#not my best work compared to some of my other traditional art stuff

[esteebarnes94]

Darby Fanart

Darby is a character from a joint story by @majormeilani (who owns this character) and their sister micechicken (who I won't tag as not to bother her). Anyways, I'll admit when I was on my old account I did come across their story Sunshine and thought it was really cool, so when I made this account I decided to practice my digital drawing skills on Darby!

Goes without saying, but no reposting, editing, claiming (the art, I mean, obviously the OC isn't mine), tracing, or using for any program, NFT, or AI.

Anyways yeah Darby is super cool I like her.

[dduane]

Hello,

I am currently getting excited about visiting my first WorldCon.

So I wondered if you'll attend? And if so, what's your protocoll for being accosted by strangers (aka me 🙈)?

Also, do you have any tips for a firsty? 🥺

Mel

Hi there!

Unfortunately @petermorwood and I can't make Worldcon in Glasgow this time out. We will be guesting in a week and a bit at the International Discworld Convention in Birmingham (to which we committed last year).

We were open to the possibility that we might be able to do Glasgow as well. But a combination of financial and health issues—the "health" issues meaning the arthritis in my hips and the disc trouble in my lower spine—have over the last six months made it plain that trying to do two conventions in one month wasn't going to work out. (shrug/sigh) Them's the breaks. Sorry about that: we'll miss you.

Meanwhile, you should have a great time there! And a first time at Worldcon is always a blast.

Some advice in passing:

(1) First, and maybe most important: strategize. This is quite a large event compared to other conventions you might have done (besides media megacons like SDCC or similar).

There'll be multiple programming tracks with all kinds of things going on. So take your time, spend some time examining whatever downloadable form of their program that the con may be making available, and see what interests you most.

Make a list of what you want to see. Do some ranking of items. Add a few interesting alternates in case items get changed or delayed.

(2) Once you're on site: get clear as quickly as you can on how long it will take you to get from wherever you're staying to where the programming is happening. Take note of how long it takes to get around from one part of the convention centre to another. Once you have this basic data, be aware that you'll probably need to add time to account for slow elevetors (in hotels or at the con venues) and to deal with lines that may form up outside of busy popular events.

(3) Don't forget to set aside some time to see both the dealers' room(s) and the art show. I never did get to see the art show in Dublin in 2019, which continues to drive me a bit nuts (as I have a long history of volunteering at Worldcon art shows).

(4) Keep an eye on your food and drink intake. Make sure to eat. Make sure to stay hydrated! ...It is surprisingly easy to forget to do one or both of these at a Worldcon when things start to get exciting.

There are usually places in the venue itself where you can grab a sandwich and a soft drink if you have no time for anything else. Seriously, make sure you take time to do this.

Also. if you've got the spare cash to do it: Watch out for people who need feeding but don't have the cash. Do what you can to assist them. There are routinely some folks around who've spent every penny getting to the con, and as a result have shortchanged themselves on the money they need to eat. Feeding the hungry is a good thing to do.

(5) Make sure you sleep. Cons are not pleasant when you're so tired you're hallucinatory, or microsleeping without warning and falling down stairs and escalators and things.

(6) If you like to dance, try to make it to John Scalzi's dance party! These are always memorable. John does the DJ-ing, and does a great job of it.

(7) Go outside and breathe the fresh air occasionally. While doing so, please do your best not to fall in the Clyde. :)

(8) Go to the bars, whether you plan to drink alcoholically or not. UK conventions have a long tradition of Bar Cons, where writers routinely congregate between program items, sometimes in surprising numbers. At this one in particular, since George R. R. Martin seems to not be on any panels, he has said he's going to be "in the bar" meeting people a lot: so that's something to think about.

(9) Other than that: meet people, talk to people, be excited about stuff, learn about new stuff to be excited about! That's always been the great joy of Worldcons for me.

And have a great con!

[velnna]

I think you said you use clipstudio paint. I was wondering if you consider the price worth it for someone who's a hobby artist and not good enough to do commissions? I've been using paint SAI for about a year but it's beginning to drive me a little nuts with some of the limited options. If I'm remembering wrong and you don't use that program, I'm sorry! Thank you

And thank you for sharing all your incredible work with us, seeing your art makes life a lot better. You're part of the inspiration that keeps me wanting to work at digital art, even though I started drawing as an adult and thought it was kind of too late for me to learn.

Remember to stay hydrated and eat something ^.^

Okay so CSP is by far the best software I've used for my type of work (so much so that I also have it installed on my iPad as well for when I travel). And by "my type of work" I mean stuff that requires a lot of shortcuts and a fairly complicated workspace for efficiency and whatnot, since I'm always on a crunch. I'm also a very technical person, so I prefer software that lets you set up shortcuts, automatic actions, adjustment layers, etc VS software that makes the experience feel more "painterly"/traditional (like Procreate for instance).

Pricing-wise, I *used* to say it's more than worth the money when it was a one-off payment, even for casual hobbyists (iirc I got the Pro version for like $35? Definitely way too cheap in my opinion). HOWEVER I know they changed their payment plan and if you want the app to stay updated they've got a subscription model going on, so I think whether it's affordable or not really depends on your financial situation and priorities. I'll keep paying for it because it's one of my main work tools but not everyone has that luxury

I did use SAI waaaaay back when and I remember really liking it too (only stopped because I switched over to MacOS and they didn't have compatibility there), but I don't know how it compares to CSP now. If you feel like it's missing things, then yeah looking into other things could be a good idea!

Also thank you!! Best of luck with your art journey 💜

[iztea]

Maybe you have some drawing tips for beginners?

Your style is incredibly beautiful and it just inspires this thing inside me to grab my iPad and start drawing but unfortunately I have no idea where to even begin

Or maybe you have some recs where to look to learn how to draw stuff?

But I understand completely that it’s your thing and artists should never feel pressured to share all their techniques and secrets, you worked hard on it!

I just really really love your art to the point where I just look at it for 30 minutes straight with this big feeling in my chest

<3

ah it was never about being secretive, i'm pretty open about my drawing process since gatekeeping knowledge is a big pet peeve of mine. It was more like,, laziness because writing a cohesive and helpful drawing tutorial is pretty difficult and i wouldn't even know where to start; i'm afraid i'll get maybe too technical and what have you.

As for tips for beginners, i've shared plenty on my couriouscat so you can scroll through the answers there, i also have some drawing timelapses on my twitter account as well (albeit you'll have to scroll a little)

I'm very flattered you feel that way about my art, it really means a lot to me and i'm glad to have inspired you to draw as well that's awesome and i wish you best of luck!

I actually don't know how different drawing on an iPad is compared to a graphic tablet+desktop, so I am actually pretty clueless in that regard. I think Procreate is the most used digital art app for iPad so you can start by getting it and familiarizing yourself with the UI. I think this step is often overlooked. The brushes and the chosen program can make or break the drawing experience. If you simply find yourself not enjoying Procreate, experiment with other apps or maybe try switching to a graphic tablet, maybe that feels better and is more suited to your tastes.

To be completely honest, one "bad" piece of advice that i should probably keep to myself is to draw something you actually enjoy: fanart, Pretty Girl Portrait(tm), your cat, landscapes etc even if it's above your skill level (becoming obsessed/ fixated on some character from a piece of media also works wonders i'm just gonna throw that out there). The main point is to actually care about your chosen subject in order to get inspired and to have that inner desire of "doing them justice" aka drawing them well. The traditional art learning route probably involves studying the fundamentals, shading spheres and cones and simple 3D forms blablbablah which. Yeah ! sure that's probably better advice but i'm telling you what will make you want to keep going and not get discouraged after a few failed attempts.

As for the drawing subject, I highly recommend having photo references to guide you.. you always need refs it's a recurring thing. My fastest artworks are the ones where I have the right references. the less references the more difficult it is to draw something

As a beginner it is also a good practice to draw OVER your photo reference to get the proportions right ( i'm not talking about literally tracing the contour of a face or limb ( just an example ), but moreso identifying the Main shape which makes up that body part and observe how long is it in respect to the other components, how does it connect to the other parts etc - big difference. Tracing won't help you in the long run).

Another thing you can do is to study your favourite artists and see how They tackle whatever it is that you like in their work. how do they simplify facial features? what about anatomy? color/ light etc and kinda reverse engineer your way through their process. ( but i highly recommend to just keep these practice sketches to yourself, and to not share them on social media- unless you get the artist's permission)

This is how i got into drawing and what i did back then, again, for more technical hands-on information i did answer similar CCs before so with a little bit of stalking you'll find them in no time

I wanna finish this with some resources that helped me:

>youtube guys - sinix, ahmed aldoori, marco bucci, and also just speedpaints in general i highly recommend watching those

>for simplified anatomy i found @/ taco1704 's ref sheets to be very helpful but ........... I'm pretty dry here i just look up refs on Pinterest tbvh

speaking of, here's my pinterest i have a bunch of art related boards board cool stuff overall maybe they can help guide you towards some direction or inspire you in some way idk

ok i kinda suck in the resource department listeN. im starving too just.................. watch youtube speedpaints ok

SORRY IT'S SO LONGGGBGGG i hope it was at least a bit helpful? this was all over the place... I'll try to come up with a tutorial as well but i really gotta be careful with how i go about it. I'll leave you with this for the time being. Again, thank you a lot for the kind words, I really am very grateful and touched esp by that last part about staring with the big feeling stuff eeeeeeeeeeeeee really wow T T that's so lovely and a big compliment thanks ty ly

[vampstel]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[severalpossiblemusiks]

@lightineventide and I had a short discussion about understanding how to appreciate different music genres, sports, art styles, etc., and I figured it'd be good to make a big old post about how to understand each genre in it's own right, rather than comparing it to another genre. Which kinda falls into a life motto I have been developing: "you can find something you like in anything you look at, you just have to know what you're looking at". Cause once you learn to appreciate each different thing for what it is, all of the sudden you find yourself liking way more stuff than before.

