#even though I have much less time lately to do digital art

[gloomy-prince]

SUPER OLD RAINBOW! ART THREAD!!! Open only if you are brave enough to face teen me's cringe art...

(mostly joking but fr white Mimi and skinny Boo jumpscare below)

Very first digital piece of Boo and Mimi circa 2011!! I was 14 when I drew this. Usually I'm able to look back fondly at super old art of mine but this one does make me cringe a liiiiittle bit. Mimi girl what are you wearing, why are you white. Boo also had pink eyes in the beginning, which she would continue to have for several years to come (even in the current iteration of RAINBOW! they were pink at first, I later recolored those pages) but it was only later that it was due to the color scheme of the comic and not because they were literally pink. I'm pretty sure they were meant to be contacts, because their hair is and always have been dyed rather than anime-esque natural colorful hair, so that was some crazy dedication from Boo back in the day.

More 2011 art showing off Mimi's goth/scene-ish style and green eyes. They were initially meant to have pastel and neon fashion senses, respectively. The story was already named at this point, only a few days or maybe weeks into its inception, which is impressive considering it has taken us literal years to name other stories (I'm looking at you, Phantom Pains)

this one is from super early 2012! Interesting to think that this was less than 9 months later since it feels completely different to me. The first version of the comic had started at this point, and the pink and green color scheme was just starting to develop. This lineup features some characters that would later be cut. Lucian and Lily were friends of Boo, and Cecilia was Mimi's ex girlfriend. Notably Clarice is not on this lineup, and frankly I'm not sure why.

A picture I drew to commemorate 50 fans on RAINBOW!'s smackjeeves page, mid 2012. Boo's outfit resembled a recolored version of her 2011 outfit, but I have no idea what Mimi is wearing. What. are. you. wearing.

Chibi-ish drawings of Boo and Mimi cosplaying various characters, from early 2013. Homura Mimi is very funny to me, I really don't know why I didn't draw her as Kyoko. I assume I was trying to keep them as paired characters, but I didn't do that with the Sailor Moon or Disney ones, so I who knows why I did it with PMMM. Mimi's hairstyle changes to a shaved cut somewhere around this time, but it is much more dramatic than her current undercut, and her hair is still pretty long. Boo is wearing a closet cosplay of Fluttershy that I myself wore once. These also resemble the chibi-ish drawings on the chapter intermission pages of RAINBOW! Vol 1.

A character study I did in late 2013, which would be shortly after I made a major style shift into the art style that would eventually develop into the one I currently have. At this point, Boo was meant to be fatter than Mimi, but the execution wasn't really there at all. There is also a doodle at the bottom of me and Sunny at the time (I am the one with long hair), expressing thanks for 300 fans on smackjeeves. Considering it had 50 in mid 2012, the readership was pretty slow growing back then.

outfit exploration for Mimi, circa 2014. At this point I started to expand the color scheme a little bit more so that not every character would be paper-white, though she is still very pale even though she is no longer meant to be white anymore. None of these outfits really resemble her current style, and I don't particularly like any of them either. It took me a very long time to settle on a fashion sense for her.

an Adventure Time-eqsue drawing of Mimi and Boo that I actually drew less than two weeks after the previous image despite the difference in things such as the way the hair was drawn. I had to include this one because it blew up overnight, which was a huge deal for highschool me, I remember checking my phone at school a lot because it was just getting hundreds or even thousands of notes over the span of the day. I think it has something like 16,000 notes. Still the post with the highest number of notes I have by far, so I guess I peaked in high school, whomp whomp

More fashion exploration, this time of Mimi and Boo, from early 2015. The color scheme is starting to approach what it currently is, but much more dull since I used to be afraid of bright colors. Mimi's fashion sense is starting to get closer to what it currently is, but the pastel goth influence that was popular in early-mid 2010s tumblr is apparent. In chapter 1, Boo wears an outfit that is extremely similar to the one with the bear shirt, except it's a rabbit instead. The dress that Mimi gives to Boo is also almost identical to the depiction of it here. This drawing implies that Mimi was originally going to be present in the film noir scene where Boo finds her mom, which is interesting...

Another cast lineup! This one is from late 2015-early 2016. Mimi is wearing an outfit pretty similar to what she wears in chapter 1 but with the colors altered. The execution of Boo's body type is starting to improve but she's still kind of pear-shaped. Mimi is also a little more square, and her hair finally looks like the style she has now. Clarice gets to be in the lineup this time and she is SUPER tall. I think she is still taller than Milo. And Mimi is around 5'7"-5'8", so Clarice must be around 6 foot by that logic.

The original version of chibi-ish Boo riding a bike in her Kiki outfit, from 2016. I think it was meant to be a banner of some kind, possibly for tapas or tumblr. A newer version of this drawing features as a chapter intermission drawing in the physical book.

The original cover for RAINBOW! from 2017. The color scheme is finally starting to get a little brighter! This is actually a redraw of an older drawing from 2014, I want to draw it again someday. Also, I was going by Rain at the time.

A drawing I did in late 2017 for a class in which we were meant to try digital painting and I went for a very simple approach. I like that Mimi's legs are a little noodle-y. This is also the first drawing where Mimi's eyes are no longer green, but dark pink instead. By the language of RAINBOW!'s color scheme, that means they are brown. Boo's eyes are still pink, however.

Another drawing for a class, this time from 2018. I can't remember the specifics of the assignment, but I used the opportunity to draw the playground and Max, the dog, for the first time. I like the way the trees look in this. That little snip of hair by Mimi's ear also made a reappearance here for some reason.

The original version of the drawing that would become the cover of RAINBOW! Vol 1, from mid 2019! I believe I drew it to be a banner on Tapas, but I used it for tumblr as well.

And lastly, Boo and Mimi outfit sheets from 2019-2020. I messed with them for a while, hence the timeframe. Boo's eyes are finally green, which I changed since I liked the idea of Mimi having green hair and pink eyes, and Boo having pink hair and green eyes, as if they are reflected a bit in each other. Outside of RAINBOW!'s color scheme, Boo's eyes are actually blue though. It took about a decade, but I finally settled on a fashion sense for Mimi.

BONUS ART!!! 💖💖✨✨ I thought these would be better grouped together rather than chronologically with the rest.

RAINBOW!'s banners from its era on smackjeeves! Smackjeeves didn't have square/circular icons but rather these thin long banners which could also be animated. I thought that was so fun, so I always animated them at least a little, even though one doesn't seem to work. It was customary to write girls love/boys love on the banner of mlm/wlw romance stories then, so almost all of them say that. I still see that trend on some comics on webtoon and tapas nowadays. They are from 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2017. I don't believe the 2017 one was ever used.

And RAINBOW!'s icon throughout the years! I always refused to change it, only update it, because I thought it was really cute. They are from (approximately) 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2021.

And finally, art from 2021 of Mimi with her cousin August, who will be the protagonist of our next comic, Phantom Pains. Weird to think that we'll be on that comic in foreseeable future, since it is also over 10 years old now. Bit of a passing the torch type drawing to end on. 💕 If you made it all the way here, thanks for reading! Hopefully it was fun and didn't hurt your eyes.

#rainbow! #rainbow #webcomic #webtoon #tapas comic #lgbt #lgbtq #wlw #lesbian #lgbt webcomic #queer webcomic

[macrolit]

Do You Have ‘Bookshelf Wealth’?

A TikTok home-décor trend has irked some bibliophiles.

By Madison Malone Kircher

Published in the New York Times, Jan. 15, 2024

When it comes to aesthetic trends, social media loves a catchy name.

Cottagecore. Dark academia. Eclectic grandpa.

Now there’s a new entry to the canon: bookshelf wealth.

On TikTok and other digital platforms, there has lately been much ado about people who own a great number of books and — this is critical — have managed to stage them in a pleasing manner.

If you’ve ever seen a Nancy Meyers movie, the look might ring a bell. Warm and welcoming. Polished, but not stuffy. A bronze lamp here. A vintage vase there (with fresh-cut flowers, of course). Perhaps there is a cozy seating area near the floor-to-ceiling display, with an overstuffed couch topped with tasteful throw pillows.

Kailee Blalock, an interior designer in San Diego, posted a video to TikTok last month that sought to define bookshelf wealth and school viewers in achieving the aesthetic in their own homes.

“These aren’t display books,” Ms. Blalock, 26, cautions in the video, which has been viewed over 1.3 million times. “These are books that have actually been curated and read.”

