Greetings, and welcome to whatever the heck this place is supposed to be :P This blog is mostly just reblogs and queued posts, but I sometimes make art posts on the rare occasion.
My posts are sorted by tag for the most part. Here's a list of the general/non-fandom ones you might be interested in:
other's art
reference [as in, for art + writing purposes]*
*alternatively, i have similar tags in "#writing advice" and "#art advice" that i've also been using more recently
palette
inspiration
character design
creature design
masterlist [!contains both resources and comic masterlists ^^']
I also made an art sideblog [@fickle-draws-stuff] that I'll use to help me sort/separte my art from this blog. I go back-and-forth between where I post though, so you can still find the art here posted under the #my art tag.
Blorbo Bingo game thingy cuz why not?
Ask Game here too! Feel free to ask me things :D
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I'm also gonna be listing the current fandoms I'm in below the cut as well cuz why not? Hehe
Looks like thatâll be all the main stuff for now, I hope you have a good day/night đ
There is a specific reason behind this composition.
While the vertical format is great for smartphone screens, I also wanted to use negative space to create a distinct mood.
I believe that negative space can express a character's inner emotions. In this piece, the character is small, and the background takes up about 80% of the canvas. By drawing the character so small, I can evoke a sense of loneliness and solitude.
Another key point is the placement of the cloud shadows. I intentionally kept Caine out of the shadow. You can see the boundary between the light and the cloud shadow. I used this high contrast to make the character stand out and emphasize their presence.
Finally, let us look at Caine's angle. I purposely hid Caine's face and positioned them to show their back. If their expression were visible, this artwork would probably feel cute rather than lonely.
I enjoy drawing figures from angles where you cannot see their faces. This approach leaves room for viewers to wonder what the character is thinking.
I hope you enjoy discovering these little details and techniques that I put into my everyday artworkđĄ
Absolutely love the idea that post taking the blue AI out, when Caine hits his limit he goes back to being the lil red orb (Y'all go read this fic Against the kitchen floor, it does this do well). Bonus drawing just cause I was feeling hella soft:
For those wondering about the fox. Grace has a subtle motif with this animal throughout the movie, but especially this shot where they pack this toy fox with his belongings on the Hail Mary. The pose of it looked a little haunting to me, thus prompting this illustration.
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(Small/large prints are also available on my etsy â€ïž)
I keep seeing peopleâs shitty Eridians and the image of Big Red beamed itself into my mind so late last night I started giggling. Go my Fruit Shaped Rocks
It was 1986 and gambling had come to the Gravity Falls civic centre. I was starting to run low on leads to the machine in the basement, and the time of year meant I wasnât getting any tourists at the Mystery Shack. So, with nothing better to do, I grabbed all my cash, put on my snow boots, and headed downtown.
The civic centre was packed. Or at least as packed as a small town casino stuffed into the corner of a civic centre could be. I saw most of the town here, Toby Determined was solidly losing at roulette, Lazy Susan was yelling with joy at the blackjack table, even that weird crazy inventor guy was playing the spoons on his knee at the poker table. I found one slot machine free and sat down. I fed it twenty bucks and started rolling.
I was down to three dollars and hadnât won anything. I figured Iâd give up and join blackjackâthe least annoying of the manned tables, but Iâd use up my credit first. The casino was new but the slot machines were old. I wasnât new to the concept of gambling, but Iâd never seen this kind of machine before, decorated with a galaxy theme and fading purple paint.
I pulled the lever and watched the wheels spin. The first one landedâa seven. Then the secondâanother seven. Then the third. IâdâŠIâd won! I won the jackpot! Coins spat out of the machine and I jumped up, pumping my hands in the air.
âOh yeah baby! Itâs Stan time out here!â
I scooped the coins into all of my pockets, even the secret one hidden inside my jacket. I needed all of them to fit my winnings. I found the twenty dollar bill Iâd wagered and kissed it in thanks before stuffing it in my pocket alongside the coins. I looked at the now empty machine with a grin. There was nothing left to win, but I still had two dollars in credit on the machine. I shrugged and sat back down. Might as well.
I pulled the lever again and my eyes widened as I watched the wheels settle. I couldnât imagine the odds. It was another triple seven, another jackpot. If only Iâd moved to a different machine before getting that kind of lucky! I hit the lever again, just to see what would happen, and my jaw dropped. A third jackpot.
âDamn,â I said out loud. âI mightâve just used up my entire lifetimeâs worth of luck.â
âOh, I wouldnât say that,â I heard a voice in my head. Male, adult, with an accent that wasnât from around here. Some kind of not-british, Scottish maybe? Welsh? Whatever it was it sent a shiver down my spine.
I looked around, but no one was near enough to be the cause of the voice. I turned back to the machine and rubbed my eyes. When I opened them again, I was somewhere else entirely. I was still sitting on the stool in front of the slot machine, but me and the machine were no longer in the Gravity Falls civic centre. We were no longer in Gravity Falls even.
Instead it looked like I was floating in space, only there was gravity and I could breathe. The who area looked back, with the occasional dotting of stars, and a purple nebula rested in the background. I might have looked like one of those space themed mini-golf courses, except for the fact that there was no floor.
âWhatâs your name?â I turned to see a man floating beside me, in a pose that made it look like he was laying on his stomach, propping his head on his hands.
âWhat? Where is this? Who are you?â
âUh uh, you first,â he was wearing a three piece suit, and when he moved slightly I caught a glimpse of the suitâs tail. It had the same purple galaxy and theme as the slot machine, only the picture was static even as the fabric moved, like looking into a window that showed the universe itself.
