Phoe's Art and Creative Corner

Artist and huge nerd. Watch me ramble and make pretty things! Email: [email protected] | Twitch channel | Commission Info | Twitter | YouTube channel | Discord |           

[phoenecia]

Worked on some art comms today, but got super distracted by an extreme chocolate craving. Still didn't get any chocolate, but I still managed to finish some sketches. XD

[phoenecia]

All done! Wheee!

Also, I lied - it ended up being an A4-sized illustration since I wanted to be able to show off my background painting. Hard to believe a few years ago, I hated doing backgrounds. Then I forced myself to do them, and now I'm not half-bad. I also really like being able to show off more personality for my characters and tell a bit of a story as opposed to having them just in a white void. >_>

But yes. My OC, Brian da Silva doing a bit of surfing. And with a different hairstyle than I normally draw on him. AND ABS! (I actually had to mess around with 3D models in CSP to make sure I got muscle placement somewhat right. And yes, I swap between CSP and Photoshop for my artwork)

[mylordshesacactus]

Hey so I'm gonna be very very honest here.

And this is going to make a lot of people very angry to hear.

But a lot of y'all on this website are truly deeply genuinely never going to be capable of any kind of real narrative analysis--and I don't mean 'being right all the time' I mean 'meaningfully engaging with the text in any way'--

Because you are, fundamentally, incapable of comprehending that writers usually do things on purpose.

[mylordshesacactus]

The themes are there on...purpose.

The match cuts were meticulously designed and put there to communicate something.

The VA's delivery of a line was being directed. Inflection and tone change the meaning of dialogue. This is intentional. There are entire teams of people shaping those choices and deciding which take to use based on what works best for the story.

Information is being revealed in a specific order, on purpose, to craft an emotional arc and guide the audience's understanding.

A character's romantic preferences are only, and SHOULD only be, their primary motivation if the genre is romance. That is why there is a genre called that. Most stories are other genres.

Creators who dislike a character generally give them LESS attention, MORE boring storylines, and LESS screentime.

Sometimes curtains are just blue. But if the shot composition or written narration takes time to HIGHLIGHT, especially more than once, that the curtains are blue, then the blueness of the curtains is by definition narratively important.

"Cite your sources" is not a witch's curse that banishes People With Different Opinions to the shadowrealm of Being Wrong. Someone making points that challenge your perceptions, while including screenshots and explicit examples, cannot be dismissed with "cite your sources" because they are literally doing that. Don't @ me on this one I've seen shit in the wars, y'all.

Failing to understand these things WILL bar you from ever really engaging with or understanding any narrative more complicated than Paw Patrol for the rest of your life.

I am very sorry if that makes you angry.

[phoenecia]

Trying to get into the habit of doing smaller (A5 size) illustrations of my various characters to show off their personalities and tell stories a bit more.

Since it's summer, and I may have been, uh...'inspired' by other beach illustrations, I decided to try doing a series of Team Valiant illustrations. WIP of a surfer Brian illustration where I try giving him a different hairstyle.

Also. I love background painting. When it comes to natural environments, it's not super tedious, and I can just wing it. Ends up being kind of fast. >_>

[00cm00]

Had some free time, so I drew @phoenecia OC, Phoenny, because her bartender design is too cute!

(Don’t pay attention to the fact that I forgot to draw the flower choker)

[phoenecia]

I've been seeing so many bad booktok takes and trends lately that make me facepalm SUPER HARD as a writer. Normally I'd tell people that there's not really many wrong ways to consume literature, but... Sometimes I see stuff that's so blatantly awful that I really question people's literacy and abilities to separate fiction from reality.

My rage has become so great that I may actually rant about it soon. >_>

[phoenecia]

So I've been drawing a lot of bug people in recent months.

A while back, I decided to challenge myself and make more of an effort to draw more non-human-looking humanoids since I wanted to have a greater variety of NPCs for my TTRPG campaigns. In addition to this and the Hollow Knight bug-sonas, I've gotten, uh...a LOT of requests for bug people in the last while (no, seriously, the bulk of my art commissions in the last 4 months have been bug people), and I think it's because I'm a lot more willing to go on the more buggy side of insectoids.

