#take my silly redraw from over a year ago

[soldrawss]

Theyre definitely on a date 🥰

[threegoblinart]

Okay so art update: after lots of back and forth and only one (!) panic attack I can say I have a plan to start selling art.

Starting this summer I will release small batches or original art. These won't be prints, but actual physical copies. I'll be starting this way for two reasons... 1) in order to offer prints I need to save up to invest in some equipment. 2) I believe everyone should have the ability to buy original art, there's something magical in owning an original and I want to facilitate this by offering affordable originals.

I'll be sharing more about what will be in the first batch in the next month or so, but my goal is to have 20-30 watercolor paintings ranging in size from 4x6 to 8x10 available at the first drop. They will focus on landscapes with a fanart twist, but I might have some portraits in there too depending on time. Most will be new, but I'm thinking of reworking and reproducing a few of my more popular paintings I've shared here (happy to take suggestions on which ones you'd like to see).

What about commissions? I'd love to branch to this in the future, but I'm not quite ready yet. However I'm open to suggestions whether it's silly ideas or a scene from a/your fic that like or screengrab redraws, etc. to practice on in the mean time. And to be clear I'm not trying to undermine other commissions artists by appearing to do things "for free" - I 💯 support paying artists and paying them fairly. I'm not ready to exchange money for that kind of work yet but will gladly share, hype and point you towards artists who are.

Thank you for your support, I never thought I'd get to this point when I started drawing again a little over three years ago. 😭💖

[forgetfulmachineart]

[ID: A digital painting of Technoblade, Alexander with a crown and robe taking a nap in a field of yellow rose bushes. In his arms is a pig plush and potatoes, Steve the polar bear is napping on his lap, and the setting sun is behind his head. /End ID]

[redraw of this from almost an exact year ago]

Odd news to get first thing in the morning. I will be forever grateful for what Alexander did for the community. I can’t wax poetry about what he means to all of us but I can tell one silly anecdote:

Since middle school I always wanted the dye my hair. At first purple then, once I got over some internalized misogyny, I wanted to dye it pink. Problem was that as a nonbinary person (leaning a bit more towards masc) I felt dysphoric about it cause I didn’t want to be seen as feminine. Fanart of Technoblade with soft pink hair, far longer than mine and elegant, while still portraying him as masculine helped me get over that dysphoria. Thank you, Alexander and the community he made, for helping me and for creating so much amazing art

Anyways don’t forget to buy his merch I can’t believe the energy of this mad man so much respect god speed I’m trying not to cry and he’s shilling out

[rukkako]

Y'know I was watching this video and it's made me think so much about so much shit tbh. It's kinda sad, not gonna lie. Like I get it- I've been in fandom for years, I know the drill, coping with memes has been a staple of fandom for ages- I was there for danganronpa, I was there for AOT, for CSM and many more.

This is kind of an insane rant so don't feel forced to keep reading. I just need to put this out there.

But the thing is, for a good while now, since a couple of years ago, I've been in this position where I... don't really see the appeal? Like yes, of course, the memes are funny. I laugh at them- I laugh at fraudkuna and at jogoat and at everything else because it's silly and goofy. But when I'm done laughing and I really think about it it kinda depresses me. How must the author feel? Seeing the people wreck and vandalize and humilliate some of the highest, most dramatic and cathartic moments of their most important work ever. How must that feel? The thing is, this isn't a question- you know how that feels. It feels bad. Akutami is lucky that he doesn't see the clownshow people are making of their show overseas, but when I see this I can't help but be reminded of a tale as old as time-artists that made drawings and those drawings became memes against the artist's will. We've seen it recently with the dancing lizard- The person who made it stated recently that the trend of redrawing Toothless over their 3D art caused them to get so depressed they switched from 3D to anime. (The tweet where they said this is sadly deleted, but if you look up "ka92 lizard" on twitter you can find some evidence, like this tweet.)

I don't like it. I don't like it because yes, I get that you're coping with the sadness the things happening in JJK are causing you- I know it's hard, I know you were very invested and I know this feels like the author may be straight up laughing in your face- but, in memeing the things happening in JJK, you strip them of everything- their shock value, their meaning, their significance, their relevance to their stories. You're no longer gonna remember that time Gojo died valiantly to protect everyone, you're gonna remember Fraudtoru Gojo and Fraudkuna and the King of Frauds and Nah I'd Win and Stand Proud, you're strong- and did I mention I'm NOT into JJK and yet I know every single one of these by hand?

I was into JJK. Nobara was my favorite character- watched Season 1 of the show and started reading the manga, saw her die, and I lost interest. And I was thinking of giving it another shot but this wave of shitposting has singlehandedly taken away my willingness too. Congratulations- now I know every single detail of this thing through stale, goofy memes that take away everything from the scenes they ridiculize and turn them into a mockery of themselves- because I've seen these memes, even if I read the manga and got caught up with everything, I wouldn't be able to experience it the way the author intended. Because when I see gojo dying or anytime Sukuna comes up or anything, I'll be reminded of these things.

I guess that's what all this comes down to. Respecting author intent. I feel like that has kinda been lost to everyone in recent years- when Marco died in AOT, back in 2013, you didn't see this phenomenon happen; people were sad, and sure some people were joking about it to cope but it never got to this level- people still let themselves be affected by the event, they let the incident get to them and touch them and they engaged genuinely with it. Are you really engaging genuinely with JJK if all you do is post goofy memes about what's happening and laughing? Is it really reaching you? Are you giving the story the chance to touch you or are you using your usual wall of irony to stop even something you willingly chose to engage with from changing and affecting you?

I read Umineko no Naku Koro Ni in 2018, and it changed my life. It meant so much to me that I refused, actively, to engage in fandom, I refused to look at any memes; it was my experience and it changed me as a person in ways I simply cannot describe without making this post any longer than it already is. It wasn't after about three years after that that I allowed myself to be, I guess, more light-hearted about it. And of course, you're well in your right to call me dramatic and to tell me that I'm over-dramatizing something that really isn't that big of a deal (and maybe I am, who knows), but even still after that there were very few memes that I really found funny. Because most of the memes everyone was making about it were ridiculizing some of the most horrible, hard-hitting parts of the story. And it was, and still is, my belief, that they took away the meaning, significance- the wheight of those moments just to make fun of them. And... I guess, at a core level, I felt like I never would like something like that to be done to my creations, so I didn't feel comfortable engaging with such content.

I'd like to make something clear- I'm not criticising YOU, JJK fan that loves the memes and lives for them and is nontheless still enjoying their experience reading JJK. If doing that is fun and enjoyable to you, go ahead- the JJK meme explosion has also given birth to many artists, I've seen animations about things happening in the manga that are so beautiful and stunning. But I guess my question is- are the memes allowing you to find new perspectives, new ways to interpret the story, are they deepening your understanding and connection to it, or are they making it more shallow, more blurry, weakening it?

Sorry for the long post- and again, I hope it's clear that I do not want to insult or berate anyone. This is just MY opinion. You can engage with the media you consume however way you choose. But please always bear in mind: is it genuine? Is it full of love?

