Blog Update - 7/31/22

Blog Update - 7/31/22

Sorry I haven't been posting art for a while, I've been very busy as I was moving across the country with my family. Good news though we should be mostly settled in our new place in about a week or 2, so I'll be able to draw again real soon (^ u ^)

websites i like

ill try to continually update this

https://en.picmix.com/ blingee alternative

http://www.mazeguy.net/smilies.html a collection of smiley faces and pixels

https://www.internetbumperstickers.com/frontbumper/ bumper stickers

https://openings.moe/ anime opening database (contains nsfw/hentai material, 18+)

https://pixelcanvas.io/@-179,-22 online collaborative pixel art

https://excalidraw.com/ another online whiteboard

https://www.my90stv.com/ hosts a bunch of 90s tv, including cartoons

https://kidpix.app/ kidpix in browser

https://wiby.me/ search engine for the old web

https://poolsuite.net/ 90s inspired radio

https://vole.wtf/ a collection of silly games

https://doodad.dev/dither-me-this/ online dithering tool

http://www.blog-switch.com/ a ton of cute effects for blogs

https://www.beepbox.co/ in browser music tool, great for chiptune

https://www.404pagefound.com/ a collection of vintage websites that are still active

http://www.phocks.org/stumble/creepy/ a list of the creepiest wikipedia articles

https://everynoise.com/engenremap.html a virtual map of music genres that you can preview, great for finding new sounds

https://littlealchemy.com/ a game about combining elements

https://play2048.co/ a game about combing numbers

https://www.retrocrush.tv/ free retro anime streaming site

http://elouai.com/candybar5/dress-up-girls.php anime inspired dress up game

https://derpy.tv/ a 24/7 hour livestream of mlp fim

https://tss.asenheim.org/ play pc-98 visual novels in browser

https://anilinks.neocities.org/ collection of anime sites, including personal and fan sites

http://panther.audio/ endless music recommendations based off of your taste

https://mynoise.net/noiseMachines.php create your own background noise

https://www.glitter-graphics.com/ old school glitter graphics

https://learn-anything.xyz/ finds the best ways to learn new skills

https://sandspiel.club/# an in browser sandbox

I don't really interact with WC fandom takes that often (cause hoo boy some of them are absolute garbage), but I just want to get this off my chest cause its been bugging me: It really rubs me the wrong way how people call Nightheart "entitled" for changing his name. It is completely valid to change your name for any reason, no ifs and buts about it. you should never be forced to just completely accept all the expectations forced upon you by others, especially if said expectations are actively harming your mental health.

I've even seen some individuals outright refuse to call him by his new name on purpose out of spite for his "entitlement", which feels very terrible when you realize that it sounds frighteningly similar to the reasonings/arguments of irl transphobes (albeit unintentional)

sorry about the rant, but as a trans person and former gifted kid it just really hurts me on a personal level to see these kinds of harmful takes.

the new Bee and Puppycat reboot is good,, but i can't help but feel that its kinda lacking in the story department compared to the original, especially when it comes to the writing of the characters. the story kinda goes all over the place with many subplots being started and then immediately dropped after like 1 line of dialogue.

and although this was a bit of an issue in the OG series too, the voice acting sounds a bit... off during some of the scenes. kinda like the voice actors were given the lines with zero context or guidelines. don't get me wrong i still love the show, but i feel some things about it could perhaps be improved if they make another season.

(Note: this is not meant to be a personal attack on the staff who worked on the show, its just my own opinion about it, and if u disagree with it that's completely fine. just wanted to make that clear)

Do you have any tips for cat face shape?? I struggle to imagine anything but circle

Hi anon!

Usually, I start with the same pentagonal face shape for every cat, like this:

Once I've figured out what the rest of the cat's body is doing, I adjust the pentagon, or "skull" of the cat to better fit its wiki description and/or personality.

Here are some examples from previous designs I've done, and how I also try to use shape language to communicate things about a cat's personality (key word try, I am not a design expert lol):

These are just three face shapes that I use commonly, and if you scroll through my blog you'll see even more.

Next are the ears!

Here are the differences between these three cats' ears, as well as some other types of ears I'll draw on cats:

Sometimes I use shape language for the ears, sometimes it's whatever I'm feeling that day! Generally, I'm just trying to make sure I'm adding more than just a pair of triangles on a cat's head.

As for the muzzle, I usually just squash or sharpen so it matches the language of the skull.

Finally, and my favorite part, is the face fluff. I try to make sure that if I'm drawing a fluffier cat, the extra fur is just an extension of the face, so I don't lose the language of the skull.

Here are some examples:

I don't always keep the face guidelines in the final design, but I definitely use them during the outlining process to make sure the proportions are right.

Other than the eyes (which, I'm not sure how to explain so I won't), I think that covers it!

It took me a longgg time to figure out how I wanted to draw cats, and there isn't totally a wrong way to do it, as long as you can recognize it as a cat lol. I hope this helps!

i've always combined the two main interpretations of kobolds as lizards and dogs into one in my head

lizard dog.. log.. or dizard