Anyway. Meet Regina Edgerly - fuzzy bumblebee lady and former Queen of Spades in the Suits. An ex-assassin that's turned a new leaf and works for an independent detective agency called MacGuffin Investigations.

She's mellowed out over the years, though is no less dangerous, and she has a bit of an addiction to sweet drinks like tea that's probably more sugar and honey than tea.

[phoenecia]

Visit Original Link

"Show Me Your Tits" - Errant Chronicles Audio Drama

Cast Brian da Silva - ColeCzos Gavin Flaherty - Rudicorn Josh Cartwright - Dg Sara Cartwright/Lei Yao - Phoenecia (Me!)

A little scene where Team Valiant (my group of OCs) has a little...misunderstanding while on a job.

Yeah, I dabble in a little voice acting. I said I'd post these a while ago, and while I wanted to doodle some artwork to go along with these, I, uh...never quite got around to it. So while I'm still working on that, I'll share in the meantime. I've got two more just like it. :3

Yes, I do have people who voice my OCs. I have for a while lol. I keep writing stuff to have them voice, and it's super fun. The benefits of having a lot of friends that like voice acting.

[cuunos]

hey can everyone do me a favor and put in the tags why they chose their name? even if you don't go by a chosen name irl, you can put why you chose your online name.

[phoenecia]

I think I peeked at BSC section on Ao3 waaaay back, but haven't read too many fics (I'm so sorry - I've been occupied with a lot of my own writing projects >_>). But it's amusing discovering that the Hugo x Bartender x Peter poly situationship is apparently really popular.

[phoenecia]

Phoe answers more OC asks because they're fun and interesting

7. (Errant Chronicles crew) What is your OC's occupation? Team Valiant, which is their team name, are all errants - which is the modern term for adventurers in my setting. It's pretty much what you'd expect from the profession of an adventurer in most fantasy settings, so it involves taking jobs (called contracts) from a public listing, and they can range from things like collecting materials for alchemical rituals, to hunting monsters, to fulfilling weird requests for the local fae. It pays really well, but can be pretty dangerous, and injuries occur pretty often.

Each character also has a part-time job or attending school.

Sara - Works as a bike courier making small deliveries between shops or other clients. Josh - Attends classes and studies psychology at the local university. Lei - Receives cleric training at the local Abbey. Brian - Also attending university for Fae Wild botany (but he skips class a lot because he's already pretty knowledgeable), and is a research assistant for a professor. Gavin - Apprentice forger at one of the local errant equipment shops.

10. (Brian) Does your OC have any physical scars? What is the story behind them? Brian has a few, but the most notable and visible one is a vertical scar bisecting his left eyebrow. Nothing terribly traumatic, but he got it while learning to use a bow as a child. Bowstring snapped and got him in the eyebrow. As terrifying as that experience was, it didn't deter him from learning how to be an archer.

10. (Gavin) Does your OC have any physical scars? What is the story behind them? [Spoilers for Errant Chronicles: The Thousand Year Curse] Oh boy, this is a fun one. As much as I adore him and love writing him, I subject him to so much stuff. So. Gavin's Gift is Regeneration - his body heals rapidly in a fraction of the time it would for normal people, and he heals perfectly, so there's usually no scarring. There ARE some serious side-effects and drawbacks, but that's not what this answer is about. He does have one scar in the middle of his chest over his heart.

How did he get it?

While accompanying Brian on his quest that is the plot of the book, they run into a monster at a lake. In a moment of carelessness, Gavin gets stabbed in the chest and subsequently drowns. He does get better, but it comes at a price, and he's forced to make a deal with a mysterious entity in order to come back to life and save Brian.

