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#Doing the shades and lights is actually one of my favorite parts of the process
comicaurora · 10 months
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Lighting critique of a recent panel ! Dark ambient lighting is a favorite art subject of mine, so i figured this would be a good time to give some input ! ii say as if we havent been in the undergroound chapter for like a month in which it didnt occur to me to pay attention to lighting Oh well loool here it is nowwwwwwww hope you dont mind the input
Huh.
Okay, so first off, thanks - this is cool and your lighting looks very nice. I look forward to seeing what you make!
Second - I really hope sending this kind of ask isn't a habit of yours, because unsolicited artistic criticism comes across as remarkably rude.
Art criticism for the purposes of improvement is a social contract entered between two artists, typically in a scholastic environment. An artist presents their work to other artists whose opinions they trust and value, and those artists weigh in with their thoughts. Critical to the process is that the presenting artist is showing their art for the purpose of improvement, and they're prepared to receive that input because they're actively asking for it.
In contrast, I make this comic so people can read it, and while I certainly don't mind if they take it apart to analyze it or find ways the writing and art could be improved, I, the creator, am not asking for that and - more importantly - will not really benefit from it.
For instance, in this case, my style of background lighting and shading is optimized most specifically to accommodate for the fact that I need to make a lot of these pages quickly, and correspondingly cannot give everything 110%. Any individual panel could absolutely be more polished, but I often shade these backgrounds in batches of ten pages or more, each page with an average of six panels that need individual shading. So that's sixty individual backgrounds I need to shade in one go. It doesn't make your advice wrong, or even unhelpful for an artist setting out to learn this kind of technique - but it does make it unhelpful for me. This is something you realistically had no way of knowing, and I don't hold it against you! But this is why I have a short list of artists and writers whose input I actually ask for sometimes, and that list is composed of people who know me, my creative priorities, and how my process works. Because they know what I'm working with, their advice stands a much better chance of being actually helpful to me.
Criticism, like all art, has an audience it is designed for. In art school environments or artistic coworker situations, the audience for the criticism is the artist being critiqued and the other artists who are learning from the communal experience they are all agreeing to share. This is the exception and not the rule, however. Outside of this space, the audience for criticism of a work of art is typically the subset of the audience for that work of art that are trying to learn something from the experience or understand what did and didn't work for them. This group can discuss what they did and didn't like, what they would have changed, what parts worked for them that may not have worked for other members of the audience, etc. This space of critical analysis forms the backbone of most fandoms and can be incredibly interesting and rewarding to play around in.
The audience for that kind of criticism is not the creator of the art. In the same way a creator can never be fully immersed in their own fandom audience, this form of communal critique from the audience side of things does not work when directed at the creator. In the context of this work of art, we exist in very different spaces and operate under different parameters. If there's one thing I learned from back when I used to check in on the fan discord community, it's that most conversation in this space operates under the assumption that the creator will not see it or take it personally. I cannot be in the audience of my own audience.
All that to say, thanks for the thought, but please be careful doing this in the future - tumblr is the land of kneejerk hostility and poor reading comprehension, and I don't want to see you getting shredded for a kind intention. And I hope some people find this impromptu tutorial helpful!
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fafameow · 7 months
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Sorry to come out of nowhere but I just wanted to say that your art is so warm and so colorful and so ROUND in all the best ways and your style really captures my favorite things about Kirby! I've always found it really inspirational!
Also, I love the way your line art looks?! I have to ask (you don't have to answer though) is there a specific brush or technique you use to get that soft, multi-layered effect?
Either way, wishing you a wonderful day!
Thank you so much for your nice message, it means a lot!! I've been wanting to make a small tutorial about how I make my Kirby art, so I guess your question came right on time hehe ^^ As I'll be explaining all of my process, I'll also answer your question about my line art! Btw my art program is Paint Tool SAI and I'll also be showing the brushes I use as well as their settings (i made up most of them a long time tho).
So first here's the brush that I use for basically anything, whether sketch or lineart!
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It took me a while to understand what you meant by multi-layered effect, but no the brush doesn't do that, that's actually my way of doing "lineart" (ig it's not really lineart cus I just do sketches that I clean later on).
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I then clean up everything, add the details and block by using a grey color.
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Afterwards I add the flat colors! I already have my own made up color palette, but otherwise I always use a purple color as overlay.
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And I also use that same shade to color the lineart!
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Next comes the fun part, shading! Here's THE brush that gives that soft effect to all of my drawings ^^ It's the same setting as my eraser too!
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And yeah I also shade with light purple lol
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There's also some other brushes that I use for more effects, like the airbrush! (I don't think I've touched the settings that much) I mostly use this one for lighting effects.
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And finally the water brush! I sometimes use it for blending or for quick backgrounds,
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but you can also see that when put it to "Spread" it also becomes the one that I use for my blushes hehe
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Aaand I believe that's all of the brushes I use for my art! I do have more, but I only use those for other specific stuff like animation or pixel art.
Adding some details AND VOILÀ!!
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Now you know how I make my Kirby art! (but this also applies for all of my art) I sometimes redraw on the contours to give that "pop up effect" a bit like what they did in rtdldx lol ^^
I really hope it was easy for everyone to understand cus this is my first time making a tutorial! And to Desultory Novice, I hope I managed to answer your question too!!
Thanks again and have a great day :D
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milk5 · 5 months
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THE MILK5 COFFEE GUIDE VOL. 1
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REMOVE #BADBEANS FROM YOUR LIFE FOREVER
If you are a #TrueBlueCoffeeHead and subsisting on supermarket beans and/or frequent visits to big chains like Starbucks, PLEASE help yourself (and your local community, the environment, coffee workers, etc) and buy a pour over filter and freshly roasted, quality beans from a local roaster. Explicitly seek out Fairtrade Organic/Smithsonian Bird Friendly certified beans if possible. The taste of shade-grown coffee is incredibly flavorful AND you can be certain that your beans aren't the product of yucky pesticides, actual slave labor, and the annihilation of millions of acres of rainforest.
To start with what you need, a goose-neck kettle and pour over carafe are good purchases, but a suitably sized mason jar and regular kettle still work on a budget. Learning how to make a great pour over will raise your home coffee game to professional standards without needing to spend literal thousands of dollars on a real grinder/steamer/espresso machine setup -- if you're able to buy all of these items new for less than a thousand dollars, you're going to be down a few hundos in exchange for some pretty shitty machines. Regardless, a pour over setup with good beans will pay for itself VERY rapidly, assuming it replaces frequent Starbucks visits or whatever other chain you were going to. If you frequent a LOCALLY OWNED coffee shop that you like, keep going! You're an important part of the ecosystem.
What about grinding the beans? Should I get pre-ground beans? Would a cheapo blender-like blade grinder work?
NEVER touch a blade grinder again. It doesn't matter as much if you have #BadBeans, but if you have good beans, ALWAYS use a grinder with a burr; blade grinders just chop up your beans randomly into particles of massively varying sizes, leading to simultaneous over-extraction and under-extraction, generally leading to wildly inconsistent flavors and low repeatability. Burrs will always grind the beans into uniform particles and ensure that you're always (more or less, every cup is different to an extent) getting a consistent flavor. Don't buy a burr grinder -- just bring your beans to a local coffee shop, buy a drink, tip well, and ask the barista if they could grind the beans for you when you can clearly tell that they aren't busy. I have NEVER been refused, just go to a place with less sour employees if they won't help you out. Specify the coarseness that you'd like; smaller grounds have a greater surface area, so they're extracted to a greater extent, resulting in a more intense flavor; coarse grounds are the inverse. Lots of people recommend medium-coarse for pour overs (about 80% coarse 20% fine), but I prefer the stronger flavor of medium/drip (dead middle, 50% coarse 50% fine). It's also better to grind your beans periodically, as freshly-ground beans will taste better, but it's fine to have it pre-ground or ground all at once if you aren't able to easily make coffee shop trips every week or two. As far as roasts go, there's an entire gradient for you to explore -- not just the few that I list here; light roasts have a more sour, fruitier flavor, medium roasts are well rounded, and dark roasts are rich and smokey. Medium-dark is my personal favorite.
