I’m not dead yall.

Story Artist for Animation :3c

[chescaeli]

Season -3, Episode -1

Seeing that Dipper has gotten lonelier after Mabel moves away for college, the Stans, Soos, and McGucket take him on a "dudes' trip" to Backupsmore University for a mission. But things go awry after Dipper's curiosity convinces him to crash a college Halloween party...

TL;DR: Dipper crashing a Backupsmore college party ends with him taking down some frat boy werewolves.

[OLDER DIPPER: INTRODUCTION]

[chescaeli]

You guys all know Dipper ran straight to Multibear’s cave when Chappell Roan’s “The Giver” dropped yesterday.

They’re still singing at this very moment.

[chescaeli]

Headcanon that Stan used to make extra money as a mall Santa during the winter months (when tourist activity at the Mystery Shack is slowest). The best part is he didn’t even work there — He’d just sneak in wearing the rattiest Santa costume and set up a place in the lobby, then later get chased out of the mall by cops.

Even young Preston Northwest wasn’t safe from getting traumatized by Ol’ Stan-ta.

(This drawing was done as donation art for @Acid_Vagabond (Twitter) during @xneonknight’s fundraising stream!)

[chescaeli]

“As you can see, if you’re lucky, you’re gonna get all yer good looks from your old uncle Stan!”

…Or when a dusty yearbook fell on Dipper’s head and now Stan’s trying to claim he was the cooler twin in high school.

[chescaeli]

You can’t go to a 70s-themed disco bash at the Shack without a vintage 70s shirt and a gold chain.

[chescaeli]

You realize now that you've drawn Stanford shirtless you need to draw Stanley shirtless too. And ESPECIALLY draw Fiddleford shirtless. I NEEEEEED to see shirtless Fiddleford.

They are on the way :3c

I’m ngl I’ve been staring at Stan for longer than I should be.

[chescaeli]

Good luck for Light box expo!💗💗💗💗

Thank you! I had a great time! LBX was a wonderful experience and I was so glad to meet up with tons of friends, as well as get to know new faces! I really hope I can see them all again. I feel even more motivated and inspired to keep drawing 👍

[chescaeli]

I know I said I was taking a break from fanart but I was honored to join a magma drawing session on the Tale of Two Stans: Reanimated discord server! Thank you so much to @xneonknight for organizing this, I had a lot of fun!

My computer fans sounded like a plane taking off 😭😭😭 It was a constant fight between me and magma lagging so bad

[chescaeli]

Clearing my drafts and remembered I tried drawing College Ford in my actual style.

Also I just really wanted to draw the nerd shirtless.

[chescaeli]

Ive ran out of your posts to look at, make more please

There is more on the way, I just need some time to focus back on stuff related to my career. I’m taking a short break from fanart to get ready for Lightbox Expo and to make more original story sequences. I am still very much in love with Gravity Falls and will post about it afterwards, but I’ll be going at my own pace doing both fanart and original works.

Thank you for enjoying my art! Your love is appreciated :)

[chescaeli]

I completely understand if you haven't thought about this (sometimes the special interest is one (1) character from the media) , but what's Mabel getting up to while Dipper's apprenticing with Ford and Stan? Given her reaction to the initial apprenticeship offer, I imagine she's got some Feelings about it

The general idea is that after long discussions over the years leading up to their high school graduation, Dipper and Mabel decide to try out living separately for one year. Mabel goes to art school to study fashion design and experience what a typical college social life is like, while Dipper’s taking an indefinite gap year to be Ford’s apprentice. If they realize it doesn't feel like the best choice, they'll think of another option.

The reason for Mabel’s initial reaction to Ford’s apprenticeship offer was mainly because 1) They were 12 years old, 2) The weight and fear of growing up was dawning fast for her, and 3) It’s such a drastic change that’s coming way too soon for her to be realistically ready for it. Add the knowledge of their parents’ marriage possibly not being in a good state, and you have a little girl desperate to cling onto the one thing that has been her only constant her entire life.

But now that Dipper and Mabel were allowed to savor childhood and their teen years together, as well as feeling safe to discuss their feelings with one another (something Ford and Stan did not do), it makes more sense that they'd have time to understand they each have their own passions and ambitions, ones that bring out the best of themselves.

Dipper sees the absolute enthusiasm Mabel has for her creative endeavors, and how her warmth and unique imagination brings people together. And Mabel sees how Dipper is much more confident and in tune with himself when he explores the unknown.

