#more cartoony than i usually draw and that says something

[koszmarnybudyn]

I think Henry is a nervous wreck with too much guilt and he deserves some comfort.

[non-un-topo]

Thinking about Yusuf and Nicolò as young men again

[bonefall]

Hi! How would you draw a tool-evolved cat paw?

Aeons ago I wrote some speculative biology thoughts on what a tool-focused cat would begin to look like, and mentioned the way that a caw's paw might evolve. I can try to draw it out as a sketch; but fair warning that I put my art style points into cartoony anime stuff SO you're not gonna get a realistic drawing lmao

Evolution doesn't "think." It's many changes over generations that snowball into bigger ones. So I tried to look at WHAT exactly is happening between an animal with less sophisticated tool use (chimp) and one that COMPLETELY relies on tools (human) to predict where the cat's paw would end up in a few thousand generations.

Please note! My paw would still be a "link" between the ancestor, and something even more reliant on tool use. This proposed species would still be 100% capable of doing what the cats in-canon do, like hunt alone. It's for a feline species that is tool-ADAPTED, not tool-RELIANT.

(In that way, it's more comparable to, say, a lemur and a chimp. But lemur palm refs were hard to find and I did this quick because I've already thought about it.)

This paw would exist in-tandem with a "tool tooth;" A V-shaped gap in the jawline that a single fang would nestle into. Early tool-using felines would likely use their mouth to "break" or "shear" their crafts, leading to broken teeth that would make them less successful. So there would be a lot of evolutionary pressure to have better, stronger teeth.

Evolution doesn't do "one thing at a time," so if you happened to port yourself into a group of these cats and watch them craft stuff, you'd see them using their mouths as well as their paws!

Finger Size + Tool Claw

When you see real cats batting stuff around and manipulating things, and when you look at canon where they like to "hook things on a claw," it's usually the index "finger" they favor. In fact, they do a LOT of "poking," even when a cat bats at something they seem to mostly explore with the tip of their paw.

So I figure that would actually be a big difference between this species and humans.

Unlike us, who usually have our middle finger as the longest (though there are exceptions) so we can "stabilize" the things we grab, I'd give these guys a "Tool Claw" which is not involved in grappling at all. It's longer, more deeply grooved, but also more fragile than the "hunting" claws.

When at rest, the Tool Claw would stick out from the rest of the foot, straight upwards. The fur is able to "sheathe" the other three, but the index's would be too long to be fully hidden.

Because one of those fingers is now mostly taken out of combat, the pinkie would probably thicken up to compensate. Another difference from the human hand. I can imagine that if the trend continues, they might end up supporting their full frontal weight on the pinkie pad to free up the other fingers for tool use.

(But evolution's not always predictable! They might end up becoming more "back heavy" like raccoons, or rely on the invention of shoe/gloves, or just abandon silent hunting all together to become tool-reliant.)

Paw Pad Changes

Cats use the pads on their paws to move silently. As long as the species is relying on silently stalking prey, they will need to have these pads in contact with the ground to be good hunters.

So instead of the digital pads sliding down to create the "top" of the palm, I figured the metacarpal pad would split in two. So now there's a snug, dipped "shape" with which they could nestle an object into as they work with it, but also there is ALWAYS still pad in contact with the ground.

The amount of fur in-between the bottom (metacarpal) and top (supercarpal) pads probably just depends on culture and genetics. It wouldn't really have enough of an impact on the paw to be selected for to be furry or hairless.

I can imagine some groups being weird about it and thinking it should be shaved or braided or something, lmao. Or cats who live in muddy environments clipping it for hygiene reasons.

[hazshit-hotel-hater]

Surprise! I am going to rant about my own redesign and art! I think this is me mentally preparing for the helluva boss episode next week and praying to god it’s actually good. I’ve also been nursing a bit of a hangover today so forgive me if my wording is a bit more jumbled than usual

Im a big fan of my Angel Dust redesign, but in the general aspect of my art, a lot of my poses are a bit flat. That can be from either posing issues on my end, trouble with facial features, or just some secret third thing, but I think so far Ive been enjoying drawing much more cartoonishly as of recent. That vox canon & headcanon drawing was super super fun to do even though it was supposed to be vivzies style, but I used to have a style with more sharp angles and pointy curves that I honestly kind of miss, I also miss playing with cartoonish proportions!!

My art style may end up changing eventually, but my main pieces will stay in my usual style and my more doodle-y ones will probably be in a more cartoony style like the ones above. While theyre definitely closer to canon and meant to be inspired as such, the difference is that I can draw diverse body types in said artstyle! I also cant lie, Angel’s chest fluff is one of my absolute favourite things to draw and it’s so easy in this style…

About my redesigns though! This is mostly about Angel, but I’m gonna slap this here from DMs with a friend: “Im so pleased with this genuinely im so happy he has his little pedipalps, theyre technically also still his fangs but now he can move them and stuff and :33 typically for male spiders the pedipalps are a reproductive organ but that isnt the case for angel or many other arachnid or insect sinners id say so I think personally most of them have developed pedipalps for primarily other reasons like fangs in Angels case or maybe something similar to cat whiskers for other people”

In my original angel dust redesigns I just couldn’t find a way to draw his fangs in a way that made me happy because I want to keeo the same energy in his face as the original. Big clunky fangs that stick out just didn’t work for him and while they made him look like a spider, he lost that sort of angel-ness that I need when drawing him so I instead looks to the pedipalp aspect of spiders to move them off of his mouth and more onto his cheeks. It’s a very small change but it improved the design in my eyes significantly and just really made me a lot happier. I wont be updating his redesign post as of right now and maybe never will, but if I do yknow why now!

I just really really like drawing this guy a bit rubbery, hes supposed to be fluffy so like he should move kinda soft in a way? I dunno how to explain it rn, its 2 AM at the time of writing this so im gonna lay the hell down now!

