lucidmoth26

Latest Posts by lucidmoth26

I may be used to him as a ghost, But to know that in one world he's living happily in life. Makes me happy.

Elias but him living in Modern day~

🩵🌹✨

I should try this..

Hi, Vanna here. I have submitted to the strange authority of Xenforo's image hosting system, which demands that if I want gallery items to appear in proper order, I will have to upload them back to front.

As such, welcome to the last few page's of Animedia Magazine's September 1997 supplemental Duelist Bible, translated by Nagumo and edited by me!

Anyway

THIS IS NOT A DRILL, VINTAGE OFFICIAL PATTERNS FOR YOUR VERY OWN DIY CHU-CHU

Interesting really...

I don't want to even imagine the face Kore would make when she finds out that in the creation of the universe the Aztec gods caused not one, not two, but FOUR genocides 🤣😭 some intentional, some not

First of all, thank you for the ask!

There’s going to be a lot of whiplash between how certain deities behave.

I won’t ramble too much but one thing I want to make clear is that I definitely won’t shy away from making the gods assholes, and in some aspects what most people would consider “evil”.

The mexica gods are pretty much always noted as being very…dual. Duality has always been a focus in the mexica religion, a god can be the god of fertility and the god of death, because life is ultimately a cycle of birth and death. They’re not good people because they aren’t humans, why would they want to conform to morality when they’re the personification of nature, of disaster, of life, of destruction, etc etc? Nature and life aren’t fair, why would deities be any different?

This can also be applied to many other deities not just the mexica ones specifically. But I do want to highlight that they’re pretty much all petty asses in one way or another. It’s one of my major complaints for LO how Persephone and Hades can’t ever be flawed, if Persephone kills 10 trillion people it’s not her fault and if Hades mutilates a guy then he had it coming, etc etc. let gods be gods and be immoral, half(or more tbh) of all myths wouldn’t exist if gods were tied down to the morality of what now most societies consider good.

Im not sure if I explained myself correctly, I usually have more ease explaining these sort of things in Spanish(but only by a bit), but hopefully it was coherent enough. Anyways I’m not going to sugarcoat anything, which other than adding more accuracy and more depth for these characters, adds more possibility for comedy lol. Persephone is in for a ride😭

Lily of the Valley and Cigarette Butts

Summary: LORE Rekindled Oneshot, canon complacent, takes place after ep 70, in which a confused Minthe opens the door to none other than Persephone.

Word Count: 2.9K

Warnings: swearing, references to violence, lots of smoking A/N: So, I’ve never posted fanfiction before, but I’m a huge fan of @genericpuff’s LORE Rekindled series and while showering, this oneshot popped into my head. And it hasn’t left. So after a lot of editing and rereads, here it is. I have never smoked a cigarette in my life so everything in this is an educated guess. I hope I did these awesome characters justice. @1theneighborhoodcoffeeaddict1

Minthe angerly paced the length of the swimming pool, wet red hair swinging behind her. He was late. Hades’s little family reunion, which usually took three or four hours, had him gone for ten. She slowly inhaled a searing breath of nicotine before putting out the stub against an expensive flower pot. 

What the fuck could he be doing? Was Zeus keeping him out there? Sometimes he brought the king of the gods home, smelling like wine and ozone, too ashamed to crawl back to his palace. She’d have to avoid her favorite living room if that’s who Hades returned with, lest she be accosted by Zeus. At least Hades didn’t bring his sister-in-law around anymore. When he’d invited her over that rainy night, she’d finally told him how much it hurt that he constantly invited that bitch into their home. And Hades had listened. Baby steps. 

Minthe’s fingers shook lifting the lighter to her mouth. Her reflection in the pool water was nothing but a smudge of frantic red, framed by cream pink flowers. 

Without thinking, Minthe spun around and lifted the lighter to the potted plants. Of course her fucking boyfriend put pink flowers where he relieved all his stress. Her fucking boyfriend, not Kore, Persephone, whatever. Hades was her boyfriend. 

She couldn’t have him.

The flowers smoldered, red flames tall in the air. For one glorious moment, the toxicity and violence of the action lifted her up to an ambrosial high-and she didn’t even do that shit. Then like a meteor, she landed back in reality and the gravity of her consequences tugged the skin tight around her bones. 

Hades was going to yell at her. Minthe clenched a cigarette tight in her finger. She would yell back. Her teeth practically bit into the end of it. He would ask her why. The heat burned her mouth. She would ask him why he’d been late. Her lungs choked on the toxic smoke. He’d tell her to answer his question.Minthe sputtered on the exhale. She’d tell him to go to hell. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes. He’d say he always already there. 

It would be the stupid argument to end all stupid arguments, even worst than the time he’d dumped her over a tube of lipstick. And just like that, Minthe could see the ashes of her relationship slipping through her fingers like burning flower petals. 

This is your fault. The voice sounded like Hera’s, predicting the words the goddess would hiss next time they met. You could’ve waited. He wouldn’t have yelled if you had just waited. 

She didn’t need the queen of the gods rubbing in her mistakes like she was a steak on Tartarus’ Tavern. Minthe took another long drag of her cigarette, and briefly, everything seemed quiet. But another voice joined, smooth and sweet-

I would’ve waited.

