#my style is so inconsistent :') but i like how they ended up looking here

[ocean-waters]

Free!cember: memory

I just love how when Haru thinks of Rin during their childhood, he almost always pictures his smile and cherry blossoms. Iwcejdvekdheb I just love them a normal ammount, ok?

This is a redraw of one of those memories in my style.

[barananduen]

Art Advice: The Misconception Behind "Study Realism"

Most people who draw anime/cartoons have, while asking for ways to improve, at one point or another been told to "study realism." A common response to this is, "But I don't want to draw realism!"

But, did you know that the purpose behind this suggestion is NOT so that you draw realism? They're not suggesting you change to a more realistic style. What, then?

Let's look at this through an analogy:

Say you don't know music yet and decide you want to learn how to play the Happy Birthday song. You're not interested in playing anything else, just the HB song, and you haven't started learning anything related to music at this point. OK, that's fine, and now we have our situation set up. Once you've decided this, you set yourself to learning the sequence of notes to the HB song. You practice and practice, and, after a while, you can play it really well without a hitch. After a few years, it starts feeling bland to you, and you ask, "How can I make my HB song better?" And someone tells you, "Learn all the other music notes," and "Study classical and other genres of music." And you reply, "But I don't want to play that type of music; I want to play the HB song!" (And that's FINE! It's valid; it's what you want to do.[*Footnote 1]) But without having learned all the other notes and other types of music, you can't make a remix of the HB song, or an "epic version," or a hip-hop-fusion version; you've capped at the end of the first paragraph of this story.

So drawing anime or cartoons is like playing the HB song, or any one song in our example.

And here's where our misunderstanding comes in:

"Study Realism" DOES NOT MEAN "Draw Realism"

Yes, you'll have to draw it to study it (not only your brain, but also your hand needs to learn the skill), but it doesn't mean that's what all your artwork will look like. It is meant to give you more tools to make your anime and cartoon work stronger, more appealing, and more unique.

How will it do that? The more music notes you know, the more types of music you understand and can play, the more original a remix /version of the Happy Birthday song you'll be able to make - and it will be unique. Because you will be able to take all that diverse knowledge and apply it to your song, making it stand out, and the next time you play the HB song, people will go, "Wow! This is a really cool version!"

So now we can be clear: There is a difference between learning something and performing it. You can perform whatever you choose, but by learning all the things, your performance of your "Thing of Choice" will be stronger.

What, Exactly, Will Studying Realism Teach You, Then?

I. VALUES

If you learn how to paint/shade with a full range of values (by learning realistic shading) that properly depict both volume and lighting, you will have no trouble simplifying that to cel-shading or gradient-shading in your anime or cartoon drawings, because you will at once spot when something is undershaded or the shadows are in the wrong spot.

On the other hand, if you try to do cel- or gradient-shading first, you are way more likely to a) undershade, and b) have an inconsistent light source. And when these things happen, you won't be able to tell *why* your drawing looks "off" or bland.

II. COLOR

By studying realistic coloring, you'll be able to learn how color varies across an item (say, a shirt) that is a "solid color." Example: you're drawing a character with a pink t-shirt, standing in the sun, at the end of the school day. The t-shirt is solid pink, however, the colors on it will vary from orange-ish to purple-gray, with some areas almost a bright red (and that's not even considering items around the shirt that would bounce light back onto the shirt and change its color). But you'll only know this (and how to do it) if you study realistic coloring.

Then you can apply that knowledge to your stylized artwork and make it stand out more.

Painting of a stylized pear, where I studied real pears to understand their coloring and texture. See how studying realism can enhance your cartoon work.

III. MAKE BETTER STYLIZED ANATOMY

By studying and learning realistic anatomy, you will be able to make stylized art that, for example, doesn't have one arm longer than the other, because you will have learned how to measure proportions, even if you don't draw realistic proportions. So that if you decide you want to draw unrealistically long legs (eg: Sailor Moon), you'll be able to make them look good and keep them consistent.

You will also be able to draw figures in any position, because you will have learned how body parts are made up and how they move, as well as foreshortening/perspective. Then, when you go to draw a pose you haven't drawn before, it will be WAY easier.

IV. UNDERLYING SHAPES

Although this is one of the least-mentioned aspects of art-learning, it is, in my opinion, one of the most important, because when you learn to see underlying shapes (the quasi-geometrical shapes that build up a figure), coupled with learning how to measure a form using other parts of the same form as reference (measuring the length of one body part by the number of times another body part fits in it, as mentioned in Section III, above), you will be able to DRAW. (Period.) You won't be able to draw just people. Or just wolves. Or just cats. You will be able to break down a new subject into its building blocks and come up with a very reasonable likeness. And whatever's different, you'll easily be able to make relative measurements to spot why and fix it.

Once you learn to identify underlying shapes and how to measure proportions in anything, you will also be able to pick up and reproduce any existing style without much trouble.

[link to Tumblr post with this artwork]

For example, this was my first time drawing anything Peanuts. I didn't have to do practice sketches for it (though there's nothing wrong with doing that). But I knew, from realism, that to achieve a good likeness, you need to measure body parts relative to other body parts, so I looked at Schulz's drawings and was able to determine: OK, Charlie Brown's head is roughly this shape, his body is so many heads tall, his eyes are this % of the head, the ears are this far in, the arms reach down to here, etc. I knew what to look for.

V. FOR THOSE WHO WANT SEMI-REALISM

If you want to do "semi-realism," you'll have a way easier time of it by learning realism and then stripping it down as much as you like, than by starting off with "100% anime" and trying to build it up without knowledge of realism. People think the latter is easier, because it *seems* less intimidating, but it's like trying to drive to a store you've never been to without knowing its address: you'll be driving around forever trying to find it, and it will be frustrating. What people call "semi-realism" is stylized realism, and you can't really hit it without knowing how realism works.

CLOSING NOTES

It also doesn't mean you should stop drawing anime/cartoons and focus solely on realism for X amount of time - you can do both concurrently. In fact, the most fun way to study realism is to do so on your favorite subjects; you can even turn your reference into your favorite character!

Studying realism is also one of the best ways to help develop your OWN, unique style; one which, when people look at it, say, "Oh, that's [your name]'s work!"

[*]Footnote 1: It is fine as long as you are drawing for yourself. As soon as art is a job and you're drawing for an employer, you have to draw in the style they tell you to. So, in this case, it's to your advantage to be flexible.

I hope this was helpful and helps clear up a common misunderstanding people go through when receiving feedback. 💞

MORE ART ADVICE ARTICLES

You can find the index to all Art Advice Articles [here] including:

How to Deal with Art Block

How to Have a Positive Outlook

How to Develop Your Own Style (coming soon!)

etc.

[intheshadowsbehindyou]

Hello! I was wondering if you could write about the Merc's with a gn! reader who loves baking?

Btw, I love your writing style! It all feels so accurate and it's helping to feed this new fixation of mine <3 <3

I see we have some food lovers in the askbox, chat. *crackles knuckles* you ask, and daddy delivers.

Mercs with somebody who gives them food

Scout:

- Depends on your current location. The gravel wars isn’t short of moving from place to place. If it’s somewhere like japan he’ll go full weeb mode and eat nothing but fish related dishes. You know speed racer? In the fucked up TF2 universe there’s a speed racer themed restaurant. Take him there. (On second thought maybe don’t go eating with him in Japan he might eat the Hiroshima rocks.)

- He swears he’s on a diet but it’s inconsistent as fuck. This is the same guy who canonically eats radiation we’re talking about here. You hand him some warm bread you baked and he’s ecstatic. You catch him sprinkling something on his slice. It’s grounded up like pepper. He’s like “This? This shit is fuckin’ perfect. The person who owns my gym back in boston recommended it for energy. Tastes great.” You read the label and you realize it’s grounded up uranium.

- If you make him homemade fried chicken he’ll nearly choke up. Seriously. nobody’s ever done that for him before. Giving him food in general is also his love language but chicken? He thinks you want to marry him forever and ever now.

—————————————————————

Soldier:

- You don’t really know what soldier likes.. He doesn’t make anything very evident and tries his hardest to make his one defining trait being that he’s a veteran. But you know that’s not true. You decide to make him some sandwiches and he’s confused. “Huh.. Well that’s some weird tasting MREs. Not complaining. It’s actually really good. Shame that civilians can’t get the same luxury right now.” He says. You have no idea how to explain that WW2 is virtually nonexistent anymore.

- Finally you settle with something. Honey with warm bread. Instead of eating slices like a normal person he just swallows the entire loaf like a snake. You are worried for this man’s intestines. He seems to be fine however.

- Gives you either a romantic or platonic kiss on the head. Your pick. His breath smells sugary and sweet and you nuzzle your head against his collarbone in response. This is his way of showing he appreciated the food.

———————————————————————

Demoman:

- I sure hope you’re capable of producing stew because that’s all he eats when he isn’t unhealthily suppressing his own hunger with scrumpy.

- You get him to eat a variety of food somehow. Although he’s picky, he isn’t impossible either. Due to growing up in an orphanage he was no stranger to having to cook for himself at times when the caretakers just really didn’t care. You exchange recipes. For some reason he has an entire Scottish cookbook under his bed. As well as a book on “Leonerdo Da Fuq’s Basic Guide To blowing Sentries Up. And making it look like an accident.”

- He’s very thankful. Demoman’s not much of a foodie. He eats to live rather than lives to eat. But your snacks hit different. They’re made with your love. That’s why they’re so much better than what he typically eats.

—————————————————————-

Engineer:

- WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU THATS HIS JOB. HE’S THE OVERBEARING GRANDMOTHER THAT WONT STOP SHOVING FOOD INTO HER KIDS MOUTH!!! NOT YOU!!!

- He eats everything you give him. Even if it doesn’t particularly tickle his fancy. His belly is big and swollen afterwards and you want to squish him so bad. That’s a pillow waiting to be laid on. He then tells you fond memories of thanksgiving and when his mother would cook his family an entire turkey dinner.

- He responds twofold by making you something as well. You wake up one day to find an entire breakfast platter laid on your end table. There’s a little sticky note there and although it doesn’t have a name on it — the dash alongside the expertly drawn symbol of his class is evident enough. Only somebody with expertise in blueprints would draw something like that. Hint hint.

——————————————————————

Heavy:

- Heavy isn’t a dumbass by any means but this is a certified Heavy L situation. He thinks you’re trying to offend him at first because people call him fat on a regular basis. Medic explains from afar that actually it’s a gesture meant to express hospitality, and upon realizing you were just being nice he looks embarrassed and rubs the back of his neck.

- Lets you spoon feed him your food. He likes it for some reason. He likes any kind of meat, and protein. He eats that shit everyday. Not just that but dark chocolate and other bitter tasting foods as well. Despite his massive size he doesn’t actually eat large portions at a time.

