#soft-trait

[aysrin]

Needle Felt Siffrin Build Log: (oct 6 - nov 20, 2024)

Credits goes wholely to @insertdisc5 for creating ISAT and siffrin's design! I am just here to attempt to make cool fanart (and get more people to play isat.. my devious plans are going great so far :3) As always, this isn't a tutorial- it is just a log about how i go about approaching a sculpture and I hope this collection of resources can help others make their own sifs!!

PSA: this has some spoilers for endgame CGs/sprites on my references image board ( also might see it in the backgrounds of my process pics). And bc this is needle felting, you will see some sharp needles! beware!

my inspiration was the intro cutscene where Sif eats the star, so my main goal was to adhere to the style of ISAT as closely as possible while transfering it to 3D space. And I knew i also wanted to try making the cloak for stopmotion purposes, so my process was tailored towards having control over the fabric with wire inlaid within the cloak (more on that later).

I ended up not sticking eyebrows on top of siffrin's bangs lol but anyways, first order of business is Gather Reference! v important. pureref is free and an awesome program. I also do some sketches to visualize the pose and important details i wanted to include in the sculpt.

behold the isat wiki gallery page! tawnysoup wrote an awesome ISAT style guide that absolutely rings true in 3d space too!! adrienne made a sif hair guide here!! (sorry i couldnt find the original link, but it's on the wiki). It says ref komaeda hair so that's what i looked at, along with other adjacent hairstyles! I also like doing drawovers on in progress photos to previs shapes n stuff to get a better idea of the end result.

Also if you're like me and struggle with translating stuff into 3D space, take a look at how people make 3d models and figurines! sketchfab is also a great resource! I looked at the link botw model by Christoph Schoch here for hair ref. (I used Maya, but there's a blender version too ! you can pose characters too if your model has been rigged!)

Face:

Started off blocking out the main shapes of eyelids and iris, and then filling in the colour details in the iris and the star highlights before moving onto adding thin black outlines and eyelashes. I didn't take many in-progress photos cause i kept ripping stuff out to redo them many many times, sorry!! This eye took about 3 hrs bc i just wasn't happy with it!! Sometimes it do be the vibe to give up, go to bed and see how it looks in the morning (more often than naught, it looks fine and it was the "dont trust yourself after 9pm" speaking)

The Mouth:

Couldn't decide if i even wanted to add a mouth as per usual with all my humanoid sculptures.. but i did some drawover tests first to see what expression i liked and to try to visualize it from multiple angles. (I was also testing the placement of stars on the hat brim here)

And then I redid the mouth like 3 times cause the angle just wasn't right (this went on for about the course of a week yay!)

Hair: woe baldfrin be upon ye

I made the hair strands individually first, and then since Sif has some of the hair at the back dyed black, i covered some of the tips with black wool (manually) (I think it would go much faster if i just took a marker to it, but hahaha i love pain and detailing!! )

And then the rest of it was positioning strands with sewing pins layer by layer, always looking at it from different multiple angles- sometimes tailoring the angle or swoop of individual hair flippies. At one point I thought the back looked too cluttered, but the hat covers a lot of it anyways!! yay for hiding mistakes! (imo this is a similar process to how cosplayers style wigs, but on a smaller scale and the same level of time consuming)

As always, look to your reference for guides, and I always do a whole bunch of drawovers over in progress photos to ascertain what was working and what wasn't.

Hat:

A trick to get a super pointy tip, make another tip seperately while keeping the connection point unfelted, and then combine the two to make super pointy hat!! (this also helps if you made the hat too short and need it to be taller. ask me how i know)

The embroidery on the hat brim was done in a hoop and then invisible stitched to the felted top portion. Technically you don't need a hoop but it helps keep the fabric tension, so you avoid puckers in your embroidery. You can also use iron-on stabilizer if your fabric is loose weave or particularly thin. this is the tutorial i used for the stars embroidery! particularly the fly stitch one, french knots, and the criss-cross stitches. highly recommend needlenthread for embroidery stitches and techniques! i learned all my embroidery from this single site alone.