The cigarette landed on the tile with a wet splat. Minthe dragged her ash covered fingers through her hair, the wisps of a scream escaping through clenched teeth. These moments made her feel like a bomb. Each new voice criticizing her-from the rulers of this very realm to judgey Fatesbook users-was like another spark to the fuse. Eventually, one would catch. 

Minthe would look like a complete bitch. Everyone would leave her. She’d be left behind to slowly pick up the pieces of herself and an apology for shit she didn’t do would be expected in three to five business days. 

When did her life get so predictable?

When the knock came, Minthe ignored it. Hades always came through the garage. It was probably just some sleazy minor deity, come to shake a business deal out of the god of wealth. She’d leave them to their own impatience. 

It wasn’t until Cerberus bolted past her for the door that Minthe got up to let him in. Worry twisted her empty stomach. If he wasn’t letting himself in, something bad must’ve happened. The triple heads of anxiety, regret, and defensiveness reared within her. 

Cerberus whined, pushing his noses against the base of the entrance. Minthe gave him a soothing pat before opening the door. She expected to see Hades, bruised and bloody. 

She did not expect to see Persephone on the door step, clad in a beautiful white dress with delicate butterflies perched in her hair.  

Minthe immediately moved to close the door, sure this was a nightmare. To her horror, Cerberus pushed the door open with one head and greeted Persephone with his other two. 

Persephone softly cooed to the dog, scratching behind his ears, while Minthe stood there in shock. Anger was forming like lightning in her blood. Professional relationship her ass, Persephone was on Hades’s doorstep, dressed to the nines, while petting his dog like she’d known Cerberus his entire life. This was clearly not the first time she’d stopped by, judging from the way Cerberus eagerly leaned into her touch. 

Panic overtook every emotion in her body. The cold, cruel realization that she was being replaced froze her in place. After everything she’d done, all that she had put in and worked on, and she was losing to a saccharine pink, organic sugar, goddess of gardens.  

No. No, she wouldn’t be replaced. She had done too much for that son of a bitch to be pushed aside for Persephone.

“Hades isn’t home.” Minthe said slowly, lacing each word with venom. “You missed him.”

“I know.” Her voice was annoyingly perfect, just like everything about her. Somewhere between godly loud and mortal high. A stupid combination of good attributes. “I came to pick something up.”

Yeah fucking right. Minthe had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep the words from escaping. “What are you looking for?”

“My mother’s brooch.”

“Why would Hades have your mother’s brooch?” Minthe tried not to seethe but honestly. They’d known each other for a few months and he was holding on to her family heirlooms? Hades could be intense but she’d never seen him be so invested. It pissed her off. 

“I was wearing it the day of my interview.” Persephone replied, eyes finally lifting to meet her own. “I lost it during my foray into Tower Four.”

Oh. That’s why she was here. Despite the truce they’d made, Persephone obviously had her doubts with Minthe, just like she had for her. Only she didn’t have a good lie for showing up to her house with an excuse to snoop. 

Minthe stood back, opening the door for Persephone to step through. “I suppose you don’t want my directions.” She bit out. 

“No, I don’t.” Persephone admitted, briefly cocking her head to study Hades’s grand atrium. It was certainly a sight to behold with its carved marble and pristine tiles but surely nothing that a goddess like her hadn’t seen before. “He said he brought it into the lounge.”

Minthe followed Persephone with no amount of subtly. She paid her no mind, only looking in her direction when Cerberus brushed against her legs. Her eyes widened at the sight of a burning pot of plants but Minthe hissed, “Don’t even think about it,” before she could remark. Wisely, Persephone didn’t. 

Minthe scrutinized her, trying to understand what the hell Hades saw in her. A goddess with large tits and an acceptable face, there were hundreds of those. There had to be something past looks that drew him in-right? Persephone’s pink hair was longer than usual, almost to her feet and tinged with a green that was clearly magic, not box dye. “You might want to get a hair cut before work tomorrow.”

“It doesn’t matter. Tomorrow’s my last day.”

The words came with such finality that Minthe had to wait to make sure they were real. Hard working, humble, studious Persephone was quitting her first non-nepotism job? She had to tamp down a few overly excited questions as Persephone explained. Though Minthe didn’t miss the way her dirt covered fingers curled into fists.

“Hera invited me to her home to do some gardening today,” Of course Persephone was chummy with Hera. Why the hell shouldn’t she be? “But some uninvited, very intoxicated guests showed up.” 

“Hades and his brothers.” 

Persephone snorted. They were walking side by side through the dark halls but Minthe could see the frustration and rage lining the goddess’s features. She didn’t want to admit that she hadn’t been this afraid since they striked their truce, blood red eyes glaring down at her. 

“Poseidon and Zeus had to carry him between themselves. Dio knocked him unconscious.”

Dionysus as well. Was there anyone in the Olympian family not eating out of this woman’s very palm? Hermes had lied to her, her best friend and boyfriend were the twins, and even Hecate defended her. Persephone was just that damn perfect. 

Minthe bit back her own jabs to ask, “Why the hell did Dionysus knock my boyfriend unconscious?” She wasn’t going to drink wine for the next ten years out of spite. 

“I don’t know. He was pretty disoriented when he woke up and we didn’t get to talk much during dinner because Hera and Zeus were-”

“Arguing?”

“Zeus said one thing about the food and Hera took it personally.”

Minthe rolled her eyes. “Not a fan.”

“He’s my creator.” Minthe felt herself go into cardiac arrest. But Persephone winked in what she could only guess was an attempt to be reassuring. “But I wasn’t impressed either. For a king, he’s terrible at first impressions.”

