toughskittles

[toughskittles]

[toughskittles]

These are a handful of pages I hadn’t realized that I never finished. I worked on then abandoned them last year. I was really trying to experiment with color and texture. Sam looks great but Duncan looks horrible. Overall I’m happy with how these pages look and what I learned from them.

[toughskittles]

A hot tub party post and pre-photoshop. Colored pencil on black paper.

#i drew this #hot tub #i got inspired #pretty colors #colored pencil #white on black #sorry his head disappeared #its supposed to do that

[toughskittles]

The first image is a picture that I took  of graffiti I saw in Berlin almost two years ago. The second is a recreation using image trace in Illustrator and colored in Photoshop. I plan  on using my recreation in a later chapter  of Gods  of Graves.

Now that it’s finished I question why I recreated it instead of just editing and cropping the photo. I am, nonetheless, proud of my work.

#gods of graves #graffiti #berlin #I found this #studyabroad

[toughskittles]

I just drew this self portrait for Gods of Graves. I finished way faster than I had planned and feel very proud of myself.

#self portrait #halloween #medusa #Gods of Graves #i drew me #i drew this

[toughskittles]

[toughskittles]

New style

I know that one of the many things I have been missing in my GN is a personal drawing style. I was reading Sithrah by Jason Brubaker (one of my all time favorite graphic novelists) and it hit me. I could almost see Duncan drawn differently. His face more square, his eyes perfect half circles.... so I got up and drew him and Sam with a fresh take. It took a couple tries but I like the result and hope yo explore it in the future. What do you think?

#new style #it came to me #trying new things #trying new stuff #trying new styles #i like it #cute little button nose

[toughskittles]

It's been so long since I posted anything. I've been doing a lot of writing but not a lot of illustrating. So that means I have made a lot of progress but have nothing to show for it 🙃🙃🙃.

[toughskittles]

*Sam, Duncan, and Derek sitting around talking.* De: "I care about Sam, she's practically my sister and I love her." S: "Aw, Derek. I love you too." De: "My love for you is like the sun. Burning with passion." S: "Oh yeah? My love for you is like the ocean! Deep!" De: "Oh really? My love for you is like space. Endless." Du: "I can't believe I have to live with you two. Are you really turning this into a competition of who loves each other more?" De: "I think Duncan is getting jealous cus we didn't tell him that we loved him. I'm sorry man. We just don't love you as much."

Person A: My love for you is like the sun. Burning passion.

Person B: Oh yeah? MY love for you is like the ocean! Deep!

Person A: Oh really? MY love for you is like space! ENDLESS!

Person C: I can't believe I have to live with you two.

(Person C could be a roommate, their kid, a ghost oof).

[toughskittles]

NaNo Character Week: Character Personality, Arcs and Relationships Resources

NaNoPlanMo Resource Masterpost Navigation

Welcome to day fourteen of WC’s NaNoPlanMo! Today’s focus is on personality development, character arcs and character relationships!

Personality Development Through Character Traits

Creating Unique Characters from @lets-get-fictional

The 10 Elements of a Main Character from @thatkatiecooney

Design A Personality: Building Rock Solid Character Traits

Virtue and Vice Development Method from @writeworld

Building a Balanced Character

Character Trait Lists

36 Core Values for Building Character

Neutral Character Traits from @macklinassists

123 Ideas for Character Flaws

350 Character Traits

List of Character Traits

Another List of Character Traits

Character Arcs

K.M. Weiland: Writing Character Arcs

K.M. Weliand: Creating Stunning Character Arcs (Series)

Creating Character Arcs

How to Plot a Character Arc via @silvokrent

Why Character Arcs Make Readers Care

The Three Types of Character Arcs

Planning Character Arcs in a Nutshell

How to Figure Out Your Character’s Arc

Character Arcs and Motivations

Character Motivations: 7 Tips for Writing Better Portraits

How to Create Character Motivations

Motivate Your Characters Like a Pro

Six Emotional Motives for Your Characters

Inner Drives: What’s My Character’s Motivation?

Rethinking Motivation for Character Arcs

Character Relationships

Writing Healthy Couples in Fiction from @oliviapaigewrites

8 Secrets to Writing Strong Character Relationships

Character Relationships: 6 Tips for Crafting Real Connections

Why Character Relationships Make or Break Your Story

K.M. Weiland: What’s the Most Important Relationship in Your Story?

Writing Romance? Avoid These 5 Mistakes

Stop by tomorrow for the kickoff to Setting Week!

[toughskittles]

Look at my new Body Kun/Chan mannequins! I can’t wait to start using them in my upcoming segments.

Don’t mind Phillipe in the background, he lives there.

#body kun #body chan #excited #my weird roommate #drawing #about time

[toughskittles]

This character popped into my head today. She does not have a name but she does have pink hair that always has at least one flower in it. She only wears green and uses plant/growing magic. She really wants to be your friend but also really wants to fight you (because why not?).

Beyond that information I don't know much about this character. I probably won't be using her any time soon. There is no place for her in Sam and Duncan's universe but maybe she can find a home in the superhero fiction I've been brainstorming.

#i drew this #original character #ocs #i just had to #i don't know

[toughskittles]

The Importance of Mary Sue

When I was in Ninth Grade, I won a thing.  

That thing, in particular, was a thirty dollar Barnes & Noble gift certificate.  I was still too young for a part-time job, so I didn’t have this kind of spending cash on me, ever.  I felt like a god.

Drunk with power, I fancy-stepped my way to my local B&N.  I was ready to choose new books based solely on the most important of qualities…BADASS COVER ART.  I walked away with a handful of paperbacks, most of which were horrible (I’m looking at you, Man-Kzin Wars III) or simply forgettable.  

