#practicing my semi realism lol

[xinanigans]

Young napoleon studies (?) I did a while back

[doodlesandbooks]

Trying some new brushes with the UA teachers!

[meanbossart]

Another much overdue ask compilation! Some short-ish lore asks (Gale, Gort, DU drow relationships and pet-companion preferences) and a couple of art/advice ones sprinkled in. THIS IS BY NO MEANS ALL OF MY ASKS so as usual I appreciate everyone's patience!

I actually think he'd give them a pass entirely as soon as he noticed. Correct me if I'm mistaken but half-drow get No love from underdark drow and are usually surface babies right? So that fruit is miles away from the tree lol. I think he generally has a bit of a soft spot for mixed kinds since he himself feels like an amalgamation of sorts.

Thank you! They're kind of a pain in the ass to draw at times for that very reason but man I do like the look 😩if other people like it too then that makes it all worth it!

THAT'S TRICKY TO ANSWER BECAUSE OFTEN TIMES I'M NOT... REALLY TRYING. I've draw a ton of horror comics for mine and my partner's series' SAD SACK and SORTIE, so I think it just comes naturally to me 😅 also I do genuinely find expressive and, uh, rugged faces more attractive? (I think they look rugged, again that's what people tell me at least.)

I think the secret might be adding bits of realism in there. I get a lot of comments about the wrinkles and eyelashes I add to my art, as well as the way I draw individual teeth (though I've lately been making an effort to simplify my style in favor of drawing faster, so I haven't done that as much or in as much detail.)

Both symmetry and the lack of it can also add to that effect. I have employed both facial unevenness and almost point-perfect symmetry to achieve something a little frightening or otherworldly in my work. [MORE UNDER THE CUT]

Thank you so much!!! The contrast is very much intentional, that's what DU drow's character is all about ;)

Hahah well I somewhat doubt Bhaal would care that his spawn gets named, but either way he stripped himself of his name as soon as he killed his foster parents and abandoned the Underdark. He had a drow name that I jotted down somewhere but it's completely irrelevant because nobody has used it since he was a child, and he doesn't remember it (even pre-tadpole/having his brain scrambled.) Here's a little write up about his origins that might shed some more light on that: https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/739688837431836672/did-drow-ever-have-a-childhood-before-the-temple

And about his original drow-given name and the reason behind it: https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/741350986692591616/drow-had-to-have-been-given-a-name-by-his-adoptive

Everyone just referred to him as his supposed race, or as Bhaalspawn or Bhaal's child, and any other similar titles. Orin called him "kin" and "brother" and Gortash likely called him his associate. Post-tadpole the camp grows entirely used to calling him "the drow" and he has no desire to change that or to choose a proper name.

THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH😭 no reason to be intimidated, I'm just some rando drawing BG3 fan art LOL I've been drawing since I was a child, and started taking it semi-seriously when I was 16 years old, so twelve years ago! That's around the time where I got my first non-display tabled and used that well into my twenties, prior to that I only did stuff on paper and liked to do inks color with pencils. I never really ventured into traditional painting at all except for a little bit of water-coloring in college.

Traditional and Digital art are very much different beasts. Which one you want to start with is, in my opinion, just dependent on what you want to do. Digital art gives you a lot of tools that makes learning easier, but you might find yourself having much steeper of a learning curve if you ever decide to do traditional art instead. If you want to be good at both, you need to practice both, since the skill doesn't entirely translate from one medium to the other.

Naturally you will be able to draw well on either, it's just... Different. I will say though, that I think if you're still learning you should use whatever allows you to look directly at what your hand is doing, so either traditional or display tablet/Ipad. I have no idea what a non-display tablet would do to a beginner, but remembering my experience with it I feel like it might be a huge detriment to developing the skill (feel free to share your experiences in the replies if you disagree, as I would definitely be curious to read them!)

YOU KNOW ME BABY IT WAS MESSY AND COMPLICATED the tldr.: is that they were "buddies", absolutely no romance intended there on either mine or DU drow's part, but due to his nature the friendship was extremely weird.

Here's a couple of replies where I go into more detail about it: https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/739191190871818240/i-dont-have-a-particular-question-in-mind-sorry

https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/744952815768764416/so-not-sure-if-youve-covered-this-but-i-thought

That's definitely reserved for the vamp LOL DU drow very much enjoys when Astarion teases and fusses over him, and while Astarion probably got a kick out of acting that way around such a big and scary looking guy at first, I think by "now" (later and post-game) he's pretty much immune to DU drow's looks and just enjoys doing it in earnest.