For fabric, I think I used a polycotton i had in my stash,, unsure of the actual fiber content bc i bought it a long time ago. I used DMC Satin floss which was nice and subtle shiny but frayed a lot so it was kind of a pain to stitch with... but keep a short thread length and perservere through it!! After the embroidery was done, I folded up the raw edges and invisible sewed it to the top portion of the hat.

General shape:

Ok general structure of the body is this: wire armature body covered with black wool -> cloak lining & wire cage -> edge of lining is invisibly sewn to the main cloak at the hem -> head

Don't be afraid to mess around with the pattern, it's essentially a pizza with a slice taken out of it to form a steep cone shape!! Use draft paper before cutting into felt to save material! (i think i made like 3 cloaks before i was happy with the shape lol).

You can also hide the seam of the cloak and collars by gently messing up the fibers of the felt with your fingers or a felting needle btw! you can also sandpaper the seams according to Sarah Spaceman in this vid (highly recommend them for their in depth cosplay/crafting builds holy smokes), though since sif cloak is at such a smol scale, I just blended the seam with my felting needle.

For the lining wire cage section, I sewed in wire around the cloak, so the main rotation point is at the top neck area under the collar. These paddles are used to keep whatever pose I need the cloak to be in for stopmotion purposes. Then after the wire is done, I invisibly sewed the lining to the cloak at the hem (same technique as the hat brim to the lining there).

In hindsight, I should've used a thinner fabric for the lining, but i only had sheer white in my stash so had to go with double felt, thus resulting in a really bulky lining but oh well!

Heels:

started with the general boot shape, then tacking on the diamond shape heel stack and also diamond shape sole bc we're committed to the bit here. I skewer the boot onto the armature which also conveniently hides the connection point into the base to keep the whole thing upright and also I can rotate the boot to tweak the angle if needed.

Pins:

I kinda just trial and error'd jewellery wire with pliers into the pin shapes. They're itty bitty!! had a whole bunch of fails before i got two nice ones. A hot tip is to use needle nose pliers and wrap the wire around the tip to get a smooth circle shape!

Base:

I smoothed out the edge of a circular wood base with a dremel, and then used wood stainer to get the black colour. It ended up kinda looking like I took a sharpie to it, but whatever.... now i have a whole ass can of black wood stainer........ I then made a rough mountain of black wool and stuck the feet armature in. And now he's standing!!

Normally at this point when I'm done felting everything, to get a smooth finish, I'd take a small pair of scissors and carefully snip away any flyaway fibers, but this time, I just left them fluffy cause i think that's what sif would do :3c

Photoshoot:

Normally I do shoots using daylight but it was winter so the sun was nonexistent. So I broke out the home lighting setup aka dollarstore posterboard for a nice smooth background, and then hit it with the overhead Fill, side Fill 2, and Rim light, and use white paper/posterboard for bounce light if one side feels too dark. But if things are overexposed, you can move the light sources away until the harshness dims down. I'm using a Olympus mirrorless camera (handed down to me by my sibling so i dont remember the model exactly), which can connect to my phone as a remote so I can avoid shaking the camera when i take photos. Pretty nifty for stopmotion purposes! (yes my camera stand is a stack of notebooks, a tissuebox and some eva foam under the lens, don't judge me)

Stopmotion animation:

I'm still figuring stopmo out on my part, but my process was straight ahead animation ... move the cloak a cm, take a pic.... move another cm, click.... and repeat until i get a version I was happy with. My ref was the cloak animation from Gris (beautiful game btw). The 2d star animation was also done straight ahead using procreate, exported in png with a transparent background, and finally stitched together with the stopmotion footage in photoshop.

My turnarounds are also stopmotion! also secret hack, the turntable is a fidget spinner sticky tacked to a cake platter.

And i think that's all! i mainly wanted to share how I go about thinking about taking a 2d concept and moving it to 3D. I also didn't go in depth into how to actually do the needle felting bc I don't think I''d be very helpful I'm a very good teacher by telling yall to just keep stabbing until it looks right (i'm self taught for this hobby),,, if anyone wants it though, i can share a bunch of tutorials and other felters' process that helped me learn more needle felting!

