Where reality is subjective...

helike — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 14:44:35 GMT

I was having fun with shades of grey :3 The whole thing is a personal joke that some people will understand. So who remembers Miss Snape? :P

Rating G. Digital.

helike — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 11:54:58 GMT

Two for the price of one. Quite old in fact as both were drawn, or maybe painted, a few weeks ago. Both introduce girls. Rating G. Digital work. Original.

The first one is an attempt at using darker screen tones. The other one just a redhead with an overused combination of red hair and green eyes.

helike — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 18:44:36 GMT

Rating G. Digital. Photoshop (which I managed to hate this time). No spoilers.

Actually it was supposed to be a simple redraw of this picture [click ], but Severus - being the usual difficult self - refused to cooperate. And that's how this ^ happened. I still like the older version more. I think that this one seems more scary/dangerous. And yay for the nose -.-; Painting it was a nightmare. (Un)fortunately I could use my own nose for the reference >.>; Kinda. I blame the grandpa for the genes. Or grandma.

Funny things you realise one day - it's hard to trust overly nice people, harder than these meaner/more honest ones.

That being said, it was nice to pretend to be on vacations... Kinda. As proven today, September is gonna be awful :/

helike — Sun, 16 Aug 2015 17:53:40 GMT

I was trying to be productive... and pretend that I didn't have an artblock orz.

Digital. Rating G. openCanvas. A fanart from Harry Potter series (spoilers for The Deathly Hallows).

I couldn't decide how to title it at first. I went with "the only companion" in the end, but I also considered "his most faithful companion" as the title.

One day you grow up and realise that there are always at least two versions of each story, depending on who writes it. And well, after dealing with my students and my very Gryffindor-like BFF, who does have a talent for exaggerating things and seeing insults where there are none, I'd say that in this story the truth lies somewhere in the middle, like it always does.

I recently realised that Severus and Lily's friendship was practically erased from existence. Save for being shown in his memories, no one else ever mentioned it. Not even in passing, although Sirius, Remus and quite a few Hogwarts teachers clearly knew about it. (Seriously, I spent much less time with my students and still know more less who's friends with whom). There is not even a single "but you know, he was quite close to Lily once, but got what he deserved calling her that name." Ironically, it's only Petunia who mentioned him, but not by his name. Yes, I realise it is an important point of the plot, but it still makes me sad. (And knowing Severus' luck, there was no one waiting for him on the Other Side, but it's not really related to this picture.)

On a funny note. My students have no idea what Slytherin is. I made a joke about it once (I find myself fully justified to make jokes about my being a Slytherin, ok?) and got all of them flabbergasted (worked better than the Confudus charm, I believe). Finally one of them was like "uh, wait, wasn't it from Harry Potter or something?" Clearly they don't know Harry Potter, too. I feel old >.>; (And btw, I still have no idea how they managed not to know the series as each year there is a re-run of all the movies on the TV >.>;)

helike — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 15:09:06 GMT

I thought I could pretend I'm kind of back, so have an art post. (And I'm not really gone as I read my F-list and comment should the need arise.)

Rating G. Digital. Another cover for imaginarybeasts. The theme was "Untruth".

helike — Sun, 19 Apr 2015 19:17:13 GMT

Rating G. Digital. Fanart: Shingeki no Kyojin.

Looks a bit like a doujinshi cover IMO. Kid!Eren. Bonus points for smiling. Eren's colour is green, apparently. Mikasa's was yellowich and Levi's orange & red.

BFF "killed" me - she thought I had drawn myself. I don't look like Eren Yeager, thank you very much.

Where Dark Things Sleep

helike — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 17:21:13 GMT

Where Dark Things Sleep

Gwen was born with a gift - the ability to see future. There is one rule that all people like her are taught - whatever you see, you can't interfere. Gwen does as she's told and follows it obediently. It takes a personal tragedy to happen for her to start questioning the rule, however, not even for a while does she wonder why the rule was set...