He's not at all averse to being touched (even rather intimately) by close friends, but he wouldn't be quite THAT vulnerable with anyone else.

HE REALLY DISLIKED GALE... He irked him out by seemingly fostering a rather persistent romantic interest in him for at least half the time they spent together (very much based on my interpretation of their in-game interactions at the time, though my Gale might have been a little bugged.)

But also they had a... Fairly in depth relationship still? Gale was a staple in my party, and even though I antagonized him constantly by the end of the game it still felt like they had so much weight in each other's lives, if that makes sense. I might need to do a bit of an "update" on the DU Drow/Gale lore sometime, I feel like I've had some thoughts since that warrant more exploration of their dynamic (you can find a lot of old asks about it if you just search the Gale Dekarios tag in my blog though).

The gist of it is that DU drow found him arrogant and duplicitous, his constant optimist irritated him to no end and felt like it veiled a stream of self-pity (two things DU drow despises) Gale's attempts to get through to him only added insult to injury. By the end of the game he decided to pursue the crown of Karsus and this only lost him even more respect in Drow's eyes, seeing as he doesn't value godly power at all.

I was pretty overwhelmed by the game at the start so I actually missed a lot LOL including Scratch. I did get the owlbear cub though, which DU drow gladly welcomed into camp since it was injured - but I think he would have wished for it to remain a wild animal and to return back to it's home after it had grown up a bit. He didn't really make a "pet" out of it more than he just looked after the little guy in the way it's mother might have, probably with Shadowheart's help.

He wouldn't be opposed to proper pets though if one were to stumble into his life. He'd definitely be more of a cat guy because of their independence and strong little attitudes.

It is very hard to build proper rapport with him. He will be "friendly" to most people who have a good sense of humor about them, but friendSHIP is another thing entirely.

I think it's kind of circumstantial. He's very economical in his relationships and doesn't really seek them out at all - so a situation where he's forced to be in someone's company might be the only way to develop a bond with him, as he doesn't appreciate insistence either and that's more likely to push him away. He doesn't value status or titles either (kind of looks down on them really) so that won't help.

I think he just likes people who are true to themselves and their nature, sometimes even if the nature is one he disagrees with at it's core. This is why he liked Gortash, why he and Shadowheart got along so well, and why him and Astarion fit together so seamlessly despite seeming so different. Likewise I think it's why he didn't jive with people like Gale or Wyll, because they seemed to be rather... Dishonest with themselves and their own end-goals.

[stinkypeanutbutter]

Silly Headcanons

Ben becomes a super good guitarist. Even though it's not singing, it's similar, and their both music related so ya.

I love headcanoning the crazy peoples to be good at art, so here we go. Aiden is actually good at art, cause he and Ben would draw together to pass time when they were traveling. He feels like it's kinda Ben's thing though, so he doesn't do it too much besides in his room when he is listening to whatever.

Ben is good at semi - realism, and practices by drawing his silly friends.

Taylor and Tyler had a bunch of sibling rivalries when they were younger, specifically with Just Dance.

Speaking of Just Dance, Ashlynn is dope at it, but she don't do it unless she actually feels the motivation too.

Ashlynn is naturally cold, and Aiden is naturally warm. Whats that mean? A nice balance for cuddling lol.

Some as the last one, but with Ben and Taylor.

Aiden likes to blast his music in his room whenever he's alone, helps him think of cool ideas.

(Stealing this from another person who did headcanons, loved them btw) Aiden has a giant assortment of songs in his playlist, entirely mixed. We got some LMFAO, Mother Mother, MSI, Lady Gaga, Lemon Demon, Miley Cirus, IDKHBTFM, idk whatever you can think of lol.

Taylor and Tyler have a shared playlist cause they actually have pretty similar tastes in music, but they keep skipping songs the other would want to listen too,

Aiden is TERRIFIED of spiders. He'd think they are cool from a distance, just not anywhere near or on him. Also scratch my last idea they are BOTH terrified of spiders and have to call someone to get it out of their room(s) (stealing this idea 😈)

Logan relates in a way, but he's fine with them at least in a cage to his observation.

