Eventually @stupidnamerequirements - Tumblr Blog

i have NOTHING!!! ATTACK my THIS DRAWING!!!

i HAVE technically drawn today, but its not anything postable so im reaching in my closet and pulling out this thing and blowing off all the dust (it is 2 days old)

marielism

my buddy ani

glowrillaz

A Guide to Gorillaz Art Styles: Phase 1

Nobody asked for it, but I wanna discuss some observations I’ve had over Jamie’s art style changing as I’ve researched it thoroughly in order to apply the different styles to my own work. Most people are aware of how much the art changes between phases, but naturally it evolves a lot during the phases too. One thing I think would be really interesting is to find an order in which the images were released in order to create a more solid timeline.

Early Phase 1 (1999 - 2000)

Not counting concept art, this is some of the first pieces created for Gorillaz; a lot of it is visible in Bananaz, circa 1999, some even with the older name “Gorilla” instead of “Gorillaz”. A lot of the characters are a little off-model around here, their personalities and designs not fully-formed yet. Most notable tells:

Visible in Bananaz

2D’s hair is very purple here and his skin is a little darker than later on in the phase

Russ’ skin is a bit darker and redder compared to the later more washed-out skin tone

Russ and 2D’s eyes are noticeably smaller.

Murdoc and Noodle’s hair are, for the most part, solid black or with very minimal shine

Little to no colour highlights

Mid-Phase 1 (2001)

(Group art, circa late 2000/early 2001)

(19-2000 promo art, some time after June 2001)

This is pretty much the main Phase 1 style, released alongside the self-titled album. Although naturally there’s still some experimentation, things are more consistent here as the characters are closer to their familiar looks. The images I’ve shown are actually fairly different; as the art evolution is far more fluid than just these sub-phases and you can pick out some of the notable points to place the upper image as earlier than the lower one. You’ll see this style on most magazines released in late 2000 - 2001. Most notable tells:

Far more detailed clothing; more pockets and zips and logos, etc rather than just the simple shirts and jumpers of early on in the phase

Highlights! Most notably on the faces and coats, this adds an extra dimension to the art and gives it a much prettier look

Murdoc is slightly greener. This is something of a trend

2D’s hair is still a simple gradient, but it’s looking a little bluer than purple

Late Phase 1 (2002 - 2003)

(Tomorrow Comes Today single rerelease, 2002)

(Celebrity Harvest concept art, 2003)

Since most of the hype of Gorillaz’ debut album had passed, art from this era kind of slowed down to a near-halt. This makes a lot of the changes far more noticeable as there’s less of a steady evolution here. The Celebrity Harvest-era art is probably the very peak of this, a lot of the colourless pencil art pretty much resembling Phase 2. Most notable tells:

Even more detail! You’ll see more hair lines, wrinkes, stitches and stubble here, along with more detailed fingers

Noodle’s not wearing her helmet! This is a fairly significant design change as you can see her become slightly older

Cortez (or a similar bird) starts appearing around this point, albeit only in a couple of images

Murdoc is basically fully green here

A lot of hair shine, looking a lot more reflective

2D’s hair is clearly blue in a lot of the art from this era, although there’s still a slight gradient look to it

There’s a lot of solid black shadows, Jamie clearly going for a more comic-style look

glowrillaz

A Guide to Gorillaz Art Styles: Phase 2

Continued! A lot less changes here as the characters are pretty much fully-formed by this phase, but over the space of about two years you’re bound to change a little.

Early Phase 2 (2004)

(The earliest known Phase 2 image, released in November 2004)

(Art released circa December 2004)

(Unknown release date, at least late 2004 since icons from this image were used for forum posts around then)

The exact beginning of Phase 2 is a little unclear, with the top two images (plus Rockit) confirmed to have been seen in late 2004 according to the old gorillaz-news livejournal and the official forums from the time. Regardless, here’s the most notable tells:

Everything is super shiny. Jamie clearly had fun with the airbrush tool, especially on Murdoc’s hair.

Noodle’s design. She’s still wearing a lot of those big coats she wore throughout Phase 1, and most prominently, her eye-covering bangs hadn’t been introduced yet.

Mid-to-Late Phase 2 (2005 - 2006)

(Image probably from early 2005)

(Image from the back of the Demon Days album, dating this as May 2005)

(Art from a Q Magazine interview, March 2006)

This is probably what some people would consider the “definitive” Gorillaz style, being released at their highest popularity. Most people have probably seen these pictures. The tells include:

Hard, sharp hair highlights on Murdoc and Noodle. Towards the end of the Phase, the highlights became much more detailed and intricate.

