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berriblossom · 9 months

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Jing Yuan x Fem!Reader |Suggestive stuff, sex but not very descriptive, fluff, lazy evenings with the General. mentions of marriage, and cooking lessons.

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Jing Yuan was a well-received man among the Xianzhou Luofu, not only as the general within the seat of Divine Foresight but also as the general of the Cloud Knights, and a beloved one at that. But even with the dozing general's behavior within the past few weeks despite his occasional need to rest his eyes, some of his dear soldiers found him a bit off.

The general seems out of it, even more than usual. His eyes would drift off, his voice would sound as if he was hardly present, and his sleeping habits? Usually, it was a few naps here and there, but the Divine Commissioner Fu Xuan pondered if the general was going senile. He would completely knock out on his desk, barely speak, and only mumble about needing to head to the market about something.

Was he trying to prepare a feast? When Fu Xuan asked Yanqing the general's junior, "What in the world is going on with the general? He is needed immediately for some reports and a few details about the Xianzhou!" The sage mirrored Yanqings already confused face. "I don't know where he is.." Yanqing offered with a shrug. The poor boy didn't know either. Where was Ying Juan?

....

"Now add more water. Not that much!" You semi-shouted. Jing Yuan faulted his movements and stopped adding the water from the pitcher. You checked the large pan to see if the mixture was too diluted or not enough. Taking the wooden spoon you tasted it a little more. "Add some more chilies and some more salt." The general listened to your command accordingly and added a few more grounded chilies and a pinch of salt. You sprinkled some sugar into the tomato-based mixture. Giving it a taste some more, you handed the spoon off to Jing Yuan.

With a satisfied grin and lick of his lips a signature grin formed on the lips of Jing Yuan. "Is this is? Do we add the eggs now?" The excitement bounced off him and made you smile back too. Shakshuka isn't a fairly hard recipe, but it's somewhat new to the people of Xianzhou. You handed him three large eggs and let him crack them into the pan. Letting the egg whites warm and finally cook to a good temperature you quickly set the table and prepare some plates and other sides made earlier.

Jing Yuan smirked as your eyes lit up as you congratulated him on successfully creating another dish. It wasn't that he couldn't cook, he was partially and ok-cook. However, your family has owned a restaurant within the ship and it was becoming popular due to the somewhat foreign dishes presented to it. So much as so, the General of the Cloud Knights asked you to personally cook for him more often. Was this his way to get an excuse to see you more often rather than the beautiful women behind the counter of one of his favorite new places to eat? Yes. Yes, it was. Was he ashamed? Nope.

However, when you instead asked if you could teach him to cook some of the dishes since he was so adamant about eating your food. So badly you felt like he needed to learn how to cook. Hence how the deal was formed. Jing Yuan would spend a pretty penny on getting some ingredients that he had to hunt for on the Luofou, including certain spices, herbs, and even certain types of milk. Every night he would welcome you into his home and fill his kitchen with all the ingredients on the list you would send him. In return, you'd teach him and even let him have some recipe cards or coupons for your family's restaurant. Plus he got to spend more time with you. But night after night and lesson after lesson, Jing Yuan didn't want to let you go.

Each time you'd hold him tight and compliment him on his growing skills or your star-like eyes when you'd taste his newly refined dishes was enough to make the general feel a lovesick grin on his lips. The nights he wanted to ask you to stay a little longer, to taste more of the food he wanted to give you. He wanted you to hold him close again, smile at him with those lips he wanted to taste the food off from. To taste you fully was a wish he buried within his chest and mind every night when you two would bid farewell until the next evening. For nights he would lay awake and wish you were next to him. His heart couldn't;t take it every time you'd smile, or how when you want to know something is too hot, you'll stick your tongue out like a cute puppy.

Speaking of animals, Mimi loved you! You'd spend a good thirty minutes just relaxing and cuddling Mimi, Jing Yuan from his kitchen would peak out and check on the two of you. At first, you feared the lion but the moment you realized she was similar to her owner in a more special way. It was keen that the two of you would be close. Which was a win in Jing Yuan's book. The times you'd gather at the table with him, handing her some food specially made for her (cat food but make it for lions oml), Jing Yuan didn't think of a more perfect situation with the two of you.

This night after the shakshuka was finished, Jing Yuan helped you make the table and set the table again, but this time he felt it would be the last time. The tone of the evening wasn't as light or as airy as before. This time he could sense a bit of sadness behind your smiles, a bit of anxiety behind your voice. Tonight it would be the two of you again, Mimi was off in her own world with her bowl of food, but even when you greeted her it was different. You sat down beside the general and begin eating the portions he served you, his eyes watched you analytically. He was trying to figure out what was on your mind.

Why not ask, then?

"Something wrong with the food dear?" The nickname came out of habit, more so than Jing Yuan would want to say. You shook your head quickly, and you snapped out of your somewhat of a daze. "No, not at all, I just..ah.." You looked around trying to avoid his golden gaze. A large warm hand held yours gently.

"Hey, [Name]..darling look at me. What's wrong?" He leaned forward a little and tried to use his other hand to direct your chin to face him. Your eyes met, Jing Yuan's eyes were full of life but seemed drained. Making you feel a bit more guilty. While the general was beyond enthralled with your eyes. The color was something he could see a thousand times but yet on you, as your eyes...it was the most beautiful color. To him, it was a work of art, an artist full of life perfectly and personally colored them, full of shape and raw natural beauty. Your lips pulled into a frown as you answered him finally.

"I just feel guilty, you seem a little more distracted lately because of the little lessons and such...plus your sleep is being thrown off because of how late I come by and I don't want you sacrificing sleep or your position.." You were silenced when Jing Yuan's chuckle sounded through the space. (Mimi's small snores also combated that, but let's not ruin the moment)

Jing Yuan took in a breath. Both his hands were now holding your face in place, and his soft smile bloomed against the light of the dining area lamp. The warm colors of his eyes were like little stars waiting for you to make a wish on them.

"You are in no way a bother to me, my job, or my sleep. Matter you make them seem better. I was the one who asked you to cook for me personally. You had more reason to teach me to cook those dishes. Your laughter, voice, and smile make me want to spend all the hours of the night with you. Every night, as of fact."

Jing Yuan, for that time, didn't care really about anything other than your smile. He wanted to know what you wanted of him so he could give it to you. "Please let me indulge a little for tonight...my dear?"

The warm, strong hands held you close as he felt your body press with his. The shakshuka? Forgotten on the table. The stove was off, and the food could get cold, but right now, he wanted to taste, feel, and bring life in your warmth. Your lips connected first as a small peck, a little easy test for what was to come. Then the kisses became more hungry, groans, moans, and the daring touches of his hands moving any which way you wanted them to.

Jing Yuan kissed along your face, down your jaw and neck. His hands slipped underneath your shirt and held the skin of your abdomen and stomach against his sturdy frame. His eyes focused on you, and you only.

When you whispered his name as a pleas for him to continue he corrected you once.

"For tonight and hopefully for every night beyond this, call me Jing Yuan, not general. This time I'm not here for the lesson but for you. My dear, let me get a single taste of you and your love along with mine."

Guiding you beyond the table and into a different room, Jing Yuan layed you down along the bed, his sheets were soft and warm, his hands were a contrast due to the rough nature they were accustomed to. But his touch on you was gentle.

Throughout the night, your moans, his words of love, and admiration gave a bloom of love. Within Xianzhou, the people live beyond what would be considered normal, so marriages were scarce, but at this moment he wanted, no needed you to be his. Every morning to have you by him, with your presence, and every night, he would hold you tenderly while he slept at peace.

"Please, my dear [name]! please stay a little longer with me. Just a bit..."

He would groan into your ears, his voice velvety and his words sweet as honey. Food aside, he wanted to have this course again and again until the time finally came for it to end. But for tonight, and so forth until that day comes, you are his, he will forever be yours.

AN: Sorry, this was a long one oof.

#xoxokuki #xoxokuki💜#xoxo💜#kuki's writing #xokuki blog #xokuki writes #hsr fluff #hsr smut #hsr x reader #hsr jing yuan #honkai star rail #honkai jing yuan #jing yuan #jing yuan x reader #jing yuan smut #Jing Yuan x you #Jing Yuan fluff #lovekuki💜#doozing general

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iraprince · 1 year

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TIME FOR A PROCESS POST let's talk abt getting from this (client sketch - which, btw, i know other artists have talked about this plenty, but i LOOOOOOVE a client sketch as early direction on a commission. LOVE it)

to this!

at first we didn't know if the title was going to go across the desk, or over the central figure (emara's) head against the back wall. so there was a 1st version where we were favoring a higher title, then we started favoring the desk so we scrapped the clutter + centered it more

i used clip studio's 3D models (particularly for the chair, guard, + weapon crates) and perspective rulers to help with laying everything out at this stage, tho i abandoned the 3D pretty early on bc it's a bit too clunky for me. maybe i'll find it quicker to use w more practice!