This literary look, she went on to say, goes well with pictures hung willy-nilly on the walls, sometimes even partly blocking the shelves, as well as mismatched fabric patterns and a bit of clutter.

In an interview, Ms. Blalock expanded on her advice. “I think to really achieve the look and the lifestyle, someone has to be an avid reader and has to appreciate the act of collecting things, especially art and sculpture,” she said.

Though Ms. Blalock did not originate the term “bookshelf wealth,” her video has spurred plenty of online discussion. “The day I ‘cultivate’ books instead of buying what I like to read is the day I’ll know I’ve truly failed as a human,” one user commented. Others remarked how bookshelf wealth was less about reading and more about regular old wealth.

Breana Newton, a legal coordinator in Princeton, N.J., who posts regularly about books on TikTok, was one of the people who responded to Ms. Blalock’s video. “I am going to show you bookshelf wealth,” Ms. Newton, 33, says in a video of her own. “Ready?”

She then gives viewers a brief tour of her home, showing books everywhere — on shelves, in overflow piles here and there, and strewed across the bed. Absent is the sense that the rooms have been staged, or that the books were bought with the consideration of how they would look on Instagram.

In an interview, Ms. Newton said that she worried trends like bookshelf wealth encourage overconsumption. This year, she added, she is trying not to buy any new books.

Another critic of the trend, Keila Tirado-Leist, said in a reaction video: “Who does it benefit to constantly have to name and qualify and attach wealth to any kind of style or home-décor aesthetic?”

Ms. Tirado-Leist, a lifestyle content creator in Madison, Wis., likened bookshelf wealth to “quiet luxury” and “stealth wealth,” styles that have recently made social media waves.

Still, she was understanding that what drives a home-décor trend like this one is a desire to create a home that feels, well, homey. In another video, she described the idea of layering — that is, slowly acquiring pieces and building up to a finished look, rather than trying to buy a bunch of things all at once in an effort to chase a trend.

“Styling a home takes time,” Ms. Tirado-Leist said.

Another TikTok user put it more bluntly in a response to Ms. Blalock’s video: “Bookshelf wealth does not mean you have books. It means you have built-ins.”

Editors’ Picks

A Practical Guide to Quitting Your SmartphoneHow Sad Love Songs Tap Into the Chaos of DatingWhen WeightWatchers Ended In-Person Meetings, They Held Their Own

Madison Malone Kircher is a Times reporter covering internet culture. More about Madison Malone Kircher

#bookshelf #bookshelf wealth #tiktok #aesthetics #home decor #books #home library #new york times #madison malone kircher

[blackrevell]

// WIP WHENEVER AND FOREVER

Been tagged by @ouroboros-hideout, @olath124 and @wanderingaldecaldo recently, thank you!

2D | 3D | Writing | VP

The last several days over here were quite turbulent and I suppose I gulped a bit too much of negativity, as nothing I did so far felt right or decent. That's why this journal will re-cap everything that's piled up in my project files since the previous WIP Whenever post: (x)

// Digital Art Still thinking of So Mi x Myers painting, the sneak peek of which you saw the last time. I think of it daily, I promise. Some day I will finish it.

Beyond that one, there's also a Myers' study that I'd want to complete. Been a while, but who knows.

// 3D

Modelling felt much more dynamic lately. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Blender is awesome, and I've had a blast working in it again.

For starters, I embarked on an endless highway of finally fleshing out my OC. The progress on the character herself is slow (well, at least there's no deadline and no rush). In terms of looks, she is a connoisseur of sunglasses and gathered quite a wide collection over the years. Here is one design out of the 4 planned:

Planning is not my natural forte, though, which often produces unexpected results. Had a night when I went too hard on caffeine and couldn't sleep, decided to spend the extra brain-overdrive time modelling a dress I saw on Pinterest. It's not even within my character's usual clothing style, but who's gonna stop me? Me? :pain:

What you see above is a low-poly preview, there's still lots of work to be done even in terms of mesh, much less texturing and weight painting (which is going to be a total horror).

Last, but not least — one of my frens on Discord was looking for sock garters to port for a character, so I thought I could help out a bit. Currently testing it for mesh clipping; texturing here is a "demo" solely for preview purposes.

// Writing

My friends and co-brainrotters somehow pulled me into writing, even though I've been notoriously bad with it my entire life.

At the moment, there's one ficlet in progress focused on character exploration for my OTP Nightwing (OC x Kurt). It is a wild mix of text with bits being deleted, and changed, and added, so I'll keep it under wraps for now.

The sad sack days did lure me into writing out small shards of feelings, which I have no idea how to classify. Vesna and I have a terminal disease called "Rosalind Myers and Kurt Hansen are bitter exes", and their tragic relationship just doesn't let me go:

Lies, lies, lies, how have I been blind to The knives cutting my sanity That you brought with you And I thought would only undo The enemies we could Conquer together and Share their bones and Share our hearts Too bad the taste of my blood Was your favorite hue In the palette of what I could Ever bring you

There's been a couple of other small writings that I won't dare to post (cause extra cringe)

// Virtual Photography Not much to report here, just want to say that it's been a pleasure to finally try my hand at proper VP with Kurt and his peachbutt (x).

I hope I'm capable of learning better and better, because photography has been a tempting idea for me since I was a kid, and I have already got concepts for several photo sets to do in Cyberpunk.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Not tagging anyone in particular, my brain is not functioning today. Just wishing everyone a nice day and evening. <3

#wip whenever #rev post

[meruz]

some weirdly specific artist game questions im answering while eating dinner. im gonna use my truly abysmal surface pen so theyre gonna be jittery af.

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even)

8. What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in I feel like I don’t lose interest in projects so much as I run out of time to do them nowadays. I had a bunch of ideas for a shortbox comics fair project and then got too busy to execute and meet the deadlines. same with some zines... I still want to do them!! Idk when though. I guess when I was a kid I used to be interested in more ambitious original writing, long form fantasy type stuff. I think if you really dig through my archives you can probably find ocs from ideas like that but I don’t have a lot of interest in pursuing stories like that anymore because... idk even writing short things is tough for me.

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what

5. Estimate of how much of your art you post online vs. the art you keep for yourself

I think this is mostly because ive been “finishing” art less lately? or like... making less small things and more singular big/complex illustrations? idk. it’s tough, I want to post more because I like posting art on the internet. I grew up watching other people post art on the internet and wanting to do the same. there’s a lot of artists who don’t like it but its fun to me. unfortunately this whole year has kind of been like a non-posting year tho.

26. What's a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended

25.  Something your art has been compared to that you were NOT inspired by Uhhhh this is tough idk. I think I’ve gotten like...ava’s demon before?

Which doesn’t make a lot of sense to me looking at the style alone but does like...make sense in the way that I think I share similar cultural inspirations with that comic like...being online in the mid 2000s...deviantart digital art type stuff. So even if there isn’t any direct inspiration there’s some shared dna probably.   I think I’ve hard art compared to transistor (the supergiant game) too and I think its like. a similar story there. Heck, If i drew more sexy characters my inking tendencies would probably get my art compared to hades just with how big that art style is culturally rn.too bad i only draw dumb looking kids.

I’ve never played a supergiant game. they look very nice and I rly respect them as a company but they’ve yet to make smth that’s really up my alley.

(unrelated but tumblr user wellnoe I’m a huge fan of ur art you have one of the biggest brains in xmen fanart imo...!! thanks for sending in an ask LOL ;-;;;)

#ask #wellnoe #viivianite

[wolfieworld]

4/6 Diary: Dead Projects

it's hard to acknowledge why something isn't working when you're in the middle of it, sometimes it's hard to even know why. There's a few plots that have been in my brain for years that I've rewritten and rewritten and rewritten with little success. I think a big part of failed projects is actually over-estimating ones own capabilities, for example I plan out mechanics that I don't have the experience to achieve, or characterization too far from my own experience that its not fun to write. I often plan out stories that require a lot of research and I feel like I can't write until I know everything-therefore most writing doesn't get done and what does is full of holes. It's kind of embarrassing to look back at stuff and just think "I didn't know what I was talking about at all."

Sometimes shit just doesn't work out. In the words of Pretty Boy Detective Club giving up on a dream can be more beautiful than achieving the dream itself.