Logan really liked to do those astronomy projects when he was little, like with macaroni and whatever (idk what yall used)

(taking this from another person who did headcanons, forgot who but they were really good) Taylor enjoys playing the flute, and has played the xylophone for a past class. Tyler likes the drums because it gets his stress out. Aiden plays the violin (his parents wanted him to do something like piano, but he got bored too quickly, and they wouldn't let him near the trumpets or the french horns) Logan got the saxophone (its a little too heavy so he has to set it down every few minutes) Ben got the guitar (ofc) And Ashlynn enjoys the Harp (Not what most expect, but it's easy on the ears)

We're gonna throw the accordion at Logan too for fun (not actually.. unless)

Okay that's it. I might do sad ones but we'll see how this goes :-)

[rileys-battlecats]

How do you feel satisfied/happy with your art style? Whenever I draw with my current art style, I find it too "cartoony" and "less detailed" than any other artist I've seen, which is a bit of a dumb thought I know. I think I want to pursue a more semi-realistic/realistic art style, but I'm not sure where to start.

See, I'm not even sure if I'm ever satisfied with my art style as a whole! Really, it's more of just the question of if I'm satisfied with each drawing/art piece I finish ^^ I see a lot of people saying they want to "find their style" (which is totally fine!) but I think an art style is more of something that just kinda develops over time, rather than being something you actively pursue? I could be wrong with this but that's been my experience over my time as an artist. I think it's great to pursue improvement, even if you become satisfied with your current art (though I've yet to meet an artist that feels like they've figured everything out lol, all my artist friends are always trying to learn more and improve in different areas!). An art style, if I'm interpreting the term correctly, is just like. what you default to when you're drawing! It's what your comfortable doing and creating with, right? So, the more you try new things and expand your experience, the more varied and flexible your art style will become! More tools in the tool belt!

That being said, if you want to pursue an art style that's a bit more realistic, I think it's best to start by working from life/photos! I've said this before on my blog, but practicing a bit of realism will do wonders to help you learn! The more you practice that realism, the better your brain will be at picking up the proportions and shapes that are used, the way the volumes look at different angles in a 3D space, and how that translates to a 2D drawing :) Maybe try doing some simple still-life drawings, to help you get in the practice of drawing what you see?

Here's some exercises I did in school that you could try out, if you want!

Choose something to draw that's not gonna move: a book, a shoe, an apple, anything! Get your paper and pencil, lock your eyes on your chosen object, and don't look at the paper while you draw. This is an exercise to help you think about exact angles, distances, etc when you draw something you see. The end result is not pretty lol, but it's a good exercise to really get you focused!

Choose something to draw, or multiple things, and draw the edges of it. No inner contour lines! Focus on the negative space around the object(s). So it's actually less of drawing the object, and more of drawing where the object isn't. This is gonna help with judging proportions and distances when you draw!

Try drawing something without lifting your pencil. Use one continuous line! Full honesty I don't remember what this does to help but I remember it being a fun exercise lol

These exercises might not help with developing an art style quickly, but I think they could help in learning to draw from life, and that will hopefully help in building skills that you can incorporate into your style :)

[velluvette]

Here’s another blood drinking pretty boy I like, Roman Godfrey! I gave him tears cuz he’s pretty when he cry’s but also I was bummed out at the time haha Anyways, I was attempting some sort of semi realism type stuff, more or less just practicing light. I had a good time drawing this so I hope ya like!

I’ll get back to my Lost Boys fanart now lol

[eeveekitti]

(Doing this for this ask game) Question five?

”5: Do you practice other styles/have you tried other styles in the past?”

uhhh once when i was younger i tried really really hard to replicate my favorite artist at the time’s style [which taught me a lot about drawing actually, and influenced my style a lot!] but those doodles were never posted online lol i also tried things like semi-realism around the same time

nowadays my style is pretty distinct so i like it as-is and don’t feel the need to change it up too much :3

[chaosisaladderfic]

Some art I did a while ago to practice a more semi-realism art style (also my icon lol)

[snapdragoned]

sims tag!

tagged by @simmer-until-tender & @themeasureofasim (so long ago, whoops) thank you!

Favorite sims death?

I've only ever seen drowning, fire, and old age in my game (so boring, I know) but I think I have to go with Murphy Bed for sheer "unlikely but plausible" horror.

