#i worked really hard so

[inkskinned]

the thing about art is that it was always supposed to be about us, about the human-ness of us, the impossible and beautiful reality that we (for centuries) have stood still, transfixed by music. that we can close our eyes and cry about the same book passage; the events of which aren't real and never happened. theatre in shakespeare's time was as real as it is now; we all laugh at the same cue (pursued by bear), separated hundreds of years apart.

three years ago my housemates were jamming outdoors, just messing around with their instruments, mostly just making noise. our neighbors - shy, cautious, a little sheepish - sat down and started playing. i don't really know how it happened; i was somehow in charge of dancing, barefoot and laughing - but i looked up, and our yard was full of people. kids stacked on the shoulders of parents. old couples holding hands. someone had brought sidewalk chalk; our front walk became a riot of color. someone ran in with a flute and played the most astounding solo i've ever heard in my life, upright and wiggling, skipping as she did so. she only paused because the violin player was kicking his heels up and she was laughing too hard to continue.

two weeks ago my friend and i met in the basement of her apartment complex so she could work out a piece of choreography. we have a language barrier - i'm not as good at ASL as i'd like to be (i'm still learning!) so we communicate mostly through the notes app and this strange secret language of dancers - we have the same movement vocabulary. the two of us cracking jokes at each other, giggling. there were kids in the basement too, who had been playing soccer until we took up the far corner of the room. one by one they made their slow way over like feral cats - they laid down, belly-flat against the floor, just watching. my friend and i were not in tutus - we were in slouchy shirts and leggings and socks. nothing fancy. but when i asked the kids would you like to dance too? they were immediately on their feet and spinning. i love when people dance with abandon, the wild and leggy fervor of childhood. i think it is gorgeous.

their adults showed up eventually, and a few of them said hey, let's not bother the nice ladies. but they weren't bothering us, they were just having fun - so. a few of the adults started dancing awkwardly along, and then most of the adults. someone brought down a better sound system. someone opened a watermelon and started handing out slices. it was 8 PM on a tuesday and nothing about that day was particularly special; we might as well party.

one time i hosted a free "paint along party" and about 20 adults worked quietly while i taught them how to paint nessie. one time i taught community dance classes and so many people showed up we had to move the whole thing outside. we used chairs and coatracks to balance. one time i showed up to a random band playing in a random location, and the whole thing got packed so quickly we had to open every door and window in the place.

i don't think i can tell you how much people want to be making art and engaging with art. they want to, desperately. so many people would be stunning artists, but they are lied to and told from a very young age that art only matters if it is planned, purposeful, beautiful. that if you have an idea, you need to be able to express it perfectly. this is not true. you don't get only 1 chance to communicate. you can spend a lifetime trying to display exactly 1 thing you can never quite language. you can just express the "!!??!!!"-ing-ness of being alive; that is something none of us really have a full grasp on creating. and even when we can't make what we want - god, it feels fucking good to try. and even just enjoying other artists - art inherently rewards the act of participating.

i wasn't raised wealthy. whenever i make a post about art, someone inevitably says something along the lines of well some of us aren't that lucky. i am not lucky; i am dedicated. i have a chronic condition, my hands are constantly in pain. i am not neurotypical, nor was i raised safe. i worked 5-7 jobs while some of these memories happened. i chose art because it mattered to me more than anything on this fucking planet - i would work 80 hours a week just so i could afford to write in 3 of them.

and i am still telling you - if you are called to make art, you are called to the part of you that is human. you do not have to be good at it. you do not have to have enormous amounts of privilege. you can just... give yourself permission. you can just say i'm going to make something now and then - go out and make it. raquel it won't be good though that is okay, i don't make good things every time either. besides. who decides what good even is?

you weren't called to make something because you wanted it to be good, you were called to make something because it is a basic instinct. you were taught to judge its worth and over-value perfection. you are doing something impossible. a god's ability: from nothing springs creation.

a few months ago i found a piece of sidewalk chalk and started drawing. within an hour i had somehow collected a small classroom of young children. their adults often brought their own chalk. i looked up and about fifteen families had joined me from around the block. we drew scrangly unicorns and messed up flowers and one girl asked me to draw charizard. i am not good at drawing. i basically drew an orb with wings. you would have thought i drew her the mona lisa. she dragged her mother over and pointed and said look! look what she drew for me and, in the moment, i admit i flinched (sorry, i don't -). but the mother just grinned at me. he's beautiful. and then she sat down and started drawing.

someone took a picture of it. it was in the local newspaper. the summary underneath said joyful and spontaneous artwork from local artists springs up in public gallery. in the picture, a little girl covered in chalk dust has her head thrown back, delighted. laughing.