Probably 90% of everything I try doesn't work out and it's been on my mind lately that that's a good thing. Of course in an ideal world we learn from finished works bc there are things from those you can only learn by sharing with others and by wrapping up a story and by saying goodbye to your characters but there isn't such a thing as an ideal world and everything we do we learn from whether other people see it or not. There is something special you learn from unfinished projects, the types you choose to put down forever, which is you are forced to acknowledge precisely why it could not get done.

These are all images from 2 retired vn/comic projects.

These projects are prisons for some of my best and worst writing, full of ideas with no through-line or real objective, and no real thorough understanding of these characters who I loved just collections of feelings and images and facts I thought were cool.

What is improvement? I'm not a person who looks at my old art and feels like I've gotten better at drawing, and when I look back at old writing I only really get the sense that I've become less cringe but not become a better writer. I think improvement is more esoteric than becoming better at the skills you use to express, maybe it's just knowing yourself better and playing to your strengths, and crystalizing what you want to say (or finding it in the first place). Aesthetics form naturally from writing and drawings that plainly express what they need too and they are drawn like blood from stone from work that is trying its hardest to be clever.

Personally I find these digital pages from 2020(21?) to be better drawings than anything I've done in the last two years in a technical way but it doesn't matter, I couldn't finish it, and I didn't know the characters. It's just portfolio work, it took me months to do five of them. They're just "cool shots" even though I didn't know it at the time.

As I get further into working on Youth Who Was Killed I'm noticing that cutting corners produces better results, there's more emotion in sketches so why finish a drawing, why design a logo which I'm not good at when I can use a font, why color grade the images myself when limiting the palette to one or two or three colors provides an unmuddied result? This is the kind of laziness you would think would harm 'improvement' but I've found that too much brute force is a highway to burn out, and then you're not learning anything at all.

Making art is a war against human nature I think, cavemen definitely weren't built too instinctually develop a five year plan every new years. However it becomes like less of a war when you work with your nature rather than against it. Maybe. I don't know. I really hope I don't make a blog post two years from now about why I couldn't finish YWWK. If that happens blame ren'py.

i drew my ocs in funny t shirts for the first time in my life so maybe all that stuff i said about improvement being that you become less cringe is untrue, maybe you get more cringe. thats ok with me i guess.

#meow meow meow #youth who was killed #that feels like kind of a scary tag and maybe i should use the acronym i will decide later

[kouhsuu]

hii hello who are you whats your lore!!

MY LORE okay that's a new one

*THIS IS GONNA BE LONG AND RAMBLY*

Who I am? 17 year old genderfluid digital and traditional artist 👍

For my lore as an artist: My dad is a painter so from a very young age i was surrounded by art materials literally taking up half our small living room because of the easles, giant canvas rolls, wood, cabinets full of paints and brushes, etc.

Essentially I was very encouraged by him to draw lol, and it also came out of me just finding art so much fun in general. I knew that if I got good enough at it I could draw almost anything I wanted if i pushed myself to learn.

I get verrry engrossed learning anything creative and visual, whether it be making my own website, sewing, sculpting, video editing, 3d modelling, painting, woodworking, etc it's all SO! MUCH! FUN!! I also have to specify visual creativity because oh boy can i not stand trying to make music as much as i want to.

In school I was very obviously the art kid and one of the weird kids, but luckily never got bullied because i was charismatic enough and generally there weren't major major assholes at my schools somehow. I usually was involved with the special programs in my schools because of my enthusiasm to learn and participate, so I got an opportunity to enroll into an early scholarship program for LaGuardia art school in middle school which... i ended up turning down because i thought it would be too much work being in a college like that... which honestly only kind of regret because honestly now i'd rather get into drafting and architecture.

Speaking of drafting and architecture! The reason my dad became a painter is because my grandma couldn't afford to send him to school to become an architect, so he pushed me to go into the field as well now that I have the opportunity. I didn't really feel like it but it seemed kind of interesting designing buildings because if i knew how buildings were made, i could more accurately put detail into my art xD Most decisions I make are to improve my own artwork because it's my life and soul, and luckily i ended up getting interested into working with more drafting.

My first social media i posted art on was google plus, then came deviantart, then came youtube, then twitter, and now tumblr (and cohost & itaku). I still use twitter but my main account (@/hamunako) is essentially inactive, I don't care enough to keep posting there nor do i have the motivation NOR do i want to have the anxiety to feel like I have to keep posting because uh oh people wont interact with me otherwise!!!!! Now I just use a private account with less than 25 followers and its the best. I made this Tumblr account though just in case twitter finally deleted itself off of the face of the planet, and also because i've always wanted to figure out how tumblr works & instagram confused me even more than tumblr...

As for why i've been drawing SOOOO much lonely wolf treat lately??? Short answer: ADHD (possible autism too?), Long answer: A long long time ago I watched manlybadasshero's playthrough of lonely wolf treat and loved it, then i forgot about it until i went on itch a while ago and saw that nami had posted mochi in frosting so I was like WOAH THERE'S STILL NEW CHAPTERS?! I got even more into it when it turned out one of my new friends ALSO had played lonely wolf treat so we drew the characters and it allllll spiraled from there.

Can't think of anything else interesting to share regarding my lore but yeah!!! Also I take commissions, just message me and i'll show what I can do and my prices! Don't have a formal post yet but i'll get to it at some point, i'm not very formal in the first place xP

#long post #kouhsuu lore #ask #asks

[inkdemon-whore]

also, got lazy and just watched some batdr cutscenes n story explained vids.

i can't believe they made audrey bendy's wife. like bro, bride of frankenstein much?

anyway -takes some of the stuff we learned about gent and silly vision, and digs up my old au-

-straightens out papers-

-coughs-

joey and henry make joey drew studios, joey is only ever really a man of ideas, and henry usually draws them up, even it's its a thousand adhd ridden ideas a day. at some point, even after hiring more artist, joey sees that work is still really slow so he gets the help of GENT and comes up with this thing called "silly vision" that's supposed to make work flow more smoothly.

i'm probably wrong, i don't remember and don't care to look into the lore, something something magnifying glasses (idk maybe the looking glass/seeing tool from the 5th ch of the 1st game) and specialized ink i think??? for now i'm just gonna say they found a way to do the stuff you can do in digital art like easily manipulate shapes, do stuff like digital puppeting and rigging, and found a way to implement that into traditional art to make the animation process faster (just think, a paint bucket tool, but traditional, without needing to go in with a paintbrush or something and fill it all in yourself a lil bit at a time)

(i'm typing things in a shitty order, but this is probably when the ink machine was made, but its original purpose was to pump ink through the studio)

though a lot of employees used this new, strange technology and seemed to enjoy it, finding it very useful, henry found it a bit annoying and cumbersome to learn. henry himself made a few cartoons on his own with his traditional ways, but as the studio grew, even if there was something henry made you could tell someone else went into the film and changed it. it all went from smooth, cute, poppy traditional animation, to looking more like cheap puppet rigged animation done in flash, being a bit stiff and almost lifeless.

man was having his artist pump out animations, and slowly henry seemed less and less needed as he was a stubborn perfectionist, and found whatever this ink did made most of his art and animations seem lifeless when handed to other people, and he'd often handle a single animation on his own. it would look amazing in his hands, but handed off to others, the results where less than favorable. when henry saw that some of his work was able to be tampered with like this, he and joey got into a fight over it. this was just one of many.

soon, as the company grew bigger and bigger, with more and more pipes being put in to help move ink around, the ink itself seemed to have a mind of its own. or some kinda hive mind thing going on, sometimes over flowing the pipes and flooding places, making it harder and harder to work for everyone.

joey ignored basically every single problem that was going on, and kept growing the company. merchandise, tours of the studio, a theme-park. man was biggering at a rapid rate, and he got a brilliant idea.

