#messed around w layering and sketching and stuff

[delphis-oracle]

it’s zen week ‼️‼️

i probably won’t do the whole week,,, bc i am lazy,,,, but took the first prompt as an opportunity to experiment and i rlly like it so 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

for my friend @tom-failure ‘s zen week ‼️‼️ first prompt made me wanna draw his outfit from that one cg of him acting where he’s a robot bc i love his white lashes in that

i love,,,,, him,,,,

[eggtomatosoup]

Hello there! May we know what program you use to make animatics?

i draw frames in clip studio, and then edit them in premiere pro (I feel like any video editing software would work though)

probably a better way to do this, though....

[unproduciblesmackdown]

come get your levitous sidekick / vicious bastard / funny little guys

[clearmytrack]

okay hi again. i just posted my repair truck oc last week i think HOWEVER i was struck with a mad scientist’s genius and uncontrollable urge to create. something something frsnkenstein or smth. um anyway.

so in the post i made about my repair truck screws, i wrote that at some point she gets like. jealous of wrench bc wrench has electra to be attached to and whatnot. so she makes herself sn engine,,,,, this is thst engine. his name is sparks and hes an electric engine. he is both inspired by electra and supposed to be like. the anti-electra j guess. screws is fucking weird and does weird shit like collecting spare and broken parts of various engines from crashes and stuff SO she has a lot of shit laying around. enter sparks. hes made from a bunch of spare parts of other engines that presumably met their gruesome fate and are no more. so thats why he is. kind of a mess. i mean look at this thing. holy shit. he is an eyesore. i love him so much

hes essentially a frankenengine. the monster to screws’ dr. frankenstein. hes just as weird as she is because she brought him to life. there’s more but its late. i will perhaps yap about him more.

also under the cut is references and my sketch layer labeled with colors and which engine inspired which part of him. also makeup and other design inspiration.

firstly i got the reference pose from @mellon-soup !! if anything looks wonky thats bc im. not a great artist but im trying my best.

inspiring trains are labeled on their respective reference image but im gonna list them.

his shoulder pieces are the pennsylvania railroad gg-1 and the bombardier alp-46. arms are virginia railroad el-2b and the british rail class 55 “deltic.” legs are the amt alp45-dp 1354 and the milwaukee road class ep-2 “bipolar.” skates are milwaukee road e57b and great northern w-1 5019. oh yeah and the color of his (badly colored) gloves came from one of the gg-1 refs.

the chest piece is inspired by olc electra’s chestbox thst had danger written on it. love that. hair was vaguely inspired by workshop electra. makeup obviously inspired by electra, but i got one of the cheek designs from purse and the chin design from a picture of ruhrgold.

aaand here is the sketch layer with the labels so i could draw it out before coloring. also sketch layer with labels of which train is what.

[sleepydrabblesart]

Some fun stuff for Into The Stars:

Heights first— Hobi is the tallest, Yoongi is the shortest. Doing this first because it helps contextualize the next two:

Outside view of the pod! The pods are embedded into a concave wall, with a set of ten in the sleeping area (average crew size). The pods are vaguely egg-shaped, with an opaque outer wall for privacy. The door slides into the wall to avoid any mishaps and conserve space, and there’s a scanner programmed to respond to either the owner of the pod or a crew member with captain’s permissions in the event of an emergency. (this is, of course, related to NORMAL emergencies, and assuming protocol is followed.)

The little square in the upper corner is a sketch of the layout: bottom layer from left to right (standing in the doorway) is Namjoon, Yoongi, Jimin, and Jeongguk. The second layer from left to right (standing in the doorway) is Seokjin, Taehyung, and Hoseok. Jimin offered Taehyung his bed but Taehyung refused, for reasons still unknown, and insists on clambering into his space every night by using the other pods as… ladders? Who knows. The top three pods are generally left unused because they’re hard to get to unless you’re incredibly tall (in which case the ship really isn’t built to accommodate you) or you have some sort of wings/other bodily attachment that allows you to get up there.

Hobi is the pilot, so he got the final say on the ship they bought as a crew, but it’s general practice to buy a ship scaled to the largest member of your crew because it’s easier to add the equipment to accommodate the smaller species than to deal with the problems that come about when the space is just too small.

On to the inside!