Alpha CC or Maxis Match?

Maxis Match with a little soupçon of semi-realism, particularly with hair. I just love that classic Pooklet shine.

Do you cheat when your sims gain weight?

No way -- the Townie Body Diversity Project is one of my favorite mods for a reason! We need more fat sims! If I could have one no-questions-asked Sims 2 wish granted, it would be more diverse bodytypes for all existing meshes (dream on, I know).

Do you use move objects?

Who doesn't? I basically only have it off to place diagonal doors and windows.

Favorite mod?

This is such a hard question because there are /hundreds/ of tiny QOL mods that add up into such incredible gameplay. But I'm going to go with either the Community Time Project or Skilling on Community Lots! The latter especially makes so many community lots... actually worth it. I don't think I could play without it. Why bother otherwise?

First expansion/game/stuff pack you got?

I think I actually got Nightlife before University and I loved it. Everyone was a vampire and had the most expensive car. Life was simple and good.

Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing?

Live as in "we're going live!" The other way feels so bizarre in my mouth.

Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made?

I will always have a soft spot for an alien sim named Laika from many, many neighborhoods ago. She was my icon for a long time!

Have you made a simself?

Only when I was younger! I like The Sims (and most media, tbh) to be as indulgent and escapist from my own life as possible. Like, what am I doing there?? I have the same reaction to self-insert fanfiction too. What is my purpose in this narrative? No thanks.

What sims traits do you give yourself?

For TS2: Lazy, Playful, Pleasure Aspiration.

For TS3: Vegetarian, Absent-Minded, Good Sense of Humor, Neurotic, Over-Emotional 🥲

Which is your favorite EA hair color?

I assume this is a question tailored to one of the other games, lol. As a kid I always loved shortslick in red because it was a slightly different shade than the other red hairstyles in the game, and it felt like the closest I could get to a new hair color without CC (which I didn't know how to download).

Favorite EA hair?

I really love the paperboycap hairstyle that came with Apartment Life! I wish there were pookleted defaults of it that just retextured the hair and kept the hat. Sometimes I use it anyway even though it doesn't match the rest of the hair in my game. It's cute!

Favorite life stage?

I actually really, really love the Child life state! There is so much that children can do (painting! gardening! cooking!) and it feels like after a toddler life state that doesn't have much variety between sims, you finally get to get a feel for what kind of person they're going to be. Plus, so many cute social interactions between other children and their parents. I'm always sad to see them grow into teens :(

Are you a builder or are you in it for the game play?

Both! I'm honestly not a very good builder and often get impatient because I just want to play and take pictures. But then if the world doesn't feel "real" or visually appealing enough, I get frustrated because the gameplay isn't as satisfying. I constantly have to force myself to stop and focus on building so I don't overshoot on the playing in a way that feels dissatisfying. Fun hobby.

Are you a CC creator?

No, but I have a lot of practice downloading things :)

Do you have any simblr friends/a sims squad?

I've never been in the Sims community consistently enough for that, but there are plenty of names that give me the happy little "ah, you! 🥰" thought bubble over my head for when I see them on my dashboard!

What’s your favorite game (1,2,3,4)?

Must you even ask?

Do you have any sims merch?

I have a pair of plumbob earrings! They're understated enough that I feel like I can get away with wearing them to work. Someone actually correctly ID'd them once, too!

Do you have a youtube for sims?

No, editing pictures and posting here is enough of a timesink on its own. But I love watching speedbuilds!

How has your “sims style” changed throughout your years of playing?

Wow, so much. If this is about visuals, I didn't really have a cohesive style until I stumbled upon GOS in 2007 or so. The grungy look and my emo phase were like a wine & cheese pairing for the ages. When I got back into the Sims again in college in 2012, I'd shifted to a brighter style bordering on cartoonish (hello snapdragoned psd!). I think now I'm a sitting somewhere a little more muted, but hopefully still fun to look at 😬

If this question is geared more towards play style, I'm playing in rounds for the first time in... ever. I used to just wander into households and play until I got bored, or focus only on one family. What a difference it makes! I don't think I've ever been so hooked/consistently eager to play.

What’s your origin ID?

You people still use Origin?

Who’s your favorite cc creator?

Don't make me pick! There are a mind-boggling number of active creators out there still making beautiful, functional content. I adore and appreciate all of them! The game still feels so new and fresh. It was such a treat to come back to after a long hiatus.