Hopefully this was helpful to someone! Feel free to send asks if ya got any questions or if anything needs clarification! Or show me your works! I love seeing other people's crafts :3

here have a cookie for making it this far 🥐

[geekgirles]

Ironically, I feel we, as a Phandom, don't talk about Sam's Friend to All Living Things status enough.

[lazylittledragon]

dood dump <33

[theambitiouswoman]

How to cleanse your body of negative energy 🪐✨

Meditate: Take a few minutes to sit quietly, breathe deeply, and just let go of all the junk cluttering your mind.

Move Your Body: The gym, pilates, yoga, a walk, or even dancing in your room, moving your body can lift your spirits.

Nature: Go outside! A walk in the park, a hike, or just sit by the water. The water has natural healing properties.

Be Present: Do things that make you focus on the now. Try deep breathing, write in a journal, or practice a hobby you enjoy.

Smudge It Out: Use sage or palo santo to cleanse your space and yourself.

Crystals: Keep crystals like black tourmaline or amethyst with you. They soak up negative energy and bring in the good stuff.

Sound Vibrations: Listen to 528Hz frequency music, chanting, or use singing bowls to create positive energy through sound.

Salt Bath: Take a bath with sea salt or Epsom salts to detox and relax. Drinking lots of water helps too!

Positive Self Talk: Say positive affirmations to yourself every day. It’s like reprogramming your brain to think happy thoughts.

Sleep: Make sure you’re getting enough sleep. It’s super important for recharging your body and mind.

[terrumdurak]

Your SVSSS are so well drawn and thought out! Do you have any ideas for Yue Qingyuan?

Thank you sm!!! <3

I love yqy (i want him to be my unkle so so bad), but i realised that i've never drawn him properly, so here he is. also added a couple of references i've been using

i also drew a little sketch. They both do know...

A closeup of main reference i've used. i love this artist's concepts, they actually were first i've ever seen and impressed me a lot. Sadly i don't know artist's credit, their art was on the website i was reading on

[doctorho]

viktor doesn't... pay that much attention to appearances, his or anyone else's. not when it doesn't matter. sure, there's the 'wearing what they see as respectable clothes so they take you seriously' and the 'not going to the dinner table covered in oil stains', but beyond that? he doesn't really care, to be honest.

yes, he's aware that some people put a lot more thought into the way they look, and into what other people think about the way they look. he knows that's a thing. it just happens to be a thing he chooses not to personally get invonved in.

well, it had been.

he honestly hadn't even thought about it much, before. it had just been one of those things that other people did, one of those things he had never really understood. you know, one of those things that made him feel like maybe the rest of the world had had some secret meeting without him where they decided that yes, these are the rules, and no, we won't explain them, you just have to know.

one of those things.

and he had been fine not thinking about it! truly, he had been blissfully unaware of what the current beauty standards were and which traits were seen as good or bad on which year -

and then he'd met you, by some miracle. you know, viktor doesn't meet that many new people, these days, so it does genuinely feel like a miracle when you just... stumble into his life one day. and without even thinking about it, automatically, viktor's brain files you away as beautiful, and he treats that as a passing fact, the same way he treats the color of your eyes. it's just a categorizing trait; this person just is beautiful.

and then, later, when he learns that apparently not everyone thinks that, his brain disagrees, severly. like - are they blind? is this a joke? it's a bad joke, if so, and then he's mad for you.

because he remembers that, ah, right. some people are weird about appearances. they have their menial rules about it that change by the decade.

he's still mad for you, but mentally he's ended that argument with well they're all idiots. because clearly you are an awesome, incredible, beautiful human being and this shouldn't be an argument in the first place.

he tells you this, and then his heart breaks a little when you seem so used to hearing the opposite. when you seem to have accepted what those idiots were saying because you'd just...heard it so often.

when you seem to not-quite-believe that he could really see you as beautiful. that he could really, actually want you. like that.

and it's - it drives him up the wall that this is even a thing. that the negative things you've heard outweigh the positive ones, and apparently by a landslide. that he can't make you see yourself the way he sees you.

because, truly, he thinks you're so beautiful. like, are you kidding? viktor's been skin and bone his whole life, and you're so...soft. he knows it way before he ever touches you; he can see it, and he has a well enough functioning imagination. and he's been thinking about it a lot, lately. what you'd feel like under his fingers. against his body. he has theories about this.

