I can not count the number of times this trick has saved my ass.
And people say Tumblr doesn’t teach you life skills…
this will come in handy one day
ATTENTION GRADUATING CLASS OF 2013: COLLEGE SURVIVAL 101
Reblogging for future reference..
(Source: gamerspirit)
***This list is ordered by quadrant, chapters, and complete/wip and will be updated as time goes on***<3
Reach - <3 Complete
Post Sburb. Illustrated! John and Karkat are on opposite ends of the universe. Ugh, this fic makes me need to hug a pillow. It’s so sweet though. Guaranteed to make you smile so much your face hurts. SFW (Oneshot)
To The Forth and Back – unrequited <3 Complete
Post Sburb. Sadstuck. The kids completed the game and were sent back to their own universes. Karkat learns that his world has changed for the worst. John becomes his only respite as he leads a revolution. This fic made me tear up, ugh just have someone around to hold okay? SFW (Oneshot)
In Which Karkat Tries This Pranking Thing - <3 Complete
Post Sburb AU. John goes too far on a prank and Karkat is determined to get back at him. Really creative fic. SFW (Oneshot)
No Quiet Sleeper - <3 Complete
In the Veil AU. John finds Karkat locked in a room unconscious. On his husktop, there’s a memo open. A realllllllly fucking adorable fic. SFW (Oneshot)
Coffee Black - <3 Compelte
Humanstuck. Coffee shop AU. Karkat is a disgruntled employee. He hates his job, but more than anything he hates John. Absolutely adorable. SFW (Oneshot)
Sparkle - <3 Complete
Karkat compliments John and is adorable and John is surprisingly not obtuse. A cute little fic. SFW (Oneshot)
[lyrics go here] - <3 Complete
AU. The cutest, most in character, awkward, adorable first time sex I have ever read between these two. NSFW (Oneshot)
Flipping Bird-Tastic - <3 Complete
In the Veil AU. John asks Karkat to help him curse creatively. Shenanigans ensure. SFW (Oneshot)
Here and Now - <3 Complete
AU. Karkat hates living around humans, until John and his dad bring a cake to welcome him to the neighborhood. A really sweet fic because Karkat is a fucking cutie. NSFW (Oneshot)
And I Will Leave My Sweater On - <3 Complete
AU. Why won’t Karkat take his sweater off? John makes it his mission to find out. Precious babies. SFW (Oneshot)
lock it up and leave it - <3 Complete
In the Veil AU. Karkat is the last troll alive and can’t get out of this depression. John helps him. Oh look, I’m crying because sadstuck. SFW (Oneshot)
Just a Taste - <3 Complete
In the Veil AU. John likes Karkat licking him. A lot. SFW (Oneshot)
Smile – unrequited <3 Complete
AU. John falls in love with Karkat’s smile and I’m constantly sobbing. SFW (Oneshot)
Sickfic - <3 Complete
Karkat is sick and John tries to take care of him. A cute read. SFW (Oneshot)
Shakespearean Romance and Challenge Accepted - <3 Complete
Post Sburb AU. Sloppy interspecies movie watching shenanigans. NSFW (Oneshot)
The Halfwit Prince - <3 Complete
AU. Karkat is a servant in the castle of Prospit. John is the heir of Prospit, and as such is expected to marry a noble lady. Oh well, it’s not like Karkat was totally flushed for John or anything. SFW (2 chapters)
Asteroid Docking Procedures - <3 Complete
In the Veil AU. As their three year voyage comes to a close, Karkat and John find themselves in a long distance relationship. Counting down the weeks until Jade’s ship and the asteroid catch up with each other is driving them insane. Really fluffy and adorable, can be read after sadstuck to achieve maximum results. NSFW (4 chapters)
Haunting Refrain - <3 Complete
Post sburb. Karkat doesn’t know what music is, but he knows that whatever John is doing is amazing and he doesn’t want him to stop. Adorable all the fuck around. NSFW (4 chapters)
Vacillation - <>/<3</<3 Complete
Post Sburb. After Sburb, John feels different. He wants to be alone because he hates having to pretend that he’s okay. Karkat feels the same way, and the two become moirails. John has mixed feelings though, and gets dragged through more quadrants than he can understand. This fic is so emotional, it’s amazing. You feel for both John and Karkat in this intense, roller coasted ride. NSFW (6 chapters)
I’m dreaming of the life I once lived, so wake me if you’re out there - <3 Complete
Post sburb. John and Karkat are the only two survivors of the game, but the universe drops them on different sides of the world. They try to make it in their world but it’s hard and nobody understands. Just… be prepared to need a hug. SFW (7 chapters)
