#please click on the art tumblr lowers the quality so much

[one-flower-one-sword]

well I know what you want from me you want someone to be your reflection, your bitter deception setting you free won't you come and dance in the dark with me? show me what you are, I am desperate to know nobody better than the perfect enemy and I know what you want from me you want the same as me my redemption, eternal ascension setting me free

for @bladesmercy's fic The Fear of Falling Stars

[evegwood]

I've been going through a lot of art portfolios looking to commission people and I have some points I'd like to share about how to make it easier for people to find what they're looking for!

Put at least one image on your landing page, don't make it a blank page with your name and contact info/a contact form. If I open up 30 portfolios at once in different tabs, I only have so much time to look at your site, I don't want to be clicking around looking for art.

The very first pictures I see on your portfolio when the website loads are already giving me an idea of your style and taste, so make sure it's a good first impression! Put your absolute FAVOURITE art right at the top, less impressive storyboards/sketches can go lower.

Separate your pages into types of art (comic, illustration, animation etc) instead of personal work, commissions, etc. If I'm looking for your storyboards, for example, I want to easily find them in one place, not have to go between multiple pages looking for them.

If you can't do separate pages (you're using Tumblr for example), please clearly indicate what tags I can click on to find specific kinds of art. If you don't have a tag system I'll have to scroll and I hope I'm making it clear that I don't have time to scroll and search.

Include your email somewhere big and obvious. PLEASE give me the option to email you as well as or instead of giving me a contact form! Maybe just personal preference, but I do check who I've emailed in my sent folder and I hate contact forms.

If you are using a social media site like Instagram or Tumblr as your portfolio, please don't also post non-your-art things. I'm looking for examples of YOUR work, not other people's art or memes, and I don't want to have to scroll and click about looking for it.

And to repeat a previous point: if you're using Instagram or Tumblr, make sure your email address is in your bio!! I'm shocked at how many artists are using social media as their portfolios with no way to contact them. I'm not going to DM you.

A basic one: if you are submitting a portfolio for a specific kind of gig, please make sure there are actually pieces that show your work in that field. A comic portfolio is no use for an illustration gig, that is a different art form and different skill.

You don't need to upload every single drawing you've ever done to your portfolio; pick your best and favourite ones! Decide which pieces demonstrate different skills and use those, if multiple pieces all show the same thing then remove some of them. By this I mean that if you want to show how good you are at drawing elephants for example, use up to 3 drawings of elephants. Your whole portfolio can't be elephants, I get it you can draw elephants, let me see you draw a chair.

I hope this helps you tidy up your portfolio!! Some of this might sound nitpicky, but like I said, I've been going through a lot of portfolios and these quality-of-life changes make all the difference.

ALSO TO CLARIFY: I'm talking about professional, industry commissioned work, not people commissioning their OCs! When I say I don't want to email you it's because I'm running a business, it's totally fine for you to say "just DM me about commissions" if you're only working with individuals.

[imgucciking]

Mmmh [KAI]

Listen as you read

Pairing: Idol!Boyfriend!Kai X Fan!Reader 

Genre: Smut, Smut, Smut. After care fluff. And some fluff at the start.

Words: 2k

Warning: Masturbation! Cursing! Marking! Eating out! Penetration! Size kink! Unprotected sex! [stay safe y'all] 

A/N: My first work on tumblr, I wanted to start of with Kai.

Kai was your boyfriend, and he had been for a total of 3 years last month. You had spent the time well at home, he had even cooked some dinner for the both of you! A surprise cake was baked by him as well, in the flavour of chocoltae, your favorite [ You didn't tell him how you found a few egg shells in it]

But right now though, the pair of you were separated. You lived near the outskirts of Seoul, while the headquarters of SM, as well as Kai's house was in the middle of the busy city. Kai was busy with the preparation of his new solo, whiich he hadn't even revealed the name for to you.

He said it was super secret and it would be ruined if he revealed. You of course had pouted, and even tried some aegyo, which you never did in order to get him to tell you what the song was called, atleast. Somehow though, he never told you. On the november 25, the teaser of mmmh had been revealed. 

You had watched the video, then went straight to your bed, your phone in hand, already dialling kai. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? WHY YOU GOTTA KILL ME?" He had laughed. He fucking laughed. That. Was. It

You were so excited for today! Mmmh was finally getting released and of course you were excited! You got your big computer ready, put it on full screen, 4k quality and the volume was full on. Your phone was right beside ou incase kai decided that he was going to kill you in this mv like the teaser. 

