#new coloring + linework style i think it fucks

[twiststreet]

Brain went down a rabbit-hole until I ended up googling "Sal Buscema inked by Bill Sienkiewicz."

Buscema was a traditional comic artist at the end of his career-- end of career can be a rough place to see a comic artist work (Simonson great still, but I think that's rare; it's not the era of Kirby's career I'd recommend, say, that final spate). And i wouldn't say I'm a big Sal Buscema fan, generally-- I mean, the opposite: I think he's usually uninspired, even in his prime (which are, what, Sin Eater and Secret Empire in Captain America?? I mean. Maybe I'm forgetting the "Good Stuff" but). I just don't think he's the good part of those stories; he's just sort of a guy who was around, for me.

But they paired him with Bill Sienkiewicz on Spectacular Spiderman in 1995--ish-- I think this after Big Numbers had fallen apart, maybe even after the Hendrix book was finished; basically, maybe not peak but near-peak Sienkiewicz.

1995 was at a time where comics were especially unforgiving to its veterans-- it's never great for the veterans, but I want to say this was around the same time Herb Trimpe couldn't find work and tried to reinvent as a Liefeld clone, to pretty ... I mean, not-celebrated results; Trimpe famously had a rough enough exit they wrote about it in the New York Times. So whoever was the editor really did something, finding a way to keep Sal Buscema in the mix, at a minimum.

Sienkiewicz brought the kineticism and nonsensical chaos to the linework the market demanded in 1995, and that Buscema couldn't do on his own-- Buscema kept Sienkiewicz on a set of rails and tethered to the Planet Earth and not spiraling out of control, that it sure seems like Sienkiewicz maybe still needs; his Wikipedia bio just sort of stops being interesting sometimes in the 90's. Just a real collission of styles, context, careers, biographies going on over in a mostly-forgotten Spectacular Spiderman run.

Sometimes wildly unsuccessfully! But sometimes you see bits that could be in any later/ "modern" comic-- the rendering on Doc Ock's face on this page feels very "current" to me; or there are other pages that almost look like early Jock. But the interesting thing is: I don't think of it as a "marriage of styles" at all, though. You can still see Sal Buscema's boring-ness on the page (and I'm sure people disagree but I think he's just a very boring artist), but then there's this emotionality to it that Sienkiewiciz is bringing that somehow makes it strange and memorable, more than successful.

This double page splash of Spiderman facing off villains-- it's basically boring! The composition is so perfunctory; the poses are all, you know, Great American Songbook superhero comic poses. It's just a boring splash. But then Sienkiewiciz is trying to wild out on it anyways-- I mean, what are even half of these lines?? Look at those lines at the bottom, where he's cutting into the silhouette of the edge of the subway platform! Look at those lines on the right and how they cut into the shadow of the girl's jacket. What the hell are those lines supposed to be doing?? They're crazy-- it's great.

Is it a great splash page? FUCK NO! I don't think it shakes off how rote it is-- it's just not cool. But it's at the same time... I think it's fun to look at?? I think this boring splash of Peter Parker is another good example. It's totally uninspired and totally alive, at the same time, on the same page. (Compare it to Sienkiewiciz and John Buscema and I mean... it's a very different thing!). Comic people talk about collaboration and the power of collaboration, but here, I don't think this is that. I don't think this is a "great collaboration" so much as like... When that album Night Ripper came out with all the mashup songs, Girl Talk or whatever, and it'd be fun to be like "Ahhhh, I know this song"...even when it was songs I didn't like. Because it was just presented in a way that I did like.

(Comic Art Fans has color guides for some of the pages from John Kalisz-- I can't imagine this page printed how it was intended, but).

Anyways, I had a whole thing I wanted to do today but instead I wrote this garbage for some dumb reason. I gotta rally, fuck. Anyways.

#worst hobby or worstest hobby

[huihuiheart]

Tattoo/Piercing Artist Series: Song Mingi

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Warnings: Tattoos, piercings, needles, potential mildly suggestive themes, in all this should be relatively SFW, cursing

Do they do tattoos? Piercings? Both?

Both. I think he might have a preference or at least do more tattoos than piercings, but perfectly comfortable doing both. If it’s not his style though he likely won’t be doing it at all, unless it has caught his eye for some other reason.

What is their personality?

EXTREMELY flirty and sexual. Confident as all get out. Teasing about it too, he knows he looks good and that you’ll stare as he works and he thrives off of it. He’ll make you feel amazing about how you look with the new tattoo or piercing though, making sure you never doubt the beauty of it.

What is there style?

Dark colors and revealing more often than not. Occasionally will change up the colors for something silky or velvety. Always revealing though. Loves wearing chains and hats.

Do they have any specialties?

Sexy. Tramp stamps. Chest. Hips. Waist. Thighs. If it’s somewhere scandalous he’s all for it and he knows what he’s doing! Also all for intricate or bold designs, linework is his specialty. I also see 90% of what he does being blackwork if not all of it. As for piercings also anything bold or scandalous, not that he doesn’t know how to do others, but yeah.

Do they have any tattoos or piercings themselves? Are they self done?

Both. For the most part he’s not shy about showing them off either. It’s interesting though, because he’s not going to have just any standard piercings/tattoos done. He might not even get lobe piercings still. I feel like chest tattoos, some on his arms though perhaps not a sleeve, some on his hips/waist, and thighs. As for piercings I think he has nipple piercings he keeps not hidden persay, but doesn’t blatantly show off. He also might have lip or tongue piercings. I don’t think he’d risk doing them on himself though, probably had someone else do them for him.

How popular are they?

Extremely. Man stays busy. Doesn’t matter how much time he shows he’s available for, he could be booked for all of it. I see him being the type to only schedule certain pieces though. Also having somewhat random hours. Like if you want it done, it’s definitely going to be up to chance.

Are they flirty?

Unless you’re obviously uncomfortable, then yes. The entire fucking time at that. Without an ounce of hesitation in his being. It’s like a whole part of the experience, especially with the type of tattoos he tends to be doing. Though he would never make anyone uncomfortable. 