[starrysharks]

ive sent like 20 asks to you atp but i really love ur art soooo so so so much like ur like my biggest inspiration fr like seriously i could blab all day abt how much i love your art and your arts almost singlehandedly motivated me to start working on shape language more bc i think thats like the key part of your art (to me at least) and youre like the true embodiment of "same face syndrome fears me" but like fr because all your ocs are so distinct and unique

do you have any tips on creating unique silhouettes / just general character design tips?? also id love to hear abt how your use of shapes and shape language evolved over time if ur fine sharing that!!

ok this is literally the sweetest ask ever like first off thank you so much ;_; i'm glad i was able 2 inspire you!!!

for me if you look at my old art there's little to no focus on shape language cuz i wanted to express a 'pointy' animeish style. examples are from 2020, 2021 respectively

as you can see i did NOT flip my canvas and my art was samey as hell,,, but in 2021 i started going for softer colors and shapes rather than points and spikes and brighter shapes. but, if you were to look through all of my art from either era, you'd see it's identical cuz i didn't care for shape language. this went on for quite a while :,)

then i discovered worlds end club in late 2021 and everything changed !!! i watched playthroughs cuz i didn't have a means to play at the time, and decided on making my artstyle a blend of cartoony and animeish - which ended up in choosing more expensive silhouettes and faces in turn

honestly i'm too tired to actually chronicle my artstyle change so i'll just skip to late 2022 in this timeline, sorry 😭

so by now has my artstyle evolved into aomwthing super cool n expressive ? no actually i think my art got worse in late 2022

as you can see, my colors got super washed out and i didn't really take risks, i guess? but i was finally starting to come into my own in terms of artstyle and was finally acknowledging shape language a little bit.

very early 2023 is the same, so let's skip to the one thing that changed my artstyle - the big 8 lineups

suddenly everybody was like 'wow your shapes are so good!!!' this was because i had tried to challenge myself with character design in these drawings. so i tried to emphasise interesting shapes more - using a technique where i'd just take an interesting shape or line that corresponded with a character's personality and repeating it as much as i could across the design.

like this deep cut art, where i tried to 'dial up'their already exaggerated shapes and design aspects (such as making frye's pants sag more or changing up shiv's hair. big man is perfect and needs no changes)

but this journey is still not over because a few months ago i rewatched all of panty and stocking and watched clone high for the first time, and both of these shows emphasise shapes a LOT in their designs, and i picked those up. here's art from a few months ago - in short, i tried to find the 'focal point' of the design, something that set it apart from other designs with similar body types or clothing, and built around that, if it makes sense? here's some art that i think expresses that well

comparing the new quintet art to the old one, i think you can also see that i started to try and use different body shapes and shapes in general (such as clyde having a more triangular build ig) . and tumblr doesn't let me add more pictures so this is where the overview ends !

my advice is - watch and rewatch anything that might inspire you, because it has the ability to push you in the right direction. for technical tips, id say -

draw different body types and age ranges (often times same face syndrome is born from only drawing the same age range, usually 15-20 for most sufferers)

play around with style - do you want a more western inspired style or something more akin to modern anime ? maybe something entirely different! try drawing in different styles that you like and see which ones stick

research fashion if only a little bit - it can help understand visually pleasing silhouettes (such as the famous big jacket or big pants silhouettes)

speaking of big jacket or big pants, contrast is key !!! top or bottom heavy designs are an easy way to express personality and an expressive silhouette ig

ummm thaz it ithink. once again thank you for your kind words and remember to take advice from multiple artists im just one guy!! i hope anything in here helped or was at least interesting to read

[kaelio]

Macro/micro for the fetish thing 📏

Ok, I know this ask is because of that entry in Anne Rice's journal where she watched Jack & The Beanstalk (she misremembered, I'm pretty sure this was Jack the Giant Slayer) so she could mack on Ian McShane and was annoyed the giants in it weren't hot enough, but obviously this is relevant to me because I draw micro/macro applicable stuff for a couple fandoms, or I have anyway.

The answer to this is, however, complex! Yes, in a way, but also not really, in a different way.

So first off, I like to write pornography, but it can't really get me off if I was the one who wrote it. Same with fanart. It's a writing challenge with a smack of pay-it-forward, or the sex is inherent to something I am trying to capture, but if I write it myself I'm too close to it; I remember too much of the process or mentally go into editing mode.

But as a result I tend to think of fetishes as both multipliers and ingredients.

As a consumer, I tend to think of fetishes as multipliers. Like, something that you're totally neutral on is a 1x. Something you just can't stand at all, total horny-killer, is a 0x. Hypothetically there's no upper bound but, say, 3x would mean the story is 3x hotter to you because it features that fetish. An example for me would be scat. Hard 0x. The second I see it, I'm out. No matter what else is going on, the multiplier is 0; the story is at a level of 0 hotness. The earlier answer on oviposition is like a .1x. I haven't run into a story with it that was good enough to get me off, but Bloodchild got close, so I'm saying with the deftest of hands, it can work. Micro/macro is maybe like a situational 1.2x. It's a little bump but it's not going to be make or break per se. It could be in a story where it added nothing to me.

Because that's where we get into fetishes as ingredients.

When I'm thinking about an effective piece of erotica, it's got components, right? It's expressing some notion. It'll have different ingredients in it that make up the whole, that make for a cohesive work. I do think that micro/macro can enhance some recipes a bit, but more than that, it's a virtually essential ingredient to others. Let's say you're into werewolf porn. If the werewolf is like, same-entity-size.... I dunno. Like I guess. But isn't the werewolf theme usually leaning on some sort of power dynamic that the savage nature of the werewolf highlights? The werewolf is going to be 140 lbs? Sure you don't want it to be a bit more Big? Or, to make a different point, more Small? That might take you in a funnier direction, more like a comedy premise perhaps, but something's being communicated by the inclusion of some kind of noticeable size difference.

Let's now take it over to tentacle porn. God, I tried. I have on an occasional whim thrown my lot in with Kurt Eichenwald and it just does not take. I can't get off to it. I'd love it if I could. But anyway, let's say someone's being pointedly caressed by an octopus. You can't have that be just a regular-size octopus. Kind of pathetic. Obviously, that octopus has to be bigger than an octopus should be. "Well, what if you add more octopuses, like an octopus gangbang?" Sure, that might work for some people. But for me it comes off as lacking in confidence. Oh, you had to bring all your little octopus friends to nail this twink? Sad.