You used the phone a lot. You called him the moment the song started, and of course, he was there, like the sweet boyfriend he was to listen to you fangirl over him, and then gasp and pretend to die when he revealed his abs. He found it very endearing that you did all this. Then, once you were done watching the mv for about the 100th time, he asked ou to always call him like this cause he found it awesome.

You blushed before replying with an ok and then cutting the call. 

It had been a month since then. You were going through the many memories you and Kai had created right now, looking through the million selfies and photos on your phone, your background music being a 10 hour version of mmmh. Bless the soul which made such an awesome repeat.

"You make me feel so mmmh hmmm~" You mouthed the words. All of a sudden, the repeat got over. You pouted to yourself, your hands reaching over to your phone to see what was going on. But suddenly, the song played again, only this time his voice sounded deeper, sexier. Your thighs automatically came closer, his deep voice doing something to your inside. 

Tentatively, you let your hand travel lower down your body, underneath jong-in's hoodie which you had on. You let out a breathy gasp as your fingers came in contact with your heat. You allowed your hands to travel the rim, but not deep in. You wanted to tease yourself. 

And oh were you doing a good job at it. You lied your body more comfortably on the bed, then spread your legs wide, your/kai's hoodie pulled up until it was bunched up underneath your neck. Your nipples had formed hard pebbles due to the cold air in the room, and your left hand was currently playing around with your left breast, twisting it around, rubbing it, and playing with your tits. 

One hand still rested comfortably within the folds of your clit, gently flicking it and pinching at the sensitive nub. One important rule of kai's was that you never played with yourself, because he wanted to be the one to please you, but the thought was long gone from your head, and besides, it wasn't like kai was coming home today, was he?

Oh how wrong could you have been.

The door clicked open loudly, as Jong-In stepped into the house. "I'm home baby!" His words, however were left to drift into the silence, as you were far too lost in the pleasure your fingers were causing you. Granted, they weren't as large as Kai's, but it did the deed and that's all you wanted. 

You were edging closer and closer to your high. "O-Oh! Kai!~" You screeched, as you finally cummed all over your fingers, the white sticky substance coating your hand. Kai heard you. And judging by the way you sounded, he also knew what you were doing right now. 

His cock twitched in his pants, like waking up from a long nap. "God Y/N..." He groaned, before pulling his shoulder back off and placing it on the table. Unbuttoning the top 2 buttons of his top, he walked into your shared bedroom. God how you lay on the bed, his hoodie all bunched up on you, your fingers still buried deep within your cunt. The tent in his pants became painful to handle as he stalked closer to you.

Your eyes were shut from how you rode out your high, your breathing heavy as you rested. Jong In edged closer to your body, before he put his lips very close to your ears. "Didn't I teach you to not touch yourself?" Your eyes shot open as you looked up at his figure hovering over your tiny self. 

His lips were curved up in a smirk. "K-Kai I-" You were cut of by him placing his finger on your lips. "Hush...." He removed his finger once he was sure you would keep quiet, his fingers now wrapped around your airpods, as he plugged one of them off your ear. "What were you listening to, baby?"

He puts one into his ear, greeted by his voice singing out. "Ahh baby.... My song?" You nod furiously, not wanting to do anything that might displease him. He let out a groan seeing you so submissive. He pulled it out, then curled his fingers round your phone which lay forgotten beside you. 

He disconnected the earphones, allowing his voice to sing out loud. "I'm going to fuck you, with my voice in the background. Is that okay babygirl?" You nod once more. His fingers curl around your neck, a tight grip. "Use your voice~" You quickly let it out. "Yes, kai!"

"Ah ah!" He tutts, his grip around your neck tightening. "What is my name?" Your eyes widen before you remember. "Yes s-sir!" He nods, before smiling, his fingers unravelling from you neck, to your hair as he gently strokes it. "Such a good girl for me, aren't you?" His tugs at your hair, pulling you up into a sitting position. 

"Such a good, good girl.... But you've been bad now.... Should I punish you?" Your eyes widen. "No sir! I'm s-sorry!" He smirks, before pulling the hoodie of your body entirely. He inches close to you, and you think he is about to kiss you so you pucker your lips. "Ah ah! Only good girls get kisses!" You pout, and Jong in almost wants to kiss you now.

"I'm sorry!" You say again, as you try to pull him towards you. But he, is able to resist, and he buries his face deep into your neck, gently breathing in and out your scent, his breath hitting right on your sensitive area. He knew how crazy you get when he does that.

"Sir!" You moan, your voice sounding foreign to even yourself. Kai's teeth sink into your soft unmarked skin, as he paint art on you. He was the artist, and you were the canvas, nothing you could do would get you out of this. Once he was done with the hickeys covering your neck, he stood up and went to the chest of drawers were you stored your... toys..