How Karkat Vantas Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Con Air - <3 Complete
In the Veil AU. Karkat and John have a movie watching marathon and it is beautiful. Precious babies liking each others movies and getting along and being adorable. (8 parts)
The World’s Greatest First Love - <3 Complete
Post Sburb. John takes a job as a script editor in Hollywood, but little does he know his boss is Karkat. After not having seen each other in ten years, due to a harsh misunderstanding, John is more than awkward around the troll, but Karkat is determined to make John fall in love with him. My love for this fic knows no bounds. Completely adorable, angsty, and steamy. NSFW (10 chapters)
Drama Queen - <3 Complete
Humanstuck. Karl Vantas is in desperate need of help. He goes against every online safety measure he established four years ago and tells his friends where he lives. John and Karl spend a lot of time together, hands get held, and cars get cried in. A beautiful fic, even if it does take a few chapters to get used to Karl instead of Karkat. SFW (17 chapters)
The Theory of Strength - <3 Complete
Humanstuck. Karkat can’t see his life going anywhere. He works at a job he hates, he barely makes enough to pay his bills, and he’s still trying to crawl out from a bad break up. And bad break up is putting it lightly. Enter John. This fic is truly beautiful and just ugh sadstuck everywhere. Amazing. NSFW (23 chapters)
Birds of a Feather - <3</<3 Complete
AU. John has been kidnapped by aliens. Karkat is Noir’s favorite troll and is put in charge of the human. Shenanigans ensure. God, this is so fucking great guys just read it omg. NSFW (26 chapters)
Karkata Inti - <3 WIP 5/3/13
Humanstuck. Karkat has cancer and John volunteers/accepts a bet to deliver a “Get Well Soon” card from their mutual class. In Egbert fashion, he decides to start visiting everyday. God it hurts so good. A really bittersweet fic that’ll leave you laughing and sobbing pathetically. SFW
Real Men Wear Tights - <>/<3 WIP 4/29/13
Highschool AU/Superhero AU. Illustrated! John is a straight A high school student by day, and the amazing superhero Heir by night! Life as a superhero is pretty lonely though, so when a troll that he saved transfers to his school, he decides it can’t hurt to make one friend, right? A really incredible and creative fic. John is adorable and Karkat is as snarky as ever. The art is just beautiful, too! NSFW
Lamplit - <3 WIP 4/13/13
Steampunk AU. John is a lamplighter for Darkhaven, and also completely bored with his unglamorous lifestyle. Trolls are a despised subspecies that are to be captured on sight and taken in for questioning. John’s never seen a troll before, and when he meets Karkat his first instinct is to get to know him instead of shoot at him. A really great fic, the emotions you’ll feel while reading it are intense. NSFW
Boyfriendleaders - <3 WIP 3/7/13
Post sburb. Interactive fanfiction. Karkat and John live together and fumble through growing up, dealing with emotions,and moving on. tons of beautiful art, fics, and voice acting. It is so beautiful and everything hurts. SFW
Domestic Violins - <3 WIP 3/7/13
AU. John loved Vriska, and then she died. He’s heartbroken and depressed and drowning in grief. Karkat is poor, but he can make the sweetest sounds on a violin. John lets him live in his apartment and this fic is just really sad and ugh you will need someone to hug during the sad parts. NSFW
Captive - <3 WIP 2/24/13
AU. 18 year old John Egbert has been kidnapped by aliens. They run all sorts of test on him until he can hardly stand the thought of being alive. Enter Karkat, one of these science aliens who is just trying to keep a low profile and ensure he doesn’t get culled. This fic is heartbreaking. Pay attention to the tags before you read it. NSFW
The Final Price – <3 WIP 2/12/13
Post Sburb. The universe has been rebooted to make room for trolls and humans, except trolls are used as slaves. John doesn’t remember the game, but Karkat does. Karkat’s POVs are so sad. You’ll need some tissues. NSFW
Don’t Panic - <3 WIP 9/4/12
AU. John is asked to take on a project under his internship. Only problem is, they won’t tell him anything about it until after he signs a contract. Karkat, Sollux, Vriska, and Equius have been held captive for over 500 days with no chance of escape in sight. Enter John. This fic is fucking heartbreaking oh my god. SFW
