Iâm honestly very nervous to be posting this much of my sketchbook in such a quick burst but nobody cares about these posts anyway.
Summer has started and itâs starting QUICK so Iâm really really not doing well, Iâm not going to say anything about any of this unless someone asks. Bye
This has been waiting around to be posted since 2024⊠oh well, better late than never [even though itâs technically only half finished]. I donât love it but whateverâŠ
Okayâ so, I am an AVID shipper of these two, to the point of being upset when I see people not shipping them. Obviously, I donât take that feeling seriously at all, all the BAM adults would probably fuck each other anyway. I am not the type to even care about shipping in the first place, Iâve never been like that, but Pinky and Kellyâs possible dynamic breaks that aspect of me.
Iâve had plans for writing fanfic⊠for yearsâŠ.
That is actually a really good example of how I present myself and the things I enjoy online; I donât quite like to frequently post about the things that I really take to heart. Now, Iâm not forgetting about my Cusu-Cusu side blog but Pinky and Kelly are still my second and third favourite characters in the franchise, respectively [Cusu-Cusu are all joint first [kelly is joint third with some others as well]]. Thatâs why this took so long to post; these two mean too much to me. Pinky is surprisingly underrated and Kelly is VERY misunderstood, but I love them and I think they love each other.
The perspective is all funky again; cutting the drawing off from their feet was something I didnât know how much it wouldâve fixed the drawing until the idea popped into my head.
The lyrics that are featured are from the song âAnimal Rhapsodyâ by The Raincoats, which, lyrically, could fit any character* but once I associated the song separately from the lyrics with this hitherto failing drawing, inspiration finally struck. Also, I think that the severe tone and octave difference in the vocals work surprisingly well for how these two sound. Taking in account that the amplitude of Doloresâ voice being much lower than Spamelaâs since we only hear two words from her [unless you count any moments from At the Dance bits, S1:E5 comes to mind]. Still, she does sound vastly different from Spamela, so it works.
Also, also, itâs just a really good song, I especially love their albums âMovingâ and âOdyshapeâ. What can I say, I love my experimental queer 80âs shit.
I donât give a fuck if nobody cares, hereâs another oc : Millicent
Sorry that her fashion is quite tame, she definitely considers herself a deathrocker but I find that itâs very hard to draw all black outfits ridden with detail since all the details get lost and muddled together, very unfortunate. She is inspired by how I used to dress some years ago where I was more of a deathrocker so maybe the reason why I donât draw that type of dress is because actually dressing like that every other day takes so much fucking effort. I know dress corp-goth and trad-goth [lot of my wardrobe is actual clothes from the 1980âs] and itâs so much nicer.
The band that Millicent is in are very much corp and trad goth aesthetically but she has more of a punk background ; she would wear a shirt, tie, pencil skirt and nylon stockings [me too !!] when performing but her casual wear is a lot more distressed and revealing. I know I still put her in said nylon tights in these drawings but thatâs just because I find that nicer and more fulfilling to draw, rather than ripped fishnets.
Another thing, something that is totally obvious, is that Iâm unsure on her facial features. Whenever I make a character design, their body is the most important thing for me to figure out first, then their fashion, lastly their face, but faces have so much diversity in such a small space so it can be easy for my perfectionism to pop in. For Millicent, Iâve always had an idea for what sheâd look like yet Iâve always given up before I could actually figure it out. Because thereâs just⊠so many faces⊠I canât decide !!
Iâm sure Iâll figure something out for her eventually
Yvonne is my favourite character of mine that I absolutely love to draw. Back when I first created her, it was incredibly important for me to perfect her since she is not based on any other character or person at all whatsoever. She is entirely of my own mind; the type of women I find attractive and, especially, the kind that I like to draw, just donât exist in media. I got sick of completely redesigning various characters and finally decided to make my own muse.
Unfortunately, this is my only complete drawing of solely her, and the style of it is intentionally slightly out of character. Her fashion style is much more modern [for the 1970âs] and androgynous. This is even culturally vague, she doesnât look very American or even Irish, which she is and tends to look like it.
But, isnât she just so dreamy ? I love her so much. I really need to write about her and the specifics of her personality and life. She is simple but still so deeply interesting.
Really fun Dolores observation that I have, might be a reach but I donât care
This has been in my drafts since January. I donât know why my procrastination gets so badâŠ
Anyway, at the time that I started writing this, I had recently watched Some Like It Hot, a movie that I absolutely LOVE, it still holds up as a queer comedy in my opinion and many othersâ. Iâm not going to go deep into it but if you want to know more information, watch Matt Baumeâs video on it. Or, ya know, the movie itself. Basically, thereâs an all female jazz band that has a trombonist named Dolores and I feel like I briefly went insane.
