#showyourprocess

[cuumori]

Finished my new avatar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[druidx]

#showyourprocess

Yoinked from woodhousejay

From planning to posting, share your process for making creative content! To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

RULES — When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you’d like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

Tagging: @strosmkai-rum @spacetimewraithwrites @wildswrites @tetrodotoxincs @odysseywritings @ayzrules @morganwriteblr @my-writblr @bexminx @writingingraves @dreamwishing @aalinaaaaaa @wardenoftheabyss @pleaseloathemyveryexistence @jaguarthecat @catharticallysarcastic

I know the rules say for me to choose, but I'd rather you answer for a work that you can recall your process for.

I thought I'd cover Before it Shatters with this, because I can remember very strongly what the process for this one was.

1) Inspiration

There was a prompt event on one of the discord servers I'm in. Part of the prompt was "A heart made of glass", which really resonated with me.

2) Preparation

I kept turning the idea of this fragile item over in my head, the picture of an actual anatomical heart made from glass... At some point, it gained an angry flame, and I considered what would happen if that got too hot...

Another part of the prompt was "Warm tones", and my daydream about the heart became set with red sandstone, and then a man in a white cloak passing over the stones... At which point it was time to write.

3) Art Process

I banged this 790 word story out in two days. Flush with the daydream, I managed the introductory paragraph in the late hours of a sunday; the notes I left myself before I went to bed on sunday read:

Princess with glass heart filled with fire that is cracked, she's clearly venerated, something about how it burned to hot and the glass cracked and it's slow to be mended, she is motionless a half alive and half not, like the god-emperor from 40K

The rest of the story was completed after work on the Monday. Looking back at the version changes (I write in gDocs these days), I edited as I went, so there were minimal changes to be made before posting.

4) Thoughts

This was one of those rare, special stories that was just waiting to be written. I had clear vision, the story didn't have to be forced. I'm especially proud of the veneration given by the preist:

[The Capelian] touched the tips of [his] fingers to his chest, lips, and forehead, ere raising his hand in supplication to the dais. "My breath, my words, my mind, for you, my Princess,"

This story was very popular, with a lot of people praising the worldbuilding (that I hadn't even realised was worldbuilding). However, people did seem to miss that the Princess was alive, mistaking her for some kind of statue. Maybe if I were ever to rewrite this, I would put more emphasis on that aspect.

I was surprised by its popularity, as to me it was a quick, almost throw-away story. There were requests for more, or assumptions that it was part of a larger whole. I can see where more story of this might lead, but I'm not inclined to follow its path at this time.

5) Tagging See above

[heuheu-art]

I thought I’d show my comic making process! The sketch stage of this comic was probably the most challenging artistic thing I’ve ever done, it really pushed the boundaries of what I was comfortable with and I learnt so much from it.

[dontjudgemeimawriter]

Share your Progress Tag

tagged by @jessicas-story-blog22 ty!

Rules: When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag 5 people. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

Using Syndicate

Original to Current Iteration

I'm changing the format the previous one was in and adding this category instead of Inspiration because of the process of this.

So, when I was a baby writer, I started a story I called The Light at the End of the Tunnel (I got attached to the name but it was never perfect). It was one of the first things I wrote on a computer, and the first typed story I finished. Because of that it has always been important to me.

(gets longwinded so under the cut)

Anyway. It was even more edgy angsty than it is now. That story was about a kid named Cecil, who went through various torture methods at the hands of a group of torturers. His only friend was Mika, who cared for him and kept him relatively safe, as best she could. (I was like, 12, when I came up with this.)

From that grew some really good components: I learned how to write dark really well. I fell in love with betrayal and with secrets as plot elements. Terran became a character-- at the time, a twist that he was on their side, and a dip into exploring the pressure he was under for having to pretend. And, most importantly, the twist that Raymond, someone Cecil had only heard about, was alive. (There was also magic in this version, Mika always had emotions poers and Ramyond always had mental ones. But it was just there, not very salient, and no worldbuilding.)