That is all.

[clockworkslick]

oh. its 10/16. so short summary before i talk about nothing for a bit too long: a year ago i came up with the idea to actually go through with taking one of my silly ideas and turning it into something that other people could read, so i started drafting the concept of providence, a webcomic i make and thats updating everyday. more talking under the whatever.

so ive always made little stories that i would run through in my head for like two or three months when i had mental downtime, and then move on to some other goofy idea. this is either a totally normal thing or im a freak, honestly i have no frame of reference for how other people act. anyways i was home from college last year and i had this idea for an rpg fantasy story, initially an idea for playing modded minecraft with some friends (god i wish that was a joke), but i started writing shit down in a google doc. i wrote out a handful generic slots for various fantasy classes: witch, dryad, ranger, knight, vampire(not a class but i dont give a fuck), blacksmith, etc. and then i named some of them. i finished naming and writing out plot nonsense in november and changed the name of the comic from "Drive-By" to "Liberty" to "Providence."

honestly i think that was the easy part because its totally non-commital. unfortunately after that i had to actually start making the pages. the original plan was to finish act one before may, which was an optimistic goal to say the least, but also maybe if i didnt have to do anything else it would have been totally possible. or if i was just faster in general. anyways i started drawing everything at the end of december and then didnt stop for 6 months. actually thats a lie, i started drawing pages and havent stopped since then, but what i meant is that i started uploading the comic in may. i had a backlog of about 75 pages and the art change just in that time was nuts. comparing act 2 art to act 1 is more nuts but im not about to redraw the 170 pages of a1 just so that its APPEALING and PALLETEABLE. i learned way more about web design from doing this comic than from my actual web design class. like insanely more. you have no idea how little that class helped me with anything aside from making friends through mutual hatred of being poorly taught.

sixo de mayo (may 6th) came and i started doing this thing for real, and its been so surreal having people actually talk to me about these guys that have been in my head for months. my sister recently asked if deacon was my self-insert, which is sort of true but only in the sense that we both have social issues and like to be dumb on sort-of-purpose, and then she told me that her favorite character was reagan. theres not really any deep meaning behind her telling me or that reagan is my favorite too, but its just so surreal to me that people can have a favorite, or any opinion, on these characters i obsess over.

alright i think im done for now, i just wanted to talk about the comic on its sort of birthday, and also the day that the gang got pulled into the story. i mentioned that vaguely in the story once already, but im cool with being more direct about it. ill probably go on another rant again about this sometime, maybe on sixo de mayo, but probably sooner because im obsessive and like to type. happy birthday comic, heres to a million more. or however many years it takes to make a 5 act story at a rate of like 200 pages in 10 months. hopefully that number will go up.

[daemon-knight]

Brainstorming an Event

Still thinking up an event for mid-April, also still gonna’ be a little dead in terms of activity for the next week or so while doing things on my personal blog and other places.  But that aside, I wanted to do some brainstorming for that event and post my current plans here to get some feedback. 

Like I said in the announcement I’m going to try and keep the event as simple as possible. I don’t want people to have to worry about long backstories or integrating their character into a world that might not mesh with the world-building they already have set up, but... events do tend to get a little crazy, especially midway in, so no promises. 

That said, here’s a few ideas I had.

Fighting Tournament Event

Since Claudia herself would be the main instigator of this event, or at least the focus in some way, shape or form, a fighting tournament seems to be the most obvious choice. Specifically, I’m thinking a battle royale styled tournament where everyone is let lose in a section of a city and has to take everyone else out. It seems simple enough. A massive brawl sounds like fun for the more action-inclined muses, and there could be some fun banter if there was a pre-event of some kind like a ceremony or general gathering/signup. 

There’d be a few rules to keep the more powerful contenders from steamrolling everyone. Something to the effect or either no powers or wearing special bracelets that limit them. The threads within the event could be plotted among the opponents so that the one-on-one aspect could still be maintained to some degree (or I can make rules around it), and to give everyone a decent motive the tournament prize could be something like a lot money or a special treasure. Ideally nothing that’d changed someone’s character design or arc too much (because Christ I don’t want to redraw Claudia’s character sheet for a fifth time until the end of the year), but something nice regardless.

Invasion Event

Another simple one. Claudia isn’t the instigator in this one, but I’m thinking something like a town she’s resting in is suddenly invaded by... eh, bandits, demons, Jehovah witnesses, the Puppets of Chaos, Reunion, take your pick. Basically her and everyone else that happened to be visiting the town will have to team up and fight to save the town... or hide in a corner while the fighters do the work... or join the bad guys for drama, whatever works really. Might still have some rules to prevent steamrolling, but this seems like another simple event that wouldn’t be too hard to manage.

Tiddy Wars

So loooong ago, three years ago in fact, back when Claudia’s theme color was purple and her faceclaim was Cecily Campbell, I teased something called Titty Wars because... well, to quote myself back then:

If I can’t have my Serious, War Drama Event happen, then I’ll have my Ridiculous, Crack Event happen.

In a nutshell it was a silly idea I had for a crack event involved girls having an actual war over breast sizes. It got a little bit of traction, but I ultimately canned it for being a little too difficult to organize properly. But even now, almost three years later, I still kind of want to do it, if only to say I did. 

Really, it’s just a silly event where silly things will happen for silly reasons. Nothing to take as canon, but... it wouldn’t be the first time I had crack events play into canon.

“But Allen, is Claudia really that petty to start a full-blown war over breast sizes?”

YES. YES SHE IS. Claudia Maria Ivora has canonically tried to throw hands with at least three children, a baker, several innocent bystanders, and has bitten at least five people unprovoked. Don’t underestimate the pettiness of Demon Knight Ivora.

Anyway, those are the main three ideas I had. Anything else would require too much coordination for my taste. Like I said, I want a simple event. Might do a vote in a week or so once I finish some stuff both here and on my personal blog. Anyway, see you all later.

[thetourguidebarbie]

What about Klaroline with Klaus being jealous of Caroline's close friendship with Enzo. it doesn't have to end in smut but im fine if it your choice.

Emergency fluff for one of my favorite people. @chica-cherry-lola has been reminding me for months that I promised her a mini-sequel to A Guilty Pleasure, my tattoo artist/florist au I wrote for @lalainajanes a bajillion years ago for a v-day exchange. Thank you to @garglyswoof for looking over this quickly.

This has smut in the beginning and is teeth-rottingly fluffy, so if that’s not your thing, I’d skip it. Bookshop AU will be posted once I get the edits in (sorry you’re getting a false alarm, Laine).

His chest was pressed against her back as his tongue traced a trail along her collarbone, the combination of it with his fingers curling against her walls bringing her just to the edge, but unable to tip over. Her eyes closed as he pressed soft kisses to the back of her neck, legs shaking as he brushed his fingers over her clit. “You’re so lovely,” he whispered, nipping her shoulder. “I do enjoy the sounds you make for me.”