Experiment!!! It's all about your own taste, after all.
How do I make a good pour over?
Again, it depends on your taste. My go-to is a vigorous fourth-cup of grounds to 300ml of water; this is easily on the stronger end, but it's what works for me. More common ratios are usually weighed out on a kitchen scale, so consider picking one up if you don't already have one. Document your process until you get to your favorite! I always stop the kettle a little before it gets to its terminal temperature, then pour just enough water onto the grounds to let it bloom -- wait for one minute, and then start pouring a small-ish portion of the water onto the grounds every 20 seconds (this is where my own technique varies the most, it usually takes between 3-4 minutes to finish since I'm not pouring standard amounts; some people DO measure their pours for even greater consistency). Use the stopwatch on your phone, it's much better than keeping track in your head. Make sure to distribute the water evenly over the grounds, particularly making sure to wash the grounds off the sides every pour. When I'm finished, I like to immediately take a sip to see if a splash of milk or half-and-half would help or hurt the cup -- I think a very good cup of coffee can easily stand on its own without anything else, but additives can absolutely help depending on your personal preferences. Just be sure to taste the black coffee before you add anything.
What if I like the syrupy sweet drinks? What about iced coffee?
From my experience working at/visiting coffee shops, Monin is the most common syrup brand I see at local places. As far as iced coffee goes, coldbrew would be probably be the superior option -- it's also pretty easy to make at your home. I'm not going to be writing a guide for coldbrew any time soon, so you're out of luck there. I also never steam my milk if I'm doing a pour over, so I can't really point you to an inexpensive way to do that. Just know that the cheap handheld stick-frothers do not do the same thing as an actual steamer.
What was that about certifications?
Fairtrade is a pretty notable certification for food items produced in areas that have a history for being exploited (so pretty much the bulk of the global south), it can get very complex -- read more about it here. The goal is to ensure that the workers and communities involved in the production of the product receive fair, livable wages, that labor conditions are safe and reasonable, and that the decisions around the production of the product are made by those directly involved in the labor. FTO refers to Fairtrade Organic, which just means that it meets the standards of both Fairtrade AND organic production -- I'm not exactly sure if the organic standards are based on where the coffee is sold, produced, or both, but regardless, it's still a bonus; organic coffee will almost ALWAYS be shade-grown, which is the way that coffee grows naturally. Since coffee is an understory tree in nature, shade-grown coffee is produced more slowly and under a canopy and thus does not require the forest to be damaged or destroyed to grow; however, not all organic coffee will necessarily take place in a completely natural, untouched rain forest setting. Industrial non-organic coffee is most often produced under direct sun in gigantic clear-cut monocrop rows and usually with massive usage of potentially harmful inputs like, such as various pesticides and fertilizers. Direct sun coffee grows faster, but it has a distinctly different taste and is easily the most damaging method of coffee production to both the environment and the local communities. Smithsonian Bird-Friendly is the most rigorous certification for coffee in particular; FTO is more or less a pre-requisite to achieve SBF. Coffee likes to grow in tropical, equatorial environments -- these environments are also the areas of the greatest bird diversity in the world (and, really, biodiversity in general) and the destination for most migratory birds during the winter. The coffee industry has destroyed literal millions of acres of rain forest across the world, which has resulted in the death of billions of birds worldwide over the past 50 years. SBF guarantees the FTO criteria PLUS the additional criteria that the coffee must be produced in forests that are more-or-less in their natural state with thriving diversity of endemic species of flora and fauna. It's harder to find SBF-certified coffee than FT(O)-certified coffee, but the Smithsonian website has a handy vendor locator here. I'm not confident that it works beyond U.S. vendors, so I apologize to anyone interested abroad. Note that some of these certifications may be exclusive to particular continents; I need to do more research on the subject, but the tropical forests around the world vary wildly -- this adds a level of complexity to the goals and criteria of a particular certification. I am confident that all of the certifications that I have mentioned apply to South and Central America (and most likely the Caribbean), so keep that in mind. Also, watch out for phony certifications; big corporations frequently buy out existing certification organizations and/or create new green-sounding organizations to fool well-meaning consumers.
Where should my brand new beans come from?
Like wine, the exact qualities of a bean depend on its terroir, or the specific methods and geographic factors involved in its growth. However, some countries have trends in how the coffee is generally grown; some counties will practice shade-growing more than others and some countries will practice direct-sun industrial methods more than others. As a rule of thumb, Arabica beans are mostly grown in shade or partial shade, while Robusta is generally grown in direct sun. Defer to certifications if applicable.
The following areas primarily practice shade-growing:
Mexico
El Salvador
Peru
Panama
Nicaragua
Guatemala
Cuba
Timor
New Guinea
Ethiopia
Burundi
Rwanda
Tanzania
Zambia (*)
Zimbabwe (*)
Papua New Guinea
Sulawesi
Timor + East Timor
India
The following areas primarily practice direct-sun growing:
Colombia
Brazil
Costa Rica
Hawaii
Yemen
Kenya
Angola
Benin
Central African Republic
Congo
Gabon
Ghana
Guinea
Equatorial Guinea
Ivory Coast
Liberia
Nigeria
Sierra Leone
Togo
Cameroon
Madagascar
Malawi (**)
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Sumatra (***)
Java
Vietnam
China
Jamaica
Again, this is just a rule of thumb; there are exceptions to both and I'm sure that I've left out several production areas. Most of this information comes from the blog Coffee and Conservation, written by ornithologist Julie Craves. I've only tried a very small percentage of these origins; so far, my favorites are Sumatran (Arabica, of course) and Peruvian.
*The source that I got this information from mentioned that some avoid Zambian and Zimbabwean coffee due to concerns of it helping fund violent conflict in the area; this particular article, however, is from 2006 and may be wildly out of date. I couldn't find much more info on this topic when I searched elsewhere.
**They primarily produce Arabica with organic methods, despite the sunny conditions.
***Sumatra is likely the most notable coffee-growing island in Asia; while the majority is Robusta grown on plantations that have deforested a horrifyingly large percentage of the island, the Arabica grown in the north is well-known for its far healthier growing conditions (shade + organic, usually) and extremely distinct flavor.
Volume 2?
I may eventually add on to this post, most likely with a Turkish coffee guide coming next. I used to make Turkish coffee quite frequently, but I would need to dig up my old favorite recipe and cezve first. French press and coldbrew stuff will be in the more distant future if at all.
If any of this info looks wrong, let me know and I'll edit the post :-)
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Enjoy your cup!!!!
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faytalepsy · 3 months
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Process of my HEX Gift
I finally remembered to take a few screenshots of my progress stages and I always wanted to do a walkthrough post so here we are!!
I did not have a specific prompt from my giftee, except for the ship which was Silrah so I decided I wanted to draw a cozy romantic Christmas scene.
Which totally showed in my first sketch...definitely... My first sketches mostly look unrecognizable and there is no real system for them because it's just lines for my brain to visualize where I want everything to be. Sometimes they look like this, sometimes they are more light/shadow inclusive. The next step was to work out the poses for Farah and Saul and as you can see, I was struggling. 🤣
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When I finally found the pose I was looking for and fleshed out some elements in the background it was time for one of my absolute favorite parts.....that I forgot to screenshot....THE VALUES Which is me trying to figure out the lighting by blocking in light and dark areas with various shades of grey. But because I forgot to take a screenshot (and the value layer that I normally keep until the end for reference disappeared into the void of procreate) we will skip straight to the colour! I very roughly block in the areas with the colours I have in mind to see if everything fits and change what I don't like yet. When that is done I now have a finished concept which I need to refine and then paint!