PG-13. Supernatural/Tragedy.
Warning: somewhat graphic descriptions involving nightmares.

Written for imaginarybeasts. The title of the issue was "Erase & Rewind", so I could use whatever past them I wanted. I get a feeling I managed to get a few.

The story was fun to write, however... I had to change a few things along the way. After the plane crash from December, I was advised to change one scene to something else. Then came the Charlie Hebdo attack, and I started to wonder about some other scene. orz

Not really a spoiler - there is a reason why one of the characters doesn't like some versions of their name and it has some connection to knives and one serial killer and, perhaps, their own surname (never mentioned). Something for me laugh at due to the character being a fan of a certain series I'm a fan of.

helike — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 12:45:59 GMT

The previous one was too depressive, so a few days later (means over one week ago) I drew something more optimistic.

Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin. Rating: G.

Speedpaint. Painted on one layer only. My gallery was too boring and this was the effect. I think I need more SnK fanarts. Time to draw other cast members, too.

And if anybody would be actually interested: I also wrote a SnK fic, involving hints of reincarnation (a crime, I know). The only excuse I have for myself is that I wanted to see if I could describe characters in such a way that people could guess who they were even if their names were never mentioned.

It's Just The Strangest Thing
Gen, rated T, because Levi >.>; (and we all know how he talks), one shot, 11 000+ words.
Summary: It’s not normal to meet a person for the first time in your life and be sure you’ve already met before. Neither is it normal to be in a situation, which you know is completely new to you, but at the same time you are sure you’ve already experienced it. And yet it all happens to Eren; one strange event follows another. The more years pass, the more often in happens.

Definitely not inspired by personal experience >.>;

helike — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 20:55:10 GMT

Inspiration: my lovely uni. This place always makes me feel as if I were fighting giants =_=

Rating: PG-13 for the blood (a lot of colour red used). Digital.
Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin.

No gas, no 3DMG, just two broken blades.
On that day, humanity realised there was no way to win against them.

Makes me wonder who still remembers that initially Isayama planned the "everyone dies in the end" scenario.

If a similar scene appears in the manga at some point, I'm changing my name to Erwin Smith >.> I'm 100% eligible to do it then :P

helike — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 19:05:10 GMT

Inspiration (in way): Hana ga Chiru Sekai. Such a pretty song :3

Rating G. Digital. Portrait-like, semi-realistic.

Some kind of visualization for a story to-be-written. The girl was supposed to be not pretty and have a big nose. Well, the nose part kinda succeeded, the ugly part didn't ^^; (Also, noses are evil. Only lips are worse to draw x__x Next time I should actually use a photo reference. My imagination is good, but not that good to get everything right x__x ) I've learnt a new technique, BTW :P

helike — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 19:19:04 GMT

Guess who was having fun with her tablet today? :D It was supposed to be a speedpaint, but but in the end it turned into something more time consuming. Oh, well.

Inspiration: Jiyuu no Tsubasa. I actually tried Guren no Yumiya, too, but it didn't worked in the end.

Safe to click, but I warn you for the excessive use of colour red. As the fandom is Shingeki no Kyojin, interpret it as you wish.

One man, two steel blades. What is next? Is it freedom or is it death?

This picture reminds me a bit about the scene in which Levi is trying to comfort a dying soldier. For someone who's never good with words (unless it's something short, swearing or he talks to Hanji), he did try his best in that moment.

Turned out more bloody than planned, but somehow fitting. orz Also drifted away quite a lot form the initial idea, which was "waiting, ready for a fight".
An now, my dears, I accept my failure. Appears that Levi is much more complicated to draw than expected and I spend around one hour on trying to fix his face only. orz

I asked on dA, I can ask here. I have an idea for one more picture, involving two people protecting each other. One of them is holding two blades, the other - only one. Whom should I pair up? I actually thought of Jean and Armin. I have an idea for Mikasa and Eren, too. Who else to draw?

