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billyboymiki · 3 years

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5 Works Tag Game

Rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (ish) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and post or link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

I got tagged by @tippenfunkaport and @caramelaire for this tag game!!

I’m not one to compliment myself on anything honestly. Recently I remember thinking about how I barely drew anything this year. There was a part of my brain nagging at me to check how much I had drawn last year. So, I uh did. Turns out I drew basically nothing?! I triple checked this in fact. My DeviantART, Tumblr AND my camera roll. Nothing . . . I drew 5 very basic pinback button designs and that was it. I couldn’t believe it; but, it made be feel so much better about what I did this year. Basically my whole instagram is all artwork from this year, since I am actually really new to IG. I got super close to 40 works this year!

Now onto the works! They are in order of when I drew them 😊

Glimmer Inspired Patterns

I wanted to teach myself how to make patterns on Clip Studio so bad! I watched a couple of YT tutorials, and I can’t even remember why I decided to make She-ra ones specifically; I’m glad I did though! The Glimmer one means so much to me. Just looking at makes me so happy! The fact that so many people have now called it ‘aesthetically pleasing’ makes me feel as though I actually created a work that others could relate to. That was enough praise for me; to create something for myself that everyone else loved as well 💖

Glimbow Cuddle

This was my first real She-ra artwork. When I saw there was a Glimbow Week again I knew I had to join this one. I don’t know if anyone knows this; but, drawings take me forever to make. I used to be strictly a traditional artist and still prefer to draw rough drafts on paper. I couldn’t decide if I wanted them on Glimmer’s window seat or in Bow’s dads’ library. I was afraid of doing backgrounds; so, both sounded absolutely terrifying. I decided to go for the fireplace even if it meant fancy lighting on top of the background aspect. I think I actually spent more time on the lighting that’s hitting Bow than on anything else in this picture. It was worth it though. I studied how the show did backgrounds and lighting for a while. I tried so many different attempts at how I wanted it to look and ultimately went with this one! I love it so much 🥺

Bow’s list with doodles

Ah, yes the drawings I did for Tippen’s birthday!! I knew I wanted to draw a scene from ‘Tuna Cans’, but I was worried to try something like this. You see, I’m somebody that likes to stay in a comfort zone and only uploaded fully rendered perfect artworks. This year was the first time that I let the ‘fun’ aspect overrule my perfectionism. I’m so happy that I stepped out of my comfort zone for this, because I love Chibi styles so much. I can’t even explain the absolute joy I had drawing these. I didn’t tell anyone what I was up to, so it was just me laughing at myself for being an absolute goofball. The end result and everyone’s reactions were more than I could have ever expected. I’ve decided I’m going to revive this style soon as well so please look forwards to it!!

Space Suit Squad

Okay, so I cheated a little with this one! I couldn’t just pick ONE of the squad. Honestly though, I drew these with the thought of making them into prints in the back of my mind. I taught myself how to draw a space background and I’m really proud of it! So much in fact that the one in the final pictures is the first and last one I ended up doing! If I had to pick my favorites I think I’d have to pick Glimmer, Bow and then Catra. I LOVE the way I draw Catra I don’t know why? Maybe the eyebrows I’m not sure 🤔 It took me a while to decide on expressions and poses; although, I figured these were the ones because I could look at them and go ‘yep that’s them.’

Winter Glimbow

This one took me soooo long; I actually had to tell myself that I should put my pen down because it was done and I should stop touching it!!! I was sketching pictures in my sketchbook to make more patterns for my Redbubble account, and of course I’m like 100% Glimbow brainrot. My brain went, oooo you know what would be cute? If this skate was actually Bow’s and not just generic. So, I ended up sketching Glimmer’s as well. The heart that their skates make is like the cherry on the top for me, it had to be done! I’m not sure I did the background justice on this one? It doesn’t matter to me though because the concept was worth the effort. It was snowing here and I needed this picture like I needed air, even if it wasn’t even December at the time I posted it 🤣 I liked this one so much that I have similar ideas for the other seasons sketched out as well 👀

I’m sorry that I ramble so often. I’m like this quiet person; yet, it’s hard for me to get out everything I want to say? I’m horrible at it actually my brain runs at a hundred miles a minute and I’m not good with words most of the time. This turned out as more of a thought process than my actual feelings on each one I suppose. SO, in conclusion. I drew A LOT, I stepped out of my comfort zone, taught myself digital art and patterns. I let myself come to terms with the fact that not every piece of art has to be ‘perfect’. I drew at least 5 FULL backgrounds and I never used to draw them! I’ve also always been one for simple shading and lighting, and I do think there’s a time for that type of style, while other times sometimes a more difficult one might be appropriate. I’m glad that I did both because now I know I can do both, and they each give a characteristic that I adore 🥰 Thank you to everyone that has followed me through this journey, or just anyone who read my rambling! I have an honorable mention under the cut and some originals for anyone that made it this far! 💖