How long have you had a simblr?

...eleven years 🥲 My GOD, do you ever feel old?!

How do you edit your pictures?

I should have read ahead before I mentioned the PSD, lol. I use Greenshot to take screenshots, then manually resize them in an old, super legal copy of Photoshop. Then I run a batch Photoshop action (sharpening, brightening, making colors more vivid) on them. Done and dusted.

What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next?

I guess I'll use this section for my dream mod. I would love more crafting benches/craftable items and more hobby options for the Freetime hobbies! Or a new Supernatural life state.

[john-barkston]

oh no another "i'm bad at art :(" whine

but honestly it's been rough LOL I am doing studies and slowly going thru "the getting better catching up think your bad hating yourself getting thru it getting better catching up" cycle and i'm TRYING to tell myself any of it is worth it but god it's hard. It feels like i will never have a unique and interesting take on anything because I am such a bland person. I have no culture, I have no hardships, I have no inspiration, no drive, no story to tell. I have nothing to contribute to my art besides possible autism (or something) which makes being creative very difficult. I can't "think outside the box." my brain is literally like YOU HAVE TO KNOW EXACTLY HOW THIS THING LOOKS, color pick the EXACT base colors, or draw EXACTLY how this fabric would lay. There is no creative liberty in my brain. I have been trying to tell myself basically no one gives a shit or can even tell that something couldn't realistically sit like that or move like that or look like that, but it's such a thick wall to break down. And even if I want to try something stylistic, it all goes back to "semi-realism cartoon" because i HAVE to get the nose or face shape right, I can't just "make it anime" even though I want to so badly. I thought doing color studies would help me but it made it worse! I went to color the other day and just froze. I had no idea how to approach it. The overlay and multiply method didn't work like it did in the studies and I felt so lost.

Am I the only loser who can't draw? Will I ever be able to make a complete picture? What about perspective, backgrounds, color theory, anatomy, composition - things I feel I will NEVER EVER understand...... I know the artists I love and admire work hard every day. I know they put in the work and the practice, but the older I get with the less physical ability I have to work, I get so disheartened and really don't know what to do.

[akaisenhatake]

Hey, Akai! How ya doing?

I was planning either to ask you or just say how impressed i am by your art style but there's something that has been sticking in my mind for a while.

I even remember how @indigobackfire talked about that: every art style may be based on some media culture like some shows, magazines, books etc and all that mixes with how artist sees actual things in their imagination. I wonder what your art style may be based on because the way you present it makes it even more special. And for some reason (pls forgive me if that'll sound dumb as hell) I associate your style with crystals and thunder lightning. Colouring, shading and blings make the impression of something precious but fragile and at the same time something powerful and furious ("living with your demon" art? Powerful work!?? MHM).

Anyway, sorry for a super long ask. Have a good day! ♥️

hey witchy, im doing alright and i hope ur doing alright too ❤❤

im glad u like my art djsjdjjsd and oh? well to be fair i never really take the time to reflect what inspired me to form my current art style. I just like semi-realism [more cartoonish side] and painting-like styles as well as pastel tones.

sometimes i like to experiment with the horror/ unsettling type of art [which im failing successfully] but ill practice more LOL

i honestly take most of my inspirations from friends and mutuals, i have a habit of trying to mimic certain styles from my friends artstyles that i like [etc i actually tried to mimic nose style from @scarlettroubles, eye lash style was inspired by @kinarymo, chibi style sometimes from you which is pretty ironic 😂]

and damn you right i actually agree with crystals being associated with my art. I did try to catch the color pallettes of them pastel crystals especially they're just super pretty 😭. I would also associate my art with clouds and sunset/sunrise maybe.

and dww lol im actually glad u asked it took me a while to reply to this cause i had to think through, thanks for the ask!❤❤

[sleepycoffins-and-benhargreeves]

question from one vc andrews fan to another: which books by the ghost writer are as goods as the orginal writer?

Slr!! I've been busy the past few days ;w;

I'm not sure if I can provide a good review/recommendation here, but so far I've only read 2 series from the GW and 2 from the OG.

I've read the Landry and Logan series so far. I'll try to talk about them without putting a lot of spoilers.