- He knows how to make mostly deserts. Takes on a sort of mentor role and tries to teach you how to bake cakes and stuff like that. You’ve never seen Heavy in such a domesticated setting. Watching him go about cooking without breaking somebody’s skull in for once was actually kind of surreal.

————————————————————————-

Pyro:

- Cook / get them nothing but sweets. They won’t eat anything else. You begin to wonder if Pyro is even remotely human because of how much unhealthy food they eat. (But then again you’ve seen soldier survive losing both his arms and Medic sowing them back on. It’s probably fine.)

- They are unbelievably excited to see you walk into the room with plates and/or boxes. You’ve unintentionally pavloved them into associating it with your food. They clap and make grabby hands. Wanting to see what sweets you’ve brought them.

- It’s actually quite odd.. You see them retreat into their quarters to eat their food. It’s clear they’ve eaten it because they always take the plates back but you’re never allowed to see them eat directly. They don’t attend dinner with the other mercs or even breakfast.

- DO NOT LET THEM NEAR THE FUCKING OVEN. DO NOT LET THEM COOK. THE ADMINISTRATOR MADE IT AGAINST THE RULES TO LET PYRO NEAR THE STOVE.

————————————————————————-

Sniper:

- “Bloody hell.. This for me?” His voice hiked up a little. A little shocked that somebody would even consider making or buying him food in the first place, Only his parents ever did that for him. He takes it hesitantly but his expression doesn’t seem negative. Just incredibly dumbfounded. You had got him some donuts from a market in tuefort. You figured it would go well with his coffee.

- Immediately starts eating them. Sniper is both a meats sort of guy and a sweets sort of guy. Looks from side to side to make sure nobody saw him take your offer. That would be a embarrassing. He grabs the entire box and retreats into his camper van like a rat.

- He then slowly opens the door.. “Oh, right. Bugger. This is typically the moment I comfortably invite you in.” He cringes at the thought. Leaving the door open for you, and moving aside to let you in. He begins telling you the basics about how to hunt your food. For some reason it’s all incredibly dangerous aussie animals though. Some of the stuff doesn’t sound edible but he’s apparently eaten. He’s especially passionate about how to properly cook crocodiles.

———————————————————————-

Medic:

- Pretentiously nitpicks the fact you brought him cupcakes. Citing his knowledge about how too much sugar consumption can kill you… whilst simultaneously eating the cupcakes.

- “Even worse yet —- they ruin your dental health. Hoo, i’d hate to be on the receiving end of a tooth filling by an angry dentist.” He says, shoving more of your sweets into his face. You wonder if he’s even self aware of what he’s doing to be honest. “Although I do envy their sadism! It’s much worse than mine, actually — Das schmeckt gut.” He adds.

- He frowns. You knew Medic had loved cupcakes in particular so you were confused at first. Well it wasn’t that. In fact it was something more stupid. “Well then again the consumption of sugar is important for our bodies, I must add. With the wrong diet we could die from low blood sugar. I wonder if it is possible to extract all the sugar from a human body using a sort of giant homebrewed syringe. It is in theory possible for me to—“ The man is at his chalkboard writing down mathematical equations again.

———————————————————————-

Spy:

- When you give him food for the first time he’s unbelievably pouty. Couldn’t you have asked him his tastes first? He hesitantly eats what you give him anyway. As long as it isn’t fried, fast food, candy or anything that wasn’t expensive as fuck.

- Incredibly good table manners. Incredibly good at cooking his native cuisine. For some reason he’s intent on insisting that french food is superior than any other food. When you’re eating with him he straightens your posture, politely puts your napkin in your lap and schools you on the fact you’re not using your salad fork or whatever. There’s way too much pointless shit on his table. Who the fuck created all these weirdly specific rules?

- Eventually he’s so tired from trying to teach you he loses his temper and crosses his arms like a discontent toddler while you eat nonchalantly. “What?” You say. Using the wrong fork again. He’s still staring at you. “What?!” You repeat yourself. “I love you, Spy.” You say. Shoving more food into your mouth. He keeps glaring at you.

[melodiousmonsters]

I'm just going to start talking about my celestials each month to give you all some low effort and fun(for me) content. Also doing full illustrations of them as well, with some design notes at the end.

My interpretation of loodvigg, named Fhobia Denta Latrostratous (they're one of the three celstials with a full name at the moment) is a fair bit different from other's interpretations of it for extremely personal reasons. They're a tad bit strange, and creepy looking, but overall they are a compassionate (in their own strange way, like almost everything about them) and creative individual that's held as a role model for all shadowkind. They also have a lavender colored ring around their pupils so their eyes aren't fully pink, which is the main difference from the cannon loodvigg, along with the subtly different feathers, lower body, markings on the abdomen, and scales on the arms.

They are generally unexpressive (tonealy, the main way monsters express their emotions) yet VERY emotional. Over the years they gradually became more in control of their emotions due to sheer life experience, but they are still a little more irrational and driven by emotion than most of the other celestials.

They hate being touched, loud sudden/repetitive noises, math, people or things that get too into the meaning of art and other stuff like that, and the texture of a few things like fish meat or coarse fabrics. There are very few things they have a neutral opinion on, one of which is the taste of blood by itself.

They love keeping up their appearance in most situations, for example, their hair isn't naturally like that, they use their saliva like hair jell and specifically style it to look like that, also they would be absolutely rancid smelling and filthy with their diet of fresh meat and preferred locals of wet warm caves. They spend a lot of time cleaning themselves, which is extremely rare for monsters. They also like eating more than your average monster, they eat like a toddler because of how preoccupied with eating they get, collecting/making taxidermy and other oddities, and all critters, especially invertebrates though.

They are majorly interested in biological sciences, specifically preservation and taxonomy. They gave the celestials and dof era monsters/critters their scientific names(no I don't have scientific names for the celestials yet, I've kinda ran out of ideas for scientific names tbh). They happen to spend a lot of their time in a very large cave network with a lot of different types of caves that make good enclosures for keeping critters to study.

They care a lot about the other celestials as they are siblings and gets very angry if something bad happens to them, only if they feel it's undeserved, their empathy is a bit wacky and  inconsistent.

Also most shadow monsters tend to share in its odd mannerisms, sometimes the behaviors show up in completely non shadow affiliated monsters and no one knows why.

Disclaimer (I think that's the right word), yes you guessed right, Fhobia and the large majority of the shadow monsters are autistic, the term isn't used in universe as the monsters don't have a word for autism as they aren't that into psychology and "the way that monster is" has worked in place of a proper word historically, monsters aren't into categorizing others.

as for design notes and process here it is! all the stuff in red boxes are final.

[pixelatedraindrops]

RAINCODE COMIC COLLAB~☔️

BEHOLD THE FRUITS OF MY LABOR!!

3 full weeks of work and its finally completed!

So @kazinsblog and I did another raincode art collab together but this one was a HUGE project! This one's a full 18 page comic!

Idk if you all remember the comic idea that Kazin was planning to do that involved Yuma overworking himself until he gets sick and then gets tended to by everyone else. But when I saw it, I decided to ask her if she was willing to possibly collaborate on it, remaking it where she sketched it and I colored it.

Kazin's Beta images: 1 2 3 4

So here's the results of all that work. We've been at this since December 17th so this has been an almost full month collaboration. And of course mine's a bit more altered to my own style as well as adding my own touches and making it a little more whumpy/extreme... X'D I also freehand drew shinigami in my version as well.

Both our versions look pretty different! The only thing that are the same are the poses. So feel free to check out Kazin's traditional version as well!

Since its an 18 page comic, I decided to put it under a keep reading so it won't clutter everyone's timelines. Also, I will be narrating the pages because I love narrating sick filler type stories. So brace yourself for a VERY LOOONG post!! Def need time to read this one! (and no purple tinted filters here this time!)

Also note: If the writing is blue, it means the character is thinking, just like in the game! :)

And I apologize on the inconsistency of Yuma's bangs... I thought it was one way before so half of the comic he looks like he has square bangs... oof XD I fix it around page 10

ANYWAY, hope you enjoy this soft buffet, Raincode Community! 🌡️💕

(Page 1)

Our story begins on an ordinary day in Kanai Ward. Rainy gloomy and depressing as ever. Our little victim... wait... XD I mean protagonist Yuma decides to go out to investigate more about Kanai Ward to try to track down it's supposed ultimate secret. Yakou sets him off wishes him well and tells him to be careful. However, as he's out, he finds out a lot of people in the city need help. Because of his good nature and unable to turn down someone in need, he decides to help whoever he can. (the ultimate side-questing lol) Before he knows it, he's soaking wet and he had helped 10 people in total. Time passed and it was almost evening so he returns to the submarine. Yuma was completely unphased by this. (and he didn't dry himself off for 4 hours due to being occupied with tasks)

(Page 2)

Yuma returns to the Agency's submarine to greet his chief holding his meatbun order. (that also got wet) But Yakou notices that the trainee is sopping wet to the core and shivering. He immediately loudly demands that he sit down so he can tend to him. Yuma does as he's told and sits on the checkered sofa. Yakou rushes to the shower room to grab some small towels to help him dry off. But because Yakou is so panicked, he ends up being very rough in drying Yuma, pulling his hair and causing the small boy pain. After he dries him off, he tells Yuma he isn't allowed to leave anymore for the rest of the day and demands him to rest. Yuma tries to retaliate using puppy eyes, but it doesn't work. Yakou is immune.

(Page 3)

The next day Yuma asks Yakou if he can go out to work after he finishes his morning chores around the place looking very eager. Yakou still looks a little concerned by how tired Yuma looks, so he tells him to not go out alone. He assigns him a partner to go with the rest of the week.

On the first day he's paired with Halara. The two of them are asked to investigate the art gallery of Ginma. (maybe after the nail man case) But over time, Yuma starts developing a lingering cough that persists for quite some time. Halara asks Yuma is he's okay, to which Yuma lies saying that it's due to the dust of the room. But of course being sharp, Halara isn't buying it. But they decide to not persist him further.

On the second day, he's paired with Desuhiko. They're asked to go help out at the Aetheria Academy with another case (not murder related this time) However on the way to the school and in Ginma, Yuma starts slowing down, he's shaking and is a little wobbly. Desuhiko notices this and asks if he wants to go to the cafe for a drink. Yuma nods and as they go to the cafe and order some coffee, Yuma takes off his hat and coat and Desuhiko finally realizes how pale he looks. He's even slower at replying to him as he speaks, as if he's in a daze. Desuhiko decides to take Yuma back to the agency after this.

(Page 4)

On Day three, he's paired with Fubuki. But he doesn't even make it to the case as when he goes to the sun and moon hotel to meet with her, Fubuki notices and points out that Yuma's face looks red. The boy clearly had a fever building. Yuma argues with her but Fubuki persists. The two of them try to go to the case but Yuma nearly collapses. So Fubuki returns him to the agency.