I’m not going to tag anyone; but, if you want to do this PLEASE do it. It was so great to reflect on what I did this year, it really surprised me and I think what you have done will surprise you as well! It’s been a rough year, and in the end we have been here supporting each other and that’s one of the most rewarding parts of being in a fandom! 💜

Glimmer screencap redraw

Another picture where I really tested myself on drawing a background! I love it even if it killed my hand!! The background definitely took the longest on this one too. My sister literally said ‘Wait, you did the background? I thought you just drew her?!’ And that was the only validation I needed!! I ended up thinning out Glimmer’s outline so she matched the background better. If you use the vectors on Clip please use this feature! You can do the opposite as well, it’s super useful!

Oh hi! Remember when I said I couldn’t decide between the two locations? Truth is, I also couldn’t decide if I was going to make it traditional or digital. I ended up getting really mad at the traditional version unfortunately. I haven’t gotten the hang of traditional backgrounds. In the end, I should have also done it in Copic and not cheap pencil crayons 😫

Just some space friends! There is something so rewarding about traditional art. Yes, I can see the mistakes and the proportions are most likely off; yet, it doesn’t bother me? I wanted to also show these bonus drawings because nobody is perfect and I thought some of you might like to see some of my process. Being able to hold it in my hands is something I will never tire of, in a way it’s super rewarding. I keep all my art actually and sometimes I like the rough drafts more than the finished work 👀 Outlining artwork can actually ruin the charm every so often 😔 I do really love the final versions of these though!

Annnnnd the last bonus!! As you can tell the final version stayed pretty true to my sketches! I almost went with a more realistic look and made the symbols ‘stitched’ onto the skates. In the end it felt like it didn’t fit the rest of the drawing unless I wanted to add extra details to the clothing as well. The wings on Glimmer’s skates turned into ‘Shwings’ PLEASE tell me other people know what that is? I had a pair a few years ago and misplaced them. I was doing the rough draft and it popped into brain and I treated it as a joke at first, until I gave it a proper chance XD In the end I fell in love with it!!!

#she-ra #spop #fanart #tag game #billyboymiki #Miki speaks #long post #sorry #my art #I actually cried a little writing all of this 😱#the only thing I wanted to do really bad this year was make an spop amv #I might juggle art and making one so I can get one out at some point

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shinahbee · 3 years

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My Suha

Hello! Here is another manhwa feature that I wrote about in my December favorites but i put it under the section where I discussed certain scum antagonists that you will find while reading manhwa especially the ones with mature content. I really like the story overall even though it is for more mature audiences there are subject matters in there that can be relatable to young adults that have been through these situations and that's what I think a good story should include. This story does include sexual abuse and trauma so read it at your own risk , this is not something to glorify but to relay a message that stuff like this happens in reality. I've been reading a lot of darker stories and this is one of the first ones I've read that really left an impression on me. MANHWA SUMMARY: "A skillful secretary by day and choosy cruiser by night, Suha is a young professional who’s in search of some no-strings-attached action. He hasn’t had much luck lately, though, since a handsome face doesn’t always match what’s in a guy’s pants. This might be why he finds himself wondering about his dreamboat boss, Director Park Jiwoon. But there’s no way he can mix business with pleasure… That is, until Jiwoon and Suha run into each other in the gay bar bathroom."

this story mainly focuses on the relationship between jiwoon and Suha, and it is not abusive and very loving in fact,I'm glad that they show the contrast between how suha's previous relationships don't work out because of his trauma and how jiwoon despite being an unwanted heir in his grandmother's eyes was able to give love and protection to the person that matters to him the most. You can gradually see how suha will open up to jiwoon even if a little since he can't ever fully say that he can trust a person, he still wants to believe that he can trust jiwoon and one day give his heart to him fully. I have no doubts that he has feelings for jiwoon he is mainly just being cautious with the whole situation, and I agree with him on that point cause you’ll never know what happens if your relationship doesn’t work out and you don’t want to be too dependent on your partner that you have nothing left, so I understand his view point and why he is so cautious, but also understand that there is trauma involving his past relationships that lead him to a twisted perception of what love is...

So in my December favorites I've talked about some of the scum bags that you will come across while reading some of these manhwa some ranging form mild inconvenience to scum of the earth, there's this scum bag...I even forgot his name but the red haired dude in this story, who is the absolute worse and not only sexually abused Suha when they were younger and also emotionally scar both jiwoon and suha making them feel incapable of being loved. I didn’t get a good feeling form him when he was first introduced and I was right...lol.

I was like “ set that b*tch on fire!!” as soon as i found out what he potentially did.

But at least the comments section was in agreement. You know that one meme in death note where L and light are in the car and L climbs into the front seat and just stares at him...that’s what I was doing whenever this scum shows up.lol.