he can tell you're soft, and warm, and sometimes when the sunlight hits you he genuinely thinks you look like you could be straight out of one of those expensive oil paintings people paid a lot of money to see just a glimpse of.

and - yes, okay, maybe some of this was just his hormones talking, but come on. he couldn't not want to touch you. that was just one of those facts of life - the sun rose every morning, and whenever viktor saw you, he had the urge to touch you. to be close to you. to prove to you how much he adored you.

and then when you let him? that - that felt like a miracle. truly and honestly. because - viktor had never considered himself to be especially lucky, just, like, in life in general, but this?

he had to have won some sort of cosmic lottery. to first be lucky enough to meet you and then to be able to do this. to get so close. to touch you like this, to see you like this. it is nothing short of a privilege and he takes it, happily and greedily. and he makes it his personal mission to let you know exactly what he thought about you, and exactly how little you should care about anyone else's opinion. except your own, of course, but only on those days your mind was being kind to you.

so he makes sure you know that he absolutely worships you. okay? you are his personal deity, and he is devoted. he lets you know, any way he knows how, and any opportunity he gets. given half a chance, he will be praising you, telling how gorgeous you are and how lucky he is to have you. telling you how good you look, how good you feel, how good you make him feel. he isn't shy - he tells you, in enough detail to make your cheeks heat up.

and when you're alone, and you have all the time in the world? he shows you, and he doesn't hold back. and then he reminds you, again and again and again.

and you know viktor isn't a liar. he doesn't care about things like this enough to lie about them. so when he tells you that he loves the way you look, the way you feel, the way you are, you believe him.

[rebouks]

Previous // Next

Byrd: Dad? Oscar: Morning, bud.. miserable day, huh? I’m not looking forward to packing up in the rain. Oscar: Did you sleep okay? Byrd: Erm… Oscar: GO GET YOUR HEARING AIDS! [Byrd fidgeted guilty, implying that he’d lost yet another pair] Byrd: [sobs] Why do I have to be deaf without them, papa-.. s’not fair. [Oscar held Byrd tightly, stroking his back until his sobs subsided somewhat] Oscar: LET’S SEE WHAT WE CAN DO… [Oscar plonked Byrd outside as he rummaged through his bags, eventually producing a backup pair of hearing aids] Oscar: Better? [Byrd nodded gratefully, burying his snotty nose in his father’s hair as he threw his arms around him] Oscar: Maybe you ought to think twice about learning SSL. Byrd: What’s the point? No one else knows it. Oscar: Robin does, and we all know bits n’ pieces, don’t we? [Byrd grumbled disinterestedly] Oscar: I think it’s long overdue, pal-.. what if we all learn it together? Properly this time. Byrd: I guess… Oscar: All I heard was yes. Byrd: Are you deaf too? Oscar: [snorts] C’mon, we’ll probably find the other pairs as we clear up. Wren: Daaaaad, it’s raining! Oscar: The faster we get goin’, the faster we’ll be in the car-.. I bet Wren can pack up faster than you. Byrd: [gasps] NO WAY! [rain pattering]

[67chevy]

itty bitty smile...

[serpentface]

This family dinner is gonna fucking suck

[saydesole]

Book that flight bookie 🫶🏽

[kalashnikovlobotomy]

sigh this is too good really... it makes me happy... mochi ame going like "oh..." and getting cuddled🤦‍♂️ russia squeezing the life out of him in his sleep🤦‍♂️