Anyway. I finish that story. I celebrate in relief. I take a break, I work on other things. I take writing classes, I get practice. I rewrite it, mainly just tidying things up and adding some scenes. I develop Raymond and Terarn's romance more (that was there almost since the beginning, but fun fact-- I didn't originally intend it, it was my best friend who said she shipped them). I leave it. I write other things. I write a one-shot taking place after the events of the story that's just kinda fluffy, as fluffy as anything in this story can be. I write a full backstory, with everything that happened in the past. I leave it.

I go to college. I have other stories. I consider TLATEOTT an old draft I remember fondly but know is not very good. I miss parts of it. In a few sad moments, my girlfriend asks about stories to cheer me up, and I tell them about Terran.

I take an advancd writing class and we're supposed to start something new. She says, we can use old characters, but for the most part it has to be new. I brainstorm I try to pick other plots. It occurs to me-- what if I just take the good parts from TLATEOTT?

I go off memory. What was the good parts? How can I change it? I brainstorm. I come up with the magic system, with Calson City. I change it to assassins, as it does what I need it to and works better. I write down notes about Terran. I draw form everything I know already, applying it all to this new world and circumstances. A new story forms, where the twist halfway through is now the premise. I change what didn't make sense.

In all that, the one major thing that didn't fit? the original main character. R.I.P Cecil.

Preparation

I touched on this already-- I don't really have much research for this I usually have to look up things like how burn healing works and the laws regarding fire escapes and how hostage negotiations usually work. Most of my prep is worldbuilding and plot planning, and brainstorming ideas about what's gone down in the past. I have a notebook for brainstorming, which I try to copy into documents on my computer so it's easier to find.

Art Process

I don't have art but I do have a moodboard, playlist, and I've made picrews of the characters. Oh am um... my best friend did make fanart of the original. It doesn't make sense now, but it's fantastic.

Thoughts

I didn't say this about the process: first of all, it's on and off. I go though such long periods where i can't write more of this, can't figure out where it's going. But I'm gunna do this one. I know it. This is a big one for me, and my soul is in it.

Second, writeblr is a part of it. I decided to catch up on tags... and I might have enough inspiration to get back to writing it. seriously,it is unbelievable the amount of help it is to share snippets. especially when people reply to it.

Tagging @sleepy-night-child @diphthongsfordays @thegreatobsesso & open tag for anyone who wants to!

[emelkae]

#ShowYourProcess

Rules: When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag 5 people. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

Thanks for the tag, @my-writblr!

For WANNABE:

1) Inspiration

I got a strong urge to write an AU fic a few weeks after the season finale of a show I'd been watching. Like, a frenzied urge, driving me to write faster than I'd ever written in my life (and consequently producing content riddled with typos haha). It ended up over 50k words long. If you count the hits and kudos on every part, that series is my most popular fic to date.

I finished the series, but something about it wouldn't let me move on. It'd sparked a love for writing that I'd thought I'd lost. I wanted so badly to keep playing with that AU. What was the harm in reworking a bunch of things, changing up some dynamics, overhauling personalities, and molding a world of my own? For funsies?

What was supposed to be a sweet AU one-shot developing a potential friendship spiraled waaaayyyy out of control, and I ended up writing an original novel 94k words long. As one does. It's book 1 of 3.

2) Preparation

Because I am The Way I Am, the first thing I did (after declaring most of the characters were going to be robots for no reason other than that seemed cool) was come up with a villain, the Engineer. The second was the protagonist, the Engineer's son. Briar is a shy little boy who'd grown up repressed and traumatized, eventually using the help of found family to find his own way, which I thought would be more relatable than the typical strong-willed sixteen-year-old YA girl.

And then I got an exceedingly patient beta reader because oh man did I need one-

3) Art Process

From there, the challenge was changing things up to suit the new character dynamics. Their relationships were different, so the dialogue would have to be different, which would change the plot, etc. I ended up expanding on a bunch of stuff since I'd created new worlds and given the characters new priorities, nearly doubling the word count. By the end of the novel, the MCs have definitely diverged quite a bit from their source of inspiration, and it's very different from the end of the fic. I also hope I've gotten away from some real problematic stuff in the inspiration.