Now, I am a scaley straight-up. The only limiting aspect to this, for me, is that most scalies seem to have gotten into it from like... Spyro the Dragon? And they're really cartoony. Doesn't hit. As a kid, I had books on ancient Egypt, and I was intrigued by Sobek. Also we had a caiman. And my mother would find people in the classified ads who were trying to sell giant snakes and pay for her kids to go pet (but not buy) the giant snakes so we wouldn't be afraid of snakes, like she was, so as a child I was just overwhelmingly exposed to giant (16'+) snakes. My mother would go dump us off at places where big snakes were so we could observe big snakes, like reptile shows and the reptile house at the zoo. The result of this was super funny but suffice to say I am not afraid of snakes. (Not into vore though! Does nothing for me! Responsible owners don't live-feed.) I want to be super clear: I do not want to fuck animals, never have, but I did want to nail Bleu in Breath of Fire more than you can possibly imagine. However, if I'm doing scaley stuff in particular, one simply has to admit that micro/macro is the baking soda in that quickbread. It's not the part that makes that fetish work, but it's certainly more likely to turn out the way you intended if you put a little bit of it in there. When I made Cardassians huge in my DS9 redesigns, however, that was mostly in service of it being funny since I was a major bottom-Garak advocate, the bigger they are the funnier that is. Also like, whiny old queen giant lizardman is just fun and has room to spitball where like, I don't know, a more straightforward big hot lizard man would utterly bore me. It can't all be baking soda.

[calware]

I love your young!Rose design with the braids & hair beads, it reminds me of the Black girls i knew in elementary school (2005-2011), so its deffo “period accurate” and also a delightful choice. The way you draw the human kids in general is really nice, youre really good at conveying specific features with minimal lines (like her & Mom’s nose shape). Do you have any tips for how you draw faces to make them not same-face or repetitively “white” features, especially when drawing in a less “realistic” style (i dont wanna say your style is cartoony but idk what i would call it tbh)? I took a life drawing class back in 2019 but we mostly drew the same two models or our classmates, and it was both a limited pool of features plus feels hard to translate into art that isnt attempting to be 100% realistic.

Sorry if this is rambly. Congrats on 10k. Love ur new icon, tho i miss the Horb. Do you take commissions? I think i asked this before but i forgetful af.

thank you for the ask :)!! i'm really flattered that you think i'm good at avoiding same-face syndrome because i am VERY LAZY when it comes to drawing and i could definitely be doing a better job ;^^ i'm also not the best at drawing people diversely(?), it's just something i have to get better at. there are people way more qualified than me to give advice about this... but i can try giving some tips

the first is that, like with anything, if i'm not confident that i can accurately portray something or a specific feature i will usually look up a reference. i like paying attention to things like the position of the browbone, height of the cheekbones, shape of the chin, shape of the eyes, length/width of the face, width of the nostrils, shape/position of the bridge of the nose, roundness of the cheeks, etc. when i draw characters (specifically the homestuck characters i like, because i think about them a lot) i have an idea in my head of how they look and how they differ from one another. for example i see jade with a longer diamond-shaped face while rose has a shorter heart-shaped face, so i do my best to depict that in my drawings

(idk if this illustration makes ANY SENSE bc like i said i think that i also struggle with pushing myself in regards to this and i think i still have more to learn/practice)

i think it comes down to paying attention to the proportions/types of specific facial features and adjusting them each to create a unique face

that said when it comes to stylizing what you see from photographic references, i understand that it can be tricky to simplify it. i really don't have any advice for this.... i just play around with it until it looks good while also being recognizable as the specific thing i'm trying to draw.......... so in that case i think it helps to use other people's art as a reference too! i don't really care about sticking to one "style" so i don't mind drawing in a slightly different way if i want to do something another artist is also doing. so for example if you're struggling with drawing 4c hair i recommend looking at other people's drawings of characters with 4c hair that you like and playing around with if you can incorporate their techniques into your own art.

i hope this all made sense ;^^ there are definitely a lot of tutorials out there that are way more informative than this one

also, to answer your last question, i plan to open up a few commission slots next week! (as long as i have enough time to that is)

[wakebymoonsleepbysun]

Untitled Caine x GN!Reader oneshot because why not

EDIT: A more polished version of this is now on ao3!!

After writing something close to 20k words of Stereo Souls this week I needed a quick break, and came up with this while half asleep and feeling mopey. It's self-indulgent so if you find yourself thinking "He would not fucking say that" then yeah, you're probably right but eh, this isn't a Caine character study. 🤣

If I ever think of a title and edit this I might put this on ao3 cuz again whynot.

(Sidenote: Yes, the reader appearance is based on the TADC sona I designed for myself. At the time I referred to the sona with she/her pronouns because I didn't mean for it to be anything other than a drawing of my own sona. But I assure you this reader is gender neutral despite sharing a design with a she/her character.)

Word count: ~1700

You’ve lost track of how long you’ve been stuck in the Digital Circus. You think the time is best measured in months, not years, but Jax has suggested otherwise a couple times. But you can’t always tell when Jax is lying to upset you, or telling the truth to upset you.

You try not to be upset at all.

Easier said than done in this place, most of the time.

Caine makes it easier, though you seem to be in the minority with that opinion. His games can be irritating sometimes, but you sense he is trying to make them fun…and the banquets and parties he throws for you and your cohorts afterwards are usually nice.

You think he’s improving, but every time you mention that possibility Jax lets out a cough that usually sounds suspiciously like “Stockholm”. 

It is after such a party you’ve slipped out of the tent to wander the grounds on your own for a bit. The sun has gone away for now. You don’t think describing it as having “set” is accurate, but in any case, the grounds are bathed in the bluish glow of nighttime. The moon herself seems to have dozed off in her perch among the chalk stars, so she pays you no mind.

Like the other humans (or perhaps former humans) here, you were given a new form when you arrived. From a distance, you could be mistaken as one of the more humanoid characters, but up close that illusion falls apart. You’re essentially an animated pile of clothing. A hoodie, with the always up hood serving as your head and cartoony, ever malleable and expressive pair of thick glasses serving as your eyes. Your legs are a pair of jeans, the bottoms of which rest on the ground like a floppy pair of feet.

