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thecruellestmonth · 1 month

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Juni Ba is holding a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" session on May 7 at 4 PM CEST (10 AM EST).

Some of his answers in his previous interviews about The Boy Wonder, a reimagining of Damian's story—

This is a standalone graphic novel (Black Label), meant to be accessible to readers with no prior comic knowledge. It is meant for ages 13+.

Damian is Ba's favorite Robin, and he finds him very relatable.

On Damian comic influences, Ba says Son of Batman and Super Sons were two of his favorite books. *CORRECTION: In the AMA, Ba makes it clear that he's referring to Robin: Son of Batman, not the Damian: Son of Batman series or the Son of Batman movie. Which makes a lot of sense for someone writing a fairy tale about Damian, but I was confused.

Other than Damian, Talia and Jason are the characters that Ba has been most excited to work with.

Ba did the art for the "Happy Birthday Damian" story in Truth & Justice; while the art was a test run for some design ideas he's using in The Boy Wonder, the actual story isn't necessarily indicative of his own writing style or his version of the characters.

Ba is a big fan of Darwyn Cooke. Justice League: The New Frontier thematically inspired him here, possibly more than particular Batman comics.

Ba is aware of the racism discussion regarding the al Ghuls, and he intends to humanize them.

Ba started writing in 2020 or 2021, and the story is being released now after a period of waiting.

"This is very much I guess a Juni Ba book that happens to feature Batman characters."

To start us off, what can you tell us about the story of your new series, The Boy Wonder?

I usually introduce it to people by saying it's the story of a child with a lot of hang ups and preconceived ideas, both about himself and his family members. Over the course of this coming of age fairy tale he starts to learn about them, and himself, and grow into a better person. And it really leans into the fairy tale aspect to push the allegory and the magic in this story!

Why does Damian appeal to you so much as both an artist and a writer?

I find him both tragic and adorable. He and I share some things and I think that's why my brain started coming up with a story about him all by itself. Writing wise there's a fertile ground to tell a really heartfelt story. And art wise, he's such a fun character to draw. It's like a cute little gremlin who's always frowning and judging everyone, which can often backfire on him in funny ways.

How much does Damian's past with Talia and Ra's al Ghul influence Damian and this story?

A lot! They raised him after all, so that upbringing influences a lot of what he does. But that includes Batman too, even if his influence is more recent. There's a looming presence of all the parental figures and the pressure of what they'd have wanted you to do, how they would have judged you.

Since we were talking about Damian’s mother, there have been questions surrounding characterization and stuff, especially for characters like the Al’Ghuls, whose stories unfortunately do have a lot of racist elements in their origins. Are you doing anything to combat or alleviate those concerns in your book?

Stories often dehumanize them, so I try to do the opposite. I think I have a very character-driven style of storytelling, and a lot of the time I try to give the point of view of as many people as I can in the story.

There are five issues. Three of them have the Robins, and then eventually we get to my 2nd favourite team up, which is with Talia and it’s done from her perspective. The main goal was to try to give her more of a voice, because you start this story with a kid who tells you “My parents are messed up,” he was essentially raised to kill people, but we see how she was raised too, and the faults that she can see in her father’s philosophy.

Ra’s gets a bit of that as well later on, but the main goal was, I want to make it so that when you start the story with Damian, he has a lot of preconceived ideas about both sides of his family, which make his relationships to everyone very difficult. Every adventure he has, he gets to understand things in a different light by the end of every story, and one of them was, “What is his relationship to his mom like?” And you get to see it from the mom’s point of view and understand that she loves her son, but there are a lot of complications that come from being raised by someone like Ra’s.

Beyond that, this is an older Talia, more mature and less sexualized than the usual I’d say. As for Ra’s, I can’t say much, but a lot of what you see of him at first is rooted in Damian’s childlike, heightened, and scared perception. Just like the rest, it gets explored later.

It sounds like the book will see Damian coming to terms with his place in the Robin lineage. How does he feel about his brothers?

This Damian would probably say they're usurpers, ingrates, failures and profiteers! It's pretty hard being raised as the center of all the attention, as well as a successor who's never quite enough for his grandfather, and then when thrown into the Bat family, he becomes what feels like the fifth wheel. The last and least appreciated son. So his whole arc will be about processing that.

Is there a character other than Damian that you’re particularly excited to be writing and/or drawing?

Jason and Talia, by a lot. I think because the core of it is this is a world of people who seem very perfect. Damian works as this kid who feels like he’s not good enough for that. But aside from him, there’s Jason, who’s really a well-intentioned, good hearted person who really bad stuff happened to, and he’s struggling to get out of the traumatic impact of that. And I think the story works really well in showing that.

Talia is kind of the same. It’s someone who has a very idealistic view of the world and wants to essentially, be allowed to shape the world into what she thinks it could be, but she has to be under the boot of someone else who is not very reputable, and it has impacted a lot of her life in ways that she did not intend, including her relationship to her son and that’s also probably why those two characters also get like an issue told from their perspective. I really wanted to show you the inside of their mind and dispel a lot of the prejudice that Damian has about the way they are.

I really love the way you visualize Damian and the other Robins expressing themselves with their eyes. What design elements of the character were you most excited to highlight to help show readers what Damian was feeling in a given moment?

I do love using the eyes to express! It’s a very efficient and visually compelling way to do it, but more so than that I use character design. Their shapes, their colors, they all are designed to convey something relative to the story at hand. For example Jason takes cues from Taxi Driver and the general feeling of alienation and being a drifter. It’s all to give a shorthand into how he feels, to then unpack that and give it context. Everything is story basically. Damian looks like a cute angry potato! And that’s all because despite how abrasive he can be, he has to remain endearing and you must see that it’s still a kid learning.

Well, since this is your own thing, I assume that must mean that you’re giving your own spin on these characters. Is there anything without spoilers that you can tease that is going to be different? Like if you’re a long time reader going into this you’re going to be surprised by it.

I’m someone who really likes a more fairy tale and magical side to storytelling. Something that I added a bunch of, I mean, they talk about demons in the solicits of the first issue. It’s both an allegorical thing and a very, real thing that the magical aspects of certain parts of that world have been pushed more.

The other big thing for me was Damian is the heart of the story, so everything is seen from his point of view. So Batman looks a lot more like a dad. Talia looks a lot more like a mom, and with every one of the Robins, I try to take a core concept of every one of them and push it to the forefront to contrast it to Damian. So like, I would say that the more fun part of it would be observing how Damian interacts with what’s essentially kind of a mirror put to himself every time. But overall the idea is a sort of cartoon-making logic, of taking the general elements in various iterations of a character, synthesizing them for the story, into something recognizable but digestible.

The Boy Wonder has this beautiful visual style - fairy tale, as you just said - despite some strong moments of violence. Why did you choose to tell the story this way?

Fairy tales are great for allegory, larger than life concepts and leaning into the magical. There's also a story reason I can't spoil but it makes for a great framing device.

[...] There are narrative reasons in the book that I can’t spoil, but overall I’d say it’s because it’s my favorite format, as well as a great way to really lean into the larger than life aspect, the allegorical, the magical. Fables often contain a nugget of a message or meaning, and this is a coming of age story, so it fits rather well.

The Boy Wonder is as much about Damian as it is his brothers. Has that story not been told enough — how similar and different Bruce’s kids really are — and did you draw on your relationship with siblings at all?

Pretty much no one I talk to in the larger world ever even knows that there are multiple Robins, let alone read their stories. So I’m glad to be making a book that’s easy to access for new readers, with no prior knowledge needed, that appeals on its own and can tell them a cool story about family and overcoming pressure. A story that works both for the ones who know these characters and want a self contained tale, and the ones who know nothing and just want a fun comic to read. The comic is Black Label, which usually skews older, but this is a tale I wanted accessible from mid teens to as old as you want.

