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Marker doodles & new blog

It's been a while! (It's always "been a while"!)

I got to try alcohol-based markers for the first time. Doodled some stuff while listening to entire Pizza Tower soundtrack. Can you tell?

I've been curious about markers for a hot minute, but didn't necessarily want to invest in a new art supply and dragged my feet for the longest time. I finally bit the bullet during the Black Friday and Holiday sales. Sort of hoped I wouldn't like them, so they wouldn't take up my space or resources the same way watercolour stuff does. But for better or for worse, I quite love 'em!

First, the pros! I totally get why markers are very popular with so many artists. I definitely won't say they don't take a good while to master, but they are so easy and intuitive to use. Fun as heck too. Virtually all you need is a piece of paper & a good set of markers and you're ready to go. I really dig their clean, flat and graphic look. And they dry super quickly, my watercolour-programmed mind is constantly left pondering what kind of sorcery is that, haha. Same thing would take me a lot longer to paint!

Now, the cons. The amount of colours you need to be able to draw somewhat freely is astronomical. Even then, that particular colour you need may still be just "close enough" - whereas with watercolour, a good set of 12 or 24 colours will give you access to hundreds of hues. Markers don't mix the way paints do. They aren't super precise as they always bleed a little. They also aren't lightfast & fade rapidly when exposed to sun. And ouch, a big one for me: they can smudge the lineart pretty easily. You oughta be cautious!

The final verdict is that I still very much enjoy the rascals. I doubt anything will ever be able to dethrone watercolours for me, though! The champion remains unchallenged, yet markers have (thankfully) finally found their way into my little heart.

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Oy! I also made a second blog for lesser quality posts... ahem, personal posts. They will probably be mostly about games, animation and maybe occasionally some random scribbles that aren't related to my characters. Either that or the blog will be promptly abandoned like 99% of everything I do, lmao. Click here to visit it!

#Rookie #boatswain #admiral

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A summary of changes

I spent the past couple of weeks on sick leave after having my tonsils removed, which means I had some spare time to take another look at my characters and their colours. I'm going back to work tomorrow, so let's take a quick glance at the tweaks (that may or may not be permanent.. man, I don't know anymore)!

Boatswain got his baggy pants back, though somewhat lighter this time. I was going through my sketchbook and figured I liked those just a little bit more than the slim ones. Bos is small, so it's not odd for him to wear oversized clothes! I changed the bandana to an earthy orange & his cap is slightly off-white (dirty) now, with a brown rim. Went back to bubbles coming out of his pipe instead of regular smoke. The very, very first boatswain I've ever drawn was blowing bubbles!

I decided to keep the lighter beard, soles and toe claws, I believe they make him just a tad more interesting. Ol' gramps certainly enjoys having a full set of claws, no doubt about that. I keep making his nose turquoise instead of cyan. Maybe it wants to stay this way? I like both!

Captain's white cap got swapped for a dusty, dark blue one. I wanted each lad to have a different hat, just to highlight the difference between their ranks. Blue caps are generally associated with aviation, but I think it still works well for him! The little fish is made of cardboard. Packie draws them himself and glues them, then proudly parades with them on his head until they eventually fall off and he has to do that again, haha.

I experimented with his colour scheme for quite a bit, but eventually kept it as it was. Very minor change to the jacket colour. I also shaved the fuzz off his scarf and threw a checked pattern on it instead. He deserves fancy neckwear! I hope Sakura never discontinues manufacturing the particular pen I draw these lines with because the colour is just perfect.

The way I approached admiral was pretty intuitive. I didn't look at any older doodles of him and simply drew what felt right. His outfit lost some details this way. His white hat is here to stay - I just changed the shape and look of the badge a little; not sure if I want the rim to be this dark blue or brown. I made his shoulder insignia simpler, as I meant to do it earlier. Completely forgot that little buckle on the strap and the third row of buttons on his boobies. These might come back, I don't know yet - I'm sloppy, so I have to cover small details with masking fluid (that prevents them from being painted) and just like 90% of watercolourists... golly, I hate using masking fluid.

I had quite a dilemma with his gloves and boots. Ultimately made them much lighter and I think this is how I prefer them. They add some much-needed contrast as up to this point his colour scheme was on the darker side and, to be perfectly honest, I wasn't a fan of that. I believe I'm not skilled enough to make proper use of dark colours, especially in traditional media, but it's ok! I enjoy the vintage feel of admiral's current colour palette.

And as for the main colour of his uniform? I had to ditch that previous indigo because I couldn't stand how the paint handled :( The one you see here is a custom mix, which, hopefully, won't be too hard to replicate. What I like about it is that it looks like a duller shade of Prussian Blue. A colour I tend to use sparingly because it fades, but otherwise love very, very much!

Nothing really changed about Taffy except that I made her ribbon lighter here. For some reason my scanner wasn't happy about that! The purples are very pink-leaning in the scanned version, while in person they are considerably cooler. I like them in person, but here... not so much. It could be the paper though, so I'll give it another go once I use up this particular supply (I'm about to)!

Her eyes are ever so slightly green-tinted, but it doesn't show here, does it? I will add a touch more green next time. This thing is surprisingly hard to balance because with too much green in her eyes she starts to look kinda spooky.

You have to wait for a bit before you hit your final form, Taffy!