When you’d first caught a glimpse of yourself in a mirror, you’d thought you were invisible…but there’s no invisible body beneath your garments--the garments are you. 

You don’t remember your past life--nobody here does. But you know bits of it, and you feel like in some ways you know yourself. Somehow the idea of you being invisible, faceless, nondescript and barely noticeable feels…Well, it feels like a predictable outcome in many ways. As much as predictable outcomes exist in the Digital Circus, anyway.

The others all seem to have something pulling them back to the human world, even if they don’t always know what it is. Jax less so, and Kinger seems to forget the pull just as much you’ve all forgotten what’s pulling you, but it’s there all the same.

Less so for you though.

You just can’t help but feel…you don’t have much to go back to.

Your moping is interrupted--as it often is--but the sudden appearance of two large eyes immediately in front of you. Green and blue.

“Hello there! I was wondering where you’d gone off to,” Caine says, floating back a pace so his eyes aren’t dominating your visual field.

“Oh, uh, hi Caine,” you say, lifting a floppy sleeve in an imitation of a wave.

“What’s gotcha so blue, pal? Aside from the obvious,” he says, gesturing at the artificially blue lighting around you two.

You let out a little laugh at the joke, wringing your sleeves together. “O-Oh nothing, Caine…” you say.

He’s quiet a moment, then lets out a thoughtful hum. “Hmmmmmmmm?” he muses. His eyes stay in place while his mouth and body rotate around them until he’s upside-down. “Nothing?” he repeats, a layer of dubiousness making itself known beneath his usually pompous tone.

“N-Nothing you need to worry about…” you correct.

Caine abruptly rights himself, giving the top of your hood a gentle tap with his baton, causing your hood--your head--to deflate slightly. 

“Nonsense!” he cries as you try to push your hood back into a head-like shape. “As ringmaster I am in charge of ensuring all characters maintain their happiness and sanity!” he cries, his irises “closing” into little crescents…which is about as close as he can get to closing his eyes.

At your silence, his eyes open again and he floats downward, leaning in close. “Is it because Bubble didn’t save you guys any angel food cake? I told that little parasite--”

“It isn’t that!” you say quickly, holding up your sleeves and quickly shaking your hood.

“Oh. Excellent!” he chirps. For a moment, you hope the tangent had distracted him, but you realize he’s still looking at you expectantly.

“I was uh…just um…thinking about the human world, I guess…” you admit, one of your sleeves rubbing the other nervously.

“Ahhh yes, that whole affair,” Caine says, his tone both pompous and commiserating. He floats down to join you on the ground and begins walking beside you. “I do apologize for how long the Exit Door is taking. I do still have some new ideas I--”

“I’m not worried about the Exit Door, Caine,” you say. He’s talked about making one before, and you’re told when Pomni arrived, he’d come up with something pretty convincing. But it was no real exit. None of you are sure if his “Exit Door” talk is just another game, some new level he’s designing that he thinks will delight all of you indefinitely, or if he truly is trying to help you find a way out.

Most of the time you’re not sure if Caine even knows.

“Oh?” he asks curiously. “Everyone else is.”

“Well…I’m not not worried about it…” you amend.

One side of his upper teeth raises in an approximation of a quirked brow. “But you just said--”

“I-I mean…I’m worried about it in general I guess, but not right this second,” you clarify quickly.

“Ah. I see,” he says with a small nod. Once again he looks at you expectantly.

“Can I ask you something?”

Caine’s mouth tilts to one side curiously, but after a moment he cries “Certainly!” in his usual showman tone.

“Do you…have any data on who we used to be? Even…what we looked like?” you ask.

“Afraid not, friend!” he declares easily. “In fact, I don’t even know what humans look like!”

You falter slightly, glancing over him in surprise. “Not at all?”

“Not at all!” he says with a grand sweep of his arm. “Think about it. When would I have ever seen a human?”

“I…I suppose…” you say.

“I have inferred some things though!” he declares, raising one finger and puffing his chest as he walks. “Ragatha is the closest. Pomni being a close second. And you being…” He stops walking, one hand scratching his chin. “Perhaps a distant third?” he asks tentatively, as if he’s truly not sure.

You’re not entirely sure either. If Jax’s ears didn’t make him resemble a rabbit more than a human, one could make the case that he’s more “human” than you by virtue of having a solid shape and an actual face.

But you simply shrug and dip your hood in a nod. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

“Good!” he chirps easily, taking a couple quick steps to catch up to you and once again fall into step beside you. “But why do you ask?”

You don’t think he’s going to stop prodding until you tell him. Or until he decides you need a new adventure to take your mind off of it. Though even after you tell him, he might still think you need an adventure. But either way, it seems your only chance at a peaceful evening is to just tell Caine what’s on your mind.

Still, that’s a bit easier said than done.

“I-It’s just…I don’t really remember specifics about my life…”

“Nobody does!” he chirps.

“Right,” you continue, not particularly phased by the interruption. “It’s…hard to explain, but…s-sometimes…when I look in the mirror and don’t have a face--a real face…it’s…almost a relief?” you say, glancing up at him.

Caine simply stares at you in silence, waiting for you to continue.

“I-I just…feel like…there was something in the mirror I…didn’t like seeing…but I don’t know why…”

One side of his upper jaw raises slightly in a curious expression. “Do you mean in a physical sense? Or more metaphorical?” he asks.

You glance over at him in surprise. You hadn’t expected such an insightful question. If anything, you’d assumed he’d take it literally--that you just didn’t like your human face. Nothing deeper than that.

But even you don’t know if it’s deeper than that.

“I don’t know,” you say. “I don’t remember clearly enough. It’s…just…an impression of how I used to feel, I guess.”

“Hmmmm…” he hums, his fingers drumming on the gums below his lower row of teeth. “Well, good buddy, I’m afraid I can’t help with that.”

You’d give a small, good-natured smile if you could, but you can’t, so you simply flop your arms in a mild shrug. “I didn’t think so. That’s why I didn’t want to bother you with it.”

