#traditional artists when they try digital art despite hating it

[beloved-ranger]

Looking at art by artists who have been making art for years and then looking at my art with a sad face.

#traditional artists when they try digital art despite hating it #why can’t I just be like. blessed with comic art abilities #I can paint fancy arcrylic paintings on canvas #but not do some basic digital art

[pixelatedraindrops]

Hello everyone!! Today I grow a year older :3 (and I hate it lmao) FEEL FREE TO REPLY BIRTHDAY WISHES IF YOU WANT :3

So, over the time I've come back here, I've become pretty confident and proud of my once hidden passion about sick characters, sickfics and sick comfort/whump... 🌡️

And you all have been so supportive and sweet despite my weirdness so I thank you for that. You helped me feel more confident in my otherwise weird fixation <3 So, for my birthday I thought I'd try and make up a little drawing challenge for anyone who wants to give it a try... There are soo many talented artists on this site (and in this fandom)

So... It's your turn to target your faves now. You will see how fun it is and hopefully understand why I love doing it so much. 😈🌡️

(plus it's my birthday and I require some sustenance LMAO JKJK)

But yeah anyone can join in. This is just for fun though! You don't have to if you don't want to! I think its okay to ask for some food on my birthday though...right?? X'D So if you wanna do sth for my birthday...then... 👉👈 💦

CHALLENGE BELOW~

DRAW YOUR FAVE ON A SICK DAY CHALLENGE🌡️😷🥵🤧

~~~~

(Mmmmkay, I am lying to myself when I say this isn't mostly aimed at the RainCode community... X'D Can't help myself. But anyone can join regardless of the fandom!!)

So here's the challenge and the rules!! (featuring my two main lil targets ofc :3)

Regardless of who it is, put your fave through some sickness hell >:3c I'd love to see it! Make em' as miserable as you want!

destroy them 😈 jkjk XD

If you're in the RainCode community you can target anyone, but as you know, my main targets are Yuma and Makoto. If they're also your faves and who you decide to use, that will make me extra happy!

Some tips for anyone new to drawing a sick day scenario art. A few things that make it look convincing are the following:

Pajamas or Loungewear

Messy Bed Hair

Fever flushed face w sweat or at least a red nose

Tired Eye bags

Shivery body

Ice Pack or a Compress on the head

Thermometer sticking from their mouth

LOTS OF BLANKETS

Tissues or medicine surrounding them

Tea or Soup (or both)

Those are just to name some from the top of my head. If you'd like some pointers on how to make a character look ill, check out my Fever Coloring Guide. This is for digital artists but traditional artists can try it too!

You can add injury or angst to the scene but I'd like illness to be the main focus of it.

The scene can be anything you want to, it can be fluffy and wholesome (with a caretaker) it can be angsty, or it can be silly. Its all up to you! Do it for the sake of fluff! Caretaking scenes are the best for any kind of relationship >w<

Either way, have fun with it!! I look forward to see what people make if they decide to give it a try! It doesn't even have to be a full on picture! Doodles and sketches are fine too! Just show me something >w<

(feel free to tag me and say happy b-day and mention my challenge, I am proud to be known for this and would love for many to participate :3) I wanna see you take a go at it :3 Show me your style! :D

~

~~~

(wow look at me misspelling the word writing on text when I did it fine with my own hands lol)

Now, I know not everyone can draw...

Well never fear! I accept writing as well! ✍️✍️✍️

(hi vivia lol sorry for giving you a cold, at least you have an excuse to read and do nothing now haha x3)

Sickfics are one of the biggest things I live for! Any little drabbles or full fics with more than one chapter are welcome! Again target who you want any fandom you want, but I'll def be super happy if you make a RainCode fic. And even happier if you target my faves as well, but again, anything will do! Just make a cute story about your fave being miserable and being tended to! Trust me, it's super fun!

You can add injury or angst to the scene but I'd like illness to be the main focus of it.

Feel free to post your writing here and tag me or mention my AO3!

If you need a start to your fic, look on my blog for illness prompts! Maybe it can help give you a good start or give some inspiration! (thats why I share 'em :3)

I look forward to anything you try to write!

~

That's about all!! I hope you decide to participate! ✨

Good luck, have fun, and godspeed you future whumpers! 😈

(nah jk XD)

AGAIN THIS IS FOR FUN! NO PRRSSURE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO!

#pixeldoodles #my art #art challenge #illness whump #sick whump #whump community #rain code #whumpcode #artists on tumblr #digital artist #fever whump #cold whump #whumpblr #whump ideas #whump scenario #sick art #sickfic #sick day challenge #yuma kokohead #makoto kagutsuchi #vivia twilight #shinigami rain code #IM A LITTLE NERVOUS ABOUT TRYING THIS #but idk it sounded like a fun idea... >w<; #plus it was fun to design the challenge pages #pretty much used the color replacement tool on photoshop to make it all purple LMOA #but yeah if you wanna give it a try I would love to see what you come up with!! #especially from the raincode community... XD #be sure to show me!! >w< #thanks for reading if you did!

[kenthenugget]

I Don't Get Tangents (Art Rant)

During my formative years as an artist back 2017 up to early 2020, I can remember watching a ton of art related content ranging from DeviantArt cringe video's to tutorials on how to draw manga to general art community topics like tracing and so on. But up until mid 2021, I had never heard of tangents. And even now, I still dont fully get it.

If you don't know, a tangent is pretty much when lines intersect in a visually non pleasing way. There's a great blog that goes into this which I'll link here:https://schweizercomics.tumblr.com/post/11966164633/the-schweizer-guide-to-spotting-tangents

Let me be clear by saying that I do know what tangents are and what they mean. I'm not an idiot. And its not like I don't understand why they're bad but at the same time I don't get it, if you know what I mean. I've seen examples of tangents where it does a good job at illustrating why its bad but there are some where I just cant see it. Going to the post I linked, I had a difficult time discerning what the tangents were for examples 2 through 5 until someone pointed them out. Even then, I still didn't find anything wrong with them despite the tangents. And if I'm being honest (and I mean no shade at the creator of the post), it does feel nitpicky. Because you wouldn't know it was a tangent unless someone pointed it out.

I guess in general, tangents are not to big of a deal, which is probably why I never heard of them until recently. It is something that can be easily avoidable, especially if you're not that skilled of an artist. But for someone like me who is a perfectionist, tangents act as some sort of curse. Especially when it comes to digital art.

I honestly feel its a lot harder for tangents to form in traditional works than it is for digital ones. When you're creating a complex illustration on paper, the backgrounds, characters, and other objects are on the same surface. As opposed to digital where you can separate those things via layers, and this is where tangents often tend to form for me. Since everything is separated, I'll tend to work on those elements separately when inking. And its not until then where I turn on the character or background layer, I see tangents forming. And only when its inked do I notice these and not when I'm sketching them. Maybe that has to do with the pencil brush not being as thick and bold? Im not sure. This has happened to me constantly, ever since I began separating my backgrounds from the layers my characters are on. Tangents just form and there's nothing I can really do about it, unless I revert to drawing everything on the same layer. And its a problem when it comes to comic pages as well. Particularly with speech bubbles and sound effects, which is a whole other can of worms entirely.

Now this doesn't mean I hate everything I've drawn in the past year or two, but noticing these tangents really bothers me. That these images are immediately deemed bad because of one or two tangents caused by separation of elements on layers. And like I said, all of this feels very nitpicky, as in you wouldn't notice it unless you were actively looking for it. It honestly feels like tangents are a fuel for perfectionism, an unhealthy amount of it at that. Its partially why I try not to let it bother me and do my best to avoid it.

No one is perfect, and that's okay. I don't think something as small and hyper specific as a tangent should bring an illustration down. Hell, I'm pretty sure art created by your favorite artists have one or two tangents in them that down make them bad because of it. Im not really sure how to end this but I don't try to be perfect as an artist because no art is perfect. And if it was, is it really art anymore?

#artists on tumblr #art rant

[mageofseven]

Hiii I saw you had match ups open for obey me and I’d love it if you did one for me with any of the boys!!! (Hopefully I understood your guidelines right)

I’m not too good at describing myself, but I’ll do my best 😭 I’m kinda bad with zodiac stuff but I’m a Capricorn (whatever that means) which is fun since I don’t share that sign with any of them I think lol

Personality wise I’m a very loud person, I have terrible volume control, and I tend to be very cheery!! Think glitter and sparkles and rainbows personified basically. However because god hates me I’m also really awkward and terrible at social interaction so I sorta just end up making a fool out of myself a lot 😭😭😭 I don’t really go out much or have a lot of irl friends so it’s a STRUGGLE and I’m constantly worried that people think I’m weird or come across as like, creepy idk, it kinda sucks cause I do love to talk to people but I can’t help that I’m bad at it!!!!!!

(The undiagnosed autism doesn’t help probably)

So yeah as for hobbies and stuff I’m an artist!! I’m studying it in college and it’s basically my whole life, I’m trying to get to a point where I could one day illustrate a story!! I’m best with traditional stuff like oil painting but I’m practicing digital art too!! Writing is also something I like to do though I’m less confident at it, reading is also a hobby of mine and trust me I could go on like, a million long year RANT about Frankenstein I’m like so mentally ill about it

Ofc I love video games too!!! Mostly RPGs and JRPGs, but I also like visual novels and horror games of all types!!! Currently my favorite game is probabblyyyyyyyyyy the elder scrolls III Morrowind, I love that game to death! I play league of legends too and YES I GENUINELY THINK ITS FUN 😭😭😭😭 anyway,,, I like anime and manga too, haven’t been that crazy about it for a while but still, oh and I cosplay too!!

ALSO ALSO I love stuffed animals I have a huge collections of them and I cannot sleep without at least one because my cat is MEAN and refuses to sleep besides me at night and I get lonely :(

Okay I think that’s it sorry if I rambled on for ages looll I just rlly rlly love obey me atm and I’m in love with every single one of the guys!!! (sans luke obvi he’s my son) Hopefully I gave you enough to work with ^v^ have a nice day!!!!!!!!!! <3 ✨ ✨

- 🦄 (my cool anon signature even tho this is just one part)

Awwww first off, bless you for feeling the love for our precious baby angel son Lukey 🥰💕

Secondly, despite keeping all of the Boys in mind, your description brought two Brothers to mind, but one yelled louder in my head

And this is partially because of your own volume since you said you have bad volume control, but are cheerful~

I pair you with...