#writeblr #warm up #this is longer than i wanted i really considered removing that part about myself and what i went thru #but i think it really fucking bothers me that EVERY time i talk about being an artist #ppl assume i just like. had the skill and ability to drop everything and pay for grad school. #like sir i grew up poor. my house wasn't a safe space. i gave up a FREE RIDE TO LAW SCHOOL. for THIS. bc i chose it. #was it fucking hard? was i choosing the hard thing?? yes. #but we need to stop seeing artists as lazy layabouts that can ''afford'' to just ''sit around and create'' #when MANY - if not MOST - of us are NOT like that. we have to work our fucking ASSES off. hard work. long and hard work #part of valuing artists is recognizing the amount we sacrifice to make our art. bc it doesn't just #like HAPPEN to us. also btw it rarely has anything to do with true talent. #speaking as someone with a chronic condition i hate when ppl are like u have it easy. like actively as i'm writing this my hands r #ACTIVELY hurting me. i haven't been posting bc my left hand was curled in a claw for the last week #this isn't fucking luck. after a certain point it's not even TALENT. it's dedication & sacrifice. #''u get to flounce around and do nothing with ur life'' is a narrative that is a direct result of capitalism #imagine if we said that about literally any other profession. #''oh so u give up 10 yrs of ur life to be a doctor? u sacrifice having a social life and u get SUPER in debt? #u need to work countless hours and it will often be thankless? well i wish i was that lucky'' #we should be applying that logic to landlords ONLY #''oh ur mom and dad gave u the money to buy a house? and all u did was paint it white and rent it? huh.''

[zosanbrainrot]

this is how I see them

#sanji turned out so good and was just a quick thing so I had to add zoro #but for some reason he was super hard to draw for me this time #anyway this is how I see them #post battle staying up late on the deck drinking themselves silly to the point they forget to pretend to hate each other and just talk #maybe eating some snacks sanji had made #'we really almost died again didnt we' #looking at each other a couple of seconds too long before averting eyes #letting the mind wonder #zosan #zoro #sanji #one piece #my art #roronoa zoro #vinsmoke sanji #ETERNAL PINING HELL #im drawing these while on google meet at work

[intotheelliwoods]

must not.. overthink... must NOT overthink shit. magic... must not.... logic brain... my poor poor logic brain....

Response to this aha

#rottmnt #nonsense #IM SORRY #I HAVE SUCH A LOGIC ORIENTATED BRAIN #Its so hard for me to pass things off as “magic” or “because thats just how it works” lmaoo #I need ANSWERS I need REASONING #friendly reminder im majoring in science #it shoes doesnt it #sigh. #my science major *really* shines through here actually

[ghostsberry]

show off

#tf2 #unfortunately scout is blocking heavys arm that i worked rlly hard on :/ #pretty messy but i really liked painting it #i have so much fun drawing them they would have a lot a great comedic potential haha #scout tf2 #heavy tf2 #team fortress 2 #fanart #my art #artists on tumblr #illustration #sketch

[wingly-coded]

Oh, we couldn't bring the columns down

Yeah, we couldn't destroy a single one

And the history books forgot about us

And the Bible didn't mention us, not even once

#i worked so hard on making him so sad you guys #he's really really sad #good omens #good omens fanart #crowley

[fiendishartist2]

redraw of this post from bunnyfarm's release

kofi|instagram

#my last piece kinda disappointed me just bc i feel like i can do better #idk i think my style is taking a turn and im not sure how to work w it yet. i like messy art that looks kind of childish?- #-if that makes sense #but that kind of clashes w my way of drawing and i also have like no energy or creativity left bc of school </3 so its hard to draw #at least stuff that i really like that are like fully rendered and not just doodles or character standing w white background lol #so i took inspo from an old piece of mine to make this and sort of update it and i really like it!! i think my colours are way better #in the original they were kinda washed out i think and this is a lot more striking #me when primary colours #my art #digital art #artists on tumblr #the walten files #twf #bunnyfarm #sophie walten #jack walten #felix kranken #twf spoilers #tw eyestrain