So for music:

Rock, punk, and metal tend to focus on things like tempo, riffs, and look/attitude. So when looking for what makes a band or song appealing in these genres, those are probably the major cues you're looking for: do the riffs sound cool? Is the tempo something you can headbang or mosh to? Do you like the image they present? Of course with how many subgenres of punk and metal and rock there are, you can find more specific things to look for in whichever subgenre you're being introduced to. Elitists will often argue that a certain genre of punk or metal isn't "real" punk or metal for some surface level reason often repeating to the tempo/riff/look combo, among other reasons. But ignore these people. They're the equivalent of right wingers telling you why something sucks cause it's woke.

Classical and opera focuses on the harmonics and musical framework of the piece. Classical is almost a "meta" appreciation. Rather than just liking the music cause it slaps (though this is a very valid way to enjoy classical music), I found my appreciation for classical deepened when I found myself looking for how the music was presented. Of course this meta level of appreciation requires some knowledge of music theory and classical music forms (why a sonata is different from a concerto, which is different from a symphony, etc.). You can still appreciate classical without all the music theory meta, and I actively encourage you to enjoy classical outside of the meta analysis of the music, cause it beats elitists who think you need a BA in music to like Bach when you can also just go "music go weeee".

Jazz focuses on improvisation and phrasing. Most jazz tunes have a kind of pattern: you introduce the main melody of the tune, you play a verse and chorus, then you improvise around those melodies, and eventually you return to the main melody and finish the song. The improvisation in the middle is usually where the magic happens. Experienced jazz players can change keys a lot, reference other famous tunes (I think it was Charlie "Bird" Parker was a great fan of classical composer Igor Stravinsky, and would find ways to work phrases of Stravinsky pieces into his solos). Some kinds of jazz also feature a similar vibe to rap battles, where two members of the jazz group try to outdo each other in their improv sections (very common in bebop jazz and their "cutting sessions"). So to appreciate jazz it helps to notice when they go into the improvisation sections, and see how they change and adapt the original melody.

Folk music is about as "by the people, for the people" as you can get. A lot of the tunes are simple, the words can very massively, even having two totally different songs for the same melody (for example, "Red is the Rose" and "Loch Lomond" have the exact same melody, but wildly different lyrics). Folk is probably best appreciated when you know the history behind the song, if anyone knows what the history is. Folk songs are often steeped in local culture, so understanding a Scottish folk song will be greatly assisted by understanding Scottish history and culture, similarly flamenco will be best understood when you look into Spanish culture and history, cause these different elements of history and culture will affect the musical traditions and explain why the song sounds the way it does. I found I started to appreciate rap a lot more when I thought of it as a sort of modern folk song tradition: understanding the history of black Americans and the racism and abuse they received and how they used rap to touch on those subjects.

I can't think of more musical genres and traditions to use as examples, but I think this gets the idea across (hopefully). Each music genre is very different, and so to appreciate each genre properly you have to understand where they're coming from. And of course you can skip all of that and go "I like this cause it sounds cool", but for people like me who overthink their love of music, stuff like this can be very helpful, because sometimes you do just have to recontextualize your conception of music and cultures to get an idea of why it sounds the way it does, and that recontextualization can also help you find what you like.

Hope this helps somebody, and anyone who wants can reblog with their thoughts, additions, critiques, compliments, etc.

[bosskie]

Warm 'n' Soft

Man, this took more than it can look like... I have been working on this for like 10 hour straight... I just couldn't stop working on this... I struggled a lot with this and I had to redo his head after colouring and shading it for hours because it had way too many flaws... So yeah, this had originally colours, pretty experimental stuff since I tried some colour theory stuff, but I removed them because it was much easier to fix his head in grayscale. I didn't wanna colour this again since man, digital stuff feels much harder than traditional stuff... The original reason why I wanted to draw this digitally was to make it easier to try out colours but I was wrong... And I was wrong again actually, because when I did first that digital sketch of Molluck's anatomy, I thought that it would be easier so, but it was actually easier to draw the same thing on paper... I gotta do something to my digital art stuff since making it feels like painting with fingers compared to doing traditional art... And yes, the reason is that I draw with the mouse.

But yeah, it was such a fight to get this done, somehow. I felt so frustrated again but I feel better now when I could make this look better with my editing skills. And the reason why I basically just drew this was because I felt too tired and depressed to do anything else... Man, it just feels like I'm too tired for anything... Getting out from my bed feels like forced... But I'm trying my best, for whatever reason.

But yeah, what's this? Molluck sleeping with a teddy bear? Why? Well, I just felt like drawing him sleeping and that teddy bear symbolizes me, so this is kinda a self-insert thing without being obviously it. It has been just told me that I do look like a teddy bear, so that's the thing. I do not wanna show my self-insert stuff but stuff like this is fine. Well, kinda related to this, sometimes I just wonder how Glukkons would see humans... I don't know much about how they see the other species' appearances but the Sligs being ugly without the mask... I just like to wonder all kinds of trivial stuff related to Molluck... And no, I don't really wish humans to be in Oddworld but I always imagine myself just like I am with him.

Oh, and yeah, this ain't a Valentine's Day thing, didn't 'celebrate' it (it's actually a 'Friend's Day' here), but well, it can be something like that too. I'm sorry that I had to vent... I'm just starting to feel worse, again... But I'm trying to think about what I drew, that maybe I could truly keep Molluck feeling warm and soft... I'm alone with my doubts about myself but like I said, I'm trying my best...

[madaraservingcunt]

Are there some artists on YouTube or tutorials you would recommend ?

I will put some links below that helped me💛

This artist can help people at any level of art. For people just starting out or who have had some self-taught practice, or maybe they're picking up the pencil again after a few years of not drawing.

All-time favorite YouTuber right here!

His voice is soothing, but he also has videos where he doesn't talk at all if you aren't a fan of that type. The videos are pleasing to just watch if you dont feel like following along. He breaks anatomy down by shapes, which helped me understand it all a lot more.

If you are looking to draw humans, this is your guy. I recommend starting with understanding the basics of anatomy before you jump into any stylized art like manga or anime stuff.

He has tutorials for traditional pencil sketching and digital art. I think it's best for beginners to start out traditionally and work their way into digital art.

It's cheaper than a tablet, for one, and it's way easier to learn the basics on a sketchbook! Chommang teaches better in his traditional sketching videos.

Also, I'd recommend focusing on the body more than anything as a beginner. Drawing a face is hard, especially if you have a specific style in mind, and you might get stuck trying to get the face to look right.

Drawing and mastering body parts will build your technique and confidence in working up to small details in the face.

The coloring book specifically was super helpful to understand muscles and why things may look weird or normal in some drawings.

A personal favorite:

I was having a rough time a majority last year and feeling down on myself. Eventually I lost the energy to do any hobby.

This video really helped me flip my perspective. He pretty much says don't be too hard on yourself and compare your drawings to other people. He spent years of his life doing that and hated drawing because of it.

Also... it may sound annoying or obvious... but practice every day. I fell off for a while and stopped my daily practice, but I'm starting up again. It really makes all the difference in the world.

Good luck anon! I hope you have a good weekend. With enough patience we can learn to draw Madara in any situation.

[aeoki]

Seven Bridges - Hate Control: Chapter 16

Location: Tanabata Stage Characters: Mitsuru & Mao

Mao: Putting that aside for now, one of the main features of this year’s “Tanabata Fest” is the fact that there are a total of seven stages.

For example, Venue 1 is in the Yumenosaki courtyard while Venue 2 is in the auditorium. There are similar stages set up in a variety of places.

Thanks to the establishment of ES and the new students multiplying campaign (?), it feels like there are way too many idols… There’s no way all of them can fit in one venue.

And there’ll definitely be idols who won’t get the chance to stand on stage. “Tanabata Fest” is an event that’s only held at night, so it’s possible the night can end without their turn ever coming.

But Anzu probably didn’t want that. She’d want to let as many idols stand on stage as much as they want.

That’s why we increased the number of venues. It’s seven times what we had last year.

Of course, that meant our work also increased sevenfold and I was THIS close to dying.

Mitsuru: Are you okay? You want to stand on stage too, right, Student Council President Nii-chan?

Mao: I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m used to the hecticness. This is nothing compared to the performance that became the trigger for our revolution – AKA the very first “S1” last year that no one knew how it’d turn out.

This is an event Anzu poured all her time and effort into making a reality – I know for a fact that it’ll definitely be a success ♪

I also know that it’s highly unpredictable and that it’s something unhead-of, so it’s possible something unexpected can crop up.

Mitsuru: It’s okay! The sky’s clear too! Tanabata is a day that’s all about making wishes come true, y’know!

Mao: You’re right. Haha, I feel better after chatting with you. “Ra*bits” is great.

Mitsuru: Heheh ☆ We’re doing our best to make sure everyone knows that, y’know!

That’s why this Venue 4 is one of our challenges.

Mao: Ohh~ This area is the art division, right? Looks like you guys can’t use your usual weapons, huh.

Each of the seven “Tanabata Fest” venues have a set theme, like cute things or western music.

…Or even a sexy theme.

Mitsuru: Why were you kinda hesitant to say that?

Mao: There are a lot of female idols making an appearance this time, so it’s, uhh, one of the last things I need to see.

Mitsuru: Nii-chan also told me that’s the one venue I shouldn’t get close to, y’know! Why not? Why not? I wanna challenge everything, y’know!

Mao: You’re still too young for that… But I don’t think Venue 4 is suited for “Ra*bits” either because the theme is based on art~ You guys would be unparalleled if it was the cute venue, though.