(the rest under the cut!)

once the basic layout was approved, i threw together a value study to explain how in the final image all the clutter of the bg detail would be unified and pushed back. lately i find myself thinking abt value earlier + earlier in the process; planning ahead saves me a lot of time!

i fiddled with starting to refine things digitally, but then i got A BRAND NEW LIGHTBOX delivered in the mail with perfect timing (lmao) so i just ended up printing off the digital sketch, finalizing in pencil, + scanning back in

then comes five billion different steps of locking in values, again. i did everything greyscale first, but i didn't worry abt getting things super polished at this stage bc i knew color would factor in a lot to later decisions

this is the point at which presenting these wips "step by step" is kind of misleading; i didn't do these stages one at a time, but rather had a BUNCH of different lighting/shading layers that i kept toggling on and off as i worked to make sure everything was coming along well.

(to get some of these caps i actually went into the main file again and turned a bunch of stuff on/off just for the sake of getting specific examples, because actually when i was actively working on it there was rarely a point where i was actually working on something with "all lighting turned off and just the shading on," or anything like that; but i AM interested in showing what effects different lighting/shading changes had on the base colors, even if i wasn't really making these changes in a rigid order.)

i.e., just for the sake of interest, here's how the flat colors look without those adjustments!! but i honestly never looked at it like this on its own for long...i had all the shading/lighting turned off so i could see what i was doing while flatting, but i was constantly checking back and forth.

then tones added on top (which were actually just two copies of the tone folders in the above posts, set to linear burn and overlay) -

which makes it get HORRIFYINGLY dark, but that's when we go in and add a bunch of lighting adjustments.

the most obvious lighting change above is the big burst of hot pink light from the corner, but there was also some masked overlay + burn layers to pop out the guard + emara and make sure they were pulled out from the bg. if this were a standalone illustration, i maybe would have let the bg (and all that painstakingly drawn detail..........) stand out a little more, but a cover functions differently, and i wanted to make sure the eye goes to the title first. that means sacrificing bg detail even if it looks sick lol

then final touches! a lot of my very last touches are things that are close to invisible; gradient maps on very low opacity, noise, a little bit of scribbling on upper layers. the typesetting was all by the client, except for the lettering for "emara king's," which i did myself!

finally, here's a comparison of ⬅where i left off one night close to the deadline thinking "it's probably done, but i'll sleep on it just in case," then all the adjustments i made the next day with fresh eyes.➡ and that's it!!! phew!!! that's how i make a cover!

#my art #process #wip #tutorials #<- not really but. i just figure someone browsing my tutorials tag might be into this #i am so so so so so fucking mad that i didnt think to turn timelapse recording on for this #bc a timelapse wouldve been so fucking sick. but i can at least share this

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saradiation · 1 year

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How I draw faces ✎

Following the other day’s ask about how I draw facial features,

here’s a little step by step on how I draw faces that hopefully is clear enough and might help other artists :)

Choose your reference and try to visualize and transform what you see into simple shapes and 3D forms. (I’m using the same reference as my last post)

1. ✍🏻 I like to use a marker type of brush to first roughly put shapes and guidelines in place. I look for some key points like the space between the eyebrows and the eyes, between the nose and mouth, ears to eyes, etc.

2. ✍🏻 I then lower the opacity of the current layer and create a new one where I’ll draw more detailed lines with a more sketchy type of brush. I also like to refine my lines using the eraser tool to kind of sculpt them into the shape I want. I try to simplify everything into simple shapes while still keeping a bit of realism into it.

Varying the pressure you put on your brush to create different line weights can also make a huge difference when drawing facial features. I like to accentuate the lines in the corner of the mouth, nostrils, tails of the eyebrows and corner of the eyes, while leaving the rest at a lower opacity so most of the face looks softer.

3. ✍🏻 Repeat step 2 but with a bit more details and at this stage the select and resize tool is my best friend! (or the liquify tool if you’re using CSP?) I play around arranging the size and place of everything I might have missed on my first try.

4. ✍🏻 Add details that you’d like to see in your final piece. I personally like to add freckles, a few piercings and some roots around the hairline but that’s up to you! ✨

...Et voilà!! ;D

(Btw I linked a few artists that I like to study facial features from in my other post + some more details in case you’re interested! )

#i have no idea if this is clear enough #art is hard but explaining things is harder #art tips #long post #art tutorial #drawing tutorial

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eltanin0 · 29 days

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I just found this blog and I noticed that a lot of your stuff seems, well, oddly 3D. I don't mean like in a bad way but it feels like rendered but untextured 3D models? I kinda want to ask what your art process is (sorry for mini-rant)

thanks for checking out my blog! and no need to apologize for anything.

hmm, my art process. honestly i have no idea what to say, i dont know how people normally answer this question so i cant base it off anything either. i'm still kinda new to this whole art thing but i'll try and answer, super sorry if i get this completely wrong and this was all a waste of time.

i guess i'll just talk about how i draw things step by step? for the high effort pieces at least.

ok, so for starters like step 0. when it's a high effort piece, i can already see the image in my mind. i see the pose, i see the general lighting, the layout of stuff, but it's a bit blurry. if i cant see this mental image, the drawing usually comes out extremely poorly.

this is kind of an example of what i see in my head? this might be all useless info idk, but this is i guess where i start.

well step 1 is just the sketch and line. i start with just sketching the general shapes, then slowly refining it until it fits close enough to the image in my head. then in the line layer i'll fix any mistakes the sketch had and add more details to it. oh and for brush, it's just a round brush, like default. i dont know how much of a difference using a drawing tablet does, but i dont use one so... yeah.

i should've put more effort into the sketch for this drawing, but i did not.

next i do flat colors. pretty simple, i just select the smart select the outside of the line layer, invert the selection and now i can't paint outside the lines. i dont really think about what colors i use, i just use whatever the characters normal colors are.

next i do the shading, but first. i duplicate flat layer and recolor it to like a cream color

like so. for high effort pieces, i was told online to shade in pretty much black and white. now actually onto shading. there's 2 kinda shading i do, 1 from the proper light source, and 1 that's kinda just a shadow because things are close together (like corners and stuff). and i'll shade them on separate layers so i can adjust them individually however i want. oh right, i'll either use a very dark color, pretty much black and the the layer blending mode set to multiply. or i'll use a light kind of gray, tinted slightly yellow or something and set the layer blend mode to difference. then i just use a soft air brush and shade in the ways i described above. shading from regular light source, and the corner stuff thing.

normal lightsource - - - - - corner thing

then toggle both layers on and mess with the opacity of each layer until you get what you want.

then you can toggle the normal flats layer, the one that has color and it should apply the shading decently. you can mess with the opacity again on the shadows.

next i do lighting. i just grab a very light color, usually pretty close to white and set the layer blend mode to overlay. then i use a soft airbrush and "light" it? idk i just do like the opposite of the normal shadows, lighter the closer it is to the light source

mess around with the opacity as usual. then i do pretty much the same thing if there's another light source. in this case there was a blue light kinda coming from underneath, so i did that.

now from here i would go back to the flats layer, make a copy, and mess around with different layer styles and properties and settings. sometimes just messing around is useful. in this case, i felt it was too bright and colorful, so i decreased the brightness and saturation of it.

i think it helped a little bit but who knows.

now i do some kinda highlights and details. i grabbed the colors that were in the background and used those. it was a weird pale blue. i had 2 layers for this, 1 of them was specifically for his antenna things at the top, and one was just for his "skin". anyway, the antenna layer was normal, just kinda gave it an outline with the random reflective circles you see normally in pictures, no thoughts behind them. the skin tho had the layer blend mode set to soft light, i thought it looked best this way. it was just more random things to imply it was slightly reflective.

together the layers looked like this. i think it makes him look glossier which is what i was aiming for.

next, and it pretty much the end for pebbles, i got someone to look at it and let me know if they think anything was missing. they said it looked a little unsaturated. which it does. so i made a new layer, set the blend mode to saturation, grabbed the airbrush and made it pretty inline with the lighting layer.

that's kinda it. the background i didnt really care about, just drew and colored it. blurred it a bunch and added a bunch of shadows. i did add some like, "overshadows" is what i call it, i just draw some big shadows down the screen as the top layer.

but yeah thats literally everything i did to draw this. i would like to apologize if this was not at all what you wanted to know, i'm certain i've screwed this up bigtime. super sorry for wasting your time. if there's anything i can do to help, please ask. i owe you a proper answer to your question, i'm just really dumb. sorry for rambling. sorry. and sorry if the drawing i used for example didnt showcase what you wanted to know.

also, i really like your art! please keep up the great work!

