#ottenebrare

[tiny-kylo-ren]

Look at these lovely prints @ottenebrare sent!! Tiny Kylo loves them!

[elviscl]

Do you have any tips on backgrounds? Yours are so stunning! (ʃƪ ˘ ³˘) ･*♡

OH gosh, well a good place to start would be these:

using focal plane for the illusion of space

background tutorial from Over the Garden Wall

Another thing that got me started on thinking of depth within a flat space was this aftereffects tutorial.  DEFINITELY look around their website, they have lots of free tutorials, they’re the same people who did the VFX for the holograms in SW:TFA, and a lot of their effects cant really be applied if you dont have aftereffects and their plug-ins, but their method of thinking can(which is more important). Their attention to detail is exquisite, if a bit dry to listen to.  

A lot of their work is creating the illusion of something that doesn’t exist in as a realistic manner as possible, and that means of thinking in a 3D space, anticipating motion, wind, lighting effects, and how all of this affects not only your area of focus, but the area surrounding it.  They think in terms of how an 3d object is presented in a 2d space and how the eye is drawn around the picture. Yeah their technology is expensive, and you probably don’t have it either, but their basics are super solid and they usually have tips that can be applied to all types of digital art. Its a good look into how the pros do it. It isnt strictly background work, but it all definitely applies when youre thinking of constructing a background that interacts with your character properly

But if you want example of how I do it, Ill put in under a cut:

Lets take this as an example:

What I do is I usually build up a background in layers

The point is to have planes that can be adjusted as needed to create a sense of depth, which is the same principle used for a multiplane camera (aftereffect’s camera works the same way).  Also remember that the closer to the “camera” you are, the darker it gets(the effect is shown well here)

 With this picture, I had about 4 layers of depth? the sky/sea as the back, the container/rock a bit towards the middle, and these two bringing up the front, as well as my texture overlays. To be fair, each of these “layers” were their own individual folder, made up of even more layers so I could color and adjust as needed:

The top two were combined to make the background, with an added reddish/pink gradient in the top right corner to push the illusion of light.  I usually add some textures like this one to add detail:

This was some brush strokes i let splatter, took a picture with my cell phone, and then adjusted the contrast, This texture has been transformed by scaling the front larger and the back smaller to give an illusion of perspective, and the end farthest from us has some feathering and blur to make it disapear into the distance a bit

Unfortunately, the very front layer had the characters very dependent on what they’re touching/standing, so its all one piece in front of the background. The textures were included to add variation to the rocks/sky like shown above

The fourth and closest to the viewer is “dust motes” or small steaks of white I overlaid on top of everything to push the illusion of movement(shown on black so you can see it):

 and on top of THAT, i put my textures on overlay(anywhere usually from 5%-40% definitely try what feels best for your drawing, different colors react differently)

So to abbreviate, my backgrounds are constructed more or less like this (to show all individual layers in order would be too much, but you get the idea):

[kyluxmagnus]

If you get this, say 5 facts about yourself and pass it on to your 10 favorite followers

Okay...

1. I’m engaged to a woman

2. I’m gay and transgender

3. I love Kylux

4. I co-own a shop (just starting up)

5. I have too many cats @_@

I tag: @isilwenshadewind​ @reaperlight @weirdlet @iamdragoonthegreat @tinfoil-on-the-windows @saltandlimes @ryokothebadgamer @oblioknowlton @deluxekyluxtrashcan @creepycreepyspacewizard and whoever else wants to do this!

[theweddingofthefoxes]

Imperial Gift

(A little something something for @ottenebrare)

The weeks following Brendol's death and Armitage's subsquent coronation were the most exhausting of Ren's life, and he knew that was nothing in comparison to how Armitage must feel. From the break of day until nearly midnight, Armitage was constantly in motion, signing laws, meeting emissaries, hearing cases, making appearances. His people had seen him grow up, had seen him grow from a sheltered child to a man, sharp, severely beautiful. In his holoportraits as a child, his eyes had been big and trusting, but now they glowed with a ferocious determination. The skinny boy was now lithe and elegant, prepared to rule. And in a way, the people had watched Ren grow up too. The shadow, people said when they spoke of him, always a step behind the little emperor. Now that shadow was grown, too, nineteen and big, muscled, and only growing more. He still had a teenager's puppyish face but there was no denying it--even without the mystic powers that had landed him the job in the first place, he was formidable. 

In private, for the very few moments they had privacy, though, they were tired and sore and a little despairing, though Ren would never admit that. It was so much to do, and so sudden. 

"I thought I'd have more time," Armitage said one night, when they were lying in bed together because of course they were lying in bed together, because in private Armitage was so afraid of being alone. In public, he was not cold, exactly, but cool, his face a mask, and he looked commanding and fearless, Ren's role as a shadow a professional one, a formality. In private he clung to the one constant that was left to him. He hadn't exactly commanded Ren to stay with him because he hadn't needed to. Ren had just known. "I didn't expect him to die for so much longer." "I know. I know."