Mammon

This man would love your cutesy, cheerful personality! And it would make his brain short circuit at times 😅

Getting together would be a bit difficult considering considering you're awkward and struggle with social skills and this man is extremely awkward for those he has feelings for. He will make a fool out himself time and time again.

Honestly, y'all will probably be best friends long before you date, giving you plenty of time to get comfy with with him and show your loud n' sweet side. Like dear, neither of y'all know how to control your volume, to the dismay of the other brothers, but it's okay bc you're both having fun!

When people think video games, they usually think Levi, but Mammon like playing them too! He'd love to play games with you or even watch you play your favorite games (though he'll probably talk the entire time you play so hopefully you don't mind 😅)

Honestly, he knows very little about art, but I think he'd enjoy watching you draw, especially when using oil painting because I doubt he's truly seen anyone do anything like that before. He'd be honestly impressed by your skill, but maybe a biiiiiit too embarrassed to say so at first.

Also, HE WILL BUY YOU SOOOO MANY NEW STUFFIES. Like for real, he finds you collecting stuffed animals to be really cute. I can totally see him just randomly buying you more stuffies, but even more so, this man will take every chance he gets to win you one from a crane game and show off his skills...or lack there of lol.

I did think about pairing you with Levi, but I think the third brother would appreciate your lack of volume control less than Mammon does.

#matchup requests #obey me #obey me otome #🦄-Nonnie #obey me mammon

[stellarish]

4, 7, 17 and 21 for the specific artist ask game :)

Thank you for the ask! (The ask game)

4. Fav character/subject that’s a bitch to draw:

Zhou Ying from Tai Sui!! I know he's literally a book character with no specific canon appearance, but I accidentally created a massive challenge for myself in designing/drawing him lmao.

I really like the face I've landed on for drawing Xi Ping from the same novel, and since he's supposed to be beautiful in a sharp, overbearing type of way, I tend to draw him with a thinner face and a very prominent chin and cheekbones. And I think that look suits him! The problem with that is that Zhou Ying is supposed to look a lot like Xi Ping, especially in the lower part of their faces, except, especially early in the novel, he's also notably thinner and frailer. He's also got his sort of spooky, all-knowing placid eyes. Yet he's supposed to be beautiful! How do I take a face that's already 70% chin and cheekbones, make it even bonier to an unhealthy degree, give it unsettling eyes, and yet retain the sense of beauty? I haven't quite figured that out yet lmao.

I also struggle a lot with either emulating Jun Mochizuki's art style or translating her character designs to my own, which I why I rarely draw fanart for VnC despite absolutely adoring the series. I'm trying to get better at that though!

More under the cut because this got long <3

7. A medium of art you don’t work in but appreciate

Two answers here. The most immediate and obvious one is digital art in general, since I work pretty much entirely traditionally. I'm always so impressed by the kinds of lighting and color effects that I see in work by people with access to things like photoshop layer adjustments. I know "digital art" is almost an absurdly broad category, but god there are some very impressive pieces out there done entirely with my good friend the computer.

Also, I adore papercraft/papercut art. Every time I see something really intricate made out of cut paper, my brain just, like, short-circuits in awe. It's so cool!! Speaking of Tai Sui, one of my all time favorite pieces of Tai Sui art is this Xi Ping by Yutaan here on tumblr. If you really want to see some really cool papercraft, Yutaan's stuff in general is incredible imo.

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

Not really, no. Since I'm almost entirely a traditional artist, I'm really paranoid about food getting stains on my paper 😔. Even stuff you think is stain free, like, say, a pretzel, can result in unexpected grease spots if you're not careful. So I generally try to keep snack time far away from whatever I'm drawing.

I do drink water when I draw, since I'm pretty much always drinking water no matter what I'm up to, but I have to be careful to keep the glass somewhere that I'm confident can't spill onto my paper. I've definitely gotten water stains on a lot of sketchbook pages in the past lol.

21. Art styles nothing like your own but you like anyways

I was just talking about this with some friends last night! One of my oldest and dearest friends is the artist troubled cryst, which I find hilarious because our art processes are exact polar opposites lmao. I am an incredibly slow artist, prone to spending hours inking fairly simple drawings as I fuss over line weights and try to perfect tiny details in pencil before I ink them. I lean hard into the fussy and painstaking side of things. I also just adore black ink and will fit about as much of it into a drawing as I can. The ink is very much the main character for me, and color's just kind of a bonus.

Meanwhile, my bestie Meg Troubledcryst is, in the best possible way, kind of fast and loose as an artist. Her pieces are full of color and movement, with an emphasis on that expressive motion, and her lineart tends to be on the free and sketchy side. I know from talking to her that she hates to spend too long fussing over any one drawing or any one part of a drawing if she can avoid it. She can probably crank out two fully colored, good-looking pieces in the time it'd take me to do one effortful round of lineart lmao. But I love her stuff! I think it's really cute that we're such different artists even though I more or less started learning how to draw as a tween because of her art.

Go look at her stuff!

I also adore paintings that do a lot of work with light and color, despite the fact that I am, as established, a black ink girlie in my own art. Current obsessions are these sky paintings by autoneurotic and these oranges by itsc.

Anway, as a bonus for being nice enough to send me an ask, here's a little sneak peak at a couple of my wips.

#I'm genuinely so pleasantly surprised that I got a response for this ask meme #and 21 was the question I was most hoping I'd get to answer :3 #so thank you! #ask #anon

[antidotenurse]

How did you mimic the yugioh zexal style? I want to start practicing and I have no idea where to start. How did you study?

First off, thank you!! :,) 💕💕💕💕 plz dont mind that im gonna be using hyperbolic objective language to explain this so i 😭😭

Well. How did I study?? You’re gonna hate it, but there’s literally no other way around it.

Copying it.

HEAR ME OUT: That’s just how learning works. That’s how learning any style ever works. If you’re trying to draw in a particular art style, you have to learn how it’s drawn. And the only way really understand to do that, is by trying to recreate it almost exactly. WHICH YEAH, this is an internet space, once you say the work “copy” next to art suddenly you have no skill or are doing something inherently immoral just on principle. Which is just a really bad faith read. It’s a lot like “master studies” in art classes, where students have to recreate the same drawing/work from some previous artist and try to get it as close as possible to the original. Which seems dumb at first, but it’s not without a point- y’know?

As a wack teenager, I used to practice trying to “master” the look of the zexal style by drawing on paper a loooot. At the time I didn’t know how to draw digitally (i didn’t have access to a lot of things). Zexal model sheets were rare if almost nonexistent, so I could only use the anime. I must’ve did a decent enough job since to this day my old art floats around with no one realizing that some idiot teenager drew them in her room. I just really wanted to learn it for some reason. Honestly, I blocked out most of my life from that era, so I can barely remember my own reasoning.

So I think I’d suggest, at least since the resources are much more readily available now, to refer to the model sheets and probably try redrawing what you see in those. I don’t have the old sketches anymore, but back then on my own time, I’d try recreating stuff like this as I saw it:

Or, HECK!!! If there’s an art style from particular episodes you like a lot, try referring to those and use that. There’s a ton of elements in the model sheets I don’t much care for, or elements applied by certain animation directors I like more than others that I’ll incorporate into my own work. So in the end you kind of do learn more about your own style and tastes. BUT, I personally wouldn’t jump straight into this right away. Maybe just keep it in mind until u get comfier.

THIS post that illustrates what I mean visually in regards to different directors and their styles a little better lmao. They’re all “on model” but u can tell them apart despite using the same “style.”

SCREENSHOT REDRAWS are a more fun kind of practice!! When I was in the more active learning stage I’d often try redrawing my favorite shots on paper and try to get as close as feasibly possible. I only did that because I wanted to learn it.

Nowadays, I just target weirder looking shots because. Lmao. You know 😩 after years of learning what I like in the style … … it’s a fun self challenge

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

[drops exhibit C below]

Screenshot redraws are also just good practice for me even when I’m just goofing. Because when I’m not actively practicing, my muscle memory starts to fail me.

Or, if you aren’t directly recreating an existing image and still want to practice, I’d suggest keeping the model sheets (or whatever influence u refer to) with you and try drawing within the realms set up. References are your friends and wanna help u. Even the best homies out there will use them, plz don’t undersell them. You aren’t any better or worse for using them 😭

AFTER A GOOD WHILE OF DOING THAT SORT OF THING you��ll probably get a feel for it a lot more. Then, as per how art works, the style will shift more into your own take on it, and then you can just do whatever you want and take your personal liberties as u see fit

Or just clown. Who knows! I use my time to clown! 🤡🤡 thanks for coming to my weird TED talk

OH RIGHT, DIGITAL OR TRADITIONAL??? …Idk. When i was learning i always drew on paper (mostly due to circumstance). It varies from person to person on which is more “effective,” but I don’t think it ultimately matters lol

#antidote ask #IT’S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I THOUGHT ABOUT MY PROCESS #but it just does boil down to wanting to recreate a look #then as i get comfier it becomes easier to take my own liberties #a part of me still feels uneasy when trying to explain this sort of thing cuz then i remember how mean ppl were about it #just residual effects rly. #THAT FANDOM WAS NOT FUN LMAO i mean it had it’s moments but my final moments were particularly awful

[jamesandtheblog]

[closed]

tl;dr -- no longer active

shouldn’t be surprising, but I’m planning to log off this account (and all associated social media accounts) by the end of Friday this week (11:59 PST 08/13) and won’t be logging back in after. This blog (and my side blog for the, like, 5 people who follow it) will keep on existing, but only for archival purposes. I’m not sure if anyone was trying to interact with me on twitter, but in case you did try to dm me... I forgot my twitter handle and the password a long time ago and never logged back in after I got auto-logged out... sorry :(

I was planning to keep updating occasionally, but after a lot of thought, I’ve decided to retire this account. I’ve had this blog for ~6 years so, even though I’m sure nobody is actively following anymore, I wanted to give my reasons for closing it for documentation purposes. If anything, it’s so that I can verbalize why I’m no longer interested in posting on here:

- This account has been found by people who know me IRL. My reason for being on the internet, especially in fandoms or non-mainstream sites, is so that I can express things/interests that I wouldn’t normally be able to express (for whatever reason) in real life. Basically, I like being online for the anonymity and I take my anonymity seriously. Unfortunately, I didn’t really appreciate how much I valued anonymity until recently, so in my ~*youth*~ (aka as recently as 2 years ago) I gave out my blog name to a few IRL friends like a dumbass. Not long after, I became pretty uncomfortable/very self-conscious about posting at all and it felt that this account had been compromised. It just didn’t feel good to post anymore. Please note, though: my friends didn’t do anything wrong (they were just very excited to see my digital art and wanted to support me). I just didn’t realize at that time that I liked posting mainly because I was anonymous.