But in honestly it’s more like this....

they just recently finished season two so it ended for now until the spring, after reading the last chapter i felt very bad for both parties, it was a flash back to when they were younger and focuses on how jiwoon being unable to do anything for suha back when he was still young and suha suffering emotionally from the abuse from the red haired scum i believe, it wasn't disclosed yet as to what actually happened but from the flash backs throughout the series, I can guess that it was predicated on sexual abuse, so before this last chapter jiwoon was drugged by the scum in order to trap suha into leaving him since he didnt want to get in trouble with the grandma who doesn’t like him already. so scum blackmails suha into leaving with him saying that if he does what he wants then jiwoon will be left unharmed...spoiler..didn’t happen, as we all can guess and he had hired people to go rape jiwoon while he was drugged, while he was going to sleep with suha, and of course suha was able to fight back and rushed back to the hotel room to stop those people from rapeing jiwoon, thank god...

so all this to say is that after this traumatic experience, they both had a lot to think about in order to protect the other person, suha was going to confront the scum and convince him to leave them alone, but this family odreal is alot bigger than suha can understand and jiwoon knows the grandma (president ) would not take his side so it would be meaningless to confront the scum cause that is her actual blood-related grandson...as you know blood is thicker than water and she would probably try to cover up his shit even if commits rape and assault...i know shitty humans exist..needless to say this whole thing made jiwoon realize that since suha walked off with the scum the first time after being black mailed it will most likely happen again, so he is essentially going to quarantine him by making him work from home and survalencing him in order to take care of matters on his own. In actuality if this was done to someone it would seem possessive/ obsessive but that’s how jiwoon is if he knows something will hurt suha. and that’s where we are left off.

i'll have to wait and see what the creator has in store for us. I'm not looking forward to it but it really needs to be told in order for me to piece together the entire story line, with that being said I drew this fan art inspired by art that the creator posted on their twitter. I whole heartedly hope that jiwoon and suha will be this happy one day, i decided to just do simple background with roses since the theme that I tried to draw was " first date" hope you get what I'm trying to portray. lol.

i'll link the creators twitter here

twitter.com/chahyun__

please check out her twitter for her exclusive art and updates on the manhwa, and support her by reading it on Lezhin Comics!

if you like this and want to see more manhwa features please give this a like and comment down below if you have read it and what you think! please follow me on my social media below for future updates!

sheena

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SOCIAL MEDIA:

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Instagram: shinb_art

Deviantart: she-be.deviantart.com

Tumblr : shinahbee

#my suha #shounen ai #korean manhwa #yaoi #yaoi couple #manhwa couple #manhwa fanart #boys love #bl fanart #manhwa review #digital painting #digital art #anime and manga #manga review #manga fanart #manga illustration

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mlpdestinyverse · 5 years

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“Overpriced”

Freelance artist Monochrome has the misfortune of facing a particularly unpleasant customer.

Feat: Monochrome

On Deviantart where this story was first posted, this was a fun introductory story part I did for Monochrome when I first created them! Instead of uploading it once the “right time” in the timeline comes, I thought I’d just post it now since it has no important story relevance other than getting a glimpse at Monochrome!

Story Under The Cut!