And I did pull from experience! I have two siblings, my best friends all do as well, and the inner workings of how you view yourself and your family members depending on where you fit is interesting to me. It’s very much a tale of reckoning with your assumptions about your family, as well as the impact your parents had on you and your siblings.

What about Damian Wayne is so interesting to you? Do you think he gets a bad rap even now in the grander DC Universe?

Damian is simultaneously the most insufferable and most touching little boy to me. There’s a mix of adorable and deadly that I find amusing to watch, and satisfying to write. Plus I sympathize with him on a few backstory elements which are the cornerstone of the whole story.

As for his reputation, I think I’m glad there’s a reminder that being coarse and ill mannered can hide a good heart.

What are some of the benefits of putting this out as a DC Black Label book?

Mostly freedom! I got to tell the story I wanted. I didn't have to worry about continuity, and thus made what I like making: a self-contained adventure that anyone can appreciate as a comic, with or without any prior exposure to that world. Plus we got to have fun with the design of the issues!

Do you have a favorite Damian-starring story that you drew on for this book? Or maybe another Bat Family story instead/as well?

I think my two favorites were Son of Batman and Super Sons. I just vibed a lot with the fun adventurous tone. But most of my inspiration comes from outside superhero comics, or even outside comics as a whole. I didn’t even reread those two books I mentioned aside from when I needed to check phrasing. In that case I read those, and the early Damian stories just to absorb how he spoke.

But outside superhero stuff, were there any influences that were working on you as you were writing this story?

So a lot of comics from the 60s and 70s, from France and Belgium.I have a thing for like 80s and 90s movies, including movies that I was not supposed to watch when I was a kid, so stuff that’s drama-oriented. The point of this book is, it’s basically a character study, mostly of Damian, but also Damian through his interactions with other people in his life. So, mostly the other Robins, but also his parents and more so his mother.

The events that happen are really just a setting for you to observe how the characters interact, and there’s a bunch of movies in the 80s that were really good at doing that and showing you a very flawed person and the way that they react to the world around them. So yeah, that’s more of a tone thing. The aesthetic aspect was really taken from 60s and 70s French and Belgian comics as well as very old sci-fi, fairy tales, and black and white photography.

What’s the process look like for you when you write and draw a comic?

Whoa. Let’s see. So the origin of every book is a little different, but usually I spend a year or two, maybe more just thinking about the story and putting ideas down and then once I have an idea of how every story step works into each other, I start storyboarding so there’s no script.

[...] I don’t write scripts because I prefer to have the storyboard of the thing already made, because that’s where I know if something is working or not. Then once the storyboard has been greenlit and all the corrections are done, the next step is drawing the final pages. I do the sketching on my tablet, and then I print that in blue lines and ink over that. It’s a recent thing, I started doing it the last few months. The Boy Wonder was made that way. [...]

[...] I mean, technically, I started writing it in 2020 or 2021. Yeah. I’ve been sitting on it for a while, and then I made a tweet about it and it got the attention of Chris Conroy, who basically runs Black Label. He just asked, like, “OK, sure. Show it to me. I want to see what that’s like.” Several months later, the book was greenlit by DC.

You talked about how Batman: The Animated Series is an inspiration for this. And also because it’s Damian, I assume that the Grant Morrison Batman stuff is also an inspiration in some ways. But what other Batman material were you inspired by, if any, when writing this book?

Well, I wasn’t so much using Batman as I was using other things. Like there’s a bunch of influences from a bunch of different places, but the superhero stuff was mostly influenced by Darwyn Cooke. So it wasn’t so much Batman as much as it was Cooke. Like the thought process I guess was, “What do I like about these characters? Like the concept of the superhero?” Because the idea came from me watching a documentary about The Dark Knight Returns and Frank Miller. They mentioned how he was given free reign to make the Batman book he wanted. I just had the thought of, “Yeah, that would be fun, having a superhero story where you can just do whatever you want. Like, it’s your personal take.”

I guess from then, my brain started imagining a story with Damian because he’s my favourite Robin and I have a lot in common with him in terms of his backstory. I think it was this sense of sympathy towards the kid and the story grew from wanting to talk about the feeling of “You’re not good enough to be a part of the group you’re in or the family you’re in.” So being a superhero was more of an allegory of, “I don’t feel good enough to be a part of those great people who seem so perfect.”

Then the Darwyn Cooke stuff came. He was probably the biggest superheroic influence, because he’s kind of the epitome of superhero storytelling to me. He makes all his stories very easy to understand, very accessible to someone who maybe has never opened or barely knows what that character is about. His storytelling is also strong on its own artistic terms and most of all, he has this great sense of making superheroes this idea of the ideal version of ourselves, like those people who, even if they have bad thoughts or flaws that they have to overcome, they always do the right thing and they represent the best in all of us, and there’s a sort of sense of joyful fun in the superhero stories that he does. He also can talk about very serious subjects through that at the same time. My favourite superhero comic is The New Frontier, and I kept reading it over and over again when I was rewriting the book just to look at how he was managing that balance of joyful, superheroic, and inspirational fun, and the more serious themes. So yeah, the biggest influence would probably be him.

When I was doing research for this, I noticed that this isn’t your first time with a Damian comic. It was the “Happy Birthday Damian” story for Truth and Justice. Even over there, there’s a lot of similarities in terms of the character design, and even to some degree, Damian’s own struggle with his family and all that. So did that story help inform or define where you wanted to go with the characters for this book?

Well, no actually because basically when they asked me to do that story, the way it happened was that I was originally approached for something else, and I said, “I don’t really want to do that, but I’ve been writing this Damian story just for myself. Would you like to take a look?” Truth and Justice was kind of a test like, “We already have this story written by Andrew Aydin, and the idea was, do you want to draw it? It’s kind of a test run.” So I just used the designs I had already made for my own book. The fact that the themes are very similar is kind of a coincidence and it was kind of funny actually. It was a good way to sort of try my hand at drawing these for the first time, get a sense of what works and what doesn’t. I would say my story is a lot more complex, and delves a lot more into the psychology of most of the characters.

This book is an anthology like you said, where it’s about Damian with all these characters. But in terms of the structure of the story, is there like a connection beyond that, like Monkey Meat is all about the corporation. So is there a connection like that in this story?

Yes. It’s a narrative cut into different, contained stories, basically. Because the idea is that Damian is on a quest to try and prove his worth by defeating an enemy, and it’s really more of a set up to allow for him to meet all the different characters that he does. But the goal is that every story progresses that main plot that he’s on and getting closer to the final showdown against the big enemy.

The whole point is this kid needs to grow up and understand the familial context that he was born into on both sides, like a lot of it is him learning how complicated his parents are, and the effect that they’ve had on the people around them and learning to move beyond the trauma and the more negative impact of being the son of a guy who dresses like a bat, or the descendant of a selfish egomaniac. The big plot of the thing is a young boy wants to prove his worth and every story is a step on that journey towards the final end.

For Damian, you said he’s your favourite Robin. You relate to him a lot, but was there anything beyond that that made you want to sit back and think, “Okay, this is the character that I want to give my own spin on?”

I love the concept of Robin. When I was a kid, that was probably the thing that I liked the most about the Batman world. The reason why Damian worked so well is that it was such a perfect way to also tackle the previous ones, so every one of them represents some aspect of what being a Robin is like, and you can use that as an allegory for being part of a group or family with a code and stuff. You can talk about being part of a group with specific ideas of how you should behave, what kind of things you should uphold as good.