#i think i did this all wrong #i'm so sorry #i feel incredibly stupid #:I #rambling :I #now everyone get's to see how little i know about drawing

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l-crimson-l · 17 days

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I'd love to get into girlpla, I'm just a bit too broke to afford any kits; however, if you'd like to talk about it as a whole, I'd be more than happy to hear.

So…let me try this again. I had a whole nice post written up and I swapped off for a moment to check something and I completely lost the post.

Mecha Musume has a pretty long history that I’m not going to go into but here’s a little video if you’re interested.

Now when most people think of Mecha Musume there’s basically one standout line above them all: Frame Arms Girl.

This line is a bit old now but its popularity has set the aesthetic style for the market as it stands now. The build of these are…ok. Kotobukiya was definitely learning with these kits but they’re still solid at the end of it.

Now if you’re like me you’re not too much a fan of the pantsu out look, and other kits in the line don’t exactly do anything to mitigate that feeling (looking at you Durga I).

The next line Koto would release would be better at this tho. The Megami Device line features all original designs as well as collabs from new and old mecha musume brands alike.

First thing off the bat this is that they’re pricey. At an average cost of $70 you’re basically buying a Bandai MG gunpla. That said, they all typically come with a bunch of option parts. These are usually in the form of unarmored limbs, different chest pieces, face plates (with water slides to make your own) and extra connectors to help with kitbashing. Koto also has released option body segments to let you swap any part of the body you might want to if the right option isn’t available in the box (~$12). It should be noted the newest kits in this line have brought the price down to $50 as well as reengineered the build to add a lot more articulation and pose-ability.

Also in this lines favor is the articulation and build quality. You’re going to get a nice range of motion with or without armor and some of the smaller details also sometimes come pre painted.

That said Kotobukiya is a company that favors more complex character design over an Out Of Box experience so there’s some smaller details that are etched into the kit but unless your paints them won’t be color correct. I would say this is pretty common across most Koto lines.

Both the FAgirls and Megami Device are scaled at 1/12 so Little Armory guns and the whole market of 3rd party accessories will work with these kits.

Next up is Koto’s Sousai Shoujo Teien which is simple girls as plastic models

A little cheaper and at 1/10 scale instead of 1/12. I’ve not built any but I do know they can bash with Megami Device and Hexa Gear lines just fine. If you take a peek at the JP girpla community there’s actually a niche but healthy group dedicated to taking nice photos of their kits dressed up in everyday scenarios.

Finally the newest line of Koto girl kits is the Arcanadea line.

Purely in a fantasy take these are Incredible kits. I’ve only built one (Lumitea) but it was far and away a much better build experience than the FAgirl kits. These are actually designed by a vtuber artist iirc which is why the designs are so different than other Koto kit lines. If you have the cash and want to try something different I would highly recommend.

Now finally we get to Bandai. After learning from their failures with the Hg Build Fighters girls they went back and designed something solid and what got me into mecha musume: 30 Minute Sisters

Right off the bat with an average price of around $30 the barrier to entry is much easier. While not as refined as the Megami Device line, these simple kits cram in a lot for the price. You’ll get an armored and unarmored form, as well as face plates. However the biggest selling point is How Damn Easy they are to bash. Being apart of the 30M line means they’re completely compatible with the 30MM line of mechs. Which also means all of those extra weapon and armor sets transfer over for the most part. And that’s not even talking about the dedicated 30MS option sets like hair parts, body parts, etc.

This is a Very beginner friendly line of kits and the place I would suggest most people starting if they’re looking to get into mecha musume.

This example I think uses about 5 different kits to build and I don’t believe any serious modifications were needed.

Another Bandai line to mention is the Standard Figurise line which you’ll be familiar with if you’ve picked up the Sulletta, Miorine or ChuChu kits. Typically pretty solid kits (uma musume excluded, only get the 30ms version of that one) they usually include characters from a variety of different shows. These are still of course bash-able but not without modification.

With the explosion of popularity with these kits means we have even more companies now joining in the race. ATK and MS General have a bunch of kits to offer and we see new companies pop up some really sick looking kits (see tgat Galahad)

We even have Plamax giving us the really cool looking GODZ ORDER kits and soon character kits from Blue Archive, Konosuba and others.

For these smaller/third party companies I would suggest doing plenty of research before buying one. The ATK kit that I made was Especially frustrating and required a lot of extra work to make parts fit right or to clean them up so they fit at all. Not to mention the extra detail work required to really make them look like the box example. Just do your homework.

I hope this helps!! It’s a growing market so there’s always more kits being announced. This should have covered the majority of kits out there but IMPORTANT! Check sites like AmiAmi for sales or resales on kits. You can sometimes find an unbuilt kit that retails at $70 going for $30.

USAGS will regularly get Koto kits in and new releases but by no means believe them when they say a kit is USAGS exclusive. Remember to check HLJ as well. Let me know if you have any other questions and I’ll do my best to answer them!!

#whew #losing this the first time wasn’t fun #but I also really like my mecha musume #so #meh #thanks for the ask!#transfaust #mecha musume #girpla #megami device #frame arms girl #30 minutes sisters #30ms #sousai shoujo tried #arcanadea #atk girl #Ms general

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adobe-outdesign · 8 months

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could you review snubbull & granbull?

Apparently Snubbull is widely regarded by Pokemon fans as ugly, which is genuinely surprising to me. It's not traditionally cute, sure, but I still think its little teeth, big jowls, and grumpy expression are pretty cute in their own way. This is helped by the 'dex, which states that the line is kind and affectionate and only look scary to ward off other Pokemon.

Visually, I also like the way it looks a lot. The face is very bulldog-esq, but the overall design is highly stylized, adding a nice Pokemon twist onto the base animal. The two ear flaps are a nice shape, and the black accents pop nicely over the pink base. The frills help contrast with its otherwise stern look, and the blue accents add some extra color.

My only real issue is that its feet connect directly to its body seemingly with no legs, and I think the feet could've been black—it would've matched the ears and drawn the color through more, rather than adding another neutral. Overall, though, I like this guy.

I'm a little more iffy on Granbull, though I still like the overall look. I love those giant bottom tusks—very unexpected thing to see on a dog Pokemon, but they work great with Snubbull's little teeth and feel very neutral. The ears are down to a single flap now, but they also work well as a continuation of Snubbull's ears. Also, it has legs now, which is a plus.

Likewise, its personality is also continued form Snubbull's, being a sensitive Pokemon that doesn't like to fight and uses its fangs to scare people off. Aww.

However, the rest of the body is a bit bothersome. It looses the bright pink in favor of a dull pinkish-purple, which I'm not big on. I guess the idea was to make it look more powerful, but A) something can be pink and still badass (looking at you, Bewear), and B) this color makes it look like it has no fur and you're just looking at skin, which isn't a pleasant visual.

Also, the whole body just feels too plain. The black cuffs and collar are a good extension of Snubbull's black areas, but they're restrained to the upper body, leaving the lower body kind of naked. Not only could it have more cuffs on its hind legs, but I also feel like it could've kept or played around with Snubbull's dots, or kept some of its frills—just something to break up that area a bit would've helped it a lot.

Also, the tusks are the same color as its fur, which is especially weird when you consider that it has upper teeth and they're white. Don't care for that at all. I like the general look here, but this one could've used some more refinement and detailing to really work.

Overall: Controversial hot take, but I like Snubbull's design a lot and think it's pretty cute, with a good personality to match. Granbull's design works well as a continuation overall, but it's a bit too plain and could've used some more markings. Still, really enjoyable dogs.

#snubbull #granbull #pokemon #pokemon reviews

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eshbaal · 10 months

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Character Sketching Basics (for total beginners)

I've never really made art tutorials, but I do actually semi-routinely teach digital art classes to local kids in my area. As a result of this, I have also now signed up for a volunteer character sketching workshop for such kids that I am hosting tomorrow.

