We Are The Gem Shimmers @we-are-the-gem-shimmers - Tumblr Blog

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Another wonderful fusion to showcase, and a dance to go along with it - Spinel! One of the greatest forces the original Gem Shimmers had to offer, she had all the strength and leadership capability of Fire Opal combined with the precision and foresight Tanzanite is capable of when at her full potential - which being fused with the gem she idolizes certainly brings out.

Her fusion weapon is a type of sword known as a Urumi, which comes from India and has a flexible blade which functions like a whip. This weapon is incredibly dangerous to use in real life; a fact which goes to show how skilled of a fighter Spinel was. She can also either ignite the blade as Fire Opal can with her longsword, or imbue it with the same electrical essence as Tanzanite’s slingshot (this artwork shows her doing both at once).

Last but not least, page 201 of the comic is being reposted here to show off/explain a neat foreshadowing detail - the giant slingshot Morganite designed for Tanzanite forms a likeness of Spinel when fired!

#gemsona #steven universe #cartoon network #su #gem shimmers #we are the gem shimmers #fire opal #tanzanite #spinel #concept art #plot #backstory

Who Were the Original Gem Shimmers?

Thousands of years ago, before the conflict between gems and metals, Diopside and Tanzanite were not the only Gem Shimmers, nor were they themselves much like the dynamic duo we know and love in the present day. So who were these mysterious lost gems, and what were their relationships to the main duo? These questions will be answered... right now. From left to right:

Tanzanite - Don’t let her confident expression fool you... back in these days, Tanzanite was an absolute coward, and struggled to fit into the team or feel respected by the other gems. If you told her she would one day be the leader of the Gem Shimmers, she’d most likely scoff and tell you you were insane. It took her centuries of growth and hard lessons (some learned from others, some she had to teach herself) to get where she is today.

Fire Opal - The Gem Shimmers’ original leader. Wielding control over fire itself with as much skill as the longsword she could summon from her gem, she was a force to be reckoned with. She was fearless, optimistic, energetic, and had the ability to inspire the absolute best from anyone fortunate enough to follow her lead. She had a particular fondness for Tanzanite, in whom she could clearly see the potential no one else could. Tragically, she was shattered during the war against the metals, but in her final moments, it was her who passed leadership onto Tanzanite. Tanzanite could never be ready for such a responsibility, but with the blessing of the gem she so admired, Tanzanite gives it her all to be the gem Fire Opal knew she could be.

Morganite - The Gem Shimmers’ strategist and technician. Her strategic mind could be rivaled perhaps only by that of Gold, and she utilized this skill to lay out battle plans for each mission of the Gem Shimmers. She was also quite arrogant, believing her plans to be perfect with no input needed from anyone else. Luckily, her results could speak for themselves, allowing the others to let her more difficult traits slide. Despite this immense self-pride however, once the war began to seem unwinnable, her final plan involved sacrificing herself to give her allies a fighting chance at victory. Unfortunately, circumstances even she could not have foreseen led to the shattering of their leader, and their hope along with her.

Zircon - The muscle of the team. She was a gem of few words, and despite her immense strength, she was a gentle and loving individual who was unfailingly loyal to her teammates. She was one of the only gems to survive the war along with Diopside and Tanzanite, but she would never be the same again. Somehow, while Diopside and Tanzanite could remain somewhat hopeful for a future, enough to keep from giving in to corruption, Zircon could not. Diopside could not bear to see her friend and comrade devolved into a horrible beast, and always blamed herself for it as her method of coping with the loss of the other Gem Shimmers mainly involved distancing herself from her fellow survivors and socializing with humans instead. Thus, Tanzanite was forced to defeat Zircon’s monster form using a giant slingshot cannon designed for her by Morganite. In the present day, a mishap led to Zircon reforming as a monster a second time, causing Diopside to relive her trauma and Tanzanite to reopen old wounds out of desperation. Currently, Zircon’s monster form is still on the run somewhere in Mountain Town.

Pyrite - Diopside’s best friend. With a gem on her left shoulder to compliment the one on Diopside’s right, their compatibility is immediately apparent. Pyrite was kind of bratty and picked on Tanzanite like an older sister (the two were made for the same person), being a major cause of her inferiority complex. She disappeared during the war, with no shards ever being found.

Diopside - A childish, carefree gem with no idea how much she has to lose. In the past, Diopside never took anything seriously, but was still a respected member of the team regardless. Her and Pyrite were inseperable, and when the two fused they were a great asset in battle. Besides Pyrite, Diopside feels that every gem on the team taught her something valuable, and losing nearly all of them taught her the importance of living in the moment and never taking anyone she meets for granted.

#gemsona #steven universe #cartoon network #gem shimmers #we are the gem shimmers #tanzanite #fire opal #morganite #zircon #pyrite #diopside #plot #backstory #concept art

Fusions Amazonite

#gemsona #steven universe #cartoon network #su #tanzanite #diopside #amazonite #character #guide #bio #gem shimmers #we are the gem shimmers

As soon as a comic starring two gems began, surely it was in the back of all our minds that a fusion was inevitable.

Amazonite’s debut would have been at the end of Chapter 2, following the resolution to Diopside and Tanzanite’s falling-out at the end of Chapter 1. Diopside also would have reformed before that point, meaning the design at the bottom of the last page would be the first to be shown. (also, check out Diopside’s newer look!)

