A L I E N S

three watercolor paintings i did a couple months ago!

i haven't used watercolor in a very long time because i always found it difficult and unpredictable, but i wanted to try it again. after trying painting a lined drawing first (not posted here), i tried again with these lineless styles, painting directly over my sketch

the style suits me much better. i love the way i can layer the colors to make them brighter and more vibrant. it also helps to use tube watercolor paints rather than the tray, so it's easier to mix like im used to with acrylics

overall, it feels similar to how i render digitally, building up colors especialy around the eyes

a few days later, I've embroidered the majority of the back panel. i still want to add things like shooting stars, more details on the luna moth, more stars behind the ferns, etc, but here's what I've gotten done:

I've also sewn on a moth patch that my best friend gave me a while ago - I've finally found a place for it!

and I've turned one of the front pockets into a cute monster mouth, an idea that i got from a patch somebody showed on Pinterest. instead of just a patch, it's a functional pocket! the teeth didn't quite turn out how I'd hoped, but i can clean them up a bit later

i might add more details to give it more of a body, and not just a mouth with disembodied eyes. if you have any ideas, please comment or leave them in the tags!

the latest things i've added are a panel on the inside of my vest under the collar, and some stars on the ends of the hood strings, both using the same blue flannel i used for the pockets.

i'll continue updating as i work on it!

for about a week now I've been working on a DIY vest. it's not a battle vest, but i am taking inspiration from some of the patch ideas and maybe adding spikes

here's my process so far:

(EDITED with image descriptions - thanks for the reminder in the tags!!)

i dyed a pale blue vest with one full bottle of graphite synthetic dye. it's still sadly a little blue, but it's dark enough that it isn't super noticable, so I'll live. if you have any questions about the exact process, ill answer them in the comments!

i then added two regular pockets after seam ripping the fake ones - why do they even put fake pockets on these - and two inner pockets using the shape of the upper pocket as a guide. one of them is embroidered with quotes from a post by turboennui on here about Laika, the first dog in space sent from Russia

then i added a detachable hood taken from an old sweatshirt, which is attached to the vest via six buttons. i get anxious when i don't have a hood on my clothes, so if i don't wear this vest over a sweatshirt, i still have the option to have more comfort

yesterday, i planned out and began embroidering the back panel. it will be a detachable piece of black fabric from an old button up shirt, connected only with safety pins so i don't have to commit to a theme and instead have multiple artworks to swap out. this one is a few black ferns and a pale blue moth (type undecided) atop a starry night sky background

if you guys have any ideas of stuff to add or embroider, or tips for making a denim vest in general, comments are greatly appreciated! ill post another update once the vest is finished

trying to get back into drawing little comics. this is of Sebastian, an OC whose story i haven't fully figured out yet, but i know it's tragic

a masked creature i drew with an ink pen for my art class in about 3 days of on and off drawing

slippery snake...

i sketched this out and colored it with Ohuhu alcohol markers

i didn't spend much time on it, but im especially proud of the eye

this is super helpful!! I've been trying to figure out how to stay on top of the news without getting facebook or twitter.

If you live in the US and want a way to follow good non-right wing news for free, consider:

Subscribing to PBS News on YouTube (they have a news hour every night/half hour on weekends, broken up into smaller consumable segments. Sometimes they live stream national events like the inauguration. You don't have to watch it all, but pick and choose what to watch & when. Like, say, only watching the half hour weekend segments).

Subscribing to NPR News on whatever podcast app you have (they do 5-minute news updates throughout the day; you usually only need to listen to it 1x/day to get highlights).

Subscribe to nonprofit investigative online news source ProPublica; you can sign up for either daily, weekly, or top news stories sent to your email. You can also follow them on sm.

Okay this one isn't free, but if you have any extra money, don't underestimate how important or endangered local newspapers are. Subscribe if you can. Some papers will also send you short summaries if you're a subscriber, and you can also follow local papers on social media.

Remember that just generally getting deluged with news on social media is not good for your mental health, and is much more susceptible to misinformation or propaganda. Getting news online works best when it's supplemental to verified news sources; usually as grassroots, on-the-ground info from people you know and trust who are living out a certain experience.

You can keep a particular online space "safe" from politics without hurting anything, provided you make routine space for good, responsible news in your schedule.

AND that you make sure to follow a diverse group of people and support their inclusion in that space, even if you're online for a niche interest (in almost any online hobby, there are lots of people who are not at all the same class, race, ethnicity, gender identity, from the same place, etc, etc). Honor, protect, and value a wide variety of voices even in your online hobbyist spaces, while also making regular time for real news? You'll find yourself with a decent snapshot of information from both the top down and the bottom up about how the world works and is impacting a wide variety of people.

Without feeling like you have to absorb/respond to everything happening every single moment of every day. For the next 4 years

hey thanks!!

the 2am urge to paint

based on a screenshot of the nether in Minecraft. the basalt deltas are one of my favorite biomes. it's so simple and barren, but it's oddly calm, especially with the ash floating in the air. i wasn't really sure how to portray the glowstone, so it's a little bright, but other than that I'm very happy with how it turned out

metalhead miku…..

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