Kade and Nancy as the gorgeous statue āPaul and Virginiaā by Alessandro Puttinati from one of the SEVERAL endings of Sugar Rush. Please read it, itās so good on top of being a Herculean display of HTML by @the-lavender-creator please please please. I cranked this out QUICK itās such a beautiful image. And itās not even my favorite ending! Ah!!
On todayās episode of: Can Skylar Structure her madness?
Intros under the cut š«”
Quick rundown:
These girls spiraled into an entire fan book idea I had/have called For The Broken Doors, it had a whole plot and everything which will be referenced at multiple points during these breakdowns. Also all the art is old and I donāt really like any of it anymore, be warned.
Marigold [Redacted] Warner
The first OC I made for Wayward Children, a version of her existed as far back as my first reading of Where Drowned Girls Go but the current iteration of her only solidified after Mislaid In Parts Half Known.
She began as a sheltered country girl, a rainbow baby born with vitiligo and a mildly increased possibly of other autoimmune disorders that sent her parents into a frankly unnecessary amount of paranoia. Outside of Church and School, in both of which she found an incredible talent in and love for singing, they largely kept her home and occupied with books both fiction and nonfiction. Her parents wanted a smart daughter but hated when she asked them questionsā¦ extremely annoying combination for Goldie. Something she minded more than that is not being allowed to move- theyāre in Arkansas with a lot of open space and forest and she wasnāt allowed to run around and explore or see any of it, not even supervised.
She was an extremely unhappy 9 year old, bored and understimulated and having no idea how the world works because her parents wouldnāt tell her. And the day she became an extremely unhappy 10 year old was the worst one sheād ever hadā¦ until she found a door in her favorite hiding space: Under her bed. Be Sure was write at the top in beautiful blue vines.
Her parents held on so very tightly and when their girl squirmed free, she never truly came back. She came out that door 5 years later, 5 years older, covered in something sticky and green and a completely different person. She spends another 2 years being shopped around by her parents as they try to figure out and āfixā whatās wrong with her by whatever means necessary, sheās finally sent to Eleanorās when a particularly knowing (re: door child) therapist suggests it.
Harmony was a fairyland at war where names mattered, music was everything, and nature was always watching: Marigold was meant to be its pawn, turned out its hero and was punished for doing so. As much as it hurt her, she loved it and when it tossed her away and barred her re-entry, she made herself hate it. She is forced to confront this inā¦ quite a way but ultimately she grows out of that and still wouldnāt go back even if she could.
You can imagine she gets along very well with Kade I ship them terribly hard.
A couple Need-to-know things I couldnāt cleanly fit:
Marigold is black.
Marigold has a true name as everyone in Harmony does. It has no power in our world, but still holds a lot of personal significance.
Due to War Related Crimes, she has a red and white Perennial Dianthus flower growing out of and around her neck. Due to Parent Related Crimes, she may kill you if attempt to touch it.
She hears music all the time, different things from different people. Eleanorās Home was originally a very awful place because of this but this sorted itself out once she re-accepted Harmony as her cruel, loving home.
Art of her
Marie Riviera
Marie was next! Created essentially wholesale after I red Christopherās short story Skeleton Song because I thought it would be interesting just one other Latin death kid at the school, though the idea of a student who does what she does predates my reading of the short story by a lot.
Marie is autistic. Sheās easily overwhelmed, sensitive to certain textures and extremely prone to drawing in on herself with a special interest in nature-partially swamp-like eco systems like Florida, where sheās actually from. Most of her rather large family handled her obvious autism well, her mother found her strange, her cousins often bullied or excluded her, she largely kept to herself at school and due to changing years, never kept friends long anyways. Her dad was really the only one who understood her for āwhatever reasonā (aka, she got the autism from him).
Marie only made it to 7 before she brushed against death: It took her parents, it took her arm and almost her life in one fell swoop. She was handed over to one of her momās brothers, who happened to father her worst bully. It hadnāt been a year before she found a little latch door in the side of their backyard shed, Be Sure carved into the shed above its latches. She wasnāt found until she climbed her way out again 4 years later, 11 years old and really no different aside from miraculously getting her arm back. She was sent to Eleanorās in rather short order, the woman herself somehow knowing just where to be to find her.
Eleanor forgot her in even shorter order than she found her. This isnāt magic, but it is deliberate planning on her part.