The inside top of the ‘shell’ doubles as a touchscreen that can be used to access information and entertainment. Across from the door is a specific control panel to control light levels, sound, etc. The thin strip running around the edge of the ‘shell’ is the light strip, which usually imitates the home sleep cycle of the pod’s inhabitant. The lower part of the pod is filled by a mattress-pillow thing that automatically adjusts to support the being(s) on it. As mentioned in-story, the blankets in the humans’ pods are imitations of human blankets, which means they sit kind of weird but otherwise have a pretty soft, fluffy texture. JK has five of them, so his pod is generally an absolute mess, but YG and TH managed to convince the rest of the crew they don’t need more than three each. Other species have different reactions to different textures, so the pod can either regulate heat to facilitate smooth sleep or the crew member usually brings their own blankets/extra pillows/etc.

I lack the cultural awareness of movies that most of my generation seems to just HAVE (damn it!) so I have never seen ALIEN and had to google what those pods look like. Not what I imagined ;w; It’s not absolutely essential to the story to know what they look like (I think?) but hopefully it’s fun to look at. I might do more doodles in the future, these were kinda fun.

[secretlyscraptrap]

@acatwithapencil and here's eos! :)

thx so much for the fanart cwap, your support of me & my art in my early days of posting is immensely appreciated :]

yeah and some other random stuff:

photos used in render:

sketch + ref photo (i had to wade through so much ai garbage to find a good one💀):

and a random cool effect that happened when i messed around w the layers:

[cbts004]

hey i was wondering if i could get advice on being able to use less layers / combine them more often ? ^_^ because ive noticed that alot of my fav artists seem to do this, like do a sketch color under it then color over it, i tend to over use layers ALOT by duplicating layers before i make a change somewhere just in case i want to go back and the undo button isnt enough, does this make sense ? :3c

Hi! I don't know if I have any super superr useful advice but I'd say this:

if you are familiar w the technique, I'd say try it! Maybe combine your method with merging layers? You can copy them before you merge and if you feel like you'd wanna go back, go to those copied layers. You can always pick and choose what works for you and what doesn't. Just like, mess around with it and make some smaller drawings to try things out with less layers and see if it's fun or not.

I use this method personally and I say it comes a lot from having had more experience traditionally painting before digital painting. When you make a mistake while painting traditionally, you can just go over it with more paint. Same goes for digital, and there are a lot of ways in general you can tweak stuff digitally (warp tools, color correction/replacement, gradient maps, list goes on...) While ctrl+z does help, it can be kind of paralyzing when it comes to decision making bc you'll always have that desire to just spam it. Sometimes you just gotta roll with the stroke made and you can go back and fix it later.

You don't HAVE to use this method! I've got lots of other artist friends close to me that use A TON of layers to great effect. I think that there's definitely no shame in using them and while it can be cool to flex that you use less, it's not really a competition at the end of the day. The viewer can't really guess how many layers you've used majority of the time.

if you want any more specific advice on this though, you can feel free to msg me or shoot me more asks off anon ^^

[camofrogadier]

i think something thats helped me a lot w more complicated digital art pieces is like. if im getting to a point where im making a lot of changes (ex cleaning up a sketch when i already have 10+ sketch layers) i save a new copy of the file where i can like mess around and merge layers and delete old ones or whatever. feels like it takes the like, stress of "ruining" whatever i already did out because i still have the previous version, and lets me be more open to trying out new stuff bc i could always make another copy and try again if it doesn't mesh

[lemodoe]

i only have krita on my laptop (unless you count paint 3D??)

if i'm drawing a profile then I tend to draw the right side of a persons face (their right), but it's not necessarily harder to draw their left, i just tend to do their right more, if that makes sense? I think its bc i'm right handed.

ummm, i don't know...i guess drawing mostly people, since that's also kinda all i drew as a kid.

i'm cool and different, so for me it's crowley >:) (getting a lot better though! i'm working on filling up a sketch page w/ him rn, and some of them are quite good, i think. i might be going overboard though.)

oooh, i have so many sketchbooks filled with stuff I've never posted, i only post stuff i particularly like. so probably...20% of my art is online?

my sibling, i've absorbed a lot of their style (especially their older style) without even knowing.

watercolor artists. how do they not make it run everywhere? i think they're cryptids.