She moaned softly in response as he pinched her clit lightly with his thumb and forefinger, her moan turning into a muttered string of expletives as she came, and she felt his stubble scratch against her skin as he smiled. She was breathing hard as she turned on her back to look at him, her lips parting slightly as she realized he was sucking her arousal off his fingers. He bent to kiss her once he was done, his palm steady on her hip, his tongue brushing across the seam of her lips. She moaned softly as he dragged his teeth across her shoulder and moved down to press kisses down to the valley between her breasts, flicking his tongue against her nipple before moving down her ribcage.

“I have a question, sweetheart,” he said, his voice muffled as his lips moved across her skin, and she arched her back as his tongue traced the flowered vine inked on her ribs.

“What?”

“What’s this tattoo from?”

She laughed. “It’s me and Enzo’s twinsies tattoo.”

Klaus froze mid-lick, pushing himself up so that he was looming over her. “Beg pardon, sweetheart?”

“A twinsies tattoo? You know, like when you and your best friend get matching tattoos to indicate that you will, in fact, be ‘best friends forever’?” Caroline said teasingly, making air quotes.

He stared at her with a look of what she considered completely unwarranted revulsion. “You and Enzo have matching tattoos?” he asked slowly, starting to withdraw his hand, clearly intent on getting an explanation. She grabbed his wrist, her eyebrows raised before groaning when she realized that he wanted the whole story before she’d get her next orgasm.

“Yeah. We were in our second year of college and Enzo and I were taking this really boring history class. It was basically impossible to study because the Professor’s study guides didn’t actually match what was on the tests or quizzes, which should totally be illegal. Anyway, the point is that it was finals week and we both knew that what ended up on the test was completely random, so we made a dumb bet that whoever scored higher could pick a tattoo for the other one. Just so you know, talking about my basically-brother-best-friend is not keeping me turned on.”

“And he won?”

“Nope, I did! I just got the same one in solidarity. I tried to talk Bonnie into it too but she said that couples tattoos were always a mistake no matter what. I thought it was kind of romantic, but she’s annoyingly practical.”

“Romantic, hmm?” he asked, and she narrowed her eyes as she watched the gears turn in his mind.

“Klaus...” she groaned, half out of exasperation and half because she wanted him to start moving again.

He bent and ran his nose along the curve of her neck. “I did tell you that I liked the idea of leaving a mark on someone’s body with my art. You even more.”

“I don’t know,” she said, the last word turning into a breathless ‘oh’ as he slipped two fingers back inside of her, her back arching. “I think you just don’t like that another guy and I have matching tattoos.”

“Perhaps,” he allowed, his fingertip tracing her hipbone before he bent to kiss her again.

“You’re such a jealous weirdo,” Caroline muttered between kisses, though there was no bite to her tone.

“You like it,” he whispered, nipping her ear and curling his fingers against her g-spot, making her gasp.

“In small doses,” she managed to pant out.

“You can’t tell me you don’t enjoy it, love. I feel that shiver run down your body when I press my hand against the small of your back as we walk, hear the way your breath catches when I tell you that you belong to me.”

“Klaus...”

“Try to deny it then,” he murmured. “Tell me you’re not mine, Caroline. Try.”

“Klaus,” she said, a tinge of warning coloring her tone.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“You’re a smug jerk,” she muttered, her face half buried in his chest. She could feel his chest rumble against her cheek as he chuckled, curling his fingers against her walls, his other hand slipping between the cheeks of her ass, making her squeak in surprise.

“All right?”

“Fuck,” she hissed, unable to decide between riding his fingers or pressing against where he was touching her back entrance, her breathing growing shallow. “It’s good,” she managed.

“I’d like to take your pretty arse with my cock later,” he said quietly, pinching her ass before letting his hand travel down the back of her thigh, the drag of nails against her skin deep enough that he’d most likely leave a mark.

“After we unpack,” she said, taking a deep stuttering breath when Klaus pushed the tip of his finger into her back entrance as he nibbled at her neck and stroked her clit, the sensations almost too much for her to handle. She heard him hum against her skin when she came, clearly pleased, pulling back to look at her and brushing a damp curl from her face with his nose to press a kiss to her temple.

“I like you here.”

“Well, that’s good since I’ll be here every night for the foreseeable future,” she teased, sliding her arms around his shoulders to rub a curl between her fingers, the other hand tracing the lines of the triangle inked on his back. “But as comfortable as our bed is, I still have a lot of closet-invading and counterspace-stealing to do.”

“It’s not invading or stealing if it’s yours,” he pointed out, letting her go reluctantly as she wriggled out from under him and slid out of bed, reaching for the jeans she’d managed to half pull on before Klaus had coaxed her out of them earlier that morning. She looked over her shoulder to see him eyeing her hungrily and grinned.

“How am I supposed to concentrate knowing that you’re wearing nothing under those?”

“Like you always do,” she said unsympathetically. “I have full faith in your ability to get up and walk the ten feet to the shower without jumping me.”

He huffed grumpily in a way that probably shouldn’t have been endearing. “Later, I promise,” she repeated. “Seriously though. Get in the shower now so I can send you on a coffee mission when you get out.”

“So bossy,” he murmured, sitting up and stretching. She found herself tempted to throw out her unpacking plans and crawl back into bed to run her tongue down his abs, but at this point she’d committed to her non-sex Sunday agenda and she was too stubborn to admit defeat.

“Is that a problem?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, adjusting her bra and reaching for her blouse.

“Hot in small doses, as you’d say,” he teased, pushing the covers off and running his hand through his hair. She drank him in shamelessly, smiling when he pressed a light kiss to her temple as he walked past her to their master bathroom, his hand lingering on the vine on her ribs for a moment too long, thumb brushing along one of the leaves.

She took a shaky breath, glancing at the door as it closed behind him. Her skin was still burning from his touch, her heart pounding in her chest. They’d been together for almost a year now, counting the time she’d spent in denial pretending they were friends with benefits, and he still made her pulse race on a daily basis, made her feel wanted and beautiful and powerful.

She’d spent way too much time at the beginning worrying that his feelings for her would fade and the only thing to linger would be physical chemistry. She’d been embarrassingly obvious and he’d noticed, but instead of brushing her insecurities off with pretty words, he’d reassured her with every affectionate touch and warm smile that he wanted a connection with her that was more than physical.

Honestly, she couldn’t imagine being with anyone else.

She traced the swallow on her wrist that she’d gotten the week of her eighteenth birthday absently as she considered his words from earlier.

I like the idea of leaving my mark on someone’s body with my art. You even more.

She wondered if she should be scared that she liked the idea too.

“What do you want to do next week?” Caroline asked, sinking down on the couch and pressing her cheek against his shoulder, glancing at his sketchpad. He inhaled her scent, the subtle floral shampoo that now clung to his pillows on nights when he wasn’t even dreaming. It had been two months since she’d moved in and he hadn’t yet been able to get out of the habit of pulling her closer in the mornings before she woke just to savor the feel of her against him. He wasn’t sure he’d ever shake away the constant wonder that she’d chosen to stay.

“Ooh, that’s pretty,” she said, shifting so that she could get a better look without impeding his drawing hand.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” he said, twirling the pencil between his fingers before adding more shading to the dragon’s wing.