I figured that since I will have 15 kids there and I can't possibly introduce them to the base concepts one by one, I should make some easy to understand slides that try and teach them the basic thoughts that go behind a good character sketch. Aaaand I figured I would share them here. They are in danish, but I will translate underneath each pic. And before any other of the amazing artists on here start pointing out that this is possibly a bit too simplsitic to be a "proper" tutorial - the workshop is for the 11-14 crowd that may have never heard these things before. That's why it's kept as completely simple as possible. Anyway, here we go:

When we draw characters, we usually talk about three pimary stages - Sketch, Inking and Colors/Shading. That's a lot of stuff to learn, but we'll focus on sketching for today, alright?

A good way to learn how to draw characters is by learning to understand two great tools - the STICK FIGURE and the BASIC SHAPES.

The Stick Figure helps you understand what a body looks like and how it fits together (anatomy), and makes it easier to portray a body in motion. (This also goes for nonhuman creatures - consider the stick figure their "skeleton")

Once you have your skeleton, you can use basic shapes (triangles, squares and circles of all kinds) to build the rest of the body. Your choice of shapes and their sizes can make a massive difference! Notice, how blocky Superman looks compared to the skinny Anne here, even though their skeletons are built basically the same way.

You can also use basic shapes to create some really unique characters, and maybe even tell us something about their personality at the same time. This is called "shape language". Take a look at how some famous characters use very simple shapes. The always friendly and happy Mickey Mouse is round and friendly-looking. With just three circles, he became famous worldwide. The skinny, refined Pearl's body consists primarilly of triangles and long circles - this works really well for a dancer, who is also a bit of a perfectionist. She even carries a spear, which is a pointy weapon that really needs the one wielding it to be precise! Almost every character in "Phineas and Ferb" consists of simple shapes that make them easy to recognize. Phineas and Ferbs' heads consist of just a big triangle and two squares respectively. And with Isabelle and Candace, you can even spot a couple of half-circles!

If you learn how to see these shapes and where they are hiding, you can learn to draw almost any character you can imagine - even the ones that look super difficult and complicated. Shredder here looks almost impossible to draw, but even he has a lot of squares and triangles you can find if you look close enough - and if you drew a solid enough skeleton to start with, so you can tell where certain things are supposed to go on his body. You also use these techniques to draw harder parts of the body, such as hands. It's really difficult, but it'll come to you with practice.

Okay - let's use what we've learned! Pick a character or make something up yourself. Figure out the characters' skeleton. Go ahead and draw them in a different pose, if you want and if you feel you can. Find and add the characters' basic shapes and add them on top of the skeleton to make a body. Add details and start erasing the lines you no longer need.

A FEW LAST PIECES OF ADVICE - Draw softly and loosely. It's hard to erase your lines if you pressed down hard on your paper. - Try not to choose a character that's too complicated to start with. We all gotta start somewhere. - Don't worry about your sketch looking a little messy. After all, it's just a sketch. All it needs to be is a good starting point for when you ink it later. - Your sketch does NOT need to look 100% like the original. The important part is that you can spot how their bodies are constructed, and find all their most important traits. - If there's a part you are having a hard time drawing, take a break and work on something else. Sometimes your brain just needs a little break. - Ask for help! That's why I'm here! - Remember to take breaks now and then. It's good for your hands and for your backs. ----

Soooo yeah. That's my tutorial for ABSOLUTE beginner kids. I hope this will land well tomorrow.

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antlerqueer · 8 months

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hii, megan! I hope everything is going well for you. I was wondering if you'd be willing to share how you created the gifs and images overlay effect in this /post/727210103698259968/scott-pilgrim-2010-lgbtqcreators-bingo pretty set? Have a nice day.

I will do my best!

First and foremost shout out to @nelsonnicks Norah whose beautiful gif set here inspired me!

In order to make this as succinct but also thorough as possible, there are some assumptions this tutorial makes:

We are working in photoshop

You know how to make a gif using photoshop

You know how to use the timeline feature to make/edit gifs

Okay let's learn how to make this gif:

(Due to Tumblr's image number limitations, there is a PART TWO linked where I add that "item" and gif, which you can find by clicking this entire sentence.)

STEP ONE: The Image Overlay

Pick your image! Here's the one I've picked, I cropped a page of the graphic novel:

From there, I'm going to click on that magic wand tool:

And select subject (crudely circled for emphasis)

If it's not perfect, you can either use the quick selection tool to refine the selection before or continue on with these steps and use the eraser later. I do both, but it's up to you.

Now I have a lasso around the subject, and I'll click that "Select and Mask" button next to "Select Subject"

Now I can see what my lasso'd image looks like against a white background, and I see that it's pretty good, nothing I can't fix with an eraser if I really want to later.

If the image looks rougher than you were expecting, use the SMOOTH option and play around with that slider.

If it looks a bit more smooth than you wanted (not clear defined lines where you were aiming for clear defined lines) use the CONTRAST option and play with that.

And if you wanted a little more or less around the edges, you can use the SHIFT EDGE tool to grab like 1px-ish of additional space.

Anyway, I like what I've got, so I am gonna CLICK OK

And I'll either cut or copy it onto a new file, and throw away my scraps.

Now it's time to add my character details! I'll use the same format I did for the original set here, and create 3 equal-sized rectangles using this lovely shape tool tool:

So my working file now looks like this:

I move the rectangles closer, I'll want them behind the image of Ramona after but here's just what it looks like while I'm adjusting them.

Then I add the text:

Now, it looks like when I put the bars behind her it'll cut off her name! I don't want that, so I'll adjust the side of the bar for her name and scoot it over....

Nice!

Now I'll adjust those layers to be closer together and behind Ramona...

And this is what my screen looks like now!

It looks how I want it, so now I'm gonna merge all of the layers EXCEPT the background layer. This makes it so the part that's merged has a transparent background.

Highlight the layers, right click, and find the "Merge Layers" option

And now it looks like this:

Step one COMPLETE. Great job. Have you been drinking water? It helps you think clearer. Or something.

STEP TWO: Make the gif you want. Sorry I'm not doing this step-by-step it would be so long I'm sorry!!!

STEP THREE: Put Ramona on the gif!

So I just use the selection tool and make a square around my bestie Ramona here to create this:

And then paste her right on top of my gif here:

Woah! She's ginormous!

Let's resize her by hitting CTRL+T....

This is where we get a little creative. Personally? I think the font is legible, but doesn't look nice now that I've resized it. So I'm going to back to the original file and UNDO my last action (merging the files):

And hit CTRL + T on the Ramona layer (Layer 1 pictured) and adjust her size:

Time to merge these layers again, and redo the process:

MEGAN SHE'S LARGE AGAIN! I know, I'd rather work with big files I have to make smaller than small files I have to make bigger. Sue me.

Resize the layer, make any adjustments to the gif you have under it in terms of placement/size:

And WHEW we got this part done.

STEP FOUR: Add color overlay

I'm gonna make her color overlay blue like her cartoon hair, so I'll eyedrop tool her hair:

Go to Layer:

Add new, and then using a regular brush at like 5000px just click onto that new layer, and...

Bump that layer under your Ramona cut-out,

Go back to the layer drop-down menu, and select Blending options...

And this little menu will pop up:

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE PROPER LAYER SELECTED FOR THIS. Otherwise you're going to be very confused.

See where it says "Blend Mode" and it has a drop down under normal? For these purposes, I'm gonna use the drop down and select COLOR:

Now you can see that all-blue layer in the background now is showing the original gif behind it, but you know your original gif? "I know of it." It's all blueee. /ref

This is what it should look like:

Before I go any further, I'm going to check my timeline to make sure this is covering the WHOLE duration of the gif:

It does, so let's drag that bar on the right to line up with the end of the gif:

All fixed!

So now we've got this:

Oh man! See those white spaces between her arms? I'm gonna go back and fix those now, fortunately I can edit it directly on the full file itself, by just editing that layer.

Using my magic wand tool, I'm selecting those white spaces between her arms and her jacket and deleting them-

She's not perfect but you can always be nit-picky and zoom in really close and refine with the eraser.