I am not claiming that her puppeteer naming her Dolores was definitely a direct reference to this, Iâve never been like that no matter the context, this is purely just a very self indulgent observation that I knew nobody else would have. I felt like I was acting out of character when I made the connection. But it really makes sense, doesnât it ? Is there any other obvious female trombonist named Dolores that I donât know about ???? Like, she has short curly blonde hair and everythingâŠ
I enjoy the idea and feel I could relate muppet Dolores to movie Dolores in personality and charm rather than the shared name and instrument. Muppet Dolores doesnât have a personality anyway so sheâs got to get one from somewhereâŠ
I wasnât thinking about posting this at all since nobody cares about my ocs*, and that it doesnât seem fully visually interesting- I had no idea what to do with the text so I had to stick with what I had for a place holder. But âactually, fuck that. The rendering is super fucking cool and this really helped me perfect that process.
*The person on the left is my friends character [he doesnât use tumblr but Iâm really trying to convince him to] and Iâm not going to go into detail about them without my friend being involved. All you need to know is that they use they/them pronouns.
The guy on the right is a character I made all by myself; Iâve shown him previously in one of my least liked posts ever. His name is Jiangzhou, in case the three people who saw that post forgot [I love being fake bitchy about stupid tumblr notes]. Lest itâs not totally obvious, heâs a pervert, he wasnât romantically interested in that whimsical fool until he thought about their ears in a sexual manner. Good for him, good for him.
Sinstress profile studies because Iâm deeply attracted to my idea of her
I donât personally envision her being particularly expressive but I wanted to show some range. The most important thing to me is that her eyes are not closed, as they actually are on her doll. Blurry empty blackness for eyes is so much cooler than closed ones. I could also like if her eyes were opened and still solid black, yet the idea of her eyes, or lack there of, being a void is so much more intriguing.
I wouldnât describe my current state as âin an art blockâ but I definitely feel stifled in some ways. Something [or, someones, harhar] that makes me feel a little better are my Lord and Saviours, Cusu-Cusu. Lately, I have been drawing nonstop and quite frankly ridden with inspiration but my stupid perfectionism and depression wonât let me finish anything or even be in the mood to. However, those four wonderful ladies bring me so much consistent comfort that even if a drawing is a simple sketch, I may be so inclined to actually finish it. Which is still something I struggle with but Hey ! Look ! This oneâs finished and it looks great !! SHE looks great. And it only took me just over 2 hours so I donât have much of a reason to not do these kinds of drawings all the time.
Sorry not sorry to all the muppet fans that have really made themselves comfortable here again, I know I only post whenever I have a drawing to show but muppets are still fucking hard to draw so youâre going to have to accept this QUEEN. If you want anything muppet-y from me, youâre gonna have to send me an ask or somethingâŠ. [actually no, send me asks about dolls instead [I collect them [dolls are my biggest interest so ask me things about dolls [not muppets [just kidding you can do whatever you want]]]]]
Iâve wanted a serious collaboration with the muppets and tmbg for⊠well⊠a very long time. You guys are the only guests that I want on the show [if it actually gets picked up].
NEW MUPPET SPECIAL REVIEW, RANT, MORAL DISCUSSION THING PLEASE READ
I already had so many thoughts that I needed to get out of my head and set in stone, so I already started writing. I had heard othersâ thoughts about the new special that were declared as a new rage, forgetting that any issues they mentioned, understandable or nitpicking, havenât been resolved for over twenty years. However, it took too long and I continuously doubted myself, therefore I never finished it and couldnât perfect my thoughts in time. But why not add to what Iâve already written with the retrospect of actually seeing the special ?? So thatâs what Iâm doing now. Also Iâve watched it 4 times, instantly replaying it as soon as it finished, staying up till 2 am.
Letâs start with the new stuff. Letâs actually review this thing !!!
The quiet introduction to these sort of things will always get me emotional, I do really like how quickly they jump into it, though. I absolutely loved Gonzoâs opening bit, the noise and movement he made was perfectly hilarious.
Now, I couldnât care less about Sabrina. Although, she does not feel unfit for The Muppets at all, considering the guests on the original show. Yet I do wish there was more slapstick with her. Her not being affected at all by the fan bothered me. I will let you know now, that was the ONLY thing that bothered me in the entire special.
