrast with Scary with her purple and black and his yellow and white). He gets cool glowing eyes because I am a sucker for inhuman traits.

His second outfit is very palladin-y, I think the lightning kinda looks like corruption which I really enjoy, he also probablly gets it after Scary's betrayl.

There is gold and copper in his design as accents. The wing shoes were hermies inspired. He gets a glowing sword. I really enjoy some of the biblical imaginery he looks connected to.

Like I said I might honestly make more refrence sheets (I am working on kiddads designs and some other charakters, escpecially villains, but that is a bit harder for me to design so we'll see). Anyway hope this wasn't too ranty and feel free to ask anything or add ideas.

Also thank you @rooolt for giving me an excuse to infodump I am a sucker for charakter design and analysis so its very nice to rant about my choices.

[doodle17]

Look, I love BaTDR as much as the next Joe. It was, in my opinion, very much worth the wait. It's one of the only games I would literally give up any of my prized possessions to experience for the first time again.

One thing I would change about it though, is, well... The Ink Demons design. I honestly don't know why they changed it. It was perfect in BatIM! And the more updated version in some of the early merch designs looked great! I by no means hate his new design but, allow me to explain.

Huge Rant and spoilers below the cut.

His old model seemed more like a "failed attempt" which is what he is. But his Dark Revival model looks way to demonic for me. Because despite the word "demon" in his name, he isn't an actual demon from hell, if that makes any sense.

I mean, I guess His voice matches his new look a little more, BUT I would've loved to see the game with the more bendy-looking Ink Demon. Unfortunately, the new Ink Demon, frankly looks nothing like bendy. It could've been all the experimentation that twisted him into, how he is, I suppose.

I just wished they left his design as it was originally. I'm mean, could you imagine something like this in 3D?

I personally think the new Ink Demon isn't that scary. But this one? It'd be absolutely haunting knowing this feller was stalking your every step. Speaking of stalking, I'm also going to talk about another problem I have with this guy.

Chapter 3 is probably the most disliked, maybe even hated chapter in BaTIM. But believe it or not, it's actually my favorite chapter! Because of the Ink demons mechanic in it.

He is constantly after you in this one, and unlike the rest of his appearances, which are all scripted, he appears at random. Yeah, and it actually feels like he his hunting you. It's terrifying to be walking down a hallway, only for him to appear right in front of you out of NOWHERE.

I was hoping there would be something similar like this in BaTDR, but sadly, we got nothing like it. Instead, it's not even that scary!

In BaTIM, if he saw you, the chase was on. It was a frantic search to get to a hiding spot, or else you were dead meat. And gues what... He never stopped chasing you until you hid or until he caught you.

But in BaTDR? You have a timer. No chasing or anything. Where's the rush of adrenaline to search for a hiding place WHILE he was right behind you, breathing down your neck? The aggressive chase music, as his his foot steps became louder behind you? I would've LOVED this kind of thing in BaTDR! Especially with the old model!

I could even see it playing out similar to the mobile game Granny's mechanic. If you hid, but he saw you hide or you didn't hide fast enough, you'd still get caught, like in boxes, under desks etc. Maybe only Mirachle stations could be the only ones he couldn't get you in, no matter how hard he tried.

BaTDR is a great game, and the Ink Demon is one of my favorite characters. His backstory and behavior is so fascinating to me. And I loved what they did with his story in BaTDR! Especially how they weakened him into his more docile state, which is Bendy.

But, he doesn't look like a failed attempt. He doesn't look like Bendy at all. Again, I'd understand if it was maybe the experiments performed on him that made him look the way he does, but, I don't know... it just leaves a sour taste in my mouth, and a longing in me that just wishes they kept his model how it was... I hope that someday we could get an update that changed his stalking mechanic and model, even though I know, it's unfortunately unlikely.

I hope you enjoyed my rant, I just really has to get my thoughts out there, they've been boiling in my brain since dark revival came out and I had to share.