What do they do to deal with a nervous/scared customer?

Flirt or tease if it seems like a distraction would help.  His confidence keeps him from being  fazed though, stays calm, collected, and cocky as ever. His calmness seems to rub off some too, which is good. He’s pretty chill if you aren’t, which certainly helps. 

Are they solo or part of a larger parlor? 

Solo. Might do events with other artists or travel to parlors, but to be honest I see him more of having his own little place hidden away somewhere. Something personal, intimate, to his liking.

Are they a professional or underground artist? 

Definitely see him as more of an underground artist. No doubt about it.

What’s their price point?

Man is expensive. In like the he knows his worth kind of way though, not the I’m going to overcharge you because I’m popular and I can kind of way. Trust me, that price for his skills and the experience is more than worth it every fucking time.

Is there anything they won’t do? 

I don’t think that there’s anything he hasn’t done. Just like I said I feel like he’d be a little picky most of the time. He has very specific preferences and he doesn’t need to fill time with stuff outside of those.

What to expect from them?

Getting something done by Mingi is always an experience. You’re what determines what kind of experience that is though, from chill and casual to flirty and heated, or anywhere in-between.

What is their favorite tattoo/piercing of theirs? 

Maybe his chest tattoo, it draws attention to him in the most of perfect of ways. He likes things that stroke his ego. 

What is their favorite place to tattoo/pierce?

I feel like his favorite place to tattoo would be thighs. He thinks thighs are attractive and he just loves making them even prettier, or better yet helping you find the beauty in your thighs by putting artwork on them. 

“Stay still for me pretty thing, we wouldn’t want anything to happen to such a piece of art as you. Now be good and let me add to the art that is your body.”

[forcesensitivebantha]

i feel unhinged.

#jaster mereel #tor vizsla #star wars #star wars legends #open seasons #jango fett open seasons #tristans art boogaloo #jastor #new coloring + linework style i think it fucks #theyre in college and doing a group project

[maladaptah]

Redraws the same thing over and over again cause you decide halfway through that actually a different style would look better and then restart again because you thought of a better pose and then restart again because you wasted a week restarting and improved in skill during that time so you can sketch a better version and then you go back to the old one because… wait that one actually looked better and so you finally start coloring it and then realise you don’t know how you want to color it and so u try a new coloring style and then you look at the improved version of the sketch halfway through colouring and think that one looks better actually so you start coloring that one and then you finish coloring and decide you want to paint it actually and the linework doesn’t work well with the colors and so you start painting on top of it and then you look at the old half colored in version and think actually I just want to flat color this it’s taking too much time and effort I jsut want this done fucks sake and then u realise u have 3 unfinished drawings of the exact same dog slowly driving yourself into insanity to the point where u don’t want to look at the drawing ever again and move onto something new that you will definitely finish this time and then 3 months have passed and you haven’t posted any artwork even though you made have hundreds of drawings a day.

#least I posted it #normally this stuff remains in wip purgatory #yay me #my art #furry art #wip purgatory

[frogsandfries]

Ahhhh

Started out with some lettering--I was able to save time on coloring some I was using the exact same framing, so that was cool and feels like cheating. I needed a new frame in the scene I'm working on, to create better clarity, so I lineworked and inked that pretty much first thing, and now I'm just coloring it.

For now, it feels good to just spend a whole day working on the graphic novel. Y'know, around getting just a little exercise and some food. It feels nice to know that if I get bored, there's something else to do with my hands, but I'm fresh off that diamond painting, taking some time before I fix those popped drills, and I really just want to spend some quality time with my graphic novel.

So, how about some gossip?

The partner keeps talking about getting married. He had a really bad experience where not marrying his late spouse legally led to a lot of unnecessary instability and hardship because her family hated him and didn't respect her either. From this perspective, marriage makes sense, it's a literally legal protection of assets, which means a protection of lifestyle, as much as possible. Additionally, his last partnership wasn't going to result in children. We hope this one will and we're just sorting through stupid reasons that it hasn't already.

On the other hand, I dunno man, I don't really want to get married. No great reasons, I guess. I think it's stupid, I'm kind of bitter about never having like a huge wedding worth talking about, which feels like it's supposed to be at least 50% why you'd get married.

Anyway, I keep talking about a ring. I dunno, of all the types of jewelry in the world, rings are one of two styles that I'll tolerate, the other being jewelry in my ear piercings. I can't do anything that rubs or drags on my skin, but that's another discussion. Since he wants to get married and I keep inventing silly conditions (there's really only two: the ring, which shows I guess how serious he is, in a way; and that we get married, ideally on the solstice but I'll settle for another superstitiously significant day, and this is kind of to just put a ridiculous hurdle to again test how much he actually wants this because I could kind of care less; plus, it would just be cool. With my SAD, sun is literally my life; I might be part plant), he has decided to go looking for a ring. I know what ring I want to get for him, but I've forgotten his ring size, for one. I guess he was going to get me an opal with a quartz cap, which sounds cool as fuck but he didn't show me, and then he ended up finding something with like meteorite bits that just made my jaw drop. So idek.

Anyway, yeah I just don't even have a good reason. I just think marriage is stupid. I just want to get pregnant once in my life, have the adventure of cooking the biscuit and the adventure of raising it into whatever it wants to be--if it wants to be a bagel or an eagle--and be companions with my partner for at least another few years, and maybe a few more years after that, or whatever. Mostly, I just want this stability to continue for at least a few decades so I can keep having my privileged life of arguing about whether we should order food or who should cook, and I can keep working on my graphic novel and eventually finish it so I can do other things with my characters and their universe. And also sex. Speaking of which...... where's the ratchet for the bed frame........

Followup:

We found the ratchet, Mr Definitely Handy Man fixed it up.

Also, I don't want to work on this part of the story anymore. I'm not going to know how to work on the real actual parts of the story, I don't know what I want. I guess maybe it'd be cool to be working on an interesting part of the story? I hate working on the colorwork right now because in the linework, I'm so extremely far ahead--I actually keep flipping about fifty pages back when I open my sketchbook because it hasn't really sunk in how far I've worked into the sketchbook.