Mitsuru: Not exactly! It looks like the culture for female idols and their audience is kinda different, so Tomo-chan and the others were saying how we might have a pretty hard time, y’know!

But it’s fun ‘cause it’s hard! It’ll make this year’s “Tanabata Fest” worth it~♪

Mao: Haha. Well, I’m happy to see you’re enjoying yourself.

Oh, I was totally speaking like a “producer” there. I’m also an idol, so I’ve gotta do my best in that aspect too.

Besides, I’m not in a position to give any sort of advice pretentiously, either.

This time, each stage has a certain theme so we kinda stand out from the crowd in the other sense; “Trickstar” doesn’t really have anything specifically unique.

We don’t particularly specialise in one thing. We’re not like “Valkryie” which has an art theme or “Akatsuki” whose concept is based on a traditional Japanese style…

But on the good side, we’re a wild card. On the bad side, we’re just “normal idols” with nothing special about us.

In a good way, we’re like a commonplace meal that anyone can eat at a family restaurant.

We don’t have any weapons like the other units. I guess that’ll be our goal in the future, huh.

Mitsuru: Hmm~? Tomo-chan says similar stuff but you guys aren’t normal at all, y’know? In my eyes, you’re all special and unique people.

Mao: I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’d like some sort of unique trait, so that everyone could see us that way. Actually, it’s always been my goal since I’ve never had anything that I could call a weapon.

That’s why, this time, we’ll break into all the venues with the mindset of learning what we can do in each of the themes.

If we’re in the cute venue, then we’ll fully embrace our cute side! If it’s the art venue, then we’ll show our artistic side! We’ll do our best and see how far we can currently get with each theme!

I feel so thrilled about it that I don’t think I can contain my excitement! It’d be nice if “Tanabata Fest” could go on forever ♪

Mitsuru: I think so too! No, I think everyone feels the same way, so I’m sure our wish will be granted, y’know!

Mao: Yeah. Anzu will definitely come up with fun events for us again, so we’ll be able to experience this happy feeling over and over again for sure.

We definitely have to work really hard and make sure this “Tanabata Fest” is a success first.

This is an event our “producer” created while thinking of us.

…Although, it does look like the things between the “producer course” and the “Peace Party” aren’t exactly straightforward. Well, it should be fine. We’ll do our best to back her up.

We’ve stood by her side and overcome our difficulties time and time again. It’s the same this time and it’ll continue that way in the future too – I’m sure of it.

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[plethoraworldatlas]

A great article I read, about a Africa inspired setting for Pathfinder, but with lots of great application to all African inspired TTRPG settings and just good information and history in general

In the grand tradition of reading games as texts + inflammatory titles, this is a (hopefully concise!) discussion of some issues I have with the celebrated Pathfinder 2E supplement The Mwangi Expanse. For people who haven’t been keeping up with Paizo’s releases, TME is a revamp of Golarion's Notfrica (oldheads might recall the Expanse from Heart of the Jungle, Sargava: The Lost Colony, and the Serpent's Skull adventure path in the last gen) for PF2E; it's served as a launching pad for other stuff that's come out focusing on the Expanse, like the Strength of Thousands AP or The Slithering. There's a lot to love about TME and it improves on its predecessors in many ways. I got a hard copy as a gift for my birthday and the art is gorgeous, still makes me happy when I flip through it. The intro from Jabari Weathers has some rock-solid advice. It's not a bad product, y'know? Certainly laps anything comparable from Lizards of the Toast. I'd even say it's the best African-inspired setting book put out by a mainstream tabletop corp to date. That being said...I'm not sure I can call it a good setting book. Mean people say this shit all the time, but any criticism here is genuinely coming from a place of love. Like many of the people who worked on TME, I’m ferociously proud to be Black and I hope that pride in weird beautiful multifaceted Blackness comes out in the rest of the post; hope it comes out in this blog overall, really. I've tried to be especially careful in taking the theoretical underpinnings of TME's Black Atlanticism seriously, so I’m not just talking down from a mountain of reified Africanity. If anything, I strongly suggest (in concert with the inimitable Zedeck Siew, who was a huge help in sharpening my own thinking around this topic) that we should all be a little more sus of folks like me, especially when they claim sweeping knowledge of a motherland through diasporic identity or are living in the Global South but seem reluctant to talk about their own privileges within postcolonial systems. My type of African emigre (that blend of colonial-"traditional" and postcolonial elite who can marshal enough in the way of resources and/or connections to anchor themselves comfortably in the West) is certainly part of the problem. There's a whole cottage industry of freaks relying on the fact that the average Western reader-player is woefully ignorant of capitalist dynamics Back Home or Within the Diaspora to peddle their wares, so stay sharp. If anyone needed an African guy to tell them this for it to land - here you go.

[gunlord500]

Kinda random, but reposting my Twitter thread about how despite their loudly proclaimed superiority, conservatives haven't made as much of a splash in culture and the arts as they say they should. Check out an except from this essay a righty wrote on his blog, concerning the literary influences of the old Dungeons and Dragons games:

I was reading this essay by a righty extolling, as they usually do, the virtues of Old Books, especially those written before everything went "woke," in this case being the guys who inspired Gygax in making AD&D-Vance, Howard (conan), etc. (2/14)

This isn't uncommon on the right, obviously, but what really interests me is his attitude to the Old Books, which reflects something often seen on the right, and which, in my view, is a reason they tend to undermine themselves in the arts. (3/14)

Look at how he talks about classic 80s D&D authors who nevertheless weren't the 60s-70s inspiration for the game themselves: Weis and Hickman were just imitations of the "Platonic Form" of Vance. (4/14)

It's very common theme in right-wing thought: That there was some Golden Age in the past, or in this case some Ideal, and everything since then/farther than that is just a decline and the best we can hope for is just imitation (5/14)

Now, right-wingers like this guy always make a show about how they're making fiction/art that Sticks It to the Libs by consciously imitating the Glory Days of the 80s, or even before that, the mid-century pulps, before Woke. (6/14)

Here's the thing, though: Their very worldview gives their prospective customers a perfect reason not to actually buy anything they make, for the reasons laid out, or at least alluded to, in the guy's post I screenshotted. (7/14).

The old greats--Howard, Vance, etc.--were closer to the Great Story than we are? And even non-woke masters like the Dragonlance authors were just shadows of Vance? So why should we believe you, o rightwing author, are any closer to greatness? (8/14)

Yeah, you don't know what you're missing out on if you've only had reheated dinners. But the right-wing artist, by his own admission, isn't providing anything but a reheated dinner-the real good meals were and are the original Vance, Howard, etc. (9/14)

So in that case...why should I ever buy anything from this guy, or Vox Day, or Castalia house, or any of the rest of them? I can get the original Good Old Books, rather than just imitations, much cheaper (and in many cases free) (10/14)

"Woke" authors nowadays, on the other hand...you can say they're unskilled, you can say they're completely callow in their lack of knowledge and appreciation of the past, you can say they're nothing compared to the greats, but...(11/14)

You have to admit they're much better at marketing than their adversaries, the 'traditional' righties. They can at least make the case they're making something new, even if it sucks or even if it actually is just a crappy imitation (12/14),

And thus, the people listening to them will be motivated to actually go out and buy their work, whereas a conservative writer's fans will just go back to the Good Stuff of Vance and Howard rather than shell out for an imitator. (13/14)

You do not have to be a genius to figure out that the lefty's approach will lead to more sales and thus more reach in the culture over the long term. 14/14 (END)

[autthesnot]

Hey, in your bobs burgers drawing (which is really good BTW) you draw on brown background. I've seen a lot of other artists do this too and I am just wondering why that is?

Thank you in advance if you answer this (no sweat if you don't!) and have a good timezone.

There are a few reasons for this actually!! Thank you for sending an ask, I love to geek out about art stuff like this.

For digital specifically, it reduces eyestrain, drawing high contrasting lines against a bright white background starts to hurt after a while. It doesn’t have to specifically be brown, but picking something a lil darker than white helps and not super saturated helps. I usually tend toward browns and like blue-grays (just depends on the vibe lol). I sometimes go a step further and will use something lighter than black against something darker than white (like for example, I enjoy an army green against beige). This is partially for like, feeling out colors and having fun, but it’s also just easier to look at over the course of several hours.

This is more of a traditional art stand point (but that’s where my education lies lol) Once you get to coloring or rendering, it kinda helps you identify the values (lightness/darkness) of the colors you’re going to use. If you already know what general color the BG will be it’s nice to work off of that, I usually go in Not Knowing That lol. If you have a more painterly style (which the Bob drawing isn’t the best example of) it also really unifies your color choices if you integrate or mix your background colors with your subject’s colors. When working traditionally I will physically mix a bit of my background paint colors with my more “star of the show” colors, and with digital you can do this by lowering the opacity (making something more see-through) or blending/including it throughout your drawing.

I straight up forgot to post the finished piece but here are some examples to illustrate the point some:

So you can kinda see how on pure white the shadows seem overly dramatic and things are comparatively dark. And with pure black, everyone seems weirdly glowy and they’re all very bright. And then on the neon green (for an extreme example) it really makes the color balance weird. Most of my art is very saturated in general, so this example isn’t very extreme, but a super bright background can really wash out a vibrant drawing and make it seem more bland, in addition to like making complimenting colors seem really extreme and similar colors more drab (like Linda’s red shirt seeming Extra Red against green, and everyone looking more orangey, but also Louise’s dress looking more murky)

For comparison against the brown, the colors are more grounded, you get the best of both worlds of seeing what is Actually dark and light. It isn’t a saturated color (but not fully gray) so the skin tones are less orange by comparison. In my real final piece I just ripped a background from the show and lowered the opacity over this brown to kinda draw attention away from it and keep the focus on the characters. (I’ll post it in a sec oops)

If anyone else has questions about why artists do certain things please feel free to send an ask, I am happy to explain anything I know!!

