#so ill tag it as lark for my reference later

[ibblescribbles-archive]

Can you say how to draw female and male hair? I really love your art, your style is so ... Fluffy? XD

@manekiesorry this took me so long to answer, ive been pretty busy and havent had time to sit down and draw some examples until now!I will start out saying that ive never formally studied hair, so all this will just be my knowledge on stylized hair and how i draw it!

Jumping right into it, the first thing I think about when drawing hair is where the hair is going to part. I decide on the point the hair will start from (represented by the red dot) and then decide what direction I want the hair to go. In this case I’m drawing straight hair in a side part + bangs. When drawing bangs, its important to take note of the hair line. In my head, I separate the bangs from the body of the hair since they don’t follow the main part of the hair but rather start at the hairline. 

From here I sketch out the sections of hair, using the arrows as a directional guide. You want to think of hair in terms of sections rather than strands. Like any form, breaking the form into parts makes it easier to visualize and draw. I like to think of each section of hair as a ribbon when I’m blocking out the basic shapes. It’s much easier to figure out how hair will twist and turn, especially when in motion or as seen in curly hair, when you visualize it as a bunch of ribbons or streamers radiation from a central point. 

Here, you can see the sections I divided the hair into more clearly. I use directional lines to give me a basic idea of how the hair is falling but most of the hair is still in chunks. 

In this image I’ve outlined the two main sections of the hair (excluding the bangs which can be considered a third section). The line the blue arrow is pointing to is where the part of the hair is and the rest of the blue outlines how half the hair falls into a sheet over the shoulder. The purple outline is of course the other half of the hair that comes out of the part. The purple arrow is pointing to a “crease” in this section of the hair. I’m not sure how to describe this well, but still thinking in terms of a ribbon, the ribbon is folding over itself because it is not completely flat. Hair acts the same way; it will overlap itself, especially when the hair is parted to the side. Sorry if that’s confusing, but basically just know having lines coming out of the part helps emphasize it so your hair isn’t all over the place!

Lastly, I’ve separated the hair further into even smaller sections, though I personally don’t put a lot of detail into my hair so you can see I still have a lot of chunks left. It’s up to you whether you want to push further with this, it’s time consuming to continuously separate the hair, but if executed right it can make your art really pop! However, I prefer simplifying my hair both to save time and just because it fits my style better!In this stage as well, I’ve added strands of hair that go against the direction of the rest of the hair. Hair is almost never perfectly rounded or neat so having strands that stick out or move in an opposite direction can help make it look more natural over all! I also decided to make the part where the nape of the neck comes through a little more evident than the draft to make it clear that it is separating there.

As for the “fluffy” aspect in my style and more specifically the hair I draw (thank you btw that’s such a sweet compliment!) I use rounder shapes and curves to make hair look bouncy or fluffy! Actually, I can’t draw super short, straight hair well because I just love drawing floofy bangs and hair too much.. but its fine because short hair tends to lift away from the rest of the head anyway haha

I wont go into much detail for this hairstyle since its essentially the same process but some final advice: It’s always good to draw the head shape before drawing hair. In stylized art/anime especially, hair tends to poof out from the head but that doesn’t mean the head isn’t there. You still need to follow the basic shape of the head and consider how hair falls over it. 

I hope this helped a little! I’m sorry this is such a simplistic tutorial and for the rough drawings, I’d like to go over hair in motion and hair when its pulled back/up or curly but I feel like those need to be in a separate post ;v; maybe i’ll do those at a later date if anyone wants to see those~you can find more of my tutorials/tips here!

[fortitude-sakura]

Noir [1/?]

AO3

Summary: We wander through the darkness, alone and blind. That is, until we find each other and walk into the light together.Love blossoms in many different ways and at different times. It's beautiful any way you look at it.

Rating: M 

Tags: Corporate AU

next

“Sakura!” A sweet, feminine voice sing songed from the hallway. “Congrats!”

Sakura’s roommate Tenten bounced into their tiny living room, the widest grin on her face.

“Thanks, Tenten.” She smiled, looking up from her laptop over her shoulder.

“I got you something.” Tenten announced, leaning over the back the couch, dangling an envelope in her roommate’s face. “Something to celebrate you finally finding a job.”

“An internship.” Sakura corrected, as she took the envelope and opening it up.