Maleza (Undergrowth in English) was a hot, humid place that thrived on the death of things. It didnāt kill these things, normal life did that, but Maleza is where the flesh falls and the blood rains and both are reabsorbed and sprout life in their wake. Death found her again, gave her back the hand she lostā now all bone from the world aboveā and held it as he welcomed her home. She was shoved out of Maleza because she has to learn something though she has no idea what, sheās justā¦ stuck in a world that hates her, now with the experience of one that doesnāt. So she hides herself away.
She actually has a finished fic written about her! Still surprised I managed that one. Most need to know stuff thatās not in here are in the fic so, read that.
Art of her
Celia Day
I think I made Celia around the time I came up with my entire Fan book idea, For The Broken Doors, itās not posted anywhere and probably wonāt be but I still love it and her, so letās go!
Sebastian Day was a fish brought inland, always happier at his grandparents house on the beach, salt drying out his hair while he looked for shells in the sand despite his parents constant, obvious misgivings. He could settle for a Fine life, long as the sea was nearby and his body never mattered more than as a vehicle. As long as everything stayed same as it was when he was 11 years old.
Yeah, fat chance. Time passes, things change, the way people treat you changes. It felt like losing everything, because to a degree, it was, so he went somewhere familiar- a sea cave near his grandparents house thatās only accessible during low tide. And there he found a door. Be Sure written in plain print at just his eye level. That door changed everything all at once.
The girl who came out of that door had a mission from a god, one sheād know when she found it. But between now and then, she had to face a world that had only seen 2 years when she had 6 and her old face on wanted posters.
Celia had gone to the Celestial Seas, where the world is split between the sun and the moon and the sea followed suit as long as she was left to her own fickle rage. She was the sunās daughter, the seaās disciple, a pirate who took to it all like a fish finally meeting water. The land is all temporary to her, but it matters all the same so she makes her way to Eleanorās herself and she waits.
Need-to-knows:
Celia wears a little jar of sand around her neck. Her physical transition involves her eating this magic sand, as it was given to her by the sun god for expressly this purpose. It kind of tastes like spicy sea salt.
She regularly tells pirate stories to other students, she leaves it up to guess whether theyāre her stories or not.
Due to Pirate Shenanigans and Tragedies, Celia has incredible vision being able to see for miles like a seabird.
Sheās a lesbian! And has a girlfriend back home.
Art of her
Emi and Reiko Takei
Last two! These girls were made both because I wanted to make a nonsense world and because I wanted to parallel Jack and Jill with a pair of twins they just would not understand.
Emi and Rei were born to parents who both did not want and were not unprepared for any children, let alone two hyperactive ones who were loud and grabby and needed leashes as soon as they figured out how to run. This is something theyāre well aware of because, unfortunately, many adults donāt watch what they say within earshot of children ātoo youngā to understand.
They werenāt wanted by them, so they found that want elsewhere: in each other and the sports their parents inevitably put them in. Emi was a Rhythmic Gymnast and Emi was a cheerleader. As much as their parents would ignore them, they didnāt ignore the commendations, metals and trophies the girls brought with them.
The two of them became both extremely competitive and extremely good at their sports and this went on until the day their parents forgot to pick them up from their practices on time, at which point they each found a door on walls where their were none. Be Sure was written at eye level in big bubble letters.
Through those doors were two things: their sister and a worldwide carnival of cards. Bright lights, music, shows and games, and magic at every corner. This was Bigtop, every eye and award could be theirs if they worked hard enough for it. It may not be kind, but it is their home that they adore so very much.
They worked for it, grabbed awards, eyes, and attention so thoroughly that some of them began to burn with a jealousy and hate so strong is nearly turned to murder. They left for their own safety and would jump at the opportunity to go back. They were sent to Eleanorās quite quickly, because they absolutely refused to be governed by those they have no respect for (which is a lot of people.)
Need-to-Knows:
Emi and Rei perfectly mirror each otherās movements, completely unconsciously. Itās their āparlor trickā so to say.
Emi is a lesbian, Rei is bisexual with a long time boyfriend back in Bigtop.
A chaotically structured breakdown of artistic choices I made and details I like about this piece under the cut!
Obvious things first: The Pose! These two are extremely physically touchy people, but Cedar is also holding him in a very protective position but without a hint of fear in her face. This is, in part, about possession. Possession he not only allows, but encourages, given heās hugging her back.
Sparrow is knocked the fuck out for multiple reasons: juxtaposition between his humanity and Cedarās relative lack of it, his total sense of safety in Cedarās presence despite the way sheās looking at the viewer, his total submission to being in love with Cedar and then the obvious fact that being asleep is an incredibly vulnerable position.