[carlyraejepsans]

hey, sorry for bothering you but i'm seriously considering starting to draw digitally (i have never drawn before except for when i was a little kid). i love your art so i was thinking if you would maybe give me some tips? about anything, really. like if i should at first just purely focus on the basis and nothing else, graphic program recommendations (preferably free or cheap ones since i'm not 100% sure if i'll actually keep drawing long-term), etc.

just anything that you think would be useful for me.

thank you a lot in advance

OOOH BOY where to start (｡・//ε//・｡)

it partly depends on whether you already know how to draw a little. I'm not saying you have to be good at it, but if you've already put some work into your traditional skillz it's going to help. oh also, if you do have some tradart background and you switch to digital? be prepared because with your first few drawings it's either going to be the best you've ever drawn or it's gonna feel like you're picking up a pencil for the first time in your life all over again. both of these stages are temporary, and generally settle on an equal middle ground in a few days, at least until your hand's gotten used to the medium

my FIRST chance at digital art? drawing with my finger on my phone. it's far from ideal, as you can probably guess, but it got the job done while i played around with the things only digital art could do. the next step, still on mobile devices, was getting one of those pens for writing on your phone. no pressure sensitivity, accuracy was still shite, but it did allow me to draw in a way that was more similar to how i drew traditionally. try to check if your device has compatibility with digital pen accessories, you might get one that's a bit more sophisticated than literally just a tube with a flat nib that works through normal touchscreen. i bought the sketchbook app back when it was still property of Autodesk. I haven't updated it since, so i have no idea how the new company is handling it, but it was a pretty solid app when i used it

if you already want to go full drawing tablet then DO NOT, for the love of god, DO NOT buy a screen tablet. i promise, drawing on a screenless one is in no way harder or more unnatural, you hand-eye coordination adapts to it very quickly. they're super cheap compared to screen tablets, more portable and better suited for a beginner. my first serius tablet was a wacom intuos back in the time when wacom partnered with clip studio paint, which was a DEAL because now i have a lifetime access to it despite having bought the tablet years ago and the PRO version of the program costing like 50 fucking dollars. definitely keep your eyes peeled if they do anything like that again because it's very much worth it, but if they don't you can also choose a cheaper brand. fuck wacom, go small corp.

for pc/laptop art programs your best bet in the open source scene is 100% krita. it has a couple of unique settings that make it weird to draw on for people who are used to "standard" professional art programs (which is the reason I don't go back to it anymore), but if you have no experience with any other art program, then absolutely go check it out, it won't be an issue. it's got a thriving community that keeps updating and adding stuff, so they're not gonna drop you off out of nowhere. as for the drawing itself? once again that's gonna depend on where in your art journey you are. it's been wayy too long for me to remember good videos for absolute beginners, but if you've got some of the bases down then proko and sinix design are some of the best teachers i can recommend wholeheartedly. i do have a couple more people on YouTube in mind, but I haven't seen their work in a while, so i wouldn't wanna risk sending you in the wrong direction.

one final tip that's worked out very well for me. y'know what's one of the best things you can watch? drawfee. animator vs cartoonist. pros animating in gartic phone. not only because karina and julia are the funniest motherfuckers on earth, but because seeing people's drawing process in real time (coupled with the sense of companionship of watching a group of friends have fun for your entertainment) actually puts you in the mindset to draw yourself and lets you study their work in a way that simply viewing the finished product never could.

trace trace trace, trace references, trace photos, trace art you like (but don't post it) and do it smartly ie try to figure out WHAT you're tracing, the shapes you're actually putting on paper and how they interact with one another and their environment. take your time, experiment with different techniques, take a break when you need to, watch your neck and back posture, draw from your your shoulders, not your wrist, those 30s "do this and this and this to draw this thing" style tutorials that don't explain the thought process behind those passages are a scam so fuck em, make mistakes make SO MANY MISTAKES, then learn from them, grow from them and make some more.

oh, and have fun, of course.

welcome to art :D

[sconnie-doesnt-know]

So Wrong

Characters: Lee Bodecker, Reader, Jane Bodecker, assorted OCs, also gonna go ahead and say Lee is kinda soft/dark in this one

Word Count: 8000

Warnings: Infidelity, alcohol usage, smoking, somewhat dub-con sexual stuff, but not really

Summary: The Reader is a young single mother and widow new to the town of Meade. She gets drawn into a social circle that includes the Sheriff’s wife, while also being drawn to the Sheriff himself.

A/n: I truly don’t know where this came from or why I wrote it. I watched TDATT and suddenly this whole thing just popped into my head complete with a Patsy Cline soundtrack. There’s infidelity on Lee’s part, and his wife is terrible, and these are fictional characters so I am trying to not feel guilty for making that happen. 

There’s more to this story, probably extending into 1 or 2 more parts. I don’t know what to say for myself, I cannot pwp. Feedback and constructive criticism are welcome. Not beta-read, so please let me know if there’s an error. 

Hope you enjoy!

Meade is as good a place as any to settle. Surrounded by wilderness and small towns, it’s quiet, far from anyplace and anyone you know. A welcome adventure and a place to dispose of your grief, finally - hopefully. 

You pull up on a quiet street and sit there just a moment to breathe, to look at the life you had that is settled in between the few boxes and suitcases of belongings, the folded up flag, and the little boy you buckled into the seat.

Through a tangled web of connections, you are able to rent a little upper duplex apartment from the widow in town. She claims she doesn’t mind a little noise as your son stomps up the stairs and gives you an open invitation to join her at church on Sundays.

It is six days into your new residence, the first Monday in town when the apparent welcoming committee shows up at your door. She wears a gentle smile on her face and presents you with a warm pie still wrapped in cloth.

“My name is Jane Bodecker, my husband’s the Sheriff. I wanted to introduce myself…”

You know the routine after moving around a few times already. You imagine the conspiring during the luncheon after church yesterday, the ladies munching on dry cookies and deciding who would be the first to talk to you.

You nod and smile, and accept the offering. 

“Some of us like to get together to play cards and socialize on Tuesdays, it would be nice to have you join us and let us get to know you.”

Of course she means that they are chomping at the bit to know why a single woman with no family ties has moved into town. You’re familiar with the ritual and know you need to go along if you want to make it work in this place.

You return her smile, “That would be so kind of you, as long as you don’t mind my son coming along.” You gesture to the little boy hiding in your skirts behind you.

“Of course he can. He can play with my boy, Robert. We will see you at two.” She leaves you with her address and directions over, telling you to look for the house with the red shutters.

Their house is in one of the newer, more developed parts, with some manufactured homes lining the street and looking boxy compared to the traditional farmhouses, but it's charming. The red shutters stand out, that’s for certain. It doesn’t take long to figure out that Jane is a proud host, head of the gossip chain, and is required to mention “My husband, the Sheriff” at least once per conversation.

You let the ladies ask their questions and nod politely as they give you the required chorus of condolences. You feel the shift when Jane steers the conversation to what they all want to know. “Now, I don’t mean to spread gossip, but some folks were wondering why you rented a place here instead of goin’ home to your family.”

Your shoulders stiffen, ‘so much for not putting me on the spot’ you think, but you still smile politely as you answer. “I have no other family. My daddy was gone when I was a girl and my momma dropped me off with an aunt and uncle when she was with husband number three and I don’t know where she is. They said it was the first thing she did that made a lick of sense,” you try to joke. “Well, they didn’t exactly approve of me and Jimmy, so when we married they told me not to go back.”

“And the boy’s other kin?”

“Ain’t no other kin. Jimmy’s family was small, they’re gone now.”

“Well, ain’t you a tragedy,” she says in a chirpy, high voice. 

Your face tightens and you stare at your lap, “We get by,” you weakly mutter. 

They all assure you that they have some nice gentlemen they can introduce to you, and go on about how fortunate you are they are pulling you into their group. You hear about faceless people and their minor transgressions, but get bored with it fairly quickly and use the time to look over the Bodecker home. It’s nice, a mixture of modest and a few state-of -the-art updates. There’s more dust than you expect, the sofa cushions look worn down, with only a few photos on display. The sheriff’s face shrouded in shadows in the one you can see, but you figure their son must take after him since he doesn’t have the pinched look his mother seems to naturally have.

You don’t even meet ‘her husband, the Sheriff’ until your third Tuesday afternoon of cards at their home. Jane herself is practically giving a campaign speech since the election so close. You never paid a lot of attention to local politics, and you try to give her your attention, but when she starts to ramble on it’s just too much. You happen to look to the side to avoid rolling your eyes and catch just when he strolls in, as if on cue with the uniform all perfectly in place. He scans the group of women until he stops on you, eyes lighting up with interest.

Your own breath catches in your throat at the sight of him as he removes his hat and looks you over.

“Well,” he drawls, “You must be the sweet new thing that’s got all the fellas in town rioting.”

You have to look down, lest the embarrassment make you combust.

“Now, Lee,” Jane scolds, “That’s no way to say hello. Come over here and introduce yourself properly.” She guides him over, and you almost say it with her when she recites, “This is my husband, the Sheriff.”

“Apologies, miss. I know you aren’t trying to get them all riled. Janey told me ‘bout your husband. War is Hell, shame to be losing boys like that.”

He holds his hand out to shake yours, his hold firm and warm and you are hesitant to let go.

“I appreciate that, thank you, Sheriff. Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” he nods, eyes flicking over you one more time. “What are your plans in this lovely town of ours?” 

“Oh. Well,” you freeze up for a moment, it’s the first time someone’s asked and you don’t have your answer prepared. “Well, I was thinking that I would get a job. We get by right now, but once my boy is in school, I would like something else to do.”

