Iām an artist who mainly creates OC and multifandom artwork! I donāt focus on just one fandom, so please keep that in mind before following.
Iām Asian and deeply interested in a wide range of cultures. Of course, I can be inexperienced and make mistakes, so this does not mean that Iām unwilling to receive feedback.
However, do not approach me aggressively or mock me. Some people deliberately impose malicious narratives on my work and attack me because they see me as an easy targetāan Asian woman. That behavior is far more disrespectful and constitutes bullying. Please stop bullying Asian creators whom you consider easy targets.
If you would like to give me feedback, please approach me sincerely and respectfully. Both my DMs and ask box are open.
You may ask me anything through my ask box or submit an art request, as long as you remain respectful! Please feel free to reach out.
Recently, someone contacted me through my inbox claiming to have something important to discuss and asked me to initiate the DM. Although I reached out because I was concerned, they never responded.
My DMs are open to everyone, and other people have been able to message me first without any issues. The person in question claimed that their messages would not go through, but there does not appear to be any problem with my settings.
I experienced something very similar on a previous account: someone asked me to contact them first and then stopped responding entirely. After I attempted to follow up, my account was shadowbanned, which put me in a very difficult position.
For that reason, I will no longer respond to requests asking me to initiate a DM. If you genuinely need to discuss something important, please briefly provide clear and verifiable context, then contact me directly through DM. If your account cannot message me despite my DMs being open, the issue is most likely with your account rather than mine.
I truly value the experience and community I have built through this account, and I do not want to risk having it restricted or shadowbanned. Thank you for understanding and for helping me keep this space safe.
Just as the title says, I wanted to draw Dionysus and Ariadne as young teens, around thirteen or fourteen, and give them modern outfits. The setting is present-day Greece. According to Pseudo-Apollodorusā Bibliotheca, when Dionysus was an infant being raised by his aunt Ino, he was raised disguised as a girl in an attempt to hide him from Queen Hera.Ā I carried a little of that detail into his teenage design here!
For their relationship, I mainly draw inspiration from Hyginusā Fabulae for the broader narrative, as well as Hesiodās Theogony, Quintus Smyrnaeusā The Fall of Troy, and Senecaās Oedipus, particularly the traditions surrounding Dionysus bringing Ariadne with him and her apotheosis as a goddess. Some ancient sources portray their relationship in a much darker light, but this is the version I personally choose to follow in my own work.
Also, since all the gods in my setting are very tallā¦ if you could see just below the bottom edge of the picture...
Ariadne would probably be standing on a stone like this to give herself a little extra height, lol.
Hereās a sketch of Fateās Medeaāalso featured in FGOāwearing an outfit I designed for her!
For this fan project, Iām giving some of my favorite Servants from Greek mythology new outfits shaped by my own visual style. Please enjoy them as lighthearted, fan-made āwhat if?ā interpretations!
Since Medea is a princess of Colchis, I wanted to learn more about the clothing and personal adornment of Bronze Age Colchis. Direct evidence for clothing is limited, and my costume history books did not cover this particular region and period. Fortunately, I found several excellent open-access archaeological papers on personal ornaments from the region, which gave me a starting point for the design.
This is an interpretive, source-informed design rather than a definitive reconstruction. Iāll share more about my design choices and sources alongside the finished piece!
Ariadne (WIP) + A Little Note on Hermes and the Rooster
Hereās my current work in progress of Ariadne. Fine details arenāt my strongest suit...especially things like hair and irises...
So Iāve been using this work as an opportunity to practice and improve.
On a separate note, when I was working on the Hermes design I shared earlier, I did a little research into his connection with roosters. I had seen someone else wondering about the same association, so I became curious as well.
What I found was that the rooster was neither one of Hermesā principal attributes in Classical Greece nor an animal associated exclusively with him. However, it does recur in surviving Roman-period depictions of Mercuryāthe Roman god whom the Romans identified with Hermesāparticularly in the western provinces of the Roman Empire. I found that historical connection fascinating, so I incorporated a rooster motif into my own interpretation.
Here is one of the artifacts I came across during my research: a mid-second-century Gallo-Roman bronze statuette of Mercury discovered in Reims. The rooster is not his only animal companion hereāthe statuette also includes a tortoise and a goat, as well as Mercuryās purse.
This work features baby Dionysus and his maternal aunt Ino, one of Semeleās sisters!
According to the Bibliotheca attributed to Pseudo-Apollodorus, Hermes entrusted the infant Dionysus to Ino and her husband Athamas, instructing them to raise him disguised as a girl. The text does not suggest that he remained with them for very long. Enraged by their role in sheltering Dionysus, Hera, queen of the gods, drove the family into madness and tragedy. Ino eventually plunged into the sea and, in later traditions, became the sea goddess Leucothea. Accounts differ regarding the exact circumstances of her transformation and which deity was responsible for it.