[weaselbeaselpants]

The different shots/alt dialogue from the James and the Giant Peach script

Because this kind of stuff is interesting and YEAH I'M SHARING ALL OF IT!! Find the full script here.

James has a bit longer dialogue with Miss Spider.

Glorious Sponge hatesink goodness.

Alternative to the final film, where James doesn't realize he's been stop-motionized until in the actual peach in the original script he did in fact notice he was changing. More importantly, his initial literal fall-in on the bugs and being scared at them because they're in the dark and clearly inhuman was always one of my favorite in the movie. It worked because it actively plays with how scary giant talking insects would realistically be and how uncanny their designs can especially feel in silhouette, just like my beloved pin-collection.

Also, there's alternate dialogue from Earthworm and Centipede about escaping the hill and Spiker and Sponge. The disc of each other bugs, while accurate, is so hilarious to read typed out.

Centipede was going to threaten to beat James up. Good times.

Centipede is both more and less direct on his hitting on Spider. Besides that this extended bit offers moar Grasshopper and Earthworm twittering, though no "LET'S GET OUTTA HERE" from Centipede or "Marvelous Pigs in Satin" from Glowworm.

Earthworm was GOING TO talk-sing more?! YOU MONSTERS!

Also, someone on the script clearly wanted Centipede to mention how he wants to get plastered all night.

Spiker and Sponge rn.

Earthworm being sarcastic is such a mood. Literally my muse.

Even though it can be reasonably assumed given his accent (which is why it was probably cut) Centipede straight up calls New York his hometown. I'm not a New Yorker myself so I don't know for sure but I thought different Manhattan-ites say they're from different cities/towns rather than treat Manhattan like a single town. Y'know?

Grasshopper meanwhile is a killjoy intellectual all the time through the shark scene

Lol Centipede speakin truths.

Cut the line in Eating the Peach from Centipede specifically and changed Glowworm's line.

Spider hitting in some different zingers at Centipede than in the final film.

James's nightmare is completely different than in the final film as is James exact waking up and realizing they're in the North Pole. Though the squabble between Centipede and the other bugs is the same, mostly, the resolution of Centipede happily deciding to get a compass from the ships is different. Appreciate the change. Good bit of back-and-forth visual storytelling.

In a bit that's rather OUT of character, none of the bugs protest James jumping in freezing water after Centipede. In fact, because Spider says 'get on my back' first it kinda makes it sound like she made James come with her rather than offer to help as another adult offering to look after a child who's putting themselves in danger.

Also, even though the outcome is the same, it looks like the entire skeleton pirate scene was different and Centipede didn't talk during any of it and was a jackass about his stealing which is very out of character for him and led to the skeletons come alive. I like tho that at no point in time does the script say "Jack Skellington-faced"-pirate which is good on them and proof that it really was a cute cameo/reuse of puppetry and I'm still not over Jack getting top billing over the main characters in this movie's merch.

No Spiderpede kiss on the cheek, sadly. Her exclaiming her happiness is such a different vibe than her cute like "I don't know whether to kill you or kiss you" schpeal. This was the 90s after all--although, even though it is like this in the final movie anyway, the image of Spider pulling him up onto the peach all domestic-hero like while he says she saved him? That's cute. I liek me some malewife (it's appropriate in this case, shut up) Centipede.

The failing-to apologize dialogue between Grasshopper and Centipede was better in the final film. The characters have such a different way of talking to each other and it's much brisker and nicer and shows his newfound respect for Centipede that Grasshopper immediately just trusts Centipede with navigating again.

Dialogue's a little bit different as the peach-goers see New York for the first time.

Most importantly, the climax with the Rhino is different. No "I'm not afraid of You", James protecting the Bugs by telling them to get into the threads, which more directly separates them.

The dialogue of the New Yorkers thinking the Peach is a bomb or aliens is a nice reference to the original book, where that's exactly what happened there.

Alt. headlines for the ending newsreel stories. I'm gonna be honest I like Earthworm's gig in the subway a bit more than in the final film where he becomes a skincare tycoon. The idea that he just loves the subway in all it's dirtiness is adorable.

