recently a few people have asked how i sharpen my gifs and so i thought i’d put together a little SHARPENING TUTORIAL for anyone who’s interested…
the first thing i’d say is to make sure you’re using the most hq images/screencaps/clips you can find. i know this advice gets thrown around a lot but for good reason! here’s a really good post with more info on where to find the best stuff to use. now on to the tutorial:
we’re using smart filters in this tutorial which means smart objects babyyy
group your layers if you haven’t already and convert the group into a smart object (filter > convert for smart filters)
now duplicate your smart object so you have two identical layers
apply a smart sharpen filter to the bottom layer (filter > sharpen > smart sharpen)
my standard settings:
amount: 500%
radius: 0.2 - 0.5 px (see what looks best!)
remove: lens blur
“more accurate” selected
good work! now if that’s looking a little extreme don’t worry, we’re not done!
apply a gaussian blur filter to your top layer (filter > blur > gaussian blur)
set the slider to 1.0 pixels
finally set the opacity of your blur layer to 25%
and that is it! your layers should now look a little like this:
the lovely thing about this is that you can basically keep your filter settings the same for whatever you’re working on and simply play with the opacity of that blur layer should you want to increase/decrease the sharpness!
fingers crossed this all makes sense. if anything wasn’t clear or you have further questions don’t be afraid to ask. happy giffing!!
I am such a huge horse nerd and I apologize. :( But I’m really tired of seeing girths that are halfway down a horse’s stomach. This may not be interesting to anyone who is not me, but I like to draw fancy saddles and ridiculously long shanks on bits. Also, horses are the only animal I can draw, so I take advantage of that.
I hope this helps some frustrated non-horsey artists in at least some small way. Remember, when in doubt, add some buckles and some rings. :)
I’m having artist problems, so for today this blog is dedicated to Yusuke.
I made me Gamma 2 stickers for whatsapp lmao feel free to use wherever... you can have one murdery Gamma 1 too. I wanted to make more of G1 but he’s less expressive than his brother and I don’t have much to work with until the blu ray releases, expect more in December :D
Watched Iris vs Cynthia and I feel too old to be crying about silly pokemon anime but here I am. Crying.
I'm finally playing Pokemon Legends Arceus and I'm just realizing the game is somewhat inspired on the Chinese classic Shui Hu Zhuan, often localized as Water Margin, or as All Men Are Brothers, or also as (-The 108-) Outlaws of the Marsh.
*THIS POST MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS*
I have seen people comment on how Spiritomb and Typhlosion (Hisui variant) are related to the number 108 in various ways, as it's the novel I'll be discussing. To gather the Pokemon facts first, let's start mentioning that to get Spiritomb in Pokemon Arceus, you have to find the 108 wisps wandering around Hisui, and some of Spiritomb's Pokedex entries read:
'Exactly 108 spirits gathered to become this Pokémon. Apparently there are some ill-natured spirits in the mix.' 'It was bound to a fissure in an Odd Keystone as punishment for misdeeds 500 years ago.'
As for Hisuian Typhlosion, Professor Laventon says in the Pokedex 'Said to purify lost, forsaken souls with its flames and guide them to the afterlife.' Additionally, from the official Legends website we also learn the following:
'It emits ghost flames –said to number as many as 108- from the fires around its neck. These flames all attack the opponent, adopting the countenance of ferocious beasts.'
Some people already explained that the number 108 is significant in various Asian religions, but to be brief, it often revolves around the idea that there are 108 'temptations' on the way to Nirvana, 108 mundane 'feelings' in the way to purification, etc. and so, many rituals and traditions involve the number in some way (rosaries have 108 beads for this reason, temples sometimes have literally 108 steps, they ring bells 108 times, etc.)
Shui Hu Zhuan, or Water Margin, is among the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. JRPG enjoyers such as myself might have heard of it because of Suikoden or Eiyuden… being a Suikoden fan for as long as I've been a Pokemon fan, my impression is that this novel is not known to westerners, so allow me to explain further.
The plot revolves around the 108 Heroes or 'Stars of Destiny' seemingly inspired by the Taoist idea that everyone's destiny is tied to a Star. Generally speaking, this funny but also tragic brutal novel is about people from all walks of life, sometimes criminals, coming together to fight evil (mostly in the form of a corrupt disastrous government and the invading regions). It's about sworn family, about friendship, about repenting, about changing times… and about how beautiful women are evil because the novel is definitely a product of its time. A number of the adventures in the book are inspiration for the characters arcs in the game, as well as for the locations.