PART TWO

#answered #Anonymous #usergif #userairi #usernorah #userbarrow #userhallie #usercats #tuserheidi #tutorial #gresource #gif tutorial #pscentral

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eijirousbestie · 1 year

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I’m not sure if my request have been sent to you or not but here we ge. Bakugou drawing with reader this time just quite and pace a day later he would notice reader putting his drawing in a nice and viable place in her wall like she is proud of him , im craving for some fluff🥹

Yes I got your last request too!! I try to crank these new stories out at least twice a month cuz of daily life but I got around to it today🫵🏽 I’ll combine ur last request with this one since it’s kinda the same premise. As always thank y’all for reading and I hope you enjoy! If y’all have any special requests PLS SHARE THEM WITH ME!! I’d love to write them<33

“Stick to art.”

painting together

peaceful silence

Bakugou is actually good at painting

may or may not have based the painting off of one I actually made…

* * *

“For the love of god will you stop hogging all the white paint?”

“Quit whinin’ will ya? I’ll hand it back just give me a sec here.” You in fact did not get the paint back in a few seconds. With the way he’s got it in a death grip you’re not entirely sure it’ll survive the trip back to you.

“Katsuki, your knuckles are literally turning white from how hard you’re squeezing the tube. You don’t even need that much.”

“You know the more you talk the less “enjoyable” this bright idea of yours is.” He places the tube of paint down on the ground next to your knee.

You both are in your dorm room, your usual tarp covering the flooring under you from any stray paint splatters. It was your grand idea to have the both of you paint together. Actually, it was to prove to Bakugou that painting wasn’t as easy as he chucked it up to be. It started with his comments about your art earlier in the week. You were working on another project for class and spent hours painting and refining the details. The boisterous blonde disrupted your thoughts in place of his own. Why the hell’s this taking so long? It’s just an apple, he’d question. To him, a painting should never take more than at least two hours tops. If anything, watching you paint for hours on end was the coolest thing to him because how could someone have that much patience? He’d never admit it though. And now here you both are, having a painting session in your room to prove to him it’s not as easy as he thinks.

Grabbing the now freed white paint you add a small glob of it to your palette, mixing the specific color you needed. You both have already been painting for almost an hour. It’s Saturday and you didn’t have anything better to do. Before you both started, you’d searched Pinterest for painting ideas. Scrolling through various cartoon characters, Bakugou settles on painting a simple white skull against a black background. The reference is such a him choice. You chose yours a little while after him but refused to tell him your idea. He rolled his eyes and started sketching on the small canvas you’d given him, occasionally asking you if his proportions were accurate.

You both had fallen into a quiet peace. The windows drawn to let the last bits of sun in. The soft sounds of your music thrumming through your small speaker. The slosh of water being dirtied up in solo cups as Bakugou cleans his brush. Just all around good vibes and harmless bickering here and there. You swear you’ve never seen him so relaxed, other than the time he fell asleep while you were drawing him. You look up from your canvas and catch a glimpse of Bakugou’s face. Trimmed eyebrows pinched together in a stare of pure concentration, his lips slightly tucked in as he works on the details of the skull.

His painting technique is quite impressive. Understandably not to your level, but if he took art seriously he could be one hell of an artist. The way he changes the pressure of his grip when outlining the teeth of the skull has you eyeing his piece in astonishment. Where the hell did he learn that from?

“You gonna keep starin’ at my shit or are you actually gonna give your input.” Your gaze lifts from his painting to him. You give a slightly confused look.

“Wait what.”

“Asked if I was doing this line stuff right but you looked lost as hell. Told you to leave that dope alone.” You roll your eyes.

“Ya mama. And yeah you’re doing it right. Just don’t make em too thick.” He side eyes you so hard you’re sure his eyes are about to roll out of his head.

“You’re lucky I’m goin’ to therapy.”

“Aren’t we all.” You give a brief chuckle and continue to work on your painting. The light pink background against the chosen figures ties the whole piece together. A particular song plays from the shuffle queue of your music library. It’s one that you and Bakugou both know. You quietly hum along, bobbing your head. Your ears pick up a rather deep tremor that joins your humming. He’s humming along too, eyes laser focused on his work. In the most non-corny way possible, you try to harmonize with him, doing decent until you miss a note halfway through. He makes sure you’re aware he noticed.

“Stick to art.” He snickers, shoulders softly shaking.

“Mind your business.”

“I’ll do what I wanna do.” He retorts. He’s so sassy and for what.

Another couple hours pass and you’ve both finished your paintings. Katsuki lifts his painted skull with pride, his ego through the roof. It’s actually a pretty solid painting. Albeit, simple, but not bad at all.

“Goddamn Kats, you didn’t do half bad.” You chide with a grin.

“Damn right. Told you this shit’s easy. Just gotta get over gettin stuck in the details.”

“That’s funny because you asked for my help with line work but go off I guess.”

“You’re just a resource. Gotta use what I can to get where I need to be.”

“Damnnn ouch. That’s all I am to you? Katsuki I’m hurt.” You feign heartbreak as you dramatically hold your hand over your heart.

“Idiot. You gonna show me what you ended up paintin’ or not?” You nod, grabbing your canvas and flipping it over to show him your piece.

His eyes are met with an image of two bears, one white, one brown. Their cheeks are smushed together in some sort of side hug. The brown bear does not look amused. He clicks his tongue and tilts his head.

“You really love cutesy shit don’t you?”

You shrug. “Not my fault the Pinterest bears were cute. Stay mad but I’m in my bag.”

“The fuck’s that even mean-”

“Shhh you’re being a hater right now.” He shakes his head as he chuckles deeply, shoving his hands in the pockets of his sweats.

“Yeah you’re really lucky I’m in therapy.” You laugh with him and reach for his painting that he left on the ground.

“You gonna leave this behind after you worked so hard on it?” You question. He shrugs.

“Don’t really got a place for it. I ain’t really into displaying things like you. You keep it or something.” You hold onto both paintings as he announces his departure to his room.

The next morning, he wakes up and starts his usual routine. Shower, brushing his teeth and skincare. The shuffle of his house shoes fills the quiet of the halls as he journeys to your room to make sure you’re up to go on your Sunday morning run together. He knocks once, twice and gets no reply. He jiggles the doorknob and he finds it unlocked, meaning you’re probably not inside. He opens your door and looks around to find no you. But what he does find makes his face go warm. There on the wall adjacent to the door, hangs his skull painting right next to yours. A ghost of a smile graces his lips as he shakes his head, closing the door to your room to go and grab you for your run.

bonus: the paintings y’all made

Bakugou’s:

Yours: *optional*

fun fact this is actually a painting I made a few months ago😭

#bakugou headcanons #bakugou katsuki #mha headcanons #mha drabbles #mha x reader #bakugou x reader #mha bakugou #bakugou katuski x reader #bakugou fic #bakugou x you

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animehouse-moe · 6 months

Text

Apothecary Diaries Episode 4: The Threat

Yes, I know, I never got around to talking about the first three episode of Apothecary Diaries, but let's just focus on the present! Namely, a rather popular duo (China and Moa Ang) have appeared on this episode as episode director/storyboarder and animation director respectively. Their quality and fine control over animation has given me some things I really talk about today!

So, a bit of background. China as a key animator is mostly known for their consistent work with Yama Nu Susume, whereas Moa Ang is a bit more freeform. Regardless, they've worked on quite a few episodes together as fellow key animators, and have (apparently) got quite the bond. But that's just a preface to the wonderful work they bring in this episode, most noticeable in the opening sequence.

I mean, the refinement of the character acting is incredible. Sure, it's not got any ridiculous shading or detail in the clothing, but the movements are so refined and real that it's crazy. The boldness of China's direction to rely on refinement that could produce a scene like this is pretty crazy. Even crazier is the fact that it's not a one off.

The use of static framing and the bold decision to avoid panning as much as possible really does a lot for the episode I feel. It brings a sense of tension that is only heightened by the character acting, and works absolute wonders when Maomao's composure breaks in regards to treating Lihua.

This part is really something special I feel because it stretches the limits of expression within such a "tight" show. It changes up Maomao's character design, messes with perspective, and uses framing to deliver a startlingly enraged Apothecary.

Using all of the tools at China's disposal, they force Maoamo to tower over the lady in waiting, they use the framing to ensure that Maomao remains taller within the frame, and even uses the makeup powder to provide a slight visual effect to deepen the feeling of the scene. It's impressively strong visual work that provides a subjective retelling of the experience through the lady in waiting's fearful eyes.

Okay, so maybe this post seems a little short? But I don't actually have much more to add. The focus on character acting in the episode is incredibly good, and unless I go through and provide individual examples of it, I don't have much to add. They do use camera movement in the episode, but it's thoughtful work that traces the movement of the characters rather than filling empty air.

I think one thing I wish we could get more of is the very bold environment art. Not that what we have in this episode is bad, I mean, it's all incredibly detailed and pretty, but the ones that play with light are just so nice.