Stallion: !!! -stares starry eyed at the paper in his hooves, containing a sketch strongly resembling him- GAH this was so worth the wait! -grins at the monochromatic pony before him- I can’t wait to show my friends!! Thank you so much! Monochrome: -smiles softly- You’re welcome. Enjoy your sketch. -As the stallion happily trots away, a mare begins striding over to Monochrome’s makeshift drawing stand at the side of a sidewalk. Monochrome is hunched over the sketchbook in their hooves, flipping through the pages until the mare’s approaching hoofsteps catch their attention- Mare: Hey! You’re the one whose drawings I keep seeing around, right?? I really love your work! I absolutely NEED one of myself. -fluffs hair with a serene smile- Got a boyfriend to impress~ How about it? Monochrome: -nods- Of course. -begins to open their sketchbook- I have two commission options, one being a ten minute sketch for seven bits and the other a twenty minute sketch for fourteen bits, if you have the time to sit with me for that long- Mare: -eyes widen and her head jerks back in disbelief- WHAT?! Wait, seven bits for a measly SKETCH?! Are you serious? Monochrome: ….-slowly closes sketchbook- Yes... I am. If my business isn’t for you, ma’am, then please enjoy your day- Mare: No no no, stop. Where are these prices coming from? It should be five bits at the most! If it doesn’t even take you an hour, why are you charging THAT much? Monochrome: -slow blinks at her with half-lidded eyes- Well ma’am, it took me nearly twenty years of practice to develop my talent and to draw as fast and as well as I do. I’m charging you based on my skill. I’m not one to undercharge myself, which is something many artists tragically do, despite the time and effort they put into their art. Like everyone else making a living, we too deserve to be paid for our work. Mare: -scoffs, staring at Chrome condescendingly- You shouldn’t compare doodles to actual USEFUL jobs. And skill?? How arrogant are you? When you really look at them, your drawings aren’t all that great you know. HAH, seriously, look at how messy and smudgy they are! Monochrome: -opens their sketchbook and takes their pencil into their wing, nonchalantly sketching- Because they were done in under half an hour. More time means more detail and a cleaner finish, but since few ponies passing by want to stand around for hours on end when they have places to go, these are my cheapest and fastest commissions to offer. -briefly glances back up before returning their eyes to their paper- You get what you pay for, ma’am. And I offer quality when paid the given price my work deserves. As a result, my clients leave happy. Mare: You’re a crook, that’s what you are! An arrogant, money-stealing scammer! How could you charge these poor ponies so much?! If you’re so passionate about your “gift”, you might as well do it for free instead of being so selfish about it! Monochrome: -still sketching- Mmhm. The last time I checked, ponies have been willingly paying me, and have left with exactly what they wanted. I make sure of it. So no scamming has occurred here. -briefly glances up again- Meanwhile...you’re still here. So I’m guessing you’re still expecting me to change my mind. Mare: -scowls- One. Bit. For a two-minute drawing. That’s all you’re getting from me. I promised my boyfriend one of these damn sketches, and by Celestia I will GET one. Monochrome: ...you want me to draw a stick figure that badly, ma’am? Mare: -lets out a high-pitched growl- YOU- YOU-!! UGH, you know what, whatever!! You may be tricking everypony else, but you’re not tricking me! I’ll make damn sure anyone who hasn’t crossed you yet knows how much of a fricken cheap ass you are! We’ll see if you’ll get customers then- -she cuts herself off as Monochrome suddenly rises, stretching their wings out to their full length. Somehow she had not noticed the other pony’s much larger, leaner stature until now, nearly towering over her- Monochrome: -after stretching, Chrome takes down their pinned up sketches from the board behind them, tucking them into their sketchbook before giving her yet another unconcerned gaze- Well. Good thing this is just extra pocket money. I have far more respectful ponies and regulars who are more than willing to pay for my complex pieces, you see. Ponies who won’t insult my talents and throw temper tantrums when they can’t get what they want. So I believe I’ll get by just fine, thank you. -before the mare can respond, Chrome rips out the sketch they had been working on, handing it over to her- Monochrome: This is going nowhere, so I’ll be taking a lunch break now. But as consolation, you can have this. Enjoy the rest of your day. -tucks their sketchbook under a wing before trotting away- Mare: ??? -glances at the paper….only to see Monochrome’s exact face, deadpan and disinterested as it had been through the whole conversation, staring back at her in messy sketch form- ???? -whips around, and realizes there’s a line of mirrors in a store’s display case right behind her. Which meant the whole time they were talking, and every time Chrome glanced up, they were... Mare: UUGH! -rips the drawing up and stomps on it with childish fury- -Despite the distance they’ve made between them and the mare, Monochrome can faintly hear the mare’s angry noises. They feel the corner of their mouth twitch upwards, but decide to focus on getting those well-deserved hayfries…-

#Destinyverse #my little pony #Monochrome Dashielle #mlp art #mlp #mlp oc #story

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athingofvikings · 6 years

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So, I Have A Stalker...

So, I have a stalker. Specifically, and I am naming names here, he goes by ZerotheVman (Discord)/Candelediva (DeviantArt)/SpyMain2002. I just had to ban him from my Discord server for the second time, and will be turning off anon asks here on Tumblr shortly, as well as removing the link to join the Discord server, which will now require people to ask to join. It sucks, but I’ve had enough of this guy.

The full details below the cut:

Here’s the timeline. He joined my Discord server for the first time six months ago, and started to draw fanart for A Thing Of Vikings, doing a handful of sketches of my Greek dragons from that fanfic. Then he asked me if he could create something original to include in the fic. I gave him a maybe, and he made a dragon specifically based on Jurassic Park’s Indoraptor, adding a lot of details of how he envisioned it would function and fit into the world--details that were fundamentally unworkable as written. And when I looked at what he’d created, I said that it would be extinct in ATOV’s timeline.

He threw a tantrum, demanding to know, “Why should I make it extinct? Can I have three reasons why I should make it extinct?”

That was the first red flag.

But I explained, patiently and at length, why it would be extinct, and he backed off for a week.

That started a period of what I can only call harassment, looking back on it.

He started spamming the fanart channel with his original creations, including passive-aggressively using the phrase “Uber-Cool McDeath Dragon” that I’d used for describing his Indoraptor knockoff.

He would repeatedly ping me for attention on Discord, to the point that I turned off the Discord display option for what I was playing and set myself to Do Not Disturb.

He repeatedly and directly asked for ATOV spoilers, especially regarding Drago.