Back to the 108 wisps, Spiritomb and Hisuian Typhlosion; other than being possibly related to Hinduism and Buddhism, the way I think they can relate to the novel is explained by this Wikipedia quote that summarizes the lore of the books: 'The 108 Heroes represent 108 demonic overlords who were banished (…) Having repented since (…) the stars are released from imprisonment by accident, and are reborn in the world as 108 heroes who band together for the cause of justice.'
I don't have enough reliable sources to talk more about it and it's been some 15 years since I read this novel -a very mistranslated version apparently-. But I know for a fact that out of the 108 heroes/Stars of Destiny, there are 36 Heavenly Spirits and 72 Earthly Fiends. These 36 are generally higher ranked or more important in the novel, and if I'm not mistaken, there are 36 characters in Pokemon Arceus that are somewhat relevant, all being ancestors to other human characters in the series -including the antagonist-, a lot of them either officials of the Galaxy Team, Wardens and leaders of the Diamond and Pearl clans, or people of various 'mundane' talents helping Jubilife Town prosper… much like in the novel.
So yeah there are many little ways I which Game Freak seemed to take inspiration from Water Margin!
since i’ve been using csp a lot more now i thought i’d make a post of the assets i use the most for ppl looking for good stuff!
general brushes: Pen + Caspar Pen (かしペン+カスレかしペン) (my fav pen for sure) Erase Along Edge (YOU NEEED THIS ERASER YOU NEED IT!!!) Freehand Style Brush Set (フリーハンド風ブラシセット) (cant recommend this one highly enough, i use it for all my backgrounds) Bong pen OBONGBONG’S PEN Halftones (スルスル塗れる5線刻みトーンブラシ) A non-shin pen (しんでないペン) SU-Cream Pencil Noisy Ink Brush v2 Simple Retro Halftone Brushes Smeared Paintbrush (べっとり絵筆) A breather pen (一息ペン) Aj’s Pencil Set Watercolor set (수채화 세트) T-marker Wind Brush Set (Tマーカー風ブラシセット) Watercolor marker ▲ ■ and texture set (水彩マーカー●▲■とテクスチャーセット)
special effect and decorative brushes: Tights Pen (タイツペン) Glitch Brushes 2 (彩塵ブラシ(Prism Dust) Hand-painted effect set No. 2 (手描き効果セットNo.2) Oriental Emblem 11-20 (동양 문양 11-20) (this creator has so many amazing assets ive downloaded them all) Ribon brushes (りぼんブラシ) Lace Set レース セット Ornate lace Bramble (rose-玫瑰叢) Loose hand-painted sprinkle brush (ゆるゆる手描きのふりかけブラシ) Bush pen (수풀 펜) Fantasy Papers Pearl Brush (真珠ブラシ)
gradient maps: Gradient map set for hologram (홀로그램용 그라데이션 맵 세트) Yunywave★ Gradient Set cb gradients 3 ONG SET
3D: The Only Perspective Grid You Need! 3d sketch head Movable horse 1.8 A (可動のお馬 1.8a) Sitting poses collection (便利かもしれない座りポーズ集)
misc: Raiku RGB Shift Hand-drawn Rags tool Set (手描きのボロ線ツールセット) VHS action set
*** DON’T ALTER OR REPUBLISH MY ART *** Twitter // Tumblr //
It’s March 5th again… allow me to reblog this old tribute to the sad Persona 3 trio on the promised day…
A POLITE POSITIVE EXPLANATION + FACTS + CONTEXT
I didn’t want to comment on this until it was officially released and I could see it running on my own game, but yes: Fire Emblem Heroes officially uses they/them pronouns for Kyza in English, and doesn’t shy away from mentioning that Kyza has a crush on Ranulf.
Above: screenshot from Fire Emblem Heroes (2022)
Above: Sharena’s official comments for “Meet some of the Heroes”
There’s been a lot of confusion and fandom drama surrounding the decision to give Kyza they/them pronouns in English for FEHeroes, and this is partly because:
- Kyza was referred to as male he/him in the English Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn from 2007 (also true for the Spanish version).