By this point, Mabel absolutely knows that she and Dipper can overcome anything, and if they come across an obstacle, they'll both figure it out together. It's the type of love and trust that transcends physical presence.

Living apart is a major adjustment, and of course there will be that constant feeling of missing your twin and best friend every day. This is a very nuanced and interesting part of their growth as young adults I want to explore in my head. How do they cope with these feelings? Do they find an answer? Does it work out?

[chescaeli]

Aw, I love the idea of Dipper kind of resembling Ford (at least in terms of hairstyle) being something that shows his growth and confidenc! It's a really nice parallel/contrast between the original apprenticeship offer, where Ford was projecting a little too heavily onto Dipper when offering it and Dipper was struggling trying to grow up a little too fast. Now he's taking life at his own pace and growing in confidence as well as growing up. Also, the fact that he's showing off his birthmark by wearing a similar haircut reminds me of how Ford started to push back against his own insecurities when using his handprint to mark the journals - Dipper's following in his footsteps!

I pictured Dipper, having taken the time to fully enjoy his childhood and enter young adulthood naturally, to now be able to emulate Ford in a more healthy way. The two clearly see themselves in each other, and Dipper still highly looks up to his uncle, but he's been allowed to form a more secure sense of self-identity that's heavily based on embracing all parts of himself.

The parallel between Ford's hands and Dipper's birthmark is how I helped guide this part of Dipper's development. These have been with them since birth, representing things that are metaphorically and literally a part of themselves that they can never completely hide. After going through a lifetime of shame and insecurity, they only blossom into their most confident and truest versions of themselves once they start accepting them. Ford evolves into the “Author,” and Dipper grows as a more capable paranormal investigator.

This is a big part of how I characterize Young Adult Dipper in this concept. This Dipper knows who he is and what he can do. Sure, he's still awkward, and has small bouts of second guessing when it comes to a subject he's not too familiar with (as developing fully secure confidence takes time and patience), but he has found his element that he can always trust is his and his alone.

The supernatural (and unnatural) has become natural for Dipper.

[chescaeli]

Little Dipper VS Big Dipper

(The Longbottom/Hiccup phenomenon is real when you see people hit their 20s. Source: Me, a 20-something)

[chescaeli]

"#am i tripping or does older dippers hair shape remind me of ford... #istg #it looks similar to me"

Yes!!! Dipper's hair was intentionally designed to resemble Ford's! Him doing his hair cuts, as well as their hair type likely being shared due to genetics, means that Ford's technique with doing hair would cause Dipper's to look similar to his.

It's a byproduct of Dipper's new lifestyle as his official apprentice and entering a new "evolution" of himself. One thing I like about giving him this style of hair is that his forehead, and therefore his birthmark, isn't easily as covered.

It shows how far Dipper's come with being even more comfortable with himself and the things he was once insecure of. A very big theme I can picture himself exploring in depth as a young adult.

[chescaeli]

It's Mean Girls day and I thought of this during my rewatch.

(Youngkles AU where they all go to the same high school and Pacifica did something so horrible that it causes a meeting for all freshman girls in the gym, and the Stans and Dipper sneak in to support Mabel. This doesn't make any sense at all I just wanted to draw young Stan threatening someone ;-;)

And while we're at it:

Fid McG and the Power of Three (Stan was too embarrassed to go onstage, or put on the gear)

[chescaeli]

Family Resemblance

...That's it I'm calling this the Youngkles (Young Grunkles) AU.

[chescaeli]

Little Dipper VS Big Dipper

(The Longbottom/Hiccup phenomenon is real when you see people hit their 20s. Source: Me, a 20-something)

[chescaeli]

Giiiiirl, how do you insert the ideas from your head on canvas? I try this and I can't, help me 😭😭😭

Ps: I love, love, looooooove your art and au! I still giggling at your "Stans lost the bet" thing LMAO

Thank you!!! 😭😭😭 I guess what can help is making a list of ideas you think of in your head, reread them and picture what they’d look like to you visually, how they’d feel emotionally, etc., and just go ham with exploring them through drawings. The more you explore, the more new ideas may come to you to better inform your interpretation.

This is part of the process of how I come up with writing/drawing the mock character arcs for my Future AU (I’m still trying to find a more specific name for it!!). It’s very similar to how developing the pre-production of a show/film is like.

It’s a lot of work and a lot of thinking, but looking at all the pieces made throughout that development process can feel rewarding :)