“For a client,” he said, frowning as he inspected his work. “I think it needs something else. Been redrawing it for a few hours now, but it never looks quite right.”

“Do you need a few minutes then? For your muse to visit, or whatever?”

“Don’t be silly, love. My muse happens to be sitting right beside me.”

“You are a cheeseball,” she said, kissing him lightly on the cheek. “But seriously. Next week?’

“For our anniversary? I have plenty of ideas for all the things I’ll do to you,” he said, giving her a wicked smirk and taking a bit too much satisfaction in the flush that crept up her cheeks.

“Klaus!”

He could tell that she wasn’t actually annoyed with him, her exasperation more fond than anything else, though from the way she was shifting against him he could tell that she had something she was holding back.

“Do you have any preferences?” he asked, studying her face for any hint of her feelings, and he recognized the tilt of her chin as her mentally prepping herself to say something she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to spit out.

“I was thinking we could go to the shop.”

“For a private romantic dinner?” he asked, already planning at least ten different things they could do with her stockroom table.

She swallowed. “Yours, actually.”

“Mine?” he asked, not quite daring to believe what she was implying.

“I want you to give me a tattoo,” she said. “If you want to.”

“What do you want?” he asked immediately, reaching for his sketchbook and eagerly flipping to a new page. “Anything specific?”

“I want something symbolic.”

“The flower?” he offered, only half-joking, already trying to remember the exact slant of its petals.

“No. I want...I mean, I wanted to do something about the second I realized that I actually had feelings-feelings for you as opposed to sex-only-feelings, but that moment didn’t really have any symbolic objects that I’d feel comfortable having on my body permanently.”

“When was it?” he asked, unable to restrain his curiosity.

She blushed, unable to meet his eyes. “It was the night when we had the fight before we got together.”

“When you walked out on me?” he asked, not particularly wanting to open old wounds but needing to clarify.

She winced. “It wasn’t my proudest moment, okay? It just kind of hit me all at once, you know? I was like, in hardcore denial, and you put your arms around me and told me to stay and...” she trailed off, tangling her fingers with his and giving him a small smile. “I wanted to, and I was worried that you were just like, being polite—“

She glared at him when he was unable to restrain a laugh, setting down his pencil. “Caroline, when have I ever been polite to anyone out of obligation?”

“Well I didn’t know that then,” she said grumpily. “I mean, I did, but again, denial.”

“Right.”

“What about you?”

“Hmm?”

“What was your moment?”

He didn’t even have to think about it, his lips curling into a smile as he told her how beautiful she’d looked bent over her terrarium diagram in the coffee shop. How he’d watched her hands as she shaded the sketch carefully, admired the way her teeth sank into her lower lip as she concentrated. “I knew I’d enjoyed talking to you,” he explained, smiling at Caroline’s raised eyebrow. “But that moment...I was curious about you. Your story, your hopes and goals. I wanted to get to know you. I couldn’t resist.”

“That’s so cute,” she said, grinning at the face he pulled at the word. “Sorry. You’re just much more romantic than me.”

“I’m not sure that’s true,” he said, tugging one of her curls between his fingers. “In any case, perhaps you don’t want a tattoo of the experimental flower Bonnie gave you, but there are other options. Chrysanthemums?”

She groaned. “My least favorite flowers that I refused to sell you so that you wouldn’t poison your sister’s boyfriend? I’d rather have the sex plant.”

“Do you still have the sketch?”

She frowned. “From the coffee shop?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah. I’m sure I still have it,” Caroline said, moving off the couch and walking to the section of the bookshelf where she kept all her original sketches for her terrarium and bouquet ideas. She pulled out the one labeled ‘succulents’ and flipped through it, sliding a piece of heavy paper out of a page protector and scanning it thoughtfully before handing it to him.

“This one?”

He nodded, taking it and running the tip of his finger along the outline. “I want this here, I think,” he said, gesturing to the left side of his ribcage. “And I’ll get it in color, but I can make it subtler for you if you like. Just the outline or shadow...”

“Matching tattoos?” she asked, her eyebrows raised.

“You said they were romantic,” he pointed out, and she nodded, leaning against his side and inspecting the sketch.

“I like it,” she said. “Even if it feels a little weird to have a tattoo of something I drew.”

“I can always sketch you something, sweetheart. Whatever you want.”

“I think I want the orchid,” she said after thinking it over for a few seconds. “But in a purple or a blue. The real-life pink was really loud.”

“That can be arranged,” he murmured, already sketching the outline. “Where do you want it?”

“Same place as yours.”

“Doing it over bones is the most painful area,” he warned slowly, glancing at her, and she smiled, pecking him on the lips.

“It’ll heal, and I totally look forward to your inevitable weird obsession with licking it.”

“Is that another thing you’ll only tolerate in small doses?”

“No. Tattoo-licking is highly encouraged,” she said, her tone and expression so serious that if he hadn’t known her well he would have missed that she was trying desperately not to laugh.

“Noted, sweetheart.”

“Good,” she said, curling with her feet underneath her to peek over his shoulder at the orchid he was carefully outlining. “I love you, you know. A lot.”

“And I, you,” he said quietly

He didn’t need to look at her to know she was giving him the bright smile that she seemed to reserve for moments like this, when they were close and comfortable. He could see it in his mind’s eye, could have easily sketched it from memory.

He couldn’t resist looking anyway.

[sleepymarmot]

A couple of months ago, after finishing COUNTER/Weight, I spent about a week in a total hangover, relistening to scenes and having feelings. I took some notes, but procrastinated posting them, and then finally got distracted. But, a) I hate leaving things I intended for tumblr unposted, even if they have value only for me, and b) I also hate posting things out of order, and there's a big TM liveblog incoming. So, here's a bunch of really random thoughts about C/w from past me.

The gnosis virus did go nowhere huh. I was hopeful for a minute when one of the finale intros mentioned it, but that was it. What was the purpose of that arc even. [Note from present me: Lol. At least I feel better about this one!]

Oh, and the patch AuDy left never reappeared either. And the idea from the faction game that Aria's images owned by EarthHome/Petrichor transmit Rigour code… That's the flip side of the coin. On the one hand, it's really cool to see the creative process – on the other, it sometimes feels like you're listening to people write a script for the tv show, but only get to see a half of the finished product. It's fascinating to see the universe grow organically and the players to come up with new ideas and get excited about them – but that means numerous retcons, some of them not even presented as such, because the creators forgot what the previous revision was or didn't thought it was important. It's a unique feature of the medium that player choice directs the narrative and it's not bound by railroading – but that means some roads lead nowhere, and some branches dry and fall off.