[greelin]

“personally i think body hair is FUCKING NASTYYYYYYYYYYY icky yucky gross but you do you🤗 i would never say that. out loud. even though i just did. and i don’t view you any differently btw” do you guys hear yourself. like genuinely do you think about the language you use. at all

#some of you really do need to get decked i think. Just once #you do not need to be using words like this. it’s not hard. #and people are even doing it on this post! so funny. wild. how that works

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Get Their Ass.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

#poorly drawn mdzs #mdzs #wei wuxian #jin ling #jin chan #Yeah that's right. This guy is a named character. All those nameless disciples in the yi city arc and *this* guy gets a name. #Jin ling finally gets his much needed outfit upgrade! Rest in peace double straps. #I adore how we get to keep learning about Jin Ling and peeling back the layers on him...It's also so sad to see him so alone and friendless #especially knowing he really was starting to build peer friendships in the yi city arc... #Jin ling really is one of my top 5 characters in MDZS and its absolutely in part because of how you can *see* how he ended up this way #and we watch him learn and grow! He's doing what most adults refuse to do: Consider that his opinions are skewed and need to change. #You are NOT immune to propaganda and I adore characters who reflect and struggle with that! #Just because someone with assumed authority says something that fits into what you want to be true does not make it true B*/ #In this series about rumours and warped perspectives - Jin Ling is a great example of how hard you have to work for the truth #+1 points of friendship with jin ling: He will self correct himself if he says a slur now

[puppyeared]

wanna see a magic trick? 🪄🎩

#YEAYYYY i like drawing this guy #now that i think abt it i cant remember the last time i saw a furry with tattoos.... ive decided not to think too hard about how it would #work but i think i like the idea of him getting playing card tats on his ears would be cool ^_^ #apparently anthro species on furth include birds and mammals and i think fish amphibians and reptiles are non anthro #so instead of whipping out doves he would make white butterflies appear out of his hat :o) #its sort of meant to tie in with the ruffles on his shirt resembling a butterfly!!! i thought id make it close to a swallowtail so #that way its easy to see at a glance. i think that would look really cool irl #he looks a lot like joker p5 now that i look at it... it wasnt intentional but the red eyes and black messy hair is obvious huh #oh but the way his hair curls in the front isnt strictly in one direction just so that its easy to draw lol. its meant to curl around his #hat brim a little bc i thought it would look cool #my art #myart #my oc #oc #sleight #laika's comet #laika's comet oc #fan character #furry #furry art #fur

[elalalune]

*shakes him*

(Wonderland au)

#one piece #shuggy #buggy #shanks #red haired shanks #buggy the clown #shanks x buggy #buggy in wonderland au #my art #god I wish I had my own buggy trapped in a tiny bottle.... #I'd shake him so hard #not really story related. I just wanted to put buggy in a jar or a bottle and I thought the drink me bottle from wonderland would work well

[daeyumi]

🌜🎭🎊Dawn of a New Day 🎊🎭🌞

[2022]

#zelda #legend of zelda #majora’s mask #zelda majora's mask #majora’s mask fanart #zelda fanart #anju & kafei #anju #kafei #skull kid #clock town #daeyumi art #ohhhhhhhhh man u all i am still legitimately SO proud of this piece i worked REALLY hard on it in a time when i was still rly slow with art #and u all i poured my SOUL into this piece i love majora’s mask to pieces and i wanted to include as many characters & masks as i could #i drew this piece for the LoZ mask zine Faces and Facades a couple years back #anyways anju & kafei’s sidequest is one of my fave sidequests in the series (prob like a lot of ppl tbh) #now i wanna replay majora’s mask tbh lol

[biblically-accurate-dca]

got your nose !!!!