Kiss You Goodnight - <3 WIP 6/25/12
AU. John has known Karkat for years. They’ve been dating for half that time, but Karkat refuses to meet John. What starts as a scavenger hunt for a birthday present leaves John in the middle of a revolution. Suuuuuch an awesome fic. I wish it were updated. SFW
The Language of Karkat - <3 WIP 4/24/12
In the Veil AU. There’s a reason why Karkat types in caps. On top of being a mutant, Karkat is a mute. This fic is so wonderful and watching John and Karkat learn to interact beyond trollian is so sweet. An awesome fic. SFW
Never an Easy Path - <3 WIP 9/20/11
AU. The country is divided between Prospit, Derse, and Trolls. Each side usually keeps to itself, except during the summer when the trolls come looking for food. Prospit trains its young to fight and protect their lands against the trolls, so of course when John finds a troll in the woods, his natural reaction is to shoot it. An amazingly well planned AU with an adorable Karkat and a sweet John. SFW
Romance, East of the River - <3 WIP 6/28/11
AU. Karkat is a sex worker, and John is a sheltered kid from the suburbs who finds himself dragged to a club on his birthday. Super amazing fic. John and Karkat are fucking precious babies. NSFW
<>
I will buy the flower shop, and you will never be lonely - <> Complete
In the Veil AU. Karkat is sad and John comforts him. Really adorable fluff fic that makes me smile for five hundred hours. SFW (Oneshot)
With You, I Am Home - <> Complete
AU. An afternoon with the cutest moirails in the history of ever. Soooo cute. SFW (Oneshot)
A Simple Matter of Quadrants - <> Complete
In the Veil AU. Dave has had a thing for John for forever, but he can’t help but notice that his crush and Karkat have been spending a lot of time together. Johnkat isn’t the main focus of this fic, but it’s a fucking adorable moirallegiance and they have some really cute John POVs together. SFW (6 chap
<3<
Fuck Me Harder - <3< Complete
In the Veil AU. Plot? What plot? John pushes Karkat too far and Karkat dominates him completely into being kismesis. Dub-Con. A really interesting take on kismesissitude NSFW (Oneshot)
Fill - <3</<3? Complete
In the Veil AU. Plot? What plot? One sided Kismesis. Karkat is in heat and John is his only concupiscent quadrant. Kinda funny. NSFW (Oneshot)
The Sound of Bells - <3< WIP 6/13/12
AU. Karkat Vantas is a highly recognized general to, and close friend of, Feferi Peixes, the new and beloved Queen. Gamzee Makara helps his morail pick a slave, and he gets a magnificent dancer with a fiery personality. John refuses to ever dance for Karkat. He’ll only dance to save his life. A really amazing fic. Karkat is perfect and John is a little shit about everything. NSFW
???
Distance - Complete
Doomed Timeline AU. Karkat has been alone for sweeps, waiting for the game to kill him off. He’s too afraid to kill himself, but it’s been years and he thinks the game is just toying with him at this point. Then, his computer pings. Sadstuck to fucking hell. SFW (Oneshot)
I’ve Waited Years For This - Complete
In the Veil AU. John meets Karkat and it is nothing like he expected. SFW (Oneshot)
With Blood So Red - WIP 1/27/13
AU. Rose tricked John into signing a contract that makes him the FBI’s fallback operative. His job is to disguise himself as a troll and earn the trust of Karkat Vantas, an intelligence agent, without dying. A really creative fic that’ll leave you needing an update. SFW
Ingredients:
CINNAMON FILLING:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, just melted (not boiling)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamonCREAM CHEESE GLAZE:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2-ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extractPANCAKES:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oilDirections:
Prepare the cinnamon filling: In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a quart-sized heavy zip baggie and set it aside (see *Tips below).
Prepare the glaze: In a small pan, heat the butter over low heat until melted. Turn off the heat and whisk in the cream cheese until it is almost smooth. Sift the powdered sugar into the pan, stir and add in vanilla extract. Set the pan aside while you make the pancakes.
Prepare the pancake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in the milk, egg and oil, just until the batter is moistened (a few small lumps are fine).