at this point...? so many. i have a playlist on spotify filled with songs I want to make animatics to. It has 42 songs. and i know i'm missing some.

quite random, but usually just named after whatevers in the file, eg; aziraphale doodles, crowley scan, tma doodles scan, usually stuff like that.

don't really have one, however i do agree about the turtlenecks for crowley, i do love drawing him specifically in a turtleneck lol

either one of my spotify playlists (if i have one for the character i'm drawing than usually that! if not, then something chill, mac de marco is always an easy bet) or the magnus archives. :)

face. 100%, no doubt. everything else is a lot harder, but i can just whip out faces, no questions asked if you wanted me to.

i...can't think of anyone.

in general? not as of right now, but i do like adding little motifs to things that vary by piece.

in the house i live in, i'm almost never anywhere else. usually in one of the chairs in the living room.

i'm not sure, most of the time things turn out better if i enjoyed working on them.

tea :)

uhm, not that much, i think, at least in recent years. i did have a set of gel pens when i was about 9/10 that constantly broke, but they were quite cheap. 5%?

i don't draw inanimate objects a lot, but the few times i have, i've found that i enjoy drawing flowers. :)

...faces. they're somewhat easy for me but i love drawing them. although a lot of people struggle with them, esp. people used to drawing objects and such. i guess drawing nothing but faces and heads since you were 4 does that to you.

probably super cartoony/stylized styles, i love them dearly, but i guess they're just not how i draw.

...people exercise?

most of the time no, they intimidate me, but sometimes i'll mess around with them for my shadow layer.

yes actually! it sounds weird but they're really helpful, since there's so many of them to choose from. plus, i find them easier to draw from than reference images specifically for artists.

anime, just in general. this came from my grandmother though, who, even though she's an art teacher, has a really hard time describing styles that aren't either a.) realism or b.) classic cartoon style. so...her middle ground is anime?

mmm, can't think of anything. (probably because i only have teeny little doodles but shhh don't think about that)

ummm, i don't know...depends? if i'm drawing the thing for the first time then yes, definitely, but if i've drawn it a lot then it really depends on the day and how i'm feeling.

nope! too fresh an internet presence for that + my adhd is so strong in ma brainhole that i honestly don't know if i could reliably finish something like that.

i feel like everything has inspired me in some way, even if it's not art-style based.

most of my stuff that gets colored, if i'm being honest. a lot of the stuff that people tend to like the most are my sketches + random doodles i barely put any effort in, so it's always a bit sad when something I actually colored, lined, and spent too much time on doesn't get any attention.

Weirdly Specific Artist Ask Game

Didn't see a lot of artist ask games, wanted to make a silly one.

(I wrote this while sick out of my mind last year and it's been collecting dust in my drafts, I might as well let it run free) 1. Art programs you have but don't use

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even)

3. What ideas come from when you were little

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw

5. Estimate of how much of your art you post online vs. the art you keep for yourself

6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn't supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it)

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate

8. What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in

9. What are your file name conventions

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what

12. Easiest part of body to draw

13. A creator who you admire but whose work isn't your thing

14. Any favorite motifs

15. *Where* do you draw (don't drop your ip address this just means do you doodle at a park or smth)

16. Something you are good at but don't really have fun doing

17. Do you eat/drink when drawing? if so, what

18. An estimate of how much art supplies you've broken

19. Favorite inanimate objects to draw (food, nature, etc.)

20. Something everyone else finds hard to draw but you enjoy

21. Art styles nothing like your own but you like anyways

22. What physical exercises do you do before drawing, if any

23. Do you use different layer modes

24. Do your references include stock images

25. Something your art has been compared to that you were NOT inspired by

26. What's a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended

27. Do you warm up before getting to the good stuff? If so, what is it you draw to warm up with

28. Any art events you have participated in the past (like zines)

29. Media you love, but doesn't inspire you artistically

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated

[ovcii-doodles]

trying new things with mugino (my beloved) as my test subject <3

edit: updated bc i redid the whole thing from scratch lol

[badolmen]

Art is weird you’ll spend two weeks not knowing how colors work despite eye dropping straight from the source you’re trying to copy and suddenly somehow you just. Have the right colors.