It's a bit harder to make peace with something that could have easily been developed more within the existing plot of the show. How come there's a player character whose consciousness consists of three different people in various combinations, but nobody seems to be curious how that works? No PC or NPC ever asked “Which one of you is speaking right now?” or something. The final episodes made a lot of things clearer, but it still felt too little, too late. Hard not to be reminded of that gripe about certain two characters sharing one character sheet one of whom was left underdeveloped and half-forgotten… Both are very ambitious concepts that require a double amount of work from the player, so I feel bad complaining they weren't realized to full potential, but…

Speaking of L&D… I still want to know how the hell did that one engineer all by herself design 4 gods, one of which became a basis for technology that was advanced even for the civilizations 80,000 years later? This woman singlehandedly surpassed any technological achievement of humanity before and after. Who Is She

I saw a “Wake me up: before you go go / when september ends / wake me up inside” meme and thought “heh, this sounds relevant, which member of the Chime is which?” and it already made me sad, but then I realized that I'd never actually heard the september song and looked it up and. The lyrics fit so well. What the fuck. It's an old song everyone keeps joking about. Why is it appropriate for a legitimate fanmix. What. I guess the word “September” will never be the same again for me.

I looked up the rules for Firebrands, the game used for the finale. Oh my, challenges for the dance minigame are so overtly romantic when you see them in a list together! Imagine this cast of characters having to answer to “do you place your hand upon my elbow, shoulder, waist, or hip?” lmao. Also I didn't realize “May I?” was part of the rules for “stealing time together”. (And I found out there's a party version of that minigame with bug-themed challenges. I might have dug too deep…) "Tactical skirmish" is a really fascinating concept, I've never seen such a masochistic combat system! Really faces the player with the violence they're inflicting: sure, you can always fight on, but are you ready to live with what you'll have to do? But for it to work fully, you need a lot of non-expendable NPCs on both sides. The one with the most likeable team wins! (Like Mako did.)

I'm relistening to Three Conversations and it's pretty interesting that Ibex has a bunch perfectly lifelike android bodies, right? There is no such technology seen anywhere else. Did Righteousness develop and privatize that? Are they so complex that only a Divine would have enough computing power to successfully mimic organic life? Can Aria convince Righteousness to help her perform on stage without leaving her duties? Also, like with AuDy, I wonder how Ibex & Righteousness' consciousness works. Is it a single mind, spread across every body he has, or even anything Righteousness is running on, having a bunch of different conversations at once if he needs to? Or is the original Ibex just gone, and what's left is a personality imprint hanging on to the connection to his still living body, imitating his former self like the automated recording Cass saw wore his face? In other words, has Ibex completely fused with Righteousness, or assimilated and destroyed by it? Does he not exist anymore as an independent singular being, or does he not exist at all? Most info indicates the former, but there was also “You’re not in there anymore” “No”.

If Orth and Jace are anime fans with their Kingdom Come and Panther, then Ibex is the guy who's way too into dinosaurs or paleontology. It's as if the heads of various confessions were called Triceratops, Stegosaurus etc. and only one of them knows wtf that means, and also he compares his Divine to… Were there scavenging dinosaurs? I'm looking at an article that suggests T. Rex might have been a scavenger, so yeah he would compare Righteousness to a goddamn T. Rex.

Hey what do you think is the most thematically aproppriate part of the Hieron anime for Orth to watch alone at night during the Kingdom game. What's the best thematic parallel for when he turns off the episode and thinks he made a mistake. Do you think that he once, after a long day and a long month and maybe a long year of feeling helpless and doomed, sits down for a distraction but ends up sobbing “How could they let this happen to Mother Glory”

On Joypark, there are definitely statues of Eidolons, ancient and holy, that were repainted and repurposed as Hieron deities. Imagine a giant Greek or Roman style marble statue of Apote – and it’s painted over as Samot, with an anime face and in really bright plain colors like these “reconstructions of original coloring” that actually only use base colors so they look like cheap action figures.

I was reading Austin's top ten games of 2016 list on Waypoint and he gave first place to The Sprawl! Aww!

The Downloads folder in my phone gallery is funny bc it mostly consists of every freely available f@tt map and also that one photo of Tristan Walker (because I tried to redraw it, very unsuccessfully). I go check a map and every time am met by Ibex just. staring at me. It's unsettling

Some of the many options for how Apostolosian gender could have been presented:

Apostolosians prefer to be addressed by the most neutral available human pronoun, represented as "they" in English, because the human languages don't have anything close enough

Apostolosian pronouns are represented in English by a set of real-life common pronouns and neopronouns

There's a list of Apostolosian pronouns and they're just used in English verbatim (Really impractical because the players need a cheat sheet, but the most fair)

Humans apply human genders to Apostolosians. Apostolosians may be offended, may find it convenient, or something else

As Austin said in the post-mortem, the Eidolon system is not gender. It's represented in English by titles/honorifics/etc

Any of the above, and the creators are aware of the difference between personal pronouns, grammatical gender, and social gender

And that’s not even touching the core problem of what the concept of gender in a futuristic, techonologically advanced society would look like. Yes, I'm complaining about this for the third time but I'm just. So tired of native English speakers' takes on gendered language. They could have made Apostolosian gender look like anything and they made it look like that fucking mess... God, I really hope TM is good enough to make me forget and forgive the experience of listening to “he... sorry, they” for 100 hours. [Note from present me: Well… mostly]

Here’s my take on this: eidolons in Apostolosian language are absurdly broad noun classes with associated classifiers (which fits both the idea that they’re gender but not actually, and that each of them is a patron to several unrelated aspects of life) Apostolosian: the word “(Apo)thesa” is used to refer to people who follow the corresponding eidolon, as well as for counting buildings, heavy machinery, military units, specific strategies and tactics, log entries, historical documents and chronicles, history textbooks and monographs, and eras :) Human: what the fuck

Very critical, imaginative worldbuilding in which 80,000+ years into the future humanity somehow has 21st century gender and 21st century capitalism! TBH, I find any sci-fi set in the far future inherently silly – we can’t really imagine the future technogy and its effect on society. But it feels like C/w barely even tried, and to hear it boast about “critical worldbuilding” is kinda strange. I assumed that meant they build the world critically, not that they recreate modern society or some aspect of it and criticize that! It’s just another Star Trek then! And it was already clear right during the setup when they said “We don’t want Star Trek aliens” and immediately created Apostolosians.

I haven't seen a single piece of fanart with Taako and Mako. Come on, does nobody want to see these two next to each other! Especially considering the outfits artists like to put Taako in!

I really don't understand how and why people do fandom activities on Twitter and Discord where the creators also have accounts. It gives me so much secondhand embarrassment. I can barely peek at Twitter posts before running away. Old-fashioned opinion apparently but I strongly believe the main fandom space and the interaction-with-original-creators space should be separate. I need a space where I can voice my opinions, especially negative ones, with complete freedom. I need to be able to say exactly what's on my mind. But I wouldn't want any of the people on the podcast to read something unfiltered like my complaints above. Being in the same space as the source content creators obliges any decent person to be diplomatic and constructive. And the creators, in turn, need a space where they don't come across complete randos yelling at them about something they said in a podcast three years ago. I'm already feeling uncomfortable because hearing to strangers pour their hearts out for hundreds of hours gives me way too much insight on who they are as people. Of course, nothing’s stopping them from lurking on Tumblr or AO3 and even reading this very post, but a platform where they have official accounts is still a different thing! I even feel uncomfortable talking about the podcast creators using their first names so much. To my ear, referring to a total stranger by first name, especially if it's a shortened form, sounds so rude! I'm not their friend, I don't have that right! But, of course, writing something like “Mr Walker” in my liveblogs would have been even weirder, nobody does that...