Ino has a interesting and complicated story. In traditions concerning her husbandās children by his first wife, Nephele, she plots against Phrixus and Helle. Ironically, Ino herself is later persecuted by Hera. At the same time, she is also portrayed as a devoted foster mother to her sisterās son, Dionysus. Nonnusās Dionysiaca includes scenes of Ino diligently caring for him, and as Leucothea, she later comes to Odysseusās aid in the Odyssey.
These episodes come from different authors and traditions, so they do not necessarily form a single, perfectly consistent narrative. From now on, Iād like to briefly mention which sources and versions of Greek mythology inspire each of my designs and illustrations. I think documenting them will also be helpful for my own creative process. My interpretations of Dionysus and Ariadne likewise draw selectively from several traditions that Iāve read. Other people may naturally prefer different versions, and that is perfectly valid!
As an additional note, the story of Dionysus being raised in disguise as a girl appears only briefly in the Bibliotheca and specifically concerns the period when he lived with Ino and Athamas. My choice to continue depicting him in that disguise while he is being raised by the nymphs is simply a creative addition of my own. I wanted to clarify that in case anyone was wondering!
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Ino:Ā (Heās so adorable!)
Baby Dionysus:Ā (Babbling enthusiastically!)
About ten years later...
Ino/Leucothea:Ā (Heās so adorable!)
(Now a goddess, she has been reunited with Dionysus.)
Young Dionysus:Ā (Currently being raised by the nymphs.)
Many, many years later...
Ino/Leucothea:Ā (Heās so adorable!)
Dionysus, now a fully grown, massively muscular man:Ā My dear aunt...
(Extremely flustered.)
This is the heroine of an anime Iāve been watching recently. I became interested in it because itās a historical drama set in the 13th century. I find the background artwork especially interesting.
While working on this piece, Iāve been studying atmospheric perspective to make the composition easier on the eyes and improve its visual clarity. However, I havenāt studied the theory in depth yet, so it may look a little awkwardā¦
An Important Side Note on My Greek Mythology Character Designs!!
š¬ 2Ā Ā š 1Ā Ā ā¤ļø 5Ā Ā·Ā Notes on My Greek Mythology Character Designs 1Ā Ā·Ā I thought it might be nice to share some background on my Greek mythologi
I just realized that I became so focused on discussing each character individually that I forgot to mention one of the most important ideas behind these designs!
For mortal characters associated with the mythic Heroic Age, I generally use clothing inspired by the Aegean Bronze Age. Cretan figures such as Ariadne draw more heavily from Minoan culture, while many of the mainland heroes have more Mycenaean-inspired designs. For the gods, however, I deliberately use clothing and iconography from later periodsāespecially Archaic and Classical Greece.
This is an intentional visual convention rather than an attempt to place every character in exactly the same historical period. The mortal characters are anchored in the Bronze Age world underlying many heroic myths, whereas the gods follow the more timeless and immediately recognizable visual tradition established by later Greek art.
When I was younger, I often saw gods and heroes depicted in the clothing of later periods of ancient Greece that I naturally assumed those portrayals were historically accurate for the world in which the myths were set. It was only after studying the Aegean Bronze Age and the development of ancient Greek art that I realized these familiar images were not intended as literal reconstructions of the earlier heroic world. Instead, they arose from a long-standing artistic convention: ancient Greek artists portrayed mythological figures through the clothing and visual language of their own time, and Roman and later European artists continued to reshape that tradition.
There is also one small correction I should make. I once drew the young Dionysus while he was being fostered by his maternal aunt Ino. Under the visual rules I have since established, Dionysus should therefore have been wearing Aegean Bronze Ageāinspired clothing in that scene: he was living in disguise among mortals rather than appearing openly in his divine form. So that earlier design does not quite follow my current concept.
It turns out there is one more correction I need to make!!! I previously described my drawing of the young Dionysus, dressed as a girl, as depicting the time when he was fostered by his maternal aunt Ino. However, since he appears to be in his early teens, it would be more accurate to say that the drawing depicts him while he was growing up among the nymphs of Nysa.
š¬ 0Ā Ā š 1Ā Ā ā¤ļø 12Ā Ā·Ā Young DionysusĀ Ā·Ā
This is Dionysus from the time when he was raised as a girl to keep him hidden from Queen Hera. I tri
To anyone who saw my previous notes and wondered, āWhy are clothes from different periods being mixed together?āāthe mixture was intentional; I simply became so absorbed in the individual characters that I forgot to explain it. I hope this note makes the reasoning behind the designs a little clearer, and thank you for taking such an interest in them!
I thought it might be nice to share some background on my Greek mythological character designs and the references behind them, so Iāve put together a few brief notes alongside these character sheetsāthough the sketches are still very rough...
You may notice that these designs look slightly different from the artwork I previously posted and later deleted. Iāve continued developing and refining them since then, so please donāt be surprised if you happen to come across the older versions, as they may still be circulating through Tumblr despite having been removed from my blog.