TLDR: I can say that they're good and are worth your time. But of course, nothing beats the original and you will see a lot of similarities between the OG and new ones. It's like, Neiderman is always writing in her shadow, you can feel him copying her and honestly, it's good Class A copies. It's close enough and enjoyable too.

With the Landry series, it's so far seen as one of the successful series by Neiderman alongside Cutler. Landry could have been one of my favorites, it has a semi-supernatural feel to it. It's settings is in Louisiana, the bayou, and the characters are still religious but believe in juju's and stuff. There's a good balance between the realism and believing in nature's natural powers there.

Story wise, I do love the plot twists and the characters are pretty interesting. But, what I disliked about it was that the characters can be stupid and get themselves in stupid situations. There are scenarios in the story where you scratch your head and think "Why the fuck would you do that???" and that's for the latter books of the series, even to the prequel.

Moving onto the prequel, you will notice that it was heavily inspired by FITA. This was one of my least favorite books of the series alongside the third book All that Glitters. All that Glitters and Tarnished Gold were my least favorite.

Now for the Logan series. In my honest opinion, this series could have been longer. I feel like Neiderman gave us so much cliffhangers for this that he should have foregone the usual formula of 5 books and written more, because reading about Melody is actually very intriguing.

Just a heads up though, that it does start very slow and there was a moment that I felt like stopping because it didn't pick up fast enough. But, once you get into the initial yawn starter (and believe me, it happens in almost all the books), you'd see it's shine.

The characters likeability is not that much for me, they can draw you in yes, but you don't have really much to root for with them. Some of the pairings make you raise your brow a little, but one thing I did like is the main couple lol I was so happy when they got together.

Again, very FITA inspired, just look at the name of the grandmother, it's Olivia as well. They have the same characteristics, menacing aura, and practically same values as a character. Almost felt like a fanfiction of grandmother Olivia or playing with her doll and putting her in another play pen.

Another thing with Logan, whether you find it interesting or not is that it has two prequels. At first I was dismayed by this, but eventually I did warm up to it and it was a nice addition to the story.

[otakween]

0-Sen Hayato - Volume 4 (Final volume!)

Ch. 33

-This chapter was pretty dull and hard to follow. They kept repeating the same phrases over and over again. Old manga is so wordy.

-The only thing I really got out of this chapter was that they used aluminum foil to confuse/blind enemies in WWII. I had to fact check, but I guess this was a real tactic. Neat.

Ch. 34

-Really struggling to keep my eyes open reading this. This chapter was particularly tricky because a lot of it was American POWs speaking in katakana which takes me twice as long to read as normal Japanese.

-I believe what happened in this chapter is that the Americans tricked the Japanese into sending their best squadron away so that they could attack the weakest squadron that was left behind. Although I found the chapter itself boring, it did have a good cliffhanger where one of the guys from the weaker squadron is like "this is my first dogfight!"

Ch. 35

-The Shiuntai continue to fail at life while the Bakufutai go "nyah nyah, we're so much better than you!" They were awfully chill about 16 men dying in this chapter, but what else is new?

-Hayato and Ishiki fight over who gets to comfort an injured love interest-chan (forgot her name lol). Before she passes out she let's them know that the King Satan airplane was responsible for shooting up their base. Feels like things are ramping up for a final battle. Only 7 chapters to go!

Ch. 36

-Ishiki makes a failed attempt at fighting the final boss of this manga "King Satan." I don't really get it, this manga usually sticks to semi-realism (except for that one wacky chapter about sharks) but then they throw someone named "King Satan" at you. I think this is the first time we actually see his face? They made him handsome lol

-There's a character named "King Satan" in another 1960s manga called Tiger Mask, so I'm wondering if there's a connection there. Is this a shoutout? (Hayato came out first, so maybe not)

Ch. 37

-This was like the "tough guys cry about their feelings" chapter. First Ishiki gets all hysterical explaining his defeat to Hayato and then King Satan breaks down when he reveals that he was BFFs with Hayato's dad before the war. The drama! It was kinda funny how Hayato listened to his whole speech and was just like "I'mma still kill you tho..."

-I forget what country King Satan's supposed to be from. I was kind of assuming America, but I have no clue. (Edit: Considering his plane says USAF, safe to say he's from America)

-This chapter was very shounen-y. King Satan tells Hayato that he's not ready to fight him yet and to come back after he's trained more lol. At least King Satan's men reacted realistically (they were like "why didn't he shoot him down??")