Damian’s the runt of the family. He’s the kid who just showed up. He doesn’t really know these people. He has a lot of preconceived ideas and it was a good way for me to be able to also talk about the previous Robins through him. It’s not a meta commentary, it’s more like, “Why do you like these concepts? What speaks to you as a person when you watch those beacons of goodness do things?” Damian is kind of like the audience surrogate in discovering that aspect of things at the same time.

What’s Damian’s favourite sandwich?

Well, I’m going to try and focus on my version of Damian from The Boy Wonder specifically. That Damian, his favourite sandwich would probably be something made by the mystical creatures that serve his grandfather, who take care of the whole land that they live in. So it’ll probably be a sandwich made with vegetables and meat from supernatural sources, something that he would not be able to get in Gotham because no one even knows that this stuff exists.

I like the idea of how even his favourite food is inaccessible in the new place that he’s in, furthering the whole alienation that he’s experiencing.

If Damian had a favorite song, what would it be and why?

I’m now going to show my age and mention how my teen sister listens to these moody chill songs that sound like the softer version of the emo rock I listened to as a teen, so I’d say that style! (Don’t ask me to name them, I don’t know!)

A song from my angst phase? “Numb” by Linkin Park.

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meanbossart · 5 months

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Some art-advice asks I've been meaning to reply to!

I use Clip Studio Paint Pro, though I'm not sure what tips I could give just in general. Just experiment with new things often, draw as much as your lifestyle allows, watch how other people do their work but try to avoid "Dont do THIS thing ever" type lessons and tutorials. Use as much reference as you'd like and take your time! To this day a simple sketch can still take me several hours to do depending on what it is.

Thank you so much!!! I didn't do any kind of formal art schooling but I've always been inclined towards arts and crafts, and started taking drawing semi seriously when I was about 17 (I'm 27 now). I draw a lot of inspiration from western comics and my favorite artists are jason shawn alexander and sean murphy.

Oh I'm so flattered to hear my stuff's inspired you to take up drawing again, I have a bunch of little crafty hobbies but art is by far the most fulfilling one to me - largely because you're constantly learning and improving.

You're definitely onto something already, I am constantly looking at other people's art (even If it isn't a style I would want to emulate) and analyzing how the pieces come together to create the final product. In my opinion this is pretty much the best way you can go about learning besides real-life reference drawing. You can even take something into your software of choice/print it out and trace it (just to yourself, of course) to get a sense of hand-motion and line use.

As a beginner I think there's no shame at all in taking heavy inspiration from your favorite artists, as long as you aren't straight up copying things and calling them your own. Your personal style Is likely to come out naturally, with time. That's very much how I started myself!

Also, just be patient with yourself, try to have realistic goals for your skill level while simultaneously being proud of everything you do. Even if you absolutely despise a drawing, you still drew something! And even if it doesn't feel that way you most definitely learned from it. Use learning tools and tutorials to whatever point you feel comfortable with but don't get stuck on people's arbitrary rules - unless we're talking about something tangible like real-life application of traditional art tools, things like anatomy, perspective and light are to be referenced from - but It's not the goal to emulate them 100% unless you ARE going for hyperrealism. As someone who uses a ton of reference these days, I can tell you first-hand that I often find myself straying from it on purpose to make a piece look more interesting.

Lastly, draw things you enjoy! Don't let anyone else dictate what you SHOULD be doing and don't fall into the trappings of wanting to stick to one specific style, process, or subject matter.

Good luck!!!

LOL thank you so much for your very evocative compliments! I haven't ever done a timelapse, not that I remember at least. I'm not sure how they work but I do so much of "I'm gonna try this thing 5 different ways and then decide what I like" that I'm not sure how comprehensive that would be LOL

I could put together a process showcase or something though, I feel like that might be better even, since I get to explain a little of what I'm doing through text and display how I use reference. Something to consider!

#ask #art #advice

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bogleech · 8 months

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Dearest Bog,

First off, thank you! You've been my main source of biology and horror articles for years, along with having a super unique art style and aesthetic sense that I really like :)

Gushing-aside, I've noticed a trend these last few years of less emphasis on the whole months-long halloween thing. Not that you don't have enough contributions under your belt already, but i was just curious how you prioritize this stuff, how much you value the planning stages before jumping into new projects, if at all, and the direction you might want to take your site in the future, if you're able to answer that.

Apologies if this has already been explained in detail, been a follower of yours for years, but not exactly the most consistent one ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Maybe it's the ADHD, but basically my mind is a non-stop hurricane of things I'd like to do or create, all the time, to the point that there's not enough time in even a whole human lifespan to give all of them the attention I'd want. Sharing the silly things that inspire me is really fun and I have a constant urge to do it, but my usual level of Halloween updating is as much work as a full time job; even a short little article on some goofy things I saw in a store can take me hours and I can't even rightfully justify why. Maybe I write them too carefully, worrying about the perfect flawless cadence and making it as interesting as possible for such a niche and frivolous topic? So to make those things I end up actually sacrificing as much time as a job without even the benefits of a job, and it kind of pains me to think about what else I might have accomplished if, over the years, I'd instead managed to put even 1/3 that time towards other stuff. Mortasheen is pretty big, and I actually am spending more time on it this Halloween season than on my website, though it's still slow going and with it being October 26 right now, I've already failed my goal of a Halloween release :/ ...a Halloween II release, though, is looking incredibly likely, because the amount of work left to do on it is significantly less than the amount of work I did in just the past month and a half. But @revretch got me Godot and a bunch of resources for learning game making, so I'm going to start on that soon. I'm also getting the hang of making videos more comfortably, and streaming, and other things that engage people more directly. When I've gotten more done with the Mortasheen book I'll be able to devote more to my webcomic, too, which I still care about as much as ever. I guess unfortunately my answer to how I prioritize things is just "some sort of way, I think, maybe???"

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maximilliansblog · 6 months

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Trans people! We need to give ourselves clear transition goals! /nf

Because for the past few years that I've been transitioning, I've just said that i want an androgynous look. But what does that actually look like?

See, i'm genderfluid, and i would like to have a flexible look that can change with my gender representation. I would love to just be Bram from Scooby Doo Music of the Vampire (good job if you remember that movie, much less this guy) when I'm masc. Here I'll find a picture of him.

This guy right here. There were like no pictures of him online lol. But this would be a very unrealistic transition goal for several reasons. One: He is like 6 feet tall and I am 5'3". Two: He is skinnier/more well-toned than me. Three: He has this very gothy vampirey look (If you want to know more, he was basically in some kind of acting troupe that did vampire stuff but then he wanted to become an actual vampire so he became a bad guy and kidnapped Daphne as a sacrifice. It didn't work. Sorry for the infodump I literally pretended to be this character so much when I was a kid lol) that I would not be putting on every day, and even if I did, that would not look normal!

So what would be a reasonable transition goal? We should have a clear picture of what we want. There's tons of pictures of people on the internet, so we'll find one. But you have to consider a few things.

1.) Your height (You can only change this by an inch or two with those things you put in your shoes).

2.) Your weight (You can change this, but it takes a lot of hard work. I would recommend making your transition goal just how you are currently, but if your outwards expression matched your internal gender).

3.) Your face shape

4.) Your hair type (I really wanted to be one of those "fluffy haired" boys/enbies from Pinterest, but my hair falls flat on my head and has no texture! I tried to get that hair for over a year, but in the end, I couldn't change my hair type!)

5.) Your skintone

6.) Your muscle tone (You can also change this but like I said with the weight, you want to make your transition goal as achieveable as possible! You can always tone up once you reach that goal).