[g0kud0ll]

How do you color your pieces?

hello! so sorry for the late response! but i don’t really know how tumblr works, so it takes a while for me to see these hahahah ;;

im not quite sure what pieces you’re asking about, so i just assumed you’re asking about my gradient map work, sorry! but i figured since i started this small shinri sketch the other night i might as well color it & use it as an example! ^^

so first, i start w/ a greyscale drawing! such as this;

then i make a new correction layer for a gradient map;

i use CSP, so i’m not quite sure if you can do this in other drawing programs, but after i chose a good default gradient, i just mess around with the colors & settings till i feel good abt how everything looks.

i honestly have very little formal education in colors & art stuff, so i p much just keep trying new things and making new gradients till something works :-]

after that i create another new layer, but make sure the blending mode is set to color, & add different splotches of random colors till it looks nice :-∂

and then that’s pretty much it!! sometimes i’ll go in later with my default photo marker tool on my phone & add other tiny details such as drawings or writing, but that’s it! here is the end result & the one i posted on my twitter! ^^

i think it’d be fun to go over the different brushes i have or gradient sets i’ve made, but i think i’ll save that for when i have like a patreon or something, lol. anyway, ty 4 the ask & i hope u are able to find this of some help!

[eating-you-alive-cutely]

as a fellow sketchbook user (the app) any tips or tricks you know? or just, brushes you use etc.

i need helpz T_T

uhhh can’t really think of tips per say- I don’t know what I’m doing half the time

my only suggestion would be- if you have a shaky hand then definitely use the predictive stroke tool it can help correct your lines to look more clean

it can be a bit of a pain to work with sometimes but it’s helpful nevertheless (I don’t really use it anymore- I just opt for the shaky hand look)

but I can show the stuff I use ya

canvas size is almost always 5437 * 4524px (discord hates my guts) unless I have a project that requires a specific size

as far as brushes go

I usually use the Brush Set: Legacy Pencil for sketching+lineart

to block in colors I use Brush Set: Legacy Inking Pen and Brush Set: Legacy Paintbrush

I also use the Inking Pen for simple shading

If you have desktop- definitely definitely definitely get it on there- there’s more helpful options on there that mobile can’t provide (like grouping,,,, I miss grouping my layers . so. much.)

yah uhh I have no clue what I’m doing half the time- the way you use the app is different for each person- just mess around with brushes and find whichever ones resonate w you

[tsubomipsycho100]

🎨 🍜 hee hee hoo hoo

🎨Describe your creating process?

I SPENT TWENTY MILLION YEARS ON THE SKETCH. actually tho, I usually have a suuuuper rough sketch that just shows where the head and arms (+ legs if applicable) are gonna b, with no more than six lines per person. Then I go over and make my actual sketch n that's basically the same as my lineadt just slightly messier. I draw all thebdifferent parts on different layers n I go through like fifty refs to get a pose right most of the time.

Lineart is p simple I just trace the sketch, then I soent ten million thousand years on picking the colors

I've aldo beed making my drawings more busy lately so it takes a lot of time to figure out what I add- what I usuakly do is I send the drawingn 2 myself via email and I mess around w/ potential ideas on my phone while doing smth ekse until im satisfied

🍜Do you like to snack while you create? If so, what is your favorite snack?

Nope ! if im earing my hands get dirty n I dont like touching stuff w/ them

[jay-me-says]

Things Were Different Back Then

BONUS CHAPTER

Masterpost w/ more info on the fic | Note: all SBI-related relationships here are platonic!

When Tubbo wakes, there’s a slight pain in his neck. He winces as he shifts, trying to find a more comfortable position. It takes a few seconds for him to remember the details of the previous night, sleep clouding his thoughts. He and Tommy had fallen asleep together on the couch after their conversation. His head is still on Tommy’s chest- he can faintly hear his friend’s heartbeat.

As Tubbo takes in his surroundings, he notices that his arm hurts a little too. It lays between him and Tommy, curled up at a somewhat odd angle, close to the other boy’s hand. Gently, he moves his arm into his own lap, making a face at the pain that shoots through his wrist. He gently twists it in circles, trying to stretch out the pained joint.

The boy sits there for a minute more, listening to the faint bump-bump echoing from somewhere inside Tommy’s chest. The other boy smells faintly of salt water, and, if asked, something that Tubbo can only pinpoint as simply Tommy. It smells like their childhood home and comfort and a nightmare-filled night spent close together.