4) Thoughts

One thing I wanted to play with is the concept of forgiveness. Sharpe ends up being the cause of permanent injuries for some of the War Machines, and Claw never forgives him for it. But they still become close again despite that. I'm just sick of the narrative that you need to forgive someone for unforgivable things just because they thought it was the right thing to do at the time. I wanted to show two characters still being fond and affectionate, even though things will never be the same between them.

There are some directions I wish I hadn't gone--it is definitely my first novel--but WANNABE will forever be special to me, and I'm happy to have my name on it.

Leaving an Open Tag, but also tagging some people!

@mrseddiediaz @avrablake @aalinaaaaaa

@arigalefantasynovels @zmwrites

[oblivions-dawn]

Showing My Process Because I Was Kindly Asked

Rules: When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag 5 people. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

I know you were already tagged @thequeenofthewinter but I'm tagging you again! c; And thank you @theartofimaginaryfriends for tagging me!! Now I have the daunting task of choosing which story to rant about because I have. Too many. All works-in-progress, some in better places than others . . . I suppose it's only right that I talk about my published story despite it undergoing heavy construction right now, Petrichor!

✑ Inspiration

Petrichor is, obviously, just my long-imagined, finally fulfilling dream of writing a more in-depth version of the Dovahkiin and Serana's journey. I love Serana. There's so much to her character--and yet, there's so much more that's left unsaid about her. After spending years daydreaming of my fanfiction-to-be, I decided that I would pour my soul into her, breathe life into my Dovahkiin and Serana, and fill in the cracks that Bethesda left out for me to fill. What started off as just fun scenes and one-shots is now being converted into the full-fledged fanfiction it deserves to be! And I hope I can continue to do it justice for as long as I'm writing it

✑ Preparation

If I do any kind of preparing at all, it's usually handwritten-in-black-gel-pen ideas in notebooks or typing small reminders regarding plot right at the top or bottom of the page--enough to remind me of what I want to achieve with a character within said chapter and, hopefully, motivate me to do so. Sometimes I'll even put character notes, descriptions of their appearance and/or personalities because taking notes is really helpful for me personally--it sticks a little better to my brain that way.

✑ Art Process

My writing process is probably every fanfiction/published writer's nightmare. I don't keep drafts. If I rewrite something, that original writing is gone for good. If I want to change it back, I write what it once was from memory. Why, why do you torment yourself this way, you ask!? Because I thoroughly believe that having multiple drafts stumps my creativity. I may refer to my original writing when rewriting something, but I do my best to not re-read it entirely. I take snippets that I like and extend them, create something new. Some of my best writing has come from deleting entire paragraphs and rewriting them from memory. Why this works, I don't know; perhaps my mind distorts and warps what was originally there and is able to bend it in ways I couldn't see when it was written there in front of me. Every writer has their weird process and this just happens to be mine. I also am very imaginative--I vividly see the scenes as they occur in my head, like a movie in real time. Sometimes I crawl into a character's skin to know their emotions and thoughts, other times I have to make them talk to me through it. And, to top it off, I write in Word 90% of the time. I'm . . . not sorry. If it's not broke, I'm not switching!

✑ Thoughts

Petrichor has been . . . a journey. For a long time I was happy with the one-shot format as it was, finding time between classes to be a little creative and happy to write something I wanted to write. But now I'm graduated from college and I realised that I need to practise writing full-length novels--and what better way to do that then to do it to my fanfiction? Writing essays has made me rusty and it's time I sharpened my creative fiction pen for the real world. And I hope everyone that reads it enjoys it as much as I have! I fully intend on finishing it, but when that will be I can't say. For now, I'm writing when I can and taking breaks away from it when necessary to make sure that my writing is almost always as good as it can be. c:

[authorlaurawinter]

#ShowYourProcess

Rules: When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag 5 people. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

Dropping this for The Curse of Broken Shadows

1) Inspiration

Basically, Brela was the inspiration.

Every time I write something new, I try to challenge myself with something new. The first book I ever wrote was to prove to myself that I could. The second was to prove I could write a sequel. The third was to test out writing in a different perspective. The fourth was to write a series and create my own world and magic system.