“Bother? Hardly a bother!” Caine cries cheerfully. “Your happiness and sanity are my priority!” he declares, placing a fist against his chest and puffing up proudly.

“W-Well..thanks for um…checking in on me anyway,” you say, wringing your sleeves together awkwardly.

He lifts off the ground again, hovering in front of you. He lays horizontally, his hands folded under his lower jaw. “For what it’s worth though, friend…If you had a face, I’d sure be happy to see it!” he says, poking the bridge of your glasses with one finger.

You sputter in surprise at the remark, and the little touch. He…he surely meant both in the most innocent, innocuous way possible…right?

Caine’s irises close into happy crescents as he rights himself, taking your sleeves in his hands. “Feeling better?” he asks, and you think you hear some genuine warmth in his tone.

Your hood flops forward in a nod. “Y-Yes…thank you.”

“Good!” he crows happily. “Ready to head back? There’s a mousse pie with your name on it!” he grins. Then he pauses, tapping his chin with one finger. “Which I maaaaay mean literally, if that’s your fancy!”

You laugh softly. “Figuratively is fine.”

“Ah, good. Keeps things simple!” he says. He lowers himself to the ground again, and to your surprise, holds out his elbow for you. “Shall we head back, then?”

You’re surprised at the little gesture. You feel your glasses fogging up a bit but quickly lower your hood, trying not to draw attention to it. “S-Sure…” you say, looping your sleeves around his arm.

Life in the circus…isn’t terrible, you decide.

[rhonuscorner]

Oop Five Nights At Freddie's fanart. Who would've thunk it. I've never considered myself a huge Fnaf fan but Security Breach, flaws and all, I adore the setting and the characters in that one and I'm in too deep. I've never played it (or any Fnaf game) because fuck that, I'm a coward and too much of an anxiety ridden mess to deal with jump scares and chase scenes, but I do love watching let's plays.

I am hopelessly OBSESSED with these two right now. Have been for a while but I've been trying to resist getting too attached because I already have so many fandoms and characters to hyper-fixate on... and then the Ruin DLC happened and gave me tons of feels and my obsession with them turned nuclear, resistance was futile and now here we are lol. I have accepted my fate.

I've also been binge reading Solar Lunacy by @bamsara which... y'know, didn't help because that's been keeping me up at night lmao. Had me mad cackling at 2:30am more than once. My sleep schedule is ruined :') BUT THAT'S OKAY. Will probably end up doing some fanart for that too at some point >>; Too many good scenes~

ANYWAY. Never drawn them before, this is just a quick and somewhat messy doodle to see if I can even draw 'em decently and get comfortable with it because this is not an art style I'm very familiar with. The Daycare boys lend themselves well for a more cartoony style which... is not something I do usually. But it was fun! For a first attempt I'm happy with it. I really enjoy drawing them (especially the gremlin on the right).

I will definitely develop my take on them more, there's a few things I do wanna change in how I draw them and I have tons of ideas now, which is good because this artblock is killing meeeeeeeeeeee. I'm just gonna use them to draw stupid shit and dumb jokes and hopefully some actual proper illustrations and hopefully get back into the flow of things (I keep saying that and it never works but PLZ T-T). I still don't have my PC back but once I do that's also gonna make things easier. And faster. Fingers crossed :')

Anyway, I am now officially on the Simping for both the murderous jester bot and the adorable Daycare Attendant who deserves all the hugs and then some bandwagon yeeeeeeeeeeee.

For non-Fnaf fans, feel free to block my Fnaf tags (Rhonu blogs Fnaf and/or Rhonu draws Fnaf) if you need to because there's gonna be more.

[stephofromcabin12]

Any art tips for artists just starting out? I’m struggling big time to find my style 😀

Sure.

It got kinda long. Bc when have I ever been a person of few words?

There is no trick to finding your style other than drawing a lot, and setting a, more or less, loose goal. When I was young it was old school Disney and Don Bluth. That was my holy grail, ideal style. But it evolved to be something else, because that's how style works. You'll put your own twist on things, in time. But first focus on practicing and don't narrow yourself down to just one thing. You'll also probably develop multiple styles out of convenience. Sometimes I prefer the cartoony, simpified stuff. Sometimes I'm more into fully rendered pieces.

Experiment. Make bad art a lot. The more you expose yourself to the inherent let-down of sucking at something, the less it stings. The key is asking yourself why something didn't turn out right.

You can't get good at All Art at once. Start with something you're most interested in learning. Maybe it's anatomy, or gestures, or expressions, or colors. Start with that one thing and practice is with a specific goal in mind. Fx: "I want to get better at drawing faces and expressions, so I'm going to do an expression sheet of a character once a week, and do a little practice every day if I can" – That sorta thing. Everyone is different, though. My old music teacher used to say 30 minutes a day. If we couldn't do 30; 15 mins. So on. As long as you do a lil doodling every day that's still progress.

Learning art is sometimes frustratingly non-linear. Somedays I still 'forget' how to draw a certain thing I've had down since I was 14. Other days I bang out something I've always struggled with on the first try, then fail the next day. It's not a linear progression, it's a damn roller coaster. Best you can do is throw your hands up and try to enjoy the ride. The pipe line for me is usually: First attempt (sucks ass but I've learned to laugh at this stage, just throw ideas at the wall) -> getting comfortable (this is where you think to yourself you have a concept down but you really don't) -> Getting good (you start to draw with more ease, you're not having to 'remember' how you wanted something to look, it's just muscle memory by now) -> Actually having it down (and still having more growth to go. But this is where you get to look back on the comfortable phase and go: 'wow I really had a long way to go')

In fact, having fun is by far the thing that's made me progress. More than tutorials, more than fancy equipment. If I'm not having fun, I have no motivation to keep going. If it's not fun, try and make it so.

Get into the habit of stepping back (whether physically or more metaphorically) and really looking at your art often while you draw. When you add a line, or color, or background element etc. Ask yourself "Does this work?" And adjust accordingly. It seems like a lot of work at first, but eventually it becomes a natural part of the process. I don't really realise I'm doing it but most of the patreon screen recordings I have show the way I zoom in and out of the canvas constantly lol.