“He’s also bad at talking to anyone he doesn’t want to fuck.” Minthe muttered. Persephone looked like she was wanted to smile through her disgust. 

“I went to the garden to escape them and Hades followed.” Persephone paused in the entrance of the lounge. She seemed to be staring at the stuffed chimera head on the wall. “I asked him why he’s been giving me the cold shoulder at work.”

Minthe had been wondering that too though she’d chalked it up to Hades getting his shit together, taking the hint on how much it bothered her, or both. “What did he say?”

“That he wanted to be professional.” 

Thank Gaea, he was listening. Persephone settled into one of the arm chairs, the crystalline flower brooch clutched in her fingers. Minthe hovered over her shoulder, impatience tainting her voice. “And?”

“I broke down by telling him that I’ve been stressed out by work and not having the brooch all week. Hades told me he was sorry.” Of course, both things Minthe had done to try and get Persephone out of Underworld Co had brought them closer together. “But then I told him about my friend Alex blocking and ghosting me and he got this . . . I’ve never seen that look on him before.” 

Minthe’s curiosity was morbidly piqued. A deep instinct told her what the god of the dead had done, as he loved to do, but another wanted to know exactly what her boyfriend had done to scare her off. “What did he say?”

Persephone was quiet for a long time before she spoke. It was only because Minthe was intimately familiar with the sound that she recognized the goddess was holding back tears. “Hades ripped out Alex’s left eye.” 

This time the words flew out of her mouth without forethought. “What the fuck?”

A quiet sob broke out of Persephone. Through  pink, shimmering tears, she told Minthe the story from the morning after the Panatheana to Persephone’s reaction just hours ago. Which was to bury Hades with a newly grown tree and storm out without another word. 

“I wasn’t leaving without my brooch.” Persephone finished, shoulders slumped. “I’m taking this, turning in my badges tomorrow, and I’ll never be in your life again.” 

It sounded like an apology which pissed Minthe off. She didn’t need sympathy. “Don’t sound so sentimental, Pinkie.” 

Persephone crossed her arms, sniffing softly. “I thought he was my friend.” 

No, no, they were not doing this. They were not going to braid each other’s hair and bitch over boyfriends when Minthe still had one. Hades and her were miserable together. There was no one else for them. If Persephone couldn’t handle a little darkness, she could leave. Nobody was keeping her here. 

“And now?” Minthe needed to hear, for her own reassurance. 

“A part of me still cares for him.” 

Well of course she did. This was lollipop sweet Persephone.  “And the other part?” 

“Wants to punch him in the face again.” 

“Again?” 

Persephone nodded down the hall. “I reacted a little strongly to his presence when I first woke up here.” 

Minthe smiled bitterly. “I won’t stop you.” 

Persephone smiled back, fingers reaching out to squeeze her shoulder. Minthe jerked back and Persephone smiled apologetically. “Thank you, Minthe. This month has probably been really hard for you. You’re such a patient person.” 

She blinked. She didn’t get thanked often and she shook off the warm feeling of appreciation that surged through her at the praise. Minthe had to be the one person who was immune to her charms. “You’re welcome, Persephone.” 

The goddess stared blankly at her. “Kore.” 

“What?” 

“You can call me Kore.” 

One non-hostile conversation had apparently leveled Minthe up to being able to call her the maiden instead of the bringer of death. “Do you want me to call you a psychopomp?” 

“No, I’ll fly home.” Right. Gods didn’t need transportation, they were transportation. As Kore got up, Cerberus happily trailing behind her, she turned around. “I understand if it’s personal, but I am the daughter of Demeter and she taught me to never come in empty handed . . . But I did. Is there anything I can give you in return for welcoming me into your home?” 

Minthe had never been a stickler for tradition but she couldn’t really object to a goddess. “Well, what were you thinking of?” 

“Those flowers?” Kore adjusted the brooch on the collar of her dress. “It’ll only take a second, I swear.” 

Minthe found herself agreeing, telling herself it was only because it was better to erase the problem, even if it was Kore doing’s. But she’d underestimated how much of a mess she left. Shame licked a hot streak up her neck and arms as Kore took in the cigarette butts and lighters. Of course, she didn’t say anything. She was Kore. Minthe reminded herself that that was a bad thing. 

The flowers were still smoldering and with a wiggle of her fingers, the rest of the flowers wilted. 

“Some flower goddess.” 

“For something to grow healthily again, you have to get rid of it’s toxic roots.” Kore smiled, her rosy skin glowing with power. “If I simply made it grow again, it’d wilt again after a few weeks.” 

The petals and stems melted into the dirt, leaving a glowing sheen over the soil. Kore gave a soft hum and new flowers emerged, bright pink and shimmering with life. Kore was smiling to herself proudly and Minthe had to admit, her powers were kind of cool. She was hardworking and intelligent, and if tomorrow was her last day . . . Well, maybe she could enable her computer program again. 

Minthe watched Kore fade into the sky, trails of magic fluttering behind her. Cerberus whined pathetically after her. Minthe scratched between his ears, rolling her eyes. So easily attached. 