- Later on, a number of fans started using she/her for Kyza, explaining that Kyza was probably supposed to be a trans woman in the Japanese Radiant Dawn (because of reasons I’ll be explaining later).
- Now, Fire Emblem Heroes has changed to They/Them pronouns in English.
I’ll also add that mentions of Kyza’s crush on Ranulf were removed or ‘reworded’ in the non-Japanese releases of Radiant Dawn, but FEHeroes decided to be open and clear about it instead.
So was Kyza trans in the source material? Was Kyza officially gay? Why are people mad or confused? Well, with my questionable skills communicating in English, I’ll try to be as informative and objective as posible:
The short answer is: Kyza is indeed officially queer and has a crush on Ranulf in the source material, which is the original Japanese Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn from 2007. FEHeroes giving Kyza They/Them pronouns in English is correct, since it complies with Kyza using standard neutral Japanese in the source material; at the same time, they/them pronouns is a good way to reflect Kyza’s apparent genderfluidness that is also very much canon in the source material. To top this, in FEHeroes they’ve also opted for giving Kyza a kimono that mixes elements from the typically male and female new year wear.
It’s correct for people to say Kyza in non-binary / genderqueer even when not taking into account the current development in FEHeroes. However, Kyza was only ever confirmed to be queer, never confirmed as gay or trans specifically (but also not negating those two concepts either.) Kyza’s queerness was presented in a positive way in Radiant Dawn, albeit stereotypical (for Japanese standard in 2007).
Up until this point, I’ve avoided explaining much so that the ‘short answer’ actually remained as short as possible. So now, let’s go with the LONG ANSWER:
The long answer: Fire Emblem 20th Anniversary Encyclopedia describes Kyza as having the body of a man but the heart of a woman (very typical, probably unfortunate, way to write queer guys, gay guys, transwomen, etc. in Japanese media). Kyza’s attraction to Ranulf is confirmed in that book too. Going back to the Japanese game, Kyza’s mannerisms fluctuated in this way:
- Kyza presents themselves as what many would say is ‘somewhat masculine’ when on duty or in public, but still using ‘standard neutral’ Japanese; this is, however, something working women usually do in Japan in general, as using ‘strongly feminine’ language in the work place is seen as informal and unprofessional (as is ‘strong masculine’ language as well, for that matter.)
- When in private or only with Ranulf, Lyre and other friends, Kyza changes their mannerisms to more informal and what many consider “feminine” because, for instance, Kyza uses ‘atashi’ as personal pronoun in this context, talking in what I’ve come to call a ‘big sister’ way (but strictly speaking, STILL using ‘standard neutral‘ Japanese).
Now, ‘atashi’ is gender neutral, as are all the pronouns Kyza ever uses in Japanese (if I remember correctly). It’s just that ‘atashi’ is often used by women nowadays because it sounds... cutesy and nice, supposedly. But, in fact, elderly men are still heard using atashi because ‘only women use atashi’ is a recent thing for some reason. Grown men using ‘atashi’ is often seen as ‘effeminate’ and because of this, often times this is how queer characters are written in Japan, in special (and sadly) if they’re a parody character and not legit queer representation.
Anyway, the point is: Kyza’s description and mannerisms are all about 'being a man but also a woman’. In Japan (in special in the Japan of 2007 when the game came out) the way Kyza was written is similar to that associated with transwomen as well as queer guys in general (those be gay, bi or otherwise, even crossdressers). The Japanese media still has a tendency to group all of them together. While Kyza’s queerness was always pretty clear because of this reason, this is also why we don’t know specifically if Kyza is gay or trans or otherwise... Kyza could be ANY of those things.
This is also why a good chunk of the fans opted for using English she/her with Kyza all these years, interpreting Kyza as a trans woman based on the way Kyza is presented in the Japanese Radiant Dawn and their description in the 20th Anniversary Encyclopedia (body of a man, heart of a woman). Even if in the end FEHeroes has chosen to reflect Kyza’s genderqueernes using They/Them pronouns, that ‘transwoman’ interpretation was very legit for all the reasons I already explained, and I can understand why many who saw Kyza that way and thought of them as a trans icon for more than a decade are feeling dissapointed now. However, trans people using They/Them pronouns is not unheard of (on the contrary!) and many of us are fluid about our pronouns too, it’s not like both concepts cancel each other or anything.