7.) Your personal clothing style

8.) Oh yeah most importantly, will your outward appearance be masculine, feminine, or androgynous (this can be genderless or a mix of feminine and masculine traits)? It is perfectly okay if you want to go for a look that is not traditional! Like if you're a trans man who wants to dress more feminine or something. That's totally fine!

All of these things must be considered when you find your references. I'm calling these pictures "references", like what artists use to make their art piece.

So for my references, I have to consider that I am 5'3", overweight but not quite plus-sized, I have a round face shape, a very fine and flat hair type, a cool-toned pale skintone, no muscle tone, a casual clothing style, and I want a masculine-leaning androgynous appearance. It would be very hard to find a reference with every single one of these traits! So collect multiple! Find one for your haircut that you're going to get, one for the clothes you will wear, etc. You can also edit images to look more like you, by darkening the skin tone (I don't recommend doing the opposite ^^) or slightly changing the face shape. It is also good to find pictures of fellow trans people with your traits as inspiration.

Here are the images that I found:

I narrowed it down to hair, body type, and fashion, but you can have as many references as you want!

Now of course, you won't look exactly like your references! In the end, you are you! Every person is unique. But hopefully, having a clear transition goal will help you in your journey :)

Have a lovely day you lovely person!

#trans #trans tips #transmasc #transfem #transgender #trans man #trans guy #trans masc #trans fem #trans woman #transgirl #trans pride #transition goals #maximilliansblogstuff

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likegemstone · 7 months

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i'm finally making that writing/art group I was talking about

Ever feel like every time you try to share your writing and/or art online you are just shouting into the void? Or maybe more accurately, shouting into a room full of people who are all talking to each other but don't seem to notice you? Is having your work seen by others simultaneously your greatest desire and your greatest fear? Mine too~

Community is so fricken important, especially to creatives and the creative process. Surrounding myself with creative people who encourage, support, and celebrate each other is a really big goal of mine. So, I'm starting a lil discord server in the hopes of cultivating that kind of community.

I want it to be a really positive, welcoming, and helpful space for creatives of all kinds (with a focus on writers and artists because that's what I know best, but by no means limited to that!), so I was hoping anyone who is interested in joining could help me get it up and going by giving their thoughts and suggestions on what goes on in the community (and also probably helping me actually set up the discord server bc I've only made a few very very simple, small servers in the past).

(I should also go ahead and mention that this server/group will be only for people 18 and up because I am just not currently comfortable being in any way responsible for minors, sorry!!! Oh, and also no ai art)

These are my ideas so far:

The emphasis for the server should be to encourage, inspire, connect with, and support other creatives, meaning it will be encouraged for people to engage with each others work, both on the server and also on other platforms where the work is posted

I have a personal pet peeve with unsolicited advice, so there can be specific channels where people post their work when they want critiques, and on the other channels the expectation would just be to leave your reactions to the work, not criticisms

I'd like for there to be regular "check-in" kind of things, almost like group meetings but more flexible because people will likely be in many different time zones and won't necessarily be able to make a specific time. The check-ins could be maybe once a week? And there could be one for writing and one for art (on different days I think). During the check-ins we could share a bit of our WIPs (will probably have to put a word limit on the writing) and maybe have a discussion topic for that week or something. Idk I just want it to be a time where we try to come together and actively discuss and engage and stuff, to really build the sense of community

Also different channels where people can talk about things like world-building and art styles and healthy habits for creating and things like that!

That's kinda all the ideas I have right now, please please comment/reply to this post if you have any suggestions and/or you want to join the group!

Also please reblog so more people see this~

Gem <3

#art #writing #writeblr #artblr #writing group #art group #me post #artists supporting artists #writing community #art community

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wachtelspinat · 1 year

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I've been in a rut as of late, and I really want to get better at form and anatomy. Your style is one of my favorite ones ever, what would you say were your biggest inspirations throughout the years?

hey, first of all i’m so very sorry for the late reply. hope you get to see this still since it’s been a while since you sent this ask... sorry

secondly, thanks a lot! i try to give some insights here, this question's always kinda hard for me to tackle because i'm having a hard time identifying my style and what makes it tick, idk... i guess it's a combination out of everything i like, starting from the artstyle of tf2 to various styles of my mutuals and people around here (but i think tf2, wanting to draw humans ever since i first laid eyes on tf2 and the cartoony artstyle of it all are my major fuels, ngl).

as for anatomy and form: this is a matter i just recently pushed myself into because i felt really stuck in my ways. like... i never really did studies in my life, so when i wanted to draw i kind of had to count on it to ‘just work’, idk if this makes sense... i always felt like i didn’t actually know what i was doing there, and i worked with ref a lot (i would always recommend using ref, no matter what, what i want to say is that i realized i had not enough fundament to truly fool around in the way i liked to). and now that i started actually doing anatomy studies i feel so dumb because yeah. it IS making things easier x) i understand tho that for most it’s a motivational issue... you have to find a way to make it work for you. like doing studies, but implementing what you learned into a sketch of your blorbo, as an example.

as for resources, it’s hard to find good tutorials, mostly because the place is flooded with art bros trying to tell you “you don’t NEED anatomy and here is why” and then they make a sketch and you can SEE that they put SO MUCH ANATOMICAL KNOWLEDGE INTO IT. so there’s a lot of bs out there. there is good stuff out there tho, but it might take you a while to find what’s best suited for you. i could make a list of yt channels that really helped me but the thing is, everyone is at their own lvl and with different goals in mind, so i don’t think this would be very helpful.

what i can link you to tho are 2 videos that really opened my eyes in regards of a) finding your style and b) getting better at drawing a certain topic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLfH9yOGs3o - this video tackles the whole ‘finding your style’ topic. because i often give the tip that you don’t find your style, style finds you (and i still think that is in its regards correct, because you just get subconsciously influenced by the media you consume and like and your fave artists’ style’s if you really dig them) but the ability to actively WORK on your style is there. it’s just something you have to put a lot of work into. but we’ll never stop learning, so there’s that. (she describes it with her landscape drawings but really this works for anything... from dynamic linework to just trying to find the right energy in your pictures)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0ufz75UvHs - this one really helped me getting over my fear of ‘drawing something ugly’ (big words from someone drawing ugly men as a hobby) but hear me out... because i have a weird brain that makes me recoil from something my mind thinks is ‘imperfect’ i really often get stuck with my art and either don’t experiment at all or get stuck with a sketch and spending hours on it trying to fix it... so approaching this matter like the video described just... melted that away. because when you draw 20 faces a day just telling yourself “NOBODY will EVER see this” you start loosening up... or at least i did. it’s also good for an analytical brain or people who strongly lean into that. this approach was especially nice while being stuck in an artblock... because i could easily just fool around and it kind of changed how i see doing art... like... nothing is ever perfect so i don’t have to make it perfect, i can analyze my art through a more neutral lense than my emotional attachment to it now... does that make sense?

last but not least, there are a ton of good resources out there for anatomical studies, my fave is still “anatomy for sculptors, understanding the human figure” by uldis zarins sandis kondrats.