I like Mia's colours, but it took two attempts to get them right and my gosh, was the first try icky and clashing. I'm going work on her overall look at some point in the future. I hope I can push her proportions to be somewhat more cartoony & her face to be more expressive. I took a glance at my older doodles of her and she looked as if she was a Disney princess' horse, haha. We want none of that here! Silly & homely looking horses all the way.

Rookie didn't change much either, I only picked a more vibrant shade of yellow for her scarf. I'm most likely going to go back to the older, more toned-down version. I enjoy punchy & vibrant colours - just not on my little ol' characters!

I also didn't grab my best black for Roo, but thankfully I have a replacement. Notice the tiny white dots all over the black parts? This is an undesirable trait in watercolour, some pigments do it naturally, but in some cases it's the formula or paper (or both). Sometimes I'm tempted to colour her black parts with a pen, but I think that would look too harsh. But you never know before you try it!

*****

Whew! That's it for the changes. I know these may not look like much (and it's true), but in reality I ended up removing and replacing a good portion of my paints for better alternatives. This means I had to build a new palette from scratch, holy smokes. I'd better stick with these tweaks because I really don't want to do this one more time!

EDIT: Oy, one last thing I wanted to add - looking at those doodles, I realised I need to try and fix my inking. It's not very good! I typically ink with fineliners (that's the easiest and simplest way), then colour, then go over my lines again to make them darker and thicker. But it also gives them this unappealing, rugged look. Next time I'll do just a single round & see how that looks!

#boatswain #captain #admiral #Taffy #Mia #Rookie

[ask-bluesman]

Outfits, ep. 5 (final)

Five posts dedicated to this stuff, three of which are about boatswain, holy smokes. He was a lot of work even though he didn't end up looking that much different after all!

(they look like evil twins!)

Admittedly not my best, but I was in a lousy mood when I drew them, just wanted to get things done. The two outfits/colour palettes that made it to the ultimate battle. These emerged after about 30 paintings, one filled out sketchbook and nearly losing my ding dang sanity. I made the colours too dark here, but it's okay - I'll correct them next time. As for my definitive decision, I'm choosing the one on the right!

Without being overly vivid, these colours liven him up a little, which might be a good thing. He's this loud, energetic grandpa, you know! There's something about this colour combo that makes it look more Slavic to me. I can't explain why, it's just a gut feeling, haha. I certainly like the fact these colours are more contrasting. I may still tweak some minor things: perhaps swap that mid red on the bandana for a cool-biased red, such as carmine. Maybe add a touch of green to the stripes to make them a bit more turqouise-y. Other than that I'm happy with these colours & I believe they're more interesting than the old ones!

Some additional notes:

- his pants gradually became less loose and I decided to keep 'em that way,

- I added a couple of stray hairs on his cheeks & tail, but I'm not sure whether these will stick,

- the other small details that I previously introduced are most likely going to stay,

- I might bring back the line that connects his nose with the upper lip (seen below). I dunno, I miss it!

One extra tidbit before I wrap this all up:

This was also an outfit that I really liked! I was pretty excited, but then remembered that my friend's character, Captain Biscuit, has similar colours all over. Whoops! So I quickly scrapped the idea, though I still dig it, so it can go here.

#boatswain #update

[ask-bluesman]

Outfits, ep. 4

Let me present two admirals in a single post... as a treat to myself and at least one person who checks this blog!

The left one is (more or less) how I've been drawing him for the majority of the past decade, the right one is how I've been doing it recently. Both with slight alterations on the hat & shoulder insignia that I made just now.

The difference is relatively small and I thought that drawing the two variations side by side would make the decision easy, but it immediately made it tougher, huh! When I began writing this post in the morning, I liked the old one a tad more. Then I had to take a break - mom's friend brought me a kitten she rescued from snow, poor guy nearly froze to death. Took a couple of hours to warm him up, but he's safe and sound now, and full of gratitude too.

... So I'm resuming this in late evening and now I feel like I prefer the right outfit a little bit more, darn it. I'm so stumped that I might even post this on FA and ask people to vote; though I'm afraid I might not get many responses 'cos admiral ain't no animal. I never ask for that kind of help, but I'd appreciate it this one time, so feel free to send me a message if you're reading this!

Here are some of my thoughts. The left one:

- looks more "military",

- has an old-school feel to it,

- the belt defines admiral's gut quite nicely, haha.

The right one:

- is simpler to draw,

- is more historically accurate,

- might cause some folks to confuse admiral with a cop (eww).

To be perfectly honest, the only major reason why I dropped the belt was that I struggled with drawing it, but this isn't a problem anymore. What hasn't changed is that it looks quite uncomfortable!

As for the colours: I ended up testing two different indigos and I prefer the one on the right. It's slightly more greenish and that's a closer match for what I had in mind. Unfortunately, indigo is always a difficult colour to paint with regardless of the brand, it doesn't dry smooth no matter how evenly you put it down. I'm willing to accept it as long as it layers well (and it does)! I also prefer the paler yellow I used on the right. The gloves are the same; I accidentally made the boots a tad darker on the right, so in this case I like the ones on the left.

And as for the rest of the crew: at the moment captain stays the way he is, I experimented with some other ideas, but I think I like his current look the most! Boatswain is going to receive another update, I believe I came up with something that I prefer over the latest one. Then I will be able to wrap this whole ordeal up. At last!