He had an idea for a fanfic that he claimed was recursive fanfic of ATOV, but when he laid it out, it was very clear that his idea was In Name Only, and was really more a HTTYD-flavored fanfic of Stargate and 10,000 BC. So I said that it wouldn’t be recursive fanfic, and he backed down. Then a week later, he posted this:

When I called him on the inclusion of “ATOV” in it, noting that we’d discussed that it was not recursive fanfic of my story, his response was “Whoops.” And now I’m looking back at it and there was no way it wasn’t a deliberate “mistake” to see if he could get that past my boundaries.

He tried to ask if he could join the beta reader team.

He implied as if he could give spoilers for the fic, repeatedly stating that he hadn’t posted any, only reposting ones that I had given out previously.

And, repeatedly, he asked me in direct messages if he could design dragons for inclusion. I gave an emphatic no, and he backed off. Then a week or so later, he again asked--asking variations on the subject at least six times between July and September before I finally started giving strikes to him, which made him stop.

In general, it was very clear that he had no conception of boundaries, and he felt that it was merely a matter of persistence before he could muscle his way in and start using my story as a vehicle for his creations.

The last straw was me getting a review on AO3 that was letting me know that there were worldbuilding and continuity errors in “what you posted on DeviantArt”.

He had posted two of the pieces of fanart that he’d drawn for ATOV to his DA account, candelediva--complete with the detailed information that he’d included when he’d originally posted it to the Discord server (and which I had said would not fit with the story), plus additional extra points, and no disclaimer that they were inspired by someone else's work.

Here are screenshots I took:

Some of the more egregious additions from what he posted to the server are highlighted in red.

As you can see, he also had a week to respond to PoeticalHufflepuff and explain that they were from a story that was not his.

But he didn’t. And when I confronted him, he proceeded to leave the Discord server rather than be banned. I still blocked him, though.

I then made this post, defining which social media accounts were mine, including my new DeviantArt account.

So what does he do? He starts stalking me. The very next day, he starts messaging me on DeviantArt. He leaves messages like this one in the edit log on TVTropes:

I had to block him on DeviantArt, Discord, and Tumblr. And yet, he wouldn’t take a hint.

Then, last week, on Nov 16, a new user joined the ATOV discord server:

SpyMain2002 (which was immediately edited to display as SpyMain2004).

Within a day, I was suspicious at the parallels.

Same age (based on the 2002).

Same time zone.

Dark Souls III fan, same as Zero

Indoraptor fan, same as Zero

Asked a question about the server’s bot, which Zero did as well, and nobody else has.

Identical speech patterns

Both Zero and SpyMain used TF2 icons of the Spy.

One of his reviews on AO3 under the new name was a request for spoilers

Then, on the 18th, he mentioned that he’d just found this tumblr (which he would have needed to do in order to join the server), and out of all of the posts on it, he specifically brought up the one that mentioned Zero’s prior behavior.

When I proceeded to give my honest opinion of Zero’s prior behavior, he reacted defensively, and made an explicit comparison to Icarus.

About an hour ago, after I pinned him in a direct lie on Discord, I gave up on waiting and messaged him directly.

And I banned him from the server.

Then I checked and consider this absolute and definitive confirmation:

Note the timestamps.

Within fifteen minutes of him making an edit with his new sockpuppet account--who, mind you, does not have anything out of the ordinary to it beyond my suspicions and me having caught him in a direct lie about TVTropes signup procedures--he’d switched back to his usual account to leave a message to try to dissociate himself from that account’s actions.

Being blunt...

HOW WOULD VMAN0 KNOW THAT SPYMAIN2002 WAS A SUSPICIOUS ACCOUNT, IN THE SPACE OF FIFTEEN MINUTES, IF THEY WERE NOT THE SAME PERSON?

So, yeah.

Yay. I have a stalker--and a particularly incompetent one at that. I’ll be sending the link here to the TVTropes team to see if I can get either the page protected or his account suspended.

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titleknown · 7 years

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Advice on Making Good Creepypasta OCs

So, as it’s about to be the start of the Spookiest Time Of The Year, by which I mean the Halloween season, by which I mean the beginning of August…

Boy does Halloween season start earlier and earlier every year, and yet nobody ever complains about it like they do Christmas. I suppose that a holiday about self-expression and weirdness is probably more welcome exposure-wise than a holiday about conformity and tradition, but that’s for another post.

Anyhoo, since it’s Almost Time, I figured I might as well do an advice guide on how to make some good Creepypasta OCs. Because, when created from scratch as characters rather than emerging from a “main” creepypasta, most of them tend to be Usual Deviantart Characters + Warmed Over Slasher Movie Cliches. And while that has its charm, I think we can do better.

So, what is my advice? Follow me after the break!