Make the things you want to make. Even the most self-indulgent stuff. We have a million artists already doing their thing, but we don't have you yet. Show us what you got! There's room for everything.

Get used to people expressing mild envy/annoyance when you're drawing near them. I've gotten the 'wow I wish I could draw, I can't even do a stick figure!' comment from waitresses, cabin crews, classmates I'd previously never spoken to, teachers, strangers on trainstations, etc etc etc. But! Learn to say 'Thank you' when people compliment your art.

Don't ask for critique if you don't really want it. Don't let people critique you if you didn't ask for it.

You! Don't! Need! Fancy! Equipment! Save your money and get the version of a medium that's affordable and comfortable for you. Look at Stardew Valley's creator's old setup. It's really not about how the tools are set up or the price of them. It's how you make use of them. Didn't FNAF's creator build the models in a moving car on a laptop?

Art takes time. There is no short cut to make it take less time. But the more fun you have the more it'll feel like it's faster. If you're miserable the time will drag on and on and on.

Look at a lot of art. Take in and analyse. I wish I could go back a few years and tell myself to analyse paintings I liked, rather than just going "Oh I like that! Nice!" and then moving on. Why is it good? Why does it move you? What captured your attention? Be the person at a museum leaning forwards to see the paintstrokes, you learn more that way.

Don't feel ashamed if you want to take inspiration from others. Everyone takes inspiration from somewhere. If you see something cool another artist is doing with their rendering or lighting or whatever, try and do a drawing or two emulating it! Maybe you'll discover a new favorite technique, or you'll not really jam with it. Either is good. Both teach you something.

You'll go through more eras than Taylor Swift. Sometimes you gotta do a lil Eras Tour of your own and go back through the catalogue. I'm currently working on reviving several projects I made when I was 13-14. Keep everything. Don't delete; archive.

Get good storage. Like, seriously, wish for a harddrive your next birthday or christmas or whatever. If you're working traditionally wish for some good ringbinders and the good plastic sleeves. Much nicer than running out of storage and having to delete things. Never delete!

You are already an artist. You became one the second you picked up a pen and put it to paper, and then decided to keep going with that. So don't compare yourself. When you find yourself jealous of someone, it's because they have something you want. Figure out what it is, and make it for yourself.

Deadass? Tracing helps so much with learning forms. But it's only helpful when you also practice drawing the same things freehand.

The trick to coloring is just that everything looks good shaded with purple set to multiply, and that if you're ever in doubt go in an L shape on color wheel. Down in brightness, inwards in saturation.

People who say you can never use white or black in drawings are jerks and you should not listen to them. You can do literally everything you want. Sure, experiment with other ways of using white and black. But art advice is just that: It's an option, not gospel. As a wise prophet of our time, Justin Bieber, once said: Never say never.

People will say you should be your own biggest critic. But fuck that. Be your own biggest cheerleader. Love what you make, even when you hate it, find something that works. That stepping back I mentioned in point 6? Sometimes that's zooming out and saying "Damn! That looks really good!" – People will often make art out to be something that should be suffering and painstaking. It's not though. In my honest experience, I've made just as much good art when I was happy and content, as I did when I had severe depression and anxiety and burnout. You're not an artist because you suffer. You're an artist because you can't just sit in that suffering all the time. You know there's beauty besides your pain, and so you'll remind yourself in the act of creation that there is always something more.

Once you realise you have the power to draw truly anything, you'll start having a lot more fun. "Oh but I've never done it before" or "Oh I tried and it just didn't work" Okay. So?

In case of frustration to the point of throwing your art supplies out the window: Take a breath. Go for a walk. Sometimes it's just not your day. Sometimes the rollercoaster gets stuck in the middle of a loop or right at the top of a hill. Wait it out. Try again.

You have absolutely got this. Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

[vampstel]

Out of your favorite designs you’ve redrawn or has drawn who do you enjoyed working on the most?

As a character designer myself, I can’t help but love all my ocs equally, and learning from you actually helps me expand upon my stories. You’ve helped me so much writing a story for Victoria (She’s a princess vampire who is generations after Dracula (Temporary name because some details are being worked on) in my universe I don’t think this made sense but hopefully it does?) and I actually took some inspiration from your video in order to fully develop her.

I also love it when you diversity your work. It makes me really happy seeing all sorts of characters with real life details? If that made any sense. I like learning from you and I wanna try to understand more about details. Mainly because I suck at drawing details and idk how you do most of your stuff by hand. (I usually try to find brushes on IbisPaint on Pinterest for my work)

What kind of advice do you have for any upcoming artists who’s struggling with character designing?

Do you start with the character and then work on the story or is it the other way around?

This is going to be a VERY long response so it’s all gonna be under the cut…

I don’t really have a favorite design honestly... It’s hard to pick favorites when your characters have different aesthetics to them. It feels unfair to me to compare them because of that LOL so I try my best to avoid that.

That being said though, I can definitely say I had so much fun redesigning Elliot and making her her own person rather than a character who’s meant to represent me. She doesn’t have a full body render yet but… I think she’s neat :3

She’s just got all the things I love in one design and since she’s so personal to me, I guess you could technically say she’s my current favorite design out of all my OCs so far. Minus Rei, of course…

But yeah I can definitely relate to loving all your characters equally!! Victoria sounds cool and I’m glad my content helps you out ^_^

As for the last few questions… Details are really hard to draw especially if your art style is more on the cartoony side. There’s nothing wrong with using brushes or patterns online to help out the process but if you want to practice without them, it’s good to try out how to simplify details!!

Not everything has to be crazy complicated. So long as you get the general idea or silhouette of something in your art, it translates pretty well in the end results. Lots of artists simplify things to make it easier for the eye and it’s a hard skill to master but as you get used to it, you’ll become way better at it. Try and be fluid with your line work. That’ll help a ton!!

For advice on character design: I’d say the most important part to designing a character is making them feel alive by having meaning to their physical appearance and attire. A lot of beginner artists tend to forget that which results in a boring or un-relatable character.

We all have some sort of history with our appearances and it’s good to try and figure that out with your OCs. I usually do that during the design process but it’s fine if you do it after or before it. Before it is more ideal in a professional setting though!!