Jane jumps on your answer, “Let’s just see if we can’t find you a bachelor around here. Plenty of boys can use someone to take care of ‘em, but if you want a man who will be home on time, you stay away from any of the deputies. I can’t remember the last time Lee wasn’t busy with something or other from the county. I suppose that’s the life we’ve chosen though, isn’t it?”

Her voice sounds overly sweet, but you can sense the daggers in her words. It’s the way he reacts, shifting on his feet and rolling his jaw like he’s annoyed. Jane doesn’t even pay attention to anything but the cards in her hand. Some of the other ladies nod, but the sheriff just lowers his head before he pulls Jane to the side to talk to her quietly.

You track his movements, fascinated until you shake yourself out of it. It’s been years since you felt like that or even saw a man that caught your attention - not since Jimmy. It’s alarming, unnerving.

The wave of guilt that washes over you is more than you can handle. 

“Please excuse me, but we must be going.” You get up without waiting for any response and practically yank your son right out of the house as Jane calls after you that she will see you again soon.

You brush off the incident after having some time to think, convinced that it is just because you were caught off guard, and try to go on as normally as you can.

Your days end up filled with social calls, running errands or helping your landlady, and keeping your son busy. He asks to play with the Bodecker boy nearly every day, but you try your best to keep your distance when you can, especially when she starts trying to arrange dates for you even when you politely decline.

You look at the other ladies sometimes and wonder how many of them are just tolerating her the way you do. There’s just something grating about the way her voice goes especially nasally when she has something not-very-Christian to say, or the way she talks so openly and obscenely about the apparent whorehouse in town. She doesn’t even seem the least bit shameful when she begins to complain about her sister-in-law and the trouble she gets up to despite her brother being the sheriff.

Sheriff Bodecker, on the other hand, is a bit more friendly than you anticipated, expecting him to be cold or rude, but usually he’s the one pushing his wife to extend a coffee or supper invitation your way and making small talk when you are still around when he gets home from work or if he catches you around town. Your own mind suspects that it’s maybe just a sense of civic duty to know his neighbors, but it’s nice to have company nonetheless. 

Conversation with him comes easily. He talks with you about interesting news stories, about the boys, about some of the other towns, and even plans for the county. It’s interesting, not just debate on whether the new curtains chosen by someone or other are tacky. There are times you get lost talking with him and need to be corralled back in by Jane or Steven getting antsy.

The way he draws your eye is a mixture of curiosity and interest. It makes you notice when he’s driving the patrol car or when you see him around town. You catch how tired he seems at the end of the days, how he’s usually got a piece of candy to slip to kids when they come by and are brave enough to ask. You notice how he knows everyone in town and seems to have an eye on everything, checking in at the shops and breaking up the young men when they start to roughhouse.

In a place like this, Jane Bodecker is far from the only gossiper in town, so while she might not share much about herself or her husband, plenty of others do. Some of the things they say are just nitpicking and you try to drown it out. They’ve been decent to you since your arrival, but it’s hard to ignore the constant whispers of how power went right to their heads.

When the election is over and she gets the right to continue to say “My husband, the Sheriff” you start to really see what they say. She loses the facade of playing the good wife, but still hosts her weekly card meetings to keep up to date. Instead of just coffee and tea, she starts slipping sips of whiskey and gives her opinion a bit more freely than before, and often hurling insults anywhere they can land.

It’s painful to watch her put down everyone, but especially the sheriff when he gets in her way. When you catch him sending a frustrated look at her turned back or rolling his eyes at her complaints about the town and its people, you pretend not to notice and remember to keep a smile on. Her outbursts get more and more unhinged and brazen, and the defeat and exhaustion in his stance makes you ache. There’s a hurt you can’t vocalize without overstepping, but it eats at you, chips at your patience bit by bit.

When the sheriff pulls the cruiser over one day while you’re walking between stores to say hi and make some small talk, you’re pleased. He seems less worn down, it’s nice to see.

“Oh, Sheriff, you’ve got some good timing,” you reach into one of your shopping bags, pulling out a paper bag of hard candies you bought from the candy shop. “While doing the washing, I found a handful of wrappers. Turns out the boys were getting into your candy stash. Thought you might need a refill.”

You hand him the bag and the smile he gives you in return makes your chest tighten up and ache.

“Sweet things from a sweet thing, thank you darlin’.” 

You bit down on your lips, desperate to not react to his flirtatious words. “It’s nothin’, Sheriff.”

“Not to me.”

You start to sway from foot to foot, looking down at the sidewalk with a hum and trying to come up with something else to say. Silence hangs in the air for a moment before his radio crackles with a call from the station. You take the opportunity to make your exit.

“I’ll be seeing you, Sheriff.”

He shoots a glare at the radio, but looks back at you with what you could only describe as longing. “Sure will, Sweets.” Usually something like that would sound condescending, but from him it sounds endearing. He winks and pulls the car away, talking to the dispatcher while he drives.

‘Sweets...sweet thing...darlin’’ his voice repeats over and over in your head, fingers trembling and clumsy with the rush they give you and the way your heart races.

You get nearly sick when you recognize the feelings you’re having. It’s like it was when you were first with Jimmy. When you couldn’t even look him in the eyes because you felt too overwhelmed by your feelings for him. When you flushed and overheated when he got close and said pretty things. When you used to hold onto his hand and promise yourself that you would care for him every day and prove your love to him.

That’s when you realize you’re coveting another woman’s husband.

It’s Thursday, which means you need to head down to Main Street to visit the pharmacy for your landlady, Mrs. Martins, and gather some groceries for the week. You had made plans with Jane to let the boys play together while you took ran errands. You don’t have a good excuse to change the plan, but you can’t help but ask again, “You sure you don’t mind him being here?”

“Not at all,” she smiles, a bit wider and more manic than usual, “Now if that handsome Wilford boy happens to ask you for supper, don’t you worry about rushin’ back, ya hear?”

You laugh at her latest unsubtle attempt, “I will keep it in mind, thanks.” She and a few others had started to meddle, putting eligible bachelors in your path and setting up dates on your behalf. You do try. You talk to them, let them flirt, but none hold your interest. They’re boys - lanky and lean, still all reckless and rowdy. Not what you’re looking for, nothing like the solid, filled-out figure of a man, someone secure and stable and in a uniform. But that’s something to think about another day.

Wilford does indeed ask. 

You do not feel so inclined to take up the offer, especially when he pinches the round of your ass as he asks you to consider dessert before any supper. 

He has you pressed against the wall outside the hardware store, letting the sun blind you and bring tears to your eyes as the bricks snag the delicate threads of your dress.

He only backs away when a loud voice booms out, “There a problem here, son?”

He turns his head to find Lee pulled to the side of the road, window down and arm resting on the frame, his jaw clenched and eyes narrowed.

“No sir, Sheriff, just makin’ some supper plans, ain’t we?” Wilford looks back at you with a leer. Your hands press flat against the building and your knee twitches with the urge to jerk up and hurt him.

“I thought we were expecting you tonight, isn’t that right?” Lee asks you pointedly. 

Your attacker looks back at Lee, then to you, and you nod. Finally, you’re given some space. 

“I imagine you need to be moving along then?” Lee checks, waiting impatiently for Wilford to answer.

“Yessir.” He gives you a wicked grin and spins away to go back down the street. “Maybe another time when you’re free.”

You shake your head, eyes narrowed at his back as you glare.

Lee taps the side of the cruiser, “C’mere.”

You take a shaky breath and gather yourself with a nod before taking the few steps across the sidewalk. Leaning down you take a moment to look him over in his uniform, the badge gleaming in the sunshine and eyes clear blue as the sky.

“You alright, Sweets?” he asks, voice low and gentle. He’d taken to calling you that since the candy incident, always in that same tone - like it’s precious and important. The way it hits you right in the center of your chest hurts more than the physical damage done a moment ago. You know he isn’t asking if your heart is aching, or if you’re alright being lonely, or any of the ways you’re feeling it right now, but it strikes you in an unexpected way.

“I’m fine,” you smile tightly, “Thank you for checking.”

“These boys just don’t know how to handle themselves when they see a pretty lady.” Your cheeks ache as you try to keep from beaming at the off-hand comment. “Ya know, I’m getting ready to head on home, you need a ride that way? I’m guessing your boy is stirrin’ up some shit with mine?” He turns and scans the road and sidewalk around you, fidgeting a bit as he asks.

“I still have to make another stop and my car is at the end of the block, but thank you.” You stand up.

“Well, I mean it, you and Steven stay for supper tonight, I’ll square it with Jane.”

“You don’t hav’ta do that-”

“No worries, darlin’.” He winks, taps his fingers on the shell of the door by the painted logo and waits until you nod in agreement. “See you soon, then.” And with a nod he pulls off the curb.

You watch the cruiser drive away, then look up and down the street, but no one else is there. You finally manage to draw in a full breath, and rush to get to the cool air of the pharmacy to ease the flush burning you from the inside out.

You make it back to the Bodecker’s before the sheriff, glad to have a few moments to smooth things over with Jane since she clearly had not expected you to turn down the date she arranged for you.

“He wasn’t too much of a handful, was he? I told him before I left that he better mind you today.”

She waves you off, sitting back down at the table with her abandoned cigarette in the tray and a small glass of brown liquor.

“Well, the boys’ll sleep tonight, that’s for sure. They’ve been running circles round the whole damn house.” She ashes the cigarette before taking another puff and settling against the backrest of the chair.

You take a moment to look over the kitchen, a pot is just about to boil over so you make your way to it. “Can I help you out with anything? Give you a moment to freshen up ‘fore Lee gets home?” 

“I suppose that’s the least you can do.” Her cheeks draw in another puff and she hums, taking her glass with her as she goes to their bedroom.