One of the main problems I see is, again, there’sso much aesthetic interbreeding, hence why you see so many Deviantart-lite pasta OCs, because so many of them come from Deviantart and copy the “pattern” they see from other Pasta OCs.

Well, first off, draw directly from the source for Creepypasta inspiration. Because, despite is use widening, the term Creepypasta does bring up what I would call a “house feel,” but a lot of people don’t know where that comes from so they end up not quite understanding the core of why it feels unique.

The long and short of it is, Creepypasta draws from forteana + weird fiction. So, for the former, look at the various testimonies of IRL-type supernatural or generally strange stuff, cryptids like Mothman or the Hopkinsville Goblins; bizarre natural phenomenae like strange rains or bizarre locations; or IRL terrifying cults like the Solar Temple or the Ripping Crew, and so-on.

For the latter, Lovecraft’s always a good place to start; because despite his notoriously bad (Like, even for its day) racism, the man was always good at setting a scene and creating an atmosphere and very specific feel. And check out his contemporaries too, like William Hope Hodgson; Robert Chambers or the excellent story The Night Wire, or modern weird fiction like the manga Fourteen or the works of Junji Ito. Or check out some of the more odd horror films that fit under the lable of “weird fiction,” which I will likely eventually make their own post on, but I’ll give Phantasm; Videodrome, Tourist Trap and Suspiria as a few very good examples.

But, a lot of people draw only from fiction, so my next piece of advice would be draw from yourself. Every creator brings their particular fears and aesthetic interests to the table, it’s what makes them unique, so one might ask, “What are yours?”

To talk of other Creepypasta characters, Harmburger comes from Jonathan Wojcic’s fascination with juxtposing cartoonish whimsy with absolute nightmare with hints of social satire, and Candle Cove comes from Kris Straub’s fascination with the slippery nature of memory. Find what sorts of looks you like, but also what subject terrifies and fascinates you. Even if that results in; like; a Homestuck Troll who jumps out of toilets to grab you or a buff guy with a Jojo stand that uses illegal wrestling moves, it’s still more interesting than the usual warmed-over kinda thing.

Of course, that’s only half the battle, inspiration. The rest is thinking of the character as an isolated character, able to exist independently of a work (Which a lot of Creepypasta antagonists aren’t).

So, the advice becomes think about what makes your character different from others, rather than similar. And I’m not just talking about “Mine has a bow on it!” Look at Slender Man, Harmburger, RED, the Rake, ect. They’re all wildly different, even in terms of shillouette, so go for distinct first.

If you want a quick starting point for uniqueness, try going non-humanoid with your concept; because I’m shocked at how few non-humanoids there are as Creepypasta Ocs even though they make up a good proportion of the Iconic Creepypasta Foes. Or go even weirder and make them an abstract force; like Uzumaki’s Spirals or the eponymous “show” of Candle Cove. Tho this stretches the definition of “OC,” you’d be surprised...

And, that’s another thing, add personality; not lore. Because, a horror creature gets less scary the more is revealed about it, but that doesn’t mean that; despite what Highbrow Horror People like @afloweroutofstone say; good horror can’t come from them as characters. In fact, I’d argue that great antagonists/monsters are one of the things that makes horror great; and an area incredibly neglected by that branch of Serious Analysts who don’t love monsters, but that’s for another post.

You can give an idea of how they’d act; what they’d do in a certain situation; what their motives and possible origins are; but never fully tip your hand. Always leave a “space” in the ideas behind them to perhaps fill out later; but usually to keep a perpetual mystery. Always keep ‘em guessing, but also be sure that what they do see and what is revealed is interesting and fascinating in the way the best characters are.

And, that leads to my last idea, know what stories can be told with them. Because, as much as I love characters-as-worldbuilding-elements, when it comes to rubber hitting the road; the best way to make a character compelling is to tell the dang story with them, and given they’re meant to presumably exist in multiple stories the way the most recurring Creepypasta characters are; or heck even the most recurring characters in general like Conan or Sherelock Holmes; you need to figure out what sorts of stories they appear in and what they do in those stories.

Relevant to the point before this; there always should be enough mysterious threads that you don’t quite reveal the ends to; but in every story you use them in; the reader should have enough information to understand what’s going on in the A Plot, even if the larger world has aspects left a mystery. That’s the difference between Alien and Prometheus, and that’s one of the big differences between a good Creepypasta and a bad one...

I’ll probably be adding to this article in the future, given I’m kinda writing this in a rush via reasons of irresponsibility, so feel free to let me know what I could add or how I could do better.

And, if you want to support me, feel free to join my Patreon, where you get previews and, at the higher tiers, even polls on what you want me to do next and art commissions. I

n fact, that’s how I chose this article idea. Huzzah!

#creepypasta #creepypasta ocs #writing advice #drabbles #sorta

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insertvisualinput · 7 years

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Artist Asks Meme (Long Post Alert)

I took the questions from this post, and decided to just answer all of them without waiting for prompts, because... why not?