It is, however, very cute to see Centipede and Spider took up dancing together and became as popular a duo as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers.

And finally, we have a kind of disturbing note to go out on with Spiker and Sponge going crazy and treated as zoo animals. I think their punishment is enough as is and has enough disturbing conotations no less. No need of the mental breakdown.

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay Visuals: My Mother Told Me

This video was released on the 24th of April, 2021, and currently sits at a very-impressive 6.7 million views! It features Jose Rosario Jr (in his first collabration with Voiceplay (on a full-length video at least)), who for a few years performed with Rockapella! (Rockapella is an acapella group who have been around for over 35 years, they were part of the OG Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego show, and they were a bit of an inspiration to Voiceplay (originally 4:2:Five) in their early days).

I wasn't actually sure whether or not this video would give me a lot of moments to point out/talk about (it's been a while since the last time I watched it), but it's obviously a big production (epic, even), and I will undoubtedly be talking about its "sister video", Valhalla Calling, when I eventually get around to it, so long story short, I'm doing this. Let's go!

Each vocalist got filmed separately for this one, each with their own backdrop (and then were all spliced together for "group shots" in the video), so each member gets their own picture when I'm talking about them in this post!

Jose is wearing some textured blanket-looking thing, plus a plain brown shirt/tunic, and he's got a pair of blueish lines on his face that almost look a little bit like scars. He's standing in front of a sort of desert plains landscape, maybe with some large red mountains/rock formations?

Oh yeah and also it's a little hard to see, but just at the neckline of Jose's shirt, underneath his beard, there's a cool viking(?) symbol on his neck that also shows up in Valhalla Calling (and on the merch for that video too)!

Eli appears to have a bit of dirt and grime on his skin (which would be intentional of course), as well as some cool-looking tattoos (even on his head!) (fake ones for the video of course), and some very heavy eye makeup. He's standing in front of some grass, rocky cliffs (possibly with water down below?), and sea mist

(Also Eli is credited with "virtual production" on this one, so I guess all these greenscreen backgrounds were his doing? Massive shoutout to Eli!)

J has the same symbol on his forehead that Jose had on his neck/chest, as well as some white powder-looking makeup stuff on his cheeks. No clue what kind of top/shirt that is, but I like the big fur coat, and cool arm cuff things as well! He's standing in front of a frozen (or partially-frozen) lake, with snow-covered mountains/rock formations behind it.

(Fun fact: Geoff re-used a few costume pieces from My Mother Told Me when filming the videos for his covers of Far Over The Misty Mountains Cold and I See Fire!

Layne has got a makeup design to Eli, with similiar tattoos on his face, and a bit of extra dirt/grime as well. He's got fur trimmings(?) on his shoulders like Eli, but it looks more like the fur that J is wearing. He's standing in front of wide open plains I guess? I'm not sure, I can't make out a ton of detail.

I think Layne's outfit might be my favourite one of this video; it seems the most complex, like it has the most going on with it, and I like the patterned cuff design thing on his right arm!

And I haven't forgotten Geoff, of course I haven't forgotten Geoff, and seriously oh my god

I'm honestly not sure if I could give a good description of Geoff's outfit even if I tried, but it works! (Also wait I literally only just realised that, once more, he's the only one in the video with exposed shoulders (well, one exposed shoulder, but still!))

This honestly might be one of Geoff's most terrifying looks of any Voiceplay video so far, if not the most terrifying. Vampire!Geoff in This Is Halloween was "scary" in the "yes please give me more of it" (i.e. hot) way. Oogie Boogie!Geoff in Oogie Boogie's Song was just theatrical and entertaining. Mr Hyde!Geoff in Kidnap The Sandy Claws was (to me at least) just a little bit strange and hard to wrap my head around. But Geoff here? This is "makes you want to move very quickly in the opposite direction" scary!