With TCOBS, I wanted to write adult fantasy with romance and magic but also test myself to see if I was capable of writing epic fantasy. Add in my signature flare - a FMC who is absolutely, unapologetically herself and makes all of those things above stand out on the page. Enter Brela, whose character creation alone formed the backbone of everything that happened in this book.

2) Preparation

As a chronic obsessor of having the perfect first line before I can even start writing, I spent weeks writing on a different project while I ‘brainstormed’ TCOBS. Read that as I procrastinated writing the project that was slowly consuming my every thought because I was afraid to start. I came up with so many excuses:

“The magic system isn’t perfect” - spend days altering the names of the core magics and their affinities.

“I don’t have the world set up” - create a map, name all the cities, oh but wait what if I need to add something later, I should make up a ton of other cities just in case, oh and those cities will also need history and people and maybe a story that makes it unique...

“i’m not quite sure what the ending looks like” - so why even start?

Until I just went for it. I said “screw it” and just wrote the characters to see what story they wanted to tell.

3) Art Process

Because I had the five characters (two main) already fleshed out, it was mostly about writing their adventures based on how they would react to situations. I knew the basic timeline of events until the middle of the book and a few scenes that I knew needed to happen for the plot that were scattered through the last half, so it was just about letting the characters dictate what happened in between.

The fleshed out chapters were the hardest to write because I had this idea of what needed to happen and I tried too hard to make it perfect the first time around. The other chapters were easy - just having the characters do what they do - and I found those days the most fun because it shaped what was to come in a way I didn’t expect when I started out.

I’m an “edit while you write” type of person. Usually to start the day, I read what I wrote the day before, make edits or changes or just add detail, then continue where I left off. At the end of the day, if I have thoughts about what needs to happen, I’ll write the bullet points at the end of my page so I know where I wanted to go. If I am stuck, I’ll leave it blank and let my brain daydream about it to figure out the next day.

4) Thoughts

I definitely covered some dark elements in this book, which made for a lot of challenges but also a lot of fun (that sounds morbid). It really forced me to look deeper and explore the spectrum of human emotion. Ex. I wrote a character with stockholm syndrome which gathered a few negative comments from reviewers who didn’t understand why she or her friends didn’t intervene to stop her from going back to that person. There was also other triggering moments that were explored and the consequences of those memories/thoughts/actions. In the end, it made my characters who they were in this story which might not go over well with others.

I also love this book because it really focuses on characters over other things. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a plot, but at its core we get to see characters flourish separately and together.

Plus, there’s a found family of assassins. And knife flirting. It’s the best.

--------

Sorry, y’all it’s been a lifetime so I don’t know who has done this yet. Tagging anyone who wants to do this plus @avrablake, @emelkae, @mel-writes-with-her-dragons, @the-orangeauthor

[zelkams-art]

#ShowYourProcess

From planning to posting, share your process for making creative content!

To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

RULES — When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you’d like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

I was tagged by @milkcrates​, who showed her process of making this gorgeous piece with Wei Wuxian and little A-Yuan!! It was awesome to see how it came to life - and thank you for tagging me! ✨

So I got tagged to show how this Yunmeng brothers + golden core art happened! I already included the digital sketch for it in my sketch vs final compilation, but I guess I can show some more!

This is gonna be long because I like talking a lot, so putting the rest under a cut!

1. Planning

SO.  A golden core pic was on my to-draw list as soon as I finished watching the show. I had a WIP of a different pic for that waiting, but actually I noticed that a very similar thing has already been drawn, so that was kinda dropped. But I’m glad I waited until the idea for this one slapped me! It was pretty much a moment of “w a i t a second” and I had to grab a random piece of paper to sketch it while I still had it in my head.

This is the sketch - as you can see from the coffee stains, it has been through some stuff. On the left I actually tried out some different ideas for the golden core - the 1st one was the winner and led to the whole leaking/water/rain theme. I ended up mirroring the whole sketch because I didn’t want Wei Wuxian’s hand to cover Jiang Cheng’s front hair wisp, as that would make that area too crowded.