Also, apologies for the long post. I could have put all this under a cut, but I want it to show in its entirety on my blog page. I will tag from now on all posts like this under “long post”, if that is something you would like to blacklist from your dashboard.

1. When did you get into art? As soon as I could hold a pencil. Sure, I may have held it like Beast initially held his spoon in Disney’s The Beauty and the Beast feature film, lacking the finer motor skills due to me being barely out of diapers. That didn’t stop me from drawing thousand legged potatoes and trying to pass them as horses. However, I suppose art became to hold a deeper meaning to me during my last years of elementary school, and all the way through junior high. I had finally become deeply depressed due to bullying and being ostracized by my fellow children. My family was having a difficult time as a whole, and I decided to bottle everything in, thinking I’d only cause more worry otherwise. I would eventually come to harbor suicidal intentions. During that time drawing became an outlet for me to both express and process my emotions, so it naturally became an important necessity in my daily life. It may very well be that was something that ultimately gave me just about enough strength to keep moving forward. Unfortunately, l would later lose my passion to do art. I didn’t really see eye to eye with my high school art teacher, and that really ate at my love for doing art, seeing as it had always been something very closely linked to myself and my enjoyment rather than that of other people. I got tired going about my art as I was expected to. It would take years for that passion to rear its head again. So here I am now, learning everything all over again! 2. What art-related sites have you ever signed up for? I started out on Elfwood in my teens, then also signed up for deviantART. I eventually deleted both of these galleries, once I stopped making more art and checking the activity on these sites started to feel like a chore rather than something fun. Now I have a gallery on deviantART once again, which I update pretty much whenever I have the intention to put something up on Tumblr as well. But I definitely consider my dA account more of a means to keep in touch with a couple of cool people and their artistic endeavors. This Tumblr gallery I consider more my “real gallery”... for no particular reason really. 3. Show us your oldest piece of art you have on hand. FEAST THINE EYES.

This is not the oldest one I have on hand, though. That one has already been posted separately on my blog. 4. What defines your artistic style? That is ridiculously hard to answer to be honest. I experiment so much it becomes difficult even for myself to pinpoint what exactly it is that defines my style. There are certainly some recurring elements, like how my humans tend to have elongated, exaggerated bodies (which is something you can already see in that older drawing above). I suppose that’s one thing that defines my style - a type of exaggeration of proportions and lines. I don’t really give a shit about the dos and don’ts regarding how to make art. Legs for example bend in ways they shouldn’t, and it’s a purely artistic choice from my part. I think it adds a layer of expression to my work, without which the piece would be a lot more boring to look at. I suppose the fuckton of experimentation I do is also something of a defining feature in my art, but it’s more of a personal element than something others can recognize my art by. 5. Do you practice other styles/have you tried other styles in the past? Welp, I think I pretty much brushed on this already above there on question four. Yes, I do, and yes, I have. 6. What levels of artistic education have you had? I have no formal education whatsoever. Though, I did take one course at my local adult education centre. It assembled only about once a month for half a year. It was an alright course, but the teacher’s tips felt very blatantly influenced by her own personal tastes in art. I felt like I was being pushed to express myself in ways that didn’t really feel like me at all, so in the end I never showed up for the last gathering. 7. Show us at least one picture you drew or sketched recently that you did not put on a public site. This practice picture drawn with ink didn’t make the cut mostly because I used the exact same perspective and general composition as for my Cheap Art Supply Challenge piece. But also because I am not that fond of it.

8. What is your favourite piece that you have done? A lot of times I just like the newest piece I’ve made the most, but there are certain works that hold additional value to me even when time passes. It’s been four years since I made it, but I’m still fond of this painting. It was the first time in years that I took up watercolours again, so the piece holds certain personal value to me. For that reason, I could even go as far as calling it my favourite. 9. What is your least favourite piece that you have done? I’m not sure I can decide. Not because I’d have so many not-faves, mind you! I can look back to the pieces I’ve made and think the ideas weren’t as cool as I thought back then, or that the techniques are horrible in comparison to what I’m capable of now. But I still do not really dislike them, because they remind me of how far I’ve come, where my foundations are, and which elements I decided to stick with. They remind me of the steps I’ve taken, and so I can’t really dislike them. 10. What do you like most about your art? Hmm, I think my favourite element in my art is just how unpolished a lot of it is. Like I have no qualms about leaving details vague. For example, a lot of times I draw less details on hands if the body shape is my primary interest in a piece I’m working on. Detailed works are very cool to look at, but there is also nothing wrong with leaving things to the viewer’s imagination, or leaving certain parts simple in order to encourage the viewer’s gaze to move where you want it to. 11. What do you like least about your art? I can’t really say. Despite all my artistic shortcomings, I am rather fond of it overall... Maybe just my lack of readiness to draw more diverse body types? Which is more of an occasional “Should I be doing that?” type of thought, rather than something I perspire over every time I draw and see I have once again created something of the lean and mean variety. 12. Have you ever considered taking commissions? Yes, and I have done some commission work in the past. Currently I have no particular drive to take new ones, however, as I’m more interested in experimenting different things as I see fit. 13. Are you looking to pursue a career in art? Not really. There was a time when I entertained that thought, but realistically speaking, I don’t think I’d work too well under the constant pressure of having to be as productive as possible at all times. I would quickly lose what art means to me, and with that, the joy it gives me. It’d just become another thing I must do to make ends meet. That, I do not want. 14. What do you like drawing the most? Human faces and animals are the most relaxing thing for me to draw, and looking at my sketchbooks, drawing them seems to be bordering on obsession. Other things I enjoy drawing, though less often, are unnecessarily long legs, skeletal figures, and armour.

