We thought it was time to give a preview of everything our talented zine contributors and merch team have put together. 😏
You can see everything in our store here:
Reminder that proceeds from this zine and its corresponding merch will go to Galop, the UK’s LGBT+ anti-abuse charity. They work with and for LGBT+ victims and survivors of abuse and violence. For more information, visit their website.
I'm excited to announce that I'm participating in @fandomtrumpshate this year! I can do digital illustrations, comics, and cover arts. My main audience is probably the Dead Boy Detectives fans, but I'm also offering Will-centric pieces for the Stranger Things fandom! You can check out my auction entry here.
If you ever wanted to get a commision from me, this is your rare opportunity. If not, but you still want to contribute to a good cause, go throw some money at charities, get a comic out of it!✨
Finally I have something to share. Happy New Year to everyone and to the dbda fandom in particular! I have spent the entire year among you all and had a lovely time. Here is a little present for the community from its artists, a completely free colouring book! Check it out and maybe have some creative & relaxing time with it ☕
If you decide to colour either of my pieces and post it, please, feel free to tag me, I'd love to see what you make of it!
Another entry for the same prompt? More likely than you think.
It always seemed to me that the best outcome for Monty (regardless of his eventual form) would be staying with Mick, maybe helping him around the shop or just keeping company, 'cause these two can probably understand each other like no one else can (with being stuck in human forms against their will and all).
However, on the off chance of Monty joining (or just visiting) the agency, I do think Charles would have to be the one to give him a tour. Mony has definitely seen some wild stuff at Esther's house, so he is hard to impress, but the jar with two swearing sprites should probably do the trick.
My friend once said that the most unrealistic thing about dbda was Jenny being upset over a jar full of coins. Lady, you're a local shop owner, and that's a month's worth of change right here.
Tagged by @justafandomfollower, which is flattering, considering that I have literally zero works posted as of today. Let's hope it'll change in the foreseeable future. Here is a sneak peak at my dbda fic where a powerful magical entity basically uses a dog whistle on Charles and Edwin is not having it (he is having a midafterlife crisis instead).
"So he is your..." Mr. Darnell trailed off, looking past and slightly above Edwin's shoulder where Charles had finally left his futile attempts to walk through a solid wall and moved on to wandering the aisles.
Out of recently acquired habit, Edwin also turned and watched him walk along the shelves that displayed an impressive array of trombones, candlesticks, and chamber pots. Not only were they all made of brass but if he were to check the cards attached to the items, Edwin was quite sure they would turn out to be of the same historical period. He appreciated this little touch that made the already intricate classification even more complex.
Edwin could've appreciated it even more if he didn't have a pressing matter at hand.
The matter in question tapped a large old-fashioned flugelhorn and gave a contented sigh at the resulting jangling sound.
Edwin turned back to Mr. Darnell. "Charles is an associate of mine," he said, clasping his hands in front of his chest. "And quite competent at that. He is usually a bit more—"
A deafening thunder erupted somewhere out of sight. It sounded like someone just knocked down a pile of neatly stacked hollow metal objects and now they were repeatedly hitting the floor, bouncing off of each other. Edwin squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, waiting for the noise to slowly dissipate into the stale air of the room. Eventually, it died down, giving way to a soft tune that Charles was absentmindedly humming under his breath. Edwin opened his eyes. Mr. Darnell stared at him without blinking.
"—present," finished Edwin.
As usual, I barely know anyone, but if you'd like to participate, consider yourself tagged ☘︎
Here it is, the final chapter of The Case of the Bound Butler by @justafandomfollower and my illustration to go along with it.
If you were putting it off, that's your cue, go check it out! Crystal & Edwin dynamic is so good in this one, I've actually dedicated 3/5 pieces (not counting the cover) to them and have no regrets whatsoever.
Once again, had an immense pleasure to work on this story during the Big Bang with @justafandomfollower who turned out to be an amazing partner, very supportive and patient. Thank you for this opportunity, I feel that I've learned a lot during this journey ♡
Chapter 4 of The Case of the Bound Butler by @justafandomfollower is up, and it means it's time for the next illustration!
The moment I laid my eyes on the story's outline, I knew immediately I'd be doing this scene. The concept! The dynamic! The tension!
Also, researching references for this one was so fun. They were all like, "He!♡ Is hugging her!♡♡ From behind!♡♡♡" and I just kept cackling like a hyena imagining Crystal and Edwin in a happy couple's place.
My illustration for the third chapter of The Case of the Bound Butler by wonderful @justafandomfollower!
I'm quite proud of the amount of little references I managed to sneak into this one. Working with an actual text is something different, I love to toy and tinker with details, especially when it comes to expressing written ideas through various compositions, shapes, and colours.