"what if people could shake bendy's hand? not some little person in a suit, but a real, dancing demon?"

the ink machine was then modified, still pumping ink, but was given the ability to create life of some kind. using the silly vision ink to create a little devil darling in the hopes that it would be the main attraction of the studio, of the theme park even.

many test runs where done, with many grotesque creatures being made, all of them dying and becoming nothing but inky puddles, essentially returning to what they where before being put into the machine.

the only way the ink machine actually made anything, was when henry was working alone late at night, and suddenly the ink stopped flowing. he hadn't seen the ink machine in its new state until now, and even then he was rarely ever in the same room as it, and had no idea how it worked. the new buttons and levers where confusing, and their labels didn't help. taking a peek inside, he found something was clogging the machine, and like a fool he reached in to remove it, only for the machine to take a finger with it.

the sudden pain and shock left him stumbling, starting up and accidentally pulling levels trying to catch his balance. without knowing what he'd just done, he left for the hospital.

little did he know, he'd given just enough of what was needed to finally bring bendy to life.

as soon as joey and some of the gent crew saw the creature, shuffling around the studio aimlessly, they locked it up. joey accuses henry of messing with the ink machine, and though henry agrees, he's confused as to why he's being scolded so much for it, and almost threatens to sue for losing a finger. joey shuts up immediately, which is a surprise to henry.

they keep the demon a secret, locking it away to keep it from messing with anything, or worse, killing someone. they don't know what to do with it, it just seems angry and bitter, and the ink problems in the studio just get worse and worse. little do they know, this thing can feel the ink.

it feels every flick of a pen, every rust covered pipe, can hear all the scratching, and music making, and chatter in the studio. it can feel itself being pulled and manipulated in ways it doesn't understand by this ink it inhabits. it hears it all so much, and being trapped in a cage, forced to sit and hear, and see, and ever read things without being their, but taking it all in. it's overwhelming, and it's angry. forcing the ink to burst from pipes more, just to shut rooms up, to stop people from animating, or writing important documents, ruining work that had taken weeks, and slowing progress in the studio significantly.

on another late night, after the demon destroyed yet another room, and more animation work over the horrible cacophony of sights and sounds it had endured, and despite joey telling him not to, henry is so fed up and hard headed, that he stays in the studio over night, salvaging what he can and working in a room that isn't flooded with ink.

for a moment the ink demon covers where its ears would be, snarling in its shackles and hissing at the scratching sound, only to slowly tune into it, curious as it's the only noise it's hearing. there isn't a hundred scratching pens, dipping into ink wells and scribbling harshly on paper. instead it's just one. quiet. deliberate. a steady hand taking risk that payed off. for a moment, with a somewhat harsh flick that caused the things inky body to flinch, it expected a pull, a correction. some manipulation of the ink to fix what felt like a mistake. but there was no pull. if anything the "imperfection" seemed welcome on the page. like somehow it was meant to be there.

essentially, without being in the same room as henry, the ink demon watched him draw for hours into the night. the ink its body was made of, that it felt cursed to be in for so long, was able to see and feel every little stroke that henry took. and for the first time in it's existence, the demon felt calmed by the scratching, comforted even.

from then on, the demon tried its best to focus in only on henry during working hours. it was difficult, and it would still get overwhelmed, but it was much calmer than before. surprising joey, who by this point was plotting to kill the thing. over time, the demon managed to gain more and more control over the ink, mostly from focusing in on henry and flooding rooms to shut things up.

it would play jokes on henry on occasion, changing whatever drawing he was working on when he felt him stop drawing, putting it in a new pose. henry would then accuse people of using that silly vision tech to mess with his art, only for him to look again and the drawing was back, or somewhat back, to how he had it. soon he just assumed someone was playing a prank on him, but he could never find out who.

......

i've gone on for too long, why the hell did you read all this?

.....

d...... do you want more? 🥺👉👈

#al #talk #shitpost #batdr #spoilers #i guess idk #i accidentally wrote a rework fanfic #oops

[moldspace]

10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 29, & 30

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw

i'm terribly neglectful of my clothing drawing skills. it's something ive been meaning to practice but i just don't get around to it. i love the IDEA of drawing silly long medieval-style hoods on creatures. i rarely do them justice though. i really just want to get good at drawing silly historically accurate medieval clothes to be honest with you.

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what

ok i just answered this but ill expose myself and go into detail RE: tunes. lately it's been a lot of fish in a birdcage and crane waves, for whatever reason. i also have been kinda getting into oingo boingo and bjork... dabbling in them really, both are hit or miss for me. but as always when i need to get pumped up slayyyter or kim petras (turn off the light... album of all time tbh)(and stupid boy is the SONG OF ALL TIME!!! IMO). and cosmo sheldrake (especially his instrumental stuff) if i need a more chill background noise. (my music taste is. all over the place.)

12. Easiest part of body to draw

ooh possibly insane to say but i think my fav/most comfortable thing to draw lately has been faces! i'm not sure about EASIEST, i feel like that always depends on pose and stylization. if we want to get technical i think probably the torso is the easiest thing to draw. just kind of stylize it into a tube. that's definitely not what this question was asking though. ANWAY!

already answered 13 and 14~

15. *Where* do you draw (don't drop your ip address this just means do you doodle at a park or smth)

most of my sketchbooking is done at my kitchen table or sometimes in class. my digital art setup is a big gaming laptop + a screened tablet so she stays at my desk, not very portable at all. the sculpture painting situation is EVEN LESS portable so that's pretty much exclusive to ~My Basement~

16. Something you are good at but don't really have fun doing

ohh inchresting question. i feel like the things i'm good at i've gotten good at because they're enjoyable, and i don't do the unenjoyable things enough to know if i'm good at them or not? honestly though, i don't like underglazing very much. i like the results i can get with it, but it's pretty tedious. glazing on the other hand i dislike and am also bad at maybe picking color schemes as well. people say i'm good at colors and it's true but the amount of trial and error that goes into it is such a pain!

17. Do you eat/drink when drawing? if so, what

usually i'm too absorbed with what i'm doing to. and when i'm working on sculpture it's hard to eat or drink anything without getting clay dust/paper mache glue/paint on and in my food! although when i really need a push to work on something i'll make myself a cup of earl gray to keep me company. 50% chance if it gets drank or if it gets cold tho.

29. Media you love, but doesn't inspire you artistically

this is hard because i think everything i like sneaks into my art one way or another! maybe the uncanny/spookier art i like. it's not strictly MEDIA, but i have some niche macabre interests like historical burial customs and ancient mummies (natural and man-made), anatomy and physiology, taxidermy, pathology, etc. that i don't think pop up that much in my work.

and i answered 30 already!

#ask #ask game #my vet anatomy physiology class was SO cool and i passed with an A by drawing every anatomical feature over and over to memorize it LOL

[flowersbloomuntiltheyrot]

Flowers Bloom Until they Rot and Fall Apart

Chapter 6 (Present): Tell me, why do we fight?

Sorry for the wait, but I think this chapter is also longer than the average chapter and features a museum date (sort of) so I hope that makes up for it. The title is from The End of the Earth by Marina.

Alastair saw the time on his digital alarm clock and cursed, jumping out of bed. He’d returned from the Shadow Market a few hours ago and had intended only to sleep an hour or two but had severely overslept. He had less than an hour before he was meant to meet Thomas downtown. Luckily, Bob was taking his late morning nap, so he wouldn’t need to worry about jumping over him.

He attempted to quickly style his hair and freshen up. He even added a bit of make-up, covering up the circles under his eyes and making himself look a bit more put-together. It was far from his usual routine, but it would do. He decided that it was for the best that he woke up so late. If he hadn’t, he would have spent much longer trying to choose his outfit, fretting over whether he would look too formal or too casual. In the end, he threw on a nice shirt and tight black jeans and rushed out the door.

He would have exactly enough time to get there using the metro. When he was younger, he’d show up to any appointment incredibly early. Unreasonably early, if he was being honest. Looking back on it, he attributed it to a mix of anxiety, a need to feel in control, and simply wishing to spend as little time at home as possible.

Now, it was less that he’d grown out of his habit, and more that he now had an increasing list of hurdles he needed to jump over in order to go anywhere, nevermind get there early. Thomas was also religiously early to everything when they were teenagers, and though it had worked well for them back then, he hoped that he’d also fallen into slightly more tardy habits.

Lost in his thoughts on his walk from the metro station to the art museum, he almost didn’t notice a car quickly turning left onto the street as he started across the crosswalk. He jumped away as the car swerved and its brakes squeaked.

“Hey-” he began to shout until he recognized the person in the driver’s seat.

“Did no one ever teach you to look both- Alastair?” Thomas’ defensiveness retreated as he came to the same realization.

“Hello, Thomas. Did no one ever teach you what a crosswalk was?”

Thomas’ pale skin reddened. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

Alastair glanced down the street. The museum was still a couple of blocks away. “I’m fine,” he said as he approached the passenger side door. He signaled for Thomas to unlock it and climbed in. “You know, I had you pegged as a more responsible driver.”