#admiral #update

[ask-bluesman]

Outfits, ep. 3

Anudder one! Coming closer and closer to building the ultimate palette, phew!

Sorry this cappin is so scribbly compared to boatswain from the previous entry. I drew him in a sketchbook and let me tell you, these turn into absolute junkyards when I draw in them - their contents are generally reserved for my own eyes and they rarely get scanned. But I liked this doodle enough to post it here!

As you can tell.. I couldn't bring myself to get rid of captain's turtleneck sweater, haha. You might remember that his outfit was revamped once (or twice 'cos the first sweater didn't make the cut) and I didn't want to erase that completely. Instead I put another layer on top of it, this makes sense since out of all my characters, Patrick is the least resistant to cold & windy weather. He can be drawn without these new clothes when the weather allows.

I experimented with lots of colour combinations, none of which worked until I picked this one. I'm a bit bummed out that I wasn't able to bring anything green into his colour palette, though at the same time I'm glad I put some warm colours together as I'm rather unfamiliar with them. I think they're a good match for his warm personality! Maybe I'll make the elbow patch green, haha. To be perfectly honest, I don't think green is his favourite colour anymore - captain strikes me as someone who likes autumnal colours the most.

I noted the paints used because I'm afraid I'd forget them otherwise; I couldn't rely exclusively on ready-made mixtures this time around, but I made my own mixes simple and easy to recreate. That Gold Brown + Transparent Umber combo might even have a substitute among the paints I already own, I'll look into that. Sadly this particular version of Payne's Grey is not lightfast, so I ordered a different one, hopefully it's going to be close enough!

I'm taking a second look at boatswain's colours now. I said I liked the beige stripes (and I still do), but they might be too soft compared to the rest of the crew, aaaa. I'm pretty sure he's going to get at least one more update soon. Admiral is going to make an appearance as well & he should be easy! I have just the right shade of indigo for the big navy man. Now it's a matter of deciding whether I prefer the old, more detailed outfit or the new, simplified one.

My apologies for yet another wall of text, I can imagine these are not particularly interesting! I should get back to answering questions & posting facts once I'm done with reworking the colours!

#captain #update

[ask-bluesman]

Outfits, ep. 2

I spent the last several days brainstorming my characters' clothes and I think I'm finally getting somewhere. Not sure where yet, but at least I came up with something I don't hate!

Here are some thoughts I have:

1) Along the way I found out that I still like the old colours. Dang it. After all they stayed the same for 11 years, that's enough to grow attached! But I want to push that sentiment aside and replace at least some of them, they're boring when you put them all together. These characters call for a bit more variety colour-wise and I want to address that. It doesn't have to be anything groundbreaking (as you can see above), I just want an addition of a couple of different colours to make their colour schemes a tad more interesting.

2) I experimented with much brighter tones at the beginning, but those didn't work. I prefer earthy, muted colours in most cases, so as soon as I turned to them, I got much better results. I'd also say that they work well for bos, who isn't the one to wear anything fancy.

3) I like the beige stripes a lot! I think these are going to stay. Not sure about the pants, they're essentially the same colour as before, so I'm going to try different options, sepia perhaps. Might choose a warmer shade of brown for the suspenders. I dig the bandana, but there's a chance I'll find something better.. 'cos let me tell you, this paint is WILD on paper. It's called Prussian Green (by Schmincke) and I swear I've never had a colour this unruly, haha.

4) I used a deep, cool blue for the nose, though it scans as a turquoise for some reason. Not sure if I like that or not! I'll try to replicate the old colour next time to compare the two.

5) I gave boatswain a complete set of claws just to see how it looks. It didn't make much sense that he had claws on his hands and not his feet. Same with pads - the ones on hands are a bit more rudimentary since he doesn't really need them as an anthro animal; but they look nice, so I'll keep them.

6) I also changed his markings a little. I spent some time watching Soviet cartoons recently and the lighter fur around boatswain's soles is a direct result of that, haha. I made his beard lighter too - this is something I wanted to do for a good while.

I think that's all the comments I have for this one! This was probably an unnecessary post, but I figured I might share parts of the process, not just my ultimate decisions. I'll probably talk more about bos in the next entry, cappin could make an appearance as well. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to be so fussy about colours, but I believe they're important in character design!

#boatswain #update

[ask-bluesman]

Outfits, ep. 1

I'm not sure if I mentioned it on this blog, but I've been wanting to rework my sailors' outfits and colour schemes for a long while. Ever since I introduced new characters to the crew, I thought that my main trio looked too monochromatic and blue. Believe it or not, blue isn't even my favourite colour! I like it, but turquoise, green & brown are above blue on my list. Besides that, I've mostly switched from digital to traditional art and I'd like to settle on colours that I already own; preferably ready-made mixes, so I won't have to make them from scratch every time.