#my art #daycare attendant #dca fandom #moondrop #this is a little old (same time as my ecl¡pse doodle where they're holding hands) #but i still think its funny #i see a lot of ppl who draw them with little to no nose #so it's fun to see that trait in a style where the nose is a huge part of it #now that i think about it though it'd be hard for moon to do the 'got your nose' thing because their thumbs are blue #so the illusion doesn't really work.. unless they say they squeezed it so hard that it turned blue? but idk

[booasaur]

Vigil - 2x02

#vigiledit #bbc vigil #amy silva #kirsten longacre #suranne jones #rose leslie #vigil spoilers #vigil 2x02 #amy x kirsten #femslash related stuff #dawwww #and lol #the pregnancy being written in as it was really worked out actually lol #their relationship was always going to be the backdrop to the action plot of the season #so with the timeskip the baby just adds this immediate depth and richness to what went on in during it #and how wholeheartedly amy did apparently commit after season 1 #and poppy is not just amy's daughter now but kirsten's too #as for the plot of the season.....I see now why they feel like they're burning off what could have been a flagship show #the parallels were hard to watch! #funny how they fully meant this made up country to be a commentary on saudi #but turns out the west is propping up TWO genocidal middle eastern regimes' military objectives

[mimimar]

finally completed my comic based on the song ivy by taylor swift!✿ please zoom in to read the text and see the details~

✿.✿.✿

you can get the digital zine pdf here! it includes extras like character profiles, costume design, more art of willow and ivy, zine-exclusive sketches and an illustrated guide to the symbolism of all the flowers in this comic.

you can also get prints of individual pages here!

✿.✿.✿

#ivy comic #it's finally complete!!!♡ this was the longest project ever but i really wanted to do my best on every spread #i also worked really hard on the extra pages for the zine. i hope you like those as well if you decide to get it! #i've been wanting to make this comic since evermore came out in 2020 and i listened to ivy for the first time #i posted the first sketches from this comic on my patreon in 2022 and released the first page last year in 2023 #so it's been a loooong time coming working on this in between other art #i was always disappointed that i got a hand injury back when i was making my dorothea/'tis the damn season comic #so i couldn't give my 100% on every page of that one. that's part of why i wanted to go all out for my ivy comic #and it has a happy ending this time!♡ #thank you for sticking around if you've been reading since page 1 #and thank you also if you just read it for the first time today! #also i didn't plan it but i coincidentally finished this comic exactly on lesbian visibility week. love that #ivy comic mimimar #oc #ivy #willow #taylor swift #taylor swift ivy #ivy taylor swift #evermore #illustration #illo #comic #lesbian #wlw #sapphic #lesbian visibility week #lesbian art #wlw art #sapphic art

[your-turn-to-role]

moment of appreciation again for what is possibly my favourite later game percy quote that everyone always forgets about

(said to vex, of course)

#another thing tlovm hasn't touched on yet that i hope they do (bc next season would be a great place for it) - #both percy and vex struggle so much with anger issues and holding grudges #and the reason they work so well together is because literally a few minutes before their first kiss #they make a commitment to helping each other learn how to forgive even when it's hard - because that's the only way to grow #percy had orthax and vex had saundor both who fed on those impulses and tried to turn them into their worst selves #and they both could very easily have fallen to that! but they don't want to. so they're going to keep each other on the right track #and this is really the pinnacle of it #percy being able to recognise when he really wants to hurt someone and going hmm nope vex seems to be objective here im gonna listen to vex #cr1 #c1e99 #percy de rolo #vex'ahlia #perc'ahlia #cr thoughts

[itseghost]

collection of some molly sketches :] im obsessed with drawing him smiling hugely looking mischievous

#mollymauk tealeaf #mollymauk fanart #critical role #critical role fanart #mighty nein #the mighty nein #critrole #m9 #clip studio paint #id in alt text #artistic nudity #kind of? you cant even really see his ass bc of the tail so its pretty tame. but idk #anyways big smile screen right hand gesture is apparently my go too molly pose #ive been itching 2 color these for ages #im so swamped with stuff for school that its hard to justify fanart LMAO but i finished a lot of stuff this week so i gave myself a treat #YAYYYYYY #itseart #ALSO i think im realizing i dont work with purples as a base color that often??? #but its rlly fun to paint purple skin