#art never used to be like this for me

[causeimanartist]

Guys, I'm trying - but FUCK I can't draw Bruce or anything

#I've been futzing with this for the last 34 minutes and 32 seconds #(I was watching a drawfee video) #I think I've tried to draw his hair about 6 times #I just #I'm struggling so hard and it's making my heart beat faster as I get more stressed and I just wanna cry #why is this happening #art never used to be like this for me #it was something I could do for hours #it was fun and relaxing #why is it now such a source of stress #I could cry #maybe I am tearing up a bit who could say #this started off as a joke post but it's also a vent now I guess lol #back to drawfee #or animal crossing I might give up #sigh #wip

[sylvies-kablooie]

i do unironically think the best artists of our generation are posting to get 20 notes and 3 reblogs btw. that fanfic with like 45 kudos is some of the best stuff ever written. those OCs you carry around have some of the richest backstories and worldbuilding someone has ever seen. please do not think that reaching only a few people when you post means your art isn't worth celebrating.

#i often wonder about how many things would be considered classic or high art had they only received the marketing #how many short films that were made for class could have been the most powerful thing you'd ever seen? if you'd seen them? #“you know the greatest films of all time were never made” etc etc #but like. these works of art ARE being made. it's just enjoyed by a smaller audience with equal impact though #i think about this one furry i used to follow on insta who had the coolest worldbuilding ever. it's been years. #thought prompted by that sketch of nimona from ten years ago that was just for a character design #posted to the creator's tumblr and now it's nominated for best animated feature film at the oscars #and by the genuine emotional reaction a fan comic made me feel. how much work had gone into it. how beautiful it was to me. #idk what to tag this but i hope whoever needs to hear it does #writing #writer #fandom #fandom culture #artist

[ink-the-artist]

Video game I saw in a dream. It was in this low poly style like an older video game. You play as this character I think was meant to be a lamb, or maybe a weird mix of a lamb a mouse and a rabbit, (while not really looking like any of those things) and you’re running away from a wolf. Your objective is to last as long as possible before the wolf catches and eats you.

The house you’re running in is endless and bizarrely put together like most building interiors in dreams are (like the infinite toilet dream dimension on Reddit lol) the layout of the house is pretty detailed, you can stop and hide in places like closets or bins while the wolf looks for you, you can go up and down stairs and into rooms etc.

You never actually know where the wolf is or how close it is to you until it appears in your line of sight, it makes no noise and the game gives you no way of knowing where it is, and it’s pretty unpredictable it doesnt move at a consistent pace. When the wolf catches you there’s an animation showing it eating your character

#the actual animation of the wolf eating your character wasnt scary he kind of just cartoonishly swallows the character whole lol #the scary part is being pursued by him and never knowing how close he is #i remember being surprised when i first saw the game bc it was presented to me as #a fun addictive sort of game kinda like a mobile app game #and then i see it and its a horror game and the creators are just completely oblivious to it lmao #dream art #<- thats my tag for all my dream-inspired art #art #gif #photomanipulation #digital art #liminal #weirdcore #used a mix of ai photos and regular photos for this one #the ai stuff is sooooo good for recreating what a dream looks and feels like #but i didnt use it too much bc i wasnt able to get the specific photos i wanted :/ #hmmmm this is vore isn’t it

[inkskinned]

at some point it's just like. do they even fucking like the thing they're asking AI to make? "oh we'll just use AI for all the scripts" "we'll just use AI for art" "no worries AI can write this book" "oh, AI could easily design this"

like... it's so clear they've never stood in the middle of an art museum and felt like crying, looking at a piece that somehow cuts into your marrow even though the artist and you are separated by space and time. they've never looked at a poem - once, twice, three times - just because the words feel like a fired gun, something too-close, clanging behind your eyes. they've never gotten to the end of the movie and had to arrive, blinking, back into their body, laughing a little because they were holding their breath without realizing.

"oh AI can mimic style" "AI can mimic emotion" "AI can mimic you and your job is almost gone, kid."