I was pleasantly surprised at the âPigs in Wigsâ bit, it does a good job at being a modern successor to âAt the Danceâ. Miss Poogy is there !!!! And sorry not sorry but I really like Pepe. Thank god they didnât make him obnoxiously horny, he actually has a character besides that, he always did, I love him. âWhomst I am tornt betweenstâ is my favourite line in this whole thing. Also, Iâm pretty sure thereâs a brief appearance of gays in the background, yay.
Unfortunately, I got Rizzoâs number spoiled for me, HOWEVER, I was not expecting all that set design !! You could tell from the very start that the team had plenty of time to finesse every detail but the uniqueness of that idiosyncratic city was especially wonderful. I am not going to be surprised nor would I care if they couldnât always do sets like that if the show actually happens.
I like that Maya and Beautiful Day Monster are into each other, then how she moves on to one of the Mutations. Muppet and human relationships are fun when theyâre done right [and not in a way that makes its characters outrageously and unnecessarily heterosexual⊠god I hate the 2015 show so much, donât I ?] I donât really know her or Sethâs individual work, I donât know modern actors in general but they really did their best in this as comfortably understood side characters.
Muppet Labs sketch ! Wahoo ! The way Honeydew was saying âstop itâ was really funny, like âomg cut it ouuttt youâre embarrassing me !!â.
I canât really continue to say anything special about every specific scene but I will say that theyâve done everything right so far. It feels just like an old episode with a modern meta twist. Iâve loved seeing Hilda, Johnny and Sal, and especially Yolanda whom I adore and was a saving grace for me in the 2015 show. Good job to whoever was puppeteering Gaffer because that tail was mesmerising. I immediately noticed that an eyeball had appeared on their eyepatch, which was cute. I squealed when Janice zoomed onto screen, I love how thatâs just a part of her character. Incidentally, Iâve always had an inside joke to myself that whenever Janice appears, hitherto not being relevant, I say âhi Janice~â in the most courteous way, as if totally lost in reverie, and I think her consistently popping up without reference is partially what spawned it.
The immediate cut to the news flash was perfect, a really great way to adapt the original concept of the sketch; being live on the scene and behind the stage.
The production of the âIslands in the Streamâ song was mesmerising, Iâve invariably admired the darker, swampier sets, I gasped at that big snake. Seeing those more realistic yet still so piquant creatures and their habitat is a great way to rest during all the chaos.
Obviously the ending was lovely, and I have nothing to add⊠other than it will always be funny to me when they do big collective numbers like that because, excuse me for being obvious, I couldnât help but notice that Dolores wasnât there. Or even Nigel for that matter. Itâs really funny, albeit in a way that wasnât intended. It kept cutting to Rowlf but the hope of seeing her came to no avail.
Now here are my past thoughtsâŠ
The Muppets have never been the same since Jimâs death, we all know that. Disney has done nothing but give them chances and keep breaking them, we all know that and weâre so mad. But a lot of the original puppeteers are still here. Disregarding every new Muppet thing feels like youâre spitting in the face of everyone who is still here and still cares. And to any newcomers who will likely become disheartened before they get to be treated with any respect at all. Hating Disney is such a righteous indignation that I also hold to a degree that I can be proud of, but I keep seeing art. They keep showing me art and I very well may hate the bloody hands that are showcasing it, yet I am undoubtedly amazed at what Iâm seeing. The corporation should not get the credit. I love the muppets no matter what they do, even if it objectively sucks [*cough cough* 2015 show *cough*]. We all want media from them to spark the same as the first movie but that is an inordinate expectation, itâs unrealistic.
We canât be having such a tight grip on this cast because who knows how much longer theyâre gonna go on for. I know thatâs very dark but weâve all been thinking it, right ? Maybe itâs just me and my deep paranoia of death but the scene with old Gonzo in The Muppets Haunted Mansion really cemented that worry for me. Iâm really mad at Oz for preaching that there shouldnât be any new puppeteers, especially since he hasnât been part of the crew for a while. I, and you, miss Steve so much, but Mattâs kermit is just as different as his. Listen to the three of them right after the other and they all sound just as different. I cannot understand why people think that not liking his voice is a totally credible critique and reason to not want to like new Muppet things. Do not disregard any talent since we know the history of this team, that it takes time for a puppeteer to adapt to the foam and felt engulfing their hand. If Mattâs Kermit seems a little too awkward and simplified to you, itâs because heâs got incredibly large shoes to fill and heâs received nothing but complaints.