I guess I'm pretty close, like really really close to finishing this issue at this point. I finished a couple frames today, and I'll get a break whether I like it or not, tomorrow. We urgently need to go grocery shopping. I'm just.....I guess I'm tired of feeling like I'm kind of stuck coloring so so far back and at the same time, I'm doing new thumbnails actually hundreds of frames ahead of where I'm coloring, and I'm really excited about how I'm really finding my rhythm and my groove with making the lineworks. I feel like I've really figured out how to draw at that scale and how it relates back to the pixel art and I've really nailed the size my speech bubbles need to be. Now all I really need to worry about is staying on model and having unique character designs and just working my way through the story. Right now, the lineworks are the part of the story that I feel like I'm really growing into this graphic novel and where my motivation is being rewarded. All the frames lately have been really complicated and it's just kind of a drag.......... although...... the frames don't really get any more simple for a while, necessarily. We're well over the threshold at this point, so there's a lot of new scenery and things happening.

I actually have a lot of frames that desperately need a lot of touching up, so I'll probably need to make sure I do that before beginning to color issue two..... I can't believe I'm already about two-thirds done with issue two linework.........

[divineluce]

Under the Needle’s Point || Morgan & Luce

Location: Ink Inc.

Timing: August 13th

Tagging: @mor-beck-more-problems & @divineluce

Notes: As a result of a scheduling mix up, Morgan winds up getting a tattoo done by Luce instead of Ulfric. The two have a nice little chat.

Warnings: Needles tw

Morgan couldn’t stop thinking about the dead supernaturals she’d brought out of that witch’s lab. Not even bodies, just pieces jarred and labeled according to parts, their usefulness. She’d sourced some weird shit from shops back when she was alive, but something about these just waiting, knowing what it was for, seeing the way Jo had looked her over as if she was prime stuffing material for her magic turducken. There were no names, no conveniently left behind ledger to tell Morgan the story of who these remains had been. They were just pieces, next to nothing. And what was left of her? Of the person she’d been? No one at work even knew she’d died, except for Anita. There was no family to notify. If she hadn’t dropped off the radar for two weeks, no one would have realized. And sometimes it seemed like people thought the person she’d been before was still in her, whole and bright and unchanged. How could she tell them any different. She didn’t know how to explain what “I” and “Me” signified now. She didn’t have any alternate words to pick from without drawing too much attention to her deadness, which was usually not the best idea. But even if some of her pieces had come back, Morgan felt different and rearranged all over, and she could only talk Bea’s ear off about it so long.

Walking into Ink Inc, Morgan tried to let the stupid, angsty knots inside her unwravel themselves. Ulfric usually had something good to say, and her idea of a solution would at least provide a few hours’ distraction. “Hey, Ulf?” She called. The shop was quiet, though she wasn’t sure how busy it usually was. “I’m early, but maybe we can get started--Oh.” When she saw Luce Vural approach the front desk, Morgan found her stomach knots switched out for a whole new platter of them. “You’re...not...Ulf.”

Flipping through the ancient book that lay on her workstation, Luce frowned as she looked at a few strange sigils drawn in the margins. What did these have to do with ghosts? She wasn’t familiar with anything surrounding ghosts and it was times like this when she wished she knew a decent exorcist. But, even in a town as magical as White Crest, there weren’t many of those running around. Luce mimicked the circular wards drawn in the book with the tip of her finger, tracing the shapes into the wood of the table. They didn’t feel like anything she’d ever drawn before, but she’d never been good at wards to begin with. What exactly did these things mean?

The sound of the bell ringing over the front door caught her attention and Luce shut the book and tucked it away into her backpack. She didn’t need people asking her what she was reading. As she emerged from her room, Luce launched into the typical speil, “Hey there, what can I do--” Her words trailed off for a moment when she saw Morgan standing in the middle of the shop. Leaning against the receptionist desk, Luce’s lips pressed together in a thin line. Shit. The last time she’d seen Morgan was… fuck, when they’d rescued Remmy? Christ. “What gave it away? The height? The distinct lack of a red hair and a beard?” She asked, the sarcasm coming out on reflex.

“Wow, you really are this friendly all the time, even to people you haven’t lashed out at.” Morgan deadpanned. The irony of lashing out was not lost on her, but it was too late to take the words back now. And as far as Morgan knew, Luce hadn’t exactly tried to smooth things over with Remmy since stomping on their heart. “A-ny-way...I have an appointment. A rib piece. Ulf and I talked it over already. I think there’s already a stencil and stuff, but I don’t know if you need anything fancy for working with um, zombie skin. Are you gonna be able to help a dead girl out?”

“What can I say, I’m a ray of goddamn sunshine.” Luce said, tone matching Morgan’s. If this was how this was gonna go down, she could play the game. She wasn’t sure why the woman was coming out swinging like this, but she could hazard a guess. Morgan was someone who cared about Remmy and… it wouldn’t surprise her if Remmy had told her about what went down at the carnival. “An appointment. Huh.” Blinking, Luce looked over at the computer and scrolled through the schedule. Well shit. Ulf had definitely booked her, but it looked like their evening receptionist has fucked up and double booked him. “Looks like there was some kind of scheduling fuck up, but… Yeah. I can do that.” She said. If the stencil was already drawn up and Morgan had already put down her deposit, she wasn’t going to argue. Work was work. “C’mon back. And, no, no fancy tools needed.” Luce thought back to the day Remmy had entered the shop, when they’d met the first time. Oh, for fucks sake. “So, what are we doing today?”