On the fourth day where he's supposed to be paired with Vivia he spends a majority of the day passed out. Vivia decides to watch over him using his forte to not disturb him. During the night while he's asleep, his breathing gets more labored and he's completely restless. Vivia looks at him deeply worried for his dear friend's well being.

The next morning Yuma somehow finds the strength to get himself up. Maybe that one day of rest was enough. But Yakou insists that he stays put today. Angrily yelling at him to be still and take today off as well.

Meanwhile, a certain two seem to notice each other...

(Page 5)

Vivia's spirit notices Shinigami and decides to give her a warning. Make sure Yuma listens to Yakou and doesn't leave. Giving her the iciest glare, Shinigami fearfully agrees.

But this effort would be for naught, despite how he feels, Yuma's relentless determination forces himself up, putting on his rain attire and heads up the steps of the sub to the outside when Yakou isn't looking. Shinigami does what she can to stop him, but he doesn't listen...and Shinigami being a ghost, there was nothing she could do to physically hold him back. All she could do was follow, and prepare for the inevitable.

By some miracle he makes it to the church, up the stairs to speak to the nun. Who tells him to play therapy again for the townsfolk. He nods and heads to his first client. But when he returns to kamasaki to speak to him, he can barely make out what he's saying as he lets out a few more coughs.

Once he leaves the client, before long, Yuma could hear something in his body snap.

(Note: I direct most of the story, but Vivia conversing with Shinigami in spirit mode was actually Kazin's idea! So credit to her for that, So silly and fun! ^^)

(Page 6)

Yuma's body had finally reached it's limit. All the fatigue, chills and body aches had hit him all at once at full force like armed weaponry. His head began throbbing, he was shaking violently and uncontrollably, he felt nauseated by the rain's smell, and his body heat and the lingering dizziness was unbearable. He found a safe corner in the alleyway of Kamasaki to collapse. Telling Shinigami she was right and he should have listened to her, while the burning fever and cold rain wrecked his delicate frame even further. His voice was hardly audible, but Shinigami still heard and practically tells him to go back. But Yuma had no strength left...

Then like clockwork as they finish speaking, he could hear his name called. At first it sounded kind and questionable. But that rapidly changed, the voice now angrily yelling out his full name. As he looked up this voice belonged to...Yakou. He looks down at the boy in pure disappointment and anger.

Turns out a certain someone was tailing him. And alerted Yakou what happened just in time.

(Note: I make the red darker the more extreme the temperature and lighter the less extreme. I got to experiment with all sorts of new ways to color fevers hehe~ >w<)

(Page 7)

Yuma shockingly looks up at Yakou. Oh no, he was so BUSTED! Shinigami even says as much. Yakou practically scoops Yuma in his arms carrying him back to the agency. As he was lifted Yuma's world begun spinning. He could barely hear the chief nagging him in a panicked tone. It was all distorted and it was making his head hurt more. Yakou placed a hand to his cheek and was shocked by how hot it felt. All Yuma could do was apologize and hope his world stops spinning and that Yakou eventually stops yelling... (also I put numbers for the order to read the speech bubbles in)

Upon returning to the agency, Yakou dries Yuma off, asks Desuhiko to give him a warm set of clothes to borrow and put him to his own bed. Grabbing a basin of very cold water, washcloths and a digital thermometer. He placed one of the wet cold cloths under his bangs and upon reading the boy's temperature, it was high. Almost high enough to visit the ER. Yakou was even more mad, but speaks in a non yelling tone. Giving Yuma another stern warning to not leave the bed. To which Yuma weakly agrees to.

But Yakou's back to yelling again, feeling paranoid Yuma would be missing by the time he gets back from getting the supplies. So he drills that message right into the boy's already throbbing head once more. Everyone else in the office awkwardly listen in as the sick trainee gets scolded.

(Note: Just an FYI, Yuma's speech bubbles being wavy is a sign his voice is raspy and the text being a bit hard to read means his voice is hardly audible)

(Page 8)

Yakou leaves Yuma alone and walks into the office in his raincoat telling the other detectives that he'll be leaving soon and to watch over Yuma in his absence and NOT let him leave. He is so full of anger and anxiety that he yells at all of them too.

Everyone agrees and as Yakou leaves, they all discuss among themselves Yuma's state the days they were partners with him. He was in bad shape. And he only got worse as the days went by. They all knew.

(Page 9)

Meanwhile back in Yakou's quarters, Yuma was getting lectured yet again. This time by his death god partner, Shinigami. The poor trainee only wanted peace and quiet to make the pain in his head go away, using what little energy he has remaining speaking in his head he tried telling her to stop.

But the aggravated spirit persisted, saying that as his mentor she had the right to scold him just as much as Yakou. She continued her rant, until an abrupt sound from her master shut her up.

The few coughs that came from Yuma eventually erupted into a full blown coughing fit. The coughs sounding more wet, rough and serious. After coughing 10 to 15 times in a row Yuma was exhausted. Shinigami looked down at him panting with concern and pity in her eyes. She decided to stop the lecture for his sake.

After the fit, Yuma was left raggedly breathing. As Shinigami gave him her permission to rest and take it easy, he didn't answer. He couldn't. That fit completely mangled his throat. He was not able to speak vocally or in thought process anymore due to his head being in too much pain. As was the rest of his body, aching and burning. So he didn't answer her. All he could do was hope sleep would eventually take hold of him to make all this awful heat and pain stop even if for a just moment.

(Note: That's the penalty Yuma... x'D Sorry I gotta make him suffer lol. Also this is the only page that’s actually read left to right. I messed that up, sorry!!)

(Page 10)

After some time passed it was time for the Master Detectives to all take part in taking care of Yuma. The whole agency had a day off to do this. So upon his return, Yakou instructs everyone to look after Yuma in 2 hour shifts through the day. Even if it was just to watch him sleep. He couldn't be left alone.

Halara was first. Their task was to help Yuma take the medicine that was bought. There were three types of medicine for him to take. Antibiotics (white pills) for the general illness symptoms, painkillers (red and white pills) for the headache/fever, and finally...cough syrup. (aka his least favorite... XD) Halara made sure to be very gentle with Yuma propping him upward as his whole body was burning and he was very shaky. He even had trouble drinking the water, so Halara had to get a mug instead so they could help him drink it by holding the handle, and using the other hand to support his back. Despite the struggle, Halara worked diligently to complete their task as a caretaker in full. (as for who paid them to do this...idk I'll leave that to your imagination XD)

(The cough syrup idea was inspired by this fic :3)

Desuhiko had the second shift and the whole time he was waiting for his turn, he was writing a song for Yuma. Having the delusion that his angelic voice would lul the sick boy to sleep, he played his guitar and began singing. Yuma's headache did improve enough to speak in his head now, but that wouldn't last, as the loud noises from the guitar made his head pound even further with every strum. Shinigami begs for the noise to cease fire on her poor eardrums, but Yuma doesn't have it in him to stop Desuhiko. The gesture was kind so he decided to try to listen to the whole song, despite the noise. He does eventually tell him to stop though (using hand gestures) when another song comes afterward. So then the two spend their time conversing for a bit, (though desuhiko does more of the talking as yuma just nods or makes small noises/hand gestures due to his throat still hurting too much to talk) Desuhiko even telling him he could keep the sweater and shorts he had lent to him. To which Yuma softly smiles at him as a thank you before he eventually falls asleep again.

Fubuki has the third shift, and her task was to feed Yuma the warm vegetable soup that was bought earlier and that Halara had just finished making, along with Fubuki's help. She volunteers to feed him as she remembers a time she was ill as a child in the clockford mansion and one of her servants tended to her, feeding her soup just the same. Unfortunately, because this was a memory of her early childhood, she repeats similar phrases as the servant did when she was feeding Yuma, who was clearly not a small child. Yuma's fever had dropped enough to where he could find a bit of strength to try and sit up on his own now, and his once mangled throat’s condition had improved for him to speak a little bit. As he listened to Fubuki's rambling he tries to play along with her despite the whole thing being a bit embarrassing for someone his age. At least the soup was nice and warm. It felt good going down his very sore throat.

(Funny Fact: The order that Yuma is both partnered and tended to by each detective, is the same order as the chapters in game he's partnered with them LOL)

(Page 11)

It was evening, and now it was Vivia's turn to take the fourth and final shift. At first he was just going to sit and watch Yuma while he read his book quietly, but Yakou suggested that he read one of his books out loud to Yuma to help him relax better like a bedtime story. Vivia was unsure at first, as he's never read to anyone before. But he decided to give it a try. He asks Yuma what his preference in literature is before he starts, and Yuma tells him he enjoys detective novels the most. So he pulls out the novel that was in his reading list and begins to read it out loud to him. Turns out he was quite a natural at narrating, and his slow voice was very soothing. Yuma felt so relaxed that he felt like he would fall asleep any minute, but he tries to stay awake to listen to the story a bit more. Shinigami however, conks out immediately. (fyi: yes this is the novel Vivia talks about in his final gumshoe gab. I tried to make up stuff based on it.. X'D)

Once the clock strikes 9pm and night falls, the Master Detectives all wish Yuma well and leave to return to the hotel to retire for the night. It was just Yakou and Yuma now. Yakou, who had just come back from another errand, walks over to Yuma who was now fast asleep. He looked a little better so Yakou removed the towel from his forehead and places his hand onto it. It still felt warm but no longer as hot as it did hours ago. Meaning he was out of the danger zone, much to Yakou's relief. He places the towel back in the water basin wringing it out and re-applying it to his forehead. Then he lets out a yawn. He was pretty tired. He decides that instead of sleeping in the office on one of the sofas, he'd stay by Yuma's side. His removes his jacket, goes and turns off the overhead lights, sits down and places his head down on his desk. Then after telling the sleeping trainee goodnight he turns off the small light by his desk.

OKAY FUN FACT: The comic WAS going to end here going on to the final page... Buuut~ We were STARVING for some good ol' Yakou Fathero :3 So... Enjoy these bonus 6 pages of Yakou having a shift of his own to look after Yuma in the middle of the night. And its the longest shift.

This ones for you Yakou Fathero fans! Eat your fill!

(I know we sure did :3)

Also I apologize if the lighting here is inaccurate ;w; I tried my best I'm no pro LOL

(Page 12)

A little past midnight, Yuma was stirring in his sleep. Making all sorts of groaning sounds as if he was in pain. He was likely having a nightmare. This is confirmed by his eyes suddenly opening and him violently flinging himself up screaming, and the cold cloth flying off his forehead.

This sound wakes Yakou up immediately as he puts his glasses back on asking Yuma if he's okay. He flicks the light by his desk on to check on him. Yuma's found shaking with tears in his eyes stating quietly that it was just a dream. Yakou sympathizes with Yuma as fever dreams were usually not fun, but a fever NIGHTMARE was always bad. The chief offers the shaking trainee some water to try to help him settle down.