15. What do you like drawing the least? Backgrounds. I have yet to figure out how to get them to look like they are actually part of the picture and not just their separate thing that is there. Environments overall are rather tricky for me, though I have made some brave attempts. Buildings are hard. Drawing lush vegetation is hard. Having very little patience a lot of times doesn’t encourage learning either. 16. Do you draw more fanart or original art? If fanart, what fandom do you draw the most of? Original art, which you might not guess looking at my blog here, since I started it just when I was about to go on a fanart loop for quite a few months. Wanting to draw fanart comes to me in certain intervals. Overall, however, I find it way more fun to draw whatever comes out of my head and hand, rather than following an already existing example. 17. What would you absolutely refuse to draw? Smut. It’s just not something I feel compelled to create. 18. What is your purpose for drawing? It makes me happier. I was going to go on a tangent about how it calms me and how meditative drawing is, how it gives me that feeling of having accomplished something, etc. - but what all that really boils down to is that simple statement. Drawing makes me happier. 19. What medium/program do you use the most in your art? Ink and watercolour are what I use the most by far. There’s something lovely about watching them spread and mix uncontrollably on a wet surface. Every now and then I get into the mood of trying other types of traditional media, though, like acrylic paint and oil pastels. Right now I’d really like to try my hand at encaustic painting... but getting the necessary equipment is an investment of over a hundred euros. That’s far too much for me in my current situation.

20. How would you rank your art? (poor, mediocre, good, etc.) I am sorry, but I will flat out refuse to answer this one. Ranking one’s art encourages comparison to people you admire. I am really hard pressed to see how this could be anything but toxic. 21. Do you believe there is such thing as “bad art?” Maybe. Art that never evolves anywhere, in any way, but remains absolutely stagnant? Be it on a personal level, or on a more encompassing level that challenges already existing traditions of art. On a personal level it doesn’t need to be very visible evolving either. In my mind, it’s enough if it’s something as small as “I have come to use this one colour I never before felt I could use with success.” If the question comes down to something as mundane as “Do you enjoy the art you see or do you not” being the defining element that discerns good art from the bad... Then my answer would be no, there is no such thing as bad art. I could never claim there is with good conscience, based only on my subjective likes and dislikes. 22. List at least one of your “artspirations.” Oh, I have so so many! And not all of them related to visual arts, even. But there is no point in making such a long list, so here are but a few of them: Gustave Doré and his many illustrations. I am particularly fond of the ones he made for Don Quixote and Orlando Furioso. Yoshitaka Amano. I find myself rather drawn to the elegance displayed in many of his paintings and drawings. Albrecht Dürer and his highly detailed woodcuts. Ayami Kojima and her masterful use of traditional means. She is self-taught too, which in and of itself is inspiring. Lian Quan Zhen and the beautifully lush colours in all his watercolour works. Paul Koudounaris and his absolutely gorgeous photographs of the lovingly decorated catacomb saints. (Picture below from his publication Heavenly Bodies, Thames Hudson Ltd, 2013.)

23. What do you think you could stand to improve on? Everything. I’m not really the type to stop and think I shouldn’t strive to improve more on a certain area just because I happen to like whatever I’m already doing. There are always elements I can refine, new methods of expression to test, and just plain something I could do better or at least differently enough to keep things interesting for myself. 24. Do you have a shameful art past? (recolour sprite comics, tracing art, etc.? Oh no, why end on such an embarrassing note! Cruel, cruel person, that came up with these questions. The short answer is yes. The long answer is, well, I would copy other people’s artwork, making only about just enough changes to replace the characters they drew with my own ones. Just thinking about it now makes me cringe! In case you were left wondering: None of those pictures were ever published anywhere, and have long since been burned with fire. And that’s an accurate description of what happened to them. All of them.

--- Turns out some versions of this meme also include: 25. Draw a picture! So here’s a quick pooch. Thanks for reading!

#artist ask meme #artist meme #blatherings #sketchbook stuff #long post

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