“I am!” Thomas said quickly and he carefully continued down the road, garnering discontempt from the cars behind them. “I was just nervous about being late. I'd forgotten to pack Osito when I dropped off Rosa so I had to go back for him.”

Alastair glanced at the clock. “Ironically enough, it seems we met right on time.”

“You don’t drive, I take it?”

“Yeah, you know, I asked my dad to teach me, but then he ghosted me.”

Thomas looked absolutely mortified. “I’m so sorry-”

Alastair smiled. “Relax, I’m just joking. I know how to drive, but my flat’s downtown so it’s just easier to walk places. Well, when my exes aren't trying to mow me down in crosswalks.”

"Has this happened before?"

"Ha, no, I'm happy to tell you that you're the first." He watched Thomas' tension begin to ease as he pulled into a parking space. While he was certainly different from the teenager Alastair knew many years ago, he was still breathtakingly beautiful. The type of beauty that could be showcased in a museum like the one they were visiting. It made Alastair's pulse quicken at the thought of it. "What made you want to meet up with me, anyways?"

"Oh... I just thought it would be nice to catch up. It seems we've both been busy since our school days."

Alastair tried to search Thomas' face. Did he suspect that he was more closely tied to Hoama than was let on in the gardens? "You certainly have. Your life seems like something out of a made-for-television movie."

Thomas blushed. "That's not true."

"Sure it is. You’ve got the backstory, now all that’s left is for you to visit a small town, be taken in by the locals, and meet some charming young stranger who teaches you the true meaning of life, far away from the stress of the big city. Or something along those lines. It makes less depressing background noise than the news.”

“It seems as though you’ve got me all figured out.” Alastair couldn’t tell if Thomas was amused or annoyed. “And what about you? I feel like I hardly know anything about you.” 

“Me?” Alastair asked as they walked through the front doors and were ushered through security. He hoped that the distraction would pull Thomas off of the question. "The temporary exhibition is on the second floor. It's about the history of magic usage throughout the ages. Or we could go to the main gallery if you'd like?" 

"Either is fine with me. So, what have you been up to lately?" No luck getting out of that, then.

“Oh… nothing too interesting. I don’t want to bore you. I graduated from university and then started working.” It wasn’t a lie, technically. 

“Where do you work?” 

Alastair smiled. He wasn’t often asked about his work, but he was ready for when he was. “I work in the public affairs department of a non-profit, mostly policy advising with some public relations. It’s nothing exciting, though it gets more busy when we run big events or fundraisers.” 

“That’s so interesting. What is the organization called?” 

“This is starting to feel like a job interview," he said with a small smile. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.” Though Thomas was behaving like his typical, kind self, his words felt empty. Alastair could feel an icy gaze on his skin. Did he ask him here to talk about the flower and was only making small talk? Or did he suspect he was Haoma after all? 

“It’s alright, it’s called Neighboring Hands. We mainly do outreach with immigrants in the community, providing resources and legal advising.” The organization was real, he’d first encountered it when they ran a fundraiser alongside the center for survivors of domestic violence that he and his mother were involved in. He even volunteered with them on the weekends when they needed extra hands. It was the type of career that he thought he could be happy in, were he not so taken with potion-making. 

“That sounds… meaningful. How did you decide to get involved with that?” 

“Well, most of the jobs I could find with my political science degree were truly miserable.” That wasn’t a lie, either. The first year he spent working after graduation when he was still with Charles was the most soul-sucking of his life, for more reasons than one. “This was one where I felt I could be happy, and it’s nice to connect with people.” He paused. “What about you? How is the botany business?” 

“It’s going well. I mean, every year the government passes more and more restrictions on what we can and can’t grow, what we can and can’t sell, but it’s more of a nuisance than anything else. We recently acquired a new client who is… unique, to say the least.” 

Alastair feigned ignorance. “How so?” 

“They wear different faces, never showing anyone their true identity.” 

“How do you even get involved with someone like that?” 

“Well, you would know, wouldn’t you? They go by Haoma now, though you knew them by a different name, didn’t you?” 

***

Alastair had never shown much emotion on his face, Thomas remembered that well. Instead, he’d learnt over the years they’d spent together how to read the subtle changes in his demeanor. He could tell he’d caught Alastair off guard. 

“What are you trying to say?” Alastair asked stiffly. 

“He didn’t mean to, but he betrayed that he’d made a potion out of Light’s Root flower once,” Thomas said. 

He paused and looked away from Alastair. He wanted nothing more than to have answers, an explanation, but was he truly ready for what Alastair would have to tell? Was he brave to ask? Thomas took a deep breath, it was now or never.

He looked Alastair in the eye. “Why did you do it?” 

Alastair evaded his gaze, instead looking at a painting of a historical potion maker. A man, with shoulder length wavy dark hair hunched over a cauldron. Thomas guessed it was the kind of face he could picture Haoma wearing. 

“I needed the flower to heal my father.” 

Thomas frowned. “And did it?” 

“Yes. Not in the way I had expected though.” 

Thomas had no idea what to make of that statement. “So why didn’t you just ask? If you’d told me you needed to heal your father, I would have helped.”

Alastair looked back at him, his dark eyes piercing Thomas’. “If there’s one thing I do not regret, it is that I did not ask for your help. Because you would have given me the flower, and then your sister would still have died.”

Thomas looked away from Alastair, focusing very hard on the painting of a magical garden. The plants looked similar to the ones he had at home, he recognized the blue roses, the glowing peony. 

 “How did you know about the flower?” Thomas asked. “My family always kept it secret, but you knew about it before I ever showed you.”

“My father knew,” Alastair said. “One of my ancestors was friends with a Lightwood and his journal was passed down in the family. He told me about the flower.”

“And was he the one who asked you to steal it?” 

Thomas wasn’t sure he liked the answers Alastair was giving him. All this time he’d believed Alastair had sold the flower for a fortune, that he had no heart or soul and that nothing between them had been real.

“He did,” Alastair said in a tone that indicated he didn’t want to talk about it any more and Thomas wasn’t sure how much more he needed to know. 

While he was curious what Alastair had wanted to save his father from, and how it had not worked the way he’d intended, he wasn’t sure he could ask that. He wasn’t sure it mattered. What mattered was that Alastair had wanted to help someone he cared for, someone in his family, and he’d been willing to steal for that person. 

Did that justify the theft? Thomas didn’t know. He wanted to be mad, because how was it fair that Elias had gotten to live when Barbara had died? He hadn’t even lived for much longer, he’d died in a car accident half a year later. 

Whatever he thought of Alastair’s methods, he would have to reconcile with the fact that Alastair had not acted out of malice, nor for financial gain. He’d wanted to save someone. 

The Light’s Root belonged to the Lightwood family, and his family had always advised against using it. Long before Thomas had been born, his grandfather Benedict Lightwood had used the flower to cure a progressive infection he’d gotten by having sex with creatures he’d summoned from the abyss. For some reason, he’d gotten reinfected not much later. His use of the flower had been in vain.

And yet, Thomas had always felt like the power should have been his. He’d tended to the plant, nurtured it until it had grown the flower. He hadn’t intended to use it if it weren’t for Barbara. But he’d also believed it was meant to be his choice, his flower, to be used when he felt it was right. But did he really have any more right to the flower than anyone else? 

“But why didn’t you tell me? You couldn’t have known I’d end up regretting giving you the flower.”

"Because... it was everything I never told you. I was too ashamed. I'm certain you've heard the rumors by now, the ones about how my father lived and how he died."

Thomas had always suspected Alastair didn’t have a great relationship with his father and the few times he’d  met Elias he’d found him strange, distant, unkind. There had been rumors then. A warrior fallen from glory. And when he’d died in that car accident, he’d heard rumors Elias had been drunk. So that was the ailment Alastair had meant to cure with the flower. Thomas didn’t know what to say. 

“I wish you would have told me sooner.” 

"I was planning to, before Barbara got sick and the guilt just became too much. But if I'm being honest, I don't think I would have been able to do it. It took a very long time to be able to speak honestly about my father. By the time I had it figured out, I didn't know you anymore. I wish I could give you better closure."

Thomas couldn’t imagine what that must have been like, the guilt Alastair had carried with him. Often in his life, Thomas had felt he was too kind, too understanding. Sometimes it was just easier to be pissed at someone even when they had a good reason for what they’d done, but Thomas was always looking for a reason, an explanation, and he had always understood other people too well to remain angry for long. With Alastair, he just hadn’t known and so he’d assumed the worst. To protect himself, he guessed, from the conflict of emotions going through his head right now. 