(FYI: Shinigami is going to be absent from this part of the story because I think her banter and antics would ruin the fluff, so she'll just be lurking above in the shelf like a cat the whole time.)

(Page 13)

Yuma accepts the water practically snatching it from Yakou's hands and quickly gulping it down. Yakou tells him to pace himself not wanting him to choke. Once he exhales from the water drink, Yuma sheepishly apologizes for waking Yakou up with his scream, feeling like a burden. Yakou reassures him it's okay and decides to ask him the question of why he pushed himself this far while he was still awake. Hard enough to make himself sick. Why did he do it?

Yuma was surprised by this but decides to try to tell him. He hands the water glass back and began talking. Under his raspy voice and somewhat heavy breathing, he says that he wanted to be useful as he felt like a burden to everyone since he lost his memory. He also says that he likes helping others and that it feels familiar to him. Determined to try to unlock a core memory of his past he kept doing this, even to the point of pushing his limits.

Then he suddenly stopped speaking...

(Page 14)

...aaand cue the coughing fit. Yuma's throat got scratchy and irritated after his long explanation, causing him to cough about 5/8 times in a row. Not as bad as his previous fit but it was more than enough to startle and worry Yakou.

Yakou quickly hands Yuma the water glass he had just taken from him hoping it would soothe his throat. He tells him that helping others is a good thing but he shouldn't push himself to the point that his health gets affected. Yuma quietly nods and as he sips the water still shaking, Yakou feels bad and decides to apologize to him for being harsh before. Stating that he only lost his temper because he was scared and worried for him. He also places his hand to Yuma's cheek in both comfort and to check his temperature. It felt slightly warmer than a few hours ago.

Yuma quietly apologizes to Yakou for worrying him, still holding the water glass. Yakou forgives him. Then he takes the glass from him and then the towel that fell off Yuma's forehead. He grabs a fresh one and soaks it in the basin wringing it out and places it back on the trainee’s forehead unintentionally a bit roughly. Yuma groans and shivers a little from the cold of it.

Yakou then lies Yuma back down, tucking him back in trying to make him comfortable. But his actions were a bit too comforting. He was not meaning to in any way and he wasn't sure what came over him, but he was treating Yuma like a little kid. Yuma notices and feels a little embarrassed by it, but decides to only say it in his head.

Yakou decides to do one more thing before he lets him go back to sleep.

(Note: Hey far as anyone's concerned Yuma, you are practically his BABY when you are having a sick day, so deal with it hehehe :3c)

(Page 15)

Temperature taking page time :D (my favorite, teehee! I know some cultures and in anime they take the temperature under the arm, but there's just something so endearing and adorable about a sickie with a thermometer in their mouth <3 OKAY MY RAMBLING ASIDE...)

Yakou is now a bit concerned that Yuma's fever spiked again after that little harsh coughing fit so he decides to take his temperature one more time before letting Yuma go to sleep again. Yuma obliges and goes along with it opening his mouth as the device is inserted.

After 15 seconds the device beeps and Yakou takes it out. Yuma shyly pulls the duvet up to his face and hides as he meekly asks if its any better feeling a little nervous. Yakou responds that it is better than it was the first time, where it was a dangerous degree.

However, he still wasn't out of the woods yet. The fever was still there and although it went down, it was still in the red. Yakou states that he's still feverish to which Yuma just apologizes. Poor thing just wants this to be over, he really doesn't want to trouble anyone anymore.

(sorry yuma I can't let you off that easily hehe 😈)

(also yes I put an instruction manual for how the thermometer works, I am so obsessed that I even give the thermometer lore LMAO. Sorry if I'm inaccurate in any of those readings. I used google... ^^;)

(Page 16)

Yakou places the thermometer back on the desk and tells Yuma to go to sleep. Saying the fever will likely break by morning. To which Yuma states that he's in Yakou's bed and that he should return to the checkered sofa so his boss could sleep, attempting to try getting up. But Yakou puts a hand on his shoulder stopping him and denies this and says his desk is fine and that Yuma needed the bed more than him.

He also says that if Yuma had another bad dream that he would be there for him. Yuma smiles at Yakou quietly thanking him as he's tucked back into the duvet. Yakou pats it gently telling the trainee to close his eyes.

It isn't long before Yuma is back to being fast asleep. (and shinigami too)

Yakou monologues to himself for a bit groaning at how much trouble this small detective has been for him since he showed up. But then he switches his tune and places a hand to Yuma's head petting it softly. He says he's happy he's working hard for the sake of his memories but right now he needs to work on getting better. Saying it would help everyone in the agency if he wanted to help people.

He wishes him well continuing to pet his head for a bit longer to soothe him before going back to sleep himself turning the light off again.

(Page 17)

2 hours later, Yuma was stirring and whining in his sleep once again. Yakou groggily wakes up wiping his tired eyes upon hearing the soft noises the small trainee was uttering. And he was crying again. Can only be one thing: Another nightmare.

Instead of turning the light on to wake him up, Yakou moves his chair close to him sitting at his side. Not saying a single word. (cept in his head lol) He reaches his hand for Yuma's as it twitches and he takes hold of it gently.

Yakou eventually leans on the bed as he does so and falls asleep sitting up again. Yuma's groaning and and heavy breathing begin to settle down a little as he felt Yakou's presence close by.

Then he smiles as he closes his hand in his sleep holding Yakou's hand back, leaning a bit close to it. He felt safe again... <3

(Note: This poor thing has way too much trauma... ;w; I headcanon that he's prone to night terrors on occasion, but when he gets a fever, its even WORSE. Fevers do be messing with your head... x3)

(Page 18 Final)

The next morning when Yakou wakes up, he checks on Yuma. He still felt slightly warm but he looked much better. Seemed the worst was over and it would likely last just one more day.

When he's fully awake and at his desk, Desuhiko shows up asking Yakou if Yuma's okay and offered to wake him up. Yakou denies it saying Yuma needed one more day of rest, the fever may have been only slight now, but in the rain it would rise again easily.

Desuhiko agrees and declares that he's going to work hard today. Likely to make up for Yuma's absence. Yakou teases him and the two have a bit of a banter.

Yuma meanwhile is asleep peacefully. Still having a slight red tint to his cheeks, but he's able to sleep a lot easier now. His fever was slowly but surely breaking. (now in the yellow) Shinigami sleeps beside him, making sure she protects him from any nightmares in yakou's absence. (after all only SHE can give her master nightmares)

He wakes up fully recovered the following morning thanking everyone for taking such good care of him, and he makes sure to not push himself anymore. And continues searching for the city's ultimate secret while pacing himself to help others from now on.

THE END ❤️

(I practically made this into a sickfic in its own right... XD)

Thanks for reading!! Hope you enjoyed!! This is just a little artist credit page I made for Kazin and I c: Also art semi-face reveal?? xD Kinda?? Idk lol (we just two gals that like our sick comfort haha x3)

Anyway thank you again Kazin for doing this with me!! It was hard work but it was a blast and the final result came out amazing. Its surely a project I will cherish forever~ 💜🩷✨🌡️

A wholesome story to start 2024 on a good note.

[max1461]

I had a dream last night that I ran for president. In the Democratic primary I won California, Alaska, "Washington" (which was directly north of California) and another state whose name I don't remember because it doesn't actually exist, but it was east of Washington along California's northern border (you have to imagine the two of them shaped approximately like triangles, making up an approximate square directly to CA's north).

There was a brief moment when I was in the lead. I knew it wouldn't last, but I remember capitalizing on the opportunity to proudly tell my parents "I'm the front-runner in the race for president of the United States!". Again, this was supposedly the primary, but I recall the electoral map showing blue for the establishment Democrat, red for the Republican candidate (Trump I think), and yellow for me. So maybe it was the national election; I think this is just one of those dream inconsistencies.

Anyway, for whatever reason me and most of my campaign staff were down in a cave. We didn't have internet access anymore, so I was relying on my campaign manager (who was above ground) to clue me in to what was going on. We were in an upper chamber of the cave, and there had been some kind of near-disaster in a lower chamber where the fire department had to come and rescue a bunch of people who were trapped. I don't remember if any of them were part of my campaign staff. Anyway, as the establishment Democrat took the lead, I remember talking on the phone—a big, thick, 90s-style cellphone—with my campaign manager about what I should do. Should I give some sort of statement to the press about it? Should I congratulate the winner on Twitter? He said no, no, don't worry about it; everyone knows you're down in a cave and don't have service, so they can't possibly expect that.

I have no idea why we were in a cave, if it was intentional or we were stuck there. I guess we were just in a cave!

Anyway, then disaster struck! One of my staffers found a bunch of people in need of rescue in our (upper) chamber of the cave! Now, this wasn't as dire as the earlier rescue. These people were much easier to get to. They were like, sort of hanging upside-down from a horizontally suspended rope, like clothes on a clothes line, basically. I don't know how they got that way but they were in a dire state from hanging upside-down for some long. Some of my staffers insisted they could rescue the people themselves (I think they were worried that calling in the fire department again would be viewed as wasteful and damage my campaign). They managed to get some of the people down from the clothes line. I asked my campaign manager what to do (I was still on the phone with him) and he was like "no, call the fire department!". So he put me through to the fire department and I told them what was going on.

You have to understand throughout these events that I'm like, me. I have no idea how to run an electoral campaign, I'm 100% relying on my campaign manager for every cue, and I'm really nervous about figuring out the proper etiquette for everything. When I was asking him about whether I should congratulate the winner on Twitter you have to imagine it in this sort of tone. Like, first day on the job, nervous "I'm following your lead here" energy. And when I get on the phone with the fire department I'm super awkward (I've never called them before!) and as I'm explaining the situation I'm thinking like "good, good, that was normal, I sound normal to the fire department right now".

Anyway then they come down into the cave and start rescuing people. I get back on the phone with my campaign manager and he tells me confidently "look, here's what we do: on Monday you're gonna give a press conference. You'll announce that your bid for the presidency is over, congratulate the winners, and reiterate your policy positions." I don't remember what else he said about it, but basically this was the most graceful way to end the campaign and keep my political career strong. I was a popular candidate with lots of youth support and energy behind me, so it was gonna be easy to parley that into later success. Now, I didn't want a further political career—this campaign was 100% a one-off—but I agreed the press conference would be a good idea. Unfortunately that would mean I had to write a speech by Monday, which was annoying.

Anyway, the establishment Democrat won in the end, and turns out it was Obama.

Then I woke up.

[ryuichirou]

Since we’re talking about butts, how about boobs? I specifically mean, what’re the genderbent twst boys’ cup size? And what kind of bra do they wear?

Anon, this is such a good question, and I think about this topic more often than I probably should lol I do have some sketches about this topic (both the size and the kind of bra the gendbent twst boys would wear), but honestly all of my genderbent sketches end up being related to this theme one way or another. Maybe I have a problem.