There's just something that can end up feeling missing with environment art when you get to see ones like the above. Because, I mean, what we get of the Lihua's palace here certainly isn't bad. It's incredibly pretty and well done. It's just that without any sort of visual effects, it's almost... plain?

It's something I was actually chatting about with a friend last night in how strong composition and visual effects/photography is very much neglected in a lot of series. Now, I wouldn't say that this one is doing anything of the sort, but when you compare to the very strong and noticeable work to the prior two backgrounds and compare it to the third one, it feels like there's potential left on the table. especially because they're a little sneaky and denote differences in the time of day with the coloring. It's just not that strong, or at least I feel it isn't. I believe there's potential left on the table with where they're willing to go.

But yeah, that's about it. I wouldn't say I dislike the story through the first four episodes so far, but the idea of a purpose and direction doesn't really come to mind, and there's not a massive amount of depth to the medicinal side either. Not that it lacks a draw, but maybe delivery?

I just think about Raven of The Inner Palace. The setups are sorta similar, the flows are comparable. But the engagement and interest that appeared with Raven for me is entirely different. Here, it's almost the opposite- the visuals interest me a great deal more than the story has. I'm hoping that will change because the idea behind it is a very very interesting one that has a lot of potential, but I'm just yet to really be given the substance and depth of the series.

#kusuriya no hitorigoto #薬屋のひとりごと #the apothecary diaries #apothecary diaries #mao mao #drama anime #historical anime #anime and manga #anime #anime recommendation #anime reccs #anime review

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skaiind · 10 months

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A lot of your work has really inspired me to take a shot at making comics. I know it's a lot to ask but I was wondering how to go about the process. Do you write and refine scripts before illustrating pages or do you just have a general plot in mind? Big fan of your work, your artstyle is magnificent.

first of all, that's amazing! comics are one of the best ways to learn art, because they challenge every aspect of your skill, it can be frustrating, but very very rewarding and worth it! and i am deeply moved that my work has inspired you to do so! thank you very much!!

my process has several steps, an each one sort of refines the last one as i revisit the same page over and over (which is great because i look at it with fresh eyes and manage to make it even better!!) but it turned out long, so get comfortable:

first i write a rough draft, trying to write as fast as possible with no stopping as much as i can, just so you can get the story (chapter) out. once the whole thing is finished, i edit it to make more sense! fix any mistakes, format it sort of like a script and also i try to be as descriptive as possible when explaining a scene - not just the vibes of it but i try to write out what i want the panels to look like or have, what POV or angle they're in, what details should be visible, describe the page design alltogether, etc. for the scripts i use notion.to because it was the most comfortable to organise all the chapters and notes and stuff in one place!

once the script is completed, i plan out the panels - that means i get a bunch of sketch paper (a3) and one by one as i reread the script, i draw out the panels and use little post its to shortly describe what should be in each panel (ex.: wide view of room, Michael in middle looking angrily at the clipboard). during this i also can edit the script a bit again, as with fresh eyes maybe i managed to think of something BETTER for the scene. i usually plan out about 15-20 pages in one sitting this way, because it's mostly just drawing rectangles and visualising the page in your head.

then we move on to ACTUALLY SKETCHING inside those panels, and with this i start from backgrounds first, then characters, then added details. at first i used just the red lead pencils, but then i began adding different colours like layers for the beforementioned categories. and when doing this i try to do as many pages as possible in one sitting, because the first page always comes out wonky, but then you get the flow of the story going and it gets easier (also good practice!!) and again, here i can refine the script, because maybe the post it i placed earlier doesn't make as much sense anymore and the scene might look different. so i sketch it how i think is best at the moment. i try to be as clear as possible, so the lining process later doesn't frustrate me too much.

now it's time to scan everthing and because i have a smaller scanner that means i must do it twice for each page. that's okay though because at least it comes out high quality when i photomerge them on photoshop later on. i apply autocontrast+autocolor to the picture, and the page looks more legible, and then transfer some to procreate on my ipad.

then you test out what lines/brush look best, and once you've got a chosen one - you LINE IT. Starting with defining the panels better, so they're not wiggly unless they look better that way. i again start from backgrounds because they're tedious and hard, then the characters, add some more details and then the speech bubbles. each on a separate layer so i can edit each one later if needed.

then all that's left is shading everything and exporting that bad boy out into the world!

what is common in most of these stages, is that i keep editing as i go. when i think of how i want the panels to look, i try to imagine it not just as a comic panel but like a scene in a movie (if specifically - horror movies and other times a one-camera comedy tv-shows or just a combination of both) and that really helps me visualize the panel.

another thing to keep in mind when writing a bigger/longer story is to know where it's going or at least what are you trying to show through it, but even that isn't necessary because in comics you can just keep exploring an idea or a concept without going really anywhere and it can still end up being amazing.

in the end you must remember that the comic you're making for YOU first and audience second. because when you start thinking about what other people will think, it'll become frustrating very fast and lose the fun. an creating comics is already frustrating in on itself, there's no need to bring in any more to it.

i hope you will make comics! i hope they will be fun for you and i'm very happy you want to put out more of this fantastic media into the world!

i also hope the long answer helped :))

#long post #asks

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enodias · 1 month

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heyhi guys! my name is bellamy or bells if you prefer (he/they pronouns, est) and i'm really excited to be here! it's been a little bit since i've tried writing in earnest on tumblr, but i'm really excited to try again :] i bring you suzuki minori! a little bit of a prankster, but it's that carefree attitude that allows minori to walk the tightrope they do. also known as janus - god of duplicity; oft twofaced for a reason! (to be clear. that's not to imply they're not loyal. it's because. well. they're not loyal to the Other guys because his role is technically a secret liaison in some ways if you will into the criminal underworld - you'll see ig LOL) more detail below the cut! please reply to this post to plot, or add me on discord! (radkxng)

note! minori's also nonbinary but especially for ease he also uses they and he so no worries about slipping up LOL

Minori doesn’t come from money. It’s easy for them to get swept up in things — their mother, dead in an accident with a drunk driver. His father? It’s hard to take care of four children when you’re too depressed to get out of bed.

So - it’s always been about protection. For Minori, at least. It makes him an easy target for the sleazy gentleman who just chuckles when Minori asks him for a job opportunity. Something in Minori kind of twists; he sort of knows that he’s made a mistake, but the man continues. He says his job will be to protect people — well, maybe he shouldn’t be judging the guy so harshly. The man simply asks if he can fight, and reaches into his pocket. Ten years kendo, four karate. Minori’s eyes bug out of their skull after their flat answer. The wad of cash, the nice detailing on the man’s suit; yes, he’d be able to feed his siblings for sure. The man just chuckles; he presses the cash and a business card into Minori’s hand.

Things really clear up later. A phone call, a car drive later, and Minori’s standing at quite a large house. He’s pale with dread - he tries to end it there, but he feels a knife at his neck. No wonder he was being followed so closely. You took the money, didn’t you? Pay it back, and sure. He’s speaking to Jinpachi Kikuchi, head of the Kikuchi-gumi - if it wasn’t obvious. Minori didn’t move - he had been too excited to treat his siblings, buy the good meat now that he could.

So, that’s how he gets conscripted into the Yakuza. Not how Minori was planning to spend the evening, but they digress. They try not to think about it. The money makes it a little easier, at least for a while.

But Jinpachi wants more. And it snowballs — higher demands became plots for stealing territory became plots to buy weapons became plots for deep, deep corruption. A kidnapping could get him a lot of money. Unfortunately, while Jinpachi is beast in their home streets of Kyoto, and while his power seeps far there, he’s a little less refined than crimes the severity of which he’s planning demand.

It’s not long before Aegis catches wind. Later, the Greek name makes Minori cackle — would that make poor Jinpachi Icarus? They send agents in to see what he’s up to, even if his plans aren’t fully hatched yet. He brags, and his underlings brag. An agent approaches Minori, trying to get some information — again, Minori’s gut twitches. This time, they know to listen; he has a keen intuition. It’s not in a bad way, per se, but he thinks this has to be more than meets the eye. His brain tells him it could be a rival gang member or just some cop, but that doesn’t feel quite right either.

He’s not uncooperative, but it is a fun tango for a while; after a while, Minori plainly states that people are in danger, just to judge their reaction.

Maybe it’s the drinks, maybe it’s the camaraderie that was forming somewhere in the layers of them trying to sum the other up — maybe they, too, just have that gut. But they agree, hitting the table lightly. I know, so work with me here! Tell me!