Tubbo should get up, he knows, but he’s warm and tired. Still, with a deep inhale, he pushes himself off the couch cautiously, hoping not to wake Tommy.

The brunette stretches, working out some of the achy feeling that permeates his muscles, then goes into the kitchen.

The clock on the wall declares that the time is nine o’clock. It’s the latest Tubbo has woken up in a few months. Irrational guilt springs into his stomach and he pushes it away with a slight shake of his head. He doesn’t have anything important to do today, anyways. Besides, Niki and Fundy are more than capable of handling things without him for a few extra hours.

Tubbo decides to make eggs for breakfast. The process is familiar and he goes on autopilot, giving him time to think.

He wonders how things will be with Tommy today. The blond seemed determined and ready to move forward last night, but these things are easier said than done. Tubbo knows that it will take time for Tommy to go back to some semblance of normal. Still, he wonders if there will be any noticeable changes today.

A few minutes into cooking, Tubbo hears familiar footfalls coming from the living room. He half turns around as Tommy enters the kitchen. The blond has a slight bedhead, straw-colored hair sticking out in places. He brings a hand up to rub one of his eyes.

“Morning,” he says through a yawn.

“Morning, Tommy.”

The blond shuffles closer and looks over Tubbo’s shoulder at what he’s doing. “Eggs?”

Tubbo nods as he moves the yellow scrambled eggs around in the pan. “Yeah.”

Tommy sleepily hums in response and gently rests his forehead on Tubbo’s left shoulder. The brunette smiles a little. The moment injects a peaceful feeling into his chest. It’s so mundane, so calm, so far away from every last bad thing that has happened to them more recently. They’ve fought through everything together to come to this moment, where they can be peaceful in each other’s company. It makes all the battles and hardships seem worth it.

Suddenly, Tubbo’s stomach does a nervous flip, interlaced with feelings of dread and slight embarrassment. His smile fades. “Hey, Tommy, I’m sorry about how I blew up at you last night. That wasn’t fair, I should’ve kept my cool.”

The other boy lifts his head off of Tubbo’s shoulder, shockingly blue eyes making direct contact with his own. “It’s alright, Tubbo. I get why you did it. I was lying and being secretive and I-“

“That’s not an excuse,” Tubbo says, cutting him off. Distress creeps into his voice. “I should’ve just-“

Tommy cuts him off in turn, placing a hand on his shoulder. “No, it’s not. But I’m telling you, it’s okay. You’re human and you were worried. It’s okay, Tubbo.”

Tubbo takes a slow, deep breath, closing his eyes briefly. “Okay,” he says as he exhales.

“Okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

Satisfied, Tommy leans his forehead back against Tubbo’s shoulder. The weight and the contact bring the brunette comfort.

When the eggs are about ready, Tubbo asks Tommy to grab plates. He groans but obliges and returns a few seconds later with two. Tubbo scoops an even amount of eggs onto both and they go sit at the table together. The first few minutes are spent in silence, eating. Walter wanders into the room and sits next to Tommy, staring up at his plate, waiting expectantly for him to cave. Tubbo isn’t sure whether the silence is peaceful and sleepy or nervous and tense. Maybe it’s a bit of both.

When Tommy finally gives in and tosses Walter a small chunk of egg, he looks up at Tubbo and asks, “Is there anything going on today?”

The boy shakes his head. “No, nothing. And it’s your second to last day before you take back your council seat, isn’t it?”

Tommy looks surprised, then glances to the side as he thinks for a moment. “Yeah, it is.”

“What do you want to do today, then?”

Tommy pokes at a bit of egg while he considers. “It would be nice to walk around L’manburg for a while. Just hang out and be, I guess.”

The idea makes Tubbo smile. “Yeah, that sounds great. I’m down.”

The boys finish eating and Tubbo puts the dishes and cutlery in the sink. He’ll take care of it later.

They both go to their rooms to change out of yesterday’s clothes. Tubbo grabs a fresh pair of jeans and a soft, green button-down. He rewraps the red bandana around his wrist, making sure it’s secure, then meets Tommy in the living room. Henry II sits on the boy’s shoulder and Walter sits patiently by his side, tail wagging in anticipation of going outside.