After gathering a wider range of visual references and receiving helpful feedback from other artists, I reworked the designs and refined their overall color palettes and details. The updated versions feel much closer to the visual direction I originally had in mind.
I also consulted books on historical clothing while developing these designs. However, I took some creative liberties for fantasy and design purposes, so please keep that in mind! These are simply my personal interpretations, not definitive portrayals, and I have great admiration for the many other wonderful interpretations out there!!!
Below are some rough sketches and brief notes about the ideas and references behind each design!
Dionysus and Ariadne
Dionysus may look a little unusual compared with more familiar images. His main motif is white grapes, so I deliberately avoided purple and built his palette primarily around green, yellow, and orange.
For Ariadne, I found sources indicating that linen was also used in ancient Greece, although wool appears to have been more common. With that in mind, I combined flax-flower motifs with elements inspired by womenās clothing from ancient Crete.
Because this is such a rough sketch, the historical influences in her clothing may not come across as clearly as I intended. For future illustrations, Iād like to study the references more closely and incorporate more of the silhouettes and details associated with clothing from that period while still retaining my own fantasy interpretation.
Hermes
Hermes wears his hair over his eyes. He can still see perfectly well because heās a god! His eyes have a distinctive design, so I wanted to create a visual contrast between his usual appearance and the moments when they are revealed.
His main motifs are roosters, wanderers, gold coinsāand baseball catchers.
You may be wondering, āA baseball catcher???ā The honest answer is that Iāve wanted to incorporate catcherās leg guards into a character design for a long time! Since Hermes was also associated with athletes, contests, and gymnasia, I thought a modern athletic motif could make for a playful visual connection. It is, of course, an intentional anachronism rather than a historical detail.
I combined the shapes of catcherās protective equipment with a tortoise-shell motif. Aside from those deliberately modern elements, the rest of his outfit draws loosely from ancient clothing, with some fantasy-oriented adjustments.
Dionysus and Hermes are paternal half-brothers, though my designs may not make them look particularly similar at first glance. Their respective mothers strongly influence their individual appearances, but I have still kept their shared parentage, inherited features, and overall color relationships in mind while designing them.
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These are only my personal interpretations, and Iām continuing to learn as I develop them. Thoughtful feedback and additional historical references are always welcome!
This is Dionysus from the time when he was raised as a girl to keep him hidden from Queen Hera. I tried so hard to use fewer lines that I consider this piece a failure... (Iāll pay more attention to the line art next time...) Still, it felt like too much of a waste not to post it.
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Ariadne:Ā (Heās so, so, so adorable! Could I try talking to him?)
Ariadne:Ā Um?
Ariadne:Ā (Heās... kind of huge, isnāt he?)
Thatās right. In my universe, all the gods are largeāeven the goddesses...
(That little boy later grew into a massive, muscular man... just like the other Greek gods...)
Hermes:Ā He was about the same size as a mortal when he was a baby. Heās bigger than me now, though.
(This image shows Ari cuddling a soft, fluffy plushie of Dion.)
Surprisingly, Iām not someone who focuses exclusively on Greek mythologyāI generally love mythology of all kinds. Even so, Iām especially fond of these two because I love romances between otherworldly beings and human women, and because both characters are exactly my type.
I also love that, depending on the version of the myth, theirs can be interpreted as one of the more mutually respectful relationships between a male god and a mortal woman in Greek mythology. (Of course, there are also more violent versions of their story, and I absolutely do not mean to dismiss anyone who gives those versions greater importance!)
Below are the illustrations of Dionysus and Ariadne that Iāve drawn so far. If you like these two as well, Iād really appreciate you taking a look!
š¬ 0Ā Ā š 0Ā Ā ā¤ļø 9Ā Ā·Ā Dionysus and AriadneĀ Ā·Ā cw: blood!!
This is my own design of Dionysus. His motif is white grapes, so his design is unusual
My DMs and ask box are also open, so please donāt hesitate to reach out if youād like to give me feedback!
This is the Hermes piece Iām currently working on. His design motifs are roosters, gold coins, wanderers, and baseball catchers.
You might be wondering, āA baseball catcher??ā From what I found while researching various sources, Hermes was also associated with gymnasiums, athletic competitions, and athletes. Iāve wanted to incorporate catcherās leg guards into a character design for a long time, so Iām glad I finally got the opportunity!
This is my own design of Dionysus. His motif is white grapes, so his design is unusual in that it doesnāt feature any purple.
While developing his color palette, I looked at a range of photographic references featuring Greek actors and used them as a general guide for comparing colors. Thank you to the friends who helped me with the coloring and gave me feedback.
The woman with dark brown hair beside him is Ariadne. Her hair is rather short for a Cretan woman of that era, but thatās simply my personal preference (lol).