The boys run inside, breathless and sweaty, both shouting while they tell you about a nest they found outside before you order them off to get washed up themselves. You look down the hall, waiting to see if Jane was on her way back or if she was expecting you to finish her cooking. Rather than let it burn, you do just that, taking care of the potatoes, adding a few seasonings as you go, and pulling out the meatloaf from the oven. 

The screen door squeaks and boots thud through the house when Lee enters and makes his way to the kitchen. You nervously look over your shoulder, catching him leaning against the door jamb, spinning his hat in his hand, a soft smile on his lips as he looks your way.

“This is a sight. If I didn’t know better I’d think I wandered into the wrong house.” 

You let out a bit of a nervous laugh, then look back down to the greens you were tending to, “I am so sorry, I kept your wife busy longer than I should’ve. She’ll be out in just a minute.” You go back to busying yourself with finishing up the meal.

“Not complainin’,” he mutters under his breath, but you still hear it and it makes your breath hitch. Jane could set you on edge with her snide remarks, so could Lee, but for completely different reasons - some that had been dormant for so long you didn’t know what to do. 

Just then Jane makes her grand reappearance, hair freshly combed and lips tinged with a touch of color; her cheeks look ruddy, but you can’t tell if it’s rouge or flush from the alcohol she’s been sipping.

“Don’t you go adding too much milk to my potatoes, nobody likes ‘em all runny. Here, let me,” she says and nudges you out of the way, “See you gotta mix in just a little bit right there.”

She overpours anyway, her hands moving unsteadily as she mashes the potatoes up, making them runny just like she warned you about. 

From behind you, you see Lee go to the table, picking up the liquor bottle and examining the contents, making marks with his fingers against the side of the bottle and shaking his head. He takes a swig himself and sets it back down.

He mumbles something about being sober, then walks down the hall to where Jane disappeared, stopping to say something to make the boys giggle on the way before they wrestle each other at the bathroom sink to wash up for supper. 

The meal starts off quiet, just the utensils scraping along the plates, but Jane being the gracious host, finally tries to perk it up with conversation.

“I know Wilford might be a little rough ‘round the edges for someone from a bigger town, but there are still several other young men I can introduce you to,” she offers, unprompted.

You choke a little before you recover and finish chewing your bite of food.

“You needn’t go through the trouble, Mrs. Bodecker. Really.” 

“It’s just, you’re so young to be widowed already and all alone. What kinda home will it be for the boy with no man around? And don’t you want more kids? I bet you just glow. Some of the ladies at my bible study wouldn’t mind setting you up.”

The idea makes you squirm. No, you aren’t dead inside, but there’s no way for you to get what - who you really want.

The sheriff speaks up then. “My old man took off on my ma, sister, and me. That’s just the way shit happens sometimes,” he says and you feel the dark cloud start to clear just a bit. You nod at him, acknowledging the little bit of affirmation.

“What was your husband like?” Jane presses, digging a little further into that painful wound. “Maybe that will help me out.”

Your Jimmy didn’t have much to give you, but he gave you all he could. He gave you the kind of love that made your cheeks hurt from smiling, and your stomach swoop with butterflies. Your eyes flick toward Lee and you think again about how alike they seem to you, handsome, intuitive, assertive, strong-willed. He catches your gaze and pauses his chewing for a brief second while he waits for your answer. 

“He was a good man, strong and fair. I’d like to think he and Mr. Bodecker would’ve gotten on quite well,” you finally say, smiling kindly at them both in turn.

Lee’s lips curl into a smile while he finishes chewing, then sits back with a stretch. “You’re makin’ me sound like an old man,” he whines, “Call me Lee when I’m not on duty.”

“Yes sir,” you automatically reply. “Lee.”

His smile grows. “Say, Janey? Why don’t you go get that jug of wine up for us?”

She nods and gets up.

“Wine?” you ask, surprised.

“It’s nothin’ special, someone up the road makes it. Tastes better than that church wine, but don’t burn like the shine some other folks are brewin’ up.”

Jane comes back with three glasses and pours generously for you all, her own motions increasingly sloppy from her afternoon drinking.

You sip at it, the taste a little tart, but not as acidic and thank them for their generosity.

“Jane, you do something different with the seasoning tonight?”

“No,” she answers, then goes right back to her chat with you, you think about speaking up, but she goes back to leading the conversation. “So, you still thinking about becoming a working gal?”

“Not right away, but yes.”

“Oh?” Lee asks, “Something at the diner? I think the grocery is hiring?”

“Nuh uh,” her voice takes on a nasty tone, “Nothing like that for her. She went to secretary school.” The lilt in her voice makes it clear that she doesn’t care for that little fact. “Can you believe that? School just to learn to file a paper or take a message.”

“There’s more to it than that,” you quietly defend.

“Jane, what the hell do you know? You haven’t worked a day in your life?” Lee asks.

Jane rolls her eyes, body slumping a bit in her chair. “Well, whatever you do, just make sure you don’t go working at the Tecumsah.” She snorts into her glass as she takes a sip. “That’s where Lee’s sister works. I told you ‘bout her before.” She gives you a look. “That place is a den of sin, if you know what I am gettin’ at.”

“You’re are gonna spoil my appetite talkin’ like that,” he says. He drops his fork and you startle, his glare at his wife making clear this is another sore subject. 

“Wouldn’t be the worst thing,” she mutters. “I’m gettin’ tired of mending the buttons on your clothes.”

Your jaw nearly drops. You wring your napkin on your lap and scramble for something to change the subject and break the tension, “Jane, there are such lovely flowers planted right by the library, is there a gardening club around here that you haven’t told me about?”

She’s bored by the topic, but it does enough to distract her and send her on a tangent. You nod and hum while you pick at your food. Occasionally you glance to Lee at the side and find him looking at you appreciatively.

You keep turning the conversation away from yourself, getting her to talk about anything you can as she keeps refilling and sipping down more of her wine. 

You use the next lull in conversation to make your exit.

“This has been lovely, and I am so thankful for everything today, but we really oughtta get back home. I need to make sure Mrs. Martins gets her items from the pharmacist and I need to try to fix the old projector she’s given me.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Lee asks, leaning forward.

“No idea,” you laugh. “I was hoping to puzzle it together.”

“I can take a look for you,” he offers.

“If you have a moment,” you turn to Jane, “And you don’t mind sparing him.”

She scoffs and waves her fingers, “Nah, take Robert with you.”

He grunts in response while the kids leap up, excited for more time together. You do what you can to clean up and ease the load for Jane, but she’s getting more irritable by the minute, so you shuffle to the door to leave.

You head to the driveway where your car’s parked, waiting for him outside while the boys chase each other around the cars. He steps out the door, swinging his key ring on his fingers, looking at ease without the uniform on, but still strutting with an air of authority. It makes your stomach swoop.

“The Martins place? What road is that on again?” he asks jarring you out of your staring.

“Just follow me, Sheriff. I mean - Lee,” You nod as you get into the driver’s seat, Steven climbing in on the other side.

“Don’t mind if I do.” He mutters it loud enough that you hear him. The tilted, teasing grin on his face as he climbs into his own car almost makes you certain it was his intention.

When you get out, there’s a lump in your throat and the air suddenly feels heavy. Thankfully, the short walk up your drive is quiet, the sheriff walking leisurely next to you and laughing at the boys as they race each other down the sidewalk. 

“I gotta go in the back way,” you swallow thickly as you tell him while you open up the gate, “There’s a private staircase for us there.”

He nods and follows. 

When you enter the small apartment, you’re grateful that you don’t have much to fuss over and that it is tidy by default.

“Why don’t you boys go play with the Lincoln Logs or race cars? Nothing too loud right now,” you suggest and push them off toward the small room Steven occupies. “I got the parts all together right here, but I think something is missing.” You point to the box with the projector parts and reels.

“No problem,” Lee’s voice is quiet in your small space. He takes out the parts and starts to fit things together, checking a few switches here and there after a couple of minutes before patting the top of it with a, “There you go.”

You smile widely, “That’s it? Really?”

“That’s it, Sweets,” he matches your smile.

You suddenly hate the idea of him leaving so quickly, so you look around for something else.

“Coffee?”

He nods. “It’s like you read my mind,” there’s a glint in his eye as he gives you a generous once-over.

You feel a flush and quickly turn away to the kitchen.

Your hands tremble as you fill the kettle with water and scoop grounds into the press.

The boys break into a fit of giggles and before you can call after them, you feel the warm presence of Lee shuffle up behind you. His boots scuff against the floor as he stops, then seconds later his arms cage you in from behind, his palms resting against the edge of the countertop.

His breaths are deep, his nose just tickling along the neckline of your dress and you feel your back stiffen at the rush.

“You’re so lovely Sweets,” he whispers.

Your breath shakes as you suck it in. “S-sheriff,” you swallow thickly, “Lee? What’re you doing?”

“You’re beautiful, y’know.”

You remain still, unable to whisper anything but his name again.

“I see the way you look at me,” he presses a kiss to your skin that’s so gentle and tender but nearly makes your knees buckle. “Like you want somethin’.”

“I’m not - I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you weakly deny.

One arm leaves the counter to wrap around your middle, pulling you even closer to him while he steps right up behind you, the whole front of him up against your back. The movement makes you gasp and arch just slightly. You’re unable to catch yourself from rolling your head back to lean against him fully and feeling him grunt.

“You don’t need to make any excuses. You want me, dontcha?” he talks with his lips pressed right against your neck, heavy breaths tickling at your hairline.

God, do you want him. The sudden feeling of a warm, masculine body against you is something you didn’t realize you missed so much. For years it’s just been you and your boy and focusing on the day to day, not thinking about the way a strong arm feels pulled around you with fingers just tickling at your sensitive skin - until suddenly that’s exactly what is happening. And how you’ve missed it, your muscles nearly seize up with tension as you try to fight how good it feels.