The second chapter of The Case of the Bound Butler by amazing @justafandomfollower for the Big Bang has arrived, and with it the next illustration! ✨
Can you tell that Charles is the main focus here? Because I cannot think of something more him than these two bonding over his stubborn ass. My initial idea was to make the tablecloth in his colours (when there is no rug, somebody still has to tie the room together!), but his palette turned out to be too dark, so I had to manifest him in some other way. Oh well, here goes (quite literally!) my one and only opportunity to draw him lying on the table...
{ Style Study } - Jayden Revri in the style of Alphonse Mucha
Time elapsed: ~14 h
Date completed: January 1st, 2025
Ref: Jayden Revri for Wonderland Magazine
Done in Procreate
Style study No. 2 is done! Lineart, Ref, and yapping under the cut:
This one had a lot of ups and downs. The pose was so fun and although the lineart still took up a good chunk of time, I actually had a lot of fun doing it--I like Mucha's style of a thick outline and then limited lines in the rest of the drawing. I thought my usual pencil brush would be the best fit for it, especially since most lineart brushes drive me nuts and I don't know why. The disadvantage of the pencil though is that it's a little textured and not 100% opaque, making selections difficult (this was especially a problem on the pants).
As for the rendering, I was trying to imitate a watercolor style with a mixture of hard edges and gradients and not a lot of fine detail. I think I over-rendered parts of this one again, like the shoes for example, which breaks the style a bit, but yk. Using Procreate's watercolor brushes was a struggle because I've never really used them before, and I'm not even good with actual watercolors, so I sort of felt like I was floundering the whole time. I actually half repainted the face before I decided that the first version was better and then went back to it. Also I tried to do something with the hair that did not pan out at all, but since these are supposed to be quick studies (hah) I decided to leave it. Overall I'm really happy with it though, I like the look of it and I think I captured the elements of Mucha's style that I was wanting to try out. I also did more painting with the selection tool and that's starting to feel more natural and was really helpful for this one, so yay :)
I've been enjoying pushing myself out of my comfort zone and doing things I didn't think I could manage with these studies. I've sort of been feeling like my art is stagnating/not good enough or contributing anything worthwhile etc., and this has been really refreshing and a reminder that I can, in fact, draw :) Most of all, I feel like I'm learning stuff I can apply to other projects, which is a really good feeling.
The next study I'm doing is Lyendecker, which is smth I've been wanting to do for a while but kept putting off bc I was afraid of failure, but I was looking for references yesterday and actually? I think I can manage this. Excited to start working on it! ✨
If you read this far first of all I admire your perseverance second of all I am giving you a cookie in thanks <3 🍪
I started these back in April for the pirate week but— ugh. Does it still count as being fashionably late if your fashion icon is an Edwardian boy who died in 1916?
...anyway, since I've spent so much time on them, there are some thoughts and headcanons regarding this au under the cut:
— yes, for once everybody is alive and fairly well, thank you very much;
— Charles drags his friends through his pirate phase when they're about 12 or so;
— and since his parents either can't or won't take him to the theme park, the gang does it for his birthday instead;
— the girls are obviously the masterminds here;
— Edwin is just required to dress appropriately and, as you can see, he fails miserably;
— initially, the girls have matching bandanas, but Crystal deems Edwin's outfit to be "not pirate-y enough" and lands him hers;
— they go on a treasure hunt, and when it turns out that friendship they gained along the way is their supposed-to-be greatest treasure, Crystal pulls the my-rich-and-famous-parents-will-ruin-your-business card;
— they get a flag, and a hat, and a couple of swords from the souvenir shop, so the park survives;
— everything goes to Charles as the birthday boy, although Crystal promptly steals the hat from him;
— she absolutely rocks it, so he doesn't mind;
— yes, they get one of the clues in the treasure hunt by singing a sea shanty;
— you can tell which one and only photo is not taken by one of the girls because people in it haven't finished posing yet;
— turns out it's really hard to draw people fencing if they have different dominant hands;
— there was supposed to be one picture with wet-and-upset Charles who had an accident in the pool but I decided to keep it lighthearted and happy just this once;
— you can't see it, but Edwin in the stocks is actually kneeling on Charles' vest because his trousers are too ✨pristine✨ for this mortal earth;
— and yes, I just wanted to draw Edwin wearing saddle shoes, that's it, that's the whole reason behind all of this.
At this point it's really awkward to tag, but thanks to @dbdahauntevents for the inspiration and prompts, they were a lot of fun to work on!
I had an absolute honor to draw for The Case of the Bound Butler by lovely @justafandomfollower during @deadbangdetectives! Here are the cover and the illustration for the first chapter with more yet to come ✨
The story is awesome and will keep you on your toes, so go and give it a try! Especially if you, just like me, love a good exploration of Crystal & Edwin dynamic. Believe me, you definitely don't want to miss this one!
(In the meanwhile, I'm going to sit here and scratch my head, trying to figure out why every time I draw Edwin he is utterly miserable; probably because I relate to him too much. Ugh. Sorry, Edwin!)