... how do i explain to you - you can make AI that does a perfect job of imitating me. you could disseminate it through the entire world and make so much money, using my works and my ideas and my everything.

and i'd still keep writing.

i don't know there's a word for it. in high school, we become aware that the way we feel about our artform is a cliche - it's like breathing. over and over, artists all feel the same thing. "i write because i need to" and "my music is how i speak" and "i make art because it's either that or i stop existing." it is such a common experience, the violence and immediacy we mean behind it is like breathing to me - comes out like a useless understatement. it's a cliche because we all feel it, not because the experience isn't actually persistent. so many of us have this ... fluttering urgency behind our ribs.

i'm not doing it for the money. for a star on the ground in some city i've never visited. i am doing it because when i was seven i started taking notebooks with me on walks. i am doing it because in second grade i wrote a poem and stood up in front of my whole class to read it out while i shook with nerves. i am doing it because i spent high school scribbling all my feelings down. i am doing it for the 16 year old me and the 18 year old me and the today-me, how we can never put the pen down. you can take me down to a subatomic layer, eviscerate me - and never find the source of it; it is of me. when i was 19 i named this blog inkskinned because i was dramatic and lonely and it felt like the only thing that was actually permanently-true about me was that this is what is inside of me, that the words come up over everything, coat everything, bloom their little twilight arias into every nook and corner and alley

"we're gonna replace you". that is okay. you think that i am writing to fill a space. that someone said JOB OPENING: Writer Needed, and i wrote to answer. you think one raindrop replaces another, and i think they're both just falling. you think art has a place, that is simply arrives on walls when it is needed, that is only ever on demand, perfect, easily requested. you see "audience spending" and "marketability" and "multi-line merch opportunity"

and i see a kid drowning. i am writing to make her a boat. i am writing because what used to be a river raft has long become a fully-rigged ship. i am writing because you can fucking rip this out of my cold dead clammy hands and i will still come back as a ghost and i will still be penning poems about it.

it isn't even love. the word we use the most i think is "passion". devotion, obsession, necessity. my favorite little fact about the magic of artists - "abracadabra" means i create as i speak. we make because it sluices out of us. because we look down and our hands are somehow already busy. because it was the first thing we knew and it is our backbone and heartbreak and everything. because we have given up well-paying jobs and a "real life" and the approval of our parents. we create because - the cliche again. it's like breathing. we create because we must.

you create because you're greedy.

#every time someones like ''AI will replace u" im like. u will have to fucking KILL ME #there is no replacement here bc i am not filling a position. i am just writing #and the writing is what i need to be doing #writeblr #this probably doesn't make sense bc its sooo frustrating i rarely speak it the way i want to #edited for the typo wrote it and then was late to a meeting lol #i love u people who mention my typos genuinely bc i don't always catch them!!!! :) it is doing me a genuine favor!!! #my friend says i should tell you ''thank you beta editors'' but i don't know what that means #i made her promise it isn't a wolf fanfiction thing. so if it IS a wolf thing she is DEAD to me (just kidding i love her) #hey PS PS PS ??? if ur reading this thinking what it's saying is ''i am financially capable of losing this'' ur reading it wrong #i write for free. i always have. i have worked 5-7 jobs at once to make ends meet. #i did not grow up with access or money. i did not grow up with connections or like some kind of excuse #i grew up and worked my fucking ASS OFF. and i STILL!!! wrote!!! on the side!!! because i didn't know how not to!!! #i do not write for money!!!! i write because i fuckken NEED TO #i could be in the fucking desert i could be in the fuckken tundra i could be in total darkness #and i would still be writing pretentious angsty poetry about it #im not in any way saying it's a good thing. i'm not in any way implying that they're NOT tryna kill us #i'm saying. you could take away our jobs and we could go hungry and we could suffer #and from that suffering (if i know us) we'd still fuckin make art. #i would LOVE to be able to make money doing this! i never have been able to. but i don't NEED to. i will find a way to make my life work #even if it means being miserable #but i will not give up this thing. for the whole world.

[weaselmcdiesel]

Do You Love The Color Of The 413?