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And now I reached the point of actual background design which was HARD. I looked at many pics of Farah's headmistress' office to try and get a feel for what items might be in her private suite. The mantle of the fireplace looked very empty even after I added the little astrology magic thing and the flowers so I decided to add a circle just like the ones in her office as @septemberrie deducted. I also played around with the design of the fire guard because I wanted it to have that elegant whimsical fairy vibe. I added a lamp inspired by one from Sims 4 and a book in the foreground to hide the awkward angle they are sitting at. For the frame on the wall, I wanted a moon-themed design but it took me a while to figure it out, which is why I left the frame empty for now. Then it was time for lineart and actually sketching in the elements I wanted to be in the background. I usually set my colour or value layer and the sketch layer to 20% and draw over it.
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You might also notice that the wrapped sword disappeared...which I regret to this day because I simply forgot to paint it into the rough lineart and only remembered when Skye asked what's supposed to be in the remaining present. Maybe I will add it at some point because now Saul has no present...except for Farah. But the square box present was meant to be Saul's present to Farah and originally I wanted a jewelry box but it was too small to see so I just....put a bigger box. Creativity *sparkles*
Another thing is that from the rough line-art to the nice line-art (yes I always draw my line-art two or three times.....even though line-art is my least favorite stage probably) the Christmas tree is losing a lot of ornaments. Originally I wanted to put in way more stuff like small straw stars or figurines but after painting a million tiny branches I started regretting every life decision that brought me to this point so I simplified the tree. A lot. In the end, I don't regret that because I think it fits them even better. Silrah don't strike me as people who go all out on Christmas and rather just decorate small and tastefully (given they would even celebrate because Otherworld= different culture, but we ignore that piece of worldbuilding for this Christmas-themed drawing)
Next I block in every area on a separate layer so I can alpha-lock them for the painting process. At this point I was getting too annoyed with the tree because painting it was a pain in the ass so I started shading and painting in textures and finishing everything else before even continuing to block in the tree.
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The whole image was still too cold at this point so I went in with one of my favorite parts: atmosphere and then lighting bringing it all together and making the painting shine! Painting light is so much fun and I definitely want to learn more about lighting and structure to get better at it but I really love it when someone compliments the light in my art!!
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I also finally added the title of the book in the front. I wanted it to be something about magic that Farah would read and looked at various old book covers with pretty lettering. I decided on "The Story of Magic" because I found a very pretty-looking reference cover with exactly the letters that I needed to spell.
And then....something was still missing......THE TREE. (I didn't take a progress picture at that stage that's why it's already in the pics up there but in the end I still had to draw the light on the branches and after doing about four or five of them I decided the effort was not worth the result and did the light reflection very very roughly. But I don't think anyone except me really notices.
And tada the finished Christmas drawing!
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a-salmon-good-time · 4 days
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Hello Loaf,
I just wanted to ask about your philosophy on shading and color. I noticed some of your works have shading while others don’t. Or am I overthinking the process of coloring and shading? Sometimes I think I might be selling myself short on the on where I am at and that I might already know how to do it. I noticed in your speed paint from away back, I think you used fill coloring. Is that what you usually do?
Thanks a lot for the help.
To make this ask less of a drag. Do you have any favorite A Salmon Good Time characters or do you like them all the same?
One last thing, please let me know if these asks are too long and tedious.
For my movie scene illustrations, most of the time the characters are drawn with flat coloring. For the ones that do include shading/lighting, it's usually when there's a strong, distinct light source (like a spotlight on stage) or to convey strong emotion (joy, sadness, fear) within a scene.
Another instance I use shading is for general full illustrations, like promotional art for example (or like my current profile picture... which I feel needs a good update, so I'll most likely redraw it haha)!
But in most cases where I don't use shading, it's usually for quick sketches, character reference sheets, or small doodles for when I just wanna get the idea down and not focus much on details/light sources!
That's correct! When I get to the coloring part, I use a magic wand tool to select the areas I wanna color, and then use the fill tool to add the colors in.
Oh, don't worry about the asks being long! I'm always happy to help— I like to think someone else seeing these could find these kinds of tips/advice asks helpful to them as well! ^^
(Hmmm... my favorite A Salmon Good Time character? At this point in the project, I actually still have a few characters I've yet to reveal. But with the cast I have now, I wanna say my current favorites are Goldie and Frank!!! ❤️)
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crowborn666-writes · 2 years
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Apologies (Part 2)
(Part 2 was asked for by @iheartmyselff ! Apologies (hehe) for the wait on this one, Stardew Valley has taken over my life.)
Muzan x Reader
Genre: Fluff, Platonic/Romantic
Summary: A few years had passed since you became a demon. You spend your days training and growing stronger, getting used to killing and eating humans and never touching sunlight again. Today however, you’re indulging in a favorite pastime.
Part 1 (contains CW/TW)
~~~~~~
The gentle, amber lights of the shopping district bathed you and Akaza in a warm glow. You had wanted to buy something without Muzan around, so you politely asked Akaza to accompany you. He said yes, of course, not wishing to displease you, and after a quick disguise of his more demonic features, he walked side by side with you into the night.
It wasn’t until you had purchased quite a bit of fabrics of different colors did Akaza think to ask you what you’d come for.
You smiled and playfully held a finger to your lips, an action so hauntingly familiar to Muzan’s, yet yours held an entirely different weight. Yours was lighter and softer, more of a playful shush than a demand of silence. “I’ll tell you, but only if you keep it a secret from Lord Muzan!”
Akaza’s eyebrows lifted, an expression of both apprehension and interest crossing his features. You told him about your hobby back when you were human, how you loved to sow and create delightful patterned kimonos and other fabrics. Your expression grew somber when you explained others around you would negate or dirty your work.
“But I still love to create those fabrics,” you continued, checking the colors you’d picked out already as you spoke, “and I wanted to create something nice for Lord Muzan as a thank-you for saving me from my dreadful human life.”
Akaza smiled gently at you then, absently wondering how something sweet and delicate like yourself could’ve been turned into a strong demon. You weren’t on par with any of the Upper Moons, perhaps not even a Lower Moon at that, but Akaza knew you would get there someday. You already showed promise of that.
“I’m sure Lord Muzan would love your gift. Do you have everything you need? I brought along extra money if it’s needed.”
It was your turn to smile up at him, your eyes glittering with warmth as your grin stretched wide across your face.
“Sometimes you’re too sweet to be as terrifying as you actually are, Akaza. But no, thank you, I believe I have everything.” You took a moment to adjust your grip on the basket of fabrics in your hands. “We can return.”
~~~
The minute you got back to the home Muzan had you stay in, you absconded to your room with your things, wanting to get right to work before Muzan could find you and ruin the surprise you had planned for him.
Your hands glided through each step of the process, the kimono beginning to form in shades of deep violet and black. As you worked, you couldn’t help but hope and pray your measurements were correct. You were too afraid to ask for Muzan’s measurements in fear he’d figure out what you were planning.
Still, if the measurements weren’t correct, you could always offer to fix them.
You didn’t hear your door slide open as you were making the final adjustments and folding the new clothing into a neat, presentable pile, nearly jumping a foot in the air when a voice sounded behind you.
“Are you hiding something from me? You’ve been avoiding me (Y/n).”
To your credit, you were quick to spin on your heels and give a respectful bow.
“Not at all Lord Muzan! I merely wished to create something for you and didn’t want the surprise to be ruined!”
It was quiet as he studied you, that piercing, red gaze of his settling a weight onto your shoulders. But only for a moment, as the weight lifted as his expression softened.
“A surprise? May I see what it is?”