Is it a common experience to not even think about fanfiction after listening to Hieron, but going straight to AO3 after C/w? I feel like since Hieron is still a work in progress, writing/reading about it is stepping on the GM&players' toes, and C/w is finished so it's like they gave us the keys to the playground, it's the fandom's turn now. This story has so much blanks and they must be filled! In one of the early episodes they joked that something cute they said would encourage people to ship Mako/Cass and I was like "Bold of you to assume they aren't already" and, indeed, I was right and it's the most popular C/w ship on AO3. Too bad I’m so indifferent to it…

It’s a shame we never had a full scene with Ariadne or even learned what they were up to during the finale.

I still don't understand how Ibex went from “evil CEO” to “leader of a proletarian revolution”, these sound like completely opposite concepts to me

I probably have talked about this too much and have pretty much given up on ever getting a clear picture due to all of these reimaginings but… Righteousness and Voice… Ibex takes Righteousness out of Mako but he still has Voice, that was pretty much openly stated, correct? So how does that work? I’m guessing Righteousness is hidden somewhere in Voice’s code. But if so:

Did Maryland know? On the one hand, she’s too competent not to. On the other, why would she ever allow or accept that?

How did Righteousness not get corrupted by Rigour too? Maybe it did, but broke off the connection with the rest of itself to contain the damage? Or maybe, on the contrary, it kept in contact and was sending intel to Ibex the whole time? But in that case he would have provided more help in the finale.

[oddly-simple]

Blog Post Feb 2, 2021 - Dealing with Creative Block + Recent Ideas

Good afternoon! Since the queue has ran dry, I don’t really have a bunch of art to post. I personally would rather avoid talking about personal stuff here, so my focus with this is to basically talk about art block and get some of my small ideas out because I absolutely love sharing with folks my creative endeavors!

As of late, I’ve had a complicated time with trying to create art for myself or of my own interests/ideas. I could blame it on the fact that I am busy with school, but my workflow for school has improved a ton this semester giving me more free time to actually work on my own projects or to just draw in general. However, it’s been so long since I’ve actually had this sort of time...quite frankly, I don’t know what to do with myself (in this case, art wise).

So. What do I do when I can’t get myself to draw? That’s been hard to answer personally, as of late. Although there’s a struggle, I’ve found that streaming has been helpful. It gives me a sense of community and can make art less a stress (especially when friends talk to me in chat). There are issues I have ran into with it, but initially, I’ve found it fun and relaxing. I’ve thought of ideas that would be fun for streams as well! Like challenges such as:

swapping my characters aesthetics

redraws of old art

modern redesigns of my old characters

Outside of planned things, it creates a good reason to have chill streams as well where I just work on whatever. Character refs, concepts, silly doodle streams, all that business. I did a tester stream not too long ago over on my Twitch and did this little doodle (shown below) just to try things out, and it was really chill and fun!

I don’t get as bad a sense of stage fright with streaming, but I also don’t have a huge following so it’s a lot more cozy to adapt.

But besides that, my spark to create has vanished. More recently I’ll get inspiration from my partner (because they really inspire me when they draw), and then I’ll get really hyped and have a sudden drive to go create something! Then I just don’t.  I’d love to draw more fanart of my interests, get to know more people and make a few friends, but I’m stunted at what to draw and fighting anxiety to post. 

To close, my goal for the year is to continue to do better, better myself, and honestly just find that flow of art I had a while back. Striving for carefree and aimless with my art, but I mostly really wanna show off my characters, ideas, and interests (like I said, I’d really like to get back into making fanart/headcanon doodles again). Only time will tell!

Thank you for reading! Take care! 

[riisinaakka-draws]

It has only been a little over a year since I started watching the show and joined the Black Sails fandom. I posted my first fanart exactly one year ago and it was the one above. Thus far I have drawn over 100 of them. I tried different mediums and styles, both for practice and for capturing the essence of the things I wanted to share. Some of them are great, some are silly, some are a bit out of character or not so good in other ways and some ended up surprising me in many ways. All are nonetheless very precious to me.

Under the read more there's a list of all my doodles thus far. Most of them feature Flint, Silver or both of them (there will be more of the other characters in the future, no worries). I have to admit I laughed quite a lot while going through these again. This is a really long post.

This is a list to show what sort of things there are and also for my own amusement and archiving purposes. The list is in chronological order, from first to the latest.

I tried to make this as concise as possible, but the tag/navigation page is here if you want to find something specific or don’t want to go through all this:

- Flint takes care of Silver's leg in the darkness of the captain's cabin.

- Some quick doodles of Flint, ballpoint pen

- Sharkdate cuties (really scrappy doodles of Silver gazing at munching Flint)

- Progress. A continuation to previous pic. Silver holding a cup, covered in blood and looking affectionally at Flint. Here’s a giffed version.

- Silver and Flint go for a night walk in winter and Flint finds the streetlights amusing. Modern Au, beanies and the BS logo

- “See any treasures, Capt'n?” Billy to Flint who is looking at something “shiny” with his spyglass.

- What if Silver stole that certain ponytail and made it into "a rabbit's foot"? And what if Flint had a medallion with pictures of the Hamiltons and later a lock of dark curls... I returned to this idea several times after this, lol. (still secretly wishing that anyone would write a ficlet about this).

- Overload of Blackbeard - several doodles of different adaptations of BB

- Shark hunting. Flint has the shark on his lap and Silver stands in front of him. Composition inspired by that infamous Wolwerine and Nightcrawler cover.

- A gif of Blackbeard with flowers in his beard (I share a birthday with Ray Stevenson, that's why).

- a quick sketch of displeased Jack

- The Red Lollipop. Flint eating candy which is distracting to Silver, inspired by this awesome post (x). Silver steals the sweets and peels some potatoes. Bonus: Randall and Betsy the Cat.

- Draw me like one of your quatermasters... Flint doodles sleeping Silver in the Captain's log.

- Random sketches of Silver and Flint. Learning to draw their faces

- Flint with a horrible mustache and Silver with a long braided beard. (I should redraw this someday..)

- Flint takes Silver for a ride (modern Au with motorcycles). The Walrus gang follows "the flagship"

- Black Sails moomin AU, part I (I had so much fun with these).

The domestic modern beach au serie with 15+ doodles, various characters, inspired by this hilarious post (x). - Jack takes pictures of everything and Vane ends up buried in the sand - Silver puts some lotion on Flint (Billy tosses people up in the background) - Max and Anne Bonny enjoying each other's company - Rogers is going to get hit by a beach ball "accidentally". Anne, Max, Vane and Jack in the background - Ben Gunn shows his ship kite to Billy Bones - Vane and Flint swim butterfly. Silver (*.*) - Vane flips his hair like a merman, Eleanor is drinking and enjoying the view. - Mr Scott and Mr Gates enjoy their drinks at the bar while others fight in the water. Max and Eleanor gossip together. Anne and Jack hold hands like otters on swim rings. - Silver and Flint sleeping on the sun, Flint has a book on his face - The Ranger Crew swimming. Jack is slathered in sun lotion, Anne waits for him and Vane makes a joke. + Mysterious swimming trunks. - Silver is the sneakiest shit and likes to creep underwater and drag people down by their legs. - Silver and Flint eating ice cream + some early sketches in a gif - the Fucking Warship (minivan) rides to sunset, Vane is forgotten in the sand but do not worry...