2D started having more realistic reddish eyes with slightly visible pupils rather than fully black. Towards the end of the phase in 2006, he had white eyes a couple of times.

Once again, it just gets more and more detailed as the phase goes on. This is kind of a natural progression.

stealingpotatoes

oh my gods... aunt soka with baby tiny skywalker twins..................

(links // tip jar!)

lookingbetteringlasses

I think Star Wars becomes a lot more entertaining when you realize that Anakin is basically a shonen anime hero. Spikey hair, Chosen One, extremely powerful force of will, protective of his loved ones, reckless & overconfident, singular love interest, he's got it all.

Then we get Luke, who's basically the successor to his father's legacy as the hero to save the galaxy, and he's even more of a shonen protagonist: spikey hair, no real love interest, insignificant background before being thrust into greatness (yeah, yeah, Hero's Journey, just stick with me), reckless & overconfident, all-loving, receives training from two cranky old guys, power of friendship.

That last bit is especially significant, because using this frame, we see that Anakin's fall was because he lived within an isolating environment where being a Jedi was an expectation he often failed to live up to. This allows Sidious to take advantage of him & address his concerns in a way that the Jedi never could, promising him what he believes he needs most: the power to do what he wants, because if love is wrong according to the Jedi, then why should domination be?

In contrast, Luke succeeded because he explicitly lacks those expectations and is free to become a Jedi on his own terms, without the institutional rigidity of the Order that allowed them to get massacred. This makes Sidious' temptations more desperate because Luke already has people who he knows supports him without reservation, so he tries to unsuccessfully pry away at his compassion & appeal to his underlying rage.

Anakin is the Failed Shonen Anime Hero to Luke being the Successful Shonen Anime Hero. Anakin and Luke were both angry young men & determined fighters, but the problem with Anakin is that he was raised in a world where being human was seen as imperfection, while Luke succeeded because he was brought into a world where being human was seen as worth defending.

So I guess what I'm saying is: an animated series about Han, Luke, & Leia in between the original trilogy, one season between 4 & 5, one season between 5 & 6, and one season between 6 & the Battle for Jakku (maybe even remaking parts of the original films, who knows). Maybe the second season can have a simultaneous arc about the Crimson Dawn, because I know that happened in the comics, also maybe having one of the last Inquisitors confront Luke. The big finale can be at the Battle of Jakku, because apparently Luke did a Starkiller there. Then the series can end with Luke going off to the galaxy to learn more about the ancient Jedi & find Force-users like himself (yes, I know the irony of having such an optimistic ending before the sequels, but it still works for the most part).

I feel like a series like this would help, including for further fleshing out the friendship between Luke & Han, getting to explore Luke & Leia's bond both before & after Episode 6 (WITHOUT A ROMANCE BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE WEIRD), Luke's place within the Rebellion as a Jedi & effect on others (how do people react? what does his place become in the Rebellion?), if Luke & his father actually got to discuss anything like Luke & Obi-Wan, what the Rebellion was like as an actual sizable faction post-build-up seen in Andor & Rebels, seeing the Empire in its final days, expanding the dread of there being a second Death Star (given the retrospective prominence of the first one, imagine the horror of someone revealing "They're building another one..."), and host of other things.

Edit: For the Inquisitor, it would be pretty neat to have Luke face down an adversary because it would provide interesting character development, or at least flesh it out. The Last Inquisitor fights less respectfully than Vader, more desperate, yet acts as a symbol of everything Luke must fight against. Yet upon defeating him, Luke realizes the tragedy of the Inquisitors: they were flawed people either taking the only option they had or being manipulated into becoming their worst selves, setting the stage for Luke to have such faith in Anakin avoiding that fate when having to make that choice.

Then there's the Ahsoka in the room. We don't know much about when Ahsoka came back, but it would be interesting to have her meet Luke from time to time, first as a "There's something special about you" meeting, then as a "There's something I have to tell you" meeting, then finally as a "so what do we do now?" meeting. I think it's safe to say that we don't know at this point whether Ahsoka came out at the same time as she left, the same time as Ezra, or sometime later, so freedom for storytelling is there. And I don't think I'm the only one who would want to see an Ahsoka x Leia team-up episode. Also: the third season can show the Great Purge of Mandalore as the grand tragic event it was in terms of Mandalorian history (and maybe Sabine if she appears in the third season), but also for Luke as a potential failure - he should've been there to stop it, because that's what a Jedi is supposed to do.