SORRY THIS GOT A BIT LONGER BUT i put A LOT of thought into this as of late so yeah... maybe it’s gonna help someone too

#ref

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your-local-uwu-artist · 19 days

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wip dump :3

evil art style! my art style has quite a lot of range but I decided to default to chibis for this. I also didn't want to like, just draw one character bust up like i see most people do for it, so I wanted to come up with a way to show multiple characters on one page in an appealing manner

sonic drawing practice! I've been procrastinating this one because the lineart I've done so far on it is almost too good. I'm not sure If i can keep up the standard set

jame-joe doodles! really wanna keep developing this concept: I think it has decent potential! i don't remember how much I've shared about him but i don't think i've talked about it much beyond the base premise. Jame-Joe is inspired by characters like Dipper and Wirt, he's clever, is serious and studious in the pursuit of his goals, can be rather emotional and is prone to cowardice and insecurity, but can be determined when push comes to shove. I set myself up for a challenge here, as I want him to be expressive but limited by his doll body. It's a fun challenge though!

more 'i should start an etsy' drawings. i've seen people make like 'gacha blind bag' keychains and thought of the idea of those with aimaina-chan designs!

fdanfsdjk I almost feel bad for spoiling this one because I'm so excited to share it!!!! But i guess the sorta person to read through this post probably don't mind spoilers lol. I realized 'Timmy's a 2000s kid' and decided to go ALL IN on that. I dug deep into my memories and decided this kids going to need rainbow looms, slap-wraps, silly bandz, and those rubbery braclets where theres one white segment and one black segment and i have no clue if this is true but when i was a kid everyone always said the white segment was snow from mount everest and the black one was like sand from the bottom of the ocean. anyway! I had so much trouble wiht finding the right shade of pink that if i go trhough making a youtube video on these designs you guys will definitely here my color theory rant.

my main goal i can only describe as 'arcade carpet'

he thinks he's cool but knows he's lame. I gave him a fnaf shirt also, i dived deep into my brain as asked myself 'what graphic t-shirt from hot-topic would timmy turner wear' and i decided on fnaf because i think it's funny. so far these extra outfits have been going up in the amount of projection I'm doing. It started with spongebob's sweater vests, continued with Dannys stereotypical-transmasc fits, and now I'm lowkey just drawing stuff I've worn (actually danny's fit with the flannel I've def worn before but like, i assigned timmy a sanrio character(i gave him keropi because it's an easy way to incorporate green accents into his design lol)) anyway!!!

i had 'i want it that way' stuck in my head again and turned to queeries he proceded to give me the solution of chipi-chipi-chapa-chapa. this was not a solution obviously but whatever. i decided to use my new problem to animate myself dancing. sure. why not. if I upload this to youtube i think i should title it 'me at the function' of course i don't actually go to any functions so perhaps 'me when i' would be more fitting

Haku with his starter! the shy kid to eccentric adult pipeline

more of baby Haku! weird part-mimikyu child wandering alola before discovering ghost-type communities and being like 'finally! someone that doesn't look at me weird when i mention demonic possesion!'

with the timeline I'm going with Haku's younger than Acerola so she's like a big sister to them :3

He stares at you with his big ol eyes awkwardly lowkey steals your malasada and gives you a flower in return

rf4 art!!! I love rune factory enough that I own a throw pillow with vishnal on it >:3

frey my fucking beloved!!!!!! lest is here too also. btw frey is a demigirl and lest is a demiboy this is true you can trust me

sketch design for one of those cd keychains with alvin and the chipmunks!

I plan to caption this '1k notes and I voice+animate my yumehoshi beam' as a bit, not because i want 1k notes, but because 99% chance it won't get 1k notes, but if it does then it'd be a really funny way to break my shyness with sharing my voice to the internet

smurtsune miku smurf my BELOVED

need more character for this btw!

#kyukyudraws

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kae-luna · 10 months

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🌃//Writeblr Intro//🌃

Hello! Welcome to my corner of the internet. I am Kae Luna. You can call me Kae or Luna. I am pretty new to Writeblr, so please bear with me.

╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭

(Banner made with canva)

🌊About My Writing🌊

✨Genres: sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural, action, drama, psychological, LGBTQIA+

✨Subgenres: dystopian, cyberpunk, biopunk, solarpunk, post-apocalyptic

✨Common themes: diversity, anti-capitalism, female empowerment

Links🌐

Since I like both anime art and storytelling, I'm planning to make light novels. Some of them may be short stories, standalone novels, or series. :3 Going to put some of them on Wattpad and Tapas.

I try to balance unique settings with complex characters.

🌊About Me🌊

I've been writing and drawing since I was little. And before I could write, I would tell my mother my story and she'd write it down for me. I've always had a crazy imagination. When I was a tween, I got into anime and manga, so I learned how to draw in that art style.

I am 25, queer-romantic asexual, and feminine-presenting nonbinary. I identify as both a girl and a demi-boy. You can refer to me as she/her, he/him, or they/them. I don't mind. I'm also white and have ADHD, dyspraxia, anxiety, and depression that prevents me from getting a "real" job.

I'm pretty shy and anxious, but once you get to know me, I may say some weird stuff and dad jokes. I'm a big nerd and simp as well.

I am also a Vtuber, but made this alt identity since I didn't think my work would fit that persona.

🌊About My Blog🌊

Here I am going to post about my WIP stories and some of my art. I will also reblog others' art and writing. Many aesthetics, fandoms, and other stuff may be reblogged as well with tags if it inspires my work.

Here I hope to find more creators to connect with and find some epic creations. Feel free to message me if you'd like, though I am kinda shy. :3

I am okay with:

✨Asks

✨Tag games

✨DMs. I'm happy to make friends. :3

🌊My Likes & Favorites🌊

✨Aesthetics/genres: vaporwave, cyberpunk, pastel, eco punk, nature, grunge, post-apocalyptic, solarpunk, steampunk, fantasy, LGBTQIA2S+

✨Movies: Alita: Battle Angel, Ultraviolet, Aeon Flux, Spider-Man 2, Howl's Moving Castle, Black Panther, The Matrix

✨Shows: Doctor Who, Stranger Things, Umbrella Academy, The Witcher

✨Anime: Death Note, Attack on Titan, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

✨Games: Skyrim, Baldur's Gate 3, The Sims 4, Minecraft, Fallout

✨Cartoons: Aeon Flux, Batman The Animated Series

🌊WIP(s)🌊

Ultra Drive - Intro Post | Directory Post

Links: Wattpad | Tapas (coming soon)

✨Genre(s): sci-fi, cyberpunk, action, drama, psychological, dystopian

✨CWs: government stuff, pandemic mention, gore probably at some point

When AlexiKa was a child, her world was changed forever when her family was forced to immigrate to the imperial city of Venicula after the Ebony Plague - caused by mysterious eumalyptus spores - infected her home town. Now a young adult, she works as a courier (and secretly an anti-corporation activist). When going on a delivery, she accidentally uncovers dark secrets and ends up infected with the same Ebony Plague that haunted her hometown as a child. But when she survives the illness and instead develops superhuman abilities, she joins a mutant resistance group to fight against the Veniculan Empire, the Gaia Corporation, and other mutants with immoral goals.

Adventures in Alsteria - Intro Post (coming soon!)

Links: N/A

✨Genre(s): fantasy, comedy, slice of life, action, adventure, LGBTQIA+

✨CWs: None ATM? Violence probably?

A trans femboy wood elf named Nel finds the homeland of his people - the rain forests of Falinor - and goes on an adventure to form a guild of adventurers! Still kind of in the vibes stage I guess, but I have some ideas formed for lore and characters. :> Something more cute and lighthearted for me to write in contrast to Ultra Drive.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't have much that I can share at the moment due to much of my writing being lost (school assignments or lost on old computers) or attached to other identities. I also had a looong writer's/art block.

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #writers of tumblr #cyberpunk #writeblr introduction #creative writing #writer #fantasy #sci fi #solarpunk #science fiction

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messydiabolical · 2 months

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🎀 What style do you not currently do that you love and want to try?

🎠What is a typical 'workflow' for a piece from idea to finished?

🍤Shout out a handful of your favourite artists who have blogs you can @ and tell us why we should check them out

Three big questions, thank you so much for asking!