- Silver and Flint sing the song "Dynamic Duet" from Starkids' Holy musical B@tman!

- Nooooooooo! Flint shaves his head, Silver doesn't take it well.

- Silver's character development. From little shit to actual scary fuck

- A HUG. (silverflint, done before s4. I really needed a hug)

- Bloodthirsty Bunny & Squinting Squirrel, (furries, i am so sorry)

- Flint brings water to Silver, a scene from the show. <3

- Sweetness of touch. Flint gets his hair/head touched by his loved ones.

The Walrus crew acquires some chicken. A lot of them. And a parrot. - Billy and Joji are tending them - people playing board games and ignoring the chickens - a coc- I mean a rooster between Silver's legs - Silver holding some chickens and Flint meeting "the Captain Flint"

- Flint gets his ginger crown back...sort of

Chickens, part II. Flint sends his regards. Teach has taken Anne and Jack to fishing and they get a surprise "gift" from the Walrus.

Fanart about Silverfin, a thrilling and unbeliavably funny (nsfw) silverflint fic by @jadedbirch and @zoinomiko (can’t tag u for some reason..).

Go read it :D I made some (sfw) fanart inspired by it (spoilers). - a comic of the tragic night - reunion and crowns (˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵)

- (a recap, not really a tutorial) about some of my messy work methods.

- Anne Bonny, without her hat, ready to kick your ass, season 3

- A portait of Max

- Every fashionable pirate captain needs a hat! Silver buys some silly pirate hats. Inspired by @vowel-in-thug​'s fic (part V, nsfw) and the CBeebies Bedtime Story etc.

- "Support". Silver and Flint approaching the Maroon camp.

- A portrait of Long John Silver on his way of becoming the legend

- Swords and time. James McGraw - Captain Flint. Sword placement comparison, gif experiments etc. (I really like this one)

- A canary. Flint finds a sad-looking caged bird aboard a merchant ship and then reads books to it in his cot. Inspired by @old-long-john​'s sweet and beautiful fic (x). Also thanks to @captain-flint​ for spotting the bird cage in s1.

Inktober 2016, 20+ doodles, various characters - Silver, a sad little face doodle - A bringer of death and destruction (Flint as an angel of sorts). Quick doodle with a brush - Silver and Flint. A little doodle with an ink-dipped cotton swap - "Hungry", Silver and Flint find the whale and prepare to hunt sharks. - "SAD?" NOT TODAY! There's always Silver Lining. Silly and shitty puns. - "Hidden", The treasure has been buried. - "LOST", Silver and Flint look for a bird on board the Walrus. - "ROCK", Ben Gunn and Billy Bones play rock-paper-scissors. (sorry, still no better doodle of them) - "BROKEN", Benjamin Hornigold misses his chair. - "Lock the door", Flint on the floor of his cabin when they were becalmed ;_; - "TRANSPORT", Anne Bonny takes Jack Rackham to safety on a horse. - Madi, a little sketch - "Dufresne admires his new tattoo" - "TREE", What difference does it make? Captain Naft shares his insight. Froom and Crisp agree. Morley and Randall (+ Betsy the Cat) are not impressed (for obvious reasons...). - "RELAX", A nice afternoon at the seaside with some of the brothel girls - A little sketch of John Silver again, because I cannot resist him. - "Flint has a meeting with Death". - "ESCAPE", Flint has retired and Silver still sails the seas. Occasionally he visits James and steals some of his baked goods (with some help from his crew and birdies). - "FLIGHT", a sketch of a parrot on a napkin - "SQUEEZE", Jack Rackham enjoying his bath - "LITTLE", a little sketch of Max and Anne kissing in little rain, under Anne's huge hat. - "Surprise", Charles Vane lurking in the water - "And then! You won't believe what the.." Hal Gates and Billy Bones spend their free afternoon gossiping and having fun - "Forget-me-not" / "one dozen", Miranda finds some familiar flowers and thinks about Thomas. - "BURN", Thomas, James and Miranda, just eyes. Inspired by the powermetal duet "Wish I Had An Angel"

- Oooh, What does my reflection shoooow ~. (Lovable) Little shit.

- Accidents with the spyglass. Flint acts like an asshole, Billy and Gates are having none of it, Silver is yet to learn.

- Death builds a raft and follows the Walrus.

- Portrait of Eleanor, the Merchant Queen of Nassau

- "long johns and puns". Silver is looking for a new pirate style and Billy offers to help.

- Black Sails Moomin AU - part II

- Silver at the wrecks, light and visual practise

- Eleanor Guthrie and James Flint, looking in / out. visual practise, parallels and contrasts

- My Heart Will Go On, but I'll keep your ponytail and get a parrot for my duets. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

- Muldoon's tattoo ;_;

Some of the following have season 4 spoilers:

- Eleanor does some embroidery (of bees and fuck-yous)

- How Silver gets his new crutch (Israel Hands is handy)

- Flint and the Wanderer above the sea of fog

- Flint's mouth saying FUCK infinitely, a gif experiment

- "That's my wee lad, Gimli." Berringer's locket and asshole Rogers.

- For a moment there was a Hat Trio. Teach, Jack and Anne

- Silver and Madi, canon kiss

- The Spare Ginger. Silver doesn't like Eleanor's plan. Madi and Israel Hands try to comfort him.

- Eleanor Guthrie, a green portrait

- Long John Silver must make a tough choice, while Flint enjoys his capture at Eleanor's expense

- All those extra spyglasses in 4.08. Maybe the answer was Israel Hands' hoarding.

- Fresh air on the balcony of the Walrus. (a drawing of the ship at night). There're celebrations on the deck, Flint and Silver have a private talk.

I find it endearing how this list ends with the balcony one. Like a parallel (ha!) to the first one, where Flint and Silver are having a private moment on board of a ship, although it is a different ship and at a different time. A year ago I had no idea where this all would lead me and how much I would learn and get to experience *pats my past-self in the back awkwardly and fondly*

Looking back at them (doodles) I feel both proud and slightly embarrassed of my enthusiasm. I have never done anything like this for any other fandom. I have never felt so much and had such an urge to engage in this sort of thing.

This show, its creators and crew, this fandom. Just something unbeliavable.  I cannot find the words to say how much I appreciate you all. The brilliancy, the humour, the love in all kinds of forms. I am so glad I stumbled on this show (it was a gif or a fanvid about ep 2.05 that made me aware of this show, btw. I cannot remember it clearly anymore and for a moment I thought Crossbones was a pilot for Black Sails and almost missed everything, but that's a story for another time...)

