Hachijō-jima !

Cozy kitties based off of my own cat and my friend’s Grafit!

xie lian

Baby, don't you know you read my lips? You're coming to my dreams now Night or day / mon amour by GEMINI (제미나이)

what makes the eighth sense so soooo good storytelling-wise is that it clearly has direction. so many korean web dramas are short and scattered with little to no plot or barely any/minimum character growth because a) they are either made to be the baseline for product placement or b) engineered to be these snippets that in the end will get slapped together like a compilation and called a film. in contrast, the eighth sense reads so much like a film because it is one, it was made to be one *one that screams CINEMA* it has already premiered (and is on its second week of release in megabox theatres) so the series is more like the extended version, the directors cut so to say, of that carefully constructed story. the creators are, quite honestly, absolutely insane for crafting and putting out a work of such quality. they are so bold with the editing choices bc they trust the audience. t8s is a show that doesn’t underestimate its viewers by thinking they require everything to be spoon-fed to them. the opening scene of ep3? (one can argue that it is in medias res but is it if we regard it as a whole with ep2 already out? would it be necessary to start from when they talk on the beach and ease into the feelings and vibes of the scene?) the point is the uncertainty, the surprise, the double take that makes, both the characters and us, freeze up and hold our breath the ending scene of ep3? the tonal change compared to the rest of the episode, the visual representation, the skip that isn’t shown... these are not drawbacks nor the results of missing something. these are the signs of faith poured into the audience over a piece of media that puts a whole world into existence. even if we don’t see all that’s happening, the sincerity and details that are constantly given, the delicacy and meticulousness of the parts that are shown of these characters living in front of us is compelling enough to get a full picture, to understand the unsaid just as much as what is stated. it is, once again, all about showing and seeing and I’m enraptured by it

Happy Pride Month

*sees a feather on the ground* *small gasp* a gift

Jin on Weverse 20210601:

헉 자고 일어났는데 빌보드 일위 무슨일..! 감사합니다 아미 히히 좋다

[ENG]

Heok I woke up and saw No1 on Billboard what’s happening..! Thank you ARMY Hehe good

(trans. by @choi_bts2 on Twitter)

he said the thing!! he said the thing!! literally!!

How did you get so good at drawing such expressive bodies/faces??? tell me your secrets!! (But srsly your skills are amazing)

AAAA THANK YOU!!

I think my initial inspiration was about 10-11 years ago watching Adventure Time and finding Rebecca Sugar’s boards. Sometimes I get a little frustrated because she gets so much more notoriety than the other very very amazing AT boarders, but….. her expressions man…. she was always able to convey so much with SO LITTLE. (SU’s expressions are on another level of course, but I think AT’s are just so impressive to me because they’re dot eyes)

But the thing is!! I’m also a fan of deadpan. Which AT also does very well. It’s tempting to want to do BIG, extreme expressions at every moment, especially in comedic comics, but you really don’t need to. I find that characters often feel more expressive if you reel it in more often. That way, when you DO have bigger expressions, they FEEL bigger!

for example, a panel where the contrast between big and subtle expressions sells the contrast:

I don’t really,,,, know exactly what I do that works, ?? I kind of just like, think of the emotion I wanna convey, make the expression, think about what my face feels feels like, and try to convey that. Using a mirror helps!! You’ll feel a little stupid but it’s funny.

some misc expression tips:

Definitely prioritize eyebrows, eyes, and mouths!

Noses aren’t as important BUT flared nostril can totally sell an expression, so it depends!

Remember that your upper jaw is stationary, and your lower jaw can move, and then your lips and cheeks can move all around that!

Just subtly changing the placement of eyelids and location/size of irises can completely change an expression

Don’t be afraid to make your characters look weird or stupid.

Don’t reinvent the wheel! Take reference from different media you like that stylize expressions in different ways, and find what works for you. I take a lot of inspiration from AtLA

Again, NUANCE! Like, when most people are sad, they do their very best to try NOT to cry. People hold things in. Sometimes what characters don’t say can speak louder than what they do.

some expressions I’ve done that have varying levels of nuance:

Also framing!! You can use the composition to help project how the character feels:

As for body language!

Having a better sense of three-dimensional form and anatomy isn’t necessary, but it sure helps a lot

Hands!! I have adhd and my family is italian so I use my hands a lot when I talk. But even still, most people don’t just leave their hands hanging loosely by their sides. People cross their arms and fidget with their zippers and put their hands in pockets.

Head, neck, and shoulders. If you can master the foreshortening of these overlapping shapes at most angles, you will be very powerful

Hips & feet!!!!! People RARELY stand straight with both feet flat on the ground with even balance. Most people will shift their weight to one hip, leaving one leg looser and at an angle. It also helps to practice perspective, because people also rarely stand with their heels lined up side by side. One leg may get kicked foreward or loosely bent backwards. I sometimes cross my legs when I stand.

Ultimately, if you want more lifelike expressions and poses, study from life!! Don’t worry about your drawing being “good” or “bad”, instead think about what can make it successful. Ask yourself, “is this conveying the expression I want to convey?” and if it’s not, figure out what you need to change to get it there.