It’s like trying to drag yourself from a dream, slow and muted as you try to make sense of everything at once; a sharp clarity punches through hard and fast.

“Your wife,” you reach down to cover his hand with your own, ready to try to pry him off.

“That fucking pig? I don’t love her, I don’t want her. She don’t want me either.”

“Don’t say that. You can’t say that,” you tell him and start to pull away, squirming away but getting nowhere since he doesn’t budge an inch. He allows you to spin around between himself and the countertop. “Lee? What is this? What’re you doing?”

It’s a stupid question. You know what this is. You can remember moments like these with your late husband, but Lee is not your husband. You know his wife. You just spent the evening with her in their home.

He doesn’t answer. Instead his free hand starts to skim up along your side until his thumb catches at the curve at the bottom your breast, then slides up so that he can rub his thumb back and forth over your dress, teasing at your hardened nipple.

It makes you whimper and nearly fold in half with how sensitive you feel.

“I’ll make you feel so good,” he coos, his lips parted and eyes tracking the movement of his thumb.

You lift your arms to his shoulders, uncertain yet if you’re planning to push him away or pull him close when you hear the quick footsteps of the boys.

Lee steps back to give you some distance and your hands flutter mid-air as you try to compose yourself.

The boys start to whine over each other-

“Momma. Robert keeps knocking over my building.”

“No, he keeps takin’ the blocks I’m using.”

Some kind of clarity forms and you rush out a solution for them, “Why don’t you get out your TinkerToys and split it all up? Alright? Go back to the other room,” you nudge them away.

Problem solved, they run back to the room, leaving you standing in the kitchen, Lee lingering just feet away and the half-finished coffee press on the counter.

“Jane must be expecting you home by now.”

He grunts and shakes his head ruefully, “She’s probably passed out by now.”

“Oh,” you nod. You search for something, anything to excuse yourself and catch your breath, “I need to go to the bathroom. Excuse me a moment.”

You slip out of the kitchen and into the door just down the hall. Taking a moment to relieve yourself then press a cool rag to your cheeks. You’d nursed the glass of wine Jane had poured, so you knew deep down you weren’t tipsy, you were just overrun by the feelings the sheriff gave you. Once you get your first full breath in minutes, you feel better, calmer and more controlled. You look at yourself in the mirror and decide - you just need to send him on home.

You barely crack open the bathroom door when it’s pushed open wide, Lee wedging in when it’s wide enough and nearly slamming it shut behind him.

“Don’t hide from me, Sweets,” is all he says before he’s got one arm around your middle again, and the other holding the back of your neck while he presses his lips against yours. After gasping in surprise, you instinctively return the kiss - your tongue and lips tentative against his dominating mouth. 

It’s strange - all of it so strange after so long. It’s been years since your last kiss and you feel clumsy, out of practice, but he doesn’t hesitate one bit, doesn’t seem turned off by your uncoordinated motions and hands that can’t keep still over his middle and shoulders.

He takes in a deep breath, pausing for just a second to position himself better, then he’s back on you, and you feel ready for him this time. One hand resting on his chest while the other hooks up around his neck, your fingers stroking through the soft, short hairs at the back of his head. He turns the both of you, pressing you against the vanity sink.

“Lee,” you whimper when he wedges a leg between yours.

“Shh, shh, sshh. I got you.”

His kisses are relentless and make you light-headed, gasping for breaths every time he slightly lets up. His hands push and pull, struggling against your dress and your undergarments until he’s freed one breast and can drop his head to suckle at your hard peak.

Your mouth falls open in a silent cry, mind painfully aware of the children in the room nearby. You crack open an eye to make sure the door is still closed and try to focus on the sounds the kids are making, but his tongue and lips are too distracting. He pulls as much of your breast into his mouth as he can, greedily swirling his tongue all over the sensitive bud, and pulling away with a loud pop.

You slap at his shoulder while he just looks up at you with a shit-eating grin.

“Feels good, right?” He places his hand to cup your breast, thumb flicking at your nipple. “Let me have you, I’ll make you feel so good, my sweet girl. Please?”

His own eyes close as he ruts up against you, his hard length pressing against your hip and sending a tremor through your body, practically shaking your bones. You don’t move though, your hands stay frozen where you hold onto him, but he continues to lead and coax you along.

One wide hand holds you at the back of your neck, just holding you in place. His mouth moves across your cheeks and at the hinge of your jaw. He whispers quiet promises of satisfaction, telling you how lovely you are and confirming every word with a kiss. His other hand leaves your breast after one final and quick pinch and grabs at the bottom of your dress. The fabric bunching in his fist as he gathers it until he can feel your thigh.

Then he teases you with just the tips of his fingers, sliding right up and over til he meets where your thighs meet. It tickles, makes you shake a little, and then you’re sucking in a hard gasp when he keeps going until he pets and presses over your sex with the pads of his fingertips.

“So wet,” he says on an exhale, pressing right where you feel your excitement leaking. “You want me too. It’s alright.”

To prove his point, he presses harder, flattening his hand until he’s cupping you and making your body jerk between him and the sink. You bend your knees to open your thighs wider with the touch, and he groans and presses hard against you again, the heel of his palm putting pressure to your throbbing clit. You struggle to not hook your leg right over his hip to let him in.

“Lee,” you start to beg, “Please. Oh my god, please.”

It’s so overwhelming you start to sob, the tears already prick at the corners of your eyes. Just being touched, feeling the warmth of him, and the words - it’s all that you remembered being with a man to be and more. His hand keeps a rhythm against you, driving you higher. You hadn’t had a man’s touch in years, but suddenly you need Lee like you need air.

“Please,” you say again. Your body tingles with electricity that has nowhere to go.

“So pretty. You’re so pretty, baby. I’m gonna take care of ya. Am I what you need?”

“Yes,” tears start to roll down your cheeks. He pulls back slightly until he can slip his fingers underneath your panties, gliding right through your arousal. You feel two of his fingers slide into you, and you squeeze around them instantly.

“Fuck,” he grunts. Your wetness drips down his fingers into his palm. He presses the heel of it against you again, right against your sensitive clit this time. “Come on my fingers, sweetness.”

He fucks you with his hand, his thick, solid fingers caressing you while he sends jolts of pleasure through you with pressure on your sensitive button. You squirm to get away, but the hand still at the back of your neck tightens and holds you down, making you take it.

“It’s alright,” he whispers, “It’s alright.”

And that’s it. You freeze for a moment as the pleasure peaks and then you’re trembling as the shocks of it rush through you in a blaze. You can hear the wetness drowning his fingers as he keeps pumping them into you while you clench over him repeatedly and sob as quietly as you can, which must not be very quiet because he starts to shush you and slow the movement of his hand, gently attempting to calm you down.

“You’re okay, s’alright baby, just breathe, c’mon,” you hear him coach, but all you can focus on is the thumping beat of your heart as it races and trying to catch your breath between sniffles, the tears falling freely down your cheeks.

His hand slides out from your panties to grab you steady at your waist, the hand from your neck moves so he can use his thumb to wipe away your tears. He presses his forehead to yours and tells you to breathe with him.

You blink your eyes open, eyelashes glittering with wetness and you take a minute to focus. Once things are clear, you tilt your head back to look at him. His cheeks are flushed, lips wet and rosy, and his eyes - they nearly glow as he looks you over. It’s something to see - awe, tenderness, pride all in the twitches of his lips as his lips turn up with a smile.

“Sweets, will you touch me?” he asks. For such a big man, his voice is suddenly so small.

“Lee, I can’t-I haven’t…” you struggle to find the words.

“It’s alright, that’s alright,” he assures you, circling your wrist with his fingers still sticky from your arousal, and guiding them to the bulge in his trousers. You flinch, but don’t pull away, your arm tenses, but goes with the motion. He presses your palm against the solid length, pushing down to give him some relief. His hips press against you in return and once he’s sure you aren't going anywhere, he lets go of your wrist, then starts to undo the belt and button in quick movements. He tugs the waistband of his trousers and boxers down together, just to release his cock.

You feel the fabric move under your palm, but keep pressing against him, your hand sliding just slightly out of remembered instinct. When the fabric of his boxers slides away and you’re met with the heat of his cock, you gasp. Your hand wraps around him, fingers circling around his shaft to hold him and pulling a strangled moan from him.

“Shit-fuck,” he hisses. “Won’t be long.” He wraps his hand over yours, pulling your fist up and down over him while he pumps his hips into it. Precome drips down from the slit, easing the glide. 

His eyes close and he presses his temple to yours, his face pulls up in concentration, focusing on the pleasure, “You’re so soft, so sweet,” he rasps, “Want you so bad, want you all to myself.”

You can imagine it, if you’re ready to be totally honest, you have imagined it.

“Kiss me?” you whisper.

His lips meet yours roughly for a long press, then he tilts his head and licks at the seam of your lips, making you open up to him. His hand and yours start to speed up, he keeps guiding you up and down, just the slightest twist at the head with each stroke.

The kiss turns sloppy, more sharing air and pecks than anything as he spirals with the pleasure you’re helping to give him.

“You’re gonna -you’re gonna make me-” with a pained expression, he nudges you away, his hand stroking frantically as he leans over your sink until he starts to come, streaks hitting the porcelain as he chokes down groans. You watch his neck and face go red, trying not to watch, but you can’t help yourself and catch the way his cock twitches with his release, all swollen and red. You don’t think you could possibly blush more, but still fire burns underneath your skin.

When he finishes coming, he reaches for you again, pulling you into another hard kiss. “God, darlin’. Fuck,” he whispers while he attempts to catch his breath. “Fuck. Haven’t been tugged off like that since I was a deputy.” He chuckles, the laugh coming out in hard puffs of air.