âIâm Stan. Stan Pines,â I responded matter of factly, trying to ignore the situation, and maybe try to avoid being killed.
âNice to meet you Stan Pines. Iâm Dan, a drifter through the universe.â He was studying me as much as I was studying him. Though I got the sense that he could See a lot more than I could.
âWhere are we?â
âOh, this is just a dream. Though donât be fooled that this isnât real. Iâm currently trapped somewhere called the Nightmare dimension, and this is the easiest way to contact other dimensions.â He floated out of his casual position and began circling me. I could see the inside of his suit better now, revealing a galaxy behind the galaxy we were already in.
âSo all I have to do to leave is wake up?â
âWhy of course! But YOU were the one who summoned ME, donât you want to hear what I have to offer you?â
âOffer me?â
âThatâs right,â he leaned into my face, hands behind his back, and his top hat nearly scraped my forehead. Then he smiled and floated away again, returning to doing circles around me. âI can offer you luck.â
âI donât need luck. I need to get my brother back.â
âDonât underestimate luck, Stan, just think about how it could help you! For example, youâre looking for a book, arenât you? One with blueprints to that machine of yours? With enough luck, you may find you end up stumbling across a lead. Get the machine working but canât find your brother? You may get lucky on a random guess. Not to mention winning money, chance meetings with beautiful women, getting a lucky find in a thrift store thatâs your exact size. You never know what luck could do for you.â Irish. That was the accent. But I doubted he was from the Ireland that was on my Earth.
âOh yeah? And what do you want in return?â
âWell you see, I found a way out of this place, but I need a ride.â
âA ride?â
âA car!â The next moment, the Stnlymbl appeared between us, and he sat in the drivers seat. He leaned over and spoke to me through the passenger window. âSo howâs about we make a deal? I make you the luckiest man on the planet, and you give me your car. Youâd barely have to give anything up, youâd be able to win another car within the month!â
âTempting, but no thanks,â I waved my hands at him. âI know better than to make deals with random entities from somewhere called the ânightmare dimensionâ.â
âOh,â the entity sounded disappointed.
I blinked, and I was back at the Mystery Shack, standing in the middle of the gift shop. He was gone, but I wasnât convinced the dream was over. Iâd fallen asleep at the casino, not here. The ground beneath me rumbled, and the sky outside turned orange. I ran to the window to look outside and saw a dozen flaming meteors slowly falling towards the valley.
âI guess if you wonât help me then I have no use for you or this town.â
I spun around and saw him floating in the middle of the gift shop, calmly shrugging his shoulders. I growled.
âGet out of here!â I yelled, and started flinging merchandise at him. He didnât flinch as stuff hit him. âGet out of my head!â
âYouâre right, this is a dream. But it can become real. All I need is someone else to make a deal with me, and Iâll remember to come back for you.â His voice was too calm for the threats he was uttering.
I continued to throw things at him, uselessly. I didnât really have any other ideas. Iâd run out of snow globes and keychains, and moved to another shelf. This one had plushies of the âsheepalopeâ that I had made up, a sheep with antlers. I started throwing these at him. He still didnât flinch, but after I hit him in the face with one, he bent down to pick it up. He studied the toy, and I paused my plush assault. He smiled wide and held it above his head.
âItâs adorable!â He cried. âDo you have these in the real gift shop?â
âUh, yeah?â
Outside, the orange glow disappeared, replaced with blue skies and birdsong.
âOh I canât destroy something so precious! Never mind the meteors, Iâll return for you, little guy!â He spoke to the stuffed animal, not to me. Still, I sighed a breath of relief.
I woke up back in the casino, face splattered against the slot machine, drool coming from the corner of my mouth. A checked my pockets, and found that I still had all the coins. The townsfolk were all staring at me.
âWhatâre you looking at?â I yelled at them. âYou never see a grown man fall asleep in public before? Buzz off!â
I rushed out of the casino and jumped into my car, speeding home. I immediately called my supplier and ordered a thousand of those stupid sheepalope toys. Even when they stopped selling, I would keep at least a handful stocked in the gift shop.
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During the summer of 2011, the Mystery Shack was doing well, and I was doing well as Mister Mystery, owner of the most popular tourist trap this side of the great redwood forest. I never made it rich, but I was getting by. And the machine to bring my brother back was finally getting somewhere. I just needed the other journal.
One day, I was touring around a group of Irish tourists, showing them fake attractions, the real forest, confiscating lighters from one of the more âarsonyâ tourists. But the whole time I had my eye on one member of the group. There was something familiar about him. He was tall, gangly, a little awkward, but overall a nice, polite guy. He was slightly overdressed, wearing a collared shirt with a purple tie despite the heat of the summer, but nothing was particularly odd about him. Still, I couldnât shake this strange feeling I got from him. Like he was older than he looked.
Eventually, the tour was over, and I had the tourists funnelled into the gift shop. The odd man went straight for the old plush sheepalope toys I still had stocked from nearly thirty years ago. He came up to the till without looking around the rest of the shop.
âHow much for her?â
âUh,â I looked at the sheep toy, remembering that dream from so long ago, and realizing why this guy gave me the creeps. âSheâs free. Somehow I feel like she was meant for you.â
âThank ya. Thatâs very kind of you, Stan.â He left something on the counter, and walked out of the shop without waiting for the other tourists. I looked at the gift cautiously. It was a scratch card. I eyed the other tourists, who were still investigating the wares, and took a coin from the register. I scratched the card. Seven. Then a seven. Then another seven.