Well! Boatswain was in dire need of a change and I decided to start with him. His clothes irked me the most because they looked too modern for his times and too clean/neat for a scruffy old grump. Here's a rather disproportionate bos that I doodled about two weeks ago:

I proceeded to sketch other concepts, but eventually came to a conclusion that the first one was, in fact, the best! I tweaked it a bit and drew it several times just to make sure that I'm comfortable with it. Here are some other sketches of it:

Both the bandana & the striped shirt are here to stay because I like them, though I might change their colours. Of course nothing's set in stone yet, but I dig this outfit so far - I think it captures boatswain's character quite well! As for the colours, I gotta bring all of the watercolour palettes I left at my old home before I attempt anything major. I'd like to throw some brown and scarlet in there, but I'm not sure if that's going to work out. Perhaps I'll reserve the warmest colours for captain? Just thinkin' out loud!

I'll be posting updates along the way. Cappin and admiral won't require much work since I'm mostly happy with how their outfits look, it's just the matter of finding the right colours. Once everything's done, I'm going to set up a separate palette with all the necessary paints.

Thank you for reading my ramblings!

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Oh snap!! And don't worry about these asks waiting in my inbox - I remember about them and I'll probably answer them soon. My life has finally slowed down to a point where I can draw, paint and be active online. Feel free to send me more questions if you happen to have any :)

#boatswain #update

[ask-bluesman]

The cats

I’ve been thinking about these two for a bit!

Taffy, white cat with a claret bow, is a mix between a Persian and British Shorthair. She carries most of her Persian traits on the outside: white coat, yellow-green eyes, oval head, puffy tail and small, rounded ears. Her British characteristics include her fur texture (which is short and plush everywhere except for the tail), as well as her round, pronounced muzzle.

As far as personality goes, that British heritage shines through! She’s docile, patient and cautious. She definitely doesn’t qualify as a lap cat and prefers to show her affection in subtle ways instead. She also doesn’t enjoy being in the centre of attention, so she quietly follows her master and curiously observes everything he does, but doesn’t interfere. She’s painfully shy and timid, especially around strangers, yet she’s loyal to a fault to her close allies. She isn’t particularly vocal, but she always remembers to greet admiral with a melodious, jubilant trill.

Rookie (formerly Catakin / Kin), black & white cat with a yellow scarf, is an opposite in many ways. Her lineage isn’t known because she started her life as a stray. Her fur, toughened by harsh weather, is quite rough, her whiskers are usually crinkled, her fangs tend to show and her ears are pointy with fluff tufts. I have to admit that I’m not certain if these traits are going to stick because she’s still very new, but I like this direction so far!

Rookie is a bundle of energy and she rarely lets anybody forget about that. Her inner kitten is alive and well even as she progresses - she’s adventurous, swift and curious. She often doesn’t know how to contain her excitement, so, very much unlike Taffy, she bombards her master with love and affection. At the same time she does well on her own, which is necessary whenever she goes outside to hunt or explore. Still, she always comes back and makes sure to bring a gift of some kind: leaves, twigs, shells, pebbles and such (and captain keeps them all).

One important thing I have to add is that Taffy and Rookie never meet each other! When Rookie arrives at the scene, everyone except for Patrick is already gone. I hope I will be able to draw these two characters together soon.

_____

I’m terribly sorry about that one question that has been sitting in my inbox for eons :( Life has kept getting in the way and I haven’t drawn my main characters for almost one full year; I also couldn’t justify working on personal stuff while I could barely finish commissions on time. Fortunately I’m doing much better now, so I’m slowly picking up where I left off. I’m going to have a small surgery later this month, but I hope I will be able to be more productive soon!

#Taffy #Rookie

[ask-bluesman]

Update on Mia

Mia is no longer a Gypsy Vanner, but a Clydesdale - the breed she was originally meant to be, before that first drawing of her. Here’s why!

1) The current appearance of Gypsy Vanners was formed after WWII (by that time admiral's story ends), not to mention the fact that this breed wasn’t officially recognised until the very end of the 20th century. I knew about it, disregarded it at first, but it started bugging me after a while. I like to keep things true to my characters’ time frame whenever it’s possible!

2) Gypsy Vanners have features that are quite difficult for me to draw: enormous feathers, as well as really long manes and tails. I’m not saying that I don’t like those characteristics (I do, a lot), I’m just having one heck of a problem incorporating them into Mia’s design. They aren’t very practical from my personal standpoint.

3) Clydesdales are considerably taller than Gypsy Vanners. This is important because I need her to be big. I thought about it for a while and figured I want admiral to be able to ride on her back sometimes - without having her collapse under his tremendous bottom, haha. I’m going to adjust her proportions to that size, right now she still appears small in my opinion.

Well, this is the change! Probably not a huge one, but I wanted to make an entry about it. Most of my characters have mixed origins: captain is half Polish and half Russian, admiral is French of Croatian descent, Taffy is a cross between a British Shorthair and a Persian. As for Mia, I prefer her to be a pure Clydesdale since it’s easier for me to model her look on a specific breed rather than come up with my own. Horses are still very challenging for me to draw!

I’m juggling my various responsibilities at the moment, but I hope to find some more time for this blog in the not-so-distant future. I might start responding to questions with watercolour/ink doodles instead of digital ones, who knows? These take me a LOT less time to finish and I also enjoy them way more (I’m not going to lie, I’d like to take a break from digital stuff when I complete my current batch of commissions ;___;). I’ll write a post about it once I make up my mind.

Each one of my three sailor characters is going to receive a colour update, so stay tuned for that too!