“Of course there is…” Morgan sighed. Not for the first time, Morgan wondered if Constance had made some backdoor bargain with the universe to keep the suffering going as long as there was some miserable creature named Morgan Beck on the planet. She had come here for herself, for the promise of having a sustained goddamn feeling that didn’t strain Deirdre’s muscles, for the talk about the universe and their personal stresses they always shared, and...not Luce and her crabby emotional bullshit. But this was what Morgan had. She’d sectioned off this day carefully and timmed the distance from the start of fall semester so she could have it done, follow ups and all, before classes. No one at work would see, but she liked the idea of having something complete and beautiful that was a part of her. Maybe she just wished marking herself with sigils still did any good. 

Morgan followed Luce to the back, explaining, “A rib piece, with color. It’s sort of sizable. I was talking about breaking the whole thing up into sessions, maybe.” She cleared her throat. “Does that, uh, sound good…?”

“Does Ulf know that you’re… a zombie?” Luce asked as she scrolled through the shared files on her laptop. Thank christ they had a good internal filing system for shit like this. She was able to locate the design that Ulf had already drawn up without too much difficulty. It wasn’t her personal cup of tea, but their styles weren’t that far off and she could do color nearly as well as she did black and white. “I ask because I’ve-- I did Remmy’s tattoo a while back.” She said, unable to hide the stutter-step in her voice, the slight hitch in her words. “They healed almost instantly. It’s how I knew they weren’t exactly human. So, you might not actually need a couple of sessions. Could save you money.” She said with an offhand gesture before pushing away from her desk. “This look like the one?” She asked, gesturing for Morgan to look over at the stencil that was on her computer screen. 

“Yes,” Morgan said. “He said he’d never done one on, you know, someone like me before. But that’s good to know. Maybe this isn’t gonna be the worst idea after all.” She kept her eyes on Luce, watching as she choked on Remmy’s name and stiffened with awkwardness. “If you’d rather we get this done in one go and it won’t mess with your schedule that sounds fine.” She stepped closer to Luce awkwardly and took a look at the design she’d worked out with Ulf.

There was a deer skull, positioned at an angle so you could see the two wide holes where its eyes once were without feeling them looking straight at you. Bluebonnets and Evening Primrose and rich red Winecups, flowers she hadn’t seen since she left Texas, sprouted from one of the sockets. The blues, pinks, and reds on their petals were dappled with color as if from the tip of a watercolor brush. More flowers, goldenrod, blackberry, and meadow-rue, hung from the antlers, garlanded loosely in a way their real stems would never allow. A fine chain studded with small pentagram stars and crystals settled between the horns like bunting and dangled down beneath the skull by several inches. It was elaborate, but Morgan felt better about herself looking at it already. “Yeah, that’s the one. If you can do it, I guess we better get started.” She pulled off her shirt, bunched it around her chest, and waited for Luce to take on the challenge and show her the way.

“It’s your call. We can do whatever works for you.” Luce said, her voice measured and careful to avoid the halting tone it had taken on with the mention of Remmy. “Why don’t I get the outline of it done first and then we can see how it goes? It’ll be a long one session, but I don’t have anything up on the schedule. I was just hanging around in case we got a walk in. And… low and behold. A walk in.” Besides, she needed the money. Hospital bills were still rolling in from her stay after Bea’s resurrection and at the rate that Nell was going, she’d probably need to help her younger sister out too. 

Staring at the design, Luce found herself marveling at Ulf’s work. He was, after all, the one who had inspired her to take up their chosen profession. His linework was impressive, the color pallet beautiful, the composition well balanced and perfectly in line with the mystical elements of the tattoo itself. She’d studied his work long enough to be able to emulate it-- the shading might not be quite how he wanted it, some of the lines might go thin in places where he preferred something a bit more bold. But, they could duke it out over beers at Dell’s if it came to it. “Alright, let’s get rolling.” She laid out her tools, fixing a new needle in her machine, laying out her pallet of inks on the rolling tray she kept by her chair as the stencil printed. The placement came easily enough and Luce snapped on a pair of gloves before settling back on her stool. “Just let me know if it feels like it’s too much and we can take a break.” She said before turning the machine on and putting the needle to Morgan’s cool skin.

“Well that’s nice and completely non-committal,” Morgan said. Probably because Luce was giving her an out. And, if she really wanted, she could take it. She could throw her money and her tip at Ulfric instead. She could forego, what, at least eight hours alone in a tattoo parlor with Luce Vural? It made a certain kind of sense and Luce would know how Morgan felt about the way she handled her bullshit with Remmy to boot. But Morgan had come here with the intention of getting her tattoo and she was not going to let her anger and bewilderment at Luce get in the way of that. They could handle a transactional meeting. “But if you’re really free all day, let’s get started.” She settled down on the seat, glancing over her shoulder at Luce to see how she was muscling up to the prospect.

“Oh, please,” she snorted, dryly. “I had a pole go in one end and out the other. I don’t think anything is going to be too--oh!” Her sentence died in a squeak as the needle made contact. There was...something alright. Like a deep scratch on her insides, one that reverberated throughout her whole body. She couldn’t remember any sensation this immediately potent except for the punches Mina threw in their practice sessions.  Morgan dug her hands into her shirt and squeezed tight. “Jeez. That’s one hell of a rush.”

A part of Luce had almost hoped that Morgan would decline the offer for a full length session. It was a huge tattoo and the lengthy sessions always left her drained, her back sore from leaning over someone, her hands cramped and tired. But, the other woman seemed set on getting this done, and who was she to argue with it. “Yeah. Like I said, we can play it by ear.” She said, her tone calm and neutral.

As Morgan reacted to the sting of the needle, Luce raised an eyebrow as she continued to work. “You good?” She asked. When she’d done this on Remmy, they’d hardly reacted at all. It’d been a big part in how she’d known they weren’t human. It wasn’t that they were being macho about it, like most of Luce’s clients, they just hadn’t seemed to feel any of it. There hadn’t been any involuntary twitches to the muscle when she’d been working, nothing. “I’m guessing it must be weird, going from not feeling hardly anything to being able to feel this?” She asked, the echoes of a memory that belonged to Morgan returning in a swift wave. “Like I said, if it’s too much, we can break this up into different sessions.”