Amazonite’s personality blends Diopside’s carefree attitude and Tanzanite’s constant stress into a state of relaxed focus - she is neither lazy like Diopside nor paralyzed by anxiety like Tanzanite. She finds a delicate balance in which she can act effectively and respond to her surroundings at all times.

Her weapon, the combination of Diopside’s club and Tanzanite’s slingshot, is a pair of nunchuks. These were designed back when the slingshot was supposed to have actual strings in it as opposed to the electric strings that only appear when Tanzanite is using the slingshot. As such, the final design of Amazonite’s nunchuks would likely feature an electric rope.

The design on page 3 was the first drawing of Amazonite ever (drawn all the way back in December 2014!) and page 4 is a concept for her design in the flashback of Chapter 3. Back in that time, there were more Gem Shimmers and Diopside and Tanzanite didn’t have much of a reason to interact with one another. Canonically, that was the first time the two ever fused.

As long-awaited as this fusion is... Amazonite was actually not the first fusion planned to appear in the story! Stay tuned for more story notes...

#amazonite #tanzanite #diopside #deborah #plot #backstory #concept art

Iron without his armor, and some ancient Diopside and Tanzanite costumes.

These designs would have been used in Chapter 3, which was to be a flashback to a time before the conflict between gems and metals, still focusing on much younger versions of Diopside and Tanzanite but told by Iron himself.

This humanizing story arc could have been the basis for Iron’s redemption, but any redemption he earned would be short-lived in the end, for reasons which will be explained in a future post.

#iron #diopside #tanzanite #plot #backstory #concept art

Hi followers! I thought I would start the post-story content of this blog with the results of a fun conversation I had a few months ago with a friend of mine who loves cars. In exchange for an art favor, I sent him the character guide page and asked him to think of a vehicle to suit each of their personalities, just for fun. The amount of detail and thought he put into the responses really surprised me however, so while this was never intended to be posted, while going through leftover content and concept art to post here I remembered this and realized it deserves a place here.

#gem shimmers #we are the gem shimmers #tanzanite #diopside #aluminum #lead #iron #nickel #chromium #cliff #deborah #cars

Hello, followers.

I wish this post were here to inform you that the post-Chapter 1 hiatus is finally over. Sadly, however, it is the exact opposite: The time has come to announce that We are the Gem Shimmers will not be continuing after all.

It’s definitely a shame that the story must end on the cliffhanger that it did, and I’m sure the writer and I both regret not being able to complete the story as intended. But due to creative differences and a general desire to go our seperate ways, this is where we must bring it to a close.

However, there are two reasons you may want to stay following: 1. There was a lot of story planned that will now never be fully executed, but that I would still like to share with you all. This includes future character designs, plot and backstory notes, and some various art content relating to future chapters, all of which can now be posted here. I also may make some new content to go along with it (I would certainly like to now and then, as Gem Shimmers is still something close to my heart). 2. I, the artist of We are the Gem Shimmers, do not plan on leaving the world of tumblr comics just yet. I have a new comic in the works which will be wholly my own creation, not fanwork based on any established fictional worlds, and not a collaboration with any other writers. Its announcement will come soon, so stay tuned for it.

I thank you for your continued interest and loyal readership over the years. We are the Gem Shimmers will always be a special project and I cannot overstate my appreciation for the support you all have given it.

- Nathan Blair, the artist

#we are the gem shimmers #gem shimmers #steven universe #diopside #tanzanite #ending

Some concept sketches for Aluminum, Palladium, and a Copper.

#gemsona #steven universe #cartoon network #su #aluminum #palladium #sketches

Corrupted gem sketches! We usually called the first one “Molebear” but the gem I had in mind when designing it was Smithsonite. As I recall its design process was fairly short.

Zircon’s monster form went through a lot of revisions; this is the first sketch that looks anything like the final design. When I drew it I apparently forgot where her gem is supposed to be.

#gemsona #steven universe #cartoon network #su #sketches

Each of the headers used for the blog during Chapter 1, as well as one header that went unused due to the scene it was intended for being a little too brief to get its own.

#gemsona #steven universe #cartoon network #su #tanzanite #diopside #deborah #iron #kunzite #lead #aluminum #gem shimmers #we are the gem shimmers #chapter 1 #headers

You heard it here first, this paper has received reports that The Gem Shimmers, two young ladies named Tanzanite and Diopside, have split up last night.

Details are sketchy at this point, but it is clear that the Shimmers have had a falling out. Whether it was simply a case of the wrong words being said at the wrong time, or if it was actually a violent altercation, it is too early to tell. That said, this reporter paid a visit to the place they've been staying, an old, decrepit shed in the forest, and found signs of a struggle. Trees had been knocked over and the shed itself was all but destroyed.

“I just can’t believe it,” one local man had to say. “I never thought the Gem Shimmers would split up. I've got, like, all their albums.”

This paper has been unable to contact The Gem Shimmers themselves for a statement before print. However, it is the opinion of this reporter that these two should patch up their friendship as soon as possible. Even if we do not hear from them for some time, hopefully The Gem Shimmers will return someday soon.