“I’m glad you told me,” Thomas said. “Although I admit I am curious how you were able to find someone like Haoma to make the potion for you.”

“It’s not as hard as you’d think,” Alastair said. “You go to the shadow market and ask around for a potion maker. People do it all the time.” 

“Can’t say I’ve ever been to one,” Thomas said.

He wasn’t sure if he trusted Alastair’s story. On one hand, it made sense Haoma was older than he appeared, it made sense a skilled potion maker like him had made the potion for Alastair. On the other hand, Alastair had always been exceptional with potions. He was clever, had the drive, the interest. Could he have made the potion himself in his teens? Thomas didn’t know. Who did when it came to Alastair Carstairs? 

He went over Alastair’s job story in his head. He didn’t know how active Haoma was in the shadow market, but if he worked his job part time he guessed it was possible to combine it with being in the shadow markets at night sometimes. He couldn’t imagine the hours, but with a little girl who’d been sick a lot, he’d been through many sleepless nights. It was possible. 

“I wouldn’t have expected you to,” Alastair said. “Nor did I think you’d be willing to work with someone like Haoma.”

“It’s for a good cause, I don’t particularly like or trust him.” 

“No, I guess you wouldn’t,” Alastair said. “I quite like how much detail was put into this statue.”

Alastair pointed to the statue of a tall and muscular man. He was right about the detail, you could almost make out individual strands of hair, a mysterious facial expression. 

“The hair is marvelously done.”

“I was thinking of the detailed muscles, but yes, the hair too.” 

Thomas returned to his Star’s Root plant after his visit to the museum. He had much to think about, but first, the plant. It had grown impossibly fast due to Thomas’ spells, and it wouldn’t be long until the thorns were ready. Days, if that. Some were beginning to grow from the stems, not yet ready to be harvested, but enough to examine its magic. Light’s Root didn’t have thorns, although there were old pictures that showed it with thorns, and he didn’t know what to expect. He carefully brushed his hand past the stem of the plant and if he didn’t have his poison immunity, this could be potentially fatal. As it was, Thomas only felt a soft sting, followed by a relaxation of his mind, almost empty, and he longed to have someone tell him what to do, to follow their orders. He removed his hand and the feeling ceased. He knew what the people from the shadow market wanted these thorns for. 

Thomas could not give those thorns away to someone who meant to do harm. It was too dangerous. And yet there was the girl. She might have made some bad decisions on the shadow market, but she was hardly the first person to trade something important away to save a parent. 

Perhaps Haoma was the kind of man to take advantage of people at their most vulnerable. Except, Clara had not made her deal with him and Thomas couldn’t see what Haoma was getting out of this. No, strange as it seemed, the potion maker cared for the girl. Like he had been as vulnerable as she was once. Perhaps Alastair had never taken the flower to whoever Haoma had been back then to have a potion made. Perhaps he’d made the potion himself and then years later had become Haoma. 

Thomas couldn’t sleep that night. It had been a long time since Alastair Carstairs had kept him up at night, yet here he was. He didn’t know how to process what Alastair had told him, whether or not he should forgive him. Perhaps he had been wrong for claiming ownership of such a flower. Would forgiving him betray Barbara’s memory?  But if someone else had been the keeper of the flower and he’d needed it for Barbara, what would he have done? Thomas wasn’t so sure. 

Whether or not he forgave Alastair, it didn’t mean he wanted him back into his life. Thomas wanted nothing more than to find some stability, to settle into the life of not being married anymore and being a single parent. He didn’t want Alastair to uproot the peace he’d made for himself, he didn’t think Rosa was ready to handle anymore change. Yet he’d also had fun today. And somehow, he found himself wanting to see Alastair again sometime. 

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Taglist: @thefoxandthefound @life-through-the-eyes-of @styxdrawings @justanormaldemon @ipromiseiwillwrite @a-dream-dirty-and-bruised @all-for-the-fanfiction @amchara @ddepressedbookworm @wagner-fell @imsoftforthomastair @queenlilith43 @stxr-thxif @chaos-and-starlight @lifewouldbebetteronmars @littlx-songbxrd @awayfrmhome @eugeniaslongsword @bookswitchcraftandcats @jamesherondaleofficial @livingformyself @anarmorofwords @sapphic-in @fortheloveofthecarstairs @tessherongraystairs @thewarthatsavedmylife-blog @grace-lightwoodd @rainingpouringetc @thomastaircompassrose @kiwichaeng @yozinha-z @skirtsandsweaters @goodoldfashionednerd @have-a-holly-jolly-angstmas @who-beingloved-ispoor-blog @lightwoodsimp @americann-idiot @thomaslightwood @cant-think-of-anything

#Alastair Carstairs #Thomas Lightwood #thomastair #the last hours #tlh #fanfiction

[beej-hunnicutt]

I have been REALLY wanting to do traditional art lately. And I finally called it quits on my prior sketchbook it's like ~basically~ filled up and I rlly had that thing since 2018 and I think it's more than time to start fresh. But I have this absolutely beautiful handmade sketchbook I CANNOT GET MYSELF TO USE. I want to use it. It rlly inspires me...but it's just too damn pretty!!! Sksksksks. I think I'm gonna use the illo I have lying around and maybe pick up the pretty sketchbook when I feel a bit more confident in my traditional art again.

Like I don't think you need to have a 'ugly drawing' and 'pretty drawing' sketchbook I personally can't do that. And I know you're suppose to open up yourself to your sketchbook and I was happiest when I truly felt I did that BUT ITS JUST SO HARD.

My sketchbook really became a safety after I could draw again post surgery. I had to use my sketchbook or else I couldn't draw (it was physically too painful digitally; don't ask me why I dunno) but when that shift happened and it became physically too painful to draw traditional and I had to switch to digital (yeah....Idk...grr) I really have never been the same since 😭😭😭

Though I truly value and love traditional art. I wouldn't have improved like if I didn't. Like before I did a lot of traditional I COULD NOT draw on my iPad. I always said it just felt """"too much like traditional""" but now? I only draw on my iPad and feel I could actually feel the skill transfer which is nice. Like ohmygod. My like pages and pages of just John and Lincoln studies were so good to me and I know is why I feel comfortable drawing them today. Which I wouldn't have been able to do digitally I just know it. But also, I don't think I really could draw like I do today if I didn't do digital? You know. Like I love that just as dearly and was very important to my early years especially (and still now of course) of figuring out anatomy bc of the ability to tweak thing.

But um. Long story short. If I'm getting the craving to traditional I think I need to tap into that. Even if that means I have to draw less to have more fun. I think it'll be worth it.

#⚓️ #this ended up being so long. omg #i didnt reread lets hope it makes sense

[moinsbienquekaworu]

A day late but - @petralemaitre, you asked, so here's more stuff about my OCs!

I've talked a whole whole lot about my "main" Star Wars OCs, I won't go into more detail here (especially since I'm starting to run out of stuff haha) but in short: Korcha is a Harch Jedi Master based on an old teacher of mine, she's pretty strict and values traditions but also loves getting to know people and languages. Her first apprentice, Reil, is a crèchemaster who is visually impaired, patient and creative; Devafe came next, she's honest, likes peace and quiet, and wanted to work in the Archives before the war; and little number three, Lineth, is a year older than Ahsoka and in a similar situation with the war happening and all, except she isn't a main character so she's just barely scraping by.

If they sound fun to you, here's all the interesting posts about them I could find, for convenience. Feel free to skim through if you want! I talked about Korcha, Reil and Devafe here, though the post isn't 100% up to date anymore, about their clone commanders Jellyfish and Stellar here, you can find updated timelines here, and there's the original post I made about my Mandalorian Chiss lady Karaad and her Mikkian princess wife Tevlin. If you don't want to read walls of text (fair) but you're interested in drawings, here's the tag where I put all the art of my SW OCs. I also answered my friends' asks about them, so there's the one where I rate them /10 on how swag they are (spoilers: they all are) and here's the one where I just talk about interactions they could have with canon characters.

That said, I can tell you about one OC I haven't actually talked about much here even though she was my first OC! Her name is Cehim Velm and she's a Pau'an mapmaker. She lives in her spaceship, makes maps, has fun with artist friend occasionally when they can meet up, and I love her.