The scar is a permanent physical reminder of that deal, among other things that have some serious lasting consequences. >_>

5. What is your OC's gender identity and sexual orientation? Is this also what they identify as in canon, or are they not (fully) aware? Sara: Straight, CIS female. She's not super thirsty, but she does love hot dudes. XD The only caveat is that I don't think she'd be too attracted to men that lean too feminine in appearance as she's suffered a lot of grief at the hands of other women. Lei: CIS female, straight. She loves everybody, but I do think her preferences strongly swing towards men to the point where I think you could only describe it as straight. While she's usually sure of a lot of things about herself, I don't think even she'd be able to put it into words aside from liking guys. Josh: CIS male, asexual, but not aromantic or sex-averse. Josh isn't very obvious when it comes to emotion or affection, but he respects and values people for who they are. He enjoys companionship, but I don't think he'd be averse to sexual intimacy if it ever popped up - it's just not something he pays a ton of thought to. He can appreciate it from an objective standpoint, but he's not really driven or affected strongly by those kinds of things. He wouldn't bat so much as an eyelash if someone flashed him, except maybe comment on how it goes against societal norms or make objective observations. Gavin: CIS male, straight, maybe a tiny bit bi-curious. If there's anything Gavin's sure about, it's his preferences and orientation lol. I do frequently joke that if Gavin were gay or bisexual, I'd have paired him with Brian instead of Lei because those two dudes have pretty good chemistry, they've been through a lot, and there's a level of devotion there that's kind of intense; it's definitely a subject that's been touched on before in a, 'Dude, I'm flattered, and I'd totally date you if I swung that way' kind of manner. They definitely do have a bit of a bromance going on, though, and it's intentional. I've always felt that emotional closeness and vulnerability between male friends ought to be more normalized without it needing to be romantic, and I write them with that in mind. Brian: CIS male, bisexual, maybe pansexual. I kind of joke about Brian being a bit of a horndog, which is a huge disservice to his character, but if you can bone it, he's probably into it. I will say that when it comes to his preferences, he probably leans more towards female 60/40 or 70/30. He's definitely attracted to guys - and he makes no secret about it - but it takes someone particularly notable to catch his eye. Like I mentioned about Gavin above, if Gavin were anything other than straight, these two might've been a couple simply because they gel together so well.

[phoenecia]

OC Ask Game: 23 and 30 for Phoenny!

23. What is your OC like when they're angry?

Personally, I feel like Phoenny can be both adorable and terrifying when angry, depending on the circumstances, who she's mad at, and what she's mad about. If it's something trivial, she's very sassy, sarcastic, huffy, and pouty. When she's genuinely angry angry to the point of raising her voice and outright yelling, the claws come out, and she'll look for ways to make you hurt. Maybe not with physical violence, but she'll use something personal to drive a metaphorical knife in. Well...maybe a physical knife too. Or an ice pick.

30. How paranoid is your OC? How does this affect their daily life?

Honestly? Not very paranoid at all. Phoenny was raised in a fairly well-to-do family in another country before she left home to try and strike it on her own. Despite being a bit sickly as a child, her family likely didn't have any enemies, and her kind and friendly nature makes it unlikely she'd be all that worried people might want to harm her. She's definitely dealt with a few creeps in her time as a bartender (and maybe a little before), but it's not enough to keep her looking over her shoulder.

[phoenecia]

19 for Sara, 28 for Lei and 14 for Phoenny from the ask game💜

19. (Sara) How does your OC handle preparing for and initiating a difficult conversation? How does the conversation itself go?

Oh boy, this is a fun one. So. Sara is a character I often describe as a sassy, stabby tsundere that's heavy on the sass and the stabbing...yeah. She cares very intensely for her friends, but is prickly towards nearly everyone else. She's blunt, but straightforward, so if she sees a potential problem, you can bet she's going to confront it. She'll stew on it for a little bit, but there isn't a ton of time between the stewing and the actual confrontation; the sooner the problem is taken care of, the less you have to worry about said problem. And when it's go time? It's like an ambush, and she's not delicate about it. Case in point:

As soon as the older errant was out of sight, Gavin noticed Sara’s eyes settle on him, fixing him with an intense look.

“Hey, Gav. Mind if I talk to you for a minute?” 

“Huh? Yeah, sure. What is it?”

She pushed herself to her feet as her gaze drifted to Brian, who was watching the whole exchange with an uncertain expression, though he was trying to make it seem like he wasn’t concerned. 

“In private?”

That wasn't a good sign. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Brian lift an eyebrow, but the ranger remained silent. 

“Uhh. Alright…” This time Gavin didn’t sound quite so sure in his response, but he followed Sara down the hall and up the stairs to the second floor anyway. "What's this about?" 