Minori’s been working against it too, as best as they could. Suggesting useless targets, dissuading any real serious attempts. Minori’s role in the group, as it stood, was interesting. They were too vital an asset - 13 years years in the gang and running, with a not insignificant background in combat despite the fact that they really preferred not to fight, but some of his compatriots don’t quite like him. On several levels they were different, but mostly it’s misdirected to people being annoyed with Minori’s more crude and careless demeanor, and the way they can tend to stall plans. They haven’t gotten close with anyone else to know if there are others — they’ve entertained the idea, but that would be quite dangerous, so most of his gang are held at distance from him. Cleverly, they essentially become the annoying coworker rather than any serious detriment in the others’ eyes.

They don’t talk with their siblings any longer anymore either. At least, not at length. They find mysterious letters with sums of money inside - anything to keep them far, far from the danger, but to this day each of them receive money, even if they all have their own jobs at this juncture.

So, with Aegis’s help, this plan quickly fizzles out. Minori baits them to a target, but Aegis is already laying in wait to stop it. This becomes an invitation, and Minori beams when he gets to declare a name. Janus - God of doorways — finally, is this a gate to a clear conscience? — and duplicity, but that part’s just because it makes them snicker.

this was supposed to be shorter sorry tldr they lived happily ever after with minori supplying information straight from the criminal underbelly. most of it is japan’s news, but he’s been able to use his connections to begin to worm into korea’s since moving.

—

“Describe your exceptional skills, unique talents, or specialized training that makes you an invaluable asset to the organization. How do you contribute to the success of covert missions?” “Mmm,” Minori hums, with a chuckle. “I don’t have many ‘exceptional skills,’” he does air quotes as he says it, clearly not very bothered. “I have a background in martial arts for when things get dicey and a lot of combat history with my gang, but I’ve transitioned out of that role - thank fuck - so while I’m likely to be good if things go wrong, I’d rather them not.” They shift a little in their seat with a shrug. “The value I bring is a little more…specialized, shall we say? I’m a pretty good liar, and while I was conscripted young - insert tragic backstory here, whatever,” they briefly joke before moving on, “It does mean I have quite the insider access now that I’ve met Aegis.” Minori finishes with a proud grin. “Information, a liiiiittle bit of influence - namely with the Kikuchi-gumi and their allies in Korea - and a pretty clean slate here now. Quite the pawn to enter the game, no? plus, i am a very good singer, mind you.” minori says with a quiet cackle. it’s hard to tell whether they’re telling the truth or just having some fun.

“What is your favorite memory of the past?”

This one — precise favorite memories are hard, it feels like there are so many but so far away — Minori has to think for a bit. Colors dance behind his eyes, hues brightening over time even as those eyes begin to wet. “Ahh, there was this one time. It was so long ago a lot of the details are fuzzy. But this one year for my birthday, I convinced my family to go on a picnic to the little spot in the woods I loved, but they always shooed me away from out of danger. It’s such a simple memory, but…It was nice. My mom made my favorite snacks.” Minori’s smile is sincere, even as they follow it up with a slight joke. “Or finding Aegis, that is!”

#lights camera action! — intro

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maaxverstappen · 19 days

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I’ve been asking ppl cus im nosy. What’s your writing process like if any? Do u have a preferred place or time. Preferred device. Do u write rough drafts then edit or is it much more considered. How do u decide that an idea is worth fleshing out or pursuing if it looks like it’s plotty. Pls yap at length if u so wish — wiz

i love this question!! and would love to know other answers so if you want to reblog them i shall be on the lookout 👀.

i answered partly here so will just like build on that!!

the process is that i’ll have an idea and depending on how large it is write out some sort of outline. my preference for all planning in life is on paper so i have a little journal that ill write out some ideas in. kind of brainstorm / mind map style of just jotting down random ideas that come to mind.

however, with longer fics like my current post-as-i-go wip i have to do it digital bc so much changes and it’s too long (see pics in previous ask). that one i actually started planning in my notes app on a plane bc the idea had to come out of me someway and i was really excited about it. i then transferred it to a google doc and added onto my chapter per chapter outline (1st pic in previous ask). i felt like that was a bit overwhelming for understanding the overall plot so then i went and made a simple overview of the key plot points per chapter (the 2nd pic in previous ask) just so i felt like i had a better understanding of the goal per chapter.

now when i sit down to write a chapter ill get both the detailed notes and the main plot points and just write whatever i feel like in order to get to the goal of the chapter.

for shorter one shot fics i’ll either have no full outline or a one page idea list kind of thing. for instance, for worth the trouble i knew that it would start and end in the present time and then everything in between would be a flashback, but i didn’t know the flashbacks would be non chronological until i was writing it. same for the chewing gum aspect that ends up being quite an important part of the symbolism and that almost weaves the parts together, that wasn’t a *thing* until i was almost finished with the rough draft and i then went to add it in to previous scenes.

for my long fic i have to be a bit more calculated with the hidden messages/foreshadowing as i can’t go back and edit published chapters lmao so that is a little more thought out + i keep track of loose ends to tie together at some point.

editing is a bit of a harder one. for my long fic my overal editing is per chapter, but i do tend to go back and edit per section too. like right now I’m writing a texting scene and first i wrote the plain texting dialogue, then i went back to add the bits in between from characters’ pov. then i’ll read over it fully and edit where needed. finally when the whole chapter is done ill read over it and edit again, but at that point it’s mainly grammar and punctuation.

my main writing issues i’ve noticed so far is that i tend to switch tenses without realising so that’s something i look out for when editing. i also am always worried they don’t *do* enough so i like to think “hmm what action can i add in here to make them more human” when editing.

so far only worth the trouble has been beta read, the rest i do myself. if I’m stuck i will talk through a lot of it with my partner who will give me some ideas and just like help lmao (she’s also the one that beta read wtt!). but she’s not in the f1 fandom so it’s a little hard to have her beta read for characterisation and specific plot points so i do that myself. like when she beta read wtt she gave a few points of feedback that weren’t too relevant bc the average f1 fic reader would understand (like the significance of spa21, there is no need to explain it).

I’m a baby fic writer so a lot of my process will be redefined and refined as i go I’m sure.

as for deciding what to write, it’s really whatever captures my attention. the prompt for help me hold onto you is one i really liked and a trope i love reading myself. i was also ready to challenge myself to a longer plot fic and i was really excited about the idea so i just went for it! my main consideration is really just how excited i am for it.

i will say that i am currently really struggling with perfectionism / imposter syndrome. I’m having a hard time getting the words onto paper bc it feels like it’ll never be as good as my favourite authors anyway so what’s the point. (which is now also impacting the way i read fics bc it makes me sad that ill never write anything as good as what I’m reading lol)

i generally write on my laptop! in a google doc with grammarly activated and the word count on screen (which pisses me off bc i have to turn it back on after every refresh). i wrote my latest crafty!oscar on my phone (bc i was too excited to wait till i got to my laptop) but wouldn’t ever do that for anything much longer or plot-ier than that.

i fear this has gotten very long. i know u said yap away but …. i perhaps have yapped too close to the sun.

#really liked answering this :-) and the fic writer asks from the weekend too. so fun #she says as she still has unanswered asks from that game in her inbox #anyway #thanks wiz <3 a community gem as always #m answers #about me

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kimium · 3 months

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Saw AU Ask Time!!! We’ve established Yuu will eventually meet John “Jigsaw” Kramer and become his unofficially adopted grandchild of sorts, while still being oblivious to the murders going on around them…but how do each of the housewardens explain their own connection to John and how they met? Does Yuu believe them?

Thank you so much for this ask, friend! Sorry it took me a while to get to it. I am here now to give my thoughts!

For anyone who is unaware, this ask is part of the Sort of Saw Franchise AU that myself and my friend M34GS came up with. You can read the fics in the link. If you want more information, my friend has a pinned post on her blog.

Everything is under a cut because this is going to get long. No content warnings.

Riddle (Heartslaybul)

Given Riddle's straight-forward nature, I think Riddle has a hard time creating an extensive lie. He's not the kind of person to fabricate a complex story and would stick to telling Yuu mostly the truth. So, Riddle tells Yuu that he met John while visiting his mother over one of the school breaks. He tells Yuu he found the man's advice insightful and enjoys their conversations. This is easily backed by John given his intellect and wit.