You lifted your head and nodded with a smile, turning around as Muzan welcomed himself further into your room.
“I do hope the measurements are correct. If not, tell me and I can easily fix them!”
You wonder if you were ever the first to see genuine surprise on the Demon Lord’s face, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape as you presented the kimono to him.
“You made this?” He asked, carefully unfolding the fabric to examine it in full.
“I did. Fabric making has always been a fun hobby for me. And again, apologies for not telling you, I really did wish to surprise you.”
Muzan’s face melted into a smile as he carefully folded the kimono again, holding it close to him. “Thank you (Y/n), I quite like the colors you picked.”
“You do?” You couldn’t hold in your happiness at this point, your joy shining through and breaking your formality. “Oh I’m so glad! I’ll happily make you anything else you’d like!”
“I look forward to it.” Muzan hummed, turning to exit your room with his usual grace.
~~~
You were in your room, sketching out a new design idea that had popped into your head before bed when you felt Muzan’s presence behind you. You didn’t have time to turn and acknowledge him when he sat next to you, the new kimono you made for him fitting his form near perfectly.
Wordlessly, he held out his hand, and you wasted no time in giving him yours, palm up as you’d been instructed to a few times before. He smiled warmly, leaning forward to kiss the backs of your fingers as his free hand dripped drops of his blood into your awaiting palm.
You weren’t sure if this was a thanks or a reward for the kimono, but you definitely weren’t passing up the rare chance of Muzan sharing his blood.
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runwayrunway · 10 months
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No. 4 - jetBlue
Last time on Runway Runway, I covered all 19 of the things jetBlue paints on the tails of their planes. That post was by nature of its concept so long that I didn’t actually have time to discuss the livery itself. But I can’t just spend such a long time looking at their planes and not do that, can I? Especially not when they’re at least a sixth of the air traffic where I live. 
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So, enough buildup. Let’s remember that all those tails are attached to the rest of an airframe. 
I really like jetBlue. They’re among my favorite airlines to fly with, and they name their planes things that are funny. I live in a jetBlue focus city and it’s fun seeing all their planes with their varied tails and their ridiculous names parked all around like a flock of extremely silly seagulls. There’s just one problem: 
I do not particularly like their livery. 
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Okay. Here is a jetBlue plane. Relatively normal one. Just picked whichever one I stumbled on first. Painted exactly the same as all their planes have been for the last 23 years. She’s got all the bells and whistles. There’s the billboard logo in a nice legible font with its catchy lowercaseUppercase styling. Text on the tail somehow is the right combination of legible and out of place that it feels like a watermark rather than a part of the livery, but nobody’s perfect. Pleasing combination of blue shades. Ribbon variant of jetBlue’s signature jellybean tails. Definitely an airplane. Doesn’t hurt my eyes to look at.
Mostly white though. 
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I mean, it could absolutely be worse. Definitely, it could be worse. The fact that there are both light and dark blue shades blends together so if you look from the side you can almost mistake the plane for not being white. It’s still white, though. You can at least see the blue on the belly from the side. It looks clean and intentional. It just...is mostly white with a fully blocked off tail? I don’t know. I feel like maybe the design process was ‘the tails are interesting enough, we should leave the fuselage mostly alone’ but I’m not entirely sure I agree. Yes, it could be overwhelming if the execution was botched, but it could also be better than the way it looks now. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. I think Tex Johnston said that. 
Oh, huh, there goes N3104J “Roses are Red, This Plane is Blue” flying right past my house as I type this. I had to check on FR24 to know the registration and all that but I could at least tell she was a jetBlue plane because I could see the blue underside and vague blue of the tail. If she were directly above me I don’t think I would be able to tell her apart from the Delta planes that also come here a lot, but jetBlue’s planes are at least somewhat distinctive from the vantage point of someone in the Northeast US. Mission somewhat accomplished? 
It’s just...lacking pizzazz and I would expect more from the airline with a plane named “FuhgeddaBlueDit”. At the same time, it does...it’s certainly designed somewhat. It feels less like they just hopped on the bandwagon and more like they made a design they genuinely thought was the best for them and it happened, by pure coincidence, to be the same thing everyone else was doing. Good equation, bad result, if you will. I think, honestly, she is...
Down in the deep blue...C. 
Mmm...yep. Seems like that’s it. I’m done here. Unless...oh, oh no. I remember now. I’m not even close to done. 
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ticklystuff · 1 year
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Tickletober Day 26: Favorite Spot
a/n: prompt from this list! last prompt i’m doing for tickletober!
characters: lee!zhongli, ler!childe
word count: ~775
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"AjaHAhax! NohOHo! A-Ahahaha!"
"Hmmm, Zhongli, we almost forgot our daily tickle session," Childe mused over Zhongli's pleas to stop, clearly relishing in the older man's sweet laughter as his fingers continued to relentlessly nip at Zhongli's hips, pinning him firm to the old mattress they shared.
Zhongli actually thought he had managed to luck out this time. Normally, Childe would find some time to some how mix in some tickles, as if it was part of his routine, but the day had breezed by without a single one. Those fingers came close multiple times, pressing into his side or trailing behind his back, keeping Zhongli on edge throughout the day, but they were nothing more than a faint tap. Now, the older man was realizing that those light touches were just meant to fake him out, allowing Childe to toy with him until the end of the day until they could get to the real stuff.
The bed shook as Zhongli squealed under the influence of Childe's fingers, his laughter echoed throughout his humbled abode, amplifying as it reverberated within the the wooden framework. "Hehe-hAAH! Ahahaha! Nohohot too muhuhuch!" Part of him tried to reason with Childe that it was too late into the night to be playing this game, afraid of waking the neighbors, but both knew that it was a throwaway excuse to get the redhead to stop, no matter how much Zhongli pleaded with him.
"But Zhongli, this is my favorite spot," Childe said with a smirk when Zhongli let out a strained squeal as his fingers continued to dig into his waist. "You always make the funniest noises whenever I get you here."
Zhongli had no grounds to refute that statement as what sounded like a mix between a hiccup and a heavy snort flew out of his mouth the moment Childe tweaked both ends of his waist simultaneously, leaving Zhongli nothing but a blushing mess. Thankfully, Childe removed himself from the other, allowing Zhongli a moment to breathe, catching his breath with his eyes screwed shut, knowing full well that Childe was smirking triumphantly at him.
"Roll over."
The words went unregistered initially and Zhongli only managed to catch them after Childe repeated himself. "Pardon?" he managed weakly, Childe's playful expression barely visible through one cracked eye.
"Oh? Did you think we were done?" Childe stifled a giggle as he spoke and Zhongli felt his stomach drop. "C'mon Zhongli, on your stomach. I know you have a favorite spot too."
"I-I do not," Zhongli scoffed, but a gentle nudge from Childe prompted him to reluctantly flip over, resting his chin on his pillow as he faced the headboard.
"Not true," Zhongli could feel the mattress shift as Childe positioned himself to sit right beside him. "Remember how I said you make weird noises when I tickle your waist? Well, you sound different too when I trace along your back."
Backing up his claims, Childe gently brought his hands to Zhongli's bare skin, running his fingers along his spine. Zhongli flexed his fingers against the mattress to brace himself, but was met with light touches fluttering against his back, the tips of Childe's fingers barely kissing the soft skin. The sparks that shot up his spine resembled a splash of water colors, each with their own shades that mixed into a unique sensation, one that Zhongli had difficulty describing to even himself. The butterflies in his stomach began to settle, though, and Zhongli let out a heavy sigh into his pillow, making sure to conceal how his face might look in the process. 
"I told you," Childe gloated amusedly, though, his fingers never stopped, earning muted giggles from the older man as he played with the strands of hair, skittering his fingers to and from.