“It’s a paid internship, that’s what counts!”

Tenten had gotten her a gift certificate to Serenitea House, a fancy tea house in the city. It was a really popular place because of how aesthetically pleasing everything was from the food to the decor and so she saw it a lot on Picstagram.

“Oh wow! You’re the best Tenten, thank you!” she said, hugging her roommate. “You wanna go tomorrow since it’s Saturday?”

“Sounds like a date.” Tenten said, winking mischievously.

“I’ll pick you up at 1.” Sakura laughed. “It’s not as if I have a better offer.”

“Rude!” Tenten pouted comically, hitting her roommate with a throw pillow. “I’ll have you know I’ll be the best date you’ve ever had.”

黑

The tea house was styled with traditional Japanese elements - wooden furnishing, panelled walls with linen pillows - as well as more modern design - their desserts and drinks were served on delightfully minimalist dinnerware. They had been seated by the window, where the lazy Saturday sun, made the small koi pond outside sparkle.

“So which company is the internship with again?” Tenten asked, peering inquisitively at her assorted tea jellies.

“Uchiha Enterprises. You know, I’m surprised I got the internship there since I’ve applied to nearly every single job in this city.” Sakura replied, taking a sip of her hojicha latte. Serenitea House really lived up to all the hype, the hojicha was divine.

“Well, since it’s a paid internship, we can finally stop eating like we’re broke students.” Tenten laughed.

Indeed, in the last 2 years they had lived together they really did eat like they only had $100 to feed the both of them, so much so that Tenten developed a signature instant ramen dish (which really was just ramen noodles stir fried with whatever she could scrounge up with a spicy sauce).

“You’ll still cook noodles for me though, right?”

“Of course, otherwise the only thing you’ll have for the entire day is a coffee and a muffin.” Tenten giggled. “Anyway, when do you start?”

“Monday. Which reminds me, do you have a blazer I could borrow?”

“You don’t have anything?”

Sakura shook her head. Between her job searches and meagre part time wage, she had only bought a single black sheath dress to wear to interviews.

Tenten thought for a moment. “I should have something. I’ll have to take it in though - you’re a lot smaller than I am.”

That was the benefit of having a friend that was a tailor - she could make anything fit you like a glove. Sakura had wide hips but wasn’t very tall, so she would often have to buy pants that were slightly larger resulting in extra pant length. Sakura also had the issue of a lot of clothing being too loose in the chest, much to her dismay. Over the years, Tenten had taken up many pant hems and taken in clothes that were too big or loose for Sakura.

Tenten herself shared Sakura’s pain with ill fitting, off the rack clothing, although her issues were attributed to  a generous chest and what she liked to refer to as Thundaga thighs (a result of playing too much Final Fantasy).

“Tenten?” a soft voice questioned.

Tenten jumped slightly and looked up to see a pretty, gentle faced girl with long silky black hair. Her lavender coloured cashmere sweater brought out small hint of lilac in her pale eyes and emphasized the slight purple lustre to her hair.

“H-Hinata! Hi!” Tenten said, rather started. “This is my roommate, Haruno Sakura.”

Sakura smiled and gave her a polite head bob.

“It’s been a while! Are you having tea here too?”

The girl called Hinata smiled softly, her pale purple eyes twinkling. “Oh um, kind of. I opened this tea house.”

“Really?” Sakura exclaimed, “The tea and desserts here are amazing!”

“Thank you. We also serve light meals too! Our chef, Koma-san is very talented. Please let me know when you’d like to try them - I’ll save a private room for you.” Hinata said earnestly, reaching into her expensive leather handbag and producing her business card. “Just send me a message or call me.”

“Thanks! We will!” Sakura said, waving as Hinata left the two girls to their tea.

She looked over the business card. ‘Hyuga Hinata’ was embossed on the heavy cream coloured card, her phone number just below her name. She opened her mouth to say something but Tenten looked like she was in a faraway place, her eyes glazed over with hints of reminiscence.

黑

The first week at Uchiha Enterprises did not go as she expected. She had been slightly nervous about the idea of having to get straight to work but it seemed as though the first week was purely for orientation and administrative matters.