For a few seconds, she didn't answer, but he could see her shoulders grow tense. Another bad sign. 

He wasn't sure just what he was anticipating, but in a blur of movement, Sara darted out from in front of him and shoved him, sending him stumbling into an empty room. She shut the door behind him, locked it, and positioned herself to block him from escaping, her arms folded over her chest and an intense glare on her face. 

From the pink wallpaper and the mountains of stuffed animals throughout it, he could tell this was Lei's room. 

"What the hell, Sara?! What do you think you're doing?" he demanded. Gavin had to resist the instinct to summon his sword; he wasn't about to attack a teammate. 

"Me? What do you think you're doing? You've got a lot of explaining to do. I know Josh and Lei keep saying to be patient and give you time, but I think this has gone on for too long - enough that I’ve been wondering just how safe we are around you." 

Gavin cursed to himself. So Sara knew too. Just what had his teammates been talking about behind his back? He raised his hands in deference, trying to diffuse the situation. “Come on, Sara. You know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you guys. You trust me, don’t you?”

Sara grimaced as her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “You know I trust you, Gav…” she murmured, her voice sounding pained. She looked him in the eye, but after a moment, she averted her gaze - as if she couldn’t bring herself to stare at him for long. “But I can’t help but wonder how much you trust us. Do you know how much that hurts? You’ve been hiding something, and whatever it is, you’ve been acting weird enough and covering your tracks enough that I can’t just sit by and keep letting it happen. Lei doesn’t think you’re a threat, and I don’t want to think you are either, but…”

His eyes drifted down to her hands, watching them carefully in case she decided to summon her daggers. Even if Gavin was much stronger than her, Sara was a lot faster, and even though he was sure she wouldn't try to attack him, she was…volatile.

“You know me. I wouldn’t–”

“So then why?!” She was practically yelling at him now, but she was trying to keep her voice low enough to avoid alerting the others downstairs. Sara grabbed at the front of his shirt and yanked him down to eye-level. He didn’t resist. She was glaring at him again, her emerald eyes smoldering with intensity. “Well? Do you have anything to say?”

28. (Lei) What does your OC think others are saying about them behind their back? Is any of this true?

So! In my Errant Chronicles setting, a lot of people have special abilities called Gifts. Lei's Gift happens to be empathy - she can sense the emotions of people around her (which she can't turn off), and can also manipulate them to an extent if she felt like it. If people are talking about her, she probably knows. Thankfully, it's usually good things. Her kindness, her bright and sunny attitude, her overall sweet nature. It's all true and it's not a front. Is she capable of being terrifyingly manipulative? Oh yeah. But it's considered a joke as opposed to anything serious.

14. (Phoenny) Does your OC hold grudges? How good are they at letting things go? Do they believe in second chances?

I want to say that Phoenny doesn't hold grudges for the most part. She's very positive and optimistic, and firmly believes in second chances. She feels people are capable of changing for the better, so it'd take something pretty serious like harming her loved ones or people who are pretty obviously innocent or harmless to write you off. That being said... If that line is ever crossed and you manage to piss her off? It's not pretty.

[ruvviks]

OC ASK GAME

Where was your OC born, and where did they grow up?

How does your OC remember their childhood? Is this an accurate reflection of what their childhood was actually like?

If your OC could revisit their childhood, what would they want to change about it, if anything at all?

Describe three of the most important photographs your OC owns.

What is your OC's gender identity and sexual orientation? Is this also what they identify as in canon, or are they not (fully) aware?

How comfortable is your OC in their skin? Do they like who they are? What would they want to change about themself?

What is your OC's occupation?

What does your OC's family look like?

Describe a mundane day in your OC's life.

Does your OC have any physical scars? What is the story behind them?

What does your OC carry around in their pockets? What about their bag?

What is the worst thing that has happened to your OC? How has it affected their behavior, their health, and their life in general?

What is something your OC does (to others) that they would not like if others did to them? Are they aware that they do this?

Does your OC hold grudges? How good are they at letting things go? Do they believe in second chances?

What is your OC's fatal flaw?