Kai was a bit overexcited with the usage of toys and such, so the pair of you had bought an entire cupboard to keep in the stock of your sex toys. 

He selects a black blindfold, and fuzzy cuffs. Mmmh...Your favorite.

He ties the blindfold around your eyes, and seats you up on the bed, with your hands cuffed tightly. Not too tight enough for it to hurt, but tight enough to not allow you to escape its grasp. You struggle a bit, adjusting your body, till you feel a flat muscle lick against your cunt. 

Your body goes rigid and you stop moving around. He smirks against you, and he knows you can feel him right there. He lets out a soft groan, when you start grinding yourself onto his face, but his hands go to your thighs and he quickly stops you by holding your thighs. 

You whine and whimper at the sudden hold, but he teases you by letting his tongue wander all over your heat, but not where you want it this most. "Kai!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Please!" He suddenly stops. "Ah, ah... What's my name?" "Sir!!!!!"

"Good girl, I'll award you, shall I?"

He starts lapping at your juices, sucking, pinching, and stroking at your cunt. Your eyes had rolled back so far into your sockets, that you thought it might get stuck right there. His tongue was much better at pleasing you than your fingers, and the tightening in your stomach only increased. 

"Jong In!! I'm gonna c-" His warmth suddenly leave you. You look up at him, to see him smirking at you. You whine at not being able to release. "I think you've been stretched quite enough, right Jagi?" He unlocks the handcuffs, before tying it again onto you, except this time its not against the bed.

He undresses himself quickly, and as soon as he gets his underwear off, his large member flips against his lower abdomen. Your eyes feast on his naked body, all the ripped muscles on it. You want to trace your fingers over him, but your hands are unfortunately locked. 

You groan at this fact. His hands curl around his member as he strokes it, coating it with his pre cum. Once its enough, he bends over and produres his head into your heat. You groan at the feeling, clenching him and trying to pull him. "So thirsty for my dick, babygirl? Well then, I'll give you what you want!" 

He suddenly pounds into you, thrusting hard and not even allowing you to adjust to his length and girth. "God!" You screech, the pain and pleasure mixing together to cause something totally new. Your hands tug of your blindfold, wanting to see Kai fuck you deep. 

He lifts your left leg up, and places is onto his shoulders, reaching to places within you that had never been touched. "Feel me there? Right in that pretty little stomach of yours baby?" "Oh god yes! You scream, and you know your neighbours will be able to hear you quite well. 

But Kai liked that. He liked to show them all who you belonged to.

He grunts as you clench tightly around him, nearly not allowing to thrust. You were close and he got that. He pound into you even harsher, like an animal unleashed and allowed to do whatever it wanted with your body. He reaches over to your hair, and tugs you up. 

You comply, placing your head on his chest as he continues his work. These move was all you needed for you to come, and you let your cum flow, your eyes rolling to the back of your socket and all you can see for awhile is white. 

He continues pounding into you, chasing his own high. You, being hypersensitive clench tightly around him. This pulled him over the edge, and he cummed into you, releasing his load well. 

He lied next to you, both of you panting and sweaty. His cum flows a bit out of you, wetting the bed below. "That was-" Kai smiles at you. "I love you, Jagi" 

You grin, feeling a bit sleepy. "I love you too baby" 

[pawpadink]

Art Feedback Session - Spookydoesstuff

"Our task was to make a mock intro to a show using our own original stories, either ones we had in the past or ones we made in class. I used Adobe Animate, which isn't very traditional for art to begin with.

I wanted something dramatic and more anime-esqe (inspirations being Persona 5's 2D animation, as well as the Cowboy Beebop intro.

The render itself didn't turn out as high quality as I had hoped, but that's on me for not figuring out how to render in a higher quality. With my time crunch (I had put off working on this until I had 1 1/2 days left, on top of a project for another class.)

I feel this could have been better? But I'm satisfied with it. I just wished someone had said something, even just asking about my characters (I dont generally ask here, at least about these specific ocs, just because I've had them so long and I want to give out more of their story through context and art. But in that class no one had seen them before and I would have loved explaining their story better than just 'alien cats')"

-- Spookydoesstuff

So! Let's start with the good. The color contrast is lovely, the bright red against the monochrome is a classic high tension color combo that really sells the adversarial stress of the scene. The characters themselves each have their own unique silhouettes, which means if you just filled each of the characters in with pure black and then showed me their reference sheets I could easily identify which character is which. The line work here is very crisp and clear, which for animation lends very well to streamlining and simplifying things. Your style itself applies very nicely to an animation style, again, thanks to its general simplicity will make the whole animation process much easier than a more detailed or complex style or design.