🎀 What style do you not currently do that you love and want to try? Pixel art! I love it so much. I have some brief past experience with it but not for years. I made stardew valley mods way back in the day (clothes and wallpapers). I made them in MS paint by mouse and then downloaded gimp just to add transparency to upload them (I think the newest paint might have layers and PNG's now? wild times). But I never like, studied pixel art or tried anything outside of specifically wanting to make some clothes for stardew. I had a goal, I did the thing and that was that. The things pixel artists come up with are absolutely mind blowingly beautiful. Check out 6vcr for examples. stunning. Procreate doesn't seem to be well geared for it unfortunately (it's not the best for zooming in massively and doing small scale stuff in my experience) maybe I will have to whip out the MS paint out again! 🎠What is a typical 'workflow' for a piece from idea to finished? This turns out to be a HUGE question, so i'm actually going to give it it's own post. In the mean time, here is an example of how i storyboard comic ideas. Behold my beautifully rendered shitpost:

🍤Shout out a handful of your favourite artists who have blogs you can @ and tell us why we should check them out I could literally name hundreds and I know i'm going to kick myself for missing people off. I'll limit this answer to some of the very first art blogs I followed, the ones that personally happened to come onto my radar and inspired me to pick up a pen and get drawing myself : @angstyastro @nimueth @bargu @reiline @thedandiestoflions @autodiscothings

#md answers #ask game #ask answered #ask meme #art asks #wip #art wip

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inkdragonworks · 2 months

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What would be for tips on designing characters?

This is kind of a complicated topic.

I think the first tip is to identify what the character design is for. like is it for a school project, a prompt, a parody of something else (and is said parody meant to be a tribute, or satirical), etc. Is the purpose going to be making them heroic, cute, cool, sexy, intimidating, scary, goofy, etc. Is this just for fun, experimenting, or something to represent yourself? Is this a member of a species/cast of characters, and if so, what traits are common to the species/cast, and what traits are unique to them? Knowing that beforehand can help set your expectations, and give you some direction to work towards (or away from? if you're really trying to experiment...)

The next step I'd usually suggest doodling ideas off the top of your head. it's unlikely to be "good" but it does help establish your current perspective that's been built up subconsciously over the years from exposure to media and your own tastes. It's a good point of reference to start off with imo. Sometimes that might be all you need, if you really like what you came up with and it speaks to you in some way.

Typically though, especially if you have a specific goal in mind or are learning character design or are trying to venture out of your comfort zone, it won't look that good/unique yet. That's when you'd begin researching: take a few characters that come to mind that fit your idea of goals established. If you want to make a cool character, what are traits that stick out to you as "cool"? Is it certain accessories, their shape, personality, or what they do? Those are things worth considering. If you have an art style established, how can you translate those aspects? If there's real-world or other references you can bring in, that's always good too, and has a better chance of coming up with something that feels more personal/unique.

Along with researching is when you'd start experimenting with this stuff. Trying out different body/head proportions, eye shapes, how hair looks. A really important thing to consider is how often you expect to draw this character. If it's something you know you'll draw hundreds or thousands of times, then you really need to weigh in what parts of them are fun to draw versus not fun, whether you can simplify parts of them into easier shapes, is the difficult aspect something you're willing to get better at overtime, what aspects lend itself to a wider range of expression (unless the goal is to make them NOT expressive, or w/e).

This is also where I'd start thinking more about stuff like personality and how they think. Maybe you have an idea already that's part of your overall goal, but now you should be trying to figure out how to convey that in the design. What's their history? What people do they interact with regularly and how do they interact with them? What's their long term and short term goals? Who is their favorite my little pony character? You don't HAVE to answer all of these, and you definitely don't have to commit to them forever, but it's the kind of stuff that will help inform your design more, and maybe even aid in world-building (if that's part of your goal).

I think the final "tests" would be trying to make some kind of reference stuff, arriving at a consistent draft of your findings. This can involve doing some turnarounds, seeing what they look like at different angles, or minor details. Expression tests involving the face, or body.

If it feels like something that appeals to you and hits on the goals you've established, then I say that's good enough... but I also think you should be open to experimenting on them further too, when inspiration hits. Character design is something most people change their tastes or get better at, and it's good to be open-minded about trying new things to see if that works out. It can be as complex as a whole redesign or just changing the color scheme. And while I described the process linearly, sometimes you'll get to the reference part and realize the goal itself ought to be changed. That's fine too, it's good to bounce back and forth all the steps if that's what helps you create something you like.

Of course we don't really design stuff in a vacuum and post stuff for others to look at, so I think another important aspect to temper your expectations is to know that not every character is created equal. Your concept could be an android-samurai that is haunted by math problems and maybe you can pull off that concept the best anyone ever could... it's not likely to get as many notes as "bunny girl with big boobs #35279". That doesn't mean you failed, just that your potential audience will be more niche, and likely their connection to a character idea, if presented well, might be deeper.

Of yeah, presentation. People aren't going to always know every single aspect of your character at a given moment: it's good to keep in mind what the themes of a character are and at least try to be consistent with that. It's totally okay to draw them in silly memes all you want, but don't blame other people if they have trouble taking them seriously when you suddenly put them in a dramatic trauma web series (you would have to pace your transition into it thoughtfully). You should try to present them in ways that make sense for their character. But sometimes you discover that maybe you don't like that anymore... it's fine to shift them into a new direction, I think that's part of the artistic discovery process.

That's all I can think right now that's broad. I think anything else is more just specific to my own preferences.

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thesploink · 11 months

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The 2nd Post

Hi, Its been 2 years since my last real post. So I've decided to compile a bunch of the work I've done, Finished or Not and post it here.

VIP_Miami (Unfinished, Scrapped)

VIP_Miami was a map made for Team Fortress 2 Classic inspired by Gorge set between 2 hotels. This map was a test to see how urban, art decor could possibly look in the Team Fortress Style. This map ended up being cut due to being overscaled and messy. Playtesters did comment they liked the gazebo first point so I might return to that idea again sometime.

Koth_Crossover (Released)

A collaboration between me and the talented Gamingcam. We both set out to create Pre-Fortress 2's flagship map for the 0.7 update. Gamingcam handled the layout and initial art passes, while I mostly cleaned it up and overhauled the color palette to make the map more friendly and inviting.

Koth_Crossover Beta Variant (Unreleased)

For a good while Crossover featured moss on the top of its rocks. Despite being mostly positvitely recieved, I came to the conclusion that It didn't make much sense for what I was going for. So It was removed.

Dom_Canalzone (Unfinised)

Canalzone was a port of the Team Fortress Classic map of the same name. The difference being it was now Domination instead of Territoral Control like in TFC. This map was ported to test if 5 Control Point Domination could work. It somewhat worked but 3 Control Point maps were the superior way to go. I was planning to make a map inspired by Canalzone taking what I learned from this port but it never came to fruition.

Invade_Push (Unfinished)

A port of Push from Team Fortress Classic, Main goal was to create a port of Push that felt more open and not confined. I think this was achieved in my opinion. I'm happy with how this was turning out and I may return some day to finish it.

DM_Icebox (Unfinished, Scrapped)

Icebox is a Deathmatch map made for Open Fortress. Inspired by IceWorld, Shipment, and Rust. The map is a fast paced kill-box. It was postively recieved however due to losing the source files I do not have the motivation to continue working on it.

DM_Aqua (Unfinished, Scrapped)

Another map for Open Fortress, This map was never really playtested. Scrapped due to not being fond of how I laid out a lot of the layout ideas. I might return to these concepts in the future although.