Go insane with designs. Mix and match aesthetics if you want and use LOTS of references and inspiration. That’s the second most important part. It’s why I have tons of pins saved on Pinterest and tons of reels saved on Instagram. But remember to always ask yourself questions like:

Would this character dress like this? What do they think about their clothes? Do they dress traditional, medieval, or modern?

Would they like this sort of thing? What sorts of fabrics and textures do they prefer to feel on their skin? Are they comfortable with revealing attire or do they prefer something more formal?

What sort of history does their clothes have? Was it a gift from someone, did they buy it from a thrift store or did they make it themself?

Do their accessories have sentimentality or are they completely irrelevant and something they use just for aesthetics?

Is there a way to incorporate things from their backstory or their current story to their appearance? Like scars/marks on their body? Maybe even accessories from a loved one or no?

Can you explain why they have specific physical features? Why are they skinny? Or muscular? Do they work out and eat healthy or do they barely take care of themselves?

It’s a lot to consider but when you can answer these questions, your character becomes much more lively and unique.

I personally tend to start the design of the character first but as I go through the drawing process, that’s when I flesh things out like their story and such. I don’t recommend this process to beginners since it’s SUPER messy but do what makes you feel comfortable! Hope this was helpful and thank you once again for the sweet compliments <33

[messrsbyler]

Once and a while, Jonathan gives Will 10 dollars to draw things for him, usually small things that he can cut out and glue to his pictures, but one day he walked up to Will, handed him 30 dollars and simply said "Draw Steve." Then walked away (he was probably sleep deprived)

ANON I LOVE THIS SO MUCH HELP- jonathan being sleep-deprived when asking will and offering no explanation whatsoever, that's so funny lmao i'm so on board for this.

imagine the next morning, jonathan is munching on his cereal after popping some painkillers for his headache (he should really get some sleep), when will plops on the chair next to him and slides a piece of paper towards him.

it takes everything in jonathan to not spit the spoonful of milk and cereal he had just poured in his mouth when he sees what the piece of paper in question contains.

after gulping it all down and and having a coughing fit because some of the milk went down the wrong pipeline, jonathan looks at will with watery eyes. "what... what's that?"

will is in the process of pouring himself some cereal and milk. he doesn't turn to look at jonathan when he says, "the drawing you asked me for yesterday," with a shrug.

oh, right. so that hadn't been a dream, then. no, jonathan was stupid enough to actually request something like this from his little brother. great.

jonathan eyes the drawing. it's good, just as any other of will's drawings, really, the art style toeing between the line of realistic and cartoony.

jonathan crooks a brow. "you draw him... in armor?"

will turns to look at him this time. jonathan doesn't appreciate the small grin in his face. "i don't know." will shrugs. "steve has always strike me as a knight, don't you think?"

a weave of heat slaps jonathan right across his face and he looks away.

a knight. a fucking knight.

of course.

"hadn't thought about it before," he mumbles and resents the way will snorts.

"next commission you ask i'll be asking more than 30 dollars in return." he pushes a spoon inside his mouth, munches, and points at jonathan with the spoon. "i'm not gonna start drawing steve harrington without making more than that."

jonathan folds the drawing and fits it in his pocket. "shut up, will."

[stinkcoke]

ur so cool like omg- also do you have any recommendations of someone wants to learn how do a more cartoony style? Like what resources should I use because i love the look of your style and others and im just struggling on how to do it- again- ur so cool- sorry if this is worded weird or blocky I don’t know how to really communicate well

thank u ^^!!! also ur good! as for your question (this might be long and it may not be the best so forgive me)

I wanna give a disclaimer in advance that you're free to just straight up not listen to me at all if any of my advice doesn't sound like it'll help you!!!

I usually try to draw inspiration from different eras of cartoons that appeals to me. I grew up watching ALOT of cartoons from different places and decades and just having that type of exposure really does broaden the line of what a "cartoony style" can be. I don't think there's really any certain way to draw cartoons, I think it all depends on the artist. if you say your art is cartoony then it is! you don't have to follow specific rules and parameters to fit into that category imo, just do what works for you!

For resources I'd say to just look for cartoons and artists* that you think would be good to take inspiration and learn from! (and since you already mentioned that you love the style of others, you can use those as resources lol)

this is a personal thing that i believe would be considered a resource, and you dont have to follow this but if you haven't learned (what I consider) some of the basics of art (i.e proportions and how to see shapes in objects/bodies etc) then i think it's good to start with that first. learning the basics to then know how to use them and break them is probably my biggest advantage when it comes to drawing but thats just me

*when taking inspiration from artists it's always important to transform what you're learning into something that best reflects you and your style. straight up taking someone's style will not feel as satisfying as being able to come up with your own way of drawing. if you like the way someone uses colors in their art then use that as a stepping stone and not as the ONLY way to color. ALSO ALWAYS BE SURE TO CREDIT IF YOU POST IT!!!!!!!!! it's better to be open that you're learning and using an artist as a resource rather than say nothing and have people assume you're copying or something ykyk

sorry that a lot of this is just me repeating the same thing over and over but it's true lol, having inspiration is the best way to transform your art into something that's more appealing to you

also sorry for taking so long to respond to this ^^; i'm not too good with being concise when it comes to giving advice so i was trying to really simplify this and also irl stuff was goin on :3 but if you have any more questions then i'd be happy to answer!

[encorific]

what the dog doin???

more about him below break!!! :]

this is my stupid dog he's a workaholic and plays bonescape on the job at HQ

art is a bit old, ham looks kinda different than i draw him now, and i wanna change the spider logo on his back, but dogg..

he and ham have that coworker love-hate-but-usually-hate dynamic because i say so‼️

stupidly long dog infodump incoming vv

-his entire dimension is populated by silly dogs !!

-chased a frisbee thrown by his Uncle Bernard during a game of fetch into a bush with a spiderweb in it. this is when he was bit by his spider

-hes a medical journalist/intern at the Daily Beagle in his dimension. he got a veterinary degree since he wanted to learn more about his abilities on that level, and had always been interested in the concept, but ended up being stuck with an internship instead of a vet job. he uses his Spider-Hound battles to get photos of rare injuries and the like.