Luke's big struggles in each of the seasons could be as follows: proving himself in the Rebellion as a capable fighter & determining whether to embrace his heritage as a Jedi, training himself as a Jedi with Yoda and becoming a more prominent figure in the Rebellion, and determining what his place should be in the wider galaxy after his father's sacrifice & the Emperor's defeat. Insert each episode of the original trilogy as major events to revolve around.

kurrpip

What the hell is Anakin’s teaching method??

lulu-folle

Do what I say, not what I do

filibusterfrog

just a little boy

filibusterfrog

collision-ant

TADC but it's just a bunch of programmers raising their accidental AI child

collision-ant

Scratch, you can't run from the call of dad. Caine is actively sprinting at you

Also, the temptation to name this au Raising Caine- asefsdfaw

Edit: NAMING IT RAISING CAINE! YEEHOO!! :D

moncalas

you're owen lars. your father has fallen in love with a woman and she's enslaved. you and your father aren't rich, but eventually you manage to free her. this one woman. one woman on a planet full of injustices.

you're owen lars. the woman you call mom had another child once. it doesn't make her love you less, but she talks about him in a way that makes it clear that she loved him, too. he's off to be a jedi now and she's very proud.

you're owen lars. your mother's been kidnapped and you have to assume the worst. a man and a woman step into your home and the man announces himself to be that kid who went off to become a jedi. he knows you less than you know him and before anything else can happen, he takes off to bring back his mother, a feat you think is impossible.

you're owen lars. anakin skywalker brings your mom's corpse to your doorstep. her funeral is interrupted by a message of utmost galactic importance.

you're owen lars. your brother is dead. you never saw him again after that first time. there is another jedi on your doorstep, with a baby in his arm and you know what it means and you can't bring yourself to face him as he hands your nephew off to your wife.

you're owen lars. obi-wan ben kenobi is a pain in the ass. he was more your brother's brother than you ever were and he doesn't understand your particular kind of grief, is drowning in his own. you don't even know the full story and kenobi will never tell you all of it. but you have a child to care for so you tell him off and get back to work.

you're owen lars. you didn't know your brother, but you know your nephew and your nephew wants out of this place as soon as possible. you know he won't be safe out there but in the end you're helpless to stop him. and you know the stories, you remember the one time you met him, the days your mother died. and you do this for her and you do this for your father and you do this for your brother and you do this for your nephew.

you're owen lars. your last act is to protect your brother's child. your child.

biggugusu

Sith obiwan and his apprentice

berusjeanjacket

These are trying to kill me and i think they’re going to succeed

excerpts from “there is always another,” one of the short stories in Star Wars: From A Certain Point Of View: the Empire Strikes Back

leapingbadger

OMG I want to sob!

425599167

The Force Unleashed shows an interesting side of the Sith, specifically how, despite being in control of the galaxy, they are unraveling. Early Sith fought each other for power and their empires failed again and again as a result. Adopting the Rule of Two was supposed to fix that, and for a while it did. Once Palpatine destroyed the Jedi, they didn't fall to infighting again, but rather than each Sith apprentice surpassing their master, they get successively weaker.

Palpatine is a full-on Sith Lord of his own choice, relishing he pain he can inflict on people. Upon becoming the Emperor, signs indicate he kinda got bored and lost interest in his own empire. He doesn't show up to senate meetings and seems to defer business to his underlings. That evil old man needs enrichment. Somebody throw a pumpkin full of ground padawan meat into his enclosure.

Vader was manipulated into becoming what he is, and left emotionally hollow. There's nothing left for him to do except serve his master, whom he should be plotting to depose. He isn't working to gain more power because he only wanted power for a specific goal, saving Padmé, which is no longer achievable. But, even if Palpatine has other apprentice candidates, Vader still represents an impassible barrier. He's weaker than he should be, but so strong that nobody else can progress far enough to defeat him.

Galen's involvement violates the Rule of Two, which is a bad sign on its own since that's the Sith's guiding principle. Rather than by choice or by manipulation, Galen was forced to become a Sith from childhood. His only goal is to help Vader, who has no serious intention of challenging Palpatine because that can't get him what he wants. Galen should be the future of the Sith, but due to the interpersonal dynamics at work, he's completely pointless, therefore the Sith don't have a future. Over the course of the story, his strength grows as his loyalty wanes and he dies rejecting the Sith.

The Sith, in theory, are supposed to dedicate themselves to training the next generation. Without the Jedi as a target to strike and an enemy to compare themselves with, the Sith stopped functioning. It's good that Luke defeated the Emperor when and how he did, but the Sith's dissolution was only a matter of time anyway.