Know this: I have loved sharing this experience (the show, the fandom) with you and I appreciate everything you have given to me or shared with me. I will treasure this. (I apologize not thanking more people individually, but this post would’ve never reached its end otherwise).

*throws hearts and forehead kisses to the best and inspiring fandom and the greatest show that broke my heart and healed my soul so many times*

All the possibilities and love to you. Thank you <3

(This is not a goodbye, btw. There’s still so much more to come!) (◠‿◠✿)

P.S. All this started as doodles so that’s why I have kept using that word eventhough it doesn’t really apply to many of these anymore...

[roywaelchi]

Skateboard Artist Profile: Lauren Ramer

New Jersey designer and illustrator Lauren Ramer’s skateboards give us a warm, nostalgic feeling as her graphics remind us of late 80s and early 90s deck designs. It was a time when skateboard graphics, much like the people who rode them, fit in very few scenes outside of its own culture. Of course Lauren has a contemporary take on deck design, but her obvious connection to the genesis of modern day skateboard graphics, and her delightfully repulsive designs, made us very curious about her first exposure to skateboarding as well as her creative process.

What was your introduction to skateboarding?

Growing up I had a lot of guy friends. I would hang out with all the skateboarders and so eagerly want to skate, but, unfortunately, lacked any and all talent for skating. Although I sucked at it, I would still try and I would fall… a lot, especially when I turned 18 and got my first longboard. I hit a huge rock, face-planted in front of my house, and was covered in band-aids for a few days. It was around this age I realized that maybe I would be a part of the community by using my artistic side to design skateboard graphics instead.

During those early days in the skateboarding community, were you influenced at all by skateboard graphics? Was it even something you noticed at the time or do you ever think back to those designs?

When it came to skateboarding the graphics were all I ever saw or noticed. When it came to brand, speed, style, etc. I didn’t really know any of it, but the bright and crazy graphics are what always stood out to me.

Your designs have a classic skateboard graphic feel, combining gross or dark subjects with a playful sense of humor. Was using skateboards as a canvas a natural progression for you or something that was always in your sights as a designer?

Designing skateboards felt like a very natural progression for my art style, especially since the subject matter I like to draw doesn’t fit into a lot of industries.

In the beginning, what drew you towards art or was it just something you always did because it came naturally? What were some of your earliest creations and inspirations?

I have been an artist for as long as I can remember, but I personally feel like I didn’t start finding my style and artistic voice until college. Over the years I tried to experiment with different mediums to find what I like, but I really like pencil and ink drawings followed by digital coloring. It just feels natural! Also, one theme that has really stuck with me through my art development is horror. Through high school a lot of my art revolved around horror, creepiness, and just overall weirdness. I’ve always had a love for horror movies and creepy characters so it felt natural I keep that theme in my work.

My designs always seem to take a cute, light turn and I honestly have no idea why. Whenever I begin a project with the initial thought of “Oh yeah! I’m going to make this gross, disgusting illustration.” it always ends up becoming cute and charming somehow. Also I think my use of bright colors also adds to this.

Who is the artist that inspired you the most when exploring this side of your creativity?

I was always very inspired by 90s cartoons like Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. The weird characters and funky colors always got me so excited. One artist who really inspires me is Chris Piascik. One of my professors at college introduced us to him, and ever since then it made me feel confident that drawing weird and unusual creatures is something people actually want to see!

When creating graphics for a skateboard do you start with the idea that it’s going to look good on a deck or does that realization come after the graphic is completed?

For my skateboards I always take into account the strange long dimensions. I usually start with a small rough sketch of a skateboard shape, then I create my illustrations to fit nicely inside the weird shape. I like to think of things that are tall or long, for instance right now I am working on a really tall and gross cheeseburger deck.

What’s your process for creating a design as a skateboard graphic?

After I have have drawn a little doodle of a design inside a skateboard shape I redraw it at a slightly larger scale on Bristol paper, usually 11 x 14 [inches] or something. This is where I usually take a lot of time to draw in all the details. When I get to the inking phase with pens I don’t like to have to think about anything, so I take my time in pencil mode until I’ve got the drawing to where I like it.

After inking, I scan it into my computer and I color it in Photoshop with my Wacom Cintiq. Adding bright colors is my favorite part. Also, I’m so indecisive about colors. I usually go through like 6 different palette options before I find the one I like.

Describe your work space and the conditions in which you enjoy designing.

Currently I have my own small studio in the second bedroom of my house in which I use to create art. It’s amazing to have my own space considering over the years I never had an art studio. Before this I was living in a small 500 square foot house where my “studio” was just a corner of my kitchen. Now it’s great. I can listen to music or watch It’s Always Sunny… and lock myself in my studio for hours on end. It’s surrounded with all types of art and weird decorations so it definitely makes it feel like home.

Do you figuratively or literally ever go outside of your comfort zone when creating? 

I feel like I haven’t really gone out of my comfort zone in a while, especially with my illustration, but I think that’s because I tend to dabble in quite a few different hobbies and crafts, so I don’t get bored of one thing. For example, I painted a mural in my house a few weeks ago and the style, medium is very different than my illustration. I tend to find other outlets to express creatively so I don’t ever feel a need to leave my comfort zone.

However, I will mention that I am currently doing Inktober this year and, although it’s not totally out of my element, color is my safe space, so doing strictly black and white illustrations is a little scary for me!

What’s the mural you painted in your house?

I feel like most people would expect me to say “Oh I painted a giant monster with boogers” since that is my illustration style, but I actually just painted a really simple mountain scene. I like my house to feel homey and serene. I keep the weirdness to my art studio.

Do you only create digitally or is there another medium you enjoy exploring?

When it comes to my illustration and my style, digital is what I love. However, every now and then I like picking up all sorts of mediums and tools for creating. Sometimes I like sewing and knitting, other times I even like acrylic or oil painting. I think I just prefer digital illustration nowadays since there is no mess and mistakes are easier to fix.

Where does the name Freak Head come from? Why was that choice made for your skate brand name?

When I was trying to think of a name for my boards I wanted something fun and strange. Not sure how those two words came together, but it felt right!

What would be a dream project within the skateboard industry? What about a dream project in general?

For me a dream project isn’t necessarily an individual illustration, but more of a dream to launch my brand into a full on skateboard and apparel company. It’s definitely one of my long term goals, but there’s much work to be done!

What advice do you have for other artists when tackling the concept of putting their designs on skateboards? What general advice do you have for artists getting started?

Just do it! Skateboards are a unique medium in which really anything goes for skateboard graphics. Any gross, pretty, silly, or simple graphic can make an awesome board design. So just start doodling, painting, or whatever it is you do and throw it on a board.

Lauren’s Freak Head skateboards can be seen and purchased at BoardPusher.com/shop/FreakHead, find more of her artwork at LaurenRamer.com, follow her on Instagram and most social channels @laurenramer, and, if you’re fortunate enough to be in Philadelphia this weekend, find her booth at the Philly Punk Rock Flea Market this Saturday, October 27th.

Skateboard Artist Profile: Lauren Ramer published first on https://laderaskateboards.tumblr.com/