Morgan had to keep her laugh somewhere tight in her chest. “Oh, it’s definitely weird, like the world’s tiniest jackhammer is dancing on my bones. But the other thing is I have to do a whole round of mental gymnastics to trick myself into feeling things or almost feeling things, or I just get in a really great tension workout trying to make myself press into things hard enough to feel like I’m really here. But I guess you kinda know how that is, huh?” She turned over her shoulder, eyeing Luce’s reaction. For someone who pretended to have the emotional capacity of a toothpick, she’d taken Morgan’s memories mostly in stride with the brain biter and her own valuable memories had been full of feeling too. “You’re good, Luce. Although, we should probably pass the time with more than just complete awkward silence, right?”

“The tiniest jackhammer? Never heard that one before, but sure.” Luce commented blithely as she kept her hand nice and steady, following the smooth curves of the stencil, tracing over the skull design. She was already planning out how she’d do the shading of the eye sockets, the way the flowers lay against bone, but Morgan’s words took her out of it for a moment. Blinking, her hand faltered before she focused back on her work, the needle continuing to move. “Yeah. I guess I do.” She muttered, reminded of the fact that their memory swap had been just that. A swap. Morgan had seen her memories, had experienced them. The moment from her childhood when her sisters had sat on the living room floor, braiding each other’s hair. One of the many midnight margs celebrations, usually done after coven meetings or some other ritual. Morgan had seen good memories, happy memories. Memories Luce didn’t share with anyone. “Depends on how you want to fill it.” She said as she dipped the tip of the needle back into the small container of ink and resumed her work, “Are you going to try and talk to me about Remmy? I know you two are close.”

“You brought them up, not me,” Morgan said. “But yeah. We’re pretty darn close. I don’t know how much you’ve been keeping up with them or how much you actually care, but they really have been through the wringer lately. And that’s on top of all the other stuff they had to deal with before, including me.” She sighed as Luce’s needle brushed against her bone again. Who knew that something so sharp could feel so much like relief. Was this why people got hooked on getting them? “What I’m trying to say is, handle with care. Remmy can take a lot of hits, but that doesn’t mean they should have to. And maybe figure your shit out before they get their hopes up again.” She drew in a shallow breath and tried to extend her attention around her body, feel the novel tingles of air and the buzzing prick of the needle as it traveled away from her bone again and grew faint. It was all she could do not to pout. Everything about existing was work, was an act of management in concentration and willpower. At least when her bones were catching onto a feeling for her she could let go. But that would’ve been easy, and universe forbid Morgan have anything like that for long.

Luce let out a sigh as she continued to draw, machine buzzing in her grasp. Well, shit. She had been the one to bring them up. Fuck. But, it was better to rip the bandaid off now, right? Better now than to sit in awkward silence or let it hang over their heads while she worked. “Yeah. I know they have.” She said off handedly. She knew that Remmy had been through it. How could she not know? She’d held them that night when they’d re-lived their experiences at the Ring, she’d seen the collar around their neck drop them to the ground, she’d seen just how fucked up they’d been after the rescue mission. And now, the latest pile of bullshit-- she’d seen Nadia drag them out of Pat’s Place, seen them brought to their knees by poison. She knew. “Including you.” Luce echoed, remembering what those words meant. Remmy had been the one to turn Morgan, to save her. “You think I don’t know that they shouldn’t have to deal with all the bullshit life’s thrown at them? I’m real aware of that fact.” She said, though her words lacked bite. “They don’t deserve any of the fucking stuff that happens to them.”

It was hard for Morgan to get a read on Luce while she was halfway down her torso, inking out the curves of deer horns. She sounded tense, bitter, but those might’ve been part of Luce’s factory settings for all Morgan knew. “Well, I couldn’t tell from here,” Morgan said, more accusatory than she’d meant to sound. She frowned, waited a moment, and tried again. “I’m glad we can agree on Remmy needing a break. I’d guess we could also agree on Remmy deserving some basic kindness. We can’t control their circumstances much, but we can be good to them, right?” She didn’t think this was a controversial point and so didn’t wait to press on to her real question. “So I guess I’m just..really curious about why you handled your side the way you did. I know you tend to come out swinging, which I don’t follow either a lot of the time, but this...wasn’t that.”

Lips pressing together into a thin line at Morgan’s tone, Luce said nothing and instead focused on her work. She wasn’t going to fuck up Morgan’s tattoo just because the other woman was being a bitch about things to her. Even if she really wanted to. All it would take is a few little lines-- nope. She valued her work too much to fuck up someone’s tattoo on purpose. Drawing the machine back, she wiped the stray flecks of ink off with a paper towel, not bothering to ease up on the pressure. Morgan wouldn’t be able to feel it the same way people did. She dipped the needle into more ink and set back to work. “What do you mean, how I handled things?” She asked flatly, her tone emotionless. “They wanted more, which wasn’t part of the deal. From day one, I made my intentions very clear.” Luce said as she started on the curves of the deer’s eye sockets, staring blankly back at her. Almost accusingly. Oh, fuck off. 

Morgan waited for Luce’s words to settle before speaking again, just in case she started snapping all over again. This was, technically, not her business. But she was upset with Luce for how her words had affected Remmy and how it had surprised her as well. She didn’t even know what, specifically, had happened. But even the vague strokes were so unlike the person she’d thought Luce was. “You were cruel,” she said at last. “What you want or don’t want to intentionally invite into your life is your business, and if you want to put boundaries around how much you really care about Remmy, go for it, whatever, I guess. But you can still be kind when you’re telling someone ‘no’ or ‘not right now.’ You can try to make the hurt as small and possible. I didn’t think you were the kind of person to do that, especially to someone kind of close to you. Which, okay, we don’t even know each other that well, really, so maybe it was my mistake. But it was still...really weird to hear about, after all you did for them.”

