warm me up in a nova's glow

main blog: @carbonated-cosmo | the one-stop shop for all my art! because i need a better way to keep track of it all

[radiantcosmonaut]

let me make it very clear at the top that this post is NOT intended to announce commissions opening up; i would LIKE for it to happen eventually, but Not Right Now. im just here to yap about ideas for what i want to offer!

so, with that out of the way, let the yapping BEGIN!

i enjoy designing characters and consider myself to be pretty good at it, and i ESPECIALLY love making TTRPG characters. i ALSO like making reference sheets for those characters, so my thought is that i could eventually offer simple sheets like what i've mocked up for tracy, which you can see below (plus a photo i took before i added character details):

the character themselves would be featured in the center of the page, with all relevant details (name, level/class/subclass if applicable, species, gear/equipment — pretend tracy's is listed in the blank space on the right of him — and statistics) arranged in the space around them!

i'd like to reiterate that i am not opening commissions yet, but if/when i do, i'd love to know if this is something folks would be interested in! i REALLY love designing characters, and i would love a chance to broaden my horizons by drawing things outside of my comfort zone :]

[radiantcosmonaut]

my second art fight attack! i made this one for a friend on the comedy team and it features their magic: the gathering OC, ezekiel morrow, with my 5e paladin, tracy goldglow! i just have a thing for divine blonde dudes, i guess 😅

[radiantcosmonaut]

my first ever art fight attack! in fact, it's even a revenge against a friendly fire i got from KTSketch, owner of the character, kelvin, featured to the right of virgil! the attack i got from them started an interaction between kelvin and virgil talking about their relationships to dragons: kelvin's species evolved from the dragons in his universe, and virgil has a direct blood tie to a dragon from his world! despite the differences in the worlds they come from, they've found common ground in the nature of their existence ☺️☺️☺️

[prguitarman]

she is a beautiful triangle

she is beautiful triangle

[lofi-hearts]

[radiantcosmonaut]

she is a beautiful triangle

[radiantcosmonaut]

whoagh.....im making an art fight reference sheet........

(still a WIP, i promise im adding more)

[radiantcosmonaut]

i added more :] :]

[radiantcosmonaut]

whoagh.....im making an art fight reference sheet........

(still a WIP, i promise im adding more)

[radiantcosmonaut]

been playing silksong :]

[radiantcosmonaut]

randomly remembered my Monster of the Week character exists and finally decided to doodle them up! their name is Quartz, their playbook is The Spooky, and they have weird psychic powers! (and a GUN)

the game was 4 years ago and didn't go very far, though, so im starting to convert them into a DC comics OC, because im very tickled by the idea of them having adventures in gotham city >:]

[digitalkiddo]

If you're writing anything involving cons, scams, heists, or morally questionable characters who are very good at lying, here are some free resources I've been using for research. Saving you the "why is this in my search history" anxiety.

1. The FBI's Famous Cases & Criminals archive (fbi.gov/history/famous-cases) has detailed breakdowns of real fraud cases, Ponzi schemes, and confidence operations. The language they use is clinical and precise, which is perfect for getting the procedural details right.

2. The FTC Consumer Sentinel Network publishes annual reports on the most common fraud tactics in the US. Great for understanding how modern scams actually work and what makes people fall for them.

3. The Smithsonian's American Art Museum has a free digital collection of forgery case studies. If your character forges documents or art, this is gold.

4. Court Listener (courtlistener.com) is a free legal database where you can read actual court transcripts from fraud trials. Want to know how a real con artist talks under oath? This is where you find out.

5. The Internet Archive's collection of old newspaper crime sections. Search for "confidence man" or "swindle" in papers from the 1920s through 1960s and you'll find incredible real stories that would feel too dramatic for fiction.

Bonus: The Psychology of Fraud section on the Association for Psychological Science website has accessible articles about why people trust, how deception works cognitively, and what makes someone a convincing liar. Essential reading if you want your con artist characters to feel psychologically real.

Reblog to save for later. Your WIP will thank you.

[officialspec]

draw more fat characters ok. i love you

[radiantcosmonaut]

going on 10 years of virgil existing as one of my OCs and i've only now made an effort to depict his fire breath, because he is, in fact, meant to be a dragon dude

[topknotstrunk]

The most helpful digitigrade leg drawing reference I’ve ever seen, by Novaloux.

[strawberry-crocodile]

gently pushing complex female characters into fandom's face like im feeding my toddler brussels sprouts

[woman-becomer]

*adds something to my cart* I'm about to make an amazing digital purchase

[saszor]

"Tutorial" on how to "draw" a blind OC.

My kofi

Boring tired disclaimer: Keep in mind that this is an introductory "drawing" "tutorial" and has some generalizations in it, so not every “X is Z” statement will be true for Actual People. Which happens to be true for everything in general. Links below so that you can research and do a nuance. Ones that were directly mentioned are bolded.

Writing a blind character 101 What to avoid etc Video on types of white canes Video on types of cane tips Some more explanation on white canes + tips + other stuff Guide animals Video on working with a guide dog ↑ if you're doing a non-dog non-horse animal please still perceive those two links. A guide animal is not a GPS that tells you "left" or "right" (in fact, you're the one telling it which direction you want to go). So before giving them something weird check if it actually makes sense. You can make a fantasy animal that still makes sense I promise 🦮👍 But why are Magical White Eyes a problem Same as above Going blind from an accident Video on conformers World's most basic "what do you call someone with albinism" The blindfold thing. No people don't wear these. This mostly stupid trope of covering a blind character's eyes because lord forbid someone sees a disabled body part This just stupid trope of giving a blind character some bs superpower to "see" The echolocation thing that every other blind oc does for some reason Just give them a cane good lord if you want a character that can see perfectly then maybe don't make them blind Bonus: if your character has a bunch of scars or whatever else then congrats! You made a character with a facial difference. Which is also something you should research.

[acanfullofspiders]

I fear we may have gone too far...

[orteil42]

some of you seem to be under the unfortunate impression that i enjoy finishing things. i enjoy making things