Hades still wasn’t home so Minthe busied herself. He wasn’t going to be back for a while if the god of madness and Persephone had gotten to him. She sweeped away the ash and butts and made herself dinner, Cerberus circling her the entire time at the smell. When she sat down to eat, she didn’t pull out her phone and mindlessly scroll Fatesbook. Minthe tried to follow the advice those hippies shilled out of ‘living in the moment’-appreciating the fruits of her labor and the sweet taste of victory. Kore was finally leaving her life at the cost of some photographer’s eye. 

Minthe cringed at the thought. Despite the farce she put on for Kore, violence unsettled her. It was too close to home, the brutal power of the gods that could end her life in a snap. Hera’s face came too mind much too quickly. But Hades could never scare her. She knew him like the back of her hand and a temper was one of the flaws that she’d come to love him for. It was something they had in common. But where Hades had the power to take it out on others physically, she had to settle for subtle digs and schemes. 

Miserable together she thought, wiping her lips with the napkin. That’s the way we want it to be. 

Sitting at the edge of the pool, a glass of water in her hand and some book she hadn’t opened in forever, Minthe felt … Happy. A rarity for her. And when she saw the clusters of new pink flowers behind her, she surprised herself by picking one. Just a small one and her long red tresses hid it well. 

But it was there nonetheless. A little bit of Kore to accompany her as she got ready for the night. Her compliment still buzzed pleasantly beneath her skin, and she was torn between letting it stay or beating it away with a stick. The goddess was leaving, she couldn’t hurt her anymore. And she’d been … Nice, even considering everything Minthe had done. Even she could appreciate such saint like grace. 

A dark voice spoke in her head, a defensive mechanism after so many years alone. She’s just pretending. There are no perfect people. 

Minthe quelled the voice by telling it to fuck off and let her sleep. And she did. Better than she had in a while. 

The flower was still lush with life when she woke up. New soil would keep it like that for a long time. 

Writing tips

in my opinion, many modern greek retellings/stories inspired by greek mythology don't fail because they're inaccurate. they fail because they have nothing new to say.

i don't mind changes to the original myths, as long as they make sense and they have a narrative purpose! i understand that making changes is sometimes necessary to convey a certain narrative, especially to modern audiences.

is epic the musical mythologically accurate? hell no! but the changes serve to tell a specific story and to convey a certain message. also, epic the musical is self aware about its "inaccuracies". and the music just bangs.

is hadestown accurate? no! does it make the change that I always dread, removing the kidnapping from the hades/persephone myth? yeah. but hadestown is barely about them, and it uses greek mythology as a "narrative frame" to tell a certain story. it has a point. it has a message.

what are stories like lore olympus trying to say? what is the messagge of the hundredth persephone/hades retelling? what are we supposed to take from them? "don't listen to your mother she's a bitch"? "mothers are irrational and you should forsake her for a man"? very feminist.

why are we still doing the medusa "feminist" retellings? it's BEEN done. too many times. and they're ALL the same. it's a worse crime than being bad: they are boring.

i'm tired of retellings that are just "what if this very famous story was THE OPPOSITE and the protagonist was an ASSHOLE the whole time and the villain was MISUNDERSTOOD and the real VICTIM" okay but why. why would that be the case. what's the point of the story you want to tell. or do you just want to use shock value.

of course, i dislike retellings that are so different from the myth that they go AGAINST the spirit/message of the original, because in that case what's even the point of retelling the myth? just tell an original story. but i would take stabbed poseidon and capitalist hades any day over the same basic story of medusa being a girlboss or demeter being bad because of... reasons?

tl;dr: stop being unoriginal and tell a good story. or at least an entertaining one. i beg you

The long awaited Project Charlotte is OUT NOW!!!! Go read it on GlobalComix now, and I'll update this post as other comic sites may be included in the future!

Also, if you enjoyed it, please consider donating to my Ko-Fi or becoming a Patreon supporter for future projects!

I love their dynamic.

I think I'll talk about this later

the happy end

I have to agree, I LOVE the details I can spot here

Playdough Guy ArtComp 🩵🍩🎨

Animation tips 2

Got any tips for someone who wants to get into storyboarding or animation, or just any career involving drawing? 😂

I can really only speak for (television) storyboarding since that’s what I’m doing. Like I said in my last post, have a social media presence! I was hired because the showrunners liked my art style/the things I was posting on twitter(?)/tumblr(?). Because they liked my drawings, they reached out to me and asked if I was interested in testing for their show. My sense of humor managed to match theirs and my storyboards were easy to read and clear so I got the job.  Again, I got lucky with that and I’m super happy they found me. My last post has a link to a helpful YouTube video~

Some general tips for people wanting to go into TV storyboarding below the cut. 

Keep reading

Animation tips

Forgot I had these! These are redlines I did for Mathieu Hains (who animated the beautiful color segment). This was from his first blocking pass

Was a very good lesson in "why turnarounds and expression sheets are important" and "your boards will not always be interpreted by an animator the way you see it in your head"! All Mathieu had to go off of was my boards and the original character sheets (VERY limited reference haha) but he's also a great artist so he created a very solid foundation and my redlines were just to help guide the drawings to what I imagined

😁, I Really love things like this. I think I might do the same for my Farmer

Random headcanon for my farmer:

She has two very different styles,

A soil soaked, workin’ 9 till 5 (more like 7 till 12), been in the mines all day, happy I’m still breathing farming style

And her usual wear which is more lady like, all sundresses and hair loose, wearing her glasses instead of contacts.