- I’m working full time now. I’ve graduated from a 4-year program, found a job as a developer, and moved to a different state. Unfortunately, I don’t have as much time/energy to actually draw or be active online now.

- I’ve changed as an artist. This blog was created so I can post digital art, fanart, and anime-style drawings. I’ve gained most of my followers through my drawings for @danguy96​, DrakenNier, or RWBY. I’m still into Drakengard/Nier, anime, etc., but I’ve moved onto traditional mediums and less fanart. My old fanart still gets the occasional follower/like/reblog and I think it would be really disappointing for someone to checkout my blog through my fanart only to realize that I’m not posting that stuff anymore. It would just be better to start fresh.

Moving forward: I’m still gonna be on tumblr. It’s not what it used to be and the staff hates money and non-negative profit margins, but they haven’t irreversibly fucked up the microblogging aspect of the site (......yet) and I’ve been here too long to move to a different site. I’ll be creating a new account (that’s actually anonymous this time).

On that note, the reason I’m not immediately shutting down this account is so that my followers have a chance to follow my new account, if they’re interested. Be warned that it’s not gonna be very active or fandom-y, and I’ll be mostly posting to build a catalog of my stuff rather than an actual internet presence. If you’re interested, please DM me before Friday, and I’ll give you the link to my new blog. It’s empty right now, but I’m planning to post my sketchbook doodles and anything else I want. 

I remember how excited I was when I hit more than 100 likes for the first time, and I’m still amazed every time I see a like/reblog of my old art. Thanks for following my blog for this long despite the fact that there wasn’t much to follow or see. Maybe we’ll cross paths again in the future :’)

[contextualalice]

Contextual Studies: Final Essay 2020

Essay Research and Preparation:

Possible Topic:

·       Why do art teachers hate Manga?

·       Why is Manga so popular?

·       How Ghibli captured the hearts of the world

·       The Dark Side of Manga: Erotica, Violence and the Sexualisation of Children

·       Is there really a lack of diversity in Manga?

·       Is Hollywood misinterpreting Manga through white washing?

·       Is Manga endorsing damaging gender stereotypes?

·       How Manga is causing a racial divide in East Asia

 Manga and its origins:

·       Manga are comics/graphic novels that originated from Japan during the late 19th Century, but is an art form believed to have been developed from earlier Japanese art.

·       The art style has no set genre and is therefore very popular among all ages and backgrounds.

·       If a series is popular enough it will sometimes be developed into Anime which is essentially just Manga animated.  

·       The first Manga are said to date back to the 12th Century and represent the basis of reading from right to left, but the word came into common usage in the late 18th Century.

·       Uncertainty of origins due to cultural/historical events following the World Wars and Meiji.

·       Meiji is an era when industrialisation and consumerism (western society) started to overpower Japanese culture/tradition.

·       Edo period (1603 to 1868) is also said to have influenced Manga. It is characterized by economic growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies, stable population, “no more wars”, and popular enjoyment of arts and culture.

·       Osamu Tezuka is believed to be the first official Manga artist (“The Father of Manga”) because he globalized Manga with the success of his Manga series such as Astro Boy, Princess Knight and Kimba the White Lion during the late 1940s.

·       In more recent times (from 1985 when it was co-founded till now) Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli films have also made Manga/Anime more popular than ever with consistent viewings of the films on television and high praise from other animation/cartoonist such as Disney.

·       Manga combines elements of comic, animation, expressionism, Monochrome, screen tone (hatching/line art), digital, traditional etc…

·       Santo Kyuden is a Japanese artist, poet and writer from the Edo Period who is believed to be the first to illustrate elements of the Manga style.

The Dark Side of Manga: Erotica, violence and the sexualisation of children

What is Manga?

The term Manga is believed to have come about during the late 19th Century and simply refers to comics and graphic novels that originate in Japan. When translated Manga literally means ‘irresponsible images’, which immediately suggests a playful and exoticness many Westerners in particular would find appealing.  Manga also has no set genre and has therefore grown very popular among all ages and backgrounds; some series even getting developed into live actions and Anime (Japanese Animation). Typically Manga is Monochromatic due to being mass produced and is created using the technique of screen tone, which is primarily line art and hatching. In more recent years this traditional method has also been combined with digital programs to make the process faster and even more detailed. Despite these diversities Manga has a very distinctive style that sets it apart from Western Cartoons. The most notable factors of the Mange style are in its character design. These are evident in aspects such as large eyes, colourful hair, additional lines to reinforce emotion and tribute to Japanese fashion through their clothing. The reason these character features of Manga are so important is because not only do they define the unique image of Manga, but have also stirred a huge amount of controversy across the globe in relation to themes of violence and erotica. Nevertheless is this the true nature of Manga or are they just misinterpretations of the Japanese art and culture due to its swift advancement from niche to mainstream?

How Astro Boy paved the way for Manga

An example of Manga Plagued by this Controversy is Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy. Astro Boy came into existence during the 1950’s and was the first successful Manga to become a household name, even raising Tezuka’s status to ‘Father of Manga’. The Manga was initially revered worldwide for the styles simplicity because it made the illustrations versatile and relatively cheap to develop into animation and merchandise. The character design of Astro Boy himself also contributed to the art styles success by rivalling Disney with his large but beautiful expressive features and bold outfit of underwear paired with boots. Howbeit the Western world quickly perceived the prepubescent android’s somewhat androgynous appearance as too provocative firstly because it subtly encourages the idea of sexualising the underage, and secondly because it is a similar aesthetic to robots and dolls in the sex industry. On the other hand, it could be argued that these character design choices are merely a reflection of Japanese culture as they are known for looking youthful due to genetics and advancements in cosmetics/surgery. Japanese fashion also demonstrates this idea of preserving youthfulness and embracing uniqueness with styles such as Kawaii, Lolita and Visual Kei for which purposely go against the suppressive traditions, stereotypes and labels within their country. It is believed this experimentation of art in Japan was provoked by the Meiji and Edo Period (from 1603 to 1868) when the industrialisation and consumerism of Western society started to overcome Japanese culture and tradition, resulting in economic growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policy and population stability. Evidently much of the Manga style actually stems from Western ideas and is hypocritically criticized when it is the readers that interpreted and fetishised the characters. This is distinct in Western superhero comics that adorn their characters in revealing and/or form fitting outfits, with emphasis on body shapes that are over-sexualised and dangerous to obtain. Many artists and readers of today would disagree that this range and exaggeration of character designs has vulgar intent because they quite accurately capture how different bodies are and fashionably experimental everyone is in real life through a playful, shocking and thought provoking style.

Another aspect of Astro Boy that is heavily condemned is how graphically the violence is depicted since understandably, something so similar to a children’s comic will be available to younger viewers. In addition, at the time of the mangas rising popularity there wasn’t much thought for potential adult fans, hence why many ended up hugely censored or difficult to come by. Regardless of how explicit some of the illustrations were, from an artistic perspective this sort of censorship is quite unreasonable because it prevents readers from fully experiencing the meanings and emotions Tezuka is trying to convey through rawness, whilst enabling for misunderstanding such as the sexualisation of Astro Boy that was discussed previously. The fact Astro boy falls into the genre of Science Fiction, with the majority of characters involved in fighting (including the protagonist) being robotic further suggests that the violence portrayed shouldn’t be as much of a concern as critics make it out to be as it doesn’t deliberately encourage human harm. However, due to how human-like and heroic Astro Boy is this fear of inspiring younger readers in particular to be a ‘beautiful weapon’ is valid.

Conclusion

In conclusion there is definitely an issue within the Manga industry associated with providing their readers with ‘fan-service’ in a far too revealing way. However, I believe these artistic choices are rarely intended to encourage violent or predatory behaviour, but rather to keep up with rapidly changing trends of topics and styles across the world. Ultimately proving the Manga style is a form of expressionism that is inspired by society and interpreted by the readers.

References:

Matsutani, M. (2009), ‘Manga’: heart of pop culture, Japan Times [September 21, 2016]

Ladd, Fred (2009). Astro Boy and anime come to the Americas: an insider's view of the birth of a pop culture phenomenon. McFarland & Co. ISBN 978-0-7864-3866-2.

Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it's Astro Boy leaping from niche to mainstream (theage.com.au) Vanessa Burrow, March 19, 2006  

9 anime things that Astro Boy did first (syfy.com) Michelle Villanueva, April 26, 2017

Birmingham Museum of Art (2010), Birmingham Museum of Art : guide to the collection, Birmingham, Alabama: Birmingham Museum of Art, ISBN 978-1-904832-77-5

 Tokyo Fashion. "Genderless Kei - Japan's Hot New Fashion Trend." Medium. January 30, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2020 from https://medium.com/@TokyoFashion/genderless-kei-japan-s-hot-new-fashion-trend-9e25a2c559c6

[obeymematches]

'Ello, may i request a matchup ? I'm 5'0 entp, Sanguine-Melancholic female with dark hair and tan skin. I'm a bit masculine or tomboyish in the way i act around people and also i like to dress comfy and casual with pants. I can be quite active and forward with people, but when i meet someone's older/senior i can be quite passive. I'm talkative and bubble, i always talk, smile, laugh and jokes a lot with people around me, showing them cat memes and stuff. It seems that i've lot of energy(1/?) 🤖

I like to do art, such as drawing (both digital and traditional), making stories and comic about them, also 2D animations. I'm currently taking an IT major, still a newbie in programming tho, but i'm getting there. Whenever i'm bored at both college or burnout on art, usually studying language, now i'm studying japanese. I always try to be productive, and sometimes it burns me out. When it happens, i become quiet, serious, and tired. Usually working out or cleaning the house works (2/?) 🤖 I love giving my friends and family advice or motivation in general. I also like to cheer them up with jokes/meme or making sure that they take care of themselves. Usually i'm not one to tell others when i'm feeling down, i use humor as coping mechanism and laugh to distract me from crying, even when crying. I hate crying and being sad, when i cry i get a massive headache for one or two days straight. So i usually just "forget" my feeling and focus more on my studies or arts. (3/?) 🤖 My love language is physical touch and words of affirmation. I like to hug my friends and family, also pats on the head too since i'm so short. I like sweet stuff to gain energy, open minded people, cats ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ, also i like discussing about many things from life philosophy to some cryptid weird things. I don't like spicy and food, also people that try to use others and discard them immediately. I have trust issue and have many close friends because of it despite being open to everyone (4/?) 🤖 For the partner, I just want someone who can handle my obnoxious side and patient when dealing with me because i can be an airhead sometimes so they have to be straight forward with me. For pda and boundaries stuff i will adapt myself to match their comfort and preference. Because, when i'm attached to someone, either friends or family i will do anything for them. Thank you so much for accepting this request, please have a nice day ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ -(5/5) 🤖

Hi! 

Thank you for sending in a request! I hope you like the result! 

Okay so I decided to match you with Satan! 

I don’t think he really minds if you dress comfy instead of elegant or pretty so you shouldn’t feel pressure. 

Lucky for him, he doesn’t apprear to be centuries old so it’s a bonus that you can open up to him easier. 

Both of you are rather talkative so I imagine conversations to be engaging and lengthy! 

However you’d win his heart over with cour own passion for cats and cat memes. 

He also appreciates a creative s/o who can think outside the box. Just like you, he appreciates people with an open mind! 

The fact that you write stories and comics is something he would be interested in! Sure, he might have a preference for books, but he just wants to hear the story you want to tell! I think he would be fascinated by your drawing! Though the latest event kinda showed how Belphie is the artist of the group, I think Satan also appreciates art a lot. 

Satan really appreciates someone who takes being productive seriously, like I can’t really imagine him with someone who procastinates way too much. However,  he would be concerned by your burn out as well. He would probably suggest you some inspiring stories that you may read if you feel like it. 

He just needs someone to listen to him and give advice, as he can be a bit lost because of his feelings. It would be nice if he could have an honest conversation about his feelings with you. He also appreciates a mom friend/partner! 

You could talk to him about programming or IT, I mean thats more of a human world thing so I don’t think he is all that familiar with it. But he always strives for knowledge, so it’s nice that you can talk to him about something he doesn’t have as much knowledge about. 

Don’t forget that Satan is very good at observing and reading people and their character so your unmentioned struggles wouldn’t actually go unnoticed. He would be very quick to catch up if you are trying to hide your need for help. He would have a conversation with you about how you can count on him and how much he wants to help and you really shouldn’t do all this alone- he is your partner after all. 

Sure he is known for struggling with his feelings but it’s not like he would let you bury your feelings too much. That is not good for your health and he wants the best for you! 

It’s nice that you can change your ways about pda, I mean he loves to be close to you but only when theres no one to see it! 

Satan is definitely a person you can discuss a wide range of topic with, so you really shouldn not hold back with talking! 

I think he would pay special attention to the kind of food you like, and makes sure spicy food is never on the menu when he is on cooking duty! 

He would definitely find your tendencies of being an airhead a cute thing that humans do sometimes. He wouldn’t make an issue out of being more straight forward with you at times. 

He really appreciates your devotion to him and he will do anything to make sure you know he loves you a lot! 

Don’t forget that he also loves cats a lot so adopting several cats in the future is something you would probably not be able to avoid. 

#obey me #obey me! #swd obey me #obey me swd #obey me shall we date #obey me matchup #obey me satan #om! satan #satan obey me #satan om!

[dragonanddirewolf]

1 4 6 10

Wow thank you for so many questions! Sorry I took some time- I wanted to think about these.

1. When did you get into art?

I think I was about 13? My brother’s wife (girlfriend at the time) was really into anime and manga and she showed me this sketchbook that her friend made. It was so pretty and I absolutely loved it! I spent months copying every single drawing. I then started doing art at GCSE and my teacher was super demanding and somehow I managed to find that really stimulating and decided to stick with it.

I don’t think I ever had a natural ‘talent’ for art. My old drawings were awful. I was a very academic child and found that because art was the most challenging subject for me (like the masochist I am) I wanted to make it my focus.

4. What defines your artistic style?

I think that because I did a lot of oil painting and ‘traditional’ art my drawings have been very sketchy for a long time. Only since doing Inktober I am finally finding a balance between illustration and clean lines and still keeping my original style

6. What level of artistic education have you had?

I have a Bachelors degree in Fine Art. I would say though that despite going to a pretty prestigious art university in the UK our art education is absolutely shocking. There’s zero emphasis on traditional skills (observational drawing, colour theory, anatomy, perspective etc) and no art history by the time you get to university level. All they try to teach you is ‘conceptual thinking’. I absolutely hated paying thousands of ££££ a year just to rent a studio space and spend hours painting to then have to admire my colleagues ‘art’ which was a coffee cup in an empty room.

Most of my skills come from what I learnt in sixth form (high school), years of life drawing and being self taught. I would recommend life drawing to anyone who wants to improve their drawing skills.

10. What do you like most about your art?

I enjoy the variety of things I do. I think that because I’ve only been doing digital art for about 6 months I’m still learning so much and I enjoy all the new things I’m able to create.

If I was talking about details however... I just love drawing faces. They’re definitely the most important element of every drawing and I feel that as long as I can get those right the rest of the drawing will fall into place

—————

The meme is here if anyone else wants to ask me anything ❤️

#ask #reply #personal #meme

[spiffyworks]

Artist’s Software Surfing P1 - Sketching

SSSo recently, after finishing (an admittedly long-overdue) a piece, I decided to download a trial of the new Corel Painter 2019. I hadn’t used Painter since my old DeviantArt days (circa 2005) and wanted to see how it felt with more digital art-veteran hands. Loaded it up, started sketching my default doodle-muse and wow, that “Real 2B” pencil feels great. I loved it so much, and wondered why. 

That’s the story that is spawning this weird personal series of Software Surfing. I wanted to write little notes to future-me on how it felt using my favorite sketching tools in each program I have, and after the sixth one I thought it might be a good idea to check out inking, colouring, painting, etc. and writing those down as well.

So I’m writing this series for myself, but making it available in case anyone else can benefit as well. Thanks for sticking with the intro, let’s get into it.

Artist’s Software Surfing P1 - Sketching Artist’s Software Surfing P2 - Inking Artist’s Software Surfing P3 - Colouring Artist’s Software Surfing P4 - Painting

There are many ways to sketch, but this is specifically the classic “pencil” or “drawing” form using the tools with the program’s default settings.

As an introduction, this is my doodle-muse, Cloey. She was my first original character, and though I don’t usually share my anthro art on here (I know that’s not everyone’s thing) I do have a separate blog for that stuff that you can find here if you’re so inclined. If you’re familiar with Artgerm (and you should be), she’s basically my Pepper.

Corel Painter’s “Real 2B”:

The one that started it all. The pencil just GLIDES, and I’ve always loved when you can tilt a pencil tool and it will shade just like tilting a real-life pencil. The only thing I want from a program now is to be able to bind touch to blenders so I can use my finger to smudge-blend the scribbling. (I tried drawing that fist so many times /fume)

Likes: Tilt functionality, line width variance, stroke speed, eraser Dislikes: Rebinding Rotate Canvas tool was a pain. I like Shift+Space, and that key combo is reflected in the shortcut panel, but it just continued to pan. Never worked for me, and rotating or flipping the page quickly is crucial for my sketching process. Also sometimes if I quickly resize the eraser and mash it down to use, it won’t detect any input.

Photoshop, Kyle Webster’s “2B” & “Animator Pencil”: 

**Disclaimer** Firstly, I’ve used Photoshop for over 15 years now, and it’s a great digital art tool, but for drawing and painting I find it’s sorely lacking. It’s slow, expensive, and unintuitive. That being said, there are some things this program does exclusive to others so I’m still clinging to it (desperately) and while I would definitely recommend something else for budding digital artists, I have to supplement my misgivings by purchasing additional plugins and tools, such as the famed Kyle T Webster’s Ultimate Megapack for Photoshop (

which is now complementary with Photoshop CC, damnit

). Unless otherwise noted, all the brushes I use in Photoshop will be from that pack. **End Disclaimer**

Following off the heels of Corel, I remembered messing around with another “2B” (which btw is my personal favorite traditional pencil to sketch with) in Kyle Webster’s Drawing Box in Photoshop. It felt a bit similar, but with no tilt functionality and it really lacked the chunky-thickness (a scientific term) I enjoyed with Painter’s pencil. I switched to my favorite (and the favorite of MANY digital artists btw) his “Animator’s Pencil”. So chunky, but the ability to shade lightly... It’s really a fun brush to use for sketching digitally. Still one of my absolute favorites.

Animator Pencil Likes: Line width variance, texture fills in and scales perfectly Dislikes: It’s a photoshop exclusive, a program that for some reason you can’t bind shortcuts to whatever you please, takes forever to load, and WAY too often suffers input lag while drawing. Also no tilt shading, :’( aw

Paintstorm’s “Textured Pencil” & “Pencil Tilt”

As a bit of an aside, I love Paintstorm, Paintstorm is what got me back into digital drawing and painting after doing 3D and game design for 7 years. I bought it for the very low price of entry (2 licenses for $30) and was impressed by its ability to customize literally anything in the program. You can create your own tool/brush boxes, bind any shortcut to any key combination, and every single brush tool adjustment comes with the most customization control of any program I’ve come across since Photoshop set the bar way back in the day. Out of the box a lot of the basic brushes have that old OpenCanvas or PaintTool Sai feel, but more recently they’ve added some very textured default brushes you can play around with. It’s also hands-down the FASTEST program I’ve ever worked in. I highly recommend giving it a try, it’s great for learning and experimentation. I grew a lot working in Paintstorm.