#HOMESTUCK #413 #HOMESTUCK 413 #john egbert #dave strider #rose lalonde #jade harley #vriska #kanaya #terezi #karkat #HAPPY 413 YAYYYYYY!!!!!!!! #THIS TOOK ME 4 DAYS PLEASE LOVE IT #AHHHHHHH IVE NEVER MADE ANYTHING THIS BIG BEFORE #IT'S NOT AS FINISHED AS ID LIKE- LIKE I USED A LOT OF JUST MULTIPLICITY LAYERS FOR SHADING BUT #I DONT HAVE MUCH TIME LMAO #ALSO IM PRETTY SURE TUMBLR WILL EAT THE QUALITY SO PLEASE CLICK TO ZOOM LOL #ART #MY ART #heavens. i dont know if i should tag all the characters? #ill only tag the bigger characters i guess #since so many are in there #it's supposed to be transparent and not black #but apparently tumblr will turn transparency white if the photo is too large #fucking great

[langernameohnebedeutung]

ngl, I'm beginning to take issue with how in conversations about anti-intellectualism almost automatically, the face of girls and women will be slapped on the problem.

#'all those tiktok girls who only like marvel films and' - why do you always say girls and women? are the guys filling opera halls instead? #'women in their mid 20s who still only read YA novels' okay sure that's an example and relevant discussions can be had #but it reminds me of the mocking tone in which people speak of 'chick-lit' to use women's interest as an indicator of lower value #while in fact women are reading more than men in EVERY single genre of fiction. Women are doing a lot of (often unpaid) labour #supporting libaries supporting theatres supporting cultural events #meanwhile there is a pretty big overlap between toxic masculinity and anti-intellectualism #(especially misogyny and homophobia) #especially when it comes to things like ballet or opera or musical or generally dance #in fact it is often the female investment in specific things that makes them less 'valuable' in general consciousness #for thousands of years the theatre was well-respected and a high form of art - and now it's a 'wife-thing' #the father who will teach his son that theatre and dance are for girls - how is that never an example for anti-intellectualism

[egophiliac]

C'MON TO THE THEATER!

I love these guys so much. forget NRC, I want to attend their terrible disaster school for disaster children that might actually be plastered on top of the smoking remains of an actively sinking ship. I may or may not actually learn anything, but I will have the time of my life.

#art #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland spoilers #stage in playful land #stage in playfulland #unique magic posters #so it was fellow after all and not gidel? whoops #i was merely overthinking it #me? overthink fictional characters? surely not #god though #i can't not love a guy who gets the cutest most adorable power #and instantly goes 'i shall use this for Crimes' #also every time he was like 逃げる! my brain auto-translated it as CHEESE IT! #accompanied by twst's running-away sound effect which is just the quintessential sound of someone cheesing it #if i could have (1) twst spinoff it would be the adventures of these two idiots trying to do an education #they would have a stodgy bureaucrat antagonist who keeps trying to catch them in their sleazy corner-cutting ways and shut them down #(OF COURSE there would be a bit where they are trying to host an unforgettable luncheon but egads! their roast is ruined!) #and all while they're trying to evade being hunted down by the playful land investors #the hijinks would be SO wacky you guys #i've made myself sad now because this will never exist #it's real in my HEART

[puppyeared]

Wyrm on a string

#it was supposed to be a tiny doodle but I just kept on yo-ing #I like her colors a lot hehhehehe #I like how they made her dragon design different from the golden trio. like she has a different shaped snout antlers and smaller ears #like I know the devs want us to know hey this is what zelda would look like as a dragon but following the zonai were descendants of gods/ #dragons and zelda is a descendent of the zonai it just feels narratively pleasing to me lol #raurus hair looks similar to the dragons manes with the same undertones and everything. and he has horns where dragon horns would be #makes me wonder if the golden goddesses were incarnated as zonai this time around and they turned into dragons. that would be interesting #I don’t really know if that would make sense bc I’ve never played ss so j don’t have much background on the golden goddesses #totk #tears of the kingdom #totk spoilers #tears of the kindom spoilers #totk zelda #totk light dragon #my art #myart #doodles #loz #loz zelda