That being said, keep in mind that whatever is going on in my head doesn’t always translate into my sketches perfectly: I am very inconsistent for some reason lol I have the same problem with a lot of other body parts…

And just in case, here is my previous reply about the girlies as I imagine them. I’ve definitely mentioned their boob size in that post, and I’m definitely going to contradict myself in this one lol

Last disclaimer: I don’t know a lot of bra types, and it’s kind of obvious, so I’m sorry if I sound repetitive.

Riddle is a small one, almost completely flat. She probably wears a bralette or something, maybe even a cotton undershirt. She doesn’t think much about her breasts, but gets self-conscious when others (mostly Ace) point out how flat she is. But in general, she believes that she still has time to grow, and that this is an idiotic think to care about! >(

Ace and Deuce both are between A and B cup, closer to the B. Just like with many other things in their lives, they can’t decide who is bigger. Deuce doesn’t care about it as much as Ace does (it’s honestly embarrassing for her to talk about it), because Ace always wants to either brag or complain, depending on her mood. Both of them wear sports bra, but for different reasons (I drew a sketch about this once and had such a hard time deciphering what I was trying to say there…). Basically, Ace owns some very cute and “girly” bras, even the push-ups ones, but the sports one is more comfortable. Deuce tried to wear something more “girly” but gave up, because it was way too uncomfortable; when she was a delinquent, she didn’t wear any bra at all.

Cater is a solid B and wears a lacey push-up one. But honestly she has a big collection of all kinds of bras, and sometimes thinks that it’s a shame that she can’t really show them off to anyone.

Trey is big, I guess she’s a D. She prefers to wear whatever is comfortable, so there isn’t really much to say about her: a regular bra, no lace, no nothing. Oh, she prefers a wireless one though.

Leona is somewhere around C-cup, and she either wears a black lacy one or no bra at all. No one dares to stare anyway, and if they do, bad for them.

Ruggie doesn’t wear a bra and maybe doesn’t even own a bra; she believes that this is a waste of money. But she isn’t really all that big, somewhere between A or B, so it’s not like it matters to her.

Jack is one of the biggest ones, and she always wears a sports bra. She has a variety of those. Any other type of bra is too uncomfortable and honestly embarrassing for her to wear; she’s kind of a shy tomboy.

The Octa-trio are big… Azul is honestly closer to a C, but she wears a push-up (and a very pretty lacey one at that) and makes sure that her silhouette is always well-pronounced. Jade and Floyd are one of the biggest ones out of the entire cast (maybe around E), but their bra-wearing habits are very different from each other. Jade’s style is closer to Azul’s, but she still prioritizes comfort and support. And Floyd has a lot of pretty lacey ones too, but prefers to either wear a wireless/sports bra or to wear nothing at all. She gets scolded by Azul for the second option, so she doesn’t get to do it very often. But it feels tight and uncomfortable fehhhhhh :( Azul can’t relate to that because she actually loves structure and feeling that everything is tightly in place, doesn’t bounce and looks precisely how she wants it to look.

Kalim is around B, maybe a bit bigger. It’s honestly difficult to think about what kind of bra she would wear… But it’s probably surprisingly stylish, expensive-looking, but not lacey. She might actually like cute prints. But I also think she doesn’t really think much about her underwear – Jamil picks it for her every day lol

Jamil is an A and almost exclusively wears sports bra. But she also owns some regular ones, even one kind of sexy one, but she never wears it and honestly doesn’t even know why she got it: she tried it on one time and felt stupid... Also, a majority of her bras are either black or a combination of black and red.

Vil is somewhere between A and B, on the smaller side. And sometimes it feels like Vil knows everything there is to know about bras and knows how to pick a perfect one according to anyone’s needs… She can rant about it forever… She probably also has the biggest collection (and her bra always matches her panties – it HAS to be a set), and OF COURSE she considers TPO when she picks it. Sometimes it’s a sporty one, sometimes it’s something more comfortable, sometimes it’s a sexy one (less often than one would expect though). It’s also never plain – of course she doesn’t expect people to see it, but just because it’s hidden doesn’t mean it can’t be pretty.

Rook is closer to a C, maybe even bigger, but you’d never guess it. Once again, amazing hiding skills, and also a very well-chosen set of underwear (Vil picked it for her). It’s pretty much always a sports one, but she has at least one sexier set for very special occasions. Rook can also take one look at any girl from the NRC and easily see who follows Vil’s advice regarding their bra choice and who doesn’t. She is a guru of sensing the well-being and comfort of other girls’ breasts based on their posture and attitude lol

 Epel is rather small, but she’ll probably end up being a B in a year or two. Vil got her her first bra – she didn’t even own one at first because she believed that she doesn’t need one. A lot of times she wants to complain about Vil forcing her to wear something tight and itchy and painful, but alas – it fits very comfortably and kind of gives Epel very nice support 😔 But… does it have to be this cute…?

Idia is one of the flattest girls of the cast, she doesn’t own a bra and she’s never worn one. She kind of forgets that wearing a bra is even an irl thing sometimes, and not something that artists for the gacha games invented. But she surely remembers it when she leaves her room and sees real people, especially Azul… The truth is, Idia would get too embarrassed if asked to wear a bra, and would list 1000 reasons why it’s a stupid idea and the person is stupid for even suggesting it. Maybe we should just leave her alone… (Azul won’t)

Ortho doesn’t have anything to show off! :( Neechan won’t give her boobs! But since Vil and Floyd are both influences in her life, she is usually that one person that usually brings up wearing a bra with Idia (well other than Auzl of course). She just wants to pick a perfect one for Idia, it sounds like a fun challenge!

If Ortho was a human, she would probably be a bit bigger than Idia, since she’s not that… malnourished lol And she would prefer to wear sporty ones, which would make Idia nod in agreement – functional yet cute, as expected of her Ortho.

Lilia is actually the flattest person of the cast. Her body isn’t very dissimilar to the original Lilia, and she also doesn’t usually wear a bra – she didn’t need to when she was younger, and she doesn’t feel like she needs to now. But out of every non-wearer of bras we’ve discussed so far, she is the one who could do it for funsies. And her choice of the underwear would probably be a bit…cursed lol but she knows what she’s doing.

Silver is a bit bigger than B, and she also someone who didn’t own a bra for a long time, even though her bust bouncing caused her some discomfort during her training. It was actually the reason Lilia realised that ah, right, I guess the kid needs it… And with how active Silver is, one would expect her to also be a sports bra girl, but she actually usually wears a not very flashy, but a cute one that Lilia got for her. It’s blue and pretty…

Sebek is already a bit bigger than C and growing! And her mom, unlike Lilia, is more knowledgeable about these things, so Sebek actually wears a good bra that is comfortable to move around in, so I guess it’s also a wireless one. But also very plain, she can’t even think about wearing something that is not a very strict and neutral looking underwear, it would be shameful! Or something along the lines.

Malleus is also one of the biggest ones, I don’t remember if we decided that she is bigger than the Tweels or not lol but she is indeed quite busty. And also a queen of beautiful black gothic lacey underwear that looks like the most gorgeous and expensive thing in the world. It’s probably custom-made just for her, so it has thorns-related design and stuff.

[ssalballoon]

Whats your art process and what would you reccomend for someone who would like to achieve a style similar to yours? i love this mix of cartoonism and realism. your work is such an inspiration >.<

oh gosh! thank you?! 💞 i'll do my best to explain it, but even I have a difficult time trying to understand my own art process/style because of how inconsistent it is;; (i still have a lot to learn!) this is gonna be a long reply so i'll place it under the cut

process:

I start loose with a more gesture type rough sketch. I mainly just do lineart in the same layer as my sketch and erase away parts I don't like. Sometimes I'll lower the sketch's opacity and on a new layer do my lineart (which is what i did for the drawing above). But regardless doing that loose gesture sketch helps keep my drawing dynamic even as I refine over top of it!

- I duplicate layers A LOT for safekeeping my previous progress, especially if I'm thinking of making a big change (ex. changing limb position)

If I wanna put colors down underneath it I set my lineart to Multiply. For coloring I'm very inconsistent with the process, but recently I've been using a more subjective coloring style, where I pick my own shadows and highlights to try relying less on blending modes (which is gonna be too long to get into here;;) Finally if I feel like it, I make a layer on top of my lineart layer where I render everything

Oh this is something that helps me a lot for colors! I have 2 layers that are a mid-gray tone placed above all my other layers. One I set to the Color mode (to make the drawing black and white), and the other I set to the Luminosity blending mode (to make the drawing's brightness the same..?not sure)

The Color layer helps me check if I have enough contrast in values, and the Luminosity layer helps me check if I have enough contrast in color hue and saturation!

style:

This is really difficult to answer because style encompasses so many different aspects of art, but I'll try to focus my answer on the mix of cartoonism and realism that you mentioned!

I struggled trying to explain what my style is like so I just broke down one of my drawings that exemplifies a lot of my stylizations! Hopefully these can give you some pointers about what I tend to think about when I draw (click for higher quality)

(+to add to this i use a brush with no size pressure, only opacity pressure)

What I recommend for stylizing a realistic character: The way I learned to stylize a more realistic character like this one was to import a reference of his face, then trace over it very deliberately, making sure to stick to big shapes and characterizing details I thought were important to achieve his likeness! Then I'd turn the reference layer off and freehand it over and over, comparing and redrawing until I managed to get the mix of accuracy and stylization I liked!

What I recommend to find a style: I basically ended up with my style subconsciously as an intersection between the things I like to see in art + the things I like to draw! Most of my inspiration comes from anime (😔) and artists online. I'll see a very specific stylization I like in others' art, and try replicating it to see if I like how it fits with my style + if I enjoy drawing it in that way. I did this a lot over the years, accumulating into a big mosaic of inspiration from all the artists whose work I personally enjoy and learn from! I know this isn't exactly answering how to get a style like mine, but I think knowing this general process may help you out in the long run!

ahh i think that's it! i tried to be as comprehensive as i could without being too verbose (my bane). i hope this is the answer you were looking for and that it can help you! 💞 and thank u for the ask! it was a good exercise for myself to analyze my own art

[utahlive]

Q & A + a few inbox highlights!

fuck it we ball

...is what I said when I made this blog. and im still balling to this day. some may say I will continue balling. 