“What can I say, I’m a bitch.” Luce said callously. A nosy bitch, getting into other people’s business, doing things that pissed people off just because she could. And she was more than happy to live with that reputation. It was fine, it was normal. As Morgan continued to talk, Luce began to start on the outlines of the flowers, their delicate petals requiring a lighter hand. She rolled her eyes at that-- a lighter hand. People would like it if she handled things that way, wouldn’t they? If she was kinder, if she wasn’t as rude, as rough, as angry. “They weren’t close to me.” She insisted. “We just fucked.” Luce said, though the words didn’t hold quite as much weight as they once had. They hadn’t just fucked. They’d held her that night when she’d broken and told them about Bea, she’d done the same for them after they’d been torn to pieces. She’d broken them free from the Ring, destroyed the building, taken lives… for Nell, yes. But, for Remmy too. Looking at her gloved hands, Luce’s jaw clenched. “I did shit because I wanted to. Not because of them.”

“Okay, I know you didn’t just fuck,” Morgan said, rolling her eyes. “I know you made yourself emotionally present for them in some really rough, vulnerable moments. They told me how safe you made them feel, and how it seemed like you were opening up. And you were ready to kill everyone at the ring before you knew they had Nell too.” She gasped as the needle circled over her rib bones again, making her insides almost come alive. “And maybe we’re not close, but I know enough about you to know you’re not just a bitch. What I don’t get is why it’s so important to you that other people see it that way. No one is vulnerable about everything all the time, and for some people...yeah, kindness and softness has to be earned. But...you still haven’t answered my question. Did their question make you feel...betrayed or upset somehow? Were you scared?”

Luce sucked in a breath at Morgan’s words. Of course, Remmy told her about shit. Of course they did. “Maybe I got a taste for it. Who knows.” She said in an offhand tone, brushing past her quick leap to destruction. She continued to do her work, keeping her hand nice and steady as Morgan continued to talk at her. So they’d swapped memories once, that didn’t make Morgan an expert on her, or her feelings. She didn’t fucking do feelings, not like that. But, at the last question, her eyes widened in surprise. If she didn’t have literally years of experience, of people saying stupid shit that caught her off guard, she might have fucked up her lines. Instead, her hand remained steady. Even so, there was no way to hide how her breath hitched slightly. “You don’t need to know why I did what I did. You’re not Remmy’s keeper and you’re sure as hell not mine.” Still the word echoed in her mind. Scared. She wasn’t scared. She wasn’t. Wasn’t she?

Morgan caught the way Luce doubled down on her tension. So, getting warmer, maybe creeping up on a nerve. It probably shouldn’t have felt so surprising; fear made fools of everyone. Hadn’t she learned that one a dozen or so times over? “You’re too interesting to be selling yourself short like that. But…” She gasped again. Why couldn’t she just shut up and enjoy this again? Luce was right, she wasn’t Remmy’s keeper, and even if she was still mostly playing by their request to ‘not yell at’ Luce, she was...definitely skirting around things. But it itched at her worse than this needle, knowing Remmy had been hurt out of, what, recklessness? And Luce was cutting herself off from a relationship she had seemed to care about right until it was brought to the surface and made real. “You’re right,” she said at last. “We don’t have to get into this. We can go though the next eight hours talking about something else. Like...this is the first feeling-almost-feeling I’ve had that didn’t give someone at least an arm workout...well, actually, I guess you will have one by the time we’re done, but, it’s the concept for the thing. Or uh…” Stars, they really didn't have that much in common, did they? “You know, if this thing that doesn’t matter to you at all is also for some reason too much to talk about, maybe you should pick.”

“Damn right we don’t.” Luce said firmly. She’d dealt with longer sessions with worse people before. Then again, they weren’t usually people she had to deal with outside of the shop. But, someone who knew her the way Morgan did? Someone who knew her family? It made things trickier. She knew she could keep her cool about this, that she should just keep her mouth shut and deal with it. So Morgan wanted to bitch at her about how she’d hurt Remmy. So fucking what. She could handle it. Then why did she feel anger creeping in the pit of her stomach? Pulling the machine back from Morgan’s skin, Luce tossed the machine down onto the tray next to her with a loud clatter. “You don’t know a goddamn thing about me, Morgan, which is exactly how I like to keep things. You don’t get to tell me what I should do, that I need to pick and choose. I already made my decision, I already chose. And you don’t need to know why I did.” She said, staring at the woman with fire in her eyes. 

Morgan groaned deep in her throat. Now she wasn’t even feeling anything. But now without having the precision of the device to worry about, she could turn and look at Luce fully. She was angry alright, but nothing she was saying was making sense. “I am very certain I already conceded that first point, she said. And as for the rest, I didn’t say literally any of those things. Which makes me wonder who exactly is? Who is telling you what you need to do or that you have to pick and choose between...whatever it is you think your binary options are? Or that you can’t change your mind about your decision later? Because I just wanted to know why you went out of your way to be mean to someone we both care about, and then I offered you an out. So what are you really upset about here, Luce?”

Startled, Luce stared at Morgan for a moment. She had said those things, hadn’t she? Or had Luce been reading too deeply into things, looking into things that didn’t exist? Either way, her outburst had dug herself an even deeper hole than she’d started in. Fuck’s sake. Luce rolled her eyes, though the action was more for show than anything. It was a way to get people to leave her alone. But, she couldn’t unhear the other woman’s words. What was she upset about? Really? “What am I upset about? The fact that Remmy went off and fucked everything up. Things were fine, just the way they were. It was all just for fun. And then they wanted more. I fucking told them that I’m not interested in more, because I’m not go-- I don’t do more.” She said before rolling back from the chair, her hands up in the air. “Look. Ulf’s appointment ends in ten. Get him to finish your tattoo. I’m done.” Luce said with a shake of her head.

“Luce…” Morgan said softly. “Hey, you...are a good person, Luce. You’re good. I mean, I kind of hate that word, it’s so arbitrary, but as far as I’m concerned, you are. And I’m not the only one, okay? Whatever it is you need out of your relationships, whatever you choose, as long as it’s really what you want and need, that doesn’t change the fact that you’re good. And if your needs change, you’re still good. You’re good and you deserve to be happy, whether that includes ‘more’ or not, or Remmy or not. You deserve to be more than just okay. You know that, right?” She cleared her throat, looking down at her wrinkled shirt and the only mostly done outline of her tattoo. “But uh, if you need a break or you’d just rather not anymore, that’s...fine.”