The Textured Pencil is a fun sketching brush, you can get as think or thick as you’d want and it keeps a clean outline. The Pencil Tilt really blew my mind the first time I used it. YOU CAN SHADE! It was the first time I had ever seen a program do that. The tilt has a great texture, fantastic control, and gets just as dark as you’d need. I’d recommend using them both, the Textured Pencil for a cleaner sketch, and the Pencil Tilt for something more expressive or loose.

Krita’s Ink-Tilt & “Sketch”:

I’ll be honest, I have almost no experience in Krita despite having downloaded and given it a try back in 2014. It was a hell of a time to figure out how to rebind my usual shortcuts (flip horz, rotate canvas). I couldn’t even rebind colour grab/eyedropper. Yikes. I opened up the “Sketching” brush box and there were only two options, made worse as one was a sketch pen... That lacked the flexibility of ballpoint. 

First I grabbed the pencil dubbed “Sketch” and was bewildered why the size of the circle was so large compared to the mark it made. Very confusing. Feeling intimidated, I abandoned it immediately to try out the “ink_tilt” (which by the way there’s no tilt functionality??) and hated it. I reluctantly went back to the pencil and just started trying to make marks. Wow. It’s weird, but surprisingly fun. You have to be willing to relinquish a LOT of control, but the shapes the brush makes while moving and tilting during a stroke can yield some really interesting and suggestive shapes. I would say great for early concepting or making something really loose and expressive. Fun to play with, but not really practical.

Clip Studio Paint’s Real Pencil & Rough Pencil

I’ve been wholly immersed in CSP since I purchased the program back in late 2016. It goes on sale often, so you can pick up a nice fully featured program for ~$35. I’d had my eye on it for a while and still really want to get into self-publishing comics, so I picked it up, bought a couple of brush packs for it (it’s pretty lacking in default painting tools) and I’ve been illustrating in it ever since. The brush creation isn’t as fun as Paintstorm, but brushes are quite customizable. I usually like to use the “Rough Pencil” if I want just a little texture and line variance, or the “Darker Pencil” for something cleaner. Trying to be different, I just jotted out a couple heads in ones I don’t normally use, the Real Pencil and Design Pencil. The Real Pencil has a lot of texture, but for some reason in CSP the textures don’t seem to scale with the brush, so I tend to avoid using it in most cases. I hate the design pencil, I just could never get dark enough. I guess that’s probably the point, though.

Well, that definitely wraps this digest up. I feel refreshed after trying out a lot of new digital sketching brushes. I was really reminded of how much I enjoyed drawing in Paintstorm. I hope someone other than me found this useful or otherwise inspiring! Sometimes, especially if you’re stuck in some art blockage, it’s a good idea to try something new, and for me digitally that’s hopping programs and trying new brushes.

I’m thinking about doing inks, colours, and painting at some point. Let me know if anyone’s interested in those! I’m planning on doing some for myself eventually, but I might expedite a post if anyone is interested. o/ Take it easy,  y’all.

Artist’s Software Surfing P1 - Sketching Artist’s Software Surfing P2 - Inking Artist’s Software Surfing P3 - Colouring Artist’s Software Surfing P4 - Painting

#process #sketching #software #guide

[yieldingtides]

Mentorship Notes Pt. 1

For those who don’t know, I’m currently in a mentorship class in school, where me and my peers work with a professional on the field for few weeks. And I got a chance to meet Chris Moeller for my first assignment. He made illustrations for magic the gathering, DC comics, and his own IP; through his own comics and tabletop games. Overall, he’s a neat dude (pretty much a bro to my professor. My experience was more relaxed than I expected). I’m gonna miss him...His last day in GR was yesterday with a short Q&A and a painting demo for a future art show I’m going to be part of next month. He gave advice about comic making, his painting methods, and composition in general so here’s the gist what I picked up or should be basic knowledge when completing artwork:

Composition, painting tips and art advice (can be applied for digital media too)

Please do preliminary and value studies before starting your final! After figuring the value (and/or the color choices) of the subject, it will be easier to make it into fruition than doing things off the wall. Decisions you made should be generally locked in before starting on canvas or paper, either traditional or digital means. And the medium you choose is also a factor. For watercolor, you have to plan many things ahead before starting while acrylic is more forgiving; you can correct mistakes later.

Try to sketch interesting things from life when you have the chance. The more you do it, the faster you get to translate bodies, interesting designs, or landscapes with simple strokes. He has two separate sketchbooks: One that is purposely for making life studies and another for made up imagery from his head.

Yellow and purple are considered neutral colors in temperature (compare to green/blue being cold and red/orange as warm). This goes back to color theory a bit. Consider the relationship to other colors on canvas and other elements to make spaces believable (ex. making a yellow scarf in shadow isn’t exactly a darker “yellow”. Environment dictates if it’s going to be warmer or cooler).

Not a lot of artists will voice on how they reached the final image and Chris believes it’s the hardest part in completing an artwork. He’s the type to fill up a canvas first with general shapes and defines it later with a smaller brush. But other artists will render a part fully first, then work on the next part till completion. All are just decisions made in the moment. 

Work what works with you. Find artists that have a similar style to yours, and study techniques from said inspirations. See if it’s easy to attempt naturally and if it’s outside your current skill set or not really the type of techniques that will benefit from your natural preference, find something else.

Comic related stuff:

I asked this when talking about mainstream comics but in the 90′s you have to pre-plan your comic stories (pages, covers, etc) and present them to a publisher to start it or get rejected. Now, it’s easier (or harder) to get that kind of work shown on the internet. Connect with other artists by joining groups or have similar interest groups, and you can build from there. The goal is getting your work published (either by yourself or from someone) and put it in your portfolio to find more jobs.

He’s also the person that likes to be in the zone of things. He loves all stages of comic making since it allows his writing to be visualized. (from thumbnail, refining the final layout and painting his panels). There’s not a lot of comic painters out there (at least painters that use traditional mediums) but I think it gives a certain charm for his overall work than inking and coloring panels instead. That being said...

Traditional artists sometimes are able to sell original illustrations or pages made for the publication, therefore it’s kinda like a secondary income? That doesn’t happen with digital painters other than making prints but seriously having the original artwork being physical is worth it in the long run, I think.

More artists are trying to get their own IPs out there than working under a certain name (like DC or Marvel for example). Making your own ideas and being passionate about what you like to do will make your work better. If you want to see a story you like to read? Make it. A game you want to make but hasn’t attempted by your favorite creators? Make it. Generally, make the content you want to do despite the odds. “If you’re trying chase the trends happening at the time, it’s going to make you fail. And I hate failing. Work on the things you love and people will find you.”

I hope this stuff insights for anyone who is interested~ If you like to follow him on social media, he has an Instagram.

#blog post

[lokisasylum]

“These fans sitting around, known as ARMY, are almost as famous as the band itself. Fiercely devoted, they’re able to mobilize themselves en masse and sell out stadiums like no one else—as well as being often misrepresented by media outlets as insane screaming teenage girls with no substance, who “don’t even understand the lyrics.” Because, of course, for some critics young women are not allowed to be passionate about anything without being submitted to ridicule.”

| © Biju Belinky @ Noisey (Vice Magazine)

THAT 👏 SHADE  👏THO! 👏

Can we talk about it for a minute and how fucking true it is?  And its not just limited to music, but to everything and anything women do.

I’ve seen and felt this first hand growing up, especially if you live with a traditional/conservative family. And it only gets more irritating if you have an older brother who happens to the favorite.

If my brother likes Anime and plays video games its called a hobby. But if I do the same its me wasting my time.

If my brother shows minor interest in art, he’s seen as a cultured/intellectual individual. But if I fully dedicate myself to art to the point of earning not one, but two degrees in the field I’m told that I could have done something better with my life and receive zero support from my family whatsoever to help me get a job post graduating.

If my brother makes random drawings, scribbles once very full moon out of boredom he’s “an artist” Whereas if I put a lot of effort, time and detail into an actual drawing (be it digital or traditional) its seen as infantile.

My brother can listen to heavy metal and that’s “normal” for him, but if I express interest in the same music genre I’m told that “it’s not what girls should listen to” and “what would people think if they see you singing like a maniac who deserves to be locked up in a loony bin?”

Lets not forget when I got really into Jrock/Jpop back in Highschool (in 2001-2004) and genuinely wanted to learn about Japanese culture; their language, society, their history as a whole (i had already decided then I would major in History)... I was called an embarrassment and my family would literally tell me to shut up if we were in public and I would get caught singing any song that I was into at the time to myself, because “people would think that I was crazy”.

Now that I’ve been into Kpop since early 2013, its no different. All I receive are eye rolls, disapproving shake of the heads, the occasional “why are you obsessed with a bunch of Chinese that look like girls anyway?”, “are you gay too?”, “you don’t even understand what they’re singing.”

What’s kept me standing throughout most of my life, despite the heavy prejudice, has been essentially being born with a defiant spirit and a sense of not wanting to conform with society’s (and sometimes religion) norms of what’s “appropriate” according to my gender.

Because I believe that our genders should not define what’s right/appropriate based on a standard/predetermined design made by someone else.

Like RM said: “Do YOU, do whatever the fuck you want.” cause in the end haters are gonna hate and people in general will always find a way to talk shit and judge you whether or not you try to fit into their overall (superficial) standards.

You like BTS? Then stand BTS, sing their songs, go to concerts, find and FEEL that special meaning behind every word they sing if it gives you a reason to wake up in the morning, to run faster, scream louder. People think and say “Armys are just crazy/delulu fans” for supporting their cause?

Well hey, guess what? Fuck ‘em.  

Cause we won’t stop.

#bts #bantansonyeondan #ARMY #bts army #i-army #k-army #bangtan boys #bantan boys #bts love yourself #Love Yourself #ly answer #love yourself answer

[sickaede]

Art and Writing Q & A

Ok so my askbox has gotten crazy amounts of people asking me questions about my art, writing, etc. and I figured instead of replying individually (since most are anons) I would just throw up a Q & A to get everyone’s questions all at once. As an added bonus, since I am terrible with explaining things in writing I made a little time-lapse to show the art process as well. Hopefully this satisfies everyone’s questions, but if something you wanted to know was not answered here feel free to send me an ask, they are always welcome!   