She's not an explorer, she just makes the maps, generally as commissions for people who want to decorate their houses and have the decoration look fancy, but also for other people who enjoy maps for their beauty and not just their practicality. She takes digital commissions and physical ones, and because the GFFA is big I'm saying she makes enough for her to live a nice life. She also collects maps, physical ones and holographic ones, maps with typos, old maps, maps of specific planets, just lots of maps.

She looks like a normal Pau'au, likes wearing wide leg trousers, comfy sweaters and all types of head coverings, and I like making her looks reeaally tall because I think it's funny if she towers over normal-sized humanoids. She does travel the galaxy, for for fun and for her job, she gets cold in space but she still loves being able to look at the whole galaxy just out of her window, is technically domiciled at her parents' place in Pau City even if with holos and whatnot that doesn't matter, and likes learning a few words and sentences in the languages of the planets she visits. As a person, she's friendly but definitely an introvert, she likes spending most of her time alone though she really enjoys the time spent with her friends as well, she has her head in the clouds, and she's the type of artist who listens to podcasts while they work.

She's also part of a group of artists who come from all over the galaxy who have meetups with other members in the area and who are all named after people who've tagged their names in my city, either as their actual name or as an alias, I still haven't decided. That's what the "Solek" thing is on Karaad's little ref sheet, it's her alias in that group! I haven't decided what she does yet though. Anyway, she has fun there, and also just hangs out in bars/cafés when she lands on a planet, plus sometimes she invites her friends to travel with her a little.

She's a bit like Meredith but in space, and she's pretty fun to think about, but her life has less of a clear timeline since she's not too tied to the main events of the movies. I do like to think she could have been on Utapau when the whole thing with Grievous happened but that's about it. She does know Korcha for some contrived reason, because I cannot refrain from having my OCs all know each other, and I think she would get on well with Stellar.

Okay that's about it if you actually read all that holy shit thank you!! In any case thanks for the occasion to talk about my favourite little guys!

#i just like them a lot they take up so much brain space #this is also 100% going to serve as an oc masterpost of some kind #still bewildered by an author i love just being nice and asking about my ocs #anyway fiou glad i got to talk about cehim she's fun too! less cool because well no laser sword but still #wow i have a ramble tag now #wow i have an ocs tag now

[what-if-nct]

hey joyce, how have you been lately? i hope you are doing well. i haven’t managed to get any asks in lately because my life has been really overwhelming, in good and bad ways. i finally got back to in person classes after being virtual for 2 - 3 years, so no more loneliness and isolation, but me having social anxiety and being introverted has kinda stunted me from going “out there” socially. i did make a few new friends tho :) *pt 1*

since the school year is wrapping up i have finals this and next week, and i am so burnt out i can’t even function properly, like this morning, i went to wrong class all the way across campus, but i was unsure if i had that class so i went back to my dorm, then stirred up the courage to go ask, only find out i was in the wrong class, so i had to walk across campus (again) to get to the right class. i did get clowned for that by my friends, but i love them anyways. *pt 2*

also i found out i’m pan, not bi because of this new nonbinary kid in one of my classes that i might have a crush on. they complimented my digital art, and said they dabbled in it too, and i’m falling so hard. i want to get to know them better before confessing tho. (sorry for so many parts, the ask box will only let me type so much) *pt 3*

i think my depression has gotten better, at least that’s what my therapist told me, and from all the walking ive been doing, i gotten in better shape, so less body insecurities, yay! this month has been a whirlwind for me,(im kinda being dramatic here) but i'm so glad my life has changed for the better. thanks for hearing me out. feel free to get anything you need to off of your chest, or just tell hhow things have been lately. be well! -🌿

I'm so happy to hear your doing better and since it's been a few years since you've been in in person classes it's understandable, it's your first time out in the world since the unfortunate events occured. But I'm sure as you get more comfortable being back around people. it'll get a little easier to be more social. I'm so sorry to hear you've been burnt out. Just breath and remember you're almost there and you'll have a whole summer to destress and hang out with all your new friends and even make more. And yes being friends first will also make any connection even stronger. And I hope everything continues to get better for you.

And I'm fine. I actually talked to a boy on the phone in the first time in a long time. And I was just giggling, curled in a ball on my couch. And he's cute and really sweet and a weird mix of the type of guys I attract. Like sweet awkward gentle anime nerd and the straight forward only here for one thing. It's interesting! He looks like Brandon from Prettymuch. Honestly in Miami the members of Prettymuch represent the dating pool here. I always end up with a Brandon, Nick and for sure an Austin. Speaking of Prettymuch I always forget they have a song with NCT Dream, pretty much about getting consent, it's beautiful. There should have been an mv cause it didn't get the recognition it deserves. Also I watched Pam & Tommy on Hulu and couldn't finish it. one, the way Pamela is betrayed just doesn't feel right. It made me angry how the actress portrayed her. Also what's with current media and the unnecessary penises I am not a prude at all. Trust me. Every Snapchat I receive is a penis I see them everyday. But like why the fuck was it talking!? And Pam didn't want any part of it that should have stopped me but I was curious. I couldnt finish it. Yo I once met a guy who looked just like Logan Paul but with brown hair. But he liked feet.....I'm not proud of that moment of my life. I'm also ashamed I know the lyrics to everyday bro. Not Logan's songs though he knows how to make catchy songs don't judge me. I could not keep a single train of thought. Im sorry. It's really nice to hear that despite some harder things you're doing really well. I'm so happy for you.

[pridefulrose]

This has been on my mind lately but I want to say it: some time ago I was part of an anime community with a lot of Americans and i had been more or less active in anime fandoms on twitter. You would think this has nothing to do with the current political situation but if you are kind and patient enough I want to tell what I saw in those few months in that community and what I have seen on twitter.

I have seen many americans ask for money for donations specifically because they can’t afford healthcare. Some of these campaigns are super important things like fighting against cancer and sometimes is as simple as getting into an accident and not having money to even pay for the ambulance to go the ER.

I met many beautiful people who had to resort to sex work in order to pay for their college tuition.

Sometimes the tuition was so high that students had to leave college because their bodies were collapsing with stress over having to work sometimes multiple jobs and studying at the same time. A lot of this people were disabled or became disabled due to the constant stress of having to pay bills and not being able to afford sometime off to heal.

I have had a couple of friends who I had the luck to be able to help get a couple of meals that week because they couldn’t afford even a couple of ramen noodle packages. I can’t always do this because my currency is way too cheap but I am happy they could get some relief.

I have had to see someone I like beg people to help him out to get enough money to pay rent and move from a very abusive situation. I had seen how it is sooo soo difficult to get out of poverty because something is always happening because of said poverty. This person is disabled and can’t work and their only sort of income tends to be their art but even that is extremely difficult because they depend so much on their digital assets that losing one might mean struggling financially for weeks or even months and I am saying this because his story is something that I see often on twitter in the art community.

I have seen people beg for money because they could not afford the funeral for a family member cause said family member died unexpectedly and it is either one of two scenarios it is a sudden death and they didn’t expect it therefore they never planned to buy an insurance or the family is too poor to even have an insurance.

I saw a friend wait MONTHS to get treatment for his teeth because he could not afford to go to the dentist even though there was a huge risk of infection that could put him in a very dangerous situation.

And these are only a few things that I can remember right now. And I don’t know what to say anymore because this stupid and senseless massacre in Gaza has made it sooo soo clear to me that Americans come from a very rich country that has enough money to pay for every humanitarian program they need in their own country. They have enough money to invest in every social program they can think of but somehow they do not have access to the money they need because the politicians are using their hard earned money to kill people on the other side of the planet and not only that but Isnotreal is ripping off the benefits of the billions of dollars that is supposed to go to the Americans.

Imagine how baffled I was to see the propaganda of the IDF and see people from Ukraine, Netherlands, Spain, France etc get free healthcare, free housing and free college tuitions because of the American population. So Yeah Americans you were right about the immigrants getting your free taxes but it was not the poor immigrants inside US soil as they gaslighted you into believing but immigrants on the other side of the planet ripping off from your hard earned money and using it to kill Palestinians.

I see the suffering of a lot of Americans on a daily basis but I never knew how deeply manufactured their misery was until this whole thing happened. And it is not only the Americans that pay for this situation but the innocent Palestinians who are being murdered every second.