Changed and ready, the two boys head out. They stroll aimlessly through the paths of L’manburg, talking about anything that comes to mind. Tubbo loses track of time as they walk.

Eventually, they come to the battered site of Tommy’s old house.

The boys stop at the sight. For a few seconds they simply stare, dead silent, conversation forgotten. They’d passed the house on their way to the bench a few days ago, but it had been dark and they’d been distracted. Tubbo wonders if Tommy even considered stopping to look at it that night.

The smooth stone walls have blocks missing. Bits of rubble lay like forgotten memories amongst trampled, patchy grass. There’s even a slab or two missing from the path leading up to the entrance.

Nerves collect in Tubbo’s stomach. Gingerly, he taps the back of his hand against Tommy’s. After another second of nerve-wracking silence, the blond accepts the invitation and takes Tubbo’s hand, giving it a brief squeeze. I’m alright, the action seems to say.

“Want to go in and look around?” Tubbo asks softly.

Tommy glances around the wrecked environment again, then says, “Yeah…yeah, sure.”

He tells Walter to sit and leaves Henry II with him for company. With another squeeze, the boy lets go of Tubbo’s hand and leads the way up the path and into the old house.

It’s not much prettier inside than outside. One of the furnaces is missing and a thin layer of dust lines most of the surfaces. The ender chest is gone. Tommy rotates in a slow circle, taking in the scene. Tubbo tries to identify exactly what emotion is on his friend’s face. It’s a blurred mixture of sadness and nostalgia and maybe a little bit of surprise.

Finally, he turns to Tubbo and asks, “Will you help me look through the chests? Might be some good things left.” Something soft and vulnerable like griefs wraps its way around his words as he speaks.

Tubbo nods and they get to work. Roughly ten minutes later, their inventories are loaded up with large sums of coal, some stacks of logs, and even a few diamonds. They decide to head back to Tubbo’s house to drop them off in the guest room chest before continuing their day.

On the way there, they bump into Fundy. The fox stands by the plot of land designated for the community garden project. He holds a pen and a notebook, sketching something and scribbling notes in the margins. A few barrels sit in a stack by his side.

Tubbo stomach drops a little. He calls out to Fundy and he as Tommy come to a stop. “Hey! I didn’t forget something we had planned, did I? Was I meant to help you today?”

Fundy turns and waves in greeting. “Hi, no. I was just,” he pauses for a moment, seeming nervous, “well, I was talking to Wilb- Dad about the community garden project earlier and since it’s almost my last day on the council, I wanted to do something helpful. So, I invited him to help me plan things out and put down some borders and draft out where things will go.”

Tubbo, remembering what Tommy told him of his conversation with Wilbur last night, smiles. “That’s brilliant, Fundy. Do you want any help or…?”

“Uh, no. No, I think we got it. He’ll be back soon, though, if you want to stay and say hi. He was just grabbing some more signs.”

“Nah, I’m sure we’ll see him around soon enough. We’ll let you get to it.”

“Alright. See ya, man.”

Tommy and Tubbo continue on to the house. When they’ve gotten out of earshot of Fundy, Tubbo says, “He seemed…I don’t know, happy? Hopeful?”

“And nervous as hell. I don’t blame the guy. It’s nice to see that Wilbur is sticking to his word, though.”

“Yeah. Yeah, it really is.”

When they get inside the house, Tubbo passes the stuff he’d been carrying to Tommy and says, “I’m going to go check something real quick. Meet you in the living room."

“Alright.”

Tubbo goes to his room, closes the door, and goes for the double chest against the wall. He opens it and grimaces at the mess.

He really should clean it, there’s no reason for him to have so much junk in here- he has a storage room for a reason. But that’s an issue for another day.

He digs around and finds what he needs, then accesses the crafting table underneath the chest and places the items in a familiar pattern. Satisfied, he tucks the item into his inventory and goes to the hallway to meet Tommy.

The boys head back out, Walter and Henry II right behind them. They walk until their sides get stitches, then search for a spot to sit down. They come to the L’mantree and seat themselves under it. Hundreds of green leaves shield them from the warm sun. So much history is held within the oak tree’s boughs. It feels to Tubbo almost like sitting down at the side of an old comrade.