After getting her photo taken and keycard printed, Sakura, along with a dozen other interns were given lengthy presentations from a Takaya-san from the Talent Acquisition Department (which was really just a fancy name for Human Resources) on how the Internship Program worked (a quarterly department rotation in order to best determine suitability beyond the program if the participant passed), various employee incentives (from discounted movie tickets, corporate discounts to the famous Employee Housing Program). Lunch had been generously catered for each day, even though there was supposedly a subsidised staff cafeteria.

At lunch, her fellow interns were discussing the many benefits of working here.

“So, did you guys apply for the Employee Housing thing?” a tall, dark haired guy name Shoichi  asked, tucking into his turkey and cranberry focaccia.

“No,” Hiromi sniffed, tossing her shiny golden hair over her shoulder as she picked at her salad with ladylike delicacy, “I don’t live far away enough to qualify.”

Takaya-san talked about the Employee Housing Scheme that morning. Apparently it was a new incentive that Uchiha Itachi had started to encourage applications from talented individuals that would not have otherwise applied due to location.

“That was the only reason why I applied.” Toshiro piped up, pushing his glasses up his nose. “This was the only company in Konoha I applied for. I had offers back in Suna from high profile companies, but ultimately the program was what convinced me.” he said rather haughtily.

Of all the interns, Toshiro was the one she liked the least. He was always humble bragging, talking about what other companies made him offers and how he graduated from University of Suna magna cum laude . If she had to endure another conversation of him and his IQ (“142, that’s genius territory.”) she’d punch him (or not, since it was technically physical assault and she’d get terminated).

After lunch and the inevitable lull of sleepiness that followed (too much good food can be a bad thing after all), they were given a “quick tour of the office” as Takaya-san put it.

The Uchiha Enterprise owned the land the building stood on and subsequently owned all 38 floors of said building. Takaya-san also noted that the Uchiha Enterprise also owned other various buildings, including a high rise and a small block of apartments that were used in the Employee Housing Program.

Most departments took up a single whole floor, while others took up several.  Some departments (mostly the marketing and creative departments) had surprisingly modern office concepts - open offices, bean bags, feature walls and even table tennis tables - while other floors were more traditional - cubicles, potted office plants and file boxes piled everywhere.

They all piled back into one of the 6 elevators after touring the sad cubicles of the Finance Department when Toshiro spoke up.

“So is the 38th floor, Uchiha Sasuke’s office?”

Takaya-san was looking rather annoyed as did everyone else. Toshiro kept commentating on almost everything as they toured the office. Hiromi and Ami gave him withering looks and shuffled away from him.

“It’s Director Uchiha to you.” snapped Takaya-san. Poor Takaya-san. She had been rather patient the entire time but even she had her limits. “But yes, 38th is the Director’s Office.” she said, swiping her keycard and pressing the ‘38’ button.

The rest of the interns started murmuring with interest.

“The man’s a proper genius. Not as brilliant as Uchiha Itachi, but still.” Shoichi said in awe.

Hiromi and Ami were giggling about how they had seen Director Uchiha on the cover of Konoha Business Review. Toshiro let out a little scoff, muttering under his breath how he too had won awards at his alma mater too.

Sakura didn’t know a thing about Director Uchiha. She had applied for the internship on a lark, received an interview invitation that day, interviewed the next and received the offer later on that afternoon. She had directed her research to the company itself and its subsidiaries, not the actual director himself and knew nothing other than his name.

The elevator doors opened with a gentle ‘ ding! ’ and the interns were greeted by a beautiful lobby - dark marble floors and a wood panelled wall feature, the Uchiha Enterprise logo emblazoned upon it. An attractive woman was shuffling papers around at the reception desk, looking up as they exited the elevator.

“Hi Akane, I’m doing an office tour for our new interns.” Takaya-san gestured to their group, “Is the Director here?”

“He should be. I don’t have any appointments for him and I haven’t seen him leave.” Akane said with a warm smile.

“How’s his mood?” Takaya-san whispered.

“Well, Keiko didn’t get his coffee order wrong for once so I’d say it’s as good as you’ll get.” she said quietly, before pushing a few buttons on the phone. “Keiko? Let Director Uchiha know that the new interns are here taking their tour.”

“Uh… sure.”

黑

Seriously, it’s not fucking difficult to get a damn coffee order correct.