[humming-fly]

I only just now realized what a shame it is we never got to see Al and Greedling really interacting

#nocturnal hangout buddies #so much to talk about like 'why did you kidnap me if you're already immortal you dumb asshole' #and games like 'try to guess the stupid song ling is hollering in the mindspace for the 10 millionth time' #it woulda been good #fma #fmab #fullmetal alchemist #fullmetal alchemist brotherhood #greed #greedling #alphonse elric #comic #my art #doodles #always so fun to come back to this style and remember it's far and away the painting style i'm best at #in terms of efficiency and final look #and yet i basically never use it at all lma o #anyways hope you enjoy this comic that doesn't really have a punchline a;lsdkfj #those are few and far between for me so gotta enjoy em when they pop up!

[sualne]

bonclay time

(timeline)

#one piece #monkey d luffy #nico robin #sir crocodile #bon clay #crocodad au #my art #my comic #described in alt text #i had one (1) comic planned with bonclay but this ask got me thinking about how hilarious the dynamic between out and proud genderqueer #bonclay vs closeted trans man croc is. even thought they never meet face to face. croc must get nervous sweats at first hearing luffy #saying 'okama' because of bonclay. with time he gets used to it/no longer feels like a slur to him.

[julijbee]

in awe of the beauty of the world

#art #tes #skyrim #sort of anyways. hes from skyrim so that is how i will classify what is going on here #teldryn sero #tes fanart #i fucking love this guy #sidetracked my quests to give him a walking tour of skyrim after his deeply endearing reaction to the college of winterhold #as someone who never used companions in all my years of playing this game i was thrilled to learn everyone likes this guy as much as i do #also he gets extra points because chitin and netch armors have my heart #the goggles send me joyous places #anyways the state of my sketchbook ever since i descended back into my tes fixation is pretty catastrophic #what with the amount of vivec happening. so look forward to that at some point i guess #ash yams.. hackle-lo.. goggles.. kwama egg.. sujamma.. cup... we are making tinctures tonight

[tshortik]

I love you messy artstyle i love you visible brush strokes I love you textures and rough edges I love you imperfections I love you roughness and colour blobs I love you scratchy sketches and bold stylisation and dirt and imperfections I love you ugly and raw emotion!!!!! ❤️

#i talk sometimes #art talk #i made a tweet like this on twatter ages ago but i've been feeling this a lot lately #also this is the start of me writing more on this blog and not only using it as art because who cares!! i don't!! #I wanna translate raw emotion into colors and shapes. I wanna know where to ignore all details and where to go ham you feel me? #i used to dream about developing a style like for MtG where it looked like a masterful oil painting that oozes realism and details #and i've realised the last two years or so that I would actually hate that for me. I know I wouldn't enjoy doing it. For myself. #it's that pipeline from wanting to be the perfect realistic wotc artist to accepting that I will never be that #instead i wanna learn how to stylise better and get a good brush economy going yknow. I wanna be bolder. #i doubt i'll ever be as incredible as all these MtG artists no matter what anyone says. but it's ok!! i don't have to be!!! #i just luv art man!!

[chalkrub]

more svanhildr - trying new things, like a brave boy

#my art #anthro #furry #illustration #oc #svanhildr #dysterel #i have so many great brushes i never use for no reason so i'm expanding my horizons and using like 10 brushes instead of 3 #and i used the pencil tool for the first time so i could make a sprite of svanhildr #btw don't do pixel art without looking at multiple tutorials first. worst mistake of my life #i think my blobby indeterminate sprite daughter looks great though #also has anyone seen brass eye and if so have you seen when the posh reporter lady is walking to the prison #and she turns to the camera and says something like “i'm going going inside now. like a BAD boy” #anyway it gets me every time and writing brave boy made me remember it

[inkskinned]

i know people are good because of this: the universe often assigns me side quests. in a circular strangeness; despite my inability to locate my-own-anything, i am almost-always finding someone else's lost things. dogs, coats, phones, cash, laptops. it happens so often it's almost tiring; suddenly being looped into a tiny amount of detective work.