Ch. 38

-Some interesting developments in this chapter. Ishiki and Hayato finally decide to stop bickering and team up after Hayato loses to King Satan. Also, Captain Miyamoto yells at Hayato and tells him that war is no place for personal feelings and revenge (he literally says "kill your feelings which felt very Naruto/ninja-esque)

-Ishiki and Hayato practice dogfighting "for real" but find they're evenly matched so Miyamoto agrees to spar with them. Seems kinda insane to me that you would actually shoot at one another's planes just to practice, but IDK enough about warplanes to call the manga's bluff lol.

Ch. 39

-Captain Miyamoto gives Ishiki and Hayato a big speech comparing samurai tactics to dogfights. I just barely followed it, but the boys boiled things down to "we need to find out King Satan's plane's weakpoint." So they decide to take a P.51 captive so that they can examine it closely and determine its weaknesses. Makes sense. Never really occurred to me that airplanes would have weakpoints...

-IDK why the boys were so shocked that they couldn't beat their captain in a dogfight. Pretty arrogant of them lol

Ch. 40

-After a big struggle, the boys manage to take an P.51 captive to start their experiment. One of the big bosses also shows up and declares a new, dangerous mission for the squad.

-I thought it was weird that Hayato and friends kept yelling threats to the American pilot. Number 1: how do they even hear each other? Number 2: I'm assuming their threatening the guy in Japanese because they would have indicated if otherwise. Surely this random American soldier doesn't understand them? Ah well...

Ch. 41

-The squad seek revenge when they find out another unit was wiped out. The chapter ends on a cliffhanger with Hayato and Ishiki's airplanes falling apart as they're surrounded by enemy planes.

-This is the second to last chapter for the whole series...I really thought they'd be fighting King Satan by now, but I guess that comes next!

Ch. 42

-Well, that was an abrupt and anti-climactic ending...I guess they wanted a triumphant ending and they couldn't go much further since Japan lost the war

-So it's revealed that Captain Miyamoto was shot down and killed by King Satan and the gang grieves for about 0.2 seconds. Hayato leads the charge to go after King Satan's base for revenge and in the fight (which happens in the rain) King Satan shoots down and kills Ishiki too! Bold of the mangaka to kill off major characters like that, but war is war. Hayato finally manages to shoot down King Satan who goes down laughing...the end.

Thank goodness I've finally reached the end of this series. It took me FOREVER to read due to the tricky Japanese and a lack of interest on my part. That being said, I'm glad I experienced a part of manga history. Storytelling in general was just super different in the 1960s in the east and the west. Tricky for us with modern sensibilities to sit through. Of course the art was very different too. I think the art was the best part of this series. Lots of care and attention to detail went into the panel layouts and action scenes. I hope someone translates this someday for WWII and old manga enthusiasts (it definitely won't be me lol).

[lukosei]

Accepted Seneca Animation 2021 Portfolio!!

Hello hello this year I was admitted into Seneca’s Animation program! Here are all of my pieces I included in my application :D

FIGURES

Yeah so advice is PRACTICE LOTS AND LOTS these were some of the first actually kind of okay ones I made (in like early December) and after submitting I DEFINITELY saw myself improve. Minor details. But anyway focus on capturing movement and structure; place importance on line quality and fluidity/smoothness; and of course make sure your proportions are in check. I’d recommend you also familiarize yourself with human anatomy like bones and muscles (mostly muscles) if you haven’t already! Don’t be intimidated by that, surface level will more than suffice. It’s especially helpful for like body checkpoints like the ribcage and how the pectorals transition into the deltoids etc, super super useful to have a general idea of that all in your head when you’re drawing!

HANDS

All the same as figures, you want movement and line quality and some sort of buildup/structure (not too much though, don’t wanna confuse the viewer). Also hands take TONS of practice too, I took reference photos of my own hands and went through so many different attempts. Haha also obviously these were definitely not purely 100% observational contrary to what the requirements said but that’s totally ok if it looks cool and accurate then go for it!

OBJECTS

I think these also kind of sucked lol; like they look fine but not as crisp and precise as some of the other ones I’ve seen. I don’t have much to say about these cause I literally just tried my best but maybe try to pick an interesting object--nothing overly simple like a book or something like that (I did a distortion pedal and Polaroid camera). The point of this section is so they can see how you work with organic and inorganic shapes and geometry. One of the professors made this really good point where a lot of seemingly complex designs like Star Wars spaceships and a bunch of sci-fi architecture are often influenced by everyday items like these—so you gotta learn how to start simple and evolve pre-existing designs into something greater!