#Mia #update

[ask-bluesman]

This question is for Bluesman! What are your favourite (and least favourite!) things to draw?

This blog got awfully neglected again, but I finally found some time to scribble an answer for you! Thank you so much for the question!

Some of my most favourite things to draw include:

1) Simple portraits. Drawing them is a fast and easy method of studying facial characteristics without having to worry about the whole body (and pose, proportions, and such). I usually scribble a couple of those when I’m about to draw someone for the first time. I also do these for a quick warm-up. This means that boatswain’s grumpy face appears often among my sketches, haha.

2) Little creatures. I think they are more enjoyable to draw than the big ones, I also believe they don’t get the representation they deserve. Canines are absolutely everywhere, while small critters such as rodents or mustelids are difficult to find. Guinea pigs are my personal favourites because I have a lot of good experience with them as pets. Skunks are very fun too, their fur pattern is so elegant!

3) Trees. I grew up in a woody area and always considered trees my allies. I admired them ever since I was a child and this hasn’t changed at all; if anything, my appreciation for them only grew stronger over time. Each individual tree is a work of art! I have to say that I like greenery in general - I have 11 potted plants in my room and I don’t think I will stop there. They are all natural air filters and they make a big difference.

4) Sweets and pastries. It’s no secret that I have a sweet tooth, haha. I don’t draw this stuff nearly enough these days, but when I was in school, I did it constantly. I remember that one time my classmate begged me to stop because he was hungry, but that only reinforced my habit. I don’t like drawing dishes (ironically!), though I enjoy the rest. Not gonna lie, I’d go for a nice, cold chocolate shake right now ;__;

5) Small objects. While I usually struggle with large props (like furniture), I find smaller ones relatively fun for practice. They can be quite challenging as well, but it’s an enjoyable kind of challenge. I have a soft spot for vintage things: old phones, alarm clocks, toys, you name it. Besides, adding just a few of them can make a scene a lot more interesting. I may be not particularly good at drawing them, but I’m eager to change that!

Here are some other things I like to draw:

- characters with visible imperfections,

- felines (big and small),

- old fashioned clothing,

- grumpy, angry and surprised expressions,

- cartoony violence and slapstick.

My least favourite things to draw include:

1) Anything NSFW. My interest in that kind of content is minimal and I steer clear of it. Drawing it makes me extremely uncomfortable, it also collides with my religious beliefs. On top of that, I think the Internet has enough NSFW imagery to last for at least a hundred of generations… across several galaxies! The only exception I might consider is gore. It’s nothing sexual for me by any means, I just enjoy gore in video games (when it fits the context properly, think The Last of Us!), so it could appear in some of my future doodles.

2) Most backgrounds. ESPECIALLY urban ones. How do you draw a city without making it look ugly, bleak and dull? I know it’s possible because I’ve seen those, but I have no clue how to achieve that on my own. But to be perfectly honest, all backgrounds give me a hard time. Colours and perspective are my arch-enemies. I wish I could get better and I’m working on it. Slowly but surely!

3) Vehicles and any complicated machinery. As far as vehicles go, modern cars are my least favourite because of their… smoothness. I prefer sharper, rougher edges, so I’m actually somewhat okay with certain retro cars. But in general, vehicles and machines require a lot of symmetry, which is one of my weak points. They often come with tens or hundreds of little details and I either don’t have the patience to draw them all or flat out don’t know how to simplify them.

4) Reflective surfaces. Water and mirrors in particular. I avoid them whenever I can. The fact I don’t like drawing water is very unfortunate because all of my main characters are sailors, so I’m hoping to improve on that in the future. Still, water is somewhat easier to draw than mirrors. I find transparent glass a bit troublesome too.

5) Romantic scenarios. This one comes with some exceptions: I don’t mind drawing characters that are expressing their mutual affection in a mild way. Holding hands or dining together are alright! It’s not necessarily something I’m interested in, but I don’t have a problem with those things. Stuff like kissing or cuddling can make me uncomfortable since I don’t like physical contact.

And here are some other things I dislike to draw:

- bare human feet (yuck!!),

- unnaturally big muscles and breasts,

- eyes and their placement on the head,

- rooms and other types of interiors,

- political / cultural symbols (there are many I don��t want to be associated with).

These are my main likes and dislikes! If you have additional questions or would like to see me elaborate on something in particular, don’t hesitate to send me more asks :) My answers are going to be slow because my other work obliges me to meet certain deadlines (and they are approaching!), but I’m always happy to find more questions in my mailbox. Thank you so much for your interest and your patience

(Tumblr isn’t letting me paste a link this time, what the heck)

#bluesman

[ask-bluesman]

Have any of your characters ever been in a romantic relationship? What traits would they look for in a partner?

Thank you so much for the question! First off, I’m very sorry it took me over a month to answer you - things have been hectic on my part (and unfortunately they will continue to be)! But that doesn’t change the fact that new asks are always welcome and I was looking forward to responding to this one :)

I’ve never had much interest nor experience in romantic relationships. Each one of my characters mirrors that to some degree!