You deserve to be more than just okay. Luce had said similar things to Remmy before and now they were being turned onto her. She wondered if they felt just as false to them as they did to her. She didn’t deserve someone like Remmy, didn’t need someone like them in her life. Because what would happen if she did let them in? If she said sure, let’s try, let’s be something? She’d open up to them and that scared her. But, Luce was startled to realize, what scared her more than the vulnerability of it all was the wanting. She wanted to open up to them. To be honest with them. But, what would happen then? Nothing good. Staring at the outline on Morgan’s side, she sighed. “I’ll finish it. But,” She grabbed the remote to the stereo system from her desk, loud music filling the room. “No more talking.”

#p: morgan beck #p: utnp #wickedswriting #needles cw

[arecomicsevengood]

BARGAIN BIN COMICS 2

The New World by Ales Kot and Tradd Moore. Credit where it’s due, this was not only a lot better than the last comic by Ales Kot I read, it was maybe the best thing I pulled out of a bargain bin. This is largely due to Tradd Moore’s art. His art is slick, sort of in the vein of James Harvey. There’s this sort of HD sheen to it I assume comes from working digitally, where the characters don’t lose definition as they’re drawn smaller. This cartoonishness stops the book and its overt politics from lapsing into pretentiousness or didacticism. It does make the book feel very cute, where even as the narrative seems like it’s copying Transmetropolitan it feels like it’s for younger millennials or Gen Z. For a book taking place in the future, the young protagonists sure do relate to their parents in a very 2018 way, and it kind of feels like YA. It seems as if the author’s optimism about the future comes from certain trends among current youth, though in turn I find the protagonists annoying. I respect that the book has two protagonists and gives ample time to both of them, as it tells its Romeo-And-Juliet-style story. There’s a confidence to the storytelling, a sense of knowing how much real estate to allocate to a moment, that I admired; and there is always something of visual interest happening. I would gladly pay up to two dollars each for the issues I don’t have (2 and 5) to complete my reading experience.

Moonshine by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso. The four issues I got from this were all from late in its run, and I basically couldn’t make sense of it at all. I kept thinking scenes were flashbacks but maybe they weren’t. It seems like the cast is pretty large but I have no idea what any of these character personalities are. I don’t think knowing what was going on would’ve made me care, but Eduardo Risso is worth looking at, he has a similar approach to moving the “camera” around a sequence as Jose Munoz but a much slicker line and consistently dynamic layouts. Azzarello can write in a way that allows this style to manifest, but  this one has a dumb high concept. Each of these issues contained a preview of some other, pretty terrible looking, Image Comic, like as the “value-add” for buying the single issues which doesn’t add to the value at all. The first issue of The New World threw in a self-contained short story by comics makers who don’t have an Image project, which is much cooler.

Xerxes by Frank Miller. Found 4 out of 5 issues of this and initially thought this the most exciting find of the day, but it’s beyond bad. Heavy on narration, with drawings that could maybe be interesting if the computer coloring wasn’t so overpowering and uninteresting, but I think most of the underlying drawings are pretty bad too, really pared back and simplistic and not much in the way of engaging sequences here. It’s more like the illustrations to a book that is really just the outline of a book. Definitely feels like you’re reading the work of a brain falling apart from age and alcoholism and while it’s kinda interesting on that level, it’s honestly one of the worst comics I’ve ever read/struggled to read. It’s unreadable.

Dominion: Conflict 1 by Masamune Shirow. I never read Ghost In The Shell or Appleseed, so these 3 noncontinuous issues are the first I’ve read by Shirow. He’s a good cartoonist. I’m surprised by how dense and fast-moving this is, seemingly fitting a complete book into what would probably be less than 150 pages. The sci-fi world it’s about involves cops driving around in tanks, and I don’t think this is being offered critically, there’s that weird right-wing dismissal of pacifism and praise for might that seems pretty sincere. There’s also catgirl androids in this, and a lot of the like “superdeformed” or “chibi-chibi” style, (are these the words I mean for this trope, where the characters turn into the muppet baby versions of themselves?) alongside super-detalied urban landscapes and depictions of tanks. Something that is interesting about manga published in the U.S. in the nineties is how I feel like I’m being presented with “anime” in its purest form. I know what to expect, and I recognize the exoticism that was a part of the initial appeal, though at this point it has shaped a subculture’s minds enough for me to know it’s not for me, even though I can appreciate it as being well-done.

Head Lopper by Andrew Maclean, issue 8. This comic is not for me, and I can’t really read it, due to my distaste for fantasy stuff. I’m also not really a fan of his linework, though his having a cartoony style and probably liking some of the stuff I enjoy makes me want to like it. It feels like a toned-down version of Orc Stain, which I don’t like either.  I know I called Xerxes unreadable, but this comic makes my eyes just glaze over. With Xerxes I made an effort and felt “what the fuck is this” as a result, this I “get” intuitively what it’s going for and cannot make myself care. I read the first issue of this a few years ago and didn’t like it then either.

Thief Of Thieves by Brett Lewis and Shawn Martinbrough: Total outlier in the stack, in that I bought this for the writer, Brett Lewis. Me and many other people consider his comic Wintermen really good, but this is him doing the finale to a series that was I think created by Robert Kirkman and drawn consistently by the same artist, whose art is functional but not particularly interesting. The scripting is ok enough but obviously I only kind of understood it, as it deals with long-running characters I have no investment in. Ideally Brett Lewis would just be able to do creator-owned stuff. Anyway, I found most of this final arc, all except for the final issue. I’ve only read the first 2 issues but am posting this because I don’t think my take will change that much,

[abi-the-weirdo]

1-30 because I'm a way too invested/interested gal (u don't have to answer the ones other people want to know)

Aaaa, thank you, friend!