but when i'm with other people who are not used to this: the response is almost invariably delight. yes, maybe they are simply thrilled by the mystery. it's just... they light up so much. i think maybe more... i think they like the opportunity to do something kind.

a few weeks ago, i was at a bar and i found a wallet as soon as we stepped outside. i felt nervous to ask for help, worried i would be holding up the night. i picked it up and said go on without me, i should help this get back to its home.

instead, three people pulled out their phones - to find him on facebook, to help cancel his credit cards. two people went back into the bar to tell the bartender, two others went calling down the street. group texts, facebook posts, instagram stories. people, without even seeing what happened, start offering help to me. fifteen minutes and: someone knows someone who knows the guy. the cheer that went up - just for finding him, just for this small thing. someone gets him on the phone. strangers dance around me, hopping on their feet - are you the girl that found that wallet? good for you, that's a good thing you're doing/same thing happened to me and somebody did what you're doing and i thank god everyday for people like you/i can't believe you found him so fast this is so exciting

i gave it back to him in a parking lot. i watched his shoulders sag with relief. there was cash in it still - he checked the pocket, and then sheepishly held the money out to me. i didn't take it. i held up my hands. "it's no problem, man. i know you'd do the same for me."

i don't know him, to be honest. i don't know if he is the same kind of person i am. but he nodded at me.

and i know people are good. i know people are good, because the way this story ends isn't surprising. we wave goodbye awkwardly. my friend loops their arm around me.

"i can't believe we got it back to him," they said. "i'm going to be riding that high for weeks."

#i lost my wallet in disney world once #and really thought i had beefed it bc i was 19 and alone #and a woman got it back to me within an hour #just like . a mom #i have no idea how she got my number or info #and i do think that since then karmatically god has been like. #ur about to be the same person in someone else's life #btw i like the side quests but they never happen at a good time #once saved 2 lost dogs while on the way to the airport. i already had my 70 pound dog in the back of my car #and had to chase 2 dogs down the street to wrastle into my passenger seat #(she ended up writing me the fucking nicest thank you card and sending me WAY #W A Y too much in target bucks as a thank-you) #i went 2 go see batman the other night and legit like. had already been running late #to go see a friend #and instead was like. sorry i have to step outside and use this person's phone to see if i can find them #i once found 250 dollars in cash lol #MEANWHILE IN MY PRIVATE LIFE #I LOSE FUCKING EVERYTHING #adhd will be like #: thou art so observant that it is distracting : #: BUT not observant towards items that are not novel to you : #: die mad about it : #: so it is written. so it must be : #: no nobody saw where you put the fucking car keys :

[chronodia]

super epic watercolor tutorial

#casey art #art tutorial #digital art tutorial #digital watercolor #procreate tutorial #wahoo I’ve never done anything like this b4 #if you use this lmk! or tag me or whatever #there’s a version with alt text on my twitter as well #update 3/12 DON’T copy my tags

[tubbytarchia]

For the ranchers a bit more shleep i just really like charakters comfy and nice:Dc /nf

Eepies. Jimmy woke up to really sore wings but its okay because Tango

#(I cannot imagine avians sleeping on their backs lest they have special mattresses or something but hnng. For the domestic fluff...) #team rancher #rancher duo #solidaritek #I imagine Tango is not nearly as much of a ray of sunshine in the mornings as Jimmy is. Jimmy finds it endearing though 100% #I also imagine Tango moves the hell around in his sleep and tangles them both up with his tail #He's gonna try to apologize a thousand times for “making you sleep on your back” but Jimmy won't let him #ALSO what does /nf mean lol. Every other day I see another new tone indicator that I cant figure out the meaning of #please feel free to use brackets to circumvent my stupidity. I do not know the hip things... I am but a boomer noobie #trafficshipping #trafficblr #I have so many other rancher asks in my inbox that could fall under this #Rancher cuddles and smol Tango and this and that hhrr but I will... I will get to them... in time.... #never enough rancher content #also laying on someone when they laugh so their chest bounces up and down etc. Oh it makes me weak. Not that I know what its like lol #but it feels cute... #tubby art