I genuinely made this blog on a whim and I do think parts of it suffered for it. I had a plan going in, but I didn’t think everything out and now I know for sure there are/will be plot holes. I didnt properly start planning things out and writing out important scenes until a few weeks into it. Im still free styling some of this, which I think is part of the fun, so if you are trying to write a story I would recommend having a loose outline but leave room for surprises! You never know when a good idea will strike Also scheduling. I was really out there thinking I could do three updates a day. what the fuck. Im so grateful that you guys are so patient with me and my inconsistency

ALSO A BIG ONE!!! Don’t let notes get to you. I fight for my life with this one every day, and I get worried people will end up disliking where I go with this blog or lose interest etc but seriously you’re doing this for yourself as much as other people. If you’re having fun, then thats the most important thing. I know theres the whole mentality/mantra of “make for yourself and no one else!!” but I think its more of finding a happy medium (especially when it comes to fanworks). Its nice to know people like your stuff! Im making this for you guys too! I got incredibly lucky and Im still not sure how this blog picked up as much as it did but even if it hadn’t I’d probably still be doing what Im doing :]

do they think im funny

???????????

big fan of this one

this one baffles me. anon is living in an alternate universe where the Wilbur finale didnt end with him moving to Utah and also the url of the blog isnt utahlive and by god I wish I was there with you (slash j)

discord status material right here

yeah this one wins

Also I was going to post this one yesterday (? time is fake) but I was worried it was a little too gorey or something. But the more I look at it the more I laugh so please enjoy

⬆️ reenactment of me creating utahlive. I crack myself up

anyway there will only be 1 episode tomorrow + something special for valentines day :3

[thatonegayship]

This probably feels weird to ask

But I love how you draw dipper in general and your art in particular! Is it possible you could do a little tutorial on how your process goes?

If you don’t want to, I understand completely. I felt really hesitant asking this lol. Anyways, love your art!!!

I'm not the *best* at talking technicality, and certainly not about drawing Dipper; I have three distinct styles when dealing with him, that being Billdip Dipper, Canon Dipper, and AU Dipper, all of whom have entirely different purposes both visually and narratively. This results in some pretty inconsistent representations:

That being said! I'm totally cool with going over my process with you! Layout, technique, brainstorming, all that.

Generally speaking, I like to start my digital work on paper. Nothing crazy, just a basic idea that captures the pose, expression, and clothing (these things are destined to change by the end).

Notice the cloud of dirt kicking up at his feet. Look how I position one arm out while the other pulls farther back, and his hair blows from his face. There's a clear emphasis on motion here, both in body language (feet turned against the force) and added attire (Pinetree cloak flowing back, dust cloud at his feet, etc.)

This design is destined to change, but for action scenes like this, it's good to begin with an expressive foundation, so that once we start chipping away at and remolding our concept, we're building off of a design that encapsulates the *scene* we're wanting to convey. That is, no matter how much we shave off, we still have a strong foundation to reference towards and lean into for inspiration.

The next step is transferring our rough sketch into a digital setting.

This is where I tinker with the lasso tool, maybe take reference photos of the exact pose I had in mind. Here, I'm just breaking down my original sketch on a tablet. I readjusted the feet's position, pulled that other arm in to his chest, and straightened his arm out for a more powerful pose.

The next step focuses on pushing the pose and correcting anatomy errors.

Alright, cool! Now he's not just bracing for action, he's *jumping* into it. The back arm's pulled in like a fist, his shoulder bunched up close to his ear. We see how his body's twisted at the torso, chest out, legs stretched, arm extended.

Notice too how I utilize my shapes to empower the pose. Front arm and leg, extended. Lots of straight lines. It *curves* because of muscle and fat, but outside of that, they're pointed in a distinct direction. Contrastly, his right side curves at the hip and follows subtly up to his chest. This helps emphasize his lean into whatever he's attacking, sort of like a bow.

Now we've added details! You'll notice I've changed a lot of my initial design from my rough-sketch to fit more into the style and personality of Dipper in this setting. Since he's, you know, a "Pinetree," I figured his clothing should reflect it. I'm still working in pencil at this point, blocking out the general shapes of what I want, but not really exploring my options.

The cloak follows a slight gust, his hair flows back, the mushrooms on his shoulder lean out from the action, but these are still only guidelines. Keep it loose! Explore things! Have fun with it!

Next step, Inking. Digital art is *very* forgiving, so I'm a lot less concerned about moving forward without a full idea of my vision. This is usually the step I'm most inspired at because it allows me to go back over my loose sketch and add those minute details that excited me so much. I do not recommend moving forward without full confidence in your initial sketch when using traditional art! YOU WILL CRY!

Clothes: changed. Pose: changed. Details: expanded on.

This is where a bit of knowledge in anatomy is really going to serve you well. Bridging the gap between sketch and ink has always been very difficult for me, and it's due in part to those uncertain, not-quite-right bits I have to build off of from my initial sketch.

It's good to keep your rough draft light and fluid so that they capture the emotion and general pose of your character, but it's also important to keep in mind how you'll have to balance *maintaining* that level of expression while incorporating more realistic aspects of their design.

Take for instance Dipper's left foot that went from being tucked up under his butt, to being in a more braced position- like he's about to land, or skirt to a halt. As a loose sketch, it captures the motion very well. However, incorporating muscle and kneecaps and detailed shoes brings out a lot of the visual flaws. Proportion and angle become a serious issue if you aren't entirely sure how a particular body part would flex/squish/shorten in a particular position. The more realistic you go, the more jarring your mistakes.

This is, of course, not me saying you're forbidden from drawing your characters with a leg under their butt with big, meaty thighs. It's *actually* me letting everyone know that I tried working with the pose, building on it looked weird, and I decided to take a different approach. You are 100% allowed to try something else if your initial plan doesn't work out.

This step is where we adapt and improve. Our digital rough sketch didn't really capture the full power of his motion. His cloak kinda billows out like "Yeah, I'm a cloak, I billow gayly." It's flat, hollow, uninspired. Here, you're looking at photo references of Pinetrees, both real and not-real. You're gonna have to make it look like needles and branches, while *also* being a flowy bit of clothing.

For this, keep in mind how *cloth* moves with a more exaggerated, majestic rough sketch to overlay atop our failure of a branch jacket. Die.

See how despite the spikey pine needles, his cloak follows a distinct pattern? Additionally, this coat works in 3-dimensions. There's an outside and an inside, and it curves like a dome around him. It floats behind him, curves in front of him, lifts up, dips down. Really, it's up to you, but always consider your work on the third plain.

ALSO! Very important: Keep an eye on your line weight! Seriously, this took a long time for me to get a firm grasp of. Not *shading* really, but put a bit more emphasis on those bent spaces with darker lines. See that bold line connecting his thigh to his glutes? And the one behind his knee? DEPTH!! IT ADDS DEPTH!!

And *here* is the final product! This is the shading section, arguably my favorite and least-favorite part about my drawing process. Working in black and white, you don't really have to worry about getting every little shadow on your character. Just shade what needs emphasizing; everything with a shadow gets an added layer of depth as well. This is the part that gives your work an additional POP.

Consider too that shading isn't just solid black, even if you're working in black and white. His arm and under his hood are pretty solid black, but the interior of his cloak is far more textured and light. We see where it's darkest at his sides, but leading out, it lightens into distinct markings that (in my opinion) are visually more appealing. Using this tool is ultimately up to you, though.

Okay, the end!

[toychest321]

L.U.V. Dolls - Initial thoughts

(Special thanks to @dollsinvogue for notifying me about these and clarifying their names! And credit to youloveit.com for most of the info I'll be going over)

For anyone not in the know, the creators of Glo Up Girls are releasing a new doll line named L.U.V. (Limitless, Unique, Vibrant) Dolls, coming May 1, 2024

The most notable aspect of this release is the fact that the dolls' outfits were displayed at New York Fashion Week!

To add onto the line's central high fashion aesthetic, the dolls' boxes (from what we've seen) are made to resemble magazine covers

Already I'm giving them major props for such a bold choice in marketing!

I also admire how while the brand has a clear theme (with bold prints and ruffles in particular being a running motif throughout designs), most of the characters have styles that speak well to their individual personalities! It makes me want the line to succeed so we can see the second outfits in doll form as well, and speaking of which...

The first design we have is for the character Harper. I absolutely ADORE both of her looks here, I'm guessing she'll have a very soft and sweet personality between the use of light colors, lace, and puffed sleeves! I'm also detecting some slight 1950s inspo with the a-line silhouettes, sinched waists, polka dots, and large collar! I also really hope the dolls come with the purses shown! Easily an 8/10 design here.

This character Londynn's designs are probably my second favorite, and another good example of consistent characterization! The hot pink pops without distracting from the bold prints on display, and the use of colors like black, brown, white, and beige tie them all together! I'm also wondering if this character might be an adventuring type between the animal motifs (fur on the first coat and a pale pink zebra print on the second jacket) and knee-high tan boots. While the doll's style doesn't look to be exactly for me, I appreciate the thought put behind it! Also I'm giving a bonus point for giving the doll textured hair as well, 7.5/10.

In third we have Brooke, and I find I'm somewhat conflicted with these designs? Both of these respective designs are fairly well-executed imo, but I'm not sure they give off the same character. The left honestly kinda reminds me of Karma Nichols but slightly edgier with the sleek material and black accents. The right, meanwhile, gives me girlboss vibes. I will give it that they were able to make a professional look without being too boring (side-eyeing Barbie Style rn), by adding the ruffles at the jacket and pants for a unique silhouette. Maybe the inconsistency in style is for a day-to-night look? Honestly the only thing I'd change are the puffed sleeves on the first designs. Overall I'd say this is a solid 7/10.

And lastly we have Autumn's looks, and honestly? I kinda hate it. The first look is decent, but sorta comes across as too similar to the first two's outfits between the pale tones and the pink? That second look though is atrocious. The skirt looks like a puffer jacket and doesn't match at all with the pattern, and asymmetrical sleeves have always been a pet peeve of mine. It's a Barbie Extra look, in a bad way. 5.5/10

Despite my negative thoughts towards the end, I have high hopes for this line! With Rainbow High abandoning its High Fashion aesthetic for an uglier child-friendly sparkle rainbow slime vibe, I feel like these dolls could take up the hole it's leaving behind if they play their cards right!

I look forward to what this line has to bring!

[loregoddess]

while writing the sleeping HCs I wrote something about Agnea needing a lot of time to brush out her hair and my brain was like "yeah sure, silly hair care headcanons be upon ye" so here we are (edition: both games!):

Ophilia: Takes very good care of her hair, but doesn't do anything fancy or special, Ophilia's hair just looks really nice if she's consistent with brushing and combing it. Tangles a bit, but not terribly (Lianna's hair tangles something fierce, and Ophilia got really good at brushing it out without causing any pain). Let's one of the nuns or Lianna cut her hair, and is generally fine with one of the other travelers cutting it (Primrose almost always does because she's fascinated by how soft and silky Ophilia's hair is with so little effort).

Cyrus: Despite his best efforts, his hair tangles fairly easily. Brushes and combs it regularly, but doesn't actually worry that much about how it looks (although it always ends up looking very nice, which Cyrus is of course, not aware of). Ties it back to keep it out of his face while reading, but honestly has more loose strands than not. Absolutely attempts to cut his own hair to save himself time, which is why the length is so uneven, and yet it still somehow manages to look nice when he's finished.