The plot has been done before ? [Yeah, as if the original show totally wasnât repetitive at all, right ??] Itâs so obvious that this plot is reoccurring due to how well it parallels reality. The world keeps forgetting about the Muppets and thatâs not a bad thing, that happens with a lot of media and brands, so why canât it still be understood as meta ? Itâs feels deplorable to expect a back door pilot for a revival of a show from the 70âs to fully appeal to the hardcore fans when it needs to be as accessible to as large of an audience as possible. My mum watched the show when she was young and especially loved Fragile Rock, whereas those memories are from when she was a child with a child brain. She doesnât need to be as obsessed with it all now as she was then, now a fully grown adult. Thereâs a difference between Muppet fans and fans of The Muppets. The minority and the majority. Us fans in the fandom and everyone else whose favourite muppet is either Kermit or Animal. Us hardcore fans wouldâve always been here even if the Muppets didnât last as long as they have, and yes, I do believe itâs a miracle that they have. We really have something perfect here but itâs always going to be inevitable that they imperceptibly fade from the public consciousness again. We should be grateful that they keep coming back because weâre not letting them go away.
Think back to before the show was on air. Nobody wanted it, it was too risky, they didnât get it. Part of the reason why Jim let them be owned by Disney is so they could be stable. If they wanted to make a special, merch, or literally anything, they could ask without worry and it could happen. But then of course we go back to corporate greed and FUCKING MUPPET VISION 3D FUUCCCCCCCCKK. My point is that the problems we have here have been going on for a while which is of course extremely disheartening but if youâre gonna view Jim at such an angelic degree, then take up his word and believe anyway. Keep consuming art, keep making art. âKeep believing, keep pretending.â The ending of the first Muppet movie is impossibly bittersweet in retrospect but you are still being directly told to hold onto that sweetness. The fear of the corporation is applicable with every new Muppet creation but, pardon me for this, I donât think Jim wouldnât have wanted you to carry that fear.
It is exciting, excruciatingly so, and the worst it can be is fine. Itâs going to be okay. This new special with guests that you donât care about is not any different from any episode of the original show. I cannot stress that enough. Please donât circumvent this special, just because itâs new, because any of the concerns I saw could be summed up as âitâs new and I donât like it.â I get it, I seriously do, but failing this special will fail the chance of the show coming back. And we should all want more from The Muppets right ?? Thatâs what you want, right ??!
FUCK YEAH IT IS !!!! The hype Iâve seen has been so immediate and scintillating. I feel so verklempt. Is this some kind of mass hysteria ?? Am I experiencing apophenia because every little thing is uplifting my spirit to believe in The Muppet Show TM coming back. What is happening ???? And can they give Lips his full afro back ? He still looks so deflated. And donât forget his fucking fashion sense. God damn grey fucking blazer and t-shirtâŠburn itâŠ
Iâm really, REALLY not used to overwhelming optimism and hope, my body physically canât take it. The Muppets are the only thing that gives me hope, for the future and even the past, that we can overcome anything that can and will knock us down. Iâm not well, Iâm back on antidepressants and Iâm losing my mind.
In conclusion : if the show gets picked up, do you think Dolores is going to actually have a character now ? You know because she had a whole week dedicated to her and she still doesnât even talk ? That would be craazzyy. It took them, like, 40 years for Lips to have a character, Dolores has had to wait 50 years. Give my girl her own âBarnyard Boogieâ-like moment. Give her a spin-off show.
I donât know how I really feel about human muppets but hereâs Dolores
I have a pinterest board for her with over 300 pins, so Iâve got the idea of her fashion sense down to a science, but itâs about time I draw her adorable little googoo gaga face. Especially since itâs the only difference from her usual muppet self. Sheâs unnaturally blonde by the way, if that wasnât obvious.
The thing is, most of the muppets are going to be really hard for me to draw, if I ever drew more of them, thats one of two reasons as to my I always draw the same few. Iâve mastered Lips, Zoot is alright but he has very inconsistent designs so any difficulty in drawing him is HIS fault. Zondra is a perfect showcase of these two clashing artstyles that I have, I prefer the realistic one but I still have a great time drawing her either way. And of course, Dolores, who is a lot harder to draw than I let on. Seriously, I need to re-practice drawing her fucking weird head. So humanising muppets seems like the way to go, but then they become immediately unrecognisable so whatâs the point ?? If I wanted to draw humans I would just draw human characters. These felty freaks are the only time I get to have some unabashed cartoon fun, for fucks sake !!