Is there anyone your OC has lost contact with? What happened?

What are some of your OC's coping mechanisms during stressful or overwhelming periods in their life?

What are your OC's bad habits?

How does your OC handle preparing for and initiating a difficult conversation? How does the conversation itself go?

How quick is your OC to shift blame? Do they own up to their mistakes, or are they prone to start pointing fingers at others?

How does your OC handle criticism?

How good is your OC at apologizing, if they do this at all?

What is your OC like when they're angry?

What is your OC like when they're upset?

What is your OC's deepest desire? Would they ever ask for this?

How quickly does your OC reach their breaking point? What are they like when this point has been reached?

What are some assumptions others make about your OC? Are any of them true?

What does your OC think others are saying about them behind their back? Is any of this true?

What are three traits your OC has that can both have positive as well as negative qualities?

How paranoid is your OC? How does this affect their daily life?

Are there any places or people your OC is avoiding?

How does your OC handle rejection?

How does your OC handle jealousy?

What would be some of the signs your OC is starting to push people away?

If your OC had to kill someone, how would they do it? If killing is a near-daily occurrence to them, what is their preferred method?

Does your OC believe they deserve it when bad things happen to them?

What is the most common feeling or emotion in your OC's life?

What is the most recurring theme in your OC's nightmares?

What is your OC's pain tolerance like? What is the worst pain they have ever felt?

What is your OC afraid of?

Has your OC ever hurt someone, either physically or verbally?

How easily influenced by others is your OC?

What are common things your OC worries about?

Do others consider your OC to be scary or intimidating?

Does your OC keep their promises? Have they ever broken one before?

Does your OC carry any guilt with them?

If your OC had to pick a new identity and skip town, what would they come up with? Where would they go?

What would your OC do if they knew that this was their last day alive?

Does your OC fear death?

How does your OC die, eventually?

[phoenecia]

Accepting asks for my above Errant Chronicles (the book and series of stories I wrote/am writing) characters.

(From left to right: Brian da Silva, Sara Cartwright, Gavin Flaherty, Lei Yao, Josh Cartwright).

My BSC bartender, Phoenny, is also on the table for asks.

[phoenecia]

Not finished with the demo yet, but...I got to the part about Hugo. I'm sad now. :<

All things considered, it suddenly makes sense why the BSC bartender might not be in the picture/isn't the protagonist in LNLC.

I know I wanted old Phoenny to probably have had a kid by the time LNLC takes place (said kid would likely be around Alfie's age, maybe a tiny bit older), but I never decided on who the lucky daddy would've been. Heck, I thought it'd be funny to leave it a little ambiguous.

...but the idea of Hugo being the dad and knowing what happened makes for another tragic layer on an already devastating picture.

[phoenecia]

Last Night, Last Call demo cocktails

So. Me being a bartending enthusiast and doing a lot of mixing at home, I think I've figured out the RL equivalents of most of the drink menu in the demo. Figuring them out this time around is a lot harder because not only are some of the drinks more obscure, minor ingredients aren't listed, so quite a few I had to guess from the known ingredients, and their appearance (Devil's Kiss was a hard one). Unsurprisingly, I've made a lot of these before. XD

I haven't figured out all of the mocktails yet, but some of them were kind of obvious.

Devil's Kiss - Beso Picante No 2 (made with cacao fruit brandy) Autumn Glow - Sparkling Sidecar/San Francisco Sidecar Pink Orchard - Jack Rose (made with applejack) Passenger - Sidecar Moxie - Coffee Gin Spritz Stargazer - Martini/Orange Martini Juniper Splash - Gin Fizz Lovebite - Twilight - Power Surge - Green Thumb - Summer Sunset - Tequila Sunrise mocktail Sunny Squeeze - Sweetheart - Shirley Temple Copper Blank - Moscow Mule mocktail Poolboy - Blue Lagoon Wakeup Call - Espresso Martini Carabinier - Cosmopolitan Cold Winter - White Russian

[phoenecia]

Phoenny returns to Bukovie!

Yeah. I should be working on stuff, but I can't ignore the Last Night, Last Call demo. So. We make our return to Bukovie, with live voice acting!

Watch this video on Twitch Live