Tressa: Has a sort of undercut style where she can tie the longer top layer up underneath her hat and keep it all out of her face at once, but still wanted the option to wear her hair long and loose if she wanted (listen, the official artworks are inconsistent with Tressa's hair, this is the best explanation I have). More interested in selling hair tonics than using them herself, and actually has a fairly simple hair care routine. Hair doesn't tangle easily and is thin enough Tressa can get by with just a comb most days. Prefers to let her parents cut her hair, and will only let Primrose or Ophilia cut it while traveling (doesn't mind letting barbers cut her hair, but only after she's inspected their past work thoroughly).

Olberic: Wavy hair, but keeps it slicked back with a tonic to keep it out of his face (used to keep it shorter when he was younger, and then decided to grow it out on a whim when he realized it wouldn't be too hard to keep out of his face). Hair hardly tangles, but Olberic's pretty regular about combing it so it doesn't have much of a chance to tangle in the first place (all his personal grooming habits come from his knight training). Usually just gets it cut at a barber's, will let the other travelers cut it though.

Primrose: Has the most complex hair care routine, although her hair isn't naturally inclined to tangles. Would prefer to cut her own hair, but allows others to cut it depending on the situation (enjoys taking care of other people's hair though). Brushes and combs it before going to sleep and after waking up despite the fact that her hair rarely tangles while she's asleep. Hair starts to curl in humid environments, and is incredibly thick and strong.

Alfyn: Hair hardly tangles but this isn't obvious because it looks like a mess at any given time (his hair is just wavy/curly). Uses a tonic that sort of acts like a gel so he can get most of the shorter strands up and out of his face. Alfyn's hair is thin enough that it looks smooth and lays flat when he ties it back, but it would look nothing short of a lion's mane if he let it all loose. Aside from the tonic, doesn't really do anything special with his hair. Will ask whoever's around for a trim when he needs one.

Therion: Hair doesn't tangle often which is a miracle considering he doesn't always brush it daily. Not too fussy about his hair, except when he needs to disguise himself, but doesn't neglect it either (in general is very good about his own personal health, he did after all somehow manage to recover from a very steep fall seemingly alone). Therion also cuts his own hair and refuses to let anyone else cut it. Begrudgingly lets some of the other travelers brush it when they ask, but only after traveling together for several months.

H'aanit: Doesn't have a fancy routine but is very careful with brushing, combing, and braiding her hair (it's not practical for hunting, she just likes keeping her hair long). Hair is thick and a bit frizz-prone, and therefore a pain to brush out if it tangles. Linde wants to join when she realizes H'aanit is doing "social cat things (ft: grooming)" and gets brushes when H'aanit finishes with her own hair. Cuts her own hair, but only because Z'aanta failed Once at cutting her hair nicely when she was younger (also cuts Z'aanta's hair).

Ochette: Hair doesn't tangle as easily as one might expect, but Ochette also takes a fair amount of time to brush and comb it as part of her personal grooming routine, which she takes very seriously. Beastling brushes are designed in a way that she can brush both her tail and hair, and she probably brushes Akala as well (Mahina preens her own feathers, but will do so at the same time that Ochette is taking care of her hair). Doesn't mind tying her hair back, but only if it's a bit loose. Cuts her own hair, isn't too fussy about how good it looks, but usually it comes out really nicely. Enjoys helping others with their hair a lot too (used to brush Juvah's mane a lot).

Castti: Prefers to keep her hair tied back out of her face, and will also sleep with it tied back. Absolute mess of tangles if she sleeps with it loose or gets caught by the wind, and it takes her forever to brush it out afterwards. Makes her own hair tonic and tries to keep up with her hair for health purposes (although she sometimes forgets to brush it regularly if she's had a rough load of work). Will usually ask someone else to cut her hair, and Eir's Apothecaries used to take turns cutting each other's hair, but will also just try and hack off the split ends herself is no one is around (hair length is a bit uneven when she does this).

Throne: Incredibly fussy about her hair, and very particular about her hair care routine (it helps calm Throne's nerves, and gave her a bit of personal freedom early in her life). Had to learn to cut her own hair because of the looming threat of internal assassination attempts, and isn't keen on letting other people cut it for her as a result. Throne's hair is about average for how much it does or doesn't tangle, although her hair is naturally very silky so it's easy to remove the tangles.

Osvald: He keeps it long because it's wavy and frizzy enough to be an absolute horror of bushy curls if it's cut too short, and finds it easier to tie back when he's researching. Brushes his hair regularly as a habit to keep up with his personal health, but doesn't really care much about how it looks. Osvald's also bad about getting the split ends cut, and only gets his hair trimmed when someone offers to do it for him (Rita used to take care of trimming his hair). Tangles fairly easily and takes some time to brush out (was the worst after his two-day trip passed out in the ice boat). Very picky about how he keeps his facial hair though.

Partitio: Hair would tangle a bit if he grew it any longer, but Partitio's hair is also thick enough that taking care of it while it's longer is more of a hassle than it's worth. Uses a tonic to slick it back, although his hair's wavy-curly enough to need a fair amount of tonic. Takes good care of his hair, since he knows having a professional appearance is just as important in making a sale as the quality of the products being sold, and was taught all his hair care routines from Roque. Usually just relies on the local barber to cut his hair, and has had varying results from other barbers he's encountered on his travels (after a particularly bad haircut, Throne convinced him to trust her with cutting his hair, which actually worked out due to her precision).

Agnea: Wakes up with the worst bedhead and it takes her a good while to brush it out. In general, her hair is very prone to tangling which is why Agnea keeps it braided most of the time. Surprisingly thin hair, but this isn't obvious unless it's braided because Agnea's hair is very wavy and looks like it has a lot of body to it. Agnea takes good care of her hair though, and travels with a few different tonics to keep it healthy. Pala and Agnea cut each other's hair, typically, although Garud used to cut their hair when they were younger.

Temenos: His hair rarely tangles, and he really just needs a comb to keep it in order. One of the clerics was the designated hair-cutter in the church where he and Roi were raised, but Temenos decided to start cutting his own hair in his early teens and has refused to let anyone touch it since (insists this has nothing to do with the fact that one of the other cleric's had their ear snipped on accident). At first his self-cut hair was a mess, but he's become quite proficient. Doesn't really do anything special otherwise though.

Hikari: Very soft and smooth hair, although it means Hikari needs a hair tie coated in a special substance to keep the tie from slipping out when he ties it back. Takes incredibly good care of his hair as a matter of discipline and routine. It doesn't tangle easily, but is easy enough to comb out when it does. For reasons Hikari hasn't figured out, almost everyone he's met wants to comb his hair if he's okay with it, despite him being perfectly capable of the task himself.

[kulai]

I don’t know if it’s just me but I noticed a lot of artist will make Wednesday shades darker almost as to not make her seem to pale and risk being accused of “white washing”. To me as a Latina, the actress that plays Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) is on the lighter side of skin tones for Hispanics.

Also, Jenna is such a cutie and it makes drawing her as Wednesday so adorable to me. People will try to make her look completely different as in rugged but I wish people could draw her up as more feminine. At the end of the day she does have the cute nose, big brown eyes, and a beautiful smile. (Don’t get me started on the dimples) It’s damn near canon that when Wednesday lets her hair out of those braids she damn near makes Enid want to faint.

I love your art btw I just wanted to let my opinion out there and see if others agree without getting attacked.

omg thanks for loving my art!! your opinion on this is valid, and id like to share my own art in regards to how i personally draw wednesday and her colors bc i dont get asks often LMFAO PLS ask more (yapping ahead!!!!)

if you see all my fanart of wednesday side-by-side, i would say i have an inconsistent art style bc i heavily rely on visual iconic cues (her braids, dark clothes, glare) to draw wednesday!

and thats bc i dont heavily base wednesday off of jenna ortega. i don't really associate characters with their actors, i see a character they portray and then when drawing, i take the most basic elements. (costume, color scheme, overall character design)

this doesn't mean i don't draw weds based on Jenna Ortega at all. while i do draw her skin tone tanner than Jenna's (some will draw her darker, some maybe even very lighter) i still draw her relatively close to her shade as well as Jenna's dimples Jenna's height too lol

It's what makes drawing fun! I'm here for the concept of wenclair, wednesday and enid. this makes having headcanons less stressful and more freeing! it's also why im not comfy shipping jenna and emma T__T

thank you for sharing your opinion!! id like to hear what others think of this as well, from artists n the fellow fans :DD

[hairybirthdayclown]

placements with issues in romantic relationships part i.

*(analysis based on my friends & acquaintances)

VENUS SQUARE URANUS - do you get emotionally smothered just by thinking of being in a relationship? it's not that these natives don't want to have deep connections, they want to feel some sort of personal growth within it, regardless of any sort of labels. avoidant attachment style is what i'm getting with this placement with commitment issues. a lot of the people i've sat down with rarely date/don't want to/lack commitment in their relationships.

why don't you date? (i asked these people to refrain from mentioning any external factors that hinder them from relationships & look inwards...they still said them lol. also, i spruced up what they said just for y'all to understand better because these were said to me in a different language with A LOT more profanity)

"there are many reasons. but i think one that correlates to what you're researching is that my feelings are unpredictable. like i mentioned to you, if you remember - sometimes i wake up & feel nothing towards the people i love. i'm scared that will happen too in a romantic relationship"

- friend 1 (at 8° orb)

"i cannot stand when someone i'm with makes decisions for me & starts referring to us as 'we'. no h*e, i'm me, you're you & we're together but not together. do you understand? i'm not a 'together' person, have fun with me for as long as we can tolerate eachother for & f*ck off" (yeesh)

- acquaintance 1 (at 6° orb)

"i really don't understand this generation. a lot of conflict would be resolved if everyone was honest with what they want. i don't date because i prefer being alone. i actually love it. i don't even know if i want to get married. i used to be the 'date to marry' type (when she was literally 14 lmaoooo) but now i just want to have fun with my friends. i'm not actively pursuing anyone & i'm happy. period"

- friend 2 (at 1° orb)

"b*tch i don't even bother telling my crushes that i like them. i know i'm not even gonna attempt to date them if they like me back HAHA. wayyyy too immature for all that"

- friend 3 (at 8° orb)

"everyone is so focused on romance it's actually disturbing at this point. the people who can't breathe without being in a romantic relationship make me sick. i don't date because i don't like being told what to do. 'oH yOu shoULd'nT tAKE yoUr fri3nD oUt tO dinn3er' or 'yOu shOudLd'Nt huG hiM' , there's just so many unnecessary rules. it's alarming how people care that much about stupid sh*t like that. & turning on my location for you? die"

- acquaintance 2 (at 5° orb)

not all of these natives are single or prefer to be. these people that i analysed have entered relationships at some point but i've seen them end up hiding from/avoiding their partners in the long run. one of my friends literally had to help a friend of ours to break up with their partner because they couldn't bear to even talk to them & felt "suffocated". i think that's why these natives are comfortable with long distance relationships because there's some sort of barrier that prevents them from becoming too close to their partner. these people also love excitement so the thrill & anticipation of meeting up with their person gets them estatic. but as friend 1 said, their feelings are up & down in connections. @elysiansparadise explains this furthermore here.