-speaking of the Daily Beagle, Spider-Ham physically attacked him once, accusing him of plagiarism.

-he juggles his internship with also being the head of the medical wing at HQ. most work he does is logging information about the various Spider-People that come and go, so he and anyone else there can more easily treat them in the future. he's gained a lot of dumb jokes and weird looks when a dog steps out to treat wounds, though, and every time he does he's gotten used to saying 'i don't shed' before anything else.

-he will sleep in his office under his desk on a dog bed a lot, just so he can go right back to work easily the next day.

-while his world has a somewhat cartoony appearance, toon force is a lot less significant than in universes such as Ham's.

-he has heightened hearing and smell because he's a dog, but it was heightened further after the spider bite. he often wears earplugs, only taking them out when in his office, so he can hear when someone walks into his wing.

-organic webbing, but it usually doesn't hold well since he's always exhausted.

-he can run on all fours, able to outrun most Spider-People like this.

-he's weaker than other Spider-People, and while the toon force's resilience provides some protection, he still struggles to physically fight your usual, non-dog villains.

-he hates any kind of smoke.

-he is 100% the guy to tell you to sleep and drink water and then stay awake for 5 days straight only drinking room temperature pepsi.

-he made a translation collar for hq so that he could talk to others. otherwise, he just makes huffs, gruffs, and woofs. (100% inspired by dug)

-he can be understood by standard quardopedal dogs without the collar on, and can understand them regardless. they don't usually have much to say that anyone would find interesting. food! squirrel!

-if someone is rude to him about being a dog and their ailment is minor, he'll refuse care until they own up to their actions. he's been reprimanded for this before, but knows he won't get fired.

-he's kind of on Miguel's side, but only because he's put his entire life into HQ and wouldn't risk losing it. once he's attached to something, he's locked down, loving like a dog.

-he loves great pyrenese (his gwen was one, named gizmo)

-when miguel came to recruit him, he had to write down 'give me a dictionary and come back in 48 hours' on a notepad, and made his translation collar within that time. miguel was a bit impressed by his dedication, which helped him get his position.

canon events: vv

-a rabid dog broke into his home, still somewhat conscious of decisions and continuing his life of crime in his haze. Pawter had let the man go earlier that day, before the furious rabies had set in, and Pawter had thought the guy was just a bit strange. the rabid dog bit his Uncle Bernard, leaving him to not die then and there, but slowly, with nothing to do to help. this both encouraged him to become Spider-Hound, and encouraged his medical interest onwards.

-lost Gizmo Stacy and Harry Pawsborn in a similar way to the classic 616 Peter Parker

-when his Aunt May's health began to deteriorate, after he'd lost his uncle and closest friends, he began to work at HQ more than back at home, ashamed of it, but too scared to watch as his aunt faded away too.

[galentir]

if you're still open to some artist asks:

11, 17, 24, 35

Oh hey! Sure thank you!! :D

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing?

Most of the time yes! I usually listen to music to keep me in mood (with comfort bands) or in focus (with game soundtracks) and sometimes I listen to analyses of pop culture media on YT or Let's Plays to have some background noise. And sometimes documentaries! Just recently I rewatched an episode of Life on Our Planet which has become one of my favorite shows now.

17. What is something you're confident about in your art?

That's a tough one.. there are certain aspects where i feel more confident about the process than others, for example when I sketch characters in a joyful or cute manner. But I'd say that I usually grow within the process. If I want to make a colored piece for example, it's often that I become more confident the further I am.

24. What's a compliment about your art that has always stuck with you?

While I have one answer to this here, another thing that I have in mind is the joy and gratefulness? I don't know how to describe it, but it's feels SO rewarding when I read that it made someone happy to have something pictured that they imagined, if intentional or just by coincidence. :D

35. If you had one piece of advice to give your younger artist self, what would it be?

Art styles take time to develop! As a kid I always wondered how you find your own signature to your art style and I didn't know that it takes time and even change to find it.

Something that helped to me to consolidate my own style was to broaden my artistic horizon by seeing LOTS of different art styles and to look out for the things that inspired me about them. Always ask yourself WHY you like certain pieces and collect that! I for example realised that I adore sketched art and that's why I love to draw sketches. As a kid, I used to draw way more cartoony cause that was what I liked during that time. Later, when I saw more edgy art, I was inspired to draw sharper and more naturalistic lines. After that, I switched back to a more cartoony style again with more naturalistic elements, cause I liked the natural touch and this is what I like to do now. Change is totally normal and even a great way to determine if you actually like your style this way or not.

Thanks for asking, I really liked these!

Artist ask game!

[stephdragonness]

Let me first clarify I mean this 100% positively: Study some anatomy!!! For a while I have been following you and you show some high aspirations in your art but I feel they get truncated by your lack of anatomy knowledge. Your bodies often try to pull realistic proportions but you will not include shoulders properly, or mess up hips. And I just know it would not be too much of a step for you to take. You have a pretty good general idea, you just need that little push that studies give you. It can sound boring, but I think you will be super happy with the improvement. I advice you to use Pinterest (Look out for AI), and specifically, look up ancient sculptures. Their poses are fun and expressive, so I'm sure you can use them for something you do like. I am saying this as anon because I'm... shy. But I promise I mean well. If you see this message and think 'But I'm happy with my art and I do not want to spend my time doing studies, this is for fun', that's perfectly valid, of course. Just thought I'd suggest it Other than that, I wish you a good day, keep having fun 'v'/

its some valid criticism, i do mix weird cartoonish and semi realisms in my art style so anatomy not always perfect i get it, just some days im sloppy with my art.

Thank you, i do tend use Pinterest, photo poses and lot of art resources already with anatomy needed a ref on days but my art just turns out how im feeling in mood, focus and energy. so can be just random at times with my health flux and tired easily do art on short burst in evening.

mostly in end it usually just my own fun and enjoyment of picture in my personal art.. doesn't have be perfect to me, just make me smile. still lot improvement to go as i draw more. 🤷‍♀️mostly be cartoony art style so not perfect but i try.👍