Thing is, because of the glassen and the overal difference in styles, the people don’t realise it’s the same woman, creating a superman & Clark Kent situation

I think it’s especially funny in a romantic scenario, just imagine one of the bachelors being curious who this mystery woman is that’s seated at the bar, they have definitely never seen her before

I kinda needed this, I have and Usually use Medibang for drawlings so this helps me have a better understanding on LO and LR art style and what brushes to use

Is the pack just for clip studio or does it work for others? I use medibang myself.

They're .abr brushes so they're supported by any software that is compatible with ABR. Most of the brushes actually work best in Photoshop due to its unique brush engine (and the fact that many of them were designed for Photoshop first), but can work in both Clip Studio and Procreate as well.

Unfortunately I'm not sure if they'd work in Medibang as IIRC it relies more on a bitmap brush system similarly to IbisPaint, and converting ABR to that kind of format is a lot easier said than done (plus even if it was doable, you'd undoubtedly lose a lot of the core functionality of these brushes).

That said, if you don't have access to an ABR-compatible software, your closest equivalent to the brushes within that pack would be anything that resembles watercolor, gouache, pencil and ink, and impressionist brushes. Those are generally what a lot of those brushes are save for the pattern stamps n such, so even if you can't access those brushes specifically, I'm hoping you could find Medibang-compatible brushes that are close to the real thing so long as you look in the right places !

It is an unfortunate drawback to the nature of these brushes that they were designed for Photoshop first, it means they inevitably aren't going to work in every software. I've looked into converting them in the past but the process would just be way too extensive for me to do on my own and again, it wouldn't guarantee the brushes would even resemble their ABR versions which would defeat the point of trying to convert them in the first place 😅 Still, I hope you're able to find some Medibang equivalents using the tips I mentioned above, and if you want an ABR-compatible software that won't cost you your firstborn like Photoshop, Clip Studio's perpetual license goes on sale at least 2-3 times a year, and Procreate is still incredibly cheap on the iOS store if you have an iPad.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help! Hopefully some day Medibang will be ABR-compatible, Clip Studio wasn't always compatible with ABR either so the odds might be low but they're definitely not zero ! :'0

What's your opinion on writing from multiple perspectives? Like, one chapter would be from Bob's POV, and then the next from Shirley's, ect. Do you have any tips for this?

I love multiple POV stories! I really like when authors explore multiple characters and really give the readers a chance to take in the story from many perspectives.

Multiple POV stories work best when:

You have many plots. The more complex the story, the more information you need to feed the reader for the story to work. Sometimes it’s just not possible to get all that information through a single protagonist. Many protagonists, however, are better suited to learning all that information. Many protagonists - especially if they aren’t working together - are also better at screwing up plans and creating chaos. 

The plot is character-based. A character-based plot means the story deals more with internal struggles than external struggles. If your plot is character based, you really want to show the reader what all the major characters are feeling. Again, a single protagonist probably isn’t privy to everyone’s emotions.

Tips:

Your POV characters don’t need equal time. And when I say equal time, I mean in chapter time or wordcount time. Devote time to the most important characters and most important situations. Do as the plot demands, not as the character demands.

Don’t double up scenes. One of my least favorite moments in multiple POV stories is when the author covers an event with one POV character, then goes back to the beginning of the event to cover it again with another character. If you want another character’s perspective, let them remember parts of the event or revisit as little of the even as you possibly can.

Work on voice. You want to keep those characters as distinct as possible. They are different people, after all. I have a voice tag here to get you started.

Divide the POVs. Not with that awful fanfiction.net **KATNISS’ POV** paragraph starter. Divide POVs by chapter or put a little divider thingy in between POVs if you’re switching in the middle of a chapter. 

Keep track of information. Your POV characters will not know the same things because they live different lives and will be exposed to different situations. If your POV character suddenly knows something they shouldn’t, you’ll have a plot hole.

Try to avoid one-shot POVs. One-shot POVs are when a character gets one POV chapter, then no others. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it feels strange to hear from a character once and then no other times. 

The plots should interact. Even if the POV characters never meet, their plots should have a common element: for example, a common struggle, a common character, or a common theme. This prevents the story from becoming a collection of badly patched short stories.  

These are one of my favorite types of painting styles

The three adepti of Chenyu Vale

Homage to my favorite world quest and my favorite trio of NPCs <3

Sketch help

fat bodies tutorial!

ALRIGHT SO my pal @kalreyno wanted help with drawing fat characters and as a fat artist i felt like i could give a bit of helpful insight on that. there’s also been a lot of complaining about “boo hoo fat characters are hard to draw so i can’t include them in my work Ever” goin on lately so if that’s your case then this is for you too!! and also just for anyone who would like help with fat bodies in general, ofc. anyway, let’s get this show on the road!!

let’s start with some common misconceptions. these are the two main attempts at chubby bodies i run into, so i’ll focus on them. 

the Anime Chubby i see everywhere, and it’s just……so wrong in many ways. first of all, there is almost no additional body fat compared to your average thin character - except for where it’s added in “attractive” places (breasts, hips, thighs). the breasts are way too perky, and don’t have the realistic shape fat would give them (though how to draw accurate breasts is another tutorial all on its own lmao). there is still a thigh gap, which usually only happens in very thin people, and bones are still visible on the surface of the skin, which also rarely happens in fat people.

the Michelin Man is better in some ways, but still not that great. it’s a slightly better attempt, but basically all that’s done there is taking a thin character and blowing them up, while giving no thought to fat distribution. the thigh gap is usually still present, and they look a lot more hard than soft - and fat is very soft and pliable.