Due to Riddle's answer a lie covered in the truth, there is little to doubt and Yuu believes Riddle. Some details may be a bit fuzzy, but in reality people aren't nitpicking the finer details to an answer so long as it mostly checks out. Even if Yuu was surprised by the element of coincidence in the story, sometimes life works in mysterious ways. Little coincidence happen in life all the time and sometimes you meet and befriend people on chance.

Leona (Savanaclaw)

Leona tells Yuu that he met John through Ruggie who in this AU works many odd jobs, sometimes seasonal ones. He would be the person most likely to meet an assortment of people AND befriend them. Leona adds that according to Ruggie, John is a "lonely old man" and insists they visit John and keep him company. Ruggie huffs and corrects Leona stating "I did not say he was an old man. Don't put words into my mouth". Leona retorts with "I always call it as I see it". If John is present he smiles into his tea cup and doesn't dispute either of them. Yuu believes them because if anyone would be compassionate to the elderly, it would be Ruggie given he was raised by his grandmother. They would be a little confused why Leona tags along but they remember Leona can't say no to Ruggie (who he's dating in this AU).

Azul (Octavinelle)

Azul tells Yuu that John is a semi-frequent visitor to the main Monstro Lounge branch. He tells Yuu that like any kind, benevolent owner (read: always looking for any opportunity to earn money) he enjoys learning more about his regulars. He tells Yuu that once he talked to John he found himself enjoying their conversations so much they slowly became friends. This lie is bolstered by the fact that Azul actually knows (a bit too much) about his regulars. Yuu mostly believes Azul, though given John's medical condition, they worry a little over John's physical constitution.

Kalim (Scarabia)

Kalim's story to Yuu is he met John at one of his family's private medical charity galas. John has cancer after all and Kalim is quiet when he tells Yuu that he was moved by John's personal story. Kalim says he's endeavouring to open his perspective by talking with a variety of people with different life circumstances. He will inherit his father's business and with wealth Kalim knows he can make a positive impact on society. This story lines perfectly with Kalim's personality and Yuu believes him. A bit of emotional weight to the story also helps solidify the story in Yuu's heart.

(I will add that Jamil was very paranoid over Kalim's story, which they rehearsed and refined to "get it right". Jamil wanted a more generic story without any ties to Kalim's family, but Kalim insisted this story was perfect. The irony they'll never know is Jamil's story probably would be a bit less believable.)

Vil (Pomefiore)

It's actually Rook who sweeps in, complete with poetry and French, to tell the tale about how he encountered John at a farmer's market. He states that John was having a difficult time haggling down the price for some delicious deer sausage. Rook, who has helped multiple vendors with hunting for said sausages, swept in and "lent my assistance to John" and managed to bring the price down "so John could enjoy the delicious sausage and the fruits of our labour were not wasted". Rook continues to inform Yuu that he proceeded to have a "riveting conversation over the art of sausage making". Vil dryly tells Yuu Rook was at it for four and half hours.

If this story was told by anyone else, Yuu wouldn't believe them. This is Rook, however, and Yuu heard exactly how Rook and Vil met. They'd be more concerned if the story was mundane, actually. They believe Rook in an astonishing upset for all the other dorms who cannot believe this is Pomefiore's lie THAT WORKED. This also means John better become an expert in conversing about the art of sausage making as Rook cheerfully accidentally assigned John homework. Rook apologies profusely but John tells him it's fine and that learning new things, even at his age, is exciting.

Idia (Ignihyde)

There is only one way Idia has met someone new AND befriended them and that's through online games. Yes, the story could veer to his parents but honestly, Idia wouldn't talk to that person outside the mandated conversations. Thus, the only thing he can blurt out to Yuu is "We met online while playing -insert a large popular MMO title here-". In Idia's defense, he was taken off guard as he assumed there would be no chance Yuu, himself, and John would be in the same room at the same time. Well, Ortho tried to tell Idia the chances of that happening is higher than he thinks, but Idia ignored Ortho. Now he's sweating and hoping that Yuu believes his lie.

Now, as for Yuu, the online game part is easy to believe. What's harder to believe is Idia actually meeting one of his online friends IN PERSON. Though, they rationalize this as "Ortho is trying to get Idia out of his shell". Still, they're rather surprised and it takes a while for Yuu to process the information.

This also means that like Rook, Idia has accidentally assigned John some homework. Sure, Yuu wouldn't ask John outright to play the MMO but you never know what may happen. So, John has to become familiar with the game and its mechanics.

Malleus (Diasomnia)

Malleus takes a long sip of his tea, tenderly looks Yuu in the eyes, and says "I met John while out for one of my nightly strolls". Look, the man cannot lie directly to Yuu. There were probably different variations of stories that Lilia had prepared for different situations, but no one could prepare for Malleus "I can't lie to Yuu" Draconia. However, like Riddle, honesty is key. Yuu has no problems believing him. After all, that's exactly how they met Malleus. Clearly, Malleus is a bit lonely and has a tendency to meet others while out for night strolls. It's also Malleus, a Fae, who is still learning human concepts and mannerisms. Of course, Malleus would randomly befriend another human while out at night. Yuu believes him.

(I want to add that Malleus will tact on that while he met John the same way he met Yuu, Yuu has no fear of being replaced as his special human friend. Lilia nearly cries from laughter as clearly Malleus took a look at the trope "miscommunication" and said "This won't happen to me when I'm with Yuu".)

And there you go! There are my answers! I hope you enjoyed them friend! Let me know!

#personal #replies #twisted wonderland #sort of saw franchise au

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ferronickel · 8 months

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Looking Glasses Behind the Scenes #1

Here's a look at my process for building a comics page

Let's use Page 55 of Looking Glasses as an example

Roughs

I start with a layout, roughly sketching scenes from my script, trying to puzzle out how they'll fit into panels on the page. I don't usually specify panel layouts in my scripts, I find it kind of hard to picture layouts until they're actually on the page. Here's my initial layout

You can see there are some major differences from the final product. I initially planned for Lancer to get his admissions letter in the background of this page, with no dialog, but I came to realize that it needed more space to breathe. It was harder to tell what was going on here and I wanted Lancer to get a moment with Toriel, so I ended up moving that scene to the previous page and scrapping most of these panels, although I reused some elements that I liked. After a round of revisions I got this:

Sketch Phase

From here I move my sketches around and test out panel borders until I find something I like, roughly place the text, then I refine the weaker sketches. This page went through so many versions that most of the roughs were pretty sketched out already, sometimes my roughs are practically just have stick figures.

I have strict rules about paneling Looking Glasses, which are pretty evident here. The Light world has exclusively gridded panels with gutters. For the dark world, panels aren't allowed to be rectilinear, they have to overlap with each other, and they're always full bleed. The space between the dark and light world literally uses panel borders to transform from one to the other (you can see how the shapes Susie is passing through in the final page are just transformed versions of the panel border)

Inking

Next, I ink over my sketches. Sometimes I have to come back and re-draw something after this stage, but I try to keep from changing my inks after this.

Flatting

Using the Close Area Fill tool in clip studio, I add flat colors to a layer behind my inks. My lineart is aliased, so I could just use a paint bucket, but I work professionally as a flatter, and I prefer the types of flats I get from the Close Area Fill.

I flat my work in three stages. First I do the figures, making sure that I use the same colors for each repeated element, then I duplicate that layer and do any background elements. After this I flat the panel backgrounds separately. This allows me to select the figures or the panels quickly and easily during later steps.

Coloring! (My favorite bit)

I duplicate my flats and merge them, use the paint bucket to drop the correct colors into place, and then do any detail work/painting/effects in a separate group.

Shading

I like to shade over a neutral background, so I add a layer of grey under the lineart. Then I adjust the colors of each scene with a minor tint, to help unify my colors. Toriel's house is very orange, so I give it a little bit of extra warmth, where as the dark world is otherworldly and vibrant, so I push it towards blue. Then I render the work. Each location in looking glasses gets a different treatment. The dark world gets really strongly colored shadows, but because there's no light in the dark world I don't add highlights unless there's an obvious light source. The light world gets fully rendered (shadows, highlights, fill lights, rim lights, etc.) but I make sure to use desaturated colors. In the space between the dark and light worlds, I only shade with black shadows and white lights, it's also the only location that doesn't get a tint.

Finalizing

Lastly I finalize my dialog, which often goes through a couple of wording changes once it's on the page (You can see that happened here). Then I add my balloons, give them tails, and export the page.

And that's it!

#looking glasses #ferrousart #ferrouscomicscraft #I really wanted to do a breakdown of this page because of the three different visual styles #I know the “and then I color” step leaves a bit to be desired #maybe I'll do one of these just about my coloring process

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