do you need help? (keep in mind i'm an 18 y.o with little-to-no relationship experience)

relationships aren't always perfect but if you're fully aware of your inconsistency, avoidant attachment style & flaky behaviour, you should at least try to do something about it & have compassion towards those you're involved with. what i've noticed about the people that i analysed, 3/5 deflected from themselves & put the blame on their surroundings as justification. i'm not so sure about other people with this aspect but please look at other possibilities of why you approach relationships in this manner. you could be attracted to another gender, asexual, value platonic love more than romantic love or you have some sort of trauma that's holding you back from pursuing a relationship that needs to be healed.

i suggest identifying if you're emotionally available for any sort of connection & noticing emotional unavailability in others. venus□uranus natives are also prone to being attracted to losers who are emotionally stunted & can't even cater for their own feelings - in which they prefer because they like barriers that keep them from being too close to someone (either physical or emotional distance is their drug). the perfect tiktok video came up on my fyp about emotional availability. being emotionally available & being with someone who's the same is necessary for sustaining a healthy emotional relationship.

do not be rash with the way you feel at the moment. all feelings are temporary & feelings of insignificance should be discussed with your partner open & honest. but if you feel as though your partner is making YOU feel insignificant while denying it, leave. this aspect is not just felt internally so your relationship could have moments of apathy & feels fake as opposed to spontaneity from both parties. also, being mindful about how others make you feel before pursuing them. instead of finding clues on whether they like you, ask yourself if you like them.

take things a bit slow & cherish the moments you have in your connections. remind yourself to be grateful that someone gave you a place to uniquely express your love & theirs to you. & if you feel bored sometimes, incorporate some excitement into your relationship. don't just think about yourself, include your partner in all sorts of fun.

do other harsh Venus-Uranus aspects feel the same or have similar expriences? (another analysis based on someone in my life)

i asked...

so, do your relationships with your friends even romantic relationships abruptly change? or u feel some sort of inconsistency with the way people show their love to you? like, your partner could be head over heals in love then all of a sudden they act like they hate you?

"yes haha. but when you say change what do you mean? like what sort of change? & it kind of fluctuates here & there"

change like sudden break up from your side or theirs. maybe even the way you feel about them.

"omg yeah"

-acquaintance 3 (opposition at 10° orb)

well, i ran out of people & time. i really don't know if harmonious aspects (trine, sextile) have relationship issues but if you have any other aspect between these 2 planets that i haven't mentioned feel free to comment about it. also, other factors can hinder the effect of this aspect so check other aspects.

next post on this topic: lilith prominance in woman. i only have 2 friends with lilith prominance so if you have this, tell me your experiences with men & women in your life & how navigate your difficulties dating. feel free to hit me up on somewhere...i don't know how this app works.

thank you for reading :)

[unlimitedtrees]

making character sprites as a one-person indie game developer

(huh. turns out this post on cohost didnt have a “read me” section”. o well. i will put the read me section Here,  before any of da actual text. click it if u dare !!)

so, i've been meaning on making a Big post talkin all about how i actually Make my games and my processes n such ,but also ive been procrastinating on making it for so long that i thought i might as well just make One part of that post now .. and its about making the Character Sprites for my games .

So. these images are the (mostly) full sprite sheets of the three characters from my game UNITRES Dreams, taken directly from the big giant 'charactersprites.png' image that i used for nearly every sprite for Most of the game's development. some quick things to make note of: First off, Trees (the first one) was one of the earliest things i made for the game, and had their sprite sheet redone Twice since then.. this first picture doesnt contain the latest sprite sheet as the new sprites were done on aesprite and im too lazy to make a sprite sheet out of them right now.

Secondly, the Second character (the pink one), had two different designs, being completely redesigned as i didnt like their first design all too much. their redesign's animations was done in aesprite, but i made a sprite sheet out of em before so i was able to just put them here. Lastly, the Third character (the blue one with the big silly hat) remained mostly unchanged as their original sprites and design were pretty good, but they needed to be cleaned up and given better colors so i ended up polishing all of their sprites.

Anyways. it's going to be hard for me to explain my actual process, as i am Bad With Words, but i will try my best.. So. for Most of my time as a game dev, I've used Paint.NET for Everything. This includes backgrounds, tilesets, and every animation ever in all of my games. For my character sprites specifically, i usually start with making the color palette (which is a whole different process where i mess around with the RGB values until i get a specific color that i think looks pretty ... its hard to describe). When making a new character, i usaully start with an Idle animation, just so i have a good base to make all the other sprites on. I just make a sketch of the character, then i do the flat colors (as my games dont have line art), and once i have the colors i start doing the rendering , where i try to pull off a sort of Sonic CD-esque , celshaded style while Also including a bit of anti-aliasing and other modern pixel art techniques to give the sprites more Depth and make them look Sharp. Idk. it's hard to describe my process in words ... i Did make a video Years ago showing off my process, but its old and my editing in that video isnt the Greatest.

So., that's my process Lol . the only thing thats really changed is that Now i use Aesprite for making the Actual Animations , as making animations with Paint.NET is Really Difficult and Annoying , as i have No Idea how the animation will Look until it actually appears ingame .. which results in the early versions of each character's animations looking a little weird (such as Trees' first two versions, the first version of the Pink character, and the Blue character's animations.. .though the blue character isnt as bad as the other two and i kept their animations mostly the same in the final game LOL).

Something that people have kind of criticized about UNITRES Dreams' animations is that some of em dont exactly ... Look Good. a lot of animations are pretty Inconsistent , with characters like Trees having inconsistent sizes in some animations and the movement in animations such as the Pink character's walking animation and various other animations (Especially the ones made in Paint.NET) looking Unnatural.

And Well .. here's the thing about making animations and sprites for something like this. When you're the Main person making an indie game, you have Tons of different parts of the game that need to be worked on while having Very little time to work on others. On Top of making every single animation for UNITRES , i had to make every single Tileset and background for every single level, On Top of making the Level Layouts , Programming , and even making sprites for things like the UI. And you have to constantly Test the game to make sure everything works and things Look good.

So. i had very little time to work on the sprites, and i Knew this. Something you have to consider is that, not only are you making the animations for the main character , you Also have to make Tons of animations and sprites for Literally Every Other Aspect of The Game . this includes Enemies , Level Gimmicks , NPCs, And the UI .. so you end up having to work on Thousands of sprites by yourself in such a short time.

I ain't the best animator , nor the best sprite artist . But , for this game I chose an art style which is Kinda simple and comfortable for me, which made making things like tilesets and backgrounds so much easier for me. The character sprites specificially only use a few amount of colors ,but also i tried my best to give them as much depth and make them as Colorful looking as i could. Also , something you might notice is that all of the playable characters dont actually have a whole lot of animations .. each of the characters only have the Exact amount of frames and animations necessary for them to Look Good moving around the levels. Aside from a few Gimmick Specific animations that arent in the sprite sheets i posted , there arent many Extra animations or animations with Tons of Frames that i wish i could have added .. and it Kind Of Sucks . Having to split my time across Three Different Characters , i had no time to make any animations Too Crazy or Too Smooth , and i couldnt include any extra animations that could add a bit of personality to the characters ... In Fact ,the Idle "animation" isnt an animation , its just a still frame. I didnt have time to even make a simple waiting animation !!

It Is What It Is. For what its worth , Ithink Im pretty proud of the animations i did for UNITRES Dreams. while i think ive become a much better artist and animator since then, i still think some animations and some of the frames look really good ..just looking at some of the still frames is really nice .. so i think i did a good job, especially for a game that was made in 2 years and is Free. And Hey, while the animations in UNITRES Dreams may not be the best or have the most smooth animations , i Did get to experiment with making more smooth animations for TREES' ADVENTURE. while ,now, i think some stuff could use some work, i am Really Proud of how some of the animations look .. ididnt get to make Too Many extra animations (there still isnt even an Idle animation), i Did get to make some cool extra animations , such as individual animations for your Jump that are based on how fast you're moving . (the original post on cohost had a buncha gifs of da animations but im Too Fuckin Tired 2 post em here LOL !!!)

So Yea . the moral of the story: making video games is kind of hard and time consuming , Especially when you're like , the Only one working on them. just make sure to plan ahead and try not to overwork urself .. make what you can and do it when you can. Thats what i think , anyways.

[animehouse-moe]

The Weakest Tamer Began A Journey To Pick Up Trash Episode 1: On A Journey Alone

Now, if I didn't already know about studio Massket's history, I wouldn't have batted an eye at this series. I'd think it's well done, somewhere towards the top end of the midrange for anime in a season. It's got pretty art, fun designs, and good-slash-consistent animation. But I do know about Massket's history, and I know that this is their first ever anime. And they did a better job than a lot of established studios out there, so I have a lot to chat about!

I think the strongest and most consistent aspect of this first episode is certainly the art direction and backgrounds. It's a lovely style and it really pulls the most out of the fantasy genre. Really bright, rich colors that fill the screen to the brim give the world a wonderous feeling.

Conversely, I think the closeups in the episode also really help sell the level of detail, which is very high, that Massket is gunning for with this series.

They really pulled out all the stops in the art department, and that includes character designs too. Ivy's design is really solid, and animates impressively well despite the level of detail in it. I mean, she carries around 4 different bags and they still find a way to include sequences of her running, or falling down a hill, or even just putting those bags on. The consistency of these animations is one thing, but their quality is totally different. This is the kind of work that you expect from an experienced studio, not a first timer.

And even then, there's really not much inconsistencies in the character designs. Of course there's a few moments that have slipped through the cracks, but the largest moments with her character remain intact, as evident by the number of close up shots on her in the episode.

And funny enough, these closeups are a pretty good segue into my only complaints within the episode- simple inexperience. The boards for the episode are pretty great, amazing even in some sequences like the one below. But at times they can be awkward to follow and give off the feeling that you're missing something in between. It's not anything terrible in terms of quality of the studio, but does speak to some of the inexperience of the staff.

And the only other real area that I can point my finger towards is composition. Yeah, a little odd considering how good it is in the majority of the episode, but it's more about the consistency of low level aspects within. Shadows not appearing in certain scenes, colors remaining flat or out of sync with the environments, feeling the presence of layers in a scene. Just little things here and there that feel more like lapses than they do failures. And truthfully, the vast majority of these struggles manifest exclusively in brighter environments. When there's less light and more shade in a scene, the composition always does considerably better.

So all in all? I'm deeply impressed if this remains the quality for Massket's first anime. This is a level of polish that some studios aim for. Sure, there's dips in quality and other issues like I just pointed out, but almost all of them come from a place of inexperience rather than an inability. We've been shown what good and great look like from Massket, so I'm not too worried about lesser areas that will certainly see improvement.