Meta-wise: I wanted to show that the whole thing was kept as a secret from Jiang Cheng. But we also knew about it - so Wei Wuxian is breaking the 4th wall and looking at us [the audience] directly, shushing to keep it a secret as well. Then there’s his hand hovering over the blindfold - it was included in the show, but also sprinkles in that extra symbolism. Then there’s the rain - the sky crying for the two brothers, so you’re not sure if those are raindrops or tears on their faces + lotus pond for the Yunmeng vibes. As for the golden core, I wanted to make it kinda messy and leaking like blood + shining and make it the main light source of the piece. Also kinda like a glow stick liquid.

I also like finding fitting music to go with my art and this one was actually supposed to go with Avicii’s Hey Brother, but when I was looking it up on Spotify I saw Kodaline’s Brother right above, gave it a listen and then the lyrics hit me. So I already knew that they’re gonna go in the caption. Also apparently it’s like The Song for them and yeah, makes sense.

2. Creating

2.1 Set up and tools

I use Paint Tool SAI + Wacom Intuos S to do all my art! The entire pic was made on a 2000 x 3000 px canvas, since I don’t like to work too big because of limited brush sizes in SAI + I don’t want to torture my laptop, as my art takes up quite a lot of processing power with a lot of layers and modes and sometimes things like to crash at the final steps 😬.

2.2 Planning and composition

So I started off by doing a digital sketch and focusing on the composition a bit more - I wanted something geometrical, so I went for the diamond shape with Wei Wuxian’s silhouette and the placement of the lotuses. Also the composition is vertical, all the important info is in the middle column - you could cut off 2/3 of the picture and it would still tell the story.

2.3 Lineart

Then I did the lineart over the sketch layer (there was a more detailed one than the “planning” sketch, but it looks like I deleted it once I finished). I usually draw more than I have to and on separate layers, so that I can move/modify things easily later - for example JC’s headpiece here didn’t really make it that much into the final piece but It Was There. Once I was satisfied with the lineart, I cleaned it by erasing overlapping things, like Wei Wuxian’s clothes behind Jiang Cheng’s head.  

2.4 Planning the lighting

After doing the lineart I blocked the characters with a single color and planned the lighting. The golden core is the main light source here, so it dictates which parts are gonna be lighter and which darker (although there is gonna some ambient occlusion from the background + reflected light from the water). I also added water and lotuses in the foreground + painted the background.

2.5 Shading the characters

After that, I started shading the pic. I usually do two steps here - one with “base” shading - focusing on the details and values based on the light source, then the mood shading with more coloring - based on the setting the characters are in. The first one is mostly done with the Multiply tool and base layer blending/painting, the second mostly with layer modes like Overlay and Luminosity. I also colored some parts of the lineart to make the shapes stand out (see: wwx’s front hairs)

2.6 Environment and touch-up details

Then it was time for the water and lotuses + the “special effects” for the rain and all the stuff associated with it - water splashes, mist, sparkling drops! Also some more mood lighting. Lots of new layers to keep everything organized and separated.

2.7 Finished pic

And done! After finishing I usually adjust the contrast/gamma/saturation of my art (or just edit it all in curves) + sometimes sharpen it to bring out details → I make a few different versions and pick the one that works the best. Although with this pic I was satisfied with the raw result so no major changes happened.

3. Posting

For posting I always scale down the pictures and upload them as a draft on this art blog. Then I check if things look okay on mobile as well - from what I’ve noticed my phone makes everything more warm-toned. Depending on the time I finish drawing, I either post it right away or wait until the next day, when there is more traffic on tumblr. I finished this one around 8PM of my local time, which is fine - so I posted it right away (also I was just excited, couldn’t wait 😅)!

As caption I used the lyrics from Brother by Kodaline, as mentioned before!

So yeah, that would be it! 

If you made it till this part - thank you and I hope you have an awesome day! ✨

Let’s keep the artist vibes here - I’m gonna tag (not 5 ppl but shh) @still-snowing​ and this piece that still breaks my heart @driszol​ and this Song Jiyang pic that lives in my head to this day @kushexi​​ and this pic with fox Wei Wuxian and A-Yuan bc it still makes me melt → no pressure of course! or if you want to do some other piece that’s awesome as well!