Cedarās wearing on of Sparrowās belts like a garter. Itās the only silver on her but heās wearing 0 gold. The same symbol is on his bracelet, worn normally as apposed to what she did: As much as she wants him, she also wants him to want her.
As said in the request, theyāre strung like puppets. Cedar is literal, Sparrow metaphorical.
One of my favorite details is the strings themselves: Sparrowās connections are thicker but Cedarās are wound tighter and around her marionette pegs. Theyāre both tied to each other, it just affects them differently and they go about that connection differently.
Another favorite detail of mine: Theyāre literally tied to each other. Wrist to Wrist, Elbow to Elbow, Thigh to Thigh.
Like the fashion girlie I am, I paid a lot of attention to Cedarās dress. In my head it was made by Lizzie, hence the split design and heart motifs. But in visual language itās the split between how sweet and cute Cedar looks and usually is and how genuinely terrifying she can be in certain situations. Itās also a bit of irony with Cedar wearing her heart on her sleeve and always telling the truth but (in headcanon) having 0 idea she has feelings for Sparrow, while heās a lying little shit whoās completely aware heās in love with her.
This is just a fun detail: Cedar is wearing the same socks as her core outfit.
The viewer isnāt just the viewer! Itās actually Cupid, who can see the strings, sheās also the one talking!
Itās a reference to the fact that OG Pinocchio kills the cricket with a hammer and is then haunted by his ghost for the majority of the story.
Several fun facts:
Cedar is wearing the same socks as her core outfit.
This is the first time Iāve drawn Sparrow in shorts.
Multiple more moles are exposed including one on his head.
Cedarās hair isnāt lit with a blend mode, I picked a couple reds and painted it like that. It was a blast.
Second Cedrow proper ship art was a genderbend! Whichā the way I handle those is always āWhat if this character was born and raised the opposite sexā rather than a purely visual change so thereās personality and story differences here than the usual
Fun fact: Girl Sparrow here is named Dove, which is taken from a fanfiction where Sparrowās a trans man and thatās his deadname lmao. Fantastic fic, made me like enemies to lovers for all of five minutes, give it a read.
Well. That kinda popped off. Thatā¦ isnāt the only art of them Iāve done, just the post recent. So why not post āem backward!
This one has much less symbolism I just thought about the fact Cedar doesnāt really sleep, Sparrow sleeps like shit and they have canon birthdays/signs. Stargazing!
Christopher! I think this mans got big brown dow eyes nobody can see cuz heās too tall, heās got a bump in his nose, a dimple on one side but not the other and a little harness necklace thing for his flute. He :)
The base elements of this (and the entire necklace thing) comes from @calebs-hangout-corner who I loveee
i hate that every time i look for color studies and tips to improve my art and make it more dynamic and interesting all that comes up are rudimentary explanations of the color wheel that explain it to me like im in 1st grade and just now discovering my primary colors
āred and green are opposites š„°ā cool now how do i paint a tree with pinks and blues without it looking like a childās finger painting or incongruous blobs of rainbow vomit
ok i canāt explain it very well but im looking for tips and techniques for rendering art like
with specifically the highlights and colors being hues that compliment each other, donāt distract from the scene, and make it more interesting/visually appealing
gonna drop some sources I have saved on Pinterest! I don't know if these all link back to the original sources so apologies for that
cohesive but still contrasting
This kind of talks about color and composition
This is a bit about landscape specifically
Values & composition
Contrast in composition
Balance in colors & values
This one's more for palette building but I think it's useful and can be applied to the other ones
Cohesion within compositions/lighting
"Chromatic fringe" - I also see people using this with shading, they bring in a transition color that is a different hue than the base color or shadow, it makes it so that less vibrancy is lost and it doesn't get muddy!
This one specifically has a lot of process behind the style of painting you're looking for!
Also one of my favorite artists who makes bright and colorful art like this is Not Sorry Art on TikTok & YouTube, her website is here and it's<3 my fav. She has some videos where you can see her process
With the oranges painting you put as an example, I noticed they painted the lighter values more toward yellow - they also exaggerated the hues of the undertones of the photo, so I'm guessing they either did it in their head or bumped the saturation up to get a closer look! I really love these paintings you shared and I definitely share your desire to paint/draw like that :)
Coraaaa! Iām re-listening to Where Drowned Girls Go and I love her so much. Drawing her body was fun. Iām gonna try and work my way through all the main characters. Iāve already done Kade and Sumi, so now her!