Sasuke paced around in his office, the takeaway cup from Milk Grind in his hands. Getting Keiko to grab him his daily dose of caffeine was like playing Russian Roulette - you never knew which one she’d come back with. She’d come back with long blacks, short blacks, cappuccinos, flat whites (an Australian specialty that Milk Grind prides itself on), flavoured lattes. The list goes on. Once she came back with an iced latte (despite his request for a hot drink) and another time she came back with a hot chocolate (which didn’t even have caffeine in it!).

Kakashi probably thought it was funny, hiring him an executive assistant that couldn’t follow instructions. However he didn’t really have a legitimate reason to terminate Keiko’s employment. Even though Keiko seemed to be incapable of remembering his coffee order, she was doing the rest of her job to a reasonable level.

His intercom buzzed. Speak of the devil .

“Director, the new interns are here in the lobby. On their tour.” she drawled lazily.

“I’m busy Keiko. Give them my apologies, I’ll arrange another time to meet them.”

The intern program had been overhauled by his brother during his term as Director. No longer were interns delegated menial tasks like photocopying and fetching coffee, they were given actual work. His reasoning was that interns were an excellent way of finding untapped talent - how were we supposed find out if they were talented if all they’re made to do is stand guard at the photocopying machine? His brother also went out of his way to make sure that new employees were given tours of the office - including the executive floor.

While his brother may not have minded new employees poking around his office, he certainly did.

He wasn’t Itachi. When would anyone get that?

黑

Sakura had been put into a software development team as a business analyst. Her fellow interns were also doing business analyst work, including the insufferable Toshiro. The faint silver lining being was that he was in a different team which limited their interactions some.

Her work was challenging and her colleagues were all friendly and accommodating. On the whole, she had no complaints except for the frequency of the coffee runs mandated by the Team Leader. It also hadn’t helped that Sakura decided to get the coffee from a local coffee house called Milk Grind instead of Starbucks - the team loved the coffee so much that it was decided that it would fall on her shoulders to get coffee and snacks.

Still, they were a nice excuse to get some fresh air during the day (even if she got fresh air on an average of 3-4 times a day). This coffee run included 7 lattes (one regular without sugar, one regular with a single sugar, one with skim milk, two with almond milk, one caramel and one iced) and snacks. She had become quite adept at carrying all the coffees and snacks back to the office, a talent that she wasn’t sure if she should be proud of or not.

“What will it be this time, Sakura?” a roguish looking barista asked, leaning on the counter. When you come down for coffee runs multiple times a day, you make fast friends with the staff.

“Hi Kiba.” She rattled off the list and added a chai latte for herself. Kiba had convinced her to try a chai latte and was pleasantly surprised by the sweet spiciness and had been ordering them since. “Oh and I’ll take three of the chocolate chunk cookies, three almond croissants and two of the raspberry slices.”

“Woah, not watching the scale are you?” Kiba laughed with a wink.

“Not in the slightest.” she quipped back, grinning.

Sakura sat down at one of the tall tables while she waited for her gigantic order. Aside from the fresh air, she enjoyed watching the people at Milk Grind because you’d encounter a wide range of people, from caffeine deprived corporate slaves to ironic hipsters in flannel to hypebeasts flexing their new Keezys.

Her eyes fell squarely on one person though. A dark haired man, dressed smartly in a crisp white shirt, navy slacks and shoes the colour of cognac. His sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, showing off his forearms. His  side profile showed a high nose and a well defined jawline which gave way to-

Is that a piercing?

His ear was pierced with a black flat button stud.

'Damn’ was the only thought that came into her head. Her eyes traced his face again. For a man he had surprisingly delicate features and yet, when you pieced it all together it was perfect in every masculine way.

“Here you are, mate. Latte with one sugar.” the Australian bartender said, handing the tall dark haired stranger his drink. “See ya later.”

The handsome stranger raised his takeaway cup as a gesture of thanks.

Realising she had been staring just a second too long,  she averted her eyes away, fighting the blush that was rushing to her cheeks. She suddenly found much interest  in the bags of coffee beans for sale as the man walked past. She began to wonder about him - what did he do? Did he work in an office? Is he even from around here?

“Hey Sakura! I’ve got your order!” Kiba called out to her a few moments later.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Sakura startled, knocking over half the little bags of coffee beans on the shelf in her surprise.