P.S. And that's how my "I'm in mood for some messy speedpaint" ends. Like hell was it speedpaint >.>

helike — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 18:05:54 GMT

Guess who drew something today instead of working on a paper? orz.
The inspiration. Appears Kanno Yoko rules when it comes to inspirations.

Rating G. 100% digital.

I've been in the process of rereading "Please, Save My Earth" and somehow this happened. Not a fanart. Really. Just... something.

helike — Fri, 27 Dec 2013 21:40:20 GMT

The inspiration: "Red Moon" by Kalafina. One of my favourites :3 That being said - my break from drawing was way too long :( I'm kinda losing my touch with it.

Rating G. Somewhat fantasy themed. SAI for a change (but I get the feeling I'm using it in a wrong way XD)

Because red, white and black rule and no other colours are needed *is shot* It seems that in the end I drew a vampire orz At least this one doesn't sparkle :P

helike — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 18:21:10 GMT

Have some art. This is what I drew as a cover for 41th issue of The Book of Imaginary Beasts. The theme was "Superpowers". Rating G. Opencanvas + Wacom.

Inspiration: Jiyuu no Tsubasa by Linked Horizon (aka Attack on Titan OP2). [OMG, I swear that my picture had nothing to do with the pose in the video XD I googled it only now XD.]

Funny/curious things about the process of drawing:
1. The skin tone was originally white-pinkish. Ended up being something you could call "coffee with milk". I loved it. The colour, I mean.

2. I suppose I can put the blame on the song, but at some point that girl got completely emotionless look on her face. Then she kinda started to look like Levi >.>; Imagine the amount of time needed to fix it :P

3. I don't know how, but I got some scratchy lines on her face. I though they looked like scars, so I left them. We don't really need ideal looking superheroes anyway :P

helike — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 14:55:45 GMT

Art time. Not really something I have done before :P A mix of old and new techniques and a side effect of my trying to get the tablet work on my laptop.

Somewhat wuxia inspired. Rating PG. Wacom + Photoshop. Drawn to this and this on the playlist.

No story behind this one for a change. Guess I spent way to much time watching miscellaneous MVs for miscellaneous wuxia series :P

helike — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 20:18:00 GMT

Oh, look! Another StS Omega fanart :O No way, right? :P Well, whatever :P Inspired by episode 35 and this song. I assume that it's a love song, but I'm not sure XD

Rating G, openCanvas + Wacom. This one has a title, too.

Farewell.

Not quite what I wanted it to be, but I can only blame myself for it ~~because it was me who rushed everything and spent only 3 hours on it. orz~~ ~~Farewell to the perspective orz~~ Erm, never mind. Farewell to a dear friend and farewell to the past self. Something along these lines. And I'd rather not say farewell to this character any time soon, dear Toei >.> White petals don't really look cool with such colour scheme, so I drew multi-coloured ones.

Eden is one of the two reasons why I still watch Omega. (The other one is my hope to finally see Ikki again :P Not much luck here, sadly.) As unoriginal as Toei wants to be (the Virgo Temple? >.> somebody playing the Phoenix here?), they actually happen to do something here and there and for me Eden is one of these things. (Even though they seriously don't know how to use his character properly.)

Things I discovered while drawing:
- #*#&($# the hair >.>; I've always known I hate this hairstyle. Last time I grumbled so much about it when I was drawing Ikki >.> Seriously, just how on earth do you make it look natural? >.>
- I find these wavy things behind Eden's back ridiculous, but... they look cool on pictures *.*
- perspective is a very complicated thing to draw x__x
- the colour scheme for Eden's Cloth is much more purple-ish than I thought at first XD
- these Omega Cloths require much less effort while drawing because they don't really seem metallic any more :O
- my linearts are terribly messy/sketchy :(

helike — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 18:02:05 GMT

My first Saint Seiya Omega fanart :O I think that the world is about to end. Kidding. I want to draw smiling older Eden one day, but first I need to do something so that he wouldn't end up looking like Ikki when I try to draw his older version. orz I went through the same thing with Kagaho >.>

Rating G. OpenCanvas + Wacom.