When thinking of areas of improvement, the first thing that is brought to my attention is expression. With the four-eyed cat in the second image, at a glance it's hard to see he's furrowing his brow a bit and his current expression comes across more as a neutral expression than a concerned, worried, or frustrated expression. I would recommend here adding a bit of emphasis on the expression with the eyelids or eyebrows so that it goes into the general shape of the eye instead of just above it or add a stylized eyebrow so it is more visible against the dark fur. Due to the thin line art, the line that marks where he's furrowing his brow is hard to spot.

Your art would also benefit from expression through body language! Cats, in particular, are incredibly expressive through body language. The ears in particular here are showing no emotion- Cats when anxious, scared, or angry will pin their ears back. Perhaps a bit more emphasis on bristling fur too- in the nape of the neck and the tail. Fluffing of tails is not just fear, but also aggression when raised high or thrashing. When curved it's fear. The nervous cat in the second picture might want to be keeping her head a little lower, as nervous cats will duck down, especially if submissive. Of course, since these are not standard cats, you are welcome to take these cat behaviors and alter them to your alien culture's standards! Go wild!

Also, look into playing with the line of action a little more. Even with characters that are standing still, exaggerating some curves in their body will add a hearty dose of personality. Plus, look into the 'law' of stretch and squish- I use the term law here loosely, it's more of a guideline.

(Here are some image scans from a book called Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair, and there's a lovely tutorial on expressions from the comic Lackadaisy here!)

Next I'd like to mention the shading. There is a bit of an inconsistency between the way you shaded each character. Although lighting direction was ignored for style here, the particular techniques used for each piece should remain the same throughout each frame of an animation, each panel of a comic, or between related images in general. In the second photo, the highlights on the four-eyed cat almost looked like fur patterning, so maybe refining that highlight by making it a little darker would make it more obvious it was a highlight and not a change in fur color?

I think if you were given a little more time you would have managed with the shading, but still something of note to keep in mind for the future~

Finally I would like to address the environment... or the lack of it. The bright red background is lovely, especially in this grey scale-pop style of colors. My only issue is that it feels like they're floating in some red void- you have the darker red to denote the ground, but it doesn't feel very consistent with where the characters are placed and there's no shapes in the background to denote any kind of environment- no tree silhouettes, no building silhouettes, or any other objects that could denote where the characters are.

Above is an example from Persona 5 which kind of shows what I'm talking about. Looking at some perspective tutorials will actually show you a way you can manipulate the floor or gradients to help add some solidity to the ground. With this style I wouldn't even say you would need to add nearly as much detail to them as Persona 5's art- just some dark shapes and perhaps a gradient of sorts to give a sense of location to the scene would help.

Overall, wonderful job! My first impression was 'Oh hey this looks like something from Persona 5!' so you really got that feel you were looking for. You also immediately get a sense of relationship here- from an outsider's perspective with zero previous information on who these characters are or how they are related. You can clearly tell the four eyed cat is protecting the female cat in the back, and there's a sense of either accusation from the one-eyed cat or threat, and that the other two almost seem to be distressed as if they were once close to this character.

Keep up the good work, don't feel discouraged with the lack of feedback from your class. I really feel with a bit of practice in terms of expression and body language you can really make some great waves with your art! You have a great foundation.

In terms of art program recommendations, my wife and I both use Clip Studio Paint. You need the EX version for feature length animations unfortunately, but the PRO version is much cheaper and lets you do some very short animations however it is a very powerful illustration and comic tool as well. Krita is a totally free program that will let you animate as well and has a pretty robust illustration feature itself, but I'm not sure if it has anything specific for comic making.

A big thank you to Spookydoesstuff for being our first review and for being so pleasant to speak to! Please check out more of their art and their blog by clicking here to go to their tumblr!

[keieli]

Hello, Hello!~ And Welcome to another rAnT! I mean, a comic study! #2

Image Edited w/ Pixlr. Tap or click on the image for better quality.

Today I give you a style study from Moonstruck Vol.1: Magic to Brew by Grace Ellis( Read weeks ago, I apologize if my writing is sloppy). I fell in love with the characters and world. Wrapped in a cute artwork package, poking at the sides with sass and a darker undertone in its society.

*I should mention this is my first LGBT comic, And I apologize for any mistakes I was unaware of in this rant.* * Please no reposts*

The art style reminded me of Steven Universe(I have plans on sharing some{a lot} of characters someday on Tumblr, we'll see how it goes) with slightly angler shapes.

I may have been too invested in the side characters than the main characters, but could you blame me? OOH BOY! Do I really~ like this page, had a rocky start but look how it turned out, I've been on a black and white streak and don't plan on stopping.