here’s a chart on how fat usually distributes (if you can’t read my messy writing, “1. next to no fat, 2. moderate amount, 3. most of the fat distribution”). basically, the more muscle an area has, the more prone it is to develop fat, such as the abdomen, thighs, and upper arms. it’s important to note that fat sits on top of muscle, and that it does distribute in different levels, and not evenly across the body as shown in the Michelin Man. 

now, here’s an accurate fat body with all of that kept in mind!! notice how the fat isn’t only kept to aesthetically pleasing areas, and how it sits realistically on the character’s body. their breasts sag a lot more, which happens even in thin people with larger breasts, and the nipples are pointing more downwards than straight out. there is no thigh gap in sight, there are no bones in sight, and most importantly, they have fat rolls, which are very important in drawing a convincing fat character!! as far as i know i’ve never met a single person with no rolls at all, and everyone has them, whether thin or fat - they’re just more prominent and more consistently present in fat people. pay close attention to where they are and how they’re shaped.

here are a couple of drawings showing how fat is affected when sitting vs stretching. as seen in the first, the fat specifically on the stomach is distributed a lot more evenly and stretched out, so it becomes “flatter”. the love handles are still pretty visible, though, as well as the fat on the thighs and arms. the breasts are raised with the shoulders, and the fat on the shoulders and near the neck forms rolls as it’s being pushed together. 

in the second, there is a lot less room for distribution, so the fat is all pushed together. the breasts sag and the stomach forms rolls and spills into the lap. a good analogy for the way fat works is to liken it to a water balloon, and thinking of how its shape would change when resting flat on a surface, hanging off of a ledge, held upright, etc.

here are a few extra tips i find a lot of people miss!

first on the top is the hip/pubic region. the first circle is showing the way the bellybutton is folded in fat people, as opposed to stretched out in thinner people. the second is the stomach fat spilling over onto the pubic region and creating a separation in the two areas, which is something that’s missing in a lot of art. in addition, the pubic mound also gains fat, making it round as seen in the profile drawing i did up there (i’ve heard people refer to it as fupa?). the last in the hip region is the lack of a thigh gap. i can’t stress this enough!!!! if you’re trying to draw a convincing fat character, make sure their thighs are pretty much always touching!! for reference, mine literally don’t separate until my feet are about 2ft from each other.

the bottom right is showing the double chin, which a lot of people are afraid to draw!! fat does distribute itself here too, and there’s nothing wrong with it, so don’t feel like you shouldn’t give fat characters a double chin in your work for fear of it looking like a caricature.

in the bottom middle, it’s showing how fat affects different types of breasts with the presence of more or less breast tissue. 

lastly, at the very right are stretch marks with their usual locations and directions, which i also can’t stress enough!!!!! i sometimes forget to add them honestly, but they’re so important in accurately portraying fat characters, as they literally come from the skin being stretched from fat being gained (and they’re also just rlly neat lookin like why wouldn’t you lmao). some people have less and some people have more, feel free to experiment with them!

the last thing is body types!! there isn’t one single way for a person to be fat, so feel free to experiment with shapes once you’ve learned the basics!! 

so there you have it, a tutorial on how to draw chubs!! now go forth and make some accurate fanart or some rad fat characters, because the world could always use more of both. hmu if you have any questions or concerns, and thanks for reading!!

EDIT: someone pointed out the bad wording in the tutorial. thank you for bringing it to my attention and sorry for offending anybody. i’ve updated the tut, so please reblog this one!

Key details

How do you draw colors-of-the-rainbow characters? (I mean like characters with blue or purple or pink skin, and so on)

Do you draw them with the color of their skin and then clean it up? Or do you draw them with black, color it in, and then get rid of the outline? I'm really curious!

I use base colors and 'sculpt' the shapes out that I need, then I go over them with lineart where necessary! Usually all my base colors are on one layer unless I need to make a separate one (sometimes for hair or props I'll do it to ensure I can mess with them as much as I like without affecting the base colors but they'll usually be merged by the end). Sometimes I'll have to tweak things during the lineart stage that don't work as well as I thought they would while flatting but I've gotten pretty good at blocking out poses and proportions with flat colors, it works really well for my brain :' ) After that I shade on a clipped layer (meaning the shading won't travel outside of the base color) by using the magic wand selection tool to select what parts I want to shade at a time (again the skin and hair and clothing are all usually on one layer). I have specific colors saved in my CSP palettes for base colors, shading tones, highlight tones, etc. so it all stays pretty consistent unless we need to specifically change the coloring to match mood lighting or whatnot (and even then we won't change the coloring itself, we'll just use post-editing tricks like color balancing and effects layers!)

Here's Persephone's as an example:

And even then I actually only really use the last 6 colors (so not the first 4 from the left moving right) because some of those colors were picked from the pilot episodes that I wound up not using but kept anyways for stuff like glow effects (you should see the amount of colors I have for Hades that I don't use regularly LMAO he's gone through sooo many palette shifts through the course of LO). The three shades of pink at the far right end (going from right to left) are for her skin > skin shading and hair > hair shading, the off white color is for the whites of her eyes (and I use this color for basically every other character as well), and the dark color is for the lineart (it's not black, just a very very dark magenta). Every character has a unique color for their lineart, usually just a very dark color of their base skin tone !