LAYOUTS

So then you gotta do a view of a room from one position then like the place opposite to it. I just did my bedroom! Also after submitting I noticed that I drew the floorboards the wrong way in the second image khsfjhk But yeah I took two photos of what I wanted to draw, made a DIGITAL perspective ruler on my primary art program (Clip Studio love them to pieces) and drew the bones there, then I printed that out and went over it traditionally and did all the little details that way. Overall wasn’t too painful. Make sure your perspective is in check and your lines are crisp and readable—even if it’s a busy scene, you don’t wanna confuse the audience. Typically lines in the foreground will be thicker than ones in the background!

Last but not least, for personals I ended up being able to just pick from stuff I’ve already made (I made a compilation of those River Phoenix paintings I’ve made over the years if you’ve seen those, along with the fuckign MLP lineup I did for like a ‘character design’-esque thing (yes I know that counts as fanart and I was hesitant at first but technically they are original human designs minus the colour pallet and also I did not want to make something new with the time constraints) (if you’re doing fanart just make sure it’s not like instantly recognizable or a carbon copy)). I chose these deliberately because I wanted to demonstrate the range I had in my capabilities—so stylized semi-realism with my portraits, and then totally stylized TV show ready character designs to contrast! I personally only chose these two (they only provide two slots), but I know people who just made PDFs of multiple pages of their work. If you do that, I’d suggest to make sure not to bombard them with content, they’re not gonna wanna flip through ALL of it lmao. Choose your best pieces that demonstrate all your strengths! Don’t include things you hate or don���t like drawing, chances are that’ll be obvious to the people who are evaluating them and it’ll hurt your chances.

Then we also had to make a resume,,,,,, I just took my actual resume and swapped stuff out for more of the ‘creative’ activities I’ve participated in throughout my life (ie. runner-up winner for Miku Expo design contest, member of my school’s comic club, was in a musical a couple years ago, etc.).

Yep so hopefully this has been helpful to those who are interested!

[werevulvi]

I made this drawing a week or two ago, and I'm really happy with it! I did rush the sketch, however, and as a result made quite a few anatomical errors that I didn't notice until the whole drawing was almost finished. (Seems no matter how much I study anatomy and practice drawing correctly, I still end up making really dumb beginner mistakes like... two left hands?! I rest my goddamn case.)

The character is my own interpretation of Lor'themar Theron, which is the blood elf leader of the game World of Warcraft. I really like his new model update, so I used that as reference but made him a trans man. I designed his clothing myself, but it's highly inspired by what blood elves typically wear in game.

I always like transing WoW characters, as I don't really watch TV or movies anymore and don't get attached to any such characters. What is a celebrity crush? Haven't had one in decades! But I'm not even super invested in WoW characters, lore, drama, fanfic, etc. But I can't help myself from indulging in a little harmless "ftm4ftm" fantasy about some character every once in a while, lol.

My art brings to life what cannot possibly exist in reality. That is why I draw. I don't have any official education, but I've specialised myself in mainly portraits, semi-realism and fantasy.

For creating this piece, I used Promarkers, Copic pens, white POSCA pen and black fineliners on a graphite sketch, on the paper "Canson The Wall" in size A4. It took about a week to make, or maybe roughly 30 hours. I work slowly in my own pace, typically while watching endless debates and livestreams about various trans topics on youtube. So this drawing is traditional art, not digital. The lighting is a little off because I took a photo of it with my cellphone camera to be able to share it digitally. I did some light editing to try to get it to look like it does irl, but didn't quite succeed, because the contrast just gets incurably fucked no matter what I do, lol.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy my art! :)

[lilkikayart]

Do I know what I'm doing?? Not really I really wanted to try & do some LOTR art cause it's been a love of mine for a long time. I've been practicing traditionally but decided to try digitally just now. I still have no clue how to fit these characters into  my style so it'll probably be a little while before I do anything meaningful  I really hope to make proper fan art someday cause I have some lotr ships that need art Anyway...I tried lol semi realism/ wtf I did and such ain't my thing so don't come @ me