The conversation stills for a while as the two boys look up at the clouds floating across the sky. Every now and again, they speak softly to point out a cloud that looks like a certain shape. Walter lays in between them, napping. Henry II sits upon one of the L’mantree’s branches.

Tubbo feels extraordinarily relaxed. His and Tommy’s slow, deep breaths tangle in the air while they sit side by side and bathe in the peace created by their surroundings. A soft smile pulls at Tubbo’s lips as he picks up a hand to gently run through Walter’s white fur.

He almost feels disappointed when Puffy and Niki pass by them and put a pause to the moment. The couple holds hands, stopping in their tracks when they see Tommy and Tubbo under the tree. Niki waves cheerfully and Puffy shoots them a smile.

“Hey, guys. How’s it going? Everything alright?” Niki asks. She makes eye contact with Tubbo on the last sentence, giving him a meaningful look.

He stares right into her eyes when he nods. She smiles. “Yeah, everything’s great. Just enjoying one of Tommy’s last days off.”

“Awesome. It’s a beautiful day for it,” Puffy says, glancing briefly at the sky. “Oh, I meant to stop by earlier with some pumpkin pie I made for you two. Can I pop over just before sunset with it?” She tilts her head a little to the side. Curls of brown hair fall over her shoulder.

“By all means,” Tubbo says.

“Great, see you then.” Puffy bumps her shoulder gently against Niki’s. “Don’t let me forget.”

Niki turns an affectionate smile towards her partner. “I won’t.” She looks back at Tommy and Tubbo. “We’ll let you get on with your day. See you later.”

“Later, Niki,” Tubbo says.

Puffy and Niki keep walking and Tommy and Tubbo fall comfortably back into serene silence. Tubbo allows a few minutes of quiet before he says, “Hey, how about we go to the bench tonight.”

Tommy doesn’t look at him, but Tubbo can see his smile. “Yeah, sounds good.”

~

Tommy and Tubbo head for the bench shortly after Puffy and Niki drop off the pie. Walter and Henry II once again accompany them on their short journey. Tubbo feels tired by the time they arrive, relieved to take a seat on the bench. They walked for a good while today. He’s sure to wake up late again tomorrow.

Tommy slides into place next to him, looking at the horizon as the sky slowly begins to shift from blue to pink. The item Tubbo crafted earlier sits heavily in his inventory.

Walter lays down at their feet. Henry II flaps off of Tommy’s shoulder and lands delicately on the dog’s head. The green of the parrot’s feathers sort of blends in with the color of Walter’s bandana. Tubbo glances from the lime cloth around the dog’s neck to the red one around his own wrist. So many memories are attached to the two bright strips of fabric.

Tommy and Tubbo had spent most of the day talking, but there was always more to say with them. Some story from seven months ago the other had forgotten to divulge, a detail from childhood to reminisce over, a fighting tactic to discuss.

Their conversation tonight is punctuated by short silences, pausing now and again to watch the sinking sun. When the sky starts turning orange, Tubbo stands. Tommy looks up at him quizzically.

“I noticed earlier that the ender chest was missing from your old house and I thought you might like a new one.” With a tentative hand, he reaches into his inventory and pulls out the ender chest he’d made earlier, gently placing it on the grass next to the bench.

Tommy smiles and lets out a noise somewhere between a soft laugh and a gasp. Gently, he brushes a hand over the lid. It emits a soft, vaguely purple light that illuminates his skin.

“Thank you, Tubbo. Really.”

Tubbo sits back down as Tommy gently lifts the lid and reaches into the black depths of the container. He pulls out a jukebox and a disc. It’s not one of the discs, but Tommy still looks emotional as he holds it. He was always fond of discs, and he hadn’t had access to them while he’d been gone.

With great care, Tommy places the jukebox next to the ender chest and slips the disc in. As he sits down next to Tubbo, the first few notes of Blocks plays. It washes a feeling of comfort over Tubbo. Blocks has always been one of his favorites. He finds it soothing.

No conversation interrupts the disc. Its notes, beautiful and tranquil, are the only sound that floats through the air. The lowering sun splashes the sky with a gorgeous gradient of fiery colors. The music combined with the company and the beautiful display in front of them makes the moment feel special and separated from the normal passage of time. The sunset seems to go by in both an entire year and a single minute. Tubbo thinks it would be nice to believe that part of him will always be here, in this moment, watching the sunset and listening to music with Tommy.