Based on the ask about the half greek person, as a greek person who lives in greece and who's whole family leaves here, I can see in Persephone's characterisation a lot of us here. I love how she may be naive sometimes, sheltered and all but by no means is she weak. She's feisty and can fend for herself. I also like how sometimes she is sassy (or cynical? If Imr describing correctly english isn't my first language).

In general, places locations etc feel different in LO rekindled - which by the way I've noticed the the mortal realm in LO feels very similar in almost every scene we see it idk how Rachel manages to make literal nature look static and uninteresting.

Tldr: as a greek person desperate for good representation I love this.

I read this back when you submitted it but haven't had a chance to respond until now ! I'm so happy to hear that our version of LO is also managing to be better representation. I'm not Greek myself and neither is my assistant, but we both have a lot of love for the stories and myths that come from Greek culture so I'm really relieved and happy to hear that those of you who are Greek are connecting with the work and find it to be more representative and accurate than LO was originally.

Ultimately Rekindled's version of the myth and stories that LO attempted to recreate is attempting to also be its own standalone thing, with its roots as a response to LO to be supplementary to the experience if you're someone who's read LO and was dissatisfied with its original interpretations. I don't want people to enjoy it just because it's "not LO", I want people to be able to enjoy it even as its own story! So it makes me so happy to hear that our efforts are paying off and it's actually accomplishing that <3

Cool, I LOVE how the idea is the Mario bros being in the 1930s

Life Story

Moonlight and Sunshine

Those are one of my favorite ways of comparing and contrasting characters.

Hello again, I made an earlier comment where I believed that Marinette should be called the “Sunshine of Gotham”. However, there is one nickname that I think suits her as well. She could be “Gotham’s Moonlight”. Sunshine is bright but it can burn. Moonlight on the other hand is calm and cool, and shines brightest during the dark night. It fits Marinette because even when things got dark in HER life, she always finds a way to make everything and everyone feel lighter and hopeful.

I love it! I feel like that would start a Twitter war XD some people for the #sunshineofgotham side and the others on the #gothamsmoonlight or #moonlightofgotham made shirts. Everyone starts to wonder what side the Wayne's are on. Dick, Ivy, Barbra, Stephanie, Superman, Duke, Aquaman, Beastboy, Starfire, and Flash are on team sunshine, Jason, Tim, Selina, Harley, Cassandra, Raven, and Cyborg are on team moonlight. Bruce, Diana, and Alfred? They're on team #princessofgotham.

Damian? #angelofgotham.

And yes they all have shirts. As well as buttons, hats, jackets, and tot bags.

Harley and Ivy wearing their shirts and that's how they find out which side they're on. Harley's crying in a corner like "I don't know who you are anymore!"

I REALLY love the Persephone's Butterflies in this preview. Amazing really

there's no wrong answer here, i really just wanna gauge what y'all would rather get! <3

if we post the first half today it'll be up this evening, only caveat is that obv it means a shorter release (but we do get a couple fun character introductions within that time!) and that dillyhub won't get updated until the episode is fully completed after the second half (so if you're exclusively a dillyhub reader uhhh sorryyyyyy.... 😔😅)

whereas if we put off the update another week, it'll be more waiting, but you'll get the full 45+ panel episode from start to finish the way it was intrinsically designed !

obv perfect world would be the episode getting posted in full when it was due but 2025 is apparently dead set on throwing roadblocks at me so this is what we have 🥴 (i figure the least i can do is give y'all some choice in the matter of how we deliver the next episode, if anything at least to soften the blow LOL thanks y'all for putting up with meee)

🥹..I like this

What I’d give for one of the Cinderella remakes to go into how when you’re in an isolated and abusive situation, sometimes you need to be saved and you’re not weak if you can’t escape by yourself

I’ve never been a fan of bad faith reinterpretations of fairy tales, especially ones which flatten the originals into “princesses is saved by a prince and nothing else”, to then go #girlboss. The princess can save herself because she’s a strong female character! (Implying if you’re in a bad situation, it’s because you’re not strong enough to get out)

Watercolor Flower

I wanted to try something different from my usually palette of Melancholic blues.

😁

What could’ve been 🧡💛❤️💙

Kittens, Cats, Fur babies HOORAY. 😻😊🥹😁

Sunshine in Hell - Shaun's Cat Family

You know, after my last post, I got to thinking that Shaun definitely grew up in a house with cats. I have no doubts Leticia would've gotten herself at least one black cat to complete her witchy ensemble at some point, and Antwon is definitely a cat guy.

Baby Moon Pie might be Shaun's first furbaby, but he had himself a fair amount of fursiblings over the years. They may or may not be referenced in Sunshine in Hell, but it brought a smile to my face coming up with a few furry family members for Shaun. I figured someone else might find my funny feline indulgence entertaining as well, so I decided to make it into a ramble.

Yes, this is just a blatant excuse to play around with cat ideas and characters. I make no apologies for my undying love of cute kitties.

Duchess Dahlia Briar Binx the Second was the first in her line to greet Shaun upon his grand arrival, as he was born long after Duchess Dahlia Briar Binx the First sadly passed. She was an elegant, classy lady who upheld her title with grace. She was patient with baby Shaun and even treated him like her own kitten, often grooming him when they snuggled. Though she wasn't able to keep up with his high energy most of the time once he started walking.