It took all of Zhongli's strength to lift his head from the pillow, breaking himself out of the daze that Childe had managed to put him in, barely construing the words to speak as he let Childe continue. "What's.. yohohour favorihihite spot?"
There was a brief pause as Zhongli awaited his answer. "My favorite tickle spot? It would have to be..." his voice trailed off as he spoke and Zhongli took the moment to prop his head up and look up at the redhead. "It would have to be you, of course!"
Zhongli had no time to react as Childe dove at him, catching him off-guard with a yelp the moment he felt his hands all over him again once more. "NOHOHOHO!! AJAHAHAHAX!"
"Sorry, I'm not sure I understood the question," Childe teased, a smug grin crossing his face. "But Zhongli, you're my favorite tickle spot!"
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tizeline · 1 year
Note
Your art is so cool!! Can you share you digital art process sometime?
Ask and ye shall receive:
(Also thank you!!😭)
Aight so I have A Few digital art processes due to me being inconsistent and not being able to commit to one thing (I prefer calling it ✨having a creative and curious mind✨ but eh) so my processes are subject to change, but here are my more recent methods of drawing digitally.
First of all, my art software of choice in the last couple of years has been Procreate, with some of my most commonly used brushes being these:
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Spectra is my brush of choice when it comes to sketching, I really like the texture and it has a nice feel when it comes to both size and opacity based on pressure.
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Next up is lineart, what brushes I use in this stage goes hand in hand with what type of colouring process I'll use. When it comes to drawings with more flat shading (such as cellshading) I'll usually use Narinder Pencil. Again, nice texture, and I like it for situations where I want thinner lines with less variety in line-thickness.
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When I use a colouring and shading process that's more complex/fully rendered of whatever tf you call it, I tend to use the Niko Rull or Eaglehawk (first drawing is the Niko Rull, second is Eaglehawk)
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They are also the brushes I use for the actual rendering process of this particular colouring style (yeah guess we're going into to colouring stage now)
I have no idea how to describe my actual process on how I render my drawings lmao sorry I guess?? I kinda just improvise and hope it ends up looking decent haha. As you might be able to guess though, I am HEAVILY inspired by Arcane's art style (that show Awakened something in my istg) so uhhhhh go watch other people's tutorials on how to emulate the Arcane art style or smthn I dunno.
I will say though, the rendering process and the final look of the piece ends up being slightly different depending on which brush I use.
Niko Rull is rectangular as a base shape, and it doesn't really shade that easily on it's own. Because of that it takes a while to make the shading look good (trust the process!!) but I really like the end result (textureeeeee)
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Eaglehawk is easier to blend and shade with (as in it takes a shorter amount of time) which leads to the end result being more smooth
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Back to the drawings that use mainly flat shading! Here I will often use Eaglehawk to add that sweet sweet texture I keep going on about, basically I will just colour the areas that are either darker and/or more saturated (for example the cheeks, nose and ears in the latter case) with what is usually a warmer tone on a layer set to multiply, then I adjust the opacity to my liking.
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Then I'll just cellshade using the Medium Hard Airbrush. I like using a cooler tone like blue often (like I did here in this example) but that changes a lot depending on what I think'll fit the art piece. Draw that on a layer set to multiply and again adjust the opacity to whatever looks good.
In the final stages of the drawing process I'll just add a bunch of filters until it looks good lmao. I am Bad At Colour Theory™, even though I KNOW the theory part of it, I have such a hard time actually using it practically. Basically, making the colour palette look good is HARD so I'll just CHEAT by using layers that's filled with a colour (whatever fits) and set it to like multiply or overlay or something like that and lower the opacity a bunch and BOOM people will think I know what I'm doing. One of my favorite is covering the entire drawing with a layer filled with a light blue colour, set that layer to Difference and lower the opacity to like 5%. The effect is subtle, but I like it.
Also, MORE TEXTURE!! Static texture!! Well, in procreate it's called "Noise" but it basically adds this static like texture to your selected layer. Use it on a layer that's filled with gray, set it to overlay lower the opacity a bunch and it gives this really nice grainy feel to your art. The colour filters I tend to use on all my coloured drawings, but the noise texture I mostly use the art with flat shading.
So yeah, sketching - lineart - colour flats - shading/rendering - add a bunch of filters - finished art piece, nothing really unusual there.
And lastly, some extra things I do:
In the lineart stage, I'll colour the sketch like red or something to differentiate between the sketch and lineart more easily.
I'll also lower the opacity of the sketch layer to help avoid accidentally drawing the lines on the same layer as the sketch (iykyk)
When filling in the flats, I'll first use a deep, saturated red or blue, and when I'm done filling in a section then I'll change the colour in that area to what it's actually supposed to be. This makes it easier to notice if there's a spot you missed to fill in because it'll contrast more!
I tend to prefer lineart that isn't pure black in my illustrations. With thinner lines I'll colour them a dark brown, blue, green etc, while with thicker lines I'll do the same but also lower the opacity slightly so that the colour underneath effects the lines colour as well.
You know how some people draw everything on like 1-3 layers? Yeah I'm the opposite, ONE MILLION LAYERS BABEYYYY you can never have too many!! (actually you can there's a limit but eh)
Sometimes, when I need to come up with a pose, I'll try posing in different ways myself to get ideas. I wont take any reference pics of myself tho because yikes
That's all I can think of for now! There's quite a lot to go into when it comes to art processes and I'm not great at explaining things, so if anyone has any questions just ask! :,)
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tbcanary · 9 months
Note
do you have a guide to making your animated comic edits?
i don't, actually! in part because i'm relatively new to these parts and no one has asked for one, and in part because every gif i do is kind of a unique little adventure into teaching myself a new skill, so there isn't just one approach. but! i'm delighted that you want to know! so i'll try and walk you through a couple of them.
we'll start with this guy, because he's a favorite of mine and showcases a lot of the steps that i usually have to do:
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tools you'll need: photoshop CS6; digital versions of the comics you'd like to edit.
(i assume you can use any version of photoshop or any editor capable of creating gifs, but CS6 is my preference. photopea is a fantastic free alternative, but figuring out timing and transitions is a lot harder there and requires more effort.)
step one: find your panels and elements
it's worth noting here that i cannot - and i mean this - cannot draw. at all. a lot of my life would be easier if i could, but here we stand. as such, nearly every element of these gifs is pulled from the comics themselves.
for this particular gif, which is admittedly on the simpler side, i needed two things: the initial panel, of jason leaping into the air, and a still image of jason as robin. preferably from the same run with the same artist, because that way, the art matches. i found these:
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and that's all i needed for this one. sometimes i need to pull several panels for the vibe i want, or for specific things -- leaves to drift through the frame, magical elements, text and sound effects, speech bubbles, etc -- but adding those in follows pretty much the same processes either way.
step two: prep them!
easier said than done, really. what i needed to do here was make myself a blank canvas around the elements that i would be messing with. this varies from project to project, but for this one, it goes as follows: remove the narration box and jason from the first panel; create an isolated version of jason that can be pasted back in; create an isolated version of robin that can be pasted in the same place at a similar angle.
this is a lengthy process, because i work off my laptop and have a touchpad and no artistic skills. here, it requires drawing in a lot of building and making a successfully blurry, ombre sky. and, because robin!jason's toes are cut off, i have to draw those in and try to match the shading.