Here we go then!

Do you prefer traditional drawing, or digital?

Traditional but I enjoy digital as well! It’s just… very different?

How long have you been drawing?

Pfffft I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. Started drawing digitally 2 years ago in photo shop though.

How many classes have you taken?

I’ve been taking a few classes in the weekends for about 9 years but I wasn’t learning much [was rather going there because I liked the atmosphere and because I was able to participate in many art competitions.

I’ve been taking architecture classes as well for half an year now!

Do you have a DeviantArt, personal website, or art blog?

Ah, well, this is my art blog actually! [personal blog: @the-creepy-unicorn]

And I also have an instagram account: thecreepyunicorn

What’s your favorite thing to draw?

Probably girls [just girls in general], my OCs and eyes [love putting details in them]

What’s your least favorite thing to draw?

Ooooh now this is an interesting one. Honestly, probably armors because they take WAAAAY TOO LONG.

How often do you use references?

For almost every drawing, usually character references to make sure I get the character right, poses references because… anatomy and angles… Yeah, as long as it’s not an OC I use references for everything.

Do you draw professionally, or just for fun?

Considering that I mostly post fanart, I would say I do it for fun! Bur I am also preparing a portfolio for an architecture university in the meantime…

How much time do you spend drawing on an average day?

It really depends! But far less than I want to. I usually doodle daily, a small sketch every day at least or I don’t feel good. It’s just a thing I do. But I don’t draw bigger projects such as requests until I really have time because I put a lot of effort in all the things I post and I can’t just work 40 minutes and let it go. I should draw so much more but… school… fuck school…

Are you confident about your art?

Hell no! I’m probably the biggest hater of myself [not just in art] especially when it comes to it because it really never seems to be goo enough. But it’s not like I can stop. Once you’ve started drawing, you can never go back, NEVER. I am always disappointed in my art and sometimes just hate everything about it but again, I can’t stop. So I’ll just wait to improve and maybe some day my art will actually be decent. 

How many art-related blogs do you follow?

MANY! A LOT! SUPPORTING ARTISTS IS VERY IMPORTANT WITH ALL YOU HAVE! ALWAYS! That’s why I let people see who I follow on this blog [90% of the people I follow here are art blogs and I just hope this comes as a mini shout out to them, even if it doesn’t get much because I’m not that good or popular, the people I follow here deserve all the love somebody can give.

Is it okay for people to ask you about your process?

SURE! I would never mind! I’m not that good but I maybe know a thing or two?

Do you prefer to keep your art personal, or do you like drawing things for other people?

Both. I mostly draw fanart but I always draw for myself, like doodles, sketches, OCs [nothing big though except the things I do for architecture]

Do you ever collaborate with others?

STILL WORKING ON OUR COLLAB DON’T THINK I FORGOT [it just takes a lot of time i’m sorry]. You [ @joolychuu ] are actually the only person I have collaborated so far thought! OwO

How long does an average piece take you to complete?

Weeks. Or at least 3 days for me to be OK with it. I can also do a small not s detailed piece in 2 hours as well but it usually takes me a lot of time because I put maximum effort in all my pieces. [even if the notes don’t show it]

Do you draw more today than you did in the past, or do you draw less?

Hard to say, really. I paint less but overall I think I do draw more.

Do you think you’re justified in giving other people art advice?

Not really? I Even thought I do it sometimes, I do it because those people ask for advice and I might not know a lot, but I am willing to share whatever I can with people interested. 

What are you currently trying to improve on?

I am trying to go back to a style. I want to be able to call that my style finally, to be pleased with “the personality” my drawings should have. I just want to have a style that people would see and say: OOOH IT’S HER! But I doubt I will ever be good enough…

What is the most difficult thing for you to draw?

Axonometric projections [architecture term] or request I don’t really enjoy. Skin is also a pain in the ass as well!!!

What is the easiest thing for you to draw?

Faces. Because I doodle and sketch them all the time.

Do you like to challenge yourself?

Usually yes, I like to try new thing but I don’t think I can say I have an “artistic comfort zone either..

Are you confident that you’re improving steadily?

No because I am not. I can’t see major fast progress. I can’t see a certain style, I can’t do big projects, I am not good at art but I try.

Do you draw more fanart, or more original art?

A mixture actually because I do traditional art to improve my lines and architecture knowledge but I draw fan art digitally for pleasure.

Do you feel jealous when you see other people’s art, or inspired? (Be honest!)

INSPIRED! I’ve learned to control my jealousy level and if I want to get in “the artsy mood” I usually just watch sketchbook tours or see my favorite artists’ or friends’ work. I AM ALWAYS SO HAPPY WHEN MY ARTIST FRIENDS GET NOTES OR FOLLOWERS OR ASKS I AM JUST SO HAPPY FOR THEM!

Do you like to draw in silence, or with music?

Music. I need to be disconnected from anything happening outside if I want to get focused and music just inspires me.

For digital artists: what program(s) do you use?

PhotoSop CS6 ! [also known as hell]

For digital artists: how many layers does a typical piece require?

Varies from 3 to 15. Depends on the style and the complexity.

For traditional artists: what medium do you like most? (Pencil, charcoals, etc)

Pencil! But painting with acrylic colors is also a BIG part of me.

For traditional artists: How do you usually start on a big piece? (Light sketch, colored lead, sketchpaper, etc)

I don’t do big pieces traditionally except for architecture classes and for paintings… depends on what I want to do and how I feel. Sometimes I don’t even do pencil sketch on canvas but if it’s for a present, I do at least 2 sketched before starting the linework on canvas and starting to paint.

What inspires you to not just make art, but to be a better artist?

My friends who are also artists and just good art in general. Also reblogs and likes and small “comment tags” or asks just mean SO MUCH for literally every artist. It just gives you the validation you sometimes need and represents that thing that just keeps you going.

THANK YOU FOR ASKING! 

#ask meme #answered #joolychuu #ask the artist #THANK YOU THANK YOU THANKS YOU #THIS WAS FUN