As you can see Magi is back to playing with lights, shadows and negative spaces.

The Light in the Darkness. That's the tile. I'm fixing what Toei failed at in my opinion. I like giving StS girls some meaningful little something so just look closely and see what in fact is shining so brightly :D We can all pretend that in fact what Eden tried to do for Aria, in his adorable clumsily way, meant much more for her than anime showed it. In reality, when Eden is not in the story, he's gone for good and no one remembers him >.> Even Aria. I feel so sorry for the boy.

The sketch looked so much better >.>;

helike — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 16:57:07 GMT

Time for the monthly art post :P This time it's a picture story of some kind. Sorry, but the picture is kinda big, too (600 x 1090 pixels). Rating G. openCanvas + Wacom. (Sometimes I think I'm the only person left who still uses oC. Most people have switched to SAI.)

As I finished drawing the main part, I realised it reminded me of a certain Polish songs, which goes along these lines: "Come and colour my world with hues of yellow and blue" (not a literal translation, but I tried to fit the lyrics to the music). Well, the connection wasn't intended as the original colour scheme was completely different and there were more black and red in it. And the girl's hair was a bit shorter. The initial idea was "Connected (by fate)". Nevertheless, it ended like it did.

And the question is: What did you gather from the story in the picture? :P

helike — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 20:42:16 GMT

Because it's been a long time since I posted some art last time. Rating G. Original. Wacom+openCanvas.

A cover for a webzine dedicated to original fiction, namely imaginarybeasts. The theme was "Spring." I ended up drawing some snowdrops, because for some reason I always think that once they bloom, spring starts.

Photoshop refused to cooperate with this one, so after it crashed 3 or 4 times, I switched to openCanvas. orz

P.S. I dreamt I had got a Daily Deviation at dA (LOL Wut?) and it seems it was for this picture. Such a non-DD material :P It ended up in a group about babies and children, though o__o

helike — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 19:12:28 GMT

I love it when my (fan)art have little to no sense. orz Anyway, have a "Please, Save My Earth" fanart. Inspired by the ending sequence from the anime. Spoilers there. If you want just to listen to the piece of music I listened to, it's here -> Toki no Kioku (and just so you know - the official OST cover they used features a kinda naked character, so it might be not quite work safe). Photoshop + Wacom. Rating G.

I think I'm reversing the situation from the story. Watching the Moon instead of watching the Earth. The characters are supposed to be Mokuren and Shion (and don't blame these ridiculous hair on me >.>;) It feel like a waste of time, though.

But you know what? I really like it how the Moon came out.

helike — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 20:14:15 GMT

I'm trying to keep at-least-one-picture-a-month pace, barely succeeding. I'm just sick of sitting and staring at a piece of paper for hours and not being able to draw anything in the end >.>; For some reason whatever I'm drawing in openCavas is looking awful =_= I can't get the colour schemes right, nor to mention shapes in general. Art block sucks. It really does. And music is not helping at all.

Rating G. Wacom + Photoshop.

Have something simplistic, intended to look like a manga picture. Apparently I should read more CLAMP. Maybe then I'll be able to draw more. I have this great plan of re-reading TRC and xxxHOLiC and I really like that black-white style they used there. At least it makes me feel inspired. I wouldn't say that drawing in white and black and not making the picture look flat is simple, but... I like this simplistic style and way of drawing :D I only wonder why I don't use it often >.> Apparently is 4th B/W picture I've ever drawn. And I have drawn a lot over the years. Fascinating.

Have an old story, too. It's from when my sister and I were still little kids. We don't really look alike, but the age difference between us is less than one year and our parents used to dress us in identical clothes. It shouldn't come as a surprise that somehow people would mistake us for twins, right? Every time somebody would ask, "Are they twins?", we would answer unison "We're not twins, we're sisters!" as twins apparently can't be sisters ;P Silly kids are silly.