(there's also some work here with color balance and photo filters to match coloration; i had to add some highlighting and change the colors on robin!jason a bit to match the background lighting of the overall image, but not by much. sometimes, this step is more involved.)
after some fiddling, i usually end up with things i'm happy with. for this gif, those are as follows:
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(this is done through the blur tool, the magic wand selection tool, refining the edges of a selection, or -- in many cases, because comic lineart is my enemy - erasing every pixel of the background or character by hand. yes, there are easier ways to do this, but i like my time-consuming methodologies. they're soothing to me.)
and now we're ready for the fun parts.
part three: assembly!
so we take that background we just made and we paste hood!jason back on it on a new layer. silly that we have to, but yknow. it's fine. he's in there. and now the goal is to find a way to successfully transition from hood!jason to robin!jason in a way that's satisfactory.
i follow a lot of standard gifmaking practices, i feel like? but i'm also self-taught, so i actually don't know how true that is. i create a timeline in photoshop and set it to have a delay of about 0.2 seconds to start with, just to see how the transitions go. i usually start with 10 frames, and then add or remove depending on what seems right.
(the variations here can be broad, by the way. i have a green arrow gif with 140 frames with no delay and a wonder woman gif with six frames on a one-second delay, for example, but those are for another time. starting with 0.2 seconds' delay across 10 frames is just a comfortable starting place for me, is my point.)
this is what the timeline looks like for this project:
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(it's that bar at the bottom. you can see the settings and all that as they appear in the final product: 0.1 second delay over 12 frames, so not too far off from my default. nice.)
operating within that 10-12 frame range, i mess around with photo filters and the blur tool to both make hood!jason disappear and make robin!jason appear. this involved a heavy use of the "accented strokes" setting in the filter gallery and smudging and blurring until they looked how i wanted them to, which is to say, rather silly.
here's red hood vanishing:
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and here's robin appearing:
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there are a few additional versions of these, but i think you get the idea. these are all the bits and bobs, and i just have to lay them out in the timeline in order to get the transition as i'd like it to be.
so i start with jason as hood, and then i move through the timeline and click and unclick the little eye to view them. this is also a heavy process; this gif has about twenty layers, and i'm revealing/hiding each one individually. that is actually not as bad as it could be; one of the poison ivy gifs i've published has about 600 layers that i did that with, and i have a green arrow gif with about 800 layers and 70 frames that i didn't even end up publishing because i wasn't happy with it. c'est la vie.
the end product should look something like this:
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which, when played at 0.1 second delay and looped, looks like this:
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part four: in conclusion...
i recognize this "guide" is messy and skips over quite a bit, but that's because every gif really is its own beast. i am very familiar with trial and error, and with trashing things that don't end up working out. each gifset takes me about 10-12 hours, depending on complexity, without even counting the time to track down panels or read the comics themselves.
if you want to start with something simple, i suggest animating text bubbles. all you have to do for those is erase them from the background and then drop them back in over the top for about 0.5 or 01 seconds apiece for readability. this gif of mia, for example, was just isolating her from her background, creating a new background from a different panel, and then flipping the text on and off. it's got five frames on a 0.5-second delay.
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basically... fuck around and find out. a lot. once you know how the gif timeline works and how to hide/reveal layers, the world is your oyster, because that's all this is.
again, i know this is messy and all over the place, but i hope it helps! have a little fun with it, and don't be afraid to mess up. it's fun either way. <3
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lpanne · 2 years
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Cross stitch pattern design
Steps 1-3 for designing a pattern using an image converter as a base
Step 4: choose colors that look good in real life
As i’ve mentioned before this is one of my least favorite parts of pattern design because when i’m editing a pattern as i stitch this is the part that leads to the most frogging. However, because i’m so bad at it i’ve come up with a processes and a couple of tricks and tips that have helped me and i hope can help others who hate this just as much as i do. To give a good framework i’ll run through my basic process but bold the parts that i think are most helpful.
colors suggested for my pattern based on image conversion software:
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colors chosen after looking at the painting in real life and hand choosing colors:
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currently stitched area to compare to real life:
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Never trust the colors you see on the computer screen. Your computer screen will make you think that there is a lot more contrast between colors than exists in real life. Cross stitches are three dimensional objects made up of a base color with highlights and shadows. For example, when stitching with two colors one could have a base color the same as the second’s shadow making the contrast harder to see. Colors that look distinct on your computer screen will blend together much more in real life than on the computer. This can be a good thing if you are trying for blended more watercolor-esc look (example pikachu, example bulbasaur), but if you want clear distinctions your colors will need to be much more contrast than your computer screen will suggest (example Albuquerque). 
The very first step to pattern design is knowing the color families. Both DMC and anchor publish little booklets with the color families. They are great to use to find threads in the same color family but also to be able to compare the different color families for a single color like green and choose the family with the right tones. While actually owning the booklet is nice if you regularly design patterns, you don’t really need to buy one. The one i own doesn’t have the most recent 35 colors in it so i mostly look at the digital version found here: https://lordlibidan.com/dmc-color-chart/. It isn’t always ideal to be working off of a computer screen, but again i mostly use it to identify which color overall has the right tone and then which other colors are in the same family. After i have a general idea of what i want to work with, i grab my actual bobbins of thread and work from there. 
i’m extremely lucky that i own all dmc colors so i can pull out bobbins as i go to choose colors. Although this is more fun to do at home, before i had the full collection i did this at a cross stitch store when i was converting an anchor pattern to dmc. 
When building my color palate i choose a keystone color that is representative of the gradient i want to build. This is usually the thread color that will be used the most in the gradient, but it can also be a bridging color between two color families. For example, if you want to stitch plant leaves and want both a brown-green and yellow-green areas the keystone color might be the midpoint color between them that will bring two different color families together. i know some people like to use hex codes to try to find the thread color to use, but i would never suggest using them to build a gradient as they lack the knowledge of the available color families. However, i do believe they would be useful in choosing the keystone color, then using the color charts to choose the gradient. 
If i don’t have any shading on a pattern i can usually just throw all my bobbins in a pile and see if the colors look good together. I consider things like warm and cool tones, and use natural light if at all possible and hope for the best. The actual biggest issue for me is determining the gradient that i will use so that i get the effect that i want. My rule of thumb is that if i want to see a clear contrast between two colors in the same gradient i do not choose sequential colors, but instead choose every other color to build my gradient. For example:
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Using this gradient if i wanted contrast i would choose 605 and 603 and not 605 and 604. This rule of thumb does have exceptions. Some dmc gradients are not completely filled out and jumps between colors can be a lot more distinct than in this specific example. To test if two colors will be sufficiently distinct i lay 1 strand from one of the colors across the bobbin of the other. if i can distinctly see that 1 strand i’m confident i’ll be able to see a difference when i stitch (and just to be really clear the 1 strand i’m talking about is one of the six strands that form the main thread). As with the Albuquerque example this test in not just for colors in the same family. If you have any colors in your pattern you are scared might not be sufficiently distinct and will be next to each other when stitched i suggest using this technique. 
Hopefully this is somewhat helpful. Anyone else who understands color more than me feel free to add your own advice. 
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batterdoodle · 1 year
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Ask post found HERE!
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6. Warm colors or cold colors? I think I stay generally neutral? I don’t really have a preference when it comes to art, though when it comes to like drawing an ACTUAL scene I can do either of them if needed. ...If I was better / more motivated to do backgrounds I think I’d do a lot more pieces with mood lighting to be honest. But I mainly do transparent backgrounds / solid color / white backgrounds so I tend to lean more into vibrancy and clarity when it comes to colors / designs.
12. Show us an old drawing! How old?
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18. Are you satisfied with the attention your art usually gets? Honestly, I’m very surprised by how many people here like my art and like my OCs / designs! The tags people leave always make my day and it sometimes even motivates me to draw more and post older art. If something “flops” in notes, it doesn’t really matter to me because I enjoyed drawing it anyway. :] Learning to love doing art for yourself is so worth it every second.
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@ocularose​
2. What's your favorite thing about your style? I’ve honestly been learning to love my style a lot more in the past year, so I’d definitely say... I’ve improved at fluidity / movement, posing has absolutely improved alongside angles and general anatomy.. I think one of my favorite things is that I really enjoy drawing now, as silly as that sounds. Another thing is I really like the vibrancy and colors, and shading when I do end up doing it. I’ve started to love my sketches too even though I hated that the most in the past.