Cook the pancakes: Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium-heat and spray with nonstick spray. Use an ice cream scoop (or 1/3 cup measuring cup) to add the batter to the pan. Use the bottom of the scoop or cup to spread the batter into a circle (about 4-inches in diameter). Reduce the heat to medium low. Snip the corner of your baggie of cinnamon filling and squeeze the filling into the open corner. When your pancake begins to form bubbles, add the filling. Starting at the center of the pancake, squeeze the filling on top of the pancake batter in a swirl (just as you see in a regular cinnamon roll). Cook the pancake 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bubbles begin popping on top of the pancake and it’s golden brown on the bottom. Slide a thin, wide non-metal spatula underneath the pancake and gently but quickly flip it over. Cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until the other side is golden as well. When you flip the pancake onto a plate, you will see that the cinnamon filling has created a crater-swirl of cinnamon. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, and repeat with the remaining pancake batter and cinnamon filling. Re-warm the glaze briefly, if needed. Serve pancakes topped with a drizzle of glaze.
fuckin yuuum
BALLZZZ.
o hmy fuck
sweet mercy
WATERCOLOUR CHEAT CODES
I made really quick tutorials full of swatches to send my mom who wants to take up watercolour painting for a hobby. I’ll share them here as I find time to type what I wrote her.
—-
The first two pictures illustrate discoveries in mixing skin-tones. I try to find paints that make it faster/easier to mix skin colours - even if you’re adept at making these tones out of other colours, the right combo of purple and yellow can cut out a lot of time and money. The one I have most success with is “violet gray”, then “permanent magenta” for darker and wider ranges, and “purple lake” when I was cheap and it was on sale.
Mix these (sparingly) with raw sienna. The darker the purple the less you’ll need to add to your yellow (yellow ochre works as well). Ultimately, watercolour is tricky to mix so if you’re not confident right away make sure to paint swatches before putting a loaded brush to paper, otherwise be ready to mix with water on the paper.
For a lighter, paler, redder skin tone, raw sienna + brown madder is what I prefer, although as you can see in the first image (about half-way down the page on the left), “cadmium yellow pale hue” and “cadmium red deep hue” work just as well, and might be cheaper on you. With that combo, however, it’s easier to get stuck mixing a ton of orange.
Back to permanent magenta, it’s great with browns to get darker tones, not just for darker skin but for shading. I keep three browns on my “skin” palette (last pic), “burnt umber”, “burnt sienna”, and “vandyke brown”. Mix it with some skin-tone, even just a little, to keep it from looking straight-out-of-the-tube.
So mix your skin tones, make a few test swatches to figure out how much water you need (every brush behaves differently), and lay down some washes.
In the middle of the first piece of paper is a gradation in a skin tone (violet gray + raw sienna) from really warm (“brown madder”) to really cool (“turquoise”). This was done wet in wet, to show what kinds of tones you get from adding warm and cool colours.
To the left on the bottom are a couple light washes of colours painted over a skin tone (same ol’ raw sienna + violet gray) to show how different colours look on this mix when applied dry on dry. Blue (I used turquoise again) is great for some shadows, implied stubble, and veins close to the skin, reds and most browns for warmer shading, yellow for jaundice or boogers… you get it.
On the bottom right is an example of really warm vs. really cool shading on the same skin tone mix (just guess). The initial skin tone wash is a bit warm for the cool side, but the contrast makes the shadows really evident. Different colours in shading will have different effects that way. The only surprise here is the use of dark blue “indigo” which is great for coming close to black when mixed with other colours.
On the second page are two more noses, different skin tones, and just three extra passes with skin tone washes - although difficult to tell because I was lazy and didn’t wait long enough for them to dry after the 2nd pass. The extra passes aren’t particularly warm or cold leaning, but simply draw off of the initial tone I placed.
IMPORTANT: These little quick studies serve to be as economical as possible, using few colours but still not looking just like an awkward mix of red and yellow or brown and yellow. For a more detailed or accurate representation of skin tones, a ton more colours might be added - for instance the darker skin tone on the right would have more pinks, and of course different parts of the body appear to be tinted differently. Also never forget no matter what colour or how dark skin is, skin is shiny. Be mindful of even diffused light. At the same time - perfect representation of skin is hardly necessary. More expressive colour treatment rules.
But ultimately - colour in skin - who cares! Just play around with colours you like, build a base that’s easy for you to mix quickly for wet on wet or however you prefer to work. Play with colours on different planes or surfaces of the body, with light, and take everything I say as a tips - not rules - ‘cause watercolour is really unpredictable and that is often the best part.