Gonna read my FList tomorrow. orz

helike — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 20:16:53 GMT

Inspiration: "Sakamichi no Melody". It's more about the music than about lyrics, but here are the translated lyrics, too, if you are interested [click].

Rating G. OpenCanvas+Wacom.

Well, that's how I see "Sakamichi no Melody" - bright and cheerful colours of the summer time. Looks different from what I usually draw, doesn't it? ^^; It was a bit painful to draw, as I hadn't used such a style in ages >.>; I think I like my semi-realistic style more. orz

Anyway, I figured I could draw a series of pictures which would be a free interpretation of songs. This is the first one. I had some idea of what it should look like, but the final piece is nothing like the initial idea. Save for the colours maybe.

helike — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:58:02 GMT

I've been really neglecting drawing this year. orz
Anyway, have another Saint Seiya fanart. Photoshop+Wacom, 5 hours. Rating G.

Hilda Polaris in her evil persona which always reminds me of a Valkyrie.

Based of a very quick sketch I drew at work. Drawn for "Asgard/Bluegrad" event @SaintSeiya-PL.

I miss drawing a lot, but recently I keep sticking just about the time I get to drawing the background :( I might be overusing negative spaces and dark colours, but nothing can be done about it until I unblock myself.

Trivia: Originally the fanart was in shades of grey with the skirt being the only thing in colour.

helike — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:38:13 GMT

Remember that StS calendar made by Polish fans which I once mentioned? (http://fav.me/d4ktpdd). In exchange for Dohko's picture, which was done in a last-minute matter, I promised to draw a picture of her OC, Yuu. (He's a man, btw. Not sure if I got this part right ^^;) Took me almost 4 months to get it done. And then I drew the picture in about 4 hours ^^;

openCanvas + Wacom. Rating G. Fantasy themed. Inspiration: "Moon" by Youko Kanno on repeat.

A cold light :P Now, if only my skills at drawing shapes could follow the skills of playing with lighting.

I discovered unexpected love for negative spaces. It also seems I'm back to drawing darker pictures (darker in terms of colours, not themes). There are times when I want to grab a pencil/black colour pencil or use black watercolour and draw something with this only. And I probably will some day.
I keep telling myself I should sketching more, but I still fail at doing it. Sure, fore some reason I can draw people quicker and maybe a bit better now... but I need more practice.

helike — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:21:33 GMT

Enjoy the hilarity of a real event.

Starring myself and a random salesman at the place that should better stay unnamed.

First, a few words of introduction.

I thought that it would be good if I got myself an e-book reader. I have quite a few books in such a form, but reading them on my computer is not convenient. Thus, the idea of getting the reader.

I went to one shop that could potentially have this kind of stuff and wandered around this huge place for a longer while, trying to find that e-book reader. Obviously, I found none, but instead there was that salesman who offered to help me. So I asked the guy about e-book readers and hilarity ensued.

the guy: *thinks* Oh, you mean something that reads MP3?
me: ... not quite... How about reading pdf and epub instead? *doesn't mention mobi as she's already got some bad feelings about the situation*
the guy: *thinks so much I can almost hear his brain work* oh... you mean... for FLAC? *brightens up*
me: *eyes the guy suspiciously* Actually I meant something like Kindle...
the guy: *cheerful* Oh, then you should buy an MP4 player! People use them for e-books. There is no problem with playing e-books on them!
me: *has to resist the sudden urge to give the guy a sardonic smile* thinks: You're kidding me, right?

Good for the guy that somebody else started to ask him about something, because he would totally get a Snape-like answer from me.

I'm not really sure why anybody would think that reading anything on a 1-inch screen could be convenient. But quite clearly, the guy didn't even know what an e-book is and got them mixed up with audiobooks, I believe =_=

So, anybody minds recommending an e-book reader to me? I originally wanted Kindle, but its specifics aren't impressive when compared to others and I can read these two Kindle book I have on my PC.

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