#free gaza #free palestine #free us all #palestine

[thatisntverytoony]

hiiii :)

🎁 / ✏️/ 🌊

hiii!

✏️ Do you prefer traditional art or digital to relax?

digital, because it feels so much more forgiving - even though i always feel like i have to finish what i start on digital (which i don't even do all the time-), on traditional once you move from pencils to pens and markers (my preferred tool due to less hand strain)…super hard to fix

🎁 Do you prefer drawing fandom stuff or your own characters?

my own characters, for the same reason of it feeling more forgiving to me! i keep worrying about somehow messing something up on fandom art, and i have my ocs' designs memorized, so…while i probably could do fandom stuff if i wanted to, drawing my ocs is more forgiving and comforting right now

🌊 What’s the hardest thing for you to draw?

anything non-mammalian fgmnjhfd - though i've been getting better at birds lately thanks to pokemon. i can also do organic backgrounds decently enough, but once i get into interior backgrounds my best shot is sketching over a sims screenshot- mammals are my best bet really, anything else is difficult for me right now

(question source)

#art lore reveal #< yes im tagging this ask meme like this

[j-ellyfish]

Best animation in the pokemon series? Love the games btw

I'm not sure, I haven't followed the anime religiously since DP times, although I keep myself updated and I watched clips and some entire episodes of each season (btw I really want to keep up with Horizons but I already fell behind, I'm the worst 💔).

I'd say that Horizons, in my opinion, is the one looking the best out of all the renditions of the anime. I really liked how Pokémon were animated in the SuMo seasons, but humans felt way too wobbly and I hate the face-deformed gags it has. I'm not sure how much of it affects the Journey anime, I think a bit less but it's still there. God, I hate what they did to Ash's character design, it just feels wrong, like it's no longer him. BW Ash is even worse though 💔 I think Ash's peak design was in the og series and up until the DP times. The XY anime has him and all characters looking a bit better compared to BW, thank Arceus, but I still do not dig its style. It feels like a sort of pretentious parody of the og art style and somehow trying to make it more 'modern' and giving characters more movement, while keeping the og style, makes it feel so out of place and weird, in my opinion. That style just doesn't look pretty in full digital, that's it. Also, the backgrounds!! The backgrounds, especially the woods ones from late DP to XY look so bad to me, the colors are way too vivid and I'm personally more of a soft, watercolor-like atmosphere person.

For instance, look at these backgrounds from the first couple seasons. Soft, calm, not necessarily realistic or detailed but they convey a dreamy feel, comfy:

Now look at these acid green atrocities. Idk they feel so fake compared to the previous pics. The backgrounds are far more detailed, but they lose that comfy, dreamy look that I love so much.

BW anime is the biggest offender, but it's a problem in late DP and XY too. SuMo handled backgrounds a bit better, but then Journeys too tended to slip back into the same habit, although it's never as consistently bad as it is in BW. Horizons seems like a mixed bag but so far I think the background look nice enough, the colors don't seem too vivid and contrasts seem to work.

In the end, I'm sorry but nostalgia wins and I can't help but appreciate the first animation style (Indigo League and up to somewhere in the Gen2 seasons) the most. It's simple and animations were often not great, the human characters tended to be a bit stiff and colouring mistakes weren't too uncommon due to it being drawn, colored and animated by hand. But it has such a charm to it, somehow. I don't know if it's just because it reminds me of my childhood or also because of how recognizable and fitting everything there feels for the Pokemon world, but it simply feels right! I also like how the Hoenn seasons and early DP look.

Btw, most of my pet peeves when it comes to the Pokémon anime styles are about how humans and backgrounds are rendered. They usually make an excellent job with the Pokémon themselves in every season, and that's really cool! (Although I still think from D/P to XY there was a progressive abuse of CGI in battles that didn't really work well with that art style).

I'm not a big fan of Horizons when it comes to human characters design (why do almost all characters have multicolored hair?? It's getting a bit too overdone 💀), but I think besides this, the way they reworked and modernized Sugimori's iconic art style is better. Overall I think it is looking pretty good so far.

If I have to pick a style that I really like and I think fits Pokémon the best among anime side projects, I'd say the one from PokéToon: Blossom's Dream:

At least, that's the one that fits my taste and aesthetics the most. There are other styles they used in side projects that I think fit Pokémon, but they're more on the 'sharp cool shounen style' side and I don't dig that.

This got a lot longer than I thought and I'm not even sure if I answered your question properly, but feel free to ask more if I did not! :D

#ask #pokemon

[sdes9320t12023]

Thoughts on the assessment

My first idea is a reconstruction of an artifact from the Classical Bronze Age Wietenberg culture. The artifact is thought to be a votive chariot (we'll call this Chariot A). I first encountered it in 2016 at the offices of the Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilization in Deva, and I've never wanted to pocket an artifact so badly. I told my dig director about it when I returned to site and asked him if he thought they'd let me scan it. I'd never scanned anything, mind, but I knew one could. He said they'd never let me, so of course after that I had to. I arranged to spend a couple weeks at the museum doing thesis work in 2019, and of course that work was to 3D scan and photogrammetrically model three objects. Naturally, the votive chariot was one I had in mind. I was allowed to model it without question, and at the same time I was shown a second one (Chariot B). They were very similar, but Chariot A was obviously better made. Unfortunately, they were both fragments. I was told that they had come from two different sites about 10 kilometers apart, and that while other Wietenberg votive chariots had been found--some were even intact--these were the only two in this shape that had ever been found. I modeled both, of course (as well as 18 other items, as the more the museum staff watched me the more artifacts they produced for modeling). I intended to digitally reconstruct Chariot A, but unfortunately that one was even more fragmented than Chariot B and I couldn't determine anything from what was left of it to postulate about what it might have looked like intact. There was much more left of Chariot B, and when I looked at the bottom of this one I was able to identify the midpoint. I had seen images of the intact chariots, and they were symmetrical and all of a similar size, so once I had identified the midpoint a reconstruction was easy. I imported the model into Blender, copied and mirrored it, and joined the copy to the original model. The result was fairly crude, but I did present my digital reconstruction of Chariot B as part of my thesis. I did nothing with the model of Chariot A, but now that I had a better idea of what I was doing I intended to go back for a second look. I finally revisited my model of Chariot A in late 2022, and after about 10 minutes I was able to identify the midpoint--as well as some smaller details I had previously missed. I did a mental reconstruction immediately, and proceeded to work on a two-dimensional one in GIMP. As there was much less of Chariot A, though, I knew I would also need some 3D modeling skills to do a full reconstruction. I would very much like to finally do a digital reconstruction of Chariot A.

My second idea is a castle purse frame, in the style of those from the Renaissance that the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the V & A have in their collections. I've been building chain mail purses onto vintage or antique frames since 2016, and when I first saw these I naturally coveted them. Given their age and rarity, however, I am unlikely ever to get my hands on one. Furthermore, if I did I would doubtlessly be unable to sell the result--a problem I have had with all the purses I have made thus far--and so it would behoove me to make my own instead. Naturally my first thought was to create a series of castle purse frames based off Romanian castles (Corvin, Fagaras, Poenari, Neamts, Cetatea de Colt, and of course Bran). I went so far as to do a rough sketch of a frame in this style based on the architecture of Corvin. I do not remotely have the skill to fabricate one, as the artisans in the Renaissance did, but it would be theoretically possible for me to create one in a 3D modeling program and have it printed in resin for casting. Unfortunately, as I currently have no 3D modeling skills this idea has been put on the back burner. It would be very nice to realize it at some point.

The second idea led me to a third, which is the one most consistent with the assessment brief. Those castle purse frames (links in a previous post) look an awful lot like they're suspended on an arch. In Garth Nix's Lirael he describes the town of High Bridge, which looks much like London Bridge must have looked during the period when those purse frames were made. However, the town of High Bridge is constructed, not on a man-made bridge, but on a massive natural rock arch between two cliffs over a river gorge. Given my interest in abandoned places and improbable architecture, an abandoned High Bridge (or a town like it) seems a natural direction for the final assessment. In thinking about this I was reminded of Meteora, the Swallow's Nest, and Tatev Monastery in Armenia (I posted previously on all of these). I was also reminded, of course, of Arches National Park in the United States--and other national parks in the American Southwest. None of this is truly fantastic, but the idea does take improbable but real architecture and extends it one step farther into something that theoretically could, but does not actually exist. (At least, as far as I am aware.)