Duchess Dahlia Briar Binx the Third arrived years later around when Shaun was in his teens. She didn't try to match the class and grace of her predecessor bestowed with the honored title, but she left a mark with her spunk and attitude. Despite being a tripod with only one back leg, she loved to show off her excellent sense of balance by perching high on ledges no one thought she could reach.

Her favorite game to play with Shaun was fetch, and no matter what sort of tricky throw he tried to stump her with, she always managed to retrieve whatever he tossed away, even if he didn't necessarily mean for her to bring it back. It was often a challenge trying to throw away peanut butter cup wrappers with this cunning duchess always on the prowl for a good game.

Ichabod was a sphinx with a few funny quirks. He was around during Shaun's young childhood to young adulthood. He claimed one of Shaun's beloved childhood stuffed animals as his own and would often walk around the house holding it in his mouth while making muffled meows. He would often spontaneously get the zoomies, scampering away for no reason known to anyone but him.

Ichabod got the affectionate nickname of "Thing" by Antwon due to his lack of fur and kooky personality reminding Antwon of the disembodied hand from the Adams Family. Shaun being young and just starting to read, mistook the reference his dad was making. This led to him calling Ichabod "Thing 1" and Duchess Dahlia Briar Binx the Second "Thing 2."

Fortunately the Duchess was in good humor about the association and allowed Shaun the Seuss-inspired nickname. Though she never deigned to answer to it, or to any name really.

Commander Salem came along around when Shaun was in middle school. He was a bit more standoffish, but a fighter who lived up to his bestowed rank. He was formerly black cat who earned his white streaks and patches through surviving three brushes with cancer and kicking its ass each time. He terrorized any stray or intruder that dared to come too close to his home or family.

When one of the neighbors decided to let their dog run wild, Commander Salem ran it off when it invaded their yard and tried to bite young Shaun. Antwon and Lecitia made sure to reward the commander with extra treats that night for his bravery, and Shaun made him a little gold medal with crayons and construction paper. The medal, sadly, didn't survive too long, as the commander also had a habit of chewing on paper and cardboard.

Gossamer, a chubby and lazy white cat with some gray blotches, earned himself the most nicknames of all the cats, which was a feat in and of itself. Gossy, Glossy, Goose, Goosey, Goosey Loosey, Golly Gosh, God Damn Unit, and Popcorn Paws were just a few of such titles bestowed upon this messy boy. While all of the cats earned a silly nickname or two, none could match his impressive collection of titles.

When Gossamer was not being lazy, he was living up to his nickname of Goose by being quite the terror. On many a lovely day, he could be quite a terrible Goose. (Yes, I had to throw in an Untitled Goose Game reference with that nickname.) Most messes in the house were the result of him getting his sticky popcorn paws into food he wasn't supposed to be eating or shoving stuff off of ledges to make room for him to sprawl.

Sadly, much like Shaun's human family, most of his feline family members are no longer around in the present day, though they all lived long and happy lives with him and his parents.

After Antwon and Leticia passed, their surviving furbabies went to family friends to take care of. Shaun would have taken in his furry siblings if he had the means to do so, but he was a broke college student at the time.

Duchess Dahlia Briar Binx the Third is the last of Shaun's fuzzy siblings alive and kicking in the present day. Shaun debated for the longest time if he should request her current owners give her back to him once he was settled into his own place. In the end, couldn't bring himself to uproot her life again during her golden years when she had bonded with her new family and new home.

Fortunately the duchess' owners servants allow Shaun to visit her whenever he wants for snuggles and a game of fetch or two. Being such close friends of Leticia and Antwon for many years before their passing, they also make sure to share a new story or two about them that Shaun hasn't heard yet. The visits are a bit bittersweet, but they remind Shaun of his life before the accident and help him feel just that little bit closer to his late parents.

Shaun also made sure to introduce Duchess Dahlia Briar Binx the Third to her new little niece, Moon Pie. After a bit of raised hackles and cautious sniffs, the duchess graciously approved of the new addition to their family. Moon Pie warmed up to the duchess immediately and it wasn't long before they were snuggling together during their first visit.

On that cute note, I think I'll wrap things up here, as that's about all the cat character ideas I have. For now. Maybe I'll have the urge to give Moon Pie a sibling sometime, or at least a friend or two. I know I want to give Alice at least one kitten eventually.

I hope you enjoyed this silly little self-indulgent post about getting to know some of Shaun's funny feline family!

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur @kurokrisps

A sneak peak..

I think Escapism from Steven universe would fit this perfectly.

Good ending where we give Doey a hug instead 🥺

THEY NEED ONE SO BAD YALL

YEEESS LET'S GOOO!!!

FEBRUARY 28TH 10AM PST!!!!!!!

Great work as always @genericpuff

babe wake up, we cracked the code

I'm saving this for when I decided to move to the next step and try to mimic Lore Rekindle/Lore Olympus art

Also am I the only one who thinks of the word Tasty and delicious when seeing Lore Rekindled art work

a gouache test !

made this mostly with the Flat 1 Texture brush from Maddy Bellwoar's Gouache Brushes pack! It's got some pretty fun textures in there as well as some nice foliage stamps and brushes, highly recommend! (and thanks to @ephemeral-roses for recommending it to me!)

Gumroad

Hand-Painted Gouache Brushes for Photoshop and Procreate

These gouache brushes are made from scans of real hand painted gouache shapes and textures for an authentic traditional feel.203 Hand-painte