Another note: I use pencil tins for palettes, it keeps things portable, easy to mix, minimal paint waste, and I can rearrange paints easily to make mixing easier. I usually have three but you could get away with one or two. If you try it out, keep the paints and empty space clean with jut a bit of water and the wipe of a cloth/kleenex.
—-
The third picture shows a really quick, easy, natural black mix I make. It’s simply “Hooker’s Green, Dark” and “Dioxazine Violet” at almost equal quantities. You can mix it with a blue or red or yellow for a warmer or cooler black, depending on which you need. I included some gradation and overlapping swatches. Just keep in mind black can be very powerful in watercolour, or any opaque application of the paint, so use it sparingly and with a plan in mind.
—-
Despite my shitty watercolour sketches up here, I spent a huge amount of being a child working at a cooperative gallery with some contemporary and purist watercolour painters alike so I picked up a lot. If anyone wants me to be more specific about something, or maybe produce a more specific guide or sketch for a problem you have, let me know and I can try to help out.
These were things my mum asked for and that I produced with her knowledge of the medium in mind, so if it really did interest you but you’re stuck on something, or found something I said vague and confusing, let me know.
Abby: It is physically impossible to make the cat face.
Me: You sure about thatThis is fucking fake.
(Source: hadejarley)
I’ve been reading up on body language and stuff trying to make my comics less stiff. I put my notes into reference sheet form so other people can use them. I actually took a while making this, so I hope you guys find it interesting!
Also, this font didn’t have apostrophes or quotes so a lot of things seem awkward!? Sorry about that.
This is the best thing.
Clothing Folds (Part 1)
Adding the bigger version of the previously posted tutorial for the anons who couldn’t read it, also added the source. The second part will be added very soon. -ivona
Today’s posts are going to be kind of girly, but in my opinion, makeup is extremely important in the art of cosplay. For all day convention wear, you need a long lasting makeup and a dramatic look. Contouring is basically “painting” shadows on your face to make it appear a certain way. It can make your nose look thinner, your eyes brighter… Anything really. Like all things it takes time to master, but it is a skill well worth learning.
This is a good written guide, for those that prefer to read, and this is an awesome YouTube video on makeup contouring.
Check out my makeup brand recommendations here!
Super Silky Summer Legs
Next time you are feeling down, about to binge, going on a date, or just need to pamper yourself, do this. I just did it and I can not stop rubbing my legs together. It feels like I paid for that over expensive pedicure at the salon.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 C Sugar (Yup, plain, good-ol’ white sugar)
- 1/2 C Oil (I used olive oil, but you can use any oil, coconut oil, baby oil, canola oil)
- 3 tablespoons Citrus (Lime or lemon)
- 1-2 Razors
- Mix everything together in a bowl.
- Soak your legs in the tub for 5 minutes.
- Shave your legs.
- Rub some of this mixture all over your legs. The sugar will help rub off all dirt and dead skin. Rub, rub. Feels like a mini massage.
- Rinse it all off, shave again. I would use one razor per leg if you have two. You will be rinsing this razor a lot. I was GROSSED out by the amount of dead skin I was “shaving” off. It was insane! Trust me, you’ll see.
- Rub your legs again! Second coat of wax, oh yeah.
- Rinse off! You can use a mild soap to help get some of the oil off.
- Lotion your legs up, and feel the silkiness!
Now this isn’t just geared to ladies…. guys, if you want to get lucky, I suggest you offer to rub your ladies’ feet with this mix too. It feels awesome, and when you get lucky, you will be thanking me that her rough grandma feet aren’t cutting your legs, if ya know what I’m saying… hahaha.
I have silky arm pits too!!
Try it, I swear, You will want everyone to touch your legs.
Just so I can remember to look at this when posting multiple doodles . 3 .
This is extremely helpful advice. Tumblr has always been horrible when it comes to resizing images, especially with drawings because it’s easier to see just how garbled and pixelated they get when stretched a certain way. If you draw a comic and it’s one tall image file, then it’s too tiny to see on the dashboard. But if you cut it up into segments to upload as a photoset, some of the segments may be zoomed in, others may be zoomed out, etc., and it looks like crap. I understand Tumblr can’t make it perfect, but I guess it’s not so bad knowing these numbers.
(Source: welovetemplates)