(So like well done to Rick Underwood on the makeup (but in regards to everyone else as well))

Jose, J, Eli, and Layne all got cool aesthetic landscapes as their backdrops. Geoff got darkness and STUFF ON FIRE (...yeah that checks out 😆)

Even the fingernails!!! Even the fingernails look like they've got grime on them! (Also, Geoff at his least-terrifying moment of the video)

Aaaand we're back to "time to run away very fast" mode!

(Also yes Geoff's tattoos and makeup are very cool as well)

Not that Geoff is the only one in this video that I wouldn't wanna pick a fight with!

Jose is credited with "additional acting direction" in the description, so I guess he maybe camw up with/directed some of these kind of moves?

Oh hey Geoff has that symbol on him as well! I wonder if Layne and Eli have got it somewhere on them too?

Wait hang on what is Eli holding?

A better shot of Layne's face tattoos and the cool sleeve thing!

Geoff doing a similar hand movement to the one he did in Bang! (which was my previous post actually), after he had just done a bit of an impressive bass-vocal-run (or something like that), except this time it's after holding a quite low note (a subharmonic I think?) for like 6 seconds.

Oh I think Eli was holding his cape?

Yes I can see the tattoo, thank you Jose! 😂

Also did Geoff do a bit of hair colouration for this video? Because yes he's got a bit of grey in his hair now, but not that much grey, and it's not always that noticeable (though personally I do love the grey streak he often has in his bangs, it's rather fetching if I do say so myself <3)

Run fast, and run far!

And that's the video! Man, can you believe these are the same dudes (well except Jose) that did the Aca Top 10 videos, being all silly and fooling around? Acting skills were freaking on point here! Everyone crushed it!

It's a great arrangement as well (shoutout to Layne!). The song is actually just one single verse, which here is sung like 5 or 6 times over, but you barely even notice it (if at all) because the whole production is just so mind-blowingly good!

I also wanted to do this video because I'll be skipping over You're My Best Friend and Man In The Mirror, so this'll be the last video I'm doing where J is actually a part of the group. It was of course very sad that he left Voiceplay, but he's come back as a guest artist in like 6 full-length videos now (not even counting the minis), and hopefully he might one day return to Voiceplay full-time, once he's done with his stint in the US Navy band!

[jackrabblt]

In my opinion, we should publicly shame any grifting loser who wants to treat the furry Fandom like its a "cash grab" "money making" machine for their get rich schemes. I hope everyone who doesn't see the undeniable dedication and talent to creating artwork a very "FUCK YOU AND SUCK MY NUTS".

They will be so shocked to know not only does it take talent to get popular (something many of these people lack) but it also takes a lot of work to get yourself out there, just to be dealt with the cruel, harsh insecurities and stress that commissions have.

Even for popular artists, or more niche ones like me who get to sit with clients describing in full detail what they want just to ghost you! And then boom! All of your finances are out of wack due to that one person, and you have to scramble. Or perhaps your queue is too big, you're overloaded and stressed. Sometimes, owing one artwork feels like a thousand to your anxiety. If you want to branch out and make merch, your options are limited, and you won't pay a profit if simply no one buys it.

It's absolutely lovely how this absolute basement dwelling creature thinks we, our fellow artists, commissioners, character designers, and makers are just quick cash grabs. We are starving artists trying to survive, our prices are almost always below what they should actually be. Our talent is not something for you to exploit for fun, nor are our clients for you to mock and ridicule for their ultimately harmless fictional interests in a dog who talks.

GET GOOD!!!!!! HAVE SOME JOY IN THE AWESOME (AND SCARY) SHIT WE MAKE AS ARTISTS. No more need to make fun of your clients for their passion in animals they talk, you probably like something just as nerdy!!!!

[a-mag-a-day]

MAG 53 - baking something with all those apples I cut in the kitchen

Love that a lot of the episode titles have two meaning or are outright puns. Crusader here referring to the tank and the knight corpse.

Another I had a bit of a hard time following. I think the voice acting is really fitting here, but the frantic tone messes with my ability to process what's told.