[s0fter-sin]

idk why it wouldn’t let me answer this @kissmesharman but i absolutely love this, ghost not knowing how to process his omegan traits, to allow himself to be the one who is vulnerable and be protected instead of protecting is so ‼️ being soft, being open and accepting always came with consequences; it was always met with pain and betrayal and you only have to learn a lesson so many times before it sticks

the insidious ways roba and his ilk tried to force him into complacency, using their pheromones and rumbling and scruffing to trick his instincts into submitting- all they did was make ghost bury his omega so deep inside, he almost laughed at the irony of his own burial. even after he’s exhumed, he doesn’t hear it for years; naturally doesn’t heat even without suppressants, doesn’t purr, doesn’t feel that innate safety an alpha’s presence is supposed to bring

just being near other designations calms you down, whether they’re family, pack or even strangers thrown together in too-cramped barracks. it levels out your hormones, gives you people to act your instincts out on, and it’s never a surprise to walk into the cherries’ barracks and find them all tucked inside the resident omega’s nest; discordant purrs and chuffs layering over each other, too-big feet tangled together, still young enough for the milky smell of pup to cling to the edges of their scent especially clumped together like this. a lot of them won’t make it through selection, won’t find pack in each other but it’d be cruel to strip them of this simple comfort

ghost hasn’t stepped inside a nest in almost a decade

hasn’t felt the desire to build up softness and safety, to spread that feeling of home to the 141 even after he admits to himself that they’re pack. even after months of rejection - growling at soap’s happy chuffs whenever he saw him, pumping off bitterly aggressive pheromones to drown out gaz’s pack?home?safe?good? scent until he knew the beta felt sick with the sour poison, avoiding price whenever he was in pre-rut despite it being the most tempting and warm time of year for an omega to be near an alpha, those days before the terrible need when alphas are all affection, rut drunk with the happiness and safety of pack - they still welcomed him with open arms and bared necks as if he were a second pack alpha and not an omega

he’ll posture and loom over any unfamiliar presence, anyone that could potentially be a threat to his pack; his growls a thunderous undercurrent that shakes the very ground and makes anyone who hears it submit on instinct. soap and gaz happily submit to him; almost vibrating in place when he scents them, enduring their appeasing nibbles and licks at his hidden mouth, falling to heel whenever he decides to take over a situation. price shows it in other ways; nose blind after too many breaks and too many cigars, he lets ghost gentle him when his stress reaches its peak, hangs his head and just breathes as ghost threads his fingers together and cups them around his neck, squeezing his scent glands with his palms. ghost bumps their temples together and they’ll just stand there until the burnt scent of tension leaks out of the air

they’re not shy with their submission until most people just assume ghost’s an alpha based purely on the actions of his pack

they’ll never point it out, but the 141 has never suffered for lack of a pack nest. bc ghost unknowingly makes individual nests wherever they go

he’ll push soap into the comfiest sofa cushion after scoping out a safe house, tug gaz’s jacket straight when he uses it as a pillow and eye mask in one, pace in front of the bedroom price claimed to ensure his pack alpha is safe inside his den. he divies out rations, always opens them and switches the desserts so gaz and soap don’t argue over who got the better one; takes the instinctual first bite of anything scavenged or hunted to know it’s safe just to wait until everyone’s done eating and full before taking his own portion. they all present themselves for ghost’s inspection after missions; lets him run his hands and nose over them to check for injuries and it’s ghost who more often than not ends up taking care of them instead of sending them down to medical

they’ll never tell him, never make him face his own behaviour before he’s ready to come to terms with it himself. as much as ghost’s convinced himself otherwise, his omega is alive and well and his pack will welcome his shy return whenever he feels ready to step back into the light

[unboundprompts]

Can I get some prompts of a single parent struggling to take care of a baby? Like to the point where they are starting to lose sleep or is just that stressed? The baby could be theirs or one they adopted/found abandoned. I really don't mind if it's either Angst or Fluff. Anyways I know this is a bit specific and I hope it's not too much. I really love all of your prompts! I hope you have a wonderful day/night! Keep up the fantastic prompts! ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you for the kind words!

Single Parenting Prompts

-> feel free to edit and adjust pronouns as you see fit.

"I'm just so afraid of messing it up," she admitted, her voice small. "Everything I do matters, and one wrong move could alter their entire future." She spared a glance at the baby asleep in their crib, blissfully unaware of the uncertainty and fear she was feeling.

"When they get older, they're going to realize everything you've done for them. There will be bumps in the road, there always is. But at the end of the day, they're going to see how hard you tried to give them the perfect life. And that's what they're going to remember."

He felt like pulling his hair out. "I haven't slept in weeks," he admitted, voice strained and dark spots under his eyes prominent. "I didn't realize how hard it was to take care of a baby."