DM_Fotia Artpass Concept (Scrapped)

A while back I started a remake of DM_Fotia for Open Fortress. The map is still currently in development but this was a Art Test of what the map could've looked like. This was most likely the finalized idea till I lost the source files for the artpass. I will most likely explore different themes to see what I like the best.

Theres a lot more I wanna post that I can't include in this post so stay tuned for more stuff I guess.

#artwork #3d artwork #source engine #team fortress 2 #open fortress #level design #indie dev #game dev #pre-fortress 2 #tf2

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tropiyas · 5 months

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martin o'donnell panel notes (he broke down the Halo CE theme with a music analysis youtuber 12Tone)

was for mac showcase

no audio engine - had to play it in sync manually via audio

knew they wanted orchestra + singing

orchestra: 4 violin 2 cello

vocals: him + 3 guys who did mr clean jingle

backing tracks (percussion etc) were samples

they wanted gregorian/ancient from the start

the start hook-y melody decision (the chant):

4 phrases inspired by....... yesterday paul mccartney.... in dorian scale

dorian scale recap: just the minor scale except a raised 6th (lowkey removes the somber darkness and makes it more ambiguous towards excitement(?))

q: why?

a: atmosphere for halo - ancient+epic+mysterious

he friends with koji kondo and other composers

most music was platform dependent back then (understandable, 8bit and other restrictions) - he didn't like those limitations so mostly jumped in when Halo / Mac / late 90s music could be more like Film

big cello fan

*deserved

Halo CE theme breakdown:

Vibe - ancient+epic+mysterious obv but then

check it out - it was NOT really a fully fledged idea intentionally at first, not even meant to be THE Halo theme - originally it was just a Showcase piece for the Mac World. Funny how that works out!!!!

master chief was originally Future Soldier (more of a hero unit back when the game was a 3rd person strategy one) before he was actually a character

Original Game Goal was Seamless World (1999 pretty insane to think abt - even tho it is more common now [with BotW and RDR2])

original request - 2 or 3 minutes LOL (they didn't know what the demo length was gonna be). So he writes a 3 minute track that has smushiness at the start and back so that nothing is missing (yeah the melody is Slow like that)

Showcase ended up being 3 minutes, good. The structure might not have been that [vague] / smushy if he worked more directly with the demo's sequencing and length.

epic stuff had to be more upbeat - the higher pace one was lowkey irish jig themed

Panelist / Audience vibe that we received from Halo theme: kind of Lonely? Solitude / "ozymandias" style.

before focusing on Future Soldier - the alien planet that he was being chased in and getting into the Warthog, turned out that way

great things abt art -> a lot of meaning is emergent (not originally intended) but that doesn't mean that it CAN'T add depth

he personally conducted the chanting - gregorian chanting is monks in cathedral w/ reverb so no strict meter or tempo for what happens. bravado (vince) - give and take

surprised cat face "halo is a religious game" SO TRUE

Drums Breakdown:

- tone being low register - low DUKUKUKUD DUKUDUNKUN drums

- choice reasoning: "I thought they would be cool"

- rhythm: panelist relates it to america west side story drums

- compound rhythms (instead of splitting it to duples (2), split it into 3, but then overlay the 2 on that end of the measure)

- "polyrhythmic"

- first time it was written; first music was 4:4 with triplets

- then 12:8 and conducted in 4

- (sorry don't remember my high school music classes that much)

Strings Breakdown:

- dun dun dun DUNNN

- melodic structure is "simple," just starts low and goes high

- [kinda reminds me of Megalovania except that one walks down]

- "this makes a great metal piece if you've heard people do covers of it"

- (um YEAH MJOLNIR COVER⁉️)

- in college he did a paper on the inventor of leitmotif - symphany fantastique (referencing his enamored with)

- the melody for that song was complex

- you can't develop with a complicated leitmotif

- Harold in Italy - this next piece was short and could be developed

- "the effect of melody is something that gets in your head and stays in there" (easier to hook audience in)

- [like Megalovania]

- strings keep the compound meter that the drums introduced

- to get the drive and aggression and thrust (pause?) - he wrote the cellos to do the OCTIVE Jump and go back and forth. he wanted to hear the ROSIN

- not classical string playing method... When some people read the music they split the cellos! even though it's supposed to jump on the SAME cello. That's WIPPY

- sloppy in a good way (pause⁉️)

- [but yeah it's very human I agree and that makes the piece IT]

- next string line - the backing whole high notes violins crescendoing

- it's the same walk from E to A but then IT KEEPS GOING

- low cello - minor (not dorian) but then the high strings are back to dorian i.e. that one note C#

- gregorian usually not dorian(?)

- mo likes ambiguous scales - dorian scale and the likes are not so explicitly "minor is sad, major is happy"

- enjoys writing to stick specifically to a scale that gives you chords that are non common in contemporary music

- bringing dorian to the high strings after cello is basically a "we're so back" measure.

- he likes that it's a minor key with major subdominant and a minor dominant

- rock and roll influence

- snsnss

- second string phrase

- full sending irish jig - sea shanty vibe

- halo was a damn water level this whole time??

- tidbit: master chief is the highest noncommissioned role you could reach

vocals

- the high backing vocals are less gregorian but more wailing

- "idk why, but thought it would be more mysterious and alien to have gregoian monks and then adding arabic wailing"

- he asked if one of the singers could do that kind of chanting - this was the last thing recorded for the theme

- martin tried doing it and he was the one who actually kept it in

- he brought them two versions - wailing vs no wailing (bungie loved the wailing one) (martin was embarrassed because it was his high voice)

- [kind of like how megalovania has that countermelody near the end of the song]

rest of the song:

- the UPDOWN violins with no percussion

- harmony

- starts E Dorian then rhythm stop - the string melody is in G minor woah

- panelist: "why a weird chord"

- martin: "I don't know"

- audience: *claps*

- *he just wanted to move off the E

- since we weren't even in E minor in the first place, moving to G minor it's WOAH

last last segment

- looked at the parallel 4ths "dundundun dun"

- inner voice goes down a step, next voice goes up a step

- oblique and countering motion (this is starting to go over my head) makes cool chords as a result of changing the motion of the notes itself

- MUSIC........

- halo 2 OST takes influence from this kind of motion

- basically taking his piano playing style to cello / strings players and forcing motion, making them sweat

- diminution of original theme - it's two bars per thing but then it removes the second sustained bar (more energetic)

takeaways - sometimes your goat just does it

woke takeaways - only very slightly critical abt using gregorian/arabic chants just to add to the Uniqueness / "alien" feel even tho those are just like. Other People. (but it's so far detached and not meant to be a direct correlation, does it even count?)

#extremely scatterbrained live notes #please don't ask me how well I did in college I don't know how I pulled it off

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aversiteespabilas · 14 days

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THE DOLLS ARE BACK AND WETTER, SADDER, CUTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER!!!

Yuki's DRENCHED, that poor bnnuy boy. I never knew how much I needed to see a wet pathetic rabbit until now. He looks like he'd make a wet splat sound if he was slapped on a wall (like throwing a soaked towel on tile.)

TETSU AND YUSUKE NOOOOO- There's so many emotionsss!!!! They're so disappointed in themselves, how could they let eachother down so terribly. But, God, they're so relieved to see eachother again. At the end of the day, they're still brothers and they love each other sososososo much. But they've made so many mistakes that hurt one another and themselves. It's so sad don't do this to meeee (jk, I LOVE ITTTTT)

and...the cuddles...the cuddles...THE CUDDLES!!

soff bunny's cuddling??? BIG BNUUY TUCK LIL BNUUY TO BEDD????? They're adorable pleaseeeee spareee meeeee aaaahhhhhh. I know for a FACT it HAD to have hurt Yusuke that he doesn't remember him...like, not even ONE bit??? after all the cuddles and games of peek-a-boo? not a single memory? that definitely stung. unsurprising considering Yuki's age at the time, but still hard to think about for sure.

and martial arts bunny's??? guys...they're so strong ya'll, DON'T mess with them!!! Don't let the fluff deceive you, they're not cute pet store bunny's!!