Gloucestershire… British pls… why? Just… why??? T_T (Knowing that this is a trick pronunciation I would just say "Gloshshshshsh")

"I was the gunner. I’ve always had good eyes, you see, and you really need that for the gun." - Good eyes you say…?

3:29 " The Italians had unsurprisingly taken a page out of Rommel’s handbook", right at "page", someone turns a page! The VA actually turning the page of the script or intentional soundscaping (since there is more paper rustling to come)?

"Then I saw it: a flash of light, a twinkling glint of sun from the enemy tank. In the back of my mind, I knew what it meant: the sun reflecting off their own binoculars" - music is playing at this part and I don't understand why? xD Usually music accompanies something spooky happening. While this is a scary situation especially hearing someone burning to death without any way to help them, I don't know if it's mean to be supernatural spooky stuff? I mean it's an Eye statement, binoculars would fit that bill, but otherwise?

Very soft at 5:33, very briefly at 6:58, 7:49 - scraping sounds (at 7:00 with a knock, like making a period with a pencil) and paper shuffling like someone's taking notes? Gertrude perhaps? I think this is indeed intentional soundscaping.

10:10 also shuffling can be heard. All throughout the statement there's a bit of shuffling here and there, I think it fits very well.

"but instead there came the scent of something else. All that, at that point I had no idea what it was but I would have described it as not unlike wood." - Paper and Papyrus is made of plant fibers ¯_(ツ)_/¯

"It should have been pitch dark. Though there was no light at all filtering through into those underground caverns, but it still – I could see everything. " Good eyes indeed.

"At the same time I suddenly got the most intense feeling of being watched, like a thousand eyes turned to me at once." <.<

"From within its huge, flowing hood I could see nothing except a single lidless eye." - I think that one is the inspiration for the Eye of the Entity Tarot designs which are in the Rusty Quill merch shops.

GERTRUDE "The bronze grate over the entrance to the archive." <.<

WALTER "I have just now. That funny turn I took on the way down the stairs, I felt it again. All those eyes watching me." - <.< (I absolutely love this Archive lore in this episode.)

"There’s even one unnamed contemporary historian that describes the mob attacking the Serapeum not as Christians, but using a phrase which roughly translates as “those who sing the night”." - Worshippers of the Dark attacking the Archive? It would make sense, they are complementary. Things unseen and things seen.

"What was it? A guardian of some sort? Or perhaps… perhaps… it too was once an archivist." - Ok, so on my first listen I already had a suspicion that Archivists are not just people in an archiving job. Jane called Jon "Archivist". Also before I reached this episode my sister once called me "Archivist" and I was already like "Why would she do that if there wasn't a deeper meaning?". Hearing Gertrude contemplating, if this creature was once an Archivist, confirmed my suspicions.

Martin being a blessing once again! <3

"I just worry. You needed five stitches after you “accidentally” stabbed yourself with the bread knife." - My sister visited me just two days ago and she managed to stab herself with the bread knife XD Nothing severely, but it made me laugh. Also, Martin totally doesn't believe Jon here…

Ok ok, Martin asks Jon, if he wants a sandwich! I understood this like "Should I get a sandwich for you while you stay here and I go alone". And then Jon says he's coming with Martin! He totally didn't have to do that? Does he think Martin would poison the sandwich? I mean, Martin could poison every cup of tea he makes, so don't think Jon's thinking of that. Keeping an extra eye on Martin? Personally, that's my headcanon: This is where Jon starts going on lunch breaks with Martin. At first under the pretense of more surveillance and trying to find out more about him. But eventually he starts to just enjoy it and keeps doing it, especially after he finds out what that letter to his mum was about (in like 3 episodes). I mean, it would make sense, right? Why would someone think of the two of them "being close" otherwise?

"It reports an explosion in Alexandria which destroyed several buildings in the vicinity of Pompey’s Pillar and killed 17 people. Official investigation determined it to be a gas mains explosion" - THAT FUCKING FORESHADOWING!!!!! Biggest weakness of an Archive - gas mains.

Those damn gas mains are always full of spiders