One book did not disappoint.  I fell down the rabbit hole into a series that proved to be as badass as the cover art promised (Again, Man-Kzin Wars III, way to drop the ball on that one).  With more than a dozen books in the series, I devoured them.  I bought cassette tapes of ballads sung by bards in the stories.  And the characters.  Oh, the characters.  I loved them.  Gryphons, mages, but most importantly, lots of women.  Different kinds of women.  So many amazing women.  I looked up to them, wrote bad fiction that lifted entire portions of dialogue and character descriptions, dreamed of writing something that the author would include in an anthology.

This year I decided in a fit of nostalgia to revisit the books I loved so damn much.  I wanted to reconnect with my old friends…

…and I found myself facing Mary Sues.  Lots of them.  Perfect, perfect, perfect.  A fantasy world full of Anakin Skywalkers and Nancy Drews and Wesley Crushers.  I felt crushed.  I had remembered such complex, deep characters and didn’t see those women in front of me at all anymore.  Where were those strong women who kept me safe through the worst four years of my life?

Which led me to an important realization as I soldiered on through book after book.  That’s why I needed them.  Because they were Mary Sues.  These books were not written to draw my attention to all the ugly bumps and whiskers of the real world.  They were somewhere to hide.  I was painfully aware that I was being judged by my peers and adults and found lacking.  I was a fuckup.  And sometimes a fuckup needs to feel like a Mary Sue.  As an adult, these characters felt a little thin because they lacked the real world knowledge I, as an adult, had learned and earned.  But that’s the thing…these books weren’t FOR this current version of myself.   Who I am now doesn’t need a flawless hero because I’m comfortable with the idea that valuable people are also flawed.

There is a reason that most fanfiction authors, specifically girls, start with a Mary Sue.  It’s because girls are taught that they are never enough.  You can’t be too loud, too quiet, too smart, too stupid.  You can’t ask too many questions or know too many answers.  No one is flocking to you for advice.  Then something wonderful happens.  The girl who was told she’s stupid finds out that she can be a better wizard than Albus Dumbledore.  And that is something very important.  Terrible at sports?  You’re a warrior who does backflips and Legolas thinks you’re THE BEST.   No friends?  You get a standing ovation from Han Solo and the entire Rebel Alliance when you crash-land safely on Hoth after blowing up the Super Double Death Star.  It’s all about you.  Everyone in your favorite universe is TOTALLY ALL ABOUT YOU.

I started writing fanfiction the way most girls did, by re-inventing themselves.  

Mary Sues exist because children who are told they’re nothing want to be everything.  

As a girl, being “selfish” was the worst thing you could be.  Now you live in Narnia and Prince Caspian just proposed marriage to you.  Why?  Your SELF is what saved everyone from that sea serpent.  Plus your hair looks totally great braided like that.

In time, hopefully, these hardworking fanfiction authors realize that it’s okay to be somewhere in the middle and their characters adjust to respond to that.  As people grow and learn, characters grow and learn.  Turns out your Elven Mage is more interesting if he isn’t also the best swordsman in the kingdom.  Not everyone needs to be hopelessly in love with your Queen for her to be a great ruler.  There are all kinds of ways for people to start owning who they are, and embracing the things that make them so beautifully weird and complicated.

Personally, though, I think it’s a lot more fun learning how to trust yourself and others if you all happen to be riding dragons.

[toughskittles]

Anita spoke with a longing nostalgia about her high school best friend, "She was the type of woman that men wanted to be and women wanted."

Duncan tilted his head, "Don't you mean-?"

"Shhh- she knows what she said Duncan." Sam returned her gaze to her new friend with growing rapture.

#a day in the life #just a funny

[toughskittles]

"You're in love with me," he said.

She laughed, "no I'm not."

He inched closer to her. "You are. I'm convinced if it."

"Well unconvince yourself."

"Okay, change my mind. Dance with me. You'll see."

A credulous look marked her face, "dance with you?"

"Dance with me," he whispered, his hand brushing hers. She barely noticed the hitch in her breath. Their hands intertwined and he led her in a slow performance.

A question surfaced on her lips, "have we ever danced before?"

"Not like this," he replied quietly.

"I thought we had."

"I would have remembered." She was taken aback by the sincerity in his eyes. If they had never danced before how could this feel so comfortable? It was as if they had danced a million dances together. She looked into his warm eyes and wanted to melt into his body. Maybe she was in love with him after all.

“Change my mind.” 

“Okay. Dance with me. You’ll see.”

[toughskittles]

I was watching 13 Reasons Why a while ago and realized that Dylan Minnette looks exactly like what I originally picture Duncan looking like when I created him years ago. With all the redrawing and style designs lately, it felt like he was getting off track. So I redrew Duncan using the above photo of Dylan Minnette. I’ve made his shoulders a bit broader, squared his jaw, and added dimples. Voula! We have a drawing of Duncan more closely aligned with the original inception but with the musculature of a boxer. And I practiced a new shading style!

[toughskittles]

Today one of my classmates showed me how he likes to use his markers to create a watercolor effect on trace paper. The idea was so exciting I immediately went home and applied the method to the very first page of my GN so far. In trying this technique I learned and solved several problems I had been having. With this technique I have a color palette limited to the markers I have and the filter of the trace-paper is a unifying factor. Although tracing EVERYTHING is rather time-consuming, I can trace major elements to create depth in the same way I could in my travel journal (Gods of Graves).  Overall I am very excited about how this looks and what it means for the future of this GN!

Thanks, Cole!

#thanks friends #cool colors #writeblr #comic blogging #graphicnovel #linework #artists on tumblr #excited