This Was Gonna Be A Tutorial And I Guess It Still Is But If Anything Its Just A Really Long And Drawn

this was gonna be a tutorial and i guess it still is but if anything it’s just a really long and drawn out “essay” on drawing people with epicanthic folds. one of my biggest pet peeves is people drawing asian people exclusively with the same type of eye they’d give white people or anyone else who typically doesn’t have the fold! however i know that most people are taught with the standard white person eye (google image search for “eye” and it’ll all be pictures of white people’s eyes) so learning to draw epicanthic folds is a consciously learned thing. 

therefore i bring you this, which attempts to break the mechanics of epicanthic folds down into something that’s a bit easier to digest and implement in your own art! 

style can be argued i guess but it’s not that hard to stylize eyes with folds if you do proper observation and research. eyes with epicanthic folds are as diverse as eyes without so it’s not like you have to adhere to a strict model for them (although many people think that you have to) and all it takes to distinguish the two in stylized art (and even in semi/realism once you think about it) is a few lines! like i said this is a learned process but it’ll make your asian characters (and characters of other races even) a bit more interesting and believable.

Cullen Rutherford by @vjatoch

It’s perfect. It’s absolutely perfect. I never thought I’d be commissioning art of canon characters, but I just couldn’t resist. And I’m so glad. The world needed this.

Imaan Hammam

The online Japanese course that no one talks about

Okay so I’m not a langblr and I never plan to be. However. What I do know from following a ton of them is that no one talks about Minato.

Now you may be thinking, ‘What’s Minato?’. It’s a website that was recommended to me by a Japanese Studies university professor for learning Japanse at home.

It’s literally the best resource out there and it’s free (funded by the Japanese government). You can choose between self-study and tutor support-led courses.

There are courses in Hiragana, Katakana, and the general language (from levels A1 to A2), and you can download a certificate and study record after completion of a course.

Here’s the link. Or if you want to type it: https://minato-jf.jp

Go. Learn some actual Japanese.

Dragon Age Words I’ve Written Over the Years

I say “words” because some of my favourite work I’ve written in threads. Most are Solas-centric because this is a Solas rp blog, but not all.

Dare to be in the Company of Those Stronger Than You, 2015-2019. Fan written banter between the canon characters of Dragon Age: Inquisition and Solas. Find more (including OC and non-DA:I characters) here in my banter tag. 

Tales of Fen’Harel, 2017. There are always two sides to every legend. A series of original legends about Fen'Harel.    

Five Times Defended, 2019. Solas & Mythal, platonic. Five times Solas put his life or word on the line for Mythal.

A Memory That Strains, 2019. Solas & Mythal, platonic. He had always thought of her as the best of them, but when he sees a path forward for the People, she draws back. Solas confronts Mythal in her temple on the eve of the Elvhen Rebellion.

Five Times Enlightened, 2019. Solas & Wisdom, platonic. Wisdom was one of his oldest and dearest friends, and had offered him countless lessons over its existence, and beyond.

It Tastes of Despair, 2017. This world tries to mimic the one Solas knows, the ways in which it falls short leaves him hollow.

I Cannot Come In (Unless You Dream of Me), 2017. (tumblr, ao3) nb!Lavellan x Solas. When word of Ian’s capture reaches Solas, he does everything within his power to see him brought safely home. Strongly recommended that you read @theshirallen​‘s drabble, “And My Heart Cannot Be,” first as this is a response to it.

Never Far From My Mind, 2019. (tumblr: part i, part ii) nb!Lavellan x Solas. Brief moments where Solas thinks of Ian, part of a continuing series.

A Name That Fits, 2019. (tumblr, ao3) nb!Lavellan x Solas. While Dreaming in the Hissing Wastes, Solas finds himself confronted with a spirit sickened with fear. In his efforts to heal it, he is forced to confront uncomfortable feelings about his own identity, and seek comfort in another’s arms.

Five Times Loved, 2016. nb!Lavellan x Solas. Five times Solas demonstrates his love for Ian, set during one of the hardest points in Ian’s life.

Naked, Vulnerable, but Completely Content, 2018. (tumblr, ao3) nb!Lavellan x Solas. Nights of sleeplessness sometimes call for creative solutions. Solas suggests Ian Lavellan try a lavender-scented bath, but Ian would rather not enjoy it by himself.

Five Times Flirted, 2018. nb!Lavellan x Solas. Burgeoning feelings between Solas and Ian are slow to take root. This world and its customs are strange, but he feels he needs to make his affection known.

Five Times Solas Held a Baby, 2018. nb!Lavellan x Solas. Ian keeps handing babies to Solas for some reason.

First Kiss, 2017. (ao3, tumblr) nb!Lavellan x Solas. “For just a moment, I want to be brave in ways I’ve never tried before.” Ian Lavellan kisses Solas for the first time.

Apodyopis, 2019. (tumblr, ao3) nb!Lavellan x Solas. The act of mentally undressing someone. Solas finds himself hoping something more will come of tonight, but knows his desires are not the only ones which matter.

Was It Only a Kiss?, 2018. nb!Lavellan x Solas. A roleplay thread between myself and @theshirallen about Solas and Ian’s first true kiss.  

Five Times Hugged, 2018. (tumblr, ao3) Solas & f!Cadash, platonic.  Solas isn’t much of a hugger, but Thora is. 

Expectations, 2019. (tumblr, ao3) Solas & f!Cadash, platonic. Rewrite of the balcony scene between Solas and my Inquisitor, with the conversation taking a different route.

On the Meaning of Names, 2018. Solas & f!Cadash, platonic. Thora takes it upon herself to learn elvhen, and during her lessons happens upon a familiar word.  

The Year That Wasn’t, 2019. nb!Lavellan x Solas, Solas & f!Cadash, platonic. This is technically unfinished but it’s a thread between myself, myself, and @theshirallen​ that I love enough to share in its incomplete state. Set during the quest In Hushed Whispers, where Ian can be picked up alongside other companions.

All We Are is a Promise, 2015. (tumblr, ao3) f!Cadash x Blackwall. Thora and Blackwall spend their first night together after taking him back post-personal quest.

That Mercy you to others show, show that Mercy to Me, 2017. (tumblr, ao3) f!Cadash x Blackwall, Solas x nb!Lavellan. Solas seeks wisdom in an Inquisitor who chose to forgive Blackwall.

Let’s Be Selfish, 2019. (tumblr, ao3) f!Cadash x Harding. The Orlesian Civil War was over, but its conclusion left Thora Cadash feeling hollow and tired. Lace tries to lighten the evening, to do something to reclaim it for themselves.

Morning After Kiss, 2019. (tumblr, ao3) Merrill x Sera. It’s funny, waking up in the wrong bed but the right place. Merrill finds herself at home in Sera’s sheets after a night of fun.

Forbidden Kiss, 2019. (tumblr, ao3) f!Aeducan x Gorim. Gorim and Tamar Aeducan don’t have the luxury of being open with their affection.

You Are Not Alone, 2015. Solas has left the Inquisition, but his ghost lingers in Skyhold’s walls. A short piece on what Solas’ absence might feel like to those he left behind.

Taking Up the Grey, 2014. A series of drabbles following a Warden Carver Hawke and his interactions with the cast of Dragon Age: Awakening.

I don’t want this to take up more space than it already will on the dash, so I’ll link you to my writing tag on Solas and my DA multi and leave it at this. Thank you to my rp partners for the five years of inspiration!  ❤️

There is no right or wrong in color and design, and everyone works differently, but hopefully these tips of mine will help you find the colors that make you happiest!