The video is at the bottom of the Q/A, click read more and scroll down to see it please!

Questions about comissions, other social media, etc. Q: Do you take commissions?  A: Yes! All my comission info can be found on webiste commissions page. If you’d like to donate as well, I also have a Ko-Fi page, and offer (optional) doodle rewards for donors. Q: You don’t post on tumblr frequently anymore, are there other websites I can find your art on? A: Yes! I don’t post as frequently as I used to anywhere anymore due to my projects taking up the majority of my time, HOWEVER...there are other wesites I post on. TMVIX.NET - My website will remain the most up-to-date with all recent art, writing, videos, projects, etc. Twitter - I like to post doodles, WIPs, and updates on my twitter as much as possible.  NSFW Twitter - The good shit.  👌 🌶️ 🔥 I rarely post here, and it is a private account, but no need to ask just click the follow button and I will accept ASAP. Deviantart - Again, rarely post here it’s mostly reposts from tumblr, but it is where the majority of my original content (OC’s, and stuff of that nature) is posted. Questions about my art process. Q: What programs do you use for your art? A: Paint Tool Sai for almost everything, Photoshop CS4 for editing and transparency.

Q: What brushes do you use, and what are your brush settings? A: I pretty much only use the Brush tool, Pen tool, Marker tool, and Watercolor tool for drawing, painting, etc. Here are screenshots of their settings. (The size varies, I chage it a lot.)

Q: What canvas size do you use when you draw? A: As much as SAI and my computer hate me for it, I typically draw on a 4,000x4,000PX canvas. Once I finish my artwork I shrink it down to 50%-75%, this helps get rid of small mistakes in the piece. Q: Do you use a tablet, if so what kind? A: Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done. I use a Wacom Intuos USB Graphics Tablet - 8.5" x 5.3" Q: What kind of pens, markers, paper, etc. do you use on traditional work? A: My art classes have beaten brand loyalty into me, so I am spoiled with the types of pens, markers, pencils, etc. I use. Graphite pencils - Ticonderoga Colored pencils - Prismacolor Markers - Prismacolor Inking pens - Faber Castell Paper - I don’t have a specific brand I draw on, but I like drawing on big paper, usually A2 or A3. Q: How long does a digital drawing usually take. A: Its dependent on how complex and how I'm feeling when I'm drawing it but on average (cutting out time I spend doing other things).

Simple drawings/doodles take me about an hour a pop or less.

Flat colored and shaded drawings with line art usually take me about 2-3 hours.

Paintings and other complex art usually takes 5-6 hours or more.

Comics can take anywhere from 3-7 hours depending on how much detail goes into them.

Q: How long does a traditional drawing usually take? A: Again, depending on complexity about 5-10 hours. Colored pencils are a difficult medium to get right and blending is very touch-and go. Markers usually take a bit less time. Don’t even get me started on graphite and painting... Q: How do you make your line art so clean? A: Erasing/cleaning as you go instead of doing it all at the end usually helps me a bit...and I keep SAI’s stabalizer on S2 most of the time, but if there is a long line I need to make I crank it up to S7. If you want to see the exact process you can watch the video at the bottom of this post.

Q: How do you do your shading? A: I do multiple types of shading, painted, cell, gradient, etc. but the most popular seems to be the painted so I will assume you mean that.

You can watch the video below to see how it's done exactly, but to explain it simply I paint with white on a layer of solid color above my coloring layer, set it to multiply, and bam. Shading.

Q: How you do highlights, lowlights, etc.? A: Those are a bit trickier, and I didn't show them in the video but I will do my best to explain.  

I like to treat lowlights like cell shading for the most part, think of them as a place where the darkest shadows would fall. Don't get carried away, lowlights are supposed to be subtle, and extenuate the depth of where those shadows fall. I use multiply for this shading layer too, and typically use a darker shade of the same color I did for the base shading.

Highlights are easier, just think of where the light falling would be the brightest on your piece. I like to do more than one set of highlights - usually two or three - but make sure if you do multiple sets to make the secondary highlights smaller and subtler than the primary ones or you will end up with a big shiny blob. I also typically use a brighter color than the one I used for shading (for example if purple is the shading color try pastel pink or orange for the highlight color) or sometimes I just use white. I switch between the 'screen' and 'overlay' blending options for them.  

Q: What fonts do you use for your art, comics, etc.? A: Honestly, I usually just write out my own text, my handwriting is terrible but it's easier than opening photoshop and hunting for a good font... When I do use fonts, I HATE the factory ones for the most part, so I use stuff from Dafont.com.

Q: How do you clean your traditional art and digitalize it?  A: I don’t do much traditional anymore, but I actually made an in-depth tutorial awhile back about it and I still use the same method. It can be found here.  

Q: What are your inspirations for your art?  A: My friends are my biggest inspiration, I am lucky enough to know a lot of talented artists that always inspire and encourage me to improve and keep drawing what I love. 

Questions about my writing process.

Q:Can you give some writing tips? (There we a lot of these.)  A: Well, i’m not sure what you mean specifically but I will do my best! Sorry this is a bit long-winded, but hopefully it will be helpful. 

The most helpful thing you can do for your writing is to read other people’s work, of course that does not mean you need to copy their writing style...however, seeing the way other people put words together is very helpful to get out of your own head. It is easy to get stuck in a sort of ‘writing loop’ and end up writing similar things over and over again in different contexts. Taking a look at other’s view on things can help get you out of that loop. 

 Make sure you change up your wording! It’s easy to end up using the same descriptive terminology over and over again without meaning to. What I like to do when I write is to just get a big chunk done without worrying about grammar, repetition, etc. Then when I finish I go back and look over it, change up the words to sound fresh and different, and fix any grammar mistakes. Don’t be afraid to look up synonyms for stuff too if you can’t think of a different word, it isn’t a crime. Getting someone else's opinion on your writing after you’ve finished is also helpful! Proof readers are the best way to help you see your work in the eyes of your readers and make it exciting and interesting to them.  

 Get in the mood of the scene you are trying to set, be descriptive in what your characters are feeling and seeing. Often times people forget that even in simply scenes there is a whole world around your character that the reader cannot see. It’s your job as the writer to describe that world, so that the reader can see it in their head as clearly as you did when you were writing it. Listening to music while I'm writing really helps me with this, for example if you are writing an action scene listen to some high energy music. Get pumped up for that fight scene!  

Build your world, even if it's not an original work. Fanfiction authors tend to forget that despite their fandom’s world being pre-built, it’s still YOUR writing! Leave hints, foreshadow, throw in some background characters to fill up your world and make it unique. Make your readers think about how the world around your characters work, what might happen next, etc. 

 Keep the rules and timeline of your world consistent and understandable. Yes, I know, it sounds boring, but it’s very helpful to make your writing sound more interesting and easy to comprehend. Is there magic in your story, how does that magic work, can everyone use it, are there different types? Apply simple rules like this to your world that apply consistently throughout your writing. Your readers will thank you for it.  

 Do your research, yes again, boring I know. It's easy to project yourself and how you view the world on your own characters, making their personalities similar or identical. Think about how someone in their circumstances would act, if they’ve been through a traumatic experience how might that affect the way things work in their head? The way they interact with others and the world around them? Make sure to diversify your cast, not everyone in the world is alike, and your characters shouldn’t be either. 

Give yourself time, formulate ideas on how your storyline will connect and where it will go. You don’t have to crank out an entire book in a day, think everything over before you go through like a whirlwind and post stuff that you may not like. However, don’t take forever either. (I tend to do this a lot...) Overthinking your story can also hurt, don’t fret over every single tiny little detail. Making a timeframe for yourself and sticking to it can be helpful to keeping yourself on track and posting chapters regularly.  

Lastly, never get discouraged. This goes for both artists and writers. Just because you aren’t entirely happy with how your art or writing looks or sounds at the moment, or you see someone doing it better than you does not mean you should give up. Use those that you look up to as inspiration to improve your own work. Keep going, keep practicing, you will get better! Keep doing what you love doing. 

Q: What has your experience been with writing?   A: I will try to keep this shorter than the last one, but here goes... 

I honestly don’t have that much experience with writing, but I've always enjoyed it. I’ve been writing about my OC’s for MUCH, MUCH longer than I've been writing fics, in fact I can’t remember a time when I didn’t make up little stories for my various characters. Pretty much every drawing you see of mine has some storyline behind it. However, my fanfiction writing was more recent, I didn’t write anything fan-related until a few years ago, and I didn’t post any of it until I put OSR up. The majority of my experience comes from original content, role playing, etc. but I am so happy to be writing fics that people enjoy and hope to continue and eventually adapt OSR into a comic.  

Q: Do you have original stories, can we read any of them?  A: Yes, and no. I do have original stories, but I have not published them anywhere and they are still very much works in progress. Eventually I would love to share them with everyone, but it won’t be for a long time. For now, I hope you can enjoy the small amount of content I post about my OCs, and I will keep everyone updated when I do decide to share my own personal stories. 

Enjoy the video, hope this helped!  ✨

#Sick's shit #Q & A #Ask #Art process #art #writing #writing process #??? #Idk what to tag #Archive

[yourdlmatchmaker]

I think this one is the longest match up I’ve answered so far… :’)

“Hello there, this looked fun. Could I have a long match-up please?

1. Physical appearance: 5'4" (163cm) 100lbs (45kg) very long dark reddish brown hair, dark brown eyes, olive skin (Mix of Thai, English and German) My look has been compared to a scaled down (in height) fashion model – that is long legs, very skinny, high somewhat hollow cheek bones, narrow face and a high forehead with almost no bust to speak of and a teeny tiny waist, I don’t know if that’s good or bad.