"I don't miss--I don't miss him. The way he spoke to me or the way or he acted like he liked more, or didn't like me, all depending on the day, or on the hour, or--" Armitage rubbed his face, not from crying but from exhaustion, trying to keep himself focused, steady. He'd washed the paste from his hair and it had settled, cowlicked and soft, all around his ears and cheeks. It made him look--angelic? Not that he wasn't beautiful when he was all dressed up, all in his regalia, but there was something so beautiful about the way he looked when only Ren could see. "I miss the feeling of order. Like everything in the universe was taken care of. Now I have to take care of everything in the universe. If you'd asked me a month ago if I thought I was ready, I'd have said yes, of course. In his illness I took over so much for him, I knew I was ready. And now that it happened, I don't--I don't know."

"Everything's shifted," Ren agreed. "You're still in shock. You've been thrown into the pool. And now you're swimming."

"Drowning."

"No, no." Ren paused, trying to think of how to phrase it. "Treading water, let's say."

"It's hard," Armitage said, and it was so simple and plaintive that it broke Ren's heart, and he did what no one else could do. Touched the emperor, held his face in his hands. And his heart stuttered when Armitage went on-- "But I have you. I've always had you."

"You do."

"Promise."

"I promise. I'm sworn to you. I'm yours."

It was nothing new for them to be so close, their faces just inches apart, hadn't they lived half their lives this close? The past ten years, playing and play-fighting, comforting each other? But now Armitage was staring at him with that same public imperial intensity, only deeper, darker, more wanting. 

"Your father gave me to you," Ren said, so quiet that he wasn't even sure Armitage could hear.

"If my father knew what I wanted--what I was thinking--he would be furious--" "Your father," Ren said, still so quiet, so so quiet. "--is dead."

And that was all in took for Armitage to pull Ren close and kiss him.

  Neither of them had ever kissed anyone before--nineteen and twenty, he'd think later, laughing, and so inexperienced, but they had all this time to catch up-- and so maybe it was bad, sloppy, too hard, too fast? Ren had seen kissing in holo films and it maybe didn't look like this or feel like this, but there was no describing the fire that shot up through his stomach, up his throat, into his mouth, filling him with warmth and heat and tenderness but also ferocity. 

Armitage drew back, just the slightest bit, almost reluctant, like he was just testing Ren out, seeing how he'd react, and Ren was leaning in closer, not interested in breaking that connection, just for a few seconds more--

"My shadow," Armitage said softly. "I have you."

[crepeycrepeyspacewizard]

Aaahhhhhhh @ottenebrare the prints look absolutely fantastic thank you so much!!!!

[cosleia]

acroamatica replied to your post “Had a shitty weekend; looking forward to a shitty day. On Wednesday...”

hugs. i hope the news is good. ❤️

lady-starkiller replied to your post “Had a shitty weekend; looking forward to a shitty day. On Wednesday...”

I'll be thinking of you!!

littleststarfighter replied to your post “Had a shitty weekend; looking forward to a shitty day. On Wednesday...”

Sending you lots of love *hugs*

fauxtalian replied to your post “Had a shitty weekend; looking forward to a shitty day. On Wednesday...”

-wraps you in blankets-

ottenebrare replied to your post “Had a shitty weekend; looking forward to a shitty day. On Wednesday...”

Thinking of you, love!! ♥

goofygrrl replied to your post “Had a shitty weekend; looking forward to a shitty day. On Wednesday...”

Lots of hugs!!! Wishing only good things for you!

Thank you all so much <3 The day was, indeed, shitty, but I survived it at least! Just another day and a half to go...

[gratuivore]

do you have any fave kylux songs? ♥

BOII OH BOI THANK YOU FOR ASKING I DO!!! an (abbreviated) list is as follows :“)

in general:Hatefuck – The BraveryFather Father – Susanne Sundforliterally anything by marina and the diamonds like she is my fave?? esp for hucc idk why she is just so perfect i love her bless but like in particular this one

for fic:

A Knife in the Ocean – FOALS (this is my CWU go-to song!! i have a cry response to this song because of it!!!)

Torture – Les Friction (i heard this at the library studying for my psych final right at the beginning of my kylux obsession and i nearly fuckign choked to death listen to the lyrics and think of canon i beg of u)

Exit Song – Radiohead BECAUSE OF favomancer/cyanide-breathmint’s fic which killed me

for my own aus i have a bathory playlistand for cherry i am making a playlist which is top secret but i can say it has a lot of britney spears whom i love to death

ok i don’t have xkit so i have to add links/tags after posting sORRY iM A MESS

[theweddingofthefoxes]

baby's breath, foxglove? ♥

baby’s breath: 5 things you associate yourself with

Iced coffee, fluff, foxes, seals, and Ghost Adventures

foxglove: what is your favorite color and in what shade?

I quite like aqua-blue, like, pool water blue, and also really pale lavender purple!