You struggle to look at anything in the bathroom, eyes straying back to Lee, to his softening cock, to the come dripping slowly in the sink basin. Just then you hear the boys start to giggle and reality hits you again, making your chest seize up in panic.

“Oh, Lee. No,” you raise a hand to your mouth and quickly rush out the door, piecing your wardrobe back together as you walk back into the kitchen. You hear the water run in the bathroom and murmuring as Lee talks to himself.

Your movement must have distracted the boys because they manage to sound like a stampede heading toward you. You wipe at your nose and eyes as best you can before you turn to see what they want.

Both the boys pause, but it’s your son that speaks up, knowing how you look when you cry. “Momma, you alright?”

Lee exits the bathroom then, shirt tucked back in, belt and trousers back in place - only the flush from the neck up giving anything away. His eyes bore into you with heavy emotion that you are ashamed that you can read so well - concern, sympathy, desire. A mixture that you remind yourself you don’t deserve.

“Yeah, baby. I am. You know I get sad sometimes, I’ll be fine. Are you boys ready to say goodbye for tonight? I think it’s well past your bedtime.”

You grab Steven and fuss with his hair, with his messy shirt, and then turn him around and hold him against you like a tiny human shield. “Say thank you to the sheriff for fixing the projector and for letting Robert play.”

“Thank you, sir,” your son dutifully responds.

Lee can see what you’re doing and he’s not happy with it, his mouth going flat and shoulders heaving as you pressure him into leaving.

He just nods, then nudges at Robert’s shoulder, “Say thank you for indulging us.”

“Thank you,” Robert quietly says.

You send Steven down the hallway to get ready for bed, and then you follow behind as they step toward the door, Robert too tired from a full day of play to put up a fight. Lee opens the door to the back steps, telling Robert to be careful going down. When the boy starts down a few, Lee turns back to you.

Before you can react, he’s giving you another kiss, quick but meaningful. “We’re not done,” he whispers. 

“We are. Go home, Lee.”

He gives you a long look before stomping down the steps. “Til next time, Sweets.”

...

[lemliv]

You know what I’ve got time so uhhh here’s some basic art tips I’ve learned while at Art School™

This is gonna be long and I namely specialize in digital figure drawing but this can apply to traditional as well. These are also just 5 guidelines off of 2 years of knowledge so forgive me if they seem scattered these are just the ones that most impacted me.

quick definitions

Contour lines: These are the lines that define the outline of a shape. Think most cartoon line art - it gives you enough information on the features.

Cross contour lines: define the shape. Think of drawing a bottle with tape on it in a gridded pattern. The tape isn’t straight across - its curved. These help your drawings look more 3D

- Never reference other people’s art for poses

In fact if possible, work from life. That’s not an option for everyone especially now a days so just make sure you’re working from photos of real people. Whether you mean to or not your brain will pull from their style and whatever mistakes or decisions they made you will make. Drawing inspiration from others art is fine !! There’s just lines of befitting you in the short term versus the long term. That being said...

- Trace what you like. Do it. (Just don’t post it as if it’s your own)

This is like the one thing artists tell you not to do. It’s A LIE!!!! Kinda... Tracing over photos or art helps understand proportions and what makes them work. The kicker is you don’t want to do just do the contour lines - do everything and then some. Figure out how the limbs are connecting, the direction of the hair, if it’s a landscape figure out the vanishing point. Get some real information off of it to see how they solved problems. And then Do Not Post It. If you happen to post it directly credit the artist you drew and if they’re from the renaissance say it’s a (the artist) masterwork study.

- Fail fast and hard

This one is probably the most important, at least to me. Last year I did probably over 50 large scale figure drawings in a quarter long class and I think only like ONE. But they all helped me improve my speed, realize what was off with my proportions, and allowed me to be critical without destroying myself. Some of them I was only allowed 3 minutes to do and so it’s easier to accept what’s wrong and then work to not make that mistake when it takes you 3 minutes. Not everyone can work with charcoal from a model so the at home alternative that I still do today is going on to timed poses sites and trying to draw those in the time limit given. I recommend traditional just because it’s typically faster for this type of thing. You might not be able to keep up - that’s okay, allow it to be unfinished and continue. The sites at the end usually display the photos back to you so you can fix them later if wanted.The point is just for practice so no one has to see - and please don’t compare yourself to others. Instead compare it to the work you did yesterday and you’ll see the improvements.

- Art Styles are a solution to a problem

Technically I learned this online, but I was in art school so it probably counts. I think a lot of people online are obsessed with having a pretty art style or looking like their favorite artists. When what art styles are is basically you as an artist deciding what you want to draw and what you don’t. Think animation - typically it’s more cartoony / simplified because no one wants to draw all that detail for thousands of frames. So maybe you don’t want to draw every hair strand - simplify it into groups. You don’t want to draw a complex torso so you translate it into a square like shape. It’s all making decisions that help you ! Because sure, you could draw like Da Vinci did but why the fuck would you ??? (Unless you want to - and if so good for you I do not have the patience /gen) so when looking at other artists work see how they solved the problem of that complex forms we see every day rather than just seeing parts of a whole you want to take.

And this one is just a personal rule that I have myself

- Know when to be critical, and when to just have fun

I’ve seen so many of my friends stop doing personal art because they’ve forgotten how to not be critical of it. Not every moment is a race to make your best piece and for it to be perfect or even “correct.” Have art that helps you grow and learn more, the stuff that shows your technical skills. And then have art that makes you happy. That you do for yourself or for fun. Art schools often ask for both because they recognize that that detailed study of a bowl of fruit isn’t who you are as a person, but it does show you know your way around some value. Art is ultimately self expression! There’s the starting points and rules but they are there so you can learn them and then break them!

There’s so so much more I could say and I know this is so much !! But for now this is my knowledge for today !!! Also due to the nature of art, not everyone is gonna pledge by these rules and that’s okay. This is just what worked for me and kept me sane :]

I didn’t proof read this! Because my class starts soon!! I hope it’s comprehensive!!!

[mayakern]

ok here is my alternative, non-hourly method of calculating commission prices.

transcript below the cut! original tweet here

ok interest has been expressed, so i will go over my alternative, non-hourly method of calculating commission prices!  this is not perfect and it is not a good method for everyone, but i feel it reframes the problem in a useful way.

first, you need to look over your finances and figure out how much money you NEED to make per month (your base expenses + 30% for taxes) and then how much you WANT to make per month (so your necessities + breathing room for savings, surprise expenses, fun stuff, etc.)

a lot of people do not have the luxury of making more than their bare minimum, but it's still an important consideration to make! from this number, multiply it by 12 to get a yearly income (and remember that taxes will come out of this number AFTER the fact)

from there, you need to decide how much of this money you want to come from commission work specifically (not just art). for the rest of the thread i am going to assume that you, the creator, want to make 100% of your money from commission work. this is not true for most ppl.

first, i suggest taking a base commission price and dividing your desired monthly by that amount. so, if you want to make $3000/mo ($36k per year before taxes), divide that by your current idea of a commission number. let's say $50 per piece. that's 60 pieces per month.

that's roughly 2 pieces per day, sometimes more. IMO this is unsustainable. is it doable? yes, depending on your art. will you burn out doing it? probably. so then the question is: how many pieces can i COMFORTABLY and SUSTAINABLY finish per month?

maybe you can finish 2 pieces per week. that's about 8 pieces per month. if you divide your desired income (3000/mo) by 8, that is $375 per piece. so suddenly you see what you actually need to charge to be where you want financially.

THIS METHOD DOES MAKE A LOT OF ASSUMPTIONS: 1. that you want to make all this money from commission work specifically 2. that the client interest is there 3. that your pieces typically take roughly equal amounts of time

it is not a perfect method, but it is a good way to reframe this problem. charging an hourly rate IS good and CAN work, but it fails to take into account all the parts of commission work that aren't spent directly on the art, because how can you calculate that?

this way focuses specifically on a quality of life (or at least a quality of life that is represented by a desired monthly income) and lets you see what you need to charge in order to have your desired monetary outcome.

it also removes the temptation to compare your hourly rate to physical goods. for instance, if you are thinking about charging $60/hour, then suddenly it's like "well someone could buy an hour of my time... or a nintendo switch game" this is a thought trap!! it is bad!

you CANNOT compare the price of custom, one of a kind work to something mass produced. that is like looking at an artist's shop, seeing they charge $10 for a single print, and going "oh so custom work is also $10 a piece then." it's very much not the same thing!

sure, the consumer pays $60 for the game... but the people who did the custom work for the game (art, story, programming, modeling, etc.) made way more than $60 from their hard work. you CANNOT compare custom, unique work to premade goods that are one of multiple.

another note: this method requires you to include an average calculated cost for your tools in your necessary monthly. it works best for digital art (where tool cost is usually 1 in done or a steady monthly), but you can do it for traditional media as well with some extra math!

again! this method is not a good match for everyone and it is not infallible. what it DOES do is reframe this issue in more tangible terms.

most people who are paid hourly are working undervalued service jobs under $15/hour. IN GENERAL once you hit a certain hourly threshold, companies will put you on salary (bc it's cheaper), so looking at a $60/hour rate can SEEM absurdly high and like you are overvaluing yourself.

charging hourly is versatile but it  inspires you to compete not just with others but with your own idea of your perceived value. usually charging hourly is meant to encourage people with prices in the $10-30 range to value their time more but it doesn't scale well after that.

charging hourly is useful and may be a more accurate representation of what your audience is willing to pay, esp if you're not an established artist. the purpose of this method is too look at your actual desired monetary quality of life & figure out how to get there sustainably.

also -- i find this method is more versatile/useful to people living outside the US because it asks what you PERSONALLY need/want and helps you calculate what you need to charge to get there, instead of assuming you want to make an "average" american monthly rate.