Boatswain: he’s strongly aromantic and asexual, so, consequently, has never had a partner. As far as he’s concerned, this is the only proper way to be! He doesn’t tolerate any sort of lovey-dovey activity; whenever he spots a couple publicly showing their mutual affection, he won’t hesitate to mumble a snarky comment about that. Same goes for most love songs and other love-themed things. Boatswain detests everything about romance or sexuality, yet certainly appreciates familial and friendly love. He can be very affectionate towards captain at times - but no one else besides him! Unfortunately, I can’t say anything about desired traits because boatswain doesn’t want a partner.

Captain: he has also never been in a romantic relationship, but he wouldn’t mind it. Not that he’s actively looking for somebody, just likes to imagine sharing his life with another person someday. This scenario isn’t very probable, though: as soon as boatswain spots a single “warning” sign, he instantly begins third wheeling it! Boatswain also says that the first thing any woman pays attention to is a head full of hair and poor cappin believes him. He doesn’t mean to hurt Patrick’s feelings, but he’s too afraid to let him go, so he makes sure he never gets too close to someone else… by all means necessary! Thankfully a romantic relationship isn’t among captain’s priorities, it’s merely a thought or a dream that pops out once in a while and then quickly fades away, replaced by a myriad of other things.

As for the traits, I think captain would get along with a person that is like-minded. Somebody who is an optimist and is able to see good in things around them, no matter how small or fleeting they are. Loyalty and forbearance are very important as well! Preferably, captain would like to spend his life with someone who is significantly more responsible than him. He’s aware of his defects and realises he needs a lot of practical support and guidance. Artistic skills would be very appreciated too because captain adores art in every form. Those are character traits; when it comes to physical ones, Patrick is quite liberal. But there’s one thing worth mentioning: he has a very soft spot for people that are short and plump. Round, squishy bodies fascinate him because they are so different compared to his own. He thinks they’re cute!

Admiral: when he was younger, he was the closest to being in something you could call a romantic relationship. Twice! Those events were exciting and promising at first, but both ended quite rapidly - when admiral found out he overinterpreted his status and realised he wasn’t much more than a good friend. He was naive in his relationships and thus learned his lesson, then took that to the opposite extreme, gradually becoming more distant and aloof. As if this wasn’t enough, living alone in a remote area has altered his attitude even further, making him distrustful and asocial. He’s generally very shy around women! He knows he’s disgusting in their eyes. Sometimes he wishes he could get married and start a family, but doesn’t believe any of that could happen, so he keeps such thoughts away from his mind.

But if he, hypothetically, started looking for someone, he’d prefer them to be significantly different than him! Most importantly a good healer, somebody who would be able to slowly reverse the results of the bad experiences from the past. He is very fixated on respect and wants everyone to be polite around him, so that would be essential too. Apart from that, admiral has a lot of… admiration for people with a good sense of humour (mainly because he has none). He’d like to learn that from somebody, along with how to be affectionate and open about himself! There’s one more important trait he would look for: intelligence. Having meaningful conversations, sharing interesting facts, researching things together - admiral lives for those things. As far as physical features go, he has no clear preferences.

To cut a long story short, love does not conquer all!

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#boatswain #captain #admiral

[ask-bluesman]

This is two questions, but I'm combining them into one ask!: 1. Are there any songs you listen to that you associate with your characters? Why? 2. What types of music do your characters like (if they like music at all!)?

This topic is quite challenging for me because I listen to pretty much anything: from 18th century classics to some modern metal covers! My musical tastes are all over the place, but here’s to hoping that I’m able to provide a somewhat satisfactory answer. Thank you for this ask, music isn’t the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about fictional characters, so your inquiry is a breath of fresh air!

None of my creations have their theme songs, but there are some musical pieces that do remind me of them.

Boatswain: three words - “The Sailor’s Hornpipe”! Especially the orchestral version (https://youtu.be/hfJ9QLlYIXU), which happens to be my favourite. Most popular sea shanties fit him too, as well as some of the background music that can be heard in SpongeBob sometimes. Speaking of cartoons, “Turkey Trot” from Ren and Stimpy also does the job right. I never watched the show because it didn’t air in Poland, but as soon as I heard that melody on YouTube, bos popped up in my head. He walks with a slight but noticeable limp and this music nails it in a funny, lighthearted way!

As for boatswain’s musical tastes, he isn’t particularly finicky, although he prefers simple, upbeat tunes over emotional, sophisticated pieces. He will hum anything that gets stuck in his head. Wind instruments are his favourite and he can play quite a few of them, with harmonica being on top of the list! He carries it in his hat and likes to play it in the evenings, when all of his work is done. He absolutely adores captain’s singing and whistling too.

Captain: this may sound odd, but I’ve been associating Red Hot Chili Peppers’ songs with this character for several years now. Definitely not their lyrics, just the laid-back tunes and the soft voice of their vocalist. It sounds similar to how I imagine cappin’s voice. Similar is the key word here - it’s not supposed to be the same! Anthony Kiedis is a solid baritone, whereas Patrick is a tenor (perhaps even a countertenor). Still, they share the same pleasant, calm tone. I think “Snow” is the closest example of what I have in mind, its chorus in particular! I love listening to RHCP whenever I draw captain because it sets the right mood, haha.

Patrick is extremely enthusiastic about music himself! He can’t play any instruments too well, yet his singing and whistling are spot-on. He’s especially fond of folk music, both Polish and foreign. Judging by his personality, I think he would enjoy Southern European and Latin American songs a lot. He isn’t familiar with them since he lives in a world that is much less globalised than ours - still, he appreciates whatever he has in his existence.