They blinked open their eyes at the sound of the baby crying. There goes any hope of getting a full night's rest. They drag themselves out of bed and lift the baby from the crib. She practically melts into their touch, tears easing up at just the notion of being held. "It's going to be a long night, huh?" They ask the baby, already rubbing soothing circles on her back.

Parenting was hard. A lot harder than he thought it was going to be. But it was moments like these-- when the baby looked up at him like he was their entire world with a smile on their face-- that made it worth it.

"Your grandmother used to sing this to me," she said softly to the baby in her arms, "every night before bed."

They needed a break. They needed to step back. They needed to... they didn't know what they needed to do. Never in a million years did they think they would be responsible for caring for a baby. They definitely hadn't planned on it, that was for sure. But, now they had one. And they hadn't the slightest clue of what to do with it.

"This baby needs me, right now," she said with force in her lungs. "I don't have a single idea of what I'm doing, but that doesn't change the fact that it is my responsibility. And I'm going to take care of it."

[theambitiouswoman]

Being Attracted To Toxicity Is A Sign We Need To Heal Something 🪞✨

When you find yourself drawn to toxic situations or people, it's often a hint that there's some healing to do on your end. Think of it like your mind's way of saying, "Hey, we've got some stuff to work through." It's pretty common to fall into patterns that feel familiar, even if they're not good for us. This could mean getting into relationships that mimic unhealthy ones from the past because they're what we know. If you've ever felt like you don't deserve nice things or good people, that might be low self-esteem talking, making you think it's okay to put up with bad behavior.

Then there's vulnerability. It can be scary, right? So sometimes, without even realizing it, we pick relationships that we know deep down aren't going to last. It's like keeping everyone at arm's length to avoid getting hurt. And let's not forget the drama factor. The ups and downs of a toxic relationship can feel like a rollercoaster, and somehow, we convince ourselves that it's all part of some grand, passionate love story. But it's not.

A lot of this goes back to unresolved issues from our past, maybe even from when we were kids. Working through these things usually means a bit of soul searching. Healing is about learning to value yourself, understanding what a healthy relationship looks like, dealing with any old wounds, and gradually moving towards relationships that actually make you feel good and at peace.

Realizing you're in this pattern is the first big step. Healing isn't something that happens overnight. It's a journey that involves a lot of self reflection, patience, and sometimes, leaning on friends or a therapist for support. So if you catch yourself in a cycle of toxic relationships, take it as a nudge from your psyche to start on a path to healing. It's all about taking care of you, building up that self love, and opening up to healthier, happier relationships with yourself and others.

[doostyaudi]

Really proud of how Shaped they are

[kanomitri]

it's really important to me actually that Sova is Angry. like, i think about Omen's, "There is a fury within you, Sova. It is terrible. Beautiful," for a lot of different reasons (bc why are you, a man, calling another man['s fury] beautiful 🤔🤔🤔?), but especially there's the fact that like. okay omen side tangent MY POST MY RULES

like Omen is already fascinating for a lot of different reasons, and his radiance(?) definitely is one of them with the way he's able to sense and see things that other people can't? and not just having heightened senses but vro can literally feel the balance of the world like dude....... is it not heavy???????? but it also means he has really fascinating things in General to say about other agents (i think about his comments on astra's radiance and what he's able to note of clove's immortality), and commenting on Sova's Rage Specifically... very important to me!!!!!

not to mention that Omen isn't even the only reliable source, like!! do we want to talk about every voiceline of his where he refuses to relent? he refuses to ease up? he refuses to do anything but win absolutely? let's look at his voicemails and emails, with a special emphasis on the blackmailer arc and his determination to Remove The Threat (and need i even mentioned the name of his ultimate, like, come onnnnnnnn ykyk???)

because he Has Rage. he doesn't extend it to his allies (mostly. we all know the exception) because these are his comrades! his siblings-in-arms! to them, he offers only kindness and amicability; they are his friends.

...but it's still there—the rage, i mean—and it is strong, and it matters to me that beneath the ice, there is this brilliant bonfire, controlled in its flickering and yet powerful and motivational all the same. it is important to me that Sova Is Angry.