2. Personality: Oh my, where do I begin? Well, I’m definitely an extreme introvert. People usually seem to think I come across as very professional and aloof. I try to be kind and courteous to everyone I meet, but if they do or say anything that bothers me I can be a little prickly and sometimes downright vicious. Little do they know though that I’m like that, because I’m terribly shy around strangers and have a very strong desire to make people happy and protect them. I fear getting close to others, because I don’t want to hurt or be hurt and have a very hard time finding people I can bond with in both an intellectual and emotional way, so I hide behind distance and politeness. Just because I’m shy at first though, doesn’t mean I won’t be a chatterbox once you get to know me though. Once I’m comfortable with you I’ll share (almost) all of my ideas, random musings and gripes, if I think you’ll be receptive towards it anyways. That takes a very long time though and so far only two people have gotten to that point with me. For people that I’m friends with normally I tend to act in a sort of motherly way, giving them advice and helping them with their problems – sometimes admittingly to my own detriment. As well as taking care of them when they are sick or having emotional issues. I don’t like to help people, but on some level I feel like I must do so especially if I know them.

I’m normally a very logical person, so much so that I will occasionally say the wrong thing or offer ideas or advice when it’s not what the other person is looking for, which I realize after the fact but because I really like to just ‘fix’ things I have a hard time understanding that sometimes people need to emotionally vent, and I often just get confused by it. I’ll try to “be there” for them despite that but it is still difficult.

Despite my size and shy disposition I’m actually extremely hard to intimidate and will stand up for myself and other people very quickly. It doesn’t matter who my opponent is or how big, strong or powerful they are, I will stand my ground possibly to the end if I believe in my cause strongly enough (though because of my protective nature it is very easy to make me back down by threatening other people). No matter how many feminine things there are that I love, for some reason I always feel like I end up coming across as a bit too masculine and I often feel a bit more male than female. This isn’t necessarily out of a desire to be male, but rather I feel like I have more masculine than feminine qualities and also feel like I am sadly bereft in the supposedly more girlish personality traits of my sex. Despite this though I have no real desire to change my personality or sex, I am who I am after all. Nevertheless I remind people more of their brothers and sons, and my tiny social circle is all boys (at the moment.)

3. Scorpio (Sun), Gemini (Moon), Gemini (Rising) (The last two are important because despite having almost all of the Scorpio traits, once you get to know me I never shut up. ^_^;)

4. Hobbies/Interests: Drawings, painting (I like both fine art and illustration and can work in several different mediums – acrylic, watercolour, marker, ink and even digital art. Fantasy art, Surrealism, Manga and Impressionism are examples of styles I can do, and I’m still working towards improving my hyperrealist style.) I’ve been obsessed with making art since I was a very small child and at this point it’s really become my life’s work. I dedicate so much of my time, energy and resources to this that I forget to eat or sleep and become a bit of a shut-in. Reading: (Most of my books are non-fiction, though I do enjoy some older fiction on occasion – The Silmarillion, The Great God Pan and pretty much anything by H.P. Lovecraft being some examples. My library contains field guides, books on botany, mycology, medicine, artbooks, anatomy, geography, geology, microbiology, mythology, occult/witchcraft, religion, linguistics, phrasebooks, particle physics, cartography, calligraphy, history, psychology, genetics (…probably a lot more but we’ll be here for far too long.) Gardening: I love growing all sorts of things, but especially herbs and flowers. My living area is full of plants of many different kinds and I devote a significant portion of my time and energy to them. I also like to grow tropical plants from the seeds of fruit that I buy at the grocery store. Manga and Anime: I don’t seem immediately like the sort of person who would love popular culture, but the fact that I can enjoy some fun stories while reading or watching in a language that is not my native tongue has always been the main motivation behind this obsession. I’m also madly in love with cute things and ink drawings. Video Games: Another thing people probably wouldn’t expect by looking at me but… I have a HUGE collection of games (on my computer) of many different kinds. Like with anything else I do, I have to play everything in it’s original language (it’s more fun and respects the artistic integrity more.) I mostly like JRPGs and Visual Novels now, but I used to love Sierra games when I was younger, and some FPS like Doom. There is no type of game I won’t play. Though gaming is generally the lowest thing on my list of priorities these days. Cooking: I like to cook, can can do many different styles. Mostly Thai, but also frequently Japanese (both traditional and modern), Italian, German, English etc. I can cook pretty much anything though I don’t like baking as much. (I’m not super fond of sweets, except on the rare occasion when I must have them.) Fashion and Makeup: I am completely unable to leave the house without makeup and sunscreen and always have to make sure my clothing is at least presentable and neat. I actually enjoy applying makeup and like experimenting with it (I hate doing my hair though, the length is too much so I usually bun or ponytail it.) I also like a few Jfashions, Mori-Girl, Otome-kei and Classical Lolita especially. Unfortunately I’m also a very active person so I usually end up dressing in a more Korean style instead (tight high-waisted jeans, long sleeved tight black shirts and heeled boots – is running in heels a skill? XD), but when it’s practical to do so I love wearing the frilliest dresses I can find with a very poofy petticoat, a bonnet and floral designs. Hiking: I like to forage in the forest for mushrooms and plants when I can. I find that the fresh air and beautiful scenery calms me down and energizes me. Studying Languages: I haven’t had as much time for this lately, but it’s a side hobby. Unfortunately Japanese is the only one I’ve gotten particularly far in… (There are not enough hours in the day or night.)

5. I like: Tea (Especially Earl Grey, must be high quality or I get a stomach ache… yeah I know, its true. @_@), coffee (espresso in lattes or specialty black coffee made in a French Press, no drip :P), Self discipline, Quiet time, Nature, Music (all kinds, though especially symphonic metal), WalkingI love: My cats (though I get along quite well with all felinekind and animals in general (save humans :P), Plants (I mean every kind of plant, though trees and flowers stick out a bit), Fungi (even molds, though not when they’re growing on my food), Beautiful things, Art Supplies, Bright and pastel colours, Antiques, Books, Art, Paintings, Illustration, Shopping for art suppliesI dislike: When people look untidy, Foul smells, People that bore me, Small talk, Sloth, Loud noises, Erratic behavior, Selfishness, People who act overtly friendly and try to get close to you too fastI loathe: Cruelty (especially towards animals and children), Cowardice, Deliberate ignorance, People who complain a lot, Irresponsibility

6. I was unable to bond with my sole caregiver due to extreme child abuse and neglect on their part, In addition to that I was not allowed to attend school until my teenage years (I was educated very strictly at home, supposedly because I was too advanced to fit in at school – though it might also have been to keep me prisoner at home all the time. >_<). Due to this I have had a very hard time fitting in with society as my childhood was mostly spent alone, reading, drawing, playing computer games, spending time with the cats that I lived with and going out into nature (I made friends with a couple of squirrels.) Much of what I knew about people and the world was gleaned from books, magazines and the internet – although I was allowed to associate with a few family friends on occasion. I did have a very good intellectual education (though often held to impossible standards), but because I was so cut off from more normal ways of socializing I still have a very hard time relating to other people.“Relationship-wise” I’m umm… actually extremely submissive in private (^_^;) (Not something most people would expect as I seem very proud and dominant normally). I’m also very easy to embarrass as I’m not very comfortable talking directly about certain sorts of… umm… “romantic” things and avoid almost all forms of public affection. Above all else I look for people who can understand and relate to me via interests and experiences and who I can also relate to in the same way. Probably the same thing most people look for… but figured I should mention it. Would rather not be paired up with Ruki, I have a huge personal grudge against him that dates back to More Blood – and a part of me still plots his doom. (I apologize deeply to all the Ruki fans though.)

Hope this wasn’t too long, I feel a bit silly. (^_^;)

Take your time and have fun with this.

Could I please be anonymous?”

Admin Abi: Oh my~ what a long and detailed match up!! I really enjoyed reading it and I NEED to say that I felt identified with many parts!! Well~ I hope you get to see it “anon-chan” ;D and I thank you for the long wait. Long reply for a long match!

*finishing your match up*

Your romantic match is…

Reiji!

I must say/confess…I seriously I thought I was reading Reiji’s female description! I don’t intend to offend you and I apologize if I did. But you see…I want to explain myself a little more as to why I said it…

I'll tell you how you two met! After some time that you were studying in a school, you just wasn’t able to fit. Your parents then decided to change you into a more private school. They even changed you into a night-time school. During that time of the day, they thought you would be able to fit more since there would be less students as well as to keep your high level of education. They sing you up to this school and to be honest you weren’t very sure or excited about it. It would mean to adapt one more time and start all over again. Adapting to the time, education system and…met new people once again. On your first day you had a hard time finding your classroom…you were lost and let’s say you didn’t know exactly how you ended up in the chemistry laboratory. You knocked and…a handsome and elegant man opened. He seemed somehow annoyed, but he asked you what is that you wanted. You showed him your schedule and asked him where you could find your class. He gave you the directions and you thank him. This encounters seem to happen constantly since you seemed to always cross paths. He was always polite (and annoyed) and gave you instructions whenever you needed. One time you asked a girl of your class if she knew him so you could thank him properly for all his help. She was surprised and told you that he was no other that Reiji Sakamaki, the most popular family in school. She was more surprised that you get to be in good terms with the second eldest of the brothers.

“Reiji is well known to be the perfect gentleman…but he is unrechable. He’s cold towards everyone and thinks of himself above all. No one has see him dating any girl and he just closes himself in the chemistry laboratory, yet he is the top student in school. I really think you shouldn’t try to catch him, you’ll end up rejected” the girl told you. It’s not like you had those intentions with him in the first place, you just wanted to thank him. The next day you went to his class and simply left him a small note telling him how greatful you were. He was impressed? You couldn’t tell to be honest. You kept having encounters with him, you discovered that he was a little more open when you both were alone. He showed you his perfectionist nature as his sadist part. Yet…you seem to be unavoidable attracted to him. You of course were polite and a lady at first and that gave you extra points! He never confessed to you directly? He just simply let know that you now belong to him~.

He can’t believe how many things you both have in common. Just like you Reiji has an interest in botanics and science. You both have created a small garden with all types of herbs and a small section with flowers. You two sometimes have disagreements since you both are very logical, so you tend to discuss about some things. There were times in which you had troubles with him since he can’t stand being told what he should do (I mean it wasn’t your intention to offend him…you just tried giving him some advice!). Yet…even Reiji had it difficult to make you afraid…you were so difficult to intimidate, how you do it?.