Admiral: this might also come as a surprise to you - I think that music created by Russian composers is the best to define this character. Tchaikovsky, Schostakovich and Prokofiev. Especially Prokofiev! Admiral doesn’t have any affiliations with Russia, yet he has a lot of fondness for Russian classics and artists in general. “Dance of the Knights” is probably the best to describe him as it has both bold and tender moments. Besides, I feel like certain musical pieces made by Russians connote all the hardships this nation went through. This is also a good fit for admiral because his life has been a rocky road so far!

Admiral has a broad taste in music. He’s the only one to own a radio and he listens to it every day, he enjoys older and newer pieces just the same. Apart from that, he has a rather impressive collection of phonograph records with classical music and these can often be heard as a quiet background sound in his house. And as for his musical skills, he can play the piano! How he manages to do that with his short, plump fingers is a mystery to everyone, probably even to himself, haha.

I’m skipping Taffy and Mia because right now I don’t know any tunes that would remind me of them. Sorry about that! This will hopefully change over time. Thank you again for the questions, my apologies if the answers weren’t up to your expectations - my personal musical preferences tend to change (and get even weirder) whenever I find something new and catchy!

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#boatswain #captain #admiral

[ask-bluesman]

Admiral has been "skunkified" before, and boatswain is already a seal... So just for fun, what animal do you think would suit captain best?

Captain would be an aardvark!

Not only does this creature look very friendly, but it also resembles a cross between a pig and an alien, haha. Patrick is an oddball (the good kind), so that suits him just right! Besides, I have to admit that I’ve got a soft spot for this animal - I like its curved back and bunny ears.

Thank you for the question, it gave me an opportunity to attempt drawing an aardvark for the very first time. Turns out it isn’t as simple as I thought it would be!

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#captain

[ask-bluesman]

Could you please describe what your characters' voices sound like?

Sure thing!!

Boatswain: his voice is hoarse (even raspy at times) and quite low. It definitely doesn’t meet the criteria of a bass, but it’s low in comparison to the other two guys. It’s also loud like a foghorn - boatswain can be easily heard from longer distances and talks very loudly by default. And while his voice is by no means pretty, it’s certainly good for telling stories about old sea adventures!

Captain: Patrick could make a successful singing career if he wasn’t so oblivious. His voice is high, gentle, soothing and very clear. It’s really pleasant to listen to, so boatswain often requests him to sing something! Captain is known for his calm way of speaking, he almost never shouts. He’s also the least likely to rely on intense gesticulation and body language.

Admiral: his voice isn’t what you’d expect from a big guy! It’s quiet by default, fairly high and has a tendency to rise even higher when he screams. It’s very wobbly, which means it’s heavily impacted by emotions. Admiral talks with a slightly funny accent, although it’s far from overpowering his speech. He doesn’t have that specific lisp that haunts most foreigners who talk in Slavic languages.

Taffy: this is where things get a little tricky because Taffy can’t speak. Her voice is really pretty, though - for feline standards I mean! Unlike many female cats, she doesn’t make those high-pitched, ear-piercing screeches. She usually just trills in a tender, pleasant way.

Mia: she isn’t capable of human speech as well. For a mare, she has a surprisingly deep and strong voice. She still sounds sweet and calm most of the time, but she knows how to use her full potential whenever it’s necessary!

One last thing I can add is the fact that boatswain is more vocal/talkative than all of my other characters combined, haha. Captain doesn’t mind, admiral does!

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#boatswain #captain #admiral #Taffy #Mia

[ask-bluesman]

You mentioned gardening and cooking are two of Admirals hobbies! What are some of his favourite plants to grow? Does he have a signature dish/recipe he likes to make?

Admiral owns something you could call a multi-purpose garden: he grows both crops and decorative plants. He’s slightly more fond of the latter, but he also wants to be self-sufficient (as far as veggies and fruits go)! The left side of his front yard is mostly occupied by tomatoes, onions, carrots, potatoes, spinach, lettuce, strawberries and various herbs. He also has a couple of fruit trees in the backyard; his apple and sweet cherry trees are among his most treasured acquisitions so far. He likes it when they bloom in springtime.

Admiral’s most favourite plants are flowers, especially ones with small petals and strong, distinctive aromas. His garden is full of lilacs, roses, jasmine and night scented stock plants. He has a soft spot for ferns as well! These are scattered all over the place; mostly around the borders of his yard, along with old birches and evergreens. Admiral’s house sits on a hill in a quiet, sparse forest, so these plants make the place blend in with the environment. I made his house in The Sims 4 once, I might do it again someday and share the screenshots!

As for the recipes, admiral doesn’t always follow them. He enjoys experimenting, so his menu consists of whatever is available at a given moment. He isn’t particularly picky and has a taste for simple dishes. He loves baking a cake we call Zefiryna in Polish: it has chocolate and pudding in it, so that’s already two of his most favourite ingredients, haha. While I wouldn’t necessarily call it his flagship (wink wink), Zefiryna is definitely something that makes frequent appearances in his kitchen!

And some bonus info: when you look at the doodle, you might remember that I drew a similar one in January 2013. Back then it was admiral catching a glass of wine. I decided to give it an update since all of my characters are abstainers now. I can’t stand alcohol myself, so I don’t want them to have anything to do with that junk. Just so you know!