Eventually, the light fades out to dark, stars slowly appearing to greet the waning moon. The last few notes of Blocks ring out into the night, and then all is silent. Neither of them speak for a while. Tubbo tentatively takes a breath before asking, “Tommy, do you ever think about how…every moment you’ve lived through leads up to the one you’re in now? Like, everything we’ve ever done has led up to us being here, right now, in this exact second. It’s…it’s kind of nice.”

There’s a beat of silence and Tubbo looks over at Tommy, who’s staring at the sky. “Jesus Christ, Tubbo, don’t get all existential on me.”

Tubbo laughs and looks back up to the sky, smiling at the joke as he watches more stars twinkle into existence. There’s a slight sting too, though.

After another short silence, Tommy says, “I suppose it is sort of nice, though.”

Tubbo’s smile widens a little. “How do you feel about getting back to work as a council member?”

“It’s a little daunting, but I’m feeling pretty good about it. It’ll be nice to have something to do besides think about everything bad that’s ever happened. I had a month for thinking, I’m ready to work, Big T.”

“That’s good to hear. We’ve got a lot to do. We’ve come so far since the Second Revolution, but there’s always something else that needs fixing.”

“We can take it. Watch, we’re going to be the best leaders L’manburg has ever seen. Better than Wilbur.” Tommy’s voice holds the light tone that indicates he’s joking, but honesty seeps through as well.

“L’manburg won’t know what hit it.”

Tommy laughs a little. “Yeah.” After a brief pause, he adds in a more somber tone, “Speaking of L’manburg and…things hitting it, has the Dream SMP been up to anything while I’ve been gone?

Tubbo shifts in his seat to face Tommy, who turns his gaze from the sky to Tubbo. “A scout on the borders here and there. Nothing big. Yet. Niki and I were planning to open a diplomatic line of conversation with them once you got back, but based on past experiences, I don’t know how that’ll go.”

Tommy nods slightly and drops his eyes to the bench. After a slightly shaky breath, he says, “Tubbo…what do you think is going to happen next?”

The brunette sighs lightly. “I don’t know, big man. But,” he reaches his hand out, palm up in invitation, “whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”

Tommy looks up at Tubbo for a moment, then back down at his extended hand. He grabs it and squeezes. It feels warm and reassuring. “Yeah. Together, like always.”

You can also read this on Ao3! | Previous Chapter |  Please consider reblogging if you enjoyed! <3 

[dast4rd]

i'll give you my left tiddy if you upload speedpaints of your work, i'd adore to see your process!!! Your art amazes me so much!! :D (Also what program do you use? the texture for your brushes is to die for hHHH)

oh its ok king… u can keep ur tit. thanks though,

ur not the first person 2 ask tho so……. I will hhhhh post a speedpaint in the coming months. it will HAPPEN. anyway my brushes - get ready this gonna be long - I use clip studio paint, all default brushes, stuff like this

is done using this in varying sizes,

stuff like this

is done w this, I think I used 17 line weight but idk I normally just go with whatever its on or change it to suit

this 

was sketched out first with above brush and then lined with ugh the sexiest brush in the whole world this bad boy is my baby i never felt love like this before getting this brush

idk WHAT the thickness was but it sure as hell wasn’t 20. try like 15 or something. maybe less. I vary it a lot bc I use it for colouring too so who knows. also note the anti aliasing is off. very crucial for me. I got into art by making minecraft texture packs so anything that’s smooth is just disgusting to my eyes. I do not like to see it. 

Okay so for the halftones, I use the halftone tool on csp but basically like select the area I want to be filled, 

then fill (from the circled bit, thats the halftone tool) with these settings

but saying that - depending on the canvas size/dpi, this might look shit! so just mess around with the frequency and density tools until u get what u want. THEN the layer is gonna have a clipping mask. I then use my sexy line brush (above) and an eraser to buff out and erase the half tone bits that I don’t want. 

ANYWAY thats literally all I ever use, except for mono pen if I’m feeling crazy. idk what to say if u don’t use csp though! enjoy these brushes that you don’t have I guess! hope u enjoyed seeing me try to explain all this, thank u for reading!