4. Favorite thing to draw? I really like drawing drippy stuff sometimes! Not sure why but it’s fun to let loose. Obviously aside from liking drawing official characters and OCs, I love making designs based on little ideas, or just generally making character designs / adopts to sell. It’s nice to know that something I make might end up being used in something big one day, or be loved as a character. :]
8. What's the most fun and the least fun parts about your process? Most fun.. I really love shading, sometimes lining can be super fun too depending on the amount of detailing. I don’t really dislike many parts of my art process, though I used to DESPISE sketching because I didn’t have any solid style or way of getting something done so I used to spend hours just on a sketch and by the time I’d get to lining and everything else I’d be exhausted or horribly bored. Maybe something I dislike is that I can’t draw even faster? Sometimes I get hit with a million ideas at once and my hand can only move so fast before I overwhelm myself with my own ideas lmao. Though I’ve trained myself to draw incredibly fast even now but I want to be SPEED.
20. A piece from this year that you're really proud of?
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I’m honestly still really proud of this piece. Didn’t even plan on making it a piece initially either and just ended up fully rendering it, but it turned out so good. I think I nailed the exact mood lighting I was going for.
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@gutsbutt​
17. What do you love getting compliments about? Honestly anything really!! I appreciate it all, though my heart explodes when I compliments that point out specific things about my art that people notice. It just means a lot that people take the time to look at my art and want to let me know they like it. :]
20. A piece from this year that you're really proud of?
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I know I already answered this question, and I also know this is another Pleo, but this is also one I went to town on for basically no reason. I love it so much, it makes my heart feel fuzzy. :]
21. Something you would like to improve on? Honestly mostly anatomy and posing, fluidity more, definitely... learning how to redraw humans to where I’m comfortable with drawing them again. More ways of using colors because can’t have enough of pretty colors in art. :]
Thank you guys so much for the questions!! I tend to talk a lot so I wanted to put it all in one post to avoid spamming a bunch of huge posts with answers. Have a wonderful day and thank you so much for reading!!
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Text
CW: this is a pretty extreme fantasy involving kidnapping & cnc. please read with care!!
In some dark, dingy basement, there's a large cell where i now lay. Escape being impossible punctuated best by the steel anklet i wear attached to a large chain bolted into the wall opposite to the cell bars. If i tried, i could not reach them, and if i did, there's no way through them. In this cell there were few necessary amenities. A small lump of blankets i used for sleeping, a tap that produced water that tasted a little funny, but hadn't made me sick yet, and a toilet.. then there was one thing that felt incredibly out of place.
At the end of my reach with the chain, there was a piano. A beautiful baby grand. The same model i had growing up. It was the only part of the basement that had dim lighting. At first, i thought it was completely in my imagination. i thought that because piano had always been a safe place for me, that my mind was putting it there as some sort of bleak comfort for my new situation. That piano specifically holds a very special place in my heart. There's no way my new, cruel captor would ever care to know that... would they?
i slept in the opposite corner to this piano.. this illusion, terrified that if i did get attached, if i did find out it was real it would just be one last thing i can hold on to.. which means one last thing they can take away from me. i had everything stripped from me. my clothes, belongings, my personhood.. i was reduced to nothing, so now i couldn't afford to have something, especially something so kind..
..i thought... until i touched it for the first time. It had been what i'd assume was weeks of torment. Being taken out of my cell, ordered around, trained, used, whatever my captor desired. Disobedience was immediately met with strict punishments, so i learned very quickly never to deny them anything. Back in my cell, i felt numb. i wasn't me anymore, i was just a shade who does what she's told, then waits in her cell until the next time she was needed. It reminded me of how i felt when i was younger.. and how i would cope with the lack of feeling.
i started walking slowly to the piano, terrified it would vanish forever if i got too close. The truth was, even though i constantly told myself i couldn't be, i was already attached. It was one of the few bits of kindness in my life since becoming a captive. i stopped in front of it and slowly reached out my hand and touched it... it was real. This basement always felt cold, but it felt.. warm? i couldn't explain it, so i just stood, stared and gently caressed the top of the piano, until i heard a noise that broke me out of the trance and sent me scurrying back to my corner.
Over the next few days i started to notice some things. Once my captor had me back in the basement after a session, they were nothing but kind to me. They would first take me to the bath and softly clean me off while cooing sweet affirmations in my ear of how well i did, and how happy they are to have me. Before i could only process these words as terrifying, patronizing words to manipulate me, but they slowly wore on me.
Where they.. actually trying to make me feel safe, and wanted? i thought i was only an object to them. Something they possess, and own. Do they actually care for me?
That day after being left alone again, i went back to the piano. This time i sat at the bench and gently felt the keys without pressing them too hard. This.. was my safe space.. just like it always had been. Pianos were the way i got to express myself, like i'm talking to an old friend, but with sounds instead of words. It was the place i allowed myself to feel when i was numb. The place that made me feel safe when i was scared.. and it was here... my captor left it here for me.
i slowly started playing my favorite song quietly.. one that i'd wrote years ago out of so much strife. it surprisingly sounded beautiful in this dark, dingy basement. i got bolder and bolder until i was letting out the whole medley i had built up in my mind into the piano. This was still my safe space. It always had been.
i moved all my bedding so i could curl up under my new, protective friend, and had the most peaceful sleep i'd had since i was taken.
The next day, my captor didn't say anything about finding me sleeping under the piano, or the music coming from the basement. Just had a slight, unusual smile on their lips. They had me perform my duties as usual. No worse, and no easier. Then they brought me down to the basement for the usual aftercare. This time it felt like the words they were saying actually sunk in. Yes, the world is full of hate, malice, and bigotry. Yes, it's a busy place for people like me who just want to serve. Yes i am happy my new captor keeps me safe from all the chaos and noise. i'm happy they accept and want me for who i am & now i don't have to worry about feeling lonely or wanted. i'm always wanted here.. i'm always safe here. the things i'm made to do may be depraved, but they're not for me.. that's my service to another.. i'm their safe place, and the piano they gave me is mine.
For the first time during one of these aftercare sessions i spoke. Without thinking, i let out a soft "thank you" while they were brushing my soft hair. my heart started racing when they immediately stopped moving the brush midway through. i thought for sure i would be in for one of my owner's awful punishments, but no. Just a simple "you're welcome darling" and continued on brushing.
As the days went on, i started falling into things more. i started to actually enjoy my service to my owner, and in turn they started being even more gentle with me during aftercare. They'd let me be as affectionate as i needed to be, and stayed extra time with me when i wanted them to. Sometimes when i'd be playing the piano, my captor would come down and sit in a comfy chair outside my cell and listen silently as i played. In my now safe cell it was still for me, but it did feel nice to have their appreciation.
Eventually they offered to tune the piano. A skill they explained they picked up before taking me, knowing i loved piano. i asked them to tune it a little softer. i really like muted, almost melancholic sounding pianos, and they did it perfectly. They did this for me... they learned to tune a piano so they would never have to risk my safety by bringing some unknown person in to tune it for me when it got out of sorts.. it was so kind.
Things just became happier and happier after that. my captor made me a custom mattress to put under the piano so i wouldn't have as much back pain sleeping there. i started to ask them if they had any songs they'd like me to learn.. because well, even though piano was for me, i found i really did enjoy making them proud & happy. They seemed surprised.. which would mark the first time i was genuinely able to surprise them, but happy to take me up on the offer. They got me new music of beautiful songs to learn & perform for them.
In this dark basement, i was their captive pianist who played sweet songs for them, and i was happy & safe.
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shuuos · 1 year
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for the art ask!!!!! 7, 8, 13, 19, and 20!!!!
HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHUEHGUOGRSHG
7. show us a WIP
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you already just met him like.... an hour ago but!!!! akira!!! my boy!!!!! and his stuffed raccoon dog poko who is also his best friend!!!!!!
8. what's the most fun and the least fun parts about your process
most fun is definitely coloring!!!!! i love slapping colors on the canvas and seeing what works and then shading it is like a brother to me
and then my least favorite is lineart bc i am Not Good with even lines but i also don't have the patience to learn lineless art so by god am i redrawing the same line five hundred times in a row!
13. how long do you usually take on a piece
depends on how motivated i am tbh!!! it could take anywhere between about a day to literal months (that does remind me that i do have a piece that i have been working on for several months and would like to finish within the year oh shit)
19. how often do you draw
oughougfhuosd i doodle almost every day and i sit down and try to draw every day but college is kicking my ass and my attention span has taken a major hit so it's usually every other week that i actually start a new piece orz
20. a piece from this year that you're really proud of
okay so i have three that i am very tied between THREE TWO ONE GO
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first we have Girlboss doing Girlboss Shit(TM) and i like how i did the colors turned out on this one :3
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i'm very proud of how the angle on this one turned out!! and also the rim light, i fucking LOVE how it looks
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and finally!! macaque!!! i think this piece is the first time i've dipped into furry art and it is very fun, i do really like drawing guys who happen to also be animals!!!
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rayless-reblogs · 1 year
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For the character meme, how about Red from Transistor?
Why I like them:
I think my starting point is probably her design. The bright shock of wavy red hair contrasting with those electric blue eyes. She's very delicate and beautiful, but her torn dress and big black jacket have such a punk edge. I love the use of in-universe songs in the game, and of course the songs themselves, how sharp and brooding they can be, how they're open to interpretation. Because she's silent and the game's world-building is sparse, you have a lot of freedom to imagine what her history was like, what she does on a day off, what she was thinking at different point in the game. It's a level of freedom you often don't get in modern games. At the same time, there are enough clues that you can see the shape of Red – passion, resilience, melancholy, humor, protectiveness – even if not every detail is filled out.
Why I don't:
I admit, on my first playthrough, when I learned she'd gone to the fancy school and gone with really unique Selections and was the most famous singer in Cloudbank, I rolled my eyes because it all felt so special. Those sorts of things can take the place of interesting traits in underwritten characters, but I ultimately felt the game didn't fall into that trap. Yes, Red is unique and extremely famous, but judging by songs like “The Spine” (and the Camerata's plans) it has consequences, and bad ones.
Favorite scene:
Hard to pick one. I'm mentally walking through the game to see what stands out... It's also hard to isolate a scene that's more about Red than the Boxer. Love the “You turned left” moment, love the chilly isolation of the scene where she first finds Boxer, love the flatbread break, love all the stuff leading up to the Spine, love her flying across the city on the Process... Maybe for a scene that's very much about Red, it could be her creating the bridge to Fairview. I just feel like we're seeing right into her heart there, maybe even her subconscious. The intimacy of the nude reaching statues, the mosaic of the clasped hands, the tree-shaded visuals. The way that (as I recall) that's where she lands after the final battle.
Oh, no, wait, I just remembered – her putting him in the Cradle. That's the best moment.
Favorite line:
The first one I think of is “I'm going to find the thing that's doing this and rip its heart out.” (Or words to that effect.) I also really like the cadence of I see the spine of the world/ Sparkle and shine, light the inside.
Favorite outfit:
I like both the torn and intact versions of her dress. I also really like some of the unused concept dresses. But I'm really intrigued by the off-the-shoulder outfit she wears in the coffee image at the end. Is it pjs? Is it a dress? I've interpreted it as a purple blouse in some pics. I just like this insight to who she is when not on stage, alone with her sweetie.
OTP:
Speaking of! The Boxer! It's one of the most romantic games I've ever played and I love it for that.
BROTP:
I've never actually headcanoned her being close to any of the other characters. I imagine she and Darzi probably knew each other socially, and that might have led her to meeting Lillian. I can also see Wave interviewing her for his show. I think the Sybil thing was one-sided, even on a merely friendship level. But if we branch out to other Supergiant titles, I think she and Pamitha would get along.
Head Canon:
Oh, lots. Off the top of my head, I think she came from very humble beginnings, even more so than Boxer. Part of her success was hard work, part was talent, but a lot of it was when she got lucky and received a Traverson scholarship. Given how quickly she takes to combat, I see her as scrappy and, as Boxer says, always having a plan, and I think coming up out of nowhere works well with that.
Unpopular Opinion:
Hmm, I'm not sure the fandom is divisive enough. (Thank goodness.) I've seen some fics that cast Red as extremely elegant and very polished, and like I said above, I see her as pretty hardscrabble and even emotionally cold at times. In my head, Boxer is the warmer, softer partner.
A wish:
I would love a comic adaptation of the game, especially if it leaned into the game's art style. Or a wish for Red herself? I mean, emotionally I want to think she and Boxer could find some way out of the Transistor. At the same time, it runs the risk of weakening the ending.
Please-don't-ever-happen:
Like the last question, I look at this in more of a meta way. Like, what could Supergiant do to Red that would really upset me? Expand on her story – no, that'd be exciting. A piece of media where she talked? That'd be great. A full album of Red songs? Yes, please! I guess I'd be upset if they continued the story and had Red and Boxer become disillusioned with each other – and they broke up permanently. I'm sorry, I just love them so much together.
5 words:
intense, elegant, relentless, loving, introspective
My nickname for them:
If I ever post any of my Transistor fic, I give her birthname as Elizabeth Muse Chlebek, Musie to her family, Red to everyone else.
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spotlightstudios · 1 year
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Thinking about my art process again :D
Usually, I only do character-centric drawings like the one pictured above, so I start off with the head. I have a loose idea of what I'll do with the body, but it all sorta flows in after that point.
My favorite part to work on is usually the chest and shoulders though, because that decides the entire composition of the rest of my piece. Here you can see I was thinking of adding a second character, and I positioned the collarbone towards the right, before I scrapped the second place and shifted it left.
I'm also a fan of big blocky shapes. N is probably a design I love to much because I've added so much space that I can fill w/ the same color as the lineart. The gloves and "horns" being the most obvious example. I don't do it everywhere though. The spaces between the bones in her tail are solid black, but her sockets and inside of her mouth are colored. The space where her gums would be is filled. It's subtle, but it's consistent across my drawings of her.
Then with technique on coloring here, I mixed it up (in the least mixy way possible). I mostly used Cell-shading and color blocking. Aka, one color per shade, no lighting, that's it. I love this style, and actually did most of it manually instead of using a layer filter. I think that usually makes the shading pop more than it usually would. However, the colors for inside the mouth and the eyelights (basically anywhere with magic) I used the blur effect and did just a touch more visual depth than I did with other sections. A lot of characters I'll do this with to provide a focus, like w/ Light I'll blur their hair and shirt, and Sun I'll blur his sleeves. It's kind of a show of how much emphasis I want to put on a character. It draws my eyes there a lot quicker than anywhere else.
The overlay affects I did add were the gaussian blur of white and dark red. Both of them ate confined within the shape of N, not escaping elsewhere outside the box.
The box itself is a storytelling tool I love to use. My most recent drawing w/ static (which I think I'll review next) uses it too. It's a bit of left over from my time on Amino, honestly. Leaving the background to match that of your post, making it look like your drawing is a part of the site itself. It's an affective method of standing out. A transparent N doodle like this box could mean she'd fit anywhere without the restraint of a setting. Digital sticker vibes. It's one of my favorite things, working with the negative space.
I'm not sure what's prompting this, but if I find any more full drawings I have videos saved for, then I'll bring them up and talk about the way I worked on them like this!
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