Thank you for asking as always, I enjoyed this one lots :)

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#admiral

[ask-bluesman]

Was boatswain responsible for naming Patrick, or did he already have that name when they met? If the former: was there any special reason bos chose that name?

That’s an excellent question!

Patrick was named by his parents as they chose St. Patrick to be his spiritual guardian. His mother was Polish and his father was Russian. When they were forced to flee from their home, they faced a heartbreaking dilemma: they could either take their son on a hazardous journey through the Atlantic or leave him in Europe and hope for some good soul to take care of him. As you already know, they picked the second option! They left a short letter with vague guides how to contact them after the revolution. They didn’t mention their names (because it was too risky), yet they included their son’s full name and his date of birth.

Boatswain is illiterate, so he asked one of his crew mates to read the letter for him. He then memorised the text, but without any clear intentions. The revolution dragged on for 2 more years; by the time it ended, boatswain was already too attached to Patrick to give him up. He changed his surname from Zaslavsky to Zaborovsky, but kept the name in honour to the parents. They were never able to track him down! They also never returned to Europe, yet they did everything they could to reunite with their lost son. To this day, captain has no clue he has parents living in the US. He doesn’t know about the letter too - it still exists, but it’s hidden very well.

Woah, that’s a pretty complicated answer for a simple question. I hope that’s alright! I wanted to use this opportunity to shed some light on captain’s origins!

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#boatswain #captain

[ask-bluesman]

We know boatswain is terrified of spiders and Patrick panics when he misplaces his chocolate... What are some of your characters' other fears?

Thank you for asking about this, I genuinely think this is a perfect question for a start! Definitely in my type, you know! I tend to ask people about the same thing, or I just get straight to the point and ask them about their opinion on slugs (because slugs are horrifying). I like asking about apocalyptic visions as well. But let’s get back on track!

Boatswain: he desperately wants others to believe that he’s courageous, but that isn’t particularly true. He’s really scared of snakes, bats and spiders, just like you mentioned! He’s terrified of ogres, vampires, trolls, water spirits, witches, sorcerers and such. He actually has a (somewhat) valid reason to fear these creatures because they do exist in his universe. They’re extremely rare, though - the chances of ever encountering any of them are slim to none. He’s scared of rapid, revolutionary changes because he believes these can’t bring about anything good. He’s often afraid of things he doesn’t know, yet at the same time he’s not willing to step out of his zone of ignorance. But the greatest fear that possesses boatswain’s mind is losing touch with his beloved captain, Patrick. He’d go to any lengths to stay close to his best friend!

Captain: there’s one rule that applies to him - he isn’t scared of anything until it proves to be harmful. There are a few exceptions of course, but this is how Patrick tends to see the world around him. He isn’t necessarily brave, just very naive… and forever an optimist! But he’s scared of insects that can either sting or bite (except for bees), he also avoids most big predators, especially big dog breeds. And yes, he certainly fears losing his treats! This is actually a part of a bigger problem. Captain’s memory is considerably impaired, which causes him to struggle with remembering things, both important and not. He’s terrified of forgetting his favourite memories, especially because there’s quite a lot of them! This is why he keeps a journal - he briefly describes his daily life in it, often with simple illustrations.

Admiral: in case of a zombie apocalypse, you’d probably choose him to be your companion. Admiral is both brave and alert, he isn’t particularly afraid of combat! But he does have several different fears. He has a severe acrophobia (the fear of heights) and is terrified of all flying machines. He’d never set his foot on a plane, even standing next to one makes him feel a bit uneasy. He’s very scared of hospitals too! He believes that once you end up in a hospital, you aren’t coming out alive. Even though his own experiences already debunked it, he still stands his ground. There’s one last major fear that admiral is very secretive about - he wouldn’t want to die without having anybody to remember and mourn him. He’d love to leave an impact, at least on one person.

Taffy: out of all my characters, she is the most anxious and faint-hearted. It doesn’t take much to send her into panic! She’s horrified by sudden, loud noises and rapidly moving objects or creatures. She’s very scared of strangers and needs quite some time before she feels comfortable around someone new. She perpetually fears boatswain, which only encourages him to take advantage of that (he likes being a jerk to admiral and his pets)! Her biggest fear would be losing or damaging her favourite bow. It’s the only thing she kept after moving from her first owners. She loves her new master dearly, but she wouldn’t want to lose something that connects her to the people that raised her when she was a kitten!

Mia: she’s still very new to me and there’s a lot of things I don’t know about her yet, so this is going to be a tough one! Mia is far from skittish, she isn’t easily spooked by loud noises and doesn’t mind walking through crowded places. Too much is too much, but she has some degree of tolerance for these things! She’s scared of being completely alone and feels distressed when her usual activities are delayed or don’t happen in order. As soon as something goes wrong, she tends to worry more and more each minute. One thing that terrifies her the most is feeling no longer needed. Forgotten and forsaken! Thankfully that isn’t going to come true.

There’s also one fear that is common for all of my characters (and myself): they all hate jump scares! Who does like jump scares, though?! Thank you SO much for this question, I had fun answering it :)

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#boatswain #captain #admiral #Taffy #Mia