He also had some troubles accepting or at least trying not to change you that much about your preferences. He sometimes have problems dealing with your more masculine nature…but well no one is 100% perfect. He sighs loudly and you know that you are doing something that is bothering him. He also doesn’t like that you tend to hang more with men that girls, yet he knows that even though you are nice and such with them…no one could provide you with the things he offers for you like a deep connection both mental and emotional. He also don’t mind the fact that you have social problems…I mean he manages to keep you with him almost all the time. He’s pleased whenever you dress like a lday or all cute just for him…it makes him feel good with the fact that he gets to know you better than anyone.

He understands what is like to grow alone and being force (in a way) to always give your best and being the best. He felt like he needed to have you all by himself and you fekt the same. You had someone to care for (well not literally but as a target to your attentions and love) and so has he. He always take care of you no matter the circunstances, he has found you and has no intention to let you go…never!

Your dates are mostly staying at his room, having a nice cup of Earl Grey tea (of the highest quality, who you think he is?) and discussing for hours about deep and serious topics. He enjoys your vast knowledge in literature, sciences, botanics, medice, linguistics, witchcraft (which he also has used), gentics…man, he can talk to you for hours and just like you said there are times you both wished the day had more hours to keep going. Even your drawings, pieces of art and knowledge in general never cease to stop to amaze him (he won’t admit it though…his biggest attempt to praise you, would be telling you “you did a good job” or “Indeed you are right about this”). Your interests are so vast that is incredible to make you both stop (Reiji is the one that always stops the conversation in order to go to sleep). Reiji sometimes have problems with your huge invest of time in your video games…but he accepts that a break once in a while is important. You small walks also doesn’t bother him that much…he has one of his familiars keeping an eye on you at all moments so he doesn’t have to worry and can concetrate on his chores and experiments in peace.

Reiji is a true gentleman: he always remembers the important dates, the things that you like and those you don’t. I can tell you that he knows perfectly that you are rather new when it comes with romantic things, so he doens’t push you into hand holding or kissing since he, himself, doesn’t like it. Your submissive nature with his dominant one makes a great combination, he feels so proud that he gets to see your true nature…and that you show it just for him…not just in a “pervert way”, but also as the chatty and even your akwardness. Because that true self with imperfections and all…is what makes you perfect to his eyes. You are so perfect together: YOU TWO HAVE SO MANY THINGS IN COMMON THAT HE SHOULD THANK HEAVENS FOR SENDING HIM SOMEONE AS PERFECT FOR HIM AS YOU!!

I hope you liked it and that I made sense? I feel that in some parts I wasn’t very clear or…maybe that was just my imagination…?

Either way hope you get to see it and like it of course…and thank you for your patience again!!

#diabolik lovers match up #Reiji #match up #match maker #hope you like it! #sorry for the wait #thanks for you long patience #long match up #wah~ I wrote for 3 hours!! #I hope you read this my dear #hope you get to read it anon-chan! #anonymous #Oh my~ #now my head is about to explote! #I don't mind though~ #I had a lot of fun #I even got inspired!! #I just let my creativity go wild!! #bluesporepixie #xD

[peckhampeculiar]

Tailoring with a twist

Samantha Russell from TENS Studio creates handmade outfits for women and men featuring bright and unique prints. She tells how she followed a long-held dream to set up her own fashion label  

 Words Emma Finamore; Photo Lima Charlie 

 Bespoke tailoring and exclusive prints might be items you associate with the suit-makers of Savile Row and high-end boutiques, but you can buy them right here in Peckham, from a local fashion designer-maker who’s set up shop just off Rye Lane.

Samantha Russell has been living in the area since she studied illustration at Camberwell College of Art, and established her clothing brand, TENS Studio in early 2016.

She specialises in tailored shirts, shorts, trousers and two-piece sets in bright, unique prints, as well as collaborations with Peckham artists and designers. She also makes high-quality unisex sweatshirts and T-shirts with one-off embroidered designs.

However, despite studying at Camberwell, when she graduated Samantha never imagined she would be able to forge a career using her skills in illustration and instead started working in education and schools via an agency.

She worked in a referral unit with children suffering from serious behavioural issues, then at Harris Academy Peckham on Peckham Road, where she was in charge of speech and language.

She also acted as literacy coordinator for the school. “It was such a good job,” she says of her time there. “I loved those kids and the people I worked with. It was so inspiring.”

In her spare time though, Samantha was already sowing the seeds to start her own business. “I’d been making clothes for a really long time when I started TENS – about seven years,” she says.

Using skills picked up at university – such as an eye for the lines of a rough pattern and general dexterity – she started making full outfits from scratch with no training or formal patterns. 

“I was just making outfits for myself,” she says. “First of all I would just make dresses for nights out – I’d go to the fabric shop, find this incredible fabric that you could buy by the yard for next to nothing, then go home and make these outfits.” 

Then Samantha started making ensembles for her birthday and for Carnival weekend and festivals: tops or two-piece shorts-and-top sets. “I found this amazing African print with the Chanel logo,” she remembers.

“I hate to think about all the fabric I wasted because then I didn’t know about cutting material efficiently to save as much of it as possible, but I would end up with one outfit that I wanted to wear. And that was all I wanted at the time.”

When it was time to move on from her role at Harris Academy in 2015, she was thinking that her love of fashion design was something she could develop into a business.

That winter she started an internship as a sample room assistant at Russian fashion house Vilshenko, where friend (and now fellow Peckham-based designer) Beatrice King of Sturla was working as a cutter. 

“It was scary, I’d never done anything in the fashion industry, and didn’t know anything,” Samantha remembers.

She spent three months there dealing with the label’s samples and fabric packs and the components to make pieces, which had to be sent all over the world for shoots and further tailoring.

It was high-stress work – these were designer items worth a lot of money, with all the associated pressure of making sure everything was perfect – but Samantha says she learnt a lot, and that the experience now helps her run her own brand. 

“I did think at the time, ‘I don’t really want to learn how to pack, I want to learn how to make patterns’,” she says. “But I did copy out patterns, and I’ve realised since that I learnt so much from that job.

“I learnt the basics, like how to draw really accurate patterns, what essential information to include. So if something’s being sent to the graders, you give them a pattern and they give you the measurements for small, medium and large, for example.”

She also learnt about “tech packs, the garment drawing, what components you need, what fabric goes on, what buttons you use, organising so you can take it out and know exactly what’s going on.

“It was the simple things as well, like making sure you write down where you get everything like the buttons and other components. It sounds so obvious, but you don’t know until you work in a job like that.”

In the new year she and Beatrice went back to their jobs at Vilshenko and realised they were both thinking the same thing: they wanted to take what they’d learned there and combine it with their love of design and desire to work for themselves.

They knew from friends that spaces in Holdron’s Arcade on Rye Lane were within budget for fledgling businesses. Samantha made a call to the landlord and found an available unit. That day they went to view it and snapped up the spot there and then. 

“It was so quick,” says Samantha. “So we were like, ‘Yes – we’ll take it!” and then we needed to think of a name. By the 10th day of January we were still trying to think of one, and so we settled on TENS – for the 10th.” 

TENS Studio was born. In just a few months, the two new entrepreneurs had to make all the clothes ready for the launch, furnish and dress the shop and set up their own business. Samantha also had to learn how to grade clothes.

“We had no money,” she recalls, “and we had to paint the furniture, print the T-shirts and just not eat. And we did it all in front of everyone because the shop was open in the arcade, there for everyone to see.”  

Beatrice later decided to go her own way with Sturla and make high-end tracksuit sets under her own brand, while Samantha continued with TENS and her aim to create handmade limited edition two-piece outfits made from original prints, designed by herself or in collaboration with artists, playing to her own skills and interests.

“I don’t really know much about ‘fashion’ as such, like when fashion week is, or what season I should be designing for,” she says. “I just like making things I like, and having the chance to work with my friends.”

Samantha has already achieved what she set out to do. Since 2016 she’s been making bespoke shirts, short-and-top and shirt-and-trouser sets, even baby outfits to order, and creating clothing lines in collaboration with local designers and artists.

One such project saw her working with Gabriella Rosenau of Morewalls to come up with pigeon-inspired prints (repeat patterns that look like traditional prints from far away, revealing the pigeon detail up close) and a unisex cut to create MoreTENS.

It’s a collection of high-quality T-shirts and sweatshirts embroidered with their pigeon line-drawing design, as well as tailored two-piece sets in their own exclusive pigeon print, which are made to order.

The two have even produced a MoreTENS lookbook together, shot on location in south-east London using local models. Shoppers can see the resulting prints on the walls of TENS Studio, or find them online. There are plenty more exciting local collaborations with designers and artists in the pipeline too.

TENS is currently developing another line with Lucas Dupay, for example, a south London abstract painter. Lucas is painting fabric for some one-of-a-kind two-piece sets, and together with TENS is producing a digital print in a separate design for made-to-order pieces, as well as an embroidered design.

Samantha has also taken part in local events, like last summer’s Copeland Park market featuring brands from all over south-east London, pushing the message of #SupportYourLocals.

She co-organised an all-female designer-maker market at 133 Rye Lane, encouraging people to support women in fashion and urging them to choose ethically produced products and promoting the #SayNoToFastFashion message. 

She’s come a long way with her shop too. After sharing the store with a few other local brands, Samantha now occupies the space on her own, in a fully dedicated TENS Studio. 

She reopened her newly decorated and reconfigured shop in early March, and now stocks London jewellery designer-makers like Graham Sayle, Joe Holbrook and Lizzie Kingdom, along with handmade leather cross-body bags from Kyodai.

She’s also kitted out the unit with a new, bigger work station (also built by Graham Sayle) allowing her to draw and cut designs, as well as sewing them, all while manning the store and taking ad hoc enquiries about commissions from customers.

Tailoring is at the centre of TENS Studio, so it seems right that Samantha’s sewing machine takes pride of place in the shop. It’s at the centre of how she sees her brand moving forward now too.

“I’ve made some good patterns, which I hope to expand so customers can come into the shop or go online and choose the silhouette, size and fabric and get something that’s a bit special made that they can keep forever, no matter what goes in and out of style – timeless pieces.”

If that sounds appealing, you don’t have far to go: head to Holdron’s Arcade.