Part of the drama going around comes from the fact that Kyza very much comes from the stereotype we already talked about which, sadly, overlaps with ‘okama’ stereotypes as well. If you don’t know what ‘okama’ means, please don’t use the word lightly as it’s mostly considered a slur nowadays.
Luckily though, they didn’t give Kyza any of the stereotypical bad attributes often associated with the ‘gay guy’ trope. Kyza is not used as a “clown gay character” or ‘degenerated gay weirdo’ either (which, unfortunatedly, is pretty common in media all over the world). Kyza also had their own personality and goals outside of having a crush and being queer. Kyza’s queerness was presented in a positive way in Radiant Dawn and other characters never treat Kyza badly for being queer (it’s not like Kyza’s queerness is that relevant in the game anyway, plus Kyza is a very minor character that appears in like 6 scenes only).
I really do feel that given the very few lines and space for development and explanations they have in FEH, settling for they/them pronouns in English is posibly the best decision, since it informs us that Kyza is indeed genderqueer without negating any of the most obvious interpretations, such as Kyza being genderfluid or Kyza being a transwoman.
And all of that said, I want to mention that I don’t have the availability to be replying to messages about this, pluz I already said everything I know about the topic anyway. Feel free to reblog adding comments and correcting me and discussing (politely, hopefully) just don’t expect me to follow up. Thanks.
Dusted some of those old Legend of Zelda fanarts I was talking about. I really like Captain Bazz, I redrew some parts of the armor inspired by the ones the Zora Captains wear in Age of Calamity, and also inspired by @gabelew ‘s designs!
Breath of the Wild has so many great NPCs but Link’s Zora childhood friends have to be some of my favs.
Someone come get this sassy lost child! My arm has been healing very well so after another long hiatus, here is a little experiment again!
ayo i found 2 pages with head angles of humans and animals, could be useful to anyone reading this
hoomans
animals
Yeah not being subtle this time I'll sink with this ship find me at the bottom of the ocean thirsting for more ZombMask (I promise I'm not going to post anything spicier than manboobs on main I PROMISE)
Papyrus knew from the begining that he liked puzzles... he just didn't quite understand rubik's cubes are not for chewing on! A little close up from my last character sheet because social media is terrible at displaying art.
DON’T REPOST MY WORK, instead reblog from me or share a link!
Find me as @runamaria-arts on most social media & Patre0n.
I’m trying to figure out the proportions between the Undertale characters. Missions failed but here they are anyway! Mettaton, Undyne, Alphys, Papyrus, Sans and Mom (what do you mean Toriel's name is not Mom of course it is)
Also baby Papyrus because I can and my soul needed it ♥
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A Frederick Fire Emblem I started forever ago that will not get more finished than this, but it's still cute so here you have it! With the outfit from the Ylissean Summer banner.
I made this one for a One Punch Man event in 2017, the prompt was Depowered AU! So that’s why Saitama looks that way hahah. I don’t have any 2021 Vday pics for you this year but I never posted this one on my art blog so here you go!
Zombieman and Child Emperor from One Punch Man... I love these guys so much TwT Finally, after all this time *sobs* I’ve finally made a pic of them that’s cute enough to honor their friendship. My muscles are not yet healthy enough to be doing my usual full inking and colouring so I experimented a bit!
I don’t even remember when I drew this, somewhere in 2014 or so, probably... Aki, Shinji and Mitsuru are sitll my fav Persona 3 characters TvT
ALSO there is a surprise under the cut ;D
I never finished this one but maybe someone would like to see it! Futaba Sakura from Persona 5... and the three mascots of the series ha ha. Her outfit and the keychain are both the ones she’s wearing in that Soejima Artworks cover.
Ok as I promised, I’ll be posting some of my old art! Valentine’s Day is coming soon so why not share this piece I got commissioned to make in 2015! Chie Satonaka and Yosuke Hanamura from Persona 4!
We all knew that as soon as I was able to draw again and with how One Punch Man has been developing, I was going to draw these two it’s just the natural order of things... I can’t decide which version I like better, so have both.
I really liked how they looked in my last comic /// LINK /// but tumblr isn’t great at displaying images that aren’t exactly the format they like so here you have this close up! I was also experimenting a bit with this new style.