Begin!

( Upper left corner) 1st: Veronica was a little hard, cuz, I underestimated the angle she was in and her tired deadpan expression is the best! And she's super cute.

( Left down) 2nd: Chet is a ball of preppy energy, They're character is something I don't see often, but their smile and dramatic attitude are highly contagious. Everything about them is so full of life! Well~ until further into the plot but that's spoilers. ASK MANUEL OUT, please?~

( Upwards from nervous Chet) 3rd: I dislike Mark, I await a heart-clenching character development, stinky vamp boy, lol, they're not that bad, comic relief?

( Right Upwards)4th: Julie, Julie, Julie, the Main character you. I could not get her face right. I think I could have done better.

(Slightly lower right? ) 5th: Manuel, I'm excited to see when the ship sails~ I'm surprised when actually turned out pretty well, considering I don't draw animals that often.

(Downward from Manuel) 6th: Anderson: What to say? Sass, just sass. I love 'em.

( Right, sightly down) 7th: Xandra, Her hair was so fun to draw.

(right, down at south, last one )8th: Cassandra, I SIMP!, she's a QUEEN. Sadly I couldn't find a decent panel to draw her outfit. Next time, I will.

Phew~, My brain hurts, heh, so much writing. Okay, thanks for reading. So see you next Friday?

Bye~

[overdrivels]

hey torby do you think a one column or multi colum tumblr is better, portfolio wise? im not looking to apply to any artist alleys or whatever any time soon but im curious

Personally, I like multicolumn. I can see your art in a single instant without needing to scroll or make it overly complicated for myself. Some other judges might be cool with single, but everyone has their own opinion.

Though I would be careful about using Tumblr to showcase your art for artist alley. If you do, make sure your Tumblr only has your art and nothing else. Some people have literally just given me their main and left me guessing as to which is their art and which isn't. I don't have time for that--over 100 portfolios an hour, Duck, 100 an hour, that sort of speed is illegal in some states--and some judges will ignore it even if you have a 'my art' tag or something on the side. Make it easy for us to review your stuff.

This goes doubly for Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or any platform not made for solely for art. (But to be fair, even a few of those platforms are really rough for me to go through. The best I saw which I don't recommend because some people might not react well is someone creating their portfolio on imgur solely for the application. That was so easy to scroll through. But some judges don't like that, so YMMV.)

I had an applicant where they linked their Facebook page and the first six posts we're about them getting rejected from artist alleys. I couldn't move past that to find their art. And when I finally did, there was only an image of their table and some merchandise at really hard to see resolutions.

There is a surprising amount of thought that should go into portfolios, but just some minor points:

Should be semi-professional and contain what you feel is your best work up front. I hate link hell where I have to click through 5 or 10 links to get to your images or there is a link for every category that shouldn’t be a category. (e.g. Site > Works > choice of pencil/charcoal/oil/Photoshop/Adobe/Maya/whatever > Fanart > TV Shows/Anime/Manga/Movies/Comic Books > Dr. Who/Supernatural/etc. YOU GET THE POINT.) Not to say that you can't have sketches or doodles or need a paid website, but just make it easy for me to determine what you're trying to showcase or sell as your product.

Test loading times. If it takes forever to load your images, you may want to resize, lower resolution, or use a different file type (unless it seriously compromises your image quality).

Too small or too low of a resolution. I know what I said in the previous point, but if your image is so small that I can't tell the quality, chances are I'll think you stole it or have no idea what you're doing. If you don't want it stolen, you can watermark the shit out of it.

I love seeing people showcasing their specialty instead of what they think is popular or what might sell. There was an applicant who is skilled, so fucking skilled, at drawing plants. So much plant theme. It was in almost every piece and they did it so fucking well. I didn't care it wasn't anime, but it showed they knew what they had confidence in and what they were doing. They made that a centerpiece and I'm like, '...yeah. YEAHHHHHH.'

More than one or two pieces, please. I can't tell your skill level or what you plan on selling from just one piece or picture. Please, give me some shit to work with.

Please update and clean up your portfolios. I see portfolio where there's been 3 gorgeous pictures in the last year and then there's work from 6 years ago immediately after where the art is miles apart. That gives me whiplash. Don't give me whiplash. 

I don’t recommend putting your art in chronological order. For the same reason as above. Best works first. 

There’s a lot that goes into this stuff and I sometimes wish I could call these artists and be like, “Hey. Your link is broken” or “Hey, I would love it if you could display some of your [specialty] stuff because it showcases your talents better” or just give general advice on what to do so that they have a better chance. but I can’t do that for several hundred people. So this is all I can do.