Not sure if it's the sharp lining style or Yuki's muscles, but i'm choosing to believe Yuki has fat biceps, yeah he's super strong ya'll.

also, Ken getting his ass handed to him buy an 18 year old?? get humbled old-young man

anyway's back into the abyss I go, lots of love and kisses to You and Rhin!!! (Also Rhin if you're reading this, the new UTSLH update was so delicious i'm foaming from the mouth!!!! expect a comment sometime soon, love youuu 🫶)

- 😎

OH YEEAHH AND YOU'RE BACK TOO!!! WELCOME!!!

I really REALLY needed to try my hand at doing wet fur, the images wouldn't leave my brain jhdfjg "He looks like he'd make a wet splat sound if he was slapped on a wall" YESSS OH THAT WAS THE EXACT GOAL, GOOD. I will say these are mostly inspired by yet-to-be-released Sword Lifted chapters sooo... spoilers without context? But here, enjoy our delightful Wet Yuki commentary:

AWH MAN I've been drawing Tetsu A LOT lately (and I will dO IT AGAIN) but I realized I hadn't really drawn that many sibling moments between him and Yusuke, so there's THE COMFOOORT! My thought with that one was them comforting each other about having lost Keiko. Tetsuya is not one to cry often at all, but Keiko was his whole world for twenty-five years of his life. That kind of pain doesn't go away so easily... It's so good that they both can have someone to grieve with now, though. They don't have to go through this alone!!

Oh it definitely stung Yusuke that his nephew doesn't remember him, and it's really weird on Yuki's part too! Rhin and I keep going back to discussing Yuki's characterization in Sword Lifted just because the situation on his part is so strange it's impossible to "react accordingly". This guy you don't remember and whom nobody told you about was almost like an older brother to you and played with you and cradled you to sleep as a baby, how wild is that??? But listen, I do know if anyone was going to look at this situation in the most practical, polite and straightforward way, it would be Yuki.

THEY'RE BATTLE BNNUYYYS you know, for being a samurai-inspired AU on an action shonen show's setting, I sure don't draw as much actual samurai-ing as I should djfgjdf I NEED TO REMEDY THAT, I'm really itching to do some big dramatic illustrations, but my to-draw list just keeps getting larger and larger with bunny stuff..... awh lord save me.

Oh Yuki is definitely all steel under that fur for sure for sure. I feel like I tend to draw characters scrawnier than they'd realistically be, but it's kind of my brain unconsciously going LITTLE BOY djfdgf to be honest Yusuke, Ken and Mari are the ones I'm generally more conscious about, when it comes to body types? Just because Rhin made a really good point of them being Big Guy, Tall Slim Guy and Hourglass Woman and I'm so weak about SHAPES. But also as I keep improving with my anatomy I try to be more aware of what the body types of my OCs are, and how to show that with time too.

AND RHIN SAYS HI BACK!!!

It's always a delight to have you buddy 💕 Stay tuned for more rabbits!!!

#ask box #under the sword lifted high #RRCU #ROTMRfic

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amageish · 1 year

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Very Belated Thoughts on Gwenpool Strikes Back #4

With Gwenpool becoming a certified canon aroace icon, I wanted to give my thoughts on the significance of Gwenpool Strikes Back issue #4 as I’ve seen a lot of people making some... bold claims about that issue’s implications for Gwen’s continuity.

For those unfamiliar, Gwenpool Strikes Back #4 opens with Gwen in a conundrum: she needs to defeat the Incredible Hulk in a fight and she, with her usual powersets, definitely doesn’t have the ability to win (why is she fighting the Hulk? don’t worry about it). When knocked into the gutterspace by one of the Hulk’s punches, she hatches a plan while visibly concussed: she will travel through her own publication history and take various incarnations of her from their comics to assemble her own team of (anti-)heroic Gwens to help her save the day.

This gaggle of Gwens, dubbed the “Gwen Hive,” all have their own personalities, goals, visions, belief systems, and general vibes, inspired by how Gwen was written in the comics they were taken from. Superior Spider-Man Gwen is hyper-intelligent, Champions Gwen is incredibly over-excited and ready to punch the bad guy in the face, Civil War II Gwen is half-naked and has an unhealthy love of firearms, etc..

This sequence calls attention to the ways that Gwen has been written in the past and both the subtle and not-so-subtle differences between them. It acknowledges how different creative teams have had different ideas on how to depict the character and that they don’t all necessarily vibe with each other. This is a fair observation and was kind of a relief for fans of the character at the time, who were often very vocally frustrated about the inconsistency in how Gwen was written.

The core observation behind this sequence, however, is not at all unique to Gwenpool?

Every Marvel comics superhero - heck, every character from a franchise with shared continuity that lasts between multiple creative teams - has this happen to some extent. Different creative teams have different visions, different ideas, different art styles, etc. They will emphasize and de-empashize different traits of characters to fit the story they want to tell. And - potentially hot take here - that is a good thing! I like it when Editorial gives artists creative freedom to tell unique stories with their characters. There are stories I like more than others, of course, but it’s still generally a good thing that we aren’t usually being forced to relive the same one plotline for each character over and over...

Gwen assembling the Gwen-Hive from her past appearances is a direct acknowledgement of and satire of the inconsistency in her characterization, but I don’t think it is saying she literally completely resets in-universe every time that she has a new creative team. She is just observing a basic reality of how the comic book industry works. Gwen can summon the Gwen Hive, but you could easily have a Peter Parker Hive or a Wolverine Hive or a Kate Pryde Hive made up of different versions of and interpretations of the character - and, just like the Gwen hive, they would be unlikely to agree on everything or see everything from the same point of view!

In that regard, the Gwen Hive is just an extension of her usual powerset. Gwen can grab onto the corners of panels and enter gutterspace, taking advantage of something that most comic books have (gutters between panels) to help her fight and survive. Through the Gwen Hive, Gwen is able to take advantage of something that most comic book characters have (a multitude of appearances with various unique personality quirks and perspectives) to help her fight and survive her encounter with the Hulk.

And I think that’s really cool! I don’t love all of Strikes Back, but I think that this sequence is a really fitting take on the character’s powers and history. Super neat stuff.

So, now in 2023, years after Gwenpool Strikes Back finished its run, it is really weird to me that people are responding to Gwen coming out by saying “Oh, but the Gwen Hive exists, so therefore Gwen HAS NO CANON ACTUALLY and HER SEXUALITY COULD BE RETCONNED WITHOUT EXPLANATION” because... That wasn’t the point of Strikes Back’s story? Gwen is more aware of how she changes from story to story then other comic book characters are (because, y’know, fourth-wall awareness), but that doesn’t mean that the way she changes from book to book is any different. She changes because writers want or need her to change. She becomes smarter and more genre savvy in Superior Spider-Man to be a foil to Doc Oc and she becomes dumber and more presumptuous in Champions to be a foil to the Champions.

TL;DR - Marvel Editorial isn’t going to let someone retcon her asexuality on a whim after greenlighting an entire comic about her coming out as aroace and then putting her on the cover of a Marvel’s Voices Pride issue.

She’s Gwenpool. She’s aroace. Let’s not worry about having her taken away from us, okay?

#gwenpool #Oh god I have reached the discourse era of my comic book fandom #Please